X-Force #16

X-Force #16
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Greg Capullo

What Went Down: Part 4 of the X-Cutioner's Song.  X-Force, X-Factor, and the X-Men’s Blue Team start off by having a nice calm conversation about their differences…that lasts for an entire page. Then the big fight begins. X-Force gets the upper hand because they initialize the attack. Siryn also reveals that she had a relationship with Multiple Man (probably when they were both on Muir Island), although he doesn’t seem to remember. Eventually Wolverine stabs Shatterstar, and the rest of X-Force retreats.

Meanwhile the Gold Team, the Beast, and Quicksilver make their way to what they believe to be Apocalypse’s base by tracking Caliban through Cerebro. They are ambushed by two of the Horsemen, Famine and Caliban. Poor Beast gets hit by Famine and turns very skinny. The X-Men dispatch the Horsemen and discover a hologram of Mr. Sinister; the hologram tells them that he did kidnap Cyclops and Jean Grey and that Apocalypse is also involved in the plot.

At the mansion, Bishop blows a hole in Sinister’s head Terminator 2 style. Sinister overpowers him and Jubilee, then drops a piece of paper in front of Val with the identity of someone on it.

Cable is gathering a laughably large arsenal in his base so he can go after the person who assumed his identity.

In an unknown location, Cyclops and Jean are being dragged by the mutant with four arms named Forearm. The two X-Men wonder how they got in their uniforms, and then the main villain of the crossover reveals himself—it’s the Cable villain Stryfe.

Back in Texas, X-Force is running for their lives when Wolverine catches up with them. He delays them long enough for the rest of the X-Men to catch up. Then X-Force surrenders. The issue ends with Havok asking an important question, “What do we do now?”

How It Was: If you like X-Force fighting other mutant teams, than this is the crossover for you. The majority of the issue is given to a fight where X-Force is severely outnumbered. I guess from the perspective of the regular X-Force reader, this is a really interesting story because it’s the team you like against the odds. But if you’re normally just an X-Men reader like I am, than it’s just the X-Men overpowering a weaker force.

The other two plots keep the story moving. The problem is that the X-Men don’t do anything to further the plot; Sinister just tells them what they need to know for the story to continue. The Gold Team finds a hologram telling them what to do next, and then Sinister leaves a clue right in the mansion for everyone to see.

Also, besides the Bishop fight, we’ve already seen both of these fights before; there’s already been an X-Force fight and a Horsemen fight in this story, so that’s kind of disappointing. And the reveal of Stryfe is kind of ruined if you read X-Men #13 prior to this, although I’m not sure how much X-Force readers already knew about Stryfe.

This series is probably my only encounter with Greg Capullo’s art. The characters are nice and vibrant, but some of the expressions are pretty odd looking, such as Wolverine when he’s stabbing Shatterstar. Still, it’s a fast paced issue and once again the creative team does a good job of differentiating the characters and making sure they each have their moment to shine.

B

X-Men #14

X-Men #14
Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Andy Kubert

What Went Down: Part 3 of the X-Cutioner’s Song. The Beast is running a series of tests on the Professor while Moira MacTaggert joins in via video conference; nobody brings up the inexplicable fit she had when she left in X-Men #4, so it’s pretty much forgotten. Since it’s early in the story, Beast and Moira are obviously stumped.

X-Factor and both X-Men teams meet to discuss strategy. It is decided that the Gold Team and Beast will look for Apocalypse while everybody else goes after X-Force. Bishop decides to stay behind to protect the Professor.

All the way in Panama Forearm and Reaper, two members of Stryfe’s Mutant Liberation Front or MLF, are waiting around for Mr. Sinister. Sinister shows up and trades them Cyclops and Jean for a mystery canister that Sinister says holds a piece of the future.

Over Texas, X-Force’s ship is going down due to the damage Havok caused last issue; how they managed to get from New York to Texas in a damaged ship is beyond me. They crash land and then begin the trek back to X-Force’s base.

All the way in Egypt, the Dark Riders are overseeing the reanimation of Apocalypse from his healing chamber. Too bad for him, they take him out too soon, as he’s not quite back to full power yet. The Dark Riders explain that his Horsemen have been acting under the control of another person.

The Blue Team and X-Factor are flying in the Blackbird, and they take the time to debate the philosophies of their respective teams and X-Force.

Up in space, Cable teleports to his spaceship Greymalkin after having time travelled somewhere. His computer, called the Professor, alerts him to the events of the story that have transpired.

Back at the mansion, Bishop is standing guard outside, and Jubilee brings him some food and coffee. He thanks her and then the alarm goes off. Bishop enters the mansion to find Mr. Sinister holding Val Cooper and Stevie Hunter hostage.

And finally X-Factor and the Blue Team disembark the plane only to be ambushed by X-Force for the issue long fight next issue.

How It Was: Andy Kubert started his tenure as regular artist on X-Men with this issue, and there was much rejoicing. Kubert was a pretty decent artist already at this point in his career, but he definitely improved over the next few years. Two nitpicks about him would be that his large group shots aren’t as sharp or detailed as they should be, and he has a tendency to draw huge clouds of smoke or dust in the background of his characters. In some spots it is appropriate, like after Cable transports in from his time machine; conversely, Bishop should not have a huge dust cloud following him when he is standing on the front lawn of the mansion.

This is pretty much an issue to setup where characters are supposed to go. Everyone gets assignments, but nothing really happens until later issues. That’s not necessarily a bad thing…since it’s a crossover; the story effectively comes out weekly, so it doesn’t have to move along as much as a monthly story would. On the other hand, since the X-Office was forcing you to buy four issues a month, it would’ve been nice if something important would happen every issue.

Random question that bothers me: Why is Stevie Hunter there? I know that she was Kitty Pryde’s dance instructor during the seventies and eighties, but I have no idea what she’s doing hanging around the mansion now. Surely it would make more sense to use a character like Charlotte Jones instead because she is more relevant to the current X-Men, and she’s a cop so she has a reason to be there.

It’s not a bad issue; it’s just that it’s only setting up more interesting stories.

C

X-Factor #84

X-Factor #84
Writer: Peter David
Art: Jae Lee

What Went Down: Part 2 of the X-Cutioner’s Song, and my first non-X-Men book review. Anywho, X-Force starts off the issue pretty perplexed after the events of last issue. They decide that they owe it to Cable to find out what’s going on, so Cannonball, Rictor, Boomer, and Feral go off to the crime scene to look for clues. Also, Sunspot is injured in this issue, but he’ll be better by the next issue of the story.

Professor X is rushed to the hospital with X-Factor and Val Cooper right behind. When they are barred from going into the emergency room, Wolfsbane scares some orderlies.

Storm and Bishop meet up with X-Factor in the waiting room. Quicksilver, Polaris, and Multiple Man are guarding a member of the X-Patriots in another hospital room (I’m unfamiliar with this storyline, so I can’t tell you much about it). Strong Guy and his girlfriend Jo Beth also show up; I am also unfamiliar with Jo Beth, but since she was nowhere to be seen in the previous issue, I believe that this is a continuity error. Strong Guy and Wolfsbane are dispatched to the crime scene to see if they can pick up Cable’s trail.

Archangel is moping around again, this time because he failed to save the Professor; at least he isn’t crying. Guido and Rahne arrive at the scene before X-Force, so they decide to hide. Wolfsbane approaches the team since most of them used to be her teammates in the New Mutants. Guido tries to arrest X-Force, and Cannonball offers Rahne a chance to join his team. She refuses because she doesn’t trust them.

A fight ensues. Quicksilver joins them, followed shortly by the rest of X-Factor. We also get our first Feral vs Wolfsbane fight, for you fans of similarly designed characters with different color schemes. Rictor shoots X-Factor’s plane out of the sky. X-Force gets away, but Havok is able to hit their plane with an energy blast. Right after X-Force escapes, the blue team shows up to ask if they can help. Alex asks where his brother is, and Wolverine is reluctant to tell him Scott’s been captured.

At the same time the Horsemen are delivering Scott and Jean to someone who looks like Apocalypse, but it is really Mr. Sinister in disguise.

The final scene has the doctor of the hospital explaining Xavier’s condition to some of the X-Men and Val…he has been infected with a techno virus. The X-Men decide to take him back to the mansion. Also, the New York hospital appears to have placed Xavier in a bacta tank from Star Wars; what ever happened to a normal hospital bed?

How It Was: The first thing that is going to jump out at you is Jae Lee’s art because it definitely stands out from your traditional Marvel House Style. It’s bold, heavily shadowed, and the characters’ features are pretty exaggerated. It’s not bad, but it’s not for me. While it’s definitely interesting to look at, the style makes a lot of the characters look older and some of the expressions just make them look maniacal; to me it almost gives off the tone of a horror book.

As for the story, it’s still chugging right along. We have our first of two battles with X-Force, some more villains are revealed, and it is revealed that the Professor has an incurable virus to cure. There is also a nice New Mutants reunion for the fans. Peter David’s strong suits were always character interaction and humor. Plus all of the characters get a chance to shine in this issue.

Definitely worth your time.

B+

Uncanny X-Men #294

Uncanny X-Men #294
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Art: Brandon Peterson

What Went Down: This comic marks the first issue of a twelve issue crossover event known as the X-Cutioner’s Song. To capitalize the significance of this storyline, Marvel packaged all of the issues in plastic bags with a trading card inside each, so that’s what you’re looking for if you want these comics in mint.

This first issue centers on a concert for the sake of brotherhood; Lila Cheney is the main performer, with Professor X taking an opportunity to address the audience on the topic of tolerance and race relations.

Archangel picks up his date Detective Charlotte Jones in a limousine; she is surprised that his skin is not blue because he is using a holographic image inducer.

Bishop is grumbling about security being impossible due to the sheer density of people at the concert. Rogue tells him to lighten up, and he apologizes for the pie incident in X-Men #8. Both of them are wearing ridiculous outfits to blend in as civilians.

Underneath the stage, two anti-mutant terrorists are planting a bomb, but both are killed by a man who looks as if he might be Cable, star of X-Force.

Cyclops is at Harry’s Hidaway, the local restaurant that the X-Men frequent. He is multitasking by both worrying about Wolverine after the death of his girlfriend Mariko and fantasizing about Psylocke. Regrettably for him, Jean walks in and realizes that he was thinking about Betsy, even though he tries to lie about it…to his girlfriend the telepath.

In some random grocery store, Colossus and Iceman are doing some shopping, and Bobby is taking the time to discuss how his girlfriend Opal wants to take a break. When he asks if Peter wants to talk about anything, Iceman gets the brush off.

Gambit and Storm have a moment where they acknowledge that they haven’t seen each other in a while and vow to make more of an effort.

At some hotel, X-Factor is watching the concert on a big screen. Madrox mocks former Lila Cheney bodyguard Strong Guy, who picks up the TV and leaves.

Cyclops and Jean Grey reconcile, but then they are attacked by Caliban, one of the Four Horseman of Apocalypse, and a former Morlock. Iceman and Colossus go to assist them, but they are intercepted by Famine and War.

Meanwhile, at the concert Xavier is giving a long speech about the importance of accepting people and not judging them for things that they cannot change; rather than politely sitting through it, the audience chooses to boo him, despite the fact that they are at a free concert. During the commotion, Cable shoots the Professor from within the crowd. Archangel flips out and attacks Cable in the middle of the audience, but Cable shoots him and injures his wing, then teleports away.

Cyclops tries to convince Caliban that Apocalypse is dead, but he defeats and captures the couple anyway and destroys the bar in the process. Colossus and Iceman fight the other Horsemen for a bit longer until they teleport away.

Finally, Cable’s team, X-Force, is trying to tune their TV to get the concert. Upon fixing it, they are all shocked to see the news reports about their leader shooting the Professor.

How It Was: A welcome beginning to the epic crossover. The X-Cutioner’s Song tries to do a lot of things over the span of its run. There are a lot of hints thrown around about Cable and Stryfe’s origin, some clues that it somehow all connects to Cyclops and Jean Grey, there is some stuff about Apocalypse, and three—count ‘em three super villain teams to beat. Plus there are four teams worth of characters to handle. It was a full plate for a relatively new X-creative office and they did a pretty admirable job. But on to the issue.

This issue has it all. There are a couple of the quiet character driven moments that Lobdell is so well known for, although none of these count among his best. The Gambit and Storm conversation seems like nothing but filler; however, it is nice to see Bishop be right for once. The appearance by Charlotte Jones in this issue is strange because she doesn’t appear at all in the rest of the story.

There are also some nice action scenes to break up the talking and they’re just right. They’re not too overblown to overshadow the rest of the story, yet they’re not too brief either.

Of course the heart of the story is Professor X getting shot, and the scene is done really well. The idea of being gunned down while delivering a message few are prepared to hear does heavily evoke MLK, but I think there is enough traditional comic book action to keep the story from getting too heavy. Plus we all know that they aren’t going to kill off Professor X after they just brought him back from space.

The art by Brandon Peterson is quite nice; he’s filling in until John Romita Jr. becomes the permanent penciler. My only qualms are that some of the designs for the X-Men’s street clothes look a little ridiculous; Rogue, for example, would have blended in more in her uniform as opposed to the yellow and pink spandex jumpsuit she is wearing.

A very nice start, to an action packed story.

B+

Intro to X-Cutioner's Song

It’s hard to believe I’ve already posted reviews for over a year’s worth of x-books; who knew my attention span was going to last this long? As some of you probably know, the next story in continuity is the massive twelve issue X-Cutioner’s Song that sees both X-Men books crossing over with X-Force and X-Factor. Despite the irritatingly annoying name, this is a pretty awesome story overall. However, if you are only a casual fan of the X-Men, then there are a lot of characters that I’m going to be writing about that you have no idea about. So here’s a brief description of X-Factor and X-Force.

X-Factor: This book actually began in the late eighties as a vehicle for the original X-Men to star in. In order to make this comic happen, Jean Grey was resurrected and Cyclops’ marriage to Madelyne Pryor was quickly and awkwardly abandoned. The stories revolved around X-Factor pretending to be mutant hunters, yet they were actually helping the mutants that they captured. The series was notable for introducing the villain Apocalypse and transforming Angel into Archangel.

After the original members of X-Factor rejoined the X-Men, the incredibly talented Peter David took over the book and focused it on a team of mutants working for the U.S. government under the supervision of Dr. Valerie Cooper. The team included former X-Man (and Cyclops’ brother) Havok as the leader, his girlfriend (and also a former X-Man) Polaris, the former New Mutant Wolfsbane, former Avenger and founding member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants Quicksilver, and X-Men supporting characters/comic relief Strong Guy and Multiple Man. While it might not sound like the most exciting super hero book, David was able to get a lot of humor and personality out of the team.

X-Force: X-Force was a team composed mainly of former New Mutants. In case you don’t know who the New Mutants were, they were a group of teenaged mutants who lived in the mansion with the X-Men and were trained by Professor X and for a time Magneto. Basically they were the teen X-Men, or X-Men: The New Class. Anyway, the mutant Cable recruited them to fight for a world that feared and hated them, only in a more extreme and violent way. In practice, X-Force wasn’t that much more radical than the X-Men, other than the fact that a lot of the members carried large guns and swords; the present day iteration of X-Force is far more violent, but then again this book took place in the nineties, where there was still such a thing as the Comics Code.

The members of X-Force were Cable—a mutant telepath/telekinetic with a penchant for carrying big guns, a warrior who carried around double bladed swords named Shatterstar, a former member of the Hellions (and brother of Thunderbird, the first official X-Man to die in battle) Warpath, Wolfsbane ripoff Feral, and Siryn, who is the daughter of former X-Man Banshee. The rest of the members were former New Mutants: Cannonball, Boom Boom, Rictor, and Sunspot.

Hope this clears up any confusion, and sorry for those of you who already knew this for wasting your time. Feel free to ask any questions in the Comments Section, and I’ll get to them eventually.