Variant Cover Alexander Lozano, as soon as I saw that plush Lockheed, I had to have this 80s Magik variant cover.
This was such a great comic!
It looks gorgeous too, Daniel, Morales, and Hesli really brought it this issue.
I really appreciate that we got to see how Magik interacts with this 70s Beast, as I don’t feel like they have too much character history together. She hung out with Teen Beast during Brian Michael Bendis’ All New X-Men / Uncanny X-Men tenure. Nothing else really comes to mind.
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I really love Magik bringing Magneto to a temple in Merle, Alaska. That was very kind of her.
Maybe a reference to Kitty Pryde would have been too much to ask for?
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Magik is such a great character, that we can establish where everyone is with her portals, Such a clever use of her power, and we get a quick glimpse of how she interacts with her team, as she’s looking for 70s Beast.
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70s Beast is still unraveling his interaction with Krakoa Beast, the Chairman of 3K. He’s not used to seeing a personification of his inner darkness, so who else to ask but Magik, who has her own personal Darkchild.
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Is this Magik learning about Krakoa Beast’s involvement in 3K?
No, Cyclops must have told them when he updated them on the Age of Revelation.
But always good to reestablish plot points.
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Age of Revelation Darkchild did look cool, and I love that her and Juggernaut are Best Friends Forever.
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Apparently, Cyclops has kept the Krakoa Beast a secret, and only Beast, Animalia, and now Magik know who they are truly up against.
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70s Beast is so vulnerable here.
And I just love the softness of the colors here.
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Magik tells 70s Beast that seeing her darkness personified is a gift.
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It is interesting how living in a comic book universe, that one is treated to seeing what their worst selves look like. That must be such a trippy experience.
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Magik must give the best hugs. The absolute rarest of gifts is a hug from Magik.
The panel of her saying she’s a big softy, and just thinks spikes and swords are cool is a panel that will live on forever. It is a shame she’s not seen saying it inside the panel, but might as well include the hug and the quote when reposting it.
There, I did it for you. You are so welcome.
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Issue ends with an explosion at The Factory.
This probably is my favorite issue of this series thus far. It is so great!
Wild Ride, Part One, guest starring Gabriel, Devil-Hunter
Gabriel is very Nick Fury coded.
I don’t love him explaining what Rogue means to Rogue. Okay guy.
Did he deserve to be bitten by Gambit? Yes.
Once Gambit bit Gabriel, he got a vision of Gambit slaying everybody, with Rogue being the last to fall.
Haven House, Louisiana. Calico is both sleeping, and crying. Becca is still sleep walking.
Monet and Quicksilver finally make it to the St. Juniors house. Which the X-Men really need to repair.
I like Monet and Jubilee chatting, even if it is about Monet mistaking the St. Juniors as the X-Men’s housekeepers.
I love so much Quicksilver helping Becca back to her bed. That’s one way to make me really like Quicksilver. Unfortunately, Becca wakes up, and immediately tells him he isn’t even a mutant. She probably didn’t want to be carried by him either.
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Monet wants to see The New New Mutants in action. Even Ember got a new suit! I love this so much!!
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Calico falls of Ember, and Quicksilver catches her. She continues to be upset with him, but really, she’s upset that she’s never going to see Gambit again. Quicksilver will never be Gambit. Which I’m pretty sure Quicksilver does not want to be Gambit either.
We cut back to Gabriel and a giant lesser demon who is a giant fly.
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Quicksilver way oversteps, and makes a negative comment about Gambit. Calico was not far enough away, and she has Ember use his Rabies attack. Quicksilver is immediately defeated by Ember, and Monet has to get involved before Ember kills Quicksilver.
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This is all very intense. Calico and Ember could have killed Quicksilver, and Calico may still do it. All she wanted to be was sad for a minute, which she’s used to. Oh Becca, you break my heart. At least we saw in Unbreakable X-Men, that Rogue and Gambit do adopt her as their daughter, so we know the weight of their love.
The lesser demon’s name is Thenasseil, the Tormentor of Thieves. As Rogue has to fight him away from Gambit, or Wyvern now.
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Haven’s Non-Mutant Cemetery. Becca is having a cry, as Ember is nearby. Becca keeps breaking my heart with her quoting her horrible mother’s words. If she ever got outside, she’ll end up hurting people. She was the worst.
Deathdream has to put Sabretooth’s spirt away, as we see Feral, and two others I don’t recognize. A blonde male with a head sock, and an Iceman faced guy.
Logan finds Kurt in a chapel, as he’s prayer for his brother-in-law, Gambit.
Issue ends with Gabriel telling Rogue and Wyvern that they have to leave, and meet their next character in this RPG.
Odd the Next Issue box is still referring to them as The Outliers, and Gail Simone called them that on BluSky recently. Outlier is definitely more marketable for this grouping of characters.
I got the Marvel Snap Magik Beach variant cover, but resisted paying the $25 for the card in the game itself.
Magik is part of the cast list, so I can just relax and enjoy the comic.
Greg Land doing interior art, feels like forever since he did an X-Men comic.
This is the Juggernaut issue.
Juniper, Pennsylvania. Someone jerks put up a Bolivar Trask statue. So gross.
O*N*E Agent Lundqvist is back! Possibly not by popular demand, but I like what he brings out of Cyclops.
Juggernaut is also there, in a very nice brown suit. He definitely shops at a Big & Tall store.
I like Juggernaut not missing a step to comment on how Lundqvist used to be on the big X-Men assignment, and now he’s watching a statue. I mean, it makes sense, he wasn’t very good at the X-Men issue, getting Cyclops’ to reveal his Hellions team, and wrecking several Sentinel factories.
Juggernaut tells Lundqvist that he can go home early today, as he’s going to wreck the statue, except . . . he can’t. It is being protected somehow.
Two hours later, it is still not wrecked. I would have stopped after the second attempt. Not only are there cameras seeing Juggernaut be literally stopped from his mission, but also, two hours is such a long time to fail at one activity.
I sort of wished this entire issue was just Juggernaut and Lundqvist chatting, as what were they talking about during the last two hours. They are getting real here. Lundqvist knows he’s at a transition in his career, but is confident he’ll get his career back on track. Juggernaut recognizes, sadly, that he can’t trust his judgment anymore, and is just trusting Cyclops to make all of the right decisions for him.
Three more hours later. This is just getting silly, as Juggernaut keeps trying to wreck the statue. This is hard to watch. Not entertaining like the end to Tin Cup. I love that movie.
Chris Coleman, a human who wants the statue down, is now Juggernaut’s pal to chat with. Juggernaut is the human ally who is also on the X-Men, which is good to point out for new readers who may think the Juggernaut is a mutant. Sometimes he is in other media.
It is around now, that I’m wondering when Magik is going to be seen, or even mentioned.
Juggernaut promised Cyclops he’ll handle the statue, and he’s not happy with himself.
Juggernaut can wobble the statue, so shouldn’t he just lift the thing and take it somewhere else?
Coleman lets us in on the fact that Trask lived in Juniper, so he’s unfortunately their local celebrity.
Two more hours later, so five total from the beginning of this awkwardness. Angela Harmon, the free speech advocate is now Juggernaut’s pal. So now we have to “both sides” the issue.
Angie, as she prefers over Trask fan, gets to say, “Magneto was right.” Which is always nice to hear.
Aw, Juggernaut mentioning how he eats dinner with Magneto, that’s cute. Imagine Magneto, Juggeranut, and Magik all sharing a meal? I want to see that page.
Dang, Angela, we’re no longer friends, calls Juggernaut out. Magneto is a dog, and Juggernaut is the X-Men’s pet sapien.
Juggernaut as since removed his helmet, so any telepath could be giving him better direction at this point.
He doesn’t care for Angela’s “points”. She has a real them vs us, and he’s one of us.
One hour later. This is getting beyond sad. Now the statue is talking to Juggernaut.
I apparently can’t spell Juggernaut, I keep swapping the “a” and the “n”.
The statue claims it is actually a mirror, reflecting Coleman’s shame, Harmon’s fear, and Marko’s weakness. It goes on to claim it is the Mark of Cain (get it?), the Stain of Sin, all sins.
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His best bud, Magik, finally checks in with him, and has brought Cyclops along as well.
I love so much that she’s quick to try to comfort him.
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Juggernaut is muttering to himself how much of a failure he is.
I appreciate so much Cyclops calling him an X-Man. That’s nice, especially after the nonsense he’s had to hear.
Cyclops thought it was a simple mission, but turns out, it is a puzzle. Magik says they’ll figure it out together. I really like these three together.
Magik makes a Godzilla in Ginza reference, which is odd, as she’s battled Godzilla. Did they make a Godzilla attacks Ginza, a district of Tokyo, after Godzilla attempted to destroy the Marvel Universe? That must be it.
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Dang, Juggernaut is still taking the “lost” hard.
Cyclops is such a great leader, the mission wasn’t a failure, the parameters were changed. Juggernaut gave more than anyone can expect, which is why Cyclops’ can count on him, that’s what makes him an X-Man.
But also, punching it the fifth time, clearly, nothing was going to happen, he wasn’t weakening the force field. He did waste six hours, but also, waste it instead of doing what? I guess enjoying himself, but if he wanted to spend six hours doing this, sure. His manager clearly was okay with it.
Next issue is a Beast spotlight, which I feel like we just got with the Science arc, but also, we have to now set up DNX, as we compare and contrast the Tale of Two Beasts.
Rogue rescues Kurt from the good aliens. Ransom directs the Outliers. Deathdream makes it so we get Zombies vs Brood.
Gambit wants to be called, Wyvern. I like Jubilee immediately going with the new name.
Mutina needs a new agent, as her current one want her to fight the Brood.
Marlys and Deathdream have their first kiss. So cute.
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Ember is back!
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We also get Calitter confessing their love to each other, and I love them so much.
Wyvern is fully a creature now.
Vig isn’t dead. Makes sense if he’s a cockroach man.
Dang, Jubilee instructed Mutina to show the Brood their greatest fear, and for a few pages, I really wanted the page reveal to be Lockheed, their greatest enemy, but sure, Galactus is pretty intimidating.
We don’t get any drama with Wyvern turning back into his natural Remy state.
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Rogue rebrands the Outliers as The New Mutants! I do like these newish uniforms. Becca looks great.
Rogue gave them a new name, and costumes, as she’s leaving to get Gambit some help.
We get Deathdreams’ very tragic past. Deathdream is 15, nice to get an age to these kids.
Only Rogue and Remy are leaving, the rest of the Uncanny X-Men are sticking around, which makes sense as Monet is supposed to be leading this team now.
It has taken 32 issues, but we have finally reunited the Uncanny X-Men with the New Mutants! That’s pretty cool.
I love so much Dani Moonstar coming to the same conclusion that I (and many others) did. That if Kyron is looking for the tablet, and took her parents, most likely, he’ll keep her parents near where he is, which would naturally be, near the tablet.
I like how Dani had a little moment to herself, collected herself, and came up with the plan. She knows where the tablet is, and doesn’t know where her parents are, so the best plan is to go after the tablet.
Dani and Kian Mir (thanks to the credit page, nice to have these K names ahead of time), discuss the plan, he seems concern about her parents safety, but recognizes it is Dani’s call.
We get two Illyana references this issue, so I love that.
First one was about how Illyana had an interest in the Valkyrie’s powers.
We learn Kian’s origins, of how he became blind.
We get the second Illyana reference, that maybe she or Doctor Strange could use Kian, but he likes the reminder that magic comes at a cost.
I love seeing Brightwind, as I am a sucker for an animal companion.
I like how Dani and Kian have chemistry together, but there’s no time to see where it goes, and Dani’s headspace is properly elsewhere, but there are signs here.
They get to where the tablet is, they have to fight off some undead animals, and learn more about the tablet. When Wilson Fisk had it, it was the size of what you’ll imagine a tablet would be. But now, now it is gigantic, and part of the ground.
Kyron shows up, with Dani’s parents, and begins to cast his undead spell, as the issue ends.
Variant Cover German Peralta, drawing Magik for a cover? Yes, please.
Nice to see Sean Parsons as an Inker. In this age of digital art, inkers are hard to fine, and I worry about the professional inks of the world.
Danger’s Room. Maxime Danger is congratulating everyone for how easy they killed the X-Men. Be nice if Colton C. Colton would do his part to get Quintin Quire and Oya to kill the flatscans of Merle, Alaska, but he’s sure that’ll be happening. Soon.
I just love the Psylocke butterfly effect that we see, things are not going to go well for Danger.
The Factory. Merle, Alaska.
Magneto is talking to Ben and Animalia, he needs a ride to town. Oh, how far the mighty have fallen. She can’t drive a stick, so Ben has to take them.
Quintin is simply losing it, as he can’t find any trace of the Glob Herman’s shooter. One would think he’ll figure it out, but instead of not finding the shooter, he wants to hurt everyone who is hiding the shooter.
Deep in the Gulf of Alska.
Nice to see how tangled Magik and the X-Men are.
We enter 70s Beast cyber mind scape. If the AI was looking to feed on data, he has all of the data it needs.
Magneto has enter Quintin’s mind scape. We all learn a very valuable lesson that if we look at an entire group of people and declare them fit for punishment, that isn’t right.
Quintin finally calms down.
70s Beast teaches the AI the values of life – dignity, freedom, safety, and respect. You know, the classic Teach AI about Humanity plot.
Diaz finds a clever way to draw Weapon X for a panel, so this page should resell nicely.
Oya isn’t thrilled with Magneto’s interference. He’s a nazi hunter, so they need to still hunt for the shooter. He’s all for hunting the right person.
A bit of a cop out that Quintin has erased everyone’s memory of him running through the city’s minds and memories, but honestly, what would that story follow up be with this? Quintin publicly apologizing? Actually, maybe that would have been nice for a page.
Just in case us readers are concern the X-Men are losing a full day to this exercise, it is most likely only minutes that are passing.
70s Beast poses an exam question, is this AI a weapon or a person?
Danger’s Room. I love Maxime referencing her own psych file, she doesn’t handle disappointment well. Before she can kill Colton, Psylocke, Xorn, and Greycrow enter the room.
I love Greycrow stating the room’s guns like him more than Maxime, so the room’s auto defenses are not going to work.
Like a boss, Maxime teleports away, this exercise was a real waste.
Which is what I always say, if you are a villain, and you must know the X-Men are going to win in the end, the best you can do is try to hurt them real badly, OR, get all of your personal goals done by mid plot, as once the X-Men come together, they clean up pretty quickly after that.
Psylocke is going to teach Maxime’s goons a real lesson in empathy. The hard way.
The AI ship comes to the surface. I love Magik stretching out. She’s so real, and was very cramped.
Scott is such a delight here. The Tantum Twins is such a silly name for Magik and Juggernaut, who I simply adore together as besties.
70s Beast should know Cyclops always has a plan, but he missed out on the Utopia era (an era I like), and Cyclops doesn’t just have 26 plans, he has all of the plans.
Xorn is taking care of Glob.
I love so much seeing Illyana eat, and taking care of herself. Juggernaut and her are eating the biggest sandwiches of all time.
Poor Animalia, she isn’t getting far with 70s Beast. Unless those are bedroom eyes, but they look more sad to me.
Epilogue. Military Housing. Location REDACTED. (Such a good visual gag).
The Residence of Frank Bohannan. Director of O*N*E.
Such a cool image of the field team confronting Bohannan.
Cyclops tells Bohannan that he knows he put Maxime up to this, but Bohannan has full deniability.
This is his final warning, Psylocke will end him next time. This is a threat.
Magik teleports the team away at issue’s end.
Next arc, the Science Team investigates a Cerebro alert. The Science Team consists of 70s Beast, Animalia, Magneto, Xorn, and Ben. A nice little arc before we ramp up to DNX.
I had to get the German Peralta New Mutants cover.
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Issue opens with a flashback sequence with Dani and the New Mutants – Magik, Warlock, Warpath, two other people, one being a green lady. Dani is fighting / training with Anole.
Dani’s mind then goes to a battle of the Valkyries. One she wasn’t present for. Turns out she is in the mind of Hildr, someone who died at the blade of Dainsleif, the same blade that Kyron stabbed her with last issue.
Kian is doing his best to keep Dani from dying in the present time.
Dainsleif is taking the form of Hildr to try to get some information from Dani’s subconscious. Thankfully, Dani is a telepath, so she can control this memory road. Dani also keeps referring to herself as an empath, and I’m not sure about that, but sure. Maybe that explains her side of her bond with Wolfsbane?
Dani is now fighting Dainsleif / Hildr at Xavier’s Mansion, so we get an awesome sequence of the original New Mutants fighting the threat. I could have easily gone for an entire issue of this setting.
Hildr finally finds what she is looking for, Dani’s parents location. Dani can now access Kyron’s perspective, as he makes his way to her parents’ house. A real shame these two have been secretly safe for decades, and as soon as we remember they exist, they are in danger. Someone should probably be routinely checking in on Havok’s adoptive parents. But then again, someone would have to think of Havok to then think to threaten them.
Kyron is hoping that Dani leaves his mind soon, as no child should see their parents get murdered.
Kian finally gets Dani to wake up, and he uses a teleportation disk to get them to Colorado. We learn his body isn’t built for magic, but he never expected to live long.
Dani’s parents, of course, are not there, and issue ends with poor Dani having to make a cruel choice, stop Kyron, or save her parents.
Though I imagine her parents are with Kyron, so it isn’t like she has to choose two different locations.
Actually, maybe they are, as Kyron’s map has two locations. One of them being a tablet that we saw in Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man : King’s Ransom, a great editor note from Darren Shan. That is one long title.
Graymalkin Prison. Scurvy dies, as Warden Ellis gives us some more of his back story. He’s only 24 years old, which calls into question how old is she? A doctor, a podcaster, a warden? At least 30?
As soon as Scurvy dies, Prisoner X takes over his body. Prisoner X is Ellis’ brother, Oscar, but he wants to be known as . . . Perimeter. Sure. He has the mutant ability to warp reality, just like Proteus and Jamie Braddock.
Monet has been waiting for this moment to happen. Nice that we got to see Siryn, Fawn, Fred Dukes, and Sarah Grunt again.
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Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters Somewhere. Somewhen.
Magikolossus and Mr. S’s X-Men are fighting off the Zombie Sentinels.
Which is cool, but my favorite part is that Jitter’s love for Calico comes through, so their real personalities are coming through. Poor Becca, she must have been so confused why these new emotions felt so strong.
Calitter is just simply the best.
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Mutina, who if they sold her All Different All New Mutants outfit, with cat ears, I would totally buy this as a jacket.
Jitter is epileptic, as we learn when she’s having a Jacksonian March, a seizure. Does that explain her stutter? I just figured it was due to the child abuse.
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Becca is told Jitter needs a med bay, and starts clearing the way. Probably smart not to take Jitter along with her, as Ember and her are on fire. This horse is on fire. Alicia Keys is the best.
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This is such a cool image. Vecchio is slaying it with this arc.
Ransom tells Deathdream that they have to get Jitter to safety, whatever it takes. Which, ever since Avengers Endgame, I love it when people repeat “whatever it takes,” once they hear it.
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Mutina figures out the X-Men are fake, more like Ex-Men then, right?
Cute that we see Ember and Calico fighting off Zombie Sentinels in the distance.
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Mutina stabs Nightcrawler as he’s not real.
Referencing things that are not real, Ellis starts giving us Perimeter’s backstory. He’s been torturing her since she was eight, and he was ten. That’s just what happens when someone has reality wrapping powers. He also killed their parents. So, she does have a reason to hate mutants. Well, a reason to hate one mutant in particular, being racist about it, is a second choice.
Monet shows up, ready to fight Perimeter. I guess the name is because he has no perimeter? I get the sense that these two have fought before. Probably how they got him in the prison to begin with.
Though, it is odd they had to turn this into a prison. Couldn’t this have gone the X-Factor route, and Ellis have a mutant team prepared to attack her brother, if he ever got out? Provide them with room and board, and treat them like actual people? Imprisoning them is another choice. Also, where is Dazzler?
It is at thist point that I’m wondering if Perimeter is the reason the Outliers are in this weird alt place, but Mutina states they are AI later, so maybe that doesn’t add up?
Haven House. Rogue is trying to talk to the New Mutants about their history together. Rogue has been training them for a year to kill the Avengers. They are getting tired of all of the questions.
Gambit is on his way home, if Vic finds out anything, he’ll let Gambit know.
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Magikolossus is ready to kill Mutina, and Ransom isn’t too fond of her at the moment. Mutina reveals her mutant powers, she has the ability to read people’s emotions. Which is fine, as long a she isn’t controlling those emotions, as that’s always a gross power.
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Mutina vs Cologik. This is where she reveals they are AI, so is Arcade behind this?
Gambit makes it home just in time for the New Mutants to attack.
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Ransom vs Magikolossus.
Mutina vs Cologik, I like how they both have giant swords. That’s cool.
Calico and Ember finally make it to the mansion and Doctor MacTaggert, but she doesn’t have a face. I imagine they got their too quickly, so MacTaggert’s programming hadn’t caught up to it yet.
Rogue vs Cannonball, she doesn’t know how to fight him as he’s nigh invulnerable while he’s blasting. Though I did expect her to have the thought that he’s only nigh invulnerable, leaving her some wiggle room.
Gambit grows vampire wings to catch up to Rogue, so that’s where the cover image comes from.
Issue ends with Monet vs Perimeter, but she’s not alone, she’s brought reinforcements. Like, okay, is her backup just going to be Fawn, Fred Dukes, and Sarah Grunt? Maybe with Dazzler? Or, OR! Are we getting a Generation X team up? Well, minus Jubilee.
We open with WARDEN Ellis and dying Phillip in the Graymalkin Prison, the former Xavier Institute. A good reminder that this plot is still around. Once Phillip dies, Inmate X is going to get out, and Ellis is going to be next. We do get Monet for a panel, so that’s nice. She has a picture of Quicksilver, which, not to beat this drum again, why isn’t he trying to break her out? Though this does seem more like a resort, that one just can’t get away from, unless you sign a contract to attend a concert. Would have been nice to see Dazzler here.
They found Xavier’s hover chair, which is fun to see. That thing is a very bright yellow.
Elsewhen. The All Different New Mutants are getting their first Danger Room fight. In a very fun page turn reveal, they are going to fight . . . Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur!
Haven House. Rogue, Logan, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee are looking for the Outliers. Rogue says, “Okay. I don’t think ah need ta say this, bur them kids . . . they gotta be brought back, even if it means hidin” which does that make sense? Repeating it for the sixth time, I think it means if they are hiding from the X-Men, they need to be brought back. Which Nightcrawler must have immediately understood what his sister meant, as he’s not sure if she means it.
St. Thomas Abbey. Abandoned. Mostly. Gambit makes a deal with Vig, who we’re not getting rid of any time soon. 20% of the Thivs Guild profits will go to Vig, just to help find the kids. Gambit says, “I belong to you again.” and he’s sad, which I get, but does he belong to him? Seems like Gambit is going to write him a check every month, and there isn’t much drama there. I mean, should Remy have put an end date on that? Yeah, probably, as even a year’s worth is pretty solid. Plus, what happens when Gambit doesn’t pay? Vig takes the Outliers? Actually, that might be what happens.
Louisiana X-Men arrive home and we see the New Mutants – Moonstar, Karma, Cannonball, Sunspot, and Wolfsbane.
Elsewhen. I’m on record of being a huge fan of Vecchio’s art. But sometimes it is hard to tell Jitter and Deathdream apart, when they are both wearing New Mutants uniforms. They both have short black hair, and are very slender.
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Becca says Ember looks very dowdy, and he does!
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Ransom wants Calico to “Valley of Gwangi” Devil Dinosaur, a movie that is fully available on YouTube, thanks Adam of ComicsXF, for cluing me onto this! Will I watch it? Could be fun, but I’m three Daredevil episodes behind, and barely started the Punisher second season, but I’ll add it to my list.
Ember does continue to look dowdy here.
Moon Boy attacks Jitter. She tries translates Moon Boy’s language to English, which is handy.
Unfortunately, Mutina is also too handy, and cuts off Moon Boy’s head. Yikes!
So they did survive the experience, which is nice.
Beast tells them that they usually don’t destroy / kill their opponents, but good job.
Nightcrawler alerts everyone Sentinels are at the door, and we get even more twists!
Sentinels hunt mutants . . . to eat them! We have Zombie Sentinels, ya’ll! They’re inmates that the Trasks turned into robots who eat mutants. Imagine the blue prints for these guys?!
Nightcrawler teleports Deathdream and Jitter, and we learn he has two extra, but short, arms. So we are definitely in a different time line.
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We get Calico, Ember, and Mutina team up! Mutina was willing to be Becca’s friend, but Becca wants to help out, which is a turn off, which is fun.
Doctor Moira MacTaggert mentions the Professor, and it is around here, that I’m remembering that she keeps saying Professor, but I don’t think she ever said X. Though we do know it is the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
Jitter takes out a Sentinel thanks to field testing the shock gloves that Spider-Man gave her. That feels weird, right? So the Outliers are in the bodies of their counterparts here? I do wish they had their memories of their time together, but it is fun to see their friendships get reestablish here as Random and Deathdream seem to be getting along like brothers.
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Mutina decided to stick around, so that’s nice. Ember doesn’t look as dowdy now that he’s lit up again. Becca continues to be a delight, calling the Sentinels “doodyheads.” She’s the best.
Just in time, we get the reinforcements!
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Professor S, Sauron, is here with his X-Men! Magikossus, Cologik, Siryn, and Warpath.
Magik has Colossus powers, and Colossus has Magik powers, so there’s a whole backstory there I want to see. Siryn is a prisoner of Graymalkin, I’m sure we’re supposed to be reminded of that. I imagine this is Warpath to go with Siryn’s inclusion. Sauron is always a fun pull.
Where is Xavier? Does it matter?
Haven House. Rogue almost touches Cannonball’s hand, and this makes the New Mutants freak out, as her touch is death to men. Rogue tries to reassure them, but they don’t need it.
They’re cool with Rogue and her mission . . . to KILL THE AVENGERS!
So so many twists this issue.
Is this a three or four parter? It seems like we need an explanation issue before we get a concluding issue. We are only getting wilder from here.
Variant Cover Erik Larsen & Edgar Delgado, Cyborgs Spider-Man & Superman
I have to say, this is exactly what I want in these crossovers. Good main story, and the backups have a fun mix of characters. Nothing, besides the main story, overstays its welcome, and even that, maybe just be three pages shorter so we can get another backup?
Our Kryptonite
Spider-Man & Superman
Writer Brad Meltzer
Artist Pepe Larraz
Color Artist Matthew Wilson
Letterer Clayton Cowles
This comic looks gorgeous, and how could it not be drawn and colored by Larraz and Wilson?
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Spider-Man & Superman wake up together. Superman isn’t at the top of his game, as he’s being poisoned by Kryptonite. Spider-Man doesn’t know what that is, maybe it is like adamantium? Which is cute.
Superman wastes no time x-raying Spider-Man’s waist area to discover an old watch Spider-Man keeps on his belt. Which seems like the worst place for that, with how often Spider-Man is thrown through buildings. But sure.
Spider-Man and Superman exchange some opening jokes which is fun. Superman isn’t great at it, but he’s also poisoned.
They are fighting Lex Luthor and Green Goblin. We get a terrific Spider-Man holding up rubble sequence that we love to see. Spider-Man needs a distraction, which Superman isn’t great with, so asks about motivation. Spider-Man is racked with guilt, that’s what keeps him going.
The Venom symboite is there, for some reason, and Superman and Spider-Man exchange some memories. Then we get Venom-man, which is cool. We also see that Brianiac, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Parasite, Doomsday, and Rhino are there. So, a Sinister Six, plus two, situation.
Still bugs me we didn’t get Michael Keaton in Spider-Man No Way Home, the one chance we had at a live action Sinister Six, and we didn’t get it.
I like Superman using his own heat vision to start the process of getting the symbiote off of him. Then a Hulk inspired thunder clap, and Superman is fully back.
The day is saved.
Queens, New York. Three Weeks Later. Peter Parker is at Uncle Ben’s grave, and gets a visit there by Clark Kent. He keeps a pair of his father’s glasses with him at all times. Which also seems like a bad place for it, with how often he’s thrown through a building.
That Evening. Peter and Aunt May are invited to Smallville? Seems like expensive tickets, but they get a meal with the Kents, so Jonathan is alive, but I guess it is an old pair of glasses.
Ma Kent and May Parker arm wrestle, so that’s fun.
“Metropolis Marvels” Spider-Man Noir & Superman Dan Slot (A) Marcos Martin (CA) Muntsa Vicente (L) VC’s Joe Caramagna
I really like the idea of 30s Spider-Man teaming up with 30s Superman, that’s a fun idea. They are fighting businessman Lex Luthor, who has framed J. Jonah Jameson as the kingpin of crime.
We are treated to a very fun Amazing Fantasy 15 homage, with Superman holding Lex Luthor.
No one lifted a car in this segment.
“Sweethearts”
Gwen Stacy & Lana Lang
Writer Joe Kelly
Artist Humberto Ramos
Color Artist Edgar Delgado
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
Gwen Stacy & Lana Lang at Empire State University, New York. They are talking about their similarities and differences, as well as those things about the men in their lives, Peter Parker and Clark Kent.
Superman fights Sandman, and Spider-Man fights Metallo. I think.
Lana redeems all red heads for Gwen, which is cute.
Clark shows up, covered in sand, and Peter shows up all wet. Which is funny.
“Identity War”
Mysterio vs Superman featuring The Thing (and more)
Writer Geoff Johns
Artist Gary Frank
Color Artist Brad Anderson
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
Mysterio and Saturn Queen are making everybody angry with a rage-powered red lantern.
I like that we get a segment with the ever loving blue eye Thing! He has to fight off the Legion of Superheroes.
Spider-Man & Jessica Drew Spider-Woman fight off the Legionnaires.
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Grimm says Cloak & Dagger are X-Force, fighting in Gotham. I’ll chalk this to either (1) Thing doesn’t know who X-Force is, or who Cloak or Dagger are, or (2) Gary Frank doesn’t know, and no one caught it, or (3), the captions and art are not supposed together, as having the Legion of Superheroes and Legionnaires, doesn’t make sense either.
But we also get Power Pack at titans Tower, and we see Miles Morales Spider-Man fighting maybe Rewind and Reel?
Of course, you can’t have a story about people getting angry, and not feature the Hulk.
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Superboy punches Fred Dukes, but doesn’t move him, I like that.
The gathered heroes are – Captain America, Stargirl, Superman, She-Hulk, Hal Jordan Green Lantern, and Thing. So a great group of heroes.
They all fight the Hulk, except for Superman, who is trying to calm Hulk down. The sun is getting real low.
Superman tells Thing that it isn’t always clobbering time, which feels like a real jerk thing to say. Now Ben has to think about that every time before he says it?
I do like the story ending with Ben and Banner eating doughnuts.
“Ghosting”
Hobgoblin vs Steel
Writer Louise Simonson
Artist Todd Nauck
Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
I love whenever Todd Nauck and Rachelle Rosenberg work together, so you know this story looks perfect.
For anyone who might thing Steel is just a guy with a hammer, he’s super smart too, as Hobgoblin keeps trying, but failing, to outsmart him with the tech he’s trying to steal. Or steel.
There is another guy known for a hammer, and we get Thor to help out, which was quite the surprise.
They click hammers like hammer bros do.
“Remarkable”
Ghost Spider & Supergirl
Writer Stephanie Phillips
Artist Phil Noto
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
This was very fun. Is Ghost Spider the type of person to want autographs? That seems more like a Ms. Marvel thing, but Stephanie Phillips would know. She is hoping to see Superman, but gets Supergirl in Metropolis. They don’t get along, which as a reader, I just figure this is how it starts, but we’ll see at the end, them being friends.
They fight Livewire, who seems like a fun villain to pick. Reminds me of the animated series with Supergirl and Batgirl.
Noto does a great drawing everybody, as he does.
Story ends with Supergirl signing the autograph book in a fun callback to the story.
“The One Thing”
Miles Morales & Superman
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist Sara Pichelli
Color Artist Federico Blee
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
This was also a fun story. Miles is bored, then sees a giant explosion. Superman asks for his name, he gives his real name, and oh, Miles. Brianiac is attacking the city, and Superman teaches Miles the most important lesson, showing up is the right thing to do.
This was very short, but tells the full story in like three pages.
“The Wondrous & The Worthy” Symbiotes in Metropolis Jason Aaron (A) Russell Dauterman (CA) Matthew Wilson (L) VC’s Joe Caramagna
Jane Thorster, who must be early in her career as the new Thor, is fighting off symbiotes. Wonder Woman shows up to help. I like Jane having the thought of “say something cool,” and all that comes out is “you’re Wonder Woman.” Which I imagine she gets a lot.
Darkseid has a mix of symbiotes and his cronies.
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Dauterman gets the chance of draw some of his favorites, is what I imagine the script called for. We get – Batman (with packed in sword), Ghost Spider, Superman, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man (the Peter one), Supergirl, John Stewart Green Lantern, and Wolverine, the boy one.
“One of Those Days”
Spider-Man & Superman
Writer Jeph Loeb
Artist Jim Cheung
Color Artist Jay David Ramos
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
This was an interesting choice to end on. Must be days after Gwen’s death, and Spider-Man is having “one of those days.” Superman shows up, and offers some Pa Kent observations. You are born, and you die, neither are up to you. It is what you do that matters.
And you’ll eventually feel better, better is good, but there will be good days, and bad days.
Dan Slot (A) Marcos Martin (CA) Muntsa Vicente (L) VC’s Joe Caramagna
Shadow and Flame with Magik 