Thoughts

We’re back on the main title and back to Claremont’s writing. And things are instantly on the up for the team. For a start, they manage to be vaguely competant in the fight, one that ends with success. Albeit a success caused by Lockheed (but he counts as an X-man, right?)

After a twelve issue miniseries that never really felt set in an actual place – just a bland mish-mash of oddly conveyed ideas – what’s immediately striking in this issue is that Claremont creates an immediate sense of place. The X-men land in Japan. Even though this is clearly Comic-book Japan, it at least feels like an interest fun world. And the characters’ interactions with it seem to be taking place in a consistent reality.

Even better, the fact we’re back in Japan means we get MORE SUNFIRE. And that, for me, is only a good thing. I love the idea of an arrogant character, and whenever he appears in this run I wish he’d stick around. There seems so much scope to see how he might and interact with the X-men and from that develop.

Still nice to see him for this cameo.

Claremont does a great job in this issue in bringing the X-men back and making them feel like the book’s team are back. It doesn’t pretend Secret Wars doesn’t happen and it has fun with the idea that the characters are being zapped back to their reality.

It also acknowledges that for Colossus things have happened off-world. He’s still talking in the same trite nonsense he did on Battleworld, but here at least it succintly signifies the storyline won’t be dropped, even if it won’t hold up the action here.

Fun Panel

OF COURSE ITS THE BIG DRAGON PICTURE!

That Don’t Make A Lick of Sense

The X-men teleporting back to Earth in this issue raises so many questions as to how any of this happens.

Why do the X-men turn up in Japan? Colossus is returned to Maddie where he, apparently, was taken from. So why aren’t the X-men sent back to Central Park.

Also why does the Dragon change size so drastically. It was the same size as Lockheed on Battleworld, and the Secret Wars mini took place in our universe. One where a galaxy was destroyed to create the setting. So why, when relocated to another part of the universe does the Dragon change in size so much.

It’s best not to dwell too much on any of this. It works because of weird alien magic handwave voodoo.

Although I did get intrigued whether this Dragon, that conveniently vanishes at the end for – again – unexplained reasons ever returned. It might make for a fun story

None More Claremont

As ever Claremont does a good job making Scott and Maddie seem like a credible, young couple. Not tortured romantics, not some yearn great story of love for the ages. Just a couple who really like each other. Even on the reread it’s so hard not to want bad things to happen to these two. And I know where this is all going and I still want that for them.

Mutant Mailbag Mayhem

Wolverine answers the letters this issue, and its a nice handled letter page if you’re someone who can get your head round the sheer twee nature of this gimmick. I do sometimes struggle with this, but when they’re written convincingly in character while simultaneously not taking themselves too seriously it is pretty charming.

The gang at CHUCKs are not happy about Ancorage airport though. I wonder whether they were appeased by the reply?

(is it wrong that I googled this address to see if it was a bar and still existed? Sadly if it ever was, its just a residential address now. I hope I’m not going to develop a habit of googling all these addresses. That might just get weird…)