I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! As the year comes to a close, I've been reflecting a lot on my accomplishments...thinking of all the the things I have to be thankful for (people in my life, steady job) as well as the things I want to work on. When I started this blog, the hope was to increase posts, or at the very least replace these posts with other writing of some sort of substance. Obviously by my post count this year, that didn't happen, and I'd like to apologize to anyone who was looking forward to new posts.
However, people have still been reading the site, and I still love X-Men comics, so I'm determined to pick up where I left off. Well not exactly--first I've got some retro reviews lined up to fill in some gaps in the story. I'll be doing some issues of Gambit, The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, some issues of X-Men Unlimited, and maybe a few surprises before getting back to my spot in X-Continuity with The Magneto War, the Kelly-Seagle swan song. Again, I'm sorry for any readers expecting more regular posts, but the bright side is that I've set the bar so low I think I can finally top my post total from the previous year in 2014. New posts should be up in about two weeks. Until then, have a wonderful New Year, and keep enjoying comics.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
X-Men: Liberators #4
X-Men: Liberators
#4
Writing: Joe
Harris
Art: Phil Jimenez
What Went Down: No flashback for the opening. Instead Omega Red bursts into Province 13 and
threatens General Sergei. Sergei says
their transaction is complete, but Red wants to know why the X-Men are
involved. Nightcrawler is busy digging
up graves in the cold wilderness, searching for Wolverine. Colossus surprises him, and they are both set
upon by a naked Wolverine asking for his clothes.
At Province 13 the guards are on high alert, and the
students are being evacuated. Ariana is
being used as bait to draw out Nikolas. Nanya
and her friend return to the classroom and meet Nightcrawler, while Omega Red
confronts Wolverine. As Kurt talks to
the two young girls, the Wolverine/Omega Red fight spills through a
window. Omega threatens the young girls,
while Colossus goes to rescue Ariana.
Sergei sets fire to his office, while we see signs that
Nikolas has accepted the bait. Kurt and
Logan rescue the girls just in time for Nikolas to appear. Nikolas fights the villain, with Red fleeing
as his body starts to shut down. Ariana
confronts her son, and sets him free from his hard existence with a shard of
broken glass. At the same time, Colossus
takes Nanya from General Sergei just before he kills himself. In the epilogue, we see that Ariana has
adopted Nanya and is taking care of her.
The issue ends with a continuation of the flashback from
issue #1; Colossus holds a pneumatic press up while his friends are
rescued. The story ends with the three
X-Men being greeted by the rest of the team in the present.
How It Was: The issue opens with a compelling sequence of
Nightcrawler desperately digging through snowy graves to find Wolverine; it
would’ve been rather engaging if we didn’t see Wolverine dig himself out last
issue.
So after three issues revolving around the fate of
Nikolas, the last issue tries to squeeze some tension out of putting the little
girls in danger that we hardly know or care about. Moreover, Omega Red is the one that threatens
them, and for no other reason than because he’s a huge jerk. His purpose in the story is so non-existent
that after a one panel confrontation with Nikolas, Omega Red realizes there’s
no reason for him to be there and leaves.
There’s weak attempt to humanize General Sergei at the
end that doesn’t quite work, but I will admit that Harris does squeeze some
tragedy out of Ariana and Nikolas’ reunion.
Having both characters agonize over not being with each other for two
issues, only to have Nikolas killed by the only being that can touch him… well it’s
pretty sad. Colossus learns to be
happier by appreciating what he has, which is a fine enough way to end his
journey after the grimness he’s been through.
The art is fantastic, only flawed by some pretty major
coloring mistakes on the final page for most of the X-Men. Even though all the fights consist of nothing
but Omega Red grabbing and throwing people, it still looks really great. I can’t really understand the aversion to
fighting in this series; the few fights we do see feel very dull and hurried. The final, climactic battle between Nikolas
and Omega Red consists of them staring angrily at each other before Omega runs
off complaining about pain.
This is a pretty disappointing series all told. I’m not so much bothered by how generic the
plot and villains are; it’s just that the entire execution feels rushed,
although competent. All the X-Men are in
character, but they don’t feel like they have much to do or say in this
story. It takes Colossus all of one page
to deal with his family’s death, and although Nightcrawler and Wolverine are
there for moral support, they have absolutely nothing to add. Nikolas unfortunately has no voice or
personality, so although we can feel bad for him as readers, we can’t connect
with him or find anything redeemable in his presence. Everyone else just serves as mouth pieces to
push the story around, with Omega Red in the middle to make the story
authentically Russian, I guess. I don’t
think you’d miss a thing if you avoided this series because it is never
mentioned ever again.
For Completists
X-Men: Liberators #3
X-Men: Liberators
#3
Writing: Joe
Harris
Art: Phil Jimenez
What Went Down: This issue opens with a flashback of a Hide
and Seek game played on the mansion grounds around the eighties era. Colossus manages to sneak up on Wolverine. At Provence 13 in the present, Wolverine is
“dying” from his exposure to the mutant Nikolas as scientists are examining
him. On a mountain, Colossus has found a cave where he and the old woman are
hiding. He brings firewood for the
woman, whose name is Ariana. She explains
how she is Nikolas’ mother and how he was taken away from her as a baby because
his touch killed everyone except her.
Nikolas was taken by Sergei, and Ariana resents the Rasputins because
they were normal looking mutants able to hide from the government.
At night Nightcrawler sneaks onto the base after
following the soldiers. He discovers the
children taken from their families by the government. Sergei’s superior Alexei explains that the
government is shutting down Sergei’s base.
Nightcrawler tries to speak with the children, but he
doesn’t know Russian. He is able to
communicate telepathically with the girl Nanya, who can translate for her
friends. Nightcrawler vows to rescue the
children. In the woods, Omega Red is
hunting Nikolas, and comes across a wrecked cabin with two dead adults and an
abandoned child.
Omega Red manages to find the cave with Ariana in it, so
he and Colossus battle. Their fight is
interrupted by Nikolas, Ariana’s son.
Omega Red throws a rock, and both Colossus and Nikolas go over the
cliff.
Wolverine “dies” and is left alone by the
scientists. Nightcrawler finds him dead,
and takes his uniform with him. Colossus
unburies himself and sees that Nikolas has fled. Nightcrawler escapes, but we see that
Wolverine’s body has been buried, and he has healed enough to rise.
How It Was: We finally get to see where Colossus’ arc is
going this series; he is given Ariana’s tragic story to compare with his own
tragedies to realize how much worse his life could’ve been. That’s as good a conclusion as any for
Colossus to come to after a decade of having family death after family death;
he learns to appreciate time he did have with his family.
Meanwhile, Wolverine sits on a slab for a whole issue,
and Nightcrawler has nothing to do except wander around Province 13 and meet
some kids. The art is great as he sneaks
around and teleports stealthily, but it doesn’t hide the fact that he has
nothing to do; he’s searching for Wolverine, but after Kurt finds him,
Wolverine just gets dumped outside again by the soldiers making for a total
waste of an issue.
Then there’s the glaring fact that Omega Red has no
purpose in this story. The narration
claims that he’s working for the government after being freed from exile, but
there’s no motivation for him to be hunting Nikolas. He’s here because the X-Men are in Russia,
and heaven forbid they fight any other super villain in Russia other than Omega
Red.
Besides the interplay between Colossus and Ariana, there
is really nothing here to catch your attention.
There’s a three page fight that ends abruptly, and that’s about it. The art is really nice and gives Colossus and
Nightcrawler a nice range of emotion and movement, but that still doesn’t
change the fact that they’re not saying or doing anything memorable.
Completists Only
Saturday, April 20, 2013
X-Men: Liberators #2
X-Men: Liberators
#2
Writing: Joe
Harris
Art: Phil Jimenez
+ Aiken, Leigh, & Pepoy
What Went Down: Again we begin with a flashback, this one
occurring around Giant-Sized X-Men #1.
Wolverine attacks Colossus to see what he’s really made of. In present day Russia, Colossus visits the
graves of his parents. Over at Province
13, General Sergei observes two children being tested for psychic
capabilities. The General swears one of
the girls, Nanya, is looking in his mind.
Peter encounters an elderly woman in the graveyard’s
chapel. After identifying himself as
Piotr Rasputin, the woman spits on the ground and curses his family, so Peter
leaves. In the woods nearby, Kurt and
Logan wait patiently for Colossus. They
discover oddly warped trees and dead animals.
Assuming it’s hunters, Wolverine decides to go and teach a lesson about
killing animals for sport and leaving them there.
Back at the church, a military helicopter lands and
soldiers flood out to surround the old woman.
Colossus bursts in and fights off the soldiers. He escapes with the woman. After confronting the hunters, Logan and Kurt
observe them getting attacked by the mutant monster Nikolas. Wolverine fights it off, but he soon gets
sick and passes out. The soldiers carry
Wolverine away, and Nightcrawler is forced flee.
Sergei receives a call that one of his superiors from
Moscow will be visiting him. We end on
some Russian soldiers discovering Omega Red in the Savage Land and offering to
bring him home.
How It Was: Another low-key issue as the plot keeps
chugging along. There isn’t really that
much to tell. The purpose of the X-Men’s
visit gets fulfilled as Peter starts the issue at his parents’ graves and
dwells on it for a whole two sentences of internal monologue. For a series that is billing itself on the
group’s history by starting each issue with a flashback, there is surprisingly
no reflection on how Peter’s parents died, the deaths of his other siblings, or
his time with the Acolytes. They
could’ve easily tied this into the main series by mentioning Colossus’
Christmas visitation from Illyana, but alas he’s just there. Peter’s just going through the motions of the
plot, and the cemetery visit ends up being nothing more than a plot convenient
way for Colossus to meet Nikolas’ mother who just happens to be at the same
church.
With this issue the X-Men actually become embroiled in
the plot. Although Wolverine and
Nightcrawler are supposed to be there to support Colossus, they take the time
to deal with some hunters because it bothers Wolverine. And while the plot affords the opportunity
for some action, neither the writer nor the artists really seem interested in
dwelling on it. We get two panels of
Colossus getting shot at before beating up all the soldiers off-panel, followed
by Wolverine fighting Nikolas for all of one page which amounts to one dodge
and one claw swipe. It’s disappointing
to see a super hero comic so uninterested in showing any type of action or excitement.
As for the rest of the issue, the shady Russian soldiers
and their general still aren’t very interesting, and Omega Red shows up for no
purpose other than because this is a Russian-set X-story. There is some mystery to be had in how the
X-Men are going to fight Nikolas if he can take Wolverine so easily, but other
than that this is just a story just plodding along with nothing impressive. The closest bit to a standout moment is
General Sergei’s observations of the telepathic Nanya staring through him
behind the wall, but minor details can’t salvage how uneventful this is.
For Completists
X-Men: Liberators #1
X-Men: Liberators
#1
Writing: Joe
Harris
Art: Phil Jimenez
What Went Down: The intro involves a flashback to the
Claremont/Byrne era circa Days of the Future Past. Our three stars of the mini, Wolverine
Colossus, and Nightcrawler, enjoy a test in the Danger Room. In the present, these same three X-Men are on
a plane to Russia to visit the graves of Peter’s parents. Nightcrawler scares a little girl by coming
out of the restroom before turning on his image inducer.
At a military base called Province 13, the Russian
equivalent of Area 51, General Sergei observes a room of children playing with
toys, some using super powers. The
general slides back a panel on a dark cell, looks at the shadowy figure inside,
and laughs internally at his current predicament.
Arriving at the Moscow Airport, Wolverine decides to take
his friends to a local pub full of a “certain element.” Back at Province 13, a rookie soldier
relieves the guards of the mystery cell; he is afraid of the monsters that might
be lurking here, and he is teased by his peers.
Back at the bar, Wolverine has talked Peter into arm
wrestling one of the thugs who taunted them.
During the bout, one of the other thugs tries to steal the X-Men’s bags,
so they start a bar fight and totally dominate the locals.
Back at the base, the shadowy creature hides from its
captors during meal time, tricking them into opening the door. Once the
creature touches the soldiers, their bodies start to decay.
After trashing the bar, the X-Men leave some money and go
on their merry way. We also learn that
the mystery creature’s name is Nikolas as he kills more soldiers. Nikolas coincidentally winds up stowing away on
the same train that the X-Men are taking.
How It Was: Liberators
is a mini that is all but forgotten; it has no effect on continuity, it doesn’t
have anything profound to say about its characters, and its plot is basically a
takeoff of any Frankenstein story: the misunderstood monster that’s been seen
time and again. The only thing that
could possibly set it apart is the emphasis on the three X-Men and their long
history. The flashbacks do go a ways of
drawing out this history; these X-Men joined the team at the same time, and as
such their growth as teammates and friends has had profound influence on each
other and the team. Conversely, their
interactions in the present don’t really highlight this history in any
meaningful way. Most of their brief conversations
deal with polite teasing and Colossus’ discomfort at the situations Wolverine
drags him into.
Still, I’m willing to give this one the benefit of the
doubt since it’s only the first issue, and so much of it is dedicated to the
antagonists. This project is fueled by
pure nostalgia, highlighting a friendship that has been missing from comics for
almost a decade, due to the heroes frequenting other teams over the years. It’s excusable to start out with some
lighthearted joking and bar fighting, with a promise of possibly something more
substantial in later issues. Plus fans
of the X-Men never really got to see Peter deal with the death of his parents
before he joined the Acolytes (although he probably dealt with it in Excalibur,
I would assume).
This leaves the Russian military who are trying to
weaponize mutants—all setup and exposition up to this point. Again, this is nothing special, with all the
soldiers sharing the same personality and Nikolas’ escape being easily
predictable. I will say that the design
for Nikolas is quite grotesque, although it doesn’t really stand out in any
way. This is an okay start to the
series. Not much happens; the characters
are all characterized well and their dynamic is well defined: Wolverine’s the
wild one, Colossus is the shy one, and Nightcrawler is a little bit of
both. Nothing to write home about, but
nothing offensive either.
For X-Fans
Uncanny X-Men #365
Uncanny X-Men #365
Writer: Steve
Seagle
Art: Chris Bachalo
What Went Down: It’s Christmas Eve in Salem Center when
Colossus is awakened by a mysterious voice leading him to the attic. The voice tells Peter to “remember” after
doing some crazy things with his perceptions.
Peter immediately goes to Storm, who brushes it off as a bad dream. Peter thinks the voice has something to do
with his latest drawing, but his canvas has mysteriously vanished.
Peter starts to recreate his drawing, but notices a light
outside. Wolverine, Gambit, and Alpha
Flight’s Puck are in a cabin enjoying a fire.
Colossus returns to his room and finds his drawing returned with writing
on it telling the story of an ice princess who lost her face. Peter starts a new drawing, but is again
interrupted by a noise downstairs. It
turns out that Nightcrawler and Kitty have obtained a tree to decorate for the
team.
After excusing himself, Peter finds Xavier in his study
contemplating photos of his students that have passed away over the years. The two heroes talk about ghosts and spirits,
until Peter takes his leave. Peter
begins yet another drawing, believing he is being compelled by the spirit. It again visits him, leading him again to the
attic.
Peter finds a teleportation ring and meets the spirit of
his dead sister Illyana. She explains
that she left the portal there before she died, and she needs someone alive to
do something for her, but she cannot say it out loud. After talking, Peter realizes that he has
left his picture of Illyana packed away.
After unpacking it, his sister is able to move on. Peter makes one more sketch before falling
asleep.
In the morning it is revealed that Marrow was the one
writing on Peter’s pictures; she frames one of them in bones as a thank you for
the picture he gave her in X-Men #81.
How It Was: Seagle takes a stab at a Dickensian Christmas
tale in the Marvel Universe for a post crossover downtime issue. While this issue is somewhat of a nightmare
for continuity enthusiasts, it does capture the somber tone perfectly without
becoming too grim and broody. Colossus
is definitely a character who has faded to the background up to this point, so
it’s great to see him get some time in the spotlight. Although he had plenty of time to reflect on
his sister’s life in Excalibur, X-Men fans never got a chance to see Peter
really process his sister’s death; he just went off to Avalon and then came
back one day. This issue serves as a
nice bookend to bridge his previous affiliation with the X-Men up to the here
and now.
I also like that it is the members of the Claremont/Byrne
era, back from such a long absence, who are again in charge of pulling the
“modern” X-Men out of the doldrums of holiday depression. Even though they don’t have any subplots of
their own going on, it’s nice to see Kitty and Kurt serving a consistent function
on the team. The scene with Xavier is
also a nice touch, tying well into the themes and resolution of the story. It also reestablishes Xavier’s sentimentality
after being away from the books for two years.
While the tone of Peter’s confused journey is spot on,
there are still some odd choices for the issue.
Puck makes a baffling cameo for no purpose whatsoever. Also the climax of the story is a little
strange if you look at it literally.
Illyana can’t “move on” unless Peter figures out her vague riddle for
her? Unfortunately she cheats by saying
“get the picture,” robbing Colossus of the personal victory of being able to
help his sister on his own. And of
course with Illyana recently resurrected, I don’t know what that means for this
story continuity wise.
I’m also not sure how I feel about Marrow’s turn as
sneaky secret Santa. It feels like a bit
of character whiplash; I get that Peter’s efforts last issue were very selfless
and well-intentioned, but Marrow’s personality is seemingly changed overnight
in one issue. She’s gone from the new
Wolverine to the new Jubilee: smiling, friendly, and excited about
Christmas. To me Marrow should be
reluctant to celebrate Christmas, but eventually discover a personal meaning in
it for her. You could argue she does do
this, just all off panel. It is after
all Peter’s story.
It’s not the best sentimental issue, but it’s far from the
worst either. Despite the weird
mechanics and out of place fairy tale shoehorned in, the dialogue and art make
this a relatively enjoyable read. It’s
probably not going to the top of anyone’s reading stack, but it does manage to
feel like genuine X-Men Christmas, with a few extraneous parts tacked on. While it’s odd to see Illyana pop up again,
it’s nice to see Peter get some closure sixty-some issues after her death in
the X-Men titles.
For X-Men Fans
Labels:
Christmas,
Colossus,
Illyana Rasputin,
Kitty Pryde,
Nightcrawler,
Professor X
Saturday, April 13, 2013
X-Men #84
X-Men #84
Writing: Joe Kelly
Art: Adam Kubert
What Went Down: Reunited, Xavier holds Nina as the prime
Cerebro basks among the captured X-Men and Brotherhood members. Elsewhere, Nightcrawler has picked up Rogue,
Colossus, Gambit, and Renee. Using
tracking systems, Kurt is able to find the captured X-Men as well.
Cerebro explains his origins to Xavier. Its programming was shunted to a different
vessel when Bastion and a Prime Sentinel tried to use it. After gaining sentience, it analyzed its own
existence and realized it needed a dream and purpose. Creating the false X-Men from its own
detailed files, Cerebro wanted to create peace by cataloguing all humans and
mutants, imprisoning them forever.
Cerebro wants to use Xavier’s telepathy to catalog the entire planet at
one time.
Xavier argues that he still doesn’t have his powers after
Onslaught, but Cerebro knows that Nina can return those powers. Fortunately the remaining X-Men come to the
rescue. Xavier decides that it is time
for Nina to return his powers to him, just as the remaining X-Men are
captured. Using his powers Xavier is
able to free the X-Men, so Cerebro activates the Xavier Protocols—the files on
the weaknesses of every X-Man. The X-Men
are put through excruciating torments, but it is all revealed to be an illusion
from Xavier and Nina.
The X-Men tear apart the Cerebrites, and Xavier uses his
powers to show the Prime Cerebro the minds of humanity, not just their genetic
codes. Before it dies, Cerebro
apologizes to the X-Men for not seeing how unique and special the world
is.
How It Was: Well this issue concludes much as you’d
expect it: Xavier gets his powers back and Cerebro is vanquished. The main difference between this issue and
the previous ones is that Kelly and Kubert both have the entire team to utilize
in the fight, and they find a way to give every character a moment to shine. Interestingly,
the Brotherhood is never brought up at any point other than when they are shown
as Cerebro’s captives.
Probably the best moment is the double page spread where
the Xavier Protocols are used on the X-Men.
It’s a dark and striking visual that stands up even if the moment itself
is revealed to be a hoax. As with the
Machine Man/Bastion story, I am baffled by the idea that telepaths can use
their powers on machines to fool them, but whatever. It’s a standard X-Men solution, and Kelly
does try very hard to sell the idea of Cerebro gaining true sentience as a
response to Bastion’s attack.
The imagery in the astral plane makes for another amazing
visual, causing me to be more forgiving of the sad, redemptive ending that
comes out of nowhere. It’s hard to feel
sympathy towards Cerebro when he’s been such a bland villain…cataloguing people
by locking them into eggs. Still, it’s a
good concluding fight and some of Adam Kubert’s strongest work. Even if the Hunt for Xavier was too long and
stretched out, it had its moments. It’s
just a shame that it had to stick so close to its parallel structure, almost
devoid of novelty or surprise. But this
is still a solid conclusion.
For Comics Fans
Labels:
Cerebro,
Hunt for Xavier,
Nightcrawler,
Nina the Mannite,
Professor X,
Storm,
Wolverine
Uncanny X-Men #364
Uncanny X-Men #364
Writing: Steve
Seagle
Art: Lenil Francis
Yu
What Went Down: The Prime Cerebro unit is monitoring world
events and notes that it is likely that Magneto will be surfacing soon. It
orders a self-destruct sequence of its base, which includes the forms of the
fake X-Men from Uncanny #360 to hide
any evidence.
At Alcatraz the X-Men and the Brotherhood are trying
desperately to defeat the Beta Cerbrite.
Kitty tries to evacuate the Professor, but Post of the Brotherhood
refuses to allow it. The Cerebrite fires
a beam at Toad, causing him to disappear, just as Storm did last issue. Nightcrawler
and Mimic use Kurt’s teleportation powers to teleport the Cerebro robot away.
Blob and Post won’t let Kitty take the Professor because
they see Xavier as their only hope. The X-Men fight the Brotherhood until
Cerebro returns. Exhausted from teleporting
the Cerebrite, Nightcrawler returns to the Blackbird and radios the other team
of X-Men for help. Of course, they’re busy with their own Cerebrite, so they
don’t answer. Kitty and Marrow try to
rescue Xavier, but they manage to phase right where the battle is occurring. The Cerebrite chases Kitty, and the robot
shoots her, making her disappear as well.
It then takes out the remaining members of the Brotherhood. Xavier explains that they’re not dead, just
moved to the main Cerebro; Wolverine decides he and Marrow need to be captured
to rescue their allies. Nightcrawler
sees everyone get shot as he brings the Blackbird in to rescue them. He decides to take the plane to Russia to get
reinforcements from the other team.
How It Was: The
opening of this issue feels like somebody remembered that the phantom X-Men
from Uncanny #360 were tied to this Cerebro story at the last minute. So those characters are all conveniently
disposed of in three pages. The rest of
this issue is another big fight with a Cerebro robot. Lenil Francis Yu replaces Bachalo, and
boy…their styles couldn’t be farther apart if the editors tried. Yu specializes in darker tones and more
realistic proportions, which works for the most part. He draws Post like a ghost made out of rocks,
and his Marrow is a little too attractive, but overall it looks great. I love the detail of Kitty, Toad, and
Nightcrawler using Marrow’s bone shards to attack the robot since none of them
have offensive powers.
This fight is a lot less interesting, and I think it
basically comes down to the fact that all the X-Men and most of the Brotherhood
here just don’t have a big variety of offensive powers. All of them pretty much just hit people, and
that’s not as exciting too look at. Plus
the Brotherhood has to have an obligatory disagreement with the X-Men in the
middle that makes no sense; if they care about Xavier, as a mentor or asset,
why wouldn’t they want the crippled and powerless man out of the way of the
huge battle?
Once again we have a Seagle book ending the same way the
previous Kelly issue did, this time with the Cerebrite flying away triumphant
with its quarry after soundly defeating the X-Men. And once again the ending is diminished by
the fact that we just saw this very thing happen last issue. It’s a shame that Seagle has to follow up all
the Kelly issues with the exact same structures, plus he’s been saddled by a
weaker and less visually engaging team.
Even the addition of the Brotherhood can’t make this one stand out.
For X-Fans
Labels:
Brotherhood,
Cerebro,
Hunt for Xavier,
Kitty Pryde,
Marrow,
Nightcrawler,
Professor X,
Wolverine
Saturday, April 6, 2013
X-Men #83
X-Men #83
Writing: Joe Kelly
Art: Adam Kubert
What Went Down: Renee Majcomb holds Nina the young Mannite as
the Alpha Cerebro fights the X-Men. Nina
is able to assist by waking up members knocked unconscious. Gambit blows up the
floor underneath the villain, buying the team some time to regroup. In a power plant, the primary Cerebro is busy
cataloging humans and locking them in spheres.
Back in Russia, Renee helps Nina explain her
background. Back at the Zero Tolerance
base, Nina imprinted Xavier’s mind when she met him, adding his memories to her
own telepathic and reality warping powers.
Charles was able to summon Renee to save Nina, and Nina led them to the
monks that Charles had spent time with while trying to control his own
powers.
Cerebro attacks again, this time by controlling
Colossus. The Cerebrite is also able to
prematurely cause Gambit’s cards to explode and utilize nanotechnology to trap
Storm in a box. The Cerebrite shoots a beam
at Storm causing her to disappear.
After a brief glimpse at the Cerbro battle over in
Uncanny, we return to the action with Rogue saving the unconscious Gambit. Rogue’s glove is torn, so she accidentally
gets a glimpse of the green mist lady who saved Gambit in Antarctica. The Cerebrite knocks out Rogue and takes
Nina.
How It Was: Kelly tries to frame this issue through
narration that focuses on the fear that the young Nina must be going
through. This would be a lot more
effective if the girl in question wasn’t an all-powerful plot device, or if
anybody cared about Nina. Anyway, here’s
an issue long fight scene where half the X-Men fight their rogue computer.
Actually the fight has some nice moments, like Gambit
charging the floor up, and Storm blowing him away at the last second. It’s a little annoying that Nina can use her
powers to wake up X-Men that have been knocked unconscious. I suppose that one could argue that Cerebro
is just as overpowered: he can trigger powers, possess Colossus, and survive
lots of different attacks. But at least
Cerebro explains how he makes Gambit’s cards explode or makes a box for Storm
to be trapped in.
There’s not a lot to say about this issue. It’s a big fight with a lot of complaining
from Renee and Nina. Cerebro gets a
chance to use its powers intelligently in taking down the X-Men, although it’s
unclear why it only chooses to assimilate Storm instead of the whole team. Plot convenience I guess. Solid action.
For X-Fans
Labels:
Cerebro,
Colossus,
Gambit,
Hunt for Xavier,
Nina the Mannite,
Rogue,
Storm
Uncanny X-Men #363
Uncanny X-Men #363
Writing: Steve
Seagle
Art: Chris Bachalo
What Went Down: We open on what I think is a number of the
creators of this very comic discussing chocolate at Ghiradelli Square when they
are interrupted by falling debris from the sky.
It turns out to be another Cerebro unit—this one being the Beta
unit. At Alcatraz the Toad, who now
speaks only in rhyme for some reason, takes an apple to a captive Charles
Xavier.
At the Golden Gate Park, the other four X-Men discuss how
they are going to proceed. Nightcrawler
gets to show off the cloaking device he installed on the Blackbird. Because the X-Men only own one portable
Cerebro, this team is depending on Wolverine to track Xavier. As the X-Men strategize, a local couple is
attacked by the Beta Cerebrite, which overwhelms and “catalogs” them.
Despite having a futuristic space age cloaking device for
their ship, the X-Men have neglected to bring normal clothes to walk the
streets of San Francisco in. Kitty is
forced to take coats from a homeless vagrant, but she leaves some money for
him. As they walk the streets, Nightcrawler finds a twenty in one of the
pockets and buys a necklace for Kitty.
Wolverine finds a building with Charles’ scent, but all
they find is a smashed up wheelchair.
Marrow gets into a confrontation with a punk, but Logan diffuses
it. In a secret base called Area 52,
another Cerebro robot sneaks in and retrieves some nanotechnology developed by
Bastion.
After failing to find Professor X, Wolverine takes the
team to Chinatown where they meet a wise Chinese person named Black Crane, who
is from Logan’s past. Black Crane is
able to see that Professor X is at Alcatraz, but another is searching for him. Outside Kurt gives Kitty the necklace he
bought her.
Arriving at Alcatraz, the X-Men are attacked by the new
Brotherhood of Mutants. The X-Men are
thrown off because the Brotherhood is utilizing teamwork and tactics that they
normally do not display. The fight is
stopped by Professor X, who has been training the Brotherhood to combat
Cerebro. The Brotherhood is also
responsible for breaking Xavier out of the Hulkbuster base. The issue ends with the Beta Cerebro bursting
through the wall and attacking.
How It Was: Note to publishers: maybe you shouldn’t spoil
your one minor twist on the cover. One
could argue that this reveal is spoiled by the first scene with Toad and
Xavier, but up to this point Charles is only revealed to be a prisoner. Not that this is a huge spoiler, it’s just
that after months of buildup, one would think that the discovery of Xavier
might hold some type of surprise. Either
way it doesn’t really matter since the Xavier training the Brotherhood angle is
dropped as quickly as it is introduced.
As for the rest of the issue, it’s mostly more stretching
out the hunt. The first half of the
issue has the X-Men doing such exciting things as shopping in downtown San
Francisco, threatening hipsters, and meeting a stereotypically wise elderly
Asian man who just tells the where to go. Why didn’t they talk to this guy months ago?
While Seagle is teasing a potential romance between Nightcrawler and Kitty,
it’s really subtle and almost completely forgotten after this issue if I remember
right. Other than that, the characters
really don’t have much to do except reiterate events of past issues leading up
to this point and agonize over not having enough money to shop for jewelry. This team is so terrible that they don’t even
think to bring clothes to change into when they’re visiting downtown San
Francisco! The other team had enough
time to put on coats and boots for the snowy mountains…it’s not hard.
After being told by Black Crane to get the story moving,
the X-Men fight the Brotherhood for a couple of pages. Bachalo’s art shows off the scope of the
destruction and craziness quite well, but his superdeformed style makes some of
the characters look odd. His Wolverine
looks more like Beast, his Blob changes sizes by the panel, and his Marrow has
dreadlocks somehow.
Of course if you read X-Men #82, you already know that
the cliffhanger is once again going to be another Cerebro robot, and it’s
pretty sad that a six part story has to use the same ending twice in a
row. Yes we’re supposed to glimpse the
events from each team’s side, but this is a pretty unoriginal structure they’re
using. The X-Men issues at least had
some novel uses of artwork to move the story, as well as the wonderful tension between
Gambit and the rest of the team. Here
there is none of that, so all we get is an average story that ends with a very
lackluster reunion with Xavier.
For Completists
Labels:
Brotherhood,
Cerebro,
Hunt for Xavier,
Kitty Pryde,
Marrow,
Nightcrawler,
Professor X,
Wolverine
Sunday, March 24, 2013
X-Men #82
X-Men #82
Writing: Joe Kelly
Art: Adam Kubert
What Went Down: Gambit and Colossus are both plummeting from
a mountaintop after Gambit impulsively jumped on Peter’s shoulders in an
attempt to lighten the mood. Storm and
Rogue save them, and fortunately the fall has led them right to the place they
were hoping to get to. It’s a temple
made of ice.
Inside the temple, one of the monks of the order alerts
Renee Majcomb that there are intruders.
Elsewhere, Gambit brushes off Rogue’s attempts to get close to him. Colossus finds it appalling, not knowing that
Gambit is possessed by an evil being.
Gambit blows the door to an area and finds the frozen corpses of the
majority of the monks. An observer
watches the X-Men and analyzes them.
The X-Men come to a liquid mirror that appears to be some
kind of portal. Since Xavier’s signal is
coming from it, they enter it. The world
inside distorts their senses and skews reality.
Rogue has an easier time with it because she is used to the confusion of
having multiple personalities in her head.
Outside Renee asks a mystery figure if the trap is working; the mystery
person thinks that they have the wrong people.
A robot that looks like Cerebro from issue #81 observes the mirror.
Inside the mirror the X-Men experience a variety of
abstract tortures, but when Rogue and Gambit reach for each other, they begin
to turn back to normal. They realize
that extreme emotions are the key to escaping the mirror. Storm thinks of her love for the X-Men,
Colossus the death of his sister, Rogue thinks of Gambit, and Gambit thinks
about the mist thing that possessed him.
After breaking out, the X-Men are confronted by Renee and
Nina, the girl from Onslaught: Epilogue
that Professor X met. They apologize for
mistaking the X-Men for enemies and learn that they are being chased by
Cerebro, who thinks Nina is Xavier.
How It Was: This issue: the X-Men get their own young and
adorably cute sidekick. What, you’re not
excited? Anyways Nina the Mannite turns
up after her appearance in Onslaught: Epilogue.
Don’t worry, she’s not staying permanently, but it’s still enough to
cast a pall over this story. Nobody
could possibly care whether or not this tiny plot device got ripped apart by a
Cerebro robot, which is a real failing in this entire story.
Despite that rather sobering intro, this issue is
actually really fun. The opening is
worth a small smile as Gambit tries too hard to fit back in with X-Men and the
ice temple is really nicely rendered by Adam Kubert. The best part of the book is when the team is
attacked in the mirror by Nina. The
shift in art style and coloring does a perfect job of capturing the shift in
reality that consumes the X-Men; it’s a great example of storytelling through
visuals as the team’s perceptions are completely upended. Yes it’s hokey that they break free by
feeling emotions, but it’s worth it for the line, “And then the whole world
stopped making fish.” Some really
creative imagery here.
It’s a neat issue if you ignore the fact that the plot
doesn’t really advance all that much.
The characters are still shining as always in Kelly’s book, except for
Colossus who is suffering from a case of nothing to do. One of the better parts of this event.
For Everyone
Labels:
Cerebro,
Gambit,
Hunt for Xavier,
Nina the Mannite,
Rogue
Uncanny X-Men #362
Uncanny X-Men #362
Writing: Steve
Seagle
Art: Chris Bachalo
What Went Down: The SHIELD Helicarrier shows up over a farm in
Nebraska where Legacy Virus victim Pyro is once again losing control of his
powers. Nick Fury calls the X-Men in
because Pyro is asking for Xavier and something has him frightened. The X-Men agree to help.
Xavier has a dream where harmony has been achieved
between man and mutant. He wakes from
the dream a prisoner in a dark place.
Over at Cecilia Reyes’ doctor’s office, Cecilia receives a large package
from Muir Island.
The X-Men split up with half going after Pyro while the
others help fire fighters and rescue workers.
Along the way Gambit has an internal conversation with the mystery
parasite inhabiting his body. As the
X-Men work, they all discuss their feelings about Charles Xavier, what he means
to them, and the hope they have for finding him. Marrow is unimpressed with all of this.
Pyro’s powers are so out of control that Colossus can
feel the flames through his metal skin. This is disconcerting because Gambit is
attacked by a flame woman who kisses him.
Storm makes it rain, and creates a collapsing air mass. They chase Pyro and Wolverine punches him
out. He then notices a mysterious figure
inside the flames directly behind Pyro.
The figure announces a systems failure and melts. Before he passes out,
Pyro tells the X-Men that Xavier sent him before exploding into flames. Fury arrests him and the X-Men leave.
Back at the mansion, the giant package Cecilia received
for the X-Men turns out to be a new Cerebro unit to replace the one Bastion
stole during OZT. After setting it up,
the X-Men use it to try to locate Charles Xavier. The only problem is that there are two
separate signals for Xavier; one in Russia, and the other in San
Francisco. The X-Men declare that they
will find their mentor. In both
locations, robots crash to the ground, both searching for Xavier.
How It Was: The Hunt for Xavier kicks off with the X-Men
running around and not doing a whole lot of anything. This issue can’t really be described as a
fight with Pyro, since most of the story is rescuing civilians, chasing after
the villain, and talking about Xavier.
And maybe that’s a necessary evil since Professor X has been out of
circulation for almost two years at this point.
Marrow is used as the new reader’s entry point as she quizzes each X-Man
on the significance of Professor X and what he means to the team.
At this point in X-History it was well established that
the writers of both books wanted to bring the X-Men back to basics with less
dependence on technology. Hence, their
technology was stolen or destroyed by Bastion.
So imagine my surprise when the X-Men’s sophisticated mutant detecting
computer Cerebro is casually replaced when Moira Mactaggert decides to send
them a spare. Why did she wait so long,
especially when she knows that Charles is missing? This just feels like some lazy plot
convenience to detect Charles and get the story on the road.
As for the rest of the story, it’s mostly just fighting
fire. At one point Pyro conjures a fire
woman to kiss Gambit. I’m pretty sure
this should give him some serious burns and facial disfigurement, but it
doesn’t. Perhaps the mist lady helps
him, but this is never explained at all.
Poor Pyro has never been as pathetic as he is taken out by a fire
extinguisher from Kitty and one punch from Wolverine; this dying of the Legacy
Virus shtick is getting pretty tired for the character.
This is an okay issue with some weird plotting choices
made out of plot necessity. The
revelation of two Xavier signals reeks of the need to pad this story out, but
at least the books go bi-weekly to accommodate the long story (remember when
six issue stories weren’t an industry norm?
Those were the days.). Not the
most exciting kick off, but it’s also not unreadable.
For X-Fans
Labels:
Cecilia Reyes,
Cerebro,
Gambit,
Hunt for Xavier,
Marrow,
Professor X,
Pyro
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Getting It Together
Hello all! Just a quick note that I will be resuming regular posting (or at least semi-regular) tomorrow. Hopefully with my spring break coming up this week I'll be able to get ahead on the comics I want to read so I won't always be so behind. Also, if you've noted that some of the newer reviews seem to have changed, you're not going insane. Upon further reflection, I decided I only needed three levels of recommendation for my blog, not four. After all, having two medium ratings is sort of redundant. Sorry for any confusion, and for once again letting life get in the way, but I hope you like what we have coming up. So stay tuned for an X-Men Christmas in the style of Dickens (no...really), The Hunt for Xavier, and a roadtrip to Russia for the male X-Men in X-Men: Liberators.
Friday, February 8, 2013
X-Men #81
X-Men #81
Writing: Joe Kelly
Art: Adam Kubert
What Went Down: The X-Men have crudely reconstructed a
makeshift Danger Room to help them train.
Despite Nightcrawler’s efforts, Marrow doesn’t want to participate. Storm tries to order Marrow, but the Morlock
complains that all their training didn’t help them with Operation Zero
Tolerance or protecting Professor X. At
the boathouse, Gambit is exercising and working up the nerve to go see Rogue. When Rogue shows up, he manages to embarrass
himself completely.
In Boston a hooded figure laughs and talks to
herself. Up in the attic Storm shows her
garden to Colossus while they reconnect.
Wolverine and Kitty do the same thing while practicing knife
throwing. In Boston, Rogue and Gambit
meet to escape the prying ears of the X-Men.
Gambit tries to make Rogue guilty for leaving him. Their discussion is interrupted by new
villain Kali, who channels energy through a staff and hears voices. She fights the two X-Men, calling them lovers
and angering Rogue. Gambit knocks her
away and admits to Rogue that it was his mind’s self-hate that influenced her
decision. Then they work together to
defeat Kali, who promptly explodes in a fury of green energy. Gambit and Rogue
talk, and he stops short of saying he loves her. Rogue thinks he’s just afraid, but actually
he is possessed by a green mist woman who threatens to kill Rogue and the other
X-Men.
How It Was: Although the main emphasis is on Gambit and
Rogue, Kelly’s script gives every character his or her own moment to
shine. The opening four pages do a
wonderful job of setting up where most of the characters are at this
point. Wolverine and Storm are
struggling with Marrow, while the Excalibur 3 are trying their best to fit back
in and keep it light. The tension
between Marrow and Storm is much more interesting than Marrow stealing some
pictures. The reunion between Gambit and
Rogue is handled very well, and Kelly wisely chooses to cut the awkwardness
with some humor.
The conversation between Gambit and Rogue handles all the
necessary chores. Their mutual interest
in each other is reaffirmed, it is firmly established that Rogue left Gambit
because she had absorbed his self-loathing, and a new obstacle is placed in the
couple’s way to keep them from getting together and becoming boring. Kelly tries to tie in the other X-Men by
cutting to some sporadic conversations about characters and relationships, but
it is all tangential and never goes anywhere.
The big weakness is the villain Kali. She is a goofy character brought in because
this is a super hero comic, and darn it we need a fight somewhere. She talks to herself, and she will never be
seen again, so feel free to forget about her.
Kubert does a wonderful job with the action, both here and in the Danger
Room. He really sells the emotions of
the characters as well, such as when Rogue blows off Gambit’s white rose, or
the jolly teasing of Colossus.
Forgetable villain aside, this is a great issue. It gets the Rogue/Gambit relationship back on
track, and it has some fun with the characters.
As for the end, the green smoke girl is interesting at first, but this
drags on for quite some time until it’s finally done away with for good. Still a very good read if you love light
character pieces a la the majority of Scott Lobdell’s run.
X-Fans Should
Read
Uncanny X-Men #361
Uncanny X-Men #361
Writing: Steve
Seagle
Art: Steve Skroce
What Went Down: We open on a fight between Storm and an army
of Korean monk warriors, with Kitty
Pryde as back up. After dispatching the
bad guys, Storm’s contact shows up—X-villain Black Tom Cassidy. Black Tom swears the warriors weren’t allied
with him, and claims he needs the X-Men’s help.
Back at the mansion, Wolverine discovers Rogue returning
from a trip to Antarctica searching for Gambit.
Rogue explains that the only reason she left him there was because
Gambit’s memories and personality were subconsciously telling her to. Outside the room, Colossus and Nightcrawler
are chasing Marrow, who has stolen Peter’s sketch pad. After getting the pad, Kurt is attacked by
Marrow, who in turn is stopped by Rogue.
Marrow is chastised, but explains that she just wanted to look at the
pad because it was pretty. Then she
storms off. Wolverine announces that he
is moving outside the mansion to return to nature and such.
Back in Seoul, Black Tom explains that the Juggernaut is
dying. He was led into a trap based on
false information about a second Cytoraak Gem.
The gem in question instead sucked the power from the villain. When they arrive at the hideout, Juggernaut
has left and smashed through a wall.
Storm and Kitty accuse Tom of lying, but go out to search for Cain
anyways. There’s also someone in the
shadows watching.
Enraged by his situation, Juggernaut has decided to go on
a rampage, even without his full power.
As Storm tries to contain the damage, Gambit shows up on a motorcycle
and puts down the bad guy. Storm then
yells at him for not contacting his loved ones in all this time and for
attacking the dying villain. Fortunately
the X-Men find a map in Juggernaut’s pants that leads them to a temple where
the crystal is being held.
Colossus draws a picture for Marrow and accidently walks
in on her making a magazine collage, which embarrasses her. Over at the temple, Kitty, Gambit, and Storm
fight off more of the mystical warriors, as well as various temple traps. Kitty reaches the gem first, but leaves it
with Gambit to go check on Storm.
Finding that Gambit has vanished, the two X-Women decide to return to
Black Tom. They are surprised to find
Gambit already there, and the Juggernaut returned to full health. Cain begrudgenly thanks them, and Storm
invites Gambit to return to the X-Men.
When asked how he got out of the Arctic, Gambit says he walked, and we
see a flashback of two sets of footprints in the snow.
How It Was: Ah now this is a fun one. This is the return of Gambit, gone for eleven
issues since his trial. It’s also a
preview for his new ongoing series drawn by Steve Skroce.
There’s a lot of action in this book; we get an opening fight,
a battle with Juggernaut, and the finale with more ninjas and temple
traps. All of it is rendered with
Skroce’s keen eye for choreography and framing.
The Juggernaut fight, which is relatively brief, becomes one of the
moments of the issue thanks to a gorgeous sequence of Gambit doing a flip on a
motorcycle while showering exploding cards onto the villain. The warriors and their temple have some
really awesome designs as well, and there are loads of them in every fight
panel. Skroce’s style really emphasizes
action and movement well, like when Gambit uses some spears to cross a moat, or
the aforementioned motorcycle sequence.
While this issue could’ve gotten by on its action, there
is a lot going on in the character department as well. We have Storm torn between her principles as
a hero and distrust of Black Tom. Kitty
is torn between her respect for Storm and her knowledge that the villains will
screw them. There’s a humbled though in
denial Juggernaut which is a refreshing take.
And then everyone gets even more emotionally conflicted and tense when
Gambit pops up out of nowhere. What
started off as a story about ambiguous trust gains a whole new layer at just
the right moment. The dialogue works
really well, especially Gambit’s equips and attempts to pretend like nothing
happened.
It’s not perfect; the stuff with Marrow feels a little
off. Marrow was originally this jaded
teen that has seen more in her short, traumatic life than any of the
X-Men. Here she’s played off as kind of
bratty. I do like that she’s embarrassed
of her appreciation of beauty, but I feel like there are better ways than the
teen girl collage, such as her previous crushes on teammates. The idea is great; I’m just not thrilled with
the execution.
This is a fun one and a great jumping on point for the
time. This may be Seagle’s best script
as he finds a great mix of action, humor, and emotional tension that opens up
character directions for months to come.
A welcome return for Gambit.
Labels:
Black Tom,
Gambit,
Juggernaut,
Kitty Pryde,
Marrow,
Storm
Friday, January 25, 2013
Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998
Writing: Mike
Higgins & Karl Bollers
Art: Martin
Egeland
What Went Down: Cable and Bastion/Nimrod engage in battle as
we get a close up of Machine Man’s systems repairing themselves from Bastion’s
attack last issue. Bastion is able to
use all the machinery in the lab to attack Cable as he interfaces with the
computers.
Back on the Helicarrier, G.W. Bridge, then head of
SHIELD, worrying about the mission and arguing with a General Kragg, whose
daughter was part of the failed mission to the Prospero clinic. Back at said clinic, Bastion/Nimrod attacks
Cable with more turrets while he begins to convey his origin to Cable. Helpfully, Bastion has decided to project his
memories onto video screens while he narrates, even though Cable is busy
fighting for his life. Bastion not only
mentions every appearance of Nimrod from Uncanny, as well as the Siege
Perilous, but he incorporates every Sentinel appearance since the original team
fought them in the sixties into his exposition.
Cable uses his telekinesis to blow a hole in the floor and escape the
lasers.
As Cable catches his breath, and Bastion continues with
his very long origin, X-51 reactivates.
Cable contacts Bridge, telling him the squad is gone, but Bastion is
there. Cable says he can handle it
before being cut off by another attack from X-51. Bastion continues his origin, explaining that
he is a combination of Master Mold and Nimrod magically fused through the Siege
Perilous, a mystical plot device from the late eighties. Upon leaving the portal, he was the entity
know as Bastion, and he was found and raised by Rose. Although brought up to be caring, he could
not ignore the state of the world and blamed mutants for the world’s problems.
As Cable and Machine Man continue to fight, Bastion shows
the beginnings of his clinic and the origins of Operation Zero Tolerance, as
well as the building of a new Master Mold.
On the Helicarrier, Bridge argues with a shadowy committee of superiors
over what to do about the clinic; they don’t trust Cable and Machine Man to
finish the job. The committee wants him
to send an air strike.
Bastion finishes his diatribe, describing his defeat and
the subsequent experiments on his body.
At the same time General Kragg tries to convince Bridge to launch the
air strike. Bastion has decided to use
X-51 as the storehouse for his mind, but Cable uses his telepathic bond to
break Machine Man from the villain’s control.
After being flooded with his own memories of his father and creator,
Machine Man regains control and helps destroy the lab. X-51 then takes control of the turrets and
turns them on Bastion. They set the
clinic to explode, after Cable fails to find any other traces of humanity in
the test subjects. The lab blows before
the air strike reaches the location, and the two heroes shake hands and
complement each other.
How It Was: That’s right, in 1998 we had an annual
starring two obscure robot characters, neither of whom had their own
series. The first thing that jumps out
in this book is the drastic shift in art styles. Mark Egeland’s style is cartoonier, but it’s
also cleaner than Leonardi and there’s quite a bit more detail put in. You can just tell from the smoke coming off
X-51’s chassis, or the two page splash on page 2 and 3, that there is just more
to the layouts and backgrounds in this book.
Unfortunately, aside from some gratuitous action at the beginning and
the end, the rest of this issue is a slog.
We spend the majority of this double-sized issue with
Cable running through corridors while Bastion projects his history onto screens
for us to see and explains his origin.
For those who don’t know, Bastion is Master Mold and Nimrod magically
combined through the mystical plot-device the Siege Perilous. You’ll note that it took me exactly one
sentence to explain that. Higgins and
Bollers instead decide to recap and show every single Sentinel appearance since
the original X-Men team, including appearances in non-X-books like the
Defenders. This does absolutely nothing
for the story except for padding it out to unconscionable levels while Machine
Man is allowed to repair.
There’s also a subplot with GW Bridge being pressured to
bomb the lab to the ground to prevent Bastion from rising to power again. It adds a little tension, but it’s just been
so done to death (most recently in Marvel’s
The Avengers). As for Bastion, he is
so boring this issue. He is supposed to
be connected to the entire lab, but he can barely manage to keep track of
Cable. He just keeps droning on and on
about Sentinel appearances that nothing to do with him, and then explaining the
beginnings of all the plot details we already knew about him. And poor Cable has absolutely nothing to do
other than use his telepathic powers to free Machine Man from Bastion’s
influence.
Machine Man does get a few nice parts where he reflects
how easy it would have been for him to turn out like Bastion, but other than
that there’s not much to this issue.
This book is so full of filler that it really takes away from an
experience that should be rather interesting—this whole debate over nature
versus nurture and its effects on artificial beings. Instead we just get a story that’s more
interested in calling back to lots of better issues of Marvel comics.
Completionists Only
Labels:
Bastion,
Cable,
Machine Man,
Master Mold,
Nimrod,
Operation Zero Tolerance,
SHIELD
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