The first is Cable#33 (Jeph Loeb/Ian Churchill). Now, it may be sacrilege to say this, but I've read a number of issues of Cable from Jeph Loeb's run, and they're actually not bad. They're not brimming with life or personality, but they're solid stuff, and Churchill's art is very good. This particular issue takes place
before the Onslaught crossover properly begins. Uncanny X-Men#333-334 and X-Men#53-54 were a fairly effective lead-up to the start of it, culminating in the revelation that Professor Xavier was Onslaught. This issue fits between those chapters, as Cable has gone off to find Post, one of Onslaught's lackeys who had been introduced to great fanfare in X-Men#50, only to be cast aside pretty quickly. Loeb does a few good things here. He shrewdly ties Post's origin into Cable. He ties a forced crossover quite nicely into this book's ongoing stories. And he really builds suspense for the big reveal of Onslaught's identity. Cable deduces who Onslaught must be, but, with his techno-organic virus flaring out of control after fighting Post, he is unable to warn the X-Men (or even physically stand up). There is legitimate tension built here, something you don't often see in a crossover tie-in, and also a smart little script.
The other issue I really enjoyed comes in the midst of the crossover, Incredible Hulk#445. Now, I should mention that these two titles crossed over in the during the crossover. Cable#34 and Incredible Hulk#444 featured a story where Onslaught sent a mind-controlled Hulk after Cable, and Storm came to Cable's rescue. It's perfectly ok, and certainly better than most Onslaught tie-ins, but not as strong as these two issues.Incredible Hulk#445 (Peter David/Angel Medina) has the Hulk, now free of mind-control, join the assembled heroes in New York to fight Onslaught. Tired of sitting around planning, he assembles an ad hoc group of Avengers to join him in tunneling underground to take the fight directly to Onslaught. Onslaught's mental trickery causes the Hulk reveal to this group that this mission is about proving himself superior to the other heroes; he doesn't care who has to die to accomplish that. A pall cast over the group, they return, defeated, to the other heroes.
This is a very strong little issue. David's portrayal of the Hulk is top-notch. The other heroes are skeptical of him, because Onslaught had controlled his mind, and he is immediately on the defensive. It's easy to sympathize with Hulk as these heroes turn their nose up at him.
His heinous behaviour towards the end of the issue shows him in a much different light. But I can't dislike him for wanting to show up these other heroes. After years of this sort of treatment, and enduring one of Captain America's patronizing speeches here, shouldn't he be happy to prove his worth to them? The mission Hulk proposes here is so maddening that it lends an air of danger and desperation to the issue. There's no way this crack team of Avengers is going to accomplish anything against Onslaught. Speaking of Avengers, David does a stellar job with them too. Falcon is great here, trying to be understanding towards the Hulk, who helped his dying nephew in an earlier story. David even creates a great moment of tension between Crystal and the Scarlet Witch. I wouldn't expect the writer of a crossover tie-in to put such effort into the guest characters, but David does so here. He even leaves a lot of room for his ongoing stories - some Pantheon stuff, Rick Jones fighting with his wife about joining the Hulk in New York. A regular reader of this title couldn't have been disappointed by this crossover tie-in, especially because it's a complex portrayal of the Hulk that sits at the centre of this issue. It's nice to find these surprises in the middle of a much-maligned storyline. It shows that, in an editorially-mandated crossover, it's still possible to tell a thoughtful, tense story. Both of these issues do that, while using the crossover as a chance to do something interesting.
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