Justice League Unlimited's Quirkiest Episode Had the Darkest Ending

 

A 1990s DC comic inspired a Justice League Unlimited episode that's played for good, clean fun - until its grim ending. Check out my revisit of "Kid Stuff" this week on CBR. 

X-FORCE Annual ‘99 - November 1999

Loose Ends

Chapter One: Picking Up the Pieces

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Chris Renaud (pencils), Rod Ramos/Scott Elmer/Rich Perrotta (inks), Kevin Somers (colors), Sharpefont (letters)

Summary:  Rictor and Shatterstar are recruited by Verschiagen Industries after a fight with Rictor’s gun-running family.  They arrive prepared to train against Verschiagen Industries’ test subject, V-2, or to rescue her if she’s being held against her will.  Suddenly, a young man named Hanransha enters.  While trying to stun V-2 long enough to free her, he accidentally kills her with his mutant powers.  Rictor and Shatterstar escape with Hanransha and discover that V-2 was his half-sister.  Hanransha is trying to find the rest of his siblings that were also bred in labs.  His next lead is Martin Strong in Colorado.

Continuity Notes:  This story resolves, of all things, the cryptic subplot from X-Force #43 that had a mystery man sneaking into a mystery lab.  According to Hanransha, this was his father, who was killed while trying to rescue him.

Review:  In response to overwhelming reader demand, or at least a letters page worth of requests in an issue of X-Force, Rictor and Shatterstar return, along with Fabian Nicieza.  Nicieza left quite a few dangling plotlines when he was forced off the book, and probably the most annoyingly cryptic of them was that subplot scene in X-Force #43.  Considering that Marvel annuals were firmly dismissed as filler by the late ‘90s, what better place to wrap up a five-year-old storyline that barely anyone remembered?  It’s possible that a few of the fans that really wanted to see Rictor and Shatterstar again also remembered this unresolved mystery, and most X-Force readers have fond memories of Nicieza’s run on the book, so this actually sounds like a decent use of the annual format.  As a lapsed X-completist, I was probably in the prime demographic for this issue, even though I skipped it at the time.  I didn’t have a lot of interest in Rictor or Shatterstar, wasn’t regularly buying X-Force, and didn’t care for the art.  I can’t say that I missed out on a great comic, but the lure of unresolved X-continuity might have drawn me back in had I known that an old mystery was being resolved.

Chapter Two: Strong Attractions

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Guz Vazquez, Rod Ramos, and Rich Perrotta (art), Kevin Somers (colors), Sharpefont (letters)

Summary:  Rictor, Shatterstar, and Hanransha arrive at the StrongH.O.L.D. headquarters, where they face Martin Strong and Neurotap.  They’re shocked when X-Force enters and defends Neurotap.  They explain to their former teammates that Strong is providing for the medical care of Neurotap’s family.  Strong reveals that Hanransha’s powers will continue to go haywire while he’s separated from his mother, who is none other than Hanna Verschiagen.  Neurotap leaves with Rictor, Shatterstar, and Hanransha for Germany, where they’re soon abducted by Hanna Verschiagen.

Continuity Notes:  Rictor is given the new ability to use his vibratory field to fly, so long as he straddles a large piece of wood.  And, yes, Nicieza wrote this as an intentional joke, playing off the fan speculation that Rictor and Shatterstar were gay.

Review:  Everyone remembers Martin Strong and Neurotap from X-Force Annual #2, right?  Actually, I don’t even remember X-Force Annual #2, aside from the pulse-pounding debut of Adam-X, the X-Treme.  This issue reminds us that Martin Strong is a mutant fish-man that uses genetic research in order to gain a new body, and to find a way to eradicate mutantcy.  Neurotap is his reluctant assistant, who works for Strong because he pays for her family’s medical treatments, treatments they need because she nearly killed them when her powers first surfaced.  Presumably, this story is supposed to resolve her character arc and offer her some resolution, but in practice, it reads as yet another plot point jammed into an already packed comic.  Not helping the story at all this chapter is the art, which resembles a bad Humberto Ramos impression.

Chapter Three: X-P8

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Ken Lashley and Rod Ramos (art), Kevin Somers (colors), Sharpefont (letters)

Summary:  X-Force arrives and rescues their teammates.  While fighting X-Force, Hanna Verschiagen continues to drain power from her children, unconcerned that she’s killing them.  Shatterstar listens to their pleas and cuts their conduit lines to Verschiagen.  The children, including Hanransha, die.  As he dies, Hanransha thanks Shatterstar for ending their mother’s evil.

Continuity Notes:  Neurotap decides to leave Martin Strong’s service at the end of the story.  Cannonball gives her Professor Xavier’s card, promising that he can help her family.  She promptly disappeared into obscurity, but luckily she escaped Frank Tieri’s routine mutant genocides in the pages of Weapon X.

Review:  The final page asks readers to write in if they want to see more of Shatterstar, Rictor, and Neurotap.  Specifically, they want people to write, “We want our Triple-X!”  Hopefully, in large print on the back of a post card that your local mail carrier can easily read.  

Nicieza was apparently serious about using this story to sell Neurotap as a character, which makes me wonder why so much of the story was spent on Hanransha, his siblings, and Hanna Verschiagen and her evil corporation.  I actually don’t have a problem with Neurotap; her core conflict automatically makes her a little sympathetic, and her powers are non-generic and interesting enough.  She’s also one of the few minority female mutants, so an editor looking for more diversity within the X-line (or a producer working on the X-Men movies seeking a part for, say, Rosario Dawson) might consider her worth a look.  But this specific story doesn’t center on her in any meaningful way, and the core story it does present is rather dull.  The plot also doesn’t really do an awful lot with Shatterstar and Rictor, even though they’re nominally the stars.  But, hey, that one page from X-Force #43 finally got resolved.

GAMBIT #12 - January 2000

The Sunset Dawn Book 1:  

The Time Trap Chapter 1

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (script), Steve Skroce (layouts), Rodney Ramos (finishes), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary:  Gambit’s father informs him that he must travel back to 1891’s London, because he remembers Gambit saving his life there as a boy.  He seeks help from Sekmeht Conoway, who advises him to use Dr. Doom’s time platform.  Gambit recruits Courier and the Mengo Brothers for help and invades Doom’s castle.  After facing Stryfe’s Doombot guards, he locates the time platform and forces Courier to go along with him.

Continuity Notes:  

• Jean Luc Lebeau uses the Tithe Collector to help verify his story about Gambit saving his life as a child.  Gambit learns from both the Tithe Collector and Sekmeht Conoway that Fontanelle has been invading their dreams.
• Gambit turns to Conoway for help time-traveling following the events of “The Hunt for the Tomorrow Stone,” the Gambit cyber-comic that appears to be lost to the ages. 
• Stryfe is the ruler of Latveria at this point in continuity, as Dr. Doom still has not returned following the events of Heroes Reborn: Heroes Return.  As many fans pointed out at the time, how exactly Stryfe took over Latveria was never shown.  He landed in Latveria in the X-Man/Cable crossover, but had a vague death scene at the end.

“Huh?” Moment:  The narration makes a joke about Gambit getting Conoway to crawl in front of him in the castle’s ventilation shaft, but the art shows that she’s behind him.

Review:  It’s the year-end anniversary issue, and Nicieza has decided to pull together some of the seemingly disparate threads and begin the next phase of the title.  All of this is a setup for getting Gambit in position to travel back to the late nineteenth century, which will eventually shed more light on Fontanelle, the history of the Thieves Guild, Candra, Mr. Sinister, and the mysterious New Son.  There’s no great reason for Sekmeht Conoway, Courier, or the Mengo Brothers to be here; I'm assuming that Nicieza wants the reader to feel as if the previous eleven issues have been building to this story, but the character interactions just feel too rushed.  Looking back, it’s obvious Nicieza wanted to do more with Sekmeht Conoway as a love interest, but her appearances in the book were so sparse the idea went nowhere.  Having her guide Gambit through Stryfe’s castle is a nice use of the character, though.  Nicieza seems to be the only person working for Marvel at the time who put any thought into why Stryfe was in Latveria in the first place.  Could it be that the evil chaos-bringer from the future might want that time machine Doom keeps in his basement?

Unfortunately, Steve Skroce doesn’t seem too excited about any of this, as he leaves this month to go work on the Matrix sequels.  His section of the story consists of very loose breakdowns that are poorly finished by Rodney Ramos.  The often bizarre coloring isn’t much of a help, either, as we’re treated to characters with gray skin, literally purple mountains, and a color scheme that alternates between drab and garish and never finds a middle ground.

Chapter 2: It Takes a Thief (or Perhaps a Dozen)

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (script), Kaare Andrews (art), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary:  In 1891, The Tithe Collector informs the Thieves Guild that Candra is not satisfied with their gifts.  Meanwhile, Gambit and Courier locate master thief Adam Worth in his London home.  He helps them break into Nathan Milbury’s estate, where Gambit’s grandfather Jacques Lebeau is leading a mission to appease Candra after failing to obtain the Momentary Princess.  As punishment, Candra is keeping two Guild children, Jean Luc Lebeau and Belize Marceaux, captive.  Gambit hands his grandfather notes from Milbury’s lab that will give Candra information on his advanced studies.

Continuity Notes:  

• Candra explains to Jean Luc and Belize her history with the Thieves Guild, revealing that she grants them power and longevity so that they can “divine and resurrect the Old Kingdom.”  She believes that the knowledge she gains from the Old Kingdom will help her to continue discretely gaining more power.
• Belize Marceaux is apparently Gambit’s maternal uncle.
• Nathan Milbury is Mr. Sinister’s alias, of course.
• The Momentary Princess previously appeared in Gambit #10.

Review:  That’s a lot of exposition to throw into the middle of a comic.  Buried in all of this is more information on Candra than we’ve ever been given, a good six years after her first appearance.  As Nicieza reveals, Candra keeps her distance from the other Externals, hoping that by staying a non-entity they’ll leave her alone while she accumulates ancient knowledge from around the world.  This works to explain why Candra didn’t show up with the rest of the Externals during their early appearances in X-Force (and what a memorable cast of characters those guys were), a question that probably no one was asking but is addressed nonetheless.  The truth is, Candra was established as an External in her early appearances because the External storyline wasn’t viewed as embarrassing yet, and it worked as a vague enough origin for the character.  

Nicieza’s also revealed why exactly the Thieves and Assassin Guilds have been subjugating themselves to Candra for decades, and it involves a deal to unlock the secrets of the “Old Kingdom.”  I don’t think the Old Kingdom storyline ever reaches a satisfactory conclusion, but at least the seeds are there in case someone decides to mine deeeep into X-continuity for new Candra material.

Chapter 3: Cards on the Table (and a Few up the Sleeve!)

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (script), Charles Adlard (art), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary:  Candra rejects the notes handed to her, because she recognizes the designs for Apocalypse’s gestation chamber.  The Tithe Collector convinces her to send Jacques Lebeau in her stead to America to learn more about Nathan Milbury’s work.  When she refuses to release both boys, Gambit and Adam Worth rescue Jean Luc and cover their escape with explosions.  The next morning, Gambit and Courier prepare to travel to America before the Thieves Guild can reach Milbury.

Review:  Okay, Gambit managed to rescue his father rather early on in this storyline.  I guess the rest of this trip is going to be dedicated to revealing more about Mr. Sinister and the Thieves Guild.  One of those is interesting, the other fills me with apathy.  Guess which is which.  There is a decent idea in here, that Candra is so terrified of Apocalypse she sends the Thieves Guild in her place, putting Gambit in competition with his family to reach Sinister first, but…isn’t the Thieves Guild family the last thing this book should be exploring?  There are already too many Guild members in the current day that no one cares about.  Who really wants to read about their ancestors?  

UNCANNY X-MEN #346 – August 1997

“The Story of the Year!”
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira w/Humberto Ramos (pencilers), Tim Towsend (inker), Comicraft (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: Peter Parker is sent on a mission for the Daily Bugle to photograph Henry Gyrich as a part of its Zero Tolerance investigation. His limo is suddenly attacked by Callisto and Marrow, which forces Parker to intervene as Spider-Man. Marrow is willing to kill Gyrich and his guards, but Spider-Man and Callisto try to talk her out of it. Gyrich’s guards suddenly turn into Sentinels and attack. They wound Callisto, which forces Spider-Man and Marrow to fight together. Gyrich, who didn’t know his guards were Sentinels, returns with reinforcements and shoots them down. Spider-Man talks Gyrich into letting Marrow leave with Callisto, who needs medical attention. Meanwhile, Bastion offers J. Jonah Jameson the information he’s decrypted from the X-Men’s files. He burns the disc, claiming that he won’t work with a murderer. Elsewhere, Gambit wakes up alone in a mysterious location.

Continuity Notes: Notice that Marrow is much more attractive in this appearance. I’m not sure if this is the first time she showed up with better looks (I’ve never read the Cable issue she appeared in a few months before this), but it becomes her standard look. I’m assuming there were already plans to add her to the team, and making her easier on the eyes was the first step.

This issue portrays Gyrich as being conflicted over Operation: Zero Tolerance, which is in sharp contrast to his appearance in the previous issue of X-Men. It’s possible that he was adamantly in favor of OZT in that issue because he was doing a television interview, but it’s still jarring to read the issues within a few days of each other.

According to Gyrich, his bodyguards were the same ones who were protecting Graydon Creed when he was killed. Presumably, this was supposed to finger Bastion in the assassination, but the clue was never paid off.

Some type of zebra-creature is standing behind Gambit in this issue. Paul O’Brien says that it’s a Kymellian, an alien race from the pages of Power Pack. This is totally ignored in the next issue.

Production Note: Marvel’s new cover design format debuts this month. Each comic now has a two-page foldout in the front cover, which has profiles of the characters and a recap of the current storyline. It’s a nice idea, but it lasted less than two years due to the added costs. The letters pages have also thankfully dropped the ugly computer-designed graphics in the background for just plain white.

Review: It wouldn’t shock me to learn that this issue was mainly just an excuse to have Joe Madureira draw Spider-Man. It certainly works on that level, since I remember looking over it again and again just for the art, which still looks impressive today. It is a fun action-oriented story that recaps the events of the current crossover while offering strong portrayals of Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson. My memory is that the Spider-titles were just overwhelmingly boring during this era, so this issue seemed like a welcome relief from the blandness. In terms of continuing the story from the preceding issues, all we get is one page of Gambit doing absolutely nothing, which doesn’t exactly work. I really have no idea why this storyline was allowed to drag on for so long, especially when the other titles were participating in a crossover. Since this is the first time the resurrected (and prettier) Marrow appears in UXM, the issue does have some added significance. I’ve never understood why exactly she was added to the team, especially if we’re to believe that Bob Harras was never a fan of reforming villains. She was clearly intended to be a bad bad guy (she was outright shown killing someone in cold blood in her first appearance), so giving her a makeover and having her join the X-Men seemed odd. The future writers tried to make this work, but I could never swallow it. Her appearance here is fine, since it’s only raising the idea that she’s capable of changing and there aren’t any X-Men here to question her about her past, but I never felt that her character arc had a meaningful resolution.