Thoughts

If there’s a defining trait to this era of Claremont’s era is that, while it retains the scope of the Claremont/Byrne run – even arguably widening it – it also has incredibly tonal, stylistic and even genre jumps in the type of story it tells from issue to issue.

Last issue ended with space opera. This issue is espionage and US army base skullduggery. It’s an abrupt change, but one that works. A sort of pleasing tonal whiplash.

After seeing her own solo title cancelled, Claremont seems to be making Carol Danvers into a player on this team. She’s an important driver of this story, and Rogue’s appearance in the title seems to be to stress their rivalry. The implication seems to be that Rogue is a Ms Marvel antagonist, so shes now going to be semi-regular villain in the X-men.

Claremont doesn’t just set-up a Rogue/Danvers ongoing rivalry here – but also teases yet another sub-plot of an insanely super powered woman. Yet again a scientist is shocked by the potential in Danvers after investigating her potential. Dark Phoenix Mark 2 anyone?

It does raise the question as to whether it was after this issue – and particularly the set-up of Rogue as a recurring antagonist – that Claremont decided to not make Danvers a permanent character on the team but bring in Rogue instead. There doesn’t seem to be any groundwork laid for a sympathetic Rogue at all here. She’s delightfully cruel and awful.

Fun Panel

This is the first time i’ve owned this issue where you can actually make out the yellow Ms Marvel outline. On the old back issue i had it had faded away. Then the black and white epic collection just had a huge space there. It’s nice to finally get to see it!

That Don’t Make A Lick of Sense

I guess if you can absolutely shapeshift to look like anyone, you probaby stop trying too hard – but its pretty incredible that Mystique infiltrates US security using her actual name. And not some contrived alias to go with the disguise.

None More Claremont

A long-time Anglophile Claremont references the actual BBC current affairs show “Panorama” in this issue. It’s a nice touch that adds reality to an attempt to make things seem more serious.

Indeed this issue also marks something of a change in the way that mutants are being treated by the book. While before Mutants were feared, the villains that expressed their hostility to mutants were always Comic Book Villains, ranting and coming up with insane Super Villainy schemes to defeat Mutants. Schemes that inevitably invoice giant robot sci-fi sentinels to get smashed by the mutant heroes.

But Claremont is now changing the presentation of this. Mutants aren’t a menace to inspire frothing super villainy. They are phenemonon that is having a realistic societal impact. The scare is becoming one with roots in the way politics and society are hostile to change and to the other. There isn’t a super villains screaming mutant hate from his underground super villain lair. There’s a serious current affairs TV programme discussing the fact that the World is having to deal with the emergence of mutants.

All this is now such a defining feature of any X-franchise, its interesting to see when the comic started treating the mutant menace this way. Taking its cues not from the need to give a ranting villain an OTT motive, but from recognisable media, politics and societal attitudes. With this issue – subtley – Claremont is changing the whole X-universe.

Mutant Mailbag Mayhem

It’s been a while since we had a letter that out-and-out slagged off the very title its printed in. Steve Spzak of David Avenue in Hamilton is not a happy man at all. I wonder if he did stick around?