X-FORCE #101 - April 2000

Learning to Fly

Credits:  Joseph Harris (writer), Steven Harris (penciler), Rick Kethcum (inker), Matt Hicks (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

Summary:  Cannonball crashes into San Francisco Bay as all mutants lose their powers across the globe.  After he’s taken to the hospital, a depressed Meltdown wanders the city.  She soon meets a boy named Kevin, who lost his newfound ability to fly when all mutant powers were cancelled.  He tries to gain his peers’ acceptance by doing another flying stunt the next day.  Meltdown is barely able to rescue him.  Later, Meltdown spends time with the recuperating Cannonball, contemplating what it means to be “normal.”

Continuity Notes:  It’s another story following Uncanny X-Men #379, even though there aren’t any footnotes pointing the reader in that direction.

Review:  Last issue was the big anniversary issue, and John Francis Moore’s final story, while next issue is the start of the Warren Ellis revamp.  What to do with the issue in-between?  Give Moore one more issue to tie up loose ends from his run?  Reunite Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld for one final story featuring the original members of the team?  Another New Mutants tribute story, perhaps?  Nope.  The proper answer is “Kill time with a tie-in to the main X-Men books.”  The “All Mutants Lose Their Powers” arc (Did it ever have a real name?) seemed oddly un-ambitious given the nature of the story, but in retrospect I can understand why Marvel didn’t want to make it into a larger event.  Writers can do the type of story seen in this issue, and…that’s pretty much it.  The cast reflects on losing their powers, then they have to move on with their lives.  How many comics truly need to address this, especially when everyone knows it’s only temporary?  

Joe Harris does a nice enough job exploring some of the obvious ideas, allowing Meltdown to narrate the story and reflect on what being a mutant has ultimately cost her.  The new kid, Kevin (or “Freakshow” to the kids at school) is the archetypal lonely weirdo who thinks being able to fly is his ticket to popularity, which turns the focus to the other side of the equation, just how good it could feel for someone like that to be special.  Thankfully, Harris doesn’t go the predictable route and have Kevin get lynched at the end (in fact, the kids seem genuinely excited to see someone fly); Kevin instead embarrasses himself when he refuses to accept that his gift is now gone.  It’s a sad ending, but Harris doesn't make the scene overly dramatic.  No teen suicides, fortunately.  The main drag on the issue is the art, which couldn’t possibly be more ill-suited for a quiet character story.  Steven Harris simply cannot draw believable, consistent human faces.  These are ugly, ugly people.  Harris seems to be inspired by Adam Pollina’s style, but it looks like someone kept clip art of some of Pollina’s worst drawings from early in his run and just copied them over and over again.  Cable also looked horrible this month, making me wonder what was going on behind-the-scenes in the weeks before the “Revolution” revamp.

GENERATION X #33-#34, December 1997 - January 1998

Thieves in the Night

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Steve Harris (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Comicraft (letters), Marie Javins & Michael Higgins (colors)

Summary: Gen X goes into town for dinner, as Penance stays behind with the St. Croix twins. In town, the students are harassed by two teenagers, Weasel and Dorian. Local police chief Authier breaks up the confrontation. Simultaneously, two young thieves named Tracy and Aemon raid the school. Penance scares them away, but they escape with their loot. Later, the team tracks down Aemon, who is grifting with Weasel and Dorian. They fight with Jubilee and Skin, and Authier arrests the thugs after they speed away. Authier returns home to his family, unaware his daughter Tracy is involved with the ring. Meanwhile, Banshee and Moira examine the Legacy Virus, while Chimera and Dirtnap pay Emplate a visit.

I Love the ‘90s: Actual dialogue, spoken by Skin: “Hey, I downloaded a good joke from the ‘net this morning”. Later on, Synch complains about the film adaptation of Starship Troopers. The two burglars are also wearing Bill and Hilary Clinton masks. This leads to a few Whitewater and Paula Jones references (no one knew about Monica yet).

Review: Here’s something the internet really, really liked -- Larry Hama’s run on Generation X. I can remember these issues becoming a shorthand reference for terrible comics, although I think they’ve been wiped out of the consciousness by the new millennium’s collective output of J. Michael Straczynski and Chuck Austen. Hama’s not an obvious choice for this book, but he’s a loyal creator and I can understand why the X-office would want to keep him around after his arbitrary removal from Wolverine (plus, he always liked writing cast member Jubilee). Some parts of this issue don’t feel like Hama, while others are clearly his contribution.

Hama’s always maintained that he doesn’t write narrative captions or thought balloons in his scripts, so I’m assuming all of the superfluous captions and thought balloons here were added by editorial. Hama does have a tendency to ground most of his work in reality, which is evidenced by a few scenes. Banshee and Moira’s conversation about the Legacy Virus connects it to Mad Cow Disease, and drops terms like “Spongiform Encephalopathy” and “Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.” Police Chief Authier doesn’t just give a generic speech against intolerance, he specifically names his Huguenot and Ojibway heritage and his wife’s Jewish and Armenian background. The team doesn’t encounter supervillains or mutant-hunting robots, they face the local punks who robbed their school while they went out to eat. Excessive “grounding” in a superhero book can get old fast, but it works here. The Snow Valley location has essentially been ignored since the book began, and I think the series is better off if the stars aren’t existing in their own little bubble away from the rest of the world. Robbing the cast of their possessions, and then hinting about the significance of some of the items (like Husk’s Calculus textbook and a cigar box owned by Skin), is also a good starting place for a story.

My major problem with Hama’s writing in this specific issue is the dialogue he gives to the teenage characters. Rather than writing them as characters first and teenagers second, which seemed to be Lobdell’s tactic, Hama is constantly writing awkward slang that makes the characters “teenagers” in the way Stan Lee’s original X-Men were.

Guilty Secrets

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Steve Harris (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Comicraft (letters), Marie Javins (colors)

Summary: Banshee returns to the school and is promptly decked by Emma in retaliation for his earlier punch. Gen X retrieves their possessions from Aemon, although Jubilee, Skin, and Husk are still missing items. Tracy calls the school and arranges a meeting. She soon returns the items in exchange for a favor. Meanwhile, Emplate invades the school with Chimera and her Plasma Wraiths. The St. Croix twins merge back into M, who then grabs Emplate and disappears in a flash of light. M and Emplate emerge as one being.

Continuity Notes: Skin reveals he faked his own death after his girlfriend Tores duped him into riding along on a drive-by shooting. Whether or not he actually participated in the shooting (which killed two rival gang members) is unclear.

Review: Did people immediately hate Hama’s run, or did it take a while? Aside from the forced teen-speak (“This is way uncool!”), I don’t have a major problem with his work so far. The majority of this issue is dedicated to Jubilee, Skin, and Husk retrieving their possessions from Tracy. It’s reminiscent of one of Lobdell’s low-key issues, only now the characters are interacting with someone from outside of the school. Jubilee explains to Tracy the significance of her cowboy hat, which was given to her by Wolverine (she then goes on for several pages explaining why Wolverine is so great, which amuses me). Skin reveals the pistol inside his cigar box is a reminder of the gang life he left behind. Husk’s Calculus textbook hides her diary, which reveals her feelings for Chamber. It also divulges the school’s secret and offers details on their previous adventures, but Tracy just assumes Husk has an active imagination.

Despite the deceitful cover, and the…unusual ending, the issue is really about these character moments, and I think that’s consistent with what Generation X has been about since the beginning. My major complaint is Steve Harris’ art, which is just as bland here as it was in the previous issue. I won’t say he’s terrible, but his action scenes are totally limp and his overall style is forgettable. Following Chris Bachalo, this title needs someone with a distinctive, expressionistic style. This used to be one of Marvel’s best-looking titles, but now it seems as if the editor is just finding random freelancers for fill-ins.

CABLE #45 - #46, August - September 1997

Moving Target Part One: No Escape

Credits: James Robinson (writer), Randy Green (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Comicraft (letters), Mike Thomas (colors)

Summary: G. W. Bridge contacts Cable, warning him of a threat. During their conversation, news coverage of Zero Tolerance’s attack on the X-Men begins. Cable heads to the mansion and fights against Bastion’s soldiers. He rescues the mansion’s only occupant, Caliban, and encourages him to fight back against the soldiers.

Continuity Notes: During an extended monologue, Cable reveals that he helped Xavier build the mansion (I think he means, specifically, all of the hi-tech gear the X-Men use). He also says that Xavier taught him how to live in this era, and what being a mutant meant. This was an idea originally hinted at by Jeph Loeb, but is now made official.

Review: Cable has been without a direction for a while, so it’s hard to complain about the OZT crossover disrupting many storylines. In fact, Robinson still uses this issue to provide hints about some upcoming stories (someone in the Hellfire Club has a grudge against Cable, another character from Cable’s past has a connection to the Black Panther, Cable’s uncertain about his future with X-Force, etc.). Robinson obviously has no aversion to narrative captions and thought balloons, so even when Cable is fighting against Zero Tolerance alone, there’s still an effort to flesh out his character and add some depth to the scenes.

Cable’s long inner monologue brings us confirmation of a rather ridiculous retcon -- the idea that Cable and Xavier used to be friends. There’s really no way to make this work in continuity (Cable and Xavier clearly didn’t know each other when Cable first appeared, plus he always preached against Xavier’s pacifism, while Robinson acts as if Cable has always had endearing respect for Xavier), and I have no idea what it’s supposed to add. We don’t even need an explanation for the X-Men’s hi-tech equipment -- it comes from the Shi’ar. As for the technology they used in the pre-Claremont era, was anyone under the impression that it came from someone two thousand years in the future? It’s a ridiculous retcon, but I don’t recall anyone making that big a deal out of it, even though X-fans during this era had a reputation for loudly decrying continuity screw-ups (see the response to the original Psylocke/Revanche story, for instance). Was no one paying attention to Cable, as a character or a regular series, by this point?

Moving Target Part Two: Siege

Credits: James Robinson (writer), Randy Green w/Steven Harris & Deodato Studios (pencilers), Scott Hanna & Deodato Studios (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Mike Thomas (colors)

Summary: Cable leads Caliban to the Morlock Tunnels where he can escape. Cable returns to the mansion and takes out the group of soldiers blocking access to Xavier’s computer files. While downloading the info, he wonders if Bastion would target Cyclops and Phoenix’s families. He sends a mental message to X-Man, asking him to look out for their relatives. Cable escapes with the backups and destroys the computer lab. Suddenly, he’s confronted by Bastion.

Review: Just as straightforward action, this arc works okay, but running it over three issues is a stretch. This is one of the problems with crossovers; peripheral books are still stuck with the storyline after they need to move on because the main titles haven’t resolved the major conflict yet. Robinson adds some characterization to the fight, as Cable shares a goodbye with Caliban and reflects on his time with his newfound family while downloading the X-Men’s files. It’s handled well enough, but the Bastion cliffhanger is just a reminder that there’s still another month of this story to go.