X-MEN #41 – February 1995

Dreams Die!

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Andy Kubert & Ron Garney (pencilers), Matt Ryan (inks/finishes), Bill Oakley & NJQ (letterers), Kevin Somers & Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary

The time-displaced X-Men witness Magneto’s battle with Legion. Psylocke uses her telepathic powers to find Professor Xavier, who is recovering from Legion’s attack with Gabrielle Haller. When Xavier overhears Legion’s conversation with Magneto, he figures out that Legion is his future son. Iceman temporarily freezes Legion, but he manages to free himself and incapacitate the X-Men. When Legion prepares to kill Magneto, Xavier jumps in the path of the blast. With Xavier dead, Legion and the X-Men disappear. Bishop, however, does not fade away. Meanwhile, Apocalypse witnesses the public display of mutant powers and decides to start his survival of the fittest challenge. In the present, the crystallization wave begins to hit Earth. Realizing that her time is almost up, Rogue kisses Gambit. Finally, reality crystallizes and shatters.

Gimmicks

This issue has a metallic ink cover, while maintaining the normal cover price.

Continuity Notes

In the altered timeline Legion creates, Apocalypse emerges earlier than he did in the original timeline because he sees that mutants are already surfacing. I assume that this scene was written to explain why Apocalypse encountered the X-Men so much earlier in the AoA timeline than he did in the original continuity.

Iceman uses his powers to freeze every molecule in Legion’s body, which the story acknowledges as a new use of his powers. This fits in with the attempt at the time to power him up, but it doesn’t seem like he ever used this power again. Also, Storm’s team of X-Men seem to have found the time to change back into their costumes in-between chapters of the crossover.

Review

Even though it’s a very nice-looking comic, this is the weakest chapter of the crossover. Legion’s just generically nutty at this point, and the ending with Xavier’s death had already been spoiled by months of advance promotion. There’s also some odd plotting that has Xavier recovering from Legion’s attack against him. The whole point of this story is that Legion is going back in time to kill Magneto in order to prove his love to his father. Why exactly is Legion attacking Xavier now? It makes about as much sense as the incest/rape scene from the last chapter. Those complaints aside, Nicieza does do a convincing job of making this all feel very important, rather than the set up for just another crossover. He goes back to a more dramatic narrative style, which he manages to pull off much more effectively than the faux-Claremont purple prose from earlier in his run. The scenes where the X-Men witness the end of the world aren’t bad, even if they’re not given a lot of room. Even if it doesn’t hold up to the previous chapters, it does have its moments.

CABLE #20 – February 1995

An Hour of Last Things

Credits: Jeph Loeb (writer), Ian Churchill (penciler), Larosa/Barta/Carani (inkers), Starkings/Comicraft (lettering), Mike Thomas (colorist)

Summary

Cable’s consciousness returns from his journey to the past. Gambit’s angry that Cable’s message to the other X-Men hasn’t changed anything. Lilandra sends a warning that the M’Kraan Crystal is consuming galaxies and is heading towards Earth within an hour. Knowing their time together will soon end, the X-Men comfort one another. Cable reveals his feelings for Domino, who initially dismisses them as a joke, but eventually kisses him. Cyclops and Phoenix decide to tell Cable that they raised him in the future as Slym and Redd, but he already knows. Professor Xavier tells the X-Men that he’s proud of all of them, as the Crystallization Wave consumes the Earth.

Continuity Note

This issue doesn’t reference Cable’s time travel ability. Instead, the Shi’ar technology is given credit for sending Cable’s consciousness to the past (whether or not Cable’s body or just his consciousness was sent back in time wasn’t clear in the last chapter).

Review

Somehow, one of the quiet, talkative issues of X-Men ended up in Cable. Considering the structure of the crossover, there was really nothing for Cable’s title to do this month. Cable’s already visited the past in the last part of the crossover, and since the mandated ending of all of the X-books this month had the Crystallization Wave consuming everything, there’s really no room for Cable to do anything. This could’ve been a nice opportunity for Cable to interact with his parents, but hardly anything comes from their brief scene together. Most of the interactions in the issue seem shallow and overly sentimental. The characterizations just don’t feel real, and the issue is made redundant anyway by the “end of the world” scenes in this month’s X-Men. This issue marks Ian Churchill’s debut as artist, a role he’ll keep for the next few years on the title. All of the exaggerated poses and countless scratchy lines haven’t aged well, but I liked it a lot at the time.

UNCANNY X-MEN #321 – February 1995

Auld Lang Syne

Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), Mark Waid (script), Ron Garney (penciler), Townsend/Green/Rubinstein (inkers), Steve Buccellato (colorist), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer)

Summary

Twenty years in the past, Xavier and Magneto are discussing the possible existence of mutants in a bar in Israel. Elsewhere in the bar, an amputee is being harassed by a group of drunken men. When Xavier tries to stop them, he unwittingly starts a bar fight. Elsewhere, Storm and the rest of her team of X-Men are still trying to recover their memories. In the present, the Shi’ar use their technology to augment the psi-powers of the X-Men present. Phoenix will telekinetically keep Cable’s body together while Professor Xavier telepathically boosts Cable’s latent time travel ability. Cable is able to appear twenty years in the past, where he’s drawn to the temporal energies that surround Bishop. Cable telepathically gives Bishop the information he needs before disappearing in an explosion of energy. Meanwhile, Legion disguises himself as Xavier and seduces Gabrielle Haller. Xavier senses a darkness around Gabrielle and leaves with Magneto to find her. They find Gabrielle wounded, with Legion hovering above her. Legion tells Magneto that he’s come to kill him.

Continuity Note

This is the first time Cable’s time travel ability is outright mentioned. It was previously alluded to in X-Force #39, when Prosh made a cryptic statement that Cable might not need technology to travel through time. It’s not treated as a major revelation here, and there’s no explanation for how any of the characters knew he had this power. I don’t think Cable’s ability to time travel with his own power was brought up again, but I could be wrong. For what it’s worth, it takes Shi’ar machinery that’s the size of a building, and the augmented powers of Professor Xavier for him to access the power in this issue.

At the time this story was published, Marvel was still following the strict time travel rules established by Mark Gruenwald (you can read his column about time travel here). The basic idea is that time travel automatically creates an alternate reality, therefore the current reality can’t be affected by someone travelling to the past. In order for this story to work, that rule obviously can’t be applied. The previous issue of UXM has Storm acknowledge this rule, with Legion replying that he’s created new “chronal energies” that will enable him to pull this off. This would tie into the idea that Legion is potentially the most powerful mutant ever, which Xavier speculated earlier in this storyline. So even if the rule is being broken, there’s some justification for how it’s being broken in the storyline (which would fit in with Marvel’s stricter stand on continuity at the time). It will be interesting to see the rules are (or aren’t) followed as the story goes along. I suspect that Gruenwald created the rules in the first place in order to prevent writers from using time travel to undo previous stories that they didn’t like.

Review

Up until you get to that horribly misguided scene with Legion, this is a solid middle-chapter for the crossover that only has a few rough spots (the bar fight goes on a little long, and I mentioned the unusual introduction of Cable’s new power earlier). It’s drawn very well by Garney, who’s pretty close to developing his recognizable style at this point. Xavier and Magneto’s friendship comes across as genuine, and the scenes in the present do a decent job of communicating the seriousness of the situation. The X-Men that are stuck in the past are also given realistic reactions to having nothing to do for three weeks. It’s the scene between Legion and Gabrielle Haller that overshadows the rest of the issue, making you wonder if the X-office has lost its mind. Maybe the fact that anything Legion did with Gabrielle Haller is implied and not explicitly stated made this “safe” enough to get published, but it’s really hard to see any justification for this scene. Let’s see, do I start with the rape or the incest angle? Aside from the fact that Legion is impersonating someone else when he’s getting intimate with Gabrielle Haller, she’s also shown in tears with her clothes ripped in the final scene. So even if you’re willing to overlook the deception used by Legion in the first place, there’s still the implication that something physical happened between them. Then, of course, there’s the bizarre incest element. Legion wants to go back in time to prove his love for his father by killing his greatest opponent. Okay, fine. How exactly this turns into Legion going back in time to impersonate his father and hook up with his mother is beyond me. Perhaps the idea was that Legion is insuring his own existence by making sure his mother gets pregnant, but that doesn’t work. It’s not in his plan at all for his father to die, so Xavier would still presumably impregnate Gabrielle (and I’m not even going to go into what kind of DNA Legion’s offspring with Gabrielle would have). I guess the idea is to emphasize that Legion is still insane, but surely there could’ve been a more tasteful way to get this across. It’s really a bizarre move that drags everything down.

X-MEN #40 – January 1995

The Killing Time

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Andy Kubert (penciler), Matt Ryan (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), Kevin Somers (colorist)

Summary

Twenty years in the past, Legion and Storm’s team of X-Men have arrived in Israel. The trip through time has left all of them with amnesia. Storm and the rest of the X-Men know their names and powers, but remember nothing else. Legion is being treated at the same hospital where Xavier is helping his mother, Gabrielle Haller. Magneto is working as an orderly and has befriended Xavier, but they haven’t revealed to one another that they’re mutants. When Legion is exposed to Magneto’s internal anguish, his powers erupt. Magneto finds Xavier, and when they return to Legion’s room, they see his body is in flames, with images of the future flashing above him. In the present, Xavier and the rest of the X-Men call Cable and Domino for help rescuing Storm’s team. Cable tells Xavier that he can’t time travel because his equipment is in the bottom of the ocean. Suddenly, Lilandra appears with a group of Watchers, warning that Legion’s actions in the past threaten all reality.

Continuity Notes

Beast reminds Gambit that he’s still field leader, even though Cyclops is there. I’m not sure why exactly Nicieza is continuing this plot, since it certainly seems as if Cyclops is back for good.

Cable’s “Time Displacement Core” has been at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean since X-Force #22.

The scenes with Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Gabrielle Haller place this story at some point during the flashbacks in Uncanny X-Men #161.

“Huh?” Moment

Xavier has a comically exaggerated smile on the top panel on page twenty-three. He’s responding to hearing Magneto’s psychic cry for help, so I don’t know why this would thrill him so much. I wonder if Kubert intended this to be a smile, or if it just ended up that way after the art was inked and colored (it’s possible that the lines on Xavier’s face were misinterpreted as a smile somewhere along the way).

Review

The story slows down in this chapter, effectively recapping the events of the first installment while taking the time to reestablish Xavier’s past with Magneto. This could’ve been tedious padding, but Nicieza’s able to make it work. Since a large portion of this story hinges on an issue of UXM from the early ‘80s that many readers probably hadn't read, taking the time to properly introduce this era in Xavier’s past is a reasonable decision. Nicieza has a firm handle on the characterizations, and does a great job on the scene where Legion accidentally exposes Magneto’s memories. (I’d like to take this time to congratulate Fabian Nicieza on his 100^th tag on this blog. What an accomplishment!) Kubert does a fine job on the art, turning in one of his strongest issues so far. He handles dozens of characters but his work never looks rushed or half-hearted. I also remember the coloring in this issue really stood out when I first read it, and it still looks impressive almost fourteen years later.

UNCANNY X-MEN #320 – January 1995

The Son Rises in the East

Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), Mark Waid (script), Roger Cruz (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Steve Buccellato (colorist), Bill Oakley (letterer)

Summary

The X-Men travel to the Israeli desert at the request of Gabrielle Haller. Her son Legion has created an energy field around himself, and is crippling or destroying any military vehicles that approach him. When Storm tries to speak to him, Legion uses his newfound power to take them back in time to the day Storm’s parents were killed. When they go back to the present, Legion tells Storm that he’s created unheard of new chronal energies that will enable him to alter time. When Legion talks about his father’s legacy, Storm figures out that Legion is going back in time to somehow remake Professor Xavier’s dream. Storm orders Psylocke to link herself mentally to Bishop, who has been absorbing Legion’s chronal energy. This sends all of the nearby X-Men back into the past with Legion. Phoenix anchors herself and stays behind. She telepathically calls out to Professor Xavier for help before passing out. Meanwhile, the guardian of the M’Kraan Crystal, Janf, warns Lilandra that the end of reality is coming.

I Love the ‘90s

The editors ask fans to send in any type of feedback, saying “it’ll only cost ya 29 cents” to write in.

Review

This is the start of a brief crossover that sets up the “Age of Apocalypse” storyline. Mark Waid is the guest scripter, a role he’ll occasionally take on for the next few months. He’ll take over X-Men briefly next year, but nothing really comes of it. His script is a little sharper than Lobdell’s typical work, but there’s not that much of a difference. This issue really just serves to build up Legion’s new powers and to send the X-Men back into the past. Legion does come across as a formidable threat, and his dialogue thankfully doesn’t portray him as insane or childishly naïve. Far too many X-villains at this point are just labeled “crazy”, justifying whatever arbitrary action the writer wants them to do. Based on my memories of this story, though, Legion’s sanity is short-lived (maybe no one told Waid that Legion really is supposed to be nuts).

The selection of X-Men sent into the past seems odd. I understand that Bishop needs to go back into the past for upcoming plot reasons (due to his own history as a time traveler), so it makes sense that his team of X-Men would be featured. Of course, at this point, the Blue and Gold divisions have pretty much gone away, but the script explicitly refers to this as the Gold team. If that were the case, why would Psylocke go instead of Archangel? Phoenix is already there, so why would two telepaths go on the same mission? And since the team is confronting his son, why isn’t Professor Xavier with them? I know that some of the characters need to be in different places for future plot reasons, but there’s no in-story justification for any of this so far. We’re just supposed to accept the fact that the characters are where they are.

There’s another awkward scene where the team follows Legion back into the past, yet Phoenix inexplicitly stays behind. The way the scene is written makes it seem as if she isn’t aware of Storm’s plan to follow him, which doesn’t make sense because a) she’s a telepath and b) she was standing right next to Iceman just before he was sucked into the time vortex, too. Maybe the original idea was that Phoenix was supposed to stay behind to tell the other X-Men what happened, but that’s not communicated at all in the story. Aside from these awkward moments, though, it’s a pretty unobjectionable issue. The story mainly accomplishes what it’s supposed to, and Cruz’s art (unoriginal as it may be) doesn’t look so bad.