A World Gone Mad!
Credits: Jay Faerber (writer), Paschalis Ferry (penciler), Andrew Pepoy & Paschalis Ferry (inkers), Joe Andreani & Jason Wright (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters)
Summary: Havok is rescued from Goblin Queen’s attack by the last remaining Avengers, Yellowjacket and Stingray. They’re soon joined by Leonard Sampson, who helps the team invade Goblin Queen’s headquarters. From Brute, Havok learns of her plot to control the Nexus of All Realities. They travel to Florida, where the Goblin Queen’s forces are already attacking the Nexus’ guardian, Dr. Strange. Havok decides the only way to stop Goblin Queen from ruling the Nexus is to destroy it with his powers. Meanwhile, vigilantes Vendetta and Firestar fight the Sentinels in New York. Vendetta convinces Firestar to take him to the White House, where he enters President Kelly’s mind to remove Goblin Queen’s influence. Later, President Kelly names Reed Richards as the new President.
“That’s Crazy Because They’re Different”: In this reality, Yellowjacket is female, Stingray has cybernetic wings that resemble Archangel’s, Dr. Leonard Sampson has green skin like the Hulk, and Dr. Strange is actually Man-Thing.
Continuity Notes:
· According to Yellowjacket, Bruce Banner is no longer the Hulk in this world.
· Following their battle, Dr. Strange, Yellowjacket, Stingray, and Leonard Sampson form a new team called the Defenders.
· Robert Kelly is not the established President in this world, President Starr is. Kelly’s the Vice President. The art depicting Robert Kelly is also extremely off-model, more closely resembling President Starr.
Better Than X-Factor?: I suppose. It’s hard to rationalize this with the monthly Mutant X series, though. I am glad to see that Mutant X #8’s cliffhanger was actually resolved somewhere, even if this issue’s claim that Goblin Queen blasted Havok all the way into the Hudson River is a stretch, and the story ends with Havok stranded in Florida, which doesn’t fit Mutant X #9 at all. It’s obvious that Mackie and Faerber really had no idea what the other was doing while writing these comics, right down to Faerber getting the President’s name wrong. And I have absolutely no idea what the point of the Vendetta/Firestar/Kelly subplot was supposed to be, anyway. If Vendetta freed Kelly of Goblin Queen’s influence, why is another one of Goblin Queen’s flunkies named as his replacement? How exactly could get Kelly away with ignoring the Constitution and just naming whomever he felt like as his replacement? Plus, as of issue #12 of the regular series, there’s been no mention of Reed Richards as President. Why is any of this material in the book?
Regardless of these complaints, I have to say that this issue is far more enjoyable than any of the “Goblin Queen Takes New York” issues of the regular series. Faerber is able to pull from numerous corners of the Marvel Universe and use a batty cast of characters to his advantage. Yeah, there’s no compelling reason to make Man-Thing this world’s Dr. Strange, but it’s inevitable that Dr. Strange would be changed in some manner in this reality. This was an unexpected way to go, and Ferry’s art sells the concept. It’s unfortunate that the best creative team to work on this series is relegated to the annual, but considering the lax standards Marvel seemed to apply to this book, it’s not a big surprise.
1 comment:
The annual was the first I've read of Mutant-X and I was compelled by the alternat take on the characters. It actually made me look for the back issues and made me try to pick up the serie. I bought the issue with Cyclops and the starjammers (#14) and the Two issues following it, and was done with the serie.
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