X-Men (v.2) #45 (1995)

 

X-Men (vol.2) #45 (October, 1995)
"The Enemy of My Enemy"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Pencils - Andy Kubert
Inks - Cam Smith
Colors - Kevin Somers and Malibu’s Hues
Letters - Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Edits - Raab, Harras
Cover Price: $3.95

I've long talked about this issue's place in my own personal comics-collecting "journey", even just the other day... but, haven't yet written an article to discuss what goes on behind the tarted-up and up-priced cover.

So, here goes!

--

We open with Rogue absolutely flipping out on Iceman. They have been on kind of a road trip ever since she put Gambit into a coma in the moments before the Age of Apocalypse kicked off. He’s since woken up… but, I don’t know if she knows that. Iceman’s pretty conflicted… and blames himself for Rogue’s outburst. Worth noting, he kind of has a crush on her at this point… so, yeah, this is before the Bendis retcon. Bobby ices up to try and defend himself… but it’s no use, she smashes up an ice-construct and soars into the sky.

Rogue finally calms down… long enough to express fear that she’s “too late”. When asked “too late for what”, she says “everything”. Ya see, she managed to nyoink some memories out of Gambit’s head… and this is back when they were still figuring out his past. Rogue says plainly that she has to confront those memories… those secrets, otherwise she’ll be running for the rest of her life.

Over to Gambit, in Seattle. It’s raining, because it’s Seattle. He’s there because he knows that’s where Rogue will be headed... and he’s not keen on her learning the “truth”.

Back to Rogue, at a Bar by the University of Washington. She’s wearing very little clothes… which, isn’t ideal when her powers are based on skin-to-skin contact. She asks for a beer… and damn near every patron in the place is happy to oblige. She’s so out to lunch that she even goes to pinch one of them on the cheek -- luckily, Bobby’s there to stop her… though, the drunken college kids don’t seem to appreciate him stepping in.

Rogue loses it again, and starts smashing the place up. All the while ranting about her curse of a mutant power. For a moment, it looks like she’s going to settle down... so, naturally Bobby presses her about what she learned when she kissed Gambit. This… naturally, sets her off again.

She flies through the roof… which tips off all of the bar patrons that they’re nothin’ but stinkin’ muties... as if her destroying the literal bar with her fist wasn’t enough. Lucky for Bobby, who was left by his lonesome, Gambit bursts through the wall before the drunks can attempt a dogpile. As they leave, Bobby asks if Gambit has any idea what Rogue might have learned. He’s all “yup… got lotsa ideas” -- When asked if he cares to share… he’s all “nope”.

We shift over to Manhattan, where anti-mutant muckity muck, Graydon Creed is sold on the idea of running for President of the United States in 1996.

Back in Seattle, we rejoin Rogue at a dilapidated theatre. She is soon joined by Gambit and Iceman. Bobby’s surprised that Gambit knew exactly where to go, but really… should he be? Rogue is shocked to find Gambit still among the living. They talk about secrets… and trust… and love. Rogue isn’t sure she can love him if she can’t trust him. Gambit ain’t sure he can love her if he can’t touch her. Hmm… that’s not exactly the same thing...

Rogue snaps again… tells Gambit she can feel his heart pounding… it seems like he’s realized he’s finally gotten caught. She yanks the curtain rigging down on top of Gambit. He tries to reason with her, but she ain’t havin’ it. She flies off through yet another roof, Bobby gives chase.

Rogue insists that Bobby is only sticking his nose into this matter because of a recent altercation he had with Emma Frost getting into his head. He doesn’t deny that.

With this bit of a distraction, Gambit is able to hit Rogue with a charged-up section of rope. This knocks her out of the sky, and sends her back into the theatre. Gambit’s had enough… enough seeing Rogue in such a state… enough of the lies… and it looks as though he’s about to reveal exactly what went down in this theatre back in the long ago. But, he doesn’t… instead, he says that’s all been “buried”, which doesn’t really help anybody.

Rogue talks about the near-fatal kiss… the M’Krann Crystal wave doing its thing… she’d never kissed anyone since killing Cody (err, Freddie) as a kid… she couldn’t help herself. So, she’s kind of blaming herself for all this… which kinda seems unfair, doesn’t it? I mean, Gambit always seemed up for it… regardless of risk. Gambit uses his gloved hand to wipe away Rogue’s tears… even tasting one to illustrate how they can still find ways to “touch” each other.

They embrace… but Gambit pulls back. He removes his glove and holds out his hand… offering Rogue the opportunity to learn more, if she so desires. Naturally, she does not. Rogue tells Iceman that she’s leaving the X-Men for a bit… but tells him to go back and be strong. She and Gambit tell each other that they love each other… but, ya know, sometimes love ain’t enough. Rogue flies off again… this time not through a roof! Or maybe it was through the hole she already made in the roof… I dunno.

Gambit tells Bobby to go home… and informs him that he’ll back back soon after… he’s gonna stick around Seattle for a few days. He also suggests that Rogue will eventually return to the X-Men… but, probably not to him (uh huh).

The following night, while walking down a seedy street, Gambit sees Mister Sinister in a darkened alley. They exchange pleasantries… a lot of “you can’t change your past” kind of stuff, before Sinister vanishes.

--

What can I say? This was a great issue.

Almost in spite of the pointless "tarted up" cover, this story doesn't go for the cheap pop. Instead, we get some progression in a story/relationship we'd all been following for years at this point. A (relatively) "quiet issue", the likes of which we really don't get to see anymore. Weird, isn't it? Comics have gotten more and more "talky" and insanely more decompressed... and yet, issues like this aren't really a thing anymore. Just an issue to collect ourselves... collect our thoughts, and kinda just get to know our characters as people. Just doesn't happen anymore... least not in the X-Books.

If you're reading this, well, you probably stumbled upon it by accident... or need to learn how to properly spell "crisis", so your Googling doesn't send you here, but also - you probably already know how this Rogue/Gambit/Sinister thing shakes out. Even back in the long ago, it was like the worst kept secret in comics. For all the rose-colored joy I have for the era, I can't deny that they would drag things out... almost to the point where the eventual reveals couldn't help but to fall flat. The mystery surrounding Gambit's past... I think that might be one'a them. Still fun reading, but -- I remember how this felt like it was dragging.

This is Fabian Nicieza's final issue... which, as the letters page (below) suggests, is The End of an Era. Nicieza was the writer of the very first issue of an X-Book I bought: X-Men (vol.2) #13! I'm sure I couldn't have told you that back then -- I probably still thought Stan Lee was writing everything. Looking back, Nicieza's writing style had a lot to do with me falling in love with these characters... and was a large part of me coming back to the shop week after week. I'd say, with this issue, he ended his run on a terrific high note.

Part of me wonders what my fandom would look like had this not come in a gimmicked package with a $3.95 price tag on it. Surely I'd not have walked away in 1995, right? Heck, maybe I'd have actually started writing about this stuff sooner... back when I had some potential, and a much better grasp of grammar and vocabulary. Back before the niche was flooded with folks who deal out "10 outta 10" reviews for their weekly pat on the head? Hmm, who knows...

Anyway, thanks for reading while I continue to wind this thing down.

--

(Near Impossible to read) Letters Page:

X-Men Vignettes, Chapter Thirty-Seven (1989)

 

X-Men Vignettes #37 (1989)
"Was Not What Will Be"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Pencils - Rick Leonardi
Inks - Bob McLeod
Letters - Joe Rosen
Colors - Mike Rockwitz
Edits - Edelman, Harras, DeFalco
From: Classic X-Men #37 (September, 1989)

How ya like that "cover" image, eh? Pretty pro-friggin-fessional, ain't it? It goes to show that anybody with a fake-ass Photoshop program can make something passable. Speaking of which, I'm not sure there's a program on the planet that'll make discussing this story in the usual "CioIE style" work -- because, it's basically a dozen pages of annoying twentysomethings engaging in "deep" conversation...s. That's right, we're not going to be focusing much on any of these "intellectual" chats... we're going to be bouncing around from subject to subject -- which, don't get me wrong, is what real people do -- it just doesn't really facilitate some idiot trying to synopsize it thirty-some years later.

Let's give it a shot anyway, eh? Hey, at the very least this one'll give everyone the opportunity to share their "unpopular opinion" that they think Dazzler's a pretty cool character!

--

Our story opens with Disco Dazzler (it's weird that they're calling her that... in fact, even among her friends, she's only referred to as "Disco") wrapping up a gig at a... I dunno if it's supposed to be a seedy place, or just a club that's sorta-kinda behind the times. Sliding timelines being what they are, I can't be totally sure when this story is/was taking place. Ali's going to reference Ed Koch, who was Mayor of New York City from 1978... but, she's also going to mention Ronald Reagan, who wasn't sworn in as President until 1981. Though, it was just a passing reference... he could've still been a front-running candidate, I suppose. She and her intellectual pals also talk about the "Sins of the 80s" -- Figure "safest" bet (as if it even matters in the slightest), is that this story is from 1980? Wow, now that was a waste of several sentences, wasn't it? Anyway, she wraps up her set -- checks in with "Gags", the owner of the club... finds out it's later than she thought it was, and bugs on out.

The next three pages feature Disco strappin' on her skates and skitching all the way from the club in Brooklyn, across the bridge to the Nighthawk Diner in Manhattan. Skitching might not be the right term for it... as, growing up you'd "skitch" by holding on to the back of a car while the roads were icy... so, you'd kinda glide behind it. Ali though, has skates... so, she's just rolling behind the various vehicles she's bumper-tugging. Along the way, she gives us the quick 'n dirty tour... pointing out the sorta stuff folks usually mention when they wanna make it clear that they're "real" New Yawkas. She also stops a car full of a-hole kids from drinking and driving, so there's that too.

She finally arrives at The Nighthawk... where we meet a trio of her friends. They're "starving intellectuals", all on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, which they can't help but to keep mentioning... but, also smarter than everybody else, which they also can't help but to keep mentioning. You might be wondering why I have this weird kneejerk dislike for them... and, well -- it's probably because, back in my early 20s, I was them -- and boy, I'd like to go back and kick myself in the nuts... cuz, I must've been prrrrrretty annoying. Disco sits with the crew, who call her out for always being late. Looks like they have a standing appointment for their mutual irritation admiration society every Friday night. Oof, the poor diner staff... I can only imagine how they dread seeing these four. Though, I suppose they're slightly better than having to pull intravenous drug users outta their bathroom stalls.

Anyway... the rest of the story is basically beboppin' from discussion to discussion... even to the point where they seemingly run out of things to gab about. Like I said at the jump, this all feels very "real"... but, sadly, real doesn't always equal "interesting"... and, this is not. I suppose I could talk a bit about Edward Hopper's Nighthawks (1942) painting to vamp for word count? The diner in this story isn't Nighthawks (well Phillies, actually -- the diner in the painting isn't called "Nighthawks"), though I'd guess that the use of the name is intentional to evoke that sorta vibe. Actually, I'm not gonna waste your time trying to talk about the painting... if you're interested in some fun NYC history, here's a link to someone trying to track down the actual diner.

One of the topics of conversation... the only one worth digging into, pertains to Alison's mutant ability. Ali's pals know she's a mutant, and how she uses her lightshow powers as part of her stage act. The question is raised here as to whether or not Ali is wasting her "gift". Rather than using what she can do to try and fight the good fight... she's playing music that gets less trendy by the millisecond. Disco don' wanna be no "stupidhero" though... she likes her life the way it is.

We wrap up with a shift change at The Nighthawk, and our know-nothing caucus given the boot. Ali skates away from her pals, vowing that she'll never... eeeeeeever be a superhero.

--

Well that was whole lot of pages to say... not a whole lot.

This was one of those "pages in need of a story" situations, rather than a "story in need of pages". Dazzler was "introduced" in the last issue of Classix, and so... I suppose it stands to reason that she'd get a one-off backup Vignette here. Gotta strike when the iron's hot, am I right?

And, I suppose, as a "before they were stars" sorta look at her, this served its purpose. We know that Ali kinda got swept up into the superhero life... and didn't immediately dig it. It was one of the things that made her unique... which, sadly wasn't a trait that stuck around. Hell, nowadays, she's doing the Krakoa thing like everybody else. Here we see her chatting up her pals about not wanting to be a superhero -- I think one of them suggested she join the Avengers here. Ali ain't too keen on that as, a) she thinks her powers aren't suited for it, and b) she likes her life the way it is -- or, was -- back in the 70s. She doesn't seem all that jazzed about the 1980s... which, the way it's written, seems more due to the fact that Fabian Nicieza didn't care much for Ronald Reagan.

Ali's friends were... as mentioned... annoying. This entire scene reminded me of those little bits and pieces from Friends, where the gang would try and act like they're deep intellectuals, rather than (do I use the word "privileged") douchebags who can afford to live comfortably in one of the most expensive cities in the country who never seem to have to go to work. It's insufferable to watch... and, not all that much fun to read.

Not to get too far into the weeds or anything... but, the "deep" discussions these goofs had here... while projecting this "starving intellectual" image. Like I said, back in my early twenties... this was me. It wasn't until a handful of years later where I'd literally be starving. I wasn't projecting anything. Thinking back to the days where I would pretend to be a philosophical man of culture... who was among the smartest in any room I occupied. Yeesh, like I said above - I'd like to kick that guy square in the nuts.

If you've ever taken a PSY class... and, this ain't no attempt at "gatekeeping", this is some of the most basic psyche stuff there is -- this is 101 level, the kind of stuff even Tom King probably knows. If you've ever taken PSY101 (or done some surface-level research on the internet), you'll likely have heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If not, here it is:

Looking back at myself (and our quartet of goofs at The Nighthawk), sitting around and having intellectual discourse woefully worried about reaching your potential -- with undertones of "secret superiority" (ie. anything you don't achieve isn't really your fault -- because the entire system is against you, you see?) -- the ability to worry about all'a that... relatively speaking, puts you pretty high up on the pyramid, dunnit? Like, tippity top tier! And while, yes, I'm clearly projecting here -- it's hard for me to really take these people seriously. As in, damn near every page of this made me roll my eyes. Not a fault of the story! If this were an episode of X-Lapsed, these are the sort of things we'd file under "Chris Problems".

Hopefully you have a higher tolerance for this sort of thing than I do... but, even if you do -- this still got far too many pages.

X-Men Vignettes, Chapter Thirty-Six (1989)

 

X-Men Vignettes #36 (1989)
"Outside In"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Pencils - Mark Bright
Inks - Joe Rubenstein
Letters - Joe Rosen
Colors - Glynis Oliver
Edits - Edelman, Harras, DeFalco
From: Classic X-Men #36 (August, 1989)

Now, here's an odd little ditty to revisit -- taking into account the massive changes that hit the line in mid-2019. If "old" Moira is a new character or concept to you -- I'll do my best to make this as easy and unconfusing a read as possible. Well, to the best of my own somewhat lacking ability, anyway!

Basically, what you need to know is - Moira's not a mutant, and her son's conception wasn't some odd "orchestration" between she and Xavier to ensure they had the most advantageous offspring(s). Now that I think of it -- I hope I'm able to keep it all straight!

Anyway... let's welcome Fabian Nicieza to the scribe-seat (we survived our detour though Nocenti-land, more or less unscathed!), and take a look at Moira's first futzin' with the concept of... Resurrection!

--

We open, I'm assuming on Muir Island, where Moira MacTaggert (Life Ten, for all y'all in the know) is stood before the gravesites of her son Kevin, and abusive a-hole ex-husband, Joe. This is shortly after the Proteus storyline in X-Men, naturally. Moira is chatting with herself about her current situation -- and it's pretty bleak. She notes that her beau, Banshee is waiting for her, a respectable distance away -- by the car, while she mourns in the rain. She wonders why she hasn't let him try and help her grieving process... as it's clear he'd like to. She hops back in the hooptie, and barely even addresses Sean, other than to tell him to take her home. Which he does. Next we know, we're at Moira's place, where Sean is offering her a cuppa tea. She... snaps at him, calling him dense for not realizing that she'd like to be left alone for a bit. So... he leaves her be.

Banshee heads over to the in-house gymnasium to get in some upper-body work and wallow in his lost powers... leaving Moira to engage in some sketchy studies. Ya see, she's been studying cloning. The potentially-peer-reviewed piece is titled: Cloning: The Possibilities and the Ramifications. So... Resurrection Protocols 1.0? Can someone hook a lady up with some Goldballs? It's worth noting that Moira feels very bad about being such a "witch" to Sean.

Sean returns from pumpin' iron a little bit later... only to find the living room empty, Moira's cuppa tea still steaming on the coffee table. Wow, that was either a really short workout... or some really hot tea. Where's Moira? Well, she's in the lab, along with her freeze-dried son! Kevin MacTaggert's corpse lay in an airtight tube for preservation... which might tell us that Moira's been considering this clone endeavor from the very start. In her "voiceover", it's confirmed that Kevin's conception was an act of hatred and violence -- the implication is that Moira was raped -- confirmation is forthcoming in just a few pages. It's been many minutes, and I can't remember if this was made clear in the original Proteus story... or, if it was only alluded to and still maybe too taboo a subject for comics to tackle in the late-70s? Of course, we "current year" post-HoXPoX types know that Kevin's conception went down somewhat differently than this.

Sean somehow immediately knows what Moira's got in mind... and he goes charging down to the lab. Unfortunately for him, it's locked... and his personal access code (SUCRETS -- geddit?) has been deactivated. He shouts through the thick metal door for Moira to truly consider her actions before... well, acting. She assures him... or, at least she narrates to herself... that she knows what she's doing.

Sean retreats back to the living area, where he proceeds to... sit down with Moira's family photo album. I'm not completely sure why he's doing this... maybe it's obvious and I'm just missing the point, or maybe it's just a way to semi-organically fill in some of Mo's backstory? I dunno. Anyway, Sean's flipping through the album, reading it for "the articles" ya see... and he comes across a trio of photos. One from Moira and Joe's wedding, another with she and Xavier clownin' around, and finally the snap from when she was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Meanwhile, back in the lab, Moira is delicately removing a sliver of skin from her dead son's corpse's right shoulder. The sample plops onto a slide... and SHOOMPs outta the canister for further and closer study.

Moira' ticker-tape lab gimmick starts squirtin' out paper... which our lady reads. It looks like, with what she has available - cloning is an option. Looks like it might be a race against the clock though, as Banshee comes to the realization that he can override the Lab Access keypad gimmick. Not sure why he didn't just do that the first time around, but... okay.

Sean enters just as Moira's about to dump the contents of a wide beaker into a pool of... I dunno, maybe it's the stuff from the Creepy Crawlers playset thing? Ya know, that goop that you'd heat under a lightbulb, ala the Easy Bake Oven, so it would harden into like (inedible... unless you're really hungry, I guess) "gummy" insects. Maybe it's a pool'a that stuff? Anyway, Sean tries to get Moira to reconsider her actions... but, she's pretty set on going through with it. She sees it as giving her son a second chance... to live a more innocent life. This odd cloning "conception" removes the violent taint, of Joe MacTaggert's rape. Moira reminds Sean that Proty is a reality warper... and could recreate himself. To which, Sean asks why he hasn't done so yet.

Sean continues to try reasoning... and ultimately, Moira collapses into his arms, dropping the Creepy Crawler fluid canister, shattering it all over the floor. Sean reminds her of all the good she's done for other mutants... and how, so much of her research came from her attempts at curing (or counteracting) her son, Mutant X. With that in mind, Kevin actually has left a legacy... a good one.

We get a couple of pages of them chatting about doing something to Sean's throat... and having a whiskey, I'm not sure in which order. Before they leave the lab, however, Moira heads over to the console... and presses the button that disengages the airlock on Kevin's tube. His well-preserved corpse is kissed by the air... and decomposes almost instantly. Moira says that thing Ezio says when he kills someone in Assassin's Creed II, and we're outta here.

--

Ya know, back in the long ago, when I first read that Chris Claremont was hesitant to x-pand the X-Men into a franchise... I thought he was dead wrong in his thinking... for a few reasons. Of course, there's commercial and financial stuff -- but, I also "bought in" on this huge cast of characters, who I felt all needed a place where they could shine. Like, without an X-Factor... how much "paginal real estate" could a Guido Carosella x-pect to get? It might go without saying that I was a much younger fella when I initially had these thoughts.

Coming in to the fandom when I did, I never had the opportunity to see/read X-Men as the semi-tightly-knit four-color soap opera that it had been for the decade and a half prior. For me, it was about the sprawl... and I had a "more books the better" mentality (so long as those books were a buck 'n a quarter on the racks). I loved getting my "weekly fix" and couldn't imagine living in a world where I only got to read one X-Book a month. To say my mind has changed in the years since... well, I mean, that's pretty much what I've been building toward saying over the past couple of paragraphs...

Getting a story like this... which is, to my mind, so dependent on things occurring a certain way -- makes me yearn for an era of X-Men I wasn't even a part of. Sure plotlines were left to "dangle", but for the most part, the stories presented were cohesive... made sense... and fit. That's becoming my main takeaway in doing this Vignette Project. The X-Men were in the "seminal stages of sprawl" in the mid-late 80s. It was a family of five at this point (not counting Classix), if I'm not mistaken: Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, Excalibur, and Wolverine... there's also Alpha Flight, where yer mileage may vary. We had that many titles already, and yet -- everything still felt like it fit.

Even the oft derided (sometimes even deservedly so) 90's glut of X-Books managed to, at the very least, try and make everything work. It really wasn't until the "star writer era" after the turn of the century, where the X-Books kinda just went their own ways... contradicted one another... added and removed bits of history, which wouldn't even be acknowledged across the board. Characters would die in one book, yet still be alive and kicking in another. It became a cesspool of editorial incompetence and indifference.

So, what is it about this story in particular that's drumming up all these "entitled, gatekeeping, manbaby" (did I get them all?) feelings in me? Well, I suppose it's, in a way, the most relevant to what's going on today in the X-Books. A story like this... I suppose it could've happened in a post-HoXPoX world... but, it wouldn't hold near as much import -- at least not to me. I hesitate to use a word like "cheapen"... but, I'm struggling to come up with another that would fit as well. The current state of things... well, it kinda cheapens this, dunnit? Maybe it's just me.

First: I mean, it's all about the finality of death... and acceptance, which is something mutants don't have to do anymore. If you're following the current-year stuff, you'll know that Proteus is alive and well... and is a very important cog in the Krakoan engine. It's also been revealed (I wanna say I discussed this as part of the 12-or-so hour long X-Lapsed, Episode 200: X of Swords Handbook) that Moira and Xavier chose their mating partners with the x-press purpose of having some advantageous offspring. Charles with Gabrielle Haller (remember "X-Twitter X-Scholars", Legion isn't Moira's kid), Moira with Joe MacTaggert. In the post-HoXPoX landscape, Moira didn't marry Joe until her 10th Life... and, she only did so to produce Proteus. Was it still a rape? That I couldn't say... as I honestly don't remember. I've spent several thousand hours with the current year stuff over the past eighteen months... so, to say it's mostly a muddled mess would be an understatement.

All's I'm saying is... stories like this, sadly don't stand the test of time -- not by any fault of its own, but simply due to endless attempts at reinventing the wheel. In a vacuum, I quite enjoyed it... but, I gotta say, if I'd read this in 2018, I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it a whole lot more. All this to say, Chris Claremont was right. From a creative (and sensical) standpoint, the X-Line should'a remained "lean and mean"... even if that meant that 12-year old Chris wouldn't get his weekly fix.

X-Lapsed, Episode 313 - X-Men Unlimited #20 (2022)

X-Lapsed, Episode Three Hundred Thirteen

X-Men Unlimited (vol.3) #20 (January, 2022)
"Paradise Lost, Chapter Eight: The Stupidest Plan Ever"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Art - Matthew Horak
Colors - Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Amaro, White, Cebulski
On-App: January 31, 2022

Life of Wolverine #4 (February, 2022)
"Chapter Four: The World at War"
Writer - Jim Zub
Art - Ramon Bachs
Colors - Java Tartaglia
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Baumgartner, Basso, White, Cebulski
On-App: February 10, 2022

An episode emblematic of the "X-Lapsed Problem", as it pertains to over-analysis and repetition... and, if THAT doesn't entice you to listen, I don't know what would!

If you DO decide to listen, we'll be wrapping up the eleventy-hundred part Paradise Lost - with a clever gimmick and a slight cliffhanger that I kinda doubt will ever be paid off.  Life of Wolverine continues to be a 90 second read, which leads to about 45 minutes of independent research in order to fill in all the blanks we're left with!

Is there anyone getting anything out of this Quick 'n Dirty look at Wolverine's life?  If so, please lemme know! 

--

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/xlapsed

X-Lapsed Voicemail: 623-396-5375 (or, 623-396-JERK)

Twitter: @acecomics / Instagram: @90sxmen

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

chrisandreggie.podbean.com

The All-New, All-Different chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

facebook.com/groups/90sxmen

X-Lapsed, Episode 312 - X-Men Unlimited #19 (2022)

X-Lapsed, Episode Three Hundred Twelve

X-Men Unlimited (vol.3) #19 (January, 2022)
"Paradise Lost, Chapter Seven: So Much Rot Inside"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Art - Matthew Horak
Colors - Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Amaro, White, Cebulski
On-App: January 24, 2022

Life of Wolverine #3 (February, 2022)
"Chapter Three: The Wanderer"
Writer - Jim Zub
Art - Ramon Bachs
Colors - Java Tartaglia
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Baumgartner, Basso, White, Cebulski
On-App: February 3, 2022

The penultimate of Paradise Lost brushes with greatness when we almost get a very special exchange between Juggernaut and Professor X.  Also, Deadpool gets squished a whole bunch.

Meanwhile, Life of Wolverine meanders on... straddling the line between being an illustrated (and incomplete) Wikipedia entry, and an actual story.  It's trying to be both, but succeeding at neither!  We'll stick with it, however, and hope for the best!

--

https://www.patreon.com/xlapsed

X-Lapsed Voicemail: 623-396-5375 (or, 623-396-JERK)

Twitter: @acecomics / Instagram: @90sxmen

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

chrisandreggie.podbean.com

The All-New, All-Different chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

facebook.com/groups/90sxmen

X-Lapsed, Episode 311 - X-Men Unlimited #18 (2022)

X-Lapsed, Episode Three Hundred Eleven

X-Men Unlimited #18 (January, 2022)
"Paradise Lost, Chapter Six: Kinda Nice to Merit"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Art - Matthew Horak
Colors - Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Amaro, White, Cebulski
On-App: January 17, 2022

Life of Wolverine #2 (January, 2022)
"Chapter Two: Animal in a Cage"
Writer - Jim Zub
Art - Ramon Bachs
Colors - Java Tartaglia
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Baumgartner, Basso, White, Cebulski
On-App: January 27, 2022

A pair of very... *slight* stories for this Infinity Comics outing: Juggernaut and Deadpool finally make their way to Krakoa for the upcoming two-part finale... and our trek through the Life and Times of Wolverine takes us through Origin's I and II... without wasting a single beat!  "Quick 'n Dirty" might just be an overstatement!

All 'at plus the Mailbag!

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X-Lapsed, Episode 310 - X-Men Unlimited #17 (2022)

X-Lapsed, Episode Three Hundred Ten

X-Men Unlimited (vol.3) #17 (January, 2022)
"Paradise Lost, Chapter Five: A Hundred Powers and Not One of Them Can Make Me a Chicken Parm Sub"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Art - Matthew Horak
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Amaro, Bissa, White, Cebulski
On-App: January 10, 2022

Spider-Bot #10 (February, 2022)
"Life's a Krakoan Beach"
Writer - Jordan Blum
Art - Alberto Albuquerque
Colors - Dono Sanchez-Almara
Letters - VC's Clayton Cowles
Edits - Groneman, Lewis, Cebulski
On-App: February 11, 2022

Playing catch-up on our X-Infinity Comics by rejoining the Juggernaut and Deadpool's run-in with the Human Adaptoid... in which we don't get any Nazi jokes... but, DO get some jokes beaten into the ground all the same!

Also, we step off the beaten path to take a peek at a Spider-Bot story... which stars, believe it or not, Wolverine!  Both stories are pretty fun this time out... and well worth your time in checking out!

Plus: Mailbag and This Week in X!

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X-Lapsed, Episode 305 - X-Men Unlimited #16 (2022)

X-Lapsed, Episode Three Hundred Five

X-Men Unlimited (vol.3) #16 (January, 2022)
"Paradise Lost, Chapter Four: Down Goes Frazier!"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Art - Matthew Horak
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Amaro, Bissa, White, Cebulski
On-App: January 3, 2022

Life of Wolverine #1 (January, 2022)
"Chapter One: The Boy and the Beast Within"
Writer - Jim Zub
Art - Ramon Bachs
Colors - Java Tartaglia
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Baumgartner, Basso, White, Cebulski
On-App: January 19, 2022

In which Fabian Nicieza repeatedly takes the brave stance that Nazis are bad... and inches his story a few moments further along -- and our back-up feature begins the retelling of Wolverine's Origin... as in, literally, the first issue of Origin, we've got us another lackluster Infinity Comics day!

Least we got the returning Mailbag to keep things light!

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X-Lapsed, Episode 295 - X-Men Unlimited #15 (2021)

X-Lapsed, Episode Two Hundred Ninety-Five

X-Men Unlimited (vol.3) #15 (December, 2021)
"Paradise Lost, Chapter Three: That Doesn't Mean We Have to Like it"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Art - Matthew Horak
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Amaro, Bissa, White, Cebulski
On-App: December 20, 2021

Mighty Marvel Holiday Special
"Iceman's New Year's Resolutions"
By Luciano Vecchio
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Biro, Bissa, Cebulski
On-App: December 30, 2021

In which our Juggernaut/Deadpool team-up starts showing severe signs of decompression... and, hoo boy, does it like pointing out that Arnim Zola is a Nazi!  Don't make that into a drinking game... you'd never survive the x-perience!

Plus - Bobby Drake rings in the New Year by kissing himself and delivering some of the cringiest dialogue your humble host has seen in years!  It's a trip!

Also - Some babbly and rambly personal asides and anecdotes... that hopefully make a modicum of sense!

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X-Lapsed, Episode 290 - X-Men Unlimited #14 (2021)

X-Lapsed, Episode Two Hundred Ninety

X-Men Unlimited (vol.3) #14 (December, 2021)
"Paradise Lost, Chapter Two: Not the Pancakes Grandma Made"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Art - Matthew Horak
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Amaro, Bissa, White, Cebulski
On-App: December 13, 2021

Mighty Marvel Holiday Special
"Happy Holidays, Mr. Howlett"
Writer - Ryan North
Art - Nathan Stockman
Colors - Chris O'Halloran
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Biro, Bissa, Cebulski
On-App: December 16, 2021

X-Lapsed is back after our Holiday (and DCBS-not-shipping-me-the-books) break... and, we're kicking off our #Roadto300 with... X-Men Unlimited!  Today's chapter features a heart-to-heart... or, maybe fist-to-head conversation between our two feature characters... and liberal (ab)use of the finger-flickin' gimmick of the Infinity Comics format.

Also: In lieu of a mascot-backup, we're taking a look at the X-Centric Wolverine Holiday Special... which, sadly is a product more interested in making "lol, references" than actually telling a story.  Oh well...

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X-Lapsed, Episode 289 - X-Men Unlimited #13 (2021)

X-Lapsed, Episode Two Hundred Eighty-Nine

X-Men Unlimited (vol.3) #13 (December, 2021)
"Paradise Lost, Chapter 1: Unstoppable"
Writer - Fabian Nicieza
Art - Matthew Horak
Letters - VC's Joe Sabino
Edits - Amaro, Basso, White, Cebulski
On-App: December 5, 2021

Lucky the Pizza Dog #1 (November, 2021)
"Lucky Delivers"
By Jason Loo
Edits - O'Connell, Bisom, Cebulski
On-App: November 23, 2021

Today - we begin the healing process!

After skatey-eight weeks of horrendous X-Men Green, X-Men Unlimited moves on with... what we might be able to refer to as the follow-up to the very fun Juggernaut "Unstoppable" miniseries from last year!  It's still Fabian Nicieza... which is a very good thing indeed!

Also, taking the place of It's Jeff! in the "Infinity Comics back-up" slot, it's... Lucky the Pizza Dog!  Today we check out his first outing, where he and Hawkeye-Girl tangle with the dread Porcupine... in order to procure a pizza!

Plus: The return of "Fake-Ass Comics History", some very unfortunate news about the immediate future of this program, the February, 2022 X-Solicits, some Destiny of X and FCBD2022 news, This Week in X, and much more!  It's a bigger-than-normal episode... especially for Unlimited day!

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The Collected X-Lapsed, Episode 20 - Juggernaut: No Stopping Now (2021)

The Collected X-Lapsed, Episode Twenty

Juggernaut: No Stopping Now (2021)

(00:00:00) Juggernaut (vol.3) #1: "Picking Up the Pieces"

(00:33:37) Juggernaut (vol.3) #2: "How Green is My Valley"

(01:20:04) Juggernaut (vol.3) #3: "Stuck in the Past"

(01:47:19) Juggernaut (vol.3) #4: "Scalpel to the Soul"

(02:19:52) Juggernaut (vol.3) #5: "A New Beginning?"

Writer - Fabian Nicieza

Art - Ron Garney

Colors - Matt Milla

Letters - VC's Joe Sabino

Edits - Robinson, Bissa, White, Cebulski

Cover Price: $15.99

On-Sale: March 17, 2021

With the Dawn of X behind us, and X of Swords on the horizon - I thought it would be nice to take a breather from the heavy-duty Krakoa stuff, and check in on what Professor X's sometimes evil brother is up to (especially since nobody's willing to let the poor guy just live on the island!).

We'll meet D-Cel, who is totally not a mutant... and find out how Cain Marko regained the power of the Juggernaut.

A fun series... here's hoping for a follow-up!

Note: The "Mailbag" segments of the latter episodes of this series might have some X of Swords spoilers! 

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From Claremont to Claremont, Episode 2d - X-Force & Spider-Man: Sabotage

From Claremont to Claremont: An X-Men Podcast

Episode 2D

Spider-Man #16 (November, 1991)

"Sabotage, Part One"

By Todd McFarlane

Special Assist - Rob Liefeld

Colors - Greg Wright

Letters - Chris Eliopoulos

Edits - Danny Fingeroth

Cover Price: $1.75

X-Force #4 (November, 1991)

"Sabotage: Part 2"

Plot/Art - Rob Liefeld

Balloon Stuffer - Fabian Nicieza

Letters - Rosen & Eliopoulos

Edits - Bob Harras

Cover Price: $1.00

We can't stand it... we know you planned it!

We gonna (try) and set it straight... this Liefeld/McFarlane-gate!

Welcome back, friends - to the eXtreme corner of From Claremont to Claremont where Chris (@Charlton_Hero) and I take a look at X-Force!  This time out, it's a (literally) sideways two-part crossover with Todd McFarlane's adjectiveless Spider-Man title - in which, well - basically nothing happens, but the Toddster winds up quitting Marvel forever!  We'll talk all about that, and a whole lot more in this very episode!

Also: Mr. Bailey sits in for the dread (and x-tended) "Pod-File" segment including the Marvel Bullpen Cool-o-Meter for November, 1991!

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