SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #22 - November 1998

Poisoned Souls

Credits:  Mark Bernardo (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (penciler), Joe Pimentel (inks), John Kalisz (colors), Jack Morelli (letters)

The Plot:  Scorpion reemerges as a sanctioned vigilante, working as an employee of Roxxon Oil and an unnamed government agency.  Roxxon stages events that cast Scorpion as a hero and ingratiate him to the media.  Later, Peter and MJ attend a lecture held by Jonah Jameson’s wife Marla at ESU, only to find it a target of Scorpion and the Black Tarantula’s hired thugs.  Jonah and Marla are kidnapped. Later, NYPD detective Connor Trevane is able to help Spider-Man board a plane that follows them to South America.  Spider-Man soon discovers Roxxon is working in concert with the Black Tarantula to create a new breed of super-soldiers.  Marla’s scientific expertise is needed to complete the project, so Scorpion threatens to kill Jonah if she doesn’t cooperate.  Spider-Man emerges and defeats Scorpion in battle.  The Black Tarantula escapes, and Marla (who was wearing a wire the entire time) contacts the proper authorities.  Connor Trevane informs Raymond Royton of the Department of Justice that he should now have enough info to indict Roxxon Oil.

The Subplots:  Peter is uncertain if he can defeat Scorpion, especially now that Scorpion has received upgraded abilities.  MJ tells Peter she has faith in him, and congratulates him when he returns home.

Web of Continuity:

• The government agency working with Roxxon is never identified.
• At the Roxxon event that announces Scorpion’s debut as a Roxxon employee, Betty Brant meets Trish Tilby, who Spider-Man describes as “one of her idols.”
• Marla Madison (not called Marla Jameson this time) is actually drawn on-model this issue, for the first time in almost two years.

*See _________ For Details:  A footnote reminds us that Spider-Man helped find Det. Connor Trevane’s son in Peter Parker, Spider-Man #44 (although the book was only known as Spider-Man back then.)  Roxxon’s former subsidiary the Brand Corporation (which dabbled in human experimentation) was shut down in Amazing Spider-Man #236.  Brand reopened without ties to Roxxon in Spider-Man: The Mutant Agenda #1.  Ben Reilly (with Power Man and Iron Fist) faced the souped-up Scorpion in Spider-Man Unlimited #13, which also featured Roxxon’s efforts to acquire Rand-Meachum.  Raymond Royton has been investigating Roxxon since Amazing Spider-Man #235.

I Love the ‘90s:  Spider-Man tells Detective Connor Trevane that he has to explain to him the meaning behind the bees in the X-Files movie.  I have no idea what this is supposed to mean…are police detectives better than the average person at deciphering vague plot points in movies?  Shouldn’t he be consulting a film critic?

Review:  It’s the final issue of Spider-Man Unlimited, even though an animated series and accompanying comic tie-in with the same name will debut in 1999.  (The less said about that fiasco the better.)  Years after that, in an effort to pump more Spider-product into the market, Spider-Man Unlimited is revived, this time as a standard format comic.  It dies after a few years and no one seems to notice.  In 1998, the original incarnation is being cancelled to make way for the relaunch of the Spider-Man line, which will allegedly feature fewer, more easily accessible titles.  The new Amazing Spider-Man #1, which is just two months away, will feature yet another story about a mysterious group granting the Scorpion upgraded powers.  Editor Ralph Macchio either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care.

There’s nothing particularly great about this issue, but I have to say that Mark Bernardo addresses my standard complaints about Roxxon stories.  Roxxon is, I can’t believe this, actually being investigated this time, by a long-forgotten minor character from the Roger Stern days.  The idea that Roxxon could just do WTF-ever it wanted and get away with anything because, "yeah, man, the corporations" was always ridiculous and I’m glad Bernardo remembered that Roger Stern was trying to address this ages ago.  That doesn’t mean their plan this issue is bulletproof, however.  There’s no clear reason given for why Roxxon feels the need to make the Scorpion a nationally famous superhero, which is a major plot point in the first half of the story before being dropped.  I guess the assumption is that they’ll make stacks of money merchandising his image, which is the standard “corporation meets superhero” plot, but it would be nice to have some clarification in the actual story.  More frustrating is the idea of an unnamed rogue government agency with an elaborate scheme to create super-soldiers operating right under the Department of Justice’s nose.  I realize that government conspiracy stories were all the rage in the ‘90s, but just throwing that idea out there with no effort to give the agency some kind of identity or motive, and letting them get away scot-free, feels half-baked.

All that said, the issue is fairly satisfying as a Spider-Man story, a problem that’s plagued Spider-Man Unlimited for much of its existence.  (Although to be fair, Bernardo’s handful of issues are usually good about presenting stories that feel unique to Spider-Man.)  This time, Peter has an emotional issue to resolve, the supporting cast not only appears but has an actual role in the story, and a classic Spider-Man foe returns and is played up as a credible threat.  In fact, the crux of Peter’s emotional angst this issue is his insecurity about facing Scorpion yet again.  You could argue this is overblown given the number of times Peter’s succeeded in the past, but I think the story is effective in selling the idea that Scorpion’s more powerful than ever now and not a guaranteed win for Spidey.  MJ’s there to give Peter a pep talk, as opposed to nagging him to death, which is a welcome sight these days.  Any Scorpion story wouldn’t be complete without Jonah, which gracefully leads to Marla’s role in the plot.  And that’s not all, because even more obscure characters start popping up!  I half-expected Deb Whitman to make a cameo before the story was over.  This feels specifically like a Spider-Man story, and not a random fill-in rescued out of the drawer and tossed on to the schedule.  I realize that sounds like a low bar to clear, but even the monthly titles seemed to have a problem accomplishing this much in 1998.

SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #19 - February 1998

Where Monsters Dwell

Credits:  Mark Bernardo (writer), Joe Bennett (penciler), Joe Pimentel (inks), John Kalisz (colors), Jack Morelli (letters)

The Plot:  Peter and MJ join Ben Urich in Miami as he covers a crime wave.  They spend time with Curt Connors and his family.  Spider-Man discovers Billy Connors is now robbing stores, but Curt refuses to discuss his family issues.  As Ben Urich investigates a new player in the Miami drug trade, Curt grows increasingly unstable.  When Spider-Man deduces that the Lizard is responsible for Miami’s new street drug, he’s knocked unconscious by Curt and taken to the Miami Reservoir, where the Lizard plans to poison the city’s water supply.  MJ and Martha Connors follow, and after Martha appeals to Curt’s humanity, the Lizard becomes Curt Connors again.

The Subplots:  Martha Connors is worried about Curt’s increasingly cynical view of humanity.  Unbeknownst to her, Curt has been using Billy as a test subject for his drug, which unleashes man’s “reptilian brain.”  The drug eventually causes Billy to collapse and he’s taken to the hospital.

Web of Continuity:  

• The Lizard has been subconsciously influencing Curt Connors’ actions since his last appearance in Spectacular Spider-Man #239.  He claims he’s responsible for Curt revealing his dual identity to the world, which was done to take suspicion away from his latest scheme.
• The Slug gives Ben info on the new street drug, which he views as unhealthy competition.

*See _________ For Details:  Curt Connors says he last saw Peter when he was “at death’s door” in Spectacular Spider-Man #237.

I Love the ‘90s:  Spider-Man tells a group of kids robbing a video game store that getting to “the last screen” on Final Fantasy IV isn’t worth a jail sentence.  Later, we have references to Andy Sipowicz, Ted Kennedy’s alcohol problem, and Peter getting paged at the hospital after Billy collapses.

Review:  A fairly ambitious story by Unlimited standards, Mark Bernardo takes the Lizard’s quaint “reptiles rule the Earth” motivation and actually does something smart with it.  The Lizard can work as the freaky monster single-mindedly determined to kill Spider-Man, but every time he starts talking about his latest scheme to destroy all humans so that reptiles can take their proper place on top of the food chain, I’ve always checked out.  Bernardo plays with the concept a bit and makes the Lizard a subconscious influence on Curt Connors this time, which enables him to develop a far more elaborate scheme.  Connors has created a variation of his original serum that exploits the human brain’s R-complex, allowing an individual to be free to give in to his darkest desires.  With enough doses, the humans will grow more reptilian, thus giving Lizard the revenge against humanity he’s always desired.  By the standards of Lizard plots, this is quite clever.  The issue does seem to be running two separate stories that never fully come together, Connors is simultaneously dosing the societal elites that attend his lectures in order to exploit their connections while also selling the serum as a street drug, but it’s not a conspicuous problem.  Bernardo spends much more time with the drug trade story, which is probably the best choice.  Had this been a multi-part storyline in one of the monthly titles, I’m sure more could’ve been done with Lizard’s army of upper-level civil servants.

The best Lizard stories are the ones that make the Connors family sympathetic, and this issue handles that material rather well.  Connors’ contemptuous view of humanity is an obvious clue that he’s being subconsciously influenced by the Lizard, but there’s more to the story than that.  Connors’ Vietnam background is explored for the first time in ages, with Vietnam simply becoming “the war” for obvious reasons.  As Martha eventually realizes, Curt is a surgeon who went to war and came back without an arm.  Robbed of his opportunity to help others, Curt buried his anger for years, until the Lizard wakened Curt’s own issues with humanity.  Revealing that Curt on some level understands the Lizard’s hatred of humanity is a risky move, but the story manages to avoid any cheap cynicism and offer Curt some redemption in the end.

I wish I could say that Joe Bennett delivers his best art this issue, but unfortunately he’s back to the inconsistent work seen in his earlier Unlimited issues.  This is still more attractive than his Amazing fill-in work, but too many pages look rushed, and it’s hard to forgive his inconsistent Spider-Man.  From one panel to the next, Spider-Man’s eyes regularly change shape and the web pattern on his costume can never stay consistent.  Bennett also gives Spider-Man this boxy, squashed anatomy in certain panels that doesn’t suit the character at all.  Some of the pages look great, but the inconsistency is very frustrating.  Had Bennett turned in an issue as strong as Unlimited #17, this would’ve been one of the better comics from the post-clone era.

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #249 - September 1997

 

Into the Light

Credits:  J. M. DeMatteis (plot), Mark Bernardo (script), Luke Ross (penciler), Dan Green (inks), John Kalisz (colors), Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  While on a date, Peter and MJ see a crazed figure running through the streets.  As Spider-Man, Peter discovers the man is John Jameson, who’s mentally regressed into his Man-Wolf persona.  He subdues John, as Ashley Kafka arrives.  She asks for Spider-Man’s help in restoring John’s true personality.

The Subplots:  Calypso finds Kraven visiting “his” grave.  She attempts to seduce him but Kraven rejects her.  Jonah Jameson is adamant about leaving the hospital.  Flash Thompson calls his sister Jessie to talk about their childhood, but she refuses.  When she accuses Flash of being drunk, he spirals out of control.  Later, he hits a tree while driving drunk.  At the Daily Bugle, Betty Brant is shocked when Norman Osborn enters.  Jonah soon arrives and confirms that Osborn now owns the Bugle.

Web of Continuity:  

• The new Kraven tells Calypso that Kraven “is dead” and to leave him in his grave.  I believe this is the first strong hint given that we’re not dealing with a resurrected Kraven.
• Marla asks Jonah how their book of Shelley poems ended up in his hospital room.  He doesn’t want to answer.
• Jessie reveals to Flash that she also followed in their father’s path before entering Alcoholics Anonymous.

Miscellaneous Note:  The cover credits are for this month’s issue of Amazing Spider-Man, not Spectacular.

Review:  I’m just going to assume there was an executive decision made to give Peter and MJ “marriage problems” during this era.  The only title of late that hasn’t featured MJ lecturing Peter or complaining about something he’s done is Sensational, which is a book that usually seems pretty divorced from the other book’s plotlines anyway.  Thankfully, this issue is plotted by J. M. DeMatteis, so even if MJ is mad at Peter yet again, the idea is used to set up a legitimate exploration of their relationship.  MJ feels that she’s taking second place to Spider-Man, Peter assures her that it isn’t true, and they then proceed to actually have a fun date.  Then, Peter spots trouble, leaving MJ alone in the rain at the movie theater.  And even though he promised to come back, he’s forced to stand her up in order to help Dr. Kafka return John Jameson back to normal.  I don’t mind “marriage problems” when treated in this way, since MJ is given a defensible viewpoint while Peter is also allowed to be sympathetic.  We also get to see the balance between the good and bad in their relationship, as they do have fun together, even if it’s short-lived before Peter’s off to play hero again.  The other titles haven’t been nearly as nuanced, with MJ becoming increasingly unlikable as the post-clone era has continued.

Getting to that Spider-Man vs. Not Quite the Man-Wolf fight, it’s obviously not a classic.  John Jameson just acting like Man-Wolf without the powers isn’t going to be much of a threat, but to Luke Ross’ credit, he does a fine job selling the action.  (Ross continues to get better every issue.  His facial expressions have certainly come a long way over the past few months.  His feral, crazed John Jameson is surprisingly disturbing, as opposed to just ridiculous.)  What I like about this issue is that it’s a great example of how numerous subplots can save an issue that doesn’t have much of an antagonist.  It actually feels like things are happening in Peter Parker’s world, as Flash descends further into alcoholism, Jonah begins to recover, Norman Osborn buys the Bugle, all while Kraven and Mad Jack lurk in the background.  So, even if you don’t care for the John Jameson story, there’s still a lot of things happening to hold your interest.  The other books are suffering from either a lack of subplots, or subplots that inspire little more than apathy.

SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #16 - May 1997

The Wages of Conquest

Credits:  Mark Bernardo (writer), Joe Bennett (penciler), Joe Pimentel & Tim Dzon (inks), Christie Schelle (colors), Jack Morelli (letters)

The Plot:  After discovering Roxxon Oil’s ties to Dreadknight, the latest ruler of Latveria, Betty Brant is kept captive.  The Latverian government announces that Americans are prohibited from entering the country, leaving Spider-Man with no immediate way to rescue Betty.  Soon, he’s contacted by Silver Sable, who asks Spider-Man to aid the Wild Pack in overthrowing Dreadknight.  He joins the mission, but disobeys orders and leaves on his own to rescue Betty.  While escaping, he encounters Dreadknight and defeats him.  On their way home, Silver Sable informs Spider-Man he won’t be paid because he defied orders.  Later, Roxxon publicly disavows Linden Laswell, the “former” Roxxon employee that helped Dreadknight’s coup in return for Latverian drilling rights.

The Subplots:  None.

Web of Continuity:  

• I believe this is the first (and perhaps only) appearance of the Byline, a pub downstairs from the Daily Bugle’s offices.  Jonah Jameson has been drinking there since the Bugle’s layoffs began.
• Dr. Doom is still missing following the events of Onslaught: Marvel Universe, leaving a power vacuum in Latveria.
• Wild Pack member Battlestar is incorrectly colored Caucasian during his brief appearance.
• Silver Sable is being hired by the gypsy tribe that Dr. Doom once belonged to.  The story claims the tribe has “pooled their resources” in order to pay Sable’s fee.

I Love the ‘90s:  When Spider-Man discovers the high-tech weapons being smuggled into Latveria, he comments that it would make “Saddam Hussein drool.”  Later, Jonah Jameson tells Peter Parker to get Dr. Kervorkian to finance his trip to Latveria.  

Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  During Linden Laswell’s fight scene with Silver Sable, he remarks that she’s on her knees, “just where I like my women!”

Review:  At the end of the story, Peter points out how annoying it is that Roxxon has gotten away with illegal behavior once again, just a few weeks after the incident in the Savage Land.  Yes, it is annoying, but it’s annoying because so many writers go for that trite ending that has the all-purpose evil corporation magically able to get away with anything.  Just declaring someone "fired" alleviates you of any investigation; that's how it works. And of course Betty doesn’t have any “concrete” evidence to tie Roxxon to any wrongdoing.  How could we not see that coming?  Ignoring the ending, we’re left with a fairly average Unlimited story.  Dreadknight is an unexpected choice for villain, and Bernardo integrates his past with Dr. Doom into the story well, so there is at least a welcome break from the standard Spider-Man rogues gallery.  And if you like Silver Sable and the Wild Pack, Bernardo seems to care enough to get their names right.  There’s also a nice scene between Peter and a dejected Jonah Jameson, who hasn’t seemed to have much of an opinion either way about Betty being a reporter up until this issue.  Mark Bernardo tends to be one of the better writer/editors of this era, so I'm not opposed to more Unlimited stories by him in the future. So, it’s not all bad, but Joe Bennett’s art is stuck in Generic ‘90s Mode this month, and like most Unlimited issues, you get the sense that you’re reading a double-sized inventory issue.

X-MAN #48 & #49, February-March 1999

The Blood of the Righteous

Credits: Mark Bernardo (writer), Luke Ross (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Mark Bernardo returns for another fill-in, and he’s brought along one more obscure villain from the ‘80s. This time it’s the Crusader, a villain who’s only claim to fame is offending Pat Robertson, who happened to come across his debut in Thor. While the art is an improvement over Luke Ross’ ‘90s Spider-Man work, the story is a great disappointment when compared to Bernardo’s previous fill-in. The Crusader wants to kill the famous faith healer X-Man, X-Man meets a suicidal aspiring singer, and of course the two threads meet at the end. After X-Man saves her life during the battle, the singer’s inspired not to kill herself (< cheap shot > reading all of these X-Man comics has the opposite effect on me < /cheap shot >). The Crusader realizes the error of his ways and returns to his monastery after X-Man’s telekinetic hand wave destroys his mystic armor. The end. Twenty-three pages filled.

Skyfall

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Luke Ross (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft (letters)

It looks like Kavanagh has an issue to waste before next month’s Generation X crossover, so we’re treated to another flagrant time-killing one-off. X-Man discovers an alien craft crashing onto Earth, and wouldn’t you know it, the alien that emerges is a beautiful female he instantly falls in love with. Her name is Sylph, which in a massive coincidence is also an English word that means “slight and graceful female” or “an elemental soulless female being imagined to inhabit the air.” He protects her from her fellow aliens, which don ant-shaped bionic armor while hunting her for some reason.

After a brief fight scene, X-Man discovers that Sylph is a wanted criminal in her world. Specifically, she’s a doctor who killed thousands of her patients while experimenting on them. Her defense is that she was trying to stop a plague and her patients were dying anyway. X-Man claims that he doesn’t care about her rationalizations and won’t stand in the way of justice. Yet, in the very next panel, he declares that he won’t abandon her either. I have no idea what’s supposed to be happening in the next scene, but apparently he’s…going with her to join her punishment in the slave camps? Wha…? Luckily for all of us, his first glimpse of the camps shocks him so much he inadvertently lets go of Sylph’s hand, which causes him to instantly teleport back to Earth. (All of those events occur off-panel, by the way. X-Man has to explain what happened during his one-panel disappearance in a lengthy monologue.)

So, what did we learn today? The only woman X-Man finds more attractive than his mother is a genocidal maniac, and Terry Kavanagh is becoming progressively unglued. Seriously, was anyone at Marvel paying attention to this book by 1999? How on Earth did this thing get published?

X-MAN ‘97 - February 1998

Common Ground

Credits: Christopher Golden (writer), Ramon Bernardo (artist), Comicraft (letters), Tom Vincent (colors)

Summary: Shi’ar agents arrive on Earth, hoping to stop a drain on the M’Kraan Crystal. They locate Dark Beast, Holocaust, and X-Man. Using their powers against them, they abduct the mutants and hold them prisoner on their spacecraft. Onboard, the mutants learn that their fellow refugee from another reality, Sugar Man, has already made a deal with the Shi’ar. Forming a temporary truce, X-Man is able to escape with Holocaust and Dark Beast. Realizing that the Shi’ar want the shard of the M’Kraan Crystal inside Holocaust, X-Man telekinetically removes and destroys it. Dark Beast and Holocaust teleport back to Earth, as X-Man uses his powers to repair the damage to the spacecraft. The Shi’ar send X-Man and Sugar Man back to their homes, content that the duplicate M’Kraan shard has been destroyed.

Continuity Notes: Holocaust was stabbed with a shard of the M’Kraan Crystal in X-Men Omega. Following its removal in this issue, he suddenly switches back to his human form (which is a blonde white guy). Dark Beast explains that his armor allows him to change shape, but the M’Kraan Crystal was interfering with its functions. X-Man reminds us that Holocaust is invisible to psionics since working with Onslaught. Dark Beast is also invisible to his scans at the end of the issue, but X-Man doesn’t know why.

Holocaust is called “Nemesis” for much of this issue. Dark Beast explains that it’s the birth name given to him by Apocalypse, and that he should use it because he’s going to be a “nemesis for mankind.” So, Apocalypse gave his son “Nemesis” as his Christian name and then code-named him Holocaust, which is one of the dumbest retcons I’ve ever read (made worse by the issue’s insistence on constantly reminding us that he has two names). The behind-the-scenes reason for the name switch is that the character apparently had to be renamed when his action figure was released, because “Holocaust” was a bit too intense for Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R Us.

I Love the ‘90s: X-Man asks the Shi’ar why they’re wearing “Arnold’s freeze armor.”

Review: It’s hard to believe X-Man was still getting annuals in 1997, but here we are. Actually, the determination of which titles did and did not receive annuals during these days is kind of confusing. Looking at the Top 100 list from an issue of Wizard from around this era has Generation X at #20, X-Force at #24, X-Factor at #25, X-Man at #27, Cable at #30, and Excalibur rounding out the X-titles at #45. Looking around, it seems like X-Force didn’t have an annual after 1996 (although I seem to recall one popping up in 1999), Cable never had one, and X-Factor and Excalibur dropped the annuals after 1994. X-Man is still charting fairly high at this point (surprisingly above Cable), so that could justify an annual. I'm only now learning that X-Men vol. two had an annual in 1997; I'd never seen a reference to it anywhere before researching this post.

The previous annual focused on X-Man’s connection with his fellow Age of Apocalypse refugees, which is also the starting place for this story. The basic premise isn’t bad, as it uses the character in a far more logical and coherent way than his regular series has at this point. The story even opens with X-Man actually doing something proactive -- he’s scanning for Dark Beast, the horrible villain who keeps sending minions after X-Man while he does nothing in retaliation. Connecting the M’Kraan Crystal, the AoA characters’ ticket to this world, and the Shi’ar is another practical use of continuity. However, the story quickly descends into pointless fight scenes, bogged down by excessive word balloons and captions. Joe Kelly could over-write a page in his early days, but at least his writing had a viewpoint and personality. Golden’s scripting is extremely mannered and often redundant. It’s hard to care about X-Man as a protagonist when he spits out this kind of dialogue with a straight face: “Could I have survived the destruction of my own reality just so there would be someone with the power and knowledge to save this one from the same horrors?” Is that his awkward way of telling us that he’s trying to prevent our Earth from becoming the AoA? If that’s the case, why does this guy waste so much time wandering aimlessly and getting into pointless fights?

X-MEN ’95 – October 1995

A Sinister Heart

Credits: J. M. DeMatteis & Ralph Macchio (writers), Terry Dodson & John Paul Leon (pencilers), Jon Holdredge & Shawn Martinborough (inkers), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Mike Thomas (colors)

Summary

An elderly woman named Faye Livingstone is kidnapped from her nursing home. When Mr. Sinister, disguised as Nathaniel Essex, arrives for his annual visit, he finds Genesis in Faye’s room. When Sinister threatens him, Genesis unveils Faye, who has been genetically manipulated to look sixty years younger. Meanwhile, Phoenix and Beast are vacationing at his cabin in the Catskills. His home is suddenly invaded by the Dark Riders, who grab Phoenix and teleport away. Beast takes the Blackbird and chases the psychic trail Phoenix left for him to follow. Phoenix awakens inside a decaying Hollywood mansion and watches Genesis confront Sinister. Genesis claims that he’s going to do what his idol, Apocalypse, never could do and destroy Sinister by breaking him one piece at a time. Sinister examines Faye, who is dreaming of the past. She remembers meeting Nathaniel Essex at a Hollywood party in the 1930s. She thought they were in love, but soon discovered that Essex was using her mutant genetic material for his experiments. After he finished using her, Essex finally opened the door of his mansion and allowed her to leave. Genesis wants to use Phoenix’s psychic powers to create a mind-link between Faye and Sinister, which will prove that he actually did love her. Beast breaks through Sinister’s defenses and convinces Phoenix to go along with Genesis’ plan. Using Phoenix’s power, Sinister and Faye have a final dance inside their minds. Faye tells Sinister that she knows that he truly did love her and has been looking for a way to make amends. In reality, the genetic manipulation wears off, as Faye succumbs to cancer. Sinister coldly tells Beast to take the woman’s corpse and go away. Genesis is impressed that Sinister never broke his icy façade and decides to leave. Beast looks into Sinister’s eyes, and knows that he is hiding his grief.

Continuity Note

This is the first story to actually show Mr. Sinister as Nathaniel Essex in the past. He still hasn’t been given a full origin yet, but we now know that he once worked for Apocalypse and was active at least by the 1930s.

Review

This is better than your typical annual story. It doesn’t advance any of the ongoing storylines and isn’t written by the series’ regular writer, but it does reveal information about one of the many mystery characters from the era while also telling an entertaining story. The plot also gives Genesis his first interesting scheme ever, as he plans on exposing Sinister’s emotional weakness, rather than simply attacking him physically. Going back to the occasional episode of G. I. Joe that would show a member of Cobra in a sympathetic light, I’ve had a soft spot for stories that try to humanize villains since I was a small kid. The way the story is constructed, never allowing Sinister to admit to his true feelings to himself but making them obvious to the audience, is clever. As if the idea of Sinister keeping this woman captive and experimenting on her wasn’t dark enough, the story also infers that he might’ve sexually assaulted her in his attempts to create the perfect genetic offspring. The writers thankfully keep this element extremely vague, so we still get a sense of how heartless Sinister can be without totally undermining the story’s ending. The idea that Beast can look into Sinister’s eyes and sense his loss is a little much (especially when you consider that he has no pupils), but the scripting of the scene pulls the idea off. Beast’s theory that Sinister is mourning not just Faye’s death, but the idea that he’s gone too far and can never turn back is also handled well.

The art alternates between Terry Dodson and John Paul Leon, two skilled artists who couldn’t be more different. Leon is used mainly for Faye’s flashback scenes, so even if the change in art styles is jarring, at least another narrative is being told. However, he does end up drawing a few pages set in the present, which makes his dark, scratchy style even more out of place with Dodson’s clean look. Thankfully, this is only for a few pages, so it’s not as distracting as it would’ve been if the artists had just been assigned random pages.

Words

Credits: Scott Lobdell w/Matt Idelson (writers), Ramon Bernardo (penciler), P. Craig Russell (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Mike Rockwitz (colors)

Summary

Brian Braddock reads a letter from his sister, Psylocke. She describes her growing feelings for Archangel and her suspicion that she’s falling in love with him. She writes about their trip to the Westchester County Fair, where they discussed their relationship and the forces that drove them together. Psylocke tells Archangel that his willingness to help her through her identity issues made her realize how much he truly cared about her.

Review

I distinctly remember hating this backup story, mainly for the artwork. I’m not quite sure now why I hated the art so much, since most of it looks fine, even though some of the faces are a little ugly and Archangel and Brian Braddock look too much alike. I guess this has nothing to do with Bernardo’s actual drawing ability, but he also gives Archangel a hideous hairstyle that looks like the mullet Adam Curry sported in the late ‘80s. It’s strange that Marvel was still so hung up on giving their male characters perfectly styled long hair at this point, since that look had been out of fashion for years. This is a sixteen page backup story designed to sell the Archangel/Psylocke romance, which is probably something that should’ve already been done in the main book by this point. Their relationship always seemed forced to me, mainly because Archangel went from hanging around Psylocke for two issues to suddenly having some deep spiritual bond with her. I think this story is meant to address that problem, since it has the characters themselves question why they fell for each other so quickly. The story actually does a fair job of justifying the relationship, by casting them as two lonely individuals who tried to lessen their own pain by reaching out to each other. Psylocke decides that if you find something good in life, you should just go with it, so now they’re deep into a relationship. There’s certainly an element of cheese there, but it’s a reasonable enough justification that at least tries to make the relationship stay true to the characters. It goes on way too long, though, and some of the dialogue is rather schmaltzy.