Cyberforce Wildcats: Killer Instinct, Chapter 1

Rating:
Summary: The most unwarranted crossover ever
Review: (Actually, this is not chapter 1, but the full story)

Back in the early `90s, Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri decided they were doing a good thing by cooking up a WildCATs/Cyberforce crossover, running through Cyberforce #1-3 and WildCATs #5-7, and collected in trade format as KILLER INSTINCT. Not that the crossover needed to occur, mind you, but with early Image, sales gimmicks and hype took precedence over any hint of quality. The main problem is that even with best-selling miniseries and regular issues under their belts, these two super-groups lacked the character development, history, and individuality necessary for an effective crossover. And no matter how strongly the creators felt otherwise, they absolutely could not write a decent story for their own characters.

As a result, KILLER INSTINCT is an endless loop of fight scenes, melodrama, and horrid characterization, with little for the reader to take interest in. It centers around Misery, a villain with ties to the pasts of both the WildCATs and Cyberforce. The two groups meet, but instead of a team-up, it becomes an extended fight. Is this fight due to a valid reason? No, it's due to... MIND CONTROL (high up on the comic book cliche list). In addition, so-called heroes freak out and risk life and limb in response to an insult. Female characters recovering from injuries prance about in skimpy see-thru nightgowns. And, almost everyone has a bad attitude. One unintentionally funny aspect of the story is the liberal use of meaningless technical jargon and acronyms, the conception of which seems to have required more effort than the plot. If you are trying to fill in the backstory of WildCATs, be warned: there just ain't much here. You'll get a bit of info on the island of Gamorra, which plays a part in early issues of THE AUTHORITY, but that's about it.