X-MEN UNLIMITED #19 - June 1998

Unforgiven

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Jim Calafiore (penciler), Mark McKenna (inker), Ian Laughlin (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Belasco appears before Nightcrawler, offering him the captive Margali Szardos in exchange for permanent custody of the Winding Way. Before disappearing, he warns Nightcrawler that Amanda Sefton has embraced dark magic. Following Belasco’s clues, Nightcrawler locates Amanda at his childhood circus. They travel to Limbo together to rescue Margali, and are soon attacked by S’ym. S’ym reveals that “Amanda” is actually Margali, who switched bodies with her daughter months ago in order to escape imprisonment. Margali admits to the deception, but eventually finds the power to rescue Amanda and dethrone Belasco. She abruptly disappears, leaving Amanda to look after Limbo. Later, an armored hand emerges from a pit, grasping the Soul Sword.

Continuity Notes: According to Belasco, Nightmare gathered “necessary intelligence” for him during his recent encounter with Excalibur. Also, the Limbo version of Nightcrawler (the one that tried to feel up Kitty Pryde in his first appearance) is killed by Belasco when he attempts to rescue Amanda.

“Huh?” Moment: Nightcrawler and “Amanda” use sorcery to teleport to Limbo. Later, when he’s ready to leave, Excalibur’s Midnight Runner jet spontaneously appears in Limbo to give him a ride home.

Review: As this is not flagrant filler, it isn’t the typical X-Men Unlimited story from this era. Alternating series writer Ben Raab actually uses the issue to resolve one of his dangling storylines from Excalibur, perhaps because he’s discovered that book is getting cancelled. Considering that there wasn’t going to be an Excalibur book in a few months to finish this story, I don’t think anyone can blame him for using Unlimited to provide some closure to the fans. In light of the substantial number of dangling subplots in all of the X-titles, I wonder now if Unlimited could’ve been the place to wrap up the various loose ends. Is Kitty Pryde’s father alive or dead? Are Elsie-Dee and Albert still searching for Wolverine? Who was using the X-Men’s abandoned headquarters in Australia? What exactly was the conspiracy surrounding X-Factor? Well, X-Men Unlimited is right there, taking up rack space. Address those mysteries there. That might be unfair to readers of those individual titles, but if they’re pointed to the relevant Unlimited issue in the letters page, they’re at least aware that the story is getting resolved.

Much like Raab’s Excalibur, there’s a mix of good and bad ideas here. The impetus of the story is a little wonky, as it reads as if Nightcrawler has some authority over the Winding Way. I guess the idea is that Margali has agreed to abandon the Winding Way if Belasco hands her over to Nightcrawler, but that info isn’t conveyed clearly. Belasco also believes he’s keeping her prisoner at this point, so I’m not sure why he’s negotiating with her anyway. Previous X-continuity is used rather well, which is usually one of Raab’s strengths, as Kitty Pryde and Colossus argue against Nightcrawler going into Limbo alone. They have their own connections to Limbo and don’t appreciate Nightcrawler’s insistence that only he can accomplish this mission. The Margali and Amanda body swap fake-out also works as a genuine surprise, and Raab gets some decent character work out of Nightcrawler’s relationship with his foster-mother and lover/foster-sister.

The plot mechanics of the ending are confusing though, before we even get to the mysterious hand holding the Soul Sword. Why is Margali leaving? What “mess” exactly does Amanda have to clean up? As for the teaser on the final page, I remember people freaking out over the prospect of Magik returning, but considering that the pit the hand’s emerging from resembles the one Belasco was just thrown into, there’s really no way to know what Raab had in mind. Also, taking into account the necessity of this story as a subplot resolver, was it really wise to end the issue with yet another mysterious cliffhanger? Hasn’t this kind of intentionally vague storytelling gotten the books into enough trouble?

EXCALIBUR #118-#119, March-April 1998

New Year’s Evil

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Mel Rubi (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Comicraft’s Kiff Scholl (letters), Kevin Somers (colors)

Summary: An army of Bamfs kidnaps Lockheed and creates havoc on Muir Island. Meanwhile, Meggan tells Colossus that they can’t be friends because she’s uncomfortable with his feelings, and Peter Wisdom demands Shadowcat tell him why she’s avoiding him. Eventually, the Bamfs make their presence known and attack the team. From the shadows, their master Nightmare enters.

Continuity Notes: Shadowcat feels awkward around Wisdom due to the crush on Rigby she developed in the Kitty Pryde: Agent of SHIELD miniseries. The original Bamfs were products from Shadowcat’s imagination that appeared in the ‘80s Nightcrawler miniseries.

Review: After months of buildup, Lockheed’s shadowy tormentors are revealed. I don’t know if the readers really needed to wait six months to learn that they’re Bamfs, but the little demons are fun. Much of Raab’s run has been pretty dull, so I’m more than happy to see a threat that totally comes out of left field. And while Rubi still struggles with human characters, his cartoony style actually suits the Bamfs quite well. While Raab builds up the Bamf story, he touches base with some of the ongoing romantic entanglements, which doesn’t work as well. Kitty wants to be with someone younger and more like herself, while Colossus suspects that Meggan is pushing him away in order to avoid her own feelings. If the characterizations didn’t feel so flat, these scenes would’ve had more impact, but Raab’s scripting is usually too stiff to really do convincing soap opera material.

Preludes & Nightmares!

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Jim Calafiore (penciler), Rob Hunter (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Nightmare plays on the team’s subconscious fears, but is unable to manipulate Peter Wisdom’s dreams. After already dealing with his internal shame, he’s able to stand up to Nightmare and defend his teammates. When Wisdom reveals each member’s true heroism, Nightmare is forced to retreat.

Continuity Notes: Nightmare says he recruited the Bamfs from the “Well at the Center of Time,” last seen in the Nightcrawler miniseries. The Bamfs targeted Lockheed because they’re jealous of his relationship with Kitty. Before leaving, Nightmare says a “mutual friend” will be interested in what he’s learned about Excalibur.

Review: It’s a “Give Each Member a Dream Sequence” issue, as Raab explores the hidden anxieties of each member. Nightcrawler is afraid of what can happen to Professor Xaver in custody (as this was written during the two-year period Xavier was being held post-Onslaught), Colossus sees visions of his dead family, Meggan worries Captain Britain wouldn’t love her in her true form, Douglock questions if he’s ever broken free of the Phalanx, and Kitty fears she was cheated out of her childhood and can’t handle a serious relationship. There’s nothing really unexpected here, but Raab’s delivery is competent enough. Putting Peter Wisdom in the unlikely role as the team’s defender is a good choice, as it emphasizes how far he’s come since joining Excalibur and shows that even a cynic can see the team’s true heroism. His accent is even tolerable this time around, thankfully.

X-MEN UNLIMITED #13 - December 1996

Previously…in X-Men Unlimited: Nothing happened. It’s X-Men Unlimited, so the stories are usually filler.

Fugitive from Space!

Credits: George Perez (plot), Jorge Gonzalez (script), Duncan Rouleau, Jim Calafiore, & Andrew Robinson (pencilers), Hunter, McKenna, & Milgrom (inkers), Tom Smith & Malibu (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: The X-Men arrive with Binary at the UN Starcore space station, hoping to resuscitate its energy core. Suddenly, Shi’ar commander K’illace arrives to arrest Binary, claiming that her powers make her a threat to the universe. A blast of energy teleports everyone to the Shi’ar Empire, where they discover Binary’s powers are out of control and K’illace is injured. As Binary struggles to drain energy from a defective white star she created months earlier, the X-Men petition Deathbird to spare her life. Lilandra sends a message, warning of another threat, the Silver Surfer. She claims that Silver Surfer recently destroyed his home planet of Zenn-La and is heading into Shi’ar territory. The X-Men meet Silver Surfer in space and travel to the remains of Zenn-La, where he proclaims his innocence. A bio-technic force called the Inciters is now occupying Zenn-La’s remains. Beast deduces that the Inciters were behind framing Silver Surfer, manipulating Binary’s powers, and the disruption of the white star. Silver Surfer uses his cosmic surfboard to defeat the Inciters. The Shi’ar send the heroes home, although Lilandra refuses to reveal the existence of the Inciters to her people.

Continuity Notes: This was published about a year before Binary’s powers were downgraded and she renamed herself Warbird (and later Ms. Marvel again). I’m assuming Zenn-La was destroyed during George Perez’s run on Silver Surfer.

Review: I remember reading a friend’s copy of this issue when it was released. We spent our lunch period mocking the atrocious artwork and often impenetrable plot. A few months later, that friend stopped buying comics. Hmmm…. George Perez was writing a few titles for Marvel during this era, and I guess he was in the right place at the right time to be the warm body chosen to fill in for this specific issue of Unlimited. Jorge Gonzalez is a name I’m not very familiar with, but you’ll see that he shows up in a lot of the peripheral X-books of this time, particularly on the ones edited by Kelly Corvese. His scripts tend to be boilerplate superhero material that isn’t particularly good or bad. I doubt there was much he could do with this plot, since it’s horribly cramped and moves so quickly there’s never enough time to process anything that’s going on. I will give Gonzalez credit for remembering that the Silver Surfer only located uninhabited planets for Galactus as his herald, which is a continuity point that’s often forgotten. (It doesn’t make this specific story any better; I’m just glad someone remembered.) The art actually isn’t as bad as I remembered, although one of the three artists turns in the occasional page that’s just horrific. Do you really want an example? How about this…

Junction

Credits: Jorge Gonzalez (writer), Greg Land (penciler), Mark McKenna (inker), Brad Vancata (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letterer)

Summary: Juggernaut returns to his hometown of Junction, New York on the night of its Halloween festival. After encountering pranksters that remind him of the bullies he endured growing up, he goes on a rampage. Gomurr the Ancient suddenly appears, revealing to Juggernaut that Marie Cavendish, the one person who defended him as a child, was injured during his riot. He takes her to the hospital, but is jeered by the locals. Juggernaut leaves town, ignoring Gomurr’s warning that he can’t escape his powers’ curse.

Review: I don’t think there were any plans to rehabilitate Juggernaut at this time, but you would see the occasional story that tried to humanize the character. This follows up on an idea from the previous issue, that Juggernaut can never change what he is and is actually cursed by his powers. That idea is expressed well enough, although this is all pretty cliché. It’s nice to see Greg Land art that predates his discovery of Cinemax, but he’s really just serving the story and doing little else.