THE PHOENIX RESURRECTION #0 – March 1996

Red Shift

Credits:  Ian Edginton (writer), J. Royle, Paul Pelletier, C. Wojtkiewicz, Randy Green, B. Murray, & Rob Haynes (pencilers), P. Moy, S. Moncuse, Mark Farmer, Terry Austin, G. Martin (inkers), P. Owsley & V. Williams (letterers), Rob Alvord & Malibu (colors)

Summary:  Barriers between the Ultraverse and Marvel Universe weaken.  Prime spots Gateway in a crowd and is annoyed that he isn’t cheering with the rest of Prime’s fans.  When he flies over to confront Gateway, Prime discovers only a painting of the Phoenix in the dirt.  Night Man looks into a puddle and sees inside Damion Hellstrom’s home.  Whizzer of the Squadron Supreme contacts the Beast (when other heroes won’t answer) and discusses the rise in dimensional anomalies.  Mantra, in her civilian identity, is briefly visited by Gateway.  A member of the Exiles worries that she might again become the vessel for a cosmic force.  Rune falls through a dimensional rift and briefly stands outside of the X-Men’s mansion.  Ultraforce accidentally sends a villain into the Marvel Universe, where he briefly encounters Spider-Man and Thor.  

Continuity Notes:  

• This Malibu/Marvel crossover represents continuity circa late 1995, which means Spider-Man is Ben Reilly and Wolverine has bone claws -- but also a nose, since he hasn’t gone fully “feral” yet.  
• Due to previous attempts to incorporate Marvel characters into Malibu’s Ultraverse, Black Knight is a member of Ultraforce and the Exiles team has Juggernaut, Reaper, and Sienna Blaze as members.
• Based on a flashback in the Exiles chapter of this story, the Malibu miniseries Break-Thru has already teased the arrival of the Phoenix Force in the Ultraverse.

Review:  In 1995-1996, publishers were legally required to have a zero issue.  Don’t question it.  The Phoenix Resurrection #0 is a one-shot published after the conclusion of the miniseries.  It’s a reprint of a series of back-up teasers that ran in Malibu’s superhero comics for a month, followed by a new story starring Jubilee.  Five pages of new Jubilee content cost you $1.95 in the early days of 1996; surely this was the golden age of X-completist gouging.

I doubt you’ll find an Ultraverse fan today who looks back with any nostalgia on the Marvel crossover days.  Marvel seemed to have an attitude that teaming their heroes with the Ultraverse characters would somehow legitimize the Ultras, but Marvel fans never seemed to care and Malibu fans always resented the intrusion.  Had this stunt been pulled four years earlier, it’s possible that diehard Marvel Zombies would’ve bought the hype and embraced characters like Rune and Prime with open arms.  By 1996, everyone was just burned out on these stunts.  If the Ultraverse characters had any shot at all of surviving the Marvel takeover, they probably should’ve been incorporated into the actual Marvel Universe.  Running two superhero universes simultaneously has historically not ended well, with the younger universe always paying the price.  Ending the Ultraverse and giving three or four of the heroes their own titles in the Marvel Universe, and actually treating them as authentic heroes within the Marvel Universe, was probably the best bet for getting Marvel fans to pay attention.  That’s assuming that the higher-ups at Marvel really wanted the Malibu characters to succeed, of course.  For years, the fan press reported that Marvel bought Malibu for its computer coloring department.  Now, we know that Malibu was purchased mainly to prevent DC from buying the company and taking a larger percentage of the marketplace.  Supposedly, Marvel didn’t even discover Malibu had a full-time computer coloring department until after the deal was finalized.

It’s hard to judge any of these shorts as stories, since every one is a brief scene that teases the idea of the Marvel Universe and the Ultraverse colliding.  Some of these shorts are more fun than I was expecting.  The Night Man piece has him inadvertently gaining access to Hellstorm’s bedroom, while he’s entertaining a “silver-tongued devil.”  The Whizzer back-up is about as interesting as a dry “two worlds are colliding” exposition piece can be.  (And notice that the major companies still can’t let go of the Conflicting Continuities Converge concept.)  I do feel sorry for Siren, though, whoever she is.  She isn’t even the star of her own back-up; Whizzer takes her place, in a short that doesn’t feature any Ultraverse characters.  Some of the pieces are borderline incomprehensible, such as the Ultraforce back-up, but overall the shorts set up the Phoenix event rather painlessly.  The art is the mixed bag I would expect any mid-‘90s superhero jam comic to be, with Paul Pelletier and Mark Farmer turning in the strongest piece, while B. Murray delivers a job worthy of Extreme Studios.  (Is this the Brian Murray who worked on Supreme?)  The cover also exhibits some of Bryan Hitch’s strengths and weaknesses during this era.  It’s a dynamic drawing, and the figures are well-constructed.  Those faces, though…why do Wolverine and Prime both have freakishly deformed left eyes?!

Generation X - Red Shift

Credits:  Ian Edginton (plot), Dan Abnett (script), Robert Stotz (penciler), Steve Moncuse (inker), Edd fear (letterer), Moose Baumann (colorist)

Summary:  Jubilee reflects in her school’s terrarium, questioning why Gateway included her in the group of mutants sent to defend the Ultraverse.  She discovers an emblem shaped like the Phoenix and wonders if it has any significance.  Nearby, Gateway smiles.

Review:  So, in the same comic, we get the prologues and an epilogue, which makes the reading order slightly annoying for anyone following this event with the zero issue first.  Calling this a “story” is a bit generous, with the narrative only offering the vaguest hint that Jubilee’s found something that might be important someday.  It isn’t, of course, since the Ultraverse characters were dismissed by Marvel not long after this event concluded.  Also, including new material in a reprint special is always a questionable move in my opinion.  If there are any Jubilee completists out there today, hopefully you can find this in a quarter box somewhere.

YOUNG HEROES IN LOVE #16 - September 1998

Bonfire and Smokey

Credits: Dan Raspler (writer), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (penciler), Keith Champagne (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), Noelle Giddings (colorist)

Zip-Kid goes out to dinner with her boyfriend Lou and meets his “business associates.” She, amazingly, isn’t able to guess that they’re all Italian gangsters even though they fulfill every conceivable mafia stereotype. When her boyfriend returns home wounded, Zip-Kid finally realizes that something fishy is going on and breaks off their engagement. Enraged that she’s listening to that tiny wimp Junior, with his talk of “respect” and “support,” Lou jumps into his car and drives off to kill the diminutive superhero. That’s his plan, at least. His car explodes as soon as he starts the engine. Meanwhile, Bonfire’s pet dog Smokey morphs into a monster and threatens Monstergirl after she gets into an argument with Bonfire.

In other news, people are having sex again:

Monstergirl reveals that she can shrink down to Junior’s size. After they catch Frostbite and Bonfire in the act, Monstergirl seduces Junior. By “seduce” I mean “forcibly makes out with him while taking her clothes off.”

Junior still has feelings for Zip-Kid, but as he tells Monstergirl, he doesn’t care if she did this out of pity. He’s just glad she did it.

Off-Ramp spends time with his outer space genie friend. She suspects that something’s going on with Off-Ramp and a teammate, which he denies. When he returns home…

Frostbite, who just finished an elaborate love scene with Bonfire, begins hitting on Off-Ramp as soon as he returns. Off-Ramp denies that he has any feelings for him, and punches Frostbite after he pinches him on the butt. This leads to an extended fight scene that’s broken up by Thunderhead.

So, the only real action in the issue comes from the burgeoning bisexual love triangle. If today’s “progressive” DC did a similar storyline, I imagine all of the bisexuals involved would be busty females illustrated by Ed Benes, but perhaps that’s unfair of me. It’s hard to tell where Raspler’s going with this, especially given the energy he’s spent on selling Bonfire and Frostbite’s relationship, and the list of former female lovers from Off-Ramp’s past he’s made sure we know about. Considering that this series only has one real issue left, I suspect whatever resolution we’re going to receive is going to be rushed. Meanwhile, Monstergirl continues to behave erratically, but apparently she’s sticking with her “bed every male member of the team” plan, hoping that it will lead to her being named new team leader. Using Junior as her latest victim opens up some interesting possibilities, especially given that Zip-Kid’s stereotypical goomba boyfriend is apparently killed this issue. But, once again, the series is drawing to a close, so I’m not expecting a particularly satisfying resolution to any of these threads.

IMPERIAL GUARD #1-#3, January - March 1997

Imperious Wrecks!

Credits: Brian Augustyn (writer), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (penciler), Ray Snyder (inker), Brad Vancata (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

This is a bit of a curiosity. Terry Kavanagh is credited with editing this comic, even though he left Marvel’s staff years earlier. It was mentioned in the Bullpen Bulletins around this time that Kavanagh returned for a few weeks to help during the holiday rush, but it doesn’t seem like he would’ve been there long enough to oversee a three-issue miniseries. Chuck Wojtkiewicz is a penciler who I believe showed up as a fill-in artist on comics Kavanagh edited in the early ‘90s, and this mini is hand-lettered, which was already rare at Marvel by this time. Connecting this deeper to the early ‘90s is a Malcolm X baseball hat worn by a random pedestrian. However, the story explicitly takes place after the Onslaught crossover, and ties in to the Shi’ar/Phalanx storyline that was running in Uncanny X-Men at the time. So, was this mini sitting in a drawer for a few years or not? It’s possible that it was, and a few tweaks were made to fit it into continuity. Or maybe I’m just thinking too much.

This is a rare Marvel job for Brian Augustyn, so maybe it’s fitting that he’s writing a team of Legion of Superhero stand-ins. With the exception of Mentor (who’s clearly supposed to be LoSH’s Brainiac 5), Augustyn actually isn’t playing up their similarities, but he is keeping the tone similar to that of a less-crazy Silver Age DC comic. It certainly doesn’t feel like anything the X-office was producing at the time. The story has the Imperial Guard assigned to Earth, on a mission to observe, and protect us backwards creatures if necessary. Gladiator is upset that the Shi’ar Empire has been attacked while they’re away, but he respects Lilandra’s order to stay on Earth. This leads directly to his appearance in Uncanny X-Men #341, which had him sending the X-Men to help the Shi’ar in his place. While on Earth, the Imperial Guard face the Underground Militia, an anti-superhero paramilitary group. The story ends with Gladiator mysteriously losing his powers during the fight. Augustyn isn’t doing anything momentous here, but it’s an entertaining action comic, and the Guard is at least given hints of a personality. Wojtkiewicz’s art, which resembles an early McFarlane without the elaborate detail lines, is distractingly ugly, though.

Up From the Depths

Credits: Brian Augustyn (writer), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (penciler), Ray Snyder (inker), Brad Vancata & Graphic Color Works (colors), Phil Felix (letters)

Following last issue’s cliffhanger, the rest of the Imperial Guard succumb to the radiation that overpowered Gladiator. Only the newest member, the Kree soldier known as Commando, is able to endure, due to a mysterious rush of energy. Later, Commando has a sudden burst of inspiration that tells him that the Underground Militia is actually a group of pink-skinned Kree Freemen. They want revenge on Earth’s superheroes, due to the events of “Operation Galactic Storm.” Apparently, the Avengers are somehow responsible for the destruction of the Kree’s planet, although this is really the biased account of the villains. (The post-Onslaught status quo of the Marvel Universe is an awkward place to set this story, since most, if not all, of the Avengers involved in that story are believed dead during this time.) Tying this deeper to the mainstream Marvel Universe is a Rick Jones cameo. After it’s helpfully pointed out that he used to hang with the Avengers, he suddenly has a cosmic vision that ends with him developing blue skin. This, obviously, has very little to do with the X-Men. The Imperial Guard first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, but so did Alpha Flight and the modern-day Ka-Zar. That doesn’t mean their corner boxes should have giant “X” logos either.

A Mad God Awakens

Credits: Brian Augustyn (writer), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (penciler), Ray Snyder (inker), Brad Vancata & Graphic Color Works (colors), Janice Chiang (letters)

Primus, the leader of the Kree Freeman, unleashes his plan to expose Earth to radiation he harvested from the remains of the Kree’s planet. A mysterious voice grants Rick Jones power, which he uses to aid the Imperial Guard against Primus. After Gladiator disposes of the reactor and Rick absorbs the radiation, the Kree Supreme Intelligence reveals himself. He’s been manipulating all of these events so that he can reemerge on Earth. Commando’s character arc is completed, as he rejects the Supreme Intelligence and sides with his teammates in the Imperial Guard. This is all traditional superhero material, right down to the churlish new member who eventually warms up to his teammates and becomes a true hero at the end. Even though there aren’t any surprises here, Augustyn does a competent job throughout the mini. It’s too bad Wojtkiewicz’s art never finds its footing, though. And, really, labeling this an X-book wasn’t exactly fair to the readers. It was already hard enough to be an X-completist during this era; grouping an unrelated miniseries under the X-banner while a thousand other limited series and one-shots were being released was extremely shortsighted and greedy.