More X-humiliation in this issue as Wasp single-handedly takes down the team and Magneto regresses further into evil villain stereotype. Also characters drop the “oh you’re no better/worse than Hitler” line here which already feels somewhat loaded.
Apart from that the heroes escape from under a mountain and arrive at a village. The Battleworld of Secret Wars has civilians that need protecting. It sort of works an idea but the way it’s dropped in here really smacks of it all being made up as it goes along.
Actually this freewheeling, insane plotting probably captures the spirit of a small kid playing with Marvel action figures perfectly. And then a city of aliens appear. Just because. Don’t think about it. It just more crazy cool stuff.
After the fun of last issue – this one is a real head scratcher. Stuff happens without any real explanation and there’s a number of WTF moments, ranging from the mystifying to the icky.
The X-men are going to leave the Hero compound to join Magneto. I have no idea why. They’d hardly be much use in a fight because Spider-man pretty much takes them all down.
Doom creates two new lady supervillains. I guess to up the female quotient when it came to action figures but these two volunteers for super powers come from nowhere with no real explanation.
And Magneto stops being fun retro-drama villain and becomes icky retro-drama villain. The scene where he kisses wasp has not aged well.
Claremont has played with this Male Villain Attracted to Female Hero cliche a number of times now – and while sometimes it’s felt cheesy and dated it never feels quite as icky as here.
From an X-men perspective, this is a pretty light issue. The X characters get pretty much all ko’d at the start of the issue’s opening battle. After that the main developments seem to be dialogue to “explain” the illustration error in Issue 1 that saw Xavier back in the wheelchair. And Colossus to point out the absence of Lockheed.
(of course the presence of Lockheed in the first place raises the issue of how he got there. Checking the earlier issue, he’s not with the X-men we see taken in the park. But then neither is Rogue. Ultimately i think it’s probably best not to think about how this works too much)
But while the X-characters take a bit of a back seat, Shooter seems to have a lot of time for Magneto. We see Magneto begin to make his own plans while stuck on the world. We also see Doom do the same. Indeed it really feels like Shooter is far more interested in these strong-willed anti-hero types than most of the heroes.
Magneto’s storyline here treads a fine line between the way Claremont had started writing the character and the villainous bluster he was guilty of in early appearances. Magneto has a plan here and it *might* not be an evil plan. But it requires him riding roughshod over what the heroes might try to do.
I say it treads a fine line but the more i think about it the more it strays from that line into the old school. There’s not the element of honour or genuine grievance that Claremont has been layering into the character.
BUT this isn’t such a huge disappointment because for both Magneto and Doom I quite like Shooter’s take. These are great, flawed genius men. Who are presented as being the most able to thrive in a world like this one. And it makes me intrigued as to whether they might.
Ok. Time for a sidestep away from the main X-titles. To join the first major Marvel crossover event, Secret Wars. The last we saw the X-men they vanished from Central Park. And with this miniseries we find out where they are.
The story behind Secret Wars is pretty well known. Marvel agreed to a comics title to support a new range of action figures. And so a storyline was concocted to most suit a toy range – all the action figures are made to fight.
Knowing that the title would take all the heroes from their own comics (and their own creative teams), Marvel Editor in Cheif Jim Shooter decided he would write the thing. If all the writers were equally angry at him, it would be easier than if he picked one who’d face the emnity of all the other writers.
This means we’re not dealing with Claremont’s writing anymore. The X-men taken out of his hands for this mini-series. It also means that the X-characters are sharing the pages with a lot of other characters, so there’ll probably not be enough for the usual format. Just the basics.
Anyway, this first issue is simple set-up stuff. We get to see the Beyonder’s Godlike powers in action as he creates a world for all the fighting and swats Galactus like a fly. And we get the rosta of heroes and villains who are going to fight here.
But from a Mutant perspective a couple of points to note here. Firstly Magneto appears on the hero team, much to the consternation of some of the non-mutant heroes. This is a nice nod to the story as its been developing in the main title. Conversely Xavier appears in a wheelchair. Which is very much not up to speed with the latest news.
Still the final panel promises what we’re going to be dealing with here.
And so this Hellions and Kitty Pryde story comes to an end. And with it the first era of the New Mutants.
It’s pretty clear from the opening panels of the next issue of New Mutants that they’re trying something radically new. Which necessitates abandoning what the title had been so far.
Which is understandable. This title has never really found its feet. The characters seem a combustible mix on paper but it’s never really fully clicked. Bad Ideas get thrown into mix (yes Team America I am talking to you here) and characters seemingly killed off in clumsy ways.
Claremont works well as a “low level” writer incorporating the personal lives of his leads into cosmic adventures. But while he can do this with adults living in contemporary New York with a vitality that seems fresh – it all seems lost in a boarding school environment. Things are too detached from the outset, while at the same time not quite being fantastical enough a setting to be the engine for stories.
The end result has been a comic that’s pleasant to read but mostly just there. It all feels completely unessential.
So it’s all about the change. And nothing illustrates the scale of that more than the final panels. Take a look at the very conventional (and slightly silly) presentation of the Demon Bear that’s coming for Dani. Next time we see it the Bear and the title will be very different indeed.
Fun Panel
Following my comments on the last issue – I would sign up for a hundred issues of this image in a heartbeat.
I love new teams. I leave those first glimpses you get of the different team members. The new looks. The potential new power. All the unknowns about the person who wields those powers.
And I’ve realised that its probably Claremont and the X-men that made me like this. What he did with the All-New X-men has made me think everytime I see an All-New team, I want to know more. I’m immediately excited as to what these characters stories are. Where they might go.
And that’s definitely the case with the Hellions. Seeing them in action, these counterparts to the New Mutants, taking them down and capturing the team, feels like another set of characters I want to know. The strange cat-like one, the Thunderbird (what’s his deal?), Luck powers, Tarot summoning cards. I want to know so much more!
Even when there wasn’t the time or the imagination to create a new powerset, and so one of them is basically Cannonball 2 – I’m intrigued enough by the name and Claremont’s internationalist outlook to want to know what the character’s story is.
We’ve had a couple of great teams introduced in this run already – the Starjammers and Alpha Flight. Both do go on to have interesting runs as teams in books and as guest characters. But the Hellions never quite reach their potential. They’re just too far removed from the New Mutants to get the storytime they deserve. A couple get picked out for storylines going forward, but I would have loved a run of them as a team book.
The more I think about it, the more I think one of the problems with this title’s search for an identity is the fact that the characters are at Xavier’s school. Alongside the X-men. The set-ups are too similar and too close. Maybe the spin-off title should have been set in Emma Frost’s academy from the outset. Good mutants (mostly) realising they are actually being trained by a bad organisation. Future rivals to the X-men who will one day become heroes.
None of this is to be though. But the beauty of these introductions to a new team is all the fun of that potential is there. Even if its never realised. It makes for a fun read.
Fun Panel
What happens when an unstoppable Cannonball meets an unstoppable Cannonball rip-off?
Cool panel explosions.
None More Claremont
More body and soul corruption to the core? Have a lie down Chris, you’re over excited.
This unheralded, unmarketed run of UXM NM crossover issue ends here, with Kitty and the White Queen storyline being told here. I mentioned before these crossing storylines really do play merry hell with the reprints. The above is needed in the New Mutants Epic where I read this issue.
That aside, this is a fun issue and a great set-up for a little three issue story. One of the things I love about it is the “street level” (or should that be school level?”) it takes place in. The New Mutants learn that Kitty is in trouble and, in the absence of all the obvious super hero trappings of the Big Teams, they have to raid their piggy banks to get the money to get the bus to where Kitty is.
This helps make the New Mutants feel distinct as a team, but also gives Claremont the chance to write some nice moments for all the team members as they travel on the bus.
Fun Panel
Just what is it about the incredible sexy evil woman in a kinky lingerie outfit that means Claremont keeps bringing her back? Quite simply we’ll never know.
None More Claremont
Things are coming to a head for the controversial Kitty/Peter romance and I think one of the reasons I feel inclined to give Claremont the benefit of the doubt on it is his handling of it before and after the break-up. Having read Kitty’s mind, the White Queen is able to reveal that Kitty loves Doug.
This doesn’t feel like an Epic Love that comics tend to give the likes of Scott and Jean. It shows that Kitty, like any teenager, develops intense feelings pretty quickly.
And this puts her feelings for Colussus into perspective. It isn’t a Love For The Ages. It’s a Crush. That’s all.
It’s a nicely handled moment in the issue, coming as it does as we realise that Doug behaves like pretty much any straight or bisexual teenage boy and has a crush on Kitty. Which the White Queen (boo hiss) is manipulating.
It was a Product of its Time
Magnum *and* Garfield! Not sure I recognise the other two furry toys. Teddy Ruxpin maybe on the chair by the bed. Bottom right? No idea.
The slightly odd New Mutants / Xmen crossover run continues with another of Claremont’s ‘downtime’ issues.
There isn’t really much of a plot here. The X-men talk among themselves and reach interesting character moments before things actually happen in the last few panels.
But we’ve been here before with downtime issues – and this one again demonstrates why they’re a highlight of the Claremont’s era. The focus on the X-men as characters in this issue, advancing their own personal stories, is genuinely engaging. His gift for melodrama sits incredibly well with his handle of all their personalities.
The main character story here is probably Storm and Kitty. Claremont seeks to resolve Kitty’s anger at Storm’s reinvention by having the characters share a dramatic heart to heart. In theory this sounds like a plot backtrack, Claremont only introduced the Kitty Angry At Storm angle in the last few issues. And ends it with a conversation. But it never feels like that when you read it. It feels to me like a very natural resolution of a temporary shock to a friendship.
Another developing storyline is the Colossus/Kitty romance storyline. This genuinely reads to me like Claremont is moving to end the relationship, that the reality of the situation is beginning to hit home. Kitty and Doug feels like a more natural couple, and Colossus realises that.
Although i have to admit that Wolverine’s comments in the scene maybe undercut my favourable interpretation. Wolverine, who speaks here as some sort of wise old Romantic, suggests Colossus’ attitude is the problem here. Rather than more obviously stating “OF COURSE YOU SHOULD BREAK UP. FFS PETER SHE’S JUST A KID”
This all heads towards the double headed cliffhanger. One leading into the Secret Wars. The other into Kitty’s continuing adventures over in New Mutants. The reveal of the White Queen is a wonderful cinematic moment and one of my favourite cliffhangers. The Secret Wars one just sort of happens.
Fun Panel
Another strength of Claremont’s X-men era is that it embraces change for the characters and the changes seem real and affecting. Maybe i’m just more cynical now, but it feels any character shake up in comics will eventually tend towards the reset. Xavier now walks! But this doesn’t feel like a quirk. A three part what if were Xavier has a brief moment of walking before having to sacrifice itself to return the IP to the default.
This vitality is captured in the opening full page panel. Romita Jr does a beautiful job here.
It was a Product of its Time
I remember the time the comic is set. Computer games didn’t look this good! But the game in essence captures the gaming basics we all thought were so impressive.
This issue is as much a fifth issue of the Magik mini-series as it is another New Mutants comic. It brings her flashback story up-to-date and into the now. Illyana is a New Mutant from this issue on, and her set-up pretty much finalised.
She is the Ruler of Limbo, with the Mutant Power of creating Teleportation Circle but also armed with the Soul Sword. Belasco has been thwarted but not killed, and his henchman S’ym now serves Illyana. At least for now.
That’s a great character set-up and it could probably have supported a full-on Magik solo title. At least in terms of the scale of the narrative possible with the character, if maybe not sales. But instead she’s added to the roster of the New Mutants where, understandably, her story will take a back seat. If only for a while.
This issue also sees the start of a trend that’s going to run for a while now between the titles. They will feel muich more closely intertwined, with plotlines from one title carrying over into the other a few weeks later.
Since this isn’t being done under the umbrella of a “crossover”, the titles never get republished in collected editions that maintain this reading order. It is very much the definition of a first world problem but this does make things slightly annoying for the completist re-read like that. Having to drop one fancy reprint to pick up another just to do a completist reread is annoying. It’s probably too late to suggest to Marvel that they consider the “Complete Claremont” Omnibus collection.
Fun Panel
It’s a shame that Sal Buscema has not had much chance for visual scale or humour during his run as the title’s artist. But this moment does make me smile.
The miniseries comes to a conclusion with the effective birth of the character Magik. On these issues we’ve learnt her mutant power, her connection to Limbo and, in this final chapter, she acquires the soul sword. Conceptually we’ve arrived at the newest New Mutant. Even if she does join that team till issue 14 of that comic. (up next on the blog)
In this issue she finally defeats Belaaco. Which in true pulp fiction format means not killing him. For, as the narration makes clear, if she had killed him she would have just become him.
This is something of a cliche of the genre – and it’s hard to know quite what point Claremont in trying to make here. Would the act of killing, taking Belasco’s life, be so amoral that it would ultimately destroy Illyana. Or is it that, in defeating him and acquiring his absolute power, she would be corrupted because that’s inevitable when it comes to absolute power.
This lack of clarity probably highlights the limits of tackling something as grave as child abuse within the confines of the superhero genre. At some point the storytelling decision will have to be made to *go real* and address the reality of the situation. Or to revert to the comics code approves safety of familiar pulp fiction tropes. And for understandable reasons, the story runs with the latter.
And while this issue heralds Magik into the Mutantverse, the character isn’t quite there yet Once again, Claremont gives her a great deal of narrative work. Her voice runs throughout the story – a smart, meditative teen who quickly understands what’s happening and calmly explains to us the peril of her temptation.
It’s surprisingly dry throughout, maybe reflecting a level of detachment you might find in a scarred and withdrawn individual. But it’s interesting that this take on the character does not last long. In the New Mutants title, and especially under Louise Simonson she becomes far more of a hothead. A damaged, angry character whose grievances lead her to lash out. I think that take on the character works better, and so I miss it here. All too often her internal monologue seems Scott Summers-y in its measured nature.
I feel that this blog, though, has been probably a bit too negative in tone given that I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. Overall this series has taken the franchise into a wholly new place, created a fascinating new character, and told a rich and multi-layered story with an ending which, like all great origin stories, sets up further stories I really want to read.
Fun Panel
As regular blog readers will know – I’m a sucker for team shots with a twist. And this one’s great!
Any Googling
Belasco – the adult demon abuser of Limbo – is a character now so wedded to the origin of Magik that it’s intriguing that he was not created for this purpose. Instead he was originally created as a villain for – of all people – Ka-Zar.
Reading his origins issues in that Ka-Zar run it’s striking quite how barking mad this title was. It clearly wore its pulp trappings with pride- delving into mythical medieval adventuring with such abandon you begin to suspect the writer didn’t quite know what to do with the basic set-up of Ka-Zar.
Belasco is introduced as a mortal man, albeit someone dabbling in dark magic. In Italy around the time of the poet Dante. Who becomes something of an antagonist to him. Their struggles leads to Belasco getting frozen in ice. Only to be woken in the modern age, looking more demonoidic (yes, that’s now a word). And indulging in some cliched Vampire-style beautiful lady hypnotism.
There he is thwarted in his attempt to summon the Eldar Gods. And is seemingly defeated, thrown burning into a chasm.
From which it seems Claremont decided to resurrect him for his appearance in Uncanny X-men 160. It seems an interesting choice rather than, as must have been an option, create a new character for the role.
I guess there is enough in Ka-Zar’s tale about female corruption, bloodstones and Eldar Gods to make it work in Magik.
The one thing that reading these Ka-Zar Belasco issues highlights to me, though, is how much better Claremont is at writing this type of tale. In Ka-Zar he is at best a third-rate Dracula in some shonky b-movie plotting. Whereas here he is a darker and far more credible danger.
The X Marathon 