Review - X-Men: The Road to Onslaught Volume 3

Onslaught’s herald has arrived and he is determined to test the might of the X-Men. He kidnaps three of the X-Men’s strongest members – Storm, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Iceman – and forces them to battle against him. With no help from their allies against this monstrous foe, the X-Men must overcome seemingly impossible odds to defeat him. Meanwhile, the Beast is forced into a game of cat-and-mouse with his counterpart from an alternate reality and Archangel fights to save Psylocke’s life as she lays near-death after her encounter with Sabretooth.

X-Men: The Road to Onslaught Volume 3 collects Uncanny X-Men#329-332,Archangel #1, X-Men/Brood#1-2, X-Men Unlimited#10, X-Men #50-52, Wolverine#101, and Xavier Institute Alumni Yearbook. It features writing by Scott Lobdell, Jeph Loeb, Mark Waid, Larry Hama, and more. The art includes work by Bryan Hitch, Andy Kubert, Joe Madureira, and more.

Of the three volumes Marvel collected under the banner of The Road to Onslaught, this one is the weakest. The quality of the issues varies and very little of the stories included actually serve as a prelude to the Onslaught saga. This volume begins with a two-parter where Archangel and Wolverine team-up with Doctor Strange in order to seek a mystical solution to saving Psylocke’s life. It’s one of the better stories in this collection and features some fantastic artwork by Joe Madureira. Having Doctor Strange as a guest star also provides a nice change of pace as it gives the X-Men someone different to interact with. X-Men: Brood, a limited series by John Ostrander and Bryan Hitch, is another highlight. The art is expressive and the storyline itself has a nice weight to it. It also happens to give Jean Grey and Iceman an opportunity to show off their abilities, which I always appreciate. The narrative itself takes the X-Men to a small town where a woman has unexpectedly become a Brood queen and has been turning others in her town into her spawn. This has drawn the attention of another faction of Brood, which has been sent to the town to destroy her and her offspring. The X-Men get caught in the conflict and task themselves with finding a way to cure the woman of her affliction. It’s admittedly a little predictable, but it’s enjoyable. The main gripe here is that it has nothing to do with Onslaught and comes across as rather tangential in the grand scheme of things.

Oddly enough, the material that does connect to Onslaught ends up being some of the least interesting work included here. One of the main arcs includes the Beast from the 616 universe being replaced by his Age of Apocalypse counterpart. It begins in X-Men Unlimited #10 and carries into the main X-books as a subplot. The AoA Beast learns all he can about our Beast and then leads him into a trap in order to hide him away while he takes his place amongst the X-Men. He does so in order to escape the notice of Mr. Sinister. Overall, it’s an odd storyline that feels random and unnecessary. The AoA Beast isn’t an especially captivating villain and it takes a lot to actually believe that he could replace our Beast without being noticed by the X-Men, especially since he does some things that would be suspicious. The other major Onslaught-related storyline is the X-Men’s face-off with Post, Onslaught’s herald. Storm, Cyclops, Iceman, and Wolverine are spirited away to an unknown location and are forced to fight Post. He’s a big and powerful enemy for them, which means that most of the issue is spent with the X-Men in battle. The action-oriented narrative is quite nice, but it’s not as spectacular as it could be. It’s suggested that Storm’s powers are somewhat hampered, but even still she’s not utilized like she could be. Perhaps the best thing about this issue isn’t the comic itself, but rather the one that succeeds it. Iceman is left injured after the conflict and he opts to confront Emma Frost, as she was previously able to control his powers in a way that he’s been unable to. It’s a really fantastic character-focused one-off issue and it really gives us insight into Iceman’s character.

At its core, X-Men: The Road to Onslaught Volume 3 is just a collection of mediocre storylines that don’t benefit from being collected in a rather lengthy trade paperback. Some issues are better than others, largely due to the fact that the creative teams are not consistent throughout. Arguably, the issues written by Scott Lobdell are the strongest. They’re more engaging and have the right balance of action and character development. It also helps that he’s also teamed with the best artists in this collection – like Joe Madureira and Bryan Hitch. Conversely, the issues written by Mark Waid are the least entertaining. These are the ones more focused on the Beast/Dark Beast subplot. Overall, X-Men: The Road to Onslaught Volume 3 isn’t worth its cover price. My recommendation is to merely purchase the Uncanny X-Men issues digitally (or physically if you can find them) since they’re the best of the bunch, plus maybe the Brood limited series by Ostrander and Hitch.

RATING: C-

Review - Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 1

Raised in the idyllic farming town of Smallville, Clark Kent leaves home to become a champion and protector of innocent lives. Upon embarking on his new endeavor as the superhero known as Superman, he quickly makes enemies in the form of the egotistical Lex Luthor and becomes the singular obsession of the intrepid reporter Lois Lane.

Superman: The Man of Steel Volume 1 collects The Man of Steel #1-6, written and illustrated by John Byrne.

Under John Byrne’s pen, Superman’s world and mythos was redesigned for a then-modern audience following the continuity-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths. The six-part The Man of Steelbegins with Kal-El’s escape from Krypton and chronicles his earliest adventures as Superman. The most significant reinvention Byrne establishes is to Krypton. It’s portrayed as a cold, sterile world where science advancements have devastated the planet so thoroughly that it is on the verge of destruction. It feels like a cautionary tale of what could happen to Earth if we do not protect the environment and the planet’s resources. Aesthetically speaking, Byrne also gives Kryptonians a new look. Jor-El and Lara-El look androgynous, with their hair and bodies hidden behind concealing fabric. It’s an interesting visual choice that compliments the overall themes that Byrne is tugging on. The time spent on Krypton is brief, which is unfortunate since I think Byrne was doing something really unique with it. Instead of spending more time elaborating upon this world and its occupants, we’re quickly taken to Smallville and a feverish jaunt through Clark’s childhood and adolescence. Once more, Byrne doesn’t pace himself properly and it results in a frantic form of storytelling where none of the characters are able to develop properly. It’s possible that this first issue is so poorly paced as he was certain his audience was already familiar enough with these characters and this world.

The rest of this collection is focused on showing readers a few of Superman’s firsts – his first encounter with Lois Lane, his first article for the Daily Planet, his first team-up with Batman, and his first conflict with Lex Luthor. All of these are effective and engaging stories that are self-contained in singular issues. Byrne’s approach is opposite to what Frank Miller and George Perez would do respectively with Batman and Wonder Woman Post-Crisis. He gives readers little vignettes that are easy to digest rather than a full-on arc with a singular villain and primary conflict. This allows him to develop the characters by dropping them into different situations. One of the most interesting issues in the bunch is The Man of Steel #3, where Superman and Batman have their first team-up. They join forces to stop the thief Magpie from committing any more of her violent crimes. The story is full of tension as it explores the different approaches Superman and Batman have to vigilantism. Their personalities contrast quite well and Byrne does a spectacular job of portraying both. In contrast, Byrne’s reinvention of Bizarro (though he’s not called such) is a bit of a letdown. He strips away all of the iconic elements of the character and instead portrays him as a mute science experiment that perishes at the end of his debut issue. There’s also a whiff of ableism in terms of how the subplot involving Lucy Lane’s disability is handled.

The real star of The Man of Steel actually isn’t Superman. Lois Lane is. From the very first time she bursts onto the page, she’s a firecracker whose every piece of dialogue sparks on the page. She’s tough, stubborn, resourceful, single-minded, and funny. No other character manages to be quite as interesting as Lois. She makes Superman seem like a troglodyte in comparison because she’s that dynamic. Her willingness to put herself in danger to secure an interview with Superman and the scene in which she tears into Lex Luthor for not respecting her boundaries are standout moments for Lois. It also helps that Byrne portrays her as an incredibly stylish woman and draws her in such a way that she pulls focus whenever she’s in a panel.

This first volume of Superman: The Man of Steel by John Byrne reads like the first few episodes of a television series. It’s less cinematic than other origin stories for Superman and instead takes a more episodic approach to his earliest adventures. The small-scale conflicts that take place in these issues don’t contribute to any epic event or world-threatening battle. In some ways, this allows for more character development and enables Superman to slowly grow as a hero. It also means that the opportunity for larger conflicts is there, but hasn’t been exhausted. It’s an enjoyable read, but far from being the best Superman origin story out there. If anything, it’s most worth reading for all of the Lois Lane bits.

RATING: B

Review - Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties

Tensions between the human and mutant populations on Genosha have reached their peak. The Avengers have been instructed to stay away from the island nation out of fear that they may interfere with attempts at diplomacy. They ignore this order for personal reasons – the daughter of the Avengers Crystal and Quicksilver has been kidnapped and taken to Genosha by the fanatical Fabian Cortez. They infiltrate Genosha and team-up with the X-Men to rescue the innocent girl caught in the crosshairs of the human-mutant conflict.

Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties collects Avengers#368-369, Avengers West Coast#101, X-Men #26, Uncanny X-Men#307 and Black Knight: Exodus #1, written by Bob Harras, Dann Thomas, Fabian Nicieza, and Scott Lobdell. It includes art by Steve Epting, Dave Ross, Andy Kubert, and John Romita Jr.

Bloodties largely builds upon storylines set in place in the X-books, such as Mutant Genesis and Fatal Attractions. A desperate Fabian Cortez has lost his place among Magneto’s Acolytes and seeks to make a name for himself by kidnapping Magneto’s human granddaughter. He’s completely unhinged and is living in fear of retribution at the hands of the immensely powerful Exodus. This places him directly in conflict with the X-Men and the Avengers, who join forces in order to stop him. Since the narrative depends so heavily on previous X-Men arcs, it feels as if the Avengers have been dropped directly into the X-Men’s world and are forced to deal with issues they otherwise would be oblivious to. They’ve long stayed away from fighting for mutants and protecting them, but here they see what their inaction has resulted in – extremism on both the human and mutant sides. Since the Avengers are an officially sanctioned organization that has to follow the orders of certain authorities, it creates an interesting contrast against the X-Men. Xavier’s mutant band of heroes are freedom fighters who are able to fight for what is right without being entangled in any bureaucratic red tape. The opposite is true of the Avengers. They’re reactive and are essentially weapons pointed at whatever big problem governments may have.

The character who stands above the rest in this crossover is Crystal. With her daughter Luna in the arms of a maniac, it is her desire to rescue Luna that drives the plot forward and gives the arc its emotional throughline. She’s portrayed as a mother unwilling to sacrifice or compromise in finding her child, which means that she has ignore the orders the Avengers have been given from the authorities and infiltrating Genosha. We get a lot of great character moments between Crystal and some of the other cast members. She and her estranged husband Quicksilver put aside their differences to work together. Furthermore, Crystal spends the bulk of her time with her sister-in-law Scarlet Witch by her side. I really love their dynamic as Wanda’s sisterly concerns and supportiveness help to counterbalance Crystal’s more frenetic state of mind. Another character that manages to steal the spotlight is Sersi. In the middle of this crossover, she has an explosive battle against Exodus. It’s intense, vibrant, and showcases just how powerful Sersi is. It’s quite possibly the most memorable scene from this arc.

The art for this crossover is surprisingly very consistent, even though there were multiple artists working on it. Steve Epting and Andy Kubert’s work is really quite similar. This provides a similar aesthetic between the Avengers’ main title and the adjectiveless X-Men book. I’m fond of their styles as it’s very streamlined and the uncomplicated nature of their pencils allows for the colours to truly pop on the page. They’re also very expressive artists and excel at capturing all kinds of emotive states. John Romita Jr. has a style all his own, but it works in tandem with Epting and Kubert’s pencils. It’s a little more sophisticated and kinetic. Romita Jr. is especially fond of doing splash pages, which can be really effective for action sequences. Dave Ross is probably the weak link of the bunch. His artwork in the pages of Avengers West Coast is passable, but feels very ‘90s. The lines aren’t as crisp and clean, while characters often look permanently angry.

The ‘90s was a decade that provided crossover after crossover for the X-Men books, many of which were overdone and overstuffed. Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties is a nice change of pace in comparison. With just five parts to it, it’s a shorter crossover and places its focus on the characters affected most by Fabian Cortez’s actions. This gives this arc a more intimate feel to it and also ensures that its personal approach to storytelling elicits sympathy and engagement from the reader. Bloodties has a lot of memorable action sequences too. The Sersi vs. Exodus brawl alone is spectacular. Crossovers between the X-Men and the Avengers are rare, so Bloodties is a really nice treat and one that fans of both teams should check out.

RATING: B+