Dark Web: X-Men is a Marvel Easter egg romp, and a instant classic

Superheroes have a difficult relationship with the holiday season. It’s a time when you can relax and enjoy each other’s company in a more positive situation than usual, but because they’re still superheroes, their downtime is inevitably punctuated by villains who try to force them to fight. This year has been a particularly hectic holiday in the Marvel Universe. Mistreated super-clones Ben Reilly (Peter Parker’s clone) and Madeline Pryor (Jean Grey’s clone) unleash a horde of Limbo demons in New York City. dark web crossover.

dark web is essentially a sequel to 1989’s Inferno Event, offering all of the chaotic fun that the previous crossover did well.After last week’s opening salvo, Wednesday’s Dark Web: X-Men #1 by Writer Jerry Duggan and Artist Rod Reiss unite the X-Men and Spider-Man to stop an inanimate being possessed by a demon and hungry for human flesh. It’s a fun, wild issue with four moments that propel it to superhero holiday par excellence.

1. The devil poops on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree

Inferno leans into the great elements of the superhero genre, with a kidnapped baby feeding on a demonic invasion from another dimension, a cloned woman going insane, and an extremely skimpy costume. Stories say he joined them after changing clothes. As an extreme example, Daredevil fought a vacuum.of Dark Web: X-Men, a demonic bowel movement forced the heroes to tear down New York City’s most famous Christmas tree.Like Inferno, with a weird twist dark web Brighter tones; people are bombarded with electric scooters and construction equipment, but the atmosphere remains cheery and bright.

2. Spider-Man reunites with Amazing Friends

Image: Gary Duggan, Rod Reiss/Marvel Comics

Holidays bring people together, Dark Web: X-Men It features an impromptu gathering of three main characters from Spider-Man and great friends, an NBC cartoon that aired from 1981 to 1983. With the addition of Iceman and Firestar to the X-Men roster this year, a reunion has become inevitable. The trio use complementary power sets to create the aforementioned satanic Christmas tree. The mutant also gets a taste of that classic Peter Parker bad luck, getting booed by the crowd after stopping the tree by melting it and trapping it in a giant block of ice that won’t melt until next March. .

3. Return of the Ultimate Himbo Superhero Costume

Image: Gary Duggan, Rod Reiss/Marvel Comics

Alex “Havok” Summers’ status as the X-Men’s No. 1 Himbo good documentedIn that story, Havok’s longtime girlfriend was possessed by an evil mutant at the time and always lived in her brother Scott’s shadow. After they broke up, he quickly fell in love with Madeline. You can but stay loyal to her. That dedication is physically represented by the costume Madeline puts on Alex when he named him the Goblin Prince, tearing his outfit down so that he only wears a tattered crop top, loincloth, and thigh-high boots.

Respect to Alex for rocking an overtly sexualized look. Dark Web: X-Men Restores him to his Goblin Prince outfit after he and his teammates are knocked out by Limbo sleep-demons.

4. X-Men to play White Elephant

Image: Jerry Duggan/Marvel Comics

Although the X-Men are well versed in games, they usually play sports such as baseball and basketball. This year, they’re celebrating by playing White Elephant, a holiday game where people randomly select gifts and get the chance to steal gifts from others. It’s a hilarious note to close the issue, and the inspired use of data pages that has proliferated X-books in recent years. This activity strengthens the camaraderie of new teammates, and the gift reveals a lot about the people who brought it.

highlight? Cyclops ends up with a gift of his own: band of brothers Tom Hanks autographed 4K Blu-ray set. He is such a father.