Comicon Advent Calendar Day 17: ‘Twas The Night Before X-Man, I Mean X-Mas
by Tony Thornley
Welcome back to the Comicon Advent Calendar, where today we get a glimpse of how sometimes the holidays make best friends of unexpected superhero pairings.
It’s easy to make jokes about Amazing Spider-Man #420. That’s just one of several numbers that in today’s society has just become a meme, so we have to chuckle at it. But not only is that infamous number set at Christmas, the issue from Tom DeFalco, Steve Skroce, Bud LaRosa, Bob Sharen and Richard Starkings also kicks off one of the 1990s most wholesome but weird superhero friendships.
Peter Parker is once again hard up for money. This time though, a fortunately timed assignment from the Daily Bugle will give him just enough to get the gift he wants for MJ. It will also put him face-to-face with the refugee from an alternate universe — Nate Grey, the X-Man! Meanwhile, in the background, a gang war heats up…
It had been years since I read this issue, and I forgot how much I like it. The two downsides are that Skroce makes Peter and Nate look too much alike, and that there’s too much pagetime given to the gang war — a one-on-one slugfest between two supers — which really would have been more effective with less (especially since Peter and Nate never get involved).
After this issue, Spidey and X-Man would become recurring allies and friends. Out of context, you’d probably think that’s incredibly forced. It comes off extremely natural though, and the Christmas themes of giving, love and goodwill towards others do so much to make it work. DeFalco also knows the tropes of two heroes meeting for the first time, and does everything to subvert those tropes. His take on Nate is also one of the best I’ve read, to the point that I wish he’d written the characters’ ongoing adventures instead of others.
While I wouldn’t personally recommend this for anyone that isn’t a hardcore Marvel fan, I really loved it. It’s sweet and sentimental without being saccharine or sappy. It’s a great little read for fans of ’90s superheroes.
