X-MAN #47 - January 1999

Blood Brothers Part Three - Dreams End

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), J. H. Williams III (penciler), Mick Gray (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Madelyne joins Stryfe’s side, prompting Cable to grab X-Man and escape the pyramid. X-Man impulsively rushes back into Stryfe’s headquarters, forcing Madelyne to blow her cover and defend him. Stryfe responds by siphoning Madelyne’s psychic energy, nearly killing her, until Cable arrives and telekinetically holds her body together. Ness finally makes his way to the pyramid and urges X-Man not to live out the apocalyptic vision they shared. Rather than continue his dangerous telekinetic fight with Stryfe, X-Man attaches the power-siphon to Stryfe and leaves it on a feedback loop until it explodes. With the world saved, Cable and X-Man begin to grow closer.

Continuity Notes: X-Man’s telepathy is gone, although the previous issue strongly hinted that it returned after his encounter with Psynapse. He does receive one new power this issue, as he can now use telekinesis to shift his molecules and phase like Shadowcat. Also, a narrative caption describes Ness as a “recent exile of the long-hidden race known as Hellbent, last of the Night-Tribes, according to legend unspoken -- reduced to a single, secret Nest now -- people of the shadows, one and all.” Doesn’t that clear everything up?

I Love the ‘90s: X-Man’s costume now consists of the long, baggy shorts you might remember from the days of Korn and Limp Bizkit.

Review: So “Blood Brothers” ends, not with a horrific, population-clearing bang, but with a tiny whimper. Just as I’m unconvinced that the Techno-Gnomes were always a part of this storyline, I doubt the vision of X-Man killing half the planet from issue #39 was originally meant to play a role in the crossover. The details just don’t fit, down to the armor worn by X-Man’s opponent (it vaguely resembles Stryfe’s outfit, but is far from a match), to the design of the pyramid, to the clothes Ness wore in the vision. Plus, X-Man had long hair in the vision, which he only grew right before this arc began. The story has to stretch to make the connections work, such as X-Man’s realization that Cable’s arm resembles the armor worn by the man in his vision (not quite, it appears that he had metal arms underneath the gold and purple armor), and then dismisses all of the elements that don’t fit. There’s certainly no talk of reviving “the sleeper” a.k.a. “the world ender” a.k.a. character-probably-meant-to-be-Apocalypse, which is what the fight in #39 is all about. It reads as if Kavanagh had one of those epic-yet-vague plans for a future storyline, but later decided to cram them into an editorially mandated Cable crossover in order to give the story some significance. The vision material never worked anyway, because no one could possibly believe the comic’s ever going to have X-Man destroy half of the planet. Marvel can’t even keep Morlocks in the ground.

The strength of this storyline came from the pairing of the characters, which is where the final chapter falls short. Jean Grey and the Dark Riders have disappeared in-between chapters, Stryfe is a ranting loon like always, only now less entertaining, Madelyne makes an unconvincing turn to the dark side again, and Cable and X-Man spend most of the issue in a fight scene. This started as a promising examination of the Summers bloodline and all of the insanity it’s attracted, but ends with a bland fight scene. And, how exactly is Stryfe alive again…?

CABLE #63 - January 1999

Blood Brothers Part Two - Illusion of Doom

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Stephen Platt w/Andy Smith (pencilers), Matt Banning w/Rodney Ramos (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Cable returns to the diner and reveals to Stacey that he’s a mutant. They talk, and Stacey promises Cable that she can handle his life. Cable returns home to rest and is greeted by Blaquesmith, who sends him on a mission to Latveria to stop Stryfe. Cable arrives, saving Madelyne from a mob and fighting Doombots until he meets Stryfe. Cable tries to rescue X-Man, but is soon defeated by Stryfe. Meanwhile, Irene is hired by the Daily Bugle and Ness meets with Blaquesmith in Tramahoi.

Continuity Notes: X-Man was nude when last seen as Stryfe’s prisoner. Now, he’s wearing the traditional superhero outfit (the one with a giant “X” on his chest) that he’ll later adopt in his regular series.

Review: This advances the plot of “Blood Brothers” by a mere four pages or so, but it does work as a continuation of Casey’s ongoing storylines. Following his near-death at the hands of SHIELD, Cable’s reevaluated his life and decided not to keep secrets from the people he cares about, which now includes Stacey. Casey still isn’t moving them into a romance, but he is building up their friendship in a believable way. Giving Cable a normal person to interact with is a reasonable idea, and using the events of the previous arc as the impetus for Cable to open up to her makes sense.

The story then moves into crossover territory, as Casey addresses what exactly Cable was doing before he abruptly dropped into the previous issue of X-Man. Casey pays some lip service towards Cable’s feelings about Stryfe’s resurrection, and his strained relationship with his mother Madelyne, but doesn’t get a lot of material out of the scenario. This is mostly about the fighting, and getting Cable in place for the final chapter of the story. It’s not as interesting as the first half of the issue, and it goes without saying that Stephen Platt isn’t anywhere near J. H. Williams’ level, making this an odd-looking crossover.

X-MAN #46 - Late December 1998

Blood Brothers Part One - Stormfront

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), J. H. Williams III (penciler), Mick Gray (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: The pyramid that’s crashed into Latveria opens up, revealing Stryfe and the Dark Riders. X-Man discerns that Jean Grey is also a target, so he convinces Madelyne to teleport to America and protect her. As X-Man battles the Dark Riders, his full telepathic awareness is awakened by Psynapse. His mind touches Stryfe’s and he senses their connection. Stryfe captures X-Man and attempts to use one of Dr. Doom’s inventions to drain his power. Meanwhile, Madelyne rescues Jean Grey from the remaining Dark Riders, then teleports back to Latveria. She’s targeted by a mob, but rescued by Cable, who’s responded to Blaquesmith’s call. Elsewhere, Ness arrives in Tramahoi.

Continuity Notes: There’s no explanation yet for Stryfe’s return, but apparently being in Hell enabled him to avoid losing his telepathic powers. How exactly Psynapse retained his is unclear. The pyramid Stryfe arrives in is allegedly the same one X-Man saw in his apocalyptic vision.

Review: J. H. Williams III drew X-Man? That’s certainly a step up from the past few issues. Although this doesn’t look as good as Williams’ current work, or even his ’95 Wolverine annual, it’s still a nice job. His Stryfe looks particularly great. And why exactly is Stryfe in this comic? Since he’s genetically the same person as X-Man, it makes sense for the two to meet, but it would be nice to have some explanation for his resurrection. I seem to recall people ridiculing the dismissive justification for his return when this arc was published, so I’m not looking forward to the details. The idea that he would attack while Earth’s telepaths are at their weakest makes sense, though, and it manages to get some mileage out of “Psi-War.” I also confess to some fondness for the original Dark Riders, so I don’t mind seeing them again. I also received some nostalgic enjoyment from Madelyne Pryor’s solo mission, which had her recounting all of the reasons she hates Cyclops and Jean, yet still doing the right thing. The prelude issue for this crossover was weak, but the first official chapter definitely has its moments. Ignoring Stryfe’s abrupt resurrection, there’s a lot to like about the premise of this storyline, assuming you’re not afraid of certain areas of X-continuity. I just wonder why a story involving Cable, X-Man, Stryfe, Jean Grey, and Madelyne Pryor was so thoroughly ignored by the main X-titles.

X-MAN#45 - December 1998

Crossing Borders

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

Summary: X-Man has another vision that shows him accidentally destroying the Earth. He awakens to discover a Techno-Gnome inserting the dream into his mind. After destroying the gnome, Madelyne teleports him to the location he sensed in his dream, the island of Tramahoi in the Philippines. After facing more Techno-Gnomes, X-Man discovers their creator, Blaquesmith. Blaquesmith tells X-Man and Madelyne that “he” has returned. They’re transported to Latveria, where they witness a pyramid falling out of the sky. Meanwhile, Slaine examines the remains of a Techno-Gnome for Ness. Suddenly, they’re attacked by Manx and the Shadow-Sisters. Following Slaine’s dying request, Ness doesn’t pursue the fight, but instead travels to Tramahoi.

Continuity Notes: Ness and Slaine are apparently members of a group called the Hellbent. Manx and the Shadow-Sisters consider them traitors, but no more information is given on their rivalry.

Production Note: Alan Davis receives a “special thanks” credit. He apparently drew the final page of the story, unless Mark Pajarillo radically changed his art style for the sake of one page.

Review: This is the prelude to “Blood Brothers,” a crossover between X-Man and Cable that consumes three issues of X-Man and only one issue of Cable. I can’t imagine anyone really wanted to participate in this, but Marvel still felt the need to connect Cable and X-Man periodically during this era, so this is what we’re stuck with. I doubt Kavanagh always intended Blaquesmith to be the mastermind behind the Techno-Gnomes when they were introduced several issues ago, but given the vague nature of the storyline so far, it’s impossible to tell where any of this was originally going. We’re now supposed to believe that Blaquesmith used the robots to “test” X-Man in preparation for this fight, and that no one was really in danger so long as Blaquesmith controlled the gnomes, which is a copout if nothing else. Given Blaquesmith’s previous appearances, this doesn’t sound like something he would do; but then again, Blaquesmith is still something of a cipher, so I guess it’s possible.

What’s really frustrating about the issue is the introduction of yet another shadowy mutant (?) group. We still have no idea who (Wit)Ness is, his new friend from last issue, Slaine, hasn’t been fleshed out, and now we’re exposed to Manx and the Shadow-Sisters -- a werewolf and two robed bald girls. Maybe they’re also “the Hellbent,” maybe they represent another organization, maybe Ness burned them on a coke deal…who knows, who cares. The amount of random crap Kavanagh throws against the wall in each issue of this book is staggering. I just can’t wait until the secret origin of the Gauntlet is revealed…and the doctor with X-Man’s powers returns…and the Hellfire Club makes its move…and Threnody makes her epic comeback…