Tag: #uncannyx-men

121. New Mutants 14

Oct 31st, 2023

Thoughts

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.
10. Uncanny X-men 102

Jul 11th, 2023

“WHO WILL STOP THE JUGGERNAUT”

Thoughts

This issue is mostly a rather generic rumble between the X-men and Juggernaut, that does at least have the interesting conclusion that the X-men are comprehensively beaten.

This issue, though, also has “the origin of Storm” in the sense that we get her backstory fleshed out over three pages. Often with comic book characters, their convoluted back stories stem from years of contradictory references and asides that a writer decides they want to pull together into a single, twisting narrative.

By contrast, Claremont seems to want to drop us an incredibly convoluted backstory right from the start. Born in New York to an American and an “African Princess”, her parents move to Cairo for his work. Where they are killed leaving her an orphan on the streets, where she becomes a skilled child sneak-thief for an underworld Fagin-type. Then she walks the Sahara to become a Goddess. It’s just a little bit insane.

It’s like they had three ideas for Storm. A New Yorker from 112th Street, a street urchin from an African city, and a Goddess from the Serengeti. And rather than pick one, decided to go for all of them.

Over time Claremont finds a use for all of them, although its more interesting that its her in-title development as a character that I find far more fascinating than any of this. And I think it is fair to argue that there is no reason why a character in a comic can’t have a complex background like some people in the real world do. But it really is a crazy three pages in here. Before we even get to setting up her crippling claustrophobia.

Fun Panel

This is how you get a convoluted backstory covered in three pages. Panels like this.

It was a Product of its Time

To be honest, the sequence where the British and French are shown bombing civilians in Cairo as part of the Suez crisis is way ahead of its time. Even if the elderly leader of the street urchins seems to come straight out of the Arabian Nights.

Mutant Mailbag Mayhem

A gushing, and deserved, mailbag of praise this issue. Truncated to make room for Howard The Duck stuff. A phenomenon that just seems mystifying to me now.
9. Uncanny X-men 101

Jul 10th, 2023

“LIKE A PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES”

Thoughts

The cover and title of this issue make you think that its about Phoenix. But while the character gets introduced in this issue, its really about all the other characters and their reaction to the fact that Jean Grey is seemingly injured.

Claremont does especially good work when it comes to Scott Summers and the (still-unnamed) Wolverine. Both of them, in their reactions to Jean’s predicament, have some beautifully written character moments. In particular, Wolverine buying flowers for a woman who has already had an impact on him, only to casually drop them in the bin when he realises that all the other X-men are waiting in the hospital. And also Nightcrawler closing the door to give Cyclops privacy after he’s learnt Jean will be fine.

Then the new X-men go off to visit Banshee’s new Castle. This is obviously in an Ireland about as credible and Nightcrawler’s Germany, but again there’s some nice character stuff between the heroes when they think they’re going to get some downtime. So much so that I find the villains revealing themselves at the climax of the issue to be slightly disappointing. I already just want to spend more time with these characters.

Fun Panel

Yes, it’s a goofy panel. But it makes me grin like an idiot.

That Don’t Make A Lick of Sense

The issue opens with a “prologue”. Which then doesn’t really seem to ever end and transition to the actual story. You can pick a couple of moments where maybe that’s meant to happen, but the issue resolutely won’t tell you.

Any Googling

Banshee exclaiming “Hannigan’s bog!” when a trap is sprung had me trying to find out where he might have got this expression. I’ve certainly never heard it before, so wondered if it was maybe an antiquated one. Google has no record of it anywhere, so I guess it’s one Claremont coined. I did end up learning quite a bit about bogs though.

None More Claremont

This issue really is quite a showpiece for Claremont’s narrative style. The opening is pure “Twilight Zone”, before shifting to his third person narrative style teasing/questioning the character he’s talking about. Before finally narrating a travel montage. It’s probably a good early issue for people to try to see if they can take his style of storytelling, but I love it.

It was a Product of its Time

Storm gets naked again. For some reason. For every step forward she seems to get in terms of characterisation, she also seems to get a retrograde one of this nonsense.

Mutant Mailbag Mayhem

Sam Mandel of 353 Park Avenue, Highland Park, Illinois really doesn’t hold back in his complaints. Ditch the new X-men (bar Wolverine) by marrying off Storm and Colossus, killing off Nightcrawler and exiling Banshee. Also replace Claremont and Cockrum with “anyone”.

As I’ve said before, I love that they print these type of letters in the comic. In the absence of the adverts, its the one bit that really evokes another age in comics.
8. Uncanny X-men 100

Jul 9th, 2023

“GREATER LOVE HATH NO X-MAN”

Thoughts

Eight blogposts in, and we’re on issue 100! It is indeed strange that such a milestone issue occurs so early in the Claremont Run. The “Classic X-men” get crowbarred into the story to create a fight with the new guys, but it’s pretty obvious from the outset what’s going on here so the event has little impact.

After the rollercoaster of the last issue, having to crowbar the X-Sentinels in leads to a pretty underwhelming conclusion. Robots defeated, Lang blows up. It doesn’t really feel like an ending worthy of a landmark issue. Heck, it doesn’t even feel like much of an ending for the Sentinel Trilogy….

And then…

It’s here that the Dark Phoenix has its genesis. Faced with trying to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in a damaged shuttle bombarded by a solar flare, Jean Grey steps up to sacrifice herself and save the day. On paper its a cheesy moment, but Claremont knows to root it in the interactions of the character with her friends, and lover. At the time a great cliffhanger is the start of a story that is definitely worthy of a landmark issue.

Fun Panel

Across the Cockrum run, the colouring has a fantastically trippy visual quality. Kudos to Bonnie Wilford for a great job.

None More Claremont

One thing going back to these early issues is the realisation that there aren’t anywhere near as many interesting women. Only Storm is the female regular, and in these early issues she’s frequently just a sexily-drawn distant goddess. But adding Jean Grey in the last few issues helps address that and you can already see Claremont’s style coming through.

Mutant Mailbag Mayhem

Another fascinating mailbag page. This time, the editor assures the readers that the fact that Colossus was referred to as an “orphan” in a previous letters page was not a mistake, but something the story will get to. As with his cosmonaut brother was this a storyline planned that never saw fruition? Or just trying to save face over a mistake?