THE PHOENIX RESURRECTION: REVELATIONS #1 – December 1995

Credits:  Ian Edginton & Dan Abnett (writers), Kevin West, John Royle, Randy Green, & Rick Leonardi (pencilers), Tom Wegrzyn, Phillip Moy, Rick Ketcham, & Jeff Whiting (inkers), Vickie Williams & Patrick Owsley (letters), Mike Tuccinard, Rob Alvord, & Malibu (colors)

Summary:  Rex Mundi, the “first among Ultras,” summons another team of metahumans to attack the Phoenix-possessed Amber Hunt.  The Exiles arrive to defend Amber, leading to a confrontation with Ultraforce and the X-Men.  Close by, Rose Autumn and her father watch the fight through their apartment window.  A stray blast buries her father under rubble, and Rose uses strength she didn’t know she had to rescue him.  She’s also shocked to discover her father has a cybernetic chest.  Rose suddenly conjures energy and becomes a virtual duplicate of Amber/Phoenix.  Rose’s powers burn out after one blast, but it’s enough to harm Amber.  The Phoenix Force leaves Amber and unexpectedly divides itself in two.  Amber reveals that the Phoenix split in two in order to find Rex Mundi and his female clone Regina.  The mothership requires both to leave Earth, where it will then travel to the sun to be reunited with its missing parts.  The heroes travel to the Bermuda Triangle and attack the mothership, freeing Rex and Regina.  Amber Hunt and an Ultra named Gate create a portal that sends the Phoenix Force billions of years into the past.  In a burst of energy, the Phoenix Force returns to the present day, recreating events that lead to the mothership discovering it.  On Earth, the heroes say their goodbyes and Gateway teleports the X-Men back home.

Continuity Notes:  A group of unnamed, unidentified characters joins Rose’s cyber-chested dad and teleports her away.  Rose becomes a major character in the Ultraverse later on.  At least, that was the plan…

I Love the ‘90s:  During the wrap-up, Jubilee drops an “As if!” after describing how Rex Mundi disappeared.  I’ll wager that the writers don’t understand how that slang is supposed to be used.

“Huh?” Moment:  Much of this issue makes little sense.  Gateway piloting the hi-tech hovercraft that arrives to take the heroes home at the end is probably my favorite ridiculous moment, though.

Gimmicks:  Alright, every issue of this miniseries is a #1!  That means they’ll all be worth money one day!

Review:  Ah, this is the unreadable train wreck I was expecting last issue.  I guess I should start at the beginning.  Amber/Phoenix floats in the sky while her “telepresence” travels to the Bermuda Triangle and absorbs the mothership’s insane plan.  It involves using the Phoenix Force to “drive the Earth into the sun” in order to reunite the ship with its parts that are somehow still existing within the heart of the sun.  The real goal of this gibberish is to up the ante in the fight and do a montage of volcanoes erupting across the globe, because the stakes always have to involve either the entire planet or all existence in these cross-continuity crossovers.  

Meanwhile, numerous fight scenes are breaking out.  If the goal of this crossover was to introduce Marvel fans to the Ultraverse characters, no one seems to have told the creators this issue, since hero after hero is popping up everywhere, fighting each other for reasons I can’t grasp.  For example, the enigmatic Rex Mundi summons a group of heroes to fight the Phoenix, and they’re soon opposed by another group of heroes (or maybe they’re villains) that are given no name or motivation.  The two groups fight while the X-Men and Ultraforce look on, and then Juggernaut and the Exiles arrive, along with Night Man, Mantra, and surely some other characters I’ve already forgotten.  Clearly, not all of these characters can serve a plot function, but it would seem to be Storytelling 101 to at the very least introduce them and provide some motivation for their actions.  Honestly, I thought some of these characters were parodies when they first appeared.  One group would seem to be an outright mockery of the Wildstorm designs of the era, while other heroes could easily pass as a caricature of the ‘90s Milestone heroes.  Yet, the story plays these fashion disasters straight, so I’m assuming the reader is supposed to as well.

The nonsense continues.  Rose Autumn, inexplicably, needs to be introduced again.  (Let’s forget that she was supposed to be in the hospital last issue.)  She appears just long enough to develop super-strength, discover her father is some manner of cyborg, and then turn into an alternate version of the Phoenix.  Sure, why not.  Then, after she collapses (the second time she’s done this in her two appearances), yet another group of mysterious strangers in gaudy outfits arrives to take her away.  Boy, with an introduction this good, you know Rose is bound to become the hot new Bad Girl of 1996!

The plot then veers into the weeds of Ultraverse continuity, with Rex Mundi and his clone/lover Regina (yup) now playing an integral role.  Rex Mundi, based on the exposition shoved into this issue, is the earliest of the Ultras, and he has extra-special Ultra stuff inside him that the mothership needs.  Rex has created a female clone of himself as a lover (and named her after a Waffle House waitress, apparently), which the story uses to now justify the existence of two Phoenixes, because heaven knows this issue isn’t impenetrable enough.  The heroes enjoy a quickie trip to where the mothership crash-landed millions of years ago, which is naturally the Bermuda Triangle (See?  That explains everything!), and more pointless fights happen.  The Beast questions if it’s okay to destroy the ship if it means Rex and Regina also die, but everyone tells him to just shut up and go along with the plot.  Rex and Regina turn out to be okay, the mothership loses power, and the united heroes are somehow able to physically drive the Phoenix Force into a space portal.

The ending is more gibberish.  The Phoenix is sent billions of years into the past, it doesn’t appreciate the trip, so it uses its infinite cosmic powers to return to the present.  Powers that couldn’t resist forgotten Malibu characters like Topaz just a few pages earlier, mind you.  That leads to a repeat of a scene from the previous issue, the one that had the mothership discovering the Phoenix, which started this entire fiasco in the first place.  So, has a time loop been completed, setting everything right in the world…or is the whole point to show that the heroes’ victory has been a hollow one?  Since when was this story about time travel, anyway?  What’s the point, outside of scaring me with the prospect of a sequel?  It’s bad enough to know that this event has one more chapter to go, and a spinoff series after that…

X-MEN: TRUE FRIENDS #3 - November 1999

Claiming the Crown

Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Al Williamson (inks), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Tom Orzechowski (letters)

Summary:  Phoenix briefly breaks free of Shadow King’s control and telepathically gives Shadowcat Lilibet’s location.  Shadowcat leaves with Wolverine and Alasdhair for the Holyrood House.  By the time they arrive, Phoenix is again under Shadow King’s control and chasing Lilibet.  Shadowcat kisses Alasdhair goodbye and follows Lilibet into an underground treasure chamber while Wolverine fights Shadow King’s men.  Using an ancient sword, Shadowcat breaks Shadow King’s hold over Phoenix and forces him to retreat.  Suddenly, they return to the modern world, at a party commemorating the opening of the new Scots Parliament.  They discover Lilibet is now the Queen.

Continuity Notes:  

• The Queen reveals that Alasdhair died during the war fighting with the Royal Air Force.
• Destiny and Mystique, in her guise as a male detective, discuss Shadowcat with Wolverine.  (Claremont has toyed with the idea in the past that Mystique was actually born male.)  Destiny directed Wolverine to rescue Shadowcat last issue, explaining his sudden appearance.  She now has a convoluted reason for why Shadowcat must be allowed to decide for herself if she wants to kill Hitler.
• Baron von Strucker refers to Wolverine’s claws as “blades,” perhaps indicating that Claremont really did intend for Wolverine to have his adamantium claws as far back as 1936.  
• Claremont also has Wolverine strongly imply that he personally knew Benjamin Franklin this issue, which is just…well, I’m just going to pretend I didn’t even read that.

Production Note:  Despite the date listed in the indicia, this issue shipped several months late.  I distinctly remember buying this issue new off the stands on Christmas Eve 1999.  The first issue shipped in July 1999, and I don’t recall any delays on the second issue, making this one noticeably late.  There are also two pages printed out of order towards the end of the issue, causing the ending to appear even more jumbled than it already is.

Review:  True Friends #3 seemed to be universally panned upon its release, and I don’t think time has been too kind to it.  The first thing anyone has to notice when reading the issue is the sharp decline in Rick Leonardi’s art.  Al Williamson is still here as inker, so it’s hard to say what went wrong, aside from the obvious guess of “deadline issues.”  Leonardi’s art can occasionally be sloppy in a creative, unique way, but for most of this issue it’s sloppy in a rushed, unattractive way.  This is not how you want the final chapter of a story ten years in the making to look.

Regarding the story, it’s still as dense as ever, as Claremont rushes through his period piece to get to the cute ending, the revelation that Lilibet is actually Queen Elizabeth.  Um…okay.  I think the bulk of the audience cares even less about the monarchy than it does the political climate of 1936, so I doubt this had the impact he probably intended.  Before getting there, Claremont resolves the Shadow King plot by having the female cast members conveniently stumble upon a treasure chamber and discover a magic sword that can stop the villain.  It’s rushed and creatively unsatisfying; just as unsatisfying as Kitty’s sudden decision not to kill Hitler, which she abruptly realizes would be wrong after giving a speech to Rachel against killing the Shadow King.  Kitty’s romance with Alasdhair is also shortchanged, as he merely disappears before the story’s climax, allowing his new love to run off into danger while he stays behind and does nothing.  

I can’t say the entire issue is a wash; there is a touching scene that has Kitty futilely trying to contact her relatives in Poland and warn them about what’s coming that's a highlight of the series.  The ethical and metaphysical ramifications of changing the past are briefly touched upon in an intelligent way, as you would  expect Claremont to handle them.  Those brief moments aren’t enough to save the issue, though, which is such a cluttered and bewildering ending it only serves to drag the entire miniseries down. 

X-MEN: TRUE FRIENDS #2 - October 1999

 

Royal Hunt

Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Al Williamson & Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Tom Orzechowski (letters)

Summary:  Shadowcat and Alasdhair escape from the Shadow King-possessed Phoenix and arrive in Edinburgh.  At a party hosted by Lady Windermere, they search for Phoenix and Lilibet.  Alasdhair is captured and forced to participate in an occult ceremony that will erase certain bloodlines and place Lady Windermere on the throne.  Instead, Windermere dies during the ceremony after Shadowcat rescues Alasdhair.  While escaping, Shadowcat and Alasdhair crash into the docks and are rescued by Wolverine.  After defeating more of the Shadow King’s men, Wolverine agrees to search for Lilibet and Phoenix.

Continuity Notes:  

• This is the first flashback story to feature Wolverine with bone claws.  Previously, Wolverine had no idea if he was born with bone claws or if they were somehow related to his adamantium claws.  The 1998 “Children of the Atom” crossover was the first hint that he was born with them, however, as Rogue grew bone claws after absorbing his powers.  (Which might’ve been an artist’s mistake, but it’s long been considered canon now.)  It’s possible Claremont didn’t even intend for Wolverine’s claws to be bone when the story was first written, since I’m not sure if Claremont ever set a date on when exactly Wolverine went through the Weapon X project.  The claws look more bone than metal, though, so at the very least a decision was made at some point to go with bone claws in the past.
• I believe that this is the earliest date, 1936, that we’ve seen Logan referred to as “Wolverine.”
• The Shadow King finds Shadowcat’s mind almost impossible to read, due to her intangibility.  She’s also able to make Alasdhair immune to Shadow King by making him intangible.

I Love the '90s:  Kitty exclaims “As IF!” after Geist suggests they meet again in the future at the party.

Review:  So, the complicated plot involving the British throne continues, as Claremont throws in more time travel elements, and romance, and the Shadow King, and mysticism, and finally, somewhat abruptly, Shadowcat’s vow to kill Hitler.  At the close of the issue, just as Wolverine agrees to search for their missing friends, Kitty just throws that in there.  I’m not necessarily opposed to a time travel story that involves Kitty dealing with that old moral quandary (even if Hitler’s not a baby in this situation, WWII hasn’t started yet), but this story is already packed and we really don’t need any more diversions.

Even ignoring Kitty’s sudden bloodlust at the end, the compressed nature of the story is its largest failing.  Most of the individual elements of the story are fine, the problem is none of them have room to breathe.  The romance between Kitty and Alasdhair is cute, the revelations about the Shadow King are potentially interesting (especially if you remember some hints dropped during Claremont’s Excalibur run), and the attempt to merge X-continuity with historical fact is admirable.  Little moments, like Kitty humoring the Nazi Geist with small talk at a party, are also nicely done.  But crammed together, there’s no room for any thread to have much of an impact.  Plus, there’s an annoying tendency to play fast and loose with continuity that’s sure to annoy many readers.  Kitty’s casually given a power upgrade that prevents even the Shadow King from touching her mentally, and we discover that Wolverine of all people just happened to stop by during this time travel adventure.  Yes, we soon learn the identities of the people who pointed him in Kitty’s direction, but that merely adds more coincidences and random X-connections to the plot.

X-MEN: TRUE FRIENDS #1 - September 1999

True Friends

Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Al Williamson & Co. (inks), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Tom Orzechowski & Bullpen/DS (letters)

Summary:  Shadowcat and Phoenix get into an argument while visiting the Scottish Highlands.  When Phoenix becomes angry, her power causes nearby standing stones to activate with energy, creating an image of occultists sacrificing a girl.  Shadowcat flees, and is rescued by Alasdhair Kinross and his young cousin, Lilibet.  Shadowcat soon realizes she’s in the year 1936.  While looking for Phoenix, they search a nearby castle owned by Lady Windermere.  They soon discover that Windermere is in league with the Nazis.  After Lilibet is kidnapped by the Nazis, Shadowcat and Alasdhair travel to Edinburgh to rescue her in a plane owned by Alasdhair’s friend.  They’re soon attacked by a brainwashed Phoenix.

Continuity Notes:  

• This story is set during the early days of the Excalibur series.  The “Phoenix” mentioned here is of course Rachel Summers, Phoenix II.
• Baron von Strucker and Geist make cameos as Nazis visiting Lady Windermere.  There are also references to Hitler taking advice from “The Egyptian,” who we later learn is Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King.

Production Notes:  This miniseries is printed on glossy paper and has no interior ads.  The price is $2.99, as opposed to Marvel’s standard $2.25 at the time for comics with ads and newsprint paper.

Review:  True Friends began life as an Excalibur graphic novel in the late ‘80s, one Rick Leonardi began but famously never finished, I believe because Marvel discontinued its graphic novel line.  Chris Claremont mentioned this project a few times in interviews after leaving Marvel in the early ‘90s, citing it as one of the books he’d love to finish if he hypothetically returned to Marvel one day.  So, the announcement of this miniseries in 1999 was greeted with a decent amount of enthusiasm by a certain segment of fandom.  I’m not sure if too many readers viewed it as a lost classic after it was done, however…

This is not a quick book to read.  That’s not to say the first issue’s poorly written or drawn, but it is a large investment of your time; a much larger investment than readers have come to expect from a standard “floppy” comic.  Claremont sets the story in 1936 and seems to assume the audience a) knows and b) cares about European politics of the day.  Yes, Nazis are the perfect bad guys, but focusing on their political maneuvering pre-WW II is a risky starting place for a story, especially one where the audience has a reasonable expectation of a superhero adventure.  Large sections of the comic consist of massive word balloons dropping references to the constitutional crisis involving Edward VIII’s engagement to Wallis Simpson, how this impacts the Ramsey MacDonald government and Winston Churchill’s credibility, and the chances of Oswald Mosely and the British Union of Fascists taking power.  Not standard X-Men material.  Assuming you didn’t recall 11th grade World History that well, this was pretty frustrating reading in the pre-Wikipedia days.  And it’s even more of a chore to read when the Tom Orzechowski pages disappear and Marvel’s in-house lettering begins.  I believe this is the lettering style usually credited as “Sharpefont”, an early computer font that’s always looked too wide and poorly spaced to my eyes.  Giant info dumps aren’t fun in the first place, but at least Orzechowski can add some style to them.  Giant Sharpefont balloons just make me want to turn the page.

To Rick Leonardi’s credit, there doesn’t seem to be a noticeable difference in the art drawn after the ten year gap in the book’s production.  (I’m assuming he initially stopped at around page 20, because that’s where Orzechowski’s lettering ends.)  It appears that the early pages in the book were intended to be printed on larger paper, the old format for graphic novels, but the actual quality of the drawings is consistent.  Leonardi spends most of the issue drawing “real life” elements such as cottages, castles, landscapes, pubs, and horses and doing a capable job of it.  I’ve always been a fan of his Kitty Pryde, so it’s also nice to see him return to the character.  And when Chris Claremont is writing Kitty and Rachel as stars in a teen drama, the story’s pretty entertaining.  The human element is still there, but it’s buried under so much plot it’s often hard to care about the characters.  And, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the story’s turned into another brainwashing scheme by the issue’s end, so already we’re moving into some well-worn territory.  How self-indulgent will this series become by the final issue?

UNCANNY X-MEN #273 - February 1991

Too Many Mutants! (Or Whose House IS This, Anyway?)
Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Whilce Portacio, Klaus Janson, John Byrne, Rick Leonardi, Marc Silvestri, Michael Golden, Larry Stroman, & Jim Lee (pencilers), Scott Williams (inker), Tom Orzechowski (letters), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary:  Following the Genoshan battle, the united X-teams regroup in the underground complex beneath Xavier’s mansion.  Storm, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl debate what to do next, while Cable makes his case for leading the united teams.  Later, Marvel Girl uses Cerebro to locate the missing X-Men.  She’s ambushed by the Shadow King and narrowly rescued by Psylocke.  Eventually, the X-Men emerge in new uniforms, ready to follow Storm.  Shortly after Cyclops and Marvel Girl say goodbye, Lila Cheney arrives and teleports the team away, claiming Xavier needs their help.

Continuity Notes: 

• Gambit “officially” joins the X-Men this issue, in the sense that Storm refuses to leave with him, so he decides to stick around.  At the end of the story, he’s wearing an X-uniform with the rest of the team.  Gambit’s casual decision to stay probably ties in to Claremont’s rumored original plan to reveal Gambit's a spy for Mr. Sinister.
• This is the issue that ignited the long-running fan speculation that Gambit was a reincarnated Longshot.  While Wolverine and Gambit are sparring in the Danger Room, Wolverine remarks that his moves are similar to Longshot’s.  On the next panel, a hologram of Lady Deathstrike emerges and attacks Wolverine.  In an altered word balloon, Jubilee questions who turned that sequence on.   The scene then cuts to Gambit smiling with his left eye glowing, much like Longshot’s.
• Wolverine is barely able to keep up with Gambit during their duel, which continues Claremont’s subplot regarding Wolverine’s slow recovery after the Reavers’ attack in Uncanny X-Men #251.
• Marvel Girl, yes still “Marvel Girl” at this point, only has telekinetic powers and must rely on Psylocke to rescue her from Shadow King.  Her telepathy will return a few months later in X-Factor.
• Wolfsbane and Havok are still in Genosha following “X-Tinction Agenda.”  Forge is working on a way to reverse the “Mutate transmodation” Wolfsbane’s endured.  He speculates that the longer she’s a Mutate, the harder it will be to cure her.
• Psylocke says the Hand used “magic as well as science” to physically alter her into their assassin.  The readers will receive a much, much more complicated explanation years later.

Creative Differences:  With eight pencilers, it’s not surprising to learn this issue had deadline problems.  John Byrne had this to say on his website years ago:
"Bob Harras, then the X-Editor, called and asked if I could do six pages for this issue. I was up to my eyeballs in work, so I declined. So he asked if I could do three. I agreed, and they sent me a plot. I drew the three pages
and sent them in. Then Bob called and said 'You drew three pages! That plot was for one page!'

Woulda bin a real time saver if they'd updated me on that before they sent me the plot! "

Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  When Marvel Girl takes a shower (right in front of Psylocke), Joe Rosas colors in the steam to match the contours of her body.  This is the first time I ever saw a colorist attempt to make comic art racier than originally intended.  Within five years, colorist-added nipple pokes will be all the rage.

Review:  Is this the first “quiet” post-crossover X-comic?  I believe it is.  Just think of all of the variations of this issue the X-office published in the ‘90s following Claremont’s departure.  Everyone knows that the numerous subplots and mysteries were inspired by Claremont’s work, but it’s easy to forget that even the downtime issue that followed almost every crossover has its genesis in Claremont’s initial run.  I can’t imagine Claremont thought he was starting a trend; he was probably just looking at the cast following “X-Tinction Agenda” and asking the same question the characters ask this issue -- what to do with all of these mutants?

I thought it would be interesting to look back at the era post-“X-Tinction Agenda,” as it paves the way for the 1991 revamps of the titles (the revamps that nudged me towards X-completism).  What stands out about this issue is Claremont’s ability to write the characters as rational adults, people capable of having a thoughtful conversation about how they’ve reached this point and how to go forward.  Storm acknowledges that faking the X-Men’s death was likely a mistake.  Cyclops is bothered that no one’s truly replaced Xavier and mentored the third generation of mutants.  Marvel Girl is concerned that Magneto has apparently reverted to villainy (not that she ever bought his conversion.)  Cable’s annoyed that the others can’t see that they’re in the middle of a war, and throws his hat in for leadership of all of the X-teams.  And as absurd as this might sound in a recap, Claremont handles the scene remarkably well.  Claremont writes Cable as more of a grouch than Louise Simonson has so far, but he's still rational, falling in more with Claremont’s “noble warriors” than the cheap Punisher clone he’ll soon turn into.  Cable’s position doesn’t come across as unreasonable at all, and even Storm questions if he’s right.

When the story isn’t focused on the main philosophical debate, Claremont has some fun with the rest of the cast.  Iceman and Boom-Boom get into a prank war, Archangel and Cannonball introduce the Danger Room to anyone not around since issue #225 or so, Gambit gets to outmaneuver Wolverine (something that almost never happened in these days), and a few of the ongoing subplots get touched upon.  As much as this issue might be remembered as “downtime,” there are three action sequences and a cliffhanger ending.  Two of those action scenes even advance ongoing subplots, which is a reminder of just how tight a plotter Claremont can be.  And even the pages that don’t tie in with the dozen or so subplots Claremont’s juggling are entertaining in their own right, as he’s clearly having fun writing characters he hasn’t touched in years.

Regarding the artist jam, the pages do have some level of consistency, since Scott Williams was somehow able to ink the entire issue.  I definitely thought this was a strange looking issue as a kid, but I never thought it looked rushed or shoddy.  The oddest pages to me were Michael Golden’s Gambit/Wolverine fight, although today they’re my favorite.  It’s also cool to see Scott Williams giving Rick Leonardi and Marc Silvestri highly polished inks, considering how rarely they’re inked in that style.  Compare this comic to some of the jam issues the ‘90s will later bring us and it’s practically art.  This is an issue that could’ve easily been a mess, but I enjoyed it a lot as a kid and I think it holds up very well.

CABLE/MACHINE MAN ‘98 - June 1998

Metamorphosis

Credits: Mike Higgins & Karl Bollers (writers), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Dan Green (inker), J. M. Babgins (letters), Matt Webb (colors)

Summary: When Bastion breaks free of his imprisonment, G. W. Bridge sends SHIELD agents to investigate his former base, the Prospero Clinic. When the agents break contact, Bridge asks Cable to search the clinic. Meanwhile, a confused Bastion returns to the home of his mother figure, Rose. She’s accidentally killed by the authorities, which sends Bastion into a rage. When Cable reaches the clinic, he’s attacked by Machine Man, who’s lost touch with his humanity. Bastion arrives and makes contact with the clinic’s Master Mold unit. Master Mold is drained of its energy as Bastion is transformed into Nimrod.

Continuity Notes: A scan of Bastion’s body reveals that he isn’t human, but is made up of “complex inorganic systems” which are constantly being recreated by “microscopic robots called nanotechs.” When Master Mold is found in the Prospero Clinic, Cable isn’t surprised at all, and even knows for a fact that Master Mold was responsible for the clinic’s “bio-engineering” that turned people into Prime Sentinels. However, Master Mold never appeared in the Zero Tolerance storyline, so there’s no reason for him to know this.

Review: I guess Marvel’s ‘70s nostalgia craze wasn’t quite over yet, as now Machine Man is being dusted off. This is the same writing team behind his short-lived 1999 series, so it’s possible that Machine Man was slated for a monthly title during 1998, but was held back to be a part of the M-Tech line. M-Tech was based on the assumption that the audience automatically cared about a concept if it tied into “technology” in some way, which makes as much sense as assuming that nostalgia alone could revive interest in concepts like Devil Dinosaur, Shang-Chi, and Machine Man (I doubt most of the audience was old enough to actually remember these characters…yes, Machine Man did briefly join the Avengers during the ‘90s, but I don’t think his membership left much of an impression).

The story opens with Machine Man apparently killing a room full of SHIELD agents, which is quite an attention-getter, but the full significance is only felt if you know this obscure character is actually a kind-hearted hero who understands the concept of love better than most humans (I’m basing this on the recap given to him at the very end of the issue). The image of Machine Man, not exactly one of Kirby’s most inspired designs, going on a murderous rampage is faintly ridiculous. Just looking at him, it’s obvious this character is from a different era, one with a significantly lower amount of blood splatter in its superhero comics. Cable’s from the opposite end of the spectrum, although he’s mellowed out by this point in the ‘90s. Aside from his own vague connection to technology, Cable doesn’t have much of a compelling reason to be in this story, and his role probably could’ve been played by any X-character. He’s also adamant that this is his mission and he won’t bring in any of the other X-teams, which is patently absurd. Bastion led a nationwide manhunt of mutants, looted the X-Men’s database, kept Professor Xavier prisoner, revived the Sentinels, and nearly killed his father…Cable shouldn’t be concerned with “needlessly worrying” his allies. He should be leading his own crossover-worthy cadre of mutants against the menace.

X-MAN #31 -#33, October-December 1997

The Last Innocent Mind

Credits: Mark Bernardo (writer), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Comicraft (letters), Mike Thomas (colors)

A fill-in issue by Marvel editor Mark Bernardo and Rick Leonardi, who’s actually a better artist than any of the regular pencilers ever assigned to this title. Bernardo uses the fill-in to create a sequel to, all of things, the ROM storyline that guest-starred the X-Men. (Check out Siskoids' look back here and here.) X-Man follows the trail of a young boy he sees in his dreams to a hospital in upstate New York, where he learns that the boy is actually Hybrid, the unholy child of a human and Dire Wraith. Hybrid uses X-Man’s psychic power to reconstitute his solid form, but X-Man defeats him after he finds the tiny fragment of an innocent child that still lives inside the monster. The execution of the ending is actually much better than it sounds on paper, and I’ll give Bernardo credit for having X-Man use his powers in a few creative ways in the issue. (Everyone remembers what psychometry is, right? Well, X-Man can do that, too.) Bernardo also has more of a knack for natural dialogue than many of his editorial co-workers who are called upon for quick fill-ins. Perhaps he should’ve replaced Ralph Macchio as the X-office’s routine “guy across the hall” who’s brought in at the last minute.

Catching Up From Behind

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Roger Cruz (penciler), Bud LaRosa & Wellington Diaz (inks), Comicraft’s Albert Deschesne (letters), Mike Thomas (colors)

Terry Kavanagh returns, as X-Man reunites with the three “bad girls” who rescued him after his encounter with the Brotherhood. This issue reveals their names as Bux, Jam, and Marita, and wouldn’t you know it, they’re into clubbing, piercings, and tattoos. X-Man spends a night at the club with them, attracting the romantic attention of a blonde woman who turns out to be one of the bad girls’ parole officer (a parole officer with a Playmate’s body and a penchant for wearing skintight jeans that are ripped in strategic places). Meanwhile, Roust, the former follower of the Abomination who’s been looking for X-Man, is stalked by Jackknife. The new villain is another homeless person taken in by Abomination, who’s now driven insane by his mutant powers. He’s on a killing spree, murdering anyone with a connection to X-Man. The story hints that Threnody was one of his casualties, but on the final page, we see her “feeding” off Jackknife’s other dying victims. Aside from the extended club scene, which tries so hard to show us how hip X-Man and these girls are, this is pretty unobjectionable material. At least X-Man doesn’t act like a total idiot, and the story’s even setting him up to play the hero in the next issue.

Blood Will Tell

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Roger Cruz (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Comicraft (letters), Mike Thomas (colors)

Jackknife continues to act irrational and insane, which may or not be a deliberate parallel to the way X-Man usually behaves in this series. He reveals that he was a bystander to X-Man’s earlier fight with Abomination, and his exposure to X-Man’s powers triggered his own. Now, he’s a powerful enough psi to counter X-Man, and his motivations don’t go any deeper than some vaguely defined revenge plot. X-Man protects the locals and finally defeats Jackknife by using power lines to shock him into unconsciousness. The police want to arrest X-Man, but all of the bystanders defend X-Man, which is apparently supposed to solidify his role as the Village’s superhero. Jackknife is rather lame, unless he really is an intentional parody of X-Man, then he’s great. I wholeheartedly endorse more Jackknife appearances if he’s used to make fun of X-Man. Roger Cruz is still sticking with the book, and his work on the lengthy, chaotic fight scene isn’t bad at all. Nothing else to say about this issue, so I’ll just recite the Statement of Ownership numbers. Average sales were 148, 203 for the year with the most recent issue selling 125,862 copies.

X-MEN #91& '99 Annual – August 1999

X-Men #91

Technical Difficulties

Credits: Alan Davis (plot), Terry Kavanagh (script), Andrew Robinson & Dan Panosian (art), Marie Javins (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Major Sole unveils a new Deathlok, despite Nick Fury’s objections. Meanwhile, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Colossus follow Douglock’s trail to the nearby SHIELD helicarrier. Douglock overtakes the craft by mentally controlling the crew. Nick Fury goes into hiding and plots a way to fight back. Later, Douglock tries to resist the Red Skull, who is controlling his body.

Review: Most of this is M-Tech setup, so it’s not particularly engaging. Davis keeps the action scenes on Muir Island, while the rest of the cast has some downtime at the mansion. Rogue (who wasn’t with the team when Ejulp kidnapped them) is just returning from the Magneto Rex miniseries. She apparently feels guilty about “chasing after the Magneto she remembered” (I’m paraphrasing because I don’t feel like retyping her phonetically spelled accent), and wants to make it up to Gambit with a night out. Instead, she gets stuck listening to recaps of the past few issues of this storyline, and then runs away when Wolverine demands she tell him what’s going on in Genosha. The story toys with the idea that Rogue’s jealous of Gambit’s new relationship with Marrow, but nothing really comes of it. This is the only real character work in this issue, and it only works if you buy the meeker interpretation of Rogue, the girl who just can’t quit that rascal Gambit. This issue is probably most notable for the bizarre fill-in art. Andrew Robinson has an extremely cartoony style, which results in some facial expressions that are better suited for Saturday morning television than a superhero comic. He pulls off a few nice Rick Leonardi-style panels, but most of his pages are just distracting. Dan Panosian apparently drew the last few pages of the story, and his sketchy, more angular style doesn’t match Robinson’s look, although I guess both artists could be labeled “cartoony”.

X-Men Annual ‘99

Metal Works

Credits: Alan Davis (plot), Terry Kavanagh (script), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Bob Wiacek (inker), Joe Rosas (colors), Bullpen/D.S. & P.T. (letters)

Summary: Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Colossus and Nick Fury develop a plan to stop the Red Skull. Meanwhile, the Red Skull forces Major Sole to develop neural implants similar to the ones Douglock has created, which will enable him to command an army. Douglock, unable to free himself from the Red Skull’s control, commands Deathlok to kill him. Shadowcat arrives and tries to talk Douglock out of suicide. Elsewhere, Colossus and Machine Man free the imprisoned SHIELD agents, while Nightcrawler and Nick Fury confront the Red Skull. When Nightcrawler teleports the Red Skull’s techno-organic hand away, his hold over Douglock disappears. The remaining X-Men arrive and help most of the crew escape. However, Red Skull manages to escape with a few SHIELD agents under his command.

Continuity Notes: This story takes place after Captain America (vol. 3) #19. The Red Skull’s final wish from the Cosmic Cube was to be taken “somewhere safe…far away from people…to find a power that can control the world”. He was sent to Muir Island, where he was discovered by Douglock. After touching him, the Red Skull’s left hand became techno-organic, and he was granted control over Douglock. I have no idea if this specific storyline, which has him escaping in the SHIELD helicarrier, was ever resolved.

Commercial Break: This issue has ads for both the R-rated American Pie movie, and the Disney Channel original movie Smart House. There’s also a Kool-Aid on the back that declares “Grown-ups have to pay for stuff…but kids have the Kool-Aid ticket to fun”. Pre-Quesada, Marvel’s entire line consisted of all-ages material, even though the majority of its audience was probably over eighteen. I’m not sure if Kool-Aid or the Disney Channel actually knew this, but it’s interesting that Marvel was able to get away with advertising adult material and kids products at the same time. You would think having a broad appeal to advertisers would’ve been attractive to Marvel, but they’ve made a decision to target most of their titles towards older fans and move the all-ages material over to its own separate line.

Review: And now the M-Tech material is almost unbearable. With the exception of Shadowcat’s brief attempt at talking Douglock out of suicide, there’s really no characterization here, so you’re left with a fairly generic action story with the X-Men plugged inside. The Red Skull does have potential as an X-Men villain, since it’s logical that he would hate mutants as much as any other minority group, but the story doesn’t use him very effectively. Leonardi’s art is fine, and the plot is more bland than truly objectionable, yet the final product is just a chore to finish. Kavanagh’s script is so wordy, packed with unnecessary exposition and techno-babble, that it’s absolutely no fun to read. To make matters worse, for some reason this issue was lettered internally at Marvel’s Bullpen. It’s a rather crude attempt at computer lettering, which often has letters within the same word spaced far apart from one another. A text-heavy comic with ugly text is just inexcusable, period. If the goal of this storyline was to build up excitement for the M-Tech line, I’m afraid it might’ve had the opposite effect.

GENERATION X #23 – #25 (January 1997 – March 1997)

#23 (Lobdell/Byrd/Martin/Story/Comicraft/Buccellato/GCW) – Shockingly enough, this is a quiet issue with no action that focuses on the characters. It’s unfortunate that the fill-in artist draws faces so inconsistently, since the entire issue consists of conversation scenes. I’m honestly surprised that at least half of these faces weren’t redrawn after the pages were sent in. Chamber goes home with Husk for Thanksgiving, which is the best thread in the issue. Chamber’s insecurities prevent him from getting close to her, and instead of Husk giving him an inspiring speech that convinces him that everything’s okay, she calls him a jerk and lets him walk away. There are also a few pages dedicated to M and Banshee, which set up a few ideas but don’t really go anywhere with them. Apparently, Banshee feels guilty about missing out on Siryn’s childhood and Emma believes that M is a potential threat to the team. The Daydreamers miniseries starring Franklin Richards, Artie, and Leech is teased for a few pages. Over the past few issues, they’ve discovered a “blue lady” named Tana Nile (who is colored green). Like the Banshee and M scenes, there’s not enough here to really invest in, but it manages to kill a few pages. The Husk/Chamber scenes are fine, but it feels like the rest of the issue is filler.

#24 (Lobdell/Leonardi/Byrd/LaRosa/Martin/Comicraft/Buccellato) – Husk, Jubilee, M, and Emma Frost spend Christmas in Monaco (the third holiday issue in a row), and proceed to talk for the entire issue. The issue has some plot significance, as each character recounts the day they discovered they were mutants. Jubilee accidentally blasted a pair of cops after getting caught shoplifting, Husk finally shed her skin after months of trying to prove that she was a mutant, and M tells a blatant lie about flying around her father’s estate like a storybook character. Frost claims that she was institutionalized by her wealthy parents, but eventually used her powers to escape (and then burn the building down). Some of the scenes are cute, and Rick Leonardi does a nice job with them. Emplate makes a brief cameo, making even more vague references to his origin. This wouldn’t be so bad, if so many of the preceding issues hadn’t been quiet character stories with vague hints about various mysteries.

#25 (Lobdell/Bachalo/Vey/Hanna/Comicraft/Vancata) – Chris Bachalo returns, as the series drastically departs from the slow pace of the earlier issues. This is the debut of the tree-monster version of Black Tom, who can send his consciousness across any plant life, and somehow mentally control people. Black Tom and his “version” of Mondo unite to attack the team. Everyone except Jubilee and Penance are kidnapped, as Bastion suddenly appears and takes Jubilee (and apparently kills Mondo), while Penance is presumably just forgotten. Black Tom hides the students in a secret location and taunts Banshee about becoming their new mentor. I like the idea that Tom is jealous of Banshee and wants to raise his students the same way he raised his daughter, but the idea isn’t fleshed out particularly well. Penance reemerges at the end of the issue and slices Black Tom in half, which ends the fight. After Penance rips him in two, the “bio-organic” transport he was controlling underneath the ocean falls apart. M, Skin, Synch, Husk, and Chamber emerge in the middle of nowhere. I like the cliffhanger, but the rest of the issue is a little too chaotic. Apparently, this Mondo isn’t the real one, which means we’ve been following a plant creation of Black Tom (even though “our” Mondo has his own consciousness, and was seen communicating with Tom as recently as the last issue). Ending the fight by having Penance rip Tom in two doesn’t work either, since it’s established just a few pages earlier that he can’t be hurt because he can shift his consciousness around. Bachalo’s redesign of Black Tom is impressive, but it veers so far away from the established character, you have to wonder why they didn’t just use the design on a new villain.