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In a Nutshell
The X-Men, Kingpin, and Sebastian Shaw faceoff over the Elixir Vitae.
Plot: Scott Lobdell
Plot
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It's in the Mail
Plot: Scott Lobdell
Script: Ben Raab
Pencils: Carlos Pacheco
Inks: Art Thibert
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Chris Lichtner, Aron Lusen & Liquid Color
Editor: Bob Harras
Pencils: Carlos Pacheco
Inks: Art Thibert
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Chris Lichtner, Aron Lusen & Liquid Color
Editor: Bob Harras
Plot
The X-Men confront Wilson Fisk, the former Kingpin of New York crime, who has control over the Elixir Vitae now that he's the CEO of Fujikawa Enterprises. When Wolverine threatens Fisk, he reveals that he's captured Cannonball, and threatens to inject him with an experimental Legacy Virus vaccine. Meanwhile, Sebastian Shaw infiltrates the Fujikawa building. Upstairs, Cyclops tries to reason with Fisk. The villain refuses to hand over the elixir, as he plans to use it in the same way as Shaw, to create a Legacy Virus cure and corner the market for it. But Fisk does release Cannonball as a peace offering. Elsewhere, Bastion taunts a captive Jubilee. In Hong Kong, Shaw confronts Fisk and the X-Men. Fisk calls in his Si-Fan ninjas. But before violence erupts, Storm calls down a bolt of lighting, destroying the Elixir Vitae rather than risk it falling into Shaw or Fisk's hands. Later, as the X-Men are flying home, Jean is suddenly hit by a burst of psychic energy just as their plane is attacked by Operation: Zero Tolerance.
Firsts and Other Notables
Firsts and Other Notables
After fighting over it for most of the previous two issues, Storm ultimately destroys the Elixir Vitae rather than risk it falling into Shaw's or staying in Kingpin's hands, thereby closing off that potential avenue for a Legacy Virus cure.
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As part of the build-up to "Operation: Zero Tolerance", we get a brief check-in with the captive Jubilee (who gets the full text of Wolverine's "I'm the best there is..." line wrong).
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To answer the cover's question: yes, but not this X-Man, and not now.
Chronology Corner
Jubilee and Bastion appear here in between Generation X #27 and #28.
A Work in Progress
A Work in Progress
Two of Kingpin's goons discuss famous mutants native to Asia, which is basically Sunfire and the Collective Man (who is the person they're talking about who is as strong as all the people in China).
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Kingpin provides a recap of the recent events which led him to Hong Kong.
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A response to a letter in this issue teases that the Legacy Virus plotline will climax in late '97 or early '98; it's telling that they're not even sure when it will be resolved even while promising it will be resolved (also, it doesn't actually get resolved until Uncanny X-Men #390 in January of 2001).
Austin's Analysis
On the one hand, there's something kind of pleasingly unexpected in the way this story concludes not in a big three way fight between the X-Men, Kingpin (and his ninjas) and Shaw. Instead, it's basically an issue-long conversation that ends with everyone going their separate ways peacefully, even after Storm makes a unilateral decision to destroy the MacGuffin. On the other hand, as the climax to a three part story guest-starring arguably the best hand-to-hand fighter in the Marvel Universe, this feels rather...anticlimactic.
Austin's Analysis
On the one hand, there's something kind of pleasingly unexpected in the way this story concludes not in a big three way fight between the X-Men, Kingpin (and his ninjas) and Shaw. Instead, it's basically an issue-long conversation that ends with everyone going their separate ways peacefully, even after Storm makes a unilateral decision to destroy the MacGuffin. On the other hand, as the climax to a three part story guest-starring arguably the best hand-to-hand fighter in the Marvel Universe, this feels rather...anticlimactic.
Worse than that though, it represents one of the strongest examples of just how hard the X-books are treading water at this point in time, both in terms of killing time before the next big crossover, and in terms of the overarching Legacy Virus storyline. That subplot has been simmering long enough that at this point, if it's not going to be significantly advanced (or, you know, paid off and closed out), don't even bother bringing it up. Building a story around "hey, there's this thing that might cure the Legacy Virus, well, turns it won't/the price to pay for it is too high" is a perfectly fine premise in a vacuum. But after fours years of dragging out the plotline with minimal narrative movement, it just feels kinda like a dick move at this point.
Next Issue
Next Issue
Go back to the future in Cable #43!
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Yeah, not much to say about this, but always happy to see a new review. I read the old ones while eating lunch every day.
ReplyDelete"this feels rather...anticlimactic."
ReplyDeleteThat pretty much sums up this whole era, to be honest.
I think this is the last time we really see the Legacy Virus as a major story until it gets Uncanny #309, no? I think other than a few appearances by Pyro showing up between now and then just to remind us that it still exists, it just kind of gets ignored by most of the writers line-wide.
As much as I disliked the period between AOA and Onslaught, at least it provokes a reaction from me. The period between Onslaught and OZT is just so blah and boring.
At least Pacheco stages the almost shockingly inert proceedings with varied, dynamic layouts and compositions (sadly muddied up by all that color gradation and effects work).
ReplyDeleteThe resolution to this story is so dumb. Oh no they might make a life-saving drug but make too much money from it we better stop them. As if one secures out there they couldn't somehow synthesize a generic and distributed it themselves.
ReplyDelete