SPOILERS AHEAD for Biker Mice From Mars #4!
Well, it was bound to happen.
Since The Biker Mice from Mars are part of the larger NacelleVerse, eventually Modo, Vinnie, and Throttle would have to connect with the franchise’s other titles. Well, that moment’s arrived in issue #4, and I’ve got to be honest, I just wanted a little more face-time with our Biker Mice besties.
Yet despite my misgivings, there’s at least some aspects of this issue that I genuinely enjoyed. For one, I loved Daniel Gete getting to draw the Roboforce squd — his whole approach reminded me of the original look/feel of the series but made all the more sleek and appealing. (Which, for someone who doesn’t really know the modern comic series that well, it really helped prime me emotionally to remain open enough.) We also get to see parts of a future Earth, and that whole design emphasizes the grace and heft of a Star Trek (with a dash or two of Fifth Element-esque vibes).
From a story standpoint, I also deeply appreciated how the team approached the Biker Mice-Roboforce “merger.” Thanks to a big reveal around Hawkki (the Mice’s informant from #3), she can act as a kind of intermediary force between the two groups. As such, we get a bit of her origins and connection to the device generating all the natural disasters on Mars, and that emotional core is so much better than merely mashing the robots and Biker Mice together all willy-nilly like. It makes this process feel a bit more focused and deliberate, and Hawkki can be both a uniting force and a possible source of tension as these parties move ever closer together. (Plus, she’s just an interesting character, and that goes a long way for this story’s connective might.)
Variant cover by Gavin Smith. Courtesy of Oni Press.
At the same time, the whole process also seemed decidedly hindered in some rather important ways. For one, this chapter features almost nothing from the Biker Mice (beyond some bookend scenes that make them feel like plot devices over their usual, fully realized selves). Similarly, the “pivot” comes at a time when the Biker Mice’s story was nearing a fever pitch emotionally, with the disasters bringing up big emotions to the surface and really extending and deepening the relationship between our three leads. And there was also the ever-growing tension surrounding Stoker, who is really the only mouse in issue #4 who gets even a sliver of meaningful development.
But even all of that could have been mitigate/lessened if Roboforce had been positioned more effectively (and with the Biker Mice in mind). Because despite Melissa Flores writing both books, I just didn’t know enough about Roboforce yet to feel like I was prepared. Or, had we known a bit more about that robot squad in addition to what’s shown of them in this issue, maybe I’d be able to connect more deeply and feel the weight of their development coming into this crossover. And, of course, I can’t fully shake the sense that if I’d actually wanted to read a Roboforce story, I would’ve done that already by now. Just because titles can connect doesn’t mean we have to in the name of opportunity, commerce, etc.
Now the question becomes, with everything that went into the groundwork for this growing universe, do I even want to see more Biker Mice-Roboforce team-up goodness? And the answer is an enthusiastic, “Maybe?” A sometimes middling “debut” just left me feeling more confused and burdened than overjoyed and excited, even as my nostalgia was nearly overtaken by the premise alone. But then I start to let it sink in more, and what I feel more than child-like wonder is the commercial intent of this crossover. The NacelleVerse has always been something of a cash-grab, but the emotional quality of Biker Mice allowed me to ignore that just enough.
Variant cover by Juan José Ryp. Courtesy of Oni Press.
Here, though, I can’t ignore that “burden” as effectively, and I’m struck wondering why we can’t just a Biker Mice book in and of itself. Or, why the Biker Mice can’t maintain a larger presence as this machine gets roaring. A crossover like this is only as good as its first step, and the Biker Mice are already operating on what feels like a busted tire. From here, they could easily be overwhelmed by the robots and the sheer scale of this event, and that would stymie a generally solid story that was truly getting good.
I’m OK if we keep those mouse butts on Mars, and let the Biker Mice really do their thing in service of themselves and their people while contributing to something bigger still. Or, inversely, if I knew for sure that Roboforce had given up as much room for Biker Mice (which would’ve required more reading than I’d ever wanted to do in the first place), I’d feel heaps better about this hard launch.
But whatever does happen, let me make one thing clear: Next time I pick up a Biker Mice book, I want it to contain way more Biker Mice.
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