What’s a comic that we never got but we should have?

Maybe it’s a comic that was announced that never came out? Or one that ended abruptly or  wasn’t finished? Or was there a story or subplot that was built up that never came about? Or a character who was introduced and faded into the background? Or something that just needed more to it? Or a combination of creators that never collaborated?

Here’s my very niche request… there should have been a crossover between Excalibur, Fantastic Four and Cable in December 1993. 

That was the last time that Rachel Summers, the time-traveling daughter of an alternate-reality Scott Summers and Jean Grey, was in Excalibur. As in #75 (released in January 1994), Rachel gets pulled into the timestream and is lost for a while. She had previously been at the center of the 1990’s crossover “Days of Future Present” between Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants and Fantastic Four where she encountered Nathan Summers, son of Scott Summers and Madelyn Pryor (Jean Grey’s clone); Franklin Richards, the son of Reed and Susan Richards; and a second Franklin Richards, the time-traveling soul of the dead adult version who had been Rachel’s boyfriend. 

Meanwhile, in a storyline in Cable #6-8 (October-December 1993), the schemes of Tyler, the time-traveling son of Cable, revealed to everyone that Cable is Nathan Summers who had been raised to adulthood in a potential future.

Meanwhile, in Fantastic Four #376 (March 1993), Franklin Richards was time traveled into the future and returned a moment later having been raised to adulthood in a potential future.

So in this narrow window at the end of 1993 and start of 1994, there was a chance for Rachel to react to Cable being revealed as Nathan and for Rachel to meet the adult Franklin. And despite their similarities, adult Franklin never met Cable. But it didn’t happen. And I really wish it had. There’s even a perfect villain to bring them all together: a still-hiding-in-the-shadows Hyperstorm, the time-traveling son of an alternate-reality Rachel and Franklin.

Then there could be a sequel later in issues X-Force and Fantastic Force as Cable and Franklin meet again with their teams. Who wouldn’t want to see Huntara fight Shatterstar? Or Vibraxas fight Rictor? Or Devlor fight… hm, well, Feral was gone by then, so I guess Warpath? It’s not a perfect one-to-one. This time the villain could be Tyler who wouldn’t appear again until he was leading the Dark Riders in Wolverine. The Dark Riders are Inhumans like Develor, so, there we go, it all comes together. I might be the only one who wanted or wants this but I really want it.

What do you think we missed out on?

Last week, we recommended entry points into comics.

Next week, we’ll mix and match heroes and villains.