Parties Weren't Meant to Last - The Road to (X-Men) Revolution

Before stepping into the strange, distant land of early 2000, I thought it best to examine the context of the times.

In the year 2000, a president has emerged from a sex scandal with his highest approval ratings, the pop charts belong once again to actual pop acts, cable TV is attracting mainstream audiences with content too extreme for network broadcasts, and the average American has taken AOL up on those trial discs and ventured online.

The overall culture is recovering from the world-weary, ironic distance of the 1990s and embracing…mostly garbage, it seems. Or, at the very least, material that would’ve been deemed too vulgar for polite society only a few years earlier.

This Post Will Not Be Followed With a New #1

It wouldn’t be accurate to say that the post-clone titles bombed.  I think “languished” would be a better term.  Most of the books were decent sellers, but Spider-Man still wasn’t competing with the X-titles, and there didn’t seem to be much enthusiasm from the fans.  What worked and what didn’t?

The Art

All of the artists assigned to the books in late 1996 would seem to be commercial draws.  Steve Skroce and Luke Ross were coming from the X-titles (okay, they did X-Man, but that’s still an X-title), Mike Wieringo had done some fill-ins for the X-titles and had built a name for himself at DC, and John Romita, Jr. was a Marvel legend with lengthy stints on Amazing Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, Iron Man, and Daredevil in the past.  Cracks develop early on however, with Skroce dropping out of Amazing a few issues in and Ross’ cartoony style not meshing with DeMatteis’ psychologically dark stories in Spectacular.  In addition, Wieringo seems to struggle to find a style that fits Spidey for a while there, and Romita’ title is given some extremely disappointing fill-in artists.  On any given month, the average quality of art in the Spider-Man books could only charitably be called “inconsistent.”  It’s a shame that the most consistent writer wasn’t paired with the most consistent artist -- why didn’t Ralph Macchio pair DeMatteis/Romita together on Amazing Spider-Man?

The Villains

The Clone Saga concluded with the “shocking” reveal that the original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, had been behind the entire fiasco.  And even though Norman apparently died yet again in the closing chapter, there was no doubt that he would be returning soon.  Marvel actually showed some restraint and waited a year before giving Norman his big comeback in Spectacular Spider-Man #250.  There is a sense that the creators were often spinning their wheels while waiting for Norman’s return.  Dr. Octopus was revived, Electro got a power-up, and the Chameleon fought off insanity long enough to learn Spider-Man’s secret ID, but none of those storylines were sold as Big Important Events.  It’s obvious that Marvel considered the original Green Goblin to be the villain with the most marketing potential, and to be fair, his return issue in Spectacular is executed very well.  

Within a few months, however, it’s clear that the creators have no real interest in doing Norman Osborn stories, or at the very least, can’t think of anything worthwhile for him to do.  He buys the Daily Bugle, threatens some cast members, and tries to sell “m’boy” as a catchphrase, but he doesn’t seem to do an awful lot.  The creators even seem reluctant to have him don the Goblin disguise again, leading to an utterly pointless mystery surrounding the new Green Goblin.  (I thought we were supposed to be psyched to see the original Green Goblin!)  The books have an awful lot invested in Norman’s return, and when that eventually flops, the dearth of credible villains becomes even more obvious.  Even when one of Spider-Man’s foes actually accomplishes something, like in the Chameleon story mentioned above, the story just exists in the vacuum of one title.  Spider-Man never seems particularly concerned in his other titles about this villainous loon learning his secret identity, and within a few issues, it’s even forgotten in Spectacular Spider-Man itself.

The Supporting Cast  

Everyone knows Spider-Man has the greatest supporting cast in comics, right?  So why is it that this two-year period brings us only one memorable storyline featuring a supporting cast member?  Inserting Flash Thompson into an alcoholism storyline probably isn’t the greatest use of Flash, but J. M. DeMatteis does generate a lot of credible character work out of the idea.  Yet, if you followed any of the other titles, you wouldn’t even see an acknowledgement of the ongoing storyline starring Peter’s oldest friend/rival.  Instead, each book seems to claim a supporting cast member or two and keep exclusive focus on those individual stories.  

Allowing every creator to follow the character of his choosing might seem like a nice way for each writer to put his unique mark on each title, but in practice, it’s a mess.  Peter Parker’s interest in the lives of Robbie Robertson, Flash Thompson, and Billy Walters seems sporadic at best.  And most of these character subplots are absolute duds.  Robbie’s conflict boils down to his wife nagging him into retirement…a misguided concept that drags on for months.  And the rich, new supporting cast members that the Empire State University setting was supposed to bring us -- do the names Shantal Wilsk and Marina Caches ring a bell?  No, of course they don’t, because they’re ciphers that no one ever developed into believable personalities.  

Speaking of ciphers, the issue of the Stacy family has to be addressed.  Added to the titles at the urging of editor-in-chief Bob Harras, but with apparently no guidance on what to actually do with the characters, the Stacys languished in the background for a few months and predictably contributed nothing.  Eventually, it’s simply declared that Jill Stacy is MJ’s best friend, although no creator seems willing to explain how exactly one explores a friendship with a piece of cardboard.  Paul Stacy is allegedly Peter’s academic rival, a role that serves no real point since none of the writers are invested at all in Peter’s college life.  And Arthur Stacy makes a few empty threats to investigate Spider-Man, a plot that’s referenced in a surprisingly great issue of Unlimited, and then pretty much disappears.  Marvel promised a revived focus on the supporting cast upon Peter Parker’s return, and this is what it delivered.

The Marriage

I’m not interested in debating whether or not Peter and MJ should be married.  Everyone has his or her opinion on this and it’s hard to see anyone budging by now. However, Peter and MJ are married at this point in the titles, and since Marvel has no nerve to separate or divorce the couple, then the stories should contain a genuine focus on the dynamics of their relationship.  And almost none of them do.  J. M. DeMatteis steps up once again and puts in a real effort, while Todd Dezago’s stories in Sensational occasionally hint at the fun, sexy side of their marriage.  To the other creators, the marriage seems to be a subject to be avoided at all costs, or an excuse for Spider-Man to endure another lecture from his unsympathetic wife.  More annoyingly, MJ’s personality shift seems to happen overnight with no real justification within the stories.  

The Status Quo

This era of Spider-Man begins with Peter and MJ returning to New York.  The baby, as far as they know, was stillborn.  Aunt May is dead.  They can’t afford a place in Manhattan so they live in Aunt May’s old home with MJ’s Aunt Anna.  Peter returns to work at the Daily Bugle.  Both Peter and MJ enroll at ESU and try to start their life as a couple over again.  There’s clearly an effort to go back to a situation that the readers are familiar with, while not outright pressing the reset button.  The lost baby is always a thorny issue, but there is the occasional scene that manages to broach the subject in a tasteful and poignant way.  Aunt Anna initially comes across like a replacement Aunt May in this situation, and never seems to outgrow the role.  (Anna’s considered such a nuisance by the writers that she goes several months at a time without even making an appearance.)  

Having Peter and MJ move back into Aunt May’s old place is an idea I’ve always liked, and it’s a shame that more isn’t done with the Forest Hills neighborhood.  The new neighbors introduced in Sensational seemed to have some potential as recurring characters, although we’ll never know what might’ve been.  The return to ESU always comes across as something Bob Harras thought was a great idea, but none of the people working day-to-day on the books had the slightest interest in.  There is the occasional “Chaos on Campus!” plot, but for the most part, the college is a background element that adds nothing to the stories.  The idea that MJ is suddenly desperate to study psychology also comes across as arbitrary.  The Daily Bugle makes a welcome return, although it’s hard to think of any particularly great stories that use the setting.  Jonah Jameson has his moments in Spectacular Spider-Man, but the grand mystery involving him and Mad Jack fizzles out in a, well, spectacular fashion.  

In retrospect, this setup should’ve produced several memorable stories.  The only elements that don’t fit into the “classic Spidey” mold are holdovers from the clone days that would’ve eventually faded away.  At some point, the status of Peter and MJ’s baby would have to receive a definitive answer, and someone needs to find a unique role for Aunt Anna; outside of those issues, there’s no obvious reason why this status quo shouldn’t work…unless you’re absolutely adamant that a) Aunt May shouldn’t be dead and b) Peter shouldn’t be married.

The End of Spider-Man (?)

From 1996 to 1998, the post-clone era usually remained under the radar.  As I mentioned earlier, not bad sellers, but certainly not great ones, either.  Perhaps the die was cast when Wizard (still rather powerful within the industry in the mid-90s) printed an article in late 1997 detailing the ennui that surrounded the Spider-Man titles.  In another piece from this era, Wizard stated its belief that Aunt May shouldn’t have been the one to die in Amazing #400…it should’ve been MJ!  Yes, that pesky marriage is the problem, along with a series of issues the magazine claimed were holding the titles back.  Wizard’s solution seemed to boil down to “go back to the Roger Stern days.”  Marvel was thinking retro, but not in the way Wizard probably expected.  (You can read the article on the "What Would Spidey Do?" blog. It's typical of Wizard’s writing of this era -- arrogant and ignorant simultaneously. I have a hard time making it through the piece, even though I agree with many of their points.)

Marvel tried to revive interest in the titles with two connected crossovers, “Spiderhunt” and “Identity Crisis,” but before the second crossover was even finished, the big announcement had been made.  The Spider-Man line was getting relaunched with a series of new #1s.  John Byrne was coming over from DC to reboot Spider-Man’s first year with Twice Told Tales (later renamed Chapter One), and Howard Mackie would be the sole present-day continuity Spider-Man writer.  The reboot/relaunch turned out to be a critical flop, and after an initial sales bump, the Spider-Man titles were no better off than before.  

The Chapter One/Next Chapter era was so hated for so long that memories of the preceding era seemed to fade away.  In most fans’ minds, Spider-Man goes from Clone Saga to reboot to J. Michael Straczynski, with no gap in-between.  There is an era nestled in there, though.  I wouldn’t argue that it’s best forgotten -- there are numerous stories in there that are true to the character and worth any fan’s time -- but perhaps it is easily overlooked.  Let’s face it, the titles rarely interacted with one another, there seemed to be no overall direction for the line, and no title seemed to generate a momentum that could last for more than a few issues.  It’s hard to name one element that defines this era, and even though individual story arcs can be singled out for praise, overall the Spider-line was so unfocused and aimless that it feels as if there’s nothing to hold on to.  It’s a quirky, brief blip in the character’s overall history, doomed to obscurity.

Does the Post-Clone Era Even Have a Name?

I’m not quite sure what Marvel expected to happen when Peter Parker returned to the Spider-Man books in the fall of 1996.  Yes, it’s easy to make the case that the majority of fans wanted the Clone Saga over and Peter reinstated as Spider-Man (even though Ben Reilly turned out to have a more dedicated fanbase than anyone could’ve predicted), but Marvel’s approach to the return seemed strangely low-key.  There wasn’t a new title with a fresh #1 issue.  No multi-title crossover to herald his first month back.  No cover gimmicks.  No variant covers that I’m aware of.  Heck, the creative teams even stayed basically the same.  The only new addition was J. M. DeMatteis on Spectacular Spider-Man, and by “new” I mean “back after a year away.”  Marvel’s assumption seemed to be that by simply giving the fans what they claimed to want, all eyes would return to Spider-Man and things would work out okay.  

Looking back, I wonder now if Marvel was reluctant to give the Spider-Man titles a large marketing push so soon after the launch of the “Heroes Reborn” books.   Perhaps someone thought that pushing a new Spidey #1 just a month or so after Avengers, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Captain America received new #1s would’ve been too much for the market to bear.  That doesn’t really sound like Marvel, though, does it?  Also, “Heroes Reborn” was famously hated within the halls of Marvel’s offices (due to the titles being farmed out to Image creators), so it’s hard to imagine Marvel making a conscious effort to downplay one of their brightest properties in order to appease creators that were still viewed as the competition.  Honestly, I think it’s entirely possible that Marvel believed that a quick sweep under the rug of any clone silliness was all the books really need at the time.

So, by late 1996, the Spider-Man line consisted of Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, Peter Parker: Spider-Man, Sensational Spider-Man, Spider-Man Unlimited, Spider-Man Team-Up, and one title set in the past, Untold Tales of Spider-Man.  In addition to this rather lengthy list, Marvel also published a monthly series of Venom miniseries, and numerous one-shots featuring Spider-Man.  The only real marketing push I can remember for the post-clone titles were a few blurbs in the Bullpen Bulletins, boasting that the titles would have more of a “classic” feel, with Peter and MJ returning to college and new supporting cast members like the Stacy family possibly creating some fresh conflicts.

Did it work?  I’ll continue the retrospective in my next post, concluding my Spider-Man review series (which stretches all the way back to, geez, 1985!)

So, In Conclusion…

Were X-Men comics in the ‘90s as bad as people think? Overall, I wouldn’t say so. There are certainly a few terrible moments, but look at the sheer volume of material we’re dealing with. Is any franchise this big going to have a perfect record? The consensus amongst many fans seems to be that the ‘90s X-books were some of the worst mainstream comics ever published. If you’re talking the first dozen issues or so of X-Force, that’s understandable, but it’s not a fair representation of the entire line. (I should also point out that the harsh feelings over the decade seem to have mellowed out in recent years. Perhaps it’s simply nostalgia, but I wonder if it’s also a reaction against the more serious, “realistic,” “please option us for a movie deal” approach to superheroes we’ve seen in the new millennium).

I’m under the impression that many fans lump together the early Image material with the entirety of the X-line in the ‘90s. In reality, the Image creators were only charting the course for less than two years, which hardly represents an entire decade. In fact, the stereotypical Image look disappeared a lot faster in the X-books than it did in the rest of mainstream Marvel and DC. Since that look mostly originated within the X-line, it makes sense that the fad would’ve died out sooner there. Silly looking characters like X-Treme already seemed antiquated in 1993, and within a few months, Joe Madureira was already merging manga with superheroes for a new style in Uncanny X-Men. By 1994, Chris Bachalo was bringing his unique look to the X-titles.

Now, describing something as better than an early Image title is pretty much the definition of damning it with faint praise. These books have problems. Just looking at the two main books with X-Men in the title, we have a cast that’s too large and unfocused, teammates rarely interacting with one another for years at a time, storylines that drag on for years without proper resolutions, mysteries that drag on for years without proper revelations, lack of direction for months at a time, abrupt changes in direction, the occasional bizarre characterization shift, and routine crossovers that often seem pointless. Uncanny X-Men developed such a fierce following in the 1980s in large part due to its commitment to the characters. Some might find the term “soap opera” demeaning, but I think it’s the best way to describe a never-ending narrative of fictional characters’ lives. There’s an element of that in other Marvel titles, but having the same writer on the book for well over a decade, and the fact that so many storylines were specifically designed to emphasize characterization, put Uncanny X-Men in a different realm than Avengers. In the ‘90s, writer Chris Claremont is gone but editor Bob Harras remains. Harras seems to understand the soap opera appeal, which is probably one of the reasons why so many of these titles have “quiet” issues that mainly consist of conversation scenes. Even if the books are going to devote three months to a crossover event with foil covers and inbound trading cards, the next issue is going to have the characters talking about their feelings. The problem is, there are too many characters to keep track of, so only a few cast members receive the spotlight while long-established characters like Storm and Colossus stand around in the background for years. If you remember the “classic” X-Men, this type of characterization probably isn’t good enough. If you’re twelve, it’s fine.

Looking back, I have to say that the majority of the comics I’ve reviewed would be perfectly enjoyable for a twelve-year-old audience. I don’t mean that in a condescending way; that was probably the age group Marvel was going after, and young readers were the fans who kept superhero comics alive for decades. The X-books never became too “adult” in the ‘90s and, despite the repeated “too confusing” claim, welcomed numerous fans of the Saturday morning cartoon into comics. If the line hadn’t bloated out of control, and if the storylines were able to come to natural conclusions instead of dragging on forever, maybe more of those fans would’ve stuck around after the industry crash.

Were there too many titles? Yes. Did storylines drag on for too long? Usually. Was the art filled with unnecessary rendering and atrocious anatomy? At times, but it’s a style that mostly disappears by the end of 1993. The majority of the artists on the titles aren’t bad at all, and their work holds up a lot better than the average superhero art of the time. Were the characters cardboard? Characterization is actually still a priority for most of the line. The creators often drop the ball during the larger “events” of the era, and have trouble juggling the larger casts, but there is a sense that the characters matter. As the decade wears on, more and more editors take over the titles while Bob Harras becomes “Group Editor,” and later Editor in Chief of Marvel’s entire line. Something seems to be lost in the transition here, as some characterizations become erratic, storylines seem increasingly aimless, and issue-to-issue continuity is occasionally just disregarded. X-editors do seem to require some unique ability, and I think the latter generation couldn’t manage the store as well as Harras (who certainly had his own flaws).

So, yes, a lot of this stuff is bad. However, dismissing it as “early Image” bad isn’t fair. A better example would be the “Onslaught” crossover. The setup has potential, the issues that build up to the event are pretty exciting, and then we realize that all of the early clues don’t add up, the main villain doesn’t even seem to have a plan, and the conclusion makes little sense. It’s more a case of squandered potential than outright incompetence. If you’re willing to overlook some of the flaws, there’s still some solid material to be found during most of the decade. A better description of the decade would be there’s some good, some bad, and a lot of mediocre.

But it’s more fun to run Rob Liefeld scans, isn’t it?

Now, please join me in a few days as I explore another one of my childhood obsessions…

The Year in Review - 1999

By the decade’s end, the X-books are still doing well, but they’re facing real competition from other titles within Marvel. A much larger problem is the fact that the entire comics industry has essentially collapsed. The speculators brought in by the gimmicks from early in the decade are gone, new fans brought in by the X-Men cartoon are disappearing, and the older fans seem to take great pride in not reading X-books. The books are stigmatized for being too commercial, even though there’s barely anything “commercial” about the industry at this point. An X-Men movie is in the works, but negative early buzz leaves Marvel content to just ignore whatever Hollywood is doing to their characters. In an effort to please jaded fans, Marvel announces a new determination in 1999 to resolve dangling plotlines that have been around for years. Alan Davis, who initially just agreed to draw six issues of X-Men, is brought in to plot the two main titles indefinitely. Anger over the departure of Steven Seagle and Joe Kelly, and the perception that the books are just ghostwritten by editors anyway, leaves Davis with a hostile audience.

Uncanny X-Men & X-Men volume two – UXM and X-Men begin a solid year of crossing over, essentially acting as one bi-weekly title. The year begins with the “Magneto War” event, which is supposed to be the epic return of the character. The story resolves the mystery of Joseph’s identity by revealing him as a clone, and ends with the UN caving to Magneto and handing him the island of Genosha. The story wastes too much time with meaningless fight scenes with the Acolytes, and the mystery of Joseph’s origin seems like it’s being resolved because Marvel wants it to be, and not because anyone has a great story for it. Allowing Magneto to take over Genosha isn’t a bad idea, though, and it opens the door for some interesting storylines.

The next story arc is very clearly from Alan Davis’ imagination, as the team is transported to an alien dimension inspired by the works of Steve Ditko. After they save the dimension from Juggernaut, they’re accidentally sent to the Skrull’s homeworld. This is a fun series of issues that are only hampered by scripter Terry Kavanagh’s dialogue, which is often stiff and clumsy. Davis knows how to use the Skrulls creatively, and is able to make the current X-Men work in a fast-paced, traditional superhero story.

The team returns home for the “Rage Against the Machine” crossover, which exists solely to set up Marvel’s ill-fated “M-Tech” line. Davis is able to keep some of the character subplots going, but it’s soon obvious the storyline is just a distraction. The Red Skull is revealed as the main villain, and it’s unfortunate that his pairing with the X-Men comes across so dull.

“The Shattering” is the next event, although the stories are never as dramatic as Marvel’s marketing machine promised. The story has the team going on a break (not even “disbanding,” although that is the way the solicitations and some of the spinoffs described the affair) after Professor Xavier’s harsh attitude becomes intolerable. Davis uses the event as an excuse to do character-driven stories with a smaller cast of characters. Colossus and Marrow grow closer in Uncanny, while Rogue is reunited with Mystique in X-Men. The stories evoke feelings of X-comics from the ‘80s, and they’re a lot of fun. It’s soon revealed that Xavier’s act was a ruse, designed to flush out a traitor inside the team. When Wolverine is killed by Apocalypse’s new Death Horseman, it’s revealed that he’s actually a Skrull imposter. Death is in fact Wolverine, brainwashed by Apocalypse and newly reunited with his adamantium skeleton.

The Wolverine revelation leads into a large Apocalypse storyline, which is unfortunately used to reveal “the Twelve,” a group of significant mutants hinted at years earlier. As it turns out, their significance is to be hooked up to a giant machine that channels their powers to Apocalypse. It’s a disappointing conclusion to the mystery, and it reads like another example of something that’s being resolved just for the sake of being resolved. After Apocalypse absorbs their power, he steals Cyclops’ body and then warps reality for unclear reasons. At this point, Davis isn’t able to convey the various editorial demands into satisfying stories. The buildup to the Apocalypse storyline was clearly well thought out and had a strong execution, but the actual resolution is just one editorial event piled on top of another.

The Events: Joseph learns he’s a clone of Magneto shortly before he dies while trying to repair the damage Magneto’s done to the environment. Magneto is recognized by the UN as the ruler of Genosha. The Twelve are revealed as Cyclops, Jean Grey, Cable, Storm, Iceman, Sunfire, Polaris, Magneto, Xavier, Mikhail Rasputin, Bishop, and the Living Monolith. Wolverine is brainwashed by Apocalypse, who bonds his skeleton with adamantium again. Cyclops “dies” after Apocalypse steals his body.

The “What Were They Thinking?” Award: It’s hard to understand the reasoning behind the revelation of the Twelve. If 1999 really was supposed to be the year that old plotlines were resolved, it seems like there were more pressing issues to be deal with than a list of names who were supposed to be important figures some day in the future. The Legacy Virus storyline still hadn’t been resolved, and after years with no development, it really needed a high profile story to seem relevant again. The Twelve is the type of mystery that could still slowly develop if Marvel wanted it to. Making the Twelve components of a plot device and ignoring what the list was supposed to mean in the first place is another odd decision.

What’s the Appeal? : Some old dangling subplots are resolved, Alan Davis and Adam Kubert draw some lovely issues, there’s still a focus on the characters, and the plots become more cohesive from issue to issue.

Were the Critics Right? : In the sense that the line is too editorially driven, they probably are right. However, Davis do quite a few issues that are unique to his sensibilities, and for most of the year, he’s able to juggle the character work with the larger event stories Marvel wants. If the Apocalypse storyline was allowed to just be a storyline and not an overblown event, I think the closing issues of the year would’ve also worked.

The Year in Review - 1998

1998 sees the cancellation of Excalibur and X-Factor, as Marvel begins to rethink the X-line. The number of titles doesn’t actually decrease, but the new feeling is that solo books are the way to go. After the members of Excalibur rejoin the X-Men, a Gambit solo series soon takes its place on the schedule, while X-Factor is remolded into Mutant X, which Marvel markets as Havok’s adventures in a new world. The ancillary titles very rarely cross over with one another, which theoretically should make the individual books stronger, but also eliminates the “family” feel that was so prominent earlier in the decade. When Havok is believed dead at the end of X-Factor, it’s a year before his brother makes any acknowledgement of it in one of the main titles.

Uncanny X-Men – Steven Seagle’s run begins in earnest, as Chris Bachalo arrives as regular artist. Seagle’s run is very difficult to judge, since the main plots are rather thin, but the ongoing subplots are at least promising. A Wizard review from this time praised the book for going back to basics, presenting stories with actual endings, and developing a more sophisticated narrative style. I assume the reviewer meant the main action stories, which are short and do have relatively clear endings. Scott Lobdell’s main stories usually had endings, too; it’s the subplots and mysteries that are the problem. There’s nothing that interesting about the X-Men’s encounters with Sauron, Alpha Flight, and a flock of birds in Alaska. Seagle is just using them as an excuse for action pieces while the real storylines grow in the background. And, the problem is, they never grow to fruition because Seagle leaves the book after growing tired of editorially mandated storylines. The only long-running subplot that’s actually resolved is Rogue’s desire to erase her powers, and that concluding issue reads like a heavily rewritten mess. After a few months of insignificant “events” (a fight against Cerebro’s faux team of X-Men, and Xavier’s return), Seagle leaves. His final issue is a nice character piece with Colossus, which showcases what Seagle could’ve accomplished with the title.

X-Men volume two – Carlos Pacheco unfortunately leaves early on, but Joe Kelly remains and does a solid job for most of the year. Kelly’s run works better than Seagle’s in hindsight because he spends more time on direct character development and less on building up subplots and mysteries. When Kelly does focus on the superheroic action, we get “Psi-War,” which is much more satisfying than the action stories in UXM. Kelly’s charged with making the unlikely trio of Cecilia Reyes, Maggott, and Marrow credible X-Men, and he actually manages to get some decent stories out of the idea. Of course, it doesn’t last, as Reyes and Maggot are quickly tossed aside so that Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Colossus can rejoin. The book spends the next few months crossing over with UXM, and while the overall stories aren’t exactly great in the first place, Kelly’s chapters are always more satisfying. Kelly is aided by Adam Kubert towards the end of his run, who produces some impressive looking issues.

Wolverine – Without a regular writer, the series goes into perpetual fill-in mode for months. Tom DeFalco kills time with two issues, one’s okay and the other’s just embarrassing, and then Chris Claremont returns for a brief run. The original plan was for Claremont’s arc to be a three-part crossover between UXM, X-Men, and Wolverine, but for some reason it turns up as four incomprehensible issues in one title. The first issue in the storyline has some plotting problems, but the character work is strong enough to distract from most of them. Soon, however, the story devolves into a mess that has Wolverine marrying Viper for unclear reasons, Sabretooth gaining adamantium for unclear reasons, and Hydra and the Hand invading Madripoor for unclear reasons. After the unholy affair, Todd Dezago shows up for a few bland fill-ins. Erik Larsen starts off as a fill-in writer, but stays on until he’s replaced in early 2000. He tries to tell a traditional superhero outer space adventure with Wolverine, but the storyline drags and Jeff Matsuda’s cartoony art doesn’t exactly work (I didn’t make it to the end of the storyline, which concluded my run as a Wolverine completist).

The Events: Excalibur is disbanded and Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Colossus rejoin the X-Men. Gambit also rejoins the team after everyone decides to put the past behind them. Bastion inadvertently animates Cerebro, which leads to Xavier hiding out from it with the Brotherhood. He’s reunited with the X-Men, and the adorable plot device Nina restores his mental powers.

The “What Were They Thinking?” Award: Wolverine’s nonsensical marriage to Viper should probably win this award, but I think the casual dismissal of Cecilia Reyes from the X-Men is even more annoying. For a solid year, the titles did story after story about Cecilia saying goodbye to her old life and accepting her role as an X-Man. Then, suddenly, she’s quit the team in-between issues after a committee decision is made to revamp the lineup. Who needs to invest in any storyline when we can have the editors tell us what we really want?

What’s the Appeal? : Seagle and Kelly did revive a bit of interest in the main books, and many critics who normally dismissed the titles did give their issues positive reviews. Like always, there’s a stable of popular artists on the books, including Chris Bachalo, Adam Kubert, and Lenil Francis Yu.

Were the Critics Right? : I remember thinking at the start of the year that the X-books (the ones I still bought at least) were definitely on an upturn and headed in the right direction. By the end of the year, I was wondering if I should give up on the entire line. The lack of direction or payoff for any storyline returns, and it’s even more obvious now that the lead writers barely last a year before quitting. Halfway through the year, it looks as if Seagle and Kelly are just executing someone else’s ideas, as plot threads that are only a few issues old are totally abandoned. It’s a rough year for the books, made even more frustrating when you consider what could’ve been.

The Year in Review - 1997

Entering the late ‘90s, the X-books don’t enjoy the lofty position they once held on top of the industry. The main titles are still selling, but many of the spinoffs are drifting further and further down the charts. The “Heroes Reborn” event brought a lot of attention to the non-mutant titles, and Marvel is able to maintain the momentum when it regains the characters with “Heroes Return.” A few years earlier, it was unthinkable that Captain America could outsell any of the X-books, but now it’s one of Marvel’s top-sellers and titles like X-Factor are dropping steadily. Personally, I’m reading much fewer of the books at this point, a combination of growing apathy and lackluster newsstand distribution.

Uncanny X-Men – The X-Men spend the first few months of the year fighting the Phalanx in space. It’s another storyline that relies heavily on Joe Madureira’s art to work, and the issues he doesn’t draw are a chore to read. We then enter the end of Scott Lobdell’s run as writer, as he begins a few story threads he never finishes. Maggott is introduced, scouring the globe for Magneto. The X-Men crash-land in a mystery location, one that’s changed from an alien landscape to Antarctica in-between issues because something was going on behind the scenes. Because the team still isn’t home, the characters aren’t in place to participate in the “Zero Tolerance” crossover (even though they were shown in the preview artwork, another sign of backstage confusion). In order to tie in with the crossover, Marrow stars for one issue, which also features Madureira’s excellent rendition of Spider-Man. After the token tie-in is out of the way, the focus returns to the marooned X-Men. Lobdell’s final issues have a few of Gambit’s former friends taking him captive under a mystery man’s orders. Lobdell suddenly disappears in-between issues, and Steven Seagle is now the regular writer. We learn that Gambit helped form the Marauders for Mr. Sinister years earlier, which is the dark secret he’s been keeping from the X-Men. The issue is clearly a rush job, and the ending has the X-Men abandoning Gambit to die in the Antarctic. Someone quickly realizes how blatantly out of character this is, so two quickie retcons are worked into the dialogue of the next few issues (Rogue was motivated by Gambit’s own self-loathing she absorbed by touching him, and the team actually did return to search for him but couldn’t find him). Steven Seagle begins his run, and has to produce two filler issues before Chris Bachalo arrives as artist. One of them is a memorable “day in the life” story about new X-Man Cecilia Reyes’ attempts at civilian life.

X-Men volume two – Scott Lobdell continues plotting both titles as Carlos Pacheco debuts as artist. The opening arc has some great visuals, but the story is a messy affair that has the Kingpin trying to sell an alleged cure for the Legacy Virus while Shang-Chi, of all people, teams up with the X-Men to stop him. Taken as a whole, the story doesn’t hold up to any scrutiny, which might be a result of another writer, Ben Raab, scripting over Lobdell’s plots. The title is then taken over by “Zero Tolerance,” which has this team of X-Men quickly taken captive by Bastion. Their thread is picked up in Wolverine, while this series moves the focus to Iceman and the formerly “closeted” mutant Cecilia Reyes. Reyes is a solid idea for a character, a normal person who wants no part of mutant conflicts and just wants to help people as a doctor. Her initial characterization makes her too whiney, but the basic idea is sound. Marrow joins their fight against Bastion’s Prime Sentinels, setting her up for her future role as an X-Man. After an embarrassingly anti-climatic conclusion (Iceman just talks Bastion into surrendering), Lobdell is suddenly gone from this book as well. Joe Kelly takes over as writer, as Marrow and Reyes are joined by Maggott as new members of the team. Kelly’s short story arcs and outstanding character work bring a lot of life back into the title.

X-Force – John Francis Moore takes over for Jeph Loeb, while Adam Pollina remains as artist. The stories gain some depth, as Moore develops the cast and delivers some well-crafted superhero stories. The “Zero Tolerance” crossover doesn’t even derail the book, as Moore just uses it as the setup for the action scenes for a couple of issues. This title lasted on my local newsstands for a few months longer than the rest of the X-spinoffs, but it was also gone by the end of 1997.

Wolverine – Larry Hama begins his final year on the title, and he’s soon joined by young artist Lenil Francis Yu. Yu’s hyper-detailed art suits the title’s new location, as Wolverine moves out of the X-Men’s mansion and into a New York neighborhood. Hama has an enjoyable series of issues that introduce a new supporting cast, but it’s not meant to be. After a few disappointing issues of “Zero Tolerance” (which have fairly obvious signs of editorial rewriting), Hama’s removed from the book. He’s replaced for a few issues by Warren Ellis, whose run has a germ of a good idea, but is needlessly padded.

The Events: Following the assassination of anti-mutant Presidential candidate Graydon Creed, Bastion rises to power within the government. He declares the X-Men outlaws and begins detaining mutants around the globe. After his defeat, Marrow, Maggott, and Cecilia Reyes join the X-Men. Gambit is forced out of the team after his past connection to Mr. Sinister is revealed, and Bishop is lost in space with Deathbird after the X-Men are separated in a wormhole.

The “What Were They Thinking?” Award: Marrow, the unrepentant killer from just two years earlier, joins the X-Men. This apparently was an editorial edict (which is odd, since Bob Harras apparently had issues with former villain Venom having his own series), and Scott Lobdell’s solution was to pair Marrow with an X-Man she didn’t meet during her initial appearances. The original plan was for Iceman, unaware of her past, to team up with Marrow, and then present her to the rest of the team. After that, I don’t know where Lobdell was going with this, but I imagine the X-Men would be forced to take her in to protect her from Bastion, because Lobdell’s planned status quo for the book had them running from Zero Tolerance indefinitely. In the published issues, the X-Men just grudgingly take her in, no one suggests turning her over to the authorities, and whether or not she ever killed anyone is contradicted by various dialogue exchanges.

What’s the Appeal? : Most of the titles still have strong artists, and the writing in the two main titles does improve when Seagle and Kelly take over.

Were the Critics Right? : Since I’m no longer following the entire line, I can only comment on the books I’ve personally read. Lobdell’s final issues are mostly a mess, and it’s obvious that there’s a lot of second-guessing of storylines after they’ve already begun. Mark Powers is now editing the main books, and extremely stilted exposition is suddenly appearing all over the pages (I’m sure editorial script changes weren’t anything new, but the sheer clunkiness of the text is now distracting). “Zero Tolerance” actually works when it’s just used to set up a few action scenes, but as a giant crossover, it’s a bomb. Steven Seagle and Joe Kelly do bring some excitement to the main titles, though, and at this point it seems like there’s a promising new start.

The Year in Review - 1996

The industry slump finally makes its presence felt within the X-titles, even though most of the books remain in the Top 20. The slick paper quality is downgraded back to newsprint, which hurts the production values and inadvertently gives the books a “cheaper” feel. The latest crossover event, “Onslaught,” is expanded outside of the X-titles and used to justify the relaunched Marvel titles assigned to Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. It’s an outrageous stunt, not popular even within Marvel, but the reasoning is that Marvel has to do something drastic to draw attention to the non-X titles.

Uncanny X-Men – The year’s opening issues resolve the “Psylocke is near-death” plot, which has Wolverine and Archangel searching for a mystical cure. She’s healed, and develops vaguely defined “shadow teleportation” powers out of the deal. These issues on their own are kind of fun, largely thanks to Madueira’s art, but altering Psylocke yet again isn’t a good idea, and just tacks more nonsense on to a character that was already being dismissed as “too confusing”. After this arc, there are a few more one-issue stories, and then “Onslaught” begins. The specific issues of “Onslaught” in UXM are at least tolerable (the major problem with “Onslaught” is the overall execution), but the rest of the year is very weak. Archangel’s metal wings are replaced by his originals, for reasons that are never explained. Havok shows up as a villain, which ties into the X-Factor’s sheer stupidity at the time. Iceman’s dad, previously portrayed as a comically exaggerated bigot, suddenly starts speaking out for mutant rights and gets horribly beaten for it. This issue actually has its moments, but the arbitrary characterization change feels lazy. The end of the year has the team kidnapped into space, where they’ll stay for a really long time.

X-Men volume two – Scott Lobdell winds down his fill-in run, plotting X-Men #49, which tries to sell the ridiculous idea that the Dark Beast never even considered that he had a counterpart in this reality (and never saw him on television during his years as a celebrity member of the Avengers or when he was interviewed as a world-renowned scientist). The next issue is essentially an issue-long fight scene with Onslaught’s herald, Post. Andy Kubert has some great moments in the issue, and if you’re willing to forgive the fact that all of the Onslaught hints add up to nothing, it’s pretty entertaining. Then, Mark Waid tries to write the X-Men, but it only lasts a few issues. Waid’s run is too short to really judge, but he does do a credible job of building up Onslaught as a potentially good idea. If he had more of a voice in the crossover, and was involved in the stories that initially set up the mystery, I think things would’ve worked out a lot better. Scott Lobdell then returns to the title, writing a series of forgettable “downtime” issues, and then an atrocious two-parter with Storm and Candra.

X-Force – Jeph Loeb and Adam Pollina continue their run, which has them reinventing Boomer as “tough girl” Meltdown early in the year. Some of the character work isn’t bad, but the plots become increasingly erratic as the year goes on. The dangling X-Ternals subplot from early in the title’s run is “resolved” by showing that X-Ternals really can die, and just having a few lines of dialogue declare that Cannonball (who’s not even a cast member at this point) never was one in the first place. Soon, it’s time for “Onslaught.” The title really has nothing to do in the crossover, but it’s the book where the mansion is destroyed, which I guess has to happen every five years or so. After the crossover, Loeb’s final arc begins – the infamous “Origin of Shatterstar” storyline. Loeb, apparently annoyed at editorial rewrites, abandons the book as soon as it’s done. The story is such utter nonsense, the letters column has to apologize for it repeatedly.

Cable – The year opens with a crossover with X-Man, which of course involves a lot of explosions and double-page spreads. After the crossover is done, Cable spends a few issues fighting Onslaught’s flunkies, and then deals with his techno-organic virus going out of control. Loeb is able to use Cable somewhat effectively as a protagonist, but the actual stories he stars in are almost always unremarkable.

X-Factor – After X-Factor finishes the tedious Adversary storyline, Sabretooth joins the cast. Howard Mackie is joined by Jeff Matsuda as artist, which means the book that’s supposed to be heading in a new grim direction is illustrated by the cartooniest artist in comics. The team is now a “mutant militia,” secretly controlled by shadowy government forces that want to do very evil things that the story never gets around to explaining. Havok is brainwashed by the Dark Beast into becoming a villain, and even after the brainwashing wears off, decides that he just wants to be bad anyway. After this idiocy, the book tries to resolve the “Graydon Creed for President” storyline. Even after numerous issues detail Mystique’s desire to kill Creed, she suddenly shows up in this issue as his protector (her giant gun is just a “forcefield generator”). As X-Factor places her back in custody, Creed is killed by a mystery figure that the title never bothers to reveal (a separate miniseries years later finally resolves the mystery). Madrox returns from the dead, with an obvious explanation anyone could see coming. The final story arc of the year has Havok deciding to form a new Brotherhood team, apparently as his response to being manipulated by so many people over the years. He promptly recruits Dark Beast, the villain who brainwashed him just a few issues earlier, as one of the members. This is one of the titles that directly lead to the end of my X-completist days, and its sheer awfulness is still shocking to me.

Wolverine – After Marvel spends months teasing the return of Wolverine’s adamantium in issue #100, the audience receives a major fake-out. Not only does Wolverine reject the adamantium the villain Genesis tries to bond to his bones, but the process (somehow) turns him into a feral animal. In a move that still stands out as one of the dumbest things ever done to the character, Wolverine devolves into a grunting, nose-less beast. Larry Hama openly opposes the idea, but tries to make the best of it. Wolverine #102 is actually a great issue, mainly because it tells a story that really has nothing to do with Wolverine’s new state. After that, Adam Kubert departs the title and the book never really recovers. After a few months, Wolverine’s original appearance reemerges, and he returns to Japan to fight more ninjas. Hama and new artist Anthony Winn aren’t a bad pair, but the book’s momentum is hurt by the editorial meddling and months of fill-ins.

Excalibur – Warren Ellis introduces the British Hellfire Club and merges the concept with his ongoing Black Air storyline. The pieces come together in issue #100, which is a terrific issue that also sees the return of Captain Britain. It’s followed by a few quiet issues that focus on the cast’s reaction to the Onslaught affair and Peter Wisdom’s relationship with Shadowcat. Warren Ellis’ final issue has Belasco tormenting the team with alternate versions of themselves. Carlos Pacheco only pencils a few issues of this run, even though he’s the designated regular artist, but the issues he does draw are great. The closing issues of the year are fill-ins that deal with questions about Douglock that had already been answered, but guest writers John Acrudi and Keith Giffen do a surprisingly good job.

X- Men Unlimited – The first X-Men Unlimited issue of the year actually isn’t filler, shockingly enough. Mark Waid writes the story of the Dark Beast kidnapping and replacing the X-Men’s Beast. It’s executed very well, and it’s unfortunate the plot eventually goes nowhere. The next issue also has some significance, as Rogue encounters Joseph, putting the characters in place for the “Onslaught” crossover. The story has its flaws, but Steve Epting’s does a fine job on the art. Issue #12 details what happened to Juggernaut after Onslaught trapped him inside the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. John Francis Moore tells a fairly innocuous story about Juggernaut’s inability to ever change what he is. Following this issue, the title returns to quarterly inventory stories, making it an easy book for me to drop.

Generation X – After a few more bland issues, Chris Bachalo thankfully returns to the title. Scott Lobdell sidesteps the “Onslaught” storyline by having Emma Frost hide the team away for a few issues because she thinks something bad is coming. It’s a smart idea, and the resulting story is fun. Later, Skin and Chamber go on a road trip that has them running into Howard the Duck for a few issues. Meanwhile, Nightmare makes some cryptic comments to Emma Frost that never amount to anything. The remaining issues of the year are small, character-driven stories. They’re not terrible, but the pacing of this book is so leisurely it feels as if barely anything ever happens.

X-Man – John Ostrander and Steve Skroce start the year as the title’s creative team, and by the end of the year we have Terry Kavanagh and Roger Cruz. Despite the change, the book essentially remains the same; X-Man wanders aimlessly, runs into a character within the X-canon, irrationally starts a fight, his powers explode, the end. Kavanagh moves the character to New York City with Threnody, which does at least move the book away from the formula for a few issues, but the quality is essentially the same.

Limited Series and One-Shots – This begins an era of an endless series of one-shots and miniseries. Between 1996 and 1997, we’re given Domino, Beast, Colossus, Imperial Guard, XSE, Gambit vol. 2, Magneto and more. I avoided most of these, but I have read Peter Milligan and Leonardo Manco’s Archangel one-shot, and the Peter Milligan/John Paul Leon Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix mini. Archangel reminds me of one of the better Classic X-Men back-ups, and Cyclops and Phoenix is executed very well, despite some annoying retcons. The “Heroes Reborn” deal with Jim Lee allows Marvel to publish a Team X/Team 7 crossover one-shot by Larry Hama and Steve Epting. It’s a decent action story with impressive art . There’s also the Road to Onslaught one-shot, which presents a much more credible plan for the crossover that unfortunately wasn’t followed in any of the actual comics. Onslaught: X-Men and Onslaught: Marvel Universe do the dirty work of revealing Xavier as Onslaught and "killing" most of the non-mutant heroes. Adam Kubert's art is a selling point, but there's only so much Mark Waid can do with the forced "event."

The Events: Professor Xavier (partially under the influence of Magneto’s consciousness) snaps and becomes Onslaught. We see the full message from Jean Grey that Bishop saw in the future, revealing Xavier/Onslaught as the X-traitor. After the non-mutant heroes sacrifice themselves to stop him, a powerless Xavier voluntarily places himself in custody. Wolverine regresses into an animal-like form. Sabretooth is forced to join X-Factor. Madrox returns. Joseph moves in with the X-Men. Archangel’s metal wings are replaced by his original feather wings.

The “What Were They Thinking?” Award: I honestly can’t narrow it down to just one event. Should I choose the revelation that the Dark Beast never realized in twenty years that he had a counterpart in this reality (who just happened to be a celebrity)? Psylocke receiving new, vaguely defined powers? The dozens of hints leading up to Onslaught’s debut that don’t add up? Archangel’s wings changing form with absolutely no explanation? Revealing that the waitress Bishop recognized years earlier was actually Fatale, a shapeshifter who hadn’t been created at that point? Shatterstar’s muddled origin that expects us to believe that he’s been a comatose boy in a mental institution during all of his appearances? Havok suddenly deciding he wants to be a villain? Graydon Creed’s death scene, which has him turning into a pile of ashes? Wolverine turning into a dog? If I had to pick, I'd say Wolverine's transformation into a dog.

What’s the Appeal? : It’s hard to say at this point. I can look at the previous years and understand why the books remained so popular and why I was personally willing to stay a completist. But this is just ridiculous. The big Marvel event of the year comes from the X-books, so I guess there is the sense that important things are going on. Most of the artists are at least competent, although there does seem to be a rash of ugly fill-ins in quite a few of the titles. By now, I think the books are really just running on the momentum from the previous years.

Were the Critics Right? : I didn’t realize 1996 contained so many horrible ideas until I did a review of the entire line. Bad idea is followed by bad idea, titles languish without direction for months at a time, and long-running mysteries are just ignored, or resolved in ways that can’t be reconciled with the original stories. I remember Glenn Greenberg commenting somewhere that another Marvel employee (it might have even been Bob Harras) felt that the Superman titles never recovered after the death and resurrection of Superman storylines because they had nowhere else to go. Looking back, it seems as if the “Age of Apocalypse” storyline might’ve been the equivalent for the X-books.

“Age of Apocalypse” is the ultimate “What If?” because the creators have so many issues to explore the idea, it’s darker than any dystopian future we’ve ever seen, and it tops all of the previous “X-Men as underdogs” stories (if not in story quality, at least in establishing the opposition). After you’ve remade your entire line of titles for four months and sold this new reality, where do you go from there? I guess unveiling a new cosmic-level menace, and then making him Professor Xavier, can get people talking, but Marvel was in such a chaotic state behind-the-scenes (due to the bankruptcy) at the time, no one seemed equipped to pull the idea off. The final result is just a mess, and after the big storyline is through, most of the titles don’t seem to know how to go back to normal.