X-MEN UNLIMITED #28 - December 1999

In Remembrance

Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Brett Booth (penciler), Sal Regla (inker), Marie Javins & Jessica Ruffner (colors), Sharpefont & PT (letters)

Summary: After discovering Wolverine is alive, the X-Men reflect on his past with the team. When Jubilee learns that the X-Men were unable to rescue Wolverine from Apocalypse, she angrily walks out. Marrow volunteers to speak to her, which inspires Jubilee to write a letter detailing what Wolverine means to her.

Review: This is the first issue of X-Men Unlimited’s new direction as non-filler, and it’s a weak start. Aside from the fact that Brett Booth is not an artist suited for quiet conversation scenes, the story largely consists of unimaginative flashbacks to old stories and lengthy homilies about Wolverine’s importance to the team. It seems like the X-Men would be more likely to be having these conversations back when they still thought Wolverine to be dead, but even overlooking that, the dialogue is too wooden to make the characters believable. Actual dialogue from this issue: “Chere, th’ look on your face reveals a lot ‘bout th’ passion in your soul. I know in times like t’is it’s best t’let you work it out for yourself -- don’t mean I gotta like it, though.” There are a few decent ideas, such as Marrow unexpectedly volunteering to calm Jubilee, or Jubilee writing a letter to Wolverine similar to the one he left for her in Wolverine #75, but the execution is faux-Claremont at its worst.

Game

Credits: Doug Moench (writer), Mark Texeira (art), Marie Javins (colors), Sharpefont (letters)

Summary: Wolverine encounters a group of illegal trophy hunters in Canada. He scares them off into the woods and creates a funeral pyre for the animals they’ve killed. Reflecting on the differences between animal and man, Wolverine decides that he doesn’t want to go to Heaven if animals don’t have souls.

Continuity Notes: There’s no effort made to identify when this story is supposed to take place, although Wolverine does have his adamantium claws.

Review: It’s another Wolverine vs. Hunters story, although this story puts more effort into elucidating Wolverine’s stance on hunting. His issue with the “hunters” in this story is the callous way they kill animals only for sport, leaving the actual meat behind for scavengers. The fact that they’re doing this illegally gives Wolverine a nice Comics Code approved excuse for attacking them. Throughout the story, Wolverine reflects on the differences between animal and man, debating under which group he belongs. It’s a fairly stock Wolverine plot, but it’s executed inoffensively, and it’s always great to see Mark Texeira draw Wolverine.

WOLVERINE: EVILUTION - September 1994

Credits: Ann Nocenti (writer), Mark Texeira (layouts), John Royle (penciler), Philip Moy & Andrew Pepoy (inkers), Dave Sharpe (letters), Monica Bennett (colors)

Summary: A vision sends Wolverine to Prescott, a nearby town with a controversial nuclear plant. He meets Red Waterfall, an Indian who refuses to sell land near the plant; land the plant needs to comply with federal regulations. Meanwhile, a teen named Jimmy starts a group called the Devos, youths determined to fight the technological age. Their rituals attract an ancient spirit, one that calls for a female sacrifice. Boom Boom is kidnapped and brought to the plant to be sacrificed. A young follower brings Jimmy the Spear of Destiny, recently stolen from Germany, which he plans to use on Boom Boom. Wolverine and Red Waterfall rescue her and confiscate the Spear. When the ancient spirit emerges, Wolverine uses the Spear to drive it away. The town returns to normal, and the plant is soon closed.

Continuity Notes:

• This story is set before Wolverine lost his adamantium skeleton in X-Men #25.
• The idea that Boom Boom regularly visits a small town north of Salem Center creates a few continuity problems. As a member of X-Force, she wasn’t living in Salem Center until X-Force moved in with the X-Men, which was after Wolverine lost his adamantium. It’s possible the story is set during the early days of X-Force, when the team lived in the Adirondack Mountains; however, X-Force were known fugitives at the time, which is hard to reconcile with Boom Boom casually walking through town and hanging out with teenagers.

Production Notes: This is a forty-eight page prestige format one-shot. The price is $5.95.

Creative Differences: Numerous lettering corrections in this one. Some are obviously done to add exposition, but others have no apparent significance.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority: Even though the prestige format books weren’t submitted for Code approval, Marvel’s reluctance to show blood probably explains why the chickens sacrificed by the Devos leave green blood behind.

I Love the '90s: Red Waterfall predicted trouble “in the 1990s, the anniversary years.” Also, the owner of the nuclear plant says the jobs it creates will help during the recession, although the early ‘90s recession was long over by 1994.

Review: An Ann Nocenti/ Mark Texeira Wolverine story? This has been on my “Must Track Down Someday” list for years, so of course I picked up a copy when I saw one in the discount bins. Unfortunately, Texeira only provided layouts, leaving the pencils to John Royle, an artist that would’ve been considered a midlevel talent at Wildstorm in 1993. And the story…well, I have no idea what happened here. It’s not hard to guess that this sat around in a drawer for years before publication, but sometimes the narrative is so choppy I wonder if it began life as a Marvel Comics Presents serial and was later cut down to forty-eight pages. For clarity’s sake, I’ll try to run down the rough spots in ye ol’ bullet points format:

· First of all, I’m half-convinced that Boom Boom was originally intended to be Jubilee. She’s repeatedly referred to as a “girl who wishes she were a boy,” which doesn’t fit Boom Boom, but does match Jubilee’s original appearances (remember when she was a tomboy?). Her powers are also described as firecrackers, which is the standard definition of Jubilee’s powers.

· Even if the female lead was always supposed to be Boom Boom, just using that version of her name dates the story. She’s been “Boomer” since the early days of X-Force. This couldn’t be fixed?

· The leader of the Devos, Jimmy, is revealed as the son of the nuclear plant owner about halfway through the story. There’s an obvious conflict between the two, but it doesn’t amount to much of anything. The only real confrontation between them is so rushed you have to wonder why it was even included; the story (as published) could work just as well without Jimmy’s father at all.

· By the way, aren’t nuclear plants public utilities? Could a lone individual even own one?

· The scenes of a ten-year-old boy casually stealing the Spear of Destiny from a museum are just mind-boggling.

· The theme of the story involves technology outlasting the men who create it, which has Nocenti connecting Wolverine’s metal skeleton with the ecological consequences of nuclear power. Just when you think she’s going for a blanket rejection of technology, though, she has Red Waterfall give Wolverine a speech about the futility of fighting destiny, and even has him speculate that it was inevitable that the white men would defeat the natives. Therefore, white men now control technology, even if it will poison the earth. It’s all a part of a great test, and perhaps nothing should be done about it. That’s certainly a strange turn for the story take; even stranger is the conclusion, which has the nuclear plant inexplicably shut down, and Red Waterfall happily planting herbs in his garden. So what was the point of his speech? Was there a dramatic reversal that got left on the cutting room floor? Like the rest of the story, I’m left wondering what on earth happened to this book.

SABRETOOTH #1-#4

SABRETOOTH #1 – August 1993

Home Is the Hunter

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Mark Texeira (artist), Richard Starkings (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colorist)

Summary

Sabretooth returns home to his mansion and defeats an army of ninjas. His telepathic assistant, Birdy, gives him a psychic “glow” and tries to speak to his inner child. Sabretooth punches her out for wasting time on the past and walks away. Later, Birdy double-crosses Sabretooth and lets a group of mercenaries inside to kidnap him. When he awakes, Sabretooth learns that his strength has been enhanced by the armored mystery man, Tribune. Tribune is sending Sabretooth on a mission to kill Mystique; if he doesn’t comply, the bomb Tribune planted inside his chest will go off. Sabretooth agrees to kill Mystique, but also promises to kill Tribune when he’s done.

Gimmicks

This issue has a cardstock, die-cut cover.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

Well, it’s a mini-series about a psychotic killer. Just a few years before this, that probably wouldn’t have gone over very well. There’s violence against women and children, and lots of people get shot or stabbed. It’s never really bloody or visually graphic, though.

Continuity Note

The group of ninjas want revenge on Sabretooth for killing their “Clan Leader”. Silver Fox had previously been revealed to be the leader of Hydra, and Hydra has aligned itself with the Hand in the past, so that might be what they’re referencing.

I Love the ‘90s

In a reference to dated video game terminology, the enhanced Sabretooth is referred to as “Turbo-Sabretooth!”

Review

This is the debut issue of the Sabretooth mini-series, one of the many limited series released in the summer of 1993 to coincide with the X-Men’s 30^th anniversary. At the time, Marvel genuinely wanted Sabretooth to join the X-Men (Fabian Nicieza had already hinted that he was joining in an earlier issue of Marvel Age). According to Scott Lobdell, he was able to talk Bob Harras out of doing this, and the storyline was altered to have Sabretooth living as a prisoner of the X-Men. Turning villains into heroes was the latest trend during this era, and it was a pretty ghastly one. I guess after making the heroes as dark as possible, the only place left to go was to sell the villains as heroes. I have no idea if this mini was initially intended to be a part of Sabretooth’s rehabilitation, but the first issue doesn’t leave me with that impression. There’s some attention paid to Sabretooth’s traumatic childhood, but li’l Sabretooth is also shown to be rather nasty. Hama is still writing Sabretooth as an unrepentant villain, even showing us that he deserves his comeuppance at the end of the story. It’s hard to have any sympathy for a guy who decks the pretty girl who wants to help his inner demons. Fitting the exaggerated tone of the story is Texeira’s artwork. Combining photorealism with the excesses of this era is an eccentric look, and not something that would suit a series like Captain America, but it works for a Sabretooth mini.

There’s a shamelessness to the entire issue that I like. The horrible assassin Sabretooth lives in a fabulous mansion, has portraits of his murder victims on the wall, and drinks champagne in the hot tub while receiving some type of psychological pleasure from his blonde sidekick/prisoner. It’s intentionally over the top and suits the character perfectly. I’d rather read this than a comic that portrays Sabretooth as morally conflicted and suddenly remorseful over his actions. Sabretooth, only motivated by money and bloodlust, has simply done too much in his past to be convincingly redeemed. Hama emphasizes this with Sabretooth’s brutal treatment of Birdy. The violence against the ninjas is inoffensive to any reader, but punching the woman who wants to help him makes Sabretooth totally appalling. A monthly series with Sabretooth as the unrepentant lead would get old quickly, and I’d even question the moral judgment behind publishing it; but as a standalone limited series, it works.

SABRETOOTH #2 – September 1993

A Kiss Before Dying

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Mark Texeira (artist), Michael Bair (art assist), Richard Starkings (letterer), Marie Javins (colorist)

Summary

Sabretooth tracks down Birdy for revenge, but decides not to kill her after she gives him “the glow”. They travel to Paris to kill Mystique, but she manages to elude Sabretooth. When he gets close to her, Mystique morphs into his mother, causing Sabretooth to flash back to his childhood. When he finally reaches Mystique on top of the Eiffel Tower, she reveals that he told her his secrets years ago before his memories were blocked. Mystique then tells him to discuss it with her dinner date, Wolverine.

Review

An entire issue devoted to Sabretooth tracking down two separate women he wants to kill. It’s creepy if you reflect on it, but the fast pace and relentless action make it easier to digest. It would be nice if there was more going on, though. I should point out that Hama is able make Birdy, a background character rarely seen before this series, pretty likable and fun to read.

SABRETOOTH #3 – October 1993

City of Light, City of Night

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Mark Texeira (artist), Richard Starkings (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colorist)

Summary

Mystique convinces Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Birdy to call a truce while she reveals her connection to Sabretooth over dinner. During the Cold War, Mystique assumed the alias of Leni Zauber. Working for separate spy agencies, she met Sabretooth after they were both sent to murder a scientist in Berlin. The two of them hit it off and Sabretooth went AWOL for a month with her. When the body of the real Leni Zauber was found, Sabretooth assumed she was dead and moved on. Mystique tells Sabretooth that they have a son together, and that he’s the one who sent him to kill her. After Mystique detonates a grenade, Wolverine covers it and Sabretooth and Birdy leave to kill Tribune. Birdy uses her powers to track Tribune to an office building in New York.

Continuity Notes

This issue establishes the past between Sabretooth and Mystique. Years later, Chuck Austen would totally contradict this story with another “first meeting between Sabretooth and Mystique” story in X-Men Unlimited.

According to Wolverine, Sabretooth’s first encounter with Mystique happened during their Team X days.

Mystique says that her morphing powers “continually revitalize my body cells and DNA memory”, explaining why she doesn’t appear to age. This is the first comic to establish that Mystique is older than she seems.

Review

Another ‘90s X-comic that reveals the hidden past between two established characters. Just like all of Wolverine’s flashbacks during this era, it’s hard to remember when this once seemed new. I’m not sure why exactly Marvel felt the need to give Sabretooth and Mystique a past together, but I don’t really have a problem with it. It’s much better than inserting yet another character into Wolverine’s backstory, I guess. Just like the previous issues of this mini, it’s a nicely done action comic that doesn’t ask too much of its readers. Wolverine’s guest appearance is totally gratuitous, but I guess it’s inevitable that he would show up in a Sabretooth mini-series.

SABRETOOTH #4 – November 1993

Sins of the Fathers!

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Mark Texeira (artist), Steve Biasi (backgrounds), Richard Starkings (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colorist)

Summary

Sabretooth and Birdy infiltrate Tribune’s building and force his surgeon to remove the bomb in Sabretooth’s chest. When Sabretooth confronts Tribune, he wants to know why he wanted Sabretooth and Mystique dead. Birdy takes him inside his mind, where he learns that Tribune is Graydon Creed, and that his parents’ abandonment led to his hatred of mutants. When Birdy tries to talk Sabretooth out of killing Creed, he recognizes her as Sabretooth’s “escape valve”. Creed fatally stabs Birdy, forcing Sabretooth to live without someone to ease his pain. Convinced that Creed really is his son, Sabretooth lets him live and searches for someone else to provide “the glow”.

Continuity Note

This issue establishes that Graydon Creed is the son of Mystique and Sabretooth. The mystery of his parentage didn’t last long, thankfully.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

Sabretooth uses his claws to rip open his own chest in preparation for surgery.

Review

Reading the final chapter, it now seems as if Hama was given some continuity points for Sabretooth and worked a story around them. The mini reveals that Sabretooth fathered Graydon Creed, his need for “the glow”, kills off his source of “the glow”, and provides him a motive to search out the X-Men. These are all story points that tie back to the main X-books, and not anything Hama was doing in Wolverine at the time. Hama’s approach to do a straightforward, hyper-violent story clearly hitting each of those points was probably the best way to handle things. Read on its own, the mini is enjoyable simply as an action story, but in the context of X-continuity, it still sets the stage for the next “shocking” storyline. By the time the story is over, it seems as if Marvel had firmly decided that Sabretooth would be getting treatment from the X-Men, but not actually joining the team.

Hama continues with the excessiveness as the series concludes. Graydon Creed doesn’t just have bodyguards; he employs a group of heavily armed investment bankers with “CHK-LIT” (Charged Hyper-Kinetic Lepton Impulse Thruster) guns. At least this stuff is supposed to be funny, unlike many of the other comics from this period. Graydon Creed himself is portrayed as some sort of yuppie supervillain in this issue, an interpretation of the character that never caught on. The ending is rather anticlimactic, and Sabretooth actually choosing not to kill someone, especially after everything Creed has done, just seems wrong. Overall, though, it’s an enjoyable read, and better than most people would expect from a Sabretooth mini-series.

WOLVERINE #66-#68

#66 (Hama/Texeira/Biasi/Brosseau/Buccellato) – Professor Xavier tries to remove Wolverine’s memory blocks, but the attempt only drives Wolverine closer to madness. Wolverine convinces himself that it’s 1968 and he’s on a mission to kill a “Terry Adams”. These issues have a dark surreal quality to them that’s really brought to life by Texeira’s ability to alternate between photorealism and Sinkiewicz-style insanity. Hama is also able to make Wolverine’s past as a CIA agent seem like a credible aspect of the character’s history and not just tacked-on backstory. There is some odd continuity, though. In issue #65, John Wraith allows Wolverine to bury Silver Fox as a favor for “Terry Adams’. Wolverine says he doesn’t remember, Wraith says he can’t forget. Just one issue later, Wraith says he doesn’t know anything about Terry Adams, except that the mission was scrubbed. It’s a strange backpedal. And just to nitpick, both 1967 and 1968 are the dates given for Wolverine’s flashback in different parts of the story.

#67 (Hama/Texeira/Palmiotti/Brosseau/Buccellato) – Maverick tells the X-Men that “Terry Adams” is a place, not a person. Government operatives couldn’t pronounce the name of the Soviet space station Tyuratam, so they called it “Terry Adams” instead. It’s a nice twist that also reminds me of the turns in Hama’s G. I. Joe stories. There’s an extended sequence with a nearly dead Wolverine crossing the desert that’s fairly disturbing and adds an even darker element to the story.

#68 (Hama/Texeira/Biasi/Brosseau/Buccellato) – Wolverine finally remembers that his aborted mission was to kill the Russian astronaut Epsilon Red in 1968. He discovers Epsilon Red and his psychic daughter in present day Tyuratam. Wolverine doesn’t go through with his mission, and Red’s daughter unblocks many of his memories. Marvel made a big deal about Wolverine finally getting his memories back after the House of M event, which lead me to believe that none of the creators involved knew about this storyline. However, this issue is clear that some of Wolverine’s memories are implants on top of implants, and that some of the blocks were placed by his own subconscious and can’t be removed. It’s possible to reconcile both stories. It’s interesting that this is the last time Hama really focused on Wolverine’s past or hidden memories during his run. It seems like this was really his final word on the subject. Today, there’s an entire spinoff dedicated to Wolverine’s secret past! As a finale to this specific storyline, this issue is a little bit of letdown. The story has a long creepy setup, then introduces a super-powered Russian astronaut in a goofy costume, gives the guy a happy ending in space, and then reveals that his pregnant wife was murdered by Sabretooth years ago. All of the Russian super-astronaut stuff seems way out of place with the rest of the arc.

WOLVERINE #61-#65

Continuing with my look at the “other” X-books, I’m looking back at the Hama/Texeira issues of Wolverine. I’ve mentioned before that I couldn’t afford every X-book as a kid, so I didn’t read these issues until they were reprinted in the Essentials format years later. I enjoy most of them as an adult, and I think I would’ve been really into them as a kid. Larry Hama used to have a weak reputation as a writer amongst the net elite (I remember people ridiculing his runs on Generation X and Batman), but that opinion seemed to soften once the ‘80s nostalgia movement began and people took a look back on his G. I. Joe run. I’ve always enjoyed Hama’s work on G. I. Joe, its spinoffs, and other series like Nth Man and Bucky O’Hare. I think he’s a talented writer who doesn’t receive enough credit. His lengthy run on Wolverine was essentially ignored once he left the title, even though Hama probably revealed more of Wolverine’s history than any other writer did. Heck, even the Wolverine Origins series that’s supposed to clear up Wolverine’s continuity has directly contradicted Hama’s stories (though to be fair, this will apparently be addressed in future issues).

This storyline is a follow-up to an earlier arc about Wolverine’s past. According to interviews, Hama wasn’t really interested in doing stories about Wolverine’s history, but editor Bob Harras wanted a way to incorporate the popular Weapon X serial into continuity (why exactly he felt it didn’t fit is unclear). Hama’s solution was to reveal that Wolverine had fake memories implanted into his brain, explaining away any conflicting flashback stories. This could’ve been a one-issue continuity patch, but it became the basis for several stories in Hama’s run. Stories about Wolverine’s past have been done to death at this point, but I can remember fans being truly excited about finally “getting answers” in these issues.

#61-#63 (Hama/Texeira/Brosseau/Buccellato/Javins) – During this arc, members of the Weapon X project are reunited to discover why one of them, Mastodon, is dying. They discover the psychic responsible for their false memories, Aldo Ferro. Hama’s use of gunplay and military terminology reminds me of his G. I. Joe run, and his handling of Jubilee and Sabretooth is very strong. In issue #63, Hama introduces the idea that Wolverine’s false memory reinforcement is tied into physical pain, referencing “initiation rites of the Mandans and Australian Aborigines”, and “African tribal scarring.” Not really the references you might expect from an early ‘90s X-comic. Texeira’s art is gritty and suitable for this story, but sometimes his anatomy is a little odd (Wolverine has a tiny waist that comes and goes for some reason).

#64 (Hama/Pacella/Panosian/Brosseau/Javins/Tinsley) – The arc concludes with this disappointing installment. Most of this issue consists of illusions cast by Ferro (or “Psi-Borg”, his hilarious supervillain name) as rendered by Mark Pacella. As a result, it’s hard to tell what’s going on, as the issue ends with Silver Fox dead (again), and Ferro escaping with Sabretooth. Ferro claims that he drew all of these characters together to learn the secret behind the Weapon X project’s age suppression factor, but it’s unclear if Ferro himself was responsible for Mastodon’s death at the beginning of the story. It’s the type of vague non-answer you often find in the X-books at this time. Hama does reveal that Wolverine and Silver Fox did have a real relationship in their cabin (as Ferro tells Wolverine, he didn’t waste time implanting “smarmy tripe”, he only made up the “bad stuff”), which is the only real highlight of this issue. There’s also a blatant Jim Lee swipe of Sabretooth on page two that’s hard to ignore.

#65 (Hama/Texeira/Brosseau/Buccellato/Javins) – Fortunately, the quality improves as Wolverine buries Silver Fox in this issue. Hama’s able to convey Wolverine’s anguish over recent events while at the same time staying true to his “tough guy” persona. Wolverine and Jean Grey have a nice conversation that does a lot to humanize the character, even if it is occasionally interrupted by Wolverine's eyeball popping out. Even though Silver Fox mainly existed as plot device, Hama still gives her an emotional sendoff in the end. One of the best issues of this run.

X-MEN #11 – August 1992

The X-Men Vs. The X-Men! (Again)

Credits: Jim Lee (plot/pencils), Scott Lobdell (script), Bob Wiacek (inks), Lois Buhalis (letters), Marie Javins (colors)

Summary

Professor Xavier combines powers with Psylocke to break Mojo’s influence over the X-Men. The team breaks into Mojo’s control booth, and Longshot rips Mojo open with a sword. With Mojo defeated, Xavier announces that he senses an unborn child inside Dazzler. The team celebrates but feels uneasy about giving Mojo’s successor, his clone Mojo II, the highest ratings ever.

Continuity Notes

Mojo II (The Sequel) is a “failed” clone of Mojo, who claims that he was born with compassion for all people. I assume he was the mysterious leader of the Pirate Network seen in this year’s annuals.

Longshot suggests “Shatterstar” as the name of his baby with Dazzler. This lead to years of speculation that Longshot was Shatterstar’s father, which doesn’t really fit in with his claims that he was created in a lab. When Dazzler shows up a few years later, she’s not pregnant and the X-Men just decide to respect her privacy. I don’t think there’s ever been an in-story explanation for what happened to her baby.

Review

The X-Men break free of the villain’s influence and win the day. It’s pretty generic stuff, which is probably why the dialogue suggests that this actually might not be a clear victory for the team. There’s nothing trully bad about it, it’s just not very interesting. This is Jim Lee’s final issue of the X-Men, and he doesn’t exactly go out on a high note. Some of the pages look nice, but others looked rushed and sloppy. If you want a nice example of how inconsistent it is, check out the two page spread on pages 20 and 21. Rogue is nicely drawn, probably one of Lee’s best versions of the character, while Dazzler looks like a pupil-less alien with a freakishly small waist.

Over…Again

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Mark Texeira (artist), Lois Buhalis (letters)

Summary

Maverick weakens Warhawk’s metal skin, and causes the energy inside his body to explode. Before the explosion, Ryking tells Maverick that he has no idea “how the Xavier File wound up in Charles’ possession”. With Ryking and Warhawk both apparently dead, Maverick leaves.

Continuity Notes

Maverick says that he wishes he still had his mutant power

Warhawk blames the X-Men for turning him into a monster.

Review

More mindless action. I wouldn’t mind it so much if the characters and conflicts were clearly detailed. Instead, everything’s a vague mystery (Warhawk’s never even named in the story), so it’s impossible to care. This story apparently ties into the next two issues, which just introduce more mysteries that are never resolved.

X-MEN #10 – July 1992

“Where Happy Little Bluebirds Fly…”

Credits: Jim Lee (plot, pencils), Scott Lobdell (script), Scot Williams (inks), L. Lois Buhalis & Tom Orzechowski (letters)

Summary

In Mojoworld, Longshot discovers Rogue, Beast, Wolverine, and Cyclops. A flashback reveals that Dazzler traveled to Earth to seek the X-Men’s aid and was double-crossed by Mojo’s servant, Meek. He teleported the team to Mojoworld, where they were quickly captured and Dazzler was left for dead. Now, Mojo has brainwashed Psylocke, Jubilee, Gambit, and Lila Cheney and pitted them against the other X-Men. Meanwhile, Dazzler is rescued by Mojo II.

Continuity Note

This issue emphasizes that transporting to Mojoworld is traumatic, unless Spiral uses her magic to do so.

Dazzler says that fighting with Longshot in Mojoworld revived her memories that were erased by the Siege Perilous. This doesn’t make any sense, but is that really surprising?

Review

It’s another X-Men in Mojoworld story, which at least serves to wrap up Longshot’s long-running subplot. Most of the comedy doesn’t work, except for seeing Wolverine brainwashed as a frightened child. There’s not much of a story, and it cuts short at sixteen pages. Jim Lee’s art isn’t bad, but it’s still lacking a lot of his earlier energy. Overall, it’s certainly not as bad as Uncanny at this point, but it’s not very good, either.

Last Stand

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Mark Texeria (art), Mike Rockwitz (colors), L. Lois Buhalis (letters)

Summary

Maverick invades the hideout of a Dr. Ryking. Maverick’s boss, Major Barrington, wants Ryking’s info on the missing Xavier File, while Ryking is working to save the life of a mystery man. The mystery man attacks Maverick from behind.

Continuity Notes

How can a back-up story with virtually no plot have so many continuity points? The mystery man is apparently Warhawk, a long forgotten X-Men villain. He tells Ryking that Barrington wants him to answer a mystery that the doctor wouldn’t be able to solve.

Warhawk needs Dr. Ryking to save his life for unexplained reasons. He also says that the doctor has ruined countless lives in his unknown quest.

The doctor recognizes Maverick as “North” and is shocked to realize his true identity.

Warhawk claims that Barrington rendered his body “nearly useless after my failed encounter with the X-Men”. The editor’s footnote simply reads “Hmmmm?”

Review

A lot of vague nonsense, but at least Texeria draws it well. Another story that reminds me of the early Image days. A group of poorly introduced characters you know nothing about have a vague conversation that doesn’t really make sense. Then they fight. There are actually three splash pages in this seven-page story, which was excessive even by the standards of the day. It’s truly awful.