THE CREATORS: Various

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2004: Assorted stories of little consequence.  Yes, I know I said the same thing last year, but it's still true.

Because you demanded it!  It's the return of X-Men Unlimited!

What do mean, you didn't demand it?  Somebody must have demanded it.  And it certainly wasn't me.

For a long time, X-Men Unlimited has held the dubious honour of being far and away the most pointless X-book in the line.  Let's recap the history, just for the benefit of any newcomers.  X-Men Unlimited was started back in the nineties as one of a number of quarterlies for the various Marvel imprints.  Basically, an updated version of the Giant-Size quarterlies from the 1970s.  Nobody ever had a clue what to do with any of them, and so in short order, they all got cancelled.  All except for X-Men Unlimited, which ploughed gamely on because the sales figures were too high to pull the plug.

At times, it's been an anthology title, a vehicle for unusual creators, and a book which hung around on the fringes of continuity trying to be significant.  No direction ever stuck, and after releasing a ridiculous number of issues in the first half of 2003, Marvel finally gave up and called it a day.  And then promptly relaunched it again.  But this time, it's bimonthly, alternating with Spider-Man Unlimited.  And what's the point?  Er...

In theory, when they first announced this version, the point was supposed to be to give new writers an opportunity.  Since issue #6 featured a Tony Bedard story, presumably they're not holding too firmly to that line any more.  Besides, while the "new writers" angle is all very well for aspiring writers, it doesn't make much difference to the reader, who's left to wonder quite why he needs yet another X-book on top of the hundreds of others.

The overall standard this year hasn't been too bad, in all fairness.  Bedard's recent story, and the Juggernaut piece from issue #4, stand out as memorable.  But it's still throwaway, and a line so horribly bloated simply doesn't need a book like this.  Does anyone other than completists buy X-Men Unlimited? 

I wouldn't have brought it back in the first place, and I'd happily see the back of it again.  It is, as it has always been, the very definition of a pointless comic.

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