MAGNETO REX #3 - July 1999

Once We Were Kings

Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Batt (inker), Richard Isanove & Monica Kubina (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Magneto defeats Zealot by wrapping him in metal and shooting him into space. Amelia Voght takes Quicksilver to the Mutate camp for Legacy Virus victims, convincing him to stay and attempt to influence Magneto’s actions. Magneto formally takes control of Genosha, expelling most of the remaining humans. The Avengers are stunned to see news reports naming Quicksilver as a member of Magneto’s cabinet. Finally, Magneto thanks Amelia in private for pushing Quicksilver into staying.

Continuity Notes: Zealot’s mutant ability is revealed as the power to control the earth, making his claim of being “one with Genosha” a very literal one. Apocalypse makes a one-page cameo, just to remind us that he’s the star of the next big mutant event.

Review: Actual dialogue from this issue: “I will never embrace your perverted ideologies and become as corrupted in spirit and soul as you have! You have become so twisted in your thinking, so far removed from humanity that Ferris -- a thing of metal and of your own construction, is the only thing in which you place your trust -- while Amelia, who has stood by you for what she perceives to be the right reasons, has not even garnered a glance of affection -- even as she risked her life for your cause.” Yikes. And this isn’t an isolated example used to make the comic seem worse than it is -- the issue is essentially twenty-two pages of turgid nonsense.

So, what’s accomplished by the conclusion of Magneto Rex? We don’t learn any more about Zealot, aside from another claim that he’s Philip Moreau’s brother. No more information than this is given, and apparently we’re supposed to take the retcon at face value. The idea that the Gengineer would callously transform his firstborn son into a Mutate doesn’t exactly match what I remember of his original characterization, considering that Claremont at least tried to make him a sympathetic figure. Now, was there ever a point in tying Zealot and Philip Moreau together? Apparently not. Then again, was there a point in dragging Rogue into this mini? Her previous pairings with Magneto worked very well, so it’s understandable that the creators would want to use her in this series, but she clearly has no impact on the plot.

Let’s see…did Pipeline’s conversion to the other side serve a purpose? Nope, although Magneto did need a teleporter for one scene, so apparently that’s reason enough to justify his presence. How about Fabian Cortez -- did he engage in any of his famous deal making and backstabbing? Did Magneto punish him for trying to kill him, usurping the Acolytes, and kidnapping his granddaughter? Of course not. In fact, he’s gone back to using Cortez as a power battery, even though he should know by now what an idiotic idea this is. What of Alda Huxley, the mysterious new character introduced to facilitate Magneto’s rule of Genosha? Sure, she was just a plot convenience in the original “Magneto War” crossover, but surely she wouldn’t have been brought into the miniseries without some plan for her character. Eh…you know the answer to that by now.

This is Magneto Rex. A flagrant cash grab that coasted on the back of a high-profile crossover and a famous lead character. The story offers absolutely no insight into Magneto’s character, other than the repeated claims that he’s even nastier than ever before. Marvel already tried that angle earlier in the ‘90s and didn’t exactly succeed, but there was at the very least an acknowledgement of the inherit tragedy of the character in most of those stories. And even the worst of those comics, like Uncanny X-Men #304, didn’t give Magneto such horrendous dialogue, or force him to star in stories that clearly had no point outside of existing as product. The only contribution to the ongoing continuity, which would have to be the major appeal to any reader who stuck around after the first issue, is the addition of Quicksilver to Magneto’s cabinet. And, to the creators’ credit, the use of Amelia Voght as a sleeper agent luring him to Magneto’s side actually works as a surprise. But was a three-issue miniseries required to execute this idea? It honestly couldn’t have worked as a few subplot scenes, or an X-Men Unlimited issue? The audience had to pay almost eight dollars to reach this point? I can’t say that I’m shocked that an X-spinoff miniseries is this bad, but I’m genuinely surprised that a limited series that was clearly supposed to be important in many ways could be so appalling.

MAGNETO REX #2 - June 1999

Into Darkness

Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Matt Banning (inker), Richard Isanove (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Magneto destroys the satellites and UN planes spying on Genosha. Meanwhile, Amelia Voght convinces Rogue to seek Magneto’s help before rescuing Quicksilver from Zealot. Magneto, however, disavows his son. Rogue and Amelia rescue Quicksilver without his aid, but Zealot soon finds them. As he proclaims himself the true ruler of Genosha, Magneto arrives.

Continuity Notes: Rogue kisses Magneto, hoping to learn the source of his hostile attitude. Magneto is totally unfazed by the kiss (which is either a continuity error or an intentional plot point), and Rogue is left with the sense that “there’s somethin’ else -- somethin’ sinister…sometin’ even you’ve blocked from our mind…” Bolding “sinister” might be a hint that Mr. Sinister has some connection to Magneto’s increasingly cold demeanor, but nothing came from this.

Production Note: No credits are given this issue. The next issue apologizes and runs these credits.

Review: The first issue of this series was dull, but I gave it credit for at least establishing the premise and setting the plot into motion. This issue is unforgivably boring. The plot is bare bones, numerous conversation scenes advance nothing, and the characters have the personality of dishwater. I can’t imagine what aspect of this story the creative team assumed the readers would find interesting by this point. All we know about Zealot is that he’s a sadist who’s somehow amassed a following, virtually all of the cast has interchangeable dialogue (which is unforgivable when you consider that Quicksilver, Rogue, and Amelia Voght have the bulk of the lines...and yes, Rogue has an exaggerated accent, but if you add back the dropped "g"s her speech pattern is no different than anyone else's), and Magneto spends most of his time sitting in meetings, when he isn’t busy irrationally provoking the UN.

I never agreed with the decision to revert Magneto to villainy, but there was at least some intensity to the character during most of his ‘90s appearances. Here, he’s heartless and violent, but the script does nothing to give him a credible personality. He isn’t crazy, he isn’t particularly angry, he isn’t conflicted, he isn’t remorseful…he’s just a generic villain with a horrific “regal” speech pattern. Magneto refusing to rescue his son ought to feel like a big deal, but instead the scene is just as flat and onerous to read as the rest of the comic. Magneto should be a fantastically interesting protagonist for a series. Even if you refuse to go the “shades of gray” route, Magneto has a rich backstory and numerous connections with various corners of the Marvel Universe. It’s shocking to me that someone thought material this tedious suited the character.

MAGNETO REX #1 - May 1999

Ascendance

Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Matt Banning (inker), Richard Isanove & Liquid! (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Humans flee Genosha as Magneto takes the throne. A Mutate leads him to his first council meeting, which introduces Magneto to Phillip Moreau, Jenny Ransome, Alda Huxley, and Pipeline, a former Magistrate. Phillip informs him that a rebel Mutate, “the Zealot,” is building a resistance against him. Later, Magneto and Pipeline recruit Fabian Cortez to join the council. Meanwhile, Amelia Voght takes Quicksilver to Genosha to see his father. Soon, he’s tricked by Zealot’s followers and kidnapped. Rogue, who’s arrived in Genosha to check on Magneto, witnesses Zealot’s gathering of rebel Mutates.

Continuity Notes: Much to Phillip Moreau’s surprise, Zealot is somehow his long-lost brother. Alda Huxley, the UN representative largely responsible for giving Genosha to Magneto, claims she’s a native Genoshan who only wants the best for her country. The sole explanation for Pipeline turning against the Magistrates is that he finally realized the horror they’ve unleashed. Fabian Cortez is recruited presumably because Magneto’s still recovering from the events of “Magneto War” and needs his amplification powers. (Although he should know by now that Cortez’s powers leave you weaker in the long run.) The Amelia Voght/Quicksilver scenes are another holdover from “Magneto War,” as she was sent to spy on him in an early chapter and not seen again during the crossover.

Production Note: The cover lists this as a May 1999 issue, but the indicia has the date as April 1999.

Review: As much as people seemed to dislike the “Magneto War” crossover, it did at the very least spur some discussion. Magneto Rex, on the other hand, was largely ignored by online fandom, aside from a handful of reviews that dismissed it as dull. You would think that a limited series spinning out of the latest X-over, one that actually did impact the status quo in a meaningful way, would’ve garnered more attention, but the minis had already acquired the nasty label of “Filler” by this point. Once again, I’ll point to the early ‘90s X-miniseries that everyone seemed to buy -- even ones starring obscure characters like Deadpool. If anything, the addition of Brandon Peterson, an artist Marvel once tapped for X-Men before losing him to Rob Liefeld, should’ve given this mini some kind of a boost. Yet, I barely recall anyone even noticing his return.

Joe Pruett was a small-press indie creator the X-office began hiring during this era, giving him this assignment and the scripting duties on Rob Liefeld’s brief return to Cable. Sometimes I wonder how the comics world would be different if this was the indie guy Marvel fell in love with instead of Brian Michael Bendis. I actually have no insight into the style of storytelling Pruett subscribes to, given that this is a fairly generic regurgitation of editorially mandated ideas; I just find it amusing that Marvel was perhaps grooming a small press writer for superstardom a full year before Bendis showed up.

I wish I could’ve found a more descriptive word than “generic” to describe Pruett’s work here, but I can’t. A typical sample of his dialogue reads like this: “This man is so much like his father in terms of stature and strength, and yet so completely different in his deeds and thoughts. Pietro is a reflection of the man that his father once was and should have been -- if he hadn’t given in to the hate and anguish which eventually corrupted his soul.” (That’s Amelia Voght’s inner thoughts, by the way, not a third-person narrative caption.) I will say to his credit that he isn’t padding the first issue and only giving a tiny slice of the story. The backstory of Genosha and Magneto is set up for any potential new readers, a new status quo for the island is established, a large number of characters are brought into the story, and the villain of the piece makes his first move against Magneto. Things do happen, even if the characters are severely lacking in personality.