Tag: #xmen #chrisclaremont #davecockrum #marvel

13. Uncanny X-men 105

Jul 14th, 2023

Thoughts

The slightly underwhelming Erik The Red mystery finally gets solved in an issue that does a really good job of getting the X-men into a Space adventure. Which given where they previously were – on the run from Magneto – is some sharp writing.

It opens with Erik The Red facing the X-men before a neat bit of flashback fills in the detail of how he got there. There’s another fun fight, the alien in Xavier’s dream arrive and X-men are whisked off on a rescue mission into Space.

We’ve had a run of issues now where the X-men have squared off against a Powerful Antagonist, and I think its worth mentioning that Claremont and Cockrum do a great job in making them always interesting. Taking advantage of having a team with such different powers, the fact that there’s always new invention in how the fight goes.

And also, while the Erik The Red mystery left me cold, the revelation at the end of Xavier’s dream alien plotline delivers. I did not see sexy bird princess as the face behind the mask when it was first introduced, but I want to know more.

Fun Panel

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I love Cockrum’s Space stuff and I think he’s having fun with it too

That Don’t Make A Lick of Sense

Does the Erik The Red mystery really make sense? Given the revelation as to who he is, its hard to quite work out why he did all the stuff he’s done in his previous appearances. Or indeed why he decided to adopt a former Cyclops alter-ego. It seems an absurdly elaborate plan given that all he really needed to do, as he quite successfully does in this issue, is zap the princess and leap through a Space Gate.

I’m guessing he concocted a super elaborate scheme because he’s working on his expenses. The more elaborate the plans and the longer he’s on Earth, the more he can claim from his Employer. Nick on old second-hand Scott Summers costume and claim for a brand new Villain Armour from the boss. Smart.

None More Claremont

The first of a number of cameos. In the days before the internet, the only clue I had about what Chris Claremont looked like came from these little Hitchcockian moments.
12. Uncanny X-men 104

Jul 13th, 2023

THE GENTLEMAN’S NAME IS MAGNETO

Thoughts

When I started reading the X-titles, Magneto was already quite evolved in his status as an Anti-Hero. His background as a Holocaust survivor was an established part of his character, as had his stint as headmaster of the Xavier Academy.

So when you start going back and reading back issues, its quite striking to discover quite how straightforwardly villanous he is. But he’s the sort of arrogant, boasting megalomaniac seeking to defeat the X-men and conquer the world that its quite jarring.

And while there’s nothing wrong with Megalomaniac Villains, he just doesn’t seem a very interesting one. It’s still an entertaining issue, though. The build up to his return is handled nicely – even if the cover and title prevent it from ever being a surprise. The fight is inventive and, again, there’s something interesting in it ending with the X-men realising they are indeed out of their depth and need to flee. This sets up the idea of a rematch quite nicely.

Fun Panel

Full-page-tastic

Any Googling

This issue has a number of potential internet rabbit holes. As a fan of Madrox its good to see him in his first X-appearance here, and to go hunting online for the Fantastic Four Annual he comes from. Another intriguing title referenced is Defenders 16. The whole Magneto gets turned into a baby and then reborn becomes an important plot point later so its interesting to go back to it.

Finally this issue makes a point of telling us that the bug-eyed Dragonfly from the Ani-men has escaped imprisonment on the island. Which is odd given that I don’t really recall her turning up again. Turns out she was released to appear in an all-female title Dave Cockrum was working on called “The Furies”, which is an intriguing prospect (or a terrifying one depending on what Marvel writer might have ended up with the gig). She was to turn up in an army of super-powered villains called the Femizons that take on Captain America. The Marvel Fandom page wouldn’t tell me what issue the Femizons take on Cap, and I’m reading that as a mercy on their part and won’t seek out the issue.

None More Claremont

“Look on me, X-men. For I am your oldest, deadliest foe. Master of the Legion of Evil Mutants — and soon to be Lord Of All The World”

Claremont commits to shouty arrogant villain nature of Magneto here. I’m slightly sad that we never really got Ian McKellen to spout those type of lines.
11. Uncanny X-men 103

Jul 12th, 2023

Thoughts

Way back in Giant Size X-men, I remarked on the journey through dated stereotypes that forms part of the Professor assembling the team. At the time it seemed that Banshee had been spared. Xavier just meets him at a show in Nashville and in the space of two panels, he’s hired!

It really seemed like the title had dodged a bullet.

Oh dear.

These three issues where the X-men visit Banshee in Oirland, at his old ancestral castle (??) filled with leprechauns (!!!) really is just too many lazy stereotypes. I don’t want to be too mean about it – I realise that accuracy and social realism isn’t ever going to be a goal for a fun comic, that any trip is going to focus on what tells a fun and fantastical story. But Ireland has so many fantastic myths and legends – Selkies, the children of Lir, Fomorians, the Morrigan and the undying land of Tír na nÓg that part-inspired Tolkien. There is so much to play with that the fact we get Darby O’Nightcrawler and the Little People is a letdown.

Fun Panel

Oh well, may as well embrace the lunacy!

That Don’t Make A Lick of Sense

For three issues now the story has stressed that, in Juggernaut, these new X-men face a foe well beyond their talents. The level of peril seems high and how they might defeat him seems the purpose of the story.

Which makes his exit, diving after Black Tom because there’s only a few panels left in the issue and this needs to be done with impossible to take seriously.
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?