Barely got 5 pages into this before deciding it was not worth finishing. Too esoteric and unfathomable. ( )

1182 ( )

Read this to see what's going on with the mutants during Dark Reign. As usual Scott Summers is the man with a plan, though I'm not sure who won. ( )

Events between Trask and the mutants in San Francisco come to a head, and Norman Osborn and his team of X-Men intervene. I found this more enjoyable than the other Dark Reign stories I've read - I've generally found the characters they involve to be rather uncompelling, and ones I have no attachment to. That's still a problem here, but there's enough going on with the X-Men that I found it enjoyable. The side stories (X-Men Legacy, the Confession, and the Dark X-Men: the Beginning) were decent, but generally forgettable. ( )

I don't read the X-Men series. All that I have read of the X-Men are through the lens of a Marvel crossover event, like House of M and Civil War. Therefore, I didn't have any issue with how this book holds up vis-á-vis the X-Men's own line. As a collection connected with Dark Reign, I thought it was excellent.

During Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn stole the information needed to kill the Skrull queen in order to set himself up as a hero. It worked perfectly. The resulting period is called the Dark Reign, when he becomes head of SHIELD né HAMMER and US national security. He creates his own team of "Dark Avengers," each a villain masquerading as a familiar hero. After riots break out in San Francisco between mutants and the anti-mutant "Humanity Now", Norman decides he needs a team of Dark X-Men to control the situation. Emma Frost seemingly betrays Scott Summers to join and lead Osborn's new team which includes: Daken, Cloak and Dagger, Namor, Omega Man and Mimic. Osborn is also working with a Dark Beast (from another dimension!) to nullify mutant powers. Emma's team is sent in to enforce martial law and curfew on the city. What follows, and covers the first half of the book, are some exceptionally well done battle sequences and the fulfillment of a master plan carefully orchestrated by Scott Summers. I've never been a big fan of Cyclops, but here he truly shines as a leader and strategist. Emma Frost also steps away from the one dimensional "White Queen" role and finally becomes interesting as a power player. Despite bringing his Avengers in, Norman can't get the mutants under control. There are several mutants I don't recognize among the students, but there were enough familiar faces, and just enough character development that it didn't impede my enjoyment of the story at all.

The second half of the book backtracks, which at first was confusing to me. It starts with the first part of a confession between Emma and Scott, which stops midway through and is picked up later, and then it jumps to Rogue and Gambit being summoned to San Francisco to aid Scott. Readers then get the previous event from their POV. Though this could have been better laid out, I still was able to follow what was happening, and it was strong material. The second half also includes the "origin" for each Dark X-Man, or how Osborn lured/coerced them onto the team. The book concludes with one recruit who got the better of Osborn and got away!

Overall, I thought this was an excellent collection, with some of the best action sequences I've read and a well done plot arc. Osborn and Summers play a deadly game of chess that has some nice twists and was very entertaining. And, the book adds to the overall big picture of the Dark Reign. Highly recommended. ( )