“Yesterday’s” Comic> Adventures Of The X-Men #3

It’s not a third issue of a Marvel comic without Spider-Man.

Adventures Of The X-Men #3

Marvel (June, 1996)

Gambit and Beast go to an orphanage that Charles’ underground contact says has a young mutant staying there. However, the Friends Of Humanity find him first and the scared kids are prepared to “sacrifice” Adam to them. He’s saved at the last minute by Spider-Man, who joins the X-Men is chasing the hate group away. Not sure if he trusts these two (this took place before he met them in the show), Spidey convinces them to go to Curt Connors to test his powers. However, Mister Sinister shows up and defeats our heroes by convincing the confused boy that they’re the enemy. Wondering if Spider-Man is a mutant he takes the unconscious hero with him and Adam. (concludes in Adventures Of Spider-Man #3)

What they got right: Since both tie-in comics seem to have dropped the tie-in to become their own kid-friendly series it makes sense to have them team-up, and the situation is a good way to bring Spider-Man into the X-Men’s part of the world. Adam is very confused right now, being forced to scare off his “friends” at the orphanage, the hate group, Spidey’s mistrust of these guys he’s never met (trust is a rare commodity in the Marvel Universe), and his own worries about his inability to control his pyrokinetic powers, making him an easy target for Sinister.

What they got wrong: Beast uses a lot of big words and talks a lot with them but even he knows when to shut up or limit his wordage. I wish he would in this comic. Also. 90s art. At least Spidey’s comic next week won’t hurt my eyes as much.

Recommendation: A decent story but if not for the crossover with Adventures Of Spider-Man, which I’ll be reviewing next week, I would be as interested. Still worth a read if the other half holds out.