The Retro-Cool '00s Fan Service of G. I. Joe vs. the Transformers

 

Hasbro's G. I. Joe and Transformers properties were destined to crossover, but could the story match fan expectations? I look at the first of these (many, many) 2000s crossovers today at CBR.

ADVENTURES OF THE X-MEN #4 - July 1996

When the Dweller Awakes

Credits:  Ralph Macchio (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Dan Panosian (inks), Matt Webb (colors), Ul Higgins (letters)

Summary:  Cyclops rides into Salem Center and discovers it’s been overrun with N’Garai demons.  He enters the only home immune to their attack and discovers Erich Zann inside.  Zann reveals that his family struck a deal to aid the N’Garai years ago in return for their safety, and that today is the day the N’Garai will summon the Dweller in Darkness, a beast that will destroy the Earth.  Cyclops tries to convince Erich to use the Book of R'lyeh to stop the invasion, but he refuses.  Annoyed, Cyclops locates the N’Garai leader Kierrok, who has imprisoned the X-Men.  Cyclops frees the team and takes the Book of R'lyeh from Kierrok.  Cyclops tries to use the Book to banish the N’Garai, but can’t read the language.  Erich enters and performs the ceremony, even though it means he’ll be banished with the N’Garai.  Erich bravely sacrifices his life, disappearing with the N’Garai.

Continuity Notes:  

• X-Men appearing this issue include Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, and Gambit.  
• This story is very loosely based on Uncanny X-Men #96.
• The N’Garai never appeared in the animated series, so this marks their Adventures debut.  
• Erich Zann is an established character from the H. P. Lovecraft mythos, taken from the short story “The Music of Erich Zann.”

“Um, Actually…”:  The N’Garai generate from a dimensional rift in this story, while in the mainstream universe they emerge from a cairn on the outskirts of the Xavier estate.

Production Note:  Not only does this issue include a card offering a discounted subscription to Spider-Man Magazine for Kids, but it also includes a polybagged packet of Kool-Aid!  Is there a collector’s market for unopened, twenty year old packets of Slammin’ Strawberry-Kiwi Kool-Aid?

Review:  Check out that Adam Warren cover…you’ve got to wonder now why Marvel didn’t heavily pursue Warren after Joe Madureira exploded in the mid-‘90s.  It’s great that Adventures gets a cover of this caliber, but it’s odd that he wasn’t used on more mainstream projects.  Anyway, that cover gives us the promise of a Bike-Riding Cyclops vs. Demons throwdown, and while I can’t say that the interiors quite live up to Warren’s work, there is a decent amount of action this issue.  Mike Miller seems to be having fun with the various demons, and the opening sequence featuring Cyclops riding an anime-style motorcycle through a horde of N’Garai is honestly more exciting than anything I was expecting out of an Adventures issue.  As a story, this is miles ahead of any of the animated series’ Cyclops episodes.  Not only is Cyclops portrayed as an inspirational hero, instead of a barely effective whiner with questionable voice acting, but he also gets to rescue the X-Men and play a critical role in stopping the villains.  Erich Zann’s character arc is noticeably rushed and not particularly fulfilling, but I do like the premise of someone making amends for his family’s mistake and sacrificing himself to save others.  The idea that Erich’s doing this against the wishes of Cyclops, who’s more than willing to be the hero and sacrifice his own life, is actually dramatized pretty well.  I’m not sure how AKOM would’ve pulled it off, but I would’ve loved to see this story take the place of any of the actual Cyclops spotlight episodes.

ADVENTURES OF THE X-MEN #2 - May 1996

The Great Divide - The Green Revolution Part 2

Credits:  Ralph Macchio (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Dan Panosian (inks), Adam Wallenta (colors), Ul Higgins (letters)

Summary:  The Leader’s Humanoids fight off Wolverine and remove Hulk from his restraints.  They escape, shortly before the X-Men arrive in the Blackbird.  X-Factor agrees to team up with the X-Men to find the Hulk.  At the Leader’s base, the Leader uses his Cognitive Dream Inducer to create a fantasy world for Bruce Banner within the Hulk’s mind.  When the Hulk calms down, Banner reemerges, and is promptly brainwashed by the Leader.   The Leader wants Banner’s expertise for his plot to expose major population centers to Gamma radiation.  Following the tracking device hidden on the Hulk, the X-Men and X-Factor find the Leader’s base.  Banner is freed from the Leader’s control and attempts to stop the Leader’s satellites, but his stress causes him to revert into the Hulk.  The Hulk escapes in the confusion, but Beast is able to finish Banner’s work.  X-Factor tries to pursue the Hulk, but the X-Men convince them not to, arguing that he should be left alone.

Continuity Notes:  

• The X-Men this issue consist of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, and Wolverine.
• Wolverine’s claws are unable to penetrate the Humanoid’s rubbery skin.
• For perhaps the first time in Adventures continuity, Wolverine smokes a cigar, something he could never do on the animated series.

“Um, Actually…”:  The X-Men are repeatedly referred to as an “outlaw” team of mutants, but the X-Men are actually friends with the President in the cartoon’s continuity.  The opening episodes did feature the X-Men breaking into the Mutant Control Center, but by the end of the first season, their status as outlaws was resolved.

How Did This Get Published?:  Beast’s inexplicable entrance line as the X-Men break into the Leader’s lair: “Well, well, well.  What have we here?  The Congressional Budget Committee looking for loopholes?  Or a clandestine confab of the Hair Club for Men?”  Later, during the climactic battle against the Humanoids, Beast unleashes this gem: “Pedal Power, gentlemen.  Remember that phrase as you lick your rubbery wounds on the morrow.”  (I guess this is because he’s supposed to be bicycle-kicking them at the moment, although it’s not clear.)  Wild Child’s line is even worse: “Even if you don’t need them to see -- I want to rip out your eyes!”

Review:  I knew that Macchio’s greatest weakness was dialogue, but the first issue gave me some hope that he could occasionally move past exposition-speak for at least a few pages.  This issue makes me much less hopeful.  Almost every page of this comic feels like someone is impulsively breaking into an origin recap, or a summary of the previous chapter, or a mind-numbingly obvious breakdown of what’s currently happening.  I understand that this series is supposed to be friendly towards younger readers, but that’s no excuse for writing the cast as robots.  And if younger readers are the target audience for this book, I question if they’re going to remain engaged for the rather dense plot Macchio’s constructed.  Some elements of the previous chapter aren’t even resolved (like the Leader’s mental command of Thunderbolt Ross), because Macchio has so much to cram into this issue.  Origin recaps for the Hulk and Leader, an elaborate fantasy sequence for Bruce Banner (very similar to the one seen in the Batman:TAS episode “Perchance to Dream”), details on the Leader’s scheme to irradiate the population just enough and not kill them, a philosophical debate between the X-Men and X-Factor, and an opening and closing fight scene.  In a way, it’s admirable that Macchio’s not padding the story, but it’s obvious that twenty-two pages is not enough space for this much material.  One moment that could’ve been a highlight of the issue -- Jean’s anguish over ending Bruce Banner’s fantasy world -- is rushed through in just a few panels, killing any impact.  

As for the art, who knew that this book would debut with two Savage Dragon spinoff artists in a row?  Mike Miller continues in the vaguely manga style of the first issue, with mixed results.  The Leader’s Humanoid soldiers do have a funky, alien design that I like, and there are a few scenes with the main cast that look okay.  For the majority of the issue, however, the art is overly reminiscent of Jeff Matsuda’s divisive X-Factor work.  If you have a low tolerance for exaggerated cartooning, stay away from this comic.  Looking back, it’s amazing to see that this arc actually predates Jeff Matsuda’s debut on X-Factor.  (Matsuda debuted on X-Factor with the May 1996 issue, meaning it was released simultaneously with this issue.) Did someone look at the manga-esque designs of X-Factor in the first issue and decide to bring them into the mainstream Marvel Universe?

X-MAN #61 & #62, March-April 2000

 

Falling Forward

Credits:  Terry Kavanagh (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Oh, no.  There really are two more issues of this run.  With a few months to kill, Terry Kavanagh has apparently decided to go high concept and just drop the reader into a story that has X-Man as the prisoner of a group of unnamed aliens.  Even though much of the issue is annoyingly vague, I have to acknowledge that this is more readable than the average issue of X-Man.  Mike Miller’s art is clean and attractive throughout the issue, and Kavanagh thankfully allows X-Man to be more than a brat this time.  Giving him amnesia, a haircut, and an entirely new environment helps.  The specific plot elements don’t add up to anything yet (the aliens apparently want slaves to dig holes for the sake of digging holes, X-Man’s telekinetic powers are now restricted to only direct physical contact, an alien baby is somehow important, a floating entity named Fuzz is helping him escape…), but as the opening chapter of the storyline, that’s forgivable.  

The Dark Side of the Sun

Credits:  Terry Kavanagh (writer), Ben Herrera (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

So, the baby rescued last issue turns out to be the sister of Urch, the alien that seems to control Fuzz and is helping X-Man escape.  (And Urch turns out to be a guh-guh-guh-girl.)  X-Man helps return the baby to Urch’s father, who is a thief kept in another chamber of the prison colony.  Eventually, Urch and X-Man make it to the surface, where X-Man realizes he’s on the Shi’ar homeworld.  This recalls issue #55, which had Shi’ar agents targeting X-Man because of his ties to the M’Kraan Crystal.  (X-Man’s connection to the M’Kraan Crystal goes all the way back to X-Men Omega, in case you’re wondering, although I don’t recall the specifics making a lot of sense.)  

Lilandra appears, eager to throw everyone back into the gulag, until X-Man uses his powers for more than just explosions and mentally shows her the pain the prison colony is inflicting on its inhabitants.  Lilandra has an abrupt change of heart, and X-Man and Urch are set free.  It’s possible the ending was meant to tie in with the “six months later” premise of the “Counter-X” revamp, as X-Man is sent on a tiny rocket ship home, a journey that just might take six months.  Of course, the opening of all of the “Counter-X” books assumed that a lot happened in the six month gap, so that makes X-Man’s time spent becoming a “mutant shaman” even more compressed if you think about just how long his ride home to Earth took.  Therefore, just assume he passed through one of those wormholes the Shi’ar are always using to get here quickly.

For connoisseurs of bad comics, Kavanagh’s final arc is a bit of a disappointment.  Yes, it does feature his trademark introduction of new characters that are poorly fleshed out (such as the mysterious Fuzz, and an alien ally that looks like Sleepwalker referred to as “a Darkle” that we’re supposed to believe will be important later), and there is some dubious plotting, like Lilandra instantly forgetting that X-Man is supposed to represent a severe threat to the entire universe.  Yet, the dialogue is actually tolerable, and the plot moves along at a steady pace.  Heck, even the basic premise of the arc isn’t so bad, and ultimately revealing the Shi’ar as the alien villains is a decent use of past continuity.  And, most surprising of all, X-Man remains a…well, not a good protagonist, but a noticeably-less-annoying one during the arc.  Where’s this guy been for the past five years?  A part of me wanted Kavanagh to go out with his wildest, sloppiest issues yet, but to his credit, he’s actually delivered two of the strongest issues of his run.

WOLVERINE #146 - January 2000

Through a Dark Tunnel

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza and Erik Larsen (writers), Mike Miller (penciler), Durruthy/Massengill/Christian (inkers), Marie Javins (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary:  Archangel, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee search the Morlock Tunnels for Death, who’s recently escaped the mansion.  Psylocke uses Cerebro to telepathically connect with the team, which is soon ambushed by Death.  Individually, they try to revive his memories and restore Wolverine’s proper persona.  Eventually, Psylocke reaches Wolverine, as Jubilee stands before him offering no defense.  However, just as Wolverine’s personality reemerges, Archangel undergoes a strange transformation.

Continuity Notes:  

• Psylocke must use Cerebro to access her telepathy, since directly entering her mind would release the Shadow King following the events of X-Men #79.
• Shadowcat shows no reaction when she phases directly through Wolverine’s adamantium, which would seem to contradict Wolverine #126’s claim that phasing through adamantium is horribly painful.
• I can't recall any issue from the main chapters of this crossover that had Death/Wolverine captured and actually contained in the mansion.

“Huh?” Moment:  An errant word balloon belonging to Nightcrawler appears after Death/Wolverine stabs Shadowcat in the foot.  I can’t tell if it’s meant to be there or not.  I guess it could work as Nightcrawler’s response to Shadowcat’s line (She tells Wolverine he isn’t this mean, Nightcrawler interjects “Hah!  Kitty may have ‘pegged’ me, mein freund, but she skewered you.”), but it doesn’t match the tone.  Why would Nightcrawler joke around like this after seeing his friend get stabbed?

Review:  Even while these issues were being released, I think Erik Larsen made it clear he wasn’t overly interested in keeping up with all of the details of the latest line-wide crossover.  My memory is that Fabian Nicieza was brought in to co-write these issues while Larsen was on a vacation, although I’m not sure how the labor was divided.  The dialogue doesn’t read like Larsen’s work, leading me to wonder if his main contribution was in the plotting.  Larsen’s Wolverine issues tended to have references and flashbacks to various Uncanny X-Men stories from the Claremont era, and this issue is filled with them as the team tries to talk Wolverine out of Apocalypse’s brainwashing.  Perhaps Nicieza provided a rough outline based on his knowledge of where the crossover would be, Larsen plotted it out page-by-page, and Nicieza scripted it?  Then again, the dialogue doesn’t really sound like Nicieza’s, either.  Considering the state of the X-office during this time, it’s also a possibility that much of the script came for editorial.

Regardless, this is a little more coherent than the average Larsen issue, and its insertion into the ongoing Apocalypse crossover works rather well.  The chapter that has Wolverine returning to his true personality probably should be run in his solo book, and the addition of Archangel is a smart decision.  (Archangel was severely underused in the other X-titles during the 1999 Apocalypse crossover.)  Drawing Archangel back into whatever Apocalypse might have planned is a nice way to pull the story away from a pat happy ending, and it works with the established continuity.  

Continuity purists would also be happy to see the return of the classic Wolverine/Archangel rivalry (“classic” to anyone who remembers Claremont’s portrayal of their relationship, at least).  I was always bothered as a kid that the post-Claremont writers just ignored the fact that Wolverine and Archangel hate each other after the X-Men and X-Factor teams merged.  I was certain that one day someone would do a story following up on the rivalry, but it never happened.  Instead, we got Bishop, Omega Red, and the Upstarts.  

X-MAN #59 – January 2000

The Ties that Bond
Credits:  Terry Kavanagh (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary:  X-Man spars against the Fantastic Four, and later submits to Mr. Fantastic’s scan, which will enable him to trace energy from the Age of Apocalypse.  Later, while bonding with Franklin Richards, a premonition leads X-Man to cut his visit short.  As he leaves the FF’s headquarters, he’s ambushed by Caliban, who now serves Apocalypse as Pestilence.  Caliban grabs X-Man and teleports away.

I Love the '90s: The Human Torch is singing Ricky Martin’s “La Vida Loca” while sharing a shower with X-Man.  If you’re looking for subtext, just remember this was written back in 1999.

Review:  I half-suspect Terry Kavanagh wrote this as a try-out for Fantastic Four.  The book was open following Claremont’s return to the X-Men, and Kavanagh had to know that he wouldn’t be on X-Man after the Counter-X relaunch, so it’s not a completely ridiculous theory.  Can you imagine what a fifty-issue run of a Terry Kavanagh Fantastic Four would be like?  

As horrific a thought that may be, Kavanagh actually does demonstrate some affection for the characters this issue.  None of the characterizations are deep, but everyone’s broadly in-character, and Kavanagh knows enough to at least pay a lot of lip service to the idea of family.  X-Man spends most of his downtime with the FF eating ice cream with five-year-old Franklin Richards, a character that just might be his intellectual rival.  They talk about how scary that mean ol’ Onslaught was, and reflect on how awesome psi-armor is.  Actual line of dialogue at the issue’s end:  “But you promised *snff* t’teach me how t’make *snff* *snff* psi-armor…”  “Next time, buddy.  There will be a next time, I swear…”

Seeing the bond between the team makes X-Man long for companionship, but he’s determined to begin yet another new direction in his life.  Now, he’s decided to track down all of the other escapees from the Age of Apocalypse in order to prevent them from somehow spoiling this virgin Earth (it seems to me that he should specifically target Apocalypse if that’s his goal, but whatever).  As X-Man explains to Mr. Fantastic:  “Took some trouble in Seattle to remind me o’ that, though.  Again.  Found an old friend and a new enemy, all in the same place…without even looking, guess that’s when I finally realized it’s time – it’s really time now – to start running after things, instead of away.”  So Kavanagh has X-Man acknowledge twice in one little speech that his life has been aimless – oh, for about fifty-nine issues now – and it’s time to do something about it.  

Kavanagh starts off this brave new direction by wasting the first half of this issue on a training sequence with the FF that’s unconvincingly played as a real fight, followed by numerous pages of X-Man chatting with the team, and then he gets attacked by Caliban on the final page and teleported away to participate in a crossover.  Yes, I’m convinced all of this title’s problems are solved now.

X-MAN #58 - December 1999

The Heart of Darkness

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: X-Man regains consciousness and rescues Threnody from an army of zombies. Taking her back to their old loft, X-Man learns that Threnody was almost killed by Madelyne Pryor, but revived by her powers when she was sent to the morgue. The dead are now attracted to her death energy and can no longer be controlled. After he saves her from another horde of zombies, Threnody reveals that she was only attracted to X-Man’s unique death energy and never truly loved him. She abandons him, then returns to her hiding place and cares for her baby.

Continuity Notes: A shadowy figure stalks X-Man throughout the issue, because this is X-Man and that’s what is supposed to happen every issue.

Review: Did Terry Kavanagh always intend to drag this Threnody mystery out over three-plus years, or did he know by this point that his time on X-Man was nearing its end? Regardless, this thing has stretched out over thirty-four issues, and it turns out Kavanagh still can’t bring himself to give us all of the answers. The issue opens with Threnody still pregnant, calling out to X-Man for help (even though the zombies surrounding her last issue weren’t bothering her at all). By the time he reaches her, she’s back to her normal unrealistic female comic book proportions. The story leads you to believe that maybe she’s absorbed too much “death energy” and is literally bloated from it at times, yet the issue ends with her returning home and picking up a baby. And, because this is Terry Kavanagh, we never actually see a baby, just the wrapped up blanket that may or may not contain a baby. This is what passes for a “big revelation” issue in X-Man. On the bright side…well…I guess Kavanagh actually tried to resolve something this issue, and Mike Miller’s zombies don’t look so bad. It’s X-Man, folks.

WOLVERINE #144 - November 1999

First Cut!

Credits: Erik Larsen & Eric Stephenson (writers), Mike Miller (penciler), Vince Russell (inker), Marie Javins & Joe Rosas (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Wolverine dons his costume for the first time to go on a trial mission for Department H. He’s suddenly kidnapped during the test by the Leader, who’s also abducted Hercules and Karkas. Leader explains his plan to use them against the Hulk, not counting on Wolverine to sneak out of his bonds. Wolverine, Hercules, and Karkas defeat the Leader, and after Wolverine eventually returns to Canada, he’s eager to accept his first official mission -- stopping the Hulk. In the present day, Dum Dum Dugan sends Wolverine on yet another mission against the Hulk.

Continuity Notes:

· The Leader’s appearance in this flashback is set shortly after Marvel Feature #11.

· Unlike the Guts and Glory one-shot, this story understands that Wolverine’s first mission in costume was his battle against the Hulk and Wendigo, detailed in Incredible Hulk #180-181. The story has to label that fight his first “official” mission in order for these events to fit, however.

· Wolverine comments that Alpha Flight was behaving oddly during his previous encounter with them, and that he might need to investigate in the future. This was likely a line thrown in to give Larsen/Stephenson some room for a few retcons following complaints about the previous arc.

Review: I think this issue comes the closest to capturing the Bronze Age feel Larsen tried to bring to Wolverine during his brief stint. It’s fun to read, not only because the story pits Wolverine against an unlikely opponent with even more unlikely allies, but also because the character’s voice feels more natural, and the art isn’t cluttered or rushed. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t consider Mike Miller a welcome replacement for Leinil Francis Yu, but it’s obvious he understands how to choreograph complicated fight scenes in a way Yu can’t grasp. He also isn’t inconsistently lavishing great detail on a few characters while leaving sketchy stick figures in the background; every page of the comic is well-constructed and all of the figures look appropriately fleshed out. Is there a point to doing a prequel to Wolverine’s first fight with the Hulk? Not really, unless you count a mini-crossover with Hulk #8 enough justification for another Wolverine flashback story, but it is honestly entertaining.

MUTANT X #13 - September 1999

The Hunger

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Saleem Crawford (inker), Gina Going (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

Summary: In the past, Kitty hunts down Storm, who’s recently been turned into a vampire. She’s held in a castle, where Forge is already being kept for food by a group of vampires. Storm breaks free, taking Forge with her. Kitty soon locates Storm, and during their fight, Storm finally succumbs to her urges and sucks Kitty’s blood. Months later, Colossus accepts that Kitty is gone.

Continuity Notes: Havok is shown as a member of the X-Men when Kitty first joins, unlike the mainstream continuity.

Better Than X-Factor?: Say what you will about Ben Raab, but he never wrote anything as bad as Howard Mackie’s X-Factor. This is a fill-in issue dedicated to revealing the events that led to Storm becoming a vampire, even though we never actually see a vampire biting her. Raab assumes that the reader is already familiar with the Dracula issue of Uncanny X-Men, so the story begins with Storm fighting off her new urges as Kitty runs off to play the Van Helsing role. That’s an odd assumption to make, even if the Dracula issue has been reprinted a few times, but I guess it leaves the story room to explore new material. Unfortunately, none of the extra space is used to answer questions that need resolutions, like explaining how the X-Men already know Forge at this point, and who’s keeping him at this castle. Instead, the majority of the issue consists of decompressed scenes of Kitty chasing Storm, Storm dramatically bemoaning her fate, and Kitty fighting Storm. Not enough information about the new world is revealed, and when the story is judged on its own merits, it’s far too thin.

X-MAN #55-57, September-November 1999

Trouble on the Homefront

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Elmer, Koblish, & LaRosa (inks), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft’s Jason Levine (letters)

That cover has no real relevance to this issue, but I’m glad the editors were willing to let Andrew Robinson just go nuts during his short stint as cover artist. It’s certainly more interesting than anything that happens in the story.

X-Man’s Alaska trip continues, as he “bonds” with Cyclops in a clumsily written fishing scene. Trying to incorporate Cyclops and Phoenix into the book sounds fine in theory, but in practice it just emphasizes how vacant their relationship is. A few years earlier, Cable’s issues with Cyclops and Phoenix created a few memorable emotional scenes, while no one has ever seemed to care that much about X-Man’s relationship with his genetic parents. And every time we see Phoenix, it’s just a reminder that X-Man has the hots for her clone, which is something we all need to forget.

The action in the story comes from Modt and Jahf, the Shi’ar guardians of the M’Kraan Crystal. They’re on Earth to investigate the mysterious emergence of a portion of the Age of Apocalypse reality, which you might recall as the unexplained plot from the previous two issues. They target X-Man since a portion of that energy still surrounds him. Modt and Jahf disguise themselves as a critically injured father and son in order to test how X-Man will use his powers, and even though he uses them responsibly, Jahf is incensed when X-Man is able to see through their ruse. They of course fight for a few pages, but the battle ends when Modt decides that X-Man should be left alone. I actually admire Kavanagh’s ability to occasionally pull enemies like this out of nowhere, and it’s about time X-Man’s vague connection to the M’Kraan Crystal surfaced again, but this fight scene just drags on and its resolution is lame. (Why didn’t Modt stop the fight at the beginning?)

Finally, after having his costume destroyed, Cyclops offers X-Man the outfit he wore during the Walt Simonson days of X-Factor. I like the design, I’m glad someone thought to revive it, but it doesn’t look right on X-Man. Maybe it simply looks wrong without the cowl and visor, but for whatever reason, this is not a good fit. Marvel must realize this, because the color scheme is soon changed to darker colors, which does make the outfit more tolerable. Anyway, X-Man says goodbye, proclaiming that he’s got “a new look, new connections, and maybe…a whole new lease on life…” Yes, it’s time for X-Man’s annual “bold new direction!”

Greyville

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inks), Mike Thomas (colors), Mark Bench (letters)

Oh, joy. It’s a “hero wakes up in fantasy world of his own making” storyline, this one set in the idyllic small town of Greyville. As tired as this premise is, I will say that Mike Miller’s art livens things up a bit. He apparently didn’t draw these issues as last minute fill-ins, which is normally how the X-office employed him, so we’re seeing a better representation of his skills. His renditions of Spider-Man and this arc’s “mystery foe” rival anything going on in the Spider-titles at the time.

Since X-Man doesn’t have much in the way of friends or a supporting cast, Kavanagh is forced to use Spider-Man, Threnody, Madelyne Pryor, Cable, and the AoA version of Forge to populate this “perfect world.” Hey, wasn’t that the title of an Amazing Spider-Man storyline from earlier in 1999? One that had Mysterio using his illusions on Spider-Man’s friends in an attempt to learn his secret ID? Hmm…anyway, the only segment of the story that doesn’t come across as filler is a brief scene that has a pregnant Threnody following X-Man’s trail. And Threnody, for some reason, now commands an army of zombies that rise from the sea, chanting her name. Yes, that makes perfect X-Man sense.

Behind the Curtain

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inks), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

X-Man targets the Purple Man as the creator of the Greytown illusion, but soon learns that this is another fantasy. Eventually, Mysterio makes his presence known, revealing that he spotted X-Man at a carnival a few days earlier and has been using his illusion powers ever since to manipulate X-Man into committing crimes (and search his fantasies for Spider-Man’s secret ID, which he still refuses to reveal). Since X-Man is one of the few telepaths who hasn’t regained his or her telepathy following “Psi-War,” Kavanagh’s actually using the current continuity to his advantage, because it’s highly implausible that the strongest telepath on Earth could’ve been duped by Mysterio under normal circumstances.

And in case anyone cares, Mysterio is exhibiting new mind-control and hypnosis powers that he claims have been lost to mankind for over a millennium. I’m assuming this was thrown in to justify how Mysterio survived his suicide in Daredevil a few months before appearing in Amazing Spider-Man, which had him dismissing his suicide as a prank. Don’t worry about it, guys. The Spider-office has a nonsensical miniseries in the works that will bravely answer none of those questions.

The story ends with X-Man trapping Mysterio in his own illusion, a signal that his telepathy has conveniently returned. The exertion knocks him out, however, leaving him prey to Threnody and her army of the walking dead. Considering this title’s track record, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next issue opened with X-Man leading the Avengers on an attack against the Badoon, or aiding Speedball in his deadly battle against Count Plaqula.

MUTANT X #11 - August 1999

And a Child Shall Lead Them.

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), JJ Kirby & Mike Miller (pencilers), Pepoy/Greene/Elmer/Mei/Koblish/Candelario (inks), Gina Going (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

Summary: Madelyne briefly escapes her Goblin Queen persona, but is soon consumed by demonic influences again. She sends Bloodstorm to the X-Men’s mansion to kidnap Scotty, who’s later kept prisoner when he turns away from his mother. When Brute visits him, Scotty uses his telepathic powers to erase Goblin Queen’s mental control. Brute is attacked by the rest of the Six, but when the Fallen targets Scotty, Goblin Queen turns on him. Madelyne apparently reasserts herself and sends Brute and Scotty back home with the X-Men.

Better Than X-Factor?: Not particularly, although I have to say the artists have done an admirable job under what had to be tight deadlines. Two pencilers and six inkers are not going to produce the most consistent comic ever, but I have to say that the majority of this issue looks perfectly okay. I think JJ Kirby is responsible for most of the issue, but even the pages by perpetual fill-in guy Mike Miller are decent. I’m assuming his pencils for the most recent X-Force issue were extremely rough. The story, unfortunately, does read like a last-minute deadline crunch. Scotty develops powers out of nowhere, Madelyne wastes numerous pages having a literal battle with her inner demons, more demons appear for no discernible reason during Brute and Scotty’s escape, and Madelyne’s personality abruptly changes again when it’s time for the story to end. The execution of the events is so disjointed it’s hard to care about anything that happens.

X-FORCE #92 - July 1999

Strange Interlude

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Holdredge/Mei/Candelario/Collazo/Palmiotti (inks), Marie Javins (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Domino finds herself trapped inside Halloween Jack’s citadel. After enduring his mind games, Domino finally learns that Jack’s escaped the flooding of the polar ice caps by traveling back in time one hundred years. While examining this era, he’s fallen in love with Domino, and is now offering her a chance to live with him and avoid being killed in a future X-Force mission. She refuses and intimidates him into returning her home. Meanwhile in San Francisco, Sunspot faces deportation and a mystery figure seeks Moonstar for help.

Continuity Notes:

· Halloween Jack is a character created by John Francis Moore during his run on X-Men 2099.

· Domino is initially led to believe she is in Firenze, Italy. An inner monologue reveals that she first met Cable there while tracking an international arms dealer.

· Halloween Jack lists the names of people inadvertently hurt by having Domino in their lives: “Your sister. Your ex-husband Miles. Grizzly. Victor Lomenzo.” The stories behind her ex-husband and Grizzly have already been told. Her sister and Victor Lomenzo are new mysteries. The story ends with Domino attempting to “make amends” by calling Victor.

Review: I followed X-Men 2099 for most of its run, but only have vague recollections of any specific storylines. I tried to reread the series a few years ago but for some reason it couldn’t hold my interest after the first few issues. I do remember Halloween Jack as a Joker-style “embrace chaos” mad scientist who was friends with one of the X-Men in his previous life, which somehow gave Moore license to insert him into numerous issues of the series. Like I said, nothing in X-Men 2099 made much of an impact on me, so I can’t say I’m thrilled to see an issue of X-Force dedicated to an obscure villain from a mostly forgotten ‘90s imprint. (He was a villain, right?)

Moore tries to justify the insertion of his old creation by making this a Domino solo adventure, which of course means more vague hints about her shadowy past will be dropped. And, naturally, since Halloween Jack is from the future, he knows how Domino is going to die and it just so happens to tie in with the large Deviants story Moore’s been building for years. I don’t mind this so much, but the rationalization that Halloween Jack just happened to come across Domino’s photo while studying this era and is now madly obsessed with her is…well, I guess it’s elegant in its simplicity, but it doesn’t feel like much of a motivation. Unfortunately, at no point during the story did I ever get a sense for why Moore likes Halloween Jack so much, which is a problem. Obviously rushed fill-in art by Mike Miller and five inkers doesn’t help matters either, making this the weakest X-Force issue in a while.

MUTANT X #9 - June 1999

The Uncanny!

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Mike Miller (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Gina Going (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

Summary: Havok is rescued from the Goblin Queen’s Sentinels by Ben Grimm, Mole Man, and Callisto. He’s taken to the underground, but demands to be freed so that he can check on his son. Callisto arranges for his release, only to reveal that she’s cut a deal with the Goblin Queen to give up Havok in exchange for the underground’s safety. When Havok refuses to surrender, Goblin Queen burns Callisto’s face. Havok fights his former teammates, as Magneto suddenly appears.

“That’s Crazy Because They’re Different”: Callisto’s face isn’t scarred (until of course Madelyne burns it off), and she’s in a relationship with Mole Man.

Better Than X-Factor?: This is probably on the same level as Mackie’s average X-Factor issue. That’s a polite way of saying that it’s a clumsy collection of mashed together, half-formed ideas. It’s hard to be charitable towards a series that has the protagonist falling to his death out of a skyscraper at the end of one issue, then opens the next issue with the same character talking on a pay phone with no explanation whatsoever. I have to confess that I found the non-hideous Callisto and Mole Man pairing amusing at first, but unfortunately Mackie has to do the most predictable thing you can do to Callisto (outside of having her lose a fight to Storm) and ruin her face just a few pages after she’s introduced. The idea that her relationship with Mole Man is based, as far as we can tell, solely on their desire to live underground also seems like a stretch if you think about it. It’s not as if the mainstream Callisto was pairing up with random Morlocks simply because they were conveniently located. Unfortunately, Mackie seems to be falling into the trap of sheer gimmickry every issue of this series and is already squandering some of the decent ideas he established in the opening issues.