Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
| 1992-11-01 01:11:10 |
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X-Men #16
Issue(s): X-Men #16
Cover Date: Jan 93
Title: "Conflicting cathexes"
Credits:
Fabian Nicieza - Writer
Andy Kubert - Penciler
Mark Pennington & Andy Kubert - Inker
Bob Harras - Editor
Review/plot:
Wolverine, Bishop, and Cable are on the moon, having trouble holding off all of the Dark Riders themselves.
People write in to complain about Wolverine's (adamantium) ribs getting broken, and the response is:
Let's just say that he was reacting to such a strong blow, and in this situation he sort of "felt" like his ribs were breaking -- even though they didn't. He just exaggerated a bit in a moment of excruciating pain (Okay okay -- we don't know how that line slipped through the cracks. As Ann Landers would say, that's 30 lashes with a wet noodle for the X-book editorial staff).
Regardless of whether or not ribs are breaking, Wolverine and his big gunned companions are in trouble. Luckily the X-Men and friends arrive.
Stryfe watches, saying that things are not going according to plan.
The X-group splits up, with some going to rescue Jean and Scott, some going to finish up the Dark Riders, and Apocalypse going his own way. It's Apocalypse that encounters the Dark Riders.
And, in the ultimate of humiliations, they beat him off-panel.
The other X-Men find Stryfe in a separate structure. It's protected by a forcefield that only Cable and Havok can pass through, the latter with some difficulty.
This is fine as a chapter in the larger story, and being the penultimate chapter it's necessary at this stage to be this way, but this issue has not much to it. It's largely a bunch of group shots. I'm not hugely interested in the Dark Riders anyway, but while this had to be a big fight issue, you'd think there'd be more scenes of characters using their powers in clever ways and stuff like that. Apocalypse teaming up with the X-Men (more or less) should have been mindblowingly cool, but so little happens that it's all over before you know it.
Quality Rating: B-
Historical Significance Rating: 1
Chronological Placement Considerations: This is part eleven of X-Cutioner's Song. Part twelve is in X-Men #16.
References: N/A
Crossover: X-Cutioner's Song
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
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Comments
Wolvie shattered a rib, eh?
Nicieza is a decent writer, but sometimes he just doesn't seem to know the characters all that well. Missing Psylocke's origin is not great, but at least it comes down to familiarity with a couple specific issues of the book. Wolverine's adamantium skeleton, however, should be common knowledge, especially to someone with the writing gig on the X-Men team book in which he appears.
Maybe he was being facetious. Bishop, Cable and Wolverine... someone's gotta try and lighten the mood.
More weird Kubert art... What exactly is Cannonball doing in that third scan? He's supposed to have developed a power of explosive fists, or something?
More importantly: Stryfe comments that his plans has been derailed. Come to think about it, then: what *was* Stryfe's plan in this crossover? Did it avail to anything aside from kidnapping Scott and Jean, and killing Charles and Apocalypse?
Cannonball has indeed learned to project his blast field from his fists. It's mentioned in an issue of X-For e as something Cable has taught him to do. It doesn't really last, though, kind of like his High Lord immortality.
Piotr, Stryfe's plan was to trick the X-Men into going after Apocalypse and Cable, his two enemies. And while they were all busy doing that, he could have his vengeance on his "parents".
@Matt - I'm gonna try to save Nicieza and win a no-prize. I'll call it "dramatic license" (on Logan's part), that's his rib isn't really shattered, but that the force of the blow moved his rib and punctured his lung. So it feels like it's been shattered and it does puncture his lung without actually breaking an adamantium rib which we know couldn't happen.
