X-Cutioner's Song (1992)

Cable has shot Professor Xavier?! The X-Men factions are going to war over it? Meanwhile Cable claims his own innocence, how is that possible? This answer can only be found in X-Cutioner's Song (1992).

X-Cutioner's Song (1992) is a 13-issue crossover event that includes all the X-Men related titles at the time (Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, X-Men, and X-Force) that involves a tale of betrayal and intrigue that will have you unravelling its mystery piece by piece and slowly showing just how deep the conspiracy goes. All that on top of the fact that it introduces a fan-favorite X-Villain that is very much a product of the 90's, STRYFE THE CROWN PRINCE OF MUTANTKIND (or so he claims). While he may seem a little goofy by today's design standards, but I would implore you to give him a chance as he will not only be a plot device that you will probably find most intriguing but he will also likely lead any reader to ask themselves some very serious hard hitting questions of themselves and their own beliefs when it comes to humanity. That is all I will talk about that because it would be nothing less of a crime to spoil any part of this amazing story for you. 

Now, what did I like about the comic? The art is absolutely amazing in it, and I will provide a couple examples below. To many readers over the decades, the 90's is often considered the pinnacle of X-Men art and X-Cutioner's Song (1992) is a great example of that take. Some of the splash pages left me in a state of awe and I found myself admiring every detail drawn into them. The other thing I liked I have made pretty obvious at this point in the review, but the story is amazing. As a fan of the Summers family in X-Men stories, a story centered around Cable was a welcome addition to my collection and I was not disappointed by the quality of the writing. Another big plus is that this story planted several seeds for the future X-Men centered events that will come to be known as the Messiah Saga (including the 2007 and 2009 events Messiah CompleX and Messiah War) that we will review at a later point and point out the various connections between the three events. 

The biggest downside is the pacing of the story. The first issue is very quick to pick up and be exciting, and after part 4 the story picks up and never lets up. However, the parts 2 through 4 can be seen as slow to some readers, especially after the very fast and high paced start of part 1, but if you see it through this will be a very small problem that you will not really think about once you reach the end of the story. 

Overall, if you are trying to read the hits from the X-Men over the years or if you are a big fan of Cable, then this story is a must read for you. As always if you have any questions or just want to talk about this story, please feel free to leave a comment here or let me know on Twitter.

Overall rating:9/10