New Mutants 73 - Inferno

Illyana goes back to where it all started.

New Mutants #73

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Bret Blevins
Inker: Al Williamson & Mike Manley
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Illyana battles S'ym knowing that she could destroy him but at a terrible cost. Meanwhile others search for her. Sam (Cannonball), Rahne (Wolfsbane), Bobby (Sunspot), Warlock, Boom Boom and Rictor are delayed by a street that comes to life and won't let them pass. Colossus strides through New York alone and forces demons to take him to S'ym. Magneto and the rest of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club are confronted by N'astirh who tries to make a deal with them; Wolfsbane hears part of the conversation and she and the others are soured on their headmaster further. First Colossus and then the New Mutants reach S'ym and discover that Illyana is now entirely encased within a suit of armour. Ashamed she flees into Limbo with the New Mutants following whilst Colossus battles S'ym. Within Limbo Illyana declares she must stay there to rule it as the Darkchilde, rejecting her human side, and that her whole life has led to this moment. Things get worse on Earth with demons attacking the church where Dani (Mirage), Rusty and Skids put up a spirited defence despite their wounds. Rahne realises that because time doesn't exist in Limbo they can save Illyana's younger self from going down this path. Searching through multiple portals they find the six year old girl who first came to the realm but are then confronted by her older self who wants to kill her. Rahne tells Illyana that contrary to what N'astirh claimed there is a choice and she can save her younger self. Returning everyone to New York the older Illyana sucks most of the demons, including S'ym, back through the portal then throws away her Soul Sword. Colossus and the New Mutants find the armour with a voice crying out - inside is the younger Illyana freed from her dark path with the older self having sacrificed herself to save the day. But N'astirh is still on Earth with plans.

This is the final New Mutants issue of Inferno, a special double-sized issue that brings the title's contribution to the crossover to a conclusion. In doing so we also get a very definitive conclusion to the story of Illyana. In addition the regulars get their first encounter with any of the X-Men since the latter's apparent deaths as Colossus shows up to help his sister. Though Illyana herself gets a scene of coming to terms with the realisation that this is indeed her brother, the reaction of the others is limited to Bobby commenting that they though Colossus was dead and Magneto glimpsing from afar the X-Man being carried by two demons and deciding that it can't be him. But it's an appropriate guest appearance for a highly personal tale.

The themes of child abuse and corruption have long been central to Illyana's story as her childhood was stolen and she was brought up around men who used and abused her. One of her abusers was S'ym and now she is stronger and more powerful to fight back - but he is also more powerful than before. She cannot bring redemption through confronting her abusers and instead seems fated to forever be the corrupted being who was once an innocent little girl. Convinced she has no choice in the matter any more there seems nothing her friends can do to help her. The metaphor is strong and effective. The solution less so.

Limbo has been established as a realm where the rules of time work differently from Earth. This is reinforced early in the issue as demons remind Colossus that, "Time different in Limbo. ... One time is all time in Limbo... is part of Limbo's special magic." It's sufficient to prepare for the moment whereby the older Illyana is effectively negated when her younger self is rescued from the realm just after her arrival with the realm's magic able to overcome the logical rules of time travel and altering a character's history making it work in the narrative. But it also feels unsatisfactory given the metaphors. Real life abuse victims cannot just make their torment have not happened. At most they can suppress the memory but it is not easy to simply lock away a bad memory and never think it again. They can help save others from being abused but not turn the clock back. Thus Illyana's end is not so much overcoming the effect of the abuse to live as committing suicide. For the rest of the New Mutants may have saved her from the whole experience and triumphed but for her it's not the best outcome to a story that's been running ever since she first entered Limbo many issues earlier.

The art on this issue manages to capture the themes of darkness and salvation well. One of the main problems throughout the crossover has been the rather silly look of S'ym. Here we get him drawn in demonic poses and coloured especially darkly which makes the character look credible but he really needs to lose the cigar. Otherwise the key moments are well drawn especially Illyana's final transformation and action.

Overall this is an ending that both does and doesn't work. As a story of the New Mutants ending the threat of the demons and saving Illyana it's a viable ending. But as a conclusion to a very personal saga that has long served as a metaphor for child abuse it's utterly unsatisfactory.

Power Pack 43 - Inferno

The Bogeyman has captured the Pack's parents and seemingly destroyed the family forever.

Power Pack #43

Jon Bogdanove wrote without distraction
Jon Bogdanove, Sal Velluto penciled to good reaction
Stan Drake, Al Williamson and Company inked in fractions
Joe Rosen lettered-in the captions
Glynis Oliver colored this attraction
Carl Potts can't get no satisfaction
Tom DeFalco Chief of Hoo-Haa Action

Carmody the Bogeyman has captured the Pack's parents and forced the children to reveal their secret powers. He takes off across New York with the four Powers in pursuit but anger and an inability to wait to work together works against them. They come across demons attacking people and pause to deal with them. Meanwhile in space Kofi learns the Kymellians have rebuilt Friday the living smartship but the ship's essence is fading away and nobody can understand why. The Bogeyman climbs the Chrysler Building and taunts Power Pack as they approach and attack. They save their parents but are left uncertain what to do with the Bogeyman who will just keep coming back. In anger Alex determines to kill him but the parents talk the children down and tell them they love them still. The Bogeyman is outraged at this display of familial affection and charges at them but goes over the edge, falling into a raging fire. The children take their parents home as the city seems to be returning to normal.

This issue starts with one of the biggest moments in the entire series - the Powers' parents discovering their children have powers and are using them. Much debated both in the series itself and on the letters page the matter has been forced by the intervention of their revenge seeking archenemy, raising the stakes. Inferno supplies the backdrop to the changes in Carmody and also demons who provide a distraction in the chase but this is a highly personal tale focused on their true worst nightmare.

It's a story of discovery with both Alex and Julie finding new ways to use their powers - Alex can now fire multiple smaller powerballs at the same time and Julie can generate a molecular density field of condensed air - along with the family as a whole discovering about each other. At first Jim and Maggie react in disbelief but when they see their children acting to defend the family they remind them they are still their children and loved no matter what with Maggie even reminding Julie of a past conversation when she said she'd love her even if she could fly. Jim and Maggie have been put through quite a bit over the course of the series without knowing why things keep happening to their family so it makes sense they can understand what's happening and not much of a further stretch that they can accept it. However some will find it far too lubby dubby and can sympathise with the outrage of Carmody as he reacts in disgust, recalls his own harsh childhood and then cannot come to terms with the monster he has become.

However the very end of the issue suggests a different track as the children head out to help with the clear-up operation and the final panel shows their parents in total shock. Was a change forced upon this story that we'll see in the next issue? The cover to this one has a scrap of paper on it with "An introduction to Xavier's Sch... Gifted You..." and the cover to the next issue previewed at the end here shows the four children flying away from their parents with a suitcase and crying with some of the New Mutants in the background. Was there a plan to send them off to Xavier's school and overlap with the New Mutants more often?

At its heart Power Pack is a series about family and this issue challenges the dynamic like nothing before it. The dark world around them is as nothing to the darkness that has invaded their family and it's understandable how the children react in fury rather than thinking calmly, whether it's Katie charging off without the others or Alex determining to kill Carmody. And this is that rare issue that truly changes everything, doing so in spectacular style.

New Mutants 72 - Inferno

Illyana's transformation is completed.

New Mutants #72

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Bret Blevins
Inker: Al Williamson
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The demons descend upon New York as N'astirh encourages Illyana to embrace her dark side completely. S'ym shows up and the two leading demons battle whilst Illyana flees. The rest of the New Mutants see the X-Terminators in the sky fighting to destroy the pentagram and take off to help them. They succeed but with several wounded. The surviving members of both teams join together. Illyana finds herself teleporting into surreal distorted versions of life in New York with the twisted demonic forms overwhelming her and taunting her to use the Soul Sword. Eventually she does so as the demonic magics increase due to N'astirh having absorbed the transmode techno organic virus and now having magic in all his circuits. He survives an explosion and confronts Illyana, telling her there is no path of redemption. She uses the Soul Sword again on him and her armour now fully forms, encasing her completely.

This issue demonstrates a major problem with the crossover structure of Inferno. Rather than having separate issues of different series tell distinct chapters that flow smoothly from one to the next it instead has a lot of overlapping issues with characters jumping from one set of pages to another and back. This is why there are so many different orders in circulation for the event though they tend to at least line up around key moments such as the opening of the portal bringing the demons into New York. Sometimes the overlap is especially great the whole narrative jumping between titles. This happens here.

With the exception of Illyana's part of the issue it is very hard to follow in isolation. It overlaps heavily with the final issue of X-Terminators to the point that the battle between N'astirh and S'ym is only fully understandable when the two issues are read in close proximity. The team-up between the two teams is mostly covered in the limited series but here we get more of the rescue of the babies and an extension to the scene of the two teams resting at the end. The two teams are effectively fused in this issue with a redivision based on wounds rather than existing affiliations and this looks like it could lead to a future expansion.

However Illyana's story is mercifully told in a single series. Here we see her descent continue as she becomes ever more a pawn of the demons. Some proclaim to worship her but others are more overt in simply using her. The scene at the end as she sees what she has become and N'astirh tells her that there was never a right path for her once she entered Limbo and everything ultimately led her to this moment is truly chilling. Her continued destruction has driven so much and left her vulnerable to abuse and manipulation, making for a very dark cliffhanger as her only source of help seems to be S'ym (who is drawn and coloured to look more menacing here than usual).

This issue is very much in two pieces. One side is a mess because it overlaps upon another part of the crossover so heavily that it doesn't work well in isolation and even read together it feels jumpy and slightly repetitive. The other side is self-contained and shows a terrifying final descent for Illyana as she truly becomes the Darkchilde with seemingly no escape. The stakes are rising but this issue could have been better structured to get there.

Daredevil 265 - Inferno

Daredevil wanders through New York dealing with the madness, not all of which is caused by Inferno.

(In case you're wondering what happened to issue #264, it is a fill-in that has nothing to do with Inferno. A box at the top of the first page is surprisingly open about how John Romita Jr's wedding meant he was unable to pencil the issue in time so they put the story on hold for a month and came up with "a special off-beat issue" set "sometime in the very recent past" with Steve Ditko drawing a tale of the Owl, drugs, bombs and a baby. It's a surprisingly honest approach to explaining the presence of a fill-in rather than having Daredevil or some other character suddenly pausing mid story to remember the full details of a previous adventure including scenes he wasn't present for.)

Daredevil #265

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

There are many problems in the city that the magic and demons are amplifying. A dentist is attacked by his machines and turned into a possessed cyborg that goes out attacking others. A lorry causes huge pollution with the drivers not caring until Daredevil jams their exhaust pipes. The buses aren't moving because demons are attacking the drivers until Daredevil intervenes. A resident of a flat is woken by demons doing construction work early in the morning and finds his flat has been burgled. He determines to leave the city but his car is looted then destroyed in a crash. He tries a taxi but gets taken for a ride. Eventually he takes a tour helicopter to get out of the city if only for ten minutes. The dentist is now a corrupt police officer choosing who to arrest for whatever minor violation he feels like and ignoring laws he dislikes. In an alleyway a couple are mugged until Daredevil fights off the demons. Ol' Hornhead then fights the dentist/police officer and beats him before leading citizens in picking up litter.

This is a very plot light issue and Daredevil (now back in his full costume over his bandages) never says a word in it. Instead it's very much a parade of problems with urban living and seems to in part be preparing to take the hero out of the city for an extended time. Much of the issue feels like a rant about problems living in New York but it also highlights that there are good people and those who can't live without it.

It's an odd issue that feels more a polemic than a story. Ann Nocenti's take on the series is famed for this and in the wider context an issue like this makes a lot of sense. But as a part of a crossover it feels rather less substantial as though it's just taking the elements that have to be incorporated but not making the best concession to visiting readers or producing an especially memorable tale. This is a disappointing end especially given how strong John Romita Jr's artwork is here.

Daredevil 263 - Inferno

There's more than one devil travelling to and from a hell.

Daredevil #263

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Daredevil is recovering in hospital but Typhoid Mary visits and tells Karen Paige about her affair with Matt, sending Karen fleeing. Demons have broken through into New York but the Kingpin is so obsessed that he doesn't care about them. However he is visited by an unnamed demon who declares he sold his sole long ago and has been working for the demon ever since. Meanwhile Daredevil rises from his hospital bed and sets out to confront the demons, finding a demonically possessed subway train on a journey "down town". Eventually he stops the train and finds the demon's weak point, slaying it.

Daredevil may be one of the most down to earth series to take part in Inferno but it's also a series starring a men who dresses as a devil (even though he's heavily bandaged in this issue) who lives in a place known as Hell's Kitchen. Where better to explore the idea of "Hell on Earth" which was the original proposed name for the crossover? Although he's not named there's a strong implication that the demon who makes a deal with Typhoid Mary and then visits the Kingpin with her is Mephisto or the Devil - the precise relationship between those two has always varied a bit over the years. It makes for some striking imagery.

This is a mostly descriptive issue with some striking imagery of the demons and possession and the reaction of the characters. Typhoid Mary seems to take it all in her stride. Karen is horrified to learn of Matt's affair and then finds herself being bombarded by images of syringes then addicts and demons. The Kingpin is staying calm but clearly moved by the idea that he is not the ultimate boss of the city but is instead working for another. And Daredevil rises, treating this living hell as the thing he's spent his life preparing for. The scene as he confronts the subway train is far more than a metaphor as it journeys down with Matt fighting against it both physically and spiritually as his goodness struggles to bring redemption for the passengers.

If there's one thing odd about this issue it's the secret identity. Karen states that the hospital doctors have agreed to protect Daredevil's secret yet when Mary shows up and calls him "Matt" Karen immediately declares that it's Daredevil in the bed effectively confirming it if needs be. And at the end the kid Butch declares his hatred for Matt for his treatment of Karen and disappearing when Daredevil's hair is fully on display and his bandages do nothing to conceal his identity. How can Butch not know who this is?

But for these odd moments this issue works well with strong artwork and depressing commentary really going to town with the idea of Hell on Earth. It's a dark journey that shows how it is possible to use Daredevil in wider events with such fantastic elements to maximum effect.

New Mutants 71 - Inferno

Illyana confronts her past as it collides with her present.

New Mutants #71

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Bret Blevins
Inker: Al Williamson
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

The New Mutants are trapped in Limbo but find they can escape from S'ym and his demons within it and he snatches the Soul Sword. As they flee through the realm Illyana tells them how she grew up here and the horrors she endured. Due to the different nature of time in Limbo they witness a young Illyana being assaulted by S'ym but N'astirh intervenes. This incarnation of N'astirh professes his love for Illyana and tells her how to regain her power and the ability to teleport to Earth by recovering the Soul Sword and embracing her dark side, which Illyana accepts. New York continues to suffer from objects coming to life and Magneto leads the Hellfire Club in investigating the continued growth of the Empire State Building. In Limbo Illyana overcomes S'ym, transforms into the Darkchilde and opens a portal to Earth... only to arrive in Times Square and discover N'astirh holding it open to bring all the demons through to Earth.

After a lot of build up and small scale incidents in New York we come to one of the key moments in the entire crossover. This issue also shows how some of the antagonists have been planning for a very long time. Much of this part of the crossover builds on events from the Magik (or "Storm and Illyana") limited series from five years earlier and so an issue that recounts the events and how they shaped the protagonist into what she now is very welcome. It's also a strong reminder of the themes of child abuse that ran throughout that limited series as Illyana was taken from her family, had her childhood stolen as she spent seven years in the realm and grew up around men who professed to love her but instead sought to use her for their own ends. The addition of N'astirh to the story helps to reinforce the sense in which Illyana has been a pawn all this time.

What is potentially confusing is the way that time operates in Limbo combined with Illyana's teleportation powers and the appearances of N'astirh at first adds to the confusion as it's not clear if this is the one from when she entered Limbo or the present day incarnation and it's further complicated by his having travelled back in time as well. As a result it's not immediately apparent whether he's a long term schemer who betrayed S'ym or a short term opportunist. But he still comes across as the more effective of the two main demons in Limbo even though Bret Blevins and Al Williamson have managed to make S'ym look fierce and sinister with the techno organic transmode virus compensating for the more comical aspects of his design.

Also less than clear is just how far alternate timelines can be forced in Limbo. Illyana tells how there was a timeline in which the X-Men never escaped and were either transformed or destroyed until she killed the last survivors yet she declares it's not possible to intervene to save her younger self because she has to grow up to control her teleportation discs to get them home. Why she cannot do both in the warped time is not explained.

The deception and corruption of a young girl has always been at the heart of Illyana's story and here it reaches new levels as she ultimately succumbs to the dark side of her nature and allows demons to manipulate her into opening the portal linking Limbo and Earth. This may at first seem an explanatory issue but it also serves to up the stakes for the crossover as a whole in spectacular fashion.

Daredevil 262 - Inferno

Daredevil is molested by a vacuum cleaner whilst the Black Widow fights a lift.

Daredevil #262

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Daredevil is missing, lying near death after a battle with Typhoid Mary. A vacuum cleaner comes to life and starts attacking his body. Inside his head a dream of his mentor Stick berates him to fight back and live. Meanwhile Karen, the Black Widow, and two of the skateboarding kids' gang the Fatboys, Butch and Darla, search New York amidst inanimate objects coming to life and attacking them. They cannot get police help and so return to the Free Law Clinic which has been smashed up. It soon becomes clear more objects have come to life with a lift trying to consume Butch and Darla until the Black Widow frees them. Elsewhere Typhoid Mary struggles with her different personas. Daredevil comes too and smashes the vacuum cleaner only to realise Typhoid Mary has returned.

This is a series that's in the middle of an ongoing big storyline running headlong into a wider crossover event and it can sometimes be hard to reconcile the needs of the two. The introduction of Typhoid Mary was one of the biggest developments in Ann Nocenti's run and a bold move was made to not have Daredevil recover straight after a battle in issue #260. Instead our hero has been lying unconscious for two issues with the focus being on the search for him.

Inferno brings some weirdness into the scenario with the result that this issue is best known for the vacuum cleaner. Oddly the machine starts looking normal but seems to change into a vaguely scorpion like creature. As it changes it's also drawn and coloured as though it's Warlock from New Mutants (though the cover colours it differently). But it's actually only fairly minor to the sequence which is really about Daredevil finding the inner strength to recover as an image of Stick berates him and for this any animal or passing mugger could have performed the same role. The main signs of the demons come as the others venture though the city with sone gargoyles dropping down on them, subway train doors suddenly closing on them, the equipment in the law clinic going wild and then finally the lift tries to consume the two children. It's all fairly low key stuff but Daredevil is usually a street level series that has often struggled to accommodate some of the wilder elements of the wider Marvel universe.

There are some good character moments for all of Daredevil, Typhoid Mary and Karen as each in their way confronts elements of their past and overcomes them. Mary does so in conversation with herself, Daredevil through a dream struggle and Karen through a real life encounter with prostitutes she used to work alongside.

As an advert for Daredevil at this time this is a rather awkward issue being midway through its own developments and so not giving visiting readers from the crossover the greatest sense of what the book is like. As an issue of its own series it's a stronger character piece with typically good art from John Romita Jr that manages to take the odd situation all around and work it well into the narrative flow.

X-Terminators 1 - Inferno

The X-Factor children go off to boarding school but don't stay for long.

X-Terminators #1

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Jon Bogdanove
Inkers: Al Williamson & Al Milgrom
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: John Wellington
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

In Limbo the demons S'ym and N'astirh confront each other with S'ym winning the encounter and declaring his plans to rule Limbo and the realm beyond. He orders N'astirh to kidnap thirteen "power-filled babies" to be used in a rite to achieve this. N'astirh and his followers, the N'astiri, arrive on Earth but are limited by their lack of knowledge of the world and so hunt out small humans "with large heads... no hair... and round... innocent... little eyes..." Meanwhile the children under X-Factor's care are leaving in different directions. Rusty Collins voluntarily surrenders to the naval police in the hope the publicity will help discredit the Mutant Registration Act and help the mutant cause. However instead the authorities plan to make an example of him. The other children are taken to two private boarding schools in New Hampshire. Leech and Artie are placed at St Simons for younger children where they encounter Taki, a young orphan boy embittered by the accident that left him in a wheelchair. It soon becomes clear he has the mutant power to rearrange technology as he slowly befriends Artie and Leech. Skids, Rictor and Boom-Boom are placed at Phillips Academy, a prestigious "prep school" (we'd say "public school") with a number of especially obnoxious pupils. But their time at boarding school doesn't last long as one night the N'astiri kidnap Artie and Leech. With X-Factor uncontactable and the Phillips dorm phone answered by an obnoxious pupil who treats it as joke, Taki sets out to find the others, converting his wheelchair into a helicopter and then a plane. First he recruits the three from Phillips and then they fly to the prison and break out Rusty. The still nameless team fly off to rescue Artie and Leech.

"Now begins Inferno" proclaims the cover. This limited series has long been the overlooked part of the event. It began publication months before Inferno took off and was not mentioned on the adverts for the main part of it. Later in 1996 a trade paperback of the core of Inferno was released and did not include it. It's only been in the 21st century that this omission has been rectified with both the core oversized hardcover and the main two trade paperback volumes including with. Was this omission rooted in 1988? Did the plans for the limited series change suddenly? The build-up in X-Factor had concentrated on the kids going away to boarding school and yet this setting is ditched even in the first issue. Was the series instead conceived as a more or less self-contained affair and only late in the day switched to being a builder for the big crossover event?

It's not clear but it's probably for best that we got something other than a series based around heroes with powers at a boarding school. There's a lot of boarding school fiction around with plenty of possibilities and for a superhero series it would make a contrast to have kids with powers at a regular (in so far as a prep/public school is remotely regular) school as opposed to a small self-contained dedicated school (the New Mutants) or a family of children with glimpses of day school (Power Pack). But it would really require the powers to be hidden in secret rather than for the pupils to be public figures. Over the years the mutant analogy has shifted from race to sexuality and a boarding school set-up would really need the characters' powers to stay a secret to work well. But it's also a tricky scenario to write without descending into cliche about the various pupil types. Not everyone at such a school is an obnoxious tosser who thinks themselves superior because their family can afford to send them there (traditionally the worst are new money) but the other pupils we see at Phillips are all of this type and that's a rather restrictive character base. We learn less about St Simons and it's not even clear if it's a regular junior school or a school for children with special needs as the only other pupil we meet is Taki. Also the plot about Rusty voluntarily returning to prison in the hope of bringing down the Mutant Registration Act is rapidly abandoned.

Instead we get the build up for Inferno. The opening scenes are set in Limbo and establish the two main demons for the event. And S'ym looks a lot better than in previous issues. Gone are the waistcoat and the odd comical poses. He still has a cigar but otherwise he looks much tougher and fiercer, vastly improving the character's credibility. It's astonishing that this comes from the same pencil as the more cartoony pupils at Phillips or indeed Jon Bogdanove's general style. There's also a fun scene when N'astirh and the N'astiris arrive on Earth and encounter a parody of William Gaines, the publisher of EC Comics, in a cemetery that includes a grave for Fredric Wertham, the psychiatrist who led the mid 1950s campaign against comics that drove many out of business and led to the constraints of the Comics Code Authority. The Code was revised multiple times over the years and it's hard to imagine a horror story like Inferno would have been allowed in the early years so it's nice to see such a retort.

This first issue has a lot of setting up to do and so most of the existing characters don't get much development at this point. Instead we get the various shifts to get the kids back together and out to rescue Artie and Leech. Although it has a lot to do in setting things up it works to pull everything together by the end of the issue and get things going.

New Mutants 69 - Inferno Prologue

The New Mutants make their way to Spyder's parlour as they discover the truth about Gosamyr.

New Mutants #69

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciller: Bret Blevins
Inker: Al Williamson
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Spyder arranges for the New Mutants to land safely on his planet but Gosamyr's powers continue to wreak havoc amongst them with Dani (Mirage) running off the ship at the first opportunity to get attack by thugs whilst Illyana (Magik) retreats into depression and the others get ever more tense with each other. Only Warlock seems immune and he eventually realises what Gosamyr is and how her powers have affected the others. Rushing to rescue Dani the New Mutants pass through Limbo where Illyana transforms into the Darkchilde and back on Spyder's world she finds she cannot change back. Back on Earth Magneto is also descending as he reflects on how he thought he had found a better way to the old days but his students refuse protection and so he must protect them in the way he knows best. The New Mutants come to Dani's rescue but Illyana's sword turns a robot into a monstrous demon and then she attacks Gosamyr revealing a monstrous true self. Gosamyr comes to realise that not every being acts the way her culture has brought her up and they head for Spyder's lair to rescue Lila.

This is a more action packed chapter than the previous ones but there's still far too much emphasis on the effect Gosamyr has on those around her. It's meant to parallel how a group of friends can be broken up by a single attraction but here it struggles as the script is trying to make Gosamyr both sympathetic and devious and it doesn't always succeed. Of more interest is Illyana's continued breakdown, being unable to change back out of her Darkchilde form and getting ever angrier and bloodthirsty. The contrast with the way Magneto is calmly drifting back into his old ways, shown most vividly by the way he dons his old helmet, out of frustration at his failures to keep his students safe is striking. Otherwise Spyder's world is not a terribly interesting environment and the alien inhabitants are completely forgettable.

Once again we have a slow chapter of a story arc with more issues than it can really sustain based around a character who's been terribly thought through. This arc is easily the worst story in the whole of X-Men: Inferno Prologue and it's a relief there's only one more issue to go.

Daredevil 276 - Acts of Vengeance

This issue concludes the story of Daredevil's battle with Ultron. It continues the android's programming chaos as he struggles with the conflicting programming of his different incarnations and turns to a pagan religion, setting up a bizarre ritual with hundreds of his heads laid out to mark a pathway up a mound as he seeks to solve his "blasphemous" existence and the paradox of Number Nine being the perfect woman when absolute perfection is unachievable.

Daredevil #276

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita, Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colours: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It's an almost terrifying examination of a fanatic struggling to adapt their beliefs to the reality of the world around them and of multiple personality disorder case trying to overcome the different voices to the point that Ultron actually starts tearing out wires in the hope of removing the troublesome circuits. It's made worse by the android retaining his inbuilt weaponry, such that Daredevil's attempt to crash a pick-up truck into him gets nowhere.

Understanding is a key part of this story. Daredevil's enhanced senses may mean that he can hear at a distance, but he doesn't truly understand that Ultron is trying to reform with the help of Number Nine by removing the murderous programming from his earlier selves. Instead he assumes that the android is going to kill the woman. The Inhumans Gorgon and Karnak are still around but the former doesn't contribute much beyond a few futile blows whilst the latter takes an inordinate amount of time to work out just what Ultron's vulnerable point is. Instead it's Ultron's own struggle that brings salvation, as he pulls up his head to expose the non-adamantium wiring inside, and thus making himself vulnerable to attack. This leads to the moment this issue is best known for - Daredevil knocking Ultron's head off with a stick.

Viewed in isolation the full-page panel must seem absurd, but within the story it makes sense that the android has weakened his own defences in an attempt to attack and remove his circuits, and Daredevil and Karnak have taken advantage of this to attack at the critical moment. But it's not a total victory as Number Nine has seen the good in Ultron and wants to rebuild him as the good being she heard.

On the surface of it, the idea of sending a powerhouse like Ultron against Daredevil seems like absurd overkill, although it was justified last issue by the rivalry between Doctor Doom and the Kingpin that leads to the former aiming for a quick, easy kill to show he can succeed where his fellow villain has failed. But the story works so well by making Ultron into a conflicted, vulnerable figure who reflects the wider themes of the series at the moment, showing the conflicts about perfection and societal programming. As a result the android's defeat is convincing and this makes for a good, strong piece.

Daredevil #276 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Daredevil Epic Collection: Heart of Darkness (2017)

Daredevil 275 - Acts of Vengeance

One of the more unusual battles spawned by "Acts of Vengeance" must surely be pitching Daredevil against the powerful robot Ultron. On the face of it this is surely absurd yet the devil is in the detail.

Daredevil #275

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita, Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colours: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Daredevil issues of "Acts of Vengeance" come from an unusual and now largely forgotten era of the series. It's true that Daredevil has lots of forgotten eras, but this is by Ann Nocenti, who until 2006 was the most prolific writer on the title when she was just pipped by Brian Michael Bendis at the end of his run. It says something about Daredevil that it has chalked up over six hundred issues (across multiple volumes with the original numbering returned to a few times), yet its three most prolific writers (Stan Lee is the third) each wrote in the range of only about 50 to 57 issues. The book did a bit better with artists with its most prolific, Gene Colan, turning in nearly a hundred issues. By contrast this issue's penciler, John Romita, Jr, is near the end of a run of thirty issues.

Part of the reason why this period isn't so well remembered is the setting. Daredevil is best known as a New York lawyer by day and vigilante by night, prowling the darker parts of the city. So an extended storyline that takes him out into the countryside and has him meet the Inhumans, Gorgon, Karnak and Lockjaw probably isn't going to spring to mind when one thinks of the series. However the underlying theme of the current storyline is a familiar piece of social commentary that Ann Nocenti's work is especially noted for. Daredevil has found himself at a farm house owned by Skip Ash, a geneticist who has conducted experiments on humans including creating "Number Nine", who can instantly heal and has been mentally conditioned to be an idealised traditional housewife and cheerleader. This brings conflict with Skip's natural daughter Brandy, an artist and ardent feminist, leading to arguments about programming. Daredevil himself ideally just wants to be alone, to escape all the other people with problems around him, but he too reacts to his societal programming.

This creates a good environment for a contrast with the guest villain from the crossover. At first the idea of pitching Daredevil against Ultron may seem absurd, but this is a highly conflicted Ultron. Doctor Doom, yet again, is selecting and overseeing the dispatch of the foe and has reconstructed the android, incorporating all twelve sets of previous brain patterns in the hope of creating the perfect mix. However this instead gives the android multiple personalities that conflict over his purpose and direction as he realises he is flawed and thus his (re)creator is flawed, but Number Nine's perfection attracts at least some of Ultron. Like Number Nine, and indeed like Brandy and other characters, Ultron is driven by his programming with conflicting influences trying to determine what course of action he should follow. It's a good metaphor without being overstated. The actual fight only starts near the end of the issue as Daredevil, Gorgon and Karnak find Ultron, but it makes for a convincing strong power level.

This is a surprisingly thoughtful issue given that the elements at first sight look absurd. Instead we get a foe with an internal struggle that matches the environment into which he is sent, providing a good exploration of an android all too often used for over simplistic battles. This may not be the traditional urban environment that Daredevil is known for, a result of the crossover turning up in the middle of a protracted storyline, but it provides a strong tale none the less.

Daredevil #275 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Daredevil Epic Collection: Heart of Darkness (2017)