THE PHOENIX RESURRECTION: GENESIS #1 – December 1995

Credits:  Ian Edginton & Dan Abnett (writers), Darick Robertson, Mark Pacella, Greg Luzniak, & Rob Haynes (pencilers), Tom Wegrzyn, Art Thibert, Larry Stucker, Bob Wiacek, Phillip Moy, & Bob Almond (inkers), Vickie Williams (letterer), Rob Alvord & Malibu (colors)

Summary:  An alien mothership marooned on Earth sends a probe into space, looking for a power source.  The weakened barrier between universes allows the probe to make contact with the Phoenix Force.  Inside the Marvel Universe, the X-Men meet with Banshee, who’s concerned about Gateway’s recent behavior.  He shows the team a painting made by Gateway, depicting the X-Men and Ultras surrounding the Phoenix.  While the team studies the painting, Gateway abruptly teleports them to the Ultraverse.  The X-Men witness the mothership shoot energy out into the cosmos, which soon seizes the Phoenix.  Prime suspects the X-Men are responsible for the strange event and picks a fight with them.  A wounded Phoenix falls to Earth and selects Prime as its new host.  Ultraforce arrives to defend their teammate Prime, unaware of the danger posed by the Phoenix.  Eventually, the Phoenix leaves Prime and searches for a new host.  While watching the battle on television, teenager Rose Autumn collapses.  Later, in New York, Amber Hunt of the Exiles is selected by Phoenix as its next host.

Continuity Notes:  

• The X-Men appearing this issue are Storm, Wolverine, Bishop, Beast, and Rogue.  Banshee and Jubilee are also teleported away by Gateway.
• As established in previous Marvel/Malibu crossovers, Marvel heroes “operate at reduced power in this reality” for reasons that aren’t explained here.
• The Phoenix is searching for a host in order “to survive, to mend, to heal.”  Phoenix is acting erratically due to “the great ship's stabbing probes.”
• The alien mothership is responsible for the creation of Ultras (the term for superheroes in the Ultraverse), as revealed in the Break-Thru miniseries.
• Rogue shouldn’t be a member of the team this point, unless the story is set before the “Age of Apocalypse.”  Given the looks of Storm, Wolverine, and Bishop (with the long hair), this story would have to take place a year before it was published.  Another continuity problem, however -- Wolverine didn’t rejoin the X-Men until right after the “Age of Apocalypse” event ended.  Wolverine and Rogue weren’t teammates simultaneously during this era until she reappeared during “Onslaught.”  By the time Rogue had rejoined, Storm, Wolverine, and Bishop all had new looks.

Production Note:  Inker Bob Almond’s name was accidentally left off the credits this issue.  He’s given credit in a later issue.

How Did This Get Published?:  That is not the Phoenix emblem on the top of the cover!

Review:  Let’s be frank…no one expects this miniseries to be any good, right?  It has everything going against it.  It’s a forced cross-continuity crossover, generated by higher-ups in order to sell hardcore Marvel fans on an unrelated superhero universe.  Someone’s decided to release the double-sized issues on a biweekly basis, ensuring that each chapter has enough pencilers and inkers to start their own softball league.  No one inside Marvel editorial seems to have the slightest interest in its events, and Marvel’s actual comics only acknowledge its existence by running ads for mail-order firms like American Comics, who are promoting variant cover exclusives.  

All that said, the first official is downright readable.  Not the highest compliment, I realize, but I have to confess that the story is not only coherent, but interesting enough to carry the reader on to the next issue.  There’s no creative experimentation with the form, which is to be expected, but it is a competently executed superhero comic that does what it set out to do -- have heroes from different universes meet and fight each other.  

I was dreading the use of the Phoenix, assuming that the creators would present a dumbed-down interpretation of the concept and just dump it into the story as a universe-melding plot device.  Edginton/Abnett actually stay pretty loyal to the original premise and develop internally logical justifications for its place in the story.  Apparently, this is a payoff to a storyline that’s been building in the Malibu books for a few months, with the barriers between universes weakening just as the Ultras learn the full origin behind their powers.  Now, the cosmic force responsible for creating the Ultras has encountered the Phoenix, driving the Phoenix to search for a new host, which naturally leads to a hero vs. hero fight scene.  That’s the most boring aspect of the issue; thankfully Edginton/Abnett keep the fight relatively short, then move on to some character interaction scenes and a moral debate over whether or not the heroes can justify killing the Phoenix’s host if it means sparing the Ultraverse.  Honestly, so far, this seems more coherent than any Phoenix story Marvel’s published in the past fifteen years or so.  The art is as inconsistent as I was expecting, but there are only a few drawings so freakishly “x-treme” that they distract from the story.  I’m skeptical if the rest of the event rises to the great heights of “readable,” but I have to admit that it’s off to a surprisingly decent start.

X-FACTOR #98 – January 1994

Into Oblivion

Credits: J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Greg Luzniak (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Matt Webb (colorist), Lois Buhalis (letterer)

Summary

Havok and Forge attempt to arrest Haven, but Polaris fights against them, dividing the team. Haven refuses to fight back and vanishes, although Forge says it felt as if everyone else “ceased to exist” for a second. Forge reveals to X-Factor that Haven believes that a Golden Age between humans and mutants will occur in seven hundred years, after the Mahapralaya, a series of natural and man-made disasters. Haven is trying to speed up the Golden Age by causing these disasters today, inciting political revolts, even wars, and using science to alter the Earth’s weather patterns. Polars is skeptical, but is willing to listen to Forge’s evidence. Meanwhile, Madrox discovers that two of his duplicates cannot be reabsorbed. Random tells Guido and Wolfsbane that he’ll join their side after the secret government agency after Polaris turned against him. Finally, Val Cooper is revealed to be Haven’s latest follower.

Review

The Haven storyline continues, going at a pretty leisurely pace. I liked these issues when they first came out, and they still hold up, but it seems as if the storyline was padded out a little to climax with issue #100. Haven’s motivations are revealed, reminding me of the Batman enemy Ra’s al Ghul, placing her as a well-intentioned but ruthless opponent. DeMatteis still doesn’t offer any clear answers, though, as Polaris casts doubts on Forge’s claims. I like the fact that the characters can come into conflict with one another while staying true to their characterizations, and DeMatteis is able to give everyone a point of view without making anyone seem like an idiot.

DeMatteis also has a nice handle on Madrox, making Marvel’s insistence that the character die even more confusing. In this issue, Madrox creates a duplicate for “every stray thought…every unconscious fear…every single voice in my head…you’ve all got form and shape and substance.” I had totally forgotten that DeMatteis briefly went in this direction years before Peter David did in the new X-Factor series. Unfortunately, this scene only lasts for a few pages and the idea is left unexplored until David follows a similar path years later.

X-FACTOR #96 – November 1993

In the Beginning

Credits: J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Greg Luzniak (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Richard Starkings (letterer), Glynis Oliver (colorist)

Summary

X-Factor rescues the survivors of a terrorist attack in Washington. Havok demands answers from Forge about which government agency sent Random to kill Polaris. Random is fired from his government role after allowing Polaris to live, and an order goes out to kill him. Reflecting on recent events, Polaris figures out that Madrox has been infected with the Mutate’s virus. Suddenly, she is attacked by armored men and rescued by the mysterious Haven.

I Love the ‘90s

Actual lines from the comic: “We should have seen it coming after the mess at the World Trade Center. It was only a matter of time before the terrorist bombs would reach Washington.” “Used to be this kind of thing only happened ‘somewhere else’. We were the United States of America -- the impregnable fortress – no one would ever dare try a stunt like this. Didn’t take long for our illusions to get shattered, did it?”

Review

After scripting the previous four issues, DeMatteis finally takes over the plotting as well. The previous issues have had rather thin plots, and while this issue does feel padded, an actual storyline is starting to emerge. After his run with Keith Giffen on Justice League, DeMatteis seems like a logical choice for this title. He can certainly write humorous comics, and if Marvel wanted to increase the melodrama in the series, he could pull that off, too. X-Factor is now officially humorless at this point, with several pages dedicated to characters anguishing over terrorist attacks, disease, and the general state of the world. DeMatteis pulls it off pretty well, but I think it would’ve been more interesting to see him continue on the irreverent path Peter David began during his run. There were already plenty of X-books filled with page after page of characters feeling angsty, why was X-Factor dragged into this?

X-FACTOR #95 – October 1993

Fatal Repulsions

Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), J. M. DeMatteis (script), Greg Luzniak (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Richard Starkings (letterer), Glynis Oliver (colorist)

Summary

Random attacks Polaris, and after a lengthy fight, reveals that he was hired by the US government to kill her. Forge tells Havok that Quicksilver is on a leave of absence, and asks him to justify why every other member of X-Factor should be on the team. When Havok finishes, Forge tells him that he’s now in charge of X-Factor, leaving Forge to deal with the government. Finally, Wolfsbane escapes from Muir Island, claiming that she can’t stand to be away from Havok.

Review

I had no idea DeMatteis scripted so many issues without plotting them. For some reason, I thought Lobdell only plotted one of his issues. Anyway, this is yet another issue that only moves the storylines incrementally. The main purpose of this issue seems to be spotlighting Random, a character Marvel really, really wanted to be popular. I don’t remember how big he actually got, but reading this issue just reminds me of how tedious he was. The rest of the issue is devoted to re-introducing the cast, which is a little weird. This isn’t the start of a new direction, storyline, or creative team, really. Do we need half of a comic reminding us that Wolfsbane is young and innocent and Guido is wacky? Greg Luzniak shows up as artist, beginning a series of fill-ins. Quesada obviously had a large impact on the look of this title, since Luzniak’s the second artist brought in to do an impression of that style. He even follows Quesada’s odd tendency to give everyone, even Havok, crazy medusa hair. The overall look is very ‘90s, to say the least.