JUGGERNAUT #1 - April 1997

A Night in Spite…

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Duncan Rouleau (penciler), Steve Moncuse (inker), Chris Eliopoulos & Visual Calligraphy (letters)

Summary: In a New Mexico bar, Juggernaut meets a wild woman named Alex. After he joins her crime spree, Black Tom suddenly appears and reveals that Alex is actually Spite, the demon Juggernaut previously faced inside the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. After Black Tom goads Juggernaut into striking him, he reveals himself as D’Spayre in disguise. Spite has been manipulating Juggernaut into fighting her brother D’Spayre, while D’Spayre wants to drain the Cyttorak energy within Juggernaut. Juggernaut calls upon his inner rage to defeat D’Spayre, and Spite rewards him by restoring the powers D’Spayre drained from him. The locals throw a festival in honor of Juggernaut for saving their town.

I Love the ‘90s: Juggernaut is listening to the country song “Blue” on the jukebox, which was recently covered by Leann Rimes at the time. Tawny Kitain is cited as an example of an attractive female. The local sheriff is upset he’s missing Walker, Texas Ranger, and doesn’t want to deal with Feds like “Agent Scullery.”

Review: If the Imperial Guard can get a miniseries, I guess Juggernaut can get a one-shot. I wonder if this was originally an X-Men Unlimited issue that was released as a one-shot after Marvel made the decision to radically increase the amount of X-specials in late 1996. It does have the same editor, and the story is essentially a sequel to Unlimited #12. This is an early Joe Kelly story, and it does demonstrate that he had a pretty good idea of what he was doing from the beginning (I haven’t read anything he’s written in years, but apparently he’s now lumped in the “Worst Writers” category). Kelly plays off Juggernaut’s irrational jealousy of his brother, as he’s drawn into D’Spayre and Spite’s sibling rivalry. He also doesn’t make Juggernaut too sympathetic, as his main motivation in helping Spite is so that he can personally kill her later. Kelly shapes the story around Juggernaut’s own personality and existing motivations, which prevents it from feeling like a gratuitous one-shot that’s just there to eat up the competition’s shelf space. My main issue is the art, which is so warped and unsightly it’s a major distraction. I like Duncan Rouleau’s later artwork, but his early stuff is just too hard on the eyes. It resembles a lot of the early Image artwork; not even the stuff put out by the original founders, but the really egregious material pumped out by the second or third-tier imitators. Aside from the unattractive figures, the page layouts are often confusing, and it’s hard to tell which order to read the word balloons. Kelly writes some clever dialogue throughout the issue, but it often takes a few seconds to process what exactly the characters are talking about because the page is such a mess.

WOLVERINE ’96 - 1996

The Last Ronin

Credits: Jeph Loeb (plot), Ralph Macchio (script), Ed McGuiness (penciler), Nathan Massengill w/Norman Lee (inkers), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: In Japan, Bastion encourages the government to use the Red Ronin robot as an anti-mutant mechanism. Meanwhile, Silver Samurai convinces Wolverine to help him break Sunfire out of a government facility, where he’s been kept ever since his powers went haywire months earlier. When Wolverine and Sunfire reach Red Ronin, they run into Yukio, who is trying to find a way to deliver the robot to the highest bidder. On the government’s command, Red Ronin is activated when the intruders are detected. Wolverine disables the robot, but Sunfire’s powers go out of control during the fight. After Wolverine calms him down, he takes Sunfire to Canada to train with Mac and Heather Hudson.

Continuity Notes: It’s revealed that Sunfire lost control of his powers due to Magneto’s electromagnetic pulse in X-Men #25.

Review: Is this the first Loeb/McGuiness collaboration? It does follow their future path of minimal plots that revolve around giant robots and gratuitous action scenes. There’s barely anything to this story, but it does take advantage of a few existing continuity points. I remember some fans were convinced that Sunfire was killed in X-Men #25, due to the brief scene that had him consumed in a flash of light as Magneto’s electromagnetic pulse swept the planet. Picking up on that scene and using it to justify his lack of appearances since then (I’m assuming he didn’t appear in-between these two stories) is a nice use of the past. Showing Bastion’s actions overseas also helps to develop him as a more credible villain, and pitting Wolverine against an obscure character like Red Ronin is fun. For whatever reason, Red Ronin is only operational for a few pages, and McGuiness doesn’t really get to do much with him, so it’s a bit of a wasted opportunity. Ralph Macchio, one of the routine fill-in scripters of this era, delivers another mid-70s style script. Everything is spelled out in great detail, so over half of the script consists of exposition or descriptions of events that are clearly depicted in the art.

The Golden Temple

Credits: Joseph Kelly (writer), Tommy Lee Edwards (penciler), Rich Case (inker), Paul Becton (colors), John Workman (letters)

Summary: Amiko runs away to find the Golden Temple, where she hopes to find the samurai who once saved her life. She’s joined by a grizzled homeless man who helps her on the journey. When they reach the temple, Amiko is disappointed to see it’s been abandoned. The homeless man reveals himself as Wolverine, the “samurai” she’s been searching for the entire time.

Review: This has Tommy Lee Edwards art, and John Workman even hand-lettered it, so it’s a little “arty” for a mid-90s annual backup. I assume Joseph Kelly is Joe Kelly, making what might be his debut on an X-title. It’s an adequately told story about a child’s imagination, believing in yourself, and accepting change. Wolverine’s Japanese supporting cast never really received the attention they deserved, so I’m glad someone decided to do a character-driven piece with Wolverine’s adopted daughter. This might also be the only Wolverine story set in Japan that doesn’t feature the Hand, so it probably deserves an award just for that.

UXM #365 & X-MEN #85– February 1999

Uncanny X-Men #365

Ghost of X-Mas Past!

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Thibert/Townsend/Sowd (inkers), Liquid! & Monica Kubina (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: A voice calls out to Colossus on Christmas Eve night. As he wanders the mansion investigating, his sketches disappear from his drawing table, and return with a fairy tale written on them. Finally, Colossus follows the voice to the attic, where a teleportation ring takes him to a ghost world. There, he meets the ghost of his sister, Illyana. She asks him to “remember” and then disappears. Colossus realizes that he’s left her photos unpacked with the rest of his belongings. He pulls out her picture, and the voice finally says goodbye. The next morning, Marrow reveals that she wrote the fairy tale because she wanted to collaborate with him.

Continuity Note: Obviously, this story was written when Illyana was still dead. She tells Colossus that “the powers in charge” won’t let her outright tell him what she wants him to do. If she speaks about it directly, she’ll lose her “chance to move on”. I don’t know if these were meant to be hints for a future storyline, or just generic references to the afterlife (it’s hard to tell in comics, after all).

Review: It’s a one-shot Christmas story, so it’s not surprising that this is a sentimental, quiet issue. Most of the story consists of conversation scenes between the team members, reminding me of the “quiet” issues of Lobdell’s run. While Lobdell seemed to be content with just the conversation scenes, Seagle tries to work a short story around the conversations. It’s not particularly deep, but it’s a nice acknowledgment of Colossus’ past, and helps to make him feel like a real member of the team and not an editorial add-on. Revealing that Marrow, and not the ghost, was the one stealing his sketches is another nice touch. This is the final issue for both Seagle and Bachalo, although the only acknowledgement of this comes from a cartoon of the creators on the bottom of the final page. Bachalo’s work here isn’t as strong as his previous Generation X run, but it is a marked improvement over his more recent issues of this series. Seagle’s exit caused quite a stir online at the time, as most fans were convinced that he was chased away by overbearing editors. It’s hard to judge his run as a whole since it mostly consists of setups for storylines that were never resolved, and the stories that were resolved were rushed and unsatisfying. I’m sure he had the potential to do greater work, but I have to admit that the stories become more coherent after his exit.

X-Men #85

A Tale of Two Mutants

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Alan Davis (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Liquid! Graphics (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Magneto disguises himself as a civilian and talks to “average citizen” William Jones in order to learn his thoughts on mutants. Magneto is surprised to discover that William is unwilling to condemn all mutants by the actions of a few. When William turns the conversation towards Hitler, an enraged Magneto lashes out and reveals himself. Terrified, William responds to Magneto’s prodding and tells him that he wants him dead. Magneto, satisfied by the response, returns to the North Pole and enacts his new plan. Meanwhile, the X-Men rescue babies from a burning hospital, but are targeted by the local police. Xavier fears that he must control the officer’s minds, but Storm manages to calm them down, reviving Xavier’s faith in his dream.

Review: This is a transition issue, as Joe Kelly exists while Alan Davis debuts. Kelly goes out on what is likely his strongest issue, with a simple, yet clever, Magneto piece that’s vastly superior to most of the post-Claremont Magneto stories. The final result has Magneto firmly as a villain again, but at least the story attempts to justify his point of view, rather than presenting him as the one-note psychopath he’s become by this point. The portrayal of the average citizen not as a bigot, but as someone with real fears, is also a nice twist.

The Magneto story is intercut with a fairly mundane “X-Men rescue civilians” story, which predictably has Xavier regaining faith in his dream after briefly doubting it. Kelly adds a little edge, as Xavier is reassured of his belief in humanity while Magneto’s negative point of view is confirmed (at least in his mind). This is really an entire issue used to tease the next crossover, but the execution is very well done. Alan Davis’ art is great as usual, and it will remain one of the selling points of the book for the next year.

UXM #364 & X-MEN # 84, January - February 1999

Uncanny X-Men #364

Escape From Alcatraz

Credits: Steve Seagle (plot), Ralph Macchio (script), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Tim Townsend & Edgar Tadeo (inkers), Liquid! Graphics (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: In Florida, the animated Cerebro that impersonated Professor Xavier destroys its headquarters and flies away. In Alcatraz, the X-Men and Brotherhood continue to fight the Cerebro unit that Xavier calls “Cerebrite Beta”. During the fight, Toad, Mimic, and Shadowcat are blasted by Cerebrite Beta and disappear. Xavier senses that they aren’t dead, so the remaining X-Men are intentionally hit by Cerebrite’s ray in order to investigate. Nightcrawler, who was separated from the team, witnesses the incident and assumes his teammates are dead. He flees in their jet and heads for Tajikistan.

Continuity Notes: The Cerebro unit in Florida reveals (while talking to itself, conveniently enough) that the imposter X-Men from a few issues ago were a “holographic creation…based on existing profiles written by Professor Xavier.” I’m not sure if a more specific origin is given later, but the idea is that Cerebro mixed and matched info on various mutants in order to create new X-Men. However, that doesn’t explain the opening scenes of UXM #360 that had Xavier recruiting each member in real life.

The Cerebro unit (or Cerebrite Beta, as I guess it’s now known) in San Francisco is no longer drawn as a robot, which is how it appeared in the last issue and on this issue’s cover. It now resembles the energy form of the Cerebro unit fighting the other team in X-Men. A less obvious design change comes from Professor Xavier, who suddenly goes from a red jumpsuit to a tucked-in dress shirt and black pants for one page.

Production Note: An uncredited artist draws the last six pages of the story. Some of the pages resemble Pascual Ferry’s work, which is likely since he also works on the next chapter in X-Men.

Review: And now the crossover goes from dull to atrocious. Judging by the cover dates, this crossover was shipped bi-weekly during the final chapters, which would help to explain why this comes across as such a rushed mess. Lenil Francis Yu arrives as the fill-in artist, turning in a job that starts off fine but deteriorates as the issue goes on. Whenever Yu penciled one of the main X-team books during this era, his work seemed to suffer. This one is particularly rough, which I’m sure had something to do with deadline issues. Ralph Macchio shows up for another random fill-in job, turning in a script that mostly consists of characters talking to themselves, describing their powers, and reciting the storyline so far. When they’re not repeating info that’s on the recap page, the characters have lines like, “Ugh! It’s enough to make me puke the way you upworlders fall all over yourselves like the Knights of the Round Table trying to prop up a stricken King Arthur!”

Even if the dialogue were tolerable, there’s only so much you can do with the thin plot. It’s twenty-two pages of Cerebrite Beta fighting the X-Men and Brotherhood, when they’re not busy arguing over who gets to leave with Xavier. You’d think that Xavier would have something to say about this, except that he only speaks in this issue when he has some exposition to spit out. It’s honestly hard to tell if he’s supposed to be unconscious during certain scenes, or if Macchio just didn’t want to give him anything to say. (He’s often drawn with his eyes closed and mouth open, but that doesn’t stop him from speaking a few times.) The action scenes might’ve saved this, but since every page is covered in bland exposition and Yu’s art suffers whenever multiple characters appear, the fight is just boring. This one really is terrible.

X-Men #84

Dream’s End!

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Adam Kubert & Pascual Ferry (pencilers), Matt Banning & Pascual Ferry (inkers), Richard Isanove & Monica Kubina (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Nightcrawler rescues the remaining X-Men in Tajikistan and uses the Aurora jet’s tracking system to find Xavier and the others. As Cerebro is explaining its plan to create peace by “cataloging” humans, the X-Men arrive. Convinced that he needs to use his telepathy to connect with Cerebro, Xavier asks Nina to reactivate his telepathic powers. Xavier connects Cerebro with every human mind on earth, revealing the uniqueness of the human race. Cerebro realizes the error of its ways and dissipates. Reunited, the X-Men return home.

Continuity Notes: The Aurora jet is the vehicle used by Cerebro’s imposter X-Men in UXM #360 and X-Men #80. The real X-Men confiscated it at the end of the storyline.

It’s revealed that by “cataloging” people, Cerebro is placing them inside a cocoon. Cerebro claims that it was created when Bastion attempted to download its files. A failsafe sent its central programming “into a secondary vessel”, which somehow lead to it becoming a sentient being after it passed through Bastion’s “complicated neural network”.

Review: And again, the X-Men chapter is more enjoyable than the UXM installment. Kelly’s script still has some personality, and Kubert’s art is up to his usual standards. Pascual Ferry’s half of the issue looks a little rushed in comparison, but it’s not bad either. The crossover finally ends, as Xavier has his powers restored and is reunited with the team. I wonder if that was always supposed to be Nina’s role, and if she was an editorial creation in the first place (it seems unlikely Larry Hama would’ve created such an enigmatic character for the purposes of a one-shot comic). Overall, it’s not a very satisfactory conclusion, but it has its moments. I think the major problem is Cerebro, who just isn’t an interesting villain, personality-wise or from a design sense. After introducing the idea of Cerebro as a villain, it seems as if the storytellers didn’t know where to go with it, as details of Cerebro’s plan are inconsistent from chapter to chapter, and the storyline ends with him getting the warm fuzzies and disappearing. It’s never very clear why he was kidnapping mutants in the first place, or why he abandoned some (like the X-Men in Tajikistan), but ruthlessly pursued others (like Pyro in the first chapter). This might’ve worked better if the storyline were cut in half, but reading issue after issue with such a dull villain becomes a chore.

UXM #363 – January 1999

Uncanny X-Men #363

When You’re Unwanted

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Art Thibert & Tim Townsend (inkers), Liquid! Graphics (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Wolverine, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Marrow follow Professor Xavier’s trail in San Francisco. Nearby, a Cerebro robot attempts to “catalogue” a latent mutant, but he’s ordered by a mysterious voice to follow new instructions. In Utah, a Cerebro robot steals samples of Bastion’s nanotechnology from a government facility. In Chinatown, Black Crane, a friend of Wolverine’s with mystic abilities, directs the X-Men to Alcatraz. When they arrive, they’re attacked by a new Brotherhood of Mutants, consisting of Blob, Toad, Mimic, and Post. Professor Xavier emerges and stops the fight, declaring the Brotherhood his new students. Xavier claims that they’re united against a common enemy, as a Cerebro robot suddenly bursts in.

Continuity Notes: Toad is now apparently insane, and speaks in rhyme. Post claims that the Brotherhood broke Xavier out of his New Mexico prison, not knowing that his telepathic powers were gone. A narrative caption says that the Cerebro robots were created by Bastion, a claim later repeated by Professor Xavier.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership lists average sales for the year at 233,656 copies, with the most recent issue selling 218,895.

Review: This is the crossover’s second weak issue of UXM. Like the previous issue, this is just dull. The X-Men go where the story needs them to go, fight the Brotherhood, find Xavier, and then the real villain appears. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the plot, the execution just fails to make it interesting. The X-Men have been separated from Xavier for over two years at this point, yet his return doesn’t feel like that big of a deal. Bachalo’s art might have something to do with this, as his cartoony style just doesn’t seem to convey any drama. I didn’t have that problem with his previous work, but the character designs in these issues are so exaggerated it’s hard to buy into the story (Liquid!’s extremely bright color palette is also a part of the problem, as the interior of Alcatraz is often portrayed as a shiny yellow). The selection of these characters as the new Brotherhood did seem odd at first, but Blob, Post and Mimic’s connection to Xavier/Onslaught actually works in the story’s favor. Toad, on the other hand, doesn’t have that connection, and is now insane for no obvious reason. I guess it’s the latest in his ongoing series of personality changes, but this switch has always annoyed me.

X-Men #83

Tomb of Ice

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Adam Kubert (penciler), Livesay/Wiacek/Llamas (inkers), Richard Isanove (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: In Tajikistan, the X-Men fight off the animated Cerebro. They flee with Nina and Renee Majcomb, who explains that she and Nina traveled to this monastery after escaping from Bastion. Months later, the animated Cerebro arrived to kidnap Nina, killing dozens of monks in the process. Nina was able to use her telepathic and reality bending powers to keep it away, until she was distracted by the X-Men’s arrival. The animated Cerebro returns and possesses Colossus’ body. During the fight, Cerebro blasts Storm and she disappears. The remaining X-Men are left unconscious as Cerebro flies away with Nina.

Continuity Notes: Renee Majcomb and Nina ended up in this monastery because Nina picked the memory from Xavier’s mind. Xavier spent time with these monks as a “youth”, which was presumably during the time he spent traveling the world. It’s revealed that Nina “imprinted” on to Xavier like a duck does its mother, explaining why Cerebro reads her as Xavier.

For the record, the Cerebro in UXM is a robot, while the one in X-Men is an energy form that wears the standard Cerebro headpiece, and appears to have a metallic spine. Another Cerebro is directing their orders from the “Liberty Electric Authority”, which is presumably in America.

Production Note: One page in this issue is clearly drawn by another artist. The page is a quick cutaway that recaps events that occurred in San Francisco during the previous chapter of the crossover. The dialogue is also pretty stiff, leading me to believe that Joe Kelly didn’t write it, either.

Review: The X-Men chapter is once again more enjoyable than the UXM installment, although this isn’t as strong as the previous issue. Kelly doesn’t give you the impression that he’s simply going through the motions, but it’s still not that interesting of a story. There is one nice character moment, as Nina gives Rogue a telepathic play-by-play of the X-Men getting devastated by Cerebro while she’s trying to fly her away. The story ties up some of the loose ends from the previous issue, as the dead monks are explained, and we’re told why Cerebro detected Xavier in Tajikistan. The explanation doesn’t make an awful lot of sense, but that’s true of most of the story elements that surround Nina. Adam Kubert’s art is as strong as ever, even though I dislike the design of the animated Cerebro. Having him possess Colossus doesn’t exactly improve the look, either.

UXM #362 & X-MEN #82 – December 1998

Uncanny X-Men #362

Meltdown

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Art Thibert & Tim Townsend (inkers), Liquid! Graphics (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Pyro, whose powers are out of control due to the Legacy Virus, is causing havoc in the Midwest. He asks for Professor Xavier, so Nick Fury summons the X-Men for help. Wolverine is finally able to confront Pyro, just as a mystery figure attempts to kidnap him. Pyro forces it to teleport away. His powers then explode, and Nick Fury takes his unconscious body away. The X-Men return home and try to locate Xavier with the Cerebro unit recently mailed to them by Moira MacTaggert. Shadowcat finds two identical readings for Xavier, one in San Francisco, and the other in Tajikistan.

Review: This is the beginning of the “Hunt for Xavier” crossover, which isn’t exactly considered a highlight of the Seagle/Kelly issues. This issue has a rather thin plot, but somehow Seagle manages to fit an excessive amount of word balloons into every page of the story. Bachalo is also cramming almost every page with small panels, which is apparently a quirk that he enjoys. In the end, you’re left with very tiny X-Men buried under a weight of word balloons. The story is already pretty dull, and the cramped look of almost every page doesn’t exactly encourage you to keep reading. Seagle does work in a few nice character moments, such as Marrow’s cynical attitude towards the Professor and Cecilia Reyes’ introduction to Gambit, but this one is mostly boring.

X-Men #82

The Hunt for Charly!

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Adam Kubert (penciler), John Dell & Jesse Delperdang (inkers), Richard Isanove (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Storm, Rogue, Colossus, and Gambit arrive in Tajikistan, where they find a hidden monastery in the snow. After breaking through the door, they discover dead bodies covering the ground. When Colossus touches a mirror, his finger goes through it. The X-Men investigate and find themselves inside a “non-logic” world. By concentrating on their deepest feelings, they’re able to return to reality. They’re greeted by Nina and Renee Majcomb. Nina apologizes for attacking the team, because she mistook them for a monster. She then tells the team that they’ve allowed a real monster to come in, as an animated Cerebro enters.

Production Note: All of the scenes inside the “non-logic” world are digitally painted by Richard Isanove. This is the first time the technique has been used in an X-book (it will show up a few times in the next year, I think exclusively in Adam Kubert’s issues).

Review: This is much more cryptic than the previous chapter, but it’s more fun to read. The combination of Kubert’s art and Isanove’s intricate colors creates a visually stunning issue. Even if much of the story details are left vague, Kelly’s script is strong enough to make the characters interesting, and he uses the “non-logic” world as a way to offer insight into each cast member. None of it is particularly new (Storm feels deeply about the X-Men as a family, Colossus misses his sister, Rogue is still fixated on her night with Gambit months earlier in Antarctica, and Gambit is wrapped up in another mystery -- the Green Mist Lady), but it’s another example of Kelly’s ability to make the story about the characters. Unfortunately, all of the things I like about this issue really have nothing to do with the main story, which is a bad omen for what’s ahead.

UXM #361& X-MEN #81 – November 1998

Uncanny X-Men #361

Thieves in the Temple

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Steve Skroce (penciler), Tim Townsend w/Hanna, Hunter, & Candelario (inkers), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Storm and Shadowcat respond to Black Tom’s call for help and arrive in South Korea. Black Tom explains that most of Juggernaut’s power has been stolen by a cult, who trapped the Cytorrak magic in a new gem. An enraged Juggernaut briefly goes on a rampage in Seoul, where Storm and Shadowcat soon encounter Gambit. Gambit claims that he’s been hired to steal the new Cytorrak Gem. He accompanies the two X-Men to the Cytorrak Temple, where Shadowcat learns of the cult’s doomsday plans for the gem. Gambit steals it, and decides to give it back to the ailing Juggernaut, rather than his employer. Storm asks Gambit to consider rejoining the X-Men.

Continuity Notes: This issue has a few questionable elements. Black Tom is no longer in his plant form, without explanation. There is a brief comment about him still recuperating from his injuries, but that’s it. A three-page narrative sequence repeatedly describes Juggernaut as a mutant, which he is not. There’s also a claim that he mislead the team and violated their trust in order to enter the mansion, with a footnote pointing towards X-Men #70 (that’s not even remotely what happened). Shadowcat claims that she would've died in a Florida swamp were it not for Storm, even though she wasn't in the group of X-Men with Storm in the previous storyline. This is also supposed to be the first meeting between Shadowcat and Gambit, but it seems like their paths crossed during the “Fatal Attractions” crossover.

Review: And now, apparently because a lot of people demanded it, Gambit returns. It is conceivable that a lot of fans were upset by Gambit’s departure (I imagine a large section of the fanbase only knew of an X-Men team with Gambit), but it didn’t seem as if the hardcore readers missed him that much at the time. This seems to be a commercial for the upcoming Gambit series, which also featured Steve Skroce on art and debuted a few months later. Skroce has entered a phase that has him drawing as many figures, tiny objects, bricks, glass shards, and Ditko-esque leaping heroes as possible. Most artists couldn’t make this work, but I think he manages to pull the reader into the image, rather than overloading them with too much nonsense. The story is just an excuse to give Gambit something to do, and it reads like something written on the fly. The “meanwhile” scenes at the mansion are actually more enjoyable. Marrow steals one of Colossus’ sketches, as we learn that she’s secretly obsessed with beauty. Colossus apologizes for getting angry by giving her a sketch he’s drawn of her. It’s a little sappy, but Seagle does a nice job with the character interactions.

X-Men #81

Jack of Hearts, Queen of Death!

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Adam Kubert (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Steve Buccellato (colorist), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: The X-Men introduce Marrow to the Danger Room, as Gambit moves in to the mansion’s boathouse. Rogue and Gambit soon travel to Boston, where they discuss what happened in Antarctica. A powerful young woman named Kali appears, declaring that the “voices” want Gambit and Rogue dead. After she’s defeated, Rogue tells Gambit that she still loves him. He doesn’t respond, so she flies away. Suddenly, a woman made of green mist circles Gambit, telling him to stay away from Rogue.

Continuity Notes: The Danger Room has returned without explanation (although future issues show the team receiving shipments from Muir Island, which would be a reasonable rationalization).

The mystery of the Green Mist Lady is resolved in Gambit’s upcoming solo series. I think the original idea was that she saved him in Antarctica, but I seem to recall Fabian Nicieza developing a more complicated resolution.

Miscellaneous Note: According to the Statement of Ownership, average sales for the year were 222,183 copies, with the most recent issue selling 206,491.

Review: And now that Gambit’s returned, Joe Kelly dedicates an entire issue to him and Rogue discussing his inane exit. This issue hammers home the “Rogue left him to die because she absorbed his self-loathing” idea, which was retroactively developed in order to justify Rogue’s decision. Since it absolves her of any guilt, it removes most of the conflict between Gambit and Rogue, leaving them without a lot to talk about in the story. Kelly could’ve revived the team’s indignant response to Gambit’s involvement with the Morlock Massacre, but I get the impression that Marvel doesn’t want to dwell on the idea (especially when Gambit’s solo series is a few months away). The conversation between the characters doesn’t feel particularly deep, and it’s of course interrupted by a fight scene. Kali is another mystery villain with annoyingly vague motivations. Even though Kelly hints that there’s more going on, Kali’s really just played as crazy, attacking Gambit and Rogue because the story needed an action sequence. Adam Kubert’s art helps to sell the fight scene, so at least it doesn’t feel boring. With the combination of Mark Farmer’s inks and some impressive coloring by Steve Buccellato, I’ve always thought that this was a great looking issue. I don’t know if Kubert is well-suited for a long run on a team book, since his art became increasingly stripped down as the months went on during his UXM stint (and quite a few fill-in artists were brought in), but his work here is very strong.

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.

UXM #359 & X-MEN #79 – September 1998

Uncanny X-Men #359

Power Play

Credits: Joe Kelly & Steve Seagle (writers), Chris Bachalo & Ryan Benjamin (pencilers), Tim Towsend/Scott Hanna/Jon Holdredge (inkers), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Government agent Henry Gyrich watches on with Senator Brickman as Rogue begins Dr. Agee’s cure for mutancy. Mystique, who disguised herself as Brickman’s wife, swaps places with Agee’s nurse and opens fire on him. Rogue saves his life, and takes Mystique away to talk. Mystique argues with Rogue against removing her powers, which leads to Rogue touching Mystique and absorbing her consciousness. Rogue tracks Dr. Agee to the Mutopia building, where Mystique’s presence in her mind forces her to fight the government agents. Rogue absorbs Dr. Agee’s memories and learns that the first mutant he tested the equipment on died, and that his sister was only briefly cured. Knowing that the government would eventually use it on mutants against their will, Rogue destroys Agee’s equipment.

Continuity Note: Phoenix reveals to Cyclops that she has lost her mental powers, and the couple decides to stay in Alaska as she recuperates. This is a reference to the “Psi-War” storyline in X-Men, which I think was supposed to remove every telepath’s power. This is likely an indication that “Psi-War” was supposed to be a larger event, because I definitely don’t remember any character (outside of Psylocke) losing their powers for long. And we now have Cyclops and Phoenix deciding to stay in Alaska, one issue after they abruptly decided to move. I have no idea what the point of this back and forth was supposed to be (I would assume some last minute editorial decisions have happened in-between issues).

Production Note: When Mystique reveals that Dr. Agee’s research is based on the power inhibitor Forge built for the government, the editorial caption reads, “Whatever you want to say – Mark”. I’m sure it was supposed to point us towards the back issues of UXM where this actually happened. There are also a couple of word balloons in this issue that are so poorly printed they’re hard to read. Plus, Dr. Agee’s word balloons are incorrectly pointing towards Mystique during the issue’s climax.

Review: With a questionable plot, rotating artists, and numerous production mistakes, this one feels like a rush job. It might’ve been more tolerable if Bachalo drew the entire issue, or if a more compatible artist had been paired with him. Dan Norton, the cartoony fill-in artist from a few issues ago would’ve been a nice fit, but instead Bachalo’s paired with Wildstorm artist Ryan Benjamin. His early Image look is so hopelessly out of place next to Bachalo’s art, you’ve got to wonder what they were thinking when they made this choice.

We’re starting to enter the editorially driven era of the Seagle/Kelly run, so the Rogue storyline that Seagle’s been toying with for months is quickly resolved so that another brave new direction for the X-Men can begin. Having Mystique appear and talk Rogue out of the procedure is a decent idea, but the delivery here is botched by horrid dialogue and nonsensical plotting. Instead of a believable mother/daughter conversation between Mystique and Rogue, we’re saddled with lines like “Come with me…or perish,” “Don’t try to divert me from my rage, Rogue,” and “Has the momentary promise of your forbidden fruit freed you of your faculties?” A cameo by Alpha Flight’s Shaman (as the doctor examining Phoenix) also brings us this gem, “I no longer use the medicine magic of my people to serve Canada as the hero Shaman, but it was Alpha Flight that brought me to Anchorage.” Both Seagle and Kelly are credited with writing this issue, but I don’t recall such stilted dialogue from either writer in the past.

The actual plotting of the story is as shaky as the dialogue. For some reason, Rogue decides to touch Mystique during their conversation (I guess to validate her claims that the government is behind Agee’s research, although that’s not made clear), which leads to Mystique taking command of Rogue’s body a few pages later. This goes beyond a simple continuity mistake, it’s an outright misunderstanding of how her powers work. Making matters worse, Mystique soon reappears, claiming that Rogue didn’t absorb “enough” of her. So she has enough of Mystique’s consciousness that it overtakes her mind, but not enough to knock Mystique out for more than a few seconds? The story also can’t seem to decide if Dr. Agee’s sister is alive or dead. Agee claims that he “owed the machine’s perfection to her memory” right after Rogue absorbs his memories. This is odd enough, since she isn’t the character that died during his flashback. Two pages later, Rogue tells Agee to leave and take care of his sister. So, I guess she isn’t dead. The sister line is used to justify why Agee won’t rebuild his machine, which assumes that the reader buys into the idea that he’ll be so preoccupied with his sister he’ll lose all interest in his research. It’s a copout ending, and it also makes Rogue pretty callous for not seeking justice for the mutant who died when Agee first tried his treatment. (This reminds me that two skeletons are shown in the flashback to this character’s death. Why?) This is really a mess all around, and a clear sign that something odd was happening behind the scenes.

X-Men #79

Little Morlock Lost

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), German Garcia (penciler), Holdredge/Mendoza/Alquiza (inkers), Liquid! (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Callisto enters the X-Men’s mansion, telling Marrow that she needs to stay with the team. Soon, Marrow overhears Cannonball’s plans to go back home, which pushes her over the edge. She races into the city, terrorizing the humans she comes across. Storm, Callisto, and Cannonball track her to Battery Park. Marrow encounters two police officers she put in the hospital months earlier. When they tell their story, Marrow realizes that she has behaved like a monster and apologizes. Storm makes peace with Marrow, as a shadowy figure watches on.

Continuity Notes: The shadowy figure is the same one who’s been looking over Callisto (for ominous reasons) in the previous issues. He claims that he has plans for Marrow, and at the story’s end, says that leaving the X-Men as her only family was his plan all along. It’s widely believed that the mystery figure was supposed to be the Dark Beast, although I don’t know if Kelly ever confirmed it, or if his specific plan was ever revealed.

The stage is being set for next issue’s overhaul of the team. Beast suggests Maggott join the Generation X team (which never happened), and Cannonball receives word that his mother is sick and needs his help.

The two policemen in this issue are supposed to be the ones Marrow knocked out in the opening pages of X-Men #68. These weren’t Prime Sentinels, as it’s emphasized in this issue that they were normal cops doing their jobs.

Review: It’s been widely accepted over the years that the September issues were the last “real” ones of the Seagle/Kelly era. Beginning next month, Excalibur is cancelled and Shadowcat, Colossus, and Nightcrawler join the team. The amount of internal logic in the stories takes a nosedive, as it becomes increasingly obvious that events are happening because the editors just want them to happen. Marrow is the only new member allowed to stay, which might explain why this is an entire issue dedicated to reassuring her place on the team. Marvel is still taking an odd approach to her past continuity, as the two cops she knocked out in a brief scene during the “Zero Tolerance” crossover are brought back to inspire some guilt and repentance. Marrow committed much larger sins than this during her early appearances, but these have been mostly ignored since she was forced on to the team. If you’re willing to go along with the whitewashing of her past, this is an acceptable story about Marrow finally embracing her role as an X-Man. I never bought the selective use of her backstory, though, and still feel as if Maggott or Reyes would’ve been more suitable members.

X-MEN #78 & UXM #358 – August 1998

X-Men #78

Stormfront Part 2

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), German Garcia (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Liquid! (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Powered by Psylocke’s psionic attack, the Shadow King now has access to every mind on earth. He tries to tempt the new X-Men over to his side, while Psylocke unexpectedly reemerges in a shadow form. Realizing that the mystic Crimson Dawn is powering her inside the psionic plane, she rescues Ainet. With her help, Psylocke is able to free Storm from her psychic prison. As Storm rescues the other X-Men, Psylocke faces the Shadow King. When he tries to infect every mind on earth, Psylocke targets his unprotected “nexus point” with her shadow powers. The Shadow King disappears, but Psylocke realizes that if she uses her telepathy again, he could be set free.

Continuity Notes: The Shadow King explains that he was masking his presence from Xavier for months, until Xavier lost his telepathy after becoming Onslaught. He also claims that the psychic feedback caused by Psylocke’s attack “devastated the minds of all unshielded telepaths.” I think that this was supposed to be something of a big deal within the Marvel Universe, but it was only briefly referenced in a few of the X-titles.

Review: This two-parter might turn out to be Kelly’s strongest work on the title. There is a sense that this was probably supposed to be a larger story arc, but the slightly rushed conclusion doesn’t distract from the imaginative use of the Shadow King’s powers and some strong character work. Kelly’s skill with dialogue has previously given the characters some sharp one-liners that also reflect some aspect of their personality. This storyline goes deeper, as the X-Men are forced by the Shadow King to live out their greatest fears or deepest desires. This is a fairly standard route to take with telepathic villains, but Kelly is able to make it more engaging than the cliché “villain invades the hero’s mind” story. Not only is Storm forced to reenact the childhood trauma that created her claustrophobia, but she also expresses her guilt over failing her parents, being forced to “kill” Marrow, and using her powers irresponsibly as a youth. This is only a two-page scene, but it offers more insight into her character than any other '90s issue I can think of.

Psylocke also has her moments, as the previously pointless Crimson Dawn powers are actually used effectively. I wonder if Lobdell was planning all along to do a story where Psylocke loses her telepathic powers and has to embrace her new ones. It’s a pretty obvious way to go, but since Lobdell never even took the idea this far, the Crimson Dawn powers stuck around for years with no discernable purpose. Kelly actually uses the powers to move the character in a new direction, as the shadow powers enable her to redeem herself for last issue’s mistake. I’m sure the story was created with the goal of “doing something” about Psylocke, but Kelly never leaves you with the impression that he resents having to use the character. Making the story as much about Psylocke’s need to redeem herself as it is about stopping the villain gives it more weight, reminding me of the type of stories Claremont told during his original run.

Uncanny X-Men #358

Lost in Space

Credits: Steve Seagle (plot), Joseph Harris (script), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Steve Buccellato (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Bishop and Deathbird are shot down by the alien Chnitt. They meet Karel, an alien from another planet that’s been ravaged by the Chnitt. Karel is collecting weapons to use against the Chnitt on his home planet. Bishop and Deathbird travel with him to the city of Kuth, where they hope to find a warp gate. When the trio arrives in Kuth, it’s under attack by the Chnitt. Bishop volunteers to stay behind and protect the city while the others head for the warp gate. After Bishop defeats the Chnitt, he finally reaches the warp gate. It collapses after Karel escapes, leaving Bishop alone with Deathbird.

Continuity Note: Cyclops and Phoenix have decided in-between issues to move from Alaska. Iceman, Beast, and Archangel are helping them move when Cyclops receives news that the realtor can’t sell their house. A child throws a brick through their window, shortly before Phoenix collapses (due to the events of the “Psi-War” storyline). It looks like Seagle was setting up a story about the town turning against Cyclops and Phoenix, but I don’t recall it going anywhere. I’m not sure why exactly the decision had been made to have them move so quickly. It’s even stranger knowing that Cyclops and Phoenix aren’t a part of the next team of X-Men anyway.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority: The Bullpen Bulletins announces the arrival of a new assistant editor, Zena Tsarfin, coming from High Times magazine. “There will be plenty of high times in the new Slingers book, but probably not the kind Zena is used to writing about!”

Review: After months as a subplot, Deathbird and Bishop are given the main story for an issue. Ideally, this would’ve offered some resolution to their subplot and actually moved their story forward, but instead the characters are essentially left in the same place they’ve been for the previous year – stuck in space with one another. A caption on the last page points readers towards an upcoming one-shot called Team X 2000, which is supposed to continue their story. I have no idea how this storyline was eventually resolved, but I do know that Bishop had his own solo series, set thousands of years in the future, within the next year. Joseph Harris, a new writer finding work at Marvel at the time and the scripter of this issue, wrote the series, so maybe it was already in the works when this issue was published.

Even though this story doesn’t actually resolve their long-running subplot, it’s an enjoyable action story that offers some insight into Bishop’s personality. The fact that he’s made no friends amongst the X-Men and has often stayed in the background is used as a characterization point, as Bishop spends the entire issue lamenting his status as a loner and perpetual outcast. He accepts his role as a loner by the end, declaring that his purpose is “fighting, protecting,” which is at least an attempt to make him seem more heroic. A potential romance with Deathbird is still being teased, but Harris’ script makes it more plausible by portraying Bishop's reluctance, and by casting Deathbird’s interest more as an obsessive crush than true love. Bachalo’s art is well suited for the outer space setting, as he excels at drawing the freakish alien monsters. It’s a little surprising that he ended up on an intermission issue, while he missed some issues that actually moved the main stories along, but his art helps to give the story some weight.

X-MEN #76 - X-MEN #77, June 1998 - July 1998

X-Men #76

A Boykie and His Dinges

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Mat Broome (penciler), Sean Parson w/Aaron Sowd (inkers), Liquid! (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Maggott tells Wolverine a story from his past. In South Africa, Maggott lived in a crowded home with his large family. At the age of twelve, he was no longer able to digest food, causing his family excessive medical bills. Feeling that he was a burden, he drove into the desert, hoping to die. Magneto suddenly appeared and released the two slugs living inside Maggott’s body. Magneto explained to Maggott that he was a mutant and took him back home. There, he discovered that his older brother had been killed by Apartheid soldiers. Magneto took Maggott into the city, where his father was fighting Apartheid. Magneto murdered the soldiers, horrifying Maggott. Magneto left, telling Maggott that one day they’ll fight as brothers.

Continuity Notes: The “mysterious package from Africa” subplot continues, as Storm picks it up from the post office. When she opens it, a mystical statuette appears, telling her that she must come home and stop “Ananasi”. The next issue clarifies that the statuette is of Ainet, a “village priestess” who took Storm in as a teenager.

It’s finally confirmed that Maggott’s slugs act as his digestive system. They feed on matter, and then return the nourishment to him by somehow merging with the hole in his stomach.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority: Letterers are traditionally careful with the word “flick”, as it tends to look like another word when written in all caps. “Flick” is used as a sound effect on page two, and the letterer has made the brave decision not to space the L and I far apart, but to have them actually overlap.

Review: It’s strange to read an entire issue dedicated to Maggott while knowing that Marvel is just a few issues away from consigning him to obscurity. It’s a suitable enough origin story, although it’s another indication that Joe Kelly’s interpretation of Magneto is out of whack (even though he was clearly a villain pre-Claremont, I don’t think he was the type for a casual, cold-blooded slaughter until the ‘90s). While the story does explain Maggott’s connection to Magneto, it still doesn’t resolve the character’s original mystery, which had him searching for Magneto for unspecified reasons. I did find this a satisfactory resolution as a teen though, and thought that Maggott had some potential as a character. However, even then I found the character’s speech pattern annoying. In this issue, Kelly is particularly bad about cramming his dialogue with South African slang (which Kelly pulled from some website) that’s often impenetrable. Mat Broome shows up as guest artist, years after his early X-Force fill-ins. His work on X-Force has aged horribly, but most of his pages here aren’t so bad.

X-Men #77

Storm Front

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), German Garcia (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Liquid! (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Psylocke uses her shadow teleportation powers to take the X-Men to Africa, where Storm finds her old village empty. Ainet appears, possessed by the trickster god, Ananasi. As Storm attacks Ananasi, the rest of the X-Men disappear, emerging inside various fantasies. Psylocke manages to find Storm, telling her that Ananasi is actually a telepath and not a god. They enter the psionic plane together, where Psylocke is goaded by Ananasi into pushing her powers to their limits. Storm realizes that she was never the real target, but is unable to stop Psylocke from stabbing Ananasi with a psychic sword. A psionic event covers the earth, as Ananasi is exposed as the Shadow King.

Review: This is the first part of “Psi-War”, which I think was originally supposed to be a much larger event than it turned out to be. The story mainly consists of getting the X-Men to Africa, a few fantasy sequences, and the last page reveal of the Shadow King. It’s not exactly a shock that a story about Storm returning to Africa would have the Shadow King as the villain, especially after Psylocke reveals that Ananasi is actually a telepath mid-issue, but Kelly manages to get an enjoyable story out of this. He’s aided by German Garcia, who has a nice grasp of most of the cast and an impressive design for Ananasi. Kelly tries to shift the focus to Psylocke, as it becomes more obvious that the story is about telepaths, which is the first time a writer has tried to make some sort of statement about her character in a while. He goes the predictable route by having the Shadow King mock her identity issues, and her redundancy as the X-Men’s third-tier telepath. I think he crosses the line with too much meta-commentary (“You’ve been transmogrified and obliterated and possessed and killed so many times…you’re everyone’s plaything.”), but it’s nice to see someone using this as the starting point for a story and not an excuse to just dismiss the character.

X-MEN #74 – #75, April - May 1998

X-Men #74

Rituals

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Carlos Pacheco (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Chris Lichtner & Aron Lusen (colors)

Summary: Archangel revisits the scene of the Morlock Massacre, as Marrow attends to the wounded Callisto nearby. Archangel is attacked by the Abomination, who is now living in the sewers. Marrow, who has idolized Archangel since she was a child, helps him defeat Abomination. Meanwhile in Salem Center, Wolverine investigates a series of murders which might’ve been committed by Maggott’s slugs. He’s attacked from behind, and awakens with a scar on his chest. Maggott is standing nearby, asking forgiveness.

Continuity Notes: A mystery man is helping to keep Callisto alive. The implication is that it’s the Dark Beast, but this is another dropped plot.

The X-Men’s favorite tavern, Harry’s Hideaway, makes an odd appearance. It’s now a 50's-style burger joint that’s way off-model from its previous appearances. Harry himself is also off-model, and doesn’t know that Wolverine is a mutant, which contradicts hints Claremont dropped that he was in on the X-Men’s secret.

Wolverine presents the local authorities with a detective’s badge that reads “Jim Logan”. Years later, James was revealed as his real first name, but I refuse to give Bill Jemas and company credit for researching back issues and referencing this one.

Review: Marrow receives her softest portrayal yet, as Kelly picks up on the revelation that she witnessed Archangel’s mutilation during the Morlock Massacre and reveals that she actually idolizes him with a religious fervor. He takes the idea too far by having her pray “to he who was crucified and reborn”, but I can see where he’s going with it. It’s conceivable that a young Marrow, before growing up in a Darwinist alternate dimension, would’ve been enthralled by the sight of an angel and held on to it over the years. It gives her a connection with at least one of the X-Men, and presents a side of her personality outside of “horrifically nasty”. The fight with Abomination is just an excuse to give the two characters something to do together, but it’s excellently delivered by Pacheco, who has been producing solid work throughout this run. The tease for the next issue involving Wolverine and Maggott is also interesting, playing off the fact that Maggott is still a total mystery and might be capable of anything.

X-Men #75

Anatomy of a Monster

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), German Garcia (penciler), Art Thibert w/Panosian, Hanna, & Holdredge (inkers), Digital Chameleon (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Wolverine discerns that Maggott’s slugs weren’t responsible for the murders in Salem Center and heads for the N’Garai cairn near the mansion. He’s joined by Beast, Marrow, and Cecilia Reyes, while the rest of the team tracks down a distraught Maggott. After finding him, they’re suddenly teleported to the Ukraine. They enter the nearby N’Garai cairn and are reunited with the rest of the X-Men inside the N’Garai’s dimension. They soon learn that the murders were actually committed by Pilgrimm, a member of the N’Garai’s former slave caste, the Ru’Tai. The race is powered by the Eye of Kierokk, which Reyes manages to accidentally destroy. The X-Men rescue the Ru’Tai’s human captives and return to Earth. Pilgrimm, however, disguises himself as a human and escapes.

Continuity Notes: When Rogue tries to defend Marrow’s place on the team by mentioning her own criminal past, Storm responds, “You never took a life”. So I guess the X-Men do know that Marrow’s a murderer, which again makes me wonder why they haven’t placed her in custody.

The Ru’Tai were inspired to revolt against the N’Garai after witnessing Wolverine’s slaughter of the N’Garai months earlier. It’s not outright stated, but I assume this is a reference to the Wolverine ’95 annual. The Ru’Tai have labeled Wolverine the “Mai’Keth” and idolize him, although they doubt that he is the Mai’Keth when he stops fighting and berates himself for inadvertently causing the murders in Salem Center. Pilgrimm has been dissecting people because he was given the task of “study(ing) humans for enlightenment”.

Review: This one doesn’t entirely work, but it has its moments. Apparently, Carlos Pacheco is gone by this point (he signs his cover with “see you”), leading German Garcia to come in with a fill-in that the letters column admits was a last minute job. I recall disliking his work as a teenager, but I don’t see any real faults with it today. His work here somehow manages to merge John Romita, Jr. with Mike Wieringo, and while it probably suffers from having to work too many panels into most of the pages, it’s not bad at all. The plot is an entertaining action story with some nice character moments, but it doesn’t exactly work as a resolution to the ongoing storyline. There’s no explanation for why exactly Maggott’s slugs are so attracted to the Ru’Tai, or why they were abandoning Maggott over the past few days (perhaps because they were drawn to the Ru’Tai’s presence in Salem Center, but it’s not confirmed in the issue). And if the Ru’Tai are supposed to worship Wolverine as an idol, it doesn’t make sense for Pilgrimm to have attacked him in the previous issue. I also have no idea why half of the team was transported to the Ukraine, unless this somehow ties into a connection between Maggott and the Ru’Tai. It’s the characterizations that save the issue, as Kelly is able to keep the cast members distinct and maintain sharp dialogue throughout the story. The bits of comedy thrown in, such as Cecilia Reyes getting stuck in one of the Wasp’s old costumes that the Beast borrowed, also keep things fun.

X-MEN #73 - March 1998 & UXM #355 - May 1998

X-Men #73

The Elements Within Us

Credits: Joe Kelly (writer), Joe Casey (script assist), Jeff Johnson (penciler), Dan Panosian (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Oliff & Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary: The X-Men receive a letter from Professor Xavier, but Wolverine is suspicious of its origin. Later, Joseph asks to speak to Maggott about his relationship with Magneto. Maggott is reluctant, because he knows Joseph isn’t Magneto after coming across the real Magneto in Antarctica. Their conversation is interrupted by Sabra, who attacks Joseph. Maggott stops the fight by convincing her that he isn’t really Magneto. Joseph abruptly decides to leave with Sabra, hoping that he can learn the truth about his past from her.

Continuity Notes: The continuity in this issue doesn’t work with the events of Uncanny at the time. UXM #353-#354 all feature Joseph, so they must take place before he leaves the mansion in this issue. However, #355 takes places directly after #354 (which ends with Rogue leaving the mansion), and it explicitly says that Joseph has left the team by this point. The only way for this to work is for the final few pages of #354, Rogue’s departure scene, to take place after this issue.

The story takes place on New Year’s Eve, and has the team making resolutions. Beast’s is to cure the Legacy Virus, which Cecilia Reyes bets him he cannot do within the year. This ties in with the house ad that hyped a resolution to the storyline in 1998, but it didn’t happen until three years later.

There are, of course, numerous subplot scenes in this issue. Sebastian Shaw receives a lot of focus in the issue, debating his future, before finally deciding to join forces with a mystical entity. This one is particularly frustrating, since it takes up so much space and is never resolved. The package addressed to Storm is making its way to America, and somehow African tribesmen are in a German post office, ensuring that it gets through (they might be a mental projection, it’s hard to tell). Senator Kelly is searching for Professor Xavier at Bastion’s abandoned New Mexico base, but he isn’t there. Finally, Marrow returns to the mansion after her fight with Wolverine and steals Cecilia Reyes’ doctor’s bag (since Marrow also made cameos in UXM during this time, this makes the continuity even harder to work out).

Review: This one looks pretty rough in retrospect, although I recall liking it at the time. Kelly tries to move some storylines along while still focusing on the characters, so we end up with the X-Men making New Year’s resolutions as a multitude of subplots carry on in the background. None of the resolutions are particularly insightful, (Wolverine’s is to “be the best there is at what I do…soon as I figure out just what that is”, a line I seem to recall Kelly mocking in his writing column for the early Newsarama) but there are a few nice moments with Beast.

Maggott and Joseph’s conversation seems to be a “let’s just get this done” formality, and it somehow turns into a rushed exit scene for Joseph. This is really just awkward all around, as Maggott was given an unexplained motive for finding Magneto in his early appearances, which was quickly dismissed when he joined the team (for equally vague reasons). Joseph was supposed to be Magneto, although no one bothered to explain how he ended up in his current state. Then, suddenly, he wasn’t Magneto, but was left on the team with nothing to do. It seems like the creators just want to ditch him at this point, so he gets the token conversation with Maggott out of the way, and then runs off with Sabra. Sabra’s addition doesn’t make a lot of sense either, as the Mossad agent is now working on her own, determined to kill Magneto. She’s never been concerned about him before, but now she’s hell-bent on killing him after he murdered a counterfeiter (not even in Israel, but in Prague). She claims that she has to do this “for my people” (presumably because she thinks Magneto’s a poor representative for Jews), but that’s not a very convincing motivation. And I have no idea why Joseph thinks she can help him learn about his past, or why he feels the need to leave without even saying goodbye to the others. It just reads as if someone wanted Joseph gone and no one actually worked out the logistics of how it was supposed to happen.

Uncanny X-Men #355

North & South

Credits: Steve Seagle (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Tim Townsend w/Beatty & Smith (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: As Wolverine takes the captive Sauron to Manhattan, he’s attacked by Alpha Flight. Meanwhile, Rogue visits Dr. Agee, who claims that he can remove genetic mutations. After her consultation, she flies past Wolverine’s fight. She recruits the other X-Men for help, and Alpha Flight is quickly defeated. Heather Hudson realizes that Department H lied to the team, claiming that Wolverine had killed Alpha Flight member Madison Jeffries. Wolverine shakes hands with Heather and the teams part amicably. Meanwhile, Cyclops expresses his concerns to Phoenix over her decision to wear the original Phoenix costume.

Continuity Notes: This is supposed to represent the X-Men’s perspective during their appearance in Alpha Flight from around this time. This was mentioned in an earlier Bullpen Bulletins, but I don’t see any indication within the issue itself. The reason why Alpha Flight is behaving strangely is apparently because they’re being brainwashed (I never followed Seagle’s Alpha Flight, and it’s my understanding that it’s also filled with unresolved mysteries).

Phoenix is wearing her original costume because she’s “tired of suppressing (her) abilities” and wants to “empower” herself. Cyclops is afraid that this might be a sign that she’s following the original Phoenix’s path. Speaking of costumes, Rogue is back to wearing the space suit she wore during the previous year’s Phalanx storyline for no apparent reason.

Review: This is mostly a commercial for the second volume of Alpha Flight, and it’s not a very good one since most of the characters aren’t very interesting and I don’t really understand what’s going on. I can understand why Seagle thought an Alpha Flight appearance could work as an excuse for a fight scene and as promotion for the title, but it just comes across as pointless. Bachalo’s art saves some of this, but for the most part it’s pretty dull.

The Rogue subplot continues, as she makes the first step in removing her powers. This is pretty much the most obvious story you can do with Rogue (as evidenced by the fact that the original cartoon and the third movie used the same idea), so it’s surprising that the comics themselves had never gone in this direction. Rogue was even targeted with a power-neutralizing gun during the original Claremont run, but he didn't take the obvious bait and have Rogue consider if getting hit would’ve been a good thing. I don’t have a problem with obvious ideas as long as the writer gets decent material out of them, so I can’t hold this against Seagle. Unfortunately, Rogue’s story is barely touched on in this issue, as the Alpha Flight fight takes up most of the space.

The Phoenix storyline is another one that I remember getting a lot of play before being totally ignored. Cyclops’ fears resurrect all kinds of continuity issues that probably should’ve been left alone. At the time, the established continuity was that the Phoenix was a cosmic entity who copied Jean Grey’s form, and that Jean never was the Phoenix. Seagle seems to be going back to the pre-retcon idea that the Phoenix represents Jean’s ultimate potential as a mutant, which makes Cyclops wonder if history is going to repeat itself. I don’t see how this story can work without retconning the retcons, because if you accept that Jean never was Phoenix, there’s not a lot of conflict here. Unless Cyclops thinks that the cosmic entity has returned (which isn’t where Seagle seems to be going with this), that means that he’s upset about his wife changing outfits. And if Jean never was Phoenix, then it’s hard to explain why exactly she’s creating fiery bird imagery and wants to wear the old costume (as for the name change, this was explained years earlier as a tribute to Rachel Summers, who did carry the Phoenix Force for a while). Maybe Seagle did have a plan that made sense within continuity and actually said something about Jean Grey’s character, but it just seems like shock value at this point. And since this turned out to be another dropped plot, it’s even more annoying in retrospect.