GENERATION X/GEN 13 - February 1997

 

Harvest of Evil

Credits:  James Robinson (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Troy Hubbs & Al Milgrom (inker), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary:  Dr. Pretorious creates a scheme to harvest the organs of young superhumans and then sell them to elderly patients.  He lures Generation X and Gen 13 to his “hotel” in Mexico.  Soon, they discover his creations and discern his true motives.  Burnout escapes to get help and is soon attacked by Pretorious’ genetic hybrids.  The teams combine their powers to escape and eventually rescue Burnout.  With the help of Lynch, Pretorious is arrested and placed into custody.

Not Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  Marvel published this chapter of the crossover, even though there’s no Code approval stamp on the cover.  I think it could’ve been approved, but it is a little racy for a Marvel book of the era.  There are two references to Rainmaker’s lesbianism, Fairchild is allowed to “poke” out in one panel, and in one scene Grunge tries to take Jubilee’s bathing suit off in the water.  (And Jubilee’s supposed to be around fourteen during these days!)

Review:  One day I’ll be free of these Marvel/Wildstorm crossovers.  I didn’t even know Marvel published its own Generation X/Gen 13 crossover until a few weeks ago.  At the time of its release, I was only vaguely aware of the original Image Gen 13/Generation X crossover comic, which had art by Arthur freakin’ Adams yet still managed to fly under the radar.  Marvel clearly didn’t have much of an interest in promoting these comics, perhaps because Gen 13 was already slipping in popularity a bit, or it could’ve been a simple case of a higher-up making the call not to promote the competition’s characters.  Regardless, regular Generation X writer James Robinson, who also did a decent amount of work for Wildstorm, is a good choice to script, and he’s devised a story that doesn’t seem out of place for either team.  It’s a bit Scooby-Doo, but that actually fits Gen 13 perfectly, and it’s not out of the realm of something Scott Lobdell would’ve done in the early Generation X issues.  The only real flaw of the story is Robinson’s assumption that a) you know who all of these characters are (most of the cast isn’t identified by code name or given a clear scene to show off their powers), and b) you know that the characters have already met in the Image crossover comic.  

A larger issue is Salvador Larroca’s art.  There are two inkers on the comic, which might explain why the art is fairly impressive in the opening pages and then grows shockingly inconsistent towards the end.  Even if the book ran into deadline trouble, someone should’ve done something to fix the panels that make some of the cast members look so unrecognizable.  If drawn properly, Jubilee really shouldn’t be confused for any member of Gen 13.  Looking at the various monsters used throughout the story, obviously inspired by old horror movies, also leads me to believe that Arthur Adams was handed the wrong version of the crossover to draw.  Adams could’ve done an incredible job on this comic, but instead he was given a cluttered mess that forced him to pencil one boring talking head after another.  This would’ve been a much better fit; so much so I almost wonder if Robinson heard that Adams was drawing the Generation X/Gen 13 crossover and just assumed he was writing Adams’ chapter.

PSYLOCKE & ARCHANGEL: CRIMSON DAWN #1-#4, August-November 1997

Before the Break of Dawn

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Thibert/Martinez/Parsons/Hack Shack (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Lichtner/Lusen/Liquid Colors (colors)

Hey, it’s an X-miniseries about actual members of the X-Men! Psylocke was written out of the book shortly after her misguided power revamp, and Archangel was an original X-Man who had been mostly ignored for years, so they weren’t a bad choice to star in one of the numerous ‘90s miniseries. The Crimson Dawn remained an unexplored mystic plot device, one Raab had already fleshed out a bit in Excalibur, so using it as the source of the superheroic action is understandable. Raab spends much of the issue establishing the main characters, dedicating a few pages to establish the state of their relationship, and having Wolverine stop by so Archangel can conveniently recap his origin and Psylocke’s origin. Raab picks up on the idea that the Crimson Dawn made Psylocke cold and distant, an UXM subplot that was never resolved, and explores Archangel’s feelings about his girlfriend’s personality change. Meanwhile, a new villain, Kuragari, is targeting beings associated with the Crimson Dawn. He’s killed Tar, and sent Undercloaks after Psylocke. This is all setup, but Raab dedicates enough room to the characters to make it work. Salvador Larroca could be pretty inconsistent during these days, but the figures don’t look so awkward now and the storytelling is mostly clear.

“-- When the Devil Comes A Callin’!”

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Thibert/Martinez/Parsons/Hack Shack (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Liquid Colors (colors)

As Gomurr disposes of Tar’s body, Archangel and Psylocke face the Undercloaks. They leave behind a ring, which Psylocke refuses to get rid of, despite Archangel’s warnings. While asleep, Archangel feels Psylocke’s psychic presence in his dreams. I like this scene, and it shows that Raab has given some thought as to what it would be like to sleep next to a telepath (of course they would end up in your dreams). Gomurr suddenly appears, warning of danger. Psylocke, for unknown reasons, has actually put on the ring, which enables Kuragari to enter their apartment and take her away. It’s a fun issue, and Raab seems to have a pretty firm handle on the characters. Archangel even wonders if being “twisted into harbingers of death and destruction” isn’t enough to base a relationship on, which could be a metacommentary on the almost arbitrary way they were paired together in the first place.

The Dark Side

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Thibert/Martinez/Parsons/Hack Shack (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Liquid Colors (colors)

Archangel spends the first three pages recapping the story thus far, and then suddenly remembers that Kuragari threw Gomurr out of the window last issue. Exposition used to be so important in comics, it was literally more valuable than human life. After Archangel finally checks on him, Gomurr reveals that Archangel must go save Psylocke. (Gomurr will be busy preventing the Crimson Dawn from invading our world, an idea you might remember from Raab’s first Excalibur arc.) Kuragari spends the issue romancing Psylocke through a martial arts fight. He finally beats her, allowing the Overcloaks to take Psylocke away for a Claremont-style conversion to the dark side. Gomurr sends Archangel to the Crimson Dawn realm, where he’s greeted by an evil, pupil-less Psylocke.

Throughout the action, Raab still keeps some focus on the characters. If Archangel’s “heart isn’t true” he won’t be able to save Psylocke, which plays into the (reasonable) doubts he’s had about their relationship in this series. Kuragari also taunts Psylocke about her thirst for action and desire to break away from her proper upbringing. This was the last internal conflict Psylocke had before becoming the character with different powers or a new identity every few years, so I’m glad Raab remembered it.

The Dawning Dusk

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Thibert/Martinez/Parsons/Hack Shack (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Lichtner/Lusen/Liquid Colors (colors)

Lots of mystic nonsense this issue. The spirit of Tar returns, naming Gomurr the new Proctor of the Crimson Dawn. He returns to the Crimson Dawn to aid Archangel, telling him that he must repay what he took from the Dawn to save Psylocke’s life. I have no idea what this means, but it inspires Archangel to declare his love for Psylocke again, which apparently weakens Kuragari’s power and allows Psylocke to fight his control. After defeating Kuragari and returning home, the characters nonchalantly discuss Archangel’s exchange in the Crimson Dawn, which will allow the Dawn to take his life at any time. The characters act as if all of this had already been established in the story, but I didn’t pick up on it at all. (I guess the idea is that Archangel had to give up a portion of his life in exchange for what he took from the Crimson Dawn to save Psylocke, although it’s not very clear.) Nonetheless, Archangel is happy for whatever time he has left, because he’s decided he really loves his Asian supermodel ninja girlfriend. Not that great of an ending, but this has been a pretty entertaining mini. Unlike most of the limited series from this era, I think this one had a strong enough premise to actually justify its existence, and it never feels as if the stars are just being shoehorned into a generic action story.

EXCALIBUR #110 - June 1997

Hearts Bled Crimson

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Excalibur arrives in Hong Kong with Spiral to rescue Brian Braddock from the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn. Meggan sees a vision of Xiandu, a former associate of the Dragons, who offers her guidance. Inside their fortress, the Dragons use Sprial’s technology to draw magic from Brian and erase the barrier between the mystical and physical realms. Spiral distracts the Dragons as Meggan uses her elemental powers to draw energy away from the portal and into Brian. Brian unleashes the energy and discovers his superpowers are gone. The Dragons escape, swearing revenge.

Continuity Notes: Xiandu explains that he joined three fellow monks at the end of the Ming Dynasty in contacting the Crimson Dawn. His friends grew corrupted with their power and eventually killed him, becoming the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn.

Review: Wow, this was a long way to go just to write Captain Britain out of the book again. I do like the fact that Raab is expanding the Crimson Dawn into more than just a plot device, and he’s able to use Spiral’s constantly changing motivations and loyalties effectively, but I have no idea why Captain Britain is being tossed just a few issues after Warren Ellis revived the persona. The mechanics of how exactly he loses his powers at the end of the story are fairly nonsensical anyway. He’s overloaded with energy, grows large, there’s a flash of light, and he’s powerless at the end. It seems like the release of all of this mystic energy would’ve had some sort of consequence, rather than just conveniently taking away his powers. This isn’t a great conclusion to Raab’s first arc, but there have been moments I liked, so maybe things will pick up.

EXCALIBUR #108 - #109, April - May 1997

The Old Way

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Kevin Tinsley & GCW (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Colossus bumps into Amanda Sefton as she abruptly leaves Muir Island. She mysteriously refuses to say goodbye to Nightcrawler. Peter Wisdom receives a message from a “Peckham,” which upsets him. Meanwhile in London, Brian Braddock is attacked by the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn. Meggan is briefly knocked unconscious during the fight, but comes to and rescues Braddock when one of the Dragons drops him from the sky. Spiral tries to sneak away, but is warned by the Dragons that she still has work to do. The Dragons teleport away with Braddock, leaving Meggan to ask Spiral for help.

Continuity Notes: Shadowcat and Wolfsbane travel to Dublin for a brief vacation. They visit the world famous hairdresser Molly Fitzgerald, who is secretly the hero Shamrock. She’s using crutches, which she claims she needs after slipping in “the loo.” The story doesn’t identify her as Shamrock, and the letters page essentially dares the readers to identify who she’s supposed to be.

The Dragons of the Crimson Dawn consist of Ra’al (the female leader with a deadly kiss), Barak (the big strong man who can grow larger), and the flier, A’Yin.

Review: The storylines keep moving, albeit slowly. The main goal of this issue is to introduce the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn with a lengthy fight scene. Unfortunately, Larroca’s storytelling isn’t really able to create a truly energetic fight at this point. Plus, the villains are all otherworldly mystic characters with vague motivations, so it’s hard to care that much this early on. All of this is standard team comic material, as the hero loses the first round of the fight before the rest of the team is brought in, while a few subplots involving the remaining cast build in the background. Nothing really stands out as good or bad, but I am slightly intrigued by the Shamrock cameo. I can’t imagine the character showing up for anything other than camp appeal or comedic relief, but I wonder why Raab saw fit to put her in crutches. That just has to be a setup for something in the future, because surely no one would go out their way to establish such a minor character was injured without having some justification. And “slipping in the bathroom” just stands out as a rather obvious lie.

Dragon Moon Rising

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Kevin Tinsley & GCW (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Spiral arrives at Muir Island with Meggan, and is promptly attacked by Excalibur. When Meggan eventually recovers from the disorienting effects of Spiral’s teleportation, she explains to the team that Spiral is actually helping her. Spiral claims that she came across the Dragons while exploring the mystical Wildways. The Dragons used their superior magic to draw Spiral to their side, forcing her to locate Psylocke’s more powerful brother, Brian Braddock. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, Braddock awakes. After he fails to defend himself, Ra’al enters Braddock’s mind.

Review: So, what’s accomplished this issue? We learn the reason why Spiral joined the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn, although the story acknowledges that she isn’t the most reliable source on Earth. (And if their magic is so much more powerful than hers, why do they need her to find Brian Braddock in the first place?) The team then leaves with Spiral to locate Captain Britain, which only advances the plot one millimeter since the last issue ended with Spiral and Meggan leaving to recruit Excalibur. I guess if you really wanted to see Excalibur fight Spiral for several pages, there’s plenty of action here to entertain you, but the main story is dragging. This is also the second issue in a row that has Meggan conveniently knocked unconscious for most of the story, which is a cheat if you consider that she’s supposed to be the most powerful member of the team. I do like the way Raab is tying the Crimson Dawn into the other mystical realms of the Marvel Universe, such as the “Wildways” introduced in the Longshot miniseries, but I wish the pace wasn’t so slow.

EXCALIBUR #106 - #107, February - March 1997

Previously…in Excalibur: Warren Ellis left and there were a couple of fill-ins.

A Portrait of the Artist

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Randy Green, Casey Jones, Rob Haynes, & Aaron Lopresti (pencilers), Martin/Haynes/Ketcham/Pinnock/Simmons/Lopresti/Jones (inkers), Araine Lenshoek & Malibu (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Colossus receives a message from the Acolytes, who want him to join Exodus in rebuilding Avalon. He travels with Excalibur to the X-Men’s former Australian base, where the Acolytes are located. After intentionally setting off all of the security landmines, Colossus is locked in a room with Scanner and Unuscione. Colossus tries to convince them not to join Exodus. His words almost sway Scanner, but Unuscione forces her to leave. As Excalibur flies home, Peter Wisdom tries to comfort Colossus.

I Love the ‘90s: Colossus is listening to Prodigy’s “Firestarter” while painting a portrait of Meggan in the opening scene.

Review: Ben Raab’s run begins with this issue, and if I’m to believe the conventional wisdom of the internet, we’re in for a rough ride. Raab was a Marvel editor who began picking up freelance work during this time, and I believe this was his first regular assignment. To Raab’s credit, he has found work with DC and several independent publishers, so clearly he’s been able to convince more than just a few people at Marvel that he’s able to write. I can’t find anything particularly wrong with his work in this issue, aside from a few questionable uses of Moira and Peter Wisdom’s accents. In his first issue, Raab picks up on the idea that Colossus is supposed to be redeeming himself with Excalibur. There’s a nice scene that has him walking through a minefield in order to clear a path for the team, which uses his powers effectively and helps to establish his state of mind. Connecting Colossus’ shame over betraying the X-Men and Wisdom’s conflicted feelings about his black ops work is another interesting angle that could be explored. The Excalibur tradition of multiple artists per issue continues, as four pencilers and numerous inkers are brought in. Green, Jones, and Haynes all meld together fairly well, but Lopresti’s style is closer to Alan Davis or Terry Dodson, which creates an awkward transition at the end.

Focus

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Kevin Tinsley & GCW (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Following Charles Xavier’s example, Nightcrawler reveals his plans to use Cerebro to locate British mutants. Meanwhile, Moira MacTaggert and Douglock research the Legacy Virus, as Brian Braddock and Meggan visit London. The public’s backlash against the Onslaught disaster, and the satanic attack on London, leads Braddock to renounce his role as Captain Britain. While shopping for an engagement ring for Meggan, Spiral appears, wearing the mark of the Crimson Dawn. She warns Braddock of a threat to his family, the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn.

Continuity Notes: It’s stated repeatedly in this issue that only telepaths can use Cerebro, even though non-telepaths have been shown using it in the past (various stories over the years have contradicted one another on this). My No-Prize explanation for this has always been that telepaths are just better at using it. Even though there are no telepaths on the team, Nightcrawler doesn’t explain how exactly he plans on using Cerebro.

Review: Raab was supposed to begin his run with Salvador Larroca but filled in an issue early, so this is the true beginning of his stint. I don’t know if titling this issue “Focus” was a joke or not, since it mainly consists of unconnected subplots and setups for future storylines. Raab, being an editor on the X-line, is understandably familiar with the status quo of the books, so we get references to Onslaught, the demonic attack in issue #100, Rory Campbell getting a prosthetic leg, and Psylocke’s makeover by the Crimson Dawn. He also revives a few forgotten storylines, such as Moira’s curiosity over X-Man’s genetic similarity to Cable, the hint that Cable could somehow cure the Legacy Virus (Douglock was also supposed to be a key for the cure, so I’m sure it’s not a coincidence he’s used in this scene), and Captain Britain and Meggan’s engagement. This is mostly setup, so it’s hard to offer much judgment, but Raab is able to make a fairly smooth transition into the book. I do have to point out that his British accents are often horrendous, and his characterization of Brian Braddock seems odd. Would he really renounce his role as Captain Britain, which he only regained a few weeks earlier, because of some snotty comments overheard on the street? It comes out of nowhere and doesn’t seem to fit the character at all.

X-MEN #69 – November 1997

Last Exit
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Carlos Pacheco & Salvador Larroca (pencilers), Art Thibert (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Liquid! (colors)

Summary: Sabra arrives and rescues Iceman, Cecilia Reyes, and Marrow from the Prime Sentinels. Following the information she’s gathered, the mutants travel with Sabra to Connecticut. Meanwhile, Senator Kelly rebukes Operation: Zero Tolerance on the floor of the Senate. Soon, Iceman and the others arrive at a mansion in Connecticut. They’re greeted by Bastion and an army of Prime Sentinels. An older woman named Rose Gilberti is there, looking after Detective Jones’ son, Timothy. Bastion says that Timothy is free to go, but Rose questions what Bastion has become. Iceman uses his powers to force Bastion outside, demanding a personal conversation. The two debate Bastion’s actions, until the Prime Sentinels arrive. Suddenly, agents of SHIELD appear, declaring that OZT’s permission to act on US soil has been revoked. Bastion agrees to be taken into custody, as Iceman explains to Marrow that resolving the conflict peacefully separates the X-Men from Bastion.

Continuity Notes: Bastion claims that Rose Gilberti is the “closest thing I have to a mother” and that she “took me in when I had no more of a mind than that of a newborn child”.

Review: And here we have the legendary anti-climax to the OZT crossover. There’s still an issue of Wolverine that’s dedicated to sending the X-Men back home, but this is the real conclusion to the storyline. And, after over a year of buildup, it ends with Bastion turning himself in for no discernible reason, after Senator Kelly gives an “impassioned” off-panel plea to the government to withdraw support. There’s also a new character introduced, Rose Gilberti, who is supposed to play some important role in Bastion’s origin. Unfortunately, she receives less than a paragraph’s worth of dialogue, and the artist chooses to frame the panel so that we only see the back of her head. Since the issue ends with page after page of Iceman and Bastion debating OZT, it’s hard to figure out why exactly she’s in the story. I’m assuming that she was supposed to be the human who teaches Bastion that his actions against mutants are truly inhuman, but she only speaks in one panel before she’s forgotten about. And why exactly was Sabra brought into this? I understand that she helps move Iceman where he needs to be for the climax, but there could’ve been any number of ways to get to this point. She received a lengthy setup a few issues earlier, dropped out for a bit, moves the plot along in this issue, and then disappears. Outside of the novelty of pairing her with the X-Men for the first time (I don’t think she ever appeared outside of Incredible Hulk), I have no idea what the point was supposed to be.

It’s too bad the story just fizzed out, because you can see along the way that it had potential. The X-Men on the run, mutants from across the globe suddenly targeted by Sentinels, the mansion ransacked, the X-Men’s secrets stolen, Senator Kelly forced to reexamine his anti-mutant beliefs – none of these are bad ideas. The story never seems committed to selling the scale of the operation, though, so the only mutant who doesn’t regularly appear in an X-title targeted by OZT turns out to be Sabra. Meanwhile, in Uncanny, Archangel, Psylocke, and Maggott don’t seem to be having any problems with Prime Sentinels. The climax also suffers from only offering hints about Bastion, and never actually giving him an origin. It’s another example of the X-office keeping something a secret longer than it needs to be, even though this mystery had already been solved by guesses in the letters page. It’s not hard to figure out that Bastion is an amalgam of Nimrod and Master Mold, so why not explain how he got that way in the final chapter? Maybe Bastion’s wimpy surrender wouldn’t have seemed so bad if the readers were given an origin for the character. At least something would’ve been resolved. Instead, we get an issue filled with speeches, more vague hints without a resolution, and a villain who surrenders because it’s page twenty-two already and it’s time to move on. Disappointing.

UNCANNY X-MEN #338 – November 1996

A Hope Reborn, A Past Reclaimed
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira w/Salvador Larroca (pencilers), Tim Townsend w/Vince Russell (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors)

Summary: Archangel collapses in pain as his metal wings begin to molt and are replaced by feathers. Ozymandias appears and tells him that his original transformation under Apocalypse was only the beginning. Meanwhile, Joseph is shown a holographic recreation of Magneto in the Danger Room. He wonders why the X-Men would accept him on the team if he really was Magneto in the past. Psylocke teleports in through the shadows and tells the team that Archangel needs help. In Brooklyn, a sickly Pyro visits a church confessional. As a dazed Archangel arrives overhead, Pryo tries to warn the priest about an upcoming event. The X-Men track Archangel to the church, just as Pyro’s Legacy Virus infection causes his powers to go haywire. After Joseph subdues him, Pyro tries to warn the X-Men about “her” upcoming plan. Pyro is suddenly consumed by the earth, leading Wolverine to assume that Avalanche kidnapped him. Elsewhere, Iceman and Cannonball begin to work undercover at Graydon Creed’s presidential campaign.

Continuity Notes: This is, obviously, the issue that ditched Archangel’s metal wings and revived his original ones. Psylocke’s “shadow teleportation” powers also appear for the first time. The only explanation is that the Crimson Dawn elixir must be responsible.

Review: I remember hating this issue when it was released, and it hasn't improved with age. Aside from Madureria’s attractive artwork (I particularly like his rendition of Magneto versus the original X-Men in the Danger Room scene), there’s nothing notable about this issue. It’s filled with vague clues that ended up with little to no payoff, so it's hard to care. Why exactly would Apocalypse remove Archangel’s metal wings? If it’s because he no longer serves him, wouldn’t he have done that years ago? And why replace them with his original wings? There’s no internally justifiable reason; someone at Marvel just wanted his old wings back, I guess. If Marvel wanted a “back to basics” approach to the character, that’s understandable, but keeping his blue skin is an odd choice. If you’re returning Angel back to his original appearance, why not go all the way? Keeping his blue skin just seems like a halfhearted attempt to acknowledge an era of the character’s past that the creators obviously wanted to move away from by this time.

Psylocke’s new, arbitrary powers are also frustrating. Supposedly, the shadow powers were added to have her stand out from the other X-Men telepaths. Making the character’s powers unique is admirable, but tacking random powers on to her while still maintaining her telepathic abilities seems pointless. It adds another wrinkle to a character that had already gone through too many alterations already. Morphing the proper British telepath into an Asian ninja should really be all of the distinction the character needs. She’s living in a stranger’s body, and now has to deal with her primal desire to physically attack opponents, even though her telepathy is the safer way to handle them. The earlier attempt to reveal that her personality had been merged with another character’s was misguided, but it didn’t last for long and it can easily be forgotten. Tacking on totally unrelated powers, and a mystical connection that’s altering her personality again, seems pointless. It makes her the cast member that the writers are always screwing with, leaving her as another X-character with the “too complicated” label.

The actual story for this issue is a setup for the current X-Factor storyline, although there are no footnotes in this issue to lead you towards that title. The X-Men randomly come across Pyro, he makes a few cryptic comments, and then disappears. I believe this leads into the “Assassination of Graydon Creed” storyline, which was another story with a vague ending that went years without a resolution. And, of course, the disease Pyro is suffering from is another long-running storyline that was ignored for years before getting a quickie resolution. So, really, this isn’t a highlight of the era.

CABLE #24 – October 1995

Lost Souls

Credits: Jeph Loeb (writer), Sal Larroca (penciler), Bud LaRosa w/Al Milgrom & Bob McLeod (inkers), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Mike Thomas (colors)

Summary

Cable brings Jenskot’s unconscious body back to Blaquesmith. When she awakens, she doesn’t recognize Cable as her husband. She claims that she’s been sent to take him to the future to save Nathan Dayspring. Later, Cable expresses his disbelief to Blaquesmith. He’s convinced that Jenskot never time traveled and can’t believe he’s seeing her again. Jenskot approaches him, now recognizing Cable as her future husband. She tells him that his younger self is suffering from a sudden illness and is close to death. The Clan Chosen’s elders claim that Cable is the key to saving young Nathan. Cable agrees to go, and Blaquesmith uses a meditation technique to send Cable and Jenskot into the future. Meanwhile, Domino faces a brainwashed Grizzly. After a long fight, she’s finally forced to kill him in order to save her life. In his final words, Grizzly tells her that Cable’s son, Tyler, did this to him. Domino suddenly senses Blaquesmith inside her mind and then disappears.

Continuity Note

Jenskot’s real name is revealed as Aliya. The narration claims that she took the “battle-name” Jenskot out of reverence for the “First Ones” (Jean Grey and Scott Summers, of course). She explains that she didn’t recognize Cable earlier because “the temporal change was so draining”.

Review

Jeph Loeb tries to do something with the backstory established in the early issues of this series by reviving Jenskot, Cable’s oft-forgotten wife. The first few issues of this title that were set in the future were particularly rough, as Nicieza introduced a slew of new characters from Cable’s past and did little to give any of them a personality (which is odd, since that tends to be one of his strengths as a writer). If you are going to do solo stories about Cable, the fact that he’s a widower is something that should at least occasionally be addressed, so I don’t fault Loeb for trying to do something with his wife. Cable is pretty sympathetic in this issue, and Loeb is able to have his conflicted feelings about his wife’s return tie in naturally with the ongoing subplot about Cable returning to Askani philosophy for guidance. The majority of this issue is actually dedicated to Domino’s fight with Grizzly, which is an excessively long fight scene filled with a lot of large panels and splash pages. Larroca’s storytelling is still relatively uneven at this point, so the climax of the fight, which has Domino forced to kill Grizzly, is extremely confusing. Instead of showing what’s going on, we only get a close-up of Grizzly’s hand, and then a close-up of Domino pulling the trigger. There’s an added narrative caption that says, “his hand forces hers”, which doesn’t help matters. Grizzly has been begging Domino to kill him, so I can’t tell if that means that he physically forced her hand into pulling the trigger, or if he metaphorically forced her to do it by striking at her. At any rate, the fight is never that exciting and Grizzly is such a minor character, who had already been mostly forgotten at this point, that his death really has no impact.

GAMBIT AND THE X-TERNALS #4 – June 1995

The Maze

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Salvador Larrocca (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Marie Javins (colorist)

Summary

In the Morlock tunnels, Dazzler and Exodus find the remains of Nanny. She’s supposed to guard Magneto’s son, but Charles is missing. Elsewhere in the sewers, Gambit and Lila Cheney run from Rictor. Lila teleported Rictor along with the X-Ternals back to Earth as the M’Kraan Crystal exploded, but Sunspot died while trying to absorb the Crystal’s energy. Unbeknownst to Rictor, Jubilee is carrying both Charles and a shard of the M’Kraan Crystal nearby. On Gambit’s orders, she’s trying to find the X-Men’s headquarters. She runs into Guido, who reveals that he was implanted with a bomb months ago by Apocalypse’s men. In exchange for turning in Gambit, he was told that the bomb wouldn’t go off and none of the other X-Ternals would be harmed. Knowing that Nanny would lead them back to the X-Men, he destroyed her. He takes Charles and the shard away from Jubilee and leaves to find Rictor. Soon, Gambit and Lila are confronted by Rictor and Guido. Rictor reneges on his word and creates an earthquake to kill Guido, along with Gambit and Lila. Guido uses his strength to hold up the main support column and urges Gambit to save Lila. Gambit has an opportunity to steal the baby and the shard back from Guido, but saves Lila instead. Later, Guido hands over Charles and the shard to Apocalypse in exchange for his and Lila’s safety. Rictor is killed by Apocalypse for his incompetence.

Continuity Notes

A narrative caption reveals Exodus’ full name, “Paris Bennett”.

It’s revealed that Apocalypse has been secretly tracking the team through Guido, which would explain how the Madri found them in the first issue.

Review

For the final issue, Nicieza lays off on the action a little and focuses more on character moments. It does make the issue less tedious to read, although the story now jumps back and forth in time, which is just gimmicky and frustrating. Rictor is still chasing Gambit back on Earth, with the odd explanation that Lila brought him back from space with them. The X-characters in this reality have shown no aversion to killing their opponents, so it’s strange that she didn’t leave him behind in space (and Rictor’s dialogue specifically says she “saved” him, so it doesn’t seem as if he snuck along like in the first issue). Rictor’s arc is resolved in a somewhat predictable way, but Nicieza spends a lot of time building up the suspense so it doesn’t come across too flat. Revealing that Guido is a double agent is nice twist, which did receive a small amount of foreshadowing in the previous issues when it was established that he resented Gambit’s relationship with Lila. Gambit’s decision to save Lila over the Crystal and the baby is well done, and the scene does a good job of conveying his conflicting emotions over the choice. If the previous issues of this series focused more on characterization and less on frenzied action scenes, it probably would’ve worked a lot better. Overall, I think it turned out to be the weakest of the monthly titles during the AoA.

GAMBIT AND THE X-TERNALS #3 – May 1995

To the Limits of Infinity

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Javins/Rosas/Webb/Thomas & Electric Crayon (colors)

Summary

The Starjammers take the X-Ternals to the Shi’ar planet where the M’Kraan Crystal is being harvested for power. Deathbird teleports with the X-Ternals to the planet’s surface, where they face an army of Shi’ar soldiers. Gambit, Lila Cheney, and Deathbird race to find the M’Kraan Crystal while the others distract the guards. Gambit is shocked to learn that the Crystal is three stories tall, but Deathbird tells him that he only needs to steal a shard of it for their plan to work. Suddenly, an arm from inside the Crystal grabs Lila and pulls her inside. Gambit and Deathbird follow her inside the Crystal and meet Jahf. Jahf explains that he is the guardian of the M’Kraan Crystal, which is now fracturing and causing reality to blink out of existence. According to Jahf, it was never repaired in this reality because Jean Grey never became Phoenix. He tells Gambit that the collapse of the original reality is causing every reality to be affected, which will soon result in the end of everything. Stealing a shard of the Crystal and stopping the death of Professor Xavier will stop reality from blinking out of existence. However, Gambit must sacrifice a part of himself to gain a shard of the Crystal. Outside, the X-Ternals are confronted by Gladiator and Rictor. In the course of the battle, Sunspot begins to turn white after absorbing the Crystal’s energy. He’s afraid that he won’t be able to absorb more of the Crystal’s energy, so they follow Gambit inside it. Gambit offers the only thing he says he has to offer, and breaks his staff against the neutron sun in the heart of the Crystal. The M’Kraan Cystal explodes, as the neutron sun escapes from the Shi’ar device that was draining its energies. Sunspot begins to burn up after absorbing so much energy, while Lila Cheney vows to return everyone home.

Continuity Notes

Since Jahf lives inside the M’Kraan Crystal, which is the “nexus point between all matter and all anti-matter”, he remembers the original reality. The M’Kraan Crystal was damaged and causing reality to blink out of existence back in Uncanny X-Men #108, before Jean Grey used the Phoenix Force to fix it. According to Jahf, Bishop is a “chronal anomaly” who was present when the different realities diverged, causing him to remember the way things are supposed to be.

Even though it’s not outright stated, I have to assume that Rictor and Gladiator are the two lifeforms who escaped from the crystallized planet in the last issue.

Creative Differences

Several pages in this issue are done in Comicraft’s computer font, even though the rest of the comic is hand lettered by Chris Eliopoulos. The pages that have been re-lettered mostly involve Jahf’s explanation of how reality fractured, and how Gambit can fix it. The climax of the story, when Gambit hits his staff against the neutron heart and the Crystal explodes, is also re-lettered.

Review

I enjoyed this issue more than the previous two, even if the series does still have a slightly chaotic feel to it. Salvador Larroca replaces Tony Daniel with this issue, which I believe makes Gambit and the X-Ternals the only AoA book that didn’t finish with its initial creative team. Larroca’s art looks stiff and awkward in a lot of places, with a lot of stereotypical early ‘90s stylized characters, but he does lay out a more attractive page than Daniel did in the last two issues. Even though there was obviously some last minute tinkering going on, I liked the way Jahf’s explanation of the M’Kraan Crystal’s fracturing and the creation of the AoA is presented in a clear, straightforward manner. Not dropping a thousand vague hints and actually presenting the information in a clear-cut way is a nice change of pace for the titles at this time. Unfortunately, it leads directly into the nonsensical ending that has Gambit hitting his staff against the M’Kraan Crystal as some sort of exchange for a shard. I guess that’s what he’s doing, since the story and art aren’t very clear on this. The way the story presents this as some dramatic sacrifice for Gambit is also odd. Gambit says that he’s doing this Rogue, which doesn’t help to clear things up (Please don’t tell me he’s somehow symbolically sacrificing his love for Rogue to the Crystal in this scene. That would be too trite for words). Since these pages have been re-lettered, it’s likely that Nicieza intended something else that never made it into the final version, but it’s hard to guess what he was going for. What exactly Magneto wants with the M’Kraan crystal in the first place is never revealed either, although I guess this is an intentional mystery that’s supposed to be resolved at the end of the storyline.

The Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen – April 1995

Untitled

Credits: Ian Churchill, Salvador Larroca, Steve Skroce, Val Semeiks, Tom Lyle, Tim Sale (pencilers), Scott Hanna, Sergio Melia, Bob Wiacek, Karl Kessel, Terry Austin, James Pascoe, Dan Panosian, Tim Sale (inkers), Ashley Underwood (colorist). NOTE: No writer or letterer is credited.

Summary

A Madri priest sneaks into Apocalypse’s private chambers and reviews his files in order to learn if the Madri are labeled “Chosen” or “Forgotten”. After reviewing several of Apocalypse’s files, he’s relieved to see the Madri listed as “Chosen”. Their designation suddenly changes to “Forgotten”, as Apocalypse enters. He kills the Madri priest for displeasing him.

Production Notes

According to the “X-Facts” hype page that later ran in the June issues, Howard Mackie is credited as the writer (which makes sense, as he’s the only writer to spell “Weapon X” with a hyphen, and that’s the way it’s spelled here). Why exactly the June hype page is promoting a book that was two months old is beyond me, though. The lettering on the framing sequence isn’t credited either, but it looks like Comicraft’s computer fonts.

Continuity Notes

According to Apocalypse’s files, Jean Grey was abandoned by the X-Men during a mission and taken into his custody. He claims that she was “well on the way to becoming one of the mutant ruling class” when Weapon X went against Magneto’s orders and rescued her. He speculates that she didn’t want to be saved, a thought that Weapon X also considers briefly in Weapon X #2.

Apocalypse claims that Sabretooth once served him, until he showed compassion for humans. “Bloody and broken”, he later asked Apocalypse for forgiveness (I assume these are references to X-Men Chronicles #1, although we didn’t see what happened to Sabretooth after Wolverine severed his spine in that issue). Apocalypse hypothesizes that his symbiotic connection to Wild Child dulls his bloodlust.

Review

This is a rather flagrant cashgrab, similar to the Stryfe one-shot that came out at the end of the “X-Cutioner’s Song” crossover. The cover price is bumped up over fifty cents, with no justification outside of a wraparound cover. That only eliminates the back cover ad, while the interiors have the same number of ads as any other monthly comic. I think Marvel began automatically charging higher prices for one-shots and miniseries regardless of content during this time, which always struck me as a brazen rip-off. The ‘90s sales boom had already peaked at this point, but I guess some people at Marvel still thought they could get away with this stuff. If this were an Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe style book with comprehensive profiles on a large selection of characters, I wouldn’t mind it at all. It’s obvious that the creators went through a lot of effort to create new backstories for dozens of characters, so I could understand publishing a comprehensive manual that details all of the changes. Instead, we get a pin-up book that just has a few lines of copy on the bottom of each page. With the exception of the two entries listed above, no new information is revealed, and the amount of story included is unquestionably nominal. I could charitably view this as an attempt to establish the new continuity in one place for readers who didn’t follow the entire X-line, but it doesn’t present enough material to do that well, either.