Issue(s): Marvel Super Heroes #6 (Power Pack story only)
Cover Date: Jul 91 / Summer 91
Title: "Natives in a strange land"
Credits:
Michael Higgins - Writer
Steve Buccellato - Penciler
Don Hudson - Inker
Mike Rockwitz - Editor

Review/plot:
I speculated that Excalibur #29 might have been intended as the next issue of Power Pack after that series' cancellation, but then listed a few reasons why that may not have been the case. But, based on the creative team, this issue was almost certainly the, or at least a, next issue of Power Pack. I have to keep telling myself that because in truth it's really just crazy that this story exists, like i keep thinking someone made a horrible mistake, and i have to keep reminding myself that it was the regular creative team for Power Pack that wrote this story, that this is really what they intended to do next. Because anyone else would just be crazy to write a story where Power Pack's father takes them to the beach while Alex was a horse (oh and his wife's in a coma). I mean, it's crazy for this creative team, too, but at least i can lump that in with the existing crazy that this creative team has already generated.

Even without the horse-boy sitting on the beach in a trench coat and hat it's a pretty weird scene. I mean we did see Julie starting to get interested in boys during Higgins' run. But when did Jack get all pervy? I mean, what is he, 9 years old at this point?

A disturbance on the beach causes all the regular beachgoers to flee. Alex dives into the water to investigate, but winds up getting punched away by something. He then says that he'd like to go further but he can't breathe underwater. At this point, his younger siblings start to mock him relentlessly. How could he not remember that their costumes could be adjusted in Elsewhere?

Cut your damn brother some slack. He got turned into a horse, fer chrissakes.

The mean mocking continues as they explore.

They find a ship with weird colorful globes.

The ship is then attacked by a tidal wave. Power Pack save the ship but then another attack knocks most of the globes back into the water, near the creature that attacked Alex earlier.

The kids rescue the ship's crew instead of investigating further. And i guess Jack really has hit puberty.

One of the crew members then goes back to the lab where Dr. Powers is working. You'll notice that he's not studying anything relating to his wife's coma or his son's horse-ism. He's studying the globes. He's a physicist, by the way.

That lady in the front isn't anyone important. I guess Steve Buccellato just wanted to draw a short skirt, long jacket lady. This lady, though, is important (i mean, to the degree that anything in this story is important).

And this guy was on the boat that Power Pack rescued. I don't know why he's so sweaty in the final panel. Or are those warts?

Here's the closest we get to Jim Power acknowledging what he's supposed to be doing. But, you know, work first.

Anyway, the "important" lady turns out to be a mer-lady.

And the Power kids eventually get dad to listen to Franklin, and they go to the other boat where they see a mer-man.

These are in fact the Creatures From the Lost Lagoon, from Fantastic Four #97 and Fantastic Four #125. They left for space in that second FF story, but they've come back because those globes are their eggs and they are about to hatch.

Goodbye again!

What the holy hell happened to Power Pack's teeth in that final panel?

This is bad in every possible way. I would say that this proves that canceling Power Pack was a mercy, except we already knew that, and in any event by publishing this Marvel Super Heroes has rescinded that mercy. This actually proves that things were worse, though. In my head the sequence was always that Alex turns into a horse and then the Power family go into space to look for a cure. But that's just because the series was canceled. It looks like Michael Higgins intended for Power Pack to go traipsing around Earth, dragging Alex Sad Horse around and having adventures for god knows how long. Incredible.

The one positive thing that i'll say, and it's not much, believe me, is that i did like how Higgins used various aspects of the Marvel universe during his Power Pack run, and that continues here with the use of the Lost Lagoon.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: As with Excalibur #29, this takes place between the final pages of Power Pack #62.

Other stories from this issue: X-Men, Cloak & Dagger, Sabra, Speedball.

References:

• We learned that Power Pack's costumes are cleaned and adjusted in Elsewhere in Power Pack #47.
  
• The Lost Lagoon creatures appeared in Fantastic Four #97 and Fantastic Four #125.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Shouldn't the Monster's bride have a Character Appearing tag?

She doesn't have a name so i didn't really want to tag her. Bride of the Creature of the Lost Lagoon would make for a good Universal horror movie, but it's a long tag. I've made it Bridge of the Lost Lagoon, but i don't really like that.

The first 25 issues or so of Power Pack was some of the most fun comics. However, it degenerated into crap slowly at first. Then it took a huge fast downturn after the Inferno crossover.