DETECTIVE COMICS #673 - April 1994

Losing the Light
Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Graham Nolan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), John Costanza (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  The firing squad lined up against Batman realizes the Joker has only provided them with blanks.  Batman uses the confusion to escape and rescue Cindy.  She reveals that she’s an actress who was in on the scheme all along, but never expected to be placed in actual danger.  Disillusioned, Batman chases down the Joker and brutalizes him.  The police arrive and prevent Batman from killing Joker.  After the Joker is taken to an ambulance, he manages to escape while strapped to a gurney.

Irrelevant Continuity:  During a subplot scene featuring Commissioner Gordon and his wife, Gordon is once again adamant that the current Batman is the original.  Batman has already established that Gordon has actually come to the opposite conclusion.  The Joker, meanwhile, quickly realizes that this is not the original Batman while watching him fight his flunkies.

Review:  I don’t dislike all of Kelly Jones’ covers, but I find some of them just galling.  This has got to be the worst one I’ve seen so far.  It’s certainly a poor comparison to Graham Nolan’s interior art, which is very well constructed and easy on the eyes.  His layouts are also strong for most of the issue.  The page depicting the Joker’s realization that he’s watching an imposter Batman, featuring a tiny circular insert of the Joker at the bottom of each panel as the “camera” moves tighter and tighter, is fantastic. 

As the first meeting between the new Batman and the Joker, this arc works fairly well.  I question if it really needed to last three issues, though.  The two plot twists this issue (that the Joker doesn’t want any of his goons to kill Batman, and the revelation that Cindy’s an actress) probably could’ve been covered in the last chapter.  Regardless, both of the plot points are used effectively.  I’m assuming it’s already canon at this point that the Joker doesn’t really want to kill Batman because he loves their game too much, so playing on that idea and showing how Joker responds to a replacement Batman is a nice angle to explore.  And while it’s not a shock to learn Cindy’s an actress, the revelation is a smart way to advance Jean-Paul’s growing cynicism about the citizens of Gotham.  One of the better concepts behind “Knightfall” is the emphasis on why Jean-Paul is such a terrible replacement -- not merely because he’s generically comic book crazy, but because he lacks any of Bruce Wayne’s humanity or concern for his city.

DETECTIVE COMICS #672 - March 1994

Smash Cut
Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Graham Nolan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), John Costanza (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Batman rescues Cindy, who the Joker has disguised as Robin.  When he later checks on her in the hospital, he discovers she was discharged to the care of an “Allen Smithee.”  The Joker sends a false clue to the police and media, leading them to the Monarch Theatre.  Batman, meanwhile, investigates an old silent movie studio and finds himself caught in a series of traps based on old movies.  He’s drugged and chained to the wall, feet away from Cindy, who’s trapped inside a water tank.  The Joker is nearby, dressed in an homage to Casablanca.

“Huh?” Moment:  Batman, who’s wearing armor and a full face mask, is somehow drugged by getting hit in the face with pies.

Review:  More parody, as the Joker complains about Batman ruining his three-act structure, before setting up a series of death traps based on old movies.  Dixon even throws in a reference to the old film pseudonym “Alan (or Allen) Smithee” during Batman’s pursuit, which was not a well-known fact at the time, so I’m assuming he’s writing this out of a genuine love for old movies.  And it’s entertaining, but not very deep.  There’s a nice scene that has the new Batman reflecting on why his predecessor obsessed so much over the Joker and cursing himself now for dismissing him earlier, but other than that, the issue covers the same ground as the previous one.

DETECTIVE COMICS #671 - February 1994

The Cutting Room Floor
Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Graham Nolan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), John Costanza (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  The Joker convinces studio head Barry Zedmore to finance his film, "The Death of Batman."  Joker sets up a confrontation at the city college, where men in movie monster masks menace student Cindy Brookes.  Batman saves her, and soon finds himself infatuated with Cindy.  He returns to the college to investigate and finds himself in another trap.  He races to Cindy’s dorm room, only to discover Robin’s body being thrown out of the window.

I Love the ‘90s:  Cindy has a Fabio poster in her room.  Joker is also using doppelgangers for Siskel and Ebert as his advisers on the film.

“Huh?” Moment:  Barry Zedmore complains to one of his producers that it’s 4:00 AM in LA when he’s on the phone.  That makes it 7:00 AM on the east coast.  In the very next panel, Joker tells Zedmore and his producers (who are being kept in a cage), that they need their rest for tomorrow’s early shoot.  So they’re going to sleep for 24 hours?

Review:  This marks the beginning of the “Joker Makes a Movie” storyline Dixon has been teasing for months.  Largely a parody of Hollywood, it’s obviously a bit silly, but also a welcome break from the general bleakness of most AzBats stories.  Oddly enough, the Joker’s nom de plume while making the film is Joseph Kerr, which actually is the name of an animation writer.  One that has even written Batman episodes featuring the Joker.  It’s also a bit strange to see Graham Nolan’s interpretation of studio head Barry Zedmore, because he looks a lot like Joel Schumacher, even though I’m not sure if Schumacher was even announced for Batman Forever by this point.

Both Dixon and Moench have apparently decided this month to explore Jean-Paul’s budding sensuality, although Dixon is much more subdued than Moench.  In this story, Jean-Paul is merely developing a crush on a co-ed and engaging in slightly inoffensive stalking.  In Batman, Jean-Paul is driven into hormonal overdrive merely by meeting Catwoman for the first time.  (The implication being that he needed a change of the Batsheets.)  I think Moench got more mileage out of the concept, although in fairness, Jean-Paul’s discovery of women in just one aspect of Dixon’s story.  The bulk of the issue is spent mocking Hollywood, and right down to the Joker’s ponytail, it’s pretty amusing.  One advantage of the multi-title, shared continuity format is that one title can go a little crazy for a few months while the other books carry on the “important” storylines.

CATWOMAN #7 - February 1994

Body Chemistry
Credits:  Jo Duffy (writer), Jim Balent (penciler), Dick Giordano (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Buzz Setzer (colorist)

Summary:  Catwoman escapes from the police, leaving behind the Benzotrilene.  Before leaving, she also tells them where to find the stolen Xyklon-C.  Later, Professor Underhill is kidnapped by rogue Alliance members Marv and Doogie.  Catwoman summons Batman with the Batsignal and convinces him to help her find Underhill.  They rescue Underhill, but not before Doogie makes his way to the trade conference.  The gas he creates, however, is harmless tear gas, because Underhill gave him the wrong formula.  Catwoman exits on a helicopter, warning the businessmen to follow a stricter set of ethics.

Production Note:  I would be curious to know the release schedule of this Catwoman/Batman crossover.  Since Batman has the two chapters in the middle, was the crossover released in the proper order, or did it go Catwoman-Batman-Catwoman-Batman?

Review:  I can’t believe this crossover was stretched out over four issues.  I can understand why the first meeting between the new Batman and Catwoman would be viewed as a big deal, but four chapters about rogue environmentalists, stolen canisters, and a trade conference with literally faceless industrialists is just tedious.  Given that all of the Catwoman supporting cast members disappear during the Batman chapters, and that one of the Batman chapters was an issue-long fight scene, I can only guess that Doug Moench wasn’t even fully aware of what this crossover was supposed to be.  The structure goes:  1) introduce convoluted plot device, 2) have Batman meet Catwoman, 3) Batman fights Catwoman, 4) Batman and Catwoman team up, more with the plot device, story finished.  It’s kind of a mess, although I still think the second chapter is fun.  I could easily live with only the Batman chapters being reprinted in this book, given what had to be left out.

BATMAN #504 - February 1994

Dark Dance
Credits:  Doug Moench (writer), Mike Manley (artist), Ken Bruzenak (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Batman pursues Catwoman, and finds himself unable to defeat her.  Meanwhile, the police are notified of their fight and race to the Tuscany Building.  Batman and Catwoman fight to a stalemate.  When the SWAT team enters, Batman points to the canister, which he believes to be Xyklon-C, on the floor.  He implicates Catwoman in the robbery and leaves.

Review:  This is an extended fight/chase scene between Batman and Catwoman, and really...that’s it.  Jean-Paul’s internal conflict isn’t as engaging as it was in the previous issue, and there’s nothing added here that the last chapter didn’t cover.  The action looks great, though, and Moench tries to liven the story up with explosions, colossal Sprang-esque props, and a giant gargoyle statue crashing through a police car.  As one chapter in the trade, it’s fine, but it’s an unusually thin plot for a Batman comic of this era.

BATMAN #503 - January 1994

Night Becomes Woman
Credits:  Doug Moench (writer), Mike Manley (artist), Ken Bruzenak (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Batman spends the night consumed by thoughts of Catwoman.  The next day, Commissioner Gordon asks him to protect the trade summit from terrorists.  Batman suspects Catwoman is involved, following her previous robbery of the chemical warehouse.  He tracks her down and, to his surprise, finds her to be his physical match.  She exits the fight, after stealing Benzotrilene, a harmless chemical than could double for the deadly Xyklon-C.  Batman vows to stop her.


I Love the ‘90s:  The story makes a few references to the 1993 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.  Later, we’ll see that the trade summit is happening at the Gotham equivalent of the Twin Towers.

Review:  I have to admit that Doug Moench gets a lot more out of Jean-Paul’s first meeting with Catwoman than I would’ve expected.  It’s obvious that Jean-Paul’s “programming” is intended to have some thematic links to Christian doctrine, although the creators have been careful to avoid any overt religious bashing.  This issue explores Jean-Paul’s repressed sexuality, which is absolutely enflamed after his first meeting with Catwoman.  Apparently unaware of how to deal with “those” kind of feelings, Jean-Paul finds himself reverting to the type of twelve-year-old who's obsessed with, say, Jim Balent’s Catwoman.  “I did dream about her…all the way to darkness.  And the dreams were…shameful.”  And this isn’t the first double-entendre.  The story’s filled with them: “Maybe I’ve fallen, and fallen hard…but she still goes down.”  Batman’s also going to “penetrate her mystery” and “make the cat howl.”  I love the idea that Jean-Paul isn’t even consciously aware he’s doing this; anyone somehow unaware of the sexual connotation of these terms would take this as typical Batman dialogue.  And, oddly enough, this does work in humanizing Jean-Paul a bit.  He’s not so far gone that he can’t develop a crush, which makes him more interesting as a lead.

CATWOMAN #6 - January 1994

Animal Rites
Credits:  Jo Duffy (writer), Jim Balent (penciler), Dick Giordano (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Buzz Setzer (colorist)

Summary:  Members of the Friends of the Earth Nature Magic Alliance contact Catwoman, warning her that industrialists are scheming to use the new neurotoxin Xyklon-C to kill animals in the rainforest, thus opening the area for development.  She also discovers that one of the Alliance’s members, Professor Underhill, inadvertently created the toxin.  Underhill is targeted by kidnappers, but is rescued by Batman.  When Underhill returns to the group, he explains that Xyklon-C is inert until it’s mixed with Atrophane.  Two rogue Alliance members, Marv and Doogie, steal Underhill’s notes and leave to find a supply of Atrophane.  Catwoman attempts to head them off by robbing a chemical warehouse, unaware Batman is watching her.

Irrelevant Continuity:  I don’t know if this was the regular status quo for the title, but in this story, Catwoman treats Selina Kyle as a fabricated public persona, putting on a blonde wig and pretending to be a ditzy clutz.  She’s also a “part time” member of the Friends of the Earth Nature Magic Alliance.

Review:  The early ‘90s Catwoman series is probably best remembered as the most flagrant example of mainstream cheesecake during the era.  Even Wizard magazine had to comment on the outright insanity of Jim Balent’s anatomy (of course they still put his rendition of Catwoman on the cover, and made sure to reproduce as many of his drawings as possible in each issue).  I don’t recall anyone ever discussing the actual storylines, any attention the book received was more along the lines of “Can you believe DC is publishing this?”  And not necessarily asked with outrage; a teenage boy probably followed that question with a high-five.

So, was Catwoman any good?  I only have a few issues to judge the series on, but they don’t give me a lot of hope.  Someone in the early ‘90s thought it would be a good idea to remake Catwoman as an animal rights activist (remember her early appearances in the cartoon?), which I guess Jo Duffy has taken to the next level by having her associate with an eco-terrorist group.  The “Friends of the Earth Nature Magic Alliance” just sounds like a parody, and based on the physical appearance of several members, I can only assume that’s what Duffy is going for.  An affectionate parody, since Duffy certainly seems to be siding with the group.  Yet, she also has Catwoman point out that several of them have a bloodlust that rivals the industrialists they’re fighting.  (The story doesn’t draw attention to this, but it’s also obvious that the group is more concerned with the rainforest animals that will be killed by the gas than the indigenous people.)  By the story’s end, we see two of the goofiest members steal the gas so that they can use it against the comically evil businessmen who created it.  Marv and Doogie are such ridiculous characters, it’s hard to believe that their actions are going to be the inciting incident for this Batman crossover, but here we are.  

All of the talk regarding the neurotoxin, and there’s a lot of it, mainly serves as a setup for getting Catwoman to steal something while maintaining a pure motive.  I don’t know if the series had to do this often, but it seems like a lot of energy is wasted on finding reasons for Catwoman to steal things.  I’m assuming this had to be done because Catwoman was at least somewhat reformed by this point, but that doesn’t make the lengthy setup any less boring.  And all of the Captain Planet material feels out of place in a Catwoman story anyway.  Couldn’t she just steal from other criminals?

DETECTIVE COMICS #670 - January 1994

Cold Cases
Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Barry Kitson (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), John Costanza (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Detective Montoya is left to guard a frozen body that’s been taken to the morgue.  The body unexpectedly comes to life, pursuing her and the coroner, Colleen.  Batman overhears the gunshots nearby and enters the morgue.  They soon discover the body is Mr. Freeze, who is hiding in one of the refrigerated rooms.  Batman defeats him, but has to be stopped by Montoya before killing Mr. Freeze.  

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• I believe this is the first time Renee Montoya appears as a detective, unless her promotion occurred in a story not reprinted in the Knightfall trades.  
• Mr. Freeze was apparently left a frozen slab after a confrontation with the Joker.  I believe this is a reference to one of the original Robin miniseries.

Review:  The attempt to make Jean-Paul slightly more likable last issue is walked back, as he stands idly by and lets a couple get mugged while Christmas shopping.  They needed to be taught a lesson about “the jungle,” you see.  This does work, as a quick scene meant to establish just how cold and un-heroic Jean-Paul can be, I just wonder if everyone was on the same page regarding how Jean-Paul should act, of if he’s intentionally written as erratic.  Anyway, this issue is essentially a horror story, using Mr. Freeze as a stand-in for Alien.  It’s a decent change of pace from most of the recent issues, although I don’t think Barry Kitson’s art lends itself to horror.  Mr. Freeze is also a dull villain at this stage, as his animated series revamp has yet to make its way into the comics.

DETECTIVE COMICS #669 - December 1993

Town Tamer
Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Graham Nolan (penciler), Eduardo Barreto (inker), John Costanza (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  The Trigger Twins hijack the Gotham subway system’s “money train.”  They’re pursued by Batman, who’s riding his new subway car nearby.  After Batman subdues the twins, their boss, Dirty Dan, is apprehended by police.  Meanwhile, Hollywood producer Calvin Berkowitz meets with the Joker.

I Love the ‘90s:  There’s no reference to the movie Money Train in this issue, for good reason.  This comic predates the movie by over a year.

Review:  The creators seem to be having fun with this modern day train robbery story, and the classic western vibe they’re trying to evoke is helped a lot by Eduardo Barreto’s inks.  If you’re not interested in the minutia of old pistols or subway systems, however, the story feels a bit thin.  It does seem as if Dixon is trying to humanize Jean-Paul a bit, as he reveals for the first time that he’s pushed Robin away for his own safety, and he even cracks a few small jokes during his fight with the Trigger Twins, but he remains a dull protagonist.  Writing Jean-Paul does put the creators in an odd position; he’s supposed to be on some level a parody, but the writers are stuck using him as the central character in every issue they’re writing for several months.  If played as a joke, that gets old fast, and played too straight, he’s just too one-note to carry a story.

UNCANNY X-MEN #275 - April 1991

The Path Not Taken!
Credits:  Chris Claremont & Jim Lee (story/pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Tom Orzechowski (letters), Glynis Oliver & Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary:  The Starjammers arrive and rescue the X-Men from Deathbird and the Imperial Guard.  Meanwhile, in the Savage Land, Colonel Semyanov ambushes Magneto.  Semyanov then abandons Nick Fury’s UN command and joins Zaladane.  Rogue, Nick Fury, and Ka-Zar make their way to Zaladane’s citadel, where she is stealing Magneto’s powers.  They interrupt the process, allowing Magneto to use Brainchild’s equipment and regain his powers.  Magneto kills Semyanov, and even against Rogue’s pleas, kills Zaladane.  He abandons his former allies, determined that kinder methods will not save mutants.  Later, after Lilandra is restored to the Shi’ar throne, Psylocke is attacked by a mysterious figure, while Jubilee and Gambit accidentally catch Xavier torturing the imprisoned Imperial Guard.

Continuity Notes:  

• Colonel Semyanov is the father of the Russian sailor slain by Magneto years earlier (Uncanny X-Men #150).  He reveals this issue that the Russian members of the UN team were always assigned to kill Magneto.
• Ka-Zar remarks that dinosaurs in the Savage Land are evolving faster than ever and becoming too smart, following the High Evolutionary’s restoration of the area.  I don’t believe this plotline was ever expanded upon.
• Banshee wonders why Gambit always asks questions of the other X-Men, but reveals nothing about himself; another hint that he’s a spy.

• During a montage of tragic moments from Magneto’s past, one of them includes him fighting the Shadow King.  This is the first time Magneto’s ever been connected to Shadow King.  Later, while listing all of the current threats to mutantkind, Magneto names “the Hellfire Club and their accursed Shadow King.”  When the Shadow King storyline is finally resolved, at the end of Claremont’s run, the Hellfire Club are nowhere to be found.  Apparently, Claremont was developing a Magneto/Hellfire Club/Shadow King storyline, but this issue is the only evidence I have to support the theory.
• Rogue’s powers conveniently return while fighting Zaladane and the Savage Land Mutates.  She tells Magneto that his process did work, he just should have been more patient.

Gimmicks:  This barely counts as a “gimmick,” but this issue marks Uncanny X-Men’s first gatefold cover.  There are no enhancements on the cover, though, and the additional fifty cents added to the standard cover price are for sixteen extra pages.

Review:  Speaking as someone who bought this issue as a kid, this really did feel like an event.  I can’t think of any other double-sized anniversary issue I own that feels like it truly merits the hoopla associated with reaching a multiple of 25.  I was also young enough at the time to at least briefly consider if the cliffhanger ending of the story was true; could Xavier be a villain?  I dismissed the idea after I considered that the character had existed since the early ‘60s, and couldn’t imagine Marvel radically altering an established hero’s personality like that.  (How little did I know…)  In retrospect, the storylines it’s resolving haven’t been around for too long, and there’s still the massive Shadow King subplot simmering in the background that needs to be addressed, but reading the issue today it still feels as if it’s worthy of the extra pages.  

Probably the most remarkable element of the story is Claremont’s ability to give every member of the cast something to do.  That doesn’t mean that every Starjammer or Imperial Guard member gets the spotlight (and poor Lila Cheney is left without a single line of dialogue), but the actual X-Men all have at least one moment to shine.  Even if it’s a brief moment of Storm questioning why Deathbird’s plan made no sense, it’s significant because we’ll find out next issue why Deathbird abducted the team, and it exposes the true villain of the piece.  It’s just a quick dialogue exchange, but it establishes how sharp Storm is, and foreshadows upcoming events in the story.  And Storm’s the X-Man who receives the smallest amount of attention in the issue.  Every X-Man aids the story in some way, or is given some moment to express an aspect of their personality.  Compare Forge’s awed wonder at experiencing an alien culture for the first time to Jubilee’s annoyance at the way these things look (and smell), for instance.  Now, think about how rarely any X-Men story post-Claremont utilized the cast so well.  And it's hard to imagine any writer matching Claremont's work with Magneto during this arc.  Magneto's monologues during this storyline are absolutely haunting, as Claremont fulfills Magneto's journey from villain to failed hero to...who could even say?  A damaged man who isn't willing to play the old games any more, but is too powerful and iconic to ever truly abandon his past.

Jim Lee’s art also serves the story extremely well.  There’s a fair number of splash pages and double-page spreads, but Lee is just as skilled at using multiple panels to tell the story.  Zaladane’s death scene is twelve panels, for instance, all one page.  It doesn’t feel cramped at all, and in fact serves to heighten the tension between Rogue and Magneto during the scene.  Lee’s penchant for hyper-detailed characters is also put to use, as we see just how alien, or outright gross, characters like the Starjammers or Savage Land Mutates could be.  I remember being shocked at Lee’s ability to take an innocuous looking character like Worm and make him look outright disgusting in this issue.  Lee could actually be as good at monsters as McFarlane, but apparently he’s never let go of this Gulf War-era military design work.  It’s what he always seems to go back to, but he could embrace horror just as easily.

X-FACTOR #64 - March 1991

The Price
Credits:  Louise Simonson (plot/script), Whilce Portacio (plot/pencils), Art Thibert (inks), Michael Heisler (letters), Glynis Oliver & Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary:  Hiro reaches out to Opal, explaining the details of her parents' secret love affair.  She still refuses to marry Hiro, however, leading Tatsu’o to declare that he’ll choose her mate.  Iceman soon arrives with Mariko and her ninja guard.  They’re met by Tatsu’o’s daughter, Shizu’ko, who reveals that she’s poisoned Tatsu’o’s tea in order to spare Opal.  Shizu’ko and the ninjas rescue Opal, while Hiro duels with Iceman.  Iceman agrees to fight without his powers after Hiro questions his honor, but Opal shouts that Hiro’s powers are built into his body, making him as superhuman as a mutant.  Hiro realizes she’s right and stops the duel.  Iceman escapes with Opal, as Tatsu’o’s compound burns.

Continuity Notes:  

• Hiro reveals that Opal’s father died while serving in her grandfather’s criminal empire.  Later, one of the Cyberpunks speculates that Tatsu’o favors Hiro because he looks like his deceased son.
• The term “Cyberpunk” actually doesn’t appear in this issue, even though it was the established name of Tatsu’o’s guard last issue.  This issue, they’re called “Cyber-Warriors” by Shizu’ko, and even “Cyber-Force” (!) by one of the members.

Review:  I can’t imagine Louise Simonson wanted this to be her final storyline, but after five years, this issue marks her departure.  Rob Liefeld, with Fabian Nicieza as scripter, has already replaced her on New Mutants, and beginning next issue, Chris Claremont will script X-Factor over Jim Lee’s plots.  This marks one of the few times in X-Factor’s run that it will share a writer (or writers) with Uncanny X-Men.  Considering that Simonson has spent the last five issues on this title either participating in a crossover or co-plotting a story with the new artist, I couldn’t blame her if she left out of simple frustration.  Anyone curious to see where Simonson would’ve taken X-Factor without editorial interference might be interested in the X-Factor Forever miniseries, which features her intended conclusions for the ongoing subplots, and surprisingly strong artwork by Dan Panosian. 
 
While the previous issue wasn’t quite Image Insane, we’ve reached that point now.  The story does have a decent start, as some time is spent humanizing Hiro and filling in the details of the past of Opal’s parents, but within a few pages the random violence and explosions begin.  To give you some idea of how rushed and chaotic the ending of this story is, the main villain dies off-panel after his daughter poisons his tea.  Now, getting demure Shizu’ko to the point that she’s willing to betray her father and even murder him isn’t a bad direction to take the story in, but when the details are skimped over in the course of two panels, something’s clearly wrong.  Portacio seems much more interested in drawing cyborg ninjas fighting each other, which means all of those pesky character subplots get pushed aside.  Iceman choosing to fight Hiro without his powers is also derisorily stupid, but I guess it kind of works in an old school superheroic soap opera kind of way.  Opal and Iceman’s scenes aren’t so bad, actually, but the rest of the issue just feels rushed and disjointed.  And Portacio is back to those ugly faces again, unfortunately.

NEW MUTANTS #98 - February 1991

The Beginning of the End - Part One
Credits:  Rob Liefeld (plot & art), Fabian Nicieza (script), Joe Rosen (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary:  Gideon arranges for one of his minions, Eve, to poison Sunspot’s father.  Meanwhile, Cable and Cannonball train in the Danger Room, as Boom-Boom and Rictor debate over what to do about Wolfsbane.  Later, Deadpool abruptly enters and attacks Cable.  The New Mutants fight back, but it’s the sudden arrival of Domino that rescues Cable.  After Cable ships Deadpool back to his employer Mr. Tolliver, he reviews new potential team members with Domino.  That night, Rictor leaves the team for Genosha, hoping to retrieve Wolfsbane, and Gideon enters Sunspot’s room, informing him his father has died.

Continuity Notes:  

• This issue marks the debuts of Gideon, Deadpool, and Domino, along with Gideon’s assistants, Adam and Eve (they really catch on).  Domino is actually Copycat in disguise at this point, but the readers won’t discover that until over a year later.  
• Mr. Tolliver is also mentioned for the first time, although he won’t physically appear until several months later in X-Force.  (And even more months pass before we learn he’s Cable son, Tyler).  Speaking of Mr. Tolliver, why is he sending Deadpool to kill Cable on the same night (we later learn) he’s sending Copycat to spy on him in disguise as Domino?
• Gideon’s powers are described as “super-human enhancement assimilation,” which means he can mimic other people’s powers.  Bizarrely, he first exhibits this power when training with robots, not super-humans.
• Deadpool’s first words to Cable:  “You’re Nathan, right?”  This establishes Cable’s first name, and clearly implies that this is Cable and Deadpool’s first meeting.  While writing the Cable and Deadpool series, Fabian Nicieza seemed to be under the impression that Cable knew Deadpool from his old mercenary days, which doesn’t work.  
• Deadpool’s given those Orzechowski-style double word balloons, although they’re colored red in this issue.  Beginning with his second appearance, they’re colored yellow, setting the precedent that continued into the first ongoing Deadpool series, which dropped the extra lines around his balloons, but colored his standard word balloons yellow. 
• Cable shoots laser blasts out his mechanical arm.  The arm we’ll later learn is consumed by the techno-organic virus.
• Gideon makes casual references to his friendship with Sebastian Shaw in the opening scene.  Later, Sunspot recognizes him as an “old friend.”

I Love the '90s:  Rictor has a giant Bart Simpson poster in his bedroom.

“Huh?” Moment:  Liefeld draws the mansion’s underground complex as if it’s the actual mansion, which is in ruins at this point.  Every other interpretation of the underground level has it slick, metallic, and futuristic.  Liefeld gives some of the rooms wooden walls and floors, and even staircases that lead to…somewhere.  This could work, assuming that the underground level has multiple stories, and it’s not impossible that some of the rooms would have traditional furnishings.  Still, it’s hard to reconcile this with what we’ve seen before.

Review:  Rob Liefeld makes his debut as sole plotter on the series, and inker, and it’s appropriately Liefeldian.  The plot consists of three unrelated characters all suddenly appearing in the team’s allegedly secret headquarters on the same night, some vague hints about Cable’s past, and a few training sequences that involve giant robots.  Oh, and the ongoing Rusty and Skids subplot, the original motivation behind Cable’s introduction in this series, is dismissed by Cable casually saying that it’s “too difficult” to do anything for them now.  That’s commitment to your readers.

In terms of a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, there’s not a lot here.  If you have the goodwill to assume that there’s a great plan in place for the Gideon and Mr. Tolliver mysteries, this issue might not seem so bad, but I don’t think anyone will tell you these plot threads had satisfactory endings.  To Liefeld’s credit, Domino and Deadpool have gone on to have long lives outside of this issue, although I think much of the credit goes to Nicieza’s scripting abilities.  Nicieza's script also creates a nice dynamic between Cable and Cannonball, which initially seems like a father/son relationship, but takes on a different meaning when you discover Liefeld wanted Cable to be Cannonball's future self at this point. 

So what does Liefeld accomplish artistically, given the freedom to draw and ink however he feels?  There’s a lot of material here if you want to make another one of those “Top 10 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings” lists.  Starting with the cover, Deadpool’s around seven feet tall and standing on straw legs, as the nine-feet-tall Gideon is standing behind him, striking a duck-face while squinting so hard his eyes have disappeared.  Little things like, say, Sunspot’s father drinking a cup of coffee, or even decorating his office or drawing his chair consistently, also seem beyond Liefeld’s grasp.  And, of course, the characters feel the need to spread their legs as far as humanly possible for absolutely no reason during the middle of conversation scenes. Pretty bad stuff, although this issue will probably always have a life on the secondary market due to Deadpool's first appearance.

X-FACTOR #63 - February 1991

Family
Credits:  Louise Simonson (plot/script), Whilce Portacio (plot/art), Homage Studios (art assist), Michael Heisler (letters), Glynis Oliver (colors)

Summary:  Iceman’s girlfriend Opal is kidnapped by Cyberpunks serving her grandfather, Tatsu’o.  After speaking to her adopted parents, Iceman learns that Opal has been hidden from her grandfather her entire life.  Meanwhile, Opal learns she is expected to sire a child with one of Tatsu’o’s Cyberpunks.  Iceman travels to Japan with Marvel Girl, and with Mariko’s help, attends a sumo match Tatsuo is observing.  When Iceman impetuously reveals himself, Tatsu’o’s Cyberpunks attack Mariko’s ninja guard.  Two of the Cyberpunks are killed, but none of Mariko’s men survive.  Tatsu’o teleports away with Opal, as Iceman vows to rescue her.

Continuity Notes:  

• Opal discovered she was adopted in X-Factor #59.  Her adopted mother is actually her birth mother’s distant cousin.  Opal meets her birth mother, Shizu’ko, at Tatuso’s compound.  

• Hiro, the only noble member of the Cyberpunks, debuts here.  He’ll go on to have a pretty forgettable death scene during the early Scott Lobdell issues of Uncanny X-Men.
• Jean Grey meets Mariko Yashida for the first time.  Simonson doesn’t play the scene for any drama, she merely has both women mentally acknowledge why Wolverine could be attracted to the other.  Years later, Chris Claremont will have a drastically different take on Mariko’s opinion of Jean in X-Men Forever.
• Ship is undergoing minor malfunctions.  This is an ongoing subplot that will be resolved in a few issues, after Louise Simonson is gone.  I believe the official explanation didn’t match her original plan, which saw its conclusion in X-Factor Forever.
• Finally, this issue establishes that Opal’s birthday is close to Christmas.  This is bound to come up again one day, so try to keep that straight, Marvel.

Review:  I was a sporadic reader of X-Factor during my early years of collecting, but rarely felt it was required reading within the X-canon.  (Actually, in those days, Uncanny X-Men really was the only X-book I felt obligated to buy, unless a crossover was going on.)  While both X-Factor and New Mutants spent years overshadowed by the main title, New Mutants had clearly jumped ahead of X-Factor in popularity in 1990 following the debut of Cable and the assorted Liefeld insanity.  After seeing the boost New Mutants received with a heavily stylized artist and an “edgy” ‘90s cyborg protagonist, I imagine editor Bob Harras wanted to duplicate some of that success in X-Factor.  Hence, the debut of Whilce Portacio as the new regular artist, and somehow, co-plotter.  And cyborgs.  Lots of cyborgs.  Any lapsed readers brought back by “X-Tinction Agenda” had to at least give this issue a try, right?

It’s hard to judge this issue in retrospect, because I’m not sure how tired all of these Japanese family/honor/cyborg ninja clichés were in early ‘90s.  I do remember reading Opal’s first appearances when she debuted, and even as a kid I liked the idea of a superhero falling for this kind of frumpy, average girl in glasses.  Revealing that she’s actually the secret granddaughter of a Yakuza crimelord doesn’t add an awful lot to her character, (frankly, it’s beyond ridiculous) and it’s hard not to view this portrayal of Japan as rather simplistic.  There’s a ninja vs. cyborg fight set at a sumo wrestling match at the issue’s climax.  All it’s missing is Mothra.

I will say that this is fairly subdued by Whilce Portacio’s standards.  None of his females have that weird, anorexic body type he sometimes reverts to, and most of the faces look fine.  He’s also got a flair for page layouts, which I’m sure impressed many of the readers bored by traditional six-panel grids in 1990.  Louise Simonson is also able to add some humanity to the story, giving Opal fairly plausible responses to the situation she’s faced with.  And someone actually remembered Mariko, a character that was oddly languishing in obscurity at the time, even though Wolverine had been headlining two books for years.