X-Men ’92 #2

By Chris Sims, Chad Bowers, Scott Koblish and Matt Milla

One of the great things about these Battleworld issues is that we can see characters from different time periods interact with characters that weren’t around. X-Men ’92 is throwing Cassandra Nova at the beloved lineup of heroes. Even though some of these characters were around to fight her in Grant Morrison’s run, there is something about this team and their costumes that makes it feel new and different. As we look at issue #2, we’ll see if we get a different set of results.

Chris Sims and Chad Bowers are obviously fans of the X-Men. The way they portray the characters in this series should be proof enough. This book is filled with throwbacks and an homage to classic storylines and moments from the mutants’ history. Cassandra Nova going into the character’s minds and picking them apart and deciding if they fit her scheme was a pretty cool way to go about the issue. Sims and Bowers continue to allow Jubilee to be comic relief, right down to her playing an X-Men game that has Dazzler, but not Jubilee. It’s also nice to see the ragtag group of rejects that Cassandra Nova doesn’t use. Characters like Chamber and Maggot are seen, which is great because they are often forgotten. Bowers and Sims also play up the Jubilee and Chamber friendship, which could possibly be foreshadowing for Generation-X.

The pencils this issue art tackled by Scott Koblish with colors by Matt Milla. The art is a weak point for the issue. It’s serviceable, but there are many problems with some panels. In too many panels there are characters with misshapen faces or other body parts. At several points in the book there are characters that seem like small children. They just don’t seem to look like adults and all their features are very tiny. Koblish does have some decent panels in this issue though. There is a throw back to Wolverine coming out of the sewage water from the Hellfire Club arc, which looks pretty good. As Jubilee is introduced to the Rej-X, Koblish does a nice job of drawing many of the characters in that panel. The colors by Matt Milla were very good as usual. His colors were a bright spot for the art department this issue. Milla is effective in capturing the bright colors of the 90’s and making them look good again.

This was a well written issue, but the art hinders it from being better. Chris Sims and Chad Bowers have proven they can handle these characters and handle them well. Scott Koblish seemed like he may have been rushed this issue, but there is some room for improvement with the pencils. Overall this continues to be a fun ride down nostalgia lane.