WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #117 - October 1994

Power and Responsibility Part One - Shadow Rising

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Steven Butler (penciler), Randy Emberlin (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man confronts Ben Reilly, incredulous that his clone could’ve survived. During the fight, Ben knocks Spider-Man unconscious and slips away. Meanwhile, Dr. Judas Traveller arrives at Ravencroft with his entourage. He quickly takes over the facility and mentally examines the inmates’ connections to Spider-Man. His devotee Chakra sends a message to Spider-Man -- the inmates will be killed or freed; either way, Spider-Man must face Traveller. Ben overhears the message and secretly follows Spider-Man to Ravencroft.

The Subplots: Mary Jane’s aunt Anna arrives to visit Aunt May in the hospital.

Web of Continuity: Well, obviously, nothing important has happened in the Spider-titles since the last issue of Web.

*See _________ For Details: Dr. Ashley Kafka is still recovering from Shriek’s escape in Amazing Spider-Man #390. The original clone storyline from Amazing #149-151 is mentioned in a later footnote.

Creative Differences: An added thought balloon has Ben remarking that he only kept his old costume as a souvenir. Unfortunately, the extra balloon interrupts a sentence that had been broken into two separate thought balloons, making the addition particularly awkward.

Gimmicks: This issue has a cardstock foil cover and an extra flip book story. The cover price is $2.99.

Review: And now we’ve reached what used to be considered the most controversial Spider-Man story of all time. Of course, this goes back to the days when a) comics were reaching a mainstream audience, and b) readers had enough of an emotional connection to get worked up about this kind of thing. The Marvel Universe is a living, breathing retcon today, so it’s a little difficult to appreciate just how outrageous this story seemed at the time, even before Ben Reilly was revealed as the “one, true” Spider-Man. The clone was dead. He lived and died back in the ‘70s, before much of the audience was even born. And the fans that actually were old enough to remember the original storyline tended to regard it as one of the low points in Spider-Man’s history. He was gone, dead, and virtually forgotten, only getting referenced in a few late ‘80s Spectacular Spider-Man issues (and those stories largely existed to correct the implausible science of the original storyline). Revealing that the clone not only survived, but also had his own life “behind the scenes” of the Marvel Universe for the past twenty years was enough to make many fans apoplectic. And, again, this is before they found out that this was the “real” Peter Parker.

Looking back, with demonic pacts, several origin revisions, and illegitimate Gwen Stacy/Norman Osborn babies in our rearview, the outrage over this story almost feels quaint. I bet Marvel wishes they could get the fans to care so much about a storyline today. Too bad for them, because I think the overabundance of these stunts has left the readers in a permanent state of ennui. You could reveal that Peter Parker and Harry Osborn were secretly lovers during their college roommate days and only the editorial staff of The Advocate would probably care.

As for this specific issue, it really is the best issue of Web in a while. Kavanagh’s dialogue isn’t as overwrought or clunky as usual, and the alternating Spider-Clone/Judas Traveller plots certainly grab your interest. The revival of the clone was Kavanagh’s idea, and perhaps his enthusiasm for the concept is coming through in his work. It would’ve been nice to see some sort of a recap explaining how exactly Spider-Man ended up on a rooftop in a confrontation with his long-thought dead clone, though. Even if this wasn’t labeled the first chapter of a crossover, that’s information that at least warranted an editor’s note. That complaint aside, it’s a decent chapter that stirs up a lot of interest.

The story’s helped a lot by new artist Steven Butler, who seems to be specifically channeling Mark Bagley during this stint. He’s even joined by Bagley’s Amazing inker Randy Emberlin, giving this issue a look that’s virtually identical to the line’s flagship title. I can understand the desire to give each series its own distinctive look, but there’s something to be said for linewide consistency, too. Even subconsciously reminding the readers of Amazing sends the message that Web isn’t a disposable spinoff anymore.





The Double Part One - Born Again!

Credits: J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Liam Sharp (penciler), Robin Riggs (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), John Kalisz (colorist)

The Plot: Professor Miles Warren creates a clone of Peter Parker. After weeks of abuse, the clone knocks Warren unconscious and escapes his lab.

The Subplots: None.

Web of Continuity: This story shows the unambiguous creation of a Peter Parker clone, rejecting the retcons from Spectacular Spider-Man annual #8 that established Warren’s “clones” as genetic duplicates. Gerry Conway’s retcon of his original clone storyline revealed that Warren merely used a virus that changed the appearance of a person to match that of someone else. Hence, the Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy “clones” were normal people injected with a virus that altered their DNA to resemble Peter and Gwen’s.

*See _________ For Details: The story of the clone continues in Amazing Spider-Man #394.

Review: J. M. DeMatteis is widely viewed as the best writer of these clone stories, and it’s obvious from this back-up that he’s intrigued by the issues of identity and “nature vs. nurture” that cloning introduces. Most of the script is a series of narrative captions offering a poetic reflection on the creation of life and the fundamental question of “Who am I?” that everyone must face. The basic plot consists of an old man beating a naked teenager. That kind of sums up the clone saga right there -- a talented writer could find numerous avenues to explore, but the basic premise is hard to escape. Your thoughtful reflection on human nature might be beautiful, but it’s wrapped around laughably bad science and ridiculous Bronze Age continuity.

X-MEN #35 – August 1994

Sunset Grace

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Liam Sharp (penciler), Robin Riggs (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), Digital Chameleon (colorist)

Summary

Cyclops and Phoenix awake inside the SHIELD helicarrier. Their minds have just returned to their bodies in St. Barts after being sent into the future. Nick Fury briefs them on a local mutant named Sunset Grace who has opened a rift to another dimension. He sends them on a mission to rescue the SHIELD technicians who are trapped inside the strange world. Cyclops and Phoenix enter the rift and discover that it resembles a child’s fantasy land. Phoenix sees that the technicians are okay and sends them back through the rift with Cyclops’ help. They explore the strange dimension and meet Sunset Grace. She tells them that she first entered this dimension when she was fifteen, but eventually lost interest in it as she grew older. Years later, her family was in a car accident. Grace used her powers to send her husband and son to the other dimension as their car fell from a cliff. However, Grace wasn’t able to follow them because the entrance only opened out of her own desperation. After so many years away, she couldn’t find a way to enter it again. She became catatonic, and a young Professor Xavier was sent to treat her, healing her mind and closing off access to her powers. Her powers didn’t reemerge until Cyclops and Phoenix, not far from her on the beach, were sent into the future by Rachel Summers. The psychic cry Phoenix released apparently awakened her powers. Phoenix uses her powers to reunite Grace with her husband and son inside the dimension, and then leaves with Cyclops. She tells Cyclops that Grace’s husband and child actually died in the car accident, and that she was only being reunited with the memories that she’s kept locked inside for years. Cyclops wonders if it’s right to allow her to stay inside her dream world, but Phoenix replies that her happiness is worth it.

Continuity Notes

This is return of Cyclops and Phoenix to our timeline after their miniseries. The amount of time they say they were (mentally) gone alternates between ten years and twelve years. Nick Fury says that the systems inside the X-Men’s mansion seem to have been disconnected, which is a reference to the upcoming Phalanx storyline.

Production Note

This is the second issue in a row that’s only twenty pages.

Review

It’s more time killing before the Phalanx crossover begins. This story has no bearing on any of the ongoing storylines, although Nicieza does try to connect the loss of Sunset Grace’s family with Cyclops’ reunion with Nathan. It’s kind of a stretch and doesn’t really work. The twist ending isn’t that bad, but it’s not enough to save a mediocre issue. Liam Sharpe’s fill-in art is inconsistent, but I like a few of the pages and he creates some interesting designs for the fantasy dimension. More entertaining than anything in the actual story is a letter in the letters column from a girl in the Philippines who considers herself Gambit’s wife. Her friend Mona is Mrs. Gambit #1 and she’s Mrs. Gambit #2, so not only is she fantasizing about a fictional comic book character, she’s content to be the second wife in their imaginary polygamist marriage. Don’t you miss letter pages?

X-MEN UNLIMITED #5 – June 1994

Hard Promises

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Liam Sharp (penciler), Conrad/Moncuse/Riggs/Ryan (inkers), Starkings/Comicraft (lettering), Marie Javins (colorist)

Summary

Professor Xavier, Forge, Storm, and Jubilee are summoned by a Shi’ar envoy to the Kree planet of Hala. Lilandra wants the X-Men represented at a ceremony to induct the Kree into the Shi’ar Empire. As a part of a scheme by the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence, the Shi’ar were manipulated into creating a negabomb that destroyed most of the Kree. The Shi’ar have taken over their planet, and Lilandra has placed her sister Deathbird as governor of the Kree in order to keep her actions in plain sight, and to hopefully suppress her thirst for power. At the celebration, Jubilee meets a young Kree girl named Shym’r. She’s taken away quickly by her older brother, Trigor. Trigor soon tries to assassinate Deathbird, and when that fails, kills himself in a suicide bombing.

That night, Jubilee explores the city of Kree’lar and finds Shym’r again. Shym’r takes her to meet the other members of the Kree Resistance. Two of the members, Visog and Dantella, are willing to kill Jubilee, but their leader, Malakii, spares her life. Jubilee arranges a meeting between Malakii and Lilandra. Convinced that the two will not come to an understanding, Visog and Dantella go off on their own. Jubilee and Shym’r follow them and discover their plan to destroy a Shi’ar stargate outside of Hala. Dantella knocks out Jubilee and Shym’r before they can tell the others.

Meanwhile, Lilandra’s meeting with Malakii is interrupted by Shi’ar authorities. Feeling that she shouldn’t be seen meeting with terrorists, Lilandra and the others escape to the rail tunnels. They soon discover that Visog and Dantella have left in the Kree’s shuttle. They follow the Kree rebels in an old freighter and make contact with Visog. He tells Malakii that he’s using the shuttle as a bomb to destroy the stargate. Visog kills Dantella when she doubts the plan, and then commits suicide as the shuttle reaches the stargate. Forge and Malakii enter the shuttle and alter the frequency of the destruction to resonate with the stargate’s energy, rather than destroy it. They succeed in stopping the stargate’s destruction, but when they return to Hala, Deathbird demands the arrests of Malakii and Shym’r. Lilandra agrees, explaining to Xavier that allowing Malakii to go free would encourage more acts of terror. Xavier begins to understand, but realizes that Lilandra’s role as empress will always stand between them. He returns to Earth, unsure of their relationship.

Continuity Note

The Shi’ar defeated the Kree in the “Operation Galactic Storm” crossover, which went through the Avengers titles in the early ‘90s.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

Virtually every female in this issue, including Jubilee, appears scantily clad at some point. Shi’ar formal wear must be inspired by back issues of Heavy Metal. Storm seems to be suffering from the “Boobs Larger Than Head” syndrome on a few pages.

I Love the ‘90s

Jubilee compares the Shi’ar ceremony to “Lalapalooza” (which isn’t the way the music festival spelled its name, but it’s apparently an accepted spelling of the word it’s named after).

Review

The original idea behind X-Men Unlimited was that each issue would feature a big event for the X-Men. Considering the fact that every issue was 64 pages and cost four dollars, that’s an admirable goal. The first four issues saw the introduction of a new villain (who was supposed to be a big deal), the return of Magneto, Sabretooth “joining” the X-Men, and the long-awaited origin of Nightcrawler. By the time we get to the fifth issue, it’s a story about a few X-Men fighting Kree terrorists and Xavier kinda breaking up with his girlfriend that we never see. In terms of just telling a story, it is a lot better than the previous issue; but in terms of doing anything meaningful with the characters or continuity, it’s a huge letdown. The Shi’ar were introduced in Uncanny X-Men and were a large part of the Claremont run, so I can understand why some fans would want to see their role in “Operation Galactic Storm” dealt with in an X-book, but that still doesn’t feel like much of a “big event”. Five issues in, and the book’s already turning out overpriced inventory stories.

To his credit, Moore does create a story that fits into the 64 page format well, and he at least tries to use the Kree to make observations about the featured X-Men. I’m not really a fan of putting the X-Men in science fiction settings, but the story does a decent job of giving the aliens relatable personalities, at least. I like the way the ending shows Lilandra’s willingness to make hard decisions without making her totally unsympathetic (after seeing what’s happened to Iron Man, Xavier, and Spider-Man in recent years, I’d say Marvel’s current writers have lost that trick). It still reads like an inventory story, though, which isn’t what this series was intended to be.