X-PATROL #1, Amalgam Comics (published by Marvel), April 1996
DC vs. Marvel had one good result. No, not any of the fights. Not even Aquaman's, I see that now. When the battles were over, the two universes were combined into the Amalgam Universe, a line of one-shots featuring heroes and villains Amalgamated from heroes and villains from each universe. So Superman and Captain America combine to become Super-Soldier, while Batman and Wolverine become the Dark Claw. See how that works?
I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. I'm that particular kind of geek that loves it when comics history is retold with some twist: What Ifs, Elseworlds, Ultimates, Tangents, even Stan Lee's reimagining of the DC Universe. Picked one of the funkier Amalgam titles as an example here: X-Patrol.
Ok, a mix of X-Men and Doom Patrol seems natural, given that both teams premiered at the same time, and both were misfits led by a guy in a wheelchair (still no word on who copied who), but this is more X-Force than X-Men, judging by the anatomically-challenged, babeliscious art, and it's got its fair share of Teen Titans, from the characters chosen and rather tell-tale HQ (below). I like it for a number of reasons: origin stories, but also a fairly good plot; funny and clever; and lots of amalgams.
"They say it was built for a World's Fair..." That's a reference to the All-Star Squadron's Perisphere, right there. And that's what I especially love about the Kessels', Barbara and Karl's, writing here. I can always bank on this couple for fun, and they add so many layers for the true fanboy, lots of little references to various things in both universes. For example, consider Beastling (the green one). Obviously, he's a mix of the Beast and Changeling. But if you remember that Changeling used to be called Beast Boy, it's all the more clever. Beastling changes into various monsters, and though I don't recognize the source of each one, he does turn into Alpha Flight's Sasquatch at one point, which makes me believe the dragon and octopus also have their sources. And then there's a note in his origin about becoming the monsters that haunted his feverish dreams... like Dorothy Spinner's from Morrison's Doom Patrol?
Other members include Elasti-Girl (basically the Wasp with Elasti-Girl's name and powers), Shatterstarfire (Starfire+Shatterstar, but with lots of little bits pulled from the Atom's microverse princess girlfriend), Ferro Man (genius move putting Colossus and Ferro Lad together, and he's a stand-in for Robotman), H.U.S.K. (Generation X's Husk+Dial H for Hero, great idea to shoehorn more amalgams into the comic) and Niles Cable (Cable+the Chief, Niles Caulder). The latter's come from the future to pull them into a team, knowing they will all die heroically (so they are doomed). And then there's the genius of putting Doctor Doom and Superman-killer Doomsday together as Dr. Doomsday. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
If the names are sometimes bulky and silly - a necessary evil in the Amalgam universe sometimes - the Kessels use it to their advantage. They have fun with it and ask us not to take anything too seriously. Take this excerpt from Elasti-Girl's long-winded entry into the HQ: "Me, I've got a kickin' code name - Elasti-Girl - and an eye-catching costume. So what's the majority opinion? About my outfit I mean. Be honest - I'm thinking of changing it anyway!" Yes, just like the Wasp was a fashion designer and changing costumes in every issue of the Avengers. Shatterstarfire's response? "Useless inane chatter!" HA! Too right. One of many great subversions of comic book clichés.
Then, Cable recalls their various origins, with another cool Amalgam coming from "Dial H for HUSK". Two things to love: His pop psychology ("are you showing aspects of the real Paige, or keeping her hidden beneath layers of costumes and characters") and the reference to both Wonder Girl in her Troia uniform and Wonder Man's costume.
Then they take off to stop Dr. Doomsday's big scheme all quite aware that they're in over their heads. As soon as they hit Latverian airspace:
Don't worry, they're fine. They drop in on Dr. Doomsday and it turns his diabolical plan is to create an army of "twisted, splintered versions of our own heroes" from parallel universes! So are our favorite universes NOT dead? There's hope! Nonsense or not in the context of this crossover, it's a damn funny dig at the whole premise.
Then they get their asses kicked and have to run away, followed by a fake letters page that helps us believe the Amalgam universe has been going on for years. A couple more cute moments before I leave:
1) Love the bit where Elasti-Girl is jealous of Husk for her ability to change costumes.
2) Also love the bit where Doc Doomsday tells Ferro Man: "You're dead!" Since Ferro Lad is most famous for being the first hero from the Legion of Super-Heroes to die, we always expect versions of him to be killed. He survives this issue at least.
And that's it really. Just a fun romp. I think readers with little comic book history under their belts will find it a fun enough read with the right amount of cheesecake art by Roger Cruz, but you get the most out of it if you're geeking out like I am. I could definitely have followed some of these Amalgam series for more than the single issue.
DC vs. Marvel had one good result. No, not any of the fights. Not even Aquaman's, I see that now. When the battles were over, the two universes were combined into the Amalgam Universe, a line of one-shots featuring heroes and villains Amalgamated from heroes and villains from each universe. So Superman and Captain America combine to become Super-Soldier, while Batman and Wolverine become the Dark Claw. See how that works?I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. I'm that particular kind of geek that loves it when comics history is retold with some twist: What Ifs, Elseworlds, Ultimates, Tangents, even Stan Lee's reimagining of the DC Universe. Picked one of the funkier Amalgam titles as an example here: X-Patrol.
Ok, a mix of X-Men and Doom Patrol seems natural, given that both teams premiered at the same time, and both were misfits led by a guy in a wheelchair (still no word on who copied who), but this is more X-Force than X-Men, judging by the anatomically-challenged, babeliscious art, and it's got its fair share of Teen Titans, from the characters chosen and rather tell-tale HQ (below). I like it for a number of reasons: origin stories, but also a fairly good plot; funny and clever; and lots of amalgams.
"They say it was built for a World's Fair..." That's a reference to the All-Star Squadron's Perisphere, right there. And that's what I especially love about the Kessels', Barbara and Karl's, writing here. I can always bank on this couple for fun, and they add so many layers for the true fanboy, lots of little references to various things in both universes. For example, consider Beastling (the green one). Obviously, he's a mix of the Beast and Changeling. But if you remember that Changeling used to be called Beast Boy, it's all the more clever. Beastling changes into various monsters, and though I don't recognize the source of each one, he does turn into Alpha Flight's Sasquatch at one point, which makes me believe the dragon and octopus also have their sources. And then there's a note in his origin about becoming the monsters that haunted his feverish dreams... like Dorothy Spinner's from Morrison's Doom Patrol?
Other members include Elasti-Girl (basically the Wasp with Elasti-Girl's name and powers), Shatterstarfire (Starfire+Shatterstar, but with lots of little bits pulled from the Atom's microverse princess girlfriend), Ferro Man (genius move putting Colossus and Ferro Lad together, and he's a stand-in for Robotman), H.U.S.K. (Generation X's Husk+Dial H for Hero, great idea to shoehorn more amalgams into the comic) and Niles Cable (Cable+the Chief, Niles Caulder). The latter's come from the future to pull them into a team, knowing they will all die heroically (so they are doomed). And then there's the genius of putting Doctor Doom and Superman-killer Doomsday together as Dr. Doomsday. But I'm getting ahead of myself.If the names are sometimes bulky and silly - a necessary evil in the Amalgam universe sometimes - the Kessels use it to their advantage. They have fun with it and ask us not to take anything too seriously. Take this excerpt from Elasti-Girl's long-winded entry into the HQ: "Me, I've got a kickin' code name - Elasti-Girl - and an eye-catching costume. So what's the majority opinion? About my outfit I mean. Be honest - I'm thinking of changing it anyway!" Yes, just like the Wasp was a fashion designer and changing costumes in every issue of the Avengers. Shatterstarfire's response? "Useless inane chatter!" HA! Too right. One of many great subversions of comic book clichés.
Then, Cable recalls their various origins, with another cool Amalgam coming from "Dial H for HUSK". Two things to love: His pop psychology ("are you showing aspects of the real Paige, or keeping her hidden beneath layers of costumes and characters") and the reference to both Wonder Girl in her Troia uniform and Wonder Man's costume.
Then they take off to stop Dr. Doomsday's big scheme all quite aware that they're in over their heads. As soon as they hit Latverian airspace:
Don't worry, they're fine. They drop in on Dr. Doomsday and it turns his diabolical plan is to create an army of "twisted, splintered versions of our own heroes" from parallel universes! So are our favorite universes NOT dead? There's hope! Nonsense or not in the context of this crossover, it's a damn funny dig at the whole premise.
Then they get their asses kicked and have to run away, followed by a fake letters page that helps us believe the Amalgam universe has been going on for years. A couple more cute moments before I leave:1) Love the bit where Elasti-Girl is jealous of Husk for her ability to change costumes.
2) Also love the bit where Doc Doomsday tells Ferro Man: "You're dead!" Since Ferro Lad is most famous for being the first hero from the Legion of Super-Heroes to die, we always expect versions of him to be killed. He survives this issue at least.
And that's it really. Just a fun romp. I think readers with little comic book history under their belts will find it a fun enough read with the right amount of cheesecake art by Roger Cruz, but you get the most out of it if you're geeking out like I am. I could definitely have followed some of these Amalgam series for more than the single issue.
Comments
But now I will just for the fun of it.
The best of either series, though, was Dark Claw Adventures... the Batman/Wolvie combo done BTAS style. Dark Claw has a robot Devil Dinosaur in his Burrow! How awesome is that?
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