ASTONISHING X-MEN #3 - November 1999

In the Shadow of Death!

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Brandon Peterson (breakdowns), Tim Townsend & Dan Panosian (finishes), Liquid! (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Death forces the Blackbird to crash, but Phoenix manages to save the crew. The team regroups to fight Death, who kills Wolverine in the battle. Darco emerges from his cocoon with massive telepathic powers. Death retreats, teleporting away. The Mannites also teleport away to face their upcoming mutations.

Continuity Notes: Death is unable to kill Phoenix, which is a big hint that he’s Wolverine in disguise.

Review: Not surprisingly, Astonishing X-Men’s ending is just as disappointing as its beginning and middle. For the first time in the miniseries, Mackie acknowledges most of the cast’s connection to Apocalypse (Cable raised in a future ruled by him, X-Man raised in an alternate reality ruled by him, Cyclops and Phoenix lost their son to him, Archangel was horribly mutated and tortured by him, and Wolverine…well, there's nothing for Mackie to acknowledge here, but Wolverine did receive his adamantium from Apocalypse, if you believe Barry Windsor-Smith), and then does absolutely nothing with the concept. It’s treated as just more text to fill up a few more pages. With all the goodwill in the world, it’s hard to argue this miniseries ever had a point, but at least the hook of using X-characters with connections to Apocalypse could’ve been exploited. Oh, and maybe the alleged death of Wolverine might have just an ounce of honest emotion in it. Instead, this is just a dumb fight scene, followed by a lazy resolution that centers on the increasingly annoying Mannites as the saviors of the day. It’s not hard to remember why people hated this so much. (Paul O’Brien’s old review of this issue has been mentioned in the comments here in the past. It’s worth reading.)

ASTONISHING X-MEN #2 - October 1999

The Trouble with Mannites

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Brandon Peterson w/Brett Booth (pencilers), Tim Townsend w/Dan Panosian (inkers), Liquid!/Buccellato/Kubina (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Nina senses that Darco of the Mannites is undergoing “the changing” and needs help. Phoenix, Wolverine, and X-Man travel with Nina to the abandoned carnival where the Mannites are hiding. Cyclops, Archangel, and Cable stay behind to face Death if he reappears. Death does return, and battles them only long enough to intercept a telepathic message sent by Phoenix. Death teleports away to finish his mission. The team flies to Phoenix’s location, unaware Death’s snuck on top of the Blackbird.

Continuity Notes: “The changing” is some sort of violent metamorphosis that the Mannites must go through. Darco’s leaves him in a mysterious cocoon.

Review: More fun with Mannites. Yay. If the first issue didn’t make it obvious, this miniseries is largely time-killer. The big event is of course saved for the last issue, leaving the reader with endless scenes of filler starring the Mannites and an incompetent group of X-Men trying to fight Death. To further insult the idea that this series was meant to be “important” in any way, half of the pages are handled by Brett Booth, who isn’t a match for Brandon Peterson even when he’s slumming. It was impossible at the time to find anyone willing to defend this series, and I can’t imagine a second reading would make anyone more favorable towards it. This is a shameless cash grab, only meant for the most hardcore of completists or the most susceptible to Marvel’s marketing tactics.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 - September 1999

Call to Arms

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Tim Townsend and Dan Panosian (inkers), Liquid! (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Following the dissolution of the X-Men, only Cyclops, Phoenix, and Wolverine remain. When Nina of the Mannites sends a distress call, Phoenix calls upon Cable, X-Man, and Archangel for help. They travel to Bastion’s former headquarters in New Mexico, only to discover that all of the government agents stationed there are dead. Inside the complex, the team finds the Mannites, along with the dismembered head of Bastion. When a mystery figure wrecks havoc through the facility, Nina teleports the Mannites away and then leaves with the team. Eventually, Death emerges from the rubble, holding Bastion’s head.

Continuity Notes:

· Cyclops questions how Bastion is still alive, following the events of the Machine Man/Bastion annual.

· The Mannites have returned to Bastion’s former base because they couldn’t deal with the outside world. No mention is made of Renee Majcomb, who was last seen caring for them. As for the Mannites that go missing in the final pages of the story, Nina claims: “They didn’t want to be here, Jean. They had to go…somewhere else.”

Review: Astonishing X-Men was hyped months in advance as a mystery project that would have massive repercussions for the entire X-line. Long before its release, Marvel ran a series of house ads, teasing all of the potential members of the all-new X-team. Polaris? Sunfire? Forge? Longshot? Sabretooth? Blink?! What did it all mean? All the audience knew was that Brandon Peterson was assigned as the artist, and Magneto Rex aside, this indicated at the time that Marvel was pretty serious about the project. Then Howard Mackie was announced as the writer. And then the readers saw that the team consisted mostly of current members of the X-Men, or other mutants with their own books. Plus, the story centered on the Mannites. And the collective response seemed to be “Forget it!” (or any vulgar variation of that phrase you can think of.)

So, yes, Astonishing X-Men turned out to be largely filler, designed to run simultaneously with the “Shattering” crossover. There is a “major” event during the miniseries, one that could’ve easily run in the regular titles, and it was hardly a great surprise by the time the story was actually published.

The first issue of the book sets up the premise, as clumsily and blandly as you might expect a Howard Mackie story to do the job, reintroducing us to Bastion and Mannites. Bastion’s back to life without explanation, and the Mannites have apparently returned to the facility that created them with barely a reference to their ongoing subplot in Uncanny X-Men and X-Men. Apocalypse’s Horseman Death seemingly wants them dead, and somehow they’re able to hide from him during the numerous hours it takes the “new” X-Men team to assemble from across the globe and arrive. Conveniently, he returns right after the team lands, and this time manages to destroy the entire facility. That’s not much of a plot, but it could’ve been salvaged if Mackie could somehow create an entertaining dynamic for the team. Instead, they’re generic heroes just going through the motions, waiting for the shocking event that’s allegedly going to justify this miniseries. Even if Brandon Peterson was at the top of his game (and, judging by that cover, he clearly isn’t), he couldn’t do enough to save this.

MAGNETO REX #3 - July 1999

Once We Were Kings

Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Batt (inker), Richard Isanove & Monica Kubina (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Magneto defeats Zealot by wrapping him in metal and shooting him into space. Amelia Voght takes Quicksilver to the Mutate camp for Legacy Virus victims, convincing him to stay and attempt to influence Magneto’s actions. Magneto formally takes control of Genosha, expelling most of the remaining humans. The Avengers are stunned to see news reports naming Quicksilver as a member of Magneto’s cabinet. Finally, Magneto thanks Amelia in private for pushing Quicksilver into staying.

Continuity Notes: Zealot’s mutant ability is revealed as the power to control the earth, making his claim of being “one with Genosha” a very literal one. Apocalypse makes a one-page cameo, just to remind us that he’s the star of the next big mutant event.

Review: Actual dialogue from this issue: “I will never embrace your perverted ideologies and become as corrupted in spirit and soul as you have! You have become so twisted in your thinking, so far removed from humanity that Ferris -- a thing of metal and of your own construction, is the only thing in which you place your trust -- while Amelia, who has stood by you for what she perceives to be the right reasons, has not even garnered a glance of affection -- even as she risked her life for your cause.” Yikes. And this isn’t an isolated example used to make the comic seem worse than it is -- the issue is essentially twenty-two pages of turgid nonsense.

So, what’s accomplished by the conclusion of Magneto Rex? We don’t learn any more about Zealot, aside from another claim that he’s Philip Moreau’s brother. No more information than this is given, and apparently we’re supposed to take the retcon at face value. The idea that the Gengineer would callously transform his firstborn son into a Mutate doesn’t exactly match what I remember of his original characterization, considering that Claremont at least tried to make him a sympathetic figure. Now, was there ever a point in tying Zealot and Philip Moreau together? Apparently not. Then again, was there a point in dragging Rogue into this mini? Her previous pairings with Magneto worked very well, so it’s understandable that the creators would want to use her in this series, but she clearly has no impact on the plot.

Let’s see…did Pipeline’s conversion to the other side serve a purpose? Nope, although Magneto did need a teleporter for one scene, so apparently that’s reason enough to justify his presence. How about Fabian Cortez -- did he engage in any of his famous deal making and backstabbing? Did Magneto punish him for trying to kill him, usurping the Acolytes, and kidnapping his granddaughter? Of course not. In fact, he’s gone back to using Cortez as a power battery, even though he should know by now what an idiotic idea this is. What of Alda Huxley, the mysterious new character introduced to facilitate Magneto’s rule of Genosha? Sure, she was just a plot convenience in the original “Magneto War” crossover, but surely she wouldn’t have been brought into the miniseries without some plan for her character. Eh…you know the answer to that by now.

This is Magneto Rex. A flagrant cash grab that coasted on the back of a high-profile crossover and a famous lead character. The story offers absolutely no insight into Magneto’s character, other than the repeated claims that he’s even nastier than ever before. Marvel already tried that angle earlier in the ‘90s and didn’t exactly succeed, but there was at the very least an acknowledgement of the inherit tragedy of the character in most of those stories. And even the worst of those comics, like Uncanny X-Men #304, didn’t give Magneto such horrendous dialogue, or force him to star in stories that clearly had no point outside of existing as product. The only contribution to the ongoing continuity, which would have to be the major appeal to any reader who stuck around after the first issue, is the addition of Quicksilver to Magneto’s cabinet. And, to the creators’ credit, the use of Amelia Voght as a sleeper agent luring him to Magneto’s side actually works as a surprise. But was a three-issue miniseries required to execute this idea? It honestly couldn’t have worked as a few subplot scenes, or an X-Men Unlimited issue? The audience had to pay almost eight dollars to reach this point? I can’t say that I’m shocked that an X-spinoff miniseries is this bad, but I’m genuinely surprised that a limited series that was clearly supposed to be important in many ways could be so appalling.

MAGNETO REX #2 - June 1999

Into Darkness

Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Matt Banning (inker), Richard Isanove (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Magneto destroys the satellites and UN planes spying on Genosha. Meanwhile, Amelia Voght convinces Rogue to seek Magneto’s help before rescuing Quicksilver from Zealot. Magneto, however, disavows his son. Rogue and Amelia rescue Quicksilver without his aid, but Zealot soon finds them. As he proclaims himself the true ruler of Genosha, Magneto arrives.

Continuity Notes: Rogue kisses Magneto, hoping to learn the source of his hostile attitude. Magneto is totally unfazed by the kiss (which is either a continuity error or an intentional plot point), and Rogue is left with the sense that “there’s somethin’ else -- somethin’ sinister…sometin’ even you’ve blocked from our mind…” Bolding “sinister” might be a hint that Mr. Sinister has some connection to Magneto’s increasingly cold demeanor, but nothing came from this.

Production Note: No credits are given this issue. The next issue apologizes and runs these credits.

Review: The first issue of this series was dull, but I gave it credit for at least establishing the premise and setting the plot into motion. This issue is unforgivably boring. The plot is bare bones, numerous conversation scenes advance nothing, and the characters have the personality of dishwater. I can’t imagine what aspect of this story the creative team assumed the readers would find interesting by this point. All we know about Zealot is that he’s a sadist who’s somehow amassed a following, virtually all of the cast has interchangeable dialogue (which is unforgivable when you consider that Quicksilver, Rogue, and Amelia Voght have the bulk of the lines...and yes, Rogue has an exaggerated accent, but if you add back the dropped "g"s her speech pattern is no different than anyone else's), and Magneto spends most of his time sitting in meetings, when he isn’t busy irrationally provoking the UN.

I never agreed with the decision to revert Magneto to villainy, but there was at least some intensity to the character during most of his ‘90s appearances. Here, he’s heartless and violent, but the script does nothing to give him a credible personality. He isn’t crazy, he isn’t particularly angry, he isn’t conflicted, he isn’t remorseful…he’s just a generic villain with a horrific “regal” speech pattern. Magneto refusing to rescue his son ought to feel like a big deal, but instead the scene is just as flat and onerous to read as the rest of the comic. Magneto should be a fantastically interesting protagonist for a series. Even if you refuse to go the “shades of gray” route, Magneto has a rich backstory and numerous connections with various corners of the Marvel Universe. It’s shocking to me that someone thought material this tedious suited the character.

MAGNETO REX #1 - May 1999

Ascendance

Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Matt Banning (inker), Richard Isanove & Liquid! (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Humans flee Genosha as Magneto takes the throne. A Mutate leads him to his first council meeting, which introduces Magneto to Phillip Moreau, Jenny Ransome, Alda Huxley, and Pipeline, a former Magistrate. Phillip informs him that a rebel Mutate, “the Zealot,” is building a resistance against him. Later, Magneto and Pipeline recruit Fabian Cortez to join the council. Meanwhile, Amelia Voght takes Quicksilver to Genosha to see his father. Soon, he’s tricked by Zealot’s followers and kidnapped. Rogue, who’s arrived in Genosha to check on Magneto, witnesses Zealot’s gathering of rebel Mutates.

Continuity Notes: Much to Phillip Moreau’s surprise, Zealot is somehow his long-lost brother. Alda Huxley, the UN representative largely responsible for giving Genosha to Magneto, claims she’s a native Genoshan who only wants the best for her country. The sole explanation for Pipeline turning against the Magistrates is that he finally realized the horror they’ve unleashed. Fabian Cortez is recruited presumably because Magneto’s still recovering from the events of “Magneto War” and needs his amplification powers. (Although he should know by now that Cortez’s powers leave you weaker in the long run.) The Amelia Voght/Quicksilver scenes are another holdover from “Magneto War,” as she was sent to spy on him in an early chapter and not seen again during the crossover.

Production Note: The cover lists this as a May 1999 issue, but the indicia has the date as April 1999.

Review: As much as people seemed to dislike the “Magneto War” crossover, it did at the very least spur some discussion. Magneto Rex, on the other hand, was largely ignored by online fandom, aside from a handful of reviews that dismissed it as dull. You would think that a limited series spinning out of the latest X-over, one that actually did impact the status quo in a meaningful way, would’ve garnered more attention, but the minis had already acquired the nasty label of “Filler” by this point. Once again, I’ll point to the early ‘90s X-miniseries that everyone seemed to buy -- even ones starring obscure characters like Deadpool. If anything, the addition of Brandon Peterson, an artist Marvel once tapped for X-Men before losing him to Rob Liefeld, should’ve given this mini some kind of a boost. Yet, I barely recall anyone even noticing his return.

Joe Pruett was a small-press indie creator the X-office began hiring during this era, giving him this assignment and the scripting duties on Rob Liefeld’s brief return to Cable. Sometimes I wonder how the comics world would be different if this was the indie guy Marvel fell in love with instead of Brian Michael Bendis. I actually have no insight into the style of storytelling Pruett subscribes to, given that this is a fairly generic regurgitation of editorially mandated ideas; I just find it amusing that Marvel was perhaps grooming a small press writer for superstardom a full year before Bendis showed up.

I wish I could’ve found a more descriptive word than “generic” to describe Pruett’s work here, but I can’t. A typical sample of his dialogue reads like this: “This man is so much like his father in terms of stature and strength, and yet so completely different in his deeds and thoughts. Pietro is a reflection of the man that his father once was and should have been -- if he hadn’t given in to the hate and anguish which eventually corrupted his soul.” (That’s Amelia Voght’s inner thoughts, by the way, not a third-person narrative caption.) I will say to his credit that he isn’t padding the first issue and only giving a tiny slice of the story. The backstory of Genosha and Magneto is set up for any potential new readers, a new status quo for the island is established, a large number of characters are brought into the story, and the villain of the piece makes his first move against Magneto. Things do happen, even if the characters are severely lacking in personality.

MEDIEVAL SPAWN/WITCHBLADE #1-#3, May-July 1996

Credits: Garth Ennis (story), Brandon Peterson (pencils), Batt w/Joe Weems (inks), Dennis Heisler (letters), Ashby Manson (colors), Richard Isanove w/Jonathan D. Smith, Steve Firchow, & Tyson Wengler (computer colors)

Todd McFarlane seemed to have plans for Medieval Spawn, yet this crossover miniseries turned out to be the character’s last gasp. Perhaps due to Neil Gaiman’s lawsuit, he was essentially erased from the franchise by the late ‘90s. Later, another Middle Ages Hellspawn, “Dark Ages Spawn” debuted, possibly continuing whatever plans McFarlane had for Medieval Spawn. (Recently, a judge deemed Dark Ages Spawn to be derivative of Medieval Spawn, and even a continuity error.)

At this time, the Witchblade series was only a few months old, but it was already a hit for Top Cow. Marc Silvestri’s division of Image had yet to do a Spawn crossover, so it made sense to pair their hot new character with Image’s biggest franchise. Just as McFarlane established that his hero was the latest in a long line of Spawns, Sara Whatshername was only the latest possessor of the Witchblade. Why not do a flashback story that brings their pasts together?

The story is provided by Garth Ennis, who was receiving a lot of attention from Top Cow during this era. Not surprisingly, most of the characters are profane and nasty, and the comic can’t go three pages without a rape reference. After establishing that a mystery man is waiting for the apocalypse in 1996, the story flashes back to the Pyrenees, circa 1175. An alleged sorcerer named Matthew Royale convinces the evil Lord Cardinale to invade the “Otherworld of Faerie.” After a few pages of gruesome violence, the action spills out of the Faerie’s dimension, drawing the attention of Medieval Spawn. Unlike the moody, self-absorbed Spawn of the ‘90s, Medieval Spawn views himself as a chivalrous knight, so he aides the Faeries. Their fight brings them to a nearby inn, where the irascible young Katarina is working off her bill.

Katarina receives two surprises: Medieval Spawn recognizes her, and she somehow possesses the power of the Witchblade. She joins the fight, and later watches as Medieval Spawn enters a portal into the Faerie’s dimension. Her friend, and debt-holder, Stalker has heard stories of Faerie gold and wants to follow. A subconscious prompt, apparently from the Witchblade, convinces Katarina to join Stalker. This brings the first issue to an end, and while the story so far seems like an excuse for the heroes to cut up demonic soldiers, I am curious to see how the mysteries surrounding Katarina play out.

Credits: Garth Ennis (story), Brandon Peterson (pencils), Batt w/Joe Weems & Tim Townsend(inks), Dennis Heisler (letters), Ashby Manson (colors), Richard Isanove w/Jonathan D. Smith, Steve Firchow, & Dan Kemp (computer colors)

Katarina and Stalker join Medieval Spawn, who is unaware of their motive to loot Faerie gold (notice that the only noble character so far is the one not created by Ennis). Meanwhile, Lord Cardinale’s witch-queen Elinor, who’s somehow stolen the outfits from a 1996 Playboy pictorial, questions Matthew Royale’s loyalty. Royale proves his deceptiveness a few pages later by bringing Katarina, Stalker, and Medieval Spawn to the battle at the Faerie capital. While Lord Cardinale and the heroes fight, Royale pursues his own agenda. Sprinkled throughout the story are more hints that Medieval Spawn knows Katarina, some “humorous” leprechaun bashing, and more graphic violence. Brandon Peterson is given some insane things to draw, but the story is obviously thin.

Credits: Garth Ennis (story), Brandon Peterson, Billy Tan, Mung Khoy, Mike Turner, & Anthony Winn (pencils), Batt, D-Tron, Brandon Peterson, Aaron Sowd (inks), Dennis Heisler (letters), Ashby Manson (colors), Richard Isanove w/Tyson Wengler, Catherine Burch, Dean White, Nick Kozis, & Teresa Bellman(computer colors)

Now that’s a list of credits. I wonder if anyone working at Top Cow during this era didn’t touch this issue? (Oh, yeah. Marc Silvestri.) Occasionally the book does resemble a rushed jam comic, but most of the issue maintains the rather high production values associated with Top Cow. The most grievous example of deadline fighting comes in a two-page "vision of the future" in the middle of the book, which is actually recycled art from an ad for another Top Cow comic (I forget the name, but it was the ad that referenced “It's the End of the World as We Know It”).

As it turns out, this mini is actually a lengthy promotion for a 1996 Top Cow crossover, which somehow involved the apocalypse (given as October 2, 1996 in this issue). Matthew Royale predictably turns against everyone, steals the Darkness power from Lord Cardinale (yup, it’s a Darkness crossover as well), and survives to the age of Real World Miami, free AOL trial discs, and Keri Strug mania. He explains the full story behind Katarina and Medieval Spawn to the disembodied head of Cardinale before the story closes: Before his rebirth as a Hellspawn, Medieval Spawn and Katarina had a drunken one-night stand. Katarina apparently didn’t remember it because she’s something of a slut. Later on, she promises to give Stalker a shot until she discovers the Faerie gold they’ve stolen is just lead in our dimension. There’s your Medieval Witchblade, Top Cow fans.

This is even less of a Spawn story than Wildstorm’s Spawn/WildC.A.T.S limited series. I can understand the story leaning towards the Top Cow side since they produced it, but I certainly wasn’t expecting the mini to turn into a prelude to some forgotten crossover. It’s a shame this is Medieval Spawn’s only starring role. Neil Gaiman’s brief introduction of the character had potential, and his design still holds up well. Here, he's mainly treated as a joke. It's almost as if Garth Ennis thinks these characters are...dumb.

UXM #360 & X-MEN #80– October 1998

Uncanny X-Men #360

Children of the Atom

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend w/Jordi Ensign, Aaron Sowd, Jon Sibal, & Peter Palmiotti (inkers), Shannon Blanchard & Mike Rockwitz (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Professor Xavier recruits a new X-Men team (Grey King, Crux, Landslide, Chaos, Rapture, and Mercury) from across the globe. The new team attacks a cruise ship where Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Colossus are vacationing. They kidnap Shadowcat and take her to Florida, where Xavier says he needs her help. Shadowcat shuts down a computer virus that was allegedly connected to Xavier by Bastion. Xavier then orders the new X-Men to place her in storage. Meanwhile, the real X-Men travel to Washington, DC to meet with Peter Corbeau. Corbeau is missing from his Pentagon office, allegedly kidnapped by the X-Men. The team meets with Val Cooper, who explains that Corbeau was working on the Benassi Rocket, which is rumored to have a mutant connection. She arranges for a jet to fly them to Cape Citadel, where the rocket is being launched. Elsewhere, the government fakes the assassination of a scientist on the rocket project in order to divert attention away from the rocket’s true purpose (to launch a device that can “track and terminate mutants globally”). Later, Nightcrawler and Colossus arrive at the X-Men’s mansion and meet Cecilia Reyes. Reyes informs them that the rest of the team is headed for Cape Citadel, so Nightcrawler repairs the spare Blackbird jet and departs with Colossus. They arrive in the skies above Cape Citadel as the X-Men are attacked by Xavier’s new team. The team regroups inside the Blackbird, but it’s quickly shot down by the new X-Men’s Aurora aircraft.

Continuity Notes: Apparently, a decent amount of time has passed between the previous issue and this one. Cecilia Reyes has left the team off-panel, and set up her own medical practice in Salem Center. She’s checking on the mansion as a favor to Storm while the team is away on a mission. Colossus comments that Storm’s plants resemble a jungle, which is apparently a clue that the X-Men have been gone for a while.

Reyes comments that Beast has left, but there’s no explanation why. Maggott is also gone without explanation (Beast suggested that he consider joining Generation X in last month’s X-Men, but there’s no follow-up here).

The new team of X-Men are intentionally derivative of other mutants, which is a hint towards their origin.

Gimmicks: This is a forty-eight page issue with a “foil-etched” cover, which brings the cover price up to $3.99. It’s interesting that Marvel tried to phase out the gimmick covers in the mid-90s, but they still popped up occasionally.

I Love the ‘90s: Nightcrawler is impersonating “Leo” onboard the cruise ship “Titania”.

Review: This is the first wave in a series of 35^th anniversary issues, which is amusing because I don’t recall the X-Men’s 40^th anniversary receiving a lot of attention (Wasn’t it during the Quesada/Jemas “We’re cooler than everybody and only hip young people read our comics” phase?). The story is set on the anniversary of the day Magneto attacked Cape Citadel (and announced the existence of mutants to the public, according to this issue), which is the only real connection to the first issue of the series. I suppose reuniting three former cast members with the team is intended as another nod to the past, as is the “familiar” nature of the new X-Men. As I’ve mentioned before, the editorial influence on the titles is painfully evident in this storyline, as three of the team members are missing with little or no explanation. The real reason they’re gone is so that Shadowcat, Colossus, and Nightcrawler can take their place, but there’s practically no effort put into providing a legitimate explanation for their absence. Cecilia Reyes’ off-hand dismissal that she was an X-Man “for all of five minutes” is particularly annoying, since it undermines the work that was spent on selling her as a real member of the team. Ever since the “Zero Tolerance” crossover, we were supposed to be buying into this character’s journey as a new X-Man. Now, the editors have changed their minds, so Cecilia has decided to leave the team in-between issues. On what planet is this considered competent storytelling?

The X-Men have also ended up in Washington, DC through the sheer willpower of editorial desire. Oddly enough, the script actually draws attention to the X-Men’s lack of transportation, as Wolverine explains to Val Cooper that “we’re a little short on long-range transportation these days…most everything’s running, but not our wings.” Then how exactly did they get to Washington in the first place? I assumed that reintroducing the Blackbird a few issues earlier was done to cover travel if a story required it, but that plane is instead being used to bring Colossus and Nightcrawler to Cape Citadel. In the end, we end up with explanations for how the X-Men get from Washington to Florida, how Colossus and Nightcrawler get from New York to Florida, but no explanation for how the X-Men got from New York to Washington in the first place. This has always annoyed me, especially since it could’ve been covered by a simple line of dialogue (I’m sure Beast could’ve arranged transport with the Avengers, or one of Wolverine’s numerous “old friends” might’ve helped).

Even if you’re willing to ignore the jarring transition from the previous issues, the story’s not particularly impressive. Every page is extremely cluttered, as Bachalo opens with nine-panel grids for the first few pages, and barely decreases the number of panels per page for the rest of the issue. Every tiny panel is as crammed full of word balloons as possible, making this feel as if four issues of material have been shoved into one double-sized special. I don’t have a problem with the villains, since the derivative nature of their powers is an interesting mystery and I like their designs (Carlos Pacheco’s sketches for the characters had been appearing in the issues leading up to this one). It just doesn’t feel as if there’s enough room to showcase the various characters, which makes all of the faux-X-Men rather unimpressive. Bachalo’s art is also a problem, as the multiple inkers change the look from page to page, and the page layouts are so busy it’s often hard to tell what’s going on. Bachalo is also firmly in “draw every character like a little kid” mode, which just doesn’t work with most of this cast.

X-Men #80

Children of the Atom, Part Two

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Art Thibert w/Dan Panosian (inkers), Liquid! (color), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Shadowcat escapes from Xavier’s new team of X-Men and lands in the sewers. There, she meets Peter Corbeau, who tells her about Xavier’s plan to disrupt the launch of the Benassi Rocket. Meanwhile, the X-Men crash land in a Florida swamp. They eventually make their way to Cape Citadel, just as the false X-Men are ambushing Shadowcat. The two teams fight on the tarmac, as Xavier enters the control booth. He stops the launch, enabling the Grey King to remove the mutant-tracking satellite from the rocket. Wolverine confronts Xavier, calling him out as a fraud. Xavier suddenly turns into an energy-form, forces the control panel to launch the rocket, and disappears. Knowing that the rocket has a nuclear core, Rogue absorbs the powers of Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Colossus, and forces the rocket to crash in the ocean. Meanwhile, the remaining X-Men force the Grey King to drop the satellite. The false X-Men disappear, and are soon reunited with Xavier’s impostor. The energy-form absorbs their bodies, and reveals himself as Cerebro in robot form.

Continuity Note: Rogue’s costume has changed in-between chapters of the story. She’s now wearing the Shi’ar space suit again, for no reason outside of Brandon Peterson getting the wrong reference. If you’ve noticed that Rogue is drawn smaller and with less detail on the cover, it’s because she wasn’t on the original solicited version of this cover (which was used to announce the new team of X-Men).

Gimmicks: This is another double-sized issue with a foil-etched cover. I have the non-enhanced version (which I think was released two weeks after the enhanced one), which costs $2.99.

Review: This is at least easier to read than the first chapter, as Kelly’s script is less verbose and the page layouts are clearer. I seem to recall Brandon Peterson being announced as Pacheco’s replacement on this book, but he pulled out to do a title with Alan Moore for one of Liefeld’s short-lived companies (I think it was supposed to be a Suprema series that never happened). His work here is barely recognizable from his earlier UXM issues, and I can’t say it’s particularly improved. His rendition of Wolverine isn’t bad, but the rest of the cast looks pretty dull (and the spaghetti hair he gives the female characters has always annoyed me).

Kelly continues to excel with the character interactions, as Wolverine is still resentful of Colossus for joining the Acolytes, Colossus is suspicious of Marrow (after encountering Gene Nation in UXM #325), Marrow taunts Colossus with knowledge of his brother, and Storm is forced to hold everything together. The general thinking at the time was that Joe Kelly resented having to work with this lineup (in Kelly’s Deadpool series, this team is referred to as “out with the new, in with the old”), which might’ve been an exaggeration from upset fans, but also seems plausible. There’s a lot of nostalgia in the story, as Nightcrawler and Colossus work in all of their catchphrases, and Wolverine and Colossus even pull a “fastball special” during the climax. It’s not hard to read this as self-aware humor, as if Kelly is just saying, “Fine. If you guys just want the ‘80s all over again, here it is.”

The rest of the story dutifully resolves the main conflict, while setting up a future Cerebro storyline (which I remember everyone just hating). The lack of a real resolution shouldn’t be a shock at this point, but knowing how poorly the mysteries of Cerebro and his false X-Men are resolved, it’s hard to cut the ending a lot of slack. The basic idea for the story is fine, and it does manage to return the three Excalibur members in a credible way, but the shoddy dismissal of the former members and the knowledge of what’s coming next make it hard to have any real enthusiasm for this storyline.

UNCANNY X-MEN #304 – September 1993

…For What I Have Done

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), John Romita, Jr, Jae Lee, Chris Sprouse, Brandon Peterson, & Paul Smith (pencilers), Dan Green, Dan Panosian, Terry Austin, Tom Palmer, & Keith Williams (inkers), Mike Thomas (colorist), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer)

Summary

Exodus reveals Fabian Cortez’s role in Magneto’s “death” to the Acolytes. The Acolytes follow Exodus to Avalon while Cortez is left to be a victim of “someone else’s legacy.” During Illyana’s funeral service, Magneto and the Acolytes appear. Magneto punishes Senyaka for the Acolytes’ attack on the hospice, while saying that he would have approved of the action if only he had been asked permission. Bishop absorbs the magnetic power being used to hold the X-Men and blasts Magneto. The X-Men try to charge him up with more energy. When Magneto reappears, Avalon is glowing, preparing for an attack on Westchester County. When Bishop attacks again, Colossus strikes him from behind, siding with Magneto. Desperate, Xavier takes over Magneto’s mind and uses his powers to send Avalon back into orbit.

Gimmicks

This issue has a cardstock hologram cover.

Continuity Notes

Magneto is referred to as “Eric Lehnsherr” for the first time. Even though Xavier has always referred to him as “Magnus” in flashbacks, he suddenly starts calling him “Eric” now. Years later, “Eric Lehnsherr” was revealed to be a false identity, but Marvel seems to have forgotten that.

In a flashback, Magneto is seen running with the body of his daughter, Anya. Previous stories establish that she was burned alive in a fire, but she certainly doesn’t look burned in this issue.

Fabian Cortez being a victim of “someone else’s legacy” is presumably a reference to the Legacy Virus.

Review

This is a comic I can remember actively hating for years. Looking back on it, I can almost see how someone divorced from X-Men continuity might enjoy it, but in terms of building upon existing characterization and giving characters legitimate motivations, it fails miserably. I started buying Uncanny X-Men in 1988, so I missed most of the “reformed Magneto” era. The Magneto I remembered was from the later Claremont issues, an occasional ally who wanted to do the right thing but was constantly being pushed in the wrong direction. I think the only comic I had read featuring Magneto as an X-Man was the final issue of the Fantastic Four vs. X-Men miniseries. The scene where Magneto laments that no one can accept the fact that he’s changed really stuck with me as a kid. Reed Richards shaking hands with Magneto at the end was one of my favorite moments in comics at that point. Reading this issue, with a psychotic Magneto who crashes a little girl’s funeral, advocates a hospice slaughter, kills one of his followers, and then tries to destroy an entire town…let’s just say it didn’t go over very well. Magneto doesn’t exist as a character at this point; he exists solely to be the villain in an overpriced company-mandated crossover. There’s some lip service paid to Claremont’s reformation of the character, but it just seems like a weak attempt to add depth to a one-dimensional villain.

Colossus finally joins Magneto, after months of build-up. The titles have done a good job of establishing Colossus’ anguish over the loss of his family, but siding with Magneto still doesn’t make a lot of sense. Colossus’ sister died of a virus created by an evil mutant. Why join another one? Why would the actions of an evil mutant cause Colossus to doubt Xavier’s dream, when the X-Men were created to fight these villains in the first place? If anything, this would strengthen his resolve to fight people like Stryfe. In order for Colossus to logically side with Magneto, he should have a motivation to side with him against humans. It’s true that his parents were murdered by the Russian government, but even then, this wasn’t done as an attack against mutants (actually, why it was done was never clear). Colossus has a reason to be upset in these issues, and perhaps to leave the team to grieve, but not to join someone planning to wipe out the human race. If Colossus had a specific reason to hate humans (his sister killed in an anti-mutant riot or something), that could work. If Colossus had grown closer to Magneto over a period of time and begun to understand his point of view, this might have worked. But Colossus joining Magneto after he crashes his sister’s funeral and tries to kill an entire city doesn’t work at all. It’s the type of cheap shock value that would characterize much of the ‘90s.

In an attempt to tie the two storylines together, Magneto uses Stryfe’s Legacy Virus as a justification for killing humans. His nonsensical explanation is that mutants wouldn’t be fighting against one another if humans weren’t out to kill them. Think about this…mutants are fighting each other because a separate group wants them dead. Wouldn’t this lead mutants to unite together against humans? I take it Magneto is one of those people who didn’t like the ending of Watchmen. If Magneto is going to justify anything to attack humans, wouldn’t the government’s revival of the Sentinel project be a better excuse?

There’s some attempt to mark this as an anniversary issue, rather than just another chapter in a crossover. All of the X-teams assemble for Illyana’s funeral, giving cameos to former members and other characters from the spinoffs. Former artist Paul Smith returns to draw a few pages, although it’s hard to recognize his style. Storm and Kitty Pryde have a scene reminiscent of the one they shared after Storm’s mohawk makeover. Oddly enough, John Romita, Jr. drew the original issue, but Chris Sprouse draws the homage scene while Romita draws most of the other pages. Most of the artwork is fine, but nothing can save this story.

X-MEN #21 –June 1993

The Puzzle Box

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Dan Panosian (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), Joe Rosas (colorist)

Summary

The Caucasian Betsy Braddock, now calling herself Revanche, accuses Psylocke of secretly being an agent of the Japanese crimelord Nyoirin. Wolverine’s enhanced senses cannot determine if Psylocke or Revanche is the real Betsy Braddock, and Psylocke refuses an extensive telepathic scan from Professor X. The X-Men decide to travel to Nyoirin’s home in Japan, where Revanche claims she was held captive. In Japan, Nyoirin makes a deal with Shinobi Shaw to kill the X-Men if Shaw supports his efforts to control Clan Yashida. Later, Matsuo tells Shaw that the Gamemaster has declared Psylocke off-limits to him so that Matsuo can continue his plans for her. The X-Men fight through Nyoirin’s defenses and discover a suggestive painting of Psylocke called “Kwannon in Repose”. The Silver Samurai appears, claiming that he must kill the X-Men to restore his family’s honor. Meanwhile, the Dark Riders continue to eliminate weak mutants by apparently killing Mesmero and fellow member Psynapse.

I Love the ‘90s

Seattle is referred to as the “grunge-metal capital of the world”.

Review

The Kwannon/Revanche storyline continues, and is complicated even more by throwing in the Upstarts competition and Clan Yashida politics. There’s a lot of continuity here, and things are only going to get more confusing before the story’s over. Some of the characters, like Matsuo, aren’t clearly introduced at all. Bringing back Matsuo and referencing the Upstarts competition also reminds me that Matsuo and Fenris were members of the Upstarts during an early storyline in this title, but were soon dropped without explanation. To make things more confusing, Peterson’s art makes it almost impossible to tell Matsuo and Shinobi Shaw apart.

Just like Gambit's X-traitor storyline, this is a story that would only last a few pages if Xavier or Jean Grey would just use their mutant powers. Nicieza tries to cover for this, but I find it hard to believe that Xavier would refuse to psi-scan Psylocke just because she told him she didn’t want to be “violated”. Someone in her original body just appeared accusing her of being a traitor to the team. Wouldn’t the safety of the X-Men be more important than her momentary discomfort? Would this truly "violate" her? And why is another traitor storyline being introduced when the first one still hasn’t gone anywhere?

UNCANNY X-MEN #299 – April 1993

Nightlines

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Dan Panosian (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Marie Javins (colors)

Summary

In Kuwait, the remains of Asteroid M are discovered. Forge and Henry Gyrich search inside and find that a chrome replica of Magneto has been broken open. Professor Xavier goes on a late night talk show to discuss the mutant issue with Senator Kelly and Graydon Creed. Kelly is revealed to have reasonable thoughts on the mutant issue, while Creed is vocally anti-mutant. After the show, Professor Xavier leaves with the X-Men to travel to France to face the Acolytes.

Continuity Notes

Professor X and Senator Kelly meet for the first time. Kelly has a telepathic mutant aid working for him, later retconned into being an agent of Landau, Luckman, and Lake.

Graydon Creed appears for the first time in an actual story. His group, the Friends of Humanity, is referenced but don’t appear. The members of the Upstarts are revealed to be Fabian Cortez, Fitzroy, Shinobi Shaw, Graydon Creed, and one mystery member.

The Gamemaster says that the winner of the Upstarts competition will inherit the “resources and servitude of all four of his fellow Upstarts”, claiming that this is close to “omnipotence”.

Bishop recognizes a waitress in a bar from his own timeline, but doesn’t know why. This mystery is ignored for years, until it’s revealed that the woman is Fatale, an agent of the Dark Beast (two characters who haven’t been created yet).

Review

Another issue that’s light on plot, as Magneto’s return is teased for the 300^th issue (even though it didn’t actually happen until a few issues later). Senator Kelly returns, with a surprisingly thoughtful portrayal. I like the idea of Kelly as a more sympathetic character with a legitimate concern about rogue mutants. It probably doesn’t fully reconcile with his earlier appearances, but it’s conceivable that his beliefs have mellowed over time. Claremont was always very good at showing various points of view in the title, often making the villains sympathetic, so it’s a nice reminder of the philosophical debates from his run. Having a human that isn’t rabidly anti-mutant, but also willing to address the real problems mutants would cause, is a surprising move for an era not known for subtlety. Graydon Creed takes the place of Sen. Kelly as a human foil for the X-Men, with a harsh stance against mutants and his own paramilitary organization. Creed is portrayed as such an idiot in this issue, though, that it’s hard to buy him as a credible threat. I always thought the Friends of Humanity had potential as villains, even though the group never caught on. It’s an idea that’s grounded in reality and fits into the title’s central concept very well. I’d rather see the FoH as villains than Mojo, really.

UNCANNY X-MEN #298 - March 1993

“…For The Children!”

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Marie Javins (colorist)

Summary

Bishop, feeling that his methods aren’t appropriate for the X-Men, offers his resignation to Professor Xavier. Xavier declines and harshly tells Bishop not to give up. While Jean Grey, Bishop, Archangel, and Gambit train in the Danger Room, Xavier and Storm meet Detective Charlotte Jones to receive a coroner’s report. Miles away, other associates of the X-Men, Tom Corsi and Sharon Friedlander, are working undercover at a school to watch over a mutant child with Down’s Syndrome. Sharon Friedlander is brutally attacked by the Acolytes. Xavier senses the attack and alerts the team. The X-Men arrive and attempt to protect the school from the Acolytes. When the Acolytes discover that the mutant child has Down’s Syndrome, they declare him unfit and leave.

Continuity Notes

Sharon Friedlander is apparently killed off in this issue, although it's not made clear until a later issue. Tom Corsi’s fate is also ambiguous. Years later, he'll show up in the Generation X spinoff, so he obviously did survive.

Frenzy, a former follower of Apocalypse, appears as an Acolyte in this issue. Gambit knows her from his mysterious past. New Acolytes Unuscione (implied to be the daughter of Unus) and the Kleinstock brothers appear for the first time. One of the Kleinstock triplets is killed by Tom Corsi.

Gambit has been featured for two issues consecutively, even though he’s a cast member of the spinoff X-Men series. The Blue Team/Gold Team era begins to end with these issues, as the team members regularly switch between titles.

Miscellaneous Note

The Statement of Ownership in this issue lists average sales at 731,425, with the issue closest to filing date at 605,900.

Review

With time to kill before the next crossover, Uncanny delivers a self-contained action story. This isn’t a very good issue, but I like the fact that the conflict is clear and the story is resolved by page twenty-two instead of being needlessly dragged out. I don’t like the way Tom Corsi and Sharon Friedlander are given ambiguous deaths in this issue. Lobdell seems to be attempting to add weight to a thin story by throwing in some deaths, but at the same time doesn’t appear to have enough commitment to the idea to firmly establish that they are dead.

Lobdell debuts his “edgy” characterization of Xavier in this issue. Xavier was initially a harsh father figure in the early issues, but I think that’s more of a reflection of society in the early 1960s than Xavier as a character. When the X-Men became grown-ups, portraying Xavier as manipulative and condescending didn’t work, and it’s something that was mostly avoided by Claremont. Lobdell now has Xavier acting very curt with Bishop, just one issue after his warm and fuzzy moments with Jubilee. Lobdell could’ve tied in Xavier’s mood swings with his recent near death experience, but there’s no mention of any recent events. He’s just moody in this issue.

The Acolytes return for the first time since their debut with an all-new lineup. The Acolytes never really became major villains, probably because so many of them would eventually be introduced without giving most of them anything resembling a personality. They’re just a sea of purple goons praising Magneto. This story takes place in the brief period where Magneto was believed to be dead, setting up the Acolytes to do the things they think Magneto might have wanted them to do. Years later, Grant Morrison would use the idea of Magneto’s strength as a symbol, and not specifically as a character, in New X-Men. The X-Men try to explain to the Acolytes that Magneto wouldn’t approve of their extreme actions. It’s an interesting idea, but it only works if Magneto is given consistent characterization. Since Marvel’s attitude at this time was to make him a more ruthless villain, it’s hard to argue that he wouldn’t approve of the Acolytes’ actions.

UNCANNY X-MEN #297 – February 1993

“Up and Around”

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Dan Panosian (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Marie Javins (colorist)

Summary

Professor Xavier has been temporarily granted the ability to walk again after being cured of the techno-organic virus. He spends an evening rollerblading with Jubilee before his legs collapse again. Meanwhile, Archangel and Beast reminisce about old times while rebuilding Harry’s Hideaway pub, and Gambit attempts to comfort Rogue after she loses her sight.

Review

This is the first of many post-crossover issues by Lobdell that focus on quieter, character-driven moments. I don’t have a problem with setting aside time for character scenes, but it always bothered me that these issues never really advanced any plotlines. Once crossovers began happening on a more regular basis, many of the X-titles spent months building up to a crossover, months in a crossover, and a month or two doing character stories after the crossover. It always seemed very uneven to me. Of all of the “unwind after the crossover” issues, this isn’t a very strong one, but it has its moments. Rogue and Gambit’s scene rings hollow to me (although I’m someone who never bought into their relationship in the first place), with Rogue mainly just repeating her angst bullet-points for a few pages. Showing that Gambit does seem to genuinely care about her is nice, though, especially since this hasn’t really been established at this point. Beast and Archangel have some nice moments together, but the idea that they’ve rebuilt the pub in one night is pretty ridiculous.

The bulk of this issue is dedicated to Xavier and Jubilee, two characters from very far ends of X-history. Up until this point, the characters had hardly even spoken to one another, so pairing them off together is a good idea. I don’t like the lazy plot convenience for letting Xavier walk again (his dialogue doesn’t even attempt to truly justify it), but I can live with it. Lobdell always seemed to have a fondness for writing both Xavier and Jubilee, and he handles both of their characters very well in this issue. I wish that their conversations together had more substance, but I’ve always liked the ending with Jubilee helping Xavier back to his chair. This is the type of story you wouldn’t have seen at all just a few months earlier in Uncanny. It’s not great, but it’s a vast improvement over the earlier post-Claremont issues.

UNCANNY X-MEN # 296 – January 1993

Crescendo

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Brandon Peterson (artist), Terry Austin (inks), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary

Cyclops and Jean Grey fight the Dark Riders during their escape from Styfe’s base. They discover an infant connected to a series of circuitry. Stryfe tells them that the baby is connected to his own consciousness and to the life support system of the complex. He dares them to kill the baby in order to destroy the base and kill him and the Dark Riders. He’s shocked to discover that they reject his offer and fight back against the Dark Riders. The baby is revealed to be a construct, granted a small portion of Stryfe’s consciousness. Cyclops and Jean Grey attempt to escape by blasting through the wall, but are sucked into the vacuum of space. Meanwhile, Apocalypse offers to help cure Xavier in exchange for the X-Men’s help against Stryfe. Wolverine speculates that Stryfe has taken Scott and Jean to Apocalypse’s base on the moon.

Gimmicks

This is part nine of the X-Cutioner’s Song crossover. It comes polybagged with a Jean Grey & Cyclops trading card.

Creative Differences

On page 29, most of the narrative captions are by a different letterer. The captions reveal that the baby was really just a construct, as the art shows it being consumed by the technorganic virus. I’m assuming that the original idea was that this was supposed to be a real infant, and that someone decided at the last minute that killing a baby was in bad taste.

I Love the ‘90s

There’s an ad for a Wayne’s World VCR board game. It says “Schwing!!” and everything.

Review

This is one of the weakest chapters of this crossover, mainly because the Dark Riders are just dull villains. Seeing the X-teams finally confront X-Force is payoff for a subplot that had been building for a while, and even the MLF fight at least had all of the heroes together for a big brawl. Cyclops and Jean against the Dark Riders isn’t really the payoff to anything (especially with Apocalypse out of the picture), so the characters are just there as token opposition to the heroes. Stryfe’s hysterical dialogue is also wearing thin at this point.

This issue pretty much screams “Stryfe is Cyclops’ baby!” without coming right out and saying it. Baby Nathan was still around when Cable and Stryfe were introduced, so I have a hard time believing that this was the original plan. Plus, the X-Factor issue that sent Nathan into the future was plotted by Jim Lee, who wasn’t involved with plotting the stories when Cable was introduced. The “Cable is baby Nathan” idea was a fan theory that was pretty popular in the early ‘90s (Wizard even had the baby’s first appearance as a “hot issue” for months before this storyline saw print). It seems like it was such a popular theory that the creators just decided to run with. With this crossover, Stryfe suddenly wants revenge on Apocalypse, Sinister, Cyclops, and Jean Grey. All of these grudges come out of nowhere; before this, he just wanted to kill Cable. If this had been mapped out in advance, I doubt so much information would’ve been revealed at once. The revelations don’t directly contradict what came before, but they don’t make an awful lot of sense either.

UNCANNY X-MEN #295 – December 1992

Familiar Refrain

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Brandon Peterson (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Joe Rosas (colorist)

Summary

The X-Men confront Apocalypse at one of his old bases. He doesn’t know anything about the kidnapping, and teleports away after defeating the team. Sinister has pointed the combined X-teams in the direction of Stryfe, but no one has any information on how to find him. If Cannonball agrees to help locate him, X-Force (now being held prisoner in the Danger Room) will be allowed to join the fight. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Bishop invade Canada’s Department K to find information on Stryfe. Cable appears, looking for the same info.

Gimmicks

This is part five of the X-Cutioner’s Song crossover. It comes polybagged with a Wolverine & Bishop trading card.

Continuity Note

Apocalypse understands “very little” about the alien technology that powers him, according to the narrative captions. This is actually the first time the X-Men (and not “X-Factor”) fight Apocalypse.

“Huh?” Moment

War is now knocked out with Famine and Caliban, even though he wasn’t with them in the last chapter.

Review

It’s another issue that mainly serves to set up future events for the storyline. The X-Men face Apocalypse, which should seem like a big deal, but the story goes out of its way to point out that he’s weak and still building his strength. He also doesn’t know anything about what’s going on in the story so far, so dedicating almost a full issue to a fight scene with him doesn’t really work. Wolverine and Bishop also make the odd decision that the mysterious Department K in Canada might have info on Stryfe. Unless this is a reference to some New Mutants issue I’ve missed, I don’t know why they would jump to this conclusion. Cable joins them at Department K, keeping up the crossover tradition of pairing the most popular characters off together.

I wasn’t able to find this issue until a year after its release, when I finally broke down and mail-ordered it from East Coast Comics. This is one of the very few issues of Uncanny I had missed from the newsstand since 1988, and not being able to find it drove me nuts. For months, I wondered why this specific issue was so hard to find. Then it dawned on me – this was the issue on the stands when the X-Men animated series debuted. (Of course, which specific issue was on sale depended on where you lived and if you were buying from comic shops or newsstands). I bet there were probably thousands of kids who started buying X-comics with this issue. The schedule of the cartoon was a little weird in the first season (it debuted a month late with only two episodes, and then began airing weekly in early 1993), so I don’t think Marvel actually intended to introduce a generation of kids to the X-Men during a twelve part crossover. This was before Marvel was on its “accessibility” kick, so I don’t think that they viewed this as a problem, either.

I can see the advantages and disadvantages to introducing new readers to a book during a lengthy crossover. The most common complaint is that crossovers last too long, focus on too many characters, and are too confusing for new readers. If you’re a kid paying $1.50 for your first issue of Uncanny X-Men in 1992, do you want to get part five of a twelve-part story? Do you want a comic that features over a dozen characters that haven’t appeared on the TV show yet? The conventional wisdom is that these readers would want a straightforward story focusing on the characters they recognize from the show. On the other hand, if you like the show and you’re buying an X-Men comic, doesn’t that mean you want more X-Men? Maybe these new readers were intrigued by all of these new characters. What better way to show off Marvel’s line of X-titles than by putting every character together for one massive story? I did have friends who got into comics through the X-Men cartoon, and all of them were into this storyline.

UNCANNY X-MEN #294 – November 1992

Overture

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Brandon Peterson (penciler), Terry Austin (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Mike Thomas (colorist)

Summary

Professor Xavier gives a speech about tolerance at a Lila Cheney concert in Central Park. Meanwhile, Famine, War, and Caliban (now calling himself “Death”) attack Cyclops, Jean Grey, Colossus, and Iceman. Caliban kidnaps Cyclops and Jean while the other X-Men are distracted. In Central Park, someone appearing to be Cable shoots Xavier during his speech and teleports away.

Gimmicks

This is part one of the “X-Cutioner’s Song” crossover. It comes polybagged with a Professor Xavier trading card. All of these cards have copy written from Styfe’s point of view on the back. Almost every one is Stryfe melodramatically explaining how much he hates the featured character.

Continuity Notes

Caliban claims that Callisto gave him the name “Caliban” and that it’s not his real name. He’s also powered up and no longer speaking in the third person.

Review

The first crossover of the post-Claremont, post-Image era begins. At this point, the crossover stretched out over four titles, ignoring Wolverine and Excalibur. In terms of quality, I don’t doubt that not participating helped those two titles immensely. Unfortunately, I think it also created the idea in many fans’ minds that these books “didn’t matter”. Marvel editorial probably realized this, because in 1993 Wolverine and Excalibur would begin participating in all of the crossovers. The tradeoff is that the crossovers began to feel more unwieldy, and even more ongoing storylines were derailed for months at a time. For the moment, though, “X-Cutioner’s Song” helps some of the X-books find a focus, and gives fans the confrontation between teams that they were waiting for.

This isn’t a bad start for the storyline. Lobdell finds a nice mix between action and characterization by pairing off the X-Men and having them interact with one another while other teammates handle the action. It’s certainly his best issue of the series so far. When Lobdell was killing time waiting for this crossover he didn’t seem to know what to do, but now that there are specific events he has to pull off, his work seems more focused. Brandon Peterson debuts as penciler; he was supposed to be the regular artist but was gone by #300 (guess which company he migrated to?). His work here has a little bit of that “early ‘90s” style, but most of it looks fine. He’s a lot better than many of the other artists of this era. Terry Austin returns as inker and brings an interesting look to Peterson’s pencils.

Beginning with this issue, the X-books begin to draw upon more of the continuity established in early X-Factor issues. There had been some attention paid to the romantic subplots of Archangel and Iceman, but major characters from X-Factor like Caliban, Apocalypse, and his Four Horsemen hadn’t been brought up yet. This storyline ties in characters from other spinoffs into the old X-Factor continuity, and I think it’s successful in creating a sense of cohesiveness between the titles. The original X-Men members didn’t seem to have much to do during the Lee/Portacio issues, making you wonder why Marvel took them away from X-Factor in the first place. By bringing back X-Factor’s rouges gallery and putting Scott and Jean at the center of the story, this storyline creates a nice mix between old and new continuity.