X-Men #48Issue(s): X-Men #48 Review/plot: We're just coming out of the silo period, so it's nice to see that the gathering includes the Thing, but it's a little disappointing in that he's the only non-X character here. The Beast of course pulls double- or even triple- duty (in his participation in these events in the past, he was more closely associated with the Avengers or the Defenders) and Cannonball is here as well, meaning it's not just the X-"Men". But not only do we not have other super-teams represented, there's no VIPs like Nick Fury or Blake Tower. In fact, if it wasn't for the Thing's appearance, i'd wonder if Scott Lobdell was even intentionally utilizing the tradition. And as it is, the Thing cuts out early. It's a fun downtime issue marred a little bit for me by the art. Which is fine for the time period but the giant panels and exaggerated facial expressions compare poorly - in my eyes! - to the art in the previous poker stories, and i made the mistake of looking them over before reviewing this. There's also maybe too many twists to the game - first we learn that Cannonball has been hustling everyone with his "from the sticks" routine, and then we learn that Gambit actually threw the game to let Cannonball win. Still, it's fun and it's really great to have a non-angsty downtime issue. Well, MOSTLY non-angsty. We do have the situation of poor Iceman going to Storm and asking her to tutor him. This is after learning how the White Queen was better at using his powers than he was, and all that. Iceman is one of the original X-Men! All of the insane training that Professor X put him from in the original issues and he's still got no confidence. Also, Beast leaves in the middle of the game because he thinks he's thought of something that will help him cure the Legacy Virus. Knowing that the Legacy Virus had no planned resolution and no conclusion in sight, it's annoying but also funny to see how often the Beast, Moira MacTaggert, and others have "breakthroughs" that we know will go nowhere. The other main thing happening in this issue is the Dark Beast and Sugar Man having an encounter (the exaggerate art style is much more appropriate here)... ...and realize that Bishop has information about the Age of Apocalypse, and they don't want Mr. Sinister to learn about that. Their plan for preventing Sinister from finding out about Bishop involves, uh, this. Also we see Professor X brooding over the injured Psylocke and "wondering... if he'll ever feel anything, ever again". This might just seem like typical 90s angst but it's actually leading to Onslaught. Quality Rating: B- Chronological Placement Considerations: The poker game is held at Angel's apartment while Psylocke - Angel's current love interest - is recovering from recent wounds. A vague footnote for the Thing points to him needing to go "save the universe or sometin'" in "recent issues of the Fantastic Four". The MCP have this around FF #410. The MCP place this before Storm's miniseries. References:
Crossover: N/A Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: N/A
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