X-MEN '92 INFINITE COMICS #1 - #4

"HOPE YOU SURVIVE THE EXPERIENCE" | "HERE COMES TOMORROW"
"THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES" | "LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD"
Writers: Chad Bowers & Chris Sims | Artist: Scott Koblish
Colorist: Matt Milla | Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Assistant Editor: Heather Antos | Editor: Jordan D. White
Production: Arlin Ortiz | Production Manager: Tim Smith 3
Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso | Chief Creative Officer: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine

I seem to recall that advance buzz on X-MEN '92 explicitly described it as the continuation of the X-MEN cartoon series which aired on the Fox network from 1992 - 1997 -- and while the group lineup presented here supports that (Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Jean Grey, Gambit, Rogue, Jubilee, and Professor X), what we have, at least at this point, isn't exactly what was advertised. The reason is that X-MEN '92 debuted as part of Marvel's SECRET WARS event in 2015. I don't know a ton about the event, but I've gleaned that it featured a number of "Battleworlds", pocket universes joined together in some sort of large-scale multiverse governed overall (I think) by Doctor Doom.

So this world features the TV series lineup on a Battleworld called Westchester, ruled by Baron Kelly, Westchester's version of Senator Robert Kelly (who, in the cartoon's continuity, actually went on to become president). These X-Men are said to have fought in a mutant war, ultimately saving Westchester and becoming heroes to one and all.

But the majority of this Battleworld stuff is mere window dressing, thankfully. Aside from these sparse and occasional references, the story really could exist in the timeline of the X-MEN cartoon. As the action begins, the X-Men fend off an attack by a group of "free range Sentinels", and then travel to a facility called the Clear Mountain Institute, where the mysterious Cassandra Nova is overseeing the development of a large number of mutants, including a few bad guys like Toad, Blob, and Sabretooth. The scene where the X-Men first arrive at the facility, in fact, is a nice callback to the X-MEN show in a way, as we get a group shot of a bunch of totally unrelated mutants just sort of hanging out in their costumes. The cartoon did this often, especially in its first season.

And yes, I did say Cassandra Nova -- the woman created by Grant Morrison as Professor X's twin sister who he attempted to murder in the womb, but who somehow survived, grew to adulthood, and challenged the X-Men during Morrison's run. But here, writers Bowers and Sims take the much more agreeable tack of making Nova -- a female clone of Professor X created and abandoned by Apocalypse -- a new host for the sinister Shadow King rather than Xavier's sibling. (Mind you, I haven't touched Morrison's NEW X-MEN since it was published, so I may have some of this a little wrong, but that's my recollection of Nova's story, at least.)

As she escorts the X-Men on a tour of Clear Mountain, Nova challenges Xavier on the astral plane and defeats him. As soon as his psychic powers are removed from the table, she captures the X-Men and pushes them through her "Mind Field" psychotherapy procedure. Nova's motive is unclear at this point, other than that she wants to make the X-Men "family friendly" to the point that she docilizes Wolverine and attempts to "cure" Gambit and Rogue of their lust for one another. Beast, meanwhile, is "rejected" due to his monstrous appearance, and is sent to live among Clear Mountain's "RejeX" -- a group of mutants with less traditional appearances such as Artie, Leech, Maggot, and Chamber. Jubilee also finds the RejeX and teams up with Beast to investigate the secrets of Clear Mountain.

Bowers and Sims also touch upon Storm's history with the Shadow King, showing Nova's rejection of her as well when she refuses to help her old enemy in his plans. These first four issues conclude with Nova preparing to "feast" -- presumably meaning she's about to send the angst-ridden Cyclops and Jean Grey through the Mind Field -- while at the same time, a psychic summons from Professor X prior to his defeat has summoned X-Force (or at least, Westchester's version thereof) to the X-Mansion.

We also have a minor sub-plot in which Cyclops wants to "finally" leave the X-Men with Jean, which I don't recall ever being a thing in the cartoon series... or in the comics, really. Aside from the brief period during which he was married to Madelyne Pryor, leaving the X-Men has never been something I can recall Cyclops ever wanting. He is the X-Men. He was the only member of the original team who stayed on with the "new" group. It's hard to imagine him ever actually wanting to leave the team (again, aside from his time with Madelyine). But I've also heard that Chris Sims is not a fan of Cyclops, so maybe he's just looking for any excuse to write him out.

I'll withhold judgment on the story until I finish it next week, but I will note that so far I like it. The narration is a bit clunky sometimes, but the dialogue is decent -- though sometimes the characters read like overdone parodies rather than the authentic articles. Storm, in particular, with her constant flowery monologues, gets a bit wearing -- and yeah, she did speak that way on the TV show, but not to this extent. Cyclops, as well, comes off as a caricature, but really only when berating Wolverine for being irresponsible. If this series truly is meant as a pseudo-continuation of the cartoon, perhaps Sims and Bowers should recall that Cyclops and Wolverine were really only antagonistic toward one another in the earlier episodes.

Gambit, on the other hand, is fantastic here. He constantly -- constantly refers to himself in the third person, just as his animated counterpart did, and unlike with Cyclops and Storm, this tic is executed flawlessly. Perhaps it's because, whether on TV or in the original comics, Gambit almost always read as exaggerated and larger than life in the most ridiculous possible way. (The comic even throws in a great gag from the show in which Gambit left his wife, Belladonna, with a note on her pillow reading "It not you. It Gambit.")

So far, while I can't say I adore X-MEN '92, I really like it. Sims and Bowers have a fine grasp of the characters' histories and are doing a nice job of tying ideas and concepts that came along post-1990s into their story. The "Secret Wars" tie-in aspect is unfortunate, but on the other hand, it's also the reason the series exists at all, so I can't be too rough on it. At the very least, I look forward to seeing what happens next.