Readthrough: Uncanny X-Men 109
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x_men_classicHi again!
This issue opens with everyone—including Lilandra—returning to the mansion. Xavier welcomes Lilandra to Earth and his house; Wolverine just wants to change out of his purloined costume. Moira is annoyed at Kurt for teleporting in the house, until Banshee distracts her with a kiss.
Ororo says hi to her plants, and after watering with a rainstorm takes a shower.
There's a flashback that clarifies why Lilandra's with them at all (she's technically still a traitor and the government needs to fix that before she can take over). It segues into a Jean/Corsair conversation: he asks her not to tell Scott that he's his father, and she reluctantly agrees. Ororo, listening, does not approve:
And Ororo means that; she lost her parents young, just as Scott did, and she understands what he went through better than most people would. But Jean, who knows exactly what Corsair's feeling, stands by her choice to keep his secret. It's an interesting spin on her powers, too: she knows this isn’t the right call, acknowledges it, argues with him before he leaves, but she keeps Corsair’s secret anyway because she feels what he’s feeling.
In the present, Jean tells her parents what's going on with her; they know she's a mutant, of course, but that's all. They don't take the full details all that well. Scott (who suspects something about Corsair, and suspects Jean knows more than she’s letting on, but has of course failed to have a conversation about it, given she’s a telepath and doesn’t want to talk) watches and broods.
Meanwhile, Kurt heads out for a date with Amanda Sefton. We get a look at his room, which is pretty cool!
He decides to invite Piotr along, since Piotr has been casually seeing a friend of Amanda’s. (This second relationship fizzles out pretty quickly, though Amanda and Kurt’s will stick around.) Kurt mentions that they’re going to see Star Wars, and that the cast resembles his relatives; Piotr cracks that he’s talking about Chewbacca, and Kurt has a moment to think that his life would’ve been easier if that were the case. This hint isn’t exactly followed up on… Kurt’s family went in a somewhat different direction, in the end.
Piotr (who has been, adorably, failing to write a letter home because explaining to his parents that he helped save the universe is too strange) declines the invitation, having already promised to go on a picnic with Sean, Moira, and Ororo. So Kurt interrupts Scott’s brooding:
Kurt’s extremely frustrated at being interrupted just as he was getting through to Scott, and worries that he may’ve offended him anyway… but Scott makes a point of calling Sean by his first name as he leaves, and says that although he’s staying home from the picnic he’ll think about what Kurt said. It’s a start.
Wolverine hitches a ride with the picnic group, explaining that he wants to go hunting. Ororo doesn’t approve of hunting for sport; he grumpily explains that he actually wants to sneak up on deer without harming them. She apologizes, but frankly, the assumption she made was the logical one! Wolverine has a deeply idiosyncratic definition of “hunting”.
Meanwhile, sinister people in maple leaf helmets plot an attack…
And cut to that attack playing out!
Just as Wolverine had managed to sneak up on a deer, too.
Vindicator explains that he’s here to take Wolverine back to his old job; Wolverine is happy to be a free agent, and wants to stay. They call each other by first name, making “Jimmie” the second person to call Logan by name in this comic. After that random leprechaun. Anyway, they clearly have a history, and Logan needles Vindicator into an unwise scuffle.
The picnic is going well, at this point:
Alas, they’re interrupted when Wolverine is thrown right past them, colliding with a tree. He’s unconscious, so Piotr gallantly transforms and punches Vindicator on his behalf. As Ororo joins him, Logan comes to and rather woozily telling her to stop, because Hudson is his.
Vindicator decides to retaliate with his own energy blasts. Unfortunately, he’s not experienced; his blast ricochets off of Colossus’s metal chest and strikes Moira—the one non-superhero present—in the head. Banshee is justifiably furious, and after pulling her from the water where she fell (unconscious—that could’ve ended very badly), he springs to the attack. He’s pushing his powers well beyond their limits, the narrator tells us. This is the second time he’s done so, after the battle with Jahf, and it’s definitely turning into a pattern.
Alarmed by Banshee’s attack—and by the revelation that Storm can also fly—Vindicator decides that discretion is the better part of valor and leaves. Wolverine, however, is sure that they haven’t seen the last of him…
This time Classic made only a few minor edits to the dialogue. But it did add some new scenes as well. Early on, there’s a new page of Vindicator preparing to fight Wolverine; it mainly establishes that he’s nervous about it. While it wasn’t clear in the original issue, at this point Vindicator is brand new to being a superhero; it seems that he’s never actually used that fancy suit in a real fight, and this one is personal.
There’s also a two-page sequence of Lilandra curiously exploring the mansion, wondering at the primitive photographs and bed (she considers sending a trading mission once she has her empire back!), and has a run-in with the shower, at which point Xavier shows up with a towel. He picks up on her thinking of him as "beloved", to the point where for a moment he doesn't realize that she didn't say it aloud, and then apologizes for prying. She points out that she knows him as he was, not as he is, because the telepathic burst that gave her such comprehensive knowledge of him came from quite a while ago. So he lets down his mental barriers and offers to share all his secrets with her.
It's a sweet moment, and between Lilandra's open curiosity and Xavier's comparative openness towards her, it does a lot to make the two of them sympathetic.
And after the end of the original story, there’s one last new page, following Vindicator after he nopes out of that fight. He's a little surprised that his pseudo-teleportation worked, and he takes a moment to berate himself for his rash behavior. He doesn't know if Moira survived, only that he could have killed her. (He comes off a lot more sympathetically here than he did in the original story!)
And then he puts a long coat on over his superhero outfit (and where did he even get it?) before going home to his wife. She offers tea; he says that what he could really use is a hug. It's an endearing moment.
She then tells him that there's no reason he has to be the one to wear the suit--and he tells her it's his responsability, and he'll prove himself worthy to lead Alpha Flight no matter what. Knowing that Mac is going to die in a bit and Heather will take over both the suit and the team leadership, that exchange hits hard.
I tend to remember this story as the one where Byrne came in and wasted no time in showing off his favorite character. Well, that’s true to an extent; the action part of this issue is very Wolverine-centric, and there’s the none-too-subtle bit where Storm admits to misjudging him. (It also lays the seeds for Alpha Flight, Byrne’s creation just as the Starjammers and the Imperial Guard were Cockrum’s—and now I’ve allowed myself to imagine an alternate universe in which the Starjammers got a spin-off comic, which could’ve been neat.) But the other half of the issue is a nice quiet story, with character beats for most of the team. It’s definitely better than I’d remembered it being!
And I like the new scenes a lot; while Classic occasionally falls into the trap of just extending fight scenes, here it’s playing to its strengths and adding character beats. The Lilandra/Xavier bit is sweet, the Vindicator scenes make him seem a lot more human and sympathetic, and the glimpse of Heather Hudson is also nice, since we’ll be seeing her again.
This issue opens with everyone—including Lilandra—returning to the mansion. Xavier welcomes Lilandra to Earth and his house; Wolverine just wants to change out of his purloined costume. Moira is annoyed at Kurt for teleporting in the house, until Banshee distracts her with a kiss.
Ororo says hi to her plants, and after watering with a rainstorm takes a shower.
There's a flashback that clarifies why Lilandra's with them at all (she's technically still a traitor and the government needs to fix that before she can take over). It segues into a Jean/Corsair conversation: he asks her not to tell Scott that he's his father, and she reluctantly agrees. Ororo, listening, does not approve:
If I were Scott, and I found that you knew my father was still alive but hadn't told me, I would hate you for it.
And Ororo means that; she lost her parents young, just as Scott did, and she understands what he went through better than most people would. But Jean, who knows exactly what Corsair's feeling, stands by her choice to keep his secret. It's an interesting spin on her powers, too: she knows this isn’t the right call, acknowledges it, argues with him before he leaves, but she keeps Corsair’s secret anyway because she feels what he’s feeling.
In the present, Jean tells her parents what's going on with her; they know she's a mutant, of course, but that's all. They don't take the full details all that well. Scott (who suspects something about Corsair, and suspects Jean knows more than she’s letting on, but has of course failed to have a conversation about it, given she’s a telepath and doesn’t want to talk) watches and broods.
Meanwhile, Kurt heads out for a date with Amanda Sefton. We get a look at his room, which is pretty cool!
He decides to invite Piotr along, since Piotr has been casually seeing a friend of Amanda’s. (This second relationship fizzles out pretty quickly, though Amanda and Kurt’s will stick around.) Kurt mentions that they’re going to see Star Wars, and that the cast resembles his relatives; Piotr cracks that he’s talking about Chewbacca, and Kurt has a moment to think that his life would’ve been easier if that were the case. This hint isn’t exactly followed up on… Kurt’s family went in a somewhat different direction, in the end.
Piotr (who has been, adorably, failing to write a letter home because explaining to his parents that he helped save the universe is too strange) declines the invitation, having already promised to go on a picnic with Sean, Moira, and Ororo. So Kurt interrupts Scott’s brooding:
Kurt’s extremely frustrated at being interrupted just as he was getting through to Scott, and worries that he may’ve offended him anyway… but Scott makes a point of calling Sean by his first name as he leaves, and says that although he’s staying home from the picnic he’ll think about what Kurt said. It’s a start.
Wolverine hitches a ride with the picnic group, explaining that he wants to go hunting. Ororo doesn’t approve of hunting for sport; he grumpily explains that he actually wants to sneak up on deer without harming them. She apologizes, but frankly, the assumption she made was the logical one! Wolverine has a deeply idiosyncratic definition of “hunting”.
Meanwhile, sinister people in maple leaf helmets plot an attack…
And cut to that attack playing out!
Just as Wolverine had managed to sneak up on a deer, too.
Vindicator explains that he’s here to take Wolverine back to his old job; Wolverine is happy to be a free agent, and wants to stay. They call each other by first name, making “Jimmie” the second person to call Logan by name in this comic. After that random leprechaun. Anyway, they clearly have a history, and Logan needles Vindicator into an unwise scuffle.
The picnic is going well, at this point:
Alas, they’re interrupted when Wolverine is thrown right past them, colliding with a tree. He’s unconscious, so Piotr gallantly transforms and punches Vindicator on his behalf. As Ororo joins him, Logan comes to and rather woozily telling her to stop, because Hudson is his.
Vindicator decides to retaliate with his own energy blasts. Unfortunately, he’s not experienced; his blast ricochets off of Colossus’s metal chest and strikes Moira—the one non-superhero present—in the head. Banshee is justifiably furious, and after pulling her from the water where she fell (unconscious—that could’ve ended very badly), he springs to the attack. He’s pushing his powers well beyond their limits, the narrator tells us. This is the second time he’s done so, after the battle with Jahf, and it’s definitely turning into a pattern.
Alarmed by Banshee’s attack—and by the revelation that Storm can also fly—Vindicator decides that discretion is the better part of valor and leaves. Wolverine, however, is sure that they haven’t seen the last of him…
This time Classic made only a few minor edits to the dialogue. But it did add some new scenes as well. Early on, there’s a new page of Vindicator preparing to fight Wolverine; it mainly establishes that he’s nervous about it. While it wasn’t clear in the original issue, at this point Vindicator is brand new to being a superhero; it seems that he’s never actually used that fancy suit in a real fight, and this one is personal.
There’s also a two-page sequence of Lilandra curiously exploring the mansion, wondering at the primitive photographs and bed (she considers sending a trading mission once she has her empire back!), and has a run-in with the shower, at which point Xavier shows up with a towel. He picks up on her thinking of him as "beloved", to the point where for a moment he doesn't realize that she didn't say it aloud, and then apologizes for prying. She points out that she knows him as he was, not as he is, because the telepathic burst that gave her such comprehensive knowledge of him came from quite a while ago. So he lets down his mental barriers and offers to share all his secrets with her.
I can place you within my mind, and once there you can roam where you will. Let there be no secrets between us...
...and no fears.
It's a sweet moment, and between Lilandra's open curiosity and Xavier's comparative openness towards her, it does a lot to make the two of them sympathetic.
And after the end of the original story, there’s one last new page, following Vindicator after he nopes out of that fight. He's a little surprised that his pseudo-teleportation worked, and he takes a moment to berate himself for his rash behavior. He doesn't know if Moira survived, only that he could have killed her. (He comes off a lot more sympathetically here than he did in the original story!)
What should I do, turn myself in to the police? If I do that, the entire alpha project will be revealed--Lord knows what'll happen to the mutants already involved in it.
And then he puts a long coat on over his superhero outfit (and where did he even get it?) before going home to his wife. She offers tea; he says that what he could really use is a hug. It's an endearing moment.
She then tells him that there's no reason he has to be the one to wear the suit--and he tells her it's his responsability, and he'll prove himself worthy to lead Alpha Flight no matter what. Knowing that Mac is going to die in a bit and Heather will take over both the suit and the team leadership, that exchange hits hard.
I tend to remember this story as the one where Byrne came in and wasted no time in showing off his favorite character. Well, that’s true to an extent; the action part of this issue is very Wolverine-centric, and there’s the none-too-subtle bit where Storm admits to misjudging him. (It also lays the seeds for Alpha Flight, Byrne’s creation just as the Starjammers and the Imperial Guard were Cockrum’s—and now I’ve allowed myself to imagine an alternate universe in which the Starjammers got a spin-off comic, which could’ve been neat.) But the other half of the issue is a nice quiet story, with character beats for most of the team. It’s definitely better than I’d remembered it being!
And I like the new scenes a lot; while Classic occasionally falls into the trap of just extending fight scenes, here it’s playing to its strengths and adding character beats. The Lilandra/Xavier bit is sweet, the Vindicator scenes make him seem a lot more human and sympathetic, and the glimpse of Heather Hudson is also nice, since we’ll be seeing her again.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 3
Favorite Scene(s)
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Welcome Home
1 (33.3%)
Flashback with Jean, Ororo and Corsair
1 (33.3%)
Jean talks to her parents and Scott broods
1 (33.3%)
Kurt and Piotr
0 (0.0%)
Kurt and Scott
1 (33.3%)
Wolverine plans to sneak up on deer
0 (0.0%)
Wolverine vs Vindicator
0 (0.0%)
The Picnic
2 (66.7%)
Everybody vs. Vindicator
0 (0.0%)
New Scene: Vindicator is Nervous
0 (0.0%)
New Scene: Lilandra/Xavier
1 (33.3%)
New Scene: the Hudsons after the fight
1 (33.3%)
Tags:
- artist: john byrne,
- character: banshee,
- character: colossus,
- character: heather hudson,
- character: james macdonald hudson,
- character: lilandra neramani,
- character: moira mactaggert,
- character: nightcrawler,
- character: professor x,
- character: storm,
- character: wolverine,
- poll,
- readthrough,
- title: uncanny x-men,
- writer: chris claremont
