ADVENTURES OF THE X-MEN #6 - September 1996

Back in the USSR Part 2: Clear and Present Danger

Credits:  Ralph Macchio (writer), Ben Herrera & Roberto Flores (pencilers), Gary Martin & Ralph Cabera (inks), Matt Webb (colors), Michael Higgins (letters)

Summary:  The X-Men and Brotherhood call a truce when Magneto announces that he’ll combine his powers with the Scarlet Witch’s to stop the missiles from hitting America.  Apocalypse suddenly appears outside and engages Magneto and the X-Men in battle.  Gambit contacts Xavier, who then conveys Magneto’s plan to Nick Fury.  Against the urging of the Joint Chiefs, Fury convinces the president not to retaliate against Russia.  Apocalypse abandons the fight when the Russian military arrives, and Magneto is eventually able to gain control of the final missile.  He directs it to Apocalypse’s underground stronghold in the Nevada desert.  Apocalypse teleports away from the blast, but is unable to save years of research.

Continuity Notes:  Magneto has been secretly studying Apocalypse for years, just as he suspects Apocalypse has studied him.

How Did This Get Published?:  Storm’s response to Magneto releasing his magnetic wall and freeing the X-Men is excruciating, even by animated Storm standards:  “The barrier he imprisoned us behind -- he is dissolving it!  Now we may strike back at this man whose actions will bring death to millions.”

Review:  How does Magneto go from raving lunatic last issue back to the noble anti-hero this issue?  Most of the drama of this chapter hinges on Xavier and Fury’s efforts to convince the US government to trust Magneto, even though the previous issue showed us a Magneto more than willing to destroy the United States!  Perhaps someone realized in-between issues that Magneto was out of character, in regards to his animated appearances, but it’s hard to imagine why anyone thought radically altering his personality for the second chapter was a legitimate solution.  If you’re going with bug-eyed crazy Magneto, at least be consistent for the duration of a two-part storyline.  Suddenly dropping in the Claremont interpretation of Magneto makes the overall story feel utterly incoherent.

Speaking of incoherent, we have the dreaded artist jam this issue.  Only two pencilers and two inkers, yes, but the dissimilarity in styles is so jarring that even the youngest of readers is going to be taken out of the story.  Both Ben Herrera and Roberto Flores have styles that could vaguely be called “manga influenced,” but that doesn’t mean their art is in any way compatible.  Herrera’s work is angular, open, and occasionally too simplified for its own good.  Flores has a curvy, detail-heavy style that looks like Humberto Ramos if he drew skinnier, even more distorted figures.  Flores would’ve fit in at the later days of Extreme Studios, while Herrera did back-up work on Savage Dragon, if you get what I’m saying.  They’re both “cartoony,” but that doesn’t mean they’re well-matched.  And neither artist is on the level of Andy Kuhn, who produced some fantastic covers for the Adventures books in the mid-90s, although I’ve yet to see one featuring his interiors.

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #29 - July 1998

Back on his Game!

Credits:  Todd Dezago w/Andy Zefowicz (writers), Roberto Flores & Tom Lyle (pencilers), Juan Vlasco & Robert Jones (inkers), Matt Hicks (colors), Comicraft’s Kiff Scholl (letters)

The Plot:  Spider-Man investigates the disappearance of local drug dealers.  He runs into the Black Cat, who is searching for a missing drug mule, Dougie.  While they spy on a dealer who allegedly knows what happened to Dougie, a suspicious trash truck pulls into the alley.  Spider-Man recognizes it, but is caught in its trap before he can rescue Black Cat and the dealer.  Soon, they realize they’re captives of Arcade.

The Subplots:  Peter feels uncomfortable around Hope, now that he suspects she knows his secret ID.  Peter and MJ meet with Desiree at the Daily Grind.  She tells Peter that she felt a psychic connection to Ben Reilly as he died, and she wants him to know that Ben’s last thoughts were of Peter.  While at the Daily Grind, Billy refuses to sit with Peter and MJ.  

Web of Continuity:  Black Cat has a detective agency at this point in continuity.  She’s been hired by Dougie’s parents to locate him, after he disappeared from home to pursue life in New York.

I Love the ‘90s:  Spider-Man tells Black Cat she talks “just like Sipowicz.”  Later, Arcade declares that he feels luckier than Bill Clinton on “Let’s Dismiss the Paula Jones Case Day.”  (By the way, when I searched for co-writer Andy Zefowicz's name, Google suggested I search for Andy Sipowicz instead.)

Review:  The title of the issue is a reference to how Spider-Man feels after reclaiming his original superhero identity, a sentiment that would’ve had more meaning if “Identity Crisis” didn’t end so incoherently, and if there weren’t a half-dozen other Spidey comics coming out simultaneously.  So Spider-Man’s thrilled to be back in his real costume, a thought that’s conveniently missing from most of his other appearances from this period, just like Spidey doesn’t seem concerned about Hope knowing his dual identity or Desiree’s secret in the other titles.  And it’s not as if he’s given much thought to Flash Thompson’s alcoholism, Paul Stacy’s snotty attitude, or the mystery surrounding MJ’s criminology professor in Sensational, either.  I think it’s safe to say that the Laissez-faire attitude towards cross-title continuity in this era has been a mistake.  Peter Parker’s life feels segmented into even more than four areas a month, when you consider how often the subplots appear and disappear in their home titles, along with the addition of the specials, annuals, and quarterly Unlimited title.  I can’t necessarily argue that any of the regular writers don’t get Peter Parker as a character, but numerous story threads running in various directions make the entire line feel unfocused, which means the reader doesn’t get the sense that he or she’s truly following the life of Peter Parker.  The subplots highlighted this issue actually aren't so bad (with the exception of the Desiree plot, which had an intriguing beginning but somehow turned into more Ben Reilly nostalgia), but the fact that Peter couldn’t care less about any of these events for 3/4th of the month automatically diminishes them.

Ignoring the larger question of how subplots should be addressed in a franchise title, the issue’s main story follows the Sensational tradition of reviving underused characters and placing them in fairly straightforward superhero adventures.  Black Cat seems to have a dedicated fanbase, so I’m kind of surprised she hasn’t appeared more often during this era.  David Michelinie had already carved out a role for Felicia as the recurring jealous ex, one who just so happens to be able to participate in Spider-Man’s adventures, years earlier in Amazing.  That’s a simple and effective set-up for the character, one that’s also utilized in this arc.  Black Cat’s debut in the story highlights its biggest failing, however.  She jumps into frame on one page, looking like something straight out of dubbed anime, and on the next page she’s virtually identical to Mark Bagley’s interpretation from 1993’s “Revenge of the Spider-Slayers.”  No sane human being thinks Roberto Flores and Tom Lyle are compatible artists, yet here they are, not even segregated to separate scenes in the comic.  Since Roberto Flores is clearly the more “cartoony” artist, he would seem to be a logical choice to fill in for ‘Ringo, but if he wasn’t able to complete the issue, would it have been so hard to find someone like Pop Mhan to step in?  Conversely, if Tom Lyle wasn’t available for twenty-two pages, couldn’t he split them with Steven Butler?  At the very least, have the two artists divide the action and the subplot pages.  The issue would still look like a mess, but less of a schizophrenic one.

X-MEN ’96 – November 1996

One Day at the Mansion
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Roberto Flores & Anthony Castrillo (pencilers), Nathan Massengill & Al Milgrom (inkers), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Paul Becton & Malibu (colors)

Summary: X-Force, Generation X, and the X-Men gather for an afternoon at the mansion. Their baseball game is interrupted by the arrival of a malfunctioning Sentinel. The teams unite and attack it, forcing the robot to fall on a series of power lines. The Sentinel screams in pain, which stuns the mutants. The dying Sentinel explains that it was created as an intelligence gatherer, and not a hunter/killer. When it was awakened by Onslaught, its super-computer began to develop a consciousness. After learning of Xavier’s surrender to the authorities, it came to warn the X-Men of the future it’s predicted. As the Sentinel dies, the assorted teams debate the merits of shooting it down. Caliban’s naive words calm everyone down, and they continue their party. That night, Cable and Phoenix unite their powers to give everyone a superficial mind-meld that bonds the teams.

I Love the ‘90s: The Bullpen Bulletins page is bragging about Marvel going online for the first time. Their official site is actually www.onslaught.com, and exclusive content is also available through AOL with the keyword “Marvel”. Remember the days when having your own section of AOL was the equivalent of having an official site?

Review: Combine a quiet post-crossover issue with typical annual filler, and this is what you get. The X-Men have fun, get bummed out by a Sentinel, then have some more fun. To close things out, they hold hands and feel good next to each other. The extremely cartoony art livens things up a bit, but nothing can disguise the dullness of the story. I have no idea what the point of the Sentinel’s appearance is supposed to be, since the X-Men forget about it very quickly and go back to their party. I reread the Sentinel’s dialogue several times, trying to decipher what exactly it’s supposed to be warning the X-Men about, but it’s too cryptic to tell. Apparently, it’s extrapolated that something horrible will happen now that Xavier’s in custody, but that’s a fairly generous reading on my part. The rest of the issue just touches base on some of the various character relationships of the time, without actually doing anything with them. Gambit is resentful of Joseph. Joseph flirts with Rogue. M acts snotty towards everyone. Everyone goofs on Cannonball. All of the scenes feel shallow, except for the brief scene that has Wolverine apologizing to Cable about his son’s death. Everything else in this issue is pretty bland.