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Dark Web: X-Men
Dark Web: X-Men #1
The X-Men are ensnared in Chasm and The Goblin Queen’s Dark Web! Chaos reigns in the streets of New York City as demon hordes pour forth from the realm of Limbo…a realm that until recently was ruled by Magik. A realm now ruled by Cyclops’ ex. Also, Havok’s ex. Also, a clone of Jean. The X-Men wade into the fray by taking on some of their darker history as the Goblin Queen returns for vengeance!
26 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 14, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 1, 2023
2,5* (which is 1/2 better than the main series) for the 3 issues
Surprising case of a tie-in more interesting than the main event. Didn’t like all of it- Duggan isn’t that great a writer- but his part is quite essential to fully get to the ending of the event and it’s better handled overall. And at least there’s Rod Reis on art even though it’s not his best work ever.
Surprising case of a tie-in more interesting than the main event. Didn’t like all of it- Duggan isn’t that great a writer- but his part is quite essential to fully get to the ending of the event and it’s better handled overall. And at least there’s Rod Reis on art even though it’s not his best work ever.
December 15, 2022
Bad writing and silly jokes makes it difficult to want to read again but it had the Amazing Friends in it. That was fun to see even if they did destroy the Christmas tree.
December 15, 2022
2.5, but I'll round up because at least the writers tried to acknowledge past continuity moderately well. They used the ridiculous costume Madelyn Pryor dressed Havok in back in the 80s (as the "Goblin Prince") as a sight gag in this issue. They had Illyana summarize her original captivity in Limbo from the 80s. Weirdly, characters kept mentioning the events of Inferno from 1990. There were a lot of visual callbacks to inanimate objects around New York City coming to life and attacking pedestrians, just as happened in the original Inferno (which was also already something of an homage to the Ghost Busters movie franchise).
However, no one explicitly explained why the events of Inferno took place the first time around. Characters acknowledge that the demonic animation of New York City is a rerun. But, they don't explain what Madelyn's involvement was the first time, or why.
Someone thought fans would be thrilled to have the Spider Friends reintroduced in this issue. Iceman and Firestar are already both in the main X-Men cast now, and because this event was always supposed to include Spider-man, that meant we got a few panels of the cast of "Spider-man and his Amazing Friends!" (cartoon from either late 70s or early 80s, I don't remember) fighting the demonic attacks in New York.
But, there was no deep character connection. The Spider Friends sort of acted like friends. But, they didn't discuss how well they know each other, why they care about each other, etc. It was more of a sight gag than anything else. An imperfect one at that, as Firestar is not only wearing a completely different costume, but her new costume is atrocious.
Forge briefly says that he would be amazing at defeating Ultron, as he fought some demons. It is implied that this is because Forge's power is technological in nature (techno innovation), so he would rather be fighting robots than magic. ... Of course, this is setting aside the fact Forge is AN ACTUAL SPELL-CASTING SHAMAN. Do modern writers just not know that? Back in the 90s, I thought that maybe his status as a shaman was minor, and limited to maybe casting very specific rituals with candles and beads. And maybe that was the aesthetic and tone writers were trying for in the 90s. But if you go back and read back issues of New Mutants from the 1980s, you can find one noteworthy cover where Magik and Forge are fighting, and Forge is shooting yellow energy blasts from his hands at her.
... I think the writers might just not be aware that Forge can do that.
Madelyn takes the Summers brothers hostage. She had previously married Cyclops and bore his child, but this issue does not acknowledge that particular fact. During the events of the original Inferno, she mind-controlled Havok and dressed him in a thong, declaring him The Goblin Prince and her new lover. So, it makes sense that she has deep --possibly ambivalent-- feelings about these two brothers. But, it's weird that this issue made no attempt to even summarize their relationships. I'm sure it will come up in future issues of this miniseries, but this issue all by itself feels like something is missing.
And, of course, that is setting aside the biggest continuity conundrum of all--
When the Hell did Madelyn get resurrected?
Now, 90s fans probably remember that X-Man (Nate Grey) got his own series. He was a transplant from the Age of Apocalypse universe, so even though he was genetically identical to Cable, he was not born to Madelyn Pryor (who didn't even exist in the AoA universe). Originally, it was believed that X-Man's massive psionic power resulted in him unconsciously resurrecting Madelyn. That some part of his subconscious recognized her as genetically his mother, or something, so he gave her disembodied astral consciousness a corporeal form. The series had this as an ongoing plot point for a while, suggesting that "Madelyn" might have some teleportation abilities because her body wasn't a real body.
... However, the tone of the X-Man title changed starkly. In later issues of that series, with more abstract, gothic artwork, we learned that "Maddie" wasn't Madelyn Pryor at all. She was an alternate reality version of Jean, known colloquially as "Queen Jean." This was during a period where X-Man was making a big deal about the cosmic ladder; that the multiverse was structured like a winding staircase.
Queen Jean was then largely forgotten after the X-Man series was cancelled.
Then, in the 2010s, "Madelyn" showed up in X-Men with a crew of female villains, most of whom were mutants, and the rest were otherwise X-Men adversaries (like Lady Deathstrike). This version of Madelyn had knowledge of magic spells, as she attempted to cast spells to raise various characters from the dead (including a very confusing attempt to raise Kwannon's body from the dead, but not her mind, while simultaneously stuffing Betsy's mind back in Betsy's corpse-- because this was during the 25-year stretch that Betsy was piloting Kwannon's body and no one gave a fuck about what was going on with Kwannon's mind).
This story arc about the "Sisterhood of Evil Mutants" was largely just meant to feature an all-female cast of villains, and little more thought was put into it than that. Characters who had never met teamed up, even when they really had no motivation to do so. Madelyn telepathically taunted Cyclops with a BDSM telepathic fantasy, even though up until that point we had no reason to believe any of these people were actually into BDSM (Madelyn's decision to dress Havok in a thong aside).
Over in Hellions, we saw Madelyn and Havok interact enough that Havok could ask the question about when Madelyn came back from the dead, and she responded, "Ages ago. And you never noticed."
... WHEN!?
Yes, okay. We do know about her most recent resurrection. She died during the course of the Hellions adventure. (And she was the best part of that title.) Havok then fought with the Quiet Council about getting her resurrected. At first he failed, but then a few months ago the Quiet Council decided he was right, and agreed to resurrect Madelyn after all. We then saw Madelyn --still choosing to dress as the Goblin Queen, by the way-- hang out with Illyana, Dani, and Wolfsbane for a few issues in New Mutants. And those events are briefly referenced by Illyana in this issue, as she clearly believes that this Madelyn now unleashing Hell on NYC is the same one she just spent time with in Limbo.
But how did THIS Madelyn Pryor get resurrected prior to the events of Hellions!?
Is this Madelyn Pryor supposed to be the same one who turned out to be Queen Jean, or someone different? This one is acting like she thinks she is the Madelyn Pryor who married Cyclops and rained Hell on NYC in 1990. And everyone is treating her as if she is that Madelyn Pryor. But we never actually saw that Madelyn Pryor get resurrected before.
When did it happen? I assume Sinister was involved, but I don't know for sure. And does this mean Queen Jean might come up again? Are writers going to try to say that this version of Madelyn really WAS the one originally hanging out with Nate Grey?
However, no one explicitly explained why the events of Inferno took place the first time around. Characters acknowledge that the demonic animation of New York City is a rerun. But, they don't explain what Madelyn's involvement was the first time, or why.
Someone thought fans would be thrilled to have the Spider Friends reintroduced in this issue. Iceman and Firestar are already both in the main X-Men cast now, and because this event was always supposed to include Spider-man, that meant we got a few panels of the cast of "Spider-man and his Amazing Friends!" (cartoon from either late 70s or early 80s, I don't remember) fighting the demonic attacks in New York.
But, there was no deep character connection. The Spider Friends sort of acted like friends. But, they didn't discuss how well they know each other, why they care about each other, etc. It was more of a sight gag than anything else. An imperfect one at that, as Firestar is not only wearing a completely different costume, but her new costume is atrocious.
Forge briefly says that he would be amazing at defeating Ultron, as he fought some demons. It is implied that this is because Forge's power is technological in nature (techno innovation), so he would rather be fighting robots than magic. ... Of course, this is setting aside the fact Forge is AN ACTUAL SPELL-CASTING SHAMAN. Do modern writers just not know that? Back in the 90s, I thought that maybe his status as a shaman was minor, and limited to maybe casting very specific rituals with candles and beads. And maybe that was the aesthetic and tone writers were trying for in the 90s. But if you go back and read back issues of New Mutants from the 1980s, you can find one noteworthy cover where Magik and Forge are fighting, and Forge is shooting yellow energy blasts from his hands at her.
... I think the writers might just not be aware that Forge can do that.
Madelyn takes the Summers brothers hostage. She had previously married Cyclops and bore his child, but this issue does not acknowledge that particular fact. During the events of the original Inferno, she mind-controlled Havok and dressed him in a thong, declaring him The Goblin Prince and her new lover. So, it makes sense that she has deep --possibly ambivalent-- feelings about these two brothers. But, it's weird that this issue made no attempt to even summarize their relationships. I'm sure it will come up in future issues of this miniseries, but this issue all by itself feels like something is missing.
And, of course, that is setting aside the biggest continuity conundrum of all--
When the Hell did Madelyn get resurrected?
Now, 90s fans probably remember that X-Man (Nate Grey) got his own series. He was a transplant from the Age of Apocalypse universe, so even though he was genetically identical to Cable, he was not born to Madelyn Pryor (who didn't even exist in the AoA universe). Originally, it was believed that X-Man's massive psionic power resulted in him unconsciously resurrecting Madelyn. That some part of his subconscious recognized her as genetically his mother, or something, so he gave her disembodied astral consciousness a corporeal form. The series had this as an ongoing plot point for a while, suggesting that "Madelyn" might have some teleportation abilities because her body wasn't a real body.
... However, the tone of the X-Man title changed starkly. In later issues of that series, with more abstract, gothic artwork, we learned that "Maddie" wasn't Madelyn Pryor at all. She was an alternate reality version of Jean, known colloquially as "Queen Jean." This was during a period where X-Man was making a big deal about the cosmic ladder; that the multiverse was structured like a winding staircase.
Queen Jean was then largely forgotten after the X-Man series was cancelled.
Then, in the 2010s, "Madelyn" showed up in X-Men with a crew of female villains, most of whom were mutants, and the rest were otherwise X-Men adversaries (like Lady Deathstrike). This version of Madelyn had knowledge of magic spells, as she attempted to cast spells to raise various characters from the dead (including a very confusing attempt to raise Kwannon's body from the dead, but not her mind, while simultaneously stuffing Betsy's mind back in Betsy's corpse-- because this was during the 25-year stretch that Betsy was piloting Kwannon's body and no one gave a fuck about what was going on with Kwannon's mind).
This story arc about the "Sisterhood of Evil Mutants" was largely just meant to feature an all-female cast of villains, and little more thought was put into it than that. Characters who had never met teamed up, even when they really had no motivation to do so. Madelyn telepathically taunted Cyclops with a BDSM telepathic fantasy, even though up until that point we had no reason to believe any of these people were actually into BDSM (Madelyn's decision to dress Havok in a thong aside).
Over in Hellions, we saw Madelyn and Havok interact enough that Havok could ask the question about when Madelyn came back from the dead, and she responded, "Ages ago. And you never noticed."
... WHEN!?
Yes, okay. We do know about her most recent resurrection. She died during the course of the Hellions adventure. (And she was the best part of that title.) Havok then fought with the Quiet Council about getting her resurrected. At first he failed, but then a few months ago the Quiet Council decided he was right, and agreed to resurrect Madelyn after all. We then saw Madelyn --still choosing to dress as the Goblin Queen, by the way-- hang out with Illyana, Dani, and Wolfsbane for a few issues in New Mutants. And those events are briefly referenced by Illyana in this issue, as she clearly believes that this Madelyn now unleashing Hell on NYC is the same one she just spent time with in Limbo.
But how did THIS Madelyn Pryor get resurrected prior to the events of Hellions!?
Is this Madelyn Pryor supposed to be the same one who turned out to be Queen Jean, or someone different? This one is acting like she thinks she is the Madelyn Pryor who married Cyclops and rained Hell on NYC in 1990. And everyone is treating her as if she is that Madelyn Pryor. But we never actually saw that Madelyn Pryor get resurrected before.
When did it happen? I assume Sinister was involved, but I don't know for sure. And does this mean Queen Jean might come up again? Are writers going to try to say that this version of Madelyn really WAS the one originally hanging out with Nate Grey?
September 16, 2024
I'm not into the demons and goblins stuff at all, personally, but I get a kick out of the every day objects wreaking havoc on New York City. Jackhammers, scooters, mail boxes, even the Rockefeller Square Christmas Tree, all have hilarious one liners and angry faces as they chase people all over the place. It's silly, and not even remotely scary (not sure if that's what they're going for or not) but it's just good fun. I don't read this comic for serious drama or anything. There's also a hilarious joke with a construction worker and a living jackhammer that's a particular highlight in this issue.
August 28, 2023
This art eats
March 27, 2024
maddie pryor is innocent
January 16, 2023
This issue was tops. Not only does Duggan drive the story forward in a big way, giving this crossover the momentum it deserves, but he nails the character dialogue. Any time I giggle and some sideways stuff that Peter Parker let’s slide out the corner of his mouth, I am highly satisfied in that I got what I paid for.
January 17, 2023
3.5. Liked spider-man team up with iceman and firestar. Rest of it was okay.
April 12, 2023
This is a fun lil run
May 21, 2023
writing 3 stars but this was silly and i like the art a lot so 4
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews