Review - X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Omnibus

The greatest evil that Earth’s heroes may ever face has appeared. With the psychic powers of Professor Xavier and the maniacal motivations of Magneto, the entity known as Onslaught has dedicated itself to the eradication of all humans on the planet. Only the combined might of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men may be able to stop it.

X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Omnibus collects Cable #32-36, Uncanny X-Men #333-337, X-Force #55, 57-58, X-Man #15-19, X-Men #53-57, Annual '96, X-Men Unlimited #11, Onslaught: X-Men, Marvel Universe, Epilogue, Avengers #401-402, Fantastic Four #415, Incredible Hulk #444-445, Wolverine #104-105, X-Factor #125-126, Amazing Spider-Man #415, Green Goblin #12, Spider-Man #72, Iron Man #332, Punisher #11, Thor #502, X-Men: Road to Onslaught, and material from Excalibur #100 and Fantastic Four #416. It includes work by Scott Lobdell, Jeph Loeb, Mark Waid, Terry Kavanagh, Andy Kubert, Ian Churchill, Joe Madureira, and Adam Kubert.

Onslaught is an “epic” that began building in the aftermath of the X-Men crossover Fatal Attractions. After Professor Xavier psionically erases Magneto’s mind, his guilt over his actions and the presence of his rival’s psyche in his unconscious leads to the creation of Onslaught. This entity draws its powers from both Xavier and Magneto. It attacks the X-Men, kidnaps Franklin Richards and Nate Grey, and unleashes Sentinels onto New York City. Upon recovering from their initial battle against Onslaught, the X-Men join forces with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four to prevent the total annihilation of humans. From a conceptual point of view, this makes for an absolutely thrilling premise and works to throw all of the Marvel Universe’s greatest heroes together in one epic showdown against a powerful foe. Unfortunately, the execution is so poor that it makes this crossover incredibly tedious to sit through.

This omnibus is incredibly dense and combines every possible issue related to Onslaught in one giant hardcover. The problem with that is that it means there are so many subplots and tie-ins that it distracts from the primary narrative. The main plot of this crossover occurs in the pages of the main X-Men books, Avengers, and Fantastic Four. Those issues are actually very engaging and provide readers with the emotional core of this storyline. Namely, we see the X-Men struggling with their beloved mentor potentially being the greatest evil the world has ever known and Invisible Woman fighting to get her son back after Onslaught takes him. The problem is that the inclusion of the various tie-ins distracts from this and requires readers to slog through random issues where it’s Spider-Man randomly fighting Sentinels or Cable duking it out with the Hulk while the latter is under the control of Onslaught. Personally, I’d have preferred more editing when this omnibus was put together in order to trim the filler material or to at least structure things better so the inferior material is placed at the back as supplemental reading.

Much of the variance in quality comes from the sheer number of creators working on this crossover. There are a total of 11 writers who receive credit, 26 artists, 31 inkers, and 23 colorists. This creates a lot of room for inconsistencies. The strongest issues are those penned by Scott Lobdell and Mark Waid, with art by Andy Kubert and Joe Madureira. Those are the most dynamic and straightforward. In fact, Madureira is arguably the star of this entire collection. His work is so different from the others that it naturally stands out and the anime-inspired aesthetic is as bold as it is expressive. There’s also an issue of Cable by Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill that’s quite good, which features Cable and Invisible Woman forging an uneasy alliance with Apocalypse in hopes of undermining Onslaught’s schemes. Churchill’s work is always really spectacular. It’s vibrant and emotive in a way that most of the artists’ work in this omnibus is not.

X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Omnibus requires a lot of patience. It’s not a streamlined crossover that has a general through line. It’s messy and it’s long. Given that it’s one of Marvel’s earliest attempts at a company-wide crossover, it’s understandable as to why it is as mediocre as it is. Unlike future events that would be contained within mini- or maxi-series, this one is spread out over just about every Marvel comic imaginable from this era and its structuring lacks direction. There’s no part one, two, three, and so on. Some of the issues collected in this edition are enjoyable. There’s a lot of gorgeous art to be found and some interesting character development, especially for the X-Men. Sadly, it’s buried within unevenness. As a concept, Onslaught is brilliant and is something I’d love to see tackled again (though not in the main Marvel universe) as a way of making up for the original’s shortcomings. As it is, the Onslaught Omnibus may not be a purchase I’d recommend unless you’re a true completionist.

RATING: C-

Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 4 - Time of Your Life

When Buffy and Willow head to New York City to learn more about the Scythe, Buffy is unwittingly sucked into a portal and is taken to the far future. There she meets Melaka Fray, the only slayer left on Earth. Buffy learns that a mysterious madwoman is responsible for bringing her into the future and that Melaka’s vampiric brother is plotting their demise.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 4: Time of Your Life collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #16-20, written by Joss Whedon and Jeph Loeb with art by Karl Moline, Georges Jeanty and Eric Wright.

Despite being penned by Joss Whedon, Time of Your Life is the weakest of the story arcs from season eight thus far. It’s a four-part narrative that contributes very little to the overall direction of the season. Buffy gets plucked out of the present and spends some time in the far future with Whedon’s lead heroine from his comic book series Fray. It’s a diversion from the machinations of Twilight, but isn’t quite as fun or inventive as it should be. It’s fascinating to see Buffy in the role of a fish out of water by having her interact in an environment so different from what she’s used to. However, Whedon’s dialogue seems uncharacteristically immature at times. Buffy’s dialogue and overall behaviour throughout seems childish and vapid. At this point, she’s a woman well into her twenties who is the leader of hundreds of slayers. Whedon instead writes her as if she’s still in high school. She practically wets herself in excitement over being in New York City and then reacts like the dullest tool in the shed whenever she interacts with another person. Whedon seems far more capable of writing Willow and Kennedy as fully-formed characters here, as they are given more of an opportunity to be both humorous and serious (and act their age). In fact, I quite like Kennedy here and her dynamic with Buffy proves to be quite amusing following Buffy’s tryst with Satsu.

This collection concludes with a singular issue written by Jeph Loeb set in the style of the halted Buffy animated series. As a concept, it’s fascinating and the designs (drawn here by Eric Wright) provide really neat visual representations of the season one cast. Where Whedon explored the future with his four-part arc, Loeb examines the past. He gives both Buffy and the readers fuzzy nostalgic feelings by setting the issue during a simpler time in the titular slayer’s life. It’s filler, but it’s done in a way that’s far more creative than usual. It also works to show just how cool an animated series would have been for Buffy, though I’m sure we can all agree that it’d be better without Dawn lurking about.

Time of Your Life is the first real stumble the eighth season has had. Its inconsistent characterization and lack of progression is disappointing. By its final page, we’re no closer towards reaching the resolution of the Twilight storyline or knowing more about the Scythe. I wasn’t terribly impressed by Whedon’s dialogue for Buffy and his artist Karl Moline struggled to differentiate characters from one another (Buffy and Melaka’s sister Erin look like the same person). Loeb’s one-off issue was entertaining and held potential, making it the most enjoyable part of this trade.

RATING: C+