More X-Force + More Doom Patrol = Exciting X-Patrol

Exciting X-Patrol #1
“The Curse of Brother Brood!”
Writers: Barbara Kessel
Penciler: Bryan Hitch
Inker: Paul Neary
Lettering: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Colors: Joe Andreani
Separations: Digital Chameleon
World Builder (editor): Jaye Gardner
Center of the Universe (editor-in-chief): Bob Harras
Cover: Hitch and Neary
Published by: Marvel
Released: April 2, 1997

The X-Patrol returns with half as many Kessels but seemingly twice as many awesomely amalgamated names.

We open on Niles Cable (Cable + The Chief) and reigning champion Amalgam name Shatterstarfire (Shatterstar + Starfire, but you knew that) surrounded by the Brood, Marvel's resident Xenomorph stand-ins, until Disney bought Fox and now they can use the real deal. But without them, we wouldn't have gotten Broo, so, net positive. Although these Brood are relentless, they aren't as instantly infectious as their Marvel counterparts.

They're under the leadership of Brother Brood, who may have had a lot more in common with DC's Brother Blood before he let himself get taken over by a Brood queen. But before he can infect others, he has to put them through some perverse baptism rite that is probably similar to what his DC half does, but my main experience with him was during Geoff Johns' run of Teen Titans and I was too preoccupied with it not being Peter David's Young Justice to remember all the details.

Cable wasn't planning on fighting these creatures in the caverns beneath Zenosha. But Shatterstarfire went barreling in after Terra-X, who turned to rocks and dust. Cable tells Shatterstarfire that was just the girl using her power, then uses his telekinesis to free her from the catacombs and instructs her to bring the rest of the X-Patrol back to help him.

The team isn't too happy to find out Shatterstarfire left Cable, but they're also suspicious of Jericho, a new arrival who looks kind of like erstwhile New Mutant/X-Man Rockslide, who hadn't debuted just yet. I do know who his Marvel half is, but his identity is a mystery at this point, so let's keep it that way for now.

Elasti-Girl (Elasti-Girl + Wasp + Domino) trusts him, but she's the only one. The team – which also consists of Beastling (Beast + Changeline/Beast Boy), Ferro Man (Ferro Lad + Colossus) and Dial H.U.S.K. (Husk + the H-Dial) – agrees to table their debate and rush to their leader's rescue. On the plane, Jericho makes references to the future and Elasti-Girl's internal monologue makes it clear she doesn't really know who he is either.

Cable is chained up in an even darker and danker portion of Brother Brood's caverns, perhaps already infected with the Brood. He's visited by a vision of Raveniya the Healer, a mix of Raven and Cable's future wife Aliya. She says she can't heal him from where she is but reminds him of the heroic legacies that inspired him:

I'm sorry, Mrs. Kessel; you expect me to care about whether Cable and the X-Patrol survive when you've just referenced Prez: Master of Kung Fu and the Sea Devil Dinosaurs?!? And then on the next page we learn about Deaddevil, the Man without Life?!?!?

But no, the assignment was to write about X-Patrol, and I suppose that had more selling potential than Prez. Regardless, Raveniya tells Cable he can cure himself of the Brood implant by using the piece of her soul-self he carries within him. But he reminds her that would mean he loses control of the techno-organic virus with which he's also infected.

The X-Patrol arrives and is quickly attacked by Brood, leading H.U.S.K. to dial into another Amalgam gem: Artemisty Knight (Artemis + Misty Knight). It becomes clear that Ferro Man has a soft spot for her as the rest of the team finds Brother Brood welcoming a new convert. It's Terra-X, whose amalgamation is made clear: it's Titans traitor Terra and earth-moving Galactus herald Terrax. She takes on Jericho before Elasti-Girl shrinks down and K.O.s her from within her ear.

Brother Brood summons Cable, who doesn't look any more Brood-y but is clearly fighting their control, while old Double B morphs into the giant Brood queen he's hosting. Jericho explains that Cable's fall will lead to the Brood infecting more mutants and taking over the world. Though humanity defeats them, they still blame mutants, leading to a dark future... kind of like the one Cable wants to prevent. Jericho moves to take on Cable himself, only to have his rocky covering blasted off to reveal:

Yep, Jericho is an amalgam of Jericho, of course, and X-Man, the alternate Cable from the Age of Apocalypse. Cable seems satisfied that his younger self can replace him so he unleashes the fragment of Raveniya's soul-self on Brother Brood. He said it was to heal him but it ends up killing him. Without the soul-self, Cable is grotesquely overcome by the techno-organic virus. Jericho says he can telekinetically stop the virus but can't do anything about the Brood implant. H.U.S.K. tries to dial up a new set of powers, but it's Raveniya who comes to his aid, telling him to rest and heal.

Nobody else sees anyone but H.U.S.K., who says she didn't actually transform. Nevertheless, Cable is fine and ready to continue fighting the good fight, with his younger self – who he refers to as an Ex-Man – part of the squad.

Like the previous X-Patrol adventure, this one has some confusing bits that are overcome by the action, excitement and fun. Did the Kessels just have a notebook full of potential Amalgam characters? Other names they dropped included Hawk and Dagger, the Microstar Micronauts, the Vigilante Kid and the Atomic Black Knight.

I didn't understand why some of the X-Patrol characters seemed not to know each other: Cable was unaware of Jericho until he joined the rescue, but it seemed like the latter had been around for a little while. Terra-X betrayed the Titans but Shatterstarfire seemed to know almost nothing about her. But this could be explained away by Shatterstarfire and Cable being away from the team for a while, I guess. The narration notes this story takes place about a year after the original adventure, and while it has a number 1 on the cover, that was for marketing purposes and I presume this could easily have been #13 or what have you of an X-Patrol series.

Hitch's art gives a different vibe than Roger Cruz's in the previous installment, a little grittier but not better or worse. Like its predecessor, the team behind this issue understood the assignment – mashed up comic craziness – and delivered.

Best Amalgam: Some of those hinted at are pretty tantalizing, and Shatterstarfire as a name and concept is hard to beat. But rather than a repeat, I'll give the nod to Dial H.U.S.K. The concept and origin felt a little awkward the first time around, but the shedding skin and changing identities felt natural here, and the fact that she can open the door to even more off-the-wall and obscure combinations makes her a gift that could keep on giving.

Most Confusing Amalgam: Zenosha confused me because Genosha was already referenced in Magneto and the Magnetic Men. I guesses the Z came from Vixen's Zambesi, but the Fandom wikis say it's for Zandia, which has ties to Brother Blood in DC. But Brother Blood wasn't in Peter David's Young Justice, so who cares?*

* - I'm kidding. Enjoy your Teen Titans stuff. But Young Justice was awesome, and I wanted more.