The Week That Was 020325

Muhammad Ali, 2025 hype meter, and shameless plugs

X-amining "Onslaught" Tie-Ins Part 2

"Dancing in the Dark" / "Night Neverending" / "The End of the Line" / "Unfinished Business" 

October 1996

In a Nutshell

The Avengers, Fantastic Four and Hulk prepare for the final battle against Onslaught. 

Incredible Hulk #445 by Peter David & Angel Medina

Iron Man #332 by Terry Kavangh & Joe Bennett

Avengers #402 by Mark Waid, Mike Deodato & Tom Palmer

Fantastic Four #416 by Tom DeFalco & Carlos Pacheco

(Please visit the GCD for full credits from each issue)

Plot

Incredible Hulk #445: After rescuing a subway car full of stranded passengers, Hulk, angry with the way Onslaught used him & frustrated by the heroes' lack of action, decides to take the fight to Onslaught. Though Captain America cautions against it, Hulk is joined by Falcon, Hawkeye, Vision & Crystal. Together, Hulk & Crystal dig a tunnel beneath the city & into Onslaught's citadel. They attack, and though his allies are killed, Hulk succeeds in destroying Onslaught, happy to have won despite the losses. Suddenly, he's back in Four Freedoms Plaza, the entire attack a result of a telepathic illusion created by Onslaught and shared amongst the heroes, leaving the group more distrustful of Hulk than ever. 

X-amining Fantastic Four #415

   

"An Enemy Among Us!"

August 1996

In a Nutshell

Onslaught captures Franklin Richards

Writer: Tom DeFalco
Penciler: Carlos Pacheco 
Inker: Bob Wiacek
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft 
Colors: Ariane Lenshore 

Editor: Suzanne Gaffney
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

Plot

Franklin Richards & Charlie visit a circus created by Franklin, inadvertently populated by figures from Charlie's mind, before being interrupted by the return home of the Fantastic Four. Shortly thereafter, Professor Xavier visits the team; he meets with Mister Fantastic & Invisible Woman, asking them to let Franklin come study at his school so he can be kept safely amongst his own kind. At the same time, a contingent of Avengers, as well as Iceman and Bishop, contact Scott Lang, warning the Fantastic Four about Onslaught, but Onslaught knocks Lang out, then reveals himself as "Xavier" when Mister Fantastic & Invisible Woman refuse to give up Franklin. The X-Men/Avengers group soon arrives at Four Freedoms Plaza and engages Onslaught, but he manages to overpower them, as well as the Fantastic Four. As Apocalypse and the Watcher arrive in New York to witness the unfolding events, Franklin - still not realizing the true identity of his friend Charlie - is taken by Onslaught, thereby giving the villain access to the power of a god. 

X-amining Fantastic Four #28

"We Have To Fight The X-Men!"
July 1964

In a Nutshell
The Mad Thinker & Puppet Master team-up to pit the Fantastic Four against the X-Men.

Written by: Stan Lee (the Leader!)
Drawn by: Jack Kirby (the King!)
Inked by: Chic Stone (the Master!)
Lettered by: Art Simek (the Letterer!)
Colorist: Steve Buccellato

Plot
As the Fantastic Four discuss a news report involving the X-Men, the Mad Thinker enlists the Puppet Master to take control of Professor X. Once under the Puppet Master's sway, Xavier sends the X-Men to attack the Fantastic Four, telling his students the FF are plotting world domination. After arriving at the Baxter Building, the X-Men pick a fight with the Fantastic Four in order to lead them to a plateau outside the city where the Thinker has set a series of booby traps. With the FF captured, the villains reveal themselves, and Puppet Master orders Xavier to make the X-Men sleep. But with his control spread over five individuals across miles, Beast is able to resist his control long enough to shatter the radioactive puppet used by the Puppet Master to control Xavier. With the FF having freed themselves, the Mad Thinker unleashes his Awesome Android, which overpowers both teams until Xavier is able to use his telepathy to shut the creature down. Though the villains escape in the confusion, the two teams part as friends, with Mr. Fantastic considering the X-Men worthy representatives of the day's youth.

X-amining Fantastic Four #347-349

"Big Trouble on Little Earth!" / "Where Monsters Dwell (or is it ... Where Creatures Roam?)!" / "Eggs Got Legs! ...or Love Conquers All!"
December 1990 - February 1991

In a Nutshell 
A renegade Skrull recruits a New Fantastic Four to unknowingly help her acquire a weapon to use against the Skrull Empire. 

Writer: Walter Simonson
Penciling: Arthur Adams
Penciling Assistant: Gracine Tanaka (issues #348-349)
Inking: Art Thibert, Al Milgrom (issue #348 pp 13-16, issue #349 pp4-24)
Letterering: Bill Oakley
Coloring: Steve Buccellato
Editing: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
Issue #347: Fleeing pursuit, a renegade Skrull named De'Lila crashes on Earth shortly after the Fantastic Four's return from an inter-dimensional journey through time. De'Lila, using her shapeshifting abilities, proceeds to infiltrate Four Freedoms Plaza and take out the Fantastic Four one by one. Meanwhile, the Skrulls pursuing her arrive on Earth and are drawn to Monster Island by readings which suggest the monsters which dwell there share some Skrull DNA. They proceed to send the monsters out into the world to flush out De'Lila. De'Lila, in the guise of Invisible Woman, puts out a call for help, to which Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man and Ghost Rider respond. Though reluctant to help her at first, they acquiese upon seeing the apparent dead bodies of the Fantastic Four, and agree to become a new Fantastic Four to avenge them.

Issue #348: The New Fantastic Four depart Four Freedoms Plaza, using a device provided by De'Lila which they believe will lead them to the source of the attacking monsters and the murderers of the real Fantastic Four. En route, they stop a monster attacking a plane over Washington, D.C., then proceed to follow it to Monster Island. On Monster Island, Mole Man has captured the Skrulls pursuing De'Lila just as the new Fantastic Four arrive and proceed to interrogate them, learning of De'Lila, including her telepathic powers, which made duping them easier.

X-amining Fantastic Four Annual #23

"When Franklin Comes Marching Home"
1990

In a Nutshell 
Adult Franklin Richards appears in the present, attracting the attention of the Fantastic Four, Forge & Banshee, and the villainous Ahab.  

Writer: Walter Simoson
Penciler: Jackson Guice
Inker: Geof Isherwood
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Colorist: Richard Rasche
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
Returning from a picnic, the Fantastic Four are stunned to discover their Four Freedoms Plaza headquarters replaced by their old Baxter Building. Going inside, they're attacked by the building's defenses, followed by past versions of themselves. Just then, an adult Franklin Richards appears, looking for someone named Rachel. Realizing Franklin is responsible for the changes, Mr. Fantastic tries to convince him everything he's created is an illusion, which prompts a disturbed Franklin to fly off. Everything then returns to normal, but a force field appears trapping the Fantastic Four inside the building. At Excalibur's lighthouse, Rachel Summers experiences a telepathic sensation she thought she'd never feel again, then flies off, telling Meggan this is something she has to do alone. In New York, adult Franklin appears before Banshee and Forge, but realizing they're younger than he remembers, he gets upsets and disappears again.

X-aminations in June 2015

I'm still hammering out the schedule for the rest of the year, so I'll post that with the July schedule next month. In the meantime, here's a look at what's ahead in June, including a return to summer bi-weekly shipping for Uncanny X-Men & Wolverine, "Days of Future Present", and the first appearance of Gambit (sort of)!

On Sale in May 1990
June 3rd: Uncanny X-Men #263
June 4th: New Mutants #91
June 5th: X-Factor #56

June 10th: Uncanny X-Men #264
June 11th: Excalibur #24
June 12th: Wolverine #26

June 17th: Fantastic Four Annual #22
June 18th: New Mutants Annual #6
June 19th: X-Factor Annual #5

June 24th: X-Men Annual #14
June 25th: New Mutants Summer Special #1
June 26th: Wolverine #27

X-amining "Inferno" Tie-Ins Part 3

Amazing Spider-Man #313, Fantastic Four #324, Power Pack #44, Spectacular Spider-Man #148, Web of Spider-Man #48
March 1989

Amazing Spider-Man #313 by David Michelinie & Todd MacFarlane
Fantastic Four #324 by Steve Englehart & Keith Pollard
Power Pack #44 by Julianna Jones & June Brigman
Spectacular Spider-Man #148 by Gerry Conway & Sal Buscema
Web of Spider-Man #48 by Gerry Conway & Alex Saviuk
(for full credits on each issue, please visit the GCD)

Plot
Fantastic Four #324: The Fantastic Four team-up with Kang to rescue Mantis from the sorcerer Necrodamus. Web of Spider-Man #48: Spider-Man battles the demonically-possessed Hobgoblin. Amazing Spider-Man #313: Spider-Man battles the Lizard. Spectacular Spider-Man #148: Flash Thompson and Betty Brant are targeted by demons who pose as Spider-Man and Betty's deceased husband, Ned Leeds. Power Pack #44: In the midst of the Inferno, Power Pack does their best to fight against the demon hordes until they see a massive portal open which draws in all the demons.

X-amining "Inferno" Tie-Ins Part 2

Amazing Spider-Man #312, Avengers #300, Daredevil #263, Fantastic Four #323, Spectacular Spider-Man #147, Web of Spider-Man #47
February 1989

Amazing Spider-Man #312 by David Michelinie & Todd MacFarlane
Avengers #300 by Walt Simonson & John Buscema (layouts) and Tom Palmer (finishes)
Daredevil #263 by Ann Nocenti & John Romita Jr.
Fantastic Four #323 by Steve Englehart & Keith Pollard
Spectacular Spider-Man #147 by Gerry Conway & Sal Buscema
Web of Spider-Man #47 by Gerry Conway & Alex Saviuk
(for full credits on each issue, please visit the GCD)

Plot
Avengers #300: Working together, the Captain, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Forgotten One manage to defeat Nanny and the Orphan Maker. As they work to free Franklin Richards from the armor into which Nanny placed him, the boy is captured by demons working for N'astirh. Freeing him from the armor, N'astirh uses Franklin's vast power to reinforce the portal between Earth and Limbo, but the heroes, joined by Thor, track Franklin and free him before defeating a Growing Man android activated by Kang. With the portal closed and the demon effect fading, the heroes retire to the Richards' home, where the Captain, inspired by recent events, reiterates the importance of the Avengers, and asks the assembled heroes to join him in reforming the team.

X-aminations in August

August looks to be a fairly straightforward month: as the summer heat dies down, so too does "Inferno", which will come to an end as the month closes out.

On Sale November 1988
August 6th: Uncanny X-Men #242
August 7th: New Mutants #73
August 8th: X-Factor #38

August 13th: "Inferno" Tie-ins Part 3: Web of Spider-Man #48, Fantastic Four #324, Power Pack #44, Amazing Spider-Man #313, Spectacular Spider-Man #148
August 14th: Excalibur #6
August 15th: Wolverine #5

On Sale December 1988
August 20th: Uncanny X-Men #243
August 21st: New Mutants #74
August 22nd: X-Factor #39

August 27th: "Inferno" Tie-ins Part 4: Daredevil #265 & The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak & Dagger #4
August 28th: Excalibur #7
August 29th: Wolverine #6

X-amining "Inferno" Tie-Ins Part 1

Amazing Spider-Man #311, Avengers #298-299, Daredevil #262, Fantastic Four #322, Power Pack #42-43, Spectacular Spider-Man #146
Dec. 1988 - Jan. 1989

Amazing Spider-Man #311 by David Michelinie & Todd MacFarlane
Avengers #298-299 by Walt Simonson & John Buscema (layouts) and Tom Palmer (finishes)
Daredevil #262 by Ann Nocenti & John Romita, Jr. 
Fantastic Four #322 by Steve Englehart & Keith Pollard
Power Pack #42 by Jon Bogdanove, #43 by Bogdanove & Sal Velluto
Spectacular Spider-Man #146 by Gerry Conway & Sal Buscema
(for full credits on each issue, please visit the GCD)

Plot
Amazing Spider-Man #311: Spider-Man battles Mysterio, believing the odd happenings caused by Limbo's invasion of Earth to be nothing more than illusions created by his foe. Avengers #298: Avengers butler Jarvis is attacked by demons and possessed objects in New York, and he alerts the Captain to the state of the city. Avengers #299: The Captain teams up with the New Mutants against the demonic invasion of Limbo. Hoping to find help in determining the cause of the invasion, he seeks out Reed Richards, who has retired from the Fantastic Four. The Captain arrives at the Richards' Connecticut home just after Nanny and the Orphan Maker capture Franklin Richards. Together, the Captain, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman battle the villains, but are overcome when a brainwashed Franklin, wearing a suit of armor, attacks them. Just then, they are joined by the Eternal Gilgamesh, come to Earth to battle the demon hoard, and vow to free the Richards' son.

X-amining Power Pack #35 & Fantastic Four #312

Power Pack #35
"Life or Death!"
February 1988

In a Nutshell
Power Pack helps X-Factor battle Apocalypse and his Horsemen. 

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Jon Bogdanove
Inker: Hilary Barta
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Carl Potts
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
With their father away at a conference, the grounded Power children are waiting for their mother to come home from work when the power goes out. After hearing on the radio that the blackout was caused by The Horsemen of Apocalypse, Katie, the only one not grounded, flies off to find their mother on the subway to make sure she's alright. In one of the subway tunnels she encounters Pestilence and is able to escape, but not before getting sick. When Katie doesn't return, the rest of Power Pack track her down and help her heal. They then see Apocalypse's ship crash into the Empire State Building and try stop it, only to encounter Cyclops and Marvel Girl. Pestilence attacks again, but she's hit by debris and Power Pack is unable to save her. After Cyclops and Marvel Girl leave to stop Apocalypse, Power Pack works together to prevent the ship from crashing into the Statute of Liberty, triggering an explosion that blows off enough to ship's tail pipe to save the statute and the tourists inside. After seeing X-Factor emerge triumphant from the ship, they race home, getting there just ahead of their mother. They admit they left the house, but she is too grateful they're okay to punish them further.  

X-aminations in March

March is "Fall of the Mutants" month! And the first appearance of Excalibur, though its regular series won't launch for a few more months.

But first, one quick change to February's schedule: I'm swapping Incredible Hulk #340 and New Mutants #59, so we'll be looking at the former this week and the latter next week instead of vice versa.

With both X-Men and X-Factor shipping two issues in September '87 to New Mutants' one, New Mutants #59 could go either this week or next, but it makes the most sense to cover the first parts of each series' respective "Fall of the Mutants" contributions in the same week (I'm not even sure why I didn't schedule it that way in the first place). 

On Sale September 1987
March 5th: Uncanny X-Men #225
March 6th: New Mutants #59
March 7th: X-Factor #24

On Sale October 1987
March 12th: Uncanny X-Men #226
March 13th: New Mutants #60
March 14th: X-Factor #25

On Sale November 1987
March 19th: Uncanny X-Men #227
March 20th: New Mutants #61
March 21st: X-Factor #26

On Sale October/November/December 1987
March 26th: Captain America #339 & Daredevil #252 ("Fall of the Mutants" tie-ins)
March 27th: Power Pack #35 & Fantastic Four #312 ("Fall of the Mutants" tie-ins)
March 28th: Excalibur Special Edition #1

X-amining Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men #1-4

"Are You Sure? / Truth and Consequences / By the Soul's Darkest Light / A Matter of Faith"
February - June 1987

In a Nutshell 
The X-Men seek the help of the Fantastic Four to save the life of Kitty Pryde.

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Jon Bogdanove
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editors: Ann Nocenti & Don Daley (issue #2)
Consulting Editors: Mike Carlin (issue #1) & Don Daley (issues #1 &#3)
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
Issue #1: With Kitty's condition getting worse and Moira unable to do anything further, the X-Men reach out to Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, who possesses a device which may save Kitty, for help. Reed and the rest of the Fantastic Four, including former member She-Hulk, meet the X-Men on Muir Isle to examine Kitty. Reed, wracked with self-doubt following the discovery of an old journal, says he is unable to help her, prompting a fight to break out between the two teams. Issue #2: The fight between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four comes to an end when Dr. Doom, who has been monitoring the X-Men, offers to help Kitty. The Fantastic Four return to New York, where Sue Richards reveals to her teammates that the old journal suggests Reed knew all along that the space flight which gave them their powers would do so. On Muir Isle, the X-Men, though reluctant to put themselves in debt to Doom, agree to let him help Kitty.

X-amining Avengers #263 & Fantastic Four #286

"What Lurks Below?" / "Like a Phoenix!"
Jan 1986

In a Nutshell
Jean Grey returns from the dead. 

Avengers #263 
Writer: Roger Stern
Breakdowns: John Buscema
Finishes: Tom Palmer, 
Letterer: Jim Novak
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Fantastic Four #286
Writer/Penciller: You Know Who
Guest Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: John Workman
Editor: Michael Carlin
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
With Special Thanks to R. Stern and K. Busek

Plot
Avengers #263: Investigating a crash at JFK airport, the Avengers discover a large cocoon-like object at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. Though the cocoon initially rebuffs their efforts to approach it via some kind of psychic force, they are eventually able to retrieve it from the bay and bring it back to Avengers Mansion. Left alone, the surface of the cocoon becomes transparent for a moment, revealing a redheaded woman inside. Fantastic Four #286: Returning from space, the Fantastic Four are told about the cocoon retrieved by the Avengers. Reed Richards proceeds to conduct some tests on it, and when Invisible Woman uses her power to make the interior of the cocoon visible, they discover the woman inside. Reed attempts to open the pod, and when he bombards it with bio-radiant stimulation, it opens, revealing Jean Grey.

To Better Know A Hero: She-Hulk

Real Name: Jennifer Walters

First Appearance: Savage She-Hulk #1 (Feb. 1980)

Nicknames and Aliases: Shulkie, Jade Giantess

Powers and Abilities: Super strength, durability, stamina, agility and healing abilities; an apparent awareness of her existence as a comic book character. Jennifer Walters is an accomplished and accredited lawyer.