I never was too keen on Power Pack, and rightly so, as it was aimed at a younger demographic than what I was when the series began. Just about, anyway. This is not to say that the series is not entertaining, provocative, or well-rendered. Louise Simonson and (original artist/creator) June Brigman are amongst the powerhouse women who persevered in comics at a time when female creators were a true rarity. And the longevity of the characters attests to the talent and inspiration that went into the original series.
That said, this issue is almost, but only almost, one that could be skipped in the crossover. The Pack descends into the Alley to help their young friend Leech and runs afoul of a number of Marauders. There's something interesting to be noted here about tailoring a story for a demographic, and also of age-related inflection across multiple series. Other titles in this crossover have been very, very bloody, and the Marauders shown as a team that can take down both major teams of X-Men. So to see Power Pack take on Sabretooth, Arclight, Scrambler, and Harpoon and survive with barely a scratch takes quite a bit of suspension of disbelief when reading from the perspective of the rest of the story. What the comic is accomplishing, I think, is what many stories for younger audiences do: showing kids that they have agency and can take power in their own lives. On the metaphoric stage of the superhero comic, this makes itself known in the ability of these children to repel even the most brutal of killers.
I don't know whether this issue or tomorrow's Uncanny #212 was released first, but if it's Power Pack, the cover may well be the first skirmish between Wolverine and Sabertooth. Although, in a bit of false advertising, the two don't actually meet in the pages of this comic. But tomorrow...
"Let's see how she likes getting slammed with a condensed rock hard Julie hammer!"
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