Five Decades of the X-Men

Taking a slightly different approach to the other X-Men anthologies, this anthology is all novellas. Each one is set in a particular decade of X-Men activity, starting at the beginning in the 60s, right up until the 00s. Quite good quality, with a 3.40 average. Five Decades of the X-Men : 1 Baptism of Fire Baptism of Ice - John J. Ordover and Susan Wright Five Decades of the X-Men : 2 Firm Commitments - Sholly Fisch Five Decades of the X-Men : 3 Up the Hill Backwards - Thomas Deja Five Decades of the X-Men : 4 The Cause - Glenn Greenberg Five Decades of the X-Men : 5 Gifts - Madeleine E. Robins Basically the first x-men comic, adapted with some Bobby Drake extra. 3.5 out of 5 A geneticist with a new technique goes to work for a company that is under the control of the Secret Empire, and literally experimenting with exploiting mutant power. Being your basic smart good guy, he lets the X-Men in on the info, at great risk to himself. 3.5 out of 5 Recovering from the Massacre, the X-Men's current roster is green (Dazzler, Longshot, Psylocke, etc.) and Ororo asks Sean Cassidy to do her a favour and help with training them, and getting Alex Summers to take a leadership role. A worked out training exercise between them and some government agent types is interrupted by Peter Wisdom and his crew, and a N'Gari out for mutant snacks via portal. 4 out of 5 With Reverend Stryker betting out of prison, anti-mutant sentiment is stirred up, as well as different anti-mutant factions themselves. 2 out of 5 The X-Men are sent to investigate a destructive disturbance that is very likely to be mutant, and find both a student and teacher involved. 4 out of 5

The trend of the stories in this collection moves countercurrent to the way the American society has evolved. Over the last fifty years, overt racial prejudice has declined, tolerance is in vogue and there is more mixing of the races than ever before in history. In the early stories of the X-Men, while the mutants were different, society generally tolerated them and treated them as heroes. However, as the stories evolve over the decades, prejudice against mutants grows to be a pervasive force, so much so that armed vigilante groups arise. Their sole purpose is to hunt down and exterminate mutants. This leads to a fragmentation of the mutant population. Some believe that they should make no attempt to integrate themselves into society, creating a new form of segregation. The other faction, led by Professor Xavier, the leader of the X-Men, believe that they should use their powers to aid all of humanity. This leads to two ongoing battles, one between the mutants and the rest of humanity and the other between the mutant factions. The stories are well written and I was struck by how much the authors of the later stories had learned from the American civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the non-violent integration faction and the militant Black Panthers advocated armed struggle and a form of segregation. Like some of the mutants that die in these stories while trying to help society cope, King and many others were also killed. This is not a book of cartoons; it does not contain a single image. Nevertheless, the stories are very well written and quite frankly, the later ones where mutants are greeted with fear are far more believable than the early ones.