The History of the X-Men in August

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.

The History of the X-Men in June

UNCANNY X-MEN #497 (2008)

At the very first editorial meeting I got to sit in on at Marvel, all the various editors did slideshow presentations on what were coming up in their particular books with covers, art, and little notes on which characters they’d be using. I’ll never forget X-Men editor Nick Lowe running down the Divided We Stand plans for Uncanny X-Men character-by-character, getting to Angel and, with a big grin, simply saying “he’s going to San Francisco where he’ll have a really good time.” I guess you need to know Nick, but it was all in the tone he said “really good time,” cracking himself up at the idea of Angel just chilling and getting a tan. That’s kind of what this issue is, though, as SF has been transformed into this weird retro hippie paradise where any X-Men who enter get groovy 60’s-style redesigns by Mike Choi and Sonia Oback at the height of their artistic powers and hang out. Some of the mystery behind that whole deal gets explained here, but I just enjoyed the weirdness of it all, as it set the tone for the trippy, socially-aware San Francisco era of the X-Men under Brubaker, Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen.

UNCANNY X-MEN #421 (2003)

If you want an example of why most folks remember Chuck Austen’s stint with the X-Men as perhaps leaning too heavily on the soap opera aspects, this issue gives a pretty good snapshot, with not much action but one character/relationship after another practically begging for the musical sting from Days of Our Lives. As always, a Melrose Place fan like me tended to dig this sort of thing, but there were times even I felt like Austen’s stuff would give Amanda Woodward pause. Over the course of this story alone, Havok comes out of his coma, Havok reunites with Polaris, Polaris proposes to Havok, Havok accepts said proposal, and Havok and Polaris elect to take a leave of absence together, oddly enough with Nightcrawler in tow because he just stepped down as team leader (I personally think a limited series and/or sitcom about Nightcrawler tagging along on Havok and Polaris’ honeymoon would be money in the bank). Elsewhere, Juggernaut pleads with his brother Professor X to help him be a good guy and Nurse Annie confesses her love to the aforementioned now-engaged Havok. At the end, Alpha Flight shows up in crazy battle armor to bring Sammy the Squid Boy back to Canada. Love it or hate it, you had to admire Austen’s willingness to let it all hang out.

UNCANNY X-MEN #356 (1998)

If there’s one period in X-Men history I regret missing out on, it’s when Joe Kelly and Steve Seagle were co-writing the books. I was in high school, not really buying comics, and I missed this era more or less in its entirety. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, since the run got cut short due to creative differences…nah, I still wish I’d been reading. Kelly and Seagle are both masters of their craft, particularly when it comes to balance, be it between characters and subplot or comedy and drama, showing one reason they’ve become so successful in the animation field. I eventually went back to collect this period, but was only able to do so via eBay and quarter bins, meaning I read it scattershot and out of order, not the optimum experience. This is an issue I particularly liked though. The primary plot deals with the original five X-Men reuniting in Alaska—where Cyclops and Jean Grey have retired to—both to game plan how to search for the missing Professor X and because Scott was worried Jean might be becoming the Phoenix again. I may not have grown up with this quintet as “my” X-Men, but I’m a sucker for the chemistry between them. I like Warren confiding in Jean about his relationship issues with Psylocke; I like Bobby being a bit aloof. I also really enjoy Chris Bachalo’s art in this issue as his progressive style helps breathe life into classic characters.

UNCANNY X-MEN #301 (1993)

I have never read this comic. I was heavy into collecting X-Men in particular in 1993, but for some reason, I never got Uncanny X-Men #300 or the next few issues up until Fatal Attractions. I do remember having no appreciation for John Romita Jr.’s art at the time because it was so different from the smooth Jim Lee/Andy Kubert style I was used to, and not really getting Forge or Mystique. Oh well.

UNCANNY X-MEN #230 (1988)

I don’t remember this issue too well either, but I’m pretty certain I read it. Maybe in an Essential? Not sure. It’s a month after the X-Men moved to Australia in one of the first comics I ever read and it’s a Christmas issue (in the summer). Searching their new home, the team finds a bunch of stolen goods swiped from around the world by the Reavers or whoever. Fortunately, among Longshot’s litany of powers is the ability to know where an object came from by touching it, plus the X-Men just met a teleporter named Gateway, so they make like Santa Claus and return all the goodies. It’s a sweet little story and also a nice spotlight for Longshot, who could be a bit of a cipher, with some slick Marc Silvestri art.

UNCANNY X-MEN #170 (1983)

Classic issue right here. Angel has been captured by the Morlocks and the X-Men have been unable to rescue him. The Morlocks particularly in their early days made for an interesting threat because they weren’t just an opposing team, they were a society, and besides that, they had so many seeming non-combatants mixed in with the dangerous ones and the good guys couldn’t really pick them apart (Leech is a little kid, but he’s also got a potentially lethal power and didn’t know any better than to follow Callisto or Masque). Besides that, they had such a diverse array of powers, from the raw power of Sunder to the poison touch of Plague and everything in between. Recognizing a traditional fight couldn’t be won, two of the X-Men take matters into their own hands, as Kitty Pryde promises Caliban she will live with him if he helps save Storm, then Storm turns around and invokes the challenge of one-on-one combat against Callisto for leadership of the Morlocks. Storm displays a combination of street smarts and ruthlessness in her duel with Callisto, which would get an extremely PG but nonetheless memorable adaptation on the 90’s X-Men cartoon. The great Paul Smith provides the pencils to put the bow on a gem of an issue.

UNCANNY X-MEN #111 (1978)

I believe I have this issue as part of either a Masterworks or Essential that I’m too lazy to go check right now, but I recall the concept and the quintessential Dave Cockrum art and designs even without remembering the full story in detail. Mesmero captures the still-new X-Men and convinces them they’re basically a circus freak show, complete with Colossus as the strong man, Wolverine as the jungle savage, and so on. A guest-starring Beast stumbles on the situation and manages to pull Wolvie out of the spell, with the rest following suit. Another fondly remembered one that has reverberated in homage as well as across media.

The History of the X-Men in April

UNCANNY X-MEN #495 (2008)

The first post-Messiah CompleX issue with the Xavier Institute once again destroyed, Professor X presumed dead (though not for long) and the X-Men having disbanded, though they’re all still in contact so it seems more like a quick hiatus than anything else, backed up by the plots that unfold here. I was a few months into my tenure at Marvel when this came out, and X-Men editor Nick Lowe was one of the folks from editorial I quickly got along with (especially after he made me host a company-wide “mustache pageant” in front of four dozen people like my second day on the job), so both through talking with him and his office as well as being privy to upcoming plans, I had a pretty good idea of where the X-Men were headed, which altered my reading of issues like these a bit just as starting at Wizard a little over three years earlier had. I really dug Cyclops and Emma Frost’s Savage Land vacation, with Ed Brubaker taking the lead on making Scott Summers a more likable relatable but simultaneously take charge character with a mix of humor and focus; it was a baton passed to him by Grant Morrison and Joss Whedon that he’d in turn hand off to Matt Fraction, Kieron Gillen and today Brian Michael Bendis. In the other two subplots, Wolverine takes Colossus and Nightcrawler on a Russian road trip that felt like a throwback a bit to the Claremont days while Angel investigates a freaky time portal to the 60’s in San Francisco that would lead to big, cool changes. Mike Choi and Sonia Oback did the art on this arc, and it’s gorgeous.

 

UNCANNY X-MEN #439-440 (2003)

By this point, Chuck Austen’s tenure on Uncanny X-Men had gone full-on soap opera tilt, with these two installments of the “She Lies with Angels” arc being a pretty prime example. The story had Husk—Cannonball’s younger sister Paige—bringing Angel home to Kentucky where one of her other siblings, Josh, has gained wings and other similar-to-Warren powers and anti-mutant unrest has cropped up. It ends up being a country version of Rome & Juliet with Josh and the daughter of the mutant-hating sheriff being in love, some of the bigoted good ol’ boys getting high tech weaponry they plan to use to kill all the Guthries, and the X-Men getting caught in the middle. Parallel to this, Paige and the far older Warren have feelings for each other and are trying to find the courage to admit as much. As a dyed in the wool fan of Melrose Place and other such adult melodrama, I didn’t mind this period of X-Men history, though I know others got annoyed that there was a lot of angst and kissing without as much punching and kicking (I’m actually surprised the aforementioned Nick Lowe, who loves angst and kissing, wasn’t editing at this point). Regardless, you had beautiful Salvador Larroca art—with Danny Miki and UDON knocking it out on inks and colors respectively—and he’s a guy who can draw proclamations of love as well as he does big battles.

UNCANNY X-MEN #354 (1998)

I…don’t think I have this issue. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever even read this issue. It was during the Steve Seagle/Joe Kelly period, which Kiel raves about but was one of my bigger blind spots. I’ve tracked down some stuff from this era, but not all, and not this; too bad, looks like a fun one.

UNCANNY X-MEN #299 (1993)

I remember this issue well, coming as it did a couple months post-X-Cutioner’s Song, right before the big issue #300, and just prior to Fatal Attractions. These quiet months between big events are some of my favorites from when I was a kid as it allowed Scott Lobdell to slow down and focus on some of the emotional connections he was making between characters while also ramping up the drama to come. The story kicks off with Forge being called in on an excavation of a crashed Asteroid M and making the discovery that Magneto’s body was not among the wreckage. I basically had started reading X-Men comics regularly only a couple of months earlier, so I had never actually encountered Magneto, what with him being “dead” at the time, so my only knowledge came from trading cards and the like; this seemed like a much bigger deal for me than it likely did to the more seasoned fan trained to expect such resurrections. We also learn more about the Upstarts and the Gamesmaster—more folks I only knew because I had their trading cards—including the introduction of Sabretooth’s son, anti-mutant rabble rouser Graydon Creed. My most vivid memories of this issue, though, are of two characters that appear out of nowhere and then were never even mentioned again for as long as I was collecting regularly through high school: a waitress whom Bishop thinks “seems familiar” and a campaign aide working for Senator Kelley who tips to Jean Grey that he’s a telepath. Only very recently via Marvel Handbooks and the Internet did I learn that the waitress was revealed as Fatale—who?—during around Onslaught when I stopped reading and the aide returned years later during Joe Kelly’s Deadpool run as Noah Dubois.

UNCANNY X-MEN #228 (1988)

Bridging the gap between the end of Fall of the Mutants and the X-Men’s rebirth into the Australian Outback, this is a one issue flashback tale—probably an inventory story—featuring Wolverine and Dazzler helping a bounty hunter character from the Dazzler solo series clear his name. Not much of note aside from Rick Leonardi on fill-in art, always a delight.

UNCANNY X-MEN #168 (1983)

A memorable issue for multiple reasons, first and foremost that it opens with the famous “Professor Xavier is a jerk!” splash page with Kitty Pryde whirling around and pointing her finger at us, as perfectly rendered by Paul Smith. Following the lengthy Brood epic, the X-Men have returned to Earth and met the New Mutants, and since there’s now a team specifically for mutants her age, Professor X wants to bump Kitty down off the adult roster. A pissed off Kitty spend the first half of the issue pouting like any teenager, than discovers and defeats—with Lockheed’s help—a nest of alien Sidrian Hunters, proving her worth and earning a spot back on the X-Men. Wolverine heads off to Japan for his first limited series while the rest of the cast check in with their loved ones; just good, classic Claremont stuff. The last big moment, however, comes on the final page, with the introduction of Madelyne Pryor, an Alaska-bound pilot who looks exactly like the deceased Jean Grey.

UNCANNY X-MEN #110 (1978)

Another seeming inventory issue—or close to it—with another legendary guest artist: Tony DeZuniga. Iron Fist villain Warhawk, a Claremont co-creation, storms the mansion, trapping most of the X-Men in the Danger Room while he goes one-on-one with Wolverine until the others bust free (Warhawk would return years later in a Maverick back-up story drawn by Mark Texeira that I didn’t understand at all when I was 10). There’s some relationship advancement with Wolvie and Jean Grey as well as Banshee and Moira MacTaggert, but mostly a downtime story coming off the original Phoenix Saga. There is one big moment here though: what I believe is the first X-Men baseball game, which would become a tradition in the franchise—and one I daresay we’ve gone too long without. Where’s that Nick Lowe character?

The History of the X-Men in February

A couple days late, but here goes…

UNCANNY X-MEN #493 (2008)

We’re knee deep in the Messiah CompleX crossover here, and I’m also a few months into my tenure as a freshly minted Marvel employee, so this is a book I actually worked to promote. The plans for what was going on in X-Men were already pretty pat at this point (I knew the next year or so of stories even when I was back at Wizard) and I was still getting my sea legs as far as Marvel.com, so we didn’t do a whole lot on this—instead getting g ready for what was coming after, working a few months out—but it was cool to be involved. I was particularly enjoying this storyline both as a fan and somebody on the inside because it reminded me a lot of X-Cutioner’s Song and big crossovers of that ilk, where all the teams were involved, various masterminds were working at cross purposes—some villainous, some more shades of gray—and heavy emotional stuff was broken up by big fights, like the one in this issue where the Sentinels placed at the Xavier Institute by the government go haywire. Even though I don’t think any of the writers involved in Messiah CompleX were big X-Cutioner’s Song fans—I believe at the least Ed Brubaker and Mike Carey weren’t that familiar; I could see Chris Yost and Craig Kyle digging it; and of course Peter David actually worked on both stories—editors Nick Lowe and Will Panzo were (and are) big time. I really love David Finch’s cover here and also was a big fan of the New X-Men “kids” like Gentle getting a chance to shine against the Sentinels, as that was another thing I always liked about X-Men crossovers: the characters you didn’t expect to getting their moments.

UNCANNY X-MEN #416 (2003)

Another relatively standalone issue near the beginning of Chuck Austen’s run as Uncanny X-Men writer, and while I really dug both his opening arc and the Northstar story I discussed last time, I think this was the first time he overdosed a little on the soap opera (and this is coming from the world’s biggest Melrose Place fan). One piece of drama that seemed a bit forced was Nightcrawler asking Iceman if he wanted to go to the brothel Stacy X used to work at to help retrieve her belongings and then Bobby going off on Kurt kinda out of nowhere about how the original five X-Men were the only “real” X-Men, despite the fact I’m pretty sure Nightcrawler had logged as much if not more time than him on the various teams at that point. There are also several scenes in the school infirmary focusing on new character Annie, a nurse who has fallen in love with the comatose Havok, having gossipy conversations with Stacy, Northstar and others that come off as belonging somewhere else. There’s a nice subplot with Juggernaut and Sammy the Squid Boy where they bond over how crappy their childhoods were or something, but it wasn’t particularly memorable. I appreciated what Austen was trying to do, as he kind of had a lot of the same melodrama sensibilities I do, but it sometimes felt like he was trying to fit a lot of square pegs into round holes with his subplots and abrupt changes in characters’ personalities. Probably more interesting is seeing Manga artist Kia Asamiya’s take on the team, which was really unique and cool; I dug it even more when he got to open up with more action in the months to come.

UNCANNY X-MEN #352 (1998)

I picked this issue up on eBay sometime around 2004 when I was trying to fill in the holes in my collection, particularly the mid-90’s stuff. I love that it boasts right front and center on the cover “Featuring possibly the most artists ever on one title!” It’s a crazy awesome array of artists who would become big a couple years later like John Cassaday and Tommy Lee Edwards plus folks on the cusp like Terry Dodson and J.H. Williams III rounded out by the likes of Darryl Banks and Cully Hamner. The story is a bit of a throwaway, with Cyclops and Phoenix, who recently left the X-Men, flying back to Alaska and foiling a weird A.I.M. plot; meanwhile, back in Westchester, Archangel gets yelled at for not being around much and Cannonball gets a letter from Meltdown as he’s being budged off the team back to X-Force.

UNCANNY X-MEN #297 (1993)

One of my very favorite issues from when I was a kid that I think still holds up today as this is the epilogue to X-Cutioner’s Song—one of them at least—by Scott Lobdell and a young Brandon Peterson following three stories involving pairs of X-Men in the fallout of all the chaos. First up, Beast and Archangel fix the damages done by Caliban to Harry’s Hideaway, the local bar and restaurant the X-Men are always going to, and reminisce about their formative years at Xavier’s School, including a great bit where Warren remembers how he paid Hank to write one of his papers for him and got screwed when Professor X asked them to deliver the reports telepathically, then Hank admitting he tipped off Xavier—after he cashed the check—leading a stoic Warren to spray him with wood varnish. It’s a nice sentimental bit, and especially neat to see the at-this-time ansgty as all hell Archangel get razzed by his old buddy and smile a bit (they also get caught roughhousing by a cop and use their image inducers to pose as normal construction workers). Second there’s a short but sweet and crucial interlude with Rogue and Gambit where, for the first time, their flirting of the past couple years goes to the next level as she calls him out on the fact that he always teases her knowing they can’t touch, he walks away, then returns with a blanket to keep her warm and they share a tender moment. Last but not least, Jubilee encounters Professor X, who has regained his ability to walk temporarily, and convinces him he should try rollerblading, only to pull off a pier in a playful way (not a “trying to kill him”) way. They have a conversation about how he normally intimidates her but she’s seeing he’s actually pretty normal, which he takes as a compliment. At the end, he starts walking back toward his wheelchair, the lingering effects of the Techno-Organic virus cure wearing off, and when he starts to stumble, after initial reluctance, she helps him in the silent final panels. Since Jubilee came onboard during the period Professor X was away and never really had much of a bond with him, this was a neat idea. This issue was truly Lobdell at his best.

UNCANNY X-MEN #226 (1988)

The penultimate chapter to Fall of the Mutants; I picked it up during that same eBay X-Men run, but it’s back in Boston and just looking at the cover, I honestly can’t recall much about it. I remember more about the actual finale, where Forge screws everything up as usual and the X-Men fly up to where the Adversary is by using a combination of Storm’s winds with Longshot’s hollow bones and good luck powers (Longshot would end up being the big hero at the end of Inferno as well, so I guess Chris Claremont really liked him). Honestly, the thing that stands out most to me about this was that for some reason this issue was double-sized and the last chapter was not; I also liked the subplot with the reporters going into the war zone with the X-Men because they wanted to show the world mutants were ok.

UNCANNY X-MEN #166 (1983)

Another extra-sized issue that was technically only the second to last chapter of a big story, although #167 was really more epilogue anyway. This was the finish proper to the awesome first real Brood epic by Claremont where Paul Smith has taken over on art at this point and is doing a stellar job (just look at that cover). Cyclops gets taken over by the Brood egg inside him, screwing the X-Men big time (and leading to a great Cyclops/Wolverine fight), but ultimately gains control long enough to help turn the tide along with the newly-repowered Binary and Storm riding a big ol’ space whale. Lockheed also makes his debut (I think) here, saving Kitty Pryde and helping her head back into battle. Overall it’s just a satisfying story to read, as Claremont had done a great job really making me hate the Brood because of the gross and horribly invasive way they had gone after the X-Men and because our heroes had been through so much over the past several issues, so their win feels earned and good. It’s also a story with consequences, as Kitty in particular does not feel like the same character who came in, very much scarred and battle hardened by the experience, but struggling to hang on to her innocence. Finally, there’s a great cliffhanger, as the X-Men realize that there’s one Brood egg left, and it’s incubating in Professor X back on Earth…

X-MEN #109 (1978)

The X-Men are freshly back from their first real space adventure with the Shi’ar, and while Jean Grey tells her parents about becoming Phoenix, Wolverine along with Storm, Colossus, Banshee and Moira MacTaggert get ambushed on a picnic by Weapon Alpha, aka James Hudson, Wolvie’s old boss in what would become Alpha Flight as well as the future Guardians of that same team’s fame. It’s the first real hints of Wolverine’s past beyond the scene where Xavier recruited him from Canadian intelligence back in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and also the doorway to a bunch of great characters, as Mac would return not long after with Northstar, Sasquatch, et al. in tow. To this day, Dave Cockrum’s design for Weapon Alpha/Guardians stands out as a really slick one that you don’t need to be Canadian to appreciate, I don’t think. This issue was more or less faithfully adapted by the 90’s animated series in the “Repo Man” episode (they probably had Rogue and Gambit doing all the Colossus and Banshee stuff, I don’t recall).

The History of the X-Men in December

UNCANNY X-MEN #491 (2007)

This was the conclusion to Ed Brubaker and Salvador Larroca’s “Extremists” storyline, the final issue of Uncanny before Messiah CompleX kicked off, and—to the best of my knowledge—the last really significant appearance by the Morlocks. There’s an interesting cameo from Magneto as we learn part of Masque’s whole plan in unearthing/fabricating ancient Morlock prophecies was to rile the Master of Magnetism up into being a mutant baddies again, but instead Skids turns out not to only be a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but also have loyalty to Mags, whom she reports on the whole event to as he plots his comeback (it would happen about a year later when the X-Men relocated to San Francisco); neat continuity nod by Brubaker, as Skids was a former Acolyte of Magneto. My favorite bit about this issue though was a conversation Hepzibah has with Cyclops asking his permission to basically have sex with Warpath, because she was dating Scott’s dad but he’s dead now; it’s awkward and weird and somehow made perfect sense because Hepzibah is a crazy alien humanoid skunk so why not. I greatly enjoyed the Hepzibah/Warpath pairing—and Hepzibah as an X-Man in general—so it’s a shame it got more or less cut off when the latter moved over to X-Force and they drifted apart; either or both character would make a great addition or additions to either current X-Force book. Where’s Sam Humphries’ number (speaking of which, in the Endangered Species back-up, Beast tries to get Spiral—of Uncanny X-Force by Sam Humphries fame—to help him with his mutant extinction problem, but it’s no dice, so off to Doctor Strange)…

UNCANNY X-MEN #414 (2002)

I remember this story well as Chuck Austen’s first standalone issue of Uncanny X-Men, and one I thought boded well for his future writing the book. Northstar is the focus as Professor X offers him a teaching position, which he turns down, but he does agree to transports a young boy with an uncontrollable mutant power causing his to explode from Canada to the U.S. for treatment (he can’t travel by plane because he might blow it up, but Northstar can move fast enough to escape the explosion—there are probably holes in the plot, but I liked it enough to ignore them). It’s a clever structure that allows Austen to introduce the various aspects of Northstar—he’s arrogant, he’s gay, he doesn’t have a lot of patience—to an audience that might now know him while also keeping a compelling story going with a literal ticking time bomb. Some of it comes off a bit heavy handed (the stuff about homosexuality), but not so much that it derails the rest of the story; by the end, I felt connected to Northstar, but his edgier qualities weren’t diminished. Sean Phillips provides art and turns in really strong work, demonstrating how good he is at conveying tension and making quiet moments dramatic.

UNCANNY X-MEN #350 (1997)

I picked this issue up of eBay or some other online dealer during my post-college attempt to acquire the full run of the series (I did not complete it, but did pretty well). It’s got a holo-foil-something cover and features the “Trial of Gambit,” revealing at long last Remy Lebeau’s secret past that had been touted as a huge deal for several years. The big revelation was that when he was a mercenary/thief, he took a job for Mister Sinister and recruited the Marauders, who then went on to perform the Mutant Massacre. I guess playing a fairly key role in such a big tragedy in X-Men history is significant, but I always felt like this was a letdown, in that Gambit didn’t actually do anything bad directly—arguably—he was just the guy who enable bad stuff to happen; it made him redeemable, but also lacked punch in my opinion. It certainly didn’t seem like enough for Rogue to leave him stranded in Antarctica, which she does at the conclusion of this issue. There were some nice touches, like Archangel—who lost his natural wings as a result of the Massacre—being forced to play the role of Gambit’s defense attorney and then freaking out on him midway through the trial when the truth is unveiled. There’s also Spat and Grovel and the end revelation that the guy conducting the trial is Magneto dressed as longtime X-Men in-joke Erik the Red, a pretty poorly kept secret. Great art by Joe Madureira, who was winding down his X-Men run, I believe.

UNCANNY X-MEN #295 (1992)

Now we’re talking—“X-Cutioner’s Song,” aka my favorite X-Men story of all time! When I was 10 years old I was racing to the card shop a few blocks from my house each week with my friend Matt to grab these and then tear the polybags off ASAP. The big draw in this installment was the full-fledged return of Apocalypse, and since I was still  newbie, this was my first real exposure to the character. It was only later when digging into back issues I’d learn Apocalypse was more of a behind the scenes schemer, because here he wipes the floor with Storm, Colossus, Beast and Iceman (I think) and looks darn impressive doing so. Brandon Peterson’s art style was completely different back then from what it’s evolved into today, but I thought he rendered a bad ass Apocalypse, particularly post-battle when he’s shifting back into his usual form, excess mass literally dripping back on as he stands all cool. This issue was also notable for one of the crossover’s many classic melodramatic soliloquies from Stryfe, Cable running into Wolverine and Bishop to set up a big fight the next week in X-Factor, and a fun scene in which Havok and Gambit good cop/bad cop Cannonball into helping them track down the Dark Riders. It’s also noteworthy as the Uncanny X-Men chapters of “X-Cutioner’s Song” had the Uncanny part of the logo running up and down to the left of X-Men as opposed to above, the only time I can ever recall that happening.

UNCANNY X-MEN #224 (1987)

I honestly have no idea what happened in this issue. I own it, but I can’t remember what happens in it. Something with Longshot and Havok, presumably. Marc Silvestri drew it and it’s the final issue before Fall of the Mutants—that’s all I’ve got.

UNCANNY X-MEN #164 (1982)

In the midst of the Brood saga, this is an issue of transformations, where Carol Danvers, the former Ms. Marvel, gets messed with by the aliens turning her into Binary, while back on Earth between pages Colossus’ little sister Illyana gets kidnapped to Limbo and returns as Magik. Obviously Magik remains a vital part of X-Men lore today—despite dying for a decade or two—while Binary went back to Ms. Marvel then to Warbird then back to Ms. Marvel and now she’s Captain Marvel. I’ve enjoyed Carol Danvers in all her incarnations, but Binary always get a bit of the shaft, I felt, joining the Starjammers then not being seen for years at a time. Dave Cockrum gave Binary a great design and the idea of the Earthborn hero exploring the cosmos is one I always feel has juice; her powers weren’t anything special, but there’s something very neat in her having not adjust merely to having them, but that they’re different from the Ms. Marvel abilities she’s used to. Indeed I think the fact that Carol had years of experience as a tenured but very different hero could have been the twist that accelerated her, but oh well, what we’ve got now is pretty great too. This issue also contains the crushing scene where Wolverine finally lets his teammates know they’ve got Brood eggs growing inside them, essentially delivering a death sentence and leading to some intense and emotional stuff to come, particularly from Colossus and Kitty Pryde.

X-MEN #108 (1977)

The conclusion to the original Phoenix Saga, written on a grand scale by Chris Claremont with Dave Cockrum really getting to show off with dozens of characters and the most exotic settings imaginable. The X-Men and Starjammers team up for the first time, we get introduced to the impish but nigh omnipotent Jahf—who punches Wolverine through space—and Phoenix prevents D’Ken from getting his hands on the M’Kraan Crystal, setting the table for years of cool stories featuring the Shi’ar. There’s also a nice quiet moment after the action where Corsair learns via Phoenix that Cyclops is in fact his long lost son, but requests she not tell him, feeling like the absence of a relationship where there could have been one will hurt more than thinking one another dead. This whole story was adapted pretty perfectly for the animated series in the 90’s, particularly a feat when considering any adult or violent themes had to be removed and the likes of Colossus and Nightcrawler got subbed out for Rogue and Gambit.

The History of the X-Men in October Pt. 2

…continued from last time.

UNCANNY X-MEN #222 (1987)

If you’re looking for an example of when X-Men was truly an episodic experience, this is it. In 1987, when the franchise was an untouchable sales juggernaut followed by scores of diehard fans, Chris Claremont wasn’t so concerned with giving new readers an easy jumping on point every month as he was with crafting a huge, epic story that spanned literal years, great news in particular for those of us who would pick it up in large chunks over a decade down the line.

This story took place just before Fall of the Mutants and was another battle between the X-Men and Marauders, of which there were dozens in between Mutant Massacre and Inferno. I just mentioned three big summer crossovers that were lynchpins not just of the X-Men but Marvel as a whole, and it’s impressive how Claremont was able to just keep his larger narrative trucking along while working those checkpoints in along the way.

Here, the Marauders have captured Cyclops’ wife, Madelyne Pryor—Cyclops was off being quasi-unfaithful in X-Factor—so the X-Men head to San Francisco to get her back. While there was a quick Wolverine vs. Sabretooth fight per usual and per advertisement on the cover, the thrust of the story was Havok learning that Polaris has been possessed by Malice and is now leading the Marauders, in the process causing him and his teammates the requisite X-Men angst.

Meanwhile, the Adversary, posing as Naze, is convincing Storm she needs to kill Forge, which probably would have saved the X-Men a lot of grief down the line had she gone through with it.

Interesting to note this was one of many X-Men stories from around this period set in San Francisco, as it seems Claremont was toying with getting them out of New York and moving them to the very place Ed Brubaker would settle them in 20 years later before he opted for Australia instead.

UNCANNY X-MEN #162 (1982)

If you’re a Marvel Comics fan, you like are familiar with the Brood, but many have not read the earliest stories that introduced them, which is a shame because they are unheralded classics. This issue was part of the lengthy on-off saga in which they were introduced by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, and like a lot of stuff that came in the years following the Dark Phoenix Saga but before the 80’s boom really set in, I think it goes overlooked.

The creepiest aspect of this issue, which begins the Brood saga in earnest, is that the X-Men have already been infected by the aliens, but they don’t know it; they’re all in a trippy state of going through the motions where they have tinges that something’s wrong, but don’t know what. They just go about their business unaware of the ticking time bombs nestled inside them.

Only one person does know the score, and that’s Wolverine. He busts out of the mental prison the Brood have the X-Men in and is unleashed on a planet full of crazy Cockrum-designed monsters where he can really cut loose, so you get a nice dose of action with your pathos. The latter comes from Logan’s realization that even if he can survive the environment, not only does he have an enemy within waiting to take over, so do all his friends, and he knows since his healing factor will allow him to stave off the infection that much longer, he will have to kill all of them rather than let them become Brood.

It’s a great sci fi story and a great horror story with all the X-Men twists you’d come to expect from two of the masters. The psychedelic nature of the general team’s fugue state and the bizarre landscape Wolverine fights his way across really push the boundaries of what Cockrum’s capable of and let him excel. The best was still to come in this story, but if you can track this issue down or get it in Essentials, I strongly recommend it, as you’ll understand why so many creators love to use the Brood.

UNCANNY X-MEN #107 (1977)

As you can see by the cover blurb, this was the kick-off to the “incredible saga of the Starjammers,” aka the final act of the initial Phoenix Saga that introduce the Shi’ar to the X-Men specifically and Marvel Universe as a whole. As you can also see from the cover, this issue marked the full force debut of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Imperial Guard, from when I was a kid just because they had brightly colored costumes with awesome Dave Cockrum designs and an array of cool powers, to when I grew up and realized they were an homage to the Legion of Super-Heroes as designed by classic Legion artist Dave Cockrum. Half the fun for me when the Guard shows up is trying to figure out who is who’s Legion analogue, as after all these years I still have trouble nailing down much beyond Smasher being Ultra Boy, Oracle being Saturn Girl and Fan being Timber Wolf (who is Hussar supposed to be, darn it?).

This issue is a great fight between the X-Men and the Guard, but also amazing mythology building by Chris Claremont, as he’s setting up the Shi’ar, the M’kraan Crystal, D’ken and Lilandra’s crazy family drama, cool elements like the Soul-Drinker and Dath-Stars, and so on. It’s a testament to his skill and also to the strength of the X-Men that even though the franchises core message is really rooted in social drama as far as intolerance and acceptance, it’s always been fodder for great stories set in other genres and been one of the Marvel franchises most conducive to going cosmic.

Any enough can’t be said about how much Dave Cockrum rocks the issue, a true showcase of why he’s one of the all-time greats. Maybe the best pure designer when it comes to costuming and exotic looks in the history of comics, he’s also a master of the emotional expressiveness needed to convey the crazy stakes and wrenching twists of something like the Phoenix Saga.

The History of the X-Men in October Pt. 1

For the gist of what this is, see the last time I did it…

UNCANNY X-MEN #489 (2007)

This was (I believe) the penultimate chapter of “The Extremists” by Ed Brubaker and Salvador Larroca, where Masque was trying to twist ancient prophecies to serve his own ends and rally the Morlocks around him while Storm and the X-Men were trying to stop him. This was the issue with the “Skids is an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” reveal I liked. That would be a neat plot thread for somebody to follow up on even today. Skids is an interesting character in that she was something of a blank slate personality-wise when she first showed up in X-Factor (spunky teen girl), but probably because she was seen as expendable, she’s been subjected to so much trauma through the years (getting brainwashed by Stryfe, getting brainwashed by Magneto, watching Rusty get killed, getting kidnapped after trying to start a normal life) it makes her a potentially interesting character by default, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. angle would be cool to explore.

The Morlocks are another X-Men standby that to the best of my recollection have been recently untouched, possibly even since this story. They’re a great classic Claremont creation—the mutants so ugly and disenfranchised they make the X-Men seem accepted—who have actually always translated well to other mediums for my money (I love the Morlock episodes of the 90’s animated series and there was some great stuff in X-Men: Evolution as well). I’ve also always been intrigued/disturbed by Masque, who doesn’t seem to have a particularly dangerous power, but uses it in aggressive ways like taking away people’s ability to breathe, and makes up for physical shortcomings with a cult of personality approach.

This issue also guest-starred The Thing, as Storm was part of the Fantastic Four at the time. That was a fun era that flew by too briefly, but what I liked here was getting to see a relationship between Ororo and her new teammates, as her hubby The Black Panther got the bulk of the attention elsewhere.

UNCANNY X-MEN #410 (2002)

With the first part of a story arc called “Hope” began the controversial X-Men writing tenure of Chuck Austen, so because while he had some fans, he had more—or at least louder—detractors who point to his run as among the weakest in franchise history.

I’m not going to talk about that run as a larger body here, though, but rather this issue, which I dug at the time and felt represented a great jumping on point for new readers and a nice more classic super hero alternative to what Grant Morrison was doing over on New X-Men (and Joe Casey had done in his preceding work).

The issue began with the introduction of Sammy, a boy with a squid head who would become the poster child for those who did not enjoy Austen’s work, but here represented a mutant living with an outward curse and no real awesome gift to balance it—he could breathe underwater—tormented by bullies and without a stable home life. Professor X and Beast come to retrieve him and bring him to the Xavier School, basically his wish fulfilled, and in the process Austen gives a nice microcosm of what X-Men is all about: outcasts who are able to find safety and grow in a safe haven populated by those with similar experiences.

On the action end of the spectrum, the X-Men team Casey left behind of Archangel, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Iceman and Stacy X plus somewhat random addition M respond to a distress call from Muir Island and end up crashing. Professor X must psychically coach Stacy to save the lives of the others and then Juggernaut shows up for the cliffhanger.

There was a lot more character development and soap opera than fighting, which would become a knock on Austen’s run, but I still like this 10 years later as a decent comic to hand to a neophyte and say “Here, this is X-Men.” One of the best of all-time? Not even in the discussion to be in the discussion, but a story that accomplishes what it set out to.

UNCANNY X-MEN #348 (1997)

I’m pretty sure I’ve read this issue. I may even own it. But I don’t really remember it. It came out during the period I wasn’t reading comics in high school, so it’s likely I picked it up during my binge attempt to fill any X-Men gap I had around 2003-2004 (still haven’t read much of Claremont’s second run or the next issue on this docket).

What I can recall from context is, given that it’s two issues prior to #350 and Rogue and Gambit are on the cover, it probably focuses in large part on the latter’s secret past finally being revealed as a result of machinations by Magneto. I can also see from the cover that this group of X-Men was still clad in the weird Shi’ar space miner outfits Joe Madureira put them in for an outer space storyline—which also means this issue had sweet Joe Madureira art!

Searching the Internet tells me this issue was significant due to Rogue and Gambit having their powers dampened and thus sleeping together for the first time (or so it was heavily implied in those innocent days!), so there’s that, but this was really during the period where Scott Lobdell seemed to be spinning his wheels after the awesome run that extended over most of my childhood, so not much more to say.

UNCANNY X-MEN #293 (1992)

Another issue I’ve never read, and another Morlock story, in fact (billed as “The Last Morlock Story,” which, if you didn’t make the odd choice to start reading this post from this section, you know was not true). I believe this was the story where Colossus and Magik’s crazy brother, Mikhail Rasputin—who was first mentioned way way back around issue #98 or so as an astronaut who died on his big mission but was revealed to be alive, living in another dimension and a mutant like 15 years later because X-Men—drowned most of the Morlocks because he had been named their leader and though that was a the only solution to their suffering. I know this mostly because I just read a flashback about it in Cable Classic Vol. 3 recently.

I would like to someday get to checking out the brief blank spot I’ve got from between Bishop’s arrival and X-Cutioner’s Song, and I believe the Essentials should allow me to do so soon if not already.

To be continued…