The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger 4

Crotus tries to drive Cloak and Dagger into committing suicide.

The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #4

Script: Terry Austin
Pencils: Mike Vosburg
Inks: Terry Austin
Letters: Ken Bruzenaj
Colors: Glynis Oliver
Edits: Carl Potts
Trouble: Tom DeFalco

Crotus and two other demons have avoided being sent back to Limbo and have retain Belasco's spell book. Now he plans to break open the barrier to Limbo again. For this he needs to sacrifice "two mutants whose souls are locked in black despair" and settles on Cloak and Dagger, hoping to make them kill themselves to maximise the effect. Dagger has recently lost her sight and is alone in a flat where Crotus impersonates Cloak and tries to destroy Dagger's faith in him. She realises this is not Cloak and lashes out with her light. She stumbles through the flat until realising exactly Crotus is and fires out, destroying him. Cloak is trapped in an energy bubble orbiting Earth resigned to his fate as the air runs out when the other two demons appear. They take on the forms of Cloak's close family and friends to berate him as a failure. He soon spots the repeated phrases and realises they're real so lures them into the dimension in his cloak before the air expires and he collapses. In New York several of the New Mutants plus Boom Boom are tracking the three demons and arrive at the flat where they learn Dagger has killed one. She fires light to guide them to Cloak and Warlock takes them all up into space only to find Cloak's empty cloak and Dagger declares him dead.

As the full title of this series indicates, at the time it was Marvel's position that Cloak and Dagger are mutants, something that's been gone back and forth on many times over the years. Given the soaring popularity of X-Men and related titles it's understandable that Marvel would do whatever it could to seek to attract some of that popularity to other titles and this is one of the issues where their mutant status is actually a key plot point. However it's not clear why it's taken so long for them to have anything to do Inferno. Although only the fourth issue of this series it was bimonthly and came out of a separation of the Strange Tales title which combined the pair with Dr Strange so had been running for longer than the issue number indicates.

A series that hasn't previously been part of the crossover is an odd place to put what is proclaimed on the cover as "Inferno Finale" (not quite as we'll see in a bit) and an epilogue that deals with the fate of Crotus, a character who could simply have been said to have been pulled back into Limbo when the portal reversed and closed. That said it allows Terry Austin the opportunity to write a tale exploring both lead characters under especially adverse circumstances as the demons try to drive them to suicide. Ironically Cloak is already close to death and accepting there is nothing he can do but Dagger has been resisting her situation until now when she agrees to undergo therapy to cope with her blindness. The appearance of some of the New Mutants at the end provides a way for Dagger to get to Cloak was but otherwise feels like it's just there to reinforce the crossover and advertise their presence on the cover.

On the face of it this story doesn't do the best job of introducing the current status quo for readers visiting due to the crossover. However the letters page reportedly carried a piece by Terry Austin summarising his whole run on the strip since it was in Strange Tales so in 1988 this would have been one of the best series for catering to passing visitors. Unfortunately the collected editions (all?) leave out the letters page so it's not doing so good a job at encouraging readers to check out the series (which has been collected in full across two books). But that isn't the fault of Austin or Potts.

Overall this is a straightforward story that takes the aftermath of the crossover and uses it to tell a story exploring the title characters in depth which is often the best sort of crossover issue. Neither Cloak nor Dagger is at their strongest which adds to the sense of despair and makes for a tougher story. It's just a pity that it has a needless guest appearance thrown in at the end.

Uncanny X-Men 237 - Inferno Prologue

The rest of the X-Men arrive in Genosha as Wolverine and Rogue seek to regain their powers and Madelyne proves harder to mind read than expected.

Uncanny X-Men #237

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Much of this issue is focused on the flight of Wolverine and Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel) in control of Rogue's body as they seek to evade the Genoshan magistrates for long enough until the rest of the X-Men arrive. In the process they come across Philip Moreau getting into a drunken fight with magistrates in a bar and coming off the worse for it. Seeking revenge upon his father the magistrates throw him on the "Mute train" that takes mutants away to a camp beyond the island's mountains out of sight and out of mind. Once again the parallels to the real world are all too clear and it's a strong contrast to the propaganda video Wolverine watches whilst waiting. The video instead tells the story of a success story that has conquered poverty and built a thriving industrial and agricultural economy that is the envy of the world. Wolverine comments on the omission as he turns to see a mutate collecting rubbish and treated like it by a pair of magistrates. Later as he admits that without his healing factor he'll soon be dead he determines to take down the whole country.

Elsewhere we get a very human encounter as Dr David Moreau, the Genengineer, meets with Jennifer Ransome who was going to marry his son before it was discovered she was a latent mutant and her test results had been switched. It's a chilling sign of how the oppressive society destroys even families as he sadly but calmly tells a woman who would have become his daughter-in-law that the whole country is based upon the use and conversion of mutants and that everyone has a duty to the state. Despite her please he calmly orders her to be sent for final processing. This issue is titled "Who's human?" The answer from this scene is not Dr David Moreau.

The other X-Men arrive on the island and face down a squad of magistrates when there is a massive psychic shock caused by a telepath's attempts to probe Madelyne. Throughout this story arc there have been further hints that there is more to Madelyne than it seems and the attempts to find out present great danger.

This chapter of the arc is more focused on the individuals as they seek to deal with the true nature of the supposed miracle of Genosha. Wolverine and Carol Danvers make for a highly resourceful team as they continue to outwit the magistrates and explore deeper whilst the presentation of the mutate process through how it affects and destroys one individual family really reinforces the horror of it all. This continues to be one of the strongest X-Men story arcs in quite some time.

New Mutants 66 - Inferno Prologue

Illyana's descent into the Darkchilde continues as she has a showdown with Forge in Limbo.

New Mutants #66

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Bret Blevins
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editors: Ann Nocenti & Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Continuing the confrontation from last time this issue is heavily focused on the battle between Illyana and Forge and the consequence around them. An early worrying sign comes when the Soul Sword slices through a rock despite only being able to affect magical subjects - and the rock has a leering face. The other New Mutants try to end the fight but instead they all get pulled into Limbo and held captive as Illyana transforms ever more into the Darkchilde until she stabs Forge and disrupts his magic. Then before she can kill him Dani (Moonstar) pulls out an image of Illyana's worst fear - the fully transformed Darkchilde. Oddly it proves to be the demons in Limbo who bring her to her senses when she refuses to give into temptation despite them egging her on and declines to kill Forge. But Illyana struggles to transform back and recognises in herself the monster from Destiny's prophecy.

There's not a great deal of meat to this issue with the battle taking up most of the action. Forge does fight back with both words and magic - and draws out just how much of Illyana's anger is really against herself for having transported her brother to Dallas but then not been there for the final battle. Ultimately he offers her the chance to kill him, seeing in her what he saw in himself when he was young and using his magic in Vietnam.

Otherwise the issue starts a couple of other subplots with the revelation that Magneto has taken to wearing a version of his traditional costume from his villainous days (albeit with no helmet and a big M symbol on the front) and out in space an alien called Spyder offers his slave Gosamyr freedom if she can capture Lila Cheney.

Overall this issue feels too brief. The battle of words and actions doesn't add a great deal to events and feels like it could have been wrapped up sooner especially given how long it's taken to reach this point. Nor is there much further exploration of how Limbo is reacting to these changes. Instead we have a less than satisfying issue just as the key threads start to get seeded.

New Mutants 65 - Inferno Prologue

Illyana begins her descent into the darkness as she seeks revenge for the death of the X-Men.

New Mutants #65

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Bret Blevins
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

After the X-Men seemingly gave their lives to save the world it's inevitable there would be a fallout amongst the New Mutants especially given the presence of Colossus's sister on the team. The last few issues have shown Illyana (Magik) dwelling on the events and concluding that Forge is responsible; now she sets out to get revenge upon him and lashes out at anyone who doesn't share her desire - which turns out to be just about everyone she turns to from her fellow New Mutants to Magneto to Kitty Pryde.

As this issue reminds us Illyana did not have a normal upbringing even by the standards of her fellow New Mutants. Instead she spent many years growing up in a dark dimension and eventually coming to command to magic and rule the realm despite being only in her early teens. So it's not so surprising that her reaction is one of fury and she refuses to listen to the others who point out that the X-Men gave their lives voluntarily or that Forge doesn't appear to be as evil as she assumes. But this has far reaching consequences when she enters Limbo and it reflects her angry state as her "Darkchilde" persona increasingly takes over. Worse still she takes the Soul Sword out of Limbo with her, leaving it vulnerable to mutinous demons such as S'ym who prepares to open a portal to extend Limbo's power and thus set the seeds for Inferno.

There's further foreshadowing as Illyana arrives in Dallas and finds Forge protected by Freedom Force. Destiny immediately foresees catastrophe for the world that hinges on these events. As battle commences she further sees demons invading our world and Illyana at the centre of destruction. But despite her warnings Illyana refuses to listen, believing this to merely be an attempt to protect Forge with words after a battle with Freedom Force has not ended overwhelmingly.

The rest of the New Mutants reluctantly decide to help Illyana if only to protect her from both Freedom Force and herself but it has little impact. however the battle itself brings some strong action and a great moment of humour as Destiny calmly explains how she foresaw Sunspot bringing a wall down on Avalanche, the Blob and Spiral and did nothing to warn her teammates as the first two are invulnerable whilst she finds Spiral insufferable and deserving a humiliation. Mystique impersonates Forge and nearly gets killed for her troubles but then the real Forge appears and an even darker Illyana turns to confront him.

This is quite a strong issue showing how rage and anger are consuming Illyana with devastating effects not merely for her but for all around as we get one of the earliest hints of the destruction to come. There is far more at stake than one girl's desire to avenge her brother and the apocalypse that is coming out of this is clear for all to see.

New Mutants 64 - Inferno Prologue

The New Mutants face their grief over recent deaths in their own way.

New Mutants #64

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Bret Blevins
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The deaths of Doug Ramsay (Cypher) and of the whole X-Men recently have cast a shadow over the New Mutants but unfortunately the reaction has been delayed by not one but two awkward fill-in issues. Now we get a strong issue looking at how people react to grief when they have both powers and technology to hand that cannot bring their close ones back. All they can do is try and hope.

How many people go over a tragedy in their mind again and again, thinking over what they could have done differently and wishing they could have prevented the events? Rahne's reaction follows this pattern but it's made worse by the existence of the Danger Room and thus she is not merely thinking the situation through but running endless simulations in which she took a different action and Doug survived. She goes on to spend much of the rest of the issue not quite accepting that Doug has died even when she first sees his body lying in his coffin. Such a reaction feels all too human and understandable but magnified by everything around here.

Illyana's reaction to the apparent death of her brother and the other X-Men also has obvious parallels to how many react to tragedies in the news. She sits for ages watching the footage of their final moments, having taped a lot of the coverage to capture the whole sequence. All she can do is express her anger that she wasn't able to get to Dallas and can only watch until she comes to her conclusion about who is responsible for the deaths, setting up a strong cliffhanger as she declares she is going to seek vengeance.

Magneto finds himself in the difficult position of having to preserve the true nature of both the school and Doug whilst also telling his parents how their son died. His decision to lie and pretend that it was an accident when on a camping trip Doug stumbled across hunters clearly weighs heavily on him but all he can do is hold in his anger and grief whilst wondering about the eventual fate of mutantkind.

But it's Warlock's reaction that is remembered the most and which takes the cover scene. The child-like alien just does not understand human death and his confusion is enhanced first after seeing a zombie movie on television and then as he learns of the Christian belief in the afterlife and the eventual resurrection of the dead. So he becomes convinced that all Doug needs to come back from Heaven is to have life energy restored to him. When Doug does not do this Warlock decides to show him those who miss him in the hope this will bring him back to life. At first it seems macabre to have a corpse carried around and paraded in front of first his mother and then the one who might have become his girlfriend. But as an unusually sensitive Bobby (Sunspot) explains this is just Warlock wanting what all of them want and trying to bring Doug back to life just as Rahne was trying in the Danger Room. It's quite a moving scene as Rahne and Warlock come to accept that Doug is truly gone.

It's incredible how such a weird situation and such a comic looking character as Warlock can generate such a moving issue. But this one works surprisingly well as all the reactions are entirely in character and understandable given the extraordinary situation everyone is in. This issue is the best so far in this look and its only fault is coming two months later when it should have been issue #62 giving a strong immediate aftermath to the Fall of the Mutants rather than coming later.

Uncanny X-Men 228 - Inferno Prologue

And so the X-Men enter an all new era starting with... a flashback fill-in issue.

Uncanny X-Men #228

Scripter: Chris Claremont
Guest Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Guest Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Bill Wray
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Guest Plotter, Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This is the first issue in a very long time that is not solely written by Chris Claremont (collaboration with artists aside). Instead we get a plot by Tom DeFalco revisiting a character from Dazzler's own series albeit one introduced years after he stopped writing it. It's a classic fill-in structure with the main story told in flashback (and even containing flashbacks within the flashback) whilst the first and last pages anchor it to a character in current continuity, in this case O.Z. Chase a bounty hunter friend of Dazzler's as he reads a letter from her detailing an adventure she and Wolverine had with him.

This is the first problem with the issue - why on earth is Dazzler telling Chase about events he was involved with? And also Dazzler has not been with the X-Men that long which limits the period in which this adventure could take place to at most a few weeks before she could have sent the letter. It's likely this issue was intended to be used much later on but the big change in the X-Men's status quo is such that the narrative device won't work for a good while yet and so it's been pressed into service at this point. The result is that of all the former team members and supporting cast characters to be seen reacting to the news of the X-Men's death in the Fall of the Mutants we get an obscure bounty hunter and his cigar eating hound from the tail end of Dazzler's solo title.

The story also resorts to what was already becoming a tired cliche - a character Wolverine has interacted with in the past but never mentioned it before or since. In fact this time we get two. Wolverine's past has evolved from a well of story ideas to an incredibly convoluted list of characters and situations as "mystery" gets treated as a casual dumping ground. It stands out even more when he's not the regular character first drawn into the events but instead is following Dazzler as she rushes to Florida to help her friend who has been arrested on suspicion of being a werewolf killer. The real killer turns out to be Vladimir Zaitsev, a mutant ex Soviet agent Wolverine has tangled with before and is now on the run having first defected to the US and then fled to Columbia but has been deposed as a drug lord. As a result the Soviets are trying to eliminate him whilst the US government is trying to catch him. The latter is represented in the form of Henry Peter Gyrich, another character whose past and present are regularly adapted to suit the needs of the story at hand. Here we discover that he was Wolverine's CIA contact when the latter worked for the Canadian Special Intelligence Service. The story climaxes in a showdown in the Florida swamp where Zaitsev proves rather demanding in insisting on his life for his three hunters' and Cerberus decides to take the deal on offer. Back in the present Chase finishes reading the letter and hears the news of his friends' deaths then confronts a bigot in the bar about them.

It's easy to beat up on fill-in issues. They are invariably structured to be dropped in whenever they're needed and so can't do anything significant with the characters. The ongoing narrative structure also often requires them to be told in a flashback format to make them easier to adapt when called into service. And events in them invariably get forgotten completely. Chase hasn't been seen since this issue and I don't think any other issues have done anything with Gyrich and Wolverine's history. But that's by the by. The real problem with this issue is its placing. Coming immediately between a dramatic storyline and the launch of a bold new status quo for the series it can't disguise itself as an intruder getting in the way of ongoing developments. Because Inferno Prologue collects all the issues of all three series since the Fall of the Mutants it's understandable why it's wound up here but this has a strong potential to be the single most ignorable issue in this entire run. And it would have to be the very first Uncanny X-Men issue we come to.

Power Pack 53 - Acts of Vengeance

Another series whose contribution to the crossover is limited is Power Pack. At this point the book came out about every six weeks, had just come through a big storyline in which the children's powers were switched around again and was in a period of creative flux with a succession of fill-in writers including Terry Austin on this issue alongside Ernie Colon drawing his only contribution to the title.

Power Pack #53

Words: Terry Austin
Pictures: Ernie Colon
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colours: Glynis Oliver
Managing Edits: Sara Tuchinsky
Edits: Daniel Chichester
Big Edits: Tom DeFalco

Once again, we find Doctor Doom overseeing an attack on a particular set of heroes, though this time it comes in the form of a report back as he puts Typhoid Mary on a psychiatrist's couch. Since Doom has engaged a mentally unstable psychotic to discover the secrets of the Kymellian technology before killing the Power children, only to have her pursue an alternative course, perhaps the wrong villain is on the couch. It's also notable that Doom, through the Kingpin's files, has had no problem in locating the children, a sign of how they've let their secret identity slip.

At its heart, Power Pack is about a close family and sometimes the greatest threats come from those who would break up the family. Despite the ages of its protagonists (traditionally between five and twelve), this is a series that has never shied away from the darkness of the world around them. So Typhoid Mary may seem a bizarre choice of villain to pitch against them but her style in infiltrating, beguiling and then destroying proves to be the perfect approach for the crossover, if not perhaps for Doctor Doom. It is a little strange though to see her interacting with Alex almost like a girlfriend given their respective ages, though some twelve-year olds are surprisingly tall. Her attempts on the Powers' father are stronger, although a little undermined by Colon's almost cartoon style.

If there's a disappointment to this issue it's that coming straight after the children have switched powers again there should be more acknowledgement of the inexperience of Alex, Jack and Katie (Julie has regained the lightspeed powers again) beyond Alex thinking how he's never tried a particular trick that Julie mastered with the density powers. Still Mary's out of date information proves critical.

Despite this issue not better acknowledging its place in the overall series framework, this is nonetheless a more than okay chapter in the crossover, although let down a little by the art.

Power Pack #53 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)

The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger 9 - Acts of Vengeance

It's not hard to guess which of the leaders' alliance is most used in "Acts of Vengeance". And once again Doctor Doom is shown to have carried out at least the initial commissioning of the villains (though he subcontracts the details to the Jester). But it's astonishing to see that the lesser villain used more than any other is Hydro Man. Never one of the big-name Spider-Man villains, he somehow keeps getting picked for inclusion in groups across the event, even though he gets captured each time.

The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #9

Script: Terry Austin
Art: Mike Vosburg
Backgrounds: Don Cameron
Letters: James Novak
Colours: Glynis Oliver
Pin-Up Art: Mark Texiera, Howard Chaykin, Charles Vess, John Byrne and Walt Simonson
Editor: Carl Potts
Chief: Tom DeFalco

This is an extra-large issue that sees a team-up with the Avengers with a twist. For some reason, perhaps because they've been seen fighting Spider-Man a few times, Cloak and Dagger have turned up not on the central alliance's list of heroes to dispose of but instead on a list of potential villains to recruit. And thus the Jester has come to add them to a team that will attack an Avengers public meeting.

This is a new Jester, who has taken on the role after the original retired to become an actor. Using a new version of a villain, especially in such a key role, feels so detached from the principles of "Acts of Vengeance" that it seems most likely the Jester was picked for use and drawn into at least the previous issue before someone realised the character was no longer available and so an explanation was hurriedly worked into the script to work around the mistake. The rest of the team assembled are pretty obscure foes of limited powers, including the Rock, the Fenris twins and a robot of the Hulk. The "Assembly of Evil" isn't a complete walkover but ultimately proves not much more than a nuisance. Either Cloak and Dagger and/or the villains who declined to join, such as Typhoid Mary and the Leader, were critical missing elements or else the real target was not the Avengers themselves but rather their reputation. One of the underused themes of the crossover is the public debate about whether the super-heroes make sure safer or more dangerous for their ordinary public and a crossover in which numerous villains are attacking the heroes should provide plenty of fuel for the debate. But instead this aspect has not been used so much outside the Fantastic Four issues and so the wider backdrop is lacking here.

Going for a team-up also means a trick has been missed. Cloak and Dagger normally have gritty street level adventures against non-costumed foes and are generally isolated from much of the wider Marvel universe, so this crossover could have provided an opportunity to face them off against some bigger name established villains. But unfortunately that opportunity has not been taken and so instead we have a team-up that somewhat crowds out the stars of the book, with a somewhat lightweight fight that at times has elements of slapstick, particularly in the scenes with She-Hulk and both the Hulk robot and the Jester.

Overall this is a rather disappointing issue. It doesn't feel worthy of either a double-sized issue or of being Cloak and Dagger's sole participation in the crossover. All round it feels like a set of wasted opportunities.

The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #9 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)

The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger 8 - Acts of Vengeance

Cloak and Dagger was a bimonthly series (ignore the cover dates on the issues discussed here) and so was always going to be limited in its contribution to the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover. However it managed to squeeze in an extra issue by adding the banner "Prelude to Vengeance" on issue #8 which came out before the start of the crossover, though it leads directly into issue #9, hence its placement in the order here.

The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #8

Script: Terry Austin
Art: Mike Vosburg
Backgrounds: Don Cameron
Letters: Ken Bruzenak
Colours: Glynis Oliver
Bachelor-Editor-No-More: Carl Potts
Chief: Tom DeFalco

Unfortunately this was probably a mistake if the intention was to draw in extra readers. This issue is almost entirely the conclusion of an existing storyline that's somewhat difficult to dive into, not least because Cloak has been apparently killed off and his cloak of darkness is now warned by the villain Ecstasy. It's also not clear why these book is entitled "The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger" - in their origin they got their powers from a reaction to drugs and they're not so well known that the mutant connection is obvious. It feels as though Marvel was trying to capitalise on the popularity of the mutant titles by sticking "Mutant" onto as many covers as they could get away with.

Most of the characters seen watching on the cover either only appear in the last panel or not at all. Instead we get a tale on multiple levels as the original Cloak finds himself in a normalised world with a family and day job, but is haunted by seeing the same blonde woman everywhere he looks. Elsewhere Dagger is one of a group of hostages in a bank robbery led by the Crimson Daffodil, a swarve criminal with the power of persuasion but also an utterly inept group of henchmen. Meanwhile the Kingpin has hired an assassin called the Disciplinarian to locate and kill Ecstasy. The plot strands all converge on the bank in a showdown that sees Cloak and Dagger reunited. The "Acts of Vengeance" connection comes right at the end in an epilogue as visitors come to the church where Cloak and Dagger hang out, but it's entirely a trailer for events next issue.

As an individual issue of the series this is fairly okay, but an issue luring in extra readers because of a crossover really needs to do a lot more to explain what's going on and why the status quo is different from the best known. One suspects that "Prelude to Vengeance" got simply slapped on the cover in hope of a sales boost rather than the story being explicitly constructed for it. This is not one to go to great lengths to seek out.

The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #8 has been reprinted in:

• Nowhere at all it seems.

What The--?! 6 - Acts of Vengeance

Marvel has a long history of self-parody strips and comics, ranging all the way back to Not Brand Echh in the 1960s. Its main series in the late 1980s and early 1990s was What The--?!, which had a 26 issue run over five years with even the schedule a parody at times, coming out monthly, bimonthly, quarterly and appearing at random times. Issue #6 came out during a big event and parodies it with 'Everybody vs. Everybody Else in "SMACKS OF VENGEANCE!"'

What The--?! #6

Written and pencilled by: John Byrne ("Smacks of Vengeance")
Inked by: Terry Austin ("Smacks of Vengeance")
Lettered bu: Rick Parker ("Smacks of Vengeance")
Coloured by: Mike Rockwitz ("Smacks of Vengeance")
Co-Writer: Doug Rice ("Origin of the Pulverizer")
Co-Writer/Artist: Hilary Barta ("Origin of the Pulverizer")
Letterer: Willie Schubert ("Origin of the Pulverizer")
Colourist: Linda Lessmann ("Origin of the Pulverizer")
Writer: Howard Mackie ("Sore wants a Haircut!")
Penciler: Adam Blaustein ("Sore wants a Haircut!")
Inker: Chris Ivy ("Sore wants a Haircut!")
Letters: Brad K. Joyce ("Sore wants a Haircut!" and "Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Colourist: Ronn Stern ("Sore wants a Haircut!")
Story: Peter B. Gillis ("Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Pencils: Doug Rice ("Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Inks and most of the good jokes!: Hilary Barta ("Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Colours: Kelly P. Corvese ("Adventure into Boredom! Fear!")
Editors: Terry Kavanagh and Carl Potts
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This eight-page strip doesn't go for a big spanking fest but rather justifies its title with an intro that explains the situation just "smacks of vengeance". In this parody there is a small invasion by villains from the Dee-See universe such as the Jokester, Sinestronie, Magilla Grod and Metal-Toe, causing problems for heroes such as Scaredevil, the Mighty Sore, Wrillimean and the Revengers, led by Chaplin America. There's even a cameo by Casper and Wendy from Harvey Comics before Chaplin America decides there are too many companies and throws them out. Most of the names are straightforward twists on the existing heroes such as Ironed Man, the Scarlet Wench, the Visionary, Wondrous Man, the Wisp and Buckeye, but calling Quasar's parody "Motorola" is a joke that doesn't work well without background knowledge. ("Quasar" is a brand of electronics originally from Motorola, but the name doesn't seem to have been used outside the US and Motorola sold the brand 15 years before this issue was published.)

This is mainly a strip full of gags but it also does something very surprising. There's a mystery villain who overstays their time in the One-Hour Lurking Zone and their identity is revealed. And, as we'll see later on, it's the identity of the mysterious stranger, published (according to Mike's Amazing World of Comics) three weeks before both regular comics that revealed it went on sale. It has to be said that the stranger's identity hasn't been too well disguised, but it's astonishing that a parody comic could do this even with the crossover's core writer at the helm. Maybe the schedule or the shipping got mixed up (a problem that has hit a lot of Avengers based crossovers over the years) or maybe the identity was considered so obvious as to not try to disguise it any further.

This issue also contains three other parody tales with an especial emphasis on some of the most popular characters and themes in comics at the time, and not just at Marvel. "Origin of the Pulverizer" takes a twist on the origin of the Punisher (starting with a scene in a park when a gang boss kicks a boy's dog into orbit) and throws in several elements from other series and characters, particularly Batman. But the moment that really made me sit up in surprise is the scene where the man who will become the Pulverizer sits contemplating how to instil terror into criminals only to be hit by a brick through the window which results in inspiration for his visual identity. I wonder if Doug Rice and Hilary Barta were aware of Lew Stringer's wonderful Brickman, which did the exact same joke over a decade earlier. In reverse, Stringer recalls that he was certainly aware of this:

Ha! Yes, I remember seeing this at the time, 11 years after I first did the gag. He drew it better than me, but I still think it's funnier if it smashes through the window. (Who'd throw a brick through an open window?)

— Lew Stringer (@lewstringer) November 9, 2017

"Sore wants a Haircut!" sees the character go to the barber's only to find it specialises in a particular style seen across multiple Marvel characters. "Adventure into Boredom! Fear!" sees a confrontation between the Man-Thang and the Swamp-Thang about their origin and the style of the words in their respective strips. The comic also mocks some of the adverts from bygone years, whether for Marvel merchandise or for toy weapons or dubious archaeological finds. There's even a back-page parody of the "build up your muscles to deal with bullies on the beach" adverts that throws in a parody of Thor for good measure.

All in all this is quite a fun little piece that playfully mocks Marvel and beyond, though at the time it would have lost marks for giving away the identity of the mysterious stranger. But beyond that it's good for what it is.

What The--?! #6 has been reprinted in:

• Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016)

Essential X-Men volume 9

Essential X-Men volume 9 comprises Uncanny X-Men #244 to #264 & Annual #13 (excluding the Saga of the Serpent Crown chapter that has nothing to do with the X-Men). Bonus material includes Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries for Jubilee, Master Mold and Zaladane. All the regular issues are written by Chris Claremont though the annual lead story is by Terry Austin and a back-up by Sally Pashkow (or not - see below). The art is mainly by Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee with individual issues by Rob Liefeld, Rick Leonardi, Kieron Dwyer, Bill Jaaska and Mike Collins. The annual is drawn by Mike Vosburg and Jim Fern.

This volume covers one of the bleakest periods in the series so far. The early issues see the continuation of the "Outback era" as the team continued to operate out of an abandoned Australian desert town and teleport around the world. The most notable long term impact of these early adventures comes in the very first issue where the female members of the team go on a trip to a shopping centre where they battle the M-Squad, a rather lame set of mutant hunters who are a blatant parody of the Ghostbusters, before returning home with an unknown follower, the rich girl turned orphaned "mall rat" Jubilee. At first it seems she will be taking on the innocent youngster role that's been absent ever since Kitty Pryde was injured out of the series but initially she instead operates in secret without the other X-Men knowing and subsequent events mean that we don't get to see her in the traditional little sister role just yet. Meanwhile the male members go out on the town only to run into a rather ineffective bunch of alien invaders called the Conquest. It seems as though this will be a period of light-hearted tales but things will soon change.

The annual is unusual as the only X-Men issue during his entire run that doesn't have Chris Claremont's name on it. But is he completely absent? The back-up story is credited to Sally Pashkow, a name that hasn't appeared anywhere else in comics. Opinion on the net says that this is a pseudonym for Chris Claremont though everything seems to be pointing to each other, and its inclusion in the X-Men by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee Volume 1 Omnibus may be more down to a sequential run than anything else. (As a result I've included a separate label to cover all possibilities.) But regardless of whether this is Claremont or a one-off writer in his style the result is a character piece as Jubilee finds herself in the outback town and hides herself away with the aid of Gateway, then starts observing the X-Men from afar and borrowing some clothes. It mainly serves to build up the new character. The lead story is part of the "Atlantis Attacks" crossover that ran through all the Marvel annuals in 1989 and it resorts very much to formula as a villain, in this case Mr. Jip from Terry Austin's work on Cloak and Dagger, recruits the heroes to find an object of power of unclear importance. The team is split in three and sent to different locations to tackle the problem, here complicated by the Serpent Society. And it's an effective failure as at the end the main villains from the crossover get their hands on the powerful objects. Overall this annual is rather peripheral to the whole "Atlantis Attacks" saga, achieving nothing that couldn't have happened without the X-Men's presence. It's a surprise that Claremont doesn't write the story, perhaps deciding to opt out of taking part in the mess, but the result is the one X-Men story in a very long time by another writer. And it almost seems to be saying that anyone who thinks Claremont has outstayed his welcome should think again as it's very dire in its handling of the characters, with some especial silliness when Dazzler and the Serpent Society's Diamondback temporarily switch bodies. This is easily forgettable.

The tension ups when Nimrod and the remains of Master Mold merge, creating one of the deadliest anti-mutant machines yet. The battle is fierce, with Senator Kelly's wife killed thus increasing the senator's hatred of mutants. Victory only comes when Dazzle deploys the Siege Perilous crystal to send Master Mold to either happiness or recreation, but Rogue is also lost in the process. Rogue has recently been portrayed with a split personality as Carol Danvers comes to the fore more frequently, generating some tensions as each takes control of the body in succession, but the battle terminates any resolution to this dilemma. This starts a steady break-up of the team with Longshot soon dropping aside to go and seek his own identity and history. It's a sign of both his insignificance to the run and the bigger events around him that this departure is almost shoehorned into wider events but he isn't really missed. Then the remains of the team, with Wolverine temporarily away, face the first of two fierce attacks on their doorstep in rapid succession. Nanny, the robotic "egg with a voice", attacks and in battle Havok's energy blast destroys Nanny's vessel with Storm onboard. And unlike most such comic explosions, the body is seen and confirmed afterwards. An interlude comes as the dwindling team respond to a distress call from the Savage Land where they face Zaladane and the Mutates, with the return of Polaris who now seems to have been freed from the control of Malice. Zaladane claims to be Polaris's sister but this plot element isn't really cleared up in time before the last of the X-Men are teleported home to Australia where Donald Pierce and the Reavers are waiting for them.

The series has been building up to this moment with a number of hints and visions that this will be the last stand of the X-Men with no way out. Instead the four - Psylocke, Dazzler, Colossus and Havok - take the one escape route to hand, by going through the Siege Perilous to begin new lives elsewhere. As they admit it is running away from the situation and to add to the indignity this ending is revealed in a flashback shown to the returning Wolverine by Gateway. Wolverine is left as the last of the X-Men and put up for crucifixion by the Reavers but escapes with the help of both Jubilee and Lady Deathstrike's sense of nobility. And so a whole era of the X-Men comes to an end not in glory but in defeat and running away.

But this isn't the end of the series at all. The X-Men have generated many ex-members, allies and influences over the years and the next dozen issues focus on a number of these characters but without assembling a new team. Issue #253 sets up the situation, with its cover reused for the volume as a whole. Initially the main focuses are on Wolverine and Jubilee as they head off into the Far East, the mutants based around Muir Island, with Banshee and Forge really coming to the fore, and a mysterious young girl found in Illinois who resembles a young Storm. Elsewhere various of the X-Men who went through the Siege Perilous come to terms with their new lives, suffering amnesia of their past lives but finding their past can't completely escape them. Unfortunately there is limited unification between the various story strands with the result that the focus jumps around between them and plots can take an age to conclude.

During this phase comes the second big crossover on this volume's watch, "Acts of Vengeance", which, for a change, comes out of the Avengers titles after three years of X-Men derived events. But were it not for the triangles in the top right hand corner of issues #256 through to #258 then one could be forgiven for not realising this is even part of the storyline. It may feature foes the X-Men haven't faced before in the form of the Mandarin and the Hand but there's no co-ordinated attack on our heroes or any reference to the Mandarin's role as one of the Prime Movers supposedly co-ordinating the entire thing - indeed the Mandarin portrayed here is the more sophisticated crime lord that had been developed over the years rather than the traditional ranting supervillain shown in the main portion of the event. This detachment may be of necessity as current events mean the X-Men are presumed dead, impossible to detect with electronic equipment and now lost and scattered by the Siege Perilous, which doesn't really lend itself to enemies launching attacks upon them. Instead we get the basic crossover theme of a villain from another series tied into some very traditional themes for the series of strong women being twisted into ever more powerful agents of enemies and ninjas, plus Wolverine's connections in the Far East from his own solo title.

The most notable event here by far is the transformation of Psylocke from a Caucasian telepath in armour worried about her physical weakness into an east Asian ninja woman. Exactly how her ethnicity is changed is rather brushed over but the whole thing now feels extremely uncomfortable. If an east Asian ninja woman X-Man was needed, it would have been easy to create a new character who could easily be added to the team. But instead an existing character has such a fundamental part of her altered to fulfil the role, as though the genuine article wouldn't do. The story touches upon aspects of culture conflict between the Far East and the West, most notably showcasing the clash with Jubilee, the daughter of Chinese immigrants to the United States, who proves a highly Americanised tourist who dislikes what she sees. Then she is captured and forced into a traditional serving girl role as a small part of the Mandarin's goal of revitalising the traditional Chinese kingdom. Overall his portrayal is a strong step away from the traditional Fu Manchu role he's sometimes given and Psylocke's transformation does fit into some of the themes but that doesn't redeem the effect even if her new look as a replacement Elektra is wildly popular. The sequence in which her mind is steadily twisted by a quest through distorted memories in order to obtain the Mandarin's ten rings is also a good idea in theory but let down by much of her background not having been previously explored outside the Captain Britain comics in the UK and so the whole things can be confusing at times. All in all the transformation was a mistake that chased a trend and it's amazing that it was allowed to stay permanently, no doubt because of the popularity of the new look.

Whilst Wolverine, Psylocke and Jubilee make their way onwards to Madripoor with the complication of Wolverine being haunted by images of Nick Fury and Carol Danvers that he thinks are real, other X-Men are coming to terms with their new lives. Dazzler finds herself a singer in Hollywood and her movie is finally released, but former producer Eric Beale stalks her. Colossus becomes an artist and a maintenance man in an apartment block but soon gets entangled with both the Genoshan Magistrates and then the survivors of the Morlocks. The child Storm is being pursued by the Shadow King who frames her for murder, resulting in her going on the run.

Forge and Banshee are built up in a way that suggests they will be the next members to join or return to the team, but it's unfortunate that Banshee's recovery of his powers goes unexplained at first and it's only after a further injury that we see the Morlock healer restore him. Meanwhile Polaris finds her magnetic powers gone but in place of them her body is growing in size and she now has super strength but this goes unexplained. The three of them become part of an ad hoc grouping based on Muir Island along with Moira MacTaggart, Legion, Amanda Sefton, Sunder and other hangers on not seen in a long while, facing off a brutal attack by the Reavers that sees them bailed out by Freedom Force with casualties all around including Destiny. The ad hoc team also wears a uniform, hinting that it could become a new new X-Men but it doesn't take off as such, not least because of one of Legion's dark personas taking over. Magneto is given the image on the volume's spine, taken from the cover, but only appears briefly as he resigns as headmaster of the school and drifts off to his old ways. It's a slightly awkward scene that appears to be trying to rationalise the increased use of the character as a more traditional villain elsewhere, most notably in the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover.

The only convergence of the various plotlines comes at the end of the volume as Forge and Banshee encounter the amnesiac Colossus under the name of "Peter Nicholas" and battle first the Morlocks and then the Genosha Magistrates with the help of Marvel Girl from X-Factor. Along with some individual comments over the issues it seems as though the various mutant teams are being drawn together to be treated as parts of a single whole once more but there's a central element missing. Wolverine is at least stepping up to a Professor Xavier role when he utilises Harry Malone's Harriers to test Psylocke and Jubilee in the absence of a Danger Room. But overall the series is still in scattered pieces.

The art is often strong and it's easy to see how Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee gained such a following. However the writing on the series is in heavy decline. The series has shifted from a long-term careful build-up of plots to an almost random chucking anything against the wall to see what sticks and letting storylines drag on for much longer than they can sustain. The idea of splitting up the team and exploring individual members and the supporting cast is not a bad idea per se but it's very poorly executed and the resulting issues just don't work well. The worst idea to get through is the race transformation of Psylocke but overall this is an exceptionally poor volume for the series.

Sidesteps: Power Pack Classic volume 3

Power Pack Classic volume 3 contains issues #18 to #26, plus Thor #363. Almost all the Power Pack issues are written by Louise Simonson, with the exception of issue #21 which is by Terry Austin. They are drawn by a mix of Brent Anderson, Jon Bogdanove, Bob McLeod and Scott Williams. The Thor issue is written and drawn by Walter Simonson.

There's still a strong element of the rest of the Marvel universe at the start of this volume, but after issue #20 the guest appearances drop away to cameos except for issue #26. But in the first three issues we get in succession a Secret Wars II crossover that is also half of a crossover with Thor (although Thor himself doesn't appear until his own series), then a double-sized Thanksgiving special that sees return appearances for Cloak and Dagger, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde (billed on the cover as such - did she ever get a consistent identity?), Beta Ray Bill, and Annalee and Leech from the Morlocks. Then issue #20 sees a team-up with the New Mutants Cannonball, Mirage and Wolfsbane. After that the guest appearances drop away to cameos, even though some are highlighted on the cover such as Spider-Man (#21) and the Fantastic Four (#23), but the final issue in the volume sees Cloak and Dagger appear once more. Some of the intervening issues take the children away from Earth, but even those set on it are focused on the regular characters rather than endless guest stars. As a further step towards giving all the Power children plenty of space there's a somewhat rotated reduced usage of Franklin, Kofi and Friday. What's also nice about the Secret Wars II crossover is that it actually has repercussions on the series as a whole, with the Powers' mother badly injured by the rampage of Kurse, and subsequent issues explore how the family react to this.

A common theme throughout these issues is of the development of powers and self-confidences. Kofi steadily learns how to refine his ability to teleport and take others with him, as well as finally learning why his father Yrik is hostile towards him. Franklin's powers steadily develop to the point where he has occasional precognition even while awake and is successful at preventing the foreseen disasters. He also proves able to use control his dream powers to the point where he direct himself, see the present and even interact with others via astral projection. At the same time he continues to feel abandoned by his parents (though in part because they go off searching for him) but comes to be ever more part of the Power Pack family. But Alex and Katie get some of the strongest material. Their mother was injured whilst buying materials for Alex's school project, and he blames himself, getting angrier and angrier with himself and with others. To add to the tensions is his poor handling of his relationship with fellow school pupil Allison, and the rivalry from Johnny Rival. It climaxes when sledding in the park when Alex saves Allison from going under ice, but then uses his gravity powers in a fight with Johnny. Alex's attitude to the others is poor at times, especially Katie who feels pushed around at often used as little more than a gun, making her hate her energy powers. Things climax on the Snark homeworld in issue #25.

Before then we see the Power family coping with the shock of Margaret's hospitalisation with Professor James Power particularly hard hit and the children left over more to their own devices. This contributes to a number of stories such as a hospital vigil when they encounter monsters from the realm of Limbo and Mirage of the New Mutants fights off the arrival of death for Margaret. Issue #19 is a double-sized special for Thanksgiving, in which Katie organises a party for the team's friends, to the annoyance of Alex and Julie who think it inappropriate, and Katie also successfully diverts a parade balloon to the hospital in the hope that it will cheer up her mother. Meanwhile Leech has annoyed Annalee, who has the power to project her emotions onto others. Cue much chaos all round. Another tale sees the author of Katie's favourite books kidnapped and it falls to Jack and Katie to rescue her.

However there is one major storyline steadily built up to and it pays off well. The Snark Empire is consumed by a power struggle as the Emperor's health fades, and one of the Queen Mothers (a title that here indicates the mothers of the princes who struggle to become Emperor, rather than the widow of the previous one) is seeking weapons to ensure her son will win the conflict to succeed him. Issues in the earlier volumes have already touched upon the struggle, including the origin story, but now we get a strong struggle on Snarkworld itself as the four Power children are kidnapped with the intention of stealing their powers to transfer to Prince Jakal. In the ensuing conflict everyone, including Franklin, Kofi and Friday, have to face the ultimate challenge but they eventually win through. However in the process they lose their powers and gain different ones.

This was the first of several power transfers throughout the history of the team and offers a degree of diversity. Although new codenames aren't used in these issues, Alex now has the energy powers, Julie the density powers, Jack the gravity powers and Katie the lightspeed powers. This resolves the problem of Katie hating what she can do with her energy powers and Alex feeling he has to bully her to use them, but also offers new possibilities for the issues to come. However the storyline also sees the destruction of Friday, and it's uncertain if he or she can be repaired, whilst Kofi reconciles with his father in the epilogue and returns to the Kymellian homeworld. Meanwhile the Power children return to their parents, with their mother now out of hospital, for a warm welcome home - and a meal of James's much hated lentil soup! It's a good moment on which the volume ends.

I previously wrote that I had no information about the series' sales and in particular any indication as to whether it was especially popular in channels most traditionally associated with children. So it's surprising to see at the end of issue #25 a note announcing the series will be "in a new bi-monthly format available only in comics specialty [sic] shops and through subscription!" Dropping in frequency is usually a sign of weak sales all round, whilst abandoning the newsstands would suggest that the title didn't have a particular reach amongst younger readers. I stress "suggest" because I still have no information about subscriptions and this was a general period when the overall American comics market was shifting so that comic shops rather than newsstands were the primary source of sales (for a whole load of reasons beyond this post's scope, this didn't really happen with British comics although many specialist shops existed here for imports of American comics) so a book going direct market only meant less then than in earlier years. And a common criticism is that comic shops were, and some still are, inaccessible to younger children, often being located away from the main shopping centres where they're unlikely to be seen and frequently doing little to encourage children, or some parents, to go inside.

(Although the note at the end of issue #25 suggests the series was in trouble, it would last until issue #62 and some of the changes were at least partially reversed. From issue #33 onwards the frequency was increased to nine issues a year. The cover design from issue #40 onwards indicates that the series had returned to newstands.)

The art for the most part in these issues holds up well and manages to remember that the stars are children, not tiny adults. However at times John Bogdanove draws Franklin a little too young for my liking, and in some long shots he is rather cartoony. Otherwise the art brings everything to life vividly. There is one standout error in page order when two pages in issue #24 (pages 209 & 210) are printed in reverse order but I don't know if that was an error in the original issue or created by the tradepaperback. Otherwise the reproduction is excellent.

Overall this is a petty solid volume that shows the series at what should have been its height, but sales had other ideas. Nevertheless this is a good set of adventures featuring a highly likeable set of characters in a diverse set of situations - what should be a natural combination but which takes real talent to pull off. Never once does the series forget that it stars children but there's no dumbing down - instead the world and universe they're in is shown to be a place of both joy and fear, of wonder and terror, of tragedy and triumph. The series is very underrated.

(Unfortunately this may be it for Power Pack issues. A fourth volume was due to be released earlier this year, taking the series up to issue #36 and over the half-way point, but it was cancelled late in the day. This probably also means the series won't be Essentialised anytime soon even if Marvel didn't have a policy of trying to avoid overlaps between the Classics and Essentials. However a number of individual issues from later in the run have been included in various collected editions handling crossovers.)