The One Issue That Changed X-Men Stories Forever

 

At CBR this week, I look back at  how a last-minute story change inadvertently altered how readers perceived the most important X-Man forever...

Professor Xavier's Forgotten Role in the Dark Phoenix Tragedy

 

This week at CBR, I'm looking at an aspect of "Dark Phoenix Saga" that Chris Claremont intended to have major repercussions for Xavier, if only John Byrne and Jim Shooter agreed.

Twenty (!) Years Since the Finale of Superman: the Animated Series

This week, I revisit the series final of Superman: The Animated Series, and look at some issues of the John Byrne reboot that possibly influenced the story.

Is X-Men: The Animated Series the Definitive Dark Phoenix Adaptation?

Is it possible Hollywood superstars and multi-million dollar budgets can't compete with a '90s cartoon series? I revisit the original Dark Phoenix Saga of the comics, and the animated adaptation at CBR. 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #441 - November 1998

And Who Shall Claim A Kingly Crown? - The Final Chapter Part 1

Credits:  John Byrne (writer), Rafael Kayanan (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inks), Mike Rockwitz & Matt Hicks (colors), Comicraft’s Liz Agraphiotis (letters)

The Plot:  Robbie Robertson and Alison Mongrain finally reach the Parkers’ home.  Molten Man locates them again, but is briefly able to fight off the device that’s been implanted in his brain.  Robbie realizes that the locket Alison wears is secretly a homing beacon.  Once it’s destroyed, Molten Man becomes peaceful again.  MJ meets Robbie and Alison in the street, and a feeble Alison informs her that May is alive shortly before she collapses.  Later, Spider-Man returns home and learns the news.  He leaves for Osborn’s hunting lodge, where May is supposedly being held, even though MJ thinks it’s a trick.  Elsewhere, the Gathering of Five ceremony begins.  When the ceremony is finished, Osborn is convinced that he has now been granted the gift of power.

The Subplots:  None.

Web of Continuity:  

• Peter and MJ are assuming that the “May” Alison spoke of is their daughter, of course.
• We’re led to believe this issue that the Gathering of Five ceremony has ended with Madame Web receiving death, Overpower receiving immortality, Mattie Franklin receiving knowledge, Maxwell (the antiques dealer) receiving madness, and Osborn being granted power.  Subsequent issues will reveal that, naturally, nothing is as it seems.
• Mattie Franklin makes her full debut this issue.  She’s taken her father’s place after “his courage failed him.”
• A flashback shows Osborn implanting a device in Mark Raxton’s brain and transforming him back into Molten Man.  Except…Raxton can’t turn his molten form on and off.  He is Molten Man at all times, and I don’t recall any story that’s ever deviated from this.

Forever Young:  Teenager Mattie Franklin is a huge Spider-Man fan, telling Norman Osborn that adults like him “are too old to get what Spider-Man is all about!”  This doesn’t come across as forced or awkward at all, does it?

Miscellaneous Note:  The Statement of Ownership lists average sales at 119,547 copies, and the most recent issue selling 115,530 copies.

Review:  Believe it or not, this is the final issue of Amazing Spider-Man.  Of course, Marvel acknowledges in this very issue that a new Amazing Spider-Man #1 is only a few weeks away, but this remains the final issue of the first volume of the book.  (And Marvel will never pull this renumbering stunt again, will they?)  What a way to go out…the opening chapter of a crossover, a fill-in writer and artist, a massive continuity blunder involving the story’s villain, and absolutely nothing for Spider-Man to do throughout the entire issue.  Marvel’s approach to this pre-relaunch material is mystifying.  It’s obvious that these final two crossovers are paving the way for the new direction, yet the overall execution reads as if no one’s really paying attention to what’s being published.  If you are curious about the relaunch and pick the crossovers up, the inconsistent material probably isn’t going to entice you into coming back.  And if you think it’s safe to ignore these final issues, you’re out of luck, since the stories provide origins for many of the new characters appearing in the relaunch, plus minor details like the resurrection of Aunt May are occurring.  Ideally, the final issues of the titles would’ve provided a smooth transition between eras, and the new #1 titles coming later could start off with new stories that aren’t closely tied to the previous era.  What we’re getting is the worst of both options.

Judging the issue on its own merits, the outlook isn’t much better.  The entire story is structured so that Spider-Man barely appears, which would seem to be a fundamental problem.  I can understand why Byrne would want MJ to be the one to deliver the news regarding May to Peter, but couldn’t Spider-Man be occupied by something else until we reach the climax of the issue?  Why are so many pages wasted on the Gathering ceremony?  It consists largely of characters that no one cares anything about, doing something with no visual appeal whatsoever (placing artifacts on a table.)  And the elaborate sequence designed to show which character received which gift is undermined by a previous issue telling us that the gifts aren’t what they appear to be anyway.  We’ve already been told a fake-out is coming, so devoting so much time selling results that we all know aren’t real seems like a waste.  There are also just basic storytelling issues that drag the issue down.  The scenes with Robbie and Alison aren’t so bad, admittedly, but it’s hard to ignore that both Molten Man and Alison Mongrain literally disappear over the course of the story.  I mean, one panel they’re there, the next they’re not kind of disappearing.  Alison might even be dead for all we know; the story’s annoyingly vague.  Perhaps Rafael Kayanan shares in the blame.  He draws some shockingly inconsistent faces from panel to panel this issue, so it wouldn’t stun me to learn that he was on a tight deadline and perhaps some story details were left out of the art.  Unfortunately, Kayanan is ending his fill-in stint with his weakest work so far in the book.  (Although that final shot of Spidey swinging away from the Parkers’ home is pretty impressive.)

By the way, what’s the deal with Alison Mongrain’s characterization?  She’s gone from being a coldhearted Osborn flunky to this brave, selfless woman determined to let the Parkers know the truth about May.  I can understand her turning on Osborn after he tried to kill her, but why is she suddenly so virtuous?  Couldn’t she go into hiding and just write the Parkers a letter?  

Finally, there’s the issue of Aunt May’s return.  I think people have forgotten exactly how much fans hated this idea, largely because it’s just been accepted by now that Aunt May will always be a part of the Spider-Man mythos.  I won’t get into the merits of reviving the character right now, but I will say that only using the name “May” as a red herring is a clever move on Byrne’s part.  Perhaps unnecessarily cruel, but it’s a great tease for the rest of the storyline.  I’d much rather read about Spider-Man’s search for his daughter (even if it is a red herring) than anything relating to this arcane ceremony that’s been dragging the titles down for far too many issues.

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #262 - October 1998

The Gathering of Five - Part Four: A Day in the Life

Credits:  John Byrne (writer), Luke Ross (penciler), Al Milgrom (inks), John Kalisz (colors), Comicraft’s Liz Agraphiotis (letters)

The Plot:  Two bicyclists spot Spider-Man swinging overhead and decide to follow him throughout the day.  They witness Spider-Man stop a robbery, then help young kids on a basketball court.  The bicyclists, annoyed at the lack of action, accidentally cause a multi-car collision while going through traffic.  Spider-Man webs the duo up and hands them over to the police.

The Subplots:  MJ meets with her new modeling agency and is given a contract.  Elsewhere, Norman Osborn chastises a mystery man named Franklin over the phone.  Franklin’s child listens in.  Later, when Osborn arrives to pick Franklin up at the airport, he’s shocked at the person who arrives instead.

Web of Continuity:  The mystery Franklin’s child (who doesn’t make a full appearance this issue) is Mattie Franklin, the future Spider-Woman.  Mattie will play a role in the early issues of the relaunched titles, and later receive her own series.  Using the Wizard standards of the day, this issue counts as her first cameo appearance.

Forever Young:  Two people at MJ’s modeling agency remark that she’s “years out of the biz,” which means that even John Byrne seems to be acknowledging that years have passed since MJ gave up modeling, circa Amazing Spider-Man #325.

I Love the ‘90s:  The head of MJ’s modeling agency remarks that her contract “will make Elle and Cindy and Naomi and Christie turn as green as Bruce Banner on a bad hair day!”

Production Note:  The cover credits are incorrect, a repeat of the credits on PPSM #96’s cover.  Norman Felchle does appear to be the cover artist this issue, however.

Review:  So, while the last chapter was a shabby attempt to cram five issues of story into twenty-two pages, this chapter is allowed to squander most of its pages on small stakes “everyday” adventures.  Surely someone working in editorial had to realize how utterly disjointed this crossover was going to be.  I’m not saying that Byrne’s “day in the life” story is particularly bad -- it’s about as entertaining as a decent annual back-up and the material does suit Ross’ playful art -- but it’s bizarre that a chapter of this crossover is devoted to such mundane material.  It didn’t occur to anyone to split the events of PPSM #96 into two chapters…and to drop that dragon nonsense?  Also, where are Robbie Robertson and Alison Mongrain?  Their story is totally ignored this chapter, after serving as the one subplot in the crossover so far that felt like it might actually be going somewhere.  Instead of checking in on their flight from Osborn’s agents and search for Peter, the reader has to suffer through more pages of Norman Osborn procuring rare artifacts.  That’s certainly exciting.  More scenes of a middle-aged man yelling at other middle-aged men on a cellphone?  Yes, please!  And while it wouldn’t be fair to criticize this chapter for her brief cameo, it’s worth remembering that Mattie Franklin went on to become one of the most hated fictional characters in comics.  Even when Marvel was pushing her debut series rather heavily, no one seemed to care enough to track this issue down.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #440 - October 1998

The Gathering of Five - Part Two: A Hot Time in the Old Town

Credits:  John Byrne (writer), Rafael Kayanan (penciler), LaRosa/Ramos/Palmiotti/Kayanan (inks), Mike Rockwitz & Mark Bernardo (colors), Comicraft’s Liz Agraphiotis (letters)

The Plot:  Spider-Man chases a seemingly brainwashed Molten Man across Manhattan.  Eventually, he realizes that Molten Man is on a mission to kill Alison Mongrain, who’s recently gotten off a tramp steamer with Robbie Robertson.  Spider-Man distracts Molten Man while Robertson and Mongrain escape.  Molten Man’s powers cause the docks beneath them to catch fire, and soon Spider-Man and Molten Man are both in the water, in the path of a giant boat.  Spider-Man escapes, but Molten Man disappears.  Meanwhile, Norman Osborn gathers one more piece needed for the ceremony from an antiques dealer named Maxwell.

The Subplots:  Alison Mongrain is adamant that she see Peter Parker immediately.  Meanwhile, Maxwell warns Osborn that the ceremony could impart one of five gifts: power, knowledge, immortality, death, or madness.  He also claims that the gifts “are never quite what they seem to be.”

Miscellaneous Note:  The recap page summarizes the previous ASM issue, which was essentially filler, as opposed to the first chapter of this storyline.

Review:  This issue was billed as an “early start” for John Byrne, who was allegedly so excited to be a part of the relaunch, he just couldn’t wait for the new Amazing Spider-Man #1.  Reader response at the time seemed to be mostly negative, and not only because Byrne would be simultaneously rewriting Spider-Man’s first year in the Chapter One miniseries.  As many fans pointed out, doing a soft reboot of the continuity and relaunching the titles with new #1s is utterly pointless if the storylines are just continuations of plots that begin before the relaunch.  That’s a valid point, but I now wonder how people would’ve responded if there were no transition issues and Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #1 simply dropped readers right in the middle of the new status quo.  The response probably would’ve been even more hostile.  

The early chapters of this crossover have actually done a decent job of hiding the fact that this storyline is about Norman Osborn gathering plot devices needed for a magical ceremony.  (Because Norman Osborn is always hatching those mystical schemes, right?)  I have to admit that John Byrne’s produced a script that’s far more readable than the bulk of the Tom DeFalco run.  The jokes are still largely terrible (While chasing Molten Man, Spidey remarks that the sewers stink “worse than J. Jonah Jameson’s gym socks!”), but Byrne seems to have a handle on Spider-Man’s character, emphasizing how much he wants to believe Molten Man hasn’t gone bad and allowing him to use his smarts during the action scenes.  Casting Molten Man as the villain is a decent choice, given that he’s been working for the Osborns for years now, so it’s inevitable he’s going to end up as a puppet in some plot Norman Osborn’s developed.  Byrne emphasizes the “molten” aspect of Molten Man’s name, establishing that he’s melting everything in his path, in addition to generating scalding steam that’s endangering anyone nearby.  He actually comes across as a credible threat for Spider-Man this issue.  I’ll also give Byrne credit for making it clear that something’s forcing Molten Man into doing this, so his reformation during the Gerry Conway years isn’t just tossed out the window.  The Molten Man of the past ten years isn’t ignored for the sake of a one-issue fight scene, and there’s no screwy continuity going on in order to justify a return to villainy.  That’s more consideration than Byrne will show Sandman in just a few months…

Reactions to Superman's Death from 1992 Mid Ohio Con

Features comments from Roger Stern, Jim Shooter, John Byrne (who's predictably John Byrne), and Don Thompson.

UNCANNY X-MEN #273 - February 1991

Too Many Mutants! (Or Whose House IS This, Anyway?)
Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Whilce Portacio, Klaus Janson, John Byrne, Rick Leonardi, Marc Silvestri, Michael Golden, Larry Stroman, & Jim Lee (pencilers), Scott Williams (inker), Tom Orzechowski (letters), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary:  Following the Genoshan battle, the united X-teams regroup in the underground complex beneath Xavier’s mansion.  Storm, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl debate what to do next, while Cable makes his case for leading the united teams.  Later, Marvel Girl uses Cerebro to locate the missing X-Men.  She’s ambushed by the Shadow King and narrowly rescued by Psylocke.  Eventually, the X-Men emerge in new uniforms, ready to follow Storm.  Shortly after Cyclops and Marvel Girl say goodbye, Lila Cheney arrives and teleports the team away, claiming Xavier needs their help.

Continuity Notes: 

• Gambit “officially” joins the X-Men this issue, in the sense that Storm refuses to leave with him, so he decides to stick around.  At the end of the story, he’s wearing an X-uniform with the rest of the team.  Gambit’s casual decision to stay probably ties in to Claremont’s rumored original plan to reveal Gambit's a spy for Mr. Sinister.
• This is the issue that ignited the long-running fan speculation that Gambit was a reincarnated Longshot.  While Wolverine and Gambit are sparring in the Danger Room, Wolverine remarks that his moves are similar to Longshot’s.  On the next panel, a hologram of Lady Deathstrike emerges and attacks Wolverine.  In an altered word balloon, Jubilee questions who turned that sequence on.   The scene then cuts to Gambit smiling with his left eye glowing, much like Longshot’s.
• Wolverine is barely able to keep up with Gambit during their duel, which continues Claremont’s subplot regarding Wolverine’s slow recovery after the Reavers’ attack in Uncanny X-Men #251.
• Marvel Girl, yes still “Marvel Girl” at this point, only has telekinetic powers and must rely on Psylocke to rescue her from Shadow King.  Her telepathy will return a few months later in X-Factor.
• Wolfsbane and Havok are still in Genosha following “X-Tinction Agenda.”  Forge is working on a way to reverse the “Mutate transmodation” Wolfsbane’s endured.  He speculates that the longer she’s a Mutate, the harder it will be to cure her.
• Psylocke says the Hand used “magic as well as science” to physically alter her into their assassin.  The readers will receive a much, much more complicated explanation years later.

Creative Differences:  With eight pencilers, it’s not surprising to learn this issue had deadline problems.  John Byrne had this to say on his website years ago:
"Bob Harras, then the X-Editor, called and asked if I could do six pages for this issue. I was up to my eyeballs in work, so I declined. So he asked if I could do three. I agreed, and they sent me a plot. I drew the three pages
and sent them in. Then Bob called and said 'You drew three pages! That plot was for one page!'

Woulda bin a real time saver if they'd updated me on that before they sent me the plot! "

Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  When Marvel Girl takes a shower (right in front of Psylocke), Joe Rosas colors in the steam to match the contours of her body.  This is the first time I ever saw a colorist attempt to make comic art racier than originally intended.  Within five years, colorist-added nipple pokes will be all the rage.

Review:  Is this the first “quiet” post-crossover X-comic?  I believe it is.  Just think of all of the variations of this issue the X-office published in the ‘90s following Claremont’s departure.  Everyone knows that the numerous subplots and mysteries were inspired by Claremont’s work, but it’s easy to forget that even the downtime issue that followed almost every crossover has its genesis in Claremont’s initial run.  I can’t imagine Claremont thought he was starting a trend; he was probably just looking at the cast following “X-Tinction Agenda” and asking the same question the characters ask this issue -- what to do with all of these mutants?

I thought it would be interesting to look back at the era post-“X-Tinction Agenda,” as it paves the way for the 1991 revamps of the titles (the revamps that nudged me towards X-completism).  What stands out about this issue is Claremont’s ability to write the characters as rational adults, people capable of having a thoughtful conversation about how they’ve reached this point and how to go forward.  Storm acknowledges that faking the X-Men’s death was likely a mistake.  Cyclops is bothered that no one’s truly replaced Xavier and mentored the third generation of mutants.  Marvel Girl is concerned that Magneto has apparently reverted to villainy (not that she ever bought his conversion.)  Cable’s annoyed that the others can’t see that they’re in the middle of a war, and throws his hat in for leadership of all of the X-teams.  And as absurd as this might sound in a recap, Claremont handles the scene remarkably well.  Claremont writes Cable as more of a grouch than Louise Simonson has so far, but he's still rational, falling in more with Claremont’s “noble warriors” than the cheap Punisher clone he’ll soon turn into.  Cable’s position doesn’t come across as unreasonable at all, and even Storm questions if he’s right.

When the story isn’t focused on the main philosophical debate, Claremont has some fun with the rest of the cast.  Iceman and Boom-Boom get into a prank war, Archangel and Cannonball introduce the Danger Room to anyone not around since issue #225 or so, Gambit gets to outmaneuver Wolverine (something that almost never happened in these days), and a few of the ongoing subplots get touched upon.  As much as this issue might be remembered as “downtime,” there are three action sequences and a cliffhanger ending.  Two of those action scenes even advance ongoing subplots, which is a reminder of just how tight a plotter Claremont can be.  And even the pages that don’t tie in with the dozen or so subplots Claremont’s juggling are entertaining in their own right, as he’s clearly having fun writing characters he hasn’t touched in years.

Regarding the artist jam, the pages do have some level of consistency, since Scott Williams was somehow able to ink the entire issue.  I definitely thought this was a strange looking issue as a kid, but I never thought it looked rushed or shoddy.  The oddest pages to me were Michael Golden’s Gambit/Wolverine fight, although today they’re my favorite.  It’s also cool to see Scott Williams giving Rick Leonardi and Marc Silvestri highly polished inks, considering how rarely they’re inked in that style.  Compare this comic to some of the jam issues the ‘90s will later bring us and it’s practically art.  This is an issue that could’ve easily been a mess, but I enjoyed it a lot as a kid and I think it holds up very well.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #73 - February 1991

Head Quest

Credits: John Byrne (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Peter and MJ accompany Kristy, Aunt May, and Willie Lumpkin to Alicia Master’s art exhibit. The Headsmen have tracked Spider-Man to the exhibit, and soon invade the party. Spider-Man and the Human Torch team up to defeat the villains.

The Subplots: Peter is suffering indigestion after eating Willie Lumpkin’s lasagna. The fight interferes with his trip to the bathroom. During the melee, Kristy is rescued by a young painter named Peter Nicholas.

Web of Continuity: The Human Torch is still married to Alicia Masters as this time. Amazing Spider-Man has detailed Nathan Lubensky’s death and Aunt May’s subsequent relationship with the Fantastic Four’s mailman, Willie Lumpkin. Peter Nicholas is actually Colossus, who’s suffering from amnesia during this era of Uncanny X-Men. Kristy Watson’s name is misspelled “Kristie” for perhaps the first time. Namor makes a cameo appearance with his latest girlfriend, Carrie Alexander.

*See _________ For Details: The Headsmen previously attacked Spider-Man, hoping to steal his body for their member Chondu, in Sensational She-Hulk #3.

Forever Young: Both Peter Parker and Johnny Storm reflect on how much their lives have changed since becoming superheroes. Horror of horrors…they’re now married twenty-somethings! If only this turn of events could be erased in the clumsiest manner possible.

I Love the (Early) ‘90s: Peter’s hair is now getting long in the back, yet it remains short in the sides and front. I think we all know what this means…

Creative Differences: Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein makes a one-panel cameo. It’s a funny reference to his art, although Lichtenstein’s dialogue appears to have been re-lettered. Considering Byrne’s established antipathy towards Lichtenstein’s work, I wonder if the scene was toned down by editorial.

Review: This actually isn’t part one of a four-part storyline, these issues just happened to be published when Marvel was going through its phase of promoting serialized storylines on the covers. I assume these cover labels helped sales, considering that a standalone serialized arc still tended to signify an important storyline in those days, but there’s no other defense for using one here. The other three issues in this “arc” involve art-themed villains, and Colossus shows up again, but that’s the extent of any connection with this issue. As for this issue, it’s silly, harmless fun. Most of the jokes are funny, and there’s an acknowledgment of the inherent absurdity of the premise (Spidey even asks, “How much further do we stretch the bounds of coincidence tonight…?” just as Colossus arrives to rescue Kristy). Even the bathroom humor is treated with some decorum, as we’re never really sure which way Peter needs to expel the bad lasagna. Web’s entering another long stretch of filler, but the guest stars and sheer silliness help this issue stand out.

UXM #374 & X-MEN #94 – November 1999

Uncanny X-Men #374

Beauty & the Beast Part Two – You Can’t Go Home Again

Credits: Alan Davis (plot), Jay Faerber (script), Tom Raney (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Liquid! (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Mikhail explains that he can combine his reality warping power with Colossus’ memories of Illyana and recreate her. When Colossus doubts his plan, Mikhail attacks him. Meanwhile, Marrow realizes that Callisto is actually a phantom image, and that she’s in the strange dimension she was transported to as a child. Phantom images reenact her childhood battles with her fellow Morlocks, as she hoped to prove herself to Mikhail. She finds Colossus and helps fight Mikhail. When Mikhail pushes his powers too far, it’s revealed his body has been inhabited by an inter-dimensional symbiote. Colossus encourages him to fight against it, and Mikhail manages to teleport back to Earth with Colossus and Marrow. Elsewhere, Deathbird is double-crossed by her employer.

Continuity Notes: Deathbird boasts that she has fulfilled her duty and returned the Living Monolith to his followers. Instead of receiving payment, she’s knocked unconscious. When Deathbird falls to the ground, she’s surrounded by the feet of Apocalypse and a few Skrulls. This is actually going somewhere.

Why exactly Marrow is seeing images of the past is unclear to me, and I guess it just has to be chalked up to the odd nature of this dimension. The flashbacks portray Callisto as opposed to Mikhail’s rule, but previous stories had her as Mikhail’s queen in this world.

Commercial Break: Marvel’s anti-pot “Fast Lane” insert begins running this month. It’s a Spider-Man vs. Mysterio comic that features Zane Whelan, an actor who promotes smoking pot, and a few impressionable Daily Bugle interns. Marvel was apparently paid to run these inserts as a part of a government program (some people were outraged that Marvel didn’t label the story as government funded, but I assumed it was from the beginning). It seemed like these things ran forever. Internet fans, of course, complained loudly, so much so Tom Brevoort ended up screaming at people to shut up about it on Usenet.

Review: The Colossus/Marrow two-parter concludes, with Mikhail Rasputin in place for his role in “The Twelve” storyline. Mikhail really had no personality traits outside of “he’s crazy”, and this issue manages to dismiss his one defining element by revealing that he was driven mad by a symbiote during his previous appearances. The revelation feels like it’s been tacked on at the last second, but I don’t have a problem with the idea in theory. Too many villain motivations during the Lee/Portacio/Lobdell era came down to “the bad guy’s crazy”, so it’s not as if Mikhail is losing a unique personality trait. With his sanity restored, this at least opens the door for future creators to take him in new directions. I don’t recall anyone actually doing anything with the character after Davis left the books, but the option’s there.

Another goal of the story seems to be redeeming Marrow. I think this is the third story that’s tried to pull the idea off since she joined. Davis has her confront the literal ghosts of her past, as her flashback revives her original, ugly design. As Marrow watches her younger self fight viciously to win Mikhail’s approval, she realizes how twisted her childhood was and finally confronts Mikhail. It’s competently handled, but Marvel’s still ignoring the things that should really make her feel guilty. Mikhail is also trying to redeem himself for inadvertently killing the people in the first alternate dimension he visited, as revealed in his early appearances. He thinks that using his powers to create life will absolve him of his past mistakes, which is at least a human motivation for the character. Colossus is able to give Mikhail one of his “soul of a poet” speeches, explaining the difference between interpreting life through art and actual life. Jay Faerber (who scripted this as a fill-in while working on Generation X) is able to convey the ideas more naturally than Terry Kavanagh often does, so it works pretty well.

X-Men #94

Hidden Lives Part 2 – Pandora’s Box

Credits: Alan Davis (plot & pencils), Terry Kavanagh (script), Mark Farmer (inker), Marie Javins (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Rogue convinces Sunfire she isn’t Mystique, as Shadowcat discovers a diary Destiny left for her in Mystique’s apartment. Sunfire explains that a metamorph killed four Yakiba agents in Japan, and the evidence points towards Mystique. Rogue shows Sunfire a magazine that proves Mystique was disguised as model Ronnie Lake in Switzerland when the murders occurred. Sunfire senses that they’re being watched and traces the electronic signal to a nearby warehouse. Rogue and Sunfire investigate and discover imposters of Mastermind and Mesmero. During the fight, Mesmero destroys the warehouse. The next morning, Nightcrawler says goodbye to Polaris, unaware that someone is spying on her. After Rogue says goodbye to Mystique, Shadowcat shows her the diary.

Continuity Notes: Mesmero tells Mastermind that “the boy” must not be hurt. Before the explosion, Sunfire says he felt a forcefield pushing him out of the warehouse. It’s soon revealed that Mastermind and Mesmero were Skrull imposters working for Apocalypse, who wants Sunfire as one of the Twelve. They’re responsible for the murders in Japan, and “positioned” Mystique to take the blame in order to cover their tracks.

This is the first reference to Destiny’s Diaries. It’s revealed that, before her death, Destiny wrote various cryptic clues describing her visions of the future. The entries in this issue have vague references to the Twelve, Xavier being betrayed, and Apocalypse’s new Death. The X-Men’s search for the rest of the diaries was the original premise for the unfortunately titled X-Treme X-Men series.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership lists average sales for the year at 200,070 copies with the most recent selling 178,799.

Review: I think this run of issues shows just how strong a writer Alan Davis is. He constructs a straightforward story that reunites Rogue with Mystique, gives Rogue some action sequences, introduces Sunfire, who will play a role in the next storyline, and offers hints about the behind-the-scenes villain’s identity. He mingles character work and plot extremely well, all while setting up the pieces for the next “big event” storyline. Those stories often just read like a mess, but it’s obvious that Davis has a plan and he’s working towards specific goals. He also manages to tie in Polaris’ mourning of Havok with a hint towards the next storyline, as she casually mentions the Living Monolith while talking about Havok’s past. Plus, we have the introduction of Destiny’s Diaries, which is a strong concept on its own that also manages to set up the next few issues. It’s too bad Marvel was infected with “event” mania during this era, and Apocalypse wasn’t allowed to just show up as the villain for a couple of issues. Shoehorning the revelation of the Twelve into the story, and dragging in a few ancillary titles, just pulled everything down.

Test to Destruction

Credits: John Byrne (writer, penciler, & letterer), Tom Palmer (inker), Greg Wright (colors)

Summary: Years in the past, the original X-Men investigate a ship they’ve confiscated from the Sentinels. Suddenly, the team is attacked by Blob, Toad, Juggernaut, and Magneto. After an intense fight, Cyclops figures out that the villains are actually mental projections created by Professor Xavier. Xavier calls off the impromptu training sequence, leaving the X-Men to wonder why he’s behaving oddly.

Continuity Notes: This story takes place right after UXM #66, following the revelation that Professor Xavier faked his death in order to prepare for an alien invasion. Xavier is now acting cold and snappish with the X-Men, for unknown reasons.

Review: Since Uncanny X-Men #94 is considered a classic issue (the beginning of Claremont’s run, and the first appearance of the “all-new” X-Men in their regular series), someone decided to make X-Men #94 a “double-sized spectacular” and throw in a preview of John Byrne’s new series, X-Men: The Hidden Years. Byrne’s return to the X-Men was supposed to be something of a big deal, but he maintains to this day that Marvel (perhaps intentionally) botched the marketing of it. When Joe Quesada replaced Bob Harras a year later, this was one of the first titles cancelled. The series was intended to show the adventures of the X-Men during the era the series was in reprints, and Tom Palmer was even brought back to ink it. I liked the premise and tried to give the book a shot, but couldn’t make it past the sixth issue. This preview has all of the elements that drove me away from the book; retro dialogue, slanted, oddly designed panels, and ugly lettering. Opening the book with a “what’s wrong with Xavier?” story that’s virtually identical to the one currently going on in the main titles, and was just used a few years earlier during “Onslaught”, didn’t exactly reel me in, either.

AMAZON #1 – April 1996

Family History

Credits: John Byrne (writer/artist), Terry Austin (inker), Patricia Mulvihill (colorist), John Costanza (letterer)

Summary: Princess Ororo, Wonder Woman, is suddenly attacked by the sea god Poseidon. He washes her away to his throne room, where she discovers his massive treasure. Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge, two of Ororo’s friends discover a battered Diana of Themyscira inside her apartment. Inside Poseidon’s throne room, Ororo picks up a small statue. Poseidon condemns her as a thief, claiming that his actions years ago were justified. Ororo flashes back to the day on Themyscira when she learned she was not an Amazon, but instead an orphan rescued from a shipwreck. Poseidon tells Ororo of the story behind the shipwreck. A professor named Malcolm discovered the statue’s mate while diving. Angered that he stole one of his treasures, Poseidon used his godly powers to ruin Malcolm’s life. Dejected, Malcolm traveled back to the Mediterranean to throw the statue back into the ocean. On the same boat were Ororo’s parents. Poseidon appears, telling Malcolm that now that he is in his domain, he can do more than merely “vex” him. He destroys the boat, killing everyone onboard, except for infant Ororo, who is rescued by the Amazons. Ororo chastises Poseidon, telling him that the world has moved on to other gods. Malcolm only sought to teach others about the legends of the gods, and Poseidon was so petty he only saw him as a thief. Poseidon realizes how foolish he has been and lets Ororo go.

Review: When Wizard did a rundown of the Amalgam event, I remember this is one of the issues they deemed lame. It has its faults, but I wouldn’t totally dismiss it. Most likely, I bought this issue to see John Byrne draw one of the X-Men again. Re-teaming with Terry Austin doesn’t recreate the look of their original Uncanny X-Men run, but the art is competent enough. It certainly looks better than how I remember Wonder Woman looking at this time. Byrne seems to be having fun with the Amalgam event, even throwing in a totally unrelated subplot scene with the real Wonder Woman that looks like something that might be in these pages if an Amazon series really did exist. The structure of the story is a little odd, as Byrne goes from present narrative, to flashback, to flashback within a flashback (which I thought was supposed to be a cardinal writing sin), briefly back to the present, to another flashback, then back to the present. The actual story he’s telling isn’t bad, and Byrne conveys the agony of a rational man tormented by a god pretty well, but the narrative structure is needlessly convoluted. The dialogue can also be a chore to get through, since large sections of it consist of godly characters speaking in stilted prose. Despite the flaws, though, I like the main idea of the story, and Ororo’s speech that humbles Poseidon is nicely written.

UNCANNY X-MEN #288 – May 1992

Time and Place

Credits: Jim Lee & Whilce Portacio (plot), John Byrne & Scott Lobdell (script), Andy Kubert (pencils), Bill Sienkiewicz (inks), Joe Rosas (colors), Richard Starkings (letters)

Summary

When the X-Men take Bishop out to New York, he recognizes Styglut, another escaped criminal from the future. Bishop fights Styglut until his apparent death, and then realizes that the fight has caused collateral damage and injured several civilians. Humbled, Bishop later gives Storm his command insignia to show that he is no longer a leader but a student.

Review

This is a rare self-contained story from an era known for never-ending storylines. The purpose is to transition Bishop into the X-Men, and it accomplishes that much at least. It’s not a very interesting story, especially since it’s probably the fifth time we’ve seen Bishop fight these future fugitives, but the characters are at least heroic and the story actually goes against the early ‘90s “kill ‘em all” ethic. Andy Kubert used to show up as the fill-in artist during this time, and he’s inked by Bill Sienkiewicz for this issue. It’s not exactly a great pairing; a lot of the art is murky, some of the action is confusing, and the male characters all have the same faces. Iceman also looks like he's sixty years old on the first page. Kubert’s art would greatly improve in the coming years, including another issue with Sienkiewicz that looks a lot better, but this isn’t a great effort.

Showing that Bishop is able to be humbled and willing to learn from the team is an important characterization shift. He’s already more likable than Cable at this point. Bishop actually opens the door for a number of potentially interesting storylines. Bishop idolizes the X-Men but the X-Men are appalled by his actions, leading Bishop to adjust to a new moral code. The X-Men can question if their method is working if the future is so bleak (although admittedly Phoenix II already raised that question). Are Bishop's parents alive yet? Is he curious about his family? The introduction of Bishop could've lead to any number of stories. Unfortunately, Bishop never developed much of a personality beyond this issue and his popularity has continued to wane since the early ‘90s. There have been various attempts to revive interest in him, but he’s been going to character limbo and back for ten years now. I follow some of the x-books today and actually have no idea if he’s currently being used.

UNCANNY X-MEN #285 – February 1992

Down The Rabbit Hole

Credits: While Portacio (plot & pencils), Jim Lee (co-plot), John Byrne (script), Art Thibert and Al Milgrom (finishes), Tom Orzechowski (letters), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary

The X-Men are separated after entering the dimensional portal. Archangel accidentally kills a group of rebels and is thanked by the “priestess-queen” of the Triumvirate, while Colossus is praised by another group as their savior. Storm arrives with a mysterious recluse who claims to be Colossus’ brother.

Continuity Notes

While unconscious, Archangel’s metal wings massacre a group of rebels. The narrative caption explicitly states that his wings do this without his direction. In only a couple of issues, I believe we’re told something very different.

This is the return of Mikhail Rasputin, who had previously only been mentioned in a narrative caption during an early issue of the All-New, All Different X-Men.

Review

Jim Lee returns to co-plot this issue, and the story becomes slightly more comprehensible. The basic idea is that the divided X-Men have aligned with opposing sides of a civil war, although that’s not very clear for most of the story. The rebels look exactly like the people they’re opposing, so it’s hard to tell if the different X-Men have taken opposite sides until the very end of the issue. For the first time in Portacio’s run, this issue has something besides fight scenes. It’s not much, but you see Storm befriend a stranger and Colossus deal with being praised as a savior. Colossus doesn’t come across very well in this story. Immediately after being exalted, he tells Jean that he’s beginning to enjoy it. In his next scene, he’s smiling while being surrounded by a group of scantily clad women.

The people who praise Colossus talk about the importance of sealing the portal. So far, there’s no reason given for why the authority figures would want it to grow. When word of Colossus spreads, the town crier announces that their savior has returned. So do the rebels have their own communities? It’s amusing that this race of people in futuristic space armor with laser blasters still have a town crier, complete with an old-timey bell he rings in the town square.

I think that a lot of the ill will toward ‘90s X-Men comics comes from this run. I believe #281 went into a second printing, and I remember seeing it in a lot of comic packs at Wal-Mart. The sales explosion of the early ‘90s had begun and the X-Men received a lot of the focus. Clearly, a lot of people were exposed to these issues, and they’re just not any good.