EXCITING X-PATROL #1 - June 1997

The Curse of Brother Brood!

Credits: Barbara Kesel (writer), Bryan Hitch (penciler), Paul Neary (inker), Joe Andreani & Digital Chameleon (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Shatterstarfire reluctantly leaves Niles Cable behind during a battle with Brother Brood, returning to the X-Patrol’s base for help. The team leaves on a rescue mission with their mysterious new member, Jericho. Landing on Zenosha, X-Patrol soon faces the Brood-infected Niles and Terra-X the Destroyer. While battling Niles, Jericho’s rocky disguise is destroyed, revealing Jericho as Niles’ younger self. Niles decides to let his techno-organic virus consume his body and kill the Brood infection. Near death, Niles is saved by the spirit of Raveniya the Healer. Inspired by his younger self, Niles vows to continue fighting.

Continuity Notes: The island of Zenosha is presumably an amalgam, yet plain ol’ Genosha was shown to exist in the Amalgam world in the previous year’s Magneto and the Magnetic Men. This reality’s version of Jericho is a combination of DC’s Jericho, the Thing, and X-Man. Brother Brood is Brother Blood infected by the Brood Queen. Terra-X the Destroyer is an amalgam of the Teen Titan’s bucktoothed traitor Terra and Galactus’ herald Terrax the Destroyer. Raveniya the Healer merges Raven with Mother Askani.

Review: Oh, another Bryan Hitch comic that isn’t marred by excessive detail lines and “realistic” faces. That’s like finding an old Greg Land comic without any traced porn. I’m sure someone at the time thought using “eXciting” on the cover was a cute parody, unaware that Marvel was a mere four years away from using a gratuitous X-dash in the actual title of a comic. Anyway, eXciting X-Patrol is the sequel to the previous year’s X-Patrol, the title that was nominally a merger of the Doom Patrol and various X-spinoffs. Apparently, someone just liked the name, because the Doom Patrol did not play a large role in the amalgams. This year’s special makes it even more obvious that the creators want to do a Teen Titans/X-Force mash-up -- which is fine, but why is this even called X-Patrol? Wouldn’t “X-Titans” or “Titans-X” work just as well?

I’m only familiar with the Titans from a few trade paperbacks, a handful of cartoon episodes, and the relentless Jericho hate online, but I think I’ve caught most of the jokes in this one. It’s hard to deny that Terra-X the Destroyer is a great gag. The Marvel characters chosen to be amalgamated surprised me, but as much as I dislike the Askani and X-Man in the mainstream continuity, Barbara Kesel works them into this story in surprising and funny ways. Her dialogue is a fairly accurate representation of ‘90s era X-team interactions, without crossing the line into snarky condescension. This is a dense read, packed with characters and action, but there’s enough humor to keep fans of either franchise entertained. I can’t imagine what someone unfamiliar with the material being referenced would think of this, though.

X-PATROL #1 - April 1996

Doomed!

Credits: Karl & Barbara Kesel (writers), Roger Cruz (penciler), Jon Holdredge (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Tom Vincent (colors)

Summary: Dr. Niles Cable summons the mutant outcasts Elasti-Girl, Ferro Man, Shatterstarfire, Beastling, and Dial H.U.S.K. together to form the X-Patrol. They travel to the island-nation of Latveria to stop Dr. Doomsday, a highly evolved scientist plotting to rule two alternate universes. X-Patrol destroys his machinery and narrowly escapes with their lives. Unfortunately, the battle leaves Niles Cable crippled.

Continuity Notes: X-Patrol is the Amalgam Universe’s fusion of Doom Patrol with various X-teams. Dr. Niles Cable blends Dr. Niles Caulder and Cable, Shatterstarfire is Shatterstar and Starfire, Beastling is a combination of Beast and Beast Boy/Changeling, Ferro Man merges Colossus and Ferro Lad, Dial H.U.S.K. is Husk and Dial H for H.E.R.O., and Elasti-Girl merges…well, Elasti-Girl with the Wasp (and Domino, oddly enough).

Review: Amalgam was notable for transcending the malaise of the decade that spawned the concept and producing a series of fun, imaginative one-shots. X-Patrol, unfortunately, was probably the least recognized title from the event. I imagine the x-treme cover did a lot to chase away the critics who enjoyed the event specifically because it harkened back to an era before the pre-‘90s ugliness. And while Roger Cruz isn’t quite so ‘90s on the interiors, it’s hard to fault someone for buying a Dave Gibbons or Paul Smith comic and skipping this one. The story is still enjoyable, though, in the way most of the Amalgam books are. Characters are jumbled together, often based solely on similar-sounding names, fictitious back issues are referenced, and a few in-jokes are snuck in. My favorite is the glimpse of the “second rate” worlds Dr. Doomsday is plotting to invade -- the Marvel and DC Universes, filled with “twisted, splintered” versions of the true Amalgam heroes.

The story doesn’t strictly stick to the premise, as many of the DC characters amalgamated were never Doom Patrol members, and Dr. Doom and Doomsday have rarely interacted with the X-Men and Doom Patrol respectively, but those kinds of rules tended to be stretched throughout the Amalgam line. There is one inconsistency that does bother me, however. My understanding of the Amalgam Universe is that the characters aren’t literally merged into a singular body; they’ve merely assumed identities similar to those taken by heroes in another universe. Therefore, Super Soldier is still Steve Rogers, Dark Claw is still Logan, and Amazon is still Ororo Monroe. That’s true of most of the characters here, as Janet van Dyne has simply gone through a path in life that leads her to take on an identity that isn’t the Wasp. Other characters, like “Hank Logan” a.k.a. Beastling, are literally amalgamated versions of Marvel and DC heroes. How did this work? Did reality merge some people together and leave others merely to assume identities that resemble different characters? I haven’t read any of the stories that actually rationalize how the Amalgam Universe came to exist, so I don’t know. I realize this event was about fun more than rules, but since this speaks to the fundamental makeup of the universe, some consistency would be nice.