X-MEN: ODD MEN OUT #1 - September 2008

Odd Men Out

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Dave Cockrum (penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Andrew Crossley (colors), Dave Sharpe (letters)

Summary:  When Xavier reads an article about Fred Duncan’s security firm, he decides to pay his old friend a visit.  With Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, and Wolverine acting as bodyguards, Xavier and Fred have a chat inside Fred’s home.  Xavier reflects on his time in space with the Shi’ar, while Fred details his final days working as the government’s mutant liaison.  After a run-in with Henry Gyrich, Fred reveals he left to join the private sector.  Xavier and Fred bond over being “odd men out” and renew their friendship.

Continuity Notes:  

• This story was commissioned as an inventory issue, sometime in late 1991 or early 1992.
• Xavier isn’t using his hoverchair in the story.  In the early ‘90s, artists used to keep Xavier in a normal wheelchair when appearing in public, but that detail was lost over the years.  There’s no reason for Xavier to keep his hoverchair a secret from Fred, however.
• Xavier tells Fred that Cyclops is the oldest member of the original team; I seem to recall other stories listing Beast as the oldest.
• Flashbacks place Fred’s departure from the government happening “behind the scenes” of Uncanny X-Men #150.
• Let the record show that Fred Duncan’s address is specifically given as 1025 Sindoni Crescent in Hegeman, New York.  

I Love the ‘90s:  Since this story was originally penciled in the ‘90s, Wolverine is allowed to smoke.  Xavier is concerned about receiving secondhand nicotine, but I always thought it was the tar in cigarettes that was dangerous.

Production Note:  With the exception of the credits box, the story appears to be hand-lettered.  The colors are modern digital colors, meaning it wasn’t colored back in the early ‘90s of course.

Review:  “Odd Men Out” comes from the tumultuous period that had John Byrne attempting to write dialogue over the (often erratic) plots of Whilce Portacio and Jim Lee.  Roger Stern heard that the titles were in deadline trouble and pitched this inventory issue, which was accepted and given to Dave Cockrum to pencil.  It’s very possible this story would’ve stayed in the drawer had it been handed to any other artist doing fill-in work for Marvel in the early ‘90s.  At some point, Marvel realized that there was a Dave Cockrum X-Men story just collecting dust…oh, wait…and here’s a New Mutants job!  The two inventory issues were collected after Cockrum’s death in this one-shot.  Oddly enough, the front cover doesn’t feature Cockrum’s name in the title; it’s only barely visible in the credits section.  The back cover pays tribute to Cockrum, true, but it’s strange that the title of the book isn’t X-Men Lost Tales: A Tribute to Dave Cockrum, or something along those lines.  The book’s actual title is disappointing, since it simply recycles the title of the one-shot’s first story.  Maybe the idea is that both of these stories are “Odd Men Out” since they were never published, but it feels lazy.  Also, why isn’t Cockrum’s art on the front cover of this thing?

I’d like to say that the forgotten Roger Stern/Dave Cockrum issue of Uncanny X-Men is a lost classic, but that would be stretching the truth.  Since Stern knows this is a fill-in, he goes for a format often seen in the Bronze Age -- the issue-long recap.  There are legitimate gaps to be filled with Fred Duncan’s story, but the majority of this issue is dedicated to Xavier giving a Xavier-specific history of the X-Men.  Stern tries to smooth over some of the rough parts of past continuity, but there’s only so much he can do with the awkward retcon that revealed that Xavier wasn’t dead, he was just living in the X-Men’s basement preparing for an alien invasion.  This outright dumb story should’ve been forgotten as soon as it was published, but instead it became the modern inspiration for virtually every Xavier story.  Stern has Xavier express remorse over the dimwitted plan ("I developed a successful attack, but I had deceived my X-Men.  I'll always regret that."), but I wish he could’ve used his magic retcon skills to fix the real issues with the story.  In another bit of commentary, Stern has Fred react incredulously to Magneto taking over the X-Men’s school during Xavier’s absence, which isn’t much of a shock.  (Fred says it’s crazier than Xavier’s stories about "alien parasites and cloning.")  Stern’s X-Men vs. Avengers miniseries is filled with cheap shots against the concept of Magneto reforming, and when you consider that this is a story aimed at new readers, it’s a shame that Stern doesn’t even attempt to present any context for why this happened.  Stern just wants you to know that he thought it was a bad idea.

Those complaints aside, I’ll say that Stern’s penned a recap comic that has some personality to it.  The Fred Duncan angle is a clever one, and if you really wanted to know what happened to Duncan, the story provides pretty satisfying answers.  It’s still a recap comic, though, so there’s not much here for existing fans.  For the purposes of this one-shot, the real star is Dave Cockrum’s artwork.  It’s been digitally spruced up by modern color techniques, and in an era that has the major companies hiring artists with diverse art styles, it does look like a comic that could be published today.  Looking at it now as a historical artifact, it’s interesting to see Cockrum’s take on everything from the Jack Kirby to Jim Lee days.  Some of the flashback pages seem to have received more attention than others; I think Cockrum’s biased towards the earliest issues.  Most of all, Cockrum appears to be having fun inventing various alien species for Xavier to interact with during his Shi’ar flashbacks.  

Why didn’t Marvel publish this in 1992?  Hmm… There’s no exaggerated anatomy, no forced perspective, no cross-hatching, and it’s drawn in a traditional grid layout.  No speedlines, but plenty of backgrounds.  It seems like the last thing Marvel was looking for, which is a shame.  I think I would’ve enjoyed this as a kid; I know I would’ve been thrilled had it taken the place of “The Last Morlock Story.”

Think Again

Credits:  Michael Higgins (writer), Dave Cockrum (penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Andrew Crossley (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  The Mad Thinker’s research leads him to an underground lab.  Using the technology he discovers, the Mad Thinker constructs a robot that quickly turns against him.  The robot then travels to the surface to confront the New Mutants.  He absorbs each of their powers and fights the team to a standstill.  Rusty rallies the team and convinces every member to attack the robot simultaneously.  The robot begins to malfunction, and is remotely terminated by its “master” for failing him.

Continuity Notes:  

• This is a never-before-published inventory issue of New Mutants created around 1989.
• All evidence points to the robot’s true creator being Apocalypse.  The underground lab has copious files on various mutants, the robot’s face has Apocalypse’s unique lip design, and the patterns painted on the robot’s body resemble the ones on Archangel’s costume.
• The New Mutants consist of Cannonball, Rictor, Sunspot, Boom Boom, Wolfsbane, Rusty, & Skids.  Apparently, this specific lineup never existed, which creates a major continuity problem.  It’s possible that’s the reason why this story wasn’t used after it was commissioned.

(Hypothetically) Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  Rictor’s thoughts are cut off before he can mentally finish the word “crap.”

“Huh?” Moment:  Cockrum draws Cyclops and Marvel Girl as background characters ice-skating at Central Park with the New Mutants, but they play no role in the story.

Review:  Just think, in some alternate reality, this comic was published instead of the first appearance of Cable.  The content of the story is about what you’d expect from a late ‘80s New Mutants inventory.  The plot’s simple, the characters describe their powers every few pages, a few romantic subplots are referenced, and the teens have a few pages to do “teen” things, like go ice-skating or shopping at Bloomingdale’s.  The major problem is Higgins’ dialogue, which alternates between simply generic and actively horrendous. (“Let’s hurry!  He’s so frightful!”)  Cockrum’s interpretation of the New Mutants is fantastic, although he does seem bored during the fight scene.  The modern production values help the visuals immensely, making sure the linework is properly reproduced and not faded into near-oblivion, as often seen in ‘80s flexographic printing.  There’s no compelling reason for this to be published, outside of paying tribute to Cockrum, although I’m slightly surprised that it wasn’t fished out of the drawer at some point due to its Apocalypse connection.

NEW MUTANTS Annual #7 - August 1991

 

Kings of Pain Part 1 - Pawns of Senescence

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Guang Yap (penciler), Dan Panosian (inker), Brad Vancata (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  The Alliance of Evil breaks into the private school harboring Artie, Leech, and Wiz Kid.  The Alliance is joined by the mysterious Harness and Piecemeal.  Under Harness’ orders, Piecemeal absorbs the residual energy in the area.  Later, as Wiz Kid recovers, he’s visited by X-Force.  They track the Alliance to Niagara Falls, but Harness and Piecemeal teleport away before they can be captured.  Cable forces Tower to reveal that the Alliance is working for the Genetech Research Facility.  X-Force invades the facility looking for answers.  Inside, they discover the New Warriors, ready for battle.  Meanwhile, two mystery figures play chess.

Continuity Notes:  

• Wiz Kid knows Boom-Boom from the X-Terminators miniseries.
• This story is set in-between New Mutants #100 and X-Force #1.  Technically, this is the first X-Force story, even if we are reading it as the final New Mutants annual.  For the record, the team never refers to itself as “X-Force” in this issue’s main story but that’s what they are called in future chapters, and in the text piece in the back.  In the main story, Boom-Boom says they’re the “New New Mutants.”
• Alliance member Timeshadow is missing during the story.  Cable remarks that he doesn’t know or care where he’s gone.
• Shatterstar tells Cable that channeling energy through his sword is a “tiring act” and advises him not to ask him to do it too often.  I believe this is the only time that’s been established, but it would help to explain why Shatterstar so rarely used his mutant power during these days.

I Love the '90s:  Boom-Boom compares Cable to Major Dad.  She later comments that the interior of Genetech is “more complicated than the insides of my VCR!”

Miscellaneous Note:  According to dictionary.com, “senescence” means aging, but it’s also a term for when a cell is “no longer capable of dividing but still alive and metabolically active.”

Review:  I can vaguely remember a time when “Kings of Pain” was considered kind of a joke amongst fans, but over the years I think it’s simply been forgotten.  I think all of the mini-crossovers of the early ‘90s Marvel annuals have faded from memory.  Theoretically, doing smaller crossovers in the annuals as opposed to the line-wide events should’ve allowed the creators more room to have fun while also giving fans the most basic thing they want in a crossover (heroes meeting and/or fighting each other).  Why exactly the three-year experiment yielded almost nothing memorable is kind of a mystery to me.  (Aside from “Days of Future Present,” have any of the mini-crossovers ever been reprinted?)

“Kings of Pain” begins with a lot of setup and a few mysteries.  Consequently, it isn’t that interesting in its own right, but as the first chapter of a crossover I think it establishes enough intrigue to justify reading the next chapter.  For fans of the oft-forgotten X-Terminators, or the Alliance of Evil, this must’ve been a nostalgia-fest, assuming anyone was nostalgic for 1987 in 1991.  The only real issue with the plot is the New Mutants’ casual arrival as soon as the Alliance hits Niagara Falls.  The story established just a few pages earlier that the team doesn’t know how to find the Alliance, and yet they suddenly do when it’s time for a fight scene.  Guang Yap’s previous work in New Mutants, a fill-in at the end of “X-Tinction Agenda,” committed the fatal sin of being dull, but in this issue he’s able to add some early ‘90s flair while maintaining the basics of silly things like anatomy and storytelling.  

Probably the most intriguing aspect of the issue is seeing how Nicieza handles the future X-Force cast without any input from Rob Liefeld.  Consequently, Cable is still a drill sergeant, but he’s not a Punisher clone, Shatterstar is taciturn but not inhuman, and Feral is…essentially a different character.  She first appears in the issue smiling, something I don’t think she ever did during a Rob Liefeld issue.  She’s playful and “catlike” as in tabby, not tiger.  The distinctive jagged word balloons given to her by Joe Rosen in her initial appearances are also gone, making me wonder if this comic actually went into production before New Mutants #99 and #100.

The Killing Stroke Part 1: The First Cut

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Kirk Jarvinin (penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  In Kuwait, Freedom Force arrives to rescue nuclear physicist Reinhold Kurtzmann before the Iraqis can kidnap him.  The team discovers Kurtzmann is missing from his safehouse, and are soon attacked.  Super Sabre is killed and the remaining members are injured, with only the Blob left standing.  Suddenly, Desert Sword emerges with Dr. Kurtzmann.

Continuity Notes:  Mystique doesn’t appear in the story, as she’s believed dead at this point in continuity.

Creative Differences:  On page 41, it looks as if Pyro’s “Bloody ‘ell!” has been changed to “Bloody ‘eck!”

Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  Super Sabre is decapitated by Desert Sword, although his severed head is only shown in one faraway shot.

I Love the '90s:  The story is set during Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in early 1991.  Desert Sword is also an obvious play on “Desert Storm.”

Review:  You can’t accuse this back-up serial of being filler.  The dissolution of Freedom Force, along with the death and mutilation of many of its members, actually has a larger impact on continuity than anything that happens in the main story.  Nicieza gets a lot out of the ten pages, working in almost a full issue’s worth of material without compressing too much of the story.  Desert Sword are destined to be forgotten at best, or joke characters at worse, but they make an impressive standing in their first appearance.  I’ve always liked Freedom Force, for reasons I probably couldn’t explain, so seeing them taken out like this actually did bother me as a young reader.  By the standards of back-up stories, this is pretty daring, especially when you consider just how rare superhero bloodbaths were in these days.  

Close Encounters of the Mutant Kind

Credits:  Judy Bogdanove (writer), Jon Bogdanove (penciler), Hilary Barta (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  Artie and Leech ride with Wiz Kid in his custom-built UFO.  An elderly neighbor thinks they’re actually aliens and creates a media frenzy.  The mutants join the search for the aliens, not realizing that they’re the cause of the confusion.  Eventually, the mutants meet the neighbor and make peace.  Leech immediately bonds with her because she resembles his Morlock foster-mother, Annalee.

Continuity Notes:  Cyclops and Marvel Girl make a cameo at the beginning of the story, visiting the kids during their school play.

I Love the '90s: Wiz Kid wears British Knights sneakers.

Review:  Wow, X-Terminators fever must’ve been gripping Marvel this month, I guess.  (By the way, has the St. Simon’s school for mutants in New Hampshire established in these old stories ever shown up again?)  There isn’t a lot to say about this one; it’s sappy in all of the ways you expect, but that’s okay if you’re not utterly heartless.  The idea that the kids don’t even realize that they’ve caused the alien craze strains credibility a bit, but then again, it’s a story about small children, so they probably should be a bit oblivious.  Jon Bogdanove’s cartooning suits the story well, so at the very least it looks better than your average annual back-up. 

NEW MUTANTS #100 - April 1991

The End of the Beginning

Credits:  Rob Liefeld (plot, pencils, inks), Fabian Nicieza (script), Brad Vancata (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  The team tries to stop Shatterstar from destroying the practice robots in the Danger Room, leading to a fight.  Eventually, Cable knocks him out.  Later, Shatterstar explains that he’s traveled from a future Mojoverse in search of the X-Men.  Boom-Boom goes to the kitchen to find food for Shatterstar, and discovers Feral.  Feral explains that she needs the team’s help against Masque.  Simultaneously, Mojo V’s soldiers materialize inside the complex.  The team defeats them, but while they’re distracted, Masque makes his move.  Cable quickly kills his lackey Brute, intimidating Masque into leaving.  Cable explains that the complex is no longer safe and that the team must begin the next phase of its mission.  Later, Strfye summons the MLF for an assignment.  He takes off his helmet in private, revealing he has Cable’s face.

Continuity Notes:  

• Shatterstar explains that he’s a rebel from Mojoverse, one hundred years in the future.  He claims Mojoverse is ruled by Mojo V and his executioner, Spiral.
• I believe this issue marks the first time Cable kills someone (on-panel).
• Cannonball comments that Cable’s remade the team into an “X-Force,” which of course sets up the new series.
• This issue is the first time Stryfe is unmasked.  Not only does he have Cable’s face, but he also repeats a line of dialogue uttered by Cable in a previous issue.  At one point, Liefeld considered revealing that Cable and Stryfe were the same person from different points in the timestream, and it’s obvious the creators want you to think that Cable has been Stryfe all along as the big cliffhanger.

I Love the '90s:  Proudstar is wearing a belt literally made out of pouches.

We Get Letters:  This issue prints the first letter from a fan irrationally obsessed with Deadpool.

Review:  New Mutants draws to an end, as Cable officially recruits James Proudstar, Feral, and Shatterstar to join his mysterious friend Domino in X-Force.  (Okay, Cannonball and Boom-Boom can come, too.)  And if you’re expecting any heartfelt tributes to the long-running series in its one hundredth and final issue, ha, yeah right… Anyone intimately familiar with the history of this series was surely seeing red, but as a kid who always dismissed this book as dull, I was excited to see the start of something new.  That “something new” turned out to be quite a mess, but at this moment, X-Force looks like it has promise.  A team that’s willing to “fight for the dream,” new characters, new mysteries, and more of Cable and his violent shenanigans, which is what every twelve-year-old wants.  

As for this specific issue, I have the same predictable complaints about the art (and I have to point out this is the issue with the infamous double-page swipe from Ronin), but the story does a credible job of inducting the new members into the team and setting up the new direction.  Nicieza’s dialogue helps a lot, as Cable is still amusingly deadpan and not a generic Clint Eastwood clone, and the rest of the cast show at least some semblance of a personality.  And that cliffhanger had to freak out any one of the impressionable kids reading at the time (except for me, as I had no idea who Stryfe was supposed to be.)  Now, as I said earlier, all of this leads into a book that’s genuinely awful for over a year after its release, and it turns out that Cable’s promises to help Proudstar, Shatterstar, and Feral are just as empty as his original pledge to rescue Rusty and Skids.  Knowing that the stories and art are only going to get worse from here probably does lessen my opinion of the issue, but I can’t deny that the story made me genuinely curious, at the time, to find out what happens next.  On that level, it’s a fair set-up for a new beginning.

NEW MUTANTS #99 - March 1991

The Beginning of the End - Part Two

Credits:  Rob Liefeld (plot, pencils, inks), Fabian Nicieza (script), Brad Vancata (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  Inside the Morlock Tunnels, Masque targets Feral, who refuses to join his anti-human crusade.  Feral discovers a hatch connected to the Xavier’s school’s underground complex and escapes.  Meanwhile, Cable tries to recruit James Proudstar to the team, but he refuses.  When he returns home to Camp Verde, Proudstar discovers the entire reservation has been massacred.  Elsewhere, Boom-Boom finds the note Rictor’s left behind, explaining that he’s left to rescue Wolfsbane in Genosha.  After meeting with Gideon, Sunspot informs Cable that he’s leaving the team in order to oversee his late father’s business.  Shortly after Sunspot says goodbye, Proudstar arrives and agrees to join.  Simultaneously, Shatterstar materializes in the Danger Room.

Continuity Notes:  

• This issue marks Feral’s first appearance, along with Shatterstar’s first cameo appearance.  (One panel appearances used to only count as “cameos.”)
• Proudstar finds the remnants of a Hellfire Club soldier’s mask at Camp Verde, leading him to assume the White Queen ordered the attack as retaliation after he left the Hellions.  Years later, after Marvel decides to reform the White Queen, she’s acquitted of the crime.  Eventually, Stryfe is revealed as the murderer.

• After Cable makes a reference to the bleak future of mutants, Proudstar jokes that he must have a crystal ball. This is another early clue that Cable might be a time traveler, although the hint is so vague it’s easy to dismiss as this point.  The "crystal ball" reference shows up again next issue as a red herring, hinting Cable and Stryfe are the same person.
• More vague talk from Cable:  He remarks that he lost his father at an early age, and boasts to Cannonball that he’s seen thousands of people die on the battlefield.
• Gideon is spying on Cable as he has dinner with Proudstar.  His dialogue implies that he’s in a race with Cable to recruit young mutants, which broadly fits with later revelations that Gideon singled out Sunspot because he assumed Sunspot was the “High Lord.”
• Gideon’s dialogue with Sunspot implies they grew up together.  I’m assuming Gideon’s status as an immortal hadn’t been decided yet, because it’s hard to imagine Sunspot having an adult friend as a child, one who never seemed to get older.  Gideon also mentions that he was thrown out of Harvard, in case anyone’s curious.  
• The dates marking time throughout the issue don’t add up.  I’m assuming there’s a lettering mistake that has the story go from December 14th to December 7th in the final scene.

Miscellaneous Notes:   

• The Statement of Ownership lists the average sales for the year at 182,499 copies with the most recent issue selling 194,300. 
• The cover to this issue is an homage to Uncanny X-Men #138.   There have been numerous take-offs on this cover over the years, but this is possibly the very first one.

Review:  I rarely, and I mean rarely, purchased New Mutants as a kid, but I did pick up the final two issues of the series.  I don’t think I knew specifically about X-Force, but I did somehow know that the book was coming to an end at issue #100 and that seeds were being planted for an entirely new direction.  Even this tidbit of information seemed strange to me; books at that time just ended, as far as I knew.  I had never heard of a book that was purposefully winding down in order to make way for an entirely new series.  Intrigued by what was coming next, I picked up the final issues of New Mutants just to see how the book, which was almost my age, would be drawing to a close.  

And, honestly, I thought it was a very engaging finale.  People are leaving left and right, obscure mutants are getting recruited into the team, strange villains are watching from the shadows, plus new characters are getting introduced and I actually get to read their first appearances for a change.  Remember the days when having a first appearance was like owning a precious artifact? 

Does the issue hold up today?  As an early plotting assignment for Rob Liefeld, it is remarkably coherent.  He doesn’t waste a page of the story, plowing through the events that need to happen in order to get where he wants to go, but never really crossing the line and making the plot machinations obvious.  It’s entirely conceivable that Sunspot would leave the team after his father’s death (and using this event as way to introduce Gideon also makes sense), and numbskull Rictor would likely leave the team in the middle of the night to rescue Wolfsbane.  After losing two other members in the “X-Tinction Agenda” crossover, that leaves the team with four fewer mutants.  As a kid, I thought it was fun to see how Cable would go about reforming the team, and that element of this issue holds up.  Cable can just as easily charm Proudstar, in his own way, as he can casually dismiss Sunspot when he learns he wants to go.  This portrayal of Cable isn’t easy to reconcile with the Louise Simonson issues, but it’s entertaining to watch him turn into a military general, sizing up who wants to be there and who doesn’t as he arrogantly forges ahead into this vague “war” that’s coming.

Not surprisingly, if anything holds the issue down, it’s the art.  Rob Liefeld should not have been inking his own pencils at this stage.  There actually is a unique texture to his inks that I kind of enjoyed as a kid and can still see the appeal of, but overall, Rob Liefeld inking Rob Liefeld means even shakier anatomy, disappearing pupils, floating noses, uneven eyes, and more inconsistent backgrounds than ever before.  You might be willing to forgive things like characters hovering on their tippy toes, but the unpredictable facial expressions hinder almost every conversation scene in the book (and this is an issue that’s about 90% conversation).  When the cast doesn’t have a stoned, distant expression on their faces, they’re squinting for no reason, or spontaneously breaking out into evil smiles.  Cable grinning like a madman as he details the horrors of war is just egregiously out of place.  Who on earth would follow a lunatic who’s smiling like that while discussing the thousands of bodies he’s seen on the ground?  That defeats the entire point of the story. 

NEW MUTANTS #98 - February 1991

The Beginning of the End - Part One
Credits:  Rob Liefeld (plot & art), Fabian Nicieza (script), Joe Rosen (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary:  Gideon arranges for one of his minions, Eve, to poison Sunspot’s father.  Meanwhile, Cable and Cannonball train in the Danger Room, as Boom-Boom and Rictor debate over what to do about Wolfsbane.  Later, Deadpool abruptly enters and attacks Cable.  The New Mutants fight back, but it’s the sudden arrival of Domino that rescues Cable.  After Cable ships Deadpool back to his employer Mr. Tolliver, he reviews new potential team members with Domino.  That night, Rictor leaves the team for Genosha, hoping to retrieve Wolfsbane, and Gideon enters Sunspot’s room, informing him his father has died.

Continuity Notes:  

• This issue marks the debuts of Gideon, Deadpool, and Domino, along with Gideon’s assistants, Adam and Eve (they really catch on).  Domino is actually Copycat in disguise at this point, but the readers won’t discover that until over a year later.  
• Mr. Tolliver is also mentioned for the first time, although he won’t physically appear until several months later in X-Force.  (And even more months pass before we learn he’s Cable son, Tyler).  Speaking of Mr. Tolliver, why is he sending Deadpool to kill Cable on the same night (we later learn) he’s sending Copycat to spy on him in disguise as Domino?
• Gideon’s powers are described as “super-human enhancement assimilation,” which means he can mimic other people’s powers.  Bizarrely, he first exhibits this power when training with robots, not super-humans.
• Deadpool’s first words to Cable:  “You’re Nathan, right?”  This establishes Cable’s first name, and clearly implies that this is Cable and Deadpool’s first meeting.  While writing the Cable and Deadpool series, Fabian Nicieza seemed to be under the impression that Cable knew Deadpool from his old mercenary days, which doesn’t work.  
• Deadpool’s given those Orzechowski-style double word balloons, although they’re colored red in this issue.  Beginning with his second appearance, they’re colored yellow, setting the precedent that continued into the first ongoing Deadpool series, which dropped the extra lines around his balloons, but colored his standard word balloons yellow. 
• Cable shoots laser blasts out his mechanical arm.  The arm we’ll later learn is consumed by the techno-organic virus.
• Gideon makes casual references to his friendship with Sebastian Shaw in the opening scene.  Later, Sunspot recognizes him as an “old friend.”

I Love the '90s:  Rictor has a giant Bart Simpson poster in his bedroom.

“Huh?” Moment:  Liefeld draws the mansion’s underground complex as if it’s the actual mansion, which is in ruins at this point.  Every other interpretation of the underground level has it slick, metallic, and futuristic.  Liefeld gives some of the rooms wooden walls and floors, and even staircases that lead to…somewhere.  This could work, assuming that the underground level has multiple stories, and it’s not impossible that some of the rooms would have traditional furnishings.  Still, it’s hard to reconcile this with what we’ve seen before.

Review:  Rob Liefeld makes his debut as sole plotter on the series, and inker, and it’s appropriately Liefeldian.  The plot consists of three unrelated characters all suddenly appearing in the team’s allegedly secret headquarters on the same night, some vague hints about Cable’s past, and a few training sequences that involve giant robots.  Oh, and the ongoing Rusty and Skids subplot, the original motivation behind Cable’s introduction in this series, is dismissed by Cable casually saying that it’s “too difficult” to do anything for them now.  That’s commitment to your readers.

In terms of a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, there’s not a lot here.  If you have the goodwill to assume that there’s a great plan in place for the Gideon and Mr. Tolliver mysteries, this issue might not seem so bad, but I don’t think anyone will tell you these plot threads had satisfactory endings.  To Liefeld’s credit, Domino and Deadpool have gone on to have long lives outside of this issue, although I think much of the credit goes to Nicieza’s scripting abilities.  Nicieza's script also creates a nice dynamic between Cable and Cannonball, which initially seems like a father/son relationship, but takes on a different meaning when you discover Liefeld wanted Cable to be Cannonball's future self at this point. 

So what does Liefeld accomplish artistically, given the freedom to draw and ink however he feels?  There’s a lot of material here if you want to make another one of those “Top 10 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings” lists.  Starting with the cover, Deadpool’s around seven feet tall and standing on straw legs, as the nine-feet-tall Gideon is standing behind him, striking a duck-face while squinting so hard his eyes have disappeared.  Little things like, say, Sunspot’s father drinking a cup of coffee, or even decorating his office or drawing his chair consistently, also seem beyond Liefeld’s grasp.  And, of course, the characters feel the need to spread their legs as far as humanly possible for absolutely no reason during the middle of conversation scenes. Pretty bad stuff, although this issue will probably always have a life on the secondary market due to Deadpool's first appearance.