Previously On X-Men: It’s a Father And Child Reunion In Inglorious X-Force #7

Cyclops and Cable touchbase, some X-Men meet the animated Brood and more in this week’s Previously On X-Men!

Inglorious X-Force #7 – Book of the Week

By Tim Seeley, Michael Sta. Maria, Romulo Fajardo Jr, Joe Caramagna

Domino stumbles into Shatterstar while Cyclops visits Cable.

• I’m not sure Xavier ever actually said that telepathic intrusion was okay in times of war, but he definitely was more willing to do it than he said he was.
• Not sure why the X-Men would be angry they took the MLF prisoner? Even Cyclops’ ultimate objections – stealing Zero instead of just asking for it, starting up X-Force without talking to him — have nothing to do with the prisoners.
• That said, the mention of Banshee’s storage facility and checking in with Cyclops or Rogue before starting X-Force suggests a far more cohesive X-Men operation than anything we’ve actually seen since the fall of Krakoa.
• Warren sticking up for Akihiro when Quentin calls him Daken is a nice moment, even as its clearly positioned as a, “I don’t like him, but you can’t disrespect MY teammate” sort of thing (“Daken” means “mongrel” and has been mostly phased out as a name for the character).
• Akihiro and Kid Omega were both killed by Sabretooth in Wolverine (vol. 7) #41, the first part of “Sabretooth War.”
• Cable was not listed as an Omega level mutant on the infamous Jonathan Hickman-penned Omega Mutant chart, despite what he says here.
• Cyclops raised Cable in the future in the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix miniseries and/or the first episode of X-Men ’97 Season 2.
• Seeley seems to be picking up Shatterstar where he left him in the 2018 miniseries Seeley wrote (even though it was largely ignored by later writers), in which he was the landlord of a house populated by refugees from alternate realities.
• Pug-Smasher, the Flag-Smasher from Spider-Ham’s world who appears here, is one of his residents.

Michael Sta. Maria’s art seems a little looser here and took something away from the issue. But the sequences with Domino are nice, and the Cable/Cyclops conversation is the kind of cross-series interaction I wish we got more of these days.

X-Men #33

By Jed MacKay, Tony S Daniel, Mark Morales, Fer Sifuentes-Sujo, Clayton Cowles

The X-Men succeed in powering down Schwartzchild.

• The Black Bug Room is from New X-Men #116
• Schwarzchild lost his arm to Illyana in issue #1.
• Magneto’s kids are, at this time, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Polaris (though Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are not considered his biological children right now).

A solid conclusion to the arc, helped by only being three issues long instead of five. It’s also buoyed by the sequences involving Kid Omega and Ben. The solution to Ben’s desire to kill Schwartzchild — keeping him alive hurts 3K more and he can always kill him later — is an especially effective way of ending that plot point in a manner that is consistent with this books ethos and makes good use of Quentin as the not-terribly-moral voice of morality.

X-Men ’97 Season 2 Episode 5: “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs”

Written by Anthony Selliti & directed by Chase Conley

Wolverine assembles a crew of former Weapon X operatives to infiltrate the current Weapon X facility.

• If you missed my notes on the first four episodes of the season, check them out here.
• Though he doesn’t appear in this episode, Forge has been added to the opening credits.
• There’s also a sequence from X-Men (vol. 2) #5 (Maverick’s first appearance) in the opening credits this episode.
• The episode title is a play on “Weapon X, Lies, and Videotapes” from the original series.
• Garrison Kane appeared in the future, fighting alongside Cable, in Time Fugitives Part 1 & 2, but had no lines.
• Maverick is German, hence the accent. Also, the design of his gun in this episode mimics the gun he uses in his first appearance.
• Morph is sporting the “Team X” uniform established in “Weapon X, Lies, and Videotapes.”
• Kane got Deadpool 2ed.
• Morph transforms into Alpha Flight members Vindicator, Sasquatch and Puck, as well as Thing, Deadpool, Silver Samurai and Spider-Man at various times. I continue to question how he manifests things like Deadpool and Silver Samurai’s swords.
• Since returning from the future, Wolverine is back in his brown-and-orange uniform, though his gloves lack the silver housings for his claws since he still has the bone claws.
• The scene transition when the characters are in the elevator is fun.
• In the original animated series, the Brood were represented by stand-ins calls the Colony, who were more reptilian in design and used mechanical arms. Actual Brood then appeared in the X-Men ’92 comic series; this episode marks their first appearance in animation.
• Names on the DVDs Morph finds include: X-23 (Laura Kinney), Ajax (a Deadpool villain), Aurora, Fantomex, Psi-Borg (Aldo Ferro), Mastodon (like Psi-Borg, a Weapon X character from the comics), Winter Soldier, Silver Fox (Wolverine’s former girlfriend), XVIII, Weapon VI, Ant (no idea who this is), Kane, Sabretooth, Agent Zero (a one-time alias of Maverick), Kimura (X-23’s handler), Worm, Sluggo (a Z-list mercenary who fought Deadpool), and Kestrel (aka the teleporter John Wraith, who was played by Will.i.am in X-Men Origins: Wolverine).
• Maggott makes his animated debut transforming into a Brood, an ignoble debut and end for the character.
• Doctor Cornelius is more overtly evil here than he is typically portrayed in the comics (even leaving out being infected by the Brood).
• When Wolverine transforms into a Brood, his positioning mimics the cover to Uncanny X-Men #234.
• The makeshift flamethrowers are reminiscent of similar weapons in James Cameron’s Aliens (with the Brood taking more than their fair share of inspiration from the cinematic xenomorphs).
• Morph’s Cyclops impression is hilarious.
• Given how traumatic the initial adamantium bonding process was for Wolverine (even as shown on the original animated series), this redo seems especially easy. It’s also questionable whether he’d truly subject himself to that again.
• The shot of Wolverine looking straight on at the camera with claws extended on one hand, beckoning with the other, is an homage to the cover of Wolverine #1, and was used in the season’s trailer.

I bumped against some of the characterization in this one — if Wolverine’s goal all along was to get his adamantium back, why would he bring Sabretooth and Lady Deathstrike along (heck, why would he bring Sabretooth along regardless of the goal) — and while the idea that Wolverine feels he needs adamantium is an interesting one, I doubt the show has the space or inclination to explore it further. As a result, this works much better as a Morph showcase episode, painting a picture of someone struggling with the fact that despite their best efforts, they can’t save their problematic crush from themselves.