From the beginning, to the end of his run, Whedon treats all the characters, with the exceptions of Cyclops and Colossus, exactly as they were in the 70s. It's as if he wants to write about the heroes he grew up with, and wants to ignore all the character growth that occurred in the last few decades. Wolverine is nothing more than a smartass who drinks beer. Emma Frost is a royal witch, Kitty Pride is still unsure and scared and amatuerish, despite her having been a SHIELD agent, hopped around the world with Wolverine, and kicked butt with the best of'em. Beast is more or less his at first bouncy beastly self, and then switches to his morose, self loathing, insecure self. Colossus is brought back from the dead (guess no x-men can stay dead), and Cyclops is treated like a leader with ability, not just a 2 dimensional jackass.

I hate the way Whedon cops out on all the villians he creates, and how their abilities exist. "It's alien! It's super science!". "Died? Oh we can bring you back. Shot into space without a suit? We can bring you back. Living computers? Shiar did it!"

I was particularly disappointed with his lack of ignoring not just X-men Continuity/Growth, but also ignores what SHIELD is for. Fury's response to the Genosha incident with the super sentinels with "It wasn't US territory". So I guess being UN Sanctioned in the first place sorta doesn't matter anymore.

Hack writing, lackluster fights, and occasional witty dialog (though out of character in many cases). It's mostly the same campy humor of Buffy the vampire slayer. Hit or miss, sight gags, 'omg that's embarrassing' moments.

It did have some outstanding visuals though. And the binding wasn't horrible. Whedon..please stick to ripping off Sci-Fi Anime and writing teen dramas.

The X-men are still reeling from "The Cure" scare and the sinister prophecy that one of them will be responsible for destroying the Breakworld. They need to get back in the public eye to promote a better image for Mutant-kind. Along the way they run into the Fantastic Four while trying to stuff some giant Godzilla-like monster back downa hole in th middle of Manhattan. Meanwhile, the newly de-mutated student Wing is contemplating suicide. Kitty Pryde and the resurrected Peter Rasputin (Colossus) are still trying to feel each other out (not literally,not yet). Bang! Some unknown force attacks the X-Mansion, knocking out all the telepaths including Emma Frost. The student children are sent to the Dangr Room for protection...but it's the Danger Room that is attacking them. Danger is born The Danger Room's A.I. becomes it's own living entity. Destruction ensues. Emma Frost is being manipulated by some useen force. Traitor. Danger rushes of to Genosha to kill the father... Professor X. Can anyone say The Return Of The Hellfire Club?

Great story line and once again some killer artwork. This series is so good, it's scary. Not afraid to touch upon subject matter the older comics never would have touched (tee suicide, sex, etc.... This stuff rox!!!

Dig it!

This was a very good storyline, that turned a part of X-Men culture into an exciting new character. It also continued the strong characterization and interaction you would expect from Joss Whedon. Definitely recommend it.

I enjoyed it even though I am just beginning to be an X-Men fan. Awesome plot.

it doesn't get any better than joss whedon and john cassaday's work on astonishing x-men. and this is from someone who has never really liked the x-men. vol 1 is flat-out great, vol 2 is not as out of control great as vol 1 but still very good, vols 3 and 4 are coming soon.

I'm old enough to remember when there was just one X-Men comic, which made following that universe fairly simple. Today, I don't have the patience (or the funds) to follow all of the various titles, but I can enjoy one series without all of the others, and this is it. I also have no interest in heading to the comic book store once a week, so this collection makes things easy.

I am an old collector of the X-men since the days of Claremont and Cockrum. I actually pulled from the old spinner racks all the issues of Claremont/Byrne and I actually read X-Men 135 during my social studies class in high school. Why do I mention any of this? It's because the Astonishing X-Men made me feel like I did when I read those books before. These are excellent books and definitely worth the investment and time.

All I can say is that this is one amazing series! I did not read these issues in Trade Paper Back format, but I did read the individual issues and I just had to recommend them. This is one of the best comic books you are ever going to read.

Here is a collected volume of issues 7-12 of, obviously Astonishing X-men. If you havn't read the first 6 issues then I would not recomend reading this untill you do. I'll have to admit that I was not largely into comics before this series. The previous volume was deep, this one is no diffrent. With exilent writing and astonishing (pun intended this time) art you cannot go wrong with this Comic, just buy vol. 1 first.

As always Joss Whedon focuses in on the story, the interaction between characters and a twist here and there. I've been an X-Men fan for a very long time (since 1980) but have not collected for some 15 years. I took the extraordinary writing of Joss Whedon to get me back to collecting. I can't wait for more X-Men from Joss and John Cassaday.

He you ever want to love the X-Men... read Joss Whedon's take on them... WONDERFUL!

With so many X-Men related books out there, it's tough to tell what is worth your time and money. Ultimate X-men can be fun, but if you're looking for something set in the original Marvel universe Astonishing X-men surpasses them all.

So why only four stars? After reading Vol 1: Gifted, I was blown away. The story, art, pacing, action, and dialogue were all top-notch. It's a book you'll want to read more than once.

I ordered Vol. 2: Dangerous and was expecting the same WOW feeling. Although the book is very good, it doesn't quite measure up to the first. The story is clever, but it doesn't really grab me. The artwork is fine, but seems a little rushed. Keep in mind that I'm comparing it to a near-perfect book (Gifted). On it's own, Dangerous is an action-packed book with some excellent artwork and writing. It may not be perfect, but it's like Shakespeare compared to other X-titles. All gripes aside, I'm glad I ordered it.

If you hate Joss Whedon's writing in any other medium, don't read this.

But if you loved "Angel" or "Firefly," go ahead and read this. The dialogue is saturated with his off-the-cuff, smirking humor, which fits this cast of characters to a tee.

Shadowcat is on hiatus from college. Emma Frost and Cyclops (yick) are officially an item in the wake of him walking out of his marriage to Jean. Bully for him. Colossus is back from the dead after being a test subject for evil aliens that want to decimate the mutant race. This is partly because in the future, a mutant is going to destropy their planet/dimension, Ordworld. Most likely an X-man, no less. Beast looks like a lion now. Wolverine still cusses like a sailor and loves beer. None of these characters are "fluffy" or cute.

And yeah, by the way...the Danger Room is trying to kill them. Not just stop them. Kill them. Turns out it is sentient. Moreover, it turns out that Professor Xavier knew this all along. Kind of makes a fan wonder if Cassandra Nova was really the more evil of the Xavier twins after all...

This story takes the x-Men from the mansion, once again a crumbling shambles, all the way to Genosha, where "Danger" (the Danger Room's new nomenclature) has decided to hunt Xavier down and put the hurt on him for holding it captive and under his control for so many years. Forget the Shi'ar, forget the nation of Genosha, this creature has much more reason to despise Xavier and to want to kill him.

I enjoyed this book partly for the artwork; it looks like the art from Classic X-Men, in the earlier issues when they would reprint an old story, and then tuck in an original into the back of the book explaining the "back story" of the characters. (I found out today that those Classic X-Men "back stories" are reprinted in X-Men Vignettes.) I don't know that Cassaday ever had any run in Classic X-Men, but his work is great here. Facial expressions are perfect. Physical proportions are pretty good, too. I still can't figure out, though, how Emma's costume miraculously stays up...double stick tape, perhaps. It's still ugly. She also has blue lipstick?

The characters' relationships with each other are great. It's neat to see Kitty and Peter considering a relationship again, and we get to see more of her uncertainy about it, not unlike old stories (think issues 151-180 or so) where she almost always seems to be thinking "he loves me, he loves me not?" One of my favorite lines in this book was from Colossus: "Who is this Hilton girl, and why should we care?"

This story makes you think, and revisits questions you might have asked before: Why is Charles wasting his time in Genosha? How do we know Emma isn't evil? Why does Scott continue to trust her, and assume that she never manipulated him into loving her (since he accused Jean of the same thing before she died)? And who takes care of the kids at the mansion when all of the senior members go away on a mission?

Interesting stuff.

If you hate Joss Whedon's writing in any other medium, don't read this.

But if you loved "Angel" or "Firefly," go ahead and read this. The dialogue is saturated with his off-the-cuff, smirking humor, which fits this cast of characters to a tee.

Shadowcat is on hiatus from college. Emma Frost and Cyclops (yick) are officially an item in the wake of him walking out of his marriage to Jean. Bully for him. Colossus is back from the dead after being a test subject for evil aliens that want to decimate the human race. Beast looks like a lion now. Wolverine still cusses like a sailor and loves beer. None of these characters are "fluffy" or cute.

And yeah, by the way...the Danger Room is trying to kill them. Not just stop them. Kill them. Turns out it is sentient. Moreover, it turns out that Professor Xavier knew this all along. Kind of makes a fan wonder if Cassandra Nova was really the more evil of the Xavier twins after all...

This story takes the x-Men from the mansion, once again a crumbling shambles, all the way to Genosha, where "Danger" (the Danger Room's new nomenclature) has decided to hunt Xavier down and put the hurt on him for holding it captive and under his control for so many years. Forget the Shi'ar, forget the nation of Genosha, this creature has much more reason to despise Xavier and to want to kill him.

I enjoyed this book partly for the artwork; it looks like the art from Classic X-Men, in the earlier issues when they would reprint an old story, and then tuck in an original into the back of the book explaining the "back story" of the characters. I don't know that Cassaday ever had any run in Classic X-Men, but his work is great here. Facial expressions are perfect. Physical proportions are pretty good, too. I still can't figure out, though, how Emma's costume miraculously stays up...double stick tape, perhaps. It's still ugly. She also has blue lipstick?

The characters' relationships with each other are great. It's neat to see Kitty and Peter considering a relationship again, and we get to see more of her uncertainy about it, not unlike old stories (think issues 151-180 or so) where she almost always seems to be thinking "he loves me, he loves me not?" One of my favorite lines in this book was from Colossus: "Who is this Hilton girl, and why should we care?"

This story makes you think, and revisits questions you might have asked before: Why is Charles wasting his time in Genosha? How do we know Emma isn't evil? Why does Scott continue to trust her, and assume that she never manipulated him into loving her (since he accused Jean of the same thing before she died)? And who takes care of the kids at the mansion when all of the senior members go away on a mission?

Interesting stuff.

This collection is fantastic. The art is beautiful. Cassady's layouts and details are attractive and as realistic as anyone in the business. The coloring by Laura Martin only hieghtens the reality created by Cassady's art, and the combination is visually stunning.

And then there's Whedon's story. Whedon is a master. He's proven it over and over. He does characters and dialogue better than just about anyone, and he knows how to build intensity. This volume gets going quickly, and is almost all action -- beautifull, intense, building action -- but he still finds time for characterizations, humor, and emotion. The scene between Kitty and Peter is very emotionally powerfull, the glimpse of Hank near the end after his battle with Danger is very revealing and tragic (Cassady's depiction of Hank could not have been better,) and so many lines of dialogue not only advance the plot but reveal depth of character, personal histories, and the intracacie of relationships as well. With Whedon writing them, the Xmen seem like real people with real feelings, and with Cassady drawing them, they look like they could step off the page.

As far as this volume goes, the action is well thought out and entertaining. The choreography of the battles is top notch, and you can see how one action leads into another. The methods Danger uses to overcome the Xmen are brilliant, intense, entertaining, and very personal. The same can be said of Xavier's fight with Danger. I've honestly never found Xavier more interesting or impressive. Danger herself proves a threatening and intrigueing villain, and the scale of the Xmen's fight with her is truly worthy of collecting in a trade. In fact, I'd love to see volume one and two of this series collected into a hardcover, and don't really understand why that hasn't happened yet.

In short, this volume is more action oriented than the first, but it is just as good. Astonishing Xmen volume one and two are easily and by far the best Xmen comics I have read in years (if not ever,) as well as just plain some of the best comics ever produced, and I really look forward to the continuation of this series in early 2006.

This collection of the second arc of the Astonishing X-Men series begins with the apparent suicide of a minor cast member. Later, a formidable villian attacks the X-Men and students within the mansion. While I was unfamiliar with this story, other reviews have noted it is a retelling of the Cerebro plot. The artwork is again excellent in this volume, featuring several intricate double page panels and buoying the sometimes confusing story.

Dangerous picks up where Gifted left off. The story begins with a member of Xavier's school committing "suicide" in the Danger Room. Eventually, the X-Men discover that there is more than what meets the eye and that the Danger Room is the key. At the end of the story it is revealed to the reader who Emma Frost has been meeting in secret which leaves the reader wondering why and how? Cassaday's art is great and Whedon's story moves at a reasonable pace...not too slow and not too fast.

I took a break from reading comic books for awhile... I started again, and this is the first X-Men book I picked up, because I'd heard good things about the title. Big mistake! The storyline is so ridiculous it's laughable. While Joss Whedan may be skilled at dialogue and conversation in TV shows, I found his efforts at it here to be weak ones... the book does not flow properly. On the plus side, the art here is pretty good... but with bad scripting and even worse story, it's just not worth it. I haven't read the first arc of the series, so I don't really want to pass judgement on it... but because of this mess it'll take a lot to convince me to pick up past books or future ones.

This is one of the best X-Men stories I have read in a long time. My only gripe is that it's too short, but then these things have a set number of pages anyway. I loved every minute of this story. I don't want to spoil anything, because I found that half the fun was in the mystery (or multiple mysteries, as it were), but the re-imagining of an X-Men staple as an enemy was fabulous. Critics complain that it's been done before, but frankly I don't care. Each character is very well thought-out, and their inner monologue in issue #7 is fantastic. It's also nice to see the X-Men interacting with other superhumans (Fantastic Four directly, mention of the Avengers and Spider-man), something that is not often done with the X-men.
Everyone occasionally has to strain with the X-verse and suspend a little more disbelief than usually necessary (how many times can we use the ol' Skrull impostor bit? How many times can Jean Grey REALLY die?) But this series is a refreshing departure from those previous convoluted storylines. An apparent continuation of Grant Morrison's New X-Men storyline (which I have not read, but plan on reading after this bit), this arc by Whedon is doing fantastic things for the X-Men. However, I heard that Whedon may not be continuing on this, but he is contracted to finish out one more year of Astonishing. Let's all hope it's equally as good. Buy this book immediately.

Synopsis: A few years ago the calm of the X-Mansion was disrupted when one of their signature bits of hardware suddenly gained consciousness, followed by a desire to kill our mutant heroes. In Astonishing X-Men volume 2 it happens again (only to a different piece of equipment). The story begins with a colorful exchange between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four over who has the right to fend off the rampage of a giant monster on the streets of Manhattan. Meanwhile, one of the institute's students, Wing (who lost his powers in vol. 1), has gone missing around the same time the battle-scarred remains of a Sentinel (the monolithic brand) assaults the campus. While the rest of the team takes out the Sentinel on their front lawn, Shadowcat is left alone to defend the student body from the true threat that is practically the mansion itself.

Eventually the X-Men beat back their assailant but have to make a quick trip to Genosha, where Professor Xavier is in the middle of a showdown with the new menace. The wild Sentinel that brought genocide to Genosha in New X-Men vol. 1 hounds the X-Men, and when the dust settles the X-Men find themselves estranged from their mentor.

Pros: Throughout the story there are hints that Emma Frost has a dubious secret, and the quick appearance of the Hellfire Club most certainly has something to do with it. Also, it seems S.W.O.R.D. has a mole in the X-Men's organization, hinting at the possibility that the return of Colossus might be more complex than it seems. The characterization and dialogue is top of the line, Grade-A brilliance that will hopefully continue in Astonishing X-Men and inspire the other current X-Men titles. The art-work is as good as the scripting, and has a very nostalgic feel to it; the X-Men look more like they did back in the late `70s and early `80s (except for the Beast, but he still looks pretty cool) while retaining their sleek image from the New X-Men.

Cons: The only drawback to the story is the main villain. This scenario was done before when the X-Men had to face off against Cerebro (which is why it is now called Cerebra), and the villain just looked a little goofy as well. The threads involving Frost's likely conspiracy with her old allies in the Hellfire Club and the S.W.O.R.D alliance with a mutant-hating alien nation were much more interesting, and result in giving this volume a bit of a "filler" feeling. On that note, the reasoning behind the estrangement between Xavier and the X-Men was really stretching it; the initial idea behind the villain was dull enough with out forcing a last minuet sin onto Xavier's palette.

If the monthly issues and the collected volumes of this title didn't take such a painfully long time to come out I would be less annoyed by this volume being a "filler" story. Basically the only failing with this collection is that it is the only great X-Men or related title being published right now and as such expectations and desires for it are higher than normal. When you are done with it (and it's an extremely quick read) the realization that it will be at the very least 6 months before the next volume comes out you might feel a little cheated that there wasn't more depth to this story.

The writer is a hack who can not even write film scripts, the artist looks like he took his art lessons in a crash course, and the X-Men act so out of character in this book, that No one can seriously belive that Marvel claims this is a huge seller, It's perhaps lucky if it sells barely a thousand copies a month. What a bunch of idiots.

Whedon, Bendis, Smith, They are all Freaks out of a side show.

The writer is a hack who can not even write film scripts, the artist looks like he took his art lessons in a crash course, and the X-Men act so out of character in this book, that No one can seriously belive that Marvel claims this is a huge seller, It's perhaps lucky if it sells barely a thousand copies a month. What a bunch of idiots.

Not since Mark Wade's run on Flash have we seen a writer's love of a comic be more apparent. Every turn of the page rings of Joss Whedon's love of the X-Men. The characters are multi-dimensional, yet true to themselves with only one notable exception. The action is unrelenting, and the plot has many twists and turns.

Cassady's art is as elegant as always. His take on the X-Men and their supporting cast is very intriguing. Not everyone has the same face, or the same heroic body- two pit falls that happen to many artists, yet he manages to avoid them nicely. I love his line work, his sense of composition, I could go on and on, but I'll leave it with he's a great artist and getting better all the time.

What's best about Dangerous though is the history. The characters and the story are constructed with the full history of the X-Men in mind. Elements from their entire 40 year history are used with frightening ease.

What's worst about this book is the twist ending, which leaves you wondering exactly what the motives of a few key characters are. And with the book going on hiatus while Whedon works on a few movie projects, we fans are going to have to sweat it out.

Still, this minor suffering is more than made up for with everything else. Astonishing X-Men remains my favorite X book and gets my highest recommendations. While newcomers can enjoy it, I think long time X-Men fans will get the most enjoyment.

Highest recommendations.

Joss Whedon used the comic book series Fray to prove that he could successfully write a compelling, original comic book story. Astonishing X-Men not only further proves his abilities as a comic book writer in general, but it shows that he can take an existing franchise and simultaneously make it his own as well as staying very loyal to the source material and backstory. In the next six issues of his X-Men story, things go from bad to worse (although fans of Whedon's work tend to expect that kind of thing from him), making for some very interesting plot twists.
In the wake of the mutant cure, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Wolverine, Shadowcat, and the recently "ressurected" Colossus are still trying to deal with the fallout. Compounding the problem is that one of their students, a young boy who took great pride in his ability to fly, was "cured" against his will, and now he is suicidal. He allows himself to die in the Danger Room, starting a chain of events that causes the new programming in the Danger Room to go beserk and ignore the "No Kill" safeguard that Prof. Xavier programmed.
By the end of these six issues, the Fantastic Four will show up, one of the X-Men will begin to lose their faith in what they are doing, and a mole will be revealed (to the audience). Furthermore, relationships will be pushed to the breaking point (another Whedon staple).
Astonishing X-Men was originally going to be a 12-issue series, but due to the immense popularity, Marvel has ordered another 12 issues. Whedon and artist John Cassiday are taking a few months off, but fans everywhere are most likely on the edge of their seats in anticipation of the next group of issues. I know that I am...

Collecting the second half of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's first year run on Astonishing X-Men, Dangerous finds the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Serenity creator weaving another superbly done tale starring Marvel's merry mutants. Beginning with a team up with the Fantastic Four, the X-Men are re-grouped and re-organized with Colossus back in the fold. However, there is something very wrong with the X-Men's training facility, the Danger Room, and now it has manifested itself as a sentient being with intentions of killing the X-Men, and most of all their creator, Charles Xavier. While Dangerous isn't as jaw dropping or surprising as Whedon and Cassaday's first arc, Dangerous proves to be a just plain great X-Men story, with Whedon taking Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma, Shadowcat, Beast, and Colossus to new heights. Not to mention that by the time Professor X enters the fray, it is undoubtadly the most fearsome and powerful the character has been written in some time. Planetary artist John Cassaday continues to impress with his dynamite art, giving the book a cutting edge look. All in all, Dangerous continues the astonishing (no pun intended) first year of Whedon and Cassaday, and by the time you reach the surprise last page, you'll be begging for more.