X-MEN #73 - March 1998 & UXM #355 - May 1998

X-Men #73

The Elements Within Us

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Joe Casey (script assist), Jeff Johnson (penciler), Dan Panosian (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Oliff & Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary: The X-Men receive a letter from Professor Xavier, but Wolverine is suspicious of its origin. Later, Joseph asks to speak to Maggott about his relationship with Magneto. Maggott is reluctant, because he knows Joseph isn’t Magneto after coming across the real Magneto in Antarctica. Their conversation is interrupted by Sabra, who attacks Joseph. Maggott stops the fight by convincing her that he isn’t really Magneto. Joseph abruptly decides to leave with Sabra, hoping that he can learn the truth about his past from her.

Continuity Notes: The continuity in this issue doesn’t work with the events of Uncanny at the time. UXM #353-#354 all feature Joseph, so they must take place before he leaves the mansion in this issue. However, #355 takes places directly after #354 (which ends with Rogue leaving the mansion), and it explicitly says that Joseph has left the team by this point. The only way for this to work is for the final few pages of #354, Rogue’s departure scene, to take place after this issue.

The story takes place on New Year’s Eve, and has the team making resolutions. Beast’s is to cure the Legacy Virus, which Cecilia Reyes bets him he cannot do within the year. This ties in with the house ad that hyped a resolution to the storyline in 1998, but it didn’t happen until three years later.

There are, of course, numerous subplot scenes in this issue. Sebastian Shaw receives a lot of focus in the issue, debating his future, before finally deciding to join forces with a mystical entity. This one is particularly frustrating, since it takes up so much space and is never resolved. The package addressed to Storm is making its way to America, and somehow African tribesmen are in a German post office, ensuring that it gets through (they might be a mental projection, it’s hard to tell). Senator Kelly is searching for Professor Xavier at Bastion’s abandoned New Mexico base, but he isn’t there. Finally, Marrow returns to the mansion after her fight with Wolverine and steals Cecilia Reyes’ doctor’s bag (since Marrow also made cameos in UXM during this time, this makes the continuity even harder to work out).

Review: This one looks pretty rough in retrospect, although I recall liking it at the time. Kelly tries to move some storylines along while still focusing on the characters, so we end up with the X-Men making New Year’s resolutions as a multitude of subplots carry on in the background. None of the resolutions are particularly insightful, (Wolverine’s is to “be the best there is at what I do…soon as I figure out just what that is”, a line I seem to recall Kelly mocking in his writing column for the early Newsarama) but there are a few nice moments with Beast.

Maggott and Joseph’s conversation seems to be a “let’s just get this done” formality, and it somehow turns into a rushed exit scene for Joseph. This is really just awkward all around, as Maggott was given an unexplained motive for finding Magneto in his early appearances, which was quickly dismissed when he joined the team (for equally vague reasons). Joseph was supposed to be Magneto, although no one bothered to explain how he ended up in his current state. Then, suddenly, he wasn’t Magneto, but was left on the team with nothing to do. It seems like the creators just want to ditch him at this point, so he gets the token conversation with Maggott out of the way, and then runs off with Sabra. Sabra’s addition doesn’t make a lot of sense either, as the Mossad agent is now working on her own, determined to kill Magneto. She’s never been concerned about him before, but now she’s hell-bent on killing him after he murdered a counterfeiter (not even in Israel, but in Prague). She claims that she has to do this “for my people” (presumably because she thinks Magneto’s a poor representative for Jews), but that’s not a very convincing motivation. And I have no idea why Joseph thinks she can help him learn about his past, or why he feels the need to leave without even saying goodbye to the others. It just reads as if someone wanted Joseph gone and no one actually worked out the logistics of how it was supposed to happen.

Uncanny X-Men #355

North & South

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend w/Beatty & Smith (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: As Wolverine takes the captive Sauron to Manhattan, he’s attacked by Alpha Flight. Meanwhile, Rogue visits Dr. Agee, who claims that he can remove genetic mutations. After her consultation, she flies past Wolverine’s fight. She recruits the other X-Men for help, and Alpha Flight is quickly defeated. Heather Hudson realizes that Department H lied to the team, claiming that Wolverine had killed Alpha Flight member Madison Jeffries. Wolverine shakes hands with Heather and the teams part amicably. Meanwhile, Cyclops expresses his concerns to Phoenix over her decision to wear the original Phoenix costume.

Continuity Notes: This is supposed to represent the X-Men’s perspective during their appearance in Alpha Flight from around this time. This was mentioned in an earlier Bullpen Bulletins, but I don’t see any indication within the issue itself. The reason why Alpha Flight is behaving strangely is apparently because they’re being brainwashed (I never followed Seagle’s Alpha Flight, and it’s my understanding that it’s also filled with unresolved mysteries).

Phoenix is wearing her original costume because she’s “tired of suppressing (her) abilities” and wants to “empower” herself. Cyclops is afraid that this might be a sign that she’s following the original Phoenix’s path. Speaking of costumes, Rogue is back to wearing the space suit she wore during the previous year’s Phalanx storyline for no apparent reason.

Review: This is mostly a commercial for the second volume of Alpha Flight, and it’s not a very good one since most of the characters aren’t very interesting and I don’t really understand what’s going on. I can understand why Seagle thought an Alpha Flight appearance could work as an excuse for a fight scene and as promotion for the title, but it just comes across as pointless. Bachalo’s art saves some of this, but for the most part it’s pretty dull.

The Rogue subplot continues, as she makes the first step in removing her powers. This is pretty much the most obvious story you can do with Rogue (as evidenced by the fact that the original cartoon and the third movie used the same idea), so it’s surprising that the comics themselves had never gone in this direction. Rogue was even targeted with a power-neutralizing gun during the original Claremont run, but he didn't take the obvious bait and have Rogue consider if getting hit would’ve been a good thing. I don’t have a problem with obvious ideas as long as the writer gets decent material out of them, so I can’t hold this against Seagle. Unfortunately, Rogue’s story is barely touched on in this issue, as the Alpha Flight fight takes up most of the space.

The Phoenix storyline is another one that I remember getting a lot of play before being totally ignored. Cyclops’ fears resurrect all kinds of continuity issues that probably should’ve been left alone. At the time, the established continuity was that the Phoenix was a cosmic entity who copied Jean Grey’s form, and that Jean never was the Phoenix. Seagle seems to be going back to the pre-retcon idea that the Phoenix represents Jean’s ultimate potential as a mutant, which makes Cyclops wonder if history is going to repeat itself. I don’t see how this story can work without retconning the retcons, because if you accept that Jean never was Phoenix, there’s not a lot of conflict here. Unless Cyclops thinks that the cosmic entity has returned (which isn’t where Seagle seems to be going with this), that means that he’s upset about his wife changing outfits. And if Jean never was Phoenix, then it’s hard to explain why exactly she’s creating fiery bird imagery and wants to wear the old costume (as for the name change, this was explained years earlier as a tribute to Rachel Summers, who did carry the Phoenix Force for a while). Maybe Seagle did have a plan that made sense within continuity and actually said something about Jean Grey’s character, but it just seems like shock value at this point. And since this turned out to be another dropped plot, it’s even more annoying in retrospect.

UXM #353 - #354, March - April 1998

Uncanny X-Men #353

Blackbirds

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: After having dreams where she absorbs Wolverine’s persona, Rogue begins to feel an urge to use her powers on her teammates. She tries to convince Joseph to let her touch him, in order to release his memories of his past, but he refuses. Meanwhile, Wolverine comes across Margaret Stone, a Board of Education inspector. She’s extremely suspicious of the school and places it on probation. Wolverine briefly rejoins the others for a picnic, but leaves after an altercation with Iceman. While napping, he’s attacked by a mystery figure. The team soon realizes the culprit is Sauron.

Continuity Notes: This issue is filled with tiny scenes that have nothing to do with the main story. Rogue claims that Wolverine has a son during her dream sequence, which might’ve tied into plans Seagle initially had for the Wolverine series (or Alpha Flight, because I think a character in that series was implied to be his son). Joseph falls over in pain after he rebuffs Rogue, declaring that “he is near!” Archangel questions what’s important in his life, and is angered at Psylocke for jumping off the roof and forcing him to save her (her melodramatic way of proving a point). Bishop, who is still stranded in space with Deathbird, has visions of killing Cyclops (no clue what this is about). While swimming in the pond, Iceman discovers an older model of the Blackbird that Forge hid years earlier (I assume this was done to give the team another mode of transportation). Finally, in Alaska, Phoenix telekinetically removes a mountain of snow, leaving a bird image on the ground.

Commercial Break: An insert promoting 1998 storylines hypes a Legacy Virus resolution in the X-books (didn’t happen), the fate of Graydon Creed’s killer in X-Factor #150 (didn’t happen), a new spinoff named only X-? #1 (don’t think this happened, unless they mean Mutant X), Captain America vs. Iron Man in issues #6 and #5 of their new series (didn’t happen, but I think this story might’ve become an annual), new titles such as Orleans and Endtime (no memory of these), a Blade series that might’ve happened, but it’s hard to keep track at this point, a Micronauts relaunch (nope), and new projects such as Marvel Sci-Fi, Seeker 300, Guardians, Killraven, and Excelsior Comics (nope again, although Alan Davis’ Killraven was eventually released, and Excelsior Comics morphed into the MC2 line).

Review: It’s hard to say much about this issue, since it’s largely a collection of setup scenes, many of which never paid off. It is nice to see the focus return to Rogue, who had been ignored in the months following UXM #350. Seagle seems to be going with the idea that after finally touching someone in Antarctica, she’s looking for excuses to do it again. That’s a reasonable direction to take, but it’s hard to pull off without making Rogue too unsympathetic. It’s one thing to give her dreams about absorbing Wolverine’s persona, but having her trying to trick Joseph into touching her is a bit of a stretch. At this stage, Seagle doesn’t have some of the characters down, as Archangel continues to act erratically and Wolverine tries to stab Iceman for throwing a snowball at him (which might’ve been in-character up until the early ‘80s, but felt out of place by the late ‘90s). Most of the storylines introduced do have promise, but I’ve never understood the point of the Board of Education inspector subplot. Since the X-Men weren’t really keeping the pretense of running a school anymore, I don’t see how getting placed on probation matters to them. They could just claim that they’re running a boarding house for adults, since all of the teenagers are gone. Generation X would’ve been a better series to try this idea, even though that title pretty firmly established that the characters are attending classes. Chris Bachalo debuts as regular artist, and his work meshes well with Tim Townsend’s thick inks. Some of the characters look too babyfaced, and there are a couple of storytelling issues, but overall it’s a nice job.

Uncanny X-Men #354

Prehistory

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: The X-Men face Sauron, as Rogue runs to the mansion in tears. She discovers Joseph’s lifeless body and performs mouth-to-mouth. Marrow catches her, and accuses her of finding an excuse to touch someone again. The team eventually defeats Sauron, while Rogue hails a taxi and leaves. As she heads to Manhattan, she remembers coming across Wolverine’s unconscious body a few hours earlier and touching his skin.

Continuity Notes: Some of the alternating subplots are still continuing. Bishop is now suspicious of Deathbird, and wonders why she only teleported him away after the X-Men’s craft fell apart. The pair is then pulled into the gravity of a Death Star-esque planet. In Alaska, Cyclops is shocked to discover Jean wearing the original Phoenix costume. Why exactly Joseph collapsed isn’t explained, and I seem to recall that it never was.

Gimmicks: This issue also has an alternate cover with Phoenix in her new/old costume.

Review: This is mostly an all-fight issue, although Seagle tries to class it up a bit with a lengthy string of slightly pretentious narrative captions. The Sauron fight has its moments, but the ending is certainly rushed (one good blast from Jubilee, depicted in a tiny panel, is apparently enough to take him down). The Rogue subplot continues, as we now see her acting on her impulses and using her powers against her teammates. This might have worked if more time had been spent establishing her mental state post #350, but without the proper setup, it’s a more dubious characterization. The logistics of her using mouth-to-mouth to revive someone, when her powers automatically knock someone unconscious, are also suspect (I didn’t really buy it when the cartoon pulled that stunt, either).

X-MEN #72 & UXM #352 – February 1998

X-Men #72

Life Lessons

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Carlos Pacheco (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Liquid! (colors)

Summary: Wolverine spars with Marrow, testing her to see if she’s truly willing to become an X-Man. When he thinks that she’s willing to submit, Marrow sucker punches him and stabs him in the throat. Wolverine goes into a rage, and is subdued by Cannonball. Marrow runs away, back to the secret place where Callisto is recovering. Meanwhile, Sabra informs Gabrielle Haller that Erik Lensherr was a false identity created for Magneto. They track down Georg Odekirk, the man who created the counterfeit identity, shortly after he's killed by Magneto.

Continuity Notes: Gabrielle Haller is trying to use her influence as an ambassador to free Xavier from federal custody. It’s amusing that she’s more concerned about this than the X-Men seem to be (although Phoenix does briefly search for him mentally in this month's UXM).

Storm tells Cannonball that Marrow “attempt(ed) to kill hundreds to further her goals”, which seems to be a quiet retconning of any actual murders on her part.

According to Magneto, he changed his name to Erik Lensherr after he went into hiding, following his lethal attack on his daughter’s killers. He kills Georg Odekirk because the identity he created doesn’t stand up to scrutiny in the modern age.

Review: This issue is almost entirely dedicated to justifying Marrow’s place on the team, which isn’t an easy thing to pull off. There is at least a little retconning going on, but Kelly really doesn’t go for any cheap outs. Marrow doesn’t break down and cry, Storm doesn’t decide to forgive and move on, and Wolverine doesn’t get to intimidate Marrow into falling in line. Marrow remains nasty and mean, with the only indication that she’s willing to change coming from Wolverine’s speculation that “somewhere in that mess you call a brain, part of you wants something better”. Having Marrow stab Wolverine just when he seems to be getting through to her is a nice twist. It might come across as Kelly selling Marrow a little too hard, but I think it works within the context of the story. Cannonball also has a strong portrayal, as he tries to convince the others to follow Xavier's example and give Marrow a second chance, even when there’s no compelling reason for the team to do so. I still think adding Marrow to the team was a dumb move, but Kelly gets a lot of material out of the idea in this issue.

The Magneto subplot, on the other hand, is just ridiculous. I assume it was motivated by Marvel retroactively deciding that too much of Magneto’s past had been revealed, which might be a legitimate concern. Casually revealing that Erik Lensherr was a fake name, and having Magneto callously kill the man who created it, doesn’t work at all. It brings Magneto back into cartoonish supervillainy, which undermines most of the interesting things you can do with the character.

Uncanny X-Men #352

In Sin Air

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Hamner/Edwards/Banks/Dodson/Williams/Cassaday (pencilers), Martin/Edwards/Holdredge/Dodson/Gray/Cassaday (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Oliff (colors)

Summary: While flying to their new home in Alaska, Cyclops and Phoenix encounter an otherworldly entity that AIM is attempting to steal from another group of scientists. At first, the entity lashes out at the passengers, forcing them to relive their darkest moments. When the plane goes out of control, Phoenix convinces the entity to find the good in humanity and calm the passengers, allowing the pilot to land the plane. Meanwhile, Archangel returns to the X-Men’s mansion, but receives a cold reception from teammates who feel that he isn’t taking his responsibilities seriously.

Review: This is another issue that reads like filler, although it’s enjoyable enough. It’s probably most notable for containing six pencilers and six inkers, which makes me wonder just how far off-schedule this title was at the time. I think this is John Cassady’s first time drawing the X-Men, although his style is so different than his Astonishing X-Men work, it might as well be a different artist. None of the pencilers in this issue are incompetent, but their styles are all over the place, and pages seem to have been assigned at random. A three-page scene that has Archangel getting told off by the X-Men somehow ends up with two different artists with totally incompatible styles, making the issue seem like even more of a rush job. I don’t care for the Archangel subplot, which goes out of its way to make him a self-centered goof, but the main story has its moments. I like the psychological angle Seagle adds to the story, and introducing normal, human neighbors for the Summers is a good idea (which, unfortunately, was quickly dismissed).

X-MEN #71 & UXM #351 – January 1998

X-Men #71

A House in Order

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Carlos Pacheco (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Chris Lichtner/Aron Lusen/Liquid! (colors)

Summary: Cyclops and Phoenix prepare to leave the mansion, as the new members adjust to the team. Wolverine and Storm are skeptical about allowing Marrow to stay, but Cyclops is adamant that the team continue to follow Xavier’s example. Later, Wolverine meets Marrow alone, declaring that school has begun.

Continuity Notes: Sebastian Shaw receives a mysterious package from a mystical bird. I’m almost positive this is one of the numerous unresolved subplots from this era. There are also subplot scenes that involve a package being desperately mailed to Storm from Cairo, and ominous foreshadowing that Maggott’s slugs are up to no good. These stories are actually resolved.

Review: This is a slow, talkative issue that mainly serves to set up a few subplots, write Cyclops and Phoenix out, and give the new members more attention. Marrow’s past as a hardened terrorist is treated rather oddly here, as Wolverine acknowledges that she is a killer, but no one actually brings up taking her into custody. I know the X-Men weren’t there when she killed a homeless man in her first appearance, and she apparently didn’t kill anyone during Gene Nation’s nightclub attack (it seems as if Sack and Vassal were responsible), but that still leaves UXM #325. It’s implied that she killed the man attached to the sewer wall (at the very least, she was present when it happened), and she was more than willing to bomb a group of civilians just a few pages later. There’s no real reason for the X-Men to keep her out of custody, so the story has to play fast and loose with continuity by making vague references to some of the events of UXM #325, but not others. The fact that Marrow remains unrepentant and outright hostile towards the X-Men also makes this harder to swallow. Magneto at least showed remorse for his actions and was willing to stand trial, and Sabretooth was kept as a prisoner with the permission of the government. Marrow’s just free to hang out with the X-Men, even though she clearly hates them, and only a few of them seem to have any real problem with it. Kelly’s able to write some clever interactions between the characters, but this isn’t an idea that stands up to a lot of scrutiny.

Uncanny X-Men #351

Hours & Minutes

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Ed Benes (penciler), Comicraft (lettering), Chris Sotomayor (colors)

Summary: Cecilia Reyes leaves the team, hoping to return to her normal life. She faces discrimination during her day at the hospital, and is assigned to treat Pryo, whose Legacy Virus infection is out of control. Daredevil later appears, asking Reyes to treat an infected gunshot wound. He tries to talk her into embracing her powers and using them for good. After Reyes checks on Pyro and accidentally lets him escape, she’s fired. She returns to the X-Men, telling Storm that she thinks she can do good work with the team.

Continuity Note: Pyro is in the hospital after getting shot while robbing a bank. He claims he did it to pay a doctor who claims he can remove mutant genes, which is a setup for a future storyline. The story seems to be confused about Pyro’s powers. He correctly says that he can only control flames and not create them, which doesn’t explain where the fire surrounding his body is coming from.

Review: I believe this is one of the issues Seagle wrote quickly after unexpectedly getting the job, which would probably explain why it focuses on a character that was appearing in the sister title and only offers hints about future storylines. It’s not a bad issue, though, as it manages to create a nice character study of Cecilia Reyes without coming across as a too obvious time-killer. The discrimination she faces during the day is rather predictable, but Seagle still manages to give a few members of the hospital staff fairly well-rounded personalities. Since Reyes spends most of her time complaining about her new life as an X-Man, it’s only logical that someone do a story where she tries to return to her old life, so at least it was gotten out of the way quickly. Benes’ art, however, is an awkward fit. All of the bodies look any generic character from a ‘90s action comic, so the doctors look like superheroes and the nurses look like strippers. A lot of the poses are also stiff, and all of the excessive detail lines have aged badly.

WOLVERINE #121 - #122, February 1998 – March 1998

Not Dead Yet, 3 of 4

Credits: Warren Ellis (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo & Gerry Alanguilan (inkers), Jason Wright (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: As Wolverine escapes the city, he’s attacked by assassins with adamantium bullets. He claws through them and heads deeper into the woods, hoping to find McLeish. A flashback to Hong Kong shows Wolverine saying goodbye to his girlfriend, Ai-Chia. She refuses to touch him, knowing now that he’s as much of a killer as McLeish. In the present, Wolverine passes a recording of McLeish’s voice. In the trees, he discovers the body of Ai-Chia. Wolverine explodes in anger, promising to give McLeish his animal side.

Review: Wow, this really is padded. It’s hard not to notice how slowly the story’s going when almost every page only has three or four panels, or is a splash page. The flashback with Ai-Chia is interesting, since it least raises the question of why Wolverine would go drinking with someone like McLeish in the first place. He doesn’t have much of a defense outside of his claim that they were a part of a similar lifestyle. This bothered me the first time I read the issue, but the final chapter does make an effort to redeem Wolverine (albeit in a rather predictable way). Since the plot is so thin, the art is left to carry a lot of the issue. Yu certainly excels at drawing things like motorcycles and guns, so at the very least it’s a nice looking book.

Not Dead Yet, 4 of 4

Credits: Warren Ellis (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Jason Wright (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Wolverine follows McLeish’s trail to a small village, where every citizen is dead. He’s confronted by a young man who claims to be McLeish’s son. He says that McLeish died years ago, and he was the one who mimicked his voice on the recordings. Wolverine kills him, and walks deeper into the house. He tells McLeish to show himself. A feeble McLeish emerges, revealing his revenge plan that’s been ten years in the making. When he lunges at Wolverine, he’s quickly killed. Wolverine disposes of the body, wondering if he really isn’t any different than McLeish.

Review: More slow-motion storytelling. It’s not that this is a bad premise for a storyline, since it does manage to say a few things about Wolverine’s character and it suits Yu’s art style, but there’s no way this should’ve ran for four issues. To his credit, Ellis does add a few twists to the story. After McLeish tells Wolverine that everything he’s heard tonight is a lie (which means the man who attacked him earlier wasn’t McLeish’s son), Wolverine responds that he actually did know McLeish’s son, and killed him years earlier. After McLeish is dead, Wolverine admits that he was lying, also. He killed him with “lies and fear”, which is exactly what McLeish wanted to do to Wolverine. The idea that Wolverine is just as ruthless as any other killer isn’t a new one, but it does at least turn the climax a little more than just an action scene. I like the use of the fake son during the opening scene, since he provides a plausible explanation for the previous events of the story, shortly before Ellis goes for the more conventional comic book revelation that McLeish actually is alive. The final twist is the revelation that Wolverine was working undercover for the Canadian government the entire time he was close to McLeish. It’s not that big of a surprise, but I prefer it over the implication in the earlier issues that he just liked hanging around the old killer. As a climax, this is readable enough, but it suffers from the same decompression that marred the previous issues.

WOLVERINE #119 - #120, December 1997 - January 1998

Welcome to the all-new, all-different Not Blog X, which is remarkably similar to the old one. I’m going to continue reviewing the main X-titles until the end of the Alan Davis run, which will take us to early 2000. My current plan is to write shorter reviews and cover at least two issues in each post, with updates on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. When it’s over, this site should be a fairly comprehensive review of the ‘90s era of the X-Men, even though I will be missing out on many of the spinoffs from the late ‘90s. After I’m finished with the X-Men, I’m sure I’ll find other things to write about.

Not Dead Yet, 1 of 4

Credits: Warren Ellis (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Jason Wright (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: In the past, Wolverine spends time with McLeish, a Scottish hitman, in Hong Kong. After McLeish kills the movie producer father of Wolverine’s girlfriend, Wolverine seeks revenge. After breaking his back and triggering an explosion that sends McLeish to the bottom of the harbor, Wolverine assumes he’s dead. In the present, Wolverine returns home to his apartment to discover the body of a local homeless man. A bomb with admantium shards explodes, leading Wolverine to question if McLeish is still alive.

Miscellaneous Note: According to the Statement of Ownership, average sales for the year were 251,738 copies with the most recent issue selling 214,991.

Review: This is the start of Warren Ellis’ four-part run. Marvel publicly hinted that Ellis might become the regular writer, even though he always claimed he was only going to do four issues. This is virtually an entire issue spent on selling McLeish as a credible threat to Wolverine, so you end up with pages of dialogue with the character describing all of the kills he’s made since he was thirteen. It really is overkill, but it fits the nature of the story. A lot of these elements have been done to death over the years (character from Wolverine’s past returns for vengeance, flashbacks to Wolverine’s days before the X-Men, another previously unseen girlfriend), and I can’t say that this felt particularly fresh even in 1997. It’s entertaining as a straightforward action story, though. Ellis removes virtually any superhero trappings from the story, which gives Yu’s detail-oriented, more realistic style some room to show off. Certainly not a bad start for a filler run.

Not Dead Yet, 2 of 4

Credits: Warren Ellis (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Jason Wright (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Wolverine escapes the explosion and flees the city. Two hitmen allegedly sent by McLeish crash cars into him, but Wolverine manages to suppress his rage and spare the life of the surviving driver. He faces another hitman while picking up his motorcycle from a garage, and avoids killing him, also. As Wolverine drives out of town, a man in the shadows awaits his arrival.

Review: I seem to recall feeling that this storyline was unnecessarily padded, and this issue is the first hint. The plot consists of Wolverine avoiding hitmen while flashing back to a few of his conversations with McLeish. There’s no real connection between the flashbacks and the main story, outside of reaffirming that Wolverine isn’t comfortable with McLeish’s work, and establishing that McLeish knows about Wolverine’s berserker rage. The idea is that McLeish is doing everything he can to push Wolverine over the edge so he’ll no longer think like a rational human, which will make him an easier target. Giving Wolverine enough credit to figure this out adds another element to the story, forcing him to once again fight against his baser instincts. None of these are bad ideas, there’s just not enough here to justify twenty-two pages. Giant panels of Wolverine getting smashed by cars are fine, but large drawings of snowy hamlets and shadowy old men in rocking chairs feel like cheats.

X-MEN – The Animated Series on DVD

The folks at Disney were kind enough to send me review copies of the first two volumes of the ‘90s X-MEN cartoon, which is finally out on DVD April 28th. Since the series debuted a few weeks after the widely canonized Batman: TAS cartoon, it’s often viewed dismissively amongst comics fans, which isn’t entirely fair. Bruce Timm’s stripped down, expressionistic designs bore little resemblance to the accepted look of action cartoons at the time, and while they might’ve been hard to swallow at first, it’s clear that he created a look that’s influenced animation for over ten years now. X-MEN, however, didn’t look much different than G. I. Joe, which was already getting close to ten years old when the show debuted (and X-MEN unfortunately didn’t have access to some of the higher quality Japanese animation studios Joe used in the ‘80s).

Everything about the look of the show goes against accepted animation design theories today, but in Fall 1992 this really didn’t seem that strange (if anything, Batman: TAS looked like the odd man out). The animators looked at the X-comics of the early ‘90s and faithfully recreated every detailed muscle line, strand of hair (and, boy, do Storm and Rogue have a lot of it), cheek bone, belt buckle, and fold of clothes imaginable. It really is a Marvel comic brought to life. It’s unfortunately too faithful to work with the abilities of overseas animation studios, though. The animation in the early episodes is often stiff and clumsy, and it’s not hard to spot the recurring continuity errors. However, things do improve as the first season progresses. By “Days of Future Past”, the characters have lost a bit of their stiffness, and the overall animation is much more consistent. It’s still not up to the standards of what Warner Brothers was doing with television animation at the time, but the show’s visuals are no longer a distraction and actually help to sell the stories by the end of the first season. (The two-part Season Three opener “Out of the Past” actually has remarkably fluid animation, which makes me wonder why this specific studio only worked on a handful of episodes).

The stories themselves are often faithful adaptations of the original source material, so it’s hard to fault the creators for giving Marvel what they obviously wanted. Some of the dialogue is a little clunky, but most of the X-Men’s personalities are effectively conveyed, making the show an easy introduction to the characters and concepts of the original comics. Each episode leads directly into the next (even if it’s just a last-minute cliffhanger that’s tagged on at the end of a complete story), mirroring the ongoing soap opera that brought so many fans into the comics during the ‘80s and ‘90s. The stories try to find a balance between entertaining kids and adults, and while the show obviously errs on the side of the kiddies, the material itself is rarely dumbed down. The show doesn’t shy away from death, as Sabretooth is rather unambiguously labeled a murderer, Magneto describes watching innocent women and children die as a child, and Morph bites the dust in the opening two-parter (he of course comes back, but that’s due to a fidelity to comic book style storytelling and not a squeamishness over death). Some of the episodes seem to drag on for too long, some are just silly (the less said about the Juggernaut/Colossus episode the better), but the majority of them are pretty entertaining. I always thought the final three episodes of the first season were particularly good, and was pleased to see that they hold up very well. The vocal performances are all over the place, which can occasionally distract from the storytelling. Some voices, such as Cal Dodd as Wolverine, are almost perfect, while other major characters rarely seem able to deliver a credible line of dialogue (the show could never get Cyclops or Storm to sound right).

The DVD sets contain sixteen episodes each, which means you get the first season plus the first three episodes of season two with Volume One, and the second season plus the first seven episodes of season three on Volume Two. (Despite the appearance of Dark Phoenix on the Volume Two cover, those episodes aren’t covered. It actually finishes with the original storyline that transforms Jean Grey into Phoenix, so she’s not “dark” yet.) I imagine the episode count was done solely for accounting reasons (probably to give the buyer a decent amount of episodes for around $20-$25 a set), because there’s no real reason for the first volume to end three episodes into an extended storyline with no resolution. Make no mistake that these are barebones releases, as there are no special features that I can find. You’re getting the shows as they originally aired and nothing else. It would’ve been nice to have a few interviews or audio commentaries, or perhaps even the “rough” preview version of the first two episodes that aired with numerous animation blunders, but the sets don’t seem to be aimed at the more hardcore audience that pays attention to those things. Since numerous fans were brought into comics through this series, I imagine just the nostalgic appeal of seeing the episodes again is enough to warrant a purchase for many. I was already a fan before the series aired, but I can’t deny that seeing my favorite comic so faithfully translated into an animated series was a thrill. Looking back on the cartoons of your youth is always dangerous (Thundercats didn’t seem to induce narcolepsy as a child, oddly enough), but X-MEN has its moments, even if the styles have moved on.

X-MEN #70 - December 1997

Homecoming
Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Carlos Pacheco (penciler), Art Thibert w/John Dell (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Chris Lichtner, Aaron Lusen, & Liquid! (colors)

Summary: Iceman, Marrow, and Cecilia Reyes arrive at the X-Men’s mansion. They’re shocked to discover that Bastion has stripped it bare. Soon, Storm, Cannonball, Wolverine, and Phoenix arrive with Cyclops, who is infected with a nanotech bomb. They hoped to treat him in their medi-lab, but all of the equipment is gone. Reyes prepares for a makeshift surgery on Cyclops, ordering Cannonball to obtain medical supplies from town, while Phoenix uses her telekinetic powers to keep Cyclops’ chest together. Without a scalpel, Wolverine’s claw acts as a blade. The doorbell suddenly rings, and Storm is shocked to discover Juggernaut and his attorney. With Professor Xavier incapacitated, Juggernaut claims that he now controls his stepbrother’s fortune. When Storm annoys him, Juggernaut rushes through the door, looking for a fight. At that moment, Rogue’s team of X-Men returns from Antarctica. Maggott threatens Juggernaut with his slugs, which causes Juggernaut to walk away in laughter, claiming that the X-Men will soon self-destruct anyway. When Reyes needs more precise tools to stop the nano-bomb from growing within Cyclops, Marrow rips off two of her bones for Reyes to use. Reyes removes the bomb, and Maggott orders his slugs to eat it. Later, as Cyclops recovers, he contemplates with Phoenix the future of the X-Men.

Continuity Note: Jubilee has disappeared in-between issues with no explanation. She was with Cyclops’ team in the previous Wolverine issues, and in their one-page cameo in UXM #350. This type of editorial oversight used to drive me mad. (Psylocke and Archangel are also missing from Rogue’s team, but I think this is addressed later.)

Juggernaut claims that he is Xavier’s half-brother, which isn’t true (no matter how many times writers screw this up). Juggernaut is Xavier’s stepbrother, and I question the idea that he would have legal authority over Xavier’s affairs, or that being incarcerated would require someone else to look after Xavier’s money (Xavier isn’t officially under arrest anyway).

Miscellaneous Note: According to the Statement of Ownership, average sales for the year were 303,708 copies with the most recent issue selling 258,151.

Review: This is the beginning of Joe Kelly’s brief run, which I recall enjoying back when it was published. Kelly was discovered as a part of a writing program Marvel started with NYU, and had been writing the monthly Deadpool series for a few months by this time (Augie De Blieck recently took a look back at the series in his Pipeline column). Placing him on X-Men wasn’t an obvious choice, which is something I recall every Wizard interview with Kelly emphasizing at the time. He seemed to be a young, enthusiastic guy who was excited about writing the X-Men, which is a feeling that was reflected in his work. This really is an entire issue about the X-Men performing an impromptu surgery, which doesn’t seem to be enough to fill a double-sized issue, but the character interactions and Kelly’s sharp dialogue help to sell the idea. Kelly structures the story so that we still see Storm’s reaction to Marrow, Juggernaut’s response to Maggott, and Wolverine calling out Trish Tilby for exposing the Legacy Virus months earlier. There are over a dozen characters here, but they’re given just enough room to showcase their personalities and not behave like generic ciphers.

As for the brave new direction of the book, however, I never bought it. Lobdell’s plan was for the team to live on the lam, without the mansion, Blackbird, or Shi’ar technology. Instead, what we get is the X-Men returning to an empty house. The story tries to sell this as a horrific sight, but it doesn’t hold up to a lot of scrutiny. Forcing the team to deal with Cyclops’ condition without medical equipment is a smart idea, but you can only do so many stories with this setup. All the X-Men have to do is call their associates on Muir Island (which is the setting of the spinoff title Excalibur, of course) and ask for replacement equipment. Eventually, I think this turned out to be the off-panel resolution, but it certainly took the characters enough time to actually do it. As for Kelly’s run as a whole, it’s filled with unresolved mysteries and subplots that were quickly dropped as soon as he left. He also spends a lot of time selling Maggott, Marrow, and Reyes as the new X-Men, which makes for odd reading in retrospect when you know how quickly Marvel dismissed the characters. This seems to be one of the more popular X-runs, though, so it should be interesting to look back on it.

UNCANNY X-MEN #350 – December 1997

Trial & Errors
Credits: Scott Lobdell (co-plot, uncredited), Steve Seagle (script), Joe Madureira w/Andy Smith (pencilers), Tim Townsend w/Vince Russell & Dan Panosian (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: In the past, Gambit receives a mysterious vial from Mr. Sinister, in exchange for gathering the Marauders. In the present, Gambit is taken into custody by Spat and Grovel. The remaining X-Men ignore his wishes and follow them. In New York, Psylocke traces the “darkness” inside Maggott into the shadows. Maggott and Archangel follow her, and arrive inside a hidden citadel in Antarctica. When Joseph approaches the citadel outside, he falls down in pain as it rises from the ground. The X-Men investigate the citadel, where most of them are soon abducted. Rogue reaches the lowest level, where Gambit is being kept. Suddenly, Erik the Red appears with the robot Ferris. Erik announces that Gambit is on trial for his past sins. Gambit admits that he once made a deal with Mr. Sinister, while Psylocke reveals the recently unblocked memory she saw in Gambit’s subconscious. She tells the X-Men that Gambit recruited the Marauders shortly before the Morlock Massacre. Rogue is goaded into kissing Gambit, which forces her to relive the day from his perspective. She learns that Gambit tried to stop the massacre once he realized what was happening, but was nearly killed by Sabretooth. He then rescued a young girl from the carnage and ran away. Erik the Red forces the building to collapse, declaring that this is the deliberation. As the team escapes, Rogue saves Gambit from the falling debris. However, she refuses to take him with the rest of the X-Men, telling him that he will have to save himself. Meanwhile, Erik the Red and Ferris escape in an aircraft. Erik takes off his mask and reveals himself as Magneto.

Gimmicks: This issue shipped with an enhanced foil version and a non-enhanced one.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership lists average sales at 300,732 copies with the most recent issue selling 261,017.

Continuity Notes: Erik the Red is a false identity Cyclops once assumed back in the Silver Age. The identity was later usurped by an evil Shi’ar agent in order to throw the X-Men off-balance (according to some inserted pages in Classic X-Men).

It’s asserted twice in this issue that Gambit’s wife, Belladonna, was dead when he made his deal with Mr. Sinister. Actually, she died years after this would’ve happened, after Gambit had already joined the team.

The vial Mr. Sinister gives Gambit was addressed in the Gambit solo series. It's somehow connected to a brain surgery Sinister gave Gambit in order to dampen his powers (more info can be found here).

One of the flashbacks shows Gambit leading the Marauders into the Morlock Tunnels (in fact, it’s supposed to be another job that Sinister is paying him for). This contradicts the actual published comics from that storyline, which had the Marauders simply following the Morlocks home and learning their location. The girl Gambit saves from the massacre is Marrow, which is something Alan Davis picks up on in the future. Prism is incorrectly listed as a Morlock in this issue, when he's actually a Marauder.

When Gambit is first brought into the citadel, he identifies the voice he hears in the darkness as Mr. Sinister. Later, it’s revealed as Erik the Red, and then finally Magneto. The Sinister idea is a strange one, since there are clues throughout the issue that point to Erik the Red’s identity as Magneto. I wonder if the Sinister reference is something that survived an earlier draft and just slipped through.

Review: This is obviously a mess, and it’s something Marvel had to do a fair amount of backtracking on in subsequent years. It’s interesting that no one is credited for actually plotting this story (Seagle is only listed as “scripter”). Seagle was originally hired to replace Larry Hama on Wolverine, but was asked to take over UXM when Lobdell abruptly disappeared. His first issue was supposed to be #351, I believe, but he was brought in at the last minute to finish this one. He apparently claimed on Usenet that he was finishing the issue Lobdell started, which leads me to believe what we’re reading is a Lobdell plot heavily rewritten by editorial, then given to Seagle to script. Fan reaction to this issue was largely negative, with many of the complaints centering on Rogue leaving Gambit to die in the antarctic. Some people within Marvel must’ve had second thoughts, since it’s later retconned that a) the X-Men circled back and did at least try to find Gambit, and b) Rogue’s actions were motivated by the intense self-loathing she absorbed from Gambit. Fabian Nicieza tried his best to make this work in Gambit’s solo series, but it’s hard to justify such a ridiculous ending. There is one Rogue/Gambit moment I do like in this issue, which has Rogue regretting her kiss with Gambit, because he’s the one person she wanted to get to know “like a real, normal woman”. It reminds me of the final Classic X-Men backup story Ann Nocenti wrote, which shows what it’s like for Rogue to learn everything there is to know about someone at one time.

Other aspects of this story just don’t make any sense, period. After years of selling Joseph as Magneto, another Magneto (who turned out to be the “real” one) turns up on the last page. It makes for a dramatic final page, but it undermines a storyline that had been building for years, and it makes no sense given the context of this specific issue. Why exactly would Magneto put Gambit on trial? If he’s that concerned about what happened years earlier in the Morlock Massacre, why isn’t he going after Sinister and the Marauders? There are a few lines at the end that suggest he only staged the trial in order to drive the X-Men apart, but that’s not much of an answer (And why exactly did he choose the Erik the Red identity of all things?). He also claims that this is the first step in the “gradual erosion” of the team, which isn’t followed up on at all (the next time Magneto does something, I’m pretty sure it’s a high-profile stunt in “Magneto War”, and not a devious attempt at driving the team apart). It reads as if editorial just got bored with the Joseph storyline, and with a new creative team in place, decided to bring back the evil, ruthless Magneto they seemed to prefer. I can understand why they wanted to end the Joseph story, but to abruptly bring Magneto back without resolving any of the mysteries surrounding Joseph feels like a cheat.

Other nonsense in this issue includes Psylocke following the “darkness” within Maggott and suddenly ending up in Antarctica with the others. I understand that she needs to be there in order to pay off the scene from UXM #324 that had her entering Gambit’s mind, but this is obviously forced. Spat and Grovel’s role is never actually explained, as it appears that they were hired by Magneto all along (Then why were they being held captive with the others? And how did they know where Gambit was going to crash land in the first place?). The “trial” setup also doesn’t work, since there doesn’t seem to be enough room left in the issue for the X-Men to really debate what should be done with Gambit. His secrets are revealed, Erik/Magneto forces the building to collapse (which is somehow a “deliberation”), and Rogue gets a rushed kiss-off scene with Gambit. This might’ve worked better if the characters were already in the place they needed to be at the start of the story, but unfortunately the past few issues of the title just wandered aimlessly, barely moving the characters anywhere. It’s too bad that this is Joe Madureira’s final issue, since it looks like a rush job, and Andy Smith has to draw random scenes throughout the story. Instead of finishing his run with his collaborator of the past three years, Madureira ends up penciling an uncredited plot that’s largely nonsensical. It’s a not exactly a graceful ending for this specific era of UXM.

WOLVERINE #118 – November 1997

Out of Darkness
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Jason Wright (colors)

Summary: Wolverine tries to convince Mustang to fight against his programming, but he’s unable to ignore his orders as a Prime Sentinel. Jubilee watches Mustang attack Wolverine, and responds by blasting him in the face. The flash destroys his new vision, which enables Mustang to revert to his true personality. Outside, SHIELD agents are attacking an army of Prime Sentinels. One of them targets Cyclops, and blasts him in the chest. SHIELD agents examine him and learn that Bastion recently had a bomb implanted in his chest. Wolverine exits the clinic with information on the process Bastion used to create the Prime Sentinels. He tells Mustang to give it to the SHIELD agents, confident that they can help him. The X-Men then leave in one of Bastion’s ships, hoping that they can save Cyclops in their medi-lab.

I Love the ‘90s: The information on Bastion’s Prime Sentinel process is kept on giant floppy discs.

Review: This is the final issue of Hama’s nearly eight-year run on the title, although there’s no indication within the issue itself. It’s also the final chapter of the OZT crossover, even though an issue of X-Men that shipped two weeks earlier already brought an end to the story. (This chapter actually takes place before X-Men #69, because the SHIELD agents are getting ready to confront Bastion. The “epilogue” label on the cover isn’t very accurate.) It’s too bad Hama had to end his run with an editorially mandated crossover that reads like it was heavily rewritten. This issue is filled with more dull captions and dry exposition, and like the past few issues, it doesn’t read like Hama’s work. Some of the material with Mustang isn’t that bad, but most of this is just outright generic. The fact that no sentimentality is shown for a creator who’s spent over seven years working a title also feels wrong (Scott Lobdell received similar treatment on UXM during this time). It might not have been intentional, but there is a sense that the people in charge don’t care that much about who’s working on these books, as long as the pages are filled up and they ship out on time. It certainly doesn’t help the X-books’ image as a crassly commercial product that’s being thoughtlessly pumped out by Marvel.

X-MEN #69 – November 1997

Last Exit
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Carlos Pacheco & Salvador Larroca (pencilers), Art Thibert (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Liquid! (colors)

Summary: Sabra arrives and rescues Iceman, Cecilia Reyes, and Marrow from the Prime Sentinels. Following the information she’s gathered, the mutants travel with Sabra to Connecticut. Meanwhile, Senator Kelly rebukes Operation: Zero Tolerance on the floor of the Senate. Soon, Iceman and the others arrive at a mansion in Connecticut. They’re greeted by Bastion and an army of Prime Sentinels. An older woman named Rose Gilberti is there, looking after Detective Jones’ son, Timothy. Bastion says that Timothy is free to go, but Rose questions what Bastion has become. Iceman uses his powers to force Bastion outside, demanding a personal conversation. The two debate Bastion’s actions, until the Prime Sentinels arrive. Suddenly, agents of SHIELD appear, declaring that OZT’s permission to act on US soil has been revoked. Bastion agrees to be taken into custody, as Iceman explains to Marrow that resolving the conflict peacefully separates the X-Men from Bastion.

Continuity Notes: Bastion claims that Rose Gilberti is the “closest thing I have to a mother” and that she “took me in when I had no more of a mind than that of a newborn child”.

Review: And here we have the legendary anti-climax to the OZT crossover. There’s still an issue of Wolverine that’s dedicated to sending the X-Men back home, but this is the real conclusion to the storyline. And, after over a year of buildup, it ends with Bastion turning himself in for no discernible reason, after Senator Kelly gives an “impassioned” off-panel plea to the government to withdraw support. There’s also a new character introduced, Rose Gilberti, who is supposed to play some important role in Bastion’s origin. Unfortunately, she receives less than a paragraph’s worth of dialogue, and the artist chooses to frame the panel so that we only see the back of her head. Since the issue ends with page after page of Iceman and Bastion debating OZT, it’s hard to figure out why exactly she’s in the story. I’m assuming that she was supposed to be the human who teaches Bastion that his actions against mutants are truly inhuman, but she only speaks in one panel before she’s forgotten about. And why exactly was Sabra brought into this? I understand that she helps move Iceman where he needs to be for the climax, but there could’ve been any number of ways to get to this point. She received a lengthy setup a few issues earlier, dropped out for a bit, moves the plot along in this issue, and then disappears. Outside of the novelty of pairing her with the X-Men for the first time (I don’t think she ever appeared outside of Incredible Hulk), I have no idea what the point was supposed to be.

It’s too bad the story just fizzed out, because you can see along the way that it had potential. The X-Men on the run, mutants from across the globe suddenly targeted by Sentinels, the mansion ransacked, the X-Men’s secrets stolen, Senator Kelly forced to reexamine his anti-mutant beliefs – none of these are bad ideas. The story never seems committed to selling the scale of the operation, though, so the only mutant who doesn’t regularly appear in an X-title targeted by OZT turns out to be Sabra. Meanwhile, in Uncanny, Archangel, Psylocke, and Maggott don’t seem to be having any problems with Prime Sentinels. The climax also suffers from only offering hints about Bastion, and never actually giving him an origin. It’s another example of the X-office keeping something a secret longer than it needs to be, even though this mystery had already been solved by guesses in the letters page. It’s not hard to figure out that Bastion is an amalgam of Nimrod and Master Mold, so why not explain how he got that way in the final chapter? Maybe Bastion’s wimpy surrender wouldn’t have seemed so bad if the readers were given an origin for the character. At least something would’ve been resolved. Instead, we get an issue filled with speeches, more vague hints without a resolution, and a villain who surrenders because it’s page twenty-two already and it’s time to move on. Disappointing.

UNCANNY X-MEN #349 – November 1997

The Crawl
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Comicraft (lettering), Dan Brown & Digital Chamelon (colors)

Summary: Maggott continues his search for Magneto in New York City. He comes across Psylocke, who attacks him because she senses a “great darkness” within him. Using her psychic knife against him causes her to briefly pass out. Soon, Archangel arrives to help. Meanwhile in Antarctica, Trish Tilby comes across the Beast, who has returned to his human form. They continue their search for the X-Men, who are still Nanny’s captives. Joseph escapes from his restraints and reunites with the others. They attempt to escape, but are ambushed by Nanny. Before she can attack, Trish Tilby knocks her head off with a crowbar. Disabling Nanny allows the mutants’ powers to return, but they still don’t know why they’ve been brought to Antarctica. Gambit, declaring that he can’t live with the shame anymore, turns himself over to Spat. He claims that the truth will now be revealed.

Continuity Notes: It’s common knowledge that Beast only received blue fur after he drank an experimental potion, so many people complained when he lost his fur when his powers were negated. However, the potion did have some connection to mutancy, and he’s lost his fur on other occasions when his powers were neutralized (I don’t think it’s been kept consistent over the years).

Maggott, somehow, is able to look into the recent past when he’s staring down at NYC through a telescope. I don’t think this was ever explained. I assume the “darkness” inside Maggott is a reference to the mutant slugs that are a part of his powers (I'm also assuming his mental connection to the slugs prevents Psylocke's psychic knife from working).

Grovel describes himself as a “Klyruvian”, so I guess he’s an alien and not a mutant.

A narrative caption says that Rogue and Gambit were finally able to “fully express their love”, although I’m pretty sure the next issue backs away from the idea that they had sex.

I Love the ‘90s: All of the New York City scenes take place at the World Trade Center.

We Get Letters: A letter writer wonders why Rogue and Gambit were in promo ads for the OZT crossover. The editorial response admits that the characters were originally supposed to participate, but the current storyline in UXM went on longer than expected.

Review: And it’s still not UXM #350, so here’s some time-killer. Reading this, I almost forgot that it's Scott Lobdell's last official issue as writer, as there's no indication inside that he's leaving. I don't think the full story has ever been revealed, but the story that went around at the time was that he had a falling out with Bob Harras and was abruptly removed from the book.

This actually isn’t all bad, as Rogue is given an interesting dilemma. She’s close to learning the dark secret her boyfriend has been keeping from her for years, but only on the same day she’s finally able to touch him. Spat also works well enough as a spoiler, egging Rogue on to discover the truth. Sadly, the story doesn’t do an awful lot with these ideas, but you can see where Lobdell might’ve been going with this. The Maggott/Psylocke fight, however, is sadly a waste of time that never amounts to anything. It pads the issue out with an action scene, but Psylocke has such a vague motivation for attacking Maggott it’s hard to care anything about what’s going on. Chris Bachalo shows up as the fill-in artist, a few months before he’s set to officially take over the title. Some of the action sequences are a little confusing, but for the most part this is on the same level as his earlier Generation X issues. At the very least, it’s not as rushed looking as the past couple of issues. Overall, this isn’t as frustrating as the past few installments, but it’s clearly stalling.

WOLVERINE #117 – October 1997

A Divine Image
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Joe Rosas & Chris Sotomayor (colors)

Summary: Mustang unwittingly reveals the X-Men to his friends, who suddenly morph into Prime Sentinels. After the X-Men defeat the cyborgs, the remaining human members of the camp debate their next move. Meanwhile, Bastion, who senses that SHIELD is moving against him, calls Dr. Prospero’s clinic and orders the launch of the “Final Directive”. In the desert, Jubilee flees from her captors. Five miles away, Wolverine catches a whiff of her scent and tracks her down. After defeating a Prime Sentinel, the duo is reunited with the X-Men. The team investigates Dr. Prospero’s clinic, which is now abandoned. Bastion receives word that the clinic has been breached, and deduces that it must be the X-Men. The other Prime Sentinels are gone, so Bastion orders the remaining one become active, even though his vision has yet to be upgraded. Inside the clinic, Mustang morphs into a Prime Sentinel and targets the X-Men.

Continuity Note: It’s revealed that Dr. Prospero is actually Bastion’s seldom-seen shapeshifting agent, Harper.

Review: While X-Force was able to continue its own storylines and use the OZT crossover in an entertaining way, this title is increasingly buried under the weight of the crossover. It is fun to see Wolverine and Jubilee reunited, but no other aspect of this issue is even about the characters. It’s the team fighting Prime Sentinels again, setting up the next issue where they’ll fight another one. Very little of this issue actually reads like Hama’s work (the scene that has Jubilee mistakenly attacking a cactus is probably his, but the rest of this is very generic), so it doesn’t even feel like the Wolverine that’s existed since 1990. Most of the dialogue is clunky, almost every page is crammed with dull captions, and it’s just not fun to read. Yu’s art is still mostly impressive, but a few of the pages look stiff. Without all of the gritty detail lines, some of the figures just look half-finished.

X-FORCE #70 – October 1997

Transitions
Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Adam Pollina (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Marie Javins (colors)

Summary: X-Force rescues their teammates from Operation: Zero Tolerance and flies away. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of OZT’s attack, Cable searches for Caliban in the tunnels beneath the X-Men’s mansion. Ozymandias emerges and temporarily shuts off Cable’s mind before he takes Caliban away. He leaves Cable with the mental suggestion that Caliban is in safe hands. In another dimension, the Vanisher realizes that Warpath was actually sent to help him. He tells Warpath to tell a story to the strange creatures in order to placate them. In Oklahoma, Domino is picked up by X-Force. Soon, Cable greets them in his own aircraft. They land in North Carolina, where Cable reveals his plan to have the team go underground. They refuse to assume false identities, which forces Cable to realize that the team no longer needs him. He leaves, which leads Meltdown to question what will happen next.

Continuity Note: Judging by what he does to Cable, I’d have to say that Ozymandias has pretty impressive telepathic powers.

Review: This turned out to be my final issue of X-Force. For some reason, this title stuck around my local newsstands for a few months longer than the other X-spinoffs, but by Fall 1997 it was gone. It’s a shame, since the book is better than it’s been since the late Nicieza run, and I would’ve liked to continue with it. This brings the title’s OZT crossover stint to an end, as Moore uses the event to justify the new status quo. It is a little rushed, but Moore thankfully keeps the characters true to themselves and doesn’t insert any false drama. The story has quite a few character moments, such as Meltdown’s temptation to kill Ekatarina Gryaznova while she’s unconscious, Domino’s flirtation with the truck driver who saved her, and the Vanisher’s revelation that he loved the sitcom Taxi. It’s a solid script, and Pollina’s art is up to his usual standards. I’m tempted now to track down the rest of this run on eBay.

X-MEN #68 – October 1997

Heart of the Matter
Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), Steve Seagle (script), Pascual Ferry (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Chris Lichtner, Aron Lusen, & Liquid Graphics (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Marrow knocks out the two policemen sent to investigate the blackout. Upstairs, Iceman and Cecilia Reyes are attacked by more Prime Sentinels. When a Prime Sentinel aims at Iceman's back, Detective Charlotte Jones takes the bullet and dispatches the Sentinel. While Reyes treats her wounds, Jones reveals that Zero Tolerance kidnapped her son and blackmailed her into helping them. Marrow arrives, offering help. The three mutants leave the police station and walk the surprisingly abandoned New York streets. Iceman realizes that they’ve been set up, shortly before an army of OZT soldiers and Prime Sentinels emerge. Elsewhere, inside a palatial home, Charlotte Jones’ son waits for his mother. A mysterious woman watches over him. Meanwhile, Sabra arrives in America, while Senator Kelly tells Henry Gyrich that he’s fighting Zero Tolerance.

I Love the ‘90s: A Bullpen Bulletins article details a group of Marvel staffers skipping out of work on a Sunday afternoon to watch the new hit movie Men in Black. I had no idea Marvel’s offices were open on Sunday.

Review: Okay, it’s another issue of Iceman and Cecilia Reyes fighting Prime Sentinels. Marrow does finally meet up with them towards the end of the issue, but it’s obvious that this storyline is dragging. There’s an attempt to move the attention away from the characters directly fighting the Sentinels and instead focus on their efforts to protect civilians from the collateral damage, but it doesn’t add enough variety to the story. Steven Seagle makes his X-debut as guest scripter (I believe he was scheduled to take over Wolverine at this point and did this as a last minute fill-in). Some of the dialogue isn’t bad, but the excessive narration just gets annoying. Much of it tries to make the exposition more interesting than it really is (Seagle, or whoever wrote the narration, seems to be hung up on Marrow having two hearts), and occasionally it just drifts into odd tangents, like describing where the glass in the police observation room was made. Seagle apparently wasn’t brought up to date on all aspects of the crossover, as Henry Gyrich is now once again staunchly on OZT’s side, and resists Kelly’s efforts to stop the organization. The two already went through this in last month’s Wolverine, anyway. Pascual Ferry shows up as the guest artist, and turns in a capable job. It’s not as good as his previous UXM fill-in, but it’s better than I would expect from a middle-of-crossover fill-in.

UNCANNY X-MEN #348 – October 1997

Because, I Said So
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Townsend/Holdredge/Vey (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary: Nanny attacks Rogue, Joseph, Spat, and Grovel with an army of cybernetic animals. She neutralizes their powers and takes them into custody. Trish Tilby, who is being secretly monitored by a cybernetic bat, watches the events and leaves to find the Beast. Joseph tries to convince Nanny to let him go, but she refuses to obey his orders, claiming that the outside world is too dangerous while Zero Tolerance is targeting mutants. Nearby, Beast searches for his friends, and is ambushed by two shadowy figures. With her powers neutralized, Rogue begins to regain memories she’s absorbed and lost. Gambit is afraid that his secret will be exposed, and asks Rogue not to question him about his past. He embraces Rogue, telling her that this could be their only night together. Elsewhere, Psylocke suddenly disappears in New York, while Deathbird tends to Bishop’s wounds inside a space station.

Production Note: The one-page Archangel/Psylocke scene in this issue is clearly not by Madureira. It looks like Andy Smith’s earlier work to me.

Continuity Notes: The cybernetic animals commanded by Nanny are probably connected to the cyborg ape in UXM #345, but the story doesn’t offer any confirmation. The earlier appearance by the ape leads me to believe that Lobdell might’ve been planning some explanation for how exactly the X-Men ended up in Magneto’s arctic base (even Beast says that it “defies logic” that they would’ve ended up there), but it’s something that was lost in the change of creative teams.

Deathbird is lying to Bishop, claiming that the X-Men are all dead. They do have a subplot that’s picked up on later, but I don’t recall any explanation for why they were separated from the rest of the team.

When Joseph sees news footage of Moira MacTaggert inside Magneto’s base, he has a sudden thirst for vengeance. This is a reference to the final Claremont storyline, which revealed that Moira manipulated Magneto’s genes while he was once temporarily a child in the hopes of curing his mental illness. Even this close to UXM #350, Marvel’s still running with the idea that Joseph is Magneto (he’s even described that way on the recap foldout).

Review: It’s another issue of the team wandering around what’s been retroactively revealed as Antarctica. There is some nice character work with Gambit and Rogue, but a lot of this just feels like the story’s stalling until issue #350. The characters are now pointing out some of the plot flaws, which is either a sign that Lobdell did have something of a plan, or he was throwing in digs against editorial directives that never made sense. The question of who hired Spat & Grovel is raised, but never answered. And if it turns out that Magneto did hire them, there doesn’t seem to be a justifiable reason for Nanny to take them captive with the X-Men. As for the sensational character find of 1997, Landscape, he’s disappeared with no explanation in-between issues. Madureira’s art, which often saves mediocre stories, is inconsistent throughout the issue. That’s not surprising since he has three inkers, but some of the pages still look nice. For whatever reason, the two-page subplot scene with Bishop is more impressive looking than anything that happens in the main story.