Inside the 'Captive Hearts' of X-Men: The Animated Series

I look back on the animated debut of the Morlocks this week at CBR...and the Claremont/Smith story that inspired the episode.

X-MEN FOREVER #10 - December 2009

 

Home, come the Heroes!

Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Paul Smith (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Tom Orzechowski (letters), Sotocolor’s A. Street & Moose Baumann (colors)

Summary:  On the eve of Wolverine’s funeral, Gambit threatens Sabretooth to stay away from ‘Ro and Shadowcat.  This triggers a fight that’s broken up by the team.  Above, the Consortium tries to spy on the X-Men in their COSA space station, but Beast generates a holographic field to ensure privacy.  At Wolverine’s funeral, several former teammates and military personnel arrive.  Cyclops delivers the eulogy.  Later, Cyclops arrives at his grandparents’ home, announcing his leave of absence from the team.  He’s greeted by his son Nate.

Continuity Notes:  

• Nate is now around ten years old.  He was last seen as an infant, sent into the future to be cured of the techno-organic virus.  According to Claremont’s online comments, the storyline from X-Factor #65-68 didn’t have the same resolution in the Forever continuity.
• Corsair is living with his parents, Cyclops’ grandparents, in Alaska and not in space with the Starjammers.
• Numerous characters that haven’t made appearances in this series yet turn up this issue.  Among them is Psylocke, who suggests rejoining the team but is told by Nightcrawler to “stay free.”  
• Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, and Mirage appear, with Cannonball and Wolfsbane given the wrong hair color.
• Bruce Banner arrives disguised as a flower deliveryman, offering his own condolences.  
• Shadowcat comments that Psylocke is like her “best big sister.”  Since when?
• Rachel Summers does not appear, following Chris Claremont’s rule (as best I understand it) that Rachel is unique to the mainstream Marvel continuity.
• Cyclops claims Mystique is one of Wolverine’s best friends, which is another reference to the True Friends miniseries.  Giving Wolverine and Mystique a retconned past is one thing, but claiming that she still views him as a close friend is rather ridiculous given the way Claremont’s written Mystique in the past.
• Archangel’s skin is no longer blue, which elicits a joke from Beast.  I’m assuming Archangel is supposed to be using an image inducer, but there’s no reason for him to be hiding his true appearance in this crowd, since Cyclops openly delivers the eulogy as a mutant.
• ‘Ro doesn’t recognize Forge, even though they have seen each other following her return to the team in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14.
• According to Cyclops, the “imperial Japanese security refused to allow Maiko Yashida's presence.”
• Cyclops’ eulogy reveals that Wolverine worked with Xavier in Southeast Asia, “helping him through countless combat search-and-rescue retrievals to bring lost troopers home safely.”

Creative Differences:  Chris Claremont has stated that Jubilee was in the plot for this issue, but Paul Smith simply chose not to include her in the art.

Review:  An issue intended as a tearful goodbye to Wolverine instead becomes a game of “Does Anyone Understand X-Men Forever Continuity?” as Claremont goes cameo crazy, leaving the reader more bewildered than ever.  Archangel’s no longer blue, there’s an unknown reason for Psylocke’s departure from the team (and she’s “sisters” now with Kitty), the New Mutants are reunited and may or may not be X-Force, Quicksilver is seated with the Avengers while X-Factor is unaccounted for, Xavier and Wolverine now have a shared war history, and oh yeah, Nathan Summers is suddenly ten years old.  It’s possible, of course, that these are intentional choices on Claremont’s part and not outright continuity screw-ups.  The biggest hint is Cyclops’ line to Nate when they’re reunited -- “look how you've GROWN!” -- which seems like a pretty obvious wink to the audience.  

So, Claremont is possibly screwing with the reader, but at what cost?  It distracts from the main story, and arguably hurts the premise of this series.  If we’re to believe this is an alternate reality that picks up right from the moment of Claremont’s departure, then it stands to reason that the rest of Marvel’s continuity should exist as it did in the 1991-1992 era.  This might only be of interest to the hardcore continuity-obsessive, but isn’t the book by its very premise aimed directly at that audience?  The same audience that remembers little Nate was actually called “Christopher” and almost never by his first name?  I think little things are forgivable, such as Bruce Banner appearing when he should be stuck in Hulk form, since it’s possible that he’s recently reverted back to his old status quo in the Forever universe, but this is a decent amount to swallow in one issue.  We now see that all kinds of things have been happening behind-the-scenes of this series, and while that is an intriguing prospect, only the most naïve reader truly expects these numerous continuity issues to be addressed.  Is anyone else reminded of the “Six Month Gap” and how that turned out?

Ignoring the continuity problems and regarding the issue as a Wolverine funeral story, there’s a lot to enjoy.  Having Cyclops deliver the eulogy is a smart decision on Claremont’s part, allowing the reader to understand Wolverine through Cyclops’ eyes, which isn’t the most sympathetic viewpoint.  Wolverine as the flawed hero who never gives up, never views himself as “good enough,” is an aspect of the character that’s often forgotten, but it’s essential to Claremont’s interpretation.  Having people who used to hate Wolverine, like not only Cyclops but Archangel, acknowledge his loyalty and dedication is more poignant than allowing Kitty or Jubilee to get all weepy.  

The entire issue is narrated from Cyclops’ perspective, with the story building to his decision to yet again leave the X-Men.  This is one of Cyclops’ more sympathetic portrayals, as he leaves the X-Men heartbroken but with no apparent bitterness.  When discussing Jean’s “affair” with Wolverine, he only comments that Jean’s his best friend and he would rather be happy for her, which makes Cyclops a virtual saint by most anyone’s definition.  Really, this is a story that has Cyclops delivering the eulogy of the man who practically stole his fiancée shortly before his death, but Cyke is just kind of okay with everything.  This could easily come across as thoughtless writing, but Claremont pulls it off.  That’s just Cyclops; he’s a bit of a sap.  

Paul Smith makes another return to the book, although unfortunately it’s his last.  The X-Men are still slightly off, but in an attractive way.  To see how his style has evolved, notice that his current rendition of Brain Braddock (who’s around three hundred pounds of muscle) is almost identical to his original interpretation of Archangel, who now looks like a teenager.  You either accept it or you don’t, but I personally think there’s something charming in Smith’s current work.  My only real complaint is his redesign of Wolverine’s claws, which are now shaped like knives instead, and coming out in-between his knuckles instead of the back of his hands.  I honestly wasn’t expecting the movie version of Wolverine to show up in this book of all places, and I wonder what lead Smith to make this choice.

X-MEN FOREVER #6 - October 2009

 

Play Day!

Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Paul Smith (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Moose Baumann (colors), Tom Orzechowski (letters)

Summary:  Cyclops is annoyed when Shadowcat, Gambit, and Nightcrawler take a break from clean-up and play a makeshift game of baseball with the Danger Room’s debris.  ‘Ro watches from the overhead booth and suddenly blasts into the room when her powers go awry.  Soon, the remains of the Danger Room come alive, but are defeated by Cyclops and Gambit.  Later, Cyclops convinces Gambit and ‘Ro to stay with the X-Men, while Sabretooth has a heated exchange with Xavier, Beast and Jean Grey investigate Burnout, and Daisy Dugan sends footage of tanks that have been mysteriously flattened.

Continuity Notes:  ‘Ro (a.k.a. Kid Storm) apparently has no memory of her life as Storm, since she doesn’t recognize Cyclops or Lockheed.  However, ‘Ro’s memories of the X-Men were fully restored by the time of “X-Tinction Agenda.”  This is addressed later.

Review:  "Play Day!" is a fairly typical issue of Forever, in the sense that it reminds me of many of the elements that initially drew me into the X-titles, yet has several moments that just make me groan.  I’ll start with Burnout, as the basic premise is recapped but (much like, say, the Legacy Virus) no progress towards a cure is made.  “We all of us seem to die young,” Beast says to Jean.  Sure, unless you’re Destiny, Sabretooth, Wolverine, Apocalypse, Xavier, Magneto…let’s just forget about them.  Burnout is a premise that could work, but being reminded almost every issue of its obvious holes isn’t helping to sell the storyline.  There’s also an exchange between Sabretooth and Xavier that mainly serves to remind us of what a deceptive creep Xavier is, which hardly seems fair.  Claremont has a nice hook for the conversation -- that Sabretooth may be an animal but at least he doesn’t pretend to be anything he isn’t -- but I’ve yet to read anything in this title that convinces me we needed another story about Xavier keeping horrible secrets from the team.  I also question why the X-Men seem so blasé about the Danger Room’s remains suddenly coming to life.  There’s no explanation at all in the story, no hints that it’s a mystery that will be followed up on, and the X-Men don’t seem overly concerned about investigating what exactly happened.

All that said, there’s enough in the issue to remind me of what Claremont does so well in X-Men stories.  The baseball scene is fun, the character interactions are well-scripted, and there’s more than enough going on to encourage you to read the next issue.  Having Paul Smith, with Terry Austin as the inker no less, appear as the fill-in penciler is also a nice surprise.  His style has become much more abstract over the years, but with the possible exception of Beast, I think there’s still something iconic about his X-Men.  Admittedly, all of the X-Men vaguely resemble children now, but I think Smith pulls it off in a way that Chris Bachalo didn’t years earlier.

UNCANNY X-MEN #278 - July 1991

The Battle of Muir Isle

Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Paul Smith (penciler), Hilary Barta (inker), Joe Rosas (colors), Tom Orzechowski (letters)

Summary:  Professor Xavier hijacks Excalibur’s Blackbird from WHO’s headquarters.  He travels to America to use Cerebro, while the X-Men investigate Muir Island.  The team is soon attacked by the occupants of the island, who are now under the Shadow King’s control.  In America, Xavier encounters Stevie Hunter, who is being chased by Colossus.  Shadow King reveals himself, boasting that Colossus is now his.

Continuity Notes:  

• Since their previous appearances, Rogue and Guido have arrived on Muir Island.  Shadow King is apparently using his powers, combined with Legion’s, to draw mutants to the island.  Rogue is surprised to discover just how intense the mutants train in “The Arena,” Moira MacTaggert’s new replacement for the Danger Room.  
• We’re told that Excalibur is missing at this time, but no footnotes point to any Excalibur issues that explain why.
• Xavier speculates that the worldwide psychic static he senses is caused by the Shadow King, although this should be beyond his abilities.  Later, in a chapter not written by Claremont, we’ll discover Polaris is the cause.

Review:  And this begins “The Muir Island Saga,” the crossover that will soon mark Chris Claremont’s departure from Uncanny X-Men.  In retrospect, probably the only significance of the storyline lies in the behind-the-scenes drama.  “The Muir Island Saga” does have its moments, but too much of the story consists of heroes fighting brainwashed heroes.  As a reader at the time, it was kind of exciting to see this long-running Shadow King subplot paid off, and to have Rogue and Colossus reunited with the team, but I can definitely recall being ready for the crossover to just end at a certain point.  

The first chapter reunites Chris Claremont with Paul Smith, who is about as far away from Jim Lee at this stage as you can imagine.  He isn’t really recognizable as the Paul Smith from the early ‘80s, either, as he’s dropped most of his oversized, bold figures and cartoony expressions.  This is a densely packed issue, filled with the large cast of X-Men from this era and the large cast of B-listers relegated to Muir Island, so it’s arguable he simply didn’t have the room to show off this time.  Most of the issue consists of six to ten-panel pages, mainly concerned with getting characters to where they need to be and then putting them in a fight scene.  

There are nice little moments, the ones Claremont can be counted on even during a cramped crossover, such as Banshee and Siryn’s confrontation, or seeing how Xavier responds to someone like Gambit having joined the X-Men in his absence.  And it is enjoyable as a fan to see the X-Men actually be proactive for a change and investigate a threat, rather than wait around to be attacked.  However, the majority of the issue just feels rushed, which isn't a good sign in the very first chapter in a crossover.

X-MEN: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM #4 - July 2000

Child’s Play
Credits:  Joe Casey (writer), Paul Smith and Michael Ryan (pencilers), Paul Smith and Andrew Pepoy (inkers), Paul Mounts (colors), Jim Novak (letters)

Summary:  Scott Summers awakens inside Xavier’s mansion, still reluctant to join his side.  Meanwhile, Fred Duncan discovers William Metzger is working with his superiors.  Using technology taken from the Sentinel prototype, Metzger plans on helping the government locate mutants.  Later, Xavier invites Bobby Drake and Jean Grey to join his new school, while Magneto is rejected by a neophyte mutant.  Finally, masked men attack Warren Worthington’s home.  They’re stopped by Xavier, who asks Warren to join him.

I Love the '90s:  William Metzger appears on “Politically Inept with Bill Czar” to discuss the mutant issue.  This is a reference to Bill Maher's previous talk show, "Politically Incorrect." 

Review:  So, someone thought it would be a good idea to help the book’s deadline problems by replacing Steve Rude with Paul Smith.  That’s…c’mon…was Adam Hughes not available?  Smith doesn’t even last a full issue without needing a fill-in, although Michael Ryan’s pages thankfully aren’t a jarring transition.  This is possibly the finest looking issue of the series so far; Smith’s interpretation of the gawky teenage X-Men is fantastic, and Paul Mounts’ colors are competitive with any of the Photoshop coloring going on today.  

The story still suffers from far too much setup, however.  There are four different scenes in this issue of either Xavier or Magneto approaching a young mutant and asking him or her to join his side, along with more pages spent hinting that William Metzger is up to something nasty.  It’s been four issues now; the guy should’ve done something at this point to appear even somewhat menacing, but instead we’re stuck with more closed-door meetings and talk show appearances.  There is some action in the issue, though, as Angel is attacked in his home by a Marvelized version of the Klan.  This hate group wears black hoods and burns Xs on lawns instead of crosses, though, so you’ve got to be a sharp reader to pick up on the connection.  (They’re such a prosaic, and easily filmable, villain for the X-Men to face, I’m surprised they haven’t made it into any of the X-Men movies yet.)  Michael Ryan handles the action well, and the colors used on the flame effect as the house burns look great, but this is still a meager amount of action in a comic filled with monotonous conversation scenes.

X-MEN #43 – August 1995

Falling From Grace

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Paul Smith (penciler), Matt Ryan & Cam Smith (inkers), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Kevin Somers & Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary

Cyclops and Phoenix arrive on Avalon and are attacked by the Acolytes, as Exodus and Holocaust continue to battle. The medical unit has collapsed, sending Skids into outer space. Phoenix makes contact with her, and then uses her psychic powers to learn that Rusty has been killed by Holocaust. Meanwhile, Colossus finds an escape pod for Magneto, but debates over whether or not to leave Cyclops and Phoenix behind. Back on Earth, Voght reappears at the X-Men’s mansion and warns Xavier that everyone on Avalon is as good as dead. On Avalon, Cyclops convinces the Acolytes to stop fighting and to team up to find a way off of the space station before it falls apart. Cyclops escorts the Acolytes to the escape pods as Phoenix goes into space to rescue Skids. Xavier telepathically tells Colossus to leave Avalon with Magneto, now that Cyclops and Phoenix have their own escape plan. Cyclops and the Acolytes soon discover the escape pods are missing, so Unuscione uses her powers to create a psionic exo-skeleton around a piece of Avalon. Phoenix and Skids combine their force fields to protect themselves in space, as Holocaust and Exodus continue to fight on their way to Earth. As she begins to enter the atmosphere with Skids, Phoenix senses that Cyclops and the Acolytes are starting to burn up in re-entry.

Continuity Notes

If it means anything to you, the Acolyte Javitz is also killed by Holocaust in this issue. There are also some more hints about the extent of Exodus’ power, as he’s able to block Xavier from communicating with Avalon for most of the issue, and forcibly kick Phoenix out of his mind when she tries to psi-scan him.

The “TAC” sound effect used on the last page when Phoenix begins to enter Earth’s atmosphere is a reference to the first appearances of Phoenix in Uncanny X-Men #100-#101. The “TAC” sound itself is a reference to the sound effect used for the cosmic rays in Fantastic Four #1. The original explanation of Phoenix wasn’t that it was a cosmic entity, but instead Jean Grey’s powers enhanced by the same cosmic rays that created the Fantastic Four.

Review

Another enjoyable issue, with exceptional art by Paul Smith. Since most of the storylines in the X-books at this time involve long set-ups and inconclusive endings, it’s refreshing to read a story that moves quickly and doesn’t involve mysterious villains just teleporting away or covering their escape with a bomb. There’s a ton of action, but Nicieza still makes room to give Cyclops, Phoenix, Colossus, and Xavier some character moments. Cyclops’ aggrieved reaction to Rusty’s death is nicely handled, and it works as a natural reference to the shared history between the characters. Compare this exercise in deck clearing with the unbearable UXM #281, and you can see the difference competent plotting can make even in the action-heavy stories.

X-MEN #42 – July 1995

Heaven Can Wait

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Paul Smith (penciler), Matt Ryan (inker), Kevin Somers & Digital Chameleon (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Exodus addresses the Acolytes, telling them that the new mutant they’ve discovered in space is a gift from fate. When Milan expresses doubt, Exodus punishes him by having him keep vigil over the lifeless mutant’s containment unit. When Milan uses his powers to connect his mind with the Avalon space station’s medical equipment, he’s overtaken with images of the Age of Apocalypse. Soon, his entire body is consumed with energy and he evaporates. Fellow Acolyte Rusty is soon asked to check on Milan. When he touches the containment unit of the mystery mutant, Rusty’s hand begins to evaporate. Like Milan, he’s quickly consumed. Holocaust emerges from the containment unit, and is promptly attacked by Exodus. Still believing that Exodus is an X-Man, Holocaust eagerly fights back. In the course of their battle, their space station begins to fall apart. Amelia Voght teleports to the X-Men’s home for help, and accidentally runs into Cyclops and Phoenix’s car while still in her mist form. She teleports the duo to Avalon, only to have Colossus warn them that Avalon is about to be destroyed. Meanwhile, in Florida, Rogue begins to take on Gambit’s physical appearance and attempts to steal an artifact from a museum. Iceman arrives to stop her.

Production Note

I assume the square of gray coloring on the cover is some type of production error.

Continuity Note

Rogue wasn’t looking or behaving like Gambit in X-Men Prime. His personality traits should have faded away not long after they kissed, anyway (just as kissing Rogue shouldn’t have harmed Gambit enough to put him into a coma). I don’t remember if these are intentional mysteries, or if the X-office just forgot how Rogue’s powers work.

Miscellaneous Note

The Statement of Ownership lists average sales for the year at 614,075 with the most recent issue selling 521,700. So the series either had a few exceptionally high-selling issues that drove the average way up, or it was bleeding readers throughout the year. Since the title was renamed and renumbered during the AoA, I don’t think those sales are included.

Review

This is the beginning of Nicieza’s final X-Men storyline, concluding his three-year run on the title. The insertion of the AoA characters into the mainstream reality bombed for the most part, but Nicieza’s able to use Holocaust’s arrival as the impetus for a new storyline, instead of pointless retconning. The Acolytes have mostly turned into deadweight at this point, so bringing in a new character to tear through them isn’t a bad idea. It helps to build Holocaust as a villain in a way that doesn’t seem as cheap as Onslaught’s debut in this month’s Uncanny. I remember being surprised at Rusty’s death, since he had been around for almost ten years at this point, but Nicieza does at least reform his characterization before he’s killed off. This was years before writers were allowed to go through every obscure mutant and murder them for shock value, so his death scene did have some impact at the time. Paul Smith shows up as guest artist and delivers a very nice-looking issue. I seem to recall a Wizard article about Smith from around this time, which mentioned his fill-in work here as a specific move on his part to put his name back out there and attract new fans. Bob Harras seemed to be genuinely excited to have him back on the X-books. I still hadn’t seen his original run at this point, and didn’t see what the big deal was. He’s another artist whose worked seemed too soft and clean for my early teenage tastes. I look at this issue now and realize that I was pretty dumb. Smith’s work really is the opposite of the “extreme” look that was still going around during this era, so I wonder what the rest of the audience thought about this issue.

X-MEN UNLIMITED #6 – September 1994

Primal Scream

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Paul Smith (storyboards), Mandel Alves Flor, Fabio Laguna, Al Rio, Edde Wagner (pencilers), Cabera/Champagne/Lowe/McKenna/Milgrom/Rubinstein/Townsend (inkers), Dutro/Oakley/Starkings (lettering), Agostinelli/Ariane/Sanchez/Triana/Webb (colorists)

Summary

Sauron sends the Savage Land Mutates to capture Havok. They’re followed to the Savage Land by Cyclops, Phoenix, and Polaris. After the death of his girlfriend, Tanya Anderssen, Sauron has grown more insane. He routinely sees images of his human self, Karl Lykos, which he tries to kill. With the aid of the Mutates, Sauron kidnaps Polaris, Cyclops, and Phoenix. He connects Cyclops and Havok to a machine, hoping to draw upon their related mutant powers. Phoenix and Polaris recover and rescue the brothers. Sauron chases them into the jungle, using his hypnotic powers to make the team fight amongst themselves. Phoenix finally uses her psychic powers to enter Sauron’s mind. She tries to free the part of him that is Karl Lykos, but instead witnesses a battle between Sauron and Lykos. Lykos commits “psychic suicide”, sacrificing his own identity in order to kill Sauron. Sauron is now reduced to his animal brain. The team allows him to fly away, knowing that he now has to live in the “kill or be killed” world of the Savage Land.

Continuity Notes

Sauron says that he used his hypnotic powers to trick Wolverine into letting him escape in Wolverine #71. There’s nothing in that actual story to suggest this, so I’m assuming it’s a retcon done to relieve Wolverine of responsibility for Sauron’s actions in the Savage Land.

Review

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that this was originally supposed to be the Sauron one-shot by John Francis Moore advertised a year earlier in the X-Men/Avengers 30^th Anniversary insert. Paul Smith is credited with “storyboards”, which leads me to believe that he was supposed to be the original artist, but didn’t make it past the layouts stage. It makes sense that a prestigious, but slow, artist like Smith would have been working on a special edition one-shot project. Given the multiple pencilers, inkers, letterers, and colorists on this issue, I’m also going to guess that this was a last-minute rush job that cannibalized the Sauron project in order to get something out there to the printers. I understand that these things happen in periodical publishing, but you would think that more planning would have gone into a quarterly book. It’s ridiculous that a book that has three months to be prepared ends up with five credited colorists.

Moore does provide a decent, action-heavy story. It doesn’t feel worthy of a prestige one-shot, but it’s good enough for a standard issue of X-Men Unlimited. Before Marvel decided to go with a “continuity light” approach, you used to see more stories like this. The premise is essentially a sequel to Sauron’s original appearance, where Karl Lykos drained Havok’s powers and transformed into Sauron for the first time. It makes sense that the energy-vampire Sauron would want to drain Havok’s powers again, but I think this is the first time someone used the idea. The story moves at a steady pace, and Moore does seem to have an understanding of the characters. It still reads like filler, but it rarely feels dull or padded. The major flaw would be the artwork, which consists of four Jim Lee impersonators of varying quality. The storytelling is mostly clear, probably due to the Paul Smith layouts, but the art is just ugly for most of the issue. I was impressed by how close some of the artists get to Jim Lee when I first read this as a teenager, but it doesn’t hold up at all. The multiple letterers and colorists are also distracting, giving the book a chaotic feel. One third of the lettering is done with computers, the rest by hand, which looks pretty odd. What’s worse is that the colorists can’t seem to decide if Sauron has a yellow beak or not (he doesn’t). Taking it all together, this should’ve been a sign to Marvel that this book needed help, but they didn’t seem to get the message.

UNCANNY X-MEN #304 – September 1993

…For What I Have Done

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), John Romita, Jr, Jae Lee, Chris Sprouse, Brandon Peterson, & Paul Smith (pencilers), Dan Green, Dan Panosian, Terry Austin, Tom Palmer, & Keith Williams (inkers), Mike Thomas (colorist), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer)

Summary

Exodus reveals Fabian Cortez’s role in Magneto’s “death” to the Acolytes. The Acolytes follow Exodus to Avalon while Cortez is left to be a victim of “someone else’s legacy.” During Illyana’s funeral service, Magneto and the Acolytes appear. Magneto punishes Senyaka for the Acolytes’ attack on the hospice, while saying that he would have approved of the action if only he had been asked permission. Bishop absorbs the magnetic power being used to hold the X-Men and blasts Magneto. The X-Men try to charge him up with more energy. When Magneto reappears, Avalon is glowing, preparing for an attack on Westchester County. When Bishop attacks again, Colossus strikes him from behind, siding with Magneto. Desperate, Xavier takes over Magneto’s mind and uses his powers to send Avalon back into orbit.

Gimmicks

This issue has a cardstock hologram cover.

Continuity Notes

Magneto is referred to as “Eric Lehnsherr” for the first time. Even though Xavier has always referred to him as “Magnus” in flashbacks, he suddenly starts calling him “Eric” now. Years later, “Eric Lehnsherr” was revealed to be a false identity, but Marvel seems to have forgotten that.

In a flashback, Magneto is seen running with the body of his daughter, Anya. Previous stories establish that she was burned alive in a fire, but she certainly doesn’t look burned in this issue.

Fabian Cortez being a victim of “someone else’s legacy” is presumably a reference to the Legacy Virus.

Review

This is a comic I can remember actively hating for years. Looking back on it, I can almost see how someone divorced from X-Men continuity might enjoy it, but in terms of building upon existing characterization and giving characters legitimate motivations, it fails miserably. I started buying Uncanny X-Men in 1988, so I missed most of the “reformed Magneto” era. The Magneto I remembered was from the later Claremont issues, an occasional ally who wanted to do the right thing but was constantly being pushed in the wrong direction. I think the only comic I had read featuring Magneto as an X-Man was the final issue of the Fantastic Four vs. X-Men miniseries. The scene where Magneto laments that no one can accept the fact that he’s changed really stuck with me as a kid. Reed Richards shaking hands with Magneto at the end was one of my favorite moments in comics at that point. Reading this issue, with a psychotic Magneto who crashes a little girl’s funeral, advocates a hospice slaughter, kills one of his followers, and then tries to destroy an entire town…let’s just say it didn’t go over very well. Magneto doesn’t exist as a character at this point; he exists solely to be the villain in an overpriced company-mandated crossover. There’s some lip service paid to Claremont’s reformation of the character, but it just seems like a weak attempt to add depth to a one-dimensional villain.

Colossus finally joins Magneto, after months of build-up. The titles have done a good job of establishing Colossus’ anguish over the loss of his family, but siding with Magneto still doesn’t make a lot of sense. Colossus’ sister died of a virus created by an evil mutant. Why join another one? Why would the actions of an evil mutant cause Colossus to doubt Xavier’s dream, when the X-Men were created to fight these villains in the first place? If anything, this would strengthen his resolve to fight people like Stryfe. In order for Colossus to logically side with Magneto, he should have a motivation to side with him against humans. It’s true that his parents were murdered by the Russian government, but even then, this wasn’t done as an attack against mutants (actually, why it was done was never clear). Colossus has a reason to be upset in these issues, and perhaps to leave the team to grieve, but not to join someone planning to wipe out the human race. If Colossus had a specific reason to hate humans (his sister killed in an anti-mutant riot or something), that could work. If Colossus had grown closer to Magneto over a period of time and begun to understand his point of view, this might have worked. But Colossus joining Magneto after he crashes his sister’s funeral and tries to kill an entire city doesn’t work at all. It’s the type of cheap shock value that would characterize much of the ‘90s.

In an attempt to tie the two storylines together, Magneto uses Stryfe’s Legacy Virus as a justification for killing humans. His nonsensical explanation is that mutants wouldn’t be fighting against one another if humans weren’t out to kill them. Think about this…mutants are fighting each other because a separate group wants them dead. Wouldn’t this lead mutants to unite together against humans? I take it Magneto is one of those people who didn’t like the ending of Watchmen. If Magneto is going to justify anything to attack humans, wouldn’t the government’s revival of the Sentinel project be a better excuse?

There’s some attempt to mark this as an anniversary issue, rather than just another chapter in a crossover. All of the X-teams assemble for Illyana’s funeral, giving cameos to former members and other characters from the spinoffs. Former artist Paul Smith returns to draw a few pages, although it’s hard to recognize his style. Storm and Kitty Pryde have a scene reminiscent of the one they shared after Storm’s mohawk makeover. Oddly enough, John Romita, Jr. drew the original issue, but Chris Sprouse draws the homage scene while Romita draws most of the other pages. Most of the artwork is fine, but nothing can save this story.