GLORY/ANGELA #1 - April 1996

Angels in Hell

Credits: Rob Liefeld (story), Jim Valentino (script, layouts), Andy Park & Pat Lee (pencils), Sean Parsons & Marlo Alquiza w/Alan Martinez & Kyle Roberts (inks), Christian Lichtner & Extreme Color (colors), Steve Dutro (letters)

Summary: Metatron informs Glory and Angela that Celestine has been possessed by Malebolgia since her resurrection. They travel to Hell to rescue the captive Celestine, discovering that Malebolgia has expanded his rule past the Eighth Circle. Glory and Angela are unable to defeat Malebolgia, but they receive help from an unexpected source -- Lucifer. Lucifer sends Malebolgia back to the Eighth Circle and returns Celestine’s soul. He takes the heroes to his posh lair and opens a doorway to the previously unknown Tenth Circle, the Elysium. Celestine is restored as an angel, while Glory and Angela are returned to Earth by Metatron.

Spawntinuity: Malebolgia declares himself second only to Lucifer, which is a more specific categorization of his place in Hell than Spawn has revealed so far. Lucifer is portrayed as a handsome, middle-aged man in a business suit. He tells Angela they’ll meet again soon.

The Big Names: Future "controversy" magnet Pat Lee is the co-artist. Randy Queen’s Darkchylde is previewed in a backup story.

Creative Differences: The title of this one-shot was originally solicited as “Hell’s Angels.”

Review: Hmm…this final chapter of an Extreme Studios crossover looks like a rushed mess. I just can’t believe it. Judging by the recap of the middle issues of the crossover, all we’ve missed is a fight scene between the Extreme heroes and an army of undead soldiers resurrected by Celestine with the angels’ satellite, and the “shocking” revelation that Malebolgia’s possessed her the entire time. The finale consists of more pointless fights, a few splash pages of Malebolgia (the only character the artists seem interested in drawing), and the introduction of Lucifer. I guess there’s some irony in having Lucifer play the Deus Ex Machina role, but it’s hard not to view this as a stereotypically bad Extreme comic.

As far as ‘90s crossovers go, this one was remarkably low-key. I don’t recall any promotion in Spawn whatsoever for it, and don’t remember any hype in Wizard for the event, either. Clearly, this was an attempt to cash in on the “Bad Girl” fad, but it’s also the first major storyline to bridge the Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld corners of Image (Spawn and Chapel have a history, and Badrock faced Violator, but they never triggered a crossover event). It seems like it should’ve been a bigger deal. In terms of Spawn continuity, it’s Angela’s first appearance since her miniseries, the introduction of Malebolgia’s boss Lucifer, and the final confirmation of an idea hinted at in Alan Moore’s first fill-in…the Tenth Circle of Hell is actually Heaven. McFarlane was even introducing a new angel, Tiffany, into the mythos at this time. Couldn’t he have coordinated it with this event? This storyline opened with a decent premise; unfortunately, no one seemed too interested in the execution.

BADROCK/WOLVERINE #1 - June 1996

Savaged

Credits: Jim Valentino (writer), Chap Yaep (penciler), Jonathan Sibal (inker), Steve Dutro (letters), Brian Haberlin & Extreme Colors (colors)

Summary: Tyrax, the inter-dimensional warlord, establishes a base in the Savage Land. Sauron joins the Savage Land Mutates as a supporter, hoping that Tyrax’s mutagenic machine will rid him of Karl Lykos forever. Wolverine arrives in the Savage Land on a vacation and is spotted by Sauron. After learning of a “master plan,” Wolverine sends a distress call to the X-Men. A freak electrical storm allows Youngblood’s Badrock to pick up the call. Badrock arrives in the Savage Land and teams up with Wolverine, one of his favorite superheroes. After helping Zabu free Ka-Zar, the heroes face Tyrax and his mutated Dinosauroids. When Tyrax insults Sauron, he absorbs Tyrax’s life energy. Karl Lykos asserts his personality and uses the mutagenic machine to force Sauron to become human again. With Lykos’ help, the Dinosauroids are defeated. Tyrax escapes through his dimensional portal, and Badrock offers Wolverine a ride home.

Continuity Notes: Karl Lykos is mistakenly called “Lypos” several times in the script.

Review: Badrock is probably the closest Liefeld came to creating an endearing character during the Image days, isn’t he? He also teamed up with Spider-Man during the 1996 crossover season, so I guess he was Extreme Studios’ default mascot. Like the Youngblood/X-Force crossover, this fails to live down to the horrible reputation Extreme picked up in the ‘90s. There is a ghastly Badrock/Wolverine pinup by Marat Mychaels in the back, but the interior art is acceptable. Chap Yaep started out with an extremely distorted manga/Image style, but he’s more subdued here. It’s pretty much on the same level as Jeff Matsuda’s later X-Factor work, if you catch my drift. This might not be my favorite style, but I can live with it.

Jim Valentino was writing for Marvel before leaving to co-found Image, so he’s a respectable choice to write the book. The story’s really just straightforward action, but it never degenerates into totally mindless violence. Badrock is presented as a likable, teen hero (he has to stay behind while Youngblood’s on a mission because he hasn’t finished his homework), and Valentino has a decent grasp on Wolverine as well. It’s not deep, but it’s not pretending to be. Thankfully, it evokes a Silver Age superhero team-up vibe instead of an “x-treme” one.

Oddly enough, Valentino is treating the crossover as if the Marvel and Extreme characters live in the same universe. In fact, Badrock is a huge fan of Wolverine and loves the X-Men’s TV show. Not only does the Youngblood/X-Force crossover go the opposite route, but the alternate reality angle is an important component of the actual story. If these books were being published years apart, I could understand the inconsistencies. However, these comics were all released at the same time, as installments of the same event. Why would some stories treat this as a shared universe and others go out of their way to establish the universes as separate?