X-FACTOR Annual #6 - August 1991

King of Pain

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Terry Shoemaker (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Brad Vancata (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  X-Factor investigates the energy release in Edinburgh and is soon attacked by the Proteus/Piecemeal hybrid.  The team is sent to a white void, where they meet the rest of the heroes.  Marvel Girl explains Proteus/Piecemeal’s plan to recreate the world to represent mathematical structure and order, inspired by the peace Proteus found during his “death” as he witnessed the patterns created by his energy signature.  Cyclops declares that since Proteus/Piecemeal cannot be defeated, the best option is to convince him to commit suicide.  Soon, Moira makes this case to Proteus, as Harness continues to verbally abuse Piecemeal.  Repulsed by human emotions, Proteus/Piecemeal commits suicide.  Later, Harness is placed in custody while Gideon and Toad finish their chess match.

Continuity Notes:  

• This story marks the first time X-Factor meets the New Warriors.  Cyclops, oddly enough, seems to already know the new members of X-Force.
• Yes, Toad was the mystery chess player throughout the storyline.  According to Gideon, AIM and Genetech were manipulated into recreating Proteus.  Gideon wanted to weaponize Proteus’ powers, while Toad desired Proteus to join the Brotherhood.
• Cable refers to Jean Grey merely as “Grey,” which actually fits with continuity, since he didn’t figure out his parentage until after the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix miniseries.  It is worth noting, however, that Marvel Girl, Legion, nor the Shadow King recognize Cable’s limitless telepathic powers this issue…
• Moira identifies Harness as “an AIM assassin,” although I’m not sure how she would know that.  At the story’s end, we do discover from faceless AIM higher-ups that Harness has a second mutant child, a seven-year-old girl that they’ll use as leverage if she speaks out against them.

Review:  So, that’s “Kings of Pain.”  And it turns out they were crazy enough to revive Proteus.  In all honesty, I can’t say this arc has been terrible; Nicieza has some themes of abuse and neglect to explore, and he’s developed a few ways to use Proteus as more than just a magic prop.  And even if there’s no way to really use each member of the massive cast, Nicieza still picks a few characters out and gives them little moments.  Cable is humanized for perhaps the first time, as he sides with Marvel Girl against Cyclops’ “Trick the Kids into Suicide” plan.  Beast points out that this seems out-of-character, leading Cable to snap that Beast has no idea who he truly is.  These brief exchanges are what make Cable tolerable in his early years, and it’s too bad the ongoing X-Force series drops them in favor of shoot-you-in-the-back Cable.  The closing, which shows that Moira pushed Proteus away because she knew that the Shadow King would never allow her to truly love him (and, presumably, to prevent Shadow King from possessing someone as powerful as Proteus), is also a smart use of the current status quo.  Previously, the ongoing Shadow King plot has been a nuisance that Nicieza had to ignore, but he finds a way to use it quite well this issue.  

It’s always grating to read a sequel that doesn’t match up to the original, however, and in comparison to the initial Proteus storyline, this simply lacks the heart, innovation, and sheer creepiness of the original.  The plot’s needlessly complex, there are characters everywhere and almost none of them contribute to the actual story, and Proteus and Piecemeal are never as sympathetic as I think Nicieza wanted them to be.  There’s also the suicide plan, hatched by Cyclops of all people, which could’ve lead to a serious ethical dilemma for the teams, but the debate turns out to be pretty tepid.  Plus, the ending hints that there’s a sequel coming…a sequel to a sequel that didn’t need to be told.  Please, no.

The Killing Stroke Part Three - Sacrificial Lambs

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Steven Butler (penciler), Joe Rubenstein (inker), Mike Thomas (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  Pyro and Blob fight back against Desert Sword, while Avalanche rescues Crimson Commando and accompanies him on their helicopter.  When Avalanche discovers Pyro killed Dr. Kurtzmann, he orders the helicopter to leave so that Commando can receive medical attention.  Realizing they have no options, Pyro and Blob surrender to the remaining members of Desert Sword.

Continuity Notes:  

• Desert Sword member Veil is killed by Pyro, and the Arabian Knight is seriously wounded by Blob.
• As far as I know, no story has explained how Pyro and Blob escaped Iraqi custody.  They soon reappear in X-Force #5.
• Crimson Commando was supposed to appear next in Erik Larsen’s Spider-Man #18, but was altered at the last moment into “Cyborg X.”  At one point, Fabian Nicieza and Erik Larsen pitched a run on X-Factor that included a cybernetic Crimson Commando as a member.  Years later, Crimson Commando will reappear as a cyborg, just not Cyborg X, in X-Factor #102.

Review:  The end of Freedom Force, paving the way of course for the X-Factor revamp, and the return of Blob and Pyro to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  By the standards of annual back-ups, this is rather intense material, and it might even be the earliest example of a team just getting eviscerated during their final battle.  As I’ve said before, this serial seemed daring in 1991, and while not all of it holds up, there is a sense of unreality to the story that still appeals to me.  Given that most of the Freedom Force cast consisted of horrible people, maybe it’s just fun to see them meet horrible fates.  Characters getting mutilated, killed, left for dead…it’s a cheap way to close out a concept now, but I was absolutely enthralled by it at the time.

Tribute the Third

Credits:  Peter David (writer), Guang Yap (penciler), Joe Rubenstein (inker), Steve Buccellato & Marie Javins (colors), Joe Rosen (letters)

Summary:  As Mystique prepares to spread Destiny’s ashes, she flashes back to their previous cruise on the ship.  Mystique recalls Destiny’s futile desire to hear her laugh.  In the present, Mystique releases the ashes at the precise moment Destiny asked her to, which results in the wind blowing the ashes directly in her face.  Mystique finally laughs, as she sings the lyrics to the Beatles song “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.”

Continuity Notes:  Mystique is actually believed dead at this point in continuity, which means this story must predate her “death” in Uncanny X-Men #266.

Review:  I wonder how Marvel got away with using copyrighted Beatles lyrics.  I know we were a less litigious society twenty-three years ago, but this would seem like something a lawyer would’ve caught even then.  Regardless, this is Mystique’s farewell to Destiny, running in the X-Factor annual because…why not?  The idea is to contrast Mystique’s perpetual anger over mutant oppression with Destiny’s peaceful view on life, a perspective her precognitive powers give her as she sees the world from a much larger perspective.  The major problem with the story is Mystique’s portrayal, since I seem to remember Mystique acting like a fairly well-rounded individual when around Destiny.  Destiny didn’t have to go through some elaborate plot to get Mystique to laugh; that seemed to happen naturally (even if her “laugh” might occasionally be an evil cackle).  This wouldn’t be the first inconsistent Mystique portrayal, however, and David is able to use Destiny’s powers in some creative ways over the course of just a few pages.  As a simple story about two friends (and that's still the official line at this time) saying goodbye, it’s enjoyable.

X-FORCE #89 - April 1999

Armageddon Now Part Three - Hellions Triumphant!

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Terry Shoemaker (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Marie Javins (colors), Comicraft’s Albert Deschesne (letters)

Summary: Under Paradigm’s influence, X-Force retrieves the Armageddon Man and takes him to Bedlam’s base inside an abandoned nuclear plant. Feral and Switch kidnap Senator Owen Danville and take him to Bedlam, who orders Danville to contact the government and convey his demand of a billion dollars in exchange for keeping Armageddon Man inert. While they wait for the government’s response, Bedlam catches Jesse trying to escape, but convinces him to stay. Tarot, however, turns on Bedlam after foreseeing the destruction that Armageddon Man will create. With her help, Moonstar frees X-Force of Paradigm’s influence. Jesse tries to protect Tarot from an enraged Bedlam, and is decked by his brother. Suddenly, the coolant tower collapses and Armageddon Man emerges.

Continuity Notes:

· Moonstar connects to Paradigm’s psyche while under his control and learns his origin. Paradigm was a young telekinetic in Hong Kong who was injected with a sample of “a techno-organic alien” by a mysterious group of scientists.

· Senator Danville once served as an Army officer on the Alamogordo project. This would be the early mutant research project led by Xavier and Juggernaut’s fathers, as revealed by Fabian Nicieza in X-Men #12. (Which was an embellishment on Stan Lee’s original idea that Xavier and Marko were scientists doing atomic research together.) According to Bedlam, after the deaths of Kurt Marko and Brian Xavier, Armageddon Man’s inert body was “secreted in a Utah missile silo -- until I learned of his location from a ex-CIA operative.”

· Tarot claims that her death at the hand of the Sentinels was “transient” and that she owes Bedlam for nursing her back to health.

Review: Since most of this issue is dedicated to getting the plot device of Armageddon Man in his proper place, it’s a bit of a drag on the storyline. The erratic characterization of Bedlam also hurts the story, as Moore has him shift from mutant extremist to greedy extortionist to left-wing activist all in the course of a few pages. As Bedlam points out, none of these stances necessarily contradicts one another, but rather than making the character appear complex, he comes across as an unfocused concept.

Moore does take the time to give Paradigm an origin, and explore Jesse and Tarot’s motivations for joining Bedlam, but that’s really the extent of the character work. And even then, we’re left with the bizarre explanation that Tarot, who confirmed that she was truly dead last issue, was in a “transient” death that Bedlam somehow managed to prevent. It’s hard to tell if this is just another vague clue, or the real explanation for Tarot’s revival. John Francis Moore tends to steer away from this kind of gratuitous, half-formed mystery while writing X-Force, so I’m hoping that this isn’t the last word on her revival. Not that it would be any cheaper than revealing that Emma Frost was in a coma after her definitive death scene, mind you, but Moore tends to be better than this.

X-FORCE/CHAMPIONS ‘98 - December 1998

Demon From Within

Credits: Tom & Mary Bierbaum (writer), Terry Shoemaker (penciler), Sean Parsons & Harry Candelario (inkers), Marie Javins (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: While on a road trip, X-Force discovers the giant hand of a mythological Titan emerging from Yosemite. Nearby, they discover Hercules rescuing a girl named Victoria from a cult. Hercules explains that a power granted to the Champions by Zeus can force the Titan back home. The Champions soon arrive, but realize too late that their spell is actually accelerating the Titan’s arrival. The cult leader reveals himself as Hades and explains that he altered the Champions’ memory of their encounter with Zeus. X-Force and the Champions trick Hades into boasting about his plan, which forces him to flee from the angry Titan. With Moonstar’s help, the Champions perform the ritual again and scare the Titan away from Earth. Cannonball, who bonded with Victoria, is disappointed to discover her role in Hades’ scheme. She reveals that she does care for him, but advises him not to forget his true friends, Sunspot and Meltdown.

Continuity Notes: The Champions’ first battle with Hades, then called Pluto, occurred in Champions #1-3.

I Love the '90s: Meltdown compares Proudstar’s muscles to Screech’s after meeting Hercules.

Review: Marvel would occasionally produce a comic flagrantly intended as a trademark renewal, and this is one of them. And, clearly, their efforts weren’t for naught. Surely, the next regime wouldn’t be sloppy enough to let another company snatch up the name “Champions” and only discover they didn’t own the rights after a new series with that name had been solicited. That would be like hiring a writer with little experience outside of pornography to write titles like Uncanny X-Men, Avengers, and Captain America. It just wouldn’t happen.

Anyway, just because this comic exists to maintain a superhero team name, that doesn’t mean it has to be terrible. I mean, it is terrible, but not for any legal reasons. I’ve never read any of the Bierbaums’ DC work, but I own most of the Savage Dragon spinoffs they wrote for Erik Larsen in the ‘90s. Most of them are enjoyable comics (especially the Star limited series, which is a lot of fun). This is not. The dialogue is stilted, the action is indecipherable, and the plot hinges on poorly explained elements from the first three issues of the Bronze Age Champions series. It’s a rushed, cramped, and ugly comic. “Ugly” isn’t a word I would normally use to describe a Terry Shoemaker comic, but this was apparently a rush job that can’t be saved by the inkers. The characters often appear inhuman, and several of the fight scenes are hard to decipher. It’s easy to see why people stopped buying annuals if this was the level of quality they expected to find.

EXCALIBUR #73 – January 1993

Memories Are Made of This

Credits: Richard Ashford (writer), Terry Shoemaker (penciler), Randy Elliott (inker), Pat Brosseau (letterer), Matthys & Garrahy (colorists)

Summary

Siena Blaze arrives on Muir Island to kill the remaining Excalibur members and steal a disc with Proteus’ genetic matrix recorded on it. Phoenix uses her powers to undo the damage to the environment Blaze creates, and makes her telepathically feel the environmental pain her power causes. Blaze briefly gains the upper hand when Phoenix is distracted, but teleports away. Meanwhile, a new member of Moira McTaggert’s research team, Dr. Rory Campbell, arrives. Kitty Pryde checks in on Meggan, only to find that she’s turned into a monster.

Creative Differences

Entire pages of this issue have obviously been re-lettered, along with a few stray narrative captions that were also plainly added later. In one scene, Siena Blaze is triumphantly standing over Phoenix while she screams in pain, but Phoenix’s thought balloons claim that Blaze is teleporting away.

Review

Yeah, this one is a mess. Lots of confused action, awkward dialogue, sloppy lettering and washed out colors. The issue becomes totally irredeemable during the scene I described above, when Phoenix claims that Blaze is teleporting away when she’s clearly not. That’s actually the climax of the issue; Blaze has the ultra-powerful Phoenix on the ropes, is thiiiis close to accomplishing her goal…and a thought balloon claims that she’s suddenly teleported away. No explanation’s given, and Blaze isn’t seen again in the issue. It shouldn’t be a shock that this entire page was obviously re-lettered, too. Come to think of it, the art doesn’t really resemble Shoemaker’s work, either. I didn’t really have high hopes for this issue, but it’s still shocking to see something so incompetent.

Even overlooking Blaze’s awkward exit, the rest of the issue isn’t much better. The dialogue in this issue isn’t in the faux-Claremont vein, but it’s deeply reminiscent of the Silver Age instead. Some examples include: “I wonder what he thinks about me? I think I’ll attend to his recovery…personally!”, “You’ll find Excalibur is not an easy target!”, “Cable! Time-lost brother...why the look of pain on his face?” and “I love this teamwork stuff!” Some fans don’t mind this type of throwback dialogue, but even as a kid it bothered me. There a couple of lines of dialogue that just don’t make any sense, whether it’s continuity confusion (Phoenix referring to her telekinetic powers when she’s describing telepathy), or botched jokes like “You look like a reject from a ‘Bring Back the 70’s meeting”. That’s Siena Blaze talking to Nightcrawler, whose outfit never struck me as being representative of the 1970s at all. Even if he was created in 1975, it’s not like he’s wearing bell-bottoms or an open polyester shirt. I hope the rest of the pre-Ellis run isn’t this bad, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

X-FACTOR #93 – August 1993

The Longest Day

Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), J. M. DeMatteis (script), Terry Shoemaker (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Richard Starkings (letterer), Glynis Oliver (colorist)

Summary

Havok and Wolfsbane travel to the X-Men’s mansion to console Colossus after Illyana’s death, and to have Professor Xavier examine Wolfsbane. Xavier tells Wolfsbane that she would have to revert to her human form as a mindless Mutate in order to be cured of her Genoshan programming. She asks Havok for a leave of absence so that she can travel to Muir Island and reflect on her condition. Meanwhile, Guido is kidnapped by his former employer, Lila Cheney, who wants him to go back to her rock ‘n roll lifestyle. He refuses out of loyalty to X-Factor. In Washington, Val Cooper is replaced as X-Factor’s liaison by Forge.

Continuity Notes

Havok finds a file on Xavier’s computer about the Mutant Underground. The Mutant Undergound is a group of humans secretly working to aid the cause of mutants. This is an idea Scott Lobdell plays with a few times, but it’s soon forgotten. Xavier refuses to tell Havok what’s in the file until the time is right, which seems odd to me (why keep this a secret from Havok?). The idea that Xavier is keeping secrets from his students still shows up in the titles today.

Review

This may come as a shock to you, but this post-crossover issue is a quiet, talkative issue with no action. It’s interesting that X-Factor gets its talky issue before the crossover is even finished in the other titles. Maybe Marvel thought it would hurt the impact of the crossover if any of the spinoffs went on to other stories before it was finished. There are some attempts to incorporate Fatal Attractions into X-Factor’s continuity. Madrox feels guilty about killing an Acolyte, the government labels X-Factor their first defense against Magneto, and Val Cooper’s relationship with the team is strained after they learn of the new Sentinel project. With the exception of Cooper’s departure, none of these elements last for more than a few issues, though.

There’s very little going on in this issue, and most of the conversations between characters aren’t very exciting. It’s the type of issue that makes a big deal about a character changing costumes. Months after Peter David’s departure, the book’s still in a transition phase, with Scott Lobdell plotting and J. M. DeMatteis on his second issue of scripting. Terry Shoemaker does his usual competent job as the fill-in guy. I’m surprised he didn’t become the regular artist because it’s months before a permanent replacement for Joe Quesada is found. A fairly dull issue from an awkward time in the book’s history.

X-FACTOR Annual #8 – 1993

Charon

Credits: Peter David (writer), Terry Shoemaker (penciler), Mark McKenna (inker), Lois Buhalis (letterer), Joe Rosas (colorist)

Summary

As a child, Charlie Ronalds watched as a mutant murdered his parents. Years later, his friend Guido Carosella accidentally puts Charlie in the hospital when his mutant powers emerged. Charlie spends the rest of his life hating mutants and studying the occult. The devil Cloot gives Charlie mystic powers if he agrees to attack X-Factor and force them into selling their souls. Renaming himself Charon, he recruits the souls of X-Factor’s greatest enemies, the Chalker family. Charon and the Chalkers confront X-Factor, but the team’s never heard of them. All of the Chalkers accidentally killed themselves before they could ever attack X-Factor. The team defeats the Chalkers, and Cloot takes Charon to Hell with him.

Gimmicks

This issue comes polybagged with a Charon trading card.

Continuity Note

The mutant who kills Charlie Ronalds’ parents is heavily implied to be Random. Their death scene is an obvious nod to Batman's origin.

Review

Peter David uses the “new character” annual gimmick to finally conclude his Chalker family subplot. Ever since the beginning of his run, various subplot pages were devoted to the Chalkers vowing to destroy X-Factor and then accidentally killing themselves. It’s a funny parody of the “mysterious villain plotting in the background” cliché, but it certainly went on for a long time. Their storyline is tied into the debut of Charon, a character from Guido’s backstory who was briefly mentioned in X-Factor #87. It’s not a bad issue, but even after a lengthy setup, Charon still comes across as a disposable, one-shot villain. He barely knew Guido as a child, so there’s not even a lot for the characters to say to one another when they finally meet again. The Chalkers are predictably weak opponents, but their fight scene with X-Factor isn’t really that amusing, either. The scene with Random killing two innocent people seems odd when you consider the fact that Marvel thought that he had great potential and wanted him to join the team. Even after this issue, a lot of fans were eager for Random to “finally” join the team.

What Have You Got To Hide?

Credits: Skip Dietz (writer), Buzz (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Dave Sharp (letterer), Carlos Lopez (colorist)

Summary

Val Cooper, for ominous purposes, reviews the histories of each X-Factor member.

Review

This is typical annual back-up material, brief origin recaps of the cast, yet Dietz is able to make it worthwhile. Considering the fact that many of these characters are pretty obscure, it’s surprising that it took almost two years for a story like this to happen. Rather than resorting to bland flashbacks, Dietz adds a human element to the story. The flashbacks address the psychological impact previous stories have had on the characters, while alternating scenes show how the team feels about government employees looking into their pasts. Dietz picks up on Havok’s established insecurity and Peter David’s idea that the team members don’t really understand each other. It’s not bad, especially for annual filler.

Crawlin’ From the Wreckage

Credits: Skip Dietz (writer), Chris Batista (penciler), Jeff Albrecht (inker), Pat Brosseau (letterer), Joe Rosas (colorist)

Summary

Guido searches for survivors of a subway wreck, but only finds a small dog. Guido’s lack of tact offends the rescue workers and victims’ families. A dejected Guido walks away with the puppy.

Review

I loved this story as a kid, and still enjoy it today (even if it is pretty gruesome subject matter for a brief annual back-up). It’s actually my favorite story in this issue, reminding me of the better Classic X-Men back-ups. Dietz writes a very human portrayal of Guido that’s still generally consistent with his established personality. I don’t know if Dietz went on to do more work in comics, but I wish he‘d done more work for the X-office in this era.

X-FORCE #14 – September 1992

Payback!

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Terry Shoemaker (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary

Cable and Vanessa are separated from X-Force after the destruction of their headquarters. SHIELD arrives as back-up and attempts to arrest X-Force. Rictor switches sides and helps X-Force defeat the SHIELD soldiers and hijack their ship. After making plans to hide out at Warpath’s reservation, Crule bursts into the ship and grabs Cannonball. Meanwhile, Cable forces Vanessa to take him to Tolliver’s hideout. They are both shocked to discover the real Domino in chains. Deadpool suddenly appears and stabs Vanessa in the back.

I Love The ‘90s

Boom Boom tells Rictor that he has a Skid Row haircut. This issue was released during the summer of 1992, at which point Nirvana and Pearl Jam were the hottest acts in music, and hair metal was on its last leg. The last page of one of Pacella’s issues was a splash page of every X-Force member reflected on Cable’s metal face. The amount of detail he put into drawing every character’s giant, perfectly styled hair is astounding. It always seems like comics are at least a year behind pop culture, and the hair metal stylings of X-Force are proof.

Continuity Note

Cannonball is able to extend his blast field so that it protects everyone from last issue’s explosion. That’s a use of his power that certainly isn’t brought up very often.

Cable teleports to place called Graymalkin, which is also the name of the street address of the X-Men's mansion. This was another clue that Cable might be Cyclops' son.

Miscellaneous Notes

On the Entertainment This Month page, there are ads for eight separate Image titles, three of which are advertised as being from Rob Liefeld. Some of the letters comment on Liefeld leaving (one even saying that it’s a mistake on his part), but the editor’s responses don’t mention Liefeld at all. All of these letters name Mark Pacella as a great replacement.

Review

After stalling for several issues, the plot finally begins to move again. X-Force spends most of this issue fighting generic SHIELD agents, but it’s actually more entertaining than last issue's poorly choreographed fight with Weapon Prime. A lot of this probably has to do with Terry Shoemaker, the first competent artist to draw a full issue of this series (Mignola only drew sixteen pages). I didn’t care for Shoemaker’s art at all as a kid, but I look at it now and see that his compositions are strong and the storytelling is clear. He lacks a lot of that early ‘90s style, which is probably why it originally didn’t stand out for me. Nicieza is still trying to tie up all of the loose ends left by Liefeld, by touching on Weapon Prime, SHIELD, the Externals, Sunspot, Domino, Tolliver, and Vanessa. Rather than feeling disjointed, there’s actually a sense that the various plots are going somewhere. The pacing of X-Force has always been odd, with Liefeld throwing out three or four ideas, and then suddenly abandoning them for fight scenes that drag on for three issues. Nicieza is starting to make it seem as if there was a plan for this stuff all along,