Friday, March 17, 2017
Inhumans vs X-Men #6
In Death of X, the X-Men visit Muir Island and discover Jaime Madrox (Multiple Man and all his duplicates) have died as a result of exposure to the Terrigen clouds circling the earth, which causes the M-Pox, a virus deadly to most mutants. When the X-Men set about destroying one of the Terrigen clouds, which are considered sacred to the Inhumans, it leads to a battle in Madrid, Spain between the two factions that seemingly results in the death of Scott Summers (who by all appearances is killed by Black Bolt.) This is a secondary catalyst that propels the X-Men to wage war upon the Inhumans. The twist is Scott had actually succumbed to the M-Pox virus upon arrival on Muir Island and Emma Frost was manipulating reality to make it appear as though Scott were still alive, so Black Bolt was blameless for Scott's death. Why is this so important to IvX? This fact is completely ignored throughout the IvX storyline! As if the readers of these comics are clueless, the synopses provided at the beginning of each issue (with the exception of #0) insist that Black Bolt killed Scott.
So the primary premise for the war between the Inhumans and the X-Men is based upon the Dr. Hank McCoy's discovery that a second (and final) Terrigen cloud has begun to dissipate and will soon permeate Earth's atmosphere creating an environment that is toxic to the the X-Men, which will result in the death of many mutants.
Another problem with these expansive mini-series is whether or not to read the crossovers. How essential the tie-ins are to the main story, frustratingly, varies from editor to editor, so the role of the group editor is critical. Readers know that most of the time crossovers are used to bulk up sales on other books in the editor's group. But if the stories actually provide in-depth detail to the central story, then those books certainly are worth reading. So who edits these books? Are the editors actually communicating with each other so crossovers are released on time and provide seamless transition from the central mini-series? In this case, no. The main problem wasn't because crossovers were not interesting reads; it was because Marvel kept changing the reading order of the books and some books were released late. For example, Extraordinary X-Men #18 was released after IvX #3 and clearly the story (written by Jeff Lemire) belongs in continuity before IvX #3. Even if readers are supposed to imagine the story is supposed to be told in flashback, since Lemire is the writer for both books (IvX and Extraordinary X-Men) it is clearly an editorial problem.
Yes, I realize it is very tricky for two co-writers to try and overlap the stories running concurrently in other titles with the central story, but it appears as though X-Men group editor Mark Paniccia did not coordinate things well enough to pull off this much hyped Marvel Event, primarily with the major continuity gaff (the circumstances surrounding the death of Scott Summers.)
But the writers are not entirely without fault, as IvX #6 resolves the fight with the arrival of Ahura (Medusa's and Black Bolt's son) who had played such a very minor role in the series that he was only mentioned in one of the previous issues. His inclusion in the resolution of this series seems like an afterthought, despite the importance of the destruction of the Ennilux airship. I would have thought that Prince Maximus the Mad, Black Bolt's brother who was featured prominently in the Uncanny Inhumans crossover issues, would have been included in the resolution since we learn he is able to synthesize Terrigen crystals, thus making the destruction of the final Terrigen cloud a moot plot point. And, it is Young Scott Summers who reveals Emma's deception to the X-Men and the Inhumans (even though the readers already know this.) It would have made more sense if Marvel had left this as the big reveal at the end of the IvX rather than at the end of Death of X.
So the war ends with the Inhumans confused as to why the X-Men simply didn't communicate the problem with the dissipation of the Terrigen cloud and it's lethal effects upon the X-Men, rather than start the war. Hmmm...a communication problem, seems like an ongoing theme in this debacle. This conclusion renders the entire series as a disappointingly cheap puff piece of miscommunication, leaving readers feeling cheated by such a simplistic resolution.
Overall, this series had a lot of good ideas that ultimately wound up being rather poorly executed (groan.) In the final issue, Moon Girl one ups Forge and create a miniaturized version of his machine that eventually destroys the rogue Terrigen cloud. During the pivotal final confrontation between Medusa and Emma Frost, Alex Summers ends up teleporting Emma Frost away from the ire of the all parties, which makes for an interesting developing plot line (Havok and Emma Frost as enemies of the X-Men.) I like seeing Emma Frost resume the role of villain and her new costume looks foreboding.
One other thing that irked me, were typos found on the synopsis pages (one of them can be seen in Uncanny X-Men #17.) I know it is a small thing, but if the editors cannot be bothered to proof-read the work before publication, what does that say about their concern of the books they publish? Plus, the font used on the synopsis page makes the word "WAR" look like the word "WAA". (But, hey, maybe they were trying to fit Howard the Duck into this story!)
On a positive note, Lenil Yu's artwork looked good, even though he did not illustrate every issue of the mini-series (Javier Garron completed issues #3-5.) Here, Yu's artwork is reminiscent of Bill Sienkiewicz's mid-1980s work on the New Mutants. I don't think that was necessarily intentional, but it helps contextualize how the entire series primarily serves as a lead into X-Men ResurrXion (which sound so much like Rebirth) which is attempting to reestablish more traditional X-Men and establish a return to the status quo. Let's see where those books lead us.
Thursday, March 02, 2017
Dead No More: Clone Conspiracy Omega #1
Dr. Rita Clarkson leads Spider-man, Kaine Parker (Earth-616), Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy of Earth-65), and Anna Maria Marconi (Earth-616) to a vault as terminally ill New U patients awaken from their cold sleep chambers. When Anna Maria tells Spider-man not blame himself since there was no way of knowing what could have been done to prevent the tragic loss of lives, Spider-man turns on Kaine and questions why he wouldn't reveal what he knew would happen. Max Modell and S.H.I.E.L.D. arrive on the scene to assess the biohazard risk and transfer everyone to Horizon Labs for medical aid. Dr. Clarkson cooperates by relinquishing a list of New U clients and explains that she thought New U was doing something good.
Spider-man leads S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to the room where the Jackal kept the remains of dead people he cloned and takes time to reflect upon Reilly's offer to clone Uncle Ben. Peter's attention turns to the Rhino, who goes on a rampage dealing with the death of his wife's clone. Spider-man manages to talk Rhino down by reminding him that even though people we love are gone, we move forward and honor their memory by remaining true to the person they would want you to be.
Later, at Horizon University, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents escort a shackled Rhino to a secured location and Max tells Spider-man that tests reveal that nobody is contagious. Meanwhile, beneath San Francisco, Dr. Kurt Conners has managed to sequester his cloned family who have received the Connor reptile treatment to save their cloned lives!
It is surprising to find that so many characters actually are supportive of what the Jackal was doing. It is an exploration of the ambivalence and transitory nature of whether characters are purely good or bad, most recently reminiscent of themes in Civil War. If the clone has all the memories up to original person's death, is the clone still the same person? As they begin their new life in a cloned body, should they be viewed as an inferior version of the original person, and should contempt for the violation of ethics and morals surrounding death translate to a rationale and justification for discrimination?
This special issue's second story, "Give Us a Wink" is written by Peter David with art by Mark Bagley and inks by John Dell. In a set-up for the upcoming Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider series, Ben meets with Dr. Rita Clarkson at a pub and explains how he made his escape. They debate the ethics of New U's endeavor as Rita contends they were playing god, while Ben counters that god is inhumane too. As they speak, Dr. Clarkson is approached by two hostile men who lost a loved one in the New U fiasco. Ben steps up and puts a quick stop to their malicious intentions, and when they hear Ben's voice they realize he was the Jackal. The story ends with Rita giving Ben money, presumably to start his new career as the Scarlet Spider. The creative team seems well suited for the upcoming series, with both PAD and Bagley closely connected to the 1990s comics that brought about the initial Scarlet Spider storyline. I'm curious to find out how prominently Kaine Parker will figure into the new series.
Finally, the last story, "King's Favor" by Don Slott and new Amazing Spider-man artist Stuart Immonen is a prelude to to next issue of Amazing Spider-man with Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, tantalizing Spider-man with a thumb drive containing information about Spidey's greatest enemy.
