X-MAN #37-#38, April-May 1998

Breaking Point

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), ChrisCross (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Mike Thomas & Mark Bernardo (colors)

Huh, this one is a little odd. Continuing the editorially mandated friendship of X-Man and Peter Parker, Spider-Man is revealed as the mysterious voice from the end of the last issue. He tries to talk X-Man out of erasing the city’s memory of him, but it doesn’t work. X-Man sends his presence over New York and wipes out everyone’s recollection of him, but he decides his friend Jam should keep her memories. (She’s the one who lost her arm, only to have it temporarily replaced by one of X-Man’s psionic illusions.) The story tries to present this as deep and meaningful, but it comes across as more capricious than anything.

While X-Man is spacing out, completing his mission, Spider-Man fears he’s near death and socks him back into consciousness. Conveniently enough, last issue X-Man chose the top of the Brooklyn Bridge to perch dramatically, the location of Gwen Stacy’s death (after the lettering was corrected in the reprints). Spider-Man emotes appropriately, but X-Man isn’t moved. He creates a psychic whirlwind, which somehow touches on Spider-Man’s memories to produce…the AoA Gwen Stacy!

That’s the type of slightly insane/brilliant idea we don’t see enough in this book. It’s unfortunately marred by a continuity error -- for some reason, Spidey remembers Gwen as his friend during his nerdy, bespectacled, high school days -- but what a use of the character! Spider-Man tries to talk to Gwen, but wouldn’t you know it, three mysterious armored hitmen choose this moment to attack. And, surely no one saw this coming…but Gwen’s knocked off the bridge! Spider-Man saves her this time, but she disappears after X-Man collapses during the fight. Spider-Man’s now lost “a dream come true” and is ready to take his pain out on the remaining goons. Like many of the events in this comic, this doesn’t make a lot of sense, but Kavangh is using the powers and backstory of X-Man in unique ways, making this issue more entertaining than usual.

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide…

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), ChrisCross & Ariel Olivetti (pencilers), Mahlstedt, Bobillo, Caesar, & Sosa (inks), Comicraft’s Kiff Scholl (letters), Mike Thomas (colors)

Did you want to see the repercussions of X-Man erasing New York’s memory? Sorry. Were you interested in Spider-Man’s reaction to X-Man’s ability to recreate his dead girlfriend? Eh, we’ll pay it some lip service. The bulk of this issue is dedicated to Spider-Man and X-Man fighting the armored henchmen, because that’s the most engaging aspect of the previous issue.

ChrisCross handles the action capably, and his interpretation of Spidey beats most of the artists assigned to his monthly books at this time, but the lengthy fight is ultimately a disappointment. The only information given on the villains is that they’re from a group called “The Gauntlet.” After a protracted fight that’s stretched over two issues, they simply teleport away, leaving the readers with no insight into who they are or what they want. Considering that Kavanagh has let a Hellfire Club subplot languish in the background for over two years at this point, I don’t think he’s generated enough goodwill to pull this kind of stunt. Speaking of the Hellfire Club, Madelyne Pryor, who was supposed to be doing something evil with the club by now, abruptly shows up at the end. The narrative captions make it clear that she’s genetically X-Man’s mother, which doesn’t stop the issue from concluding with a silhouette of the two sharing a romantic embrace. What can you even say at this point?

Meanwhile, Dr. Arlington, the doctor from the previous arc, somehow has been blessed with healing powers from X-Man. He’s traveling the world with Roust (a character Kavanagh seems determined to add to the supporting cast, even though he’s barely had anything to do with X-Man and hasn’t played a real role in any of the storylines so far), helping the sick. That’s one way to emphasize what a petulant twerp your lead character is -- let a minor member of the cast who was just introduced actually use the hero’s powers for good.

SABRETOOTH & MYSTIQUE #1-#4, December 1996 - March 1997

Old Sins Cast Long Shadows

Credits: Jorge Gonzalez (writer), Ariel Olivetti w/Pier Brito (art), Comicraft (lettering), Kevin Somers & GCW (colors)

Spinning out of the opaque mess that was X-Factor comes Sabretooth and Mystique. Howard Mackie’s run on the book during this era is generally regarded as terrible, but Jorge Gonzalez is at least able to employ some of the ideas into a promising start. Mystique is on a mission to destroy the life’s work of Catalyst, a deceased Hydra agent she despised. This leads to her and Sabretooth faking their deaths to escape the government, then stealing a capsule from a corpse on the SHIELD helicarrier (apparently it has a morgue). Following the tradition of miniseries dedicated to villains, the pair is pitted against another set of villains, AIM. AIM also wants the capsule, leading to a series of chase scenes and action sequences. The idea that Mystique can morph into inhuman forms had recently been introduced in X-Factor (sans explanation, of course), and Gonzalez goes out of his way to shove it into this story. Over the course of a few pages, Mystique morphs into Gargoyle from the Defenders, Wendigo, and a few other monsters. It’s an alteration of her powers I’m not personally fond of, but it doesn’t hinder my enjoyment of the issue that much.

Torture

Credits: Jorge Gonzalez (writer), Ariel Olivetti (art), Comicraft (lettering), Kevin Somers (colors)

I remember Scott Lobdell once defending on Usenet his stance that Mystique couldn’t father a child. This lead to someone bringing up this miniseries, and Lobdell had an interesting response. Aside from questioning if it should even be considered canon, he seemed to express sympathy for editor Kelly Corvese for having to deal with the project (or just Marvel in general during this period). The continuity does get murky here, as a flashback to their secret agent days shows Sabretooth wearing his current furry outfit, and Mystique using her powers to grow functional wings (which would mean her new powers in X-Factor weren’t new at all, yet we never saw her use them before). There’s also a scene in the present that has Mystique morphing into Forge while nullifying Sabretooth’s tracking device, even though the story states repeatedly that she can’t take someone’s powers while impersonating them. The main story soldiers on, as Sabretooth and Mystique travel to a Hydra base to find notes Catalyst left behind. Mystique is confronted by Dismember and Corrosion, two Hydra lab experiments that have appropriately ridiculous designs by Ariel Olivetti.

Willing Victims

Credits: Jorge Gonzalez (writer), Ariel Olivetti w/Pier Brito (art), Comicraft (lettering), Kevin Somers (colors)

Mystique is taken into custody, and to the shock of absolutely no one, learns that Catalyst is still alive. After another flashback to the day Catalyst tortured Mystique, Destiny, and Sabretooth, he spells out his master villain plan. Using Access, his computer program that grants him contact with every existing database on Earth, he’ll become the new Supreme Hydra. Sabretooth catches Catalyst’s scent and tracks him down. He frees Mystique and is ready for a fight when AIM begins its own takeover of the base. Although much of this is predictable, it is pretty fun, due in large part to Olivetti’s ability to sell the action scenes.

Dead Ends

Credits: Jorge Gonzalez (writer), Ariel Olivetti (pencils) Pier Brito (inks), Comicraft (lettering), Kevin Somers & GCW (colors)

As the mini draws to a close, Mystique chases down Catalyst while Sabretooth faces Cypher (an AIM officer, not the New Mutants member). Virtually the only hint of characterization appears here, as Cypher appeals to Sabretooth’s shred of humanity to cover her escape. She’s used the Access technology to launch a missile attack against Russia that will create another world war (That’s a very ‘80s master plan, isn’t it?). Sabretooth can either fight her, or destroy Hydra’s technology and stop the launch. Whether or not Sabretooth actually has any desire to be human is debatable, but it’s only a brief scene and Gonzalez manages to pull off. Having Sabretooth save the world in a mission no one will ever know about is also a clever idea. Meanwhile, Catalyst flees capture, but ends up falling off the edge of a mountain. Destiny, who earlier predicted her face would be the last he would see, stands over the ledge as he falls. Of course, Destiny is actually Mystique in disguise. Finally, Mystique convinces Sabretooth to put his restraint collar back on and the duo heads back to X-Factor’s headquarters.

That last scene is an obvious reminder that all of this can be lumped under “illusion of change.” Compare this to the 1993 spurt of limited series, which revealed legitimate continuity points about Sabretooth, Deadpool, Mystique, and to a lesser extent, Gambit. Now, we don’t particularly learn anything about the characters’ pasts, their status quos aren’t impacted in any way, and everyone just goes home in the end. As a fast-paced action story, it’s actually an entertaining mini, but there’s nothing here that couldn’t have worked as an annual, one-shot, or fill-in arc. Actually, given X-Factor’s level of quality at this point, it would’ve been a welcome break.

X-MEN UNLIMITED #12 – September 1996

The Once and Future Juggernaut
Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Steve Epting & Ariel Olivetti (pencilers), Kevin Conrad & Ariel Olivetti (inkers), Marie Javins & Malibu (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Dr. Strange senses a mystical disturbance and arrives at the X-Men’s mansion. He uses the Eye of Agamotto to witness Onslaught’s recent imprisoning of Juggernaut inside the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. Gomurr the Ancient arrives, telling Dr. Strange that they can’t leave the Crimson Gem unguarded. He asks Strange to protect the Gem while he goes inside it to rescue Juggernaut. Inside the Gem, Juggernaut is trapped in another dimension. The demon Spite, posing as Xavier, is taunting him. Gomurr arrives and forces Spite to reveal herself. She leaves, bragging that her master will soon claim Juggernaut’s soul. Gomurr tells Juggernaut that he can show him the way out of this dimension, but he must face his past first. Juggernaut is forced to revisit his childhood with his hated stepbrother, Charles Xavier. Gomurr tells Juggernaut to let go of his anger and be free of his curse. Spite reappears, offering Juggernaut a chance to embrace his power and escape the Gem. She convinces Juggernaut that Gomurr just wants the Crimson Gem’s power for himself, and takes him to met Cyttorak, the god of destruction. Juggernaut soon learns that Spite only intended to use him as a sacrifice to Cyttorak. Cyttorak swallows Spite and prepares to consume Juggernaut. The mystical Tar appears and joins forces with Gomurr. They infuse Juggernaut with the energy that bonded Cyttorak to the Gem, which gives him the power to destroy the god. Juggernaut escapes the collapsing dimension and reemerges in the real world. To Dr. Strange’s dismay, Juggernaut declares that he’s stronger than ever.

Continuity Notes: This is the first appearance of Spite, who is D’Spayre’s sister. Gomurr claims that D’Spayre trapped her inside the dimension with the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak.

An origin for the Gem is revealed (although the continuity surrounding Cyttorak seems to be confused). Centuries ago, “a group of heretic monks” sought to harness Cyttorak’s energy. They instead unleashed his destructive energies, which destroyed parts of Asia. Gomurr and Tar used their mystical powers to contain Cyttorak within a ruby. Disagreeing on who should keep the powerful gem, they buried it in a temple hidden in a cave and sealed the entrance with a mountain of rocks. Years later, earthquakes opened the entrance to the cave, allowing Cain Marko to discover the ruby and become Juggernaut.

Review: This is labeled as part of the Onslaught crossover, although it’s actually a follow-up to one of Onslaught’s actions and not a part of the real story. I’m sure every X-title had to tie in with Onslaught in some way, and this is how the oft-forgotten Unlimited got dragged into it. I’m not sure what the point of the story is supposed to be, outside of freeing Juggernaut up so he can be used again, and incorporating some of the newer characters into the Crimson Gem’s origin (personally, I think the Beast/Dark Beast story should’ve been resolved here, instead of X-Factor, where it arbitrarily ended up). Moore only briefly teases the idea that the Juggernaut might change his ways before he goes back to behaving like a giant thug. The ending, which essentially rewards Juggernaut for his bad behavior, is at least a small twist. Juggernaut has a chance to reflect on his mistakes and learn something, but decides he wants to be strong and nasty anyway. He’s adamant about not learning anything, and escapes any real repercussions for his stubbornness. It’s mildly amusing, although Moore doesn’t play it for laughs.

The Juggernaut can be a hard character to pull off, especially as a story’s protagonist, as his main motivation is that he irrationally hates his stepbrother. Moore does manage to make Juggernaut engaging enough to follow throughout the story, although it feels like it goes on for a little too long. Epting’s art is solid as usual, and he draws a convincingly powerful Juggernaut. Olivetti’s rougher style doesn’t blend well with Epting’s, but most of his pages appear as fantasy sequences, which works out pretty well. Incorporating Gomurr and Tar into the Gem’s origin feels surprisingly organic, even though they were very new characters at this point. I think it works because there aren’t many mystical characters in the X-Men’s corner of the Marvel Universe, so it doesn’t feel like a totally arbitrary connection (unlike, say, connecting Dark Beast to the Morlocks or Sugar Man to Genosha). The remaining ten pages of the issue consist of filler like a crossword puzzle, brief “interview” segments with various characters, quotes from previous issues, a “match the mutant” puzzle, and an extended letters column. In fairness to Marvel, the price has been dropped a dollar to make up for the downgraded paper quality, but it’s still obvious that this book serves no real purpose.