“Back in the Day” review: Uncanny X-men #167

Uncanny X-men #167 (March 1983)

The X-Men have been lost in space for months (the entire saga was about 10 issues long) fighting the Brood. Presumed dead, Charles Xavier recruited a new team, The New Mutants. Having survived all the Brood had to dish out they discover one more embryo may be in play and that Professor Xavier could be its host. So the X-Men return to earth with a vengeance, desperately trying to get to Professor Xavier before it’s too late. After a short battle with The New Mutants, they discover they are too late – Professor Xavier is a Brood Queen.

I am a huge New Mutants fan and when this issue came out, I was excited. Finally the New Mutants and the X-Men meet. And, of course, they fight. Unlike most first superhero battles over a misunderstanding, the X-Men realize that the New Mutants aren’t the enemy but they don’t have time to explain. While the two teams mix it up below, Kitty tries to get close enough to zap Professor X with a blaster she's carrying but hesitates when she sees him looking normal and asleep. But she comes to regret that decision immediately - the Brood Queen is already in control.

Then the X-Men and New Mutants watch as Professor X makes the metamorphosis from human to Brood. The X-Men manage to bring the queen down but Cyclops and Wolverine argue over what to do with it. Wolverine's solution: kill it. The irony of course is that 30 years later, Cyclops will kill Professor X during the "Avengers vs X-Men" series and it will be Wolverine who looks down on him for killing. Actually, I don't know if that's irony...it may just be weird.

With the Starjammer in orbit, the X-Men and New Mutants are all brought up to await news about Professor X's condition. They can't reverse the metamorphosis but they do have a genetic sample so they're able to clone a new body for him and drop his consciousness into it. So Professor X not only survives being turned into a Brood, but gets a new body that can walk!

Chris Claremont wraps up the Brood storyline with a lot of twists, turns, and payoffs. In one issue we get the X-Men’s return to earth, the first time the team meets the New Mutants, Professor Xavier transformed into a Brood Queen, and his consciousness being transferred into a cloned body…that can walk.

Paul Smith’s art is as clean and beautiful as I remember it. Each of the characters has their own unique look and, thanks to Claremont, unique voice, something that currently gets lost when month after month there are several writers putting their own stamp on each character. When this issue came out, Wolverine was only appearing once a month but now he’s a regular in three or more. This issue shows the team strong and in action but also shows some of their weaknesses: Nightcrawler fears that the New Mutants will not accept him and Storm feels replaced by Kitty's affection for Peter and Illyana. It also shows great character moments between Scott and his father.

There's also a nice moment when Gladiator shows up to deliver the news that Galactus was dying and the Fantastic Four saved him and how angry she is. She delivers a hologram message to the team in the middle of the night to tell them that they just saved an entity that destroys entire worlds just to sustain itself, to remind them that they aren't the only people in the galaxy, and to brand them as criminals. It reminds you that the Marvel Universe has a lot going on in it without going overboard with confrontations. That practice of checking in on other heroes in other titles continues today and maintains the illusion of a cohesive universe.

At the end of the book, with everyone safe and the X-Men and the New Mutants under one roof, Professor X decides Kitty should be on a team with members closer to her age and makes her a New Mutant. Of course this leads to one the best in-jokes: Professor X is a jerk!

My only complaint, reading this issues after all these years, is how slow Wolverine is getting up the stairs. He's starting up the stairs when Sunspot jumps at him and is swatted away. Then there's enough time for Wolverine to stand there while Sunspot composes himself and jumps on his back. Chris Claremont is a great writer but he doesn't let anything interfere with a good setup. Still, it's one of my favorite X-Men issues.

 

The X-Men bust into the mansion while The New Mutants are enjoying a little downtime.

“Back in the Day” review: Uncanny X-Men #205

Uncanny X-Men #205 (May 1986)

Thanks to Spiral’s Body Shop, Yuriko has been transformed into the living weapon, Lady Deathstrike. With a few cybernetic mercenaries at her side, she unleashes her new abilities on Wolverine. Injured and disoriented in the South Street Seaport during a blizzard, he runs into an ally who will help him stave off a berserker rage and claim victory:five-year old Katie Power, also known as Energizer of Power Pack. Katie becomes separated from the woman (Teacher? The story never says) taking her to see a choir when the mercenaries run through knocking the woman down during a blizzard.

Wolverine has been hurt so bad he’s reverted to an animal state so Katie has to keep him out of Lady Deathstrike and her mercenaries’ grasp long enough to get his mind back. Thanks to Katie and his healing factor, Wolverine snaps out of it and takes the fight to his enemies.

Back when Chris Claremont was writing the X-Men, he focused on character-driven stories and this issue is a good example of that. He takes time to define Lady Deathstrike and her mission before putting her into action. Katie Power's inner and outer dialogue is as detailed and random as you'd expect from a 5-year-old but he also shows the side of her that belongs to a superhero. With Wolverine, he shows him doing what he does best while relating to and protecting Katie from seeing it. Then there's the confrontation between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike where they argue their differences. Three distinct characters (Lady Deathstrike, Katie Power, and Wolverine) and Chris Claremont does a wonderful job with all three.

Barry Windsor-Smith did the pencils, inks, and color for the entire book. Sometimes I have a problem with the cover showing something that doesn't actually happen on the inside. But in this case, the cover of what it may have looked like (this book was before the Weapon X mini series in Marvel Comics Presents) when Wolverine got his adamantium mirrors the first few pages of the book where Lady Deathstrike and her mercenaries are getting their cybernetics added. This reminds readers that Wolverine has been through what they've gone through and that the fight is more or less even. Once Wolverine regains his mind and takes the fight to the enemies, the action panels convey all the skill and savagery Wolverine brings to a fight and doesn't pull punches. The gorgeous action scenes that Windsor-Smith draws are hard not to stare at.

The Wolverine/Katie talk at the end of the book is one of the best Wolverine moments. He's known for straight talk and he doesn't lie but he softens the delivery for her benefit and is able to impart some wisdom at the same time. When this issue came out there was no Wolverine series so a solo adventure was rare. This one issue adventure serves to introduce a powerful new foe, show Wolverine doing what he does best, and show the unlikely bonding between Katie and Wolverine.