UNCANNY X-MEN #499 (2008)
The
finale of Ed Brubaker and Mike Choi’s “Divided We Fall” arc, wherein Cyclops
and Emma Frost overthrow Mastermind’s hippie regime in San Francisco while
Wolverine, Colossus and Nightcrawler beat up Omega Red in Russia. The big event
to come out of this story as it headed into issue #500 though had to be Cyclops’
decision to move the X-Men permanently (for the time being) to San Francisco. I
remember in meetings I sat in at the time Marvel higher ups noting this would
be a major switch to establish more of a presence in the California of the
Marvel Universe, with the Runaways, the Order and the Eternals already hanging
around there. Obviously there had been Marvel series set outside of New York
City prior to this from West Coast Avengers to Iron Man and Daredevil’s own
California stints to Thor in Oklahoma to the X-Men themselves operating out of
Australia, but this seemed bigger. The change would not only stick for quite
some time, it also perhaps indirectly inspired more Marvel heroes to branch
out, from Scarlet Spider in Houston to Venom in Philadelphia to the new Nova in
Arizona. I’ve always dug this concept and still eagerly await somebody setting up shop in Boston; I’ll
even take Quasar.
UNCANNY X-MEN #425-426 (2003)
As
I’ve gone along in this little chronicle of history, I’ve noted how Chuck
Austen’s tenure writing the X-Men started off well enough—I think his initial
issues still stand up today—but quickly became divisive as he seemed to lose
his focus somewhat and veer heavily into soap opera at the expense of logic.
Despite the previous sentence describing so many works of fiction I love, he
lost me around this two-parter, “The Sacred Vows.” It’s the wedding of Havok—who
secretly loves Annie, the human nurse who cared for him during his coma who’s
currently with Iceman who still has feelings for Polaris—and Polaris—who went
crazy after surviving the destruction of Genosha and confirming Magneto to be
her father. Havok decides mid-ceremony to reveal he reciprocates Annie’s
feelings, leading Polaris to create a whacked out half-Bridezilla/half-Magneto
costume with garters and attack everybody with silverware and such until
Juggernaut stops her. Annie had worn out her welcome, feeling more and more
like a character nobody but her creator wanted to push, and established
favorites like Iceman and Polaris getting more and more off center started to
make the book a bit hard to swallow.
UNCANNY X-MEN #358 (1998)
I’ve
not sure if I’ve read this issue or not. It took place during my hiatus from
comics, and while I’ve made great efforts to fill in the gaps of my Uncanny
X-Men collection in particular since, I think this one slipped through the
cracks. It’s a spotlight on Bishop and Deathbird, who had been stranded in
outer space together and become sort of a couple, fighting aliens. Again, I
missed this romantic pairing and have only ever seen them when they briefly
interacted during “The Twelve” and then in an alternate timeline after a
fashion via their daughter in X-Men: The End, but it intrigues me, as it seems
like a case of throwing two darts at a wall full of random X-characters, but
there’s that uncompromising warrior aspect to both that actually makes some
sense as far as chemistry.
UNCANNY X-MEN #303 (1993)
I
kind of hope Brett White doesn’t read the blog anymore—does anybody read this
blog anymore?—because he might lose it here, but I’ve never read this issue,
which I know ranks among his all-time favorites. It’s weird, because I have
everything from X-Cutioner’s Song to Uncanny X-Men #299, then I strangely
skipped out on #300—I remember reading it cover to cover in a Walden Books or
something and then not buying it—as well as the three subsequent issues before
coming back for good with #304 and Fatal Attractions. I know people revere this
particular story as among Scott Lobdell’s finest work with the death of Illyana
Rasputin and Jubilee having to cope with it before anybody else, but yeah,
never read it; forgive me, Brett.
UNCANNY X-MEN #232 (1988)
Man,
I am blowing it this month, because I don’t believe I’ve read this story
either. Between Essentials, trades and single issues, I’ve got pretty much
everything up to Fall of the Mutants, then I fall off for a year or so, and
pick back up with Inferno; this falls right in that hole. Anyway, it’s a Brood
story, which always both delight and terrify me, and perhaps of more note it’s
got Marc Silvestri art, which seems perfect. Silvestri has a rep for drawing a
lot of robots and futuristic tech—he did
create Cyberforce—as well as attractive ladies, but he’s also got a really
intense knack for horror, as you can see in Witchblade and elsewhere, so
judging by that and this cover, I gather he does well with the Brood; I’ll make
a note to seek this one out, through the office Essentials copy if nothing
else.
UNCANNY X-MEN #172 (1983)
Superb
issue in the midst of a superb run by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith. The story
picks up directly from Claremont and Frank Miller’s seminal Wolverine limited
series—in part the basis for this year’s “The Wolverine” film, though the movie
incorporates many elements from this story as well—as the X-Men come to Japan
for the wedding of Logan and Mariko. You get everything in short order, with
some genuinely heartwarming moments of congratulations to Wolverine from his “family,”
the continuing tension of Rogue being on the team, and then action aplenty with
Silver Samurai and Viper striking, plus Yukio from the aforementioned limited
series making her return; Smith draws it all beautifully, making warm smiles
from Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde come to life as readily as crazy ninja
fights. Viper manages to poison Colossus, Kitty and Nightcrawler while Samurai
threatens Mariko, leading to the equally awesome next installment in Uncanny
X-Men #173 where Wolverine has to put aside his mistrust of Rogue to protect
his fiancée while Storm’s adventure with Yukio ends up having intense
ramifications on her character; classic stuff that you need to check out if you
never have.
UNCANNY X-MEN #112 (1978)
The
second battle between Magneto and the All-New, All-Different X-Men, with a lot
of weird elements framing the story, from Mesmero having previously brainwashed
our heroes into thinking they were circus performers to the introduction of one
of Marvel’s all-time weirdest characters, Nanny, the mothering robot who wants
to turn all adults into children so she can take care of them. Chris Claremont
uses the story to reinforce that despite all the X-Men have been through to
date—fighting the Sentinels, the original Phoenix saga, etc.—they’ve still yet
to really gel as a team as opposed to a grouping of disparate personalities,
and Magneto utilizes their lack of cohesion to knock them down one by one. John
Byrne also quickly emerges from right out of Dave Cockrum’s shadow to make the
book his own artistically.
