SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #-1 - July 1997

That Thompson Boy

Credits:  J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Luke Ross (penciler), Dan Green (inks), John Kalisz (colors), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  Peter is sent out of the house by Uncle Ben to spend a Saturday outside.  He bumps into Flash Thompson for the first time outside of Izzo’s, a store where Peter buys comics.  Flash’s sister later finds Flash at the ballpark and tells him to bring their father home.  Flash finds him at a bar, and when Flash “back talks” him, Flash is slapped.  He immediately asks for forgiveness and Flash helps to carry him home.  Flash then knocks Peter over as Peter returns from the library.  Later that day, Peter catches a ball hit by Flash at the ballpark.  Flash mocks Peter’s effort.  That night, Flash is hit by his father again for being late.  He looks out the window and enviously watches Peter and Uncle Ben, taking a walk and eating ice cream.  

The Subplots:  None.

Web of Continuity:  This issue establishes Flash’s family: his parents Harrison (Harry) and Rosie, and his little sister Jessie.  Flash’s father is a large, aggressive police officer, which contradicts the portrayal of Mr. Thompson as a lanky intellectual (one clearly reminiscent of Peter Parker) from Amazing Spider-Man #372’s back-up story.

Review:  J. M. DeMatteis takes advantage of Flashback Month to press forward with his Flash Thompson alcoholism subplot.  Like I’ve said before, I don’t personally like having alcoholism grafted on to Flash, but DeMatteis is getting some good material out of the idea.  This issue is also notable for presenting Peter’s first meeting with Flash, an important moment from Peter’s past I’m relatively certain we’ve never seen before.  

Contrasting Peter’s life with Flash’s, we see Peter as a sheltered boy who never wants to leave the house and Flash as the neighborhood bully, obviously passing on what he’s learned from his father.  Flash’s father could easily be the stereotypical abuser from a Lifetime movie, but DeMatteis does an admirable job of fleshing the character out in just a few pages, emphasizing his own insecurities and self-loathing.  And while Flash the abused kid deserves most of our sympathy, DeMatteis also writes an anxious twelve-year-old Peter as well as you think he would.  He’s a meek introvert who likes to read, doesn’t fit in with the other kids, and doesn’t understand why sports are such a big deal.  Not familiar at all is it?  Luke Ross also conveys the human elements of the story well, even if his cartoony kids are so cartoony they feel out of place in a child abuse story.  Then again, that could’ve been an intentional choice.

Overlooking the continuity error regarding Flash’s father, which is genuinely irksome, this is a strong use of the Flashback concept.  I think Marvel also deserves some credit for allowing at least one of the Spider-Man Flashback issues to have no action scenes or supervillains.  That was extremely rare for Marvel at the time, and I’m not sure if the decision helped sales at all, but it makes for a better story.  A somber depiction of Flash’s abusive childhood would’ve lost just a smidgen of its impact if the story had to shoehorn an appearance by Paste Pot Pete just as he was discovering glue for the first time.

PETER PARKER, SPIDER-MAN #-1 - July 1997

A Prelude in Red

Credits:  Howard Mackie (writer), Dan Fraga (penciler), Scott Hanna (inks), Gregory Wright (colors), Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  George Stacy investigates a mysterious series of deaths; deaths his brother Arthur blames on mutants.  George arranges for Arthur to work security for Osborn Industries, but his job is threatened when Arthur investigates the disappearance of Osborn employee Nels Van Adder.  When armed men attack his home, Arthur blames Norman Osborn, but George is skeptical.  That night in the plant, the brothers are ambushed by the mutated Van Adder.  To save George’s life, Arthur has to shove Van Adder into the nearby river.  Osborn later attempts to make peace with Arthur, but he refuses.

The Subplots:  A young Peter Parker visits the Osborn plant with Uncle Ben and Aunt May.  Norman is impressed with Peter’s scientific knowledge.

Web of Continuity:  

• As established back in the Stan Lee days, George Stacy and Norman Osborn are friends.
• Nels Van Adder is the “Proto-Goblin” you see on the cover, although he’s never called that in the issue.  
• Mutants are still considered an urban legend at this point in continuity, one George Stacy doesn’t believe in.
• Osborn blames his former partner Mendel Stromm for Van Adder’s condition, even though Osborn’s the one that’s been experimenting on him.  At the end of the story, Osborn finds the notes he’s been looking for hidden within Stromm’s desk, which presumably ties into the Green Goblin’s origin story.

Review:  Yes, Dan Fraga drew a Flashback issue.  And it’s actually not bad at all.  I’m not sure if Fraga’s style had already evolved by this point or if he took a less Liefeld-y approach specifically for Flashback Month, but it’s a welcome change from what you might remember from the Extreme Studios days.  There’s still a cartoony element, but the figures are much more realistic and the faces are attractive, exhibiting  a bit of an Arthur Adams or Mike Wieringo influence.  My only real complaint is the Backstreet Boys hairdo he’s given Arthur Stacy, which looks ridiculous on a character that’s supposed to be a middle-aged security expert and private eye.

And what about the plot?  Howard Mackie looks Flashback straight in the eye and says, “I’m not doing a Li’l Peter Parker story.”  Fair enough.  Peter’s relegated to a tiny cameo while Mackie explores the dynamic between long-dead supporting cast member George Stacy and his younger brother, new supporting cast member Arthur Stacy.  Mackie hits home the idea that Arthur is a paranoid conspiracy theorist, an aspect of the character that I don’t think is mentioned again until the “Next Chapter” relaunch of the books almost two years later.  The villain of the piece is Norman Osborn, experimenting on one of his employees while he’s still trying to perfect the Goblin Formula.  I can’t think of any obvious continuity problems with the concept, even if some might argue that Mackie’s reaching a bit to find a supervillain for the issue.  As far as continuity implants go, I think this one is inoffensive enough.

As I’ve stated many times, I don’t consider Mackie to be a strong character writer, so going into this I wasn’t expecting the George/Arthur material to be the highlight of the issue.  The character work isn’t great, but it is better than most of Mackie’s material from the era.  He gets across the idea that George is the straight-laced, responsible brother, while Arthur is always exploring a wild idea or chasing a conspiracy (i.e. he’s the screw-up.)  The ideas are never subtle, but they work well enough for a one-shot story.  At this point, this probably is the best story to feature the revived Stacy family, although  I can't say Mackie goes anywhere with the momentum.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #-1 - July 1997

 

Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

Credits:  Tom DeFalco (writer), Joe Bennett (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inks), Bob Sharen (colors), Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  Peter finds a stack of Golden Age comics while cleaning out the attic with Uncle Ben and Aunt May.  He reads the comics and fantasizes about being a hero.  Later, Aunt May hurts her ankle after a bratty kid runs into her with his skateboard.  Peter dreams of a way to catch him.  Soon, he sketches designs for what will become his webshooters.

The Subplots:  Jacob Conover investigates a gang takeover.  Don Rigoletto is killed by the Kingpin, leaving Fortunato as the lone representative of “the old ways.”  Fortunato secretly meets with Conover to talk about the story, but they’re ambushed by the Kingpin’s men.  Conover saves Fortunato’s life, but is scared away from covering serious stories.

Web of Continuity:  

• Kingpin’s murder of Rigoletto is taken directly from the Daredevil: The Man Without Fear miniseries.  Whether or not this miniseries was even intended to be canon was debatable at the time (in fact, the Daredevil Flashback issue directly contradicts it and returns to the original continuity).  I suppose Kingpin’s role in the mini doesn’t create any actual continuity problems, unlike Man Without Fear’s depiction of Jack Murdock’s death.
• Namor, still in his wandering bum days, is kicked out of the diner where Jacob Conover and Phil Sheldon (from Marvels) are eating.
• Robbie Robertson appears at the Daily Bugle, asking Jonah about the gangland story.  Tom DeFalco thankfully gets the continuity straight, acknowledging that Robbie doesn’t work for the Bugle at this point, and is only visiting from Philadelphia.
• The story’s ending indicates that Fortunato owes Conover a debt that he’ll repay later.  I have no idea if this thread is ever picked up on, but the story goes out of its way to draw attention to Fortunato’s promise.

Review:  Surely someone working for Marvel could’ve looked over the plots and determined that they didn’t need two Flashback stories about Peter’s comic book fantasies?  It’s not as if DeFalco (or at least one of the editors) isn’t aware of the Sensational story, since there’s a line of dialogue used to justify Peter getting to read these comics after Aunt May banned the monster comics.  I appreciate the effort that went into such a minor continuity point, but that doesn’t exactly excuse the redundancy.  And that ending with the proto-webshooters is the kind of cutsey wink and nod that showed up in a number of the Flashback books, never ceasing to annoy me.  

The issue does have its moments, though.  Joe Bennett's art is much stronger than his typical ASM work, and I think the Flashback stunt might be responsible.  Artists during this month were supposed to evoke a Silver Age feel, and while that simply meant reverting to a six-panel grid for many artists, some of them actually tried to mimic the drawing style of the early ‘60s.  Bennett seems to have merged his exaggerated ‘90s style with something more subdued from the past, and it’s a vast improvement over his previous issues.  The human characters consistently look human now, which helps the story immeasurably.  And while the “Peter reads old Marvel Comics” angle might be dismissed as cheese, the gangland plot is pretty entertaining.  Contrasting Peter’s naïve thoughts on heroism with the horrifying situation Conover has placed himself in is a clever way to draw the plots together, and to add some depth to the issue.

The Secrets of Peter Parker!

Credits:  Tom DeFalco (writer), Pat Olliffe (penciler), Al Williamson (inks), Bob Sharen (colors), Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  Thirteen-year-old Peter Parker’s athletic prowess and accessories (backpack, glasses, and pocket protector) are explored in this educational short.

The Subplots:  None.

Review:  This is legitimately funny, even if you’ve never read the original Amazing Spider-Man back-up it’s parodying.  The idea of applying one of those old Marvel tutorial back-ups to Peter Parker as a nerdy middle-schooler cracks me up, especially when the creators provide a diagram for how Peter’s glasses work.  Having Untold Tales of Spider-Man artist Pat Olliffe illustrate the piece makes it that much better, given the number of times Untold Tales ran its own versions of those old annual back-ups.

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #-1 - July 1997

 

Here There Be Monsters!

Credits:  Todd Dezago (writer), Mike Wieringo (penciler), Richard Case (inks), Gregory Wright (colors), Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  Peter Parker goes to bed the night before his fishing trip with Uncle Ben.  As he sleeps, he dreams their fishing trip is interrupted by creatures from his favorite comic books.  Using his knowledge of science, Peter is able to defeat the monsters in his dreams.  The next morning, Aunt May is adamant that Peter throw away his comics.  Uncle Ben hides them in the attic instead.  Elsewhere, Nightmare decides to target young Peter Parker in the realm of dreams, but he’s scared away by Stan Lee.

The Subplots:  None.

Web of Continuity:  The old Marvel monsters seen this issue include Gigantus, Groot, the Vandoom Creature, and the Blip.  And this is actually the second time we see Peter’s old monster comics in the attic.  He discovered them in the present day during the “Revelations” storyline in Spectacular Spider-Man #240.

Forever Young:  Somehow, twenty-something Peter Parker had a full collection of early Silver Age Marvel monster comics in his youth.  (Uncle Ben’s dialogue doesn’t suggest he passed them down to Peter.)  The Parkers also had a television set sitting on the floor with wood paneling and VHF/UHF knobs.

Review:  Hey, I get to talk about Flashback Month yet again.  For anyone who isn’t aware, this is the month Marvel labeled every comic it published a “negative one” and set the story vaguely ten years in the past, before the official beginning of the Marvel Universe in Fantastic Four #1.  Stan Lee served as the narrator and reportedly wrote his own dialogue.  At the time, I largely viewed Flashback Month as a nuisance, but over the years I’ve come to appreciate the concept.  I still believe that applying the gimmick to the entire line of books was a mistake, however.  The Spider-Man line is the perfect example of how Marvel cast the net too wide -- there are four monthly Spider-Man titles, five counting Untold Tales.  How do you get five full stories out of the nerdy, pre-Spider-Man Peter Parker?

Despite the restriction, Todd Dezago and Mike Wieringo get one of their best issues out of the concept.  Going for “it’s all a dream” is a somewhat obvious choice, yet it’s probably the best one available to creators who have to tell a young Peter Parker story that still incorporates some action and/or fantasy elements.  It’s largely an excuse for ‘Ringo to draw some long-forgotten Marvel monsters, and he does so spectacularly.  If he can’t draw Spider-Man for an issue, this is still a worthy use of his time.  Honestly, who would expect to see a Groot vs. Vandoom fight in a flashback story about Peter and Uncle Ben’s fishing trip?  It’s a clever way to subvert the editorial mandate without breaking any of the actual rules.

Not only is the issue visually amazing, but the story is also one of the finest Peter/Uncle Ben stories I’ve ever read.  The scene where Ben tries to get Peter to open up about his friends and Peter’s only response is to clam up (because he has none)…if that doesn’t get to you, check your pulse, you heartless ogre.  So, Sensational has set the bar high as the first Spidey Flashback.  To be honest, I’m skeptical if the rest are going to be this good.

GENERATION X #-1 - July 1997

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship!

Credits: James Robinson (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Al Vey (inker), Marie Javins (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Sixteen-year-old runaway Emma Frost invades Manhattan high society. While using her telepathic powers to gain stock tips, she’s drawn to Harry Leland of the Hellfire Club. Soon, the strain of using her powers forces Emma to collapse. When she recovers, she’s harassed by the party guests’ bodyguards. They turn violent when she rejects them. Emma is rescued by the Dark Beast, who offers her a partnership. NYPD detective Sean Cassidy noticed Emma needed help and finally catches up to her as she’s about to shake Dark Beast’s hand. Sean attacks the Dark Beast, who responds violently. Sean’s partner arrives with Harry Leland, and Emma uses her psychic powers to send them home. When alone with the Dark Beast, she accepts his offer.

Continuity Notes: I’m not sure when Banshee’s tenure as an NYPD detective is supposed to fit in his backstory, but I’ve seen it referenced before. He’s following Harry Leland, who is suspected of murder. Emma Frost is described as sixteen, and if you go along with the premise that Flashback Month was supposed to be ten years ago, it’s fitting that Grant Morrison later had Emma declare she was twenty-seven in New X-Men. Dark Beast, for unknown reasons, is suffering from amnesia and is speaking with a simplified speech pattern. I guess the idea is that he’s still disoriented by coming to this timeline, but that happened ten years ago by this point. Also, it seems like he couldn’t have “created” the Morlocks in this mental condition.

Review: I’ve always liked the idea that Emma Frost used her powers unscrupulously to become wealthy at a young age, so I enjoyed the beginning of this story. However, as it progresses, the story seems to take a backseat to the gimmicky introduction of random characters. I guess you could get away with saying Emma Frost and Banshee first met years earlier (I don’t think they were in the same comic until the UXM issues that set up Generation X), but what is the Dark Beast doing here? A cameo by Harry Leland makes sense given Emma’s future with the Hellfire Club, but why does he come back in the end? Why establish that he’s being investigated for murder? Maybe there’s a significance here I’m not aware of, but judging this issue on its own merits, these elements just seem out of place. I do now remember a hint in the early Generation X issues that Dark Beast had a grudge against Emma Frost, so I guess his appearance here was a step in answering that mystery. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go very far towards resolving the dangling subplot, and I don’t think anyone’s touched the idea since. At the very least, this issue has solid work from Chris Bachalo. I actually had no idea Bachalo drew this issue. For years, for some reason, I thought this was a fill-in drawn in a Jeff Matsuda-style. Discovering it wasn’t a fill-in was a nice surprise.

EXCALIBUR #-1 - July 1997

A True & Terrible Sacrifice

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Rob Haynes & Casey Jones (pencilers), Nathan Massengill w/ Rob Haynes & Casey Jones (inkers), Kevin Tinsley (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Nightcrawler invites his girlfriend Jimaine Szardos to leave the circus with him. Her mother Margali doesn’t want Jimaine to go, claiming that she must first teach her of the Winding Way. Margali shows Jimaine an image of the Soul Sword, which invokes a brief appearance by Belasco. Later, circus aerialist Sabu asks Jimaine if he can take her place during Nightcrawler’s final performance. Margali uses the opportunity to arrange Sabu’s death during the performance. Margali disguises herself as Belasco and delivers a warning to Jimaine. When Jimaine learns of Sabu’s death, she agrees to stay behind to gain revenge on Belasco.

Continuity Notes: “Jimaine Szardos” will later change her name to Amanda Sefton while spying on Nightcrawler, who was believed to be her brother's killer. Nightcrawler was working at the circus shortly before he joined the X-Men, so he had to have returned at some point over the years.

Miscellaneous Note: The cover is an homage to UXM #111.

Review: Nightcrawler was probably the best candidate to star in a Flashback issue, although Amanda/Jimaine ends up with much of the spotlight. Warren Ellis got a lot of mileage out of Amanda Sefton and Margali, so I can understand why Ben Raab would want to keep the characters around. I don’t know where exactly Raab intended to go with this, and I’m not sure if it really adds anything to the Amanda/Margali relationship. We already know Margali’s dishonest and manipulative, so the only new reason for Amanda to hate her comes from the death of a minor character. Raab does handle the characterizations of Nightcrawler and Amanda well, though, so this doesn’t feel like total filler. It’s also nice to see the return of Rob Haynes and Casey Jones, who are dynamic enough to pull off a dialogue-heavy issue. Either artist would've been a capable replacement for Pacheco.

X-FORCE #-1 - July 1997

The Brothers Proudstar

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Adam Pollina (penciler), Mark Morales, Jon Holdredge, & Al Milgrom (inkers), Marie Javins & Michael Higgins (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: John Proudstar leaves the Marines and returns home, where he’s greeted by his eleven-year-old brother James. John is saddened to learn his mother has cancer. Looking for a distraction, he takes James to a carnival. He runs into newspaper reporter Michael Whitecloud, who believes a conspiracy surrounds the camp’s cancer cases. James sneaks along as John and Michael infiltrate the Arroyo Medical Laboratory, where they discover Dr. Edwin Martynec’s experiments in radiation and cloning. Martynec morphs into a cat-creature and attacks. John fights back, but Martynec destroys the building to prevent the discovery of his research.

Continuity Notes: During the carnival scene, there are cameos by a young Meltdown, Ringmaster, Destiny and Mystique (Destiny is working as a fortune teller and Mystique is trying to convince her to put her powers to good use), and the ultra-obscure Chondu the Mystic. During a flashback, James Proudstar says he saw a fiery bird image in the sky after a helicopter crash, which he viewed as a totem. I don’t think Moore intended this to be Phoenix, since Jean Grey didn’t become Phoenix until after Proudstar had joined the X-Men and died.

Review: Even though this is a Flashback issue, John Francis Moore doesn’t allow the title’s ongoing storylines to stagnate. Although it won’t be apparent until later, many of these characters will resurface as it’s revealed that Martynec’s research is a part of a much larger story. The focus on the Proudstar siblings is also appropriate, as Warpath becomes a leading character in Moore’s run as the issues go on. Even though John Proudstar’s death was James’ driving motivation for years, this is one of the few stories that ever focused on their relationship and made his death seem like a tragedy. Moore’s plots tend to be dense anyway, but in fitting with the Silver Age aesthetic, each page is now crammed with even more story. Most of the pages have between six and eight panels, and along with the gratuitous cameos, Moore also works in an extra fight scene between John Proudstar and a tiger at the carnival. Adam Pollina has never drawn in this straightforward grid style before, but it doesn’t seem to hinder him at all. I skipped out on buying this when it was released, but this is a decent example of how to make the Flashback gimmick work.

CABLE #-1 - July 1997

The Devil’s Herald!

Credits: James Robinson (writer), Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Glynis Oliver (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: In the past, Moira MacTaggert travels with Rahne Sinclair to Stornoway. Cable has just arrived in this timeline and cannot speak English. Moira defends him, as Rev. Craig declares him the Devil’s herald. Cable uses his telepathic powers to calm the crowd. At Muir Island, Moira examines Cable, whose powers inadvertently destroy her equipment. He saves her from falling debris; then uses his powers to learn English from her mind. Cable explains that he’s on a mission and asks if she can contact Charles Xavier. Meanwhile in Switzerland, Apocalypse senses Cable’s arrival and awakes.

Continuity Notes: Since Cable learns English in this issue, it has to take place before his mercenary days with the Six Pack. This is also another instance of Cable using telepathic/telekinetic powers before he should have them in-continuity (he developed them after founding X-Force). I don’t know if Cable and Xavier actually did meet during this era, but I do know that Jeph Loeb wanted to establish that Cable helped Xavier build the Danger Room, as vaguely hinted during his X-Force run.

James Robinson gives Cable a bizarre speech pattern during a flashback to his time in the future. I assume this is supposed to be an English translation of Askani, leading Cable to say things like, “Forward fight then…and quarter to none!” and “Worry gone, friend-fighters.” He’s never spoken like this in any of his previous flashbacks, though.

The presence of Wolfsbane, Rahne Sinclair, causes a lot of problems. Rahne is described as Moira’s ward, which isn’t accurate. Moira recognized Rahne in her first appearance in the New Mutants GN as a child she delivered years earlier. Chris Claremont later established that Moira spent time with Rahne as a girl during an added page in Classic X-Men #2, but the scene made it clear that Rev. Craig was her guardian. There’s also the question of Rahne’s age. If the story takes place before Fantastic Four#1, which was the intent of Flashback Month, it should be ten years ago. Rahne was established as fourteen in her early appearances, meaning she should be around four in this issue and not the junior high student she appears to be. To prove I can be even more pedantic, I’ll point out that a narrative caption describes Rahne as a future member of X-Force, which wasn’t true in 1997 (although I guess it’s become true in recent years). Finally, Stan Lee claims during his final page that Cable erased Rahne’s memory (but not Moira’s) of the events, since Cable apparently knew they would meet later on.

Review: What’s that you say? A Cable Flashback issue is a continuity mess? James Robinson was still very new to this title, so I’m sure having to keep Cable continuity straight and figure out where it relates to the start of the Marvel Universe wasn’t easy. This actually does answer the question of how Moira knew Cable (as established in one of his early appearances), leaving Rahne’s appearance as the major continuity offender. Robinson does seem comfortable with Cable’s makeover as a new age warrior from the future, giving the story an “epic” feel. I personally think this direction never fit Cable, but Robinson can handle it well enough. Making Cable inadvertently responsible for Apocalypse’s reawaking isn’t a bad idea; one that Fabian Nicieza took a step further a few years ago in Cable and Deadpool.

The issue’s true significance is the debut of Ladronn as artist. His Kirby-influenced art is obviously a perfect fit for Flashback Month, and he’s aided by Glynis Oliver’s colors, which even go back to the “tiny dots” look of the Silver Age. Ladronn’s depiction of Cable’s future, Muir Island’s technology, and the surroundings of Scotland are amazing. Each page is filled with intricate details that clearly required a real effort on Ladronn’s part. This might’ve seemed like an odd title to assign Ladronn, but he made it work.

X-FACTOR #-1 - July 1997

A Summers Tale

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Jeff Matsuda (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Glynis Oliver (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Forge and Mystique talk about their feelings and embrace for a kiss. Suddenly, Stan Lee interrupts and tells a flashback story. Thirteen-year-old Alex Summers has been adopted by the Blanding family. Their son Todd has died, and the parents are unwittingly molding Alex into his image. Neighborhood bully Vince targets Alex, and with Mr. Sinister’s encouragement, kidnaps Alex and his foster-sister Haley. Vince admits to triggering the accident that killed Todd and boasts that he’ll kill the Blanding parents. Alex and Haley escape in time to discover Vince aiming a gun at their gas tank. Alex uses his powers for the first time and accidentally kills Vince. Mr. Sinister erases his memory of the event.

Continuity Notes: Mr. Sinister claims that young Alex could potentially be more powerful than his brother, but he lacks all control. This is presumably an explanation for why Sinister has focused more on Cyclops than Havok.

Review: This is one of the “suburban” Flashback issues, as it focuses on a character’s childhood before he developed powers and doesn’t involve superheroic action. As far as I know, no one had done a story about Havok’s childhood, so it’s a logical avenue to explore during Flashback Month. Howard Mackie’s dialogue is still unnecessarily clunky in places, but he is able to make Alex’s adopted family believable enough. Tying Alex’s conflict at home, his inability to live up the Blanding’s biological son, with the action elements that come later is a good idea. (How exactly Todd died isn’t very clear, but apparently Vince threw a rock which caused the car accident that killed Todd. I have no idea how a rock could do this, unless Vince was throwing boulders around.) Vince is more evil than the standard neighborhood bully character, but that works to the story’s advantage. Not only does Vince stand out amongst typical bullies, but his death also doesn’t come across as this horrible sin Havok committed in the past. That might have been the story’s intent, since Havok was supposedly a villain during this era, but instead it comes across as a fairly innocuous part of his backstory. Thankfully, they didn’t have him kill his sister or parents, which is where I could see this story going today.

WOLVERINE #-1 – July 1997

A Whiff of Sartre’s Madeleine!
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Cary Nord (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Joe Rosas (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: James Hudson sends Wolverine to Washington, DC to meet Dr. Myron MacLain, the inventor of adamantium. When he arrives, he’s spotted by Hydra agents, who are searching for the former members of Team X. Dr. MacLain examines Wolverine, but can’t explain where his adamantium skeleton came from. Meanwhile, MacLain’s secretary informs a mystery man that Wolverine’s arrived. Soon, Sabretooth barges into the MacLain’s office. He takes Wolverine, who doesn’t recognize him, away. In a back alley, Sabretooth prepares to shoot him in the back of the head, but he’s interrupted by Hydra agents. Wolverine is rescued by Nick Fury and Carol Danvers, who try to fight off Hydra. Russian agent Black Widow finishes off the Hydra agents, claiming that her government doesn’t want Wolverine joining a terrorist group or any government agency. Sabretooth returns and takes aim at Wolverine, but quickly loses the fight. Wolverine takes Sabretooth’s cowboy hat and walks away. Fury decides to ignore his orders and let Wolverine leave.

Continuity Notes: This is a story set in Wolverine’s past that guest stars three-fourths of the Marvel Universe. It has a little bit of continuity. Wolverine is still just “Logan” at this point. The story takes place shortly after the Hudsons discovered him in the woods. Ben Grimm, not yet the Thing, is Wolverine’s pilot to America. He gives him the nickname “Canucklehead”. Sabretooth is still wearing civilian clothes at this time, and claims that he’s working for the government. Nick Fury, who doesn’t have an eye patch at this point, has met Wolverine before and is shocked he doesn’t remember him (due to his memory blocks, of course). He’s been ordered to recruit Wolverine for government work, while Sabretooth claims that his Federal bosses want Wolverine dead. Carol Danvers is a CIA agent and is meeting Wolverine for the first time. Dr. Myron MacLain is working out of the Department of Agriculture, which previous Wolverine issues have established as a front for top-secret operations. Madame Hydra, who is secretly Silver Fox, is watching the events from a distance.

Miscellaneous Note: I did a quick Google search, but didn't see any references to the odd title of this issue. I assume it's a reference to French writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Satre, but I don't know what its significance to this story is supposed to be.

I Love the ‘90s: A Bullpen Bulletins article about Marvel’s website ends with this gem: “Now, if only someone would explain to us how we can download those great pictures of Terri Hatcher…!”

Review: Since an early Alpha Flight backup established that the Hudsons discovered Wolverine shortly before the Fantastic Four were created, it was easy for Hama to know where Wolverine was supposed to be during the Flashback period. (Kurt Busiek has joked for years that the “X-guys” screwed up when Wolverine could’ve gotten his adamantium, since it didn’t exist until a Thomas/Buscema issue of Avengers. Well, it was actually John Byrne, who was no longer an X-guy.) Marvel had already produced quite a few stories set during Wolverine’s past by this point, but I don’t know if his early days with the Hudsons had ever been explored. Unfortunately, they’re ditched early on in the story, as Wolverine goes on to have a rather pointless adventure in America. The story is filled with so many needless cameos, I half-expected a teenage Peter Parker to show up on a school field trip (“If Flash Thompson weren’t such a doofus, he’d appreciate the beauty of our nation’s capital! Hey, what’s all that commotion over there? I’d better go hide! Excitement and Peter Benjamin Parker do not mix!”). It is fun as an action story, but the relentless cameos strain credibility so far it’s hard not to view the issue as anything other than a gimmick. I didn’t like Cary Nord’s art the first time I read this issue, but he has a Mignola-esque style that looks pretty interesting today. His interpretation of Sabretooth as a redneck CIA agent is pretty cool.

X-MAN #-1 – July 1997

Breeding Ground
Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Roger Cruz (penciler), Bud LaRosa & Wellington Diaz (inkers), Mike Thomas (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: In an abandoned orphanage in Nebraska, a young Nathan Grey emerges from one of Mr. Sinister’s devices. While Sinister speaks to McCoy via videoscreen, Nathan disappears. Sinister searches the orphanage for Nathan, who is psychically pulling up images from the building’s past. Sinister eventually finds Nathan, and shows him footage of America in the Age of Apocalypse. When Nathan sees video of a genetic processing plant, he creates a psychic replica inside the orphanage. Sinister triggers a telepathic failsafe in Nathan’s mind and stops the illusion. He creates a teddy bear to placate Nathan, and then places him back inside his mechanical cocoon. Sinister decides that Nathan is too powerful, and makes plans for a genetic time bomb he can use to kill him if necessary.

Continuity Note: Obviously this story takes place in the Age of Apocalypse’s past, but it’s hard to discern when exactly. Since Fantastic Four #1 didn’t exist in X-Man’s world, I’m assuming this title isn’t following the rule that the Flashback titles take place pre-FF #1. Aside from that, I have a hard time believing that it took Mr. Sinister the equivalent of 35 years worth of comics to age Nate Grey from childhood to teen-hood. The orphanage in the story is the one Cyclops grew up in, which is a lab Sinister is keeping secret from Apocalypse in this world.

Review: This is probably the most awkward of the Flashback titles - a Silver Age-style story for an alternate reality character who debuted in 1995. He has no association with the early days of Marvel, didn’t exist in the main Marvel Universe until recently, and, chronologically, was only created in a lab a few years ago. Stan Lee can’t even come up with a clever intro to the comic; he’s left explaining the AoA concept and recapping X-Man’s “dead by twenty-one” dilemma. The story really has nothing for X-Man (or X-five-year-old) to do, so he spends the entire issue wandering around, displaying his powers, and then going back into gestation. The end of the story teases another genetic problem for X-Man, which I assume was a setup for a future X-Man storyline. It’s not entirely boring, but it’s obviously padded, and literally goes nowhere. Cruz’s art helps to liven things up. This is his strongest work at this point, as a lot of the busyness and sloppiness is gone. It’s a cleaner, more attractive look that suits his cartooning influences well.

X-MEN #-1 – July 1997

I Had a Dream
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Carlos Pacheco (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Chris Lichtner & Aron Lusen (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Charles Xavier returns to America for the first time since his legs were shattered. He’s staying at his father’s home with Amelia Voght, the nurse he met in the hospital. She thinks his plan to stop human/mutant conflict is insane, and Xavier responds that he can’t just wait for “him”. Elsewhere, Magneto speaks to his two newest recruits, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. They travel to the concentration camp Magneto grew up in, where they find Xavier and Amelia waiting. Xavier tries to convince Magneto to turn away from his crusade, or else more concentration camps are going to be built. Magneto claims that he could kill Xavier now, and Xavier responds that he could shut off his mind. Magneto leaves, saying that their conflict can only have one conclusion. Xavier tells Amelia that he hopes Magneto can remember the sins of the past and not repeat them.

Continuity Note: A third-person narrative caption repeatedly refers to “Erik Lensherr” as Magneto’s name as a child. This is contradicted just a few months later during Joe Kelly’s run, when it’s revealed that Erik Lensherr was a false identity Magneto adopted.

Review: After a few pages of an amusing Stan Lee framing sequence (which mainly consists of him joking about the number of mutants he can’t keep track of), the tone shifts dramatically as Scott Lobdell presents an extended conversation scene between Xavier and Magneto. I’m convinced that the X-office had no idea what to do with Magneto during the ‘90s, but this story is at least tolerable. Lobdell tries to straddle the line between Claremont’s sympathetic portrayal of the character and the original ranting psychopath Magneto from the Silver Age. In the context of modern continuity, it works pretty well, but it’s hard to imagine the Magneto who existed just prior to 1963’s X-Men #1 having anything close to a reasonable discussion with Xavier.

Claremont’s retcon explanation for Magneto’s various characterizations was that his powers caused mental instability, which is as good an explanation as any. (He also wrote a Classic X-Men backup that took place shortly before his first appearance, which had Magneto going over the edge after a woman he was involved with was needlessly killed. This was supposed to set up his mental state for his Silver Age appearances). Of course, Claremont’s attempts at making Magneto sympathetic were a part of his larger plan to have Magneto genuinely reform. Later creators seemed to like the idea of a more complex Magneto, but apparently hated the idea of him ever reforming. So, they took what they liked from Claremont’s run and ignored the rest. In essence, this remakes Magneto yet again. He’s a villain again, but he’s now able to present a somewhat justifiable point of view.

Lobdell’s interpretation doesn’t portray Magneto as insane, but instead casts him as a ruthless man who’s willing to do anything to protect mutants. This seems to be what the creative teams were going for during his ‘90s appearances, but couldn’t quite pull off (why exactly did he crash a little girl’s funeral again?). I still don’t think Lobdell writes a compelling enough Magneto to really justify a full conversation issue between him and Xavier, but the story has its moments. Showing that neither Xavier nor Magneto are willing to fight one another at this point is a nice move, and I liked the inclusion of Amelia Voght. Pacheco’s art, which has to deal with pages of conversation scenes and the restrictive grid layout of the Flashback titles, remains strong. Overall, this is a decent issue, which is more than I would expect from a ‘90s Magneto appearance.

UNCANNY X-MEN #-1 – July 1997

The Boy Who Saw Tomorrow!
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Bryan Hitch (penciler), Paul Neary (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: A young Jean Grey watches a falling star from her window. The “star” flies towards South Dakota, where it reveals itself as the time travelling Rachel Summers. She’s following Sanctity, a mutant she found while lost in the timestream. Rachel discovers Master Mold, in the early stages of construction, near the home of Dr. Bolivar Trask. Rachel deduces that Sanctity has traveled back to this time to prevent the creation of the Sentinels. She talks to Sanctity and tries to convince her not to interfere with the timestream. When Sanctity fades away, Rachel realizes that she’s been speaking to a mental projection. Inside, Sanctity reveals to Trask that she is his missing daughter, Tanya. Before she can convince Trask to abandon his anti-mutant crusade, she realizes that Rachel has frozen his mental capacity so that he can’t hear her. Sanctity finally listens to Rachel and agrees to go home. Shortly after they leave, Trask’s son, Lawrence, finds his father recovering in his lab. Unbeknownst to everyone, Sanctity inserted a program into Master Mold, named “XII”.

Continuity Notes: This serves as an origin story for future Askani member Sanctity. It’s revealed that she is Tanya Trask, the daughter of Bolivar Trask, who has the power to “phase out of synch with time”. Because she had no control over her powers, she’s been missing for years. She met Rachel Summers while she was lost in the timestream (following Excalibur #75), in an “untold tale” according to an editor’s note. A narrative caption towards the end of the issue says that Rachel will “ultimately be betrayed” by Sanctity. I have no idea if this was ever resolved (it might just be a reference to the fact that Sanctity disobeyed Rachel and inserted info into Master Mold without her knowledge).

The “XII” program Sanctity inserted into Master Mold is a listing of “The Twelve”. I’ll be honest and admit that even discussing the Twelve bores me to death. Essentially, Master Mold once claimed in an old issue of X-Factor (while he was malfunctioning) that twelve mutants will shape the future. This wasn’t elaborated on, but it lead to years of fan speculation. Marvel apparently decided that this should be resolved, over ten years later, and this was the first step in reintroducing the concept. So if you wanted to know how Master Mold learned of the Twelve, this issue tells you. Sanctity, while making a list of horrible events she can prevent, says, “humanity waited so long for the Twelve…they so sorely disappointed us”. If you disliked the 1999 crossover “The Twelve”, you can insert your own joke here.

Young Jean Grey is described as eleven years old, while a few pages later a narrative caption says that the Sentinels will debut in “approximately three years”. This would make Jean fourteen or younger when she joined the X-Men, which doesn’t seem right. While I’m nitpicking, I’ll also point out that Marvel has apparently abandoned Mark Gruenwald’s rule that time travel can’t affect the main reality by this point.

“Huh?” Moment: Why is Master Mold wearing a domino mask on the cover? Is he afraid the other robots will recognize him?

Review: This is the start of “Flashback Month”, a gimmick that had every Marvel title doing a story that predated not only the first issue of its individual series, but the 1961 first issue of The Fantastic Four. It’s probably best known now for a behind-the-scenes fact; many fans viewed the “-#1” issues as an excuse to skip an issue of a series but maintain a full run, which makes it one of the few “event month” gimmicks to ever cause sales to decrease. (I remember the first issue of X-Force I chose not to buy was the #-1 issue. I was already getting burned out on the X-titles, and didn’t feel the need to buy a comic about Warpath’s childhood). Stan Lee appeared in all Flashback titles as the narrator (I believe he wrote his own dialogue, but can’t find any confirmation in this issue), mirroring his role in an earlier issue of Generation X. The art style on the covers was changed to reflect a ‘60s look (which might’ve added to the dent in sales), and artists were encouraged to go back to a simpler grid-style panel arrangement. Comicraft also altered the lettering fonts, presumably to make the word balloons look hand-lettered. Plus, the letters pages and Bullpen Bulletins switched back to simplistic layouts with plain white backgrounds (which thankfully made them easier to read). A lot of effort clearly went into this, and I can’t help but feel like the Marvel staff was a lot more excited about this than the actual readers were.

Strictly in terms of content this seems like a bad idea, since most of these characters weren’t involved in any type of superhero adventures before FF #1 (hence FF #1’s role as the start of the Marvel Universe). This automatically harmed a lot of titles, especially the Spider-Man books, which were left with issue after issue to fill with stories set during Peter Parker’s childhood (I’ve only read the Untold Tales of Spider-Man issue, which had to go all the way back to his parents’ days as government agents). Aesthetically, the event forced the entire line to devolve back to a 1960s look that the majority of Marvel’s audience probably dismissed as boring. I don’t want to pile on Bob Harras, but I wonder if this event is another example of him putting his nostalgia over the current audience’s expectations (he is the one who wanted the X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Hulk to revert to their “classic” status quos, after all).

The actual story in this issue is rather mediocre, although the art features Bryan Hitch’s strongest work yet. If I cared more about the various continuity elements, I imagine I would’ve gotten more out of this. Sanctity was one of those characters that I could never remember from appearance to appearance when these issues were first released, so learning that she has a connection to a group of Silver Age characters I knew nothing about didn’t make her more endearing. Lobdell’s description of her powers does actually sound interesting, but I have a hard time getting over her connection to the Askani, a concept that I’ve grown to intensely dislike over the years. The story doesn’t directly tie in to the Zero Tolerance crossover, but since it does feature a prequel story with the Sentinels, there is at least a small connection (which I’m sure didn’t escape Lobdell). Even if this one isn’t great, it’s still passable, which puts ahead of many of the other Flashback issues.