My colleague SpaceSquid points out that inviting Rogue - who has mindwiped Carol Danvers, one of Logan's few friends - is somewhat infelicitous. And yeah, it is. But it's likely they don't know about Logan and Carol's pre-existing relationship. The idea that he is a man without a past, rather than merely a mysterious one, is not yet present. Except I'm not really sure I believe this line myself - they spent months with the Brood, and even if Logan hasn't been all "oh yeah, me and Carol go way back", they'd have noticed them being tight.
Anyway, it turns out to be a good thing that Rogue was brought along, as she proves resistant to the poison too, and her and Logan team up and bring down the Silver Samurai (a character initially introduced in Daredevil who here turns out to be the illegitimate son of Shengen Yashida - something set up only recently in New Mutants #6), and Viper. The climax is a fight scene - featuring the longest sequence of wordless panels in Uncanny so far - over 3 pages with nothing other than a sound effect - going for the same effect as in the finale of the Wolverine miniseries. Rogue proves her worth by taking a shot, and Logan makes his peace with her, by allowing - forcing even - her to absorb some of his life energy.
Meanwhile, in Alaska, Scott is snooping the personnel records for Madelyne Pryor, and finds that her plane crash happened at the exact same moment that Jean died. [drumroll!] And then a big firebird manifests in Japan with Yukio and Storm. It's not yet been three years, and this is the second time the return of the Phoenix has been teased. Pryor turns up at the wedding as Scott's date, as do Charles and Lilandra and Alex and Lorna and Corsair (no sign of Moira or Sean, though). Storm makes her debut appearance as Punk Storm, to Kitty's horror, which we'll have plenty of time to talk about in future.
And with everyone assembled, Mariko, who had forgiven Logan and said he was better than he thought as the end of miniseries after he killed her father, now breaks up with him at the altar, saying "you are not worthy." The change of heart is rather random and out of character.
There is a curious dissonance between this and the story that Mariko was introduced in. It is almost as if they've forgotten that Mariko was Sunfire's cousin, and have constructed a new Clan Yashida around her, and particularly without reference to Sunfire's original story in #65, where his father and uncle are government officials.
Finally, I'm sure you are awaiting an update to the Shag Chart update. Logan doesn't seem the sort, you see.
I confess it hadn't occurred to me that the team might be ignorant of Logan and Carol's friendship. I shall have to dig out UXM #158 and see how obvious it is to an outside observer.
ReplyDeleteEven given all that, though, it seems a strange decision to just show up at a wedding on the other side of the world with someone who once attacked the groom and hope everyone's OK with it.
I'm reaching, yeah. But Logan certainly keeps things close to his chest, and they're not very inquisitive (they didn't think to ask his name until how many years in?)
DeleteIt might possibly have been better after 6 issues or so, and they could be like "ah, she's part of the team now, she's proven herself in many ways", or even if they spin it as "well, she's basically our prisoner now, we've got to keep an eye on her".