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x_men_classic2019-01-10 02:25 pm
sheliak) wrote in x_men_classic2019-01-10 02:25 pm
Entry tags:
- artist: dave cockrum,
- character: banshee,
- character: count nefaria,
- character: cyclops,
- character: jean grey,
- character: professor x,
- character: rahne sinclair,
- character: storm,
- character: sunfire,
- character: thunderbird,
- character: wolverine,
- poll,
- readthrough,
- title: uncanny x-men,
- writer: chris claremont,
- writer: len wein
Readthrough: Uncanny X-Men 94
In this issue, Chris Claremont comes aboard as scripter! Len Wein is still plotting, though, and I assume Wein is the one responsible for splitting the story into chapters (which he also did in Giant-Sized), since later issues don’t use them.
Sunfire storms off on the first page, giving a speech about how he will definitely not be helping the X-Men again, because they’re “a pack of idealistic fools” and his duty is to Japan anyway. Given his absence from last issue’s backup story, I’m going to assume that he spent that evening in his guest room, planning his dramatic exit. Everyone needs a hobby!
The original X-Men—aside from Cyclops, of course—also leave, although more politely. (Given how quickly Claremont brought Jean back, I tend to assume that her departure was Wein’s choice as well, and Claremont was just stuck with it.)
No, Logan, we absolutely will not spare you the soap opera. No one will be spared the soap opera.
Banshee thinks he might be too old for this, but lets Professor X and Cyclops talk him into staying. The rest of the new X-Men are either totally onboard or willing to give it more time.
After his old friends leave, Cyclops angsts at the top of his lungs about the situation in general and his powers in particular.
The rest of the team politely pretends not to hear him.
And now we’re introduced to the Danger Room! As are the new X-Men. Thunderbird underestimates it.
Training montage! (Please note that Thunderbird gets grabbed by stuff twice on this page.)
Tragically, the cool training montage page was replaced in the Classic reprint—I’m not sure why, since the replacement basically communicates the same information (although Thunderbird only gets grabbed by one set of mechanical tentacles in the revised version).
Another change the Classic reprint made was to add a scene where Cyclops complains to Professor X that Wolverine and Thunderbird are competing to see who can be a bigger pain in his neck. Thunderbird has basically made besting Wolverine—at anything—his life’s goal, and this is not going to end well for him.
There are a couple of entirely new pages, too. One of them introduces Moira MacTaggert (who will be showing at the mansion up very soon) and Rahne Sinclair (who won’t appear “properly” for quite a while). Rahne missed the bus home from school, so Moira lets her ride with her on her horse. (Rahne seems very small here—I’m not sure how much time is supposed to have passed between now and New Mutants, but it can’t be more than a year or two. Maybe she's due for a growth spurt?) The Reverend Craig, Rahne's evil guardian, also makes an appearance. Apparently he never goes anywhere without a clearly marked bible, lest he miss the chance to wave it in someone’s face.
And in the other we get more focus on Thunderbird’s recklessness and his one-sided, self-destructive rivalry with Wolverine. Storm has to rescue him from a near-fatal jump, although he refuses to be dissuaded from his general course. Their interactions here make me want to see an alternate timeline where he’d lived longer; even here, where the point of his character development is to explain his death, I can see hints of how he could’ve fit into the team, relationships that could’ve developed further, and it’s interesting as well as sad. (Part of it is just that Storm plays off of people well, of course.)
(I admit that I am showing favoritism to Thunderbird. He’s not going to be around long, so I want to focus on what character development he gets.)
And oh yeah, there’s a villain. Count Nefaria has taken over a military base, and obviously he must be stopped. Beast calls on the X-Men to tell them that the Avengers are busy and can’t do anything about it, so would the X-Men please fight Count Nefaria for them? I don’t entirely blame the Avengers for wanting to avoid that one; Count Nefaria is so boring. (If you disagree, please feel free to tell me why I’m wrong! I welcome correction in this matter!) He has a bunch of henchmen called the Ani-Men, who are humans who have been modified to be animal-people with weird headgear and (in some cases) unrelated superpowers; they serve Nefaria because he has promised to make them human again.
The X-Men, naturally, promise to help out. Cyclops wants Thunderbird, who's just been injured in training, to sit this one out; Thunderbird, predictably, insists on going.
The X-Men pile into the Blackbird (which now has its name!), withstand a bit of prejudice from a general who would much rather have had Captain America or Iron Man show up, and dodge a few missiles. Count Nefaria is hilariously grumpy about the X-Men surviving his opening salvo.
The issue ends on a cliffhanger, as Count Nefaria vaporizes the X-Men's jet, leaving the X-Men themselves falling through the sky.
(Apparently the US military has disintegration rays. No, they're definitely not his; they came with the base. I do not trust my country with this power, but then again I don’t trust it with Sentinels either.)
Also, on the subject of Classic X-Men and the new material it added: in that situation, what would you add? Which characters would you like to spend more time with, or introduce early?
Sunfire storms off on the first page, giving a speech about how he will definitely not be helping the X-Men again, because they’re “a pack of idealistic fools” and his duty is to Japan anyway. Given his absence from last issue’s backup story, I’m going to assume that he spent that evening in his guest room, planning his dramatic exit. Everyone needs a hobby!
The original X-Men—aside from Cyclops, of course—also leave, although more politely. (Given how quickly Claremont brought Jean back, I tend to assume that her departure was Wein’s choice as well, and Claremont was just stuck with it.)
No, Logan, we absolutely will not spare you the soap opera. No one will be spared the soap opera.
Banshee thinks he might be too old for this, but lets Professor X and Cyclops talk him into staying. The rest of the new X-Men are either totally onboard or willing to give it more time.
After his old friends leave, Cyclops angsts at the top of his lungs about the situation in general and his powers in particular.
The rest of the team politely pretends not to hear him.
And now we’re introduced to the Danger Room! As are the new X-Men. Thunderbird underestimates it.
Training montage! (Please note that Thunderbird gets grabbed by stuff twice on this page.)
Tragically, the cool training montage page was replaced in the Classic reprint—I’m not sure why, since the replacement basically communicates the same information (although Thunderbird only gets grabbed by one set of mechanical tentacles in the revised version).
Another change the Classic reprint made was to add a scene where Cyclops complains to Professor X that Wolverine and Thunderbird are competing to see who can be a bigger pain in his neck. Thunderbird has basically made besting Wolverine—at anything—his life’s goal, and this is not going to end well for him.
There are a couple of entirely new pages, too. One of them introduces Moira MacTaggert (who will be showing at the mansion up very soon) and Rahne Sinclair (who won’t appear “properly” for quite a while). Rahne missed the bus home from school, so Moira lets her ride with her on her horse. (Rahne seems very small here—I’m not sure how much time is supposed to have passed between now and New Mutants, but it can’t be more than a year or two. Maybe she's due for a growth spurt?) The Reverend Craig, Rahne's evil guardian, also makes an appearance. Apparently he never goes anywhere without a clearly marked bible, lest he miss the chance to wave it in someone’s face.
And in the other we get more focus on Thunderbird’s recklessness and his one-sided, self-destructive rivalry with Wolverine. Storm has to rescue him from a near-fatal jump, although he refuses to be dissuaded from his general course. Their interactions here make me want to see an alternate timeline where he’d lived longer; even here, where the point of his character development is to explain his death, I can see hints of how he could’ve fit into the team, relationships that could’ve developed further, and it’s interesting as well as sad. (Part of it is just that Storm plays off of people well, of course.)
(I admit that I am showing favoritism to Thunderbird. He’s not going to be around long, so I want to focus on what character development he gets.)
And oh yeah, there’s a villain. Count Nefaria has taken over a military base, and obviously he must be stopped. Beast calls on the X-Men to tell them that the Avengers are busy and can’t do anything about it, so would the X-Men please fight Count Nefaria for them? I don’t entirely blame the Avengers for wanting to avoid that one; Count Nefaria is so boring. (If you disagree, please feel free to tell me why I’m wrong! I welcome correction in this matter!) He has a bunch of henchmen called the Ani-Men, who are humans who have been modified to be animal-people with weird headgear and (in some cases) unrelated superpowers; they serve Nefaria because he has promised to make them human again.
The X-Men, naturally, promise to help out. Cyclops wants Thunderbird, who's just been injured in training, to sit this one out; Thunderbird, predictably, insists on going.
The X-Men pile into the Blackbird (which now has its name!), withstand a bit of prejudice from a general who would much rather have had Captain America or Iron Man show up, and dodge a few missiles. Count Nefaria is hilariously grumpy about the X-Men surviving his opening salvo.
No!! By all that's unholy, the X-Men still live!!
How many times must I kill them before those cursed mutants finally stay dead!?!
The issue ends on a cliffhanger, as Count Nefaria vaporizes the X-Men's jet, leaving the X-Men themselves falling through the sky.
(Apparently the US military has disintegration rays. No, they're definitely not his; they came with the base. I do not trust my country with this power, but then again I don’t trust it with Sentinels either.)
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6
Which character would you have liked to see remain on the team longer?
View Answers
Sunfire
1 (16.7%)
Jean Grey
2 (33.3%)
Iceman
0 (0.0%)
Angel
1 (16.7%)
Havok
1 (16.7%)
Polaris
3 (50.0%)
Thunderbird
4 (66.7%)
Also, on the subject of Classic X-Men and the new material it added: in that situation, what would you add? Which characters would you like to spend more time with, or introduce early?