X-MEN UNLIMITED #16 - September 1997

Primal

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Melvin Rubi (penciler), Rob Hunter (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Shannon Blanchard (colors)

Summary: Banshee and Emma Frost debate over who should become the first human student of Xavier’s school. Banshee wants Adam Berman, while Emma is adamant that his classmate Ginny Mahoney be chosen. Ginny has recently returned to school after a mysterious absence. When she detects that Adam is a mutant, Ginny’s Prime Sentinel programming kicks in. Bastion encourages her to be patient, as he expects Ginny to infiltrate Xavier’s school soon. During Banshee’s lecture at their high school, Adam is unable to stop his transformation into a reptile form. Ginny transforms into a Prime Sentinel and attacks. When Adam points out that she’s a bigger threat to the public than mutants, she runs away confused. Bastion soon finds Ginny and kills her. Adam declines to join Xavier’s school, stating his desire to live within society. On the ride home with his friends, he adopts the name “Primal.”

Continuity Notes: It’s hard to fit this story anywhere in continuity. The Prime Sentinels weren’t activated until Bastion captured the X-Men, which lead to Banshee and Emma responding to their distress call. The duo was then stalked by Zero Tolerance agents, which is why they spent the OZT issues of Generation X in hiding. You could possibly place it before the OZT crossover begins and say that Ginny is a Prime Sentinel that Bastion is trying out, I guess.

Review: This is one of Unlimited’s rare crossover tie-ins, although no one bothered to put the OZT logo on the cover of this comic either. Even during a crossover, though, Unlimited is still filler. Using a Prime Sentinel in a high school story is actually fertile ground for a time-killer during a crossover, but this is a botched job. The unattractive, overly rendered art is bad enough, but the story is an even bigger mess. Xavier’s school is supposed to be a high school, so I don’t know why Banshee and Emma are looking to recruit graduating seniors for a “summer program.” I understand the premise, that adding human students will add cover for Generation X, but why are they going after kids who are already graduating? Why is Adam sometimes able to control his reptile form and other times not? Why does Ginny initially leave Adam alone, only to attack him anyway a few pages later? How exactly did the human kid Banshee tried to recruit turn out to be a mutant in the first place? Later on, Banshee says that Emma’s “suspicions” were right when he learns that Adam is a mutant, but we never saw Emma voicing any suspicions earlier. If she knew he was a mutant (which she should, considering that little program called “Cerebro” which is supposed to be looking for mutants anyway), why was she so adamantly opposed to him joining the school in the beginning? Plus, there’s the massive coincidence that the student Emma likes is a Prime Sentinel and the student Banshee likes is secretly a mutant. This has got to be the worst comic associated with the Zero Tolerance crossover.

CABLE #47 - October 1997

Moving Target Part Three: Man to Man

Credits: James Robinson (writer), Rob Haynes (layouts), Scott Hanna (finished art), Comicraft (letters), Mike Thomas (colors)

Summary: Bastion reveals to Cable that he’s stolen Xavier’s Cerebro files, and will terminate the relatives of the mutants if Cable attacks him. More of Bastion’s soldiers attack, but Cable fights them off and is able to draw his gun on Bastion again. Cable telepathically overrides the soldiers’ armor defenses and erases their memory of the X-Men’s mansion. They wander aimlessly out of the mansion, while the strain of using his powers causes Cable to black out. Bastion tries to shoot Cable, but learns Cable’s gun is empty. Cable later explains to G. W. Bridge that Bastion disappeared after emptying the mansion.

Review: Cable’s OZT tie-in wraps up, and the final chapter shows a few signs of editorial intrusion. The dialogue suddenly becomes extremely stilted in places (“You have caused too many innocents such woe already with your persecution of mutantkind…”), and much of the exposition feels awkward. I know Robinson’s reputation as a writer has taken a hit recently, but this reminds me of the clunkiness that often showed up in comics edited by Mark Powers during this era. The plot feels like it’s been partially rewritten as well, as Bastion’s threat to track down mutant family members is just forgotten, and the villain just decides to leave at the end of the story. Who cares if Cable’s gun is out of bullets? Isn’t Bastion a literal machine obsessed with hunting mutants? Why wouldn’t he at least keep Cable captive, just as he kept the X-Men prisoner? It’s a disappointing ending, and the three issues dedicated to this story amount to essentially nothing.

Years later, Bastion’s origin is revealed in a Cable annual. I wonder if that story should’ve appeared during this arc instead. Rather than teasing Bastion’s origin past the point where anyone cared, the actual crossover could’ve revealed his secrets. Placing it in Cable would’ve reaffirmed the title’s place as an “important” book, and justified the three issues dedicated to the tie-in.

X-MAN #30 - September 1997

Coming Home

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Roger Cruz & Cary Nord (pencils), Bud LaRosa & Wellington Diaz (inkers), Tom Vincent (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: X-Man recovers at the home of the three mystery women. He suddenly receives a psychic message from Cable, asking him to protect Jean Grey’s parents and niece and nephew from Zero Tolerance. Cable has also contacted the Greys, who have traveled to X-Man’s Soho home. They’re joined by Roust, a boy who’s come to warn X-Man about another one of Abomination’s followers. X-Man arrives and uses his psychic powers to trick the Prime Sentinels into believing the Greys are dead. Roust disappears, leaving X-Man to wonder what his warning was about.

Continuity Notes: Cable’s conversation with X-Man is supposed to be the same one we saw in Cable #46. However, the dialogue doesn’t match up at all, a fact dismissed with an editorial note that reads “telepathy is all in the mind’s eye of the beholder.” Later on, Bastion wonders if X-Man could be the “Otherseed.” I assume this ties into all of that Cable-as-messiah nonsense, and it’s a hint that Bastion is from the future.

Review: X-Man gets an OZT tie-in too, although it seems like this was a last minute addition. The cover does reference the Prime Sentinels, but it looks like someone forgot the OZT crossover tag. The previous issue was clearly setting up the three mystery women, yet they’re dismissed after a few pages once X-Man receives Cable’s message. Cary Nord only draws the pages with the three women while Roger Cruz handles the rest of the issue, which is probably another sign the original plot was jettisoned (I wonder if Cary Nord finished an entire issue of X-Man that was never published). This issue would have us believe that Bastion wants to kill not only mutants, but their family members as well. He did use this as threat against Cable, but it doesn’t match up with his actions in any of the other titles that I can recall. Connecting X-Man to the Greys prevents this from feeling totally arbitrary, but this is clearly a wasted crossover issue.

GENERATION X #31 - October 1997

Rites of Passage

Credits: James Robinson (writer), Chris Bachalo (artist), Comicraft (letters), Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary: As Gen X continues to fight the Prime Sentinels, Synch mimics M’s powers, which allows him to learn her secret. Skin’s cousin Gil blows up the garage, hoping to destroy the Prime Sentinels. The team emerges from the wreckage and discovers two girls where M used to be. Meanwhile, Banshee regains consciousness and punches Emma before she can hand Penance over to Emplate. A weakened Emplate disappears after Banshee uses his sonic scream. Emma claims that she was never going to give Penance to Emplate, but Banshee doesn’t believe her. Elsewhere, Daria sacrifices herself so that Jubilee can escape.

Continuity Notes: Skin learns that Tores is a mutant during the fight. Tores, who is apparently Skin’s ex-girlfriend, has the ability to “harness psychic energy and direct it as a weapon.”

Review: That cover is a lie! We don’t learn the secret of M in this issue; we just see her emerge as two girls after an explosion. At the very least, it is a step towards answering the questions about her past, but I’m not sure why exactly it shows up in this issue. James Robinson was apparently just a fill-in writer during the OZT crossover (which raises its own questions, since he was a new writer to the X-books and I doubt he had anything to do with the planning of the Bastion storyline), so it’s strange that he’s dropping origin hints in his final issue. This is Chris Bachalo’s last issue, so maybe he wanted to at least do something with the M mystery before he left.

Just like the previous issues, this is a competently handled action story with art that makes the cast look like background extras on Sesame Street. When M emerges as two different people, I can’t tell if they’re supposed to be little girls, or if Bachalo is just drawing teenage M like a pre-schooler again. And, just like Cable’s tie-in, I don’t think the story justified three full issues. I also wonder why Tores has to be revealed as a mutant, too. Can’t the X-related characters know any normal people? Not only do they currently only hang out with other mutants, but even the figures from their past turn out to be mutants. I do like the Banshee/Emma subplot, which shows Banshee responding realistically to one of Emma’s heel turns. The audience can probably figure out that she isn’t really a traitor, but the actual characters in the story aren’t going to automatically know that. It’s another storyline that’s set up and isn’t resolved, so I’m beginning to wonder if Robinson was supposed to have a longer run on the title.

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.

GENERATION X #29 - #30, August - September 1997

Previously…in Generation X: The students found themselves in Skin’s old neighborhood of East Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Jubilee was captured by Bastion. After getting separated during Black Tom’s attack, Banshee, Penance, and Emma Frost searched for the missing team.

No Surrender

Credits: James Robinson (writer), Chris Bachalo w/Pop Mhan (pencilers), Al Vey w/Eric Cannon, Tim Townsend, & Al Milgrom (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Marie Javins (colors)

Summary: In LA, Gen X heads to the home of Skin’s cousin, Gil. The next morning, they’re attacked by armed men led by Tores, Skin’s former gang rival. Bastion’s Prime Sentinels destroy the home, and target Tores when she chastises them for going too far. Skin grabs Tores and takes her along as the team escapes. Meanwhile, Banshee, Emma, and Penance hide out from the Zero Tolerance agents guarding Emma’s home. D.O.A. appears, offering to tell them where the students are if they hand Penance over to Emplate. Elsewhere, Jubilee helps Daria control her nanotech powers.

Continuity Notes: Tores is a mystery character from Skin’s past. She was contacted by Zero Tolerance and agreed to work with them when she learned Skin was alive. Gil is the only family member who knows Skin faked his death. After last issue, Banshee and Emma were supposed to be responding to the X-Men’s distress call (after Zero Tolerance shot them out of the sky). That’s briefly acknowledged, but the story has been dropped very quickly.

Review: James Robinson’s brief sojourn with the X-titles continues, as he follows up the Zero Tolerance subplots generated by Scott Lobdell before his departure. This probably isn’t the best storyline for Robinson to begin with (and the “Flashback” issues weren’t a great staring place, either) but he does a solid job. Actually, it’s hard to tell Lobdell is even gone at this point. While Robinson is writing the cast as younger and less cynical than Lobdell, he’s definitely following the template Lobdell established. Large sections of the book are dedicated to character interaction, Bachalo is given a lot of room to draw the random craziness he enjoys in the background, and the ongoing storylines continue unabated. We also see more of Bachalo’s multiple panels per page gimmick, which allows the various story threads to get at least a little room during the twenty-three pages.

Some Things Hurt More Than Cars and Girls

Credits: James Robinson (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Al Vey & Eric Cannon (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Marie Javins & Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary: Gen X follows Tores to her uncle’s auto shop. They hide inside the shop as the Prime Sentinels search outside. M convinces Chamber to pursue his relationship with Husk, and later shares her first kiss with Synch when they both realize they could die soon. Soon, the Prime Sentinels invade. Elsewhere, Emma and Banshee argue over turning Penance over to Emplate. When Banshee refuses, Emma psi-blasts him and asks Emplate if they have a deal. Meanwhile, Daria helps Jubilee escape Bastion’s custody.

Miscellaneous Note: The title of this issue is a reference to a song I've never heard of, "Cars and Girls."

Review: If these covers didn’t give you enough of a clue, we’ve now reached the point where Chris Bachalo is in full-on kiddie mode. He was clearly headed in that direction in the previous issues, but #30 seems to be the tipping point. I like Bachalo’s art, especially his work in the early issues of this title, but I never understood this digression. Making the teenage characters more childlike might be defensible, but Emma Frost, their teacher, should not look like a member of Power Pack. As I’ve mentioned before, since Bachalo has always been a large part of this book’s appeal, the issues he doesn’t draw -- or he does draw, just in a radically different style -- don’t feel right.

I wonder if the kiddie redesigns influenced Robinson’s stories, since the cast now acts closer to thirteen than sixteen. Synch and M even share their first kiss, which seems like a pubescent right-of-passage that’s a little young for the characters Lobdell created. (At the same time, Peter David’s casual treatment of M’s sexual activity in the modern X-Factor book didn’t feel right, either). Even though the team might be acting too young, Robinson is still handling the book rather well. The crossover doesn’t feel like a pointless diversion, since he’s leaving room for character interactions and the ongoing storylines are allowed to continue. Like X-Force, the Sentinels are there to be the villains for a few issues, while the main titles are left to deal with Bastion and OZT. It’s not a big shock that Daria helps Jubilee and Emma attempts to fake-out Emplate, but the execution is fine.

WOLVERINE #118 – November 1997

Out of Darkness
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Jason Wright (colors)

Summary: Wolverine tries to convince Mustang to fight against his programming, but he’s unable to ignore his orders as a Prime Sentinel. Jubilee watches Mustang attack Wolverine, and responds by blasting him in the face. The flash destroys his new vision, which enables Mustang to revert to his true personality. Outside, SHIELD agents are attacking an army of Prime Sentinels. One of them targets Cyclops, and blasts him in the chest. SHIELD agents examine him and learn that Bastion recently had a bomb implanted in his chest. Wolverine exits the clinic with information on the process Bastion used to create the Prime Sentinels. He tells Mustang to give it to the SHIELD agents, confident that they can help him. The X-Men then leave in one of Bastion’s ships, hoping that they can save Cyclops in their medi-lab.

I Love the ‘90s: The information on Bastion’s Prime Sentinel process is kept on giant floppy discs.

Review: This is the final issue of Hama’s nearly eight-year run on the title, although there’s no indication within the issue itself. It’s also the final chapter of the OZT crossover, even though an issue of X-Men that shipped two weeks earlier already brought an end to the story. (This chapter actually takes place before X-Men #69, because the SHIELD agents are getting ready to confront Bastion. The “epilogue” label on the cover isn’t very accurate.) It’s too bad Hama had to end his run with an editorially mandated crossover that reads like it was heavily rewritten. This issue is filled with more dull captions and dry exposition, and like the past few issues, it doesn’t read like Hama’s work. Some of the material with Mustang isn’t that bad, but most of this is just outright generic. The fact that no sentimentality is shown for a creator who’s spent over seven years working a title also feels wrong (Scott Lobdell received similar treatment on UXM during this time). It might not have been intentional, but there is a sense that the people in charge don’t care that much about who’s working on these books, as long as the pages are filled up and they ship out on time. It certainly doesn’t help the X-books’ image as a crassly commercial product that’s being thoughtlessly pumped out by Marvel.

X-MEN #69 – November 1997

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

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

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

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

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

WOLVERINE #117 – October 1997

A Divine Image
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Joe Rosas & Chris Sotomayor (colors)

Summary: Mustang unwittingly reveals the X-Men to his friends, who suddenly morph into Prime Sentinels. After the X-Men defeat the cyborgs, the remaining human members of the camp debate their next move. Meanwhile, Bastion, who senses that SHIELD is moving against him, calls Dr. Prospero’s clinic and orders the launch of the “Final Directive”. In the desert, Jubilee flees from her captors. Five miles away, Wolverine catches a whiff of her scent and tracks her down. After defeating a Prime Sentinel, the duo is reunited with the X-Men. The team investigates Dr. Prospero’s clinic, which is now abandoned. Bastion receives word that the clinic has been breached, and deduces that it must be the X-Men. The other Prime Sentinels are gone, so Bastion orders the remaining one become active, even though his vision has yet to be upgraded. Inside the clinic, Mustang morphs into a Prime Sentinel and targets the X-Men.

Continuity Note: It’s revealed that Dr. Prospero is actually Bastion’s seldom-seen shapeshifting agent, Harper.

Review: While X-Force was able to continue its own storylines and use the OZT crossover in an entertaining way, this title is increasingly buried under the weight of the crossover. It is fun to see Wolverine and Jubilee reunited, but no other aspect of this issue is even about the characters. It’s the team fighting Prime Sentinels again, setting up the next issue where they’ll fight another one. Very little of this issue actually reads like Hama’s work (the scene that has Jubilee mistakenly attacking a cactus is probably his, but the rest of this is very generic), so it doesn’t even feel like the Wolverine that’s existed since 1990. Most of the dialogue is clunky, almost every page is crammed with dull captions, and it’s just not fun to read. Yu’s art is still mostly impressive, but a few of the pages look stiff. Without all of the gritty detail lines, some of the figures just look half-finished.

X-FORCE #70 – October 1997

Transitions
Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Adam Pollina (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Marie Javins (colors)

Summary: X-Force rescues their teammates from Operation: Zero Tolerance and flies away. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of OZT’s attack, Cable searches for Caliban in the tunnels beneath the X-Men’s mansion. Ozymandias emerges and temporarily shuts off Cable’s mind before he takes Caliban away. He leaves Cable with the mental suggestion that Caliban is in safe hands. In another dimension, the Vanisher realizes that Warpath was actually sent to help him. He tells Warpath to tell a story to the strange creatures in order to placate them. In Oklahoma, Domino is picked up by X-Force. Soon, Cable greets them in his own aircraft. They land in North Carolina, where Cable reveals his plan to have the team go underground. They refuse to assume false identities, which forces Cable to realize that the team no longer needs him. He leaves, which leads Meltdown to question what will happen next.

Continuity Note: Judging by what he does to Cable, I’d have to say that Ozymandias has pretty impressive telepathic powers.

Review: This turned out to be my final issue of X-Force. For some reason, this title stuck around my local newsstands for a few months longer than the other X-spinoffs, but by Fall 1997 it was gone. It’s a shame, since the book is better than it’s been since the late Nicieza run, and I would’ve liked to continue with it. This brings the title’s OZT crossover stint to an end, as Moore uses the event to justify the new status quo. It is a little rushed, but Moore thankfully keeps the characters true to themselves and doesn’t insert any false drama. The story has quite a few character moments, such as Meltdown’s temptation to kill Ekatarina Gryaznova while she’s unconscious, Domino’s flirtation with the truck driver who saved her, and the Vanisher’s revelation that he loved the sitcom Taxi. It’s a solid script, and Pollina’s art is up to his usual standards. I’m tempted now to track down the rest of this run on eBay.

X-MEN #68 – October 1997

Heart of the Matter
Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), Steve Seagle (script), Pascual Ferry (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Chris Lichtner, Aron Lusen, & Liquid Graphics (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Marrow knocks out the two policemen sent to investigate the blackout. Upstairs, Iceman and Cecilia Reyes are attacked by more Prime Sentinels. When a Prime Sentinel aims at Iceman's back, Detective Charlotte Jones takes the bullet and dispatches the Sentinel. While Reyes treats her wounds, Jones reveals that Zero Tolerance kidnapped her son and blackmailed her into helping them. Marrow arrives, offering help. The three mutants leave the police station and walk the surprisingly abandoned New York streets. Iceman realizes that they’ve been set up, shortly before an army of OZT soldiers and Prime Sentinels emerge. Elsewhere, inside a palatial home, Charlotte Jones’ son waits for his mother. A mysterious woman watches over him. Meanwhile, Sabra arrives in America, while Senator Kelly tells Henry Gyrich that he’s fighting Zero Tolerance.

I Love the ‘90s: A Bullpen Bulletins article details a group of Marvel staffers skipping out of work on a Sunday afternoon to watch the new hit movie Men in Black. I had no idea Marvel’s offices were open on Sunday.

Review: Okay, it’s another issue of Iceman and Cecilia Reyes fighting Prime Sentinels. Marrow does finally meet up with them towards the end of the issue, but it’s obvious that this storyline is dragging. There’s an attempt to move the attention away from the characters directly fighting the Sentinels and instead focus on their efforts to protect civilians from the collateral damage, but it doesn’t add enough variety to the story. Steven Seagle makes his X-debut as guest scripter (I believe he was scheduled to take over Wolverine at this point and did this as a last minute fill-in). Some of the dialogue isn’t bad, but the excessive narration just gets annoying. Much of it tries to make the exposition more interesting than it really is (Seagle, or whoever wrote the narration, seems to be hung up on Marrow having two hearts), and occasionally it just drifts into odd tangents, like describing where the glass in the police observation room was made. Seagle apparently wasn’t brought up to date on all aspects of the crossover, as Henry Gyrich is now once again staunchly on OZT’s side, and resists Kelly’s efforts to stop the organization. The two already went through this in last month’s Wolverine, anyway. Pascual Ferry shows up as the guest artist, and turns in a capable job. It’s not as good as his previous UXM fill-in, but it’s better than I would expect from a middle-of-crossover fill-in.

WOLVERINE #116 – September 1997

What the Blind Man Saw
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary: The X-Men wander through the desert after escaping from Zero Tolerance. They meet a blind man named Mustang, who is living in a trailer park while waiting for his appointment with a Dr. Prospero. During the night, Wolverine investigates the doctor’s nearby clinic, and learns that Prospero is curing disabilities by turning people into cyborgs. Bastion is now able to use the patients as his sleeper agents, the Prime Sentinels. As Bastion flies overhead, the X-Men hide underground. Meanwhile, Mustang tries to warn the other members of the camp, but they don’t believe him. Elsewhere, Senator Kelly, fearing the potential harm Bastion could cause, decides to stand up against Zero Tolerance.

Miscellaneous Note: The title of this issue is apparently a reference to an old folk song.

Review: We’re now at the middle stage of the crossover, which forces the X-Men to kill some time before they presumably make their final move against OZT (although I don’t think it actually worked out that way). Hama, who’s clearly stuck with this material, decides to add a human element to the crossover by introducing Mustang. Mustang, a pilot who lost his vision and the use of his limbs after an accident, is supposed to put a human face on the Prime Sentinels. It’s a legitimate avenue to take, but at this point Mustang feels more like someone who exists solely to serve a role and less like a legitimate character in his own right. The story is also crammed with excessive narrative captions, most of which are made redundant by later lines of dialogue (For example, there’s extensive narration describing a scene that has Wolverine sneaking out in the middle of the night, unable to escape Mustang’s notice. If the art wasn’t clear enough, the very next page has a dialogue exchange that spells everything out. So what was the point?) The captions are often dull and pretentious, reading as if the editor didn’t have enough faith in the creative team and wanted to put his own stamp on the comic. Unfortunately, this continues through Hama’s final issues of the series.

X-FORCE #69 – September 1997

Roadside Attractions
Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Adam Pollina (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Velasquez/Javins & Digital Chamelon (colors)

Summary: In Oklahoma, Domino is picked up by a truck driver. Her head is shaven and she’s disoriented after undergoing a mysterious surgery. Meanwhile, Moonstar, Siryn, and Sunspot plan their next move. Moonstar gets information from SHIELD that helps them track down Ekatarina Gryaznova, the Zero Tolerance operative who’s kidnapped the rest of X-Force. At the same time, Gryaznova makes a secret arrangement with a trio of scientists who want to experiment on X-Force. They’re soon interrupted by Moonstar, Siryn, and Sunspot, who chase the scientists away and defeat Gryaznova. Elsewhere, Warpath meets an other-dimensional being (who takes the form of his childhood cat because he doesn’t want to “overwhelm” Warpath). He takes Warpath to the man he thinks Sledge sent him to this world to find, the Vanisher. The Vanisher doesn’t want to leave the dimension, and orders its strange inhabitants to attack Warpath.

Continuity Notes: According to Moonstar, SHIELD resents being forced to work with Operation: Zero Tolerance and is open to undermining them. This is why Domino was unofficially asked to rescue Moonstar when OZT cornered the Mutant Liberation Front.

One of the scientists who examines X-Force used to work for Gideon, and claims that he’s one of the scientists who once experimented on Sunspot. The scientists appear to have some supernatural abilities, since they don’t seem to mind catching on fire as they escape. Their dialogue suggests that their presence ties into the eventual resolution of the Reignfire mystery, but I’m not sure how that played out.

Review: It’s more OZT stuff, but it is fun (I’m increasingly convinced that the botched ending of the crossover is mainly responsible for its low reputation). I’ve mentioned before that I have a soft spot for stories that split the cast up over various locations, and this is a nice example of a story that makes you feel as if a lot of things are going on at the same time. The OZT characters once again serve to set up the action scenes, but Moore also manages to give them more personality than they’ve had in most of their appearances. Gryaznova’s men gossip behind her back, while Gryaznova continues to secretly undermine Bastion. It adds a touch of realism and gives the characters traits outside of “anti-mutant human”. Pollina’s art isn’t particularly exciting during the OZT action scenes, but he really excels during the Warpath subplot. The alien dimensions and talking cartoony cat fit his style very well, and help to give the subplot a unique feel. This still feels like an issue of the Moore/Pollina X-Force, rather than generic crossover nonsense.

X-MEN #67 – September 1997

The End of Days
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Carlos Pacheco (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Chris Lichtner and Aron Lusen & Liquid! (colors)

Summary: In Israel, Sabra is attacked by Prime Sentinels while investigating Operation: Zero Tolerance. After defeating them, she vows to find the X-Men. Meanwhile, Iceman and Cecilia Reyes continue to dodge Prime Sentinels in New York. They hide out in Archangel’s apartment, which is currently occupied by his friend, Angie Quail. When Iceman tries to use the phone, his powers begin to disappear. Angie reveals herself as a Prime Sentinel and attacks. She’s shot in the back by Detective Charlotte Jones, who offers the mutants refuge at her police station. Later, while Iceman and Reyes wait in an interview room, Jones speaks to a pair of OZT agents. They claim that she’ll get her son back in exchange for bringing in the two mutants. The police officers in the station soon turn into Prime Sentinels, but the power goes out before they can attack. In the basement, Marrow, who cut the power, is waiting for the police.

Review: It’s another issue of Iceman and Cecilia Reyes dodging Sentinels, and even though the story is still moving slowly, it is fairly entertaining. I like seeing Charlotte Jones again, who’s given more to do here than she has in years. The kidnapped child angle is an old cliché, but I don’t mind it too much. The use of Prime Sentinels in this issue is a little annoying, since it strains credibility that so many people in New York (and officers in a specific police station) would be Sentinels. If the idea is that these are normal people who didn’t know they were implanted with Sentinel technology while having routine surgeries, it’s just implausible that so many of them would be in the same place. And if the Prime Sentinels have the ability to neutralize powers, why are they only now using it? The action in this issue distracts from some of the dodgier plot elements, though, and everything’s made more exciting by Pacheco’s pencils. Lobdell also handles the interaction between Iceman and Reyes pretty well, although her incessant whining gets old fast.

WOLVERINE #115 – August 1997

In the Face of It
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Edgar Tadeo (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary: In New Mexico, Bastion shows Jubilee a hologram of Storm, Cyclops, Cannonball, Phoenix, and Wolverine arriving in custody. After protecting Phoenix’s body from their crash, Wolverine is near death. He’s brought down to an incinerator to be disposed of, but he begins to regain consciousness. He defeats the guards and steals one of their uniforms. He frees the X-Men from their cells, but Bastion soon learns of their escape. Phoenix sends mental projections of Bastion to confuse the guards, enabling the team to reach the blast doors. Unable to open them with physical force, the team is trapped. Jubilee watches the events from Bastion’s control room, where she manages to press the button that opens the doors. The X-Men escape in one of Bastion’s aircrafts, determined to stop Zero Tolerance.

Review: And now, OZT invades Wolverine. This mainly serves to recap the storyline so far and move the X-Men out of Bastion’s custody, and it accomplishes that much at least. Hama tries to add a few character moments to the story, such as Wolverine reaching out to Phoenix when he’s near death (which is what convinces Jubilee that the hologram is real), but the crossover is obviously an intrusion on this title’s ongoing storylines. Bastion receives an interesting portrayal here, as he actually apologizes to Jubilee for what he’s doing, and later questions why he hates mutants so much. It’s a not-so-subtle clue that he’s programmed to feel that way, but playing it so that Bastion himself doesn’t know that adds some depth to the character. Outside of these moments, though, the story’s rather bland. Yu’s art helps to keep things from getting too boring, since the story enables him to draw lots of intricate machinery and costume designs. He’s also able to draw a larger cast of characters without sacrificing the quality of his previous issues.

X-MEN #66 – August 1997

Start Spreadin’ the News…
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Carlos Pacheco (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Liquid! (colors)

Summary: A stabbing victim is brought into Our Mother of Mercy Hospital, where he’s treated by Dr. Cecilia Reyes. After he flatlines, he suddenly returns to life as a Prime Sentinel. More Prime Sentinels emerge in the hospital and attack Cecilia. She’s forced to use her mutant ability to create forcefields to protect herself. Iceman arrives and saves her, leading her to safety inside the Morlock Tunnels. Meanwhile, Bastion visits Professor Xavier in his New Mexico prison. He shows him a hologram of his captives, Storm, Cyclops, Wolverine, Cannonball, and Phoenix.

Continuity Notes: Cecilia Reyes says that she wanted to become a doctor after she held her father in her arms “as he bled to death on the sidewalk”. She says she was six when this happened nineteen years ago, making her twenty-five. Three years ago, Xavier offered to train her, but she refused. Iceman says that he was assigned to protect her if the X-Men’s files were ever compromised.

Review: This is an issue-long introduction for Cecilia Reyes, a character who was quickly dismissed during the early Quesada years, even though she seems to have developed something of a following. Her gimmick is that she wants nothing to do with supervillain fights and just wants to be normal. That’s an idea that’s certainly conveyed in this issue, because she keeps repeating it. It is a rare angle to take with an X-character, but it’s hard to pull off without making her seem whiny. I do recall liking her during the Seagle/Kelly run, so I can’t deny she has potential. Unfortunately, too much space is devoted to introducing her in this issue, causing the overall plot to drag. The X-Men are in the exact same spot they were in last issue, and the only new element is that Iceman and Reyes are on the run from Prime Sentinels. Still, Pacheco seems to be having fun with the action scenes, and the story manages to maintain a reasonable level of excitement.

UNCANNY X-MEN #346 – August 1997

“The Story of the Year!”
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira w/Humberto Ramos (pencilers), Tim Towsend (inker), Comicraft (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: Peter Parker is sent on a mission for the Daily Bugle to photograph Henry Gyrich as a part of its Zero Tolerance investigation. His limo is suddenly attacked by Callisto and Marrow, which forces Parker to intervene as Spider-Man. Marrow is willing to kill Gyrich and his guards, but Spider-Man and Callisto try to talk her out of it. Gyrich’s guards suddenly turn into Sentinels and attack. They wound Callisto, which forces Spider-Man and Marrow to fight together. Gyrich, who didn’t know his guards were Sentinels, returns with reinforcements and shoots them down. Spider-Man talks Gyrich into letting Marrow leave with Callisto, who needs medical attention. Meanwhile, Bastion offers J. Jonah Jameson the information he’s decrypted from the X-Men’s files. He burns the disc, claiming that he won’t work with a murderer. Elsewhere, Gambit wakes up alone in a mysterious location.

Continuity Notes: Notice that Marrow is much more attractive in this appearance. I’m not sure if this is the first time she showed up with better looks (I’ve never read the Cable issue she appeared in a few months before this), but it becomes her standard look. I’m assuming there were already plans to add her to the team, and making her easier on the eyes was the first step.

This issue portrays Gyrich as being conflicted over Operation: Zero Tolerance, which is in sharp contrast to his appearance in the previous issue of X-Men. It’s possible that he was adamantly in favor of OZT in that issue because he was doing a television interview, but it’s still jarring to read the issues within a few days of each other.

According to Gyrich, his bodyguards were the same ones who were protecting Graydon Creed when he was killed. Presumably, this was supposed to finger Bastion in the assassination, but the clue was never paid off.

Some type of zebra-creature is standing behind Gambit in this issue. Paul O’Brien says that it’s a Kymellian, an alien race from the pages of Power Pack. This is totally ignored in the next issue.

Production Note: Marvel’s new cover design format debuts this month. Each comic now has a two-page foldout in the front cover, which has profiles of the characters and a recap of the current storyline. It’s a nice idea, but it lasted less than two years due to the added costs. The letters pages have also thankfully dropped the ugly computer-designed graphics in the background for just plain white.

Review: It wouldn’t shock me to learn that this issue was mainly just an excuse to have Joe Madureira draw Spider-Man. It certainly works on that level, since I remember looking over it again and again just for the art, which still looks impressive today. It is a fun action-oriented story that recaps the events of the current crossover while offering strong portrayals of Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson. My memory is that the Spider-titles were just overwhelmingly boring during this era, so this issue seemed like a welcome relief from the blandness. In terms of continuing the story from the preceding issues, all we get is one page of Gambit doing absolutely nothing, which doesn’t exactly work. I really have no idea why this storyline was allowed to drag on for so long, especially when the other titles were participating in a crossover. Since this is the first time the resurrected (and prettier) Marrow appears in UXM, the issue does have some added significance. I’ve never understood why exactly she was added to the team, especially if we’re to believe that Bob Harras was never a fan of reforming villains. She was clearly intended to be a bad bad guy (she was outright shown killing someone in cold blood in her first appearance), so giving her a makeover and having her join the X-Men seemed odd. The future writers tried to make this work, but I could never swallow it. Her appearance here is fine, since it’s only raising the idea that she’s capable of changing and there aren’t any X-Men here to question her about her past, but I never felt that her character arc had a meaningful resolution.

X-FORCE #68 – August 1997

Girl Talk
Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Pop Mahn (penciler), Mark Morales & Al Milgrom (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Marie Javins (colors)

Summary: X-Force and the MLF join forces against Bastion’s Prime Sentinels. Domino sacrifices herself and sets off an explosion, enabling X-Force to escape with Moonstar and Forearm. The team escapes from the rest of the Zero Tolerance soldiers, as Domino’s unconscious body is recovered by Commander Ekatarina Gryaznova. Through a video-link, she lies to Bastion and tells him that Domino is missing. Later, Domino is awakened by Gryaznova, who blames Domino for nearly killing her years earlier. Gryaznova’s body was repaired by Zero Tolerance, turning her into a Prime Sentinel without her knowledge. She straps Domino to a table and prepares her for an operation. Elsewhere, Forearm rejects Moonstar’s offer to team up with X-Force, while Sledge sends Warpath on a mission into an alternate reality.

Continuity Notes: Sledge says that Warpath is ideal for this mission because of his enhanced senses (which appeared in Loeb’s run for no readily apparent reason), and superhuman strength. He wants Warpath to rescue a friend of his, who is apparently one of the few people to learn of alternate realities from Reed Richards.

According to Ekatarina Gryaznova, Domino rescued Dr. Rebecca Schuyler, a “neuro-cybernetic specialist” from a rogue CIA operation three years ago in El Salvador. Domino set off an electromagnetic pulse to stop a combat droid, which inadvertently put Ekatarina Gryaznova, who was mentally controlling the droid, in a coma.

Review: The OZT crossover continues, and Moore manages to integrate it smoothly into the ongoing storylines he had just begun. The Zero Tolerance troops fill the role of villains for an action scene, while the addition of Ekatarina Gryaznova is used to actually connect a cast member to the larger story. I think some level of backlash against crossovers must’ve begun by this point, since it seems like Marvel is really trying to make the books as independent as possible while a larger story plays in the background. This is my personal preference for crossovers, since it enables each title to continue with its own storylines while still playing into the “shared universe” concept that so many readers enjoy. I like the way Moore uses OZT as a way to segue into a story about Domino’s past. There’s still a lot of room in her backstory to fill in at this point, so watching Gryaznova unveil a montage of stories that may or may not be true about her is kind of interesting. Pop Mahn, a manga-style artist who began doing work for Marvel after Joe Mad became hot, shows up as fill-in artist. It’s not as distracting as the previous manga-style fill-ins, but it’s still a jarring transition. Some of the pages look really nice, but many of the faces fall into the stereotypical “everyone’s ten-years-old” manga look.

X-MEN #65 – June 1997

First Blood
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Carlos Pacheco (penciler), Art Thibert (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Lichtner/Lusen/Liquid (colors)

Summary: Phoenix is suddenly transported to an unknown location, where she is greeted by Iron Man. Before he can explain to her that he isn’t an imposter, she’s abruptly sent back to her reality. Her consciousness returns to the skies over Colorado, where the X-Men’s private jet is being attacked by Operation: Zero Tolerance. Cannonball flies towards Zero Tolerance’s ship, and is shocked to discover a new breed of human-sized Sentinels. Footage of the X-Men’s battle airs on television, as Bastion arrives at Xavier’s vacant mansion in New York. He watches a holographic display of the X-Men being detained by his Sentinels before entering the mansion. He sends a holographic message to Xavier, boasting that all of his secrets will be revealed. Elsewhere, Iceman watches footage of the X-Men’s battle on television and makes his exit.

Continuity Notes: Future X-Man Cecilia Reyes makes her first cameo appearance as a doctor watching footage of the X-Men on television. She says that something must be done about mutants, which ties into the upcoming revelation that she’s hiding her powers. One of her coworkers claims that meeting Storm years earlier turned his life around. A footnote points us towards Uncanny X-Men #122, the “Cry for the Children!” issue that had Storm meeting drug addicted teens in Harlem.

Bastion tells Xavier that he learned about the mansion’s location from probing Jubilee’s mind, during their interrogation scenes in Generation X.

Wolverine's back to his normal appearance, with no explanation. I'm pretty sure the "devolved" look never shows up again.

Production Note: The Iron Man cameo was apparently a last-minute idea, as a bonus page presents Carlos Pacheco’s pencils for the original first page of this issue (which has the team reacting to their jet taking a hit). I have no idea what the significance of the Iron Man scene was supposed to be, other than the fact that Lobdell was writing the Heroes Reborn Iron Man series, and someone perhaps wanted to drop a hint that the heroes would be returning to the Marvel Universe.

I Love the ‘90s: The Bullpen Bulletins page claims that the new Alpha Flight series will be the hottest thing to come out of Canada since Alanis Morisette.

Review: If we’re to believe the Bullpen Bulletins’ checklist, this was supposed to be the first post-Onslaught issue if Mark Waid had stayed on the title. Instead, readers had to endure almost a year of filler stories before anyone bothered to advance another plotline. I’m not bitter or anything, but watching something actually happen in this issue just makes the last few months seem even more pointless. This is Pacheco’s best issue yet, so the action scenes are particularly impressive. Some elements don’t make a lot of sense (like the fact that Phoenix is using her telekinesis to keep the jet together, rather than just flying the team safely to the ground), but there’s enough energy for the action to coast on. Watching Bastion invade the X-Men’s headquarters feels a little eerie, and it helps to set him up as a major villain. He never amounted to much, but there is some potential there. We’ve seen Mr. Sinister and the N’Garai disturb the team’s home before, but Bastion’s lofty ambitious actually make this invasion feel like it could have consequences. Overall, it’s a credible start for the storyline.