JLX UNLEASHED! #1 - June 1997

The Unextinguishable Flame!

Credits: Christopher Priest (writer), Oscar Jimenez (penciler), Hannibal & Rodriguez (inks), Patricia Mulvihill (colors), Ken Lopez (letters)

Summary: The fire-dragon Fing Fang Flame, reanimated by the Hellfire League of Injustice, causes mayhem across the planet. Amazon, against the wishes of her JLA teammates, seeks the help of Mr. X and the imprisoned JLX. Mr. X takes the unstable metamutant Chaos out of suspended animation and travels with the JLX to Tokyo. Chaos is believed dead in battle, inspiring his brother Apollo to snap out his comatose state and absorb the magic fueling Fing Fang Flame. As the authorities arrive, Amazon decides to join the team.

Continuity Notes: The Hellfire League of Injustice merges the Hellfire Club and Injustice League. Chaos is an amalgam of Havok and Spitfire. Only one year later, the name Chaos (or "Xaos") will be used for another Havok amalgam, this one belonging to Cerebro’s team of X-Men.

Review: Just looking at the credits makes it obvious this was one of DC’s contributions to the Amalgam event (although Priest would be back at Marvel by the next year, ending a solid ten-year break with the company). That doesn’t stop JLX from leaning heavily towards the Marvel side, though. Priest has the speech patterns of the X-titles down cold, making this almost indistinguishable from something Scott Lobdell or Fabian Nicieza might’ve written in the ‘90s. The team’s recovering from the government’s latest android attack, Chaos hates Mr. X, Apollo is comatose, Iceberg is desperate to prove herself, Runaway is pining for her missing boyfriend, and Nightcreeper can’t stop cracking jokes. All the team needs is one or two alleged traitors. Actually, I guess they’ve already been betrayed, as Firebird is now the Hellfire member Dark Firebird.

I remember rumors that Priest was considered for the Uncanny X-Men job that went to Joe Casey…I wonder if anyone making that call had ever read this comic? Would this material pull the decision in his favor, or was this the kind of X-comic “New Marvel” was desperate to get away from? Regardless, it’s a shame he didn’t get the assignment. Aside from the fact that it’s hard to imagine anyone not named Chuck Austen doing a worse job than Casey did, it’s obvious Priest knows how to handle this material. The previous JLX one-shot suffered from what seemed to be a snide dismissal of the source material; Priest is able to bring some humor to the concept without mocking the elements that made the X-titles so popular in the first place. There are a few storytelling problems with the issue (Chaos apparently dies twice during the story, but neither scene is very clear), but this is by far one of the better X-related Amalgam comics.

THE MAGNETIC MEN FEATURING MAGNETO #1 - June 1997

Born Again!

Credits: Tom Peyer (writer), Barry Kitson (penciler), Dan Panosian (inker), Matt Webb & Digital Chameleon (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Having realized his Magnetic Men have attained sentience, Magneto orders Mister Mastermind to create human disguises for them. Reluctantly, the Magnetic Men enter civilian life, as Magneto plots a final confrontation with his brother Will Magnus. Before he can reach Magnus, however, he must rescue the Magnetic Men from the Sinister Society. When he realizes that the Sinister Society are also victims of Will Magnus, Magneto invites them to join his cause. Unfortunately, by the time the team reaches Magnus’ base on Krakoa, all traces of his existence are gone.

Continuity Notes: New amalgams introduced this issue include: Mister Mastermind (Mastermind and Mister Mind), Soniklaw (Klaw and Sonar), Kultron (Ultron and Kobra), Vance Cosmic (Vance Astro and Cosmic Boy), Deathborg (Deathlok and Cyborg), Black Vulture (Vulture and Black Condor, plus perhaps Hawkman), Quasimodox (Quasimodo and Vril Dox), Chemodam (MODOK and Chemo), and Krakoa, the Living Dinosaur Island (Krakoa and Dinosaur Island).

Review: Aside from introducing a new group of amalgamated villains, there isn’t much here the previous Magnetic Men comic didn’t cover. Perhaps the hook is supposed to be that the team has taken on human personas, but this idea goes absolutely nowhere. Before they’re abducted by the Sinister Society, all the team gets to do is stand on a street corner in London for less than one page. Literally, the set up for this idea lasts longer than the execution. (The civilian identities of the Magnetic Men are also elaborate amalgams, but I’m too tired to go through them. It’s not as if the story gets any mileage out of the jokes anyway.) Looking past the odd execution of the human identity concept, we’re left with the team fighting another group of merged villains. And, while the action is competently delivered by Barry Kitson, this just isn’t very exciting. If a sequel to the original Magnetic Men one-shot had to be produced, I wish someone could’ve developed a worthier concept. This easily could’ve been a filler issue of Magnetic Men Unlimited.

EXCITING X-PATROL #1 - June 1997

The Curse of Brother Brood!

Credits: Barbara Kesel (writer), Bryan Hitch (penciler), Paul Neary (inker), Joe Andreani & Digital Chameleon (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Shatterstarfire reluctantly leaves Niles Cable behind during a battle with Brother Brood, returning to the X-Patrol’s base for help. The team leaves on a rescue mission with their mysterious new member, Jericho. Landing on Zenosha, X-Patrol soon faces the Brood-infected Niles and Terra-X the Destroyer. While battling Niles, Jericho’s rocky disguise is destroyed, revealing Jericho as Niles’ younger self. Niles decides to let his techno-organic virus consume his body and kill the Brood infection. Near death, Niles is saved by the spirit of Raveniya the Healer. Inspired by his younger self, Niles vows to continue fighting.

Continuity Notes: The island of Zenosha is presumably an amalgam, yet plain ol’ Genosha was shown to exist in the Amalgam world in the previous year’s Magneto and the Magnetic Men. This reality’s version of Jericho is a combination of DC’s Jericho, the Thing, and X-Man. Brother Brood is Brother Blood infected by the Brood Queen. Terra-X the Destroyer is an amalgam of the Teen Titan’s bucktoothed traitor Terra and Galactus’ herald Terrax the Destroyer. Raveniya the Healer merges Raven with Mother Askani.

Review: Oh, another Bryan Hitch comic that isn’t marred by excessive detail lines and “realistic” faces. That’s like finding an old Greg Land comic without any traced porn. I’m sure someone at the time thought using “eXciting” on the cover was a cute parody, unaware that Marvel was a mere four years away from using a gratuitous X-dash in the actual title of a comic. Anyway, eXciting X-Patrol is the sequel to the previous year’s X-Patrol, the title that was nominally a merger of the Doom Patrol and various X-spinoffs. Apparently, someone just liked the name, because the Doom Patrol did not play a large role in the amalgams. This year’s special makes it even more obvious that the creators want to do a Teen Titans/X-Force mash-up -- which is fine, but why is this even called X-Patrol? Wouldn’t “X-Titans” or “Titans-X” work just as well?

I’m only familiar with the Titans from a few trade paperbacks, a handful of cartoon episodes, and the relentless Jericho hate online, but I think I’ve caught most of the jokes in this one. It’s hard to deny that Terra-X the Destroyer is a great gag. The Marvel characters chosen to be amalgamated surprised me, but as much as I dislike the Askani and X-Man in the mainstream continuity, Barbara Kesel works them into this story in surprising and funny ways. Her dialogue is a fairly accurate representation of ‘90s era X-team interactions, without crossing the line into snarky condescension. This is a dense read, packed with characters and action, but there’s enough humor to keep fans of either franchise entertained. I can’t imagine what someone unfamiliar with the material being referenced would think of this, though.

DR. STRANGEFATE #1 - April 1996

The Decrees of Fate

Credits: Ron Marz (writer), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (penciler), Kevin Nowlan (inker), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

Summary: Dr. Strangefate summons his three agents, Skulk, Jade Nova, and White Witch to find Access, who is presently on the run from Abominite in the sewers. After Skulk and Jade Nova fail, White Witch uses her sorcery to bring Access to Dr. Strangefate. Strangefate knows that Access held the keys to the two realities that form the Amalgam Universe, but is unable to force their location from him. Access escapes, leaving Dr. Strangefate fearful for his world’s survival. He removes his helmet to reveal his true identity, Charles Xavier.

Continuity Notes: Dr. Strangefate is an amalgam of Dr. Strange, Dr. Fate, and Professor Xavier, of course. His servant Myx merges Wong with Mister Mxyzptlk. Skulk (Bruce Banner) is the Hulk and Solomon Grundy. Jade Nova (Frankie Rayner) is somehow a combination of the Frankie Raye Nova, the Green Lantern Jade (perhaps married to Kyle Rayner, based on the last name), DC's Fire, and…John Constantine (?), or perhaps the ‘90s Starman, I guess. White Witch (Wanda Zatara) is Scarlet Witch and Zantana. The Abominite is an amalgam of the Abomination and Hellgrammite.

Review: This is the only Amalgam comic I’ve ever read that even tried to tie in with the main Marvel vs. DC storyline that spawned the event. I probably shouldn’t be surprised, given that Ron Marz co-wrote the miniseries, but I was under the impression that the Amalgam one-shots were written as standalone stories that didn’t require any knowledge of the main event. This story assumes you know something about Access and how he’s involved with the merging of two worlds. I don’t. I’m also not sure why this world’s Charles Xavier has taken this particular identity, and why he’s so protective of the Amalgam Universe, assuming that there’s more to his defensiveness than a simple survival instinct.

I do like some of the specific amalgamations Marz has made, particularly the Hulk/Solomon Grundy mash-up, but most of these characters are pretty light on personality, with the exception of White Witch, who has the empowering character trait of severe horniness. (When Strangefate turns her down, she decides his manservant Myx is good enough. Girl power!) The real highlight of the comic is the pairing of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan, making this the nicest looking comic of the entire Amalgam stunt. The facial expressions are perfect, the scenery is beautiful, and the layouts are innovative while remaining easy to follow. Given Garcia-Lopez’s reluctance to ever do Marvel work, I wish he could’ve been assigned a more Marvel-centric title, but I’m certainly not complaining about the interpretations of the characters he’s been asked to draw.

DARK CLAW ADVENTURES #1 - June 1997

Face to Face

Credits: Ty Templeton (writer/breakdowns), Dan Slott (plot assist), Rick Burchett (finishes), Tim Harkins (letters), Linda Medley (colors)

Summary: Undercover as Patch Malone, Dark Claw is attacked by Cyber-Ninjas while playing poker. Their master, Lady Talia, follows the tracer left in Dark Claw’s skin to his hidden lair, the Burrow. She incapacitates his sidekick Sparrow and engages Dark Claw in battle. Dark Claw, sympathetic towards Talia’s anger, stops the fight. Talia slashes his heart. After she realizes what she’s done, Talia prepares to commit suicide. Dark Claw comes to, resurrected by his healing factor, and talks to Talia. Having learned a lesson about revenge, Talia decides to move on.

Continuity Notes: Dark Claw (Wolverine and Batman) and Sparrow (Jubilee and Robin) first appeared in the initial wave of Amalgam titles in 1996. “Patch Malone,” perhaps my favorite amalgam, is a combination of Batman’s “Matches” Malone identity and Wolverine’s “Patch” persona. Lady Talia (Lady Deathstrike and Talia) is the daughter of Ra’s-A-Pocalypse (Apocalypse and Ra’s al Ghul). Lady Talia burned most of her body searching through the flaming wreckage of her father’s plane, which was shot down by Dark Claw in the “Legacy of Apocalypse” episode of Dark Claw: The Animated Show.

Review: Considering the obvious popularity of a Batman/Wolverine mash-up, it’s not a surprise Marvel and DC wanted another Dark Claw comic during the second Amalgam event. Doing it as a tie-in to a fictional television series, and hiring the creative team behind the actual comic tie-in to Batman: The Animated Series, was a stroke of genius. I’m a massive fan of the DC Adventures comics of the ‘90s, especially the ones written by Ty Templeton. This is a man with a deep love for Batman, obvious on every page he writes, and a knack for the animated style developed for the show. I realize some comic shops didn’t even bother to order the Adventures comics in the ‘90s (because, y’know, they’re not the “real” Batman and Superman), so many readers missed out on them, but they’re well worth an eBay hunt. Not every issue is a gem, but the overall level of quality maintained by the various incarnations of Batman Adventures over the course of ten years is amazing. Any issue by Mike Parobeck, Ty Templeton, and/or Rick Burchett is worth your attention.

As established in last year’s Dark Claw one-shot, Dark Claw is essentially Wolverine if he had been born into wealth, lost his parents, and later decided to don a long cape and fight crime. Despite the Batman trappings, Wolverine’s personality and power set remain the same. The concept is automatically biased towards the Marvel side, so it’s perfectly fair to incorporate Batman: The Animated Series and move the hero a little more towards DC’s neighborhood. While Templeton is very much a Batman guy, he effortlessly switches over to Wolverine’s persona, writing Wolverine Dark Claw as a grizzled brawler/noble warrior with a highly developed sense of honor. In fact, Dark Claw’s willingness to sacrifice his own life in order to grant Lady Talia some level of peace is virtually identical to one of the Wolverine/Lady Deathstrike confrontations from Larry Hama’s run. Not that the scene feels tired or recycled; it’s just true to the character. Considering that much of this comic, along with the rest of the Amalgam event, is tongue-in-cheek humor, the final scene between Dark Claw and Lady Talia has a surprising amount of heart. It’s one thing to use these meta-textual characters as vehicles for jokes, but to do an emotional sequence -- with the fictionalized cartoon versions of these in-jokey characters, no less -- takes real skill. I’m not sure if this qualifies as my favorite Amalgam comic (that probably remains Kurt Busiek and Paul Smith’s Iron Lantern) but it’s definitely a strong runner-up. Plus, it’s one of the best Adventures comics I’ve ever read…although my ‘90s X-completism might be influencing that decision.

GENERATION HEX #1 - June 1997

Humanity’s Last Stand

Credits: Peter Milligan (writer), Adam Pollina (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Bob Lappan (letters), Scott Baumann and Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary: An outcast in the quaint town of Humanity, Jono Hex’s mutant powers surface the night his father is killed by the locals. Branded a “Malform,” Hex grows up in exile. He forms a band of Malforms and names them Generation Hex. His nemesis, Marshal “Bat” Trask, develops primitive robots called the Razormen to eliminate the Malforms. On the run, Generation Hex arrives in Humanity. Disguising his face, Hex earns the town’s trust and convinces them that a sinister group of Malforms is coming. Following his instructions, the townspeople disguise themselves as Malforms to avoid trouble. Soon, a group of Razormen arrives. Mistaking the citizens for Malforms, they murder the locals.

Continuity Notes: Jono Hex is an amalgam of Chamber and Jonah Hex. Generation Hex consists of Madame Banshee (Siryn and Madame 44), Johnny Random (Random and Johnny Thunder), Skinhunter (Skin and Scalphunter), White Whip (Emma Frost and Whip), Retribution (Penance and Firehair), and the Twins Trigger (Northstar and Walter Trigger, and Aurora merged with Wayne Trigger and Cinnamon). Marshal “Bat” Trask merges Bolivar Trask with Bat Lash.

Review: Generation Hex has my vote as the strangest concept to emerge out of Amalgam. Many of the Amalgam characters exist solely because their name is a play on words, but only a few of these characters starred in their own one-shot. Jonah Hex and Generation X are diametrically opposed concepts, so this comic easily could’ve turned out as a mess. It isn’t, though; it’s actually a very effective Western revenge story with some great moments of dark humor. While the genesis of the story might be the Hex/X pun, the amalgamations of the cast are anything but obvious. Everyone probably assumed that Superman and Captain America would be amalgamated when the event was originally announced, but who could’ve predicted a Random and Johnny Thunder amalgam? It’s ridiculous, in a good way, but it also works as unobtrusive fan-service. The story’s strong enough to be enjoyed without the insider references, so a Generation X fan who’s totally ignorant of DC’s Western heroes still has a lot to get out of this. And, as fate would have it, even though this was produced by DC, editor Frank Pittarese will be Generation X’s editor within the next year.

MAGNETO AND THE MAGNETIC MEN #1 - April 1996

Opposites Attract

Credits: Gerard Jones (writer), Mark Waid (plot assist), Jeff Matsuda (penciler), Art Thibert w/Jaime Mendoza & Lary Stucker (inks), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: In response to his brother’s construction of the Sentinels, Magneto has created his own team of robots, the Magnetic Men, to aid mutantkind. They stop Will Magnus’ newest creation, Sinistron, from kidnapping the mutant Kokoro, but soon encounter him again on the slave-nation of Genosha. When Sinistron paralyzes Magneto’s consciousness, Antimony leads her fellow Magnetic Men to discover their own sentience and break free. United, the team defeats Sinistron, and Magneto realizes that his robots are more than machines, but are his new family.

Continuity Notes: The Magnetic Men are based on the personalities of the deceased members of the Brotherhood (the original group lead by Magneto in the Amalgam Universe, killed by his brother’s Sentinels). The Amalgam answer to the Metal Men, the team consists of Antimony (Scarlet Witch and Platinum), Bismuth (Toad and Tin), Cobalt (Mastermind and Gold), Iron (Unus the Untouchable and Iron), and Nickel (Quicksilver/Iceman and Mercury). The woman they save in the beginning, Kokoro, is an amalgam of Psylocke and Katana. Sinistron is a robotic version of Mr. Sinister.

Review: The Amalgam books produced by Marvel seemed to be more “’90s” than DC’s lot, mostly due to X-artists like Roger Cruz and Jeff Matsuda. In terms of story, this reads as a traditional superhero comic, but it’s definitely not penciled in a style associated with ‘90s DC. Even though DC had their fair share of Image-style artists, that’s not the look people tend to associate with that era of the company (DC probably has more Jim Lee clones today than it did in 1996). Since most of the artists chosen for their Amalgam titles were pretty conventional, I’m guessing DC editorial specifically avoided the Mike Deodatos of the day. If the goal of Amalgam was to evoke the old school, that didn’t stop Marvel from hiring artists that could just have easily shown up on a Youngblood spinoff. Then again, this is pretty restrained for a Jeff Matsuda job, so maybe he intentionally toned things down. Personally, I find this style more palatable than his X-Factor work.

Even though I know very little about the Metal Men, I’ve always considered this a great concept. Making Will Magnus Magneto’s brother is a cute play on their names, and the Amalgam Universe is filled with these in-jokes, but giving Magneto a team of Metal Men modeled after Marvel’s earliest mutants? That’s the kind of creative thinking and continuity-melding you want in an Amalgam book. Now, if only the Metal Men had actually maintained a healthy newsstand presence following the Silver Age, perhaps I would’ve gotten more out of the actual story. I’m sure there are character bits and inside references I’m missing out on, so unfortunately much of the issue comes across as standard superhero fare. Perfectly acceptable, but not particularly exciting. The references I do get are entertaining, so I’m assuming fans of both the X-Men and Metal Men will get a lot more out of this than the average reader.

JLX #1 - April 1996

A League of Their Own!

Credits: Gerard Jones & Mark Waid (writers), Howard Porter (penciler), John Dell (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Gloria Vasquez & Heroic Age (colors)

Summary: The Judgment League Avengers face off against the JLX, a group of former members aligned with accused eco-terrorist, Aqua-Mariner. Mr. X uses his telepathic powers to distract the JLA and allow JLX to escape. JLX travels with Aqua-Mariner to find Atlantis, the ancestral home of mutantkind. They find the city abandoned, and are soon attacked by Will Magnus and his Sentinel robots. During the fight, Mr. X is forced to reveal his hidden Martian powers to defeat the Sentinels. Although they’re shocked by Mr. X’s true identity, JLX decides to stay with their ally.

Continuity Notes: The JLX consists mostly of mutant ex-members of the JLA. The line-up includes Mr. X (Martian Manhunter, posing as a mutant and wearing a Bishop-style “M” on his face), Apollo (Cyclops and the Ray), Aqua-Mariner (Namor and Aquaman), Mercury (Quicksilver and Impulse), Runaway (Rogue and Gypsy), Wraith (Gambit and Obsidian), Firebird (Phoenix and Fire), and Nightcreeper (Nightcrawler and the Creeper). In this reality, Will Magnus is Magneto’s brother, which is a play on Magneto’s original “real” name of Magnus.

Review: What does it say about 1996 that Marvel and DC gave us JLX instead of JLAvengers? Amalgam happened to occur during Mark Waid’s brief association with the X-Men, so it makes sense that he would help to develop one of the Amalgam X-teams, although I'm sure he would've had more fun with the Avengers characters. I have mixed feelings about this one. In a way, it captures the Amalgam sentiment, as the book is filled with references to imaginary storylines (The JLA has split! Angelhawk is secretly a mutant! Wraith’s darkness is slowly tainting Runaway!), and it’s hard to fault the characters chosen to be amalgamated. Martian Manhunter working as an undercover X-Man? Will Magnus creating the Sentinels? Nightcreeper -- a cool visual and funny in-joke? This is good stuff. The execution is iffy, though. Aside from Porter’s inconsistent art, the script is often a bore. I can’t tell if the overwrought dialogue is intentionally or accidentally bad, but either way it drags the book down. If this is deliberately a parody of the X-style, it’s so dry that it’s hard to read it as a joke. And were any other characters held up for ridicule during the Amalgam event? Singling out the X-Men doesn’t seem fair.

X-PATROL #1 - April 1996

Doomed!

Credits: Karl & Barbara Kesel (writers), Roger Cruz (penciler), Jon Holdredge (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Tom Vincent (colors)

Summary: Dr. Niles Cable summons the mutant outcasts Elasti-Girl, Ferro Man, Shatterstarfire, Beastling, and Dial H.U.S.K. together to form the X-Patrol. They travel to the island-nation of Latveria to stop Dr. Doomsday, a highly evolved scientist plotting to rule two alternate universes. X-Patrol destroys his machinery and narrowly escapes with their lives. Unfortunately, the battle leaves Niles Cable crippled.

Continuity Notes: X-Patrol is the Amalgam Universe’s fusion of Doom Patrol with various X-teams. Dr. Niles Cable blends Dr. Niles Caulder and Cable, Shatterstarfire is Shatterstar and Starfire, Beastling is a combination of Beast and Beast Boy/Changeling, Ferro Man merges Colossus and Ferro Lad, Dial H.U.S.K. is Husk and Dial H for H.E.R.O., and Elasti-Girl merges…well, Elasti-Girl with the Wasp (and Domino, oddly enough).

Review: Amalgam was notable for transcending the malaise of the decade that spawned the concept and producing a series of fun, imaginative one-shots. X-Patrol, unfortunately, was probably the least recognized title from the event. I imagine the x-treme cover did a lot to chase away the critics who enjoyed the event specifically because it harkened back to an era before the pre-‘90s ugliness. And while Roger Cruz isn’t quite so ‘90s on the interiors, it’s hard to fault someone for buying a Dave Gibbons or Paul Smith comic and skipping this one. The story is still enjoyable, though, in the way most of the Amalgam books are. Characters are jumbled together, often based solely on similar-sounding names, fictitious back issues are referenced, and a few in-jokes are snuck in. My favorite is the glimpse of the “second rate” worlds Dr. Doomsday is plotting to invade -- the Marvel and DC Universes, filled with “twisted, splintered” versions of the true Amalgam heroes.

The story doesn’t strictly stick to the premise, as many of the DC characters amalgamated were never Doom Patrol members, and Dr. Doom and Doomsday have rarely interacted with the X-Men and Doom Patrol respectively, but those kinds of rules tended to be stretched throughout the Amalgam line. There is one inconsistency that does bother me, however. My understanding of the Amalgam Universe is that the characters aren’t literally merged into a singular body; they’ve merely assumed identities similar to those taken by heroes in another universe. Therefore, Super Soldier is still Steve Rogers, Dark Claw is still Logan, and Amazon is still Ororo Monroe. That’s true of most of the characters here, as Janet van Dyne has simply gone through a path in life that leads her to take on an identity that isn’t the Wasp. Other characters, like “Hank Logan” a.k.a. Beastling, are literally amalgamated versions of Marvel and DC heroes. How did this work? Did reality merge some people together and leave others merely to assume identities that resemble different characters? I haven’t read any of the stories that actually rationalize how the Amalgam Universe came to exist, so I don’t know. I realize this event was about fun more than rules, but since this speaks to the fundamental makeup of the universe, some consistency would be nice.

AMAZON #1 – April 1996

Family History

Credits: John Byrne (writer/artist), Terry Austin (inker), Patricia Mulvihill (colorist), John Costanza (letterer)

Summary: Princess Ororo, Wonder Woman, is suddenly attacked by the sea god Poseidon. He washes her away to his throne room, where she discovers his massive treasure. Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge, two of Ororo’s friends discover a battered Diana of Themyscira inside her apartment. Inside Poseidon’s throne room, Ororo picks up a small statue. Poseidon condemns her as a thief, claiming that his actions years ago were justified. Ororo flashes back to the day on Themyscira when she learned she was not an Amazon, but instead an orphan rescued from a shipwreck. Poseidon tells Ororo of the story behind the shipwreck. A professor named Malcolm discovered the statue’s mate while diving. Angered that he stole one of his treasures, Poseidon used his godly powers to ruin Malcolm’s life. Dejected, Malcolm traveled back to the Mediterranean to throw the statue back into the ocean. On the same boat were Ororo’s parents. Poseidon appears, telling Malcolm that now that he is in his domain, he can do more than merely “vex” him. He destroys the boat, killing everyone onboard, except for infant Ororo, who is rescued by the Amazons. Ororo chastises Poseidon, telling him that the world has moved on to other gods. Malcolm only sought to teach others about the legends of the gods, and Poseidon was so petty he only saw him as a thief. Poseidon realizes how foolish he has been and lets Ororo go.

Review: When Wizard did a rundown of the Amalgam event, I remember this is one of the issues they deemed lame. It has its faults, but I wouldn’t totally dismiss it. Most likely, I bought this issue to see John Byrne draw one of the X-Men again. Re-teaming with Terry Austin doesn’t recreate the look of their original Uncanny X-Men run, but the art is competent enough. It certainly looks better than how I remember Wonder Woman looking at this time. Byrne seems to be having fun with the Amalgam event, even throwing in a totally unrelated subplot scene with the real Wonder Woman that looks like something that might be in these pages if an Amazon series really did exist. The structure of the story is a little odd, as Byrne goes from present narrative, to flashback, to flashback within a flashback (which I thought was supposed to be a cardinal writing sin), briefly back to the present, to another flashback, then back to the present. The actual story he’s telling isn’t bad, and Byrne conveys the agony of a rational man tormented by a god pretty well, but the narrative structure is needlessly convoluted. The dialogue can also be a chore to get through, since large sections of it consist of godly characters speaking in stilted prose. Despite the flaws, though, I like the main idea of the story, and Ororo’s speech that humbles Poseidon is nicely written.

LEGENDS OF THE DARK CLAW #1 – April 1996

Through A Glass Darkly
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Jim Balent (penciler), Ray McCarthy (inker), Pat Garrahy (colorist), Bill Oakley (letterer)

Summary: Dark Claw confronts the Hyena at the offices of the Gotham Gazette. When Hyena’s armed reinforcements appear, Dark Claw’s sidekick Sparrow has to rescue him. Meanwhile, the Huntress breaks into the penthouse apartment of Logan Wayne and discovers his closet is filled with Dark Claw costumes. Dark Claw enters and questions Huntress. She’s a former government operative who used her connections to research the Hyena. Realizing that his past always connects to Logan, she began investigating him. Dark Claw reveals that both he and the Hyena were part of a secret project designed to create the ultimate killing machine. Hyena was a success, but Dark Claw was deemed a failure because he retained his conscious. Dark Claw takes Huntress down to the Barrow, his secret cave, where Sparrow is hacking into the Gotham Gazette’s computers. The trio learns that the Hyena set the next headline to announce his plans to kill the President on Air Force One. Soon, Dark Claw invades Air Force One and faces the Hyena. The Hyena sets off a poison gas, which forces Dark Claw to rip open the doors and free the gas. Dark Claw and Hyena fall out of the plane, but Hyena brags that he has a parachute. Sparrow rescues Dark Claw in their helicopter, as Dark Claws orders her to circle back and give him another shot at the Hyena.

Continuity Notes: Dark Claw is supposed to be combination of Wolverine and Batman. The Huntress is an amalgam of Carol Danvers and DC’s Huntress character. Sparrow is a combination of Jubilee and Robin. The Hyena is an amalgam of Sabretooth and the Joker. All of these characters are really the Marvel versions with altered names and backstories, rather than two characters truly merged into one.

Miscellaneous Note: The title of this issue is a reference to the New Testament that’s been used in several novels and movies. Hama’s penchant for literary references is parodied in the fabricated letters page.

Review: This was Wolverine’s replacement title during the Amalgam event. Amalgam was the stunt that had Marvel and DC working together to produce a line of comics that featured fusions of their existing properties. The actual production of the books was split between the two companies, and even though I was a diehard X-completist at this time, somehow the only two Amalgam comics I ended up with were produced by DC. Part of the gimmick was to pretend as if these properties had existed for years, so even the letters pages are filled with fabricated letters discussing earlier issues and imaginary titles the creators previously worked on (in the Amalgam world, Larry Hama had an extensive run on Sgt. Fury and the Combat-Happy Joes of Easy Company instead of G. I. Joe.)

Fan response to the Amalgam announcement was mixed, mainly due to the increasingly poor quality of most mainstream comics at the time. There wasn’t a lot of faith in Marvel and DC’s ability to pull this off, frankly (even Wizard magazine was cynical about the stunt). I only read a few of the comics, but most fans seemed to be pleasantly surprised by the time the event ended. The goal was really just to have fun, and that spirit is conveyed pretty effectively in this issue. I seemed to recall this comic as an issue-long fight scene, but rereading it, I can see that it has more going for it, as new backstories and personalities for most of the cast are introduced in just twenty-two pages. Combining Jubilee and Robin is an obvious choice, especially if you know that Jim Lee gave Jubilee her color scheme specifically to imitate Robin’s, but it still works. Sparrow has some funny lines and plays off the other characters well. Merging Joker and Sabretooth seems odd at first (and the Hyena’s design is pretty ugly), but the story emphasizes the sheer joy both of them experience from murder, so I can see the logic there. I’m not quite sure why Carol Danvers shows up, and it’s interesting that Hama chose to use her in two alternate reality stories in a row. Amalgam-ing Wolverine and Batman doesn’t seem to have any justification outside of commercial reasons (or maybe someone just realized that both their color schemes involved black and yellow at the time). Hama essentially writes Dark Claw as a more sophisticated Wolverine, throwing in a few knowing references to Batman’s origin. It’s pretty silly, but that’s a part of the charm of the entire event, and Hama is able to make Dark Claw appealing in his own right. Jim Balent’s art looks a little awkward on some of the pages, but for the most part he gets the job done. One of the fabricated letters in the letters page is a parody of a stereotypical comic fan’s boob-obsession, which is amusing considering Balent’s future work (and his then-current run on Catwoman¸ I suppose). The letters page seems to be Hama’s work also, as it’s filled with parodies of the type of letters he says he received while writing Wolverine. One fan complains that there aren’t any pretentious narrative captions, that the stories shouldn’t have clear endings, and that Hama shouldn’t be writing flagship superhero titles because his only experience is writing military comics. The fake letters page and hype page add to the sense of fun, and they’re actually more amusing than most of the one-liners in the story.