More Than Comic...Less Than Cartoon (A Review of X-Men '92 #1)
It's summer and you know what that means if you're a comic book fan, reader and collector...that's right it's EVENT season, and Marvel's 2015 event SECRET WARS continues with another look inside one of the many piecemeal lands that comprise BATTLEWORLD. In this issue, we take into a gander into the world of the cartoon X-MEN of the 1990's.
You can practically hear that catchy theme song music from the X-MEN cartoon as you begin reading the issue. Cyclops, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine, Gambit and Jubilee are hanging out in a laser arcade training their skills (because Wolverine trashed the Danger Room.) Then the Sentinels show up, and wouldn't you know it, the X-Men have to battle them. Then "Baron" Robert Kelly shows up (because this is BATTLEWORLD ruled by DOOM after all) and they recap what happened in the world of the animated heroes since we saw them last. Magneto's dead and the X-Men are still just hanging out. Kelly explains to them about a safe haven for wayward mutants called the CLEAR MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE. The Institute is where mutants with no purpose can find one. So of course, the X-Men have to go investigate. When they get there, CASSANDRA NOVA (yes, that Cassandra Nova) is there and reveals herself as the **(insert spoiler here)**. It's not THAT big of a spoiler, but it's really the only hook to the book.
It definitely looks and feels like one of the 90's X-MEN books, but as a collector of comics, this isn't necessarily a good thing. After purchasing the book, I automatically had buyer's remorse after the hefty $4.99 price tag, thinking about all the 90's X-issues floating around out there in people's quarter and dollar bins.
Of course, this series is meant to be an homage to those true fans of the X-MEN cartoon, but it falls a little flat. I own all 5 seasons of the animated series, and while nostalgic, I don't get them out and watch them often. Great cartoon that got better over time, but not one that I remember with fondness like I do a THUNDERCATS, HE-MAN or TRANSFORMERS. Maybe it's my age, but I graduated high school in 1992, so it's highly possible this issue wasn't exactly meant for me, but that generation under me that grew up watching this cartoon on Saturday morning on FOX.
In any case, it was a nostalgic trek, but not one that I think will garner enough interest for any kind of revival and I don't think I have any interest in picking up the rest of the series. However, it would be safe to say that X-MEN '92 #1 is a fun book if the 90's X-MEN was your thing!
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