X-FACTOR #83 – October 1992

Painting The Town

Credits: Peter David (writer), Mark Pacella (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Glynis Oliver (colors), Richard Starkings (letters)

Summary

Genoshan refugees Jenny Ransome and Philip Moreau arrive to support the X-Patriots’ asylum request. Lukas, one of the X-Patriots, recognizes Moreau’s last name and connects him to his father, the man who developed the mutate process. Lukas uses his shape shifting ability to transform into Cameron Hodge and attacks Moreau. X-Factor is able to stop him before any damage is done. While the government is still deciding what to do with the X-Patriots, Havok convinces Val Cooper to let the team give them a tour of New York. Wolfsbane accompanies Taylor but loses track of him. Taylor, a young Genoshan with the ability to sculpt fire, is soon brutally beaten by a frightened mob in Central Park.

Continuity Notes

Wolfsbane says that if she returns to fully human form, she’ll change back into a Genoshan mutate. She also claims to be colorblind in her wolf form.

I Love the ‘90s

Guido and X-Patriot Pirouette dance to the “Mutant Rap”. Lyrics include “Go mutant! Go Mutant! Go!”

Review

This is the weakest issue of the “All-New. All Different” X-Factor so far. The last issue ended with Havok dramatically declaring that the team was going to Genosha with the X-Patriots. This issue, they’re still in New York while government bureaucrats try to decide what to do with the X-Patriots. At the end of the issue, they’re still not any closer to getting to Genosha. It seems as if the story is suddenly stalled because someone realized that X-Factor couldn’t go to Genosha and back in time for the X-Cutioner’s Song crossover. As far as time killing goes, most of this issue isn’t bad, but the storyline’s momentum is affected.

Mark Pacella fills in before Jae Lee’s brief run begins. He’s lost some of the Liefeld influence, but his work still has that patented early ‘90s ugliness. There’s a lot of scowling, pupils often disappear, costumes are inconsistent, and everyone has incredibly skinny feet. If I understood what Larry Stroman was saying in his recent CBR interview, it was Marvel’s decision not to renew his contract during this time. The fact that, apparently, someone somewhere thought that this was an improvement is mind-boggling.

CABLE #2 – November 1992

Blood & Metal

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), John Romita, Jr. (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Bill Oakley (letters), Brad Vancata (colors)

Summary

In the past, Cable discovers that Stryfe is also working for Tolliver in Afghanistan. Cable breaks his contract and attacks Stryfe, causing the Six Pack to be hunted by Tolliver’s men for several months. Cable convinces the Six Pack to join him in his fight against Stryfe, and they infiltrate one of his bases in Uruguay. Hammer downloads Stryfe’s data to a disc while the team sets explosives. Stryfe teleports in and grabs Kane. He offers Kane’s life for the disc, but Cable refuses to let Hammer hand it over. He shoots Hammer in the back, but Stryfe is still able to grab the disc. The base explodes as Cable teleports to the future, leaving his team behind. Hammer is crippled by falling debris, and Kane loses his limbs in the explosion.

In the present, Kane agrees to help Cable locate Stryfe if Cable agrees to find a way to heal Hammer. In Japan, they replace an artifact targeted by Stryfe and place a tracer on the replica. Cable and Kane argue about the past while trailing Stryfe in the Yucatan Jungle. Stryfe knows he’s being traced and sets up an ambush. He takes Kane hostage, just like in the past, and finally reveals his face to Cable. He demands the data-link to Cable’s computer in exchange for Kane’s life. Cable destroys the disc and Kane fights back, losing his metal arms. Stryfe is weakened, but Kane is near death. Cable has an opportunity to finish Stryfe, but he teleports with Kane to his future, where Cable uses advanced science to give Kane new arms. Cable tells Kane that he doesn’t regret saving his life over killing Stryfe.

Miscellaneous Note

Despite the cover date, I remember this issue being released months after the first issue. It’s actually the only Marvel comic from this era I remember shipping late (until Cable’s regular series begins a year later).

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

There’s one use of “bastard”, and two “damn”s. The Comics Code was okay with this level of profanity, but it was still rare for a mainstream Marvel title during this time. Allowing more adult language is probably another indicator that this was a “special” project.

Continuity Notes

Cable says he hasn’t trusted anyone since the day “she” died in his arms. This is a reference to his wife, who is revealed a year later.

Cable only now learns that Stryfe has his face, and he wonders if they’re the same person from different points in the timeline. He also learns that Stryfe’s power doesn’t come from his armor, but from his telekentic abilities. Cable describes his own TK abilites as “feeble”.

Stryfe says that Cable’s computer once belonged to Apocalypse, strongly implying that it is Ship from the early issues of X-Factor.

Stryfe refers to Cable as “Nathan Dayspring”.

New York is called “Applecrust” in Cable’s future.

Review

This mini does turn out to be significant in unveiling parts of Cable’s backstory, and in altering his characterization. This is what the Weapon Prime storyline in X-Force should have been, with Cable being called out on his amoral behavior and learning from his mistakes (instead of full-page splashes of Feral ripping out Wendigo’s brown blood). Nicieza’s plot is crammed with action, but it doesn’t really feel as if the action gets in the way of the story. Romita also continues to handle all of the explosions and gunfire very well. It’s probably just as violent as a lot of the early ‘90s titles, but Cable also manages to tell an actual story and build characterization.

It’s far from perfect, though. Even if you do learn a lot more about Cable’s past, there are still unanswered questions that are more annoying than engaging. Why did Cable only time-teleport himself away when Stryfe’s base exploded? Later in the story, he takes Kane with him in the future, so he must have the ability to take others with him. Did he not have that ability in the past? Was he that determined to hide his time traveling from his friends? Was he just a jerk? Other annoying questions -- Why was Cable working with a mercenary group in the first place? Why was Stryfe working for Tolliver on a drug operation? Why exactly is Cable so determined to stop Stryfe anyway? What exactly was on the info disc? If the reader isn’t told why Cable wants to stop Stryfe, and what’s on the disc, Cable’s decision to shoot Hammer in the back makes him totally unsympathetic. I realize that many of these questions were eventually answered, but at this point, they stand in the way of the story.

Overall, though, I have to say that this storyline is successful in making Cable more likable. A lot of this comes from the first person narration, which conveys Cable’s guilt over his previous actions, finally giving the character some humanity. Cable now becomes the “soldier from the future, looking for a better way to stop his timeline from happening.” That’s a lot better than “mysterious cyborg-guy who shoots people in the back and doesn’t feel bad about it.”

UNCANNY X-MEN #293 – October 1992

The Last Morlocks Story

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Rurik Tyler (breakdowns), Tom Raney (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Lois Buhalis (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary

The X-Men discover Mikhail in one of the Morlock tunnels. He has declared himself the new leader of the Morlocks, and is plotting a mass suicide. Callisto fights Xavier in another tunnel, before Mikhail teleports them away to join him. Meanwhile, Jean finds Archangel alone and tells him that he has always been responsible for the actions of his wings. They rejoin the X-Men, but Mikhail overrides Jean’s telekinetic abilities and forces the team to leave the tunnels. After opening up the floodgates, Mikhail, Callisto, and the Morlocks apparently drown.

Commercial Break

There’s an ad for the Super Nintendo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV - Turtles in Time game. I played this game for hours and never got sick of it. It’s the main reason why I begged my parents for a Super Nintendo that year. Licensed video games have a reputation for outright sucking, but I don’t remember any of the Turtle games from this era being bad. There’s also an ad for Battletoads, a fun game for the NES that came out during the height of Turtle-Mania.

Creative Differences

On page 8, a word balloon obviously not lettered by Buhalis has Callisto comment that Xavier is so weak that his “much vaunted psionic defenses” didn’t warn him of her presence. This line was apparently added to cover up the fact that Callisto probably shouldn’t be able to sneak up on the world’s strongest telepath.

Continuity Notes

Oh, man…where to start? On page eleven, Archangel says that the Reavers nailed him to a wall and robbed him of his wings. It was actually the Marauders, something I don’t think Archangel would’ve forgotten.

The letters page prints a letter from a fan commenting on Archangel’s new look (the hair and pale blue skin). As originally established, Archangel’s entire costume and skin were one and the same (he even referred to himself as bald during the Inferno crossover). Years later, Portacio began drawing Archangel with pale blue skin all over his entire body, and a head full of blonde hair. The dark blue and purple areas suddenly became his costume, not his skin. I don’t know if this was ever addressed during Portacio’s run on X-Factor, but it’s always struck me as a jarring transition. The editor’s response is that Archangel kept this a secret because he didn’t want to upset his friends (huh?).

On page nineteen, the infamous “Archangel could always control his wings” retcon is introduced. Up until a few issues before this, it had always been explicitly stated that Archangel was not in control of his wings.

The group suicide of Mikhail and the Morlocks would play a role in many upcoming stories, including the origin story of future X-Man Marrow.

Marvel continues to imply that Storm and Bishop are heading for a relationship in the letters page. This idea was thankfully forgotten pretty quickly. Even as a kid, I thought it was odd that these two characters would apparently be forming a romantic relationship based solely on their race.

Review

This is the comic that almost killed the enthusiasm I had for the x-titles as a twelve year old. I hated everything about this comic, and probably would’ve dropped this title altogether if I wasn’t lured in by next issue’s crossover. I think my main reason for hating it at the time was its disregard for the continuity I had already been following. Reading it now as an adult, I just find more of its flaws.

First of all, there’s no clear focus on anything in this storyline. The first chapter focused heavily on Storm and her connection to the Morlocks. After the first issue, Storm practically disappears for the rest of the story. The spotlight then jumps to Xavier, a character with virtually no connection to Callisto and the Morlocks. Apparently, the idea is to parallel Callisto losing her attractive looks with Xavier losing his ability to walk again. Just typing that out emphasizes how absurd this idea is.

Callisto, the character who started the chain of events, can’t maintain a consistent motivation. In the first two chapters, she wants revenge on the Morlocks for trying to kill her. Now, she wants to kill Xavier, apparently to prove that she’s the true leader of the Morlocks. What? Aside from contradicting the first two chapters of this story, this doesn’t make any sense in the first place. Mikhail’s attempt to use the Morlocks to regain his lost followers at least makes a little more sense, but the characterization of the Morlocks themselves doesn’t work. Are they supposed to be crazy or not? They were supposedly driven mad by they psychic kid from last issue. Now that Xavier has cured him, why are they still acting nuts? And not one Morlock objects to the whole “group suicide” idea?

I didn’t pick up on a lot of the shaky plotting of this storyline as a kid, but I certainly noticed the retcon involving Archangel’s wings. It ranks down there with Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn’s love children in terms of poorly thought-out retcons that don’t make sense. Having Jean reveal this, and say that she knew it all along, makes it stink even worse (it also reminds me of Mary Jane telling Peter that she knew about Gwen’s affair all along, too). I hadn’t read a lot of the original X-Factor issues at this point, but almost every one I had read focused on Warren’s out of control wings hurting innocent people (I could be wrong, but I think his wings might’ve actually killed some characters). Now we’re supposed to believe that Jean knew that he could stop this all along, but never told him? This is ridiculous.

This retcon was apparently done to remove a lot of Archangel’s angst and lighten the character up. I don’t have a problem with the goal, but the execution is terrible. Why would learning this cheer him up? Wouldn’t the knowledge that he had hurt so many innocent people, and try to kill his friends, just drive him further into depression? Not in the world of Uncanny X-Men, apparently. The next issue opens with a cheerful Warren going out on a date with his girlfriend.

X-FORCE Action Figures

This Kane action figure is apart of Toy Fare's 1992 X-Force line. Aside from Kane, I also picked up Stryfe, Shatterstar, and Deadpool when I was around 12. I was past the age where I really cared about action figures, but I thought it was cool to see Marvel characters as toys, which hadn't happened since the Secret Wars line in the early '80s. I could be wrong, but I think Kane was made into an action figure before the Silver Surfer was. That should shake your belief in something, at least. Aside from his snazzy red jacket, Kane also comes with a voice chip that says "Get-Into-The-Groove!" repeatedly.*

Image courtesy of Figurerealm. You can check out the rest of the early '90s X-Men line there.

*Lie

UNCANNY X-MEN # 292 – September 1992

“…the Morlocks Take Manhattan!”

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Ruirk Tyler (layouts), Tom Raney (pencils), Josef Rubinstein & Al Milgrom (inks), Lois Buhalis & Tom Orzechowski (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary

The X-Men fight the Morlocks in Times Square, while Xavier explores their tunnels to find the psychic Morlock responsible for inspiring the rampage. Xavier cuts his leg, but finds the Morlock child and calms him down. No longer under his influence, the Morlocks go back underground. Jean Grey feels that they are still out of control and the X-Men follow them down to their tunnels. Meanwhile, Mikhail manipulates Iceman’s form, and leaves him unconscious before leaving with Callisto to aid her revenge on the Morlocks.

Continuity Note

Iceman’s altered form, which would define his look for the ‘90s, debuts in this issue. Mikhail alters his body so that it is made completely of ice, rather than simply being covered in it.

Review

This is where this story starts to fall apart. Last issue, the Morlocks were driven mad by Masque altering their forms. Now, it seems as if someone decided that this wasn’t a good enough reason, so instead there’s just one mad psychic Morlock causing all of the others to act out. This is a better explanation, but it comes out of nowhere. It also gives the Morlocks an easy pass; once Xavier helps the kid, they apologize and retreat to the sewers. However, this storyline has to go on for another issue, so the X-Men decide to keep following the Morlocks, dragging this mess out for another month.

All of the potentially interesting elements of this story are shifted aside so the X-Men can fight wacky looking Morlocks in Times Square. The focus suddenly moves from Storm to Xavier in this issue, making things feel even more disjointed. Storm has a connection to the Morlocks and should have an emotional investment in this storyline. Xavier doesn’t, so suddenly shifting the spotlight to him doesn’t work. Archangel is another character who could play an interesting role in this story, but instead he’s just given one page to cry and recap the Mutant Massacre. Of course, considering next issue’s revelation, he would’ve been better off not participating in this story at all.

CABLE #1 – October 1992

Blood & Metal

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), John Romita, Jr. (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Bill Oakley (letters), Brad Vancata (colors)

Summary

In flashbacks, Cable and the Six Pack go on various mercenary missions for Tolliver. On one mission in Afghanistan, Cable discovers Stryfe in an underground bunker. In the present, Kane visits Hammer, now a paraplegic, to learn the location of Cable’s various hideouts. Cable is tracking down the MLF and trying to learn why they are stealing various artifacts for Stryfe. While at his Swiss Alps hideout, Kane breaks in and fights Cable. When Cable asks why, Kane shows a hologram of Stryfe revealing himself to be Cable.

Continuity Notes

The MLF are stealing a sword with an image of Apocalypse on the handle. This is the first indication of a connection between Stryfe and Apocalypse. When Cable gets the sword, he doesn’t recognize the image of Apocalypse, which is odd since Cable’s life mission is to destroy him and all…

Cable’s metal arm has a finger torch.

The MLF member Sumo is shot and killed by Cable (for attempted robbery of a museum, which is pretty harsh if you think about it).

Review

This is the first part of a two-issue mini-series, with no advertisements and high production values. I don’t know how exactly this mini came about, unless the motive was simply “put more Cable product out there”. This may or may not be another version of the Cable solo series that Liefeld was still discussing when Youngblood was first announced. Considering the nice production values and the use of John Romita, Jr. as artist, Marvel seemed to be treating this as a very important project. This came out during the same summer most of Image’s line launched, so maybe it was an attempt to compete with those titles.

Cable, at this point, isn’t engaging enough to carry his own title. He’s basically an amalgam of Wolverine and the Punisher, without the elements that made those characters interesting. Wolverine has a sense of honor and fights against his darker, animal instincts. His mysterious past is just one element of his character. The Punisher was a family man who saw his wife and kids murdered; now he’s consumed with revenge. The violence of his series is necessary to convey his state of mind. Cable is violent, mysterious, but without any human elements to make the reader care. This mini seems to be an attempt to humanize him and add something to his character besides “gun toting loner with attitude.” The first issue doesn’t accomplish that, but it is setting the stage for an interesting confrontation between Cable and his old friends.

Romita has just begun his giant, blocky stage at this point, and it suits Cable and the other Liefeld characters very well. The characters don’t look as ridiculous as they used to, even if the actual designs haven’t really changed. He even makes Stryfe look kind of cool (his rendition actually reminds me of something Kirby might’ve done circa 1970). Most of the lines aren’t slick and pretty, but that seems appropriate. The action-heavy plot fits Romita’s art, reminding me of the Punisher War Zone issues that he drew just before this. If Cable must get his own series, Romita is well suited for the job.

UNCANNY X-MEN #291 – August 1992

Underbelly

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Tom Raney (pencils), Hilary Barta (inks), Lois Buhalis (letters), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary

The Morlocks, driven insane by Masque’s manipulation, track down their former leader Callisto and attack. She travels with the wounded Morlock Healer to the X-Men’s mansion for help. The Healer uses the last of his power to heal Callisto’s wounds. He dies, and Callisto’s original body returns. Callisto wants to leave the mansion to face the Morlocks, but Iceman will not let her. Mikhail Rasputin appears and threatens Iceman. Meanwhile, the X-Men travel to the Morlock tunnels to discover that they are all fighting against one another. A group of Morlocks grabs Storm, causing her to panic and fly to the surface, with the Morlocks following behind her.

“Huh?” Moments

When Colossus refers to Masque altering Callisto’s face, the footnote actually reads, “We don’t remember exactly when, but trust us – it happened!” Why even write a footnote if you don’t know the issue number?

Callisto’s dialogue on page fourteen: “The Healer…gave the final measure of his power to heal me. It wasn’t nearly enough! All he managed to do was return my body to its original state! My wounds, at least, are healed…” Which is it? His powers weren’t “nearly enough” to heal her, yet she says that he did two sentences later.

Review

This is the start of the “Last Morlocks” storyline, which is in the running for the “Worst Thing Scott Lobdell Has Ever Written” prize. I assume that this arc was done to kill time until Portacio’s replacement was found and the X-Cutioner’s Song storyline could begin. In the first chapter, Lobdell seems to be going in the direction of making this a Storm-centric story, focusing on her relationship with the Morlocks and her failure as their leader. In theory, that’s fine. There was a never much of a follow-up to the Mutant Massacre, and you could a lot of mileage out of Storm feeling guilty about what happened to the Morlocks. However, the Morlocks are all portrayed as mindless lunatics in this story, so why should the reader care about what happened to them? Just because the Morlocks are freakish looking doesn’t mean they have to act like stereotypical movie monsters. If any of the Morlocks in this story could present a rational argument against Storm, that could be an interesting story. Instead, they’re just a group of psychos who grab at her and shout “heal me!” There’s really not a lot to work with here. This is a fairly bad issue, and it’s only going to get worse.

X-MEN #11 – August 1992

The X-Men Vs. The X-Men! (Again)

Credits: Jim Lee (plot/pencils), Scott Lobdell (script), Bob Wiacek (inks), Lois Buhalis (letters), Marie Javins (colors)

Summary

Professor Xavier combines powers with Psylocke to break Mojo’s influence over the X-Men. The team breaks into Mojo’s control booth, and Longshot rips Mojo open with a sword. With Mojo defeated, Xavier announces that he senses an unborn child inside Dazzler. The team celebrates but feels uneasy about giving Mojo’s successor, his clone Mojo II, the highest ratings ever.

Continuity Notes

Mojo II (The Sequel) is a “failed” clone of Mojo, who claims that he was born with compassion for all people. I assume he was the mysterious leader of the Pirate Network seen in this year’s annuals.

Longshot suggests “Shatterstar” as the name of his baby with Dazzler. This lead to years of speculation that Longshot was Shatterstar’s father, which doesn’t really fit in with his claims that he was created in a lab. When Dazzler shows up a few years later, she’s not pregnant and the X-Men just decide to respect her privacy. I don’t think there’s ever been an in-story explanation for what happened to her baby.

Review

The X-Men break free of the villain’s influence and win the day. It’s pretty generic stuff, which is probably why the dialogue suggests that this actually might not be a clear victory for the team. There’s nothing trully bad about it, it’s just not very interesting. This is Jim Lee’s final issue of the X-Men, and he doesn’t exactly go out on a high note. Some of the pages look nice, but others looked rushed and sloppy. If you want a nice example of how inconsistent it is, check out the two page spread on pages 20 and 21. Rogue is nicely drawn, probably one of Lee’s best versions of the character, while Dazzler looks like a pupil-less alien with a freakishly small waist.

Over…Again

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Mark Texeira (artist), Lois Buhalis (letters)

Summary

Maverick weakens Warhawk’s metal skin, and causes the energy inside his body to explode. Before the explosion, Ryking tells Maverick that he has no idea “how the Xavier File wound up in Charles’ possession”. With Ryking and Warhawk both apparently dead, Maverick leaves.

Continuity Notes

Maverick says that he wishes he still had his mutant power

Warhawk blames the X-Men for turning him into a monster.

Review

More mindless action. I wouldn’t mind it so much if the characters and conflicts were clearly detailed. Instead, everything’s a vague mystery (Warhawk’s never even named in the story), so it’s impossible to care. This story apparently ties into the next two issues, which just introduce more mysteries that are never resolved.

X-FORCE #15 – October 1992

To The Pain

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Greg Capullo (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary

X-Force defeats Crule and receives a message from Gideon. If Cannonball promises not to interfere with the Externals, he will tell him where to find Sunspot. Cannonball agrees, and the team travels to New Mexico to rescue him. Meanwhile, the real Domino is freed during Cable’s fight with Deadpool. Cable and Domino chase Tolliver to his helicopter, and Cable makes her promise to leave him and find X-Force. Cable blows up the helicopter and teleports away.

Continuity Notes

Crule’s battle with X-Force doesn’t match up with the events of the last issue. Previously, Crule busted into their ship and grabbed Cannonball. In this issue, he busts into the ship, fights the team, and never comes close to Cannonball.

Crule wants to sever Cannonball’s “five branches” before he becomes a threat to all of the Externals. More vague gibberish that I don’t think was ever resolved.

Cable says that he’s faced Deadpool “too many times”, even though this is only the second time they’ve met (Deadpool introduces himself to Cable in his first New Mutants appearance). Apparently, Nicieza now wants to incorporate Deadpool into Cable and Domino’s shared backstory (Deadpool even calls Cable “Nate”).

Cable shoots laser blasts out of his fingers. That never caught on, did it? He is wearing gloves in the scene, so that gives you a No-Prize explanation. Cable also tells his computer to repair his face (which is still in the Terminator 2 look). The exact dialogue is “set synthskin repair mode – patchwork only.”

I Love the ‘90s

Warner Music has an ad selling a series of VHS tapes with ten music videos for $2.98 a month. The acts being advertised include Kyuss, Body Count, Pantera, Tori Amos, and Sonic Youth. Just a few months earlier, Marvel was running ads for a music service offering Paula Abdul, Warrant, Color Me Badd, and Enuff Z’Nuff albums. It’s really amazing how quickly pop culture can change.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

Some of the phrases in that ad include “purring winsomely about crucifixion and violation,” “ecstasy-stained club attraction,” and “a fresh bong load…of musical salvation”.

Review

This issue is Greg Capullo’s debut as artist, and it was also one of my favorite comics during this era. I mostly liked it for the artwork, but I was also into the Cable/Deadpool fight, and I liked the way it concluded some of the subplots and set up events for a new direction. I was afraid that this issue wouldn’t hold up at all, but I was relieved to see that it’s pretty good. After languishing for several months, the title now feels like it’s going somewhere. With Cable and Domino gone, and now that Rictor and Sunspot have joined the team, the focus moves away from the mystery characters and goes back to more relatable characters.

Greg Capullo remains one of my favorite artists from this time. His work is stylized and exaggerated, but it remains nice to look at, and he understands the basics like pacing, acting, and storytelling. He started out with a kind of generic ’80s Marvel look before being influenced by the Image style. Bringing in that influence hurt some traditional artists, like Herb Trimpe and Alex Saviuk, but Capullo was usually able to pull it off very well.

He seemed to figure out what worked and didn’t work in that style and incorporated into what he was already doing. Years later, he would become the regular artist on Spawn, and develop a cartoonier look that moved even further away from his original influences. He left Spawn in the late ‘90s and hasn’t done a lot of comics work since. The last time I saw anything McFarlane published, it looked the artists were still drawing in the sort-of Capullo house style that was developed in the ‘90s. The last time I saw Capullo draw anything was that bizarre Spider-Man/Jay Leno back-up that ran in some of Marvel’s books. His style was so exaggerated that it was unrecognizable to me at that point. I still consider his X-Force run to be some of the best-looking comics of this era (even if there is some wacky anatomy in this issue), so I’m looking forward to reading these issues again.

X-MEN #10 – July 1992

“Where Happy Little Bluebirds Fly…”

Credits: Jim Lee (plot, pencils), Scott Lobdell (script), Scot Williams (inks), L. Lois Buhalis & Tom Orzechowski (letters)

Summary

In Mojoworld, Longshot discovers Rogue, Beast, Wolverine, and Cyclops. A flashback reveals that Dazzler traveled to Earth to seek the X-Men’s aid and was double-crossed by Mojo’s servant, Meek. He teleported the team to Mojoworld, where they were quickly captured and Dazzler was left for dead. Now, Mojo has brainwashed Psylocke, Jubilee, Gambit, and Lila Cheney and pitted them against the other X-Men. Meanwhile, Dazzler is rescued by Mojo II.

Continuity Note

This issue emphasizes that transporting to Mojoworld is traumatic, unless Spiral uses her magic to do so.

Dazzler says that fighting with Longshot in Mojoworld revived her memories that were erased by the Siege Perilous. This doesn’t make any sense, but is that really surprising?

Review

It’s another X-Men in Mojoworld story, which at least serves to wrap up Longshot’s long-running subplot. Most of the comedy doesn’t work, except for seeing Wolverine brainwashed as a frightened child. There’s not much of a story, and it cuts short at sixteen pages. Jim Lee’s art isn’t bad, but it’s still lacking a lot of his earlier energy. Overall, it’s certainly not as bad as Uncanny at this point, but it’s not very good, either.

Last Stand

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Mark Texeria (art), Mike Rockwitz (colors), L. Lois Buhalis (letters)

Summary

Maverick invades the hideout of a Dr. Ryking. Maverick’s boss, Major Barrington, wants Ryking’s info on the missing Xavier File, while Ryking is working to save the life of a mystery man. The mystery man attacks Maverick from behind.

Continuity Notes

How can a back-up story with virtually no plot have so many continuity points? The mystery man is apparently Warhawk, a long forgotten X-Men villain. He tells Ryking that Barrington wants him to answer a mystery that the doctor wouldn’t be able to solve.

Warhawk needs Dr. Ryking to save his life for unexplained reasons. He also says that the doctor has ruined countless lives in his unknown quest.

The doctor recognizes Maverick as “North” and is shocked to realize his true identity.

Warhawk claims that Barrington rendered his body “nearly useless after my failed encounter with the X-Men”. The editor’s footnote simply reads “Hmmmm?”

Review

A lot of vague nonsense, but at least Texeria draws it well. Another story that reminds me of the early Image days. A group of poorly introduced characters you know nothing about have a vague conversation that doesn’t really make sense. Then they fight. There are actually three splash pages in this seven-page story, which was excessive even by the standards of the day. It’s truly awful.

UNCANNY X-MEN #290 – July 1992

Frayed

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Whilce Portacio (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), L. Lois Buhalis (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary

Iceman and Hiro fight the Cyburai while his parents escape. When Iceman leaves to get Opal to safety, Hiro activates the self-destruct sequence in his armor and apparently kills himself and the Cyburai. Meanwhile, Mikhail Rasputin, now suffering from intense headaches, uses his powers to transform a clumsy pizza boy into a tree. Forge interrupts a confrontation between Mystique and Bishop and realizes that Mystique is growing insane. He retracts his proposal to Storm and leaves with Mystique. As he leaves, Storm says that she was going to accept his proposal.

Review

Another messy issue. I don’t even know where to start. The Iceman plot is sequel to an X-Factor storyline I’ve never read. There’s no effort to clearly introduce the Cyburai at all, or explain their connection to Opal. From what I can pick up, they’re related to Opal, they blame Iceman for breaking up their family for some reason, and they want to kill his parents as retaliation (I should point out that Iceman’s parents leave on the very first page and these guys don’t seem to notice). This Hiro character is also a member, I think, but he’s protecting Iceman’s family from them. Opal is also his cousin and he’s apparently in love with her. Hiro then blows himself up, because of “honor”. How much of this makes any sense? And who on Earth thought it was a good idea to attach all of this cybernetic ninja crap to Opal, who was introduced as an average, frumpy girl who fell for a superhero?

Mikhail Rasputin returns this issue, and now he’s insane. I don’t really know where this characterization is coming from. In his initial appearances, he was a hermit who isolated himself because of his guilt over accidentally killing his friends. I didn’t pick up on him being insane in those issues; he was certainly melodramatic, but that doesn’t equal crazy (especially in X-Men comics). Now, his grief has apparently driven him insane, his insanity being expressed by doing something horrible to a teenager who bumps into him. If Lobdell didn’t have any good ideas for this character, he could’ve just ignored him. Re-introducing him just to have him suddenly turn crazy doesn’t make sense. Showing that he’s still haunted by accidentally killing his friends also undermines his character arc from his initial appearances. This is a really bad idea that won’t play out well.

The soap opera between Forge and Storm continues, not making any sense either. Forge is upset that Storm wanted time to think about his proposal, even though he told her in the last issue that he didn’t expect an answer immediately. Forge acts like such an idiot in this arc that you can’t relate to anything that he’s going through. Storm doesn’t receive a lot of characterization, there’s actually only one page devoted to her considering Forge’s proposal. When Forge tells her that she’ll never have a life outside of the X-Men, she just cries and mumbles as he walks away. This isn’t exactly compelling drama.

Continuing this issue’s theme of nonsense and insanity, Mystique is suddenly crazy, too. Why exactly? She’s grieving for Destiny, a character that had been killed off almost four years earlier and hardly referenced since. She goes from taunting Bishop about his dead friend to speaking in baby talk to Forge over the course of two pages. It’s really one of the most bizarre and abrupt characterization shifts I’ve ever seen. How exactly did this nonsense come about? “So, what do we do with Mystique?” “Uh…let’s make her crazy!” “You mean develop a storyline that chronicles her slow descent into madness, using her shapeshifting powers to parallel her identity issues?” “No! I mean, let’s make her crazy! Right now, with this issue!”

X-FORCE #14 – September 1992

Payback!

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Terry Shoemaker (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary

Cable and Vanessa are separated from X-Force after the destruction of their headquarters. SHIELD arrives as back-up and attempts to arrest X-Force. Rictor switches sides and helps X-Force defeat the SHIELD soldiers and hijack their ship. After making plans to hide out at Warpath’s reservation, Crule bursts into the ship and grabs Cannonball. Meanwhile, Cable forces Vanessa to take him to Tolliver’s hideout. They are both shocked to discover the real Domino in chains. Deadpool suddenly appears and stabs Vanessa in the back.

I Love The ‘90s

Boom Boom tells Rictor that he has a Skid Row haircut. This issue was released during the summer of 1992, at which point Nirvana and Pearl Jam were the hottest acts in music, and hair metal was on its last leg. The last page of one of Pacella’s issues was a splash page of every X-Force member reflected on Cable’s metal face. The amount of detail he put into drawing every character’s giant, perfectly styled hair is astounding. It always seems like comics are at least a year behind pop culture, and the hair metal stylings of X-Force are proof.

Continuity Note

Cannonball is able to extend his blast field so that it protects everyone from last issue’s explosion. That’s a use of his power that certainly isn’t brought up very often.

Cable teleports to place called Graymalkin, which is also the name of the street address of the X-Men's mansion. This was another clue that Cable might be Cyclops' son.

Miscellaneous Notes

On the Entertainment This Month page, there are ads for eight separate Image titles, three of which are advertised as being from Rob Liefeld. Some of the letters comment on Liefeld leaving (one even saying that it’s a mistake on his part), but the editor’s responses don’t mention Liefeld at all. All of these letters name Mark Pacella as a great replacement.

Review

After stalling for several issues, the plot finally begins to move again. X-Force spends most of this issue fighting generic SHIELD agents, but it’s actually more entertaining than last issue's poorly choreographed fight with Weapon Prime. A lot of this probably has to do with Terry Shoemaker, the first competent artist to draw a full issue of this series (Mignola only drew sixteen pages). I didn’t care for Shoemaker’s art at all as a kid, but I look at it now and see that his compositions are strong and the storytelling is clear. He lacks a lot of that early ‘90s style, which is probably why it originally didn’t stand out for me. Nicieza is still trying to tie up all of the loose ends left by Liefeld, by touching on Weapon Prime, SHIELD, the Externals, Sunspot, Domino, Tolliver, and Vanessa. Rather than feeling disjointed, there’s actually a sense that the various plots are going somewhere. The pacing of X-Force has always been odd, with Liefeld throwing out three or four ideas, and then suddenly abandoning them for fight scenes that drag on for three issues. Nicieza is starting to make it seem as if there was a plan for this stuff all along,