UniverseX/Earth X - Good or bad? [Archive] - Comic Book Resources Forums

DDM

05-10-2005, 04:51 PM

This series takes all the magic away from the Marvel Universe by explaining everything in detail. In this case, all of the X-trilogy destroys any semblance of the Marvel Universe. I only bought them all because I enjoyed the first mini-series. Afterwards, the series is a case of self-indulgence gone overboard.

Ryan K

05-10-2005, 05:12 PM

I only read Earth X, and really disliked it. I thought it was extremely boring and pretty cliche. I struggled to finish reading it and have no desire to read the sequels.

Expletive Deleted

05-10-2005, 05:57 PM

EARTH X was interesting, if not particularly original, as an alternate future kind of thing. And it had some great art.

UNIVERSE X and PARADISE X were the writers' grand unified theory of the Marvel Universe. I tend to think they're about on the level of bad fanfic, but that's me.

Check out EARTH X and go from there.

BizarroBeachHead

05-10-2005, 06:09 PM

I swear by it. I've only read Earth X and Universe X, but I love them. I does explain the Marvel Universe in detail, but thats one of the things I like about it. It encompasses the whole Marvel U and offers some sound theories to the way things operate. If anything, it's just a really cool "alternate future" story. Although it's not something I'd recomend for sombody whose generally not interseted in the Marvel U to begin with.

Mister Mets

05-10-2005, 07:09 PM

Earth X is one of the best comic books I've ever read. 10/10.

Universe X is an uneven, more expensive follow up with worse art, but some really cool moments. 8/10

I wanna reread Paradise X before I judge it (haven't read it again since it first came out.)

MrPunch0

05-10-2005, 07:12 PM

Loved Earth X ... good story, good art ...

But the others? I was soooooo lost. It felt like you had to have a who's who of the Marvel Universe just to make sense of it. I've been reading Marvel books (off and on) for 15 years and there were references to people I'd never heard of. I only reccomend this to the most die-hard Marvel fans.

HowardD

05-10-2005, 07:56 PM

I really enjoyed Earth X. I remember seeing the concept art for this in Wizard or something and I was thinking this was just Marvel's attempt at a Kingdom Come type story for the Marvel U. I picked it up several years after it came out and was surprised at how intersting it was. But sometimes I got the feeling the writers just looked through the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and looked for any major unresolved plots and mysteries and just tied them all together.

Universe X was good, but I remember asking myself "Did I just miss something?" allot. I tried reading Paradise X about 6 months ago, and I just couldn't get through it. I only have 2 issues left, but I just can't bring myself to finish reading.

thik_3rd

05-10-2005, 08:00 PM

i only have universe x, but i havent read it. im waiting to get earth x first.

Nightcrawler

05-10-2005, 08:03 PM

Earth X is the only one you should get. If you like it, get the rest.

overcomebyfumes

05-10-2005, 08:09 PM

Earth X and the books that follow are the "Silmarillion" of the Marvel Universe. Everything is explained, beginning to end. There are HUUUUGE chunks of indigestable exposition that some will find boring and others will geek out over.

Basically, if you're looking for an actual story, get 1602 or Infinity Gauntlet. If you don't mind being told EVERYTHING about the MU in kind of a semi-story form, then Earth X should't bother you. Don't get any of the follow-up book until you've read Earth X. 'cause if'n you don't like Earth X, You REALLY won't like Paradise X or Universe X.

I like them. But I realize that not everyone will.

HowardD

05-10-2005, 08:17 PM

Everything is explained, beginning to end.

Everything but Howard the Duck and Man-Thing. I kept waiting for them to pop up. Especially in Paradise X, given Manny and Howards ties to alternate realitites.

Captain

05-10-2005, 08:54 PM

Everything but Howard the Duck and Man-Thing. I kept waiting for them to pop up. Especially in Paradise X, given Manny and Howards ties to alternate realitites.

Actually, IIRC both of these characters were covered. Howard was eaten as there was a shortage of meat/animals, and Man-Thing was reduced to a pile of muck that blocked the gate to sub-atomica.

hondobrode

05-10-2005, 09:35 PM

Yes, people either loved or loathed it.

Tho I am very much more DC-oriented these days, I still love the Marvel characters. There are a handful of titles that I still enjoy (DD, Cap, Amazing Spidey, most of the Ultimate line).

I guess I'm one of the die-hard Marvel fans, cause I followed the whole series and loved every bit of it ! I liked it better than Marvels and think it truly is one of the best series of series Marvel has ever published. I'm really disappointed that Marvel didn't continue it as a regular series. This is one instance I was really hoping they would, just like I was hoping that DC would do the same with the Kingdom Come theme (at one point they were going to until there was a conflict with Gene Ha, the series artist).

BizarroBeachHead

05-10-2005, 11:05 PM

Actually, IIRC both of these characters were covered. Howard was eaten as there was a shortage of meat/animals, and Man-Thing was reduced to a pile of muck that blocked the gate to sub-atomica.
Yes, this was stated in one of the back pages of Earth X.

cosmicspidey

05-10-2005, 11:24 PM

I really liked all of it. A lot of that probably came from my continuity fixation and it's attempts to clarify how everything fits together. Kind of the same reason I like Avengers Forever so much. They're somewhat similar stories, actually, although AF clears up the continuity while it's happening and Earth/Universe/Paradise X does it after it's all happened.

This seems like a good place to ask an Earth X related question I've been wondering for a while. Does anyone know of a reading order list of all the issues? I have no friggin' clue where all the extra issues like Ragnarok, 4, Spidey, Cap, etc. fit into the order, but I do remember they were pretty pivotal to the overall story. The Earth X Trilogy was going to be the next of my comics I re-read, but only if I know what order to read them in.

Bordnlazy

05-11-2005, 01:08 AM

Like many people have already stated get Earth-X and go from there, Earth-X Was a really good read, Universe-X was good but not great and Paradise-X you'll prolly read just to get closure(it was okay but i found it lacking). Most people i've lent Earth-x to didn't finish reading it because they didn't like the art. I personally liked the art, but i understand taht it's more like DKR in that its dark and gritty, but goes very well with the story.

Paradox

05-11-2005, 03:40 AM

overcomebyfumes is reading a false history:

Earth X and the books that follow are the "Silmarillion" of the Marvel Universe. Everything is explained, beginning to end.

Um, no. Absolutely nothing in those books is "canon". It's all Ross' weird little take on things and has absolutely nothing to do with the MU.

Frankly, I found Earth X (the only one I bought) to be ridiculously slow and horribly padded, and was somewhat "offended" (not literally, but I thought it was a shoddy trick) that they had all these "Specials" that you pretty much had to buy to know what was going on.

Frankly, I found the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. And I'm usually a big sucker for alternate universe stuff.

kartik

05-11-2005, 06:58 AM

Earth X - Great book. I loved reading it. What kinda drew me towards it (but may push some away) was the art.

Universe X - Great book but very confusing. I read it a couple of time before i understood it.

And finally,
Paradise X - Could have been a great book if it wasnt so damn confusing!!! I still dont understand a lot of it.

SlightlyMad

05-11-2005, 08:33 AM

I bought Earth X & Universe X, but sold UX later (I agree with Paradox that having to buy the "specials" to get the whole story was annoying). I thought Earth X was a fairly decent read, but Universe X dragged so much I didn't bother with Paradise.

nubly

05-11-2005, 09:44 AM

loved them and hated them. i had to reread universe x to fully understand it and am reading paradise x right now. you would have to know alot of things about the MU to understand what is going on. somethings though just didnt make sense to me. i wonder if marvel will follow up on what was revealed about thanos, belasco, death and the asgardians.

spoilers:

things i didnt like: belasco turns out to be nightcrawler. death turns out to be mephisto's daughter. all the asgardians are an alien race. jean grey turned out to be madelyne pryor. the fact that the celestials are responsible for the super beings.

things i liked: the way we find out how celestials breed and galactus part in mainting their over breeding. kind of the way nature keeps tabs on our own wildlife. the wendigos turned out to be jaime madrox. thanos revealed to be half skrull. wong being two persons/personas. the super beings fighting in death's realm.

The Adventurer

05-11-2005, 09:51 AM

the fact that the celestials are responsible for the super beings.

That's ALWAYS been a Marvel fact, since forever ago.

Expletive Deleted

05-11-2005, 09:58 AM

That's ALWAYS been a Marvel fact, since forever ago.Yeah, but not to that extent. In the main MU, the Celestials are responsible for Deviants, Eternals, and mutants. Everything else is unrelated.

Deadpooligan

07-13-2006, 04:18 PM

I liked it, but to be honest I had only one question.

The four who were cloaked in black, the people between life and death. I didn't know who the last two were...

I mean, Ms. Marvel and Nova were dead giveaways, but who were the other two guys?

One of them looked like they had the Quantum Bands, but his name wasn't matching Quasar's (Wendell).

So, if anyone can, please answer me who was "Peter" and "Rich".

Golon9977

07-13-2006, 04:39 PM

Deadpooligan

07-13-2006, 05:08 PM

Oh whoops. I meant "Bob". Who was Bob?

(It's not the Sentry, right?)

dopexvii

07-13-2006, 05:16 PM

i loved all 3
just keep in mind that it's seperate and not exactly cannon and you'l get over it.
i find it a nice change to the dull repeats that seem to happen in regular comics it kept me on the edge of my seat thats for sure

Loestal

07-13-2006, 06:53 PM

Yeah, but not to that extent. In the main MU, the Celestials are responsible for Deviants, Eternals, and mutants. Everything else is unrelated.

Actually, aren't they technically responsible for super powers in general? I was pretty sure that they are the ones who not only implanted the x-gene...but modified the human genome to allow it to take on super powers. I may be wrong though.

Deadpooligan

07-13-2006, 08:12 PM

Comet Man's first name is Stephen... so who's Bob?? He's the one wearing the golden bands...

Expletive Deleted

07-13-2006, 08:13 PM

Robert Grayson, the original Marvel Boy. He had Quasar's quantum bands in the '50s.

Deadpooligan

07-13-2006, 08:18 PM

Thanks for clearing that up ED.

(I should really brush up on Golden Age knowledge.)

Gargus

07-16-2006, 01:57 PM

Earth x has a fantastic story (although confusing at points) and crappy art, it deserved better given how interesting it was. The whole explanation of what earth is is pretty cool to me.

I hope universe x is good. Ill find out soon I won it on ebay last night issues 0-12 and like 6 specials for 19.51 after shipping. Less than a buck a issue, hope its worth it.

Actually, aren't they technically responsible for super powers in general? I was pretty sure that they are the ones who not only implanted the x-gene...but modified the human genome to allow it to take on super powers. I may be wrong though.

You are right. In earth x it was explained that all were designed to become what they are in order to defend the earth and protect it. Like bruce banner was mentioned that anyother person would have been killed by the radiation but his unique dormant physiology turned him into the hulk vs dying in the blast like anyone else would.

Expletive Deleted

07-16-2006, 02:24 PM

In earth x it was explained that all were designed to become what they are in order to defend the earth and protect it. Like bruce banner was mentioned that anyother person would have been killed by the radiation but his unique dormant physiology turned him into the hulk vs dying in the blast like anyone else would.That was sort of my point.

In EARTH X, everything stems from the Celestials.

In the regular MU, that's not necessarily the case.

agrich

07-16-2006, 02:56 PM

Earth x has a fantastic story (although confusing at points) and crappy art, it deserved better given how interesting it was.

I hope universe x is good. Ill find out soon I won it on ebay last night issues 0-12 and like 6 specials for 19.51 after shipping. Less than a buck a issue, hope its worth it.

I thought the art was great in Earth X. You're the first person I've heard say otherwise.

Ironically, I thought the art sucked in Universe X, so maybe you'll think it's great.

bd2999

07-16-2006, 03:31 PM

I liked them but they are an acquired taste if you are willing to look at them as being an alternate reality.

Bruce Wayne Jr.

07-16-2006, 04:45 PM

You could set your watch to these Earth X threads... ;)

Yes, people either loved or loathed it.

Tho I am very much more DC-oriented these days, I still love the Marvel characters. There are a handful of titles that I still enjoy (DD, Cap, Amazing Spidey, most of the Ultimate line).

I guess I'm one of the die-hard Marvel fans, cause I followed the whole series and loved every bit of it ! I liked it better than Marvels and think it truly is one of the best series of series Marvel has ever published. I'm really disappointed that Marvel didn't continue it as a regular series. This is one instance I was really hoping they would, just like I was hoping that DC would do the same with the Kingdom Come theme (at one point they were going to until there was a conflict with Gene Ha, the series artist).

I agree completely, although an ongoing series might wear out its' welcome after a while.

Cavalry Tanker

07-16-2006, 10:36 PM

Yeah, but not to that extent. In the main MU, the Celestials...mutants. Everything else is unrelated.

Huh...WTF. Man my knowledge is bad I suppose. I never remember this being mentioned in the past fifteen years of reading.

jimmyboy

07-17-2006, 01:17 AM

UNIVERSE X and PARADISE X were the writers' grand unified theory of the Marvel Universe. I tend to think they're about on the level of bad fanfic, but that's me.

When I read them I thought they were the biggest mind warp I'd ever experienced. Kinda like reading a Pink Floyd album, or something. Spun my head around, and turned it inside out. I thought they were very creative and well-executed.

lordlad

07-17-2006, 02:46 AM

i think they should've end it @ earth X.......

both universe X and paradise X are just too 'twisted' and 'out of reach' of any readers. I doubt even the editors understand it.

widdershins

07-17-2006, 07:01 AM

UNIVERSE X and PARADISE X were the writers' grand unified theory of the Marvel Universe. I tend to think they're about on the level of bad fanfic, but that's me.

It's definitely not just you.

Gargus

07-17-2006, 02:57 PM

I thought the art was great in Earth X. You're the first person I've heard say otherwise.

Ironically, I thought the art sucked in Universe X, so maybe you'll think it's great.

It wasnt that bad really but it just needed to be cleaned up quite a bit. Sometimes was hard to tell who was who or what was going on exactly. And when it had alot of charcters on the page at once it seemed real cramped. I didnt hate it I just thought it deserved to be better for that story.

Jeff-E

07-17-2006, 03:25 PM

One thing you have to remember is that Alex Ross did the initial storiy lines through all of these though someone else scripted them Alex did the plots. As such you have to remember Alex is a flag-waving-fan-boy i.e. he's stuck in the golden age of comics. Look at Justice and Kingdom Come if you don't believe me. In Justice instead of telling a story involving the most recent version of the JLA he tells some back-dated story involving the Satalite, with Barry being the Flash, and Hal as GL, instead of the Watchtower with Wally and Kyle. And in Kingdom Come it was hinted that Flash was either Barry or Jay, (judging by the pan on his head I'd say jay) and that Alan Scott was the GL instead of well any of the GL's. In anycase what I'm saying about Earth-X, Universe-X, and (my favorite) Paradise-X, is that there are alot of refrences to old timely characters, old unused Marvel characters, and some of the newer characters just get shafted. Newer characters both hero's and villians sometimes get ignored to use people like Belasco (when was the last time he was in a X-Comic honestly?) the Grey Gargoyle, and Capt Marvel. It also is annoying to see Ross crap on some characters like Thanos, and Adam Warlock. It's a good read but don't look at it as something groundbreaking. It is Alex's half-hearted attempt to do a Kingdom Come in Marvel

jimmyboy

07-18-2006, 03:29 AM

One thing you have to remember is that Alex Ross did the initial storiy lines through all of these though someone else scripted them Alex did the plots. As such you have to remember Alex is a flag-waving-fan-boy i.e. he's stuck in the golden age of comics.

That seems to be true. Nothing wrong with that, especially since he's not the only one doing comics these days. :)

Belasco (when was the last time he was in a X-Comic honestly?) the Grey Gargoyle, and Capt Marvel.
<snip>
It is Alex's half-hearted attempt to do a Kingdom Come in Marvel
I think Belasco was replaced by Illyana Rasputin, wasn't he? And that was back in the mid-to-late 80's.

As for Earth X being a "half hearted attempt"...well, it didn't seem half-hearted to me. Seemed to be a huge effort.