X-Men/Black Panther Wild Kingdom

Written by Pete Milligan and Reginald Hudlin

Drawn by Salvador Larrocca and David Yardin

Mutated animals are appearing in Africa, some one is preparing an army and the X-Men, when they head in to investigate find themselves face to face with militant sentient monkeys, a cold war relic and the Black Panther.

That sounds fantastic, right? Sounds like the perfect X-Men story complete with massive action, a cast of thousands, a big idea and a strange location. Its something that Milligan’s work has excelled at before, something which lies at the heart of the series. Unfortunately, here, it’s a mess.

The crossover between the two sets of characters simply doesn’t work. Milligan’s snarky, bickering X-team, who in the past have played out as a tremendously fun group of dysfunctional mutant teenagers here come across as nothing but snide stereotypes, each one working to an agenda and none of them remotely interested in any of the others. Where mutant angst has always been a touchstone of the series, here, you find it all but impossible to care about the characters inside the first chapter.

Storm, supposedly on solid ground here, is the worst offender, literally abandoning her team mates in the early stages of the story and involved only tangentially with much of the story. T’Challa, in Hudlin’s Black Panther issues is even worse, a smart, regal, noble figure turned into a preening, confrontational high school jock in a panther outfit. Not even the central conceit (Communist super monkeys! How do you do communist super monkeys wrong?!) can save the book, both writers bulling their way through the story with a grim determination that eliminates almost all it’s charm.

If there’s a plus side, it’s that Larocca and Yardin turn in good work. Larocca’s art is consistently impressive and here, he and Yardin do what they can to fit their different styles together. It’s not perfect, but it’s close and frankly, it’s the only thing that saves the book.

Originally published as a bridge into last year’s Black Panther/Storm wedding this is a story produced out of duty than anything else and, frankly, it shows. Everyone involved, from Marvel to the creators and the characters can and has done much, much better work.