New Mutants #65-#66: She's Lost Control

New Mutants #65-#66 (July-August 1988), as we discussed last post, came out too late. But it's not just that Uncanny #231 is set after it; it also features an appearance by Shadowcat, setting up her situation in Excalibur Special Edition #1 (cover dated April).

Magik wants to kill Forge. Magneto refuses to get help, and grounds all the kids. I'm not even sure why he bothers to say that at this point. Magik goes to Muir Isle to check in with Shadowcat, who has got quite a bit better and is now able to turn solid if she can concentrate. Shadowcat declines to get involved in the killing-Forge plan. And then finally we get that bit from the end of #61 where the New Mutants dress up in the graduation costumes and agree to defy Magneto.

The Mutants teleport to Dallas, where Freedom Force are conveniently waiting, on Destiny's instructions (they must have spent Christmas there). There's a fight. Destiny seems to prophecise Inferno. Magik and Forge then proceed to a solo fight for #66.

Plotwise it's not as deeply connected to Uncanny #231 as I had expected from the latter. The flashback in that was to events between the two stories. But certainly Magik's attitude towards her brother's death follows a through-line that starts here (or rather, in #64) and continues in Uncanny.

Fall of the Uncanny X-Men (#225-#227)

DALLAS, TEXAS -- The mutant militant group known as the "X-Men" perished tonight after a pitched battle.

Around 3am CDT a "crack" appeared in the sky above Dallas, showing daylight. The downtown area of the city was soon attacked by people and creatures from elsewhere, and Freedom Force, who had been sent to arrest the X-Men, were forced to intervene.

Speaking after the battle, Mystique, of the government-sponsored Freedom Force paid tribute to the X-Men, declaring that although they were fugitives under the recently-passed Mutant Special Powers Registration Act, they had given their lives - even their souls - for Dallas, and possibly the world.

Confirmed deaths were the X-Men Wolverine, Storm, Havok, Colossus, Rogue, Dazzler, Psylocke, and Longshot, along with a non-powered woman using the alias Madelyne Pryor. It is thought that other members of the X-Men may still be at large.

The X-Men were founded around 8 years ago, and were originally mostly sighted in the New York metropolitan area. Government mutant expert Henry Gyrich said "We believe they have schismed into two factions. The old guard have stayed in New York, taken the name 'X-Terminators', and campaign against X-Factor, Warren Worthington's mutant self-help organisation. Another set have moved to San Francisco. This group recently fled to Dallas after a mutant gang war with 'Marauders', that destroyed much of the area around Emperor Norton Memorial Hospital. We cannot continue tolerating these special rights for mutants, and frankly I find making tributes to them - even in death - highly distasteful."

This is the first incident of its kind to take place in Dallas this year. It is hoped by local authorities that this does not presage a larger "mutant creep", and that most near-apocalyptic superhuman activity can be safely confined to New York, home of the popular groups the Avengers and Fantastic Four.

They got better, obviously. And Gyrich's statement became rapidly outdated, as we'll see in the next post.

Uncanny X-Men #223: More Character Moments

Uncanny X-Men #223 is another issue without a strong central focus. There is the ongoing adventures of Storm and Naze, who are looking for Forge. This gets quite a few more pages than usual, but nothing conclusive happens. Freedom Force get three new members, in the persons of the Super Sabre, Stonewall and Crimson Commando: the trio of older heroes that Storm and Wolverine had fought in #214. Most of the issue is taken up with a series of character moments for the X-Men, who have made a temporary base on an island in San Francisco (Alcatraz, specifically).

The chief of these is Maddy and Alex. They have both been let down by loved ones: Alex's girlfriend has been mindcontrolled into being evil (again); and Maddy's husband deserted her, her entire life was erased, and her son has been abducted. Alex finds Maddy very upset, and talks her down from a clifftop, by sharing his own tale of woe, and urging her to think of little Baby X. They find some solace. This is what, the third issue of X-Men or associated books dealing with suicide in about a year?

Uncanny X-Men #220: forger

Having brought Havok onto the cast last issue, Uncanny X-Men #220 is instead a Storm solo story, with guest appearances by Wolverine, a holographic Forge, and Naze. Well, I suppose this is because the main "team story", as it were, is currently taking place in Fantastic Four vs the X-Men.

Storm is after her powers back. Her only lead is Forge: she visits his apartment, only to find it abandoned and playing back memories of the first Lifedeath. Yay for the handy plot reminder. It's all a trap set by Naze, though, who also is looking for Forge. Together, the two of them decide to go looking elsewhere...

The story continues into the next issue BUT something else comes up in #221 which I want to dedicate priority to AND this seemed important enough not just make it a "and meanwhile" part. What can it be...?

Uncanny X-Men #186-#188: Life, Death and Dire Wraiths

This story - Uncanny X-Men #186-#188 is the one I bounced off, this first time I started reading X-Men-from-the-start (or rather, from 1975). I'm not sure why. I think it might be Windsor-Smith's art not being especially well-served by the reduction to monochrome for the Essential collections?

Storm has been depowered by Forge's depowernating gun, after the government sent a team to go after Rogue, who is highly wanted after having busted out Michael Rossi from a SHIELD prison (when she was temporarily under the delusion that she was Carol Danvers). Glad that's cleared up.

Forge is feeling very guilty, and offers Storm a place to recuperate, and creeps on her. Then they are attacked by aliens from Rom and my already low level of interest in this story decreased further. Apparently they get added to the Chart.

If we mostly skip past the aliens, to page 19 of #187, we see Colossus and Rogue arrive to Storm and Forge's aid, having had a "talk" with Val Cooper (we know what). There's some more fighting, and in #188 more X-Men arrive: Nightcrawler brings Amanda Sefton to help, and Illyana comes along with her soulsword at Xavier's request (and so Colossus finds out she's a sorceress - he doesn't give a bean, of course - he just loves his snowflake.) Wolverine isn't present, because he's busy doing something else. (Something that hasn't happened in the last ten years.)

Back at the mansion, Nightcrawler and Storm are flirting pretty heavily. I think we get the first mention that Nightcrawler is furry (although I wouldn't swear to it). Come team meeting time, Nightcrawler is really upset at what's been done to Storm, at everyone who has died in the X-Men's cause, and for what? The Mutant Affairs Control Act? While listing the names of the dead, he of course includes Jean. Which Rachel flips out about. See, Jean is her mother. And anyway, hadn't she spoken to her on the phone in #185?

And in a two-for-one blast-from-the-past offer, Lee Forrester is sailing near Bermuda and rescues Magneto from drowning. He'd dropped from the sky after his near-encounter with Warlock in New Mutants #21, which isn't so much as footnoted. First time we've seen Magneto in Uncanny since #150, although he popped up in God Loves Man Kills and is currently still appearing in Secret Wars.

I realise not caring about Lifedeath is not a popular opinion, but I really don't like what they're doing here with Storm. There's a reason why the refrigerator list had to be written, and this was some of it.

Uncanny X-Men #184: Little Lost Rachel

Uncanny X-Men #184 starts with Cooper and Mystique (under cover identity still) visiting Forge. He's a mutant who is inventing stuff for the government, unaware how it might be unethically used. He's made two things of interest to them today: a scanner for mutants, and a gun that depowers anyone. He doesn't know how they work - he's just duplicated them from technology obtained from Rom the Spaceknight. Forge, by the way, is our fourth Native American mutant character from the U.S. (after Thunderbird I & II, Psyche). Which is all well and good - even if the powers for the other ones are a bit stereotyped. But there's something funny going on when we've had these 4 (of a demographic that makes up 1% of the US) and not a single African-American (12%).

The tale of Rom the Spaceknight is slightly sad, in that because Marvel were licensing an existing toyline, they didn't own the IP. So, no Essential Rom today. (Note to Marvel and Parker Brothers: see if you can't work out your differences and sort that out! You don't want the 1960s Batman series to be released first, do you?

That done with, we go to Rachel, who is watching the X-Men on a TV covering the events of #181. She wonders whether she's not in her past, but some other past - Kelly is alive, Illyana is older than she should be, and Storm has gone punk. After a brief alteraction on the street with Selene, she flees to a nightclub, where the kindly boss, Nick Damiano, offers to put her up. Since she's a teep, she can see he has no ulteriority.

For his trouble, he is killed by Selene, who is still chasing after Rachel. She's saved by our first Professor X Machina in a while, followed shortly by the X-Men. Confronted with the reality of them - and seeing Xavier standing - she breaks down. She has made a huge mistake.