UNCANNY X-MEN #318 – November 1994

Moving Day

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Roger Cruz (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), “Grover” Eliopoulos (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colorist)

Summary

Beast gives Skin a ride to the airport after he decides not to join Xavier’s new school. After Beast encourages him not to give in to his cynicism, Skin agrees to join. The new students go shopping as Banshee contemplates his role as headmaster of the new school. Professor Xavier mentally absorbs the events of Cyclops and Phoenix’s time in the future, but isn’t hopeful that their information can help cure the Legacy Virus. Iceman confronts Emma Frost about her ability to master his powers. He admits that he wants respect and control over his powers, and she tells him that he has to learn how to do that on his own. Gambit helps Cyclops move into the boathouse, and Archangel tries to say goodbye to Jubilee but instead gets a lecture from her. Finally, Banshee leaves with the students and Jubilee says goodbye to Professor Xavier.

Continuity Notes

The X-Men’s home is renamed “The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning”, and the Massachusetts Academy becomes “Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters”. This is also the issue that establishes that Banshee and Emma Frost will head the new school, although that decision happened off-panel before this issue takes place.

Production Note

This issue is the debut of Marvel’s new format for the X-books. The books now have a higher quality paper stock and cost $1.95. This was a pretty big price jump at the time, so Marvel released the same titles two weeks later on lower quality paper for $1.50. Image had set a new standard for mainstream comic production over the previous two years, and it’s obvious that Marvel was trying to compete. I was still buying comics mostly from newsstand vendors at the time, and none of them bothered to offer the lower priced versions. I was still into comics for the stories and didn’t care that much about the paper they were printed on, so I hated having to pay an extra fifty cents per issue to keep up with the X-books. A year later, only the “main” X-books sold on newsstands would be the glossy two dollar versions, and the rest of the line went back to cheaper paper and a lower price (I know that comic shops still sold glossy versions of all of the books, but I don’t know if Marvel kept selling cheaper versions two weeks later at this point).

As a part of the new format, every X-title now has a distinctive corner box, emphasizing the “X” logo. It’s actually a smart branding choice, and I’m surprised Marvel ever dropped it (especially when Marvel was trying to sell literally twenty X-spinoffs a month in the early Quesada days). There’s also a special Bullpen Bulletins for the X-books called “X-Facts”. I think all of this was a part of the “Marveloution” plan, which segregated Marvel’s titles into separate lines with their own editor-in-chiefs.

Review

This is, say it with me, another “quiet” issue that focuses on the characters after the big crossover. It’s also yet another issue used to set up the Generation X series. There are a few moments I like, such as Jubilee pointing out that she’s barely even spoken to Archangel, and Gambit telling Cyclops that he has the things he’ll never get to have. Jubilee’s scene with Archangel brings up one of the flaws from this era, though. As this issue shows, there was still a heavy emphasis on characterization, but the sense of cohesion between the characters is essentially gone at this point. Why haven’t Jubilee and Archangel ever spoken to one another until now? How do, say, Psylocke and Iceman feel about each other? What does Colossus think about Gambit’s past? Do Rogue and Cyclops have anything in common? The Claremont run was able to create stronger connections between a wide variety of characters, even without these “quiet” issues.

One difference between the titles at this point and the ‘80s, obviously, is the increased number of characters and spinoffs. With so many characters to juggle, it is a lot harder to create a “family” feel amongst the team. Another difference would be the annual crossovers, which tend to eat up around two or three issues of each book. However, when you look at all of the slow, character-driven issues published in this era, it seems like there should have been plenty of space to make connections between the characters. What seemed to happen was that only a few characters were allowed to get the spotlight, which often dominated a lot of the “quiet” time. How many times did we see Rogue and Gambit talk about their relationship? How often did Scott and Jean reaffirm their love? In the meantime, established characters like Storm do nothing, and Jubilee and Archangel spend years on the team never speaking to one another.

It’s interesting to see just how big a push the Generation X series received. Marvel first started promoting it in their X-Men/Avengers 30^th Anniversary inserts, which ran over a year earlier. An X-Force/New Warriors crossover was used to set the stage earlier in 1994, followed by the Emma Frost spotlight issue in UXM, and finally the Phalanx Crossover. Now, UXM is dedicating another issue to establishing the series in the same month the new series is launched. Compare this to the way Marvel handled the latest group of “new mutants”. These characters appeared in their own spinoff without any set-up from the main titles, were almost never referenced outside of their own book, and their title has undergone at least three name changes in six (?) years. The line obviously had flaws during this era, but it certainly seems as if Marvel knew how to build a brand at this time.

WOLVERINE #86 – October 1994

Claws along the Mohawk

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Ron Garney (penciler), Al Vey & Bud LaRosa (inkers), Pat Brosseau (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colorist)

Summary

Elsie Dee, Albert, and Bloodscream travel to Muir Island to find Wolverine, but he’s already gone. Elsie Dee finally tells Bloodscream the story of her time travel with Albert and the Hunter in Darkness. After discovering an adamantium skeleton with claws in an Indian burial ground, Spiral agreed to send the trio back in time to stop Wolverine’s death before it happened. They land in the 1800s, and find that Wolverine and Forge (from ten years in our future) have traveled back in time to stop the Adversary’s plan to create a chain of chaos throughout all realities. Forge and Wolverine confront the Adversary, and disappear during the battle. Elsie Dee and Albert stay with the Siksika tribe that was also fighting the Adversary while they search for Wolverine. When their batteries get low, they have to go into sleep mode. The Hunter in Darkness goes off with the other Hunters he discovers. Elsie Dee and Albert stay in their sleep mode until Bloodscream discovers them in the present day. After Bloodscream hears Elsie’s story, Albert’s sensors locate Wolverine in Tibet. In a future time string, Wolverine and Forge are reunited. Wolverine explains that the Adversary sent him ten years into the future during their battle, which is why Elsie Dee and Albert could never find him. Albert is revealed to be working with Forge, as Wolverine reveals that he has Elsie Dee’s head inside the metal box he carries with him. Forge promises to build her a new body.

Continuity Notes

The future Albert claims that their presence back in the 1800s negated that timeline, explaining how Wolverine survived into the future. Elsie Dee says that this explains why the skeleton they discovered disappeared. Forge remembers that timeline because he was still battling the Adversary and trapped in the alternate reality he created. Wolverine remembers the timeline because he’s been “permanently effected by a temporal paradox field” after traveling to the end of time in Wolverine #52. I’m almost certain that most of this makes no sense.

The elderly Hunter in Darkness seen in Wolverine #84 is indirectly explained in this issue. It’s the same Hunter in Darkness Wolverine met years earlier, who later befriended Elsie Dee and Albert. After traveling into the past with them, he stayed there and aged a hundred years until he met Wolverine again at the arctic research station.

The Adversary is an evil god that Forge was raised to fight. He’s appeared a few times in various X-books over the years.

Review

Aside from some of the time travel nonsense, this is a fun issue. Garney’s pencils are pretty strong, even if they look nothing like his current work. Something about the coloring and inking in this issue just seems off, though. The colors look unusually pale and washed out, and the lines just seem too thin. I like the moments between Wolverine and Elsie, and the scene with Albert running the gauntlet to prove himself to the Siksika tribe is well done. Hama always seemed to enjoy writing Elsie Dee and Albert, who are really two of the most absurd characters in the X-canon. I don’t think most people would expect to see Wolverine hanging out with the kid from Small Wonder in his monthly series. It is nice to see a resolution to the time travel mystery introduced a few issues ago, but I don’t think Hama ever got around to having the characters actually met up with Wolverine again.

EXCALIBUR ANNUAL #2 – 1994

The Interpretation of Dreams

Credits: Richard Ashford (writer), John Royle (penciler), Moy/Anderson/Carani (inkers), Janice Chiang (letterer), Ariane (colorist)

Summary

Britanic has a vision of fighting a battle with his brother, Jaime Braddock, in the year 2040. Their sister Psylocke uses her psychic powers to enter Jaime’s comatose mind. Britanic joins her as they tour Jaime’s memories. They watch as Jaime grows to resent having to care for his younger siblings, and the close bond they share with each other. When they try to help, Jaime resists their intrusion into his mind. After mentally confronting both of his siblings, Jaime creates a false childhood memory of joining them inside their secret hiding place. When Psylocke tries to tell him that they have a chance to reconcile, he wakes up and fights against her in reality. Britanic attacks, and the two stare into each other’s eyes for the first time in years. Jaime goes back into his coma. As the twins leave, Jaime dreams of playing with his siblings inside their hiding place.

Continuity Note

How exactly Jaime Braddock ended up in a coma and in custody isn’t explained. He was last seen escaping the Braddock’s mansion with Saty-Yr-9 in Excalibur #56.

Review

I didn’t have high hopes for an annual story during Excalibur’s awkward post-Davis era, but this is worse than I expected. The premise isn’t a bad one, as previous writers have told quite a few interesting stories about the Braddocks’ childhood. The idea that Jaime resented his younger siblings is a nice human emotion to ground the story in, but nothing else about this story works. Why does Britanic have visions of fighting a battle with his brother in the future? Who knows. By the time the story’s over, it seems like even the writer has forgotten about it. Why is Psylocke performing some type of dangerous psychic invasion on her brother, which she acknowledges isn’t really a function of her powers, when they could ask Professor Xavier or Phoenix for help? It’s a pretty glaring omission, especially when you consider all of the work Marvel was doing at the time to connect the X-Men characters to Exclaibur. The actual events of the story are a confused mess, not helped at all by the stiff, clumsy artwork. There should be a lot of emotional weight in a story about a dysfunctional sibling relationship, but there’s nothing in here to make you care about any of the characters involved. It’s a weak effort that just fails on every level.

Black Queen Rising

Credits: Eric Fein (writer), Daerick Gross (penciler), Candelario/Austin/Wiacek/Anderson (inkers), Janice Chiang (letterer), Monica Bennett (colorist)

Summary

Selene sends a summons out to Amanda Sefton, threatening to kill everyone on the plane where she’s working if she doesn’t help her. Amanda agrees, and teleports to the mysterious mansion where Selene’s being held. Selene is still trapped inside Fitzroy’s spooling chamber, which is continuously ripping her body apart and stitching it together again. When Amanda frees her, Selene tries to shove Amanda in her place, but is stopped when Nightcrawler suddenly teleports in. Selene throws Nightcrawler into the device, explaining that someone must take her place, or else the spooling chamber will self-destruct and destroy the entire mansion. Amanda uses her powers to blast Selene outside of the building and frees Nightcrawler. He tries to teleport away, but the building’s power dampener won’t let him use his powers. Amanda encourages him to combine powers with her and they escape. Selene escapes into the night, realizing that she left the chamber before she was fully reassembled, causing her legs to bleed continuously.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

In the final page of the story, Selene’s legs are covered in blood from her excessive wounds. Considering her outfit, it looks like a drawing from some sort of fetish magazine.

Continuity Note

Selene was trapped inside Fitzroy’s spooling chamber ever since Uncanny X-Men #301.

Review

I guess Marvel wanted a story that freed Selene up again, so they put it in an Excalibur annual with some pages to fill. Selene has no specific reason to select Amanda Sefton to free her; a fact the story keeps reminding us of by pointing out repeatedly that they’ve never even met. The fight between Selene and Amanda isn’t engaging at all, and Nightcrawler’s sudden rescue makes no sense. Nightcrawler says that he found Amanda after getting her “coordinates” from the plane’s crew, yet Amanda teleported away to find Selene. How could they know specifically where she went? Does anyone even know that Amanda’s a sorceress? I like some of the artwork, but it’s extremely inconsistent, which is probably due to the four inkers the story required. How does a sixteen-page story end up with four inkers?

A Change of Worlds

Credits: Kim Yale (writer), Jaye Gardner (plot assist), Hannibal King & Yancy Labat (pencilers), Minor/Champagne/Caranni (inkers), Dave Sharpe (letterer), Chris Matthys (colorist)

Summary

Kitty receives a collection of old floppy discs that contain Doug Ramsey’s journals. She tells Douglock to read them, but he doesn’t recognize any of the memories. Nightcrawler encourages Kitty to accept Douglock for who he is, and not who she wants him to be.

Review

It’s the strongest story in the annual, even though it’s going over material that the monthly book has already covered. The first person narration by Doug Ramsey on the discs is nicely done, and it serves as a good introduction to the character. Some of the dialogue is unnatural and the art is once again inconsistent, but the story mostly accomplishes what it set out to do.

X-FACTOR #107 – October 1994

Punch-O-Rama

Credits: Todd Dezago (writer), Paul Borges (penciler), Al Milgrom (inks), Starkings/Comicraft (lettering), Glynis Oliver (colors)

Summary

While on his way to visit Lila Cheney, Guido runs into the Blob at Dulles International Airport. The two fight throughout the airport, but the Blob is eventually able to escape and force his way into an airplane. After discovering that the plane doesn’t have enough fuel to take him to St. Croix, he demands that the pilot land and refuel. When he sees Guido on the tarmac, .the Blob takes over the controls and tries to use the plane to run over him. Guido grabs the front tire of the plane and uses his mutant power to absorb the impact. The two fight on the runway, as leaking jet fuel is ignited by exposed wires. The resulting explosion knocks out the Blob. Guido maintains consciousness until he’s interviewed by a local reporter.

I Love the ‘90s

Guido calls an airport employee “Beavis” when he steers his truck towards a gasoline tanker. He later refers to his fight with the Blob as “doin’ the Achey-Breaky”.

Review

It’s self-contained filler that reads like something that would normally be in an annual. The art isn’t bad, but it’s a very thin story that tries to rely on Guido’s humor to get by. Unfortunately, pretty much all of Dezago’s jokes just aren’t funny, and the excessive narration on every single page gets old quickly. The quality of some of the spin-offs really seems to be deteriorating around this time.

CABLE #16 – October 1994

The Phalanx Sanction

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Steve Skroce (penciler), Mike Sellers & Batt (inkers), Marie Javins (colorist), Starkings/Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Cable, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Phoenix crash their plane into the Phalanx’s citadel. Before the crash, Phoenix used her powers to place the team a thousand feet below the citadel on the north face of the mountain. They attempt to climb the mountain without using their powers, assuming that the Phalanx are scanning for mutant activity. Meanwhile, Stephen Lang has turned against the Phalanx after realizing that the collective now wants to make everything on Earth techno-organic. He conceals his knowledge that the team survived the plane crash, and convinces Psylocke to let him assimilate her so that she can be used as a Trojan horse against the Phalanx. The team continues to climb the mountain and finally breaks into the citadel. Wolverine frees Bishop from his containment field, enabling him to absorb the Phalanx’s energy and release the rest of the X-Men. Psylocke combines her psi-power with Cable and Phoenix to lobotomize the Phalanx. Cameron Hodge draws energy from the remaining Phalanx outposts throughout the world, destroying them, in a vain attempt to keep the citadel from collapsing. As Hodge falls down the mountain, he drags Lang along with him. In space, a techno-organic being senses the loss of the Phalanx and prepares for a more “aggressive tactic”.

Continuity Notes

Since this is the last part of the storyline, I’ll point out here that the shadowy human figure speaking to Stephen Lang in Excalibur #79 still has not been revealed.

I Love the ‘90s

In the “Stan’s Soapbox” column, Stan Lee writes, “most Americans are still reeling in shock due to the incredible, headline-grabbing story of the terrible accusations leveled against a man whom everyone considered one of our nation’s greatest athletic heroes”. Rereading this, it took me a few seconds to realize that he was talking about OJ!

“Huh?” Moment

Wolverine refers to the Phalanx members emerging from the wall as “Oprah rejects.” What? He refers to them as “gelatinous” on the same page, so maybe it’s a fat joke?

Review

The Phalanx crossover finally ends, strangely enough in the spin-off that seemed like the smallest priority at the time. Maybe concluding it here was an attempt to build up Cable’s profile. I’d say that it doesn’t read like an issue of Cable, but since this series has been totally aimless for most of its existence, it’s hard to say what a normal issue of Cable reads like. Hama continues to emphasize Cable’s relationship with Cyclops and Phoenix, but he actually doesn’t focus as much on the idea as he did earlier in Wolverine. Even though this is Cable’s solo book, he doesn’t even play much of a role in stopping the Phalanx. It’s actually Wolverine who gets to free the X-Men, which leads to their defeat.

Judging this as a chapter of a larger story and not specifically an issue of Cable, it’s not that bad. Skroce’s art is still a little inconsistent, but I like most of what he’s doing here. His work is certainly stylized, but most of the figures are well-drawn. The digital coloring has gotten a lot less garish over the past few issues, thankfully. I can remember the first page of this issue, a tight close-up of a digitally enhanced Wolverine and Cable, really grabbing me as a kid, and it still holds up. Hama’s able to give all of the characters personalities, even portraying Cable as kind of a jerk, which is closer to his original characterization. There’s a nice scene where Wolverine lets go of his feud with Cable when he realizes how much Phoenix cares for him, which is a smart way to incorporate the various ways all of these characters feel about one another. The scene where the team scales the mountain could’ve easily become tedious, but Hama makes it interesting by incorporating realistic military planning into the team’s strategy. As the conclusion to such a large story, it does feel anti-climatic, but it does pay off some of the earlier hints dropped about Lang in the storyline. The absence of most of the other participants in the crossover is the main reason why this doesn’t feel like much an ending, I think. As a kid, I was just glad this crossover was finally over, which is the same way I feel now.

WOLVERINE #85- September 1994

Full Thread Thrash – Final Sanction Part One

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Adam Kubert (pencils), Mark Farmer & Joe Rubinstein (inks), Pat Brosseau (letterer), Kindzierski & Andreani (colors)

Summary

Cyclops and Phoenix arrive at Muir Island, hoping to share with Xavier information they learned about the Legacy Virus while in the future. When they arrive, they’re attacked by the Phalanx. Soon, Wolverine is dropped off in his friend Harry Tabeshaw’s C-47. Wolverine explains to them that he was summoned to Muir Island by Xavier to help fight the Phalanx. Cable teleports in, and helps to temporarily defeat the Phalanx. He explains to Wolverine that he received the same message from Xavier. Cyclops theorizes that the Phalanx are on Muir Island to steal Moira MacTaggert’s genetic research. They need the main lab’s computer core to use Cerebro to locate the other X-Men, but Xavier shut it down before he evacuated the island. Cable and Phoenix combine their mental powers to distract the Phalanx while Cyclops and Wolverine sneak inside the facility to get the info they need. While telepathically fighting the Phalanx, Cable sees visions of Phoenix as Redd, the woman who raised him in the future. As Cyclops reaches Cerebro’s access switch, Cable is injured by the Phalanx on the Astral Plane. He recovers in the physical realm and starts opening fire on the lab as Cyclops and Wolverine escape. Cyclops tells them that Cerebro found the X-Men in Mt. Everest, but accessing that info opened a fail-safe program that started a self-destruct sequence. Phoenix uses her telekinetic powers to help Harry Tabeshaw carry them away in his plane, narrowly avoiding the explosion. They set a course for Tibet, as Stephen Lang and Cameron Hodge prepare for their attack.

Continuity Notes

Two members of the Phalanx learn that Stephen Lang is not fully techno-organic. He is a “partial absorbee” who remained mostly human to be the Phalanx’s interface with the “non-cyber world”.

Cable is surprised that Phoenix knows about his techno-organic virus, although he shouldn’t be. Cyclops and Phoenix learned that he was Nathan Summers in the “Fathers and Sons” storyline in Cable. Hama is probably trying to show that Cable doesn’t know that Cyclops and Phoenix were acting as his parents in the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix mini, but they already knew that he was the baby Nathan infected with the virus before they went into the future.

Phoenix doesn’t want Cable to know that she and Cyclops were Slym and Redd because “there are things a son should never know about his parents…especially if they imperil the entire future probability that created him!” I don’t understand how Cable learning the truth about his parents now would affect the childhood that’s already happened in his past.

Review

This is one of the more enjoyable chapters of the storyline, mainly because it doesn’t get into any pseudo-science and only has a few characters to focus on. Most of the issue consists of action scenes that Kubert pulls off rather well. For some reason, Wolverine is the title that has Cyclops and Phoenix’s reunion with the other X-characters, and their first meeting with Cable after raising him as a child. Hama does an acceptable job on their scenes together, but it’s really another example of how mixed up the titles could be during crossovers. There’s also a confusing sequence at the end, where it’s implied that all of Muir Island has blown up. This would be the second time that happened (the first was at the end of the “Muir Island Saga”), and I think the second time the idea was basically ignored. I guess it’s possible that only the lab was supposed to explode, but that doesn’t explain why all of the characters want to get off the entire island before it goes off. At any rate, it’s a decent read and it’s certainly not as dull as many of the other chapters of the crossover.

EXCALIBUR #82 – October 1994

The Light of a Tainted Dawn

Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), Todd Dezago (script), Ken Lashley & Steve Epting (pencilers), Moy/Carani/Floyd/Candelario/Livesay (inks), Dave Sharpe (letters), Chris Matthys (colorist)

Summary

Douglock, Wolfsbane, Forge, and Cannonball are confronted by Phalanx member Shinar. He brags that the Phalanx’ beacon, the Babel Spire, is almost complete. The team fights against the Phalanx, but Douglock once again appears to turn on them. Shinar views this as a transparent move and uses Douglock, along with Cannonball and Wolfsbane, as genetic fodder for the Babel Spire. Shinar explains that Douglock was being used as bait in order to bring Forge into the Phalanx. Forge, still under the Phalanx’s influence, is given the responsibility of overlooking the emergence of the Phalanx embryos. Meanwhile, Douglock explains that as mutants, the team can’t be assimilated into the Phalanx. He suggests taking advantage of the static their powers create to reach the top of the tower undetected and stop the beacon. Nearby, Nightcrawler’s team of mutants arrives and fights a group of Phalanx in the woods. Nightcrawler discovers Forge, and convinces him to use his powers to create a device to fight against the Phalanx. Douglock and the others reach the top of the tower to discover that the beacon has already gone out. Douglock attempts to scramble the message, as Wolfsbane asks him if there’s any way to free the villagers being used to power the beacon. Douglock uses his own body to block the beacon’s power, allowing the villagers’ life energies to return to their bodies. With the Phalanx’s living circuit of energy broken, the tower begins to collapse. The loss of the villagers causes Shinar to melt away. Douglock reappears, saying that he still exists because he has something to live for.

Continuity Notes

Nightcrawler’s team is seen arriving in a hi-tech ship created by Forge and powered by Polaris. In the previous chapter, they left in a bubble created by combining Polaris and Siryn’s powers. The fact that the team wasn’t supposed to have access to technology, because the Phalanx could overtake it, was treated as a major story point in the last chapter.

In the previous chapter, the Babel Spire had already sent its beacon out into space when Cannonball’s team arrived. In this issue, the tower is still being built and the beacon doesn’t go out until the end of the story.

Douglock tells Cannonball and Wolfsbane that he was able to absorb them because they allowed him to, which I assume is an attempt to cover the fact that the Phalanx can’t assimilate mutants.

Miscellaneous Note

“Shinar” is the name of the plain in Babylonia where the Tower of Babel was erected in the Old Testament.

Review

How many of these Phalanx comics do I have to read? This is the weakest chapter of the storyline yet, not even offering any decent characterization or action scenes. The characters just fulfill their clichéd roles in the story, beat the bad guys, and then go home. The sloppy continuity and multiple artists make the whole thing feel kind of shoddy. Not letting Kitty Pryde be there for Douglock’s big heroic moment, in an issue of Excalibur no less, just gives you the impression that most of this wasn’t thought out very well. It’s hard to believe that Marvel used such a weak story as their big summer event, and as the launching place for a new title.

X-FORCE #38 – September 1994

The Faith Dancers

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Tony Daniel (penciler), Kevin Conrad (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Marie Javins (colorist)

Summary

Douglock takes Forge, Wolfsbane, and Cannonball to the Italian Alps, telling them that he needs their help to stop the Phalanx. After meditating for hours, Professor Xavier is able to contact Forge through the Astral Plane. Forge tells him that he thinks that the Phalanx might have a right to exist after bonding with Douglock. Douglock senses Phalanx growth in a nearby valley, and the team soon discovers the Nursery Conduit. Douglock says that the site grew beyond the control of the Phalanx’s collective intelligence, which means that the Phalanx are now reproducing. The team investigates the nursery site, and a Phalanx embryo hatches and latches itself on to Forge. While in telepathic contact with him, Xavier realizes that Forge has lost himself to the Phalanx. Cannonball breaks the Phalanx’s connection to Forge as Xavier’s astral form disappears. Douglock convinces the others to let him infect them with the Transmode Virus so that they can enter the Phalanx’s Babel Spire. They arrive too late, as the signal has already gone out to the Phalanx’s parent race that they are ready to be a part of their celestial conscience.

Meanwhile, Moira MacTaggert studies the remnant traces of the Transmode Virus inside Warlock’s former teammates, enabling her to trace Phalanx activity. Xavier asks for one group of the combined X-teams to guard Moira while she continues to research the Phalanx, and another one to fight against the Phalanx in the Alps. Siryn and Polaris combine their powers to send Boomer, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Amanda Sefton, and Rictor to the Alps.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

Wolfsbane’s costume is drawn as a full-on thong (which is especially odd given the fact that she’s in half-wolf form) on page 41. The fact that sweet, innocent Rahne’s characterization was being ignored for the sake of gratuitous T&A bothered me even as a fourteen year old.

Continuity Note

The story doesn’t seem to coincide with the previous chapter’s ending, which had Douglock acting as if he was under someone else’s control when he kidnapped the team. Now, the story says that Douglock only took them when they ignored his warning that they had to travel to the Alps.

Review

It’s an improvement over the previous chapter, if only because Nicieza is able to introduce some characterization into the story. Having Forge contemplate if the Phalanx have a right to exist adds some complexity, as does Douglock’s assertion that Cannonball is treating him the same way humans treat mutants. Nicieza’s also able to get some mileage out of Cannonball’s refusal to believe the Doug could be alive again. These moments work pretty well, but they’re all tied into an uninteresting crossover that’s delving into a lot of pseudo-science. As a kid, I can remember getting confused at this point in the story, because I just accepted the fact that the Phalanx were an anti-mutant group, and now they’re a group of aliens that want to take over the Earth.

Just like the previous chapter in X-Factor, this issue doesn’t feel like it’s an issue of the regular series. Cannonball is the only team member to receive any attention, while everyone else just stands around in the background. At the time, this didn’t seem so bad, because I think the majority of X-Force’s readers probably were X-completists. Seeing the team interact with the other X-groups was a large part of the appeal of these stories. Looking at it now, it comes across as a gratuitous interruption of whatever momentum the book was building.

X-FACTOR #106 – September 1994

Lifesigns

Credits: Scott Lobdell & Todd Dezago (plot), Todd Dezago (script), Jan Duursema & Roger Cruz (pencilers), Al Milgrom (inks), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Glynis Oliver (colorist)

Summary

X-Factor is summoned by Professor Xavier to the Acolytes' former base in France. While there, they meet X-Force and Excalibur. Xavier explains that they have been called to help him stop the Phalanx. He describes the Phalanx’s attack on Muir Island, and his narrow escape with Excalibur. Wolfsbane and Cannonball discover Douglock restrained in another room. He explains to them that he asked to be restrained until it could be proven that he’s not a threat. Professor Xavier asks Forge if he can use his powers to determine how Douglock was created. Forge asks Xavier to leave the room because his telepathic power is interfering with his intuitive ability to understand machines. With Xavier gone, Cannonball interrogates Douglock. Douglock explains the creation of the Phalanx, and Zero’s efforts to free him. He tells Forge that the Phalanx is adapting, and taking on the traits left over from its alien ancestors. Suddenly, Douglock knocks Forge unconscious, telling him that he needs his powers. He grabs Cannonball and Wolfsbane as the combined X-teams try to stop him. Xavier tells the teams not to confront Douglock because he might be too dangerous. Douglock teleports away with Forge, Cannonball, and Wolfsbane, upset about what he has done to his friends.

Continuity Notes

Xavier says that the French monastery the Acolytes used as a base has an “unexplained natural phenomenon (that) conceals the presence and activities of mutants.” That’s awfully convenient.

Douglock gives a comprehensive origin of the Phalanx, explaining that the Genoshan government sold the remains of Warlock after he was killed in the “X-Tinction Agenda” storyline (the original issues showed the New Mutants characters with Warlock’s ashes, although I guess it’s possible that there was enough to go around). A group of scientists began to use the remains to develop a new breed of “living sentinels”. Steven Lang was recruited to control the hundreds of soldiers, due to his previous connection to Master Mold’s cybernetic brain net.

The earlier versions of the Phalanx that appeared in Uncanny X-Men #305 are dismissed as earlier prototypes “created whole cloth from Lang’s tortured brain.” Forge speculates that since most of Warlock’s people were “barbaric conquerors”, the Phalanx must be following their template and now consider organic life anathema.

Douglock says that he was based on Doug Ramsey’s “engrams” and genetic material, but he is not Doug Ramsey.

Review

This is a good example of what crossovers can do to a book. This is supposedly an issue of X-Factor, yet it doesn’t tie in to any of the ongoing storylines, or give most of the cast members anything to do. In fact, Excalibur has the most important role, fighting the Phalanx in a flashback, while X-Factor is relegated to mainly receiving exposition from Douglock. There is an attempt to connect the X-Factor members to the story by emphasizing Wolfsbane’s past with Doug and Forge’s ability to analyze machines, but at no point does this really feel like an issue of X-Factor. Revealing the Phalanx’s full origin does at least give this issue a central role in the storyline, but it’s another reminder of how X-Factor has been dragged into all of this. The Phalanx have never appeared in this series before, but had been in quite a few issues of Uncanny X-Men by this time. Why wasn’t their origin revealed there? Why would a regular X-Factor reader care about this unless he was already buying Uncanny X-Men? The “Fatal Attractions” chapter in this series at least exploited Quicksilver’s connection to Magneto and the Acolytes, while also telling a self-contained story that tied into X-Factor’s role as government agents. The “X-Cutioner’s Song” derailed the title’s storylines, but it did provide a long-awaited confrontation with X-Force and a rematch with the MLF. “Phalanx Covenant”, unfortunately, really has nothing to offer this book.

X-MEN #37 – October 1994

The Currents Shift

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Andy Kubert (penciler), Ryan/Sellers (inkers), Bill Oakley (letterer), Kevin Somers (colorist)

Summary

The mutant teenagers fight against the Phalanx, as Harvest reappears. He doesn’t know why his connection to the Phalanx hive has been severed, but he’s still determined to kill mutants. Banshee, Everett Thomas, Jubilee and Emma Frost track the Phalanx to their decommissioned ship, but before they can rescue the teens, Sabretooth appears. Sabretooth saves the mutants from Harvest, much to Banshee’s surprise. He sniffs out the transmode virus on Paige’s body and rips her open. Paige finishes the job and takes off the rest of her skin, revealing a new, silver-coated body inside. Sabretooth brags that he saved her life as Paige removes the skin infected with the transmode virus. Harvest returns again, injuring Sabretooth and fighting the team to a standstill. Blink decides to end the fight before anyone is killed, using her powers to force the other teens to escape. Banshee watches in horror as Blink tries to teleport Harvest out of existence, and ends up disappearing with the rest of the ship. After witnessing her sacrifice, the young mutants realize that they have a responsibility to make the world a safer place.

Continuity Notes

The Generation X characters are given codenames, mostly in the narrative captions. Unlike her later appearances, Blink doesn’t create teleportation portals, but instead releases a “phasing pulse” that appears to rip someone’s body in and out of existence.

According to the editor’s note, Harvest is supposed to be the ordinary family man who joined the Phalanx in Uncanny X-Men #308.

Review

The Phalanx crossover continues, ending the first “book” of the event. The Phalanx threat isn’t defeated at all, but the mutant teenagers are saved and Sabretooth returns to the X-Men. There is a feeling that it’s not much of a climax, but Nicieza sells Blink’s death well enough. Sabretooth’s return makes no sense at all, unless this was a serious attempt to show that he’s starting to reform. Not only does Sabretooth have no motivation to return to the X-Men so soon after escaping, but the idea that he was able to secretly follow the mutants cross country and find their specific location on the ship is stretching credibility (I realize that he has tracking powers, but wouldn’t Emma Frost have known what he was up to? Wouldn’t she try to force him to use his tracking powers to help them out?). It kind of reads like an action movie, when the character who went missing in the second act suddenly returns at the very end to help save the day. As a story, most of this doesn’t really work, but Kubert does a fine job on the Phalanx visuals and action scenes. It’s one of his strongest issues so far, and doesn’t have some of the awkwardness of the previous issue.

UNCANNY X-MEN #317 – October 1994

“Generation Next” Part Three – Enter Freely and of Your Own Will

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Steve Buccellato (colorist), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer)

Summary

Paige Guthrie wakes up inside a Phalanx holding cell, along with four other young mutants: Angelo, Gregor, Clarice, and Monet. Monet is still in an apparent catatonic state while the others are discussing possible escape plans. When Phalanx member Harvest enters, the meek Clarice surprisingly fights back, using her powers to make parts of his body appear and reappear. Gregor forces her to stop, claiming that Harvest would hurt her. Harvest leaves, and soon Monet speaks for the first time. She’s fashioned a part of their techno-organic suits into a weapon that she uses against Gregor, exposing him as a member of the Phalanx in disguise. Monet then uses her super strength to punch through the wall. The teenagers leave their cage and learn that they’re on a ship. Paige has been infected with the transmode virus, but Monet refuses to leave her behind. Meanwhile, Emma Frost takes Banshee, Everett Thomas, and Jubilee to her west coast home. Frost and Banshee infiltrate a SHIELD safe house to use their technology to locate Paige. After sneaking in, they’re eventually caught, but Banshee uses his sonic powers to give Frost more time to find the information they need.

Continuity Notes

This issue is the first appearance of Skin (Angelo) and Blink (Clarice), although they don’t officially have codenames yet. Technically, this is the first time we see the members of Generation X together.

The transmode virus was first referenced in the earlier issues of New Mutants The idea was that anyone Warlock touched could be infected with this virus and transformed into a techno-organic being. Why exactly Paige is the only person infected isn’t explained.

Review

Another chapter that’s pretty light on plot. The Gen X kids escape their cell while Banshee and Emma Frost get closer to finding them. None of it’s really that exciting. The main purpose of this issue is to set the stage for the upcoming characterizations and relationships in the Generation X series. Paige is overly optimistic, Skin is deeply cynical, and M is haughty and mysterious. Lobdell does a competent job of establishing their personalities, even if none of the characters are really that likable. Blink actually comes across as the most sympathetic character, which is a sure sign that she’s going to die in the next chapter. Even though Blink was a character that was always intended to die, she apparently amassed a large fan following based on her role in this story. I can see part of the appeal, as her anime-influenced design still looked new at the time, and her characterization as a scared young girl rings more true than the typical portrayal of a teenage hero. She was obviously created in order to invoke sympathy in the readers, and I think many of them weren’t used to the idea of a character who really was supposed to stay dead. The fact that so many fans campaigned for her return for years shows that the titles were still making some connection with the readers, at least. I can see why fans warmed up to her so quickly, but I never understood why so many people wanted her back so badly (it’s looking like her death will be the only memorable part of this storyline).

X-MEN #36 – September 1994

“Generation Next” Part Two – Drop the Leash

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Andy Kubert (penciler), Matt Ryan (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), Digital Chameleon (colorist)

Summary

The Phalanx continue their attempts at assimilating Monet St. Croix, while Cameron Hodge tells Stephen Lang that the Phalanx will assimilate all opposition and destroy anything that can’t be assimilated. Lang questions if something is wrong with his creation. Banshee, Sabretooth, Emma Frost, and Jubilee travel to St. Louis to stop the Phalanx from taking another new mutant, Everett Thomas. Thomas helps Banshee and Sabretooth stop the Phalanx members sent after him, while other parts of the Phalanx attack Frost and Jubilee. In Kentucky, the Phalanx kidnap Paige Guthrie from her family home. Meanwhile, Thomas uses his synching power to mimic Jubilee’s pyrokinetic ability and blast the Phalanx to an atomic level. Stephen Lang sends his consciousness through the techno-organic mesh to brag about kidnapping Jean Grey’s sister, Sara, and Paige Guthrie. Frost is telepathically able to pick up a general location for Paige. They prepare to leave when they discover that Sabretooth has escaped.

Continuity Notes

Everett Thomas, Synch, appears for the first time. The other members of Generation X have very brief cameos as headshots early in the story.

The Guthries’ mother is way off-model, based on my memories of her appearances in New Mutants. She looks to be the same age as her teenage daughter. In fact, Mrs. Guthrie, Paige, and Emma Frost all pretty much look alike in this issue.

Sara Grey went missing in an early issue of X-Factor, which came over five years before this story. Since Lang was previously seen in a mental hospital in Lobdell’s run before starting the Phalanx, this wouldn’t explain where she was during the intervening years.

Stephen Lang tells the X-Men that the Phalanx were formed from the techno-organic remains of Warlock and his own hatred of mutants. There’s still no explanation of who took him from the mental hospital.

In the letters page, a fan asks if Rogue will ever be able to control her powers. The response is “In this reality?”. Even though it’s not in the actual story, it’s the first hint towards the “Age of Apocalypse” storyline.

Review

After a slow start, the second part of the Phalanx crossover focuses more on action and less on suspense. There’s really not a lot of plot, as the story mainly serves to introduce Synch and have Sabretooth escape. Synch isn’t given much of a personality here, as all that’s established is a smug attitude and not much else. I don’t remember hardly anything about Synch, so I’m not even sure if that’s consistent with the way he’ll be portrayed in the future. Kubert does a decent job on the action scenes, but some of the character work is off. I mentioned above the fact that the three blonde females in the story all look alike, despite being different ages. Synch is also given some odd facial expressions (especially on page seven, when his face apparently gains a hundred pounds). Nicieza’s approach of just plowing through the action and not dwelling on the plot is the best way to go about this, since the plot doesn’t entirely hold up. For example, Sara Grey is brought back to remind the readers of the Phalanx’s earlier appearances when they targeted the X-Men’s friends and family. And yet, just a few pages earlier, Banshee assures Synch that his family is safe and that the Phalanx only want mutants. Why exactly the Phalanx want young mutants doesn’t make a lot of sense either, unless the idea is that they’re tracking down every known mutant and the young ones in Xavier’s files are the only ones they haven’t reached yet. This might be handled in the other chapters relegated to the spinoffs, but it’s odd that none of the characters in the story bring it up.

UNCANNY X-MEN #316 – September 1994

“Generation Next” Part One – Encounter

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Terry Austin & Dan Green (inkers), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary

In Monaco, a young mutant named Monet St. Croix is riding in a limousine with her bodyguard. She’s trying to convince Monet to speak for the first time in three months. The car is attacked by a member of the Phalanx, who kills the driver and bodyguard. Monet remains emotionless as the Phalanx kidnaps her. In New York, Banshee returns to the X-Men’s mansion to find that the team is behaving oddly. When he sees a few X-Men inside Xavier’s private ready room, and discovers that the entire communications room has been taken apart in less than thirty minutes, he knows that something’s wrong. When Rogue tries to stop him from taking Sabretooth for a walk, he blasts her with his sonic scream and learns that she was a member of the Phalanx in disguise. Sabretooth helps Banshee stop the Phalanx, and agrees to follow Banshee’s plan so long as he has a detonator connected to his muzzle. Sabretooth frees Jubilee from the Danger Room and Emma Frost from the medical lab while Banshee tries to stop the Phalanx from stealing Xavier’s files. He reads the program the Phalanx were running and learns that they are targeting the young mutants listed in Xavier’s archives. The Phalanx explain to him that they’re using the captured X-Men and Xavier’s files to study mutants so that they can learn how to assimilate them. Until then, they’ll terminate any mutants they discover. Banshee sets off the self-destruct sequence and escapes into the sewers with Sabretooth, Frost, and Jubilee.

Continuity Notes

This is the first appearance of Monet St. Croix, or M, one of the few characters from Generation X being used today. She’s established as a powerful psionic in this issue.

Gimmicks

Every chapter of the “Phalanx Covenant” crossover has a cardstock cover with a holographic strip. For the first time, thankfully, Marvel also offered non-enhanced versions of the titles at the regular price. The enhanced versions cost $2.95, so Marvel was charging almost twice the regular price for just the special cover.

Review

The Phalanx crossover begins with a mediocre start. For some reason, the majority of the issue is dedicated to Banshee wandering around the mansion, wondering what’s wrong with the X-Men. Since it’s obvious from the very beginning that the X-Men have been replaced with imposters (it’s even on the freaking cover), the setup feels like it takes forever, while also making Banshee look dense in the process. The story doesn’t move until the final six pages, which makes the ending feel rushed and anticlimactic. The very basic idea, that Banshee is on the run from the Phalanx with the weakest X-Man and two captured criminals, isn’t bad at all but it takes too long to get there.

There are also elements of the story that just don’t make a lot of sense. Why do the Phalanx let Banshee just roam around the mansion? If they were capable of kidnapping all of the other X-Men, why couldn’t they stop Banshee as soon as he walked into the door? Why are they keeping Jubilee captive in the Danger Room? I assume that this ties in to their search for young mutants, but the story’s never clear on what the Phalanx want with them. The Phalanx are studying mutants so that they can learn how to assimilate them, but they also want to kill any mutants they discover in the meantime. Age doesn’t really have anything to do with this, unless the story is implying that younger mutants are easier to study. When going back to the “Child’s Play” crossover, I noticed that it actually has a stronger motivation for introducing a new generation of mutants into the franchise. The idea presented at the end of that story is that Xavier must find the next generation of mutants before the Gamesmaster can corrupt them. I really have no idea why that idea was dropped in favor of this crossover, which mainly comes across as a strained attempt at selling the Phalanx as major villains.

CABLE #15 – September 1994

Shadows

Credits: Jeph Loeb (writer), David Brewer (penciler), Conrad/Champagne/Banning (inkers), Marie Javins (colorist), Starkings/Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Cable and Domino go on their first date. During the awkward dinner, Cable spots someone in the bushes who resembles Feral. It turns out to be her sister, Thornn. After a brief fight with Cable and Domino, she asks for their help. Traveling down into the sewers, she explains how she survived the Morlock’s mass suicide, lead by Mikhail Rasputin months earlier. Thornn tells Cable that she sees visions of a girl named Sarah. Sarah tells her that the other Morlocks are too afraid to come out unless they perform the Ceremony of Light. Cable and Domino help Thornn place mirrors and reflective objects throughout the sewers. At dawn, the tunnels are flooded with sunlight for an hour. Thornn says that the Morlocks practiced this ceremony once a year to create a symbolic bridge to the outside world. After the ceremony, Sarah appears. She tells Thornn that the others are still too afraid to leave the other side. Sarah promises to return someday and then turns back. Cable invites Thornn to return to the surface with him, but she refuses.

Continuity Notes

The Morlocks were killed by Mikhail Rasputin in Uncanny X-Men #293. Thornn was already established as a Morlock but didn’t appear in that issue, so her flashback is “behind the scenes”. Her appearance on the cover doesn’t resemble her at all.

Oddly enough, this is the first appearance of Marrow. The little Morlock girl, Sarah, actually turns out to be the future X-Man. Later stories show that she had bones growing out of her body even as a small child, but she doesn’t have them in this appearance.

Creative Differences

The Bullpen Bulletins checklist in this issue lists a totally different plot for this story, promising to reveal “the secret of Jean Grey’s clone”.

Review

This is Jeph Loeb’s debut on the title (even though he doesn’t write the next issue). Loeb does a lot of work for the X-office over the next two or three years, and I think Cable is his first monthly series. This issue doesn’t read that differently from the previous ones, as the title once again has to reference events from other X-books in order to build a story. This connection isn’t too forced, though, as Thornn fought Cable previously in X-Force, and addressing where she was during the Morlock’s mass suicide is a valid idea. Almost half of the issue is dedicated to setting up Cable and Domino’s date, which feels a little padded but it does help to make the story feel more like it’s specifically about Cable and not a generic superhero. This issue finally addresses the “Copycat posed as Domino for a year” storyline, which was never properly developed in X-Force. Loeb gets some good material out of it, but the scenes between Cable and Domino just aren’t that interesting. The idea that the Morlocks performed a yearly ritual that symbolized their dream to connect with the outside world seems hard to reconcile with their previous appearances. Most of the Morlocks, especially their leaders, were pretty nasty people who didn’t care anything about the surface world, so I have I hard time believing that they had an annual feel good ceremony that embraced the light. At any rate, it’s another issue killing time until the crossover starts. It’s not terrible, but it’s certainly bland.

EXCALIBUR #81 – September 1994

Beginnings Middles & Endings

Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), Chris Cooper (script), Klebs, Jr. & Paul Abrams (pencils), Pepoy/Carani/Champagne (inks), Dave Sharpe (letters), Chris Matthys (colors)

Summary

Britanic and Meggan talk about the experiences he had while lost in the timestream. Despite the changes they’ve gone through, they reaffirm their love for one another. Kitty Pryde takes Douglock to a pub and tries to figure out how much of Doug Ramsey is inside of him. She shows him a picture of the New Mutants but he doesn’t seem to remember them. After Kitty stops a violent college student from assaulting an old lady, Douglock identifies the people in the photo and tells her that he doesn’t want to be alone anymore. She invites him to join Excalibur. Professor Xavier and Moira MacTaggert take time off from their Legacy Virus research and go to Paris. They briefly kiss and then laugh it off.

Continuity Notes

Britanic and Meggan return to Excalibur’s original lighthouse headquarters. It was destroyed in issue #50 and reappears with no explanation.

Meggan tells Britanic that her “elemental bond” with nature gives her total awareness of her surroundings, allowing her to shape the environment around her. In the previous issue, she manipulated the magma that was flooding Stryfe’s underground base. She says that answering Britanic’s call from the timestream pushed her powers to the “ultimate degree”.

I Love the ‘90s

Professor Xavier mentally disguises Moira as Princess Diana while they’re dining at a fancy restaurant.

Review

It’s another one of the “quiet” issues that surround the crossovers. Scott Lobdell plots the story, so it’s not surprising that it reminds me so much of the talky issues of Uncanny. Chris Cooper’s scripting actually isn’t bad, so he’s able to create adequate conversations between the various characters. The two artists handling this issue couldn’t be more different, as the first artist turns in flat, amateur work, and the second does a nice job that reminds me of Adam Hughes. Considering the low quality of the preceding issues, I wasn’t looking forward to reading this at all, but it’s surprisingly okay. Like a lot of the quiet issues, it doesn’t advance any of the storylines and feels like it’s treading water, but there are worse ways to kill time before a crossover.