Thoughts

The last few issues saw the Hellfire Club give the X-men a royally good kicking, so it’s enjoyable here that this issue sees the X-men turn the tables on the villains . The team have clearly learnt from their defeat, and now, with a better knowledge of what their opponents can do, they bring them down.

Alongside this, though, is Phoenix’s escape from Mastermind’s control. Her revenge on him is a well-drawn sequence that feels both like justice but also ominous. Then the fact the X-men seem to have won keeps getting undercut by Phoenix’s internal monologue. Something is still up. Giving Phoenix her own voice, aware of the doom she’s facing – rather than just limiting it to those around her realising something is wrong – works really well in conveying the tragedy.

Fun Panel

Make your bloody mind up Nightcrawler!

None More Claremont

Claremont’s back in epic language mode, and Byrne is more than up to the task.

Mutant Mailbag Mayhem

Chris Claremont is on hand to answers readers’ questions this issue, and he makes a comment that provides an interesting insight into what co-plotting with Byrne might mean. Asked to show off different X-men in future battles, Claremont accepts that several characters didn’t get “equal play in the climactic battle” he points out that this is due to reasons of space but also “because of the way the visual structure evolved in John’s head as he pencilled the story”. Of course, its not a detailed breakdown of who did what, but as someone whose enjoying the fights in these issues its probably fair to say that I’m admiring Byrne’s creativity in these, not just Claremont’s.