Readthrough: Classic X-Men 2
13 Jan 2019 06:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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x_men_classicThis time the backup story has nothing much to do with the "main" storyline of Uncanny X-Men; rather than involving team-building or Count Nefaria (I for one am glad about the latter), it's about the beginning of Jean and Ororo's friendship.
First Friends
The story begins with a nervous Storm paying a first visit to Jean at her apartment. They're both anxious about the whole thing; Ororo nearly turns back, and Jean chatters nervously. Still, they're both happy to have a chance to get to know each other.
However, Jean's roommate Misty Knight is due home soon, so she asks Ororo to change out of her superhero outfit because Misty doesn't know she's Marvel Girl, and of course Ororo hasn't brought any other clothes, which Jean sees as a problem even if she doesn't. (This whole thing is fairly pointless, since Misty is also a superhero; either Jean doesn't know either or she feels awkward about having a secret identity when her friend doesn't.)
Jean lends Ororo a dress, unfortunately too small by a size, just before Misty makes it home and they rush off. (Misty likes Storm’s hair; Storm is kind of plaintive and overwhelmed. "A pleasure greeting you," she says as Jean drags her off to buy clothes that actually fit.)
After shopping, Jean introduces Ororo to ice cream, which she likes very much. Alas, they are interrupted: a kid shoves Storm and snatches Jean's purse, and she chases the thief into the subway entrance. Storm is overwhelmed by her claustrophobia and cannot follow, and Jean is overwhelmed by the thoughts of the crowd around her.
(I love how Bolton portrays telepathy in these stories. Jean being overwhelmed by her powers feels overwhelming and visceral here.)
Jean is upset with Ororo for failing to help her, but—still rattled from the subway—she can't help but "overhear" why, and reveals that she now knows Storm's traumatic backstory. For her part, Ororo is furious that her new friend "spied" on her most painful secrets, and lashes out with her powers. The two take to the air to sort things out; Ororo calms down pretty quickly when Jean explains how little control she has over her telepathy. She's horrified when she sees how she's lost control, and the two reconcile.
(The confrontation is marred a bit by taking place in costume—Bolton still isn’t great at drawing superhero fashion—I say 'still', as if this wasn't the second issue. Also, not sure why Jean was wearing her Marvel Girl outfit under a second dress...)
The story ends with the two of them walking into the subway, hand in hand, to face their fears together. (And both still in costume aside from Jean's lack of mask, which seems a little odd when she was so worried about her secret identity earlier...)
I like the idea of this one more than I like the story itself. I love Jean and Ororo's friendship, and fleshing out its early stages makes a lot of sense for this series. But it doesn't quite hit home for me. The shopping, the theft, Ororo's uncharacteristic loss of control, and the quickness of the resolution... for me, it doesn't quite come together.
On the other hand, the ending is strong--I like the callback to Ororo's nervousness at the beginning, and the image of the two of them supporting each other. And as I said earlier, I love the portrayal of Jean's telepathy.
What did you think of this story?
And also...
Next readthrough post will be X-Men 94 on Thursday; next Classic X-Men post will be #3, next Sunday.
First Friends
The story begins with a nervous Storm paying a first visit to Jean at her apartment. They're both anxious about the whole thing; Ororo nearly turns back, and Jean chatters nervously. Still, they're both happy to have a chance to get to know each other.
However, Jean's roommate Misty Knight is due home soon, so she asks Ororo to change out of her superhero outfit because Misty doesn't know she's Marvel Girl, and of course Ororo hasn't brought any other clothes, which Jean sees as a problem even if she doesn't. (This whole thing is fairly pointless, since Misty is also a superhero; either Jean doesn't know either or she feels awkward about having a secret identity when her friend doesn't.)
Jean lends Ororo a dress, unfortunately too small by a size, just before Misty makes it home and they rush off. (Misty likes Storm’s hair; Storm is kind of plaintive and overwhelmed. "A pleasure greeting you," she says as Jean drags her off to buy clothes that actually fit.)
After shopping, Jean introduces Ororo to ice cream, which she likes very much. Alas, they are interrupted: a kid shoves Storm and snatches Jean's purse, and she chases the thief into the subway entrance. Storm is overwhelmed by her claustrophobia and cannot follow, and Jean is overwhelmed by the thoughts of the crowd around her.
(I love how Bolton portrays telepathy in these stories. Jean being overwhelmed by her powers feels overwhelming and visceral here.)
Jean is upset with Ororo for failing to help her, but—still rattled from the subway—she can't help but "overhear" why, and reveals that she now knows Storm's traumatic backstory. For her part, Ororo is furious that her new friend "spied" on her most painful secrets, and lashes out with her powers. The two take to the air to sort things out; Ororo calms down pretty quickly when Jean explains how little control she has over her telepathy. She's horrified when she sees how she's lost control, and the two reconcile.
(The confrontation is marred a bit by taking place in costume—Bolton still isn’t great at drawing superhero fashion—I say 'still', as if this wasn't the second issue. Also, not sure why Jean was wearing her Marvel Girl outfit under a second dress...)
The story ends with the two of them walking into the subway, hand in hand, to face their fears together. (And both still in costume aside from Jean's lack of mask, which seems a little odd when she was so worried about her secret identity earlier...)
I like the idea of this one more than I like the story itself. I love Jean and Ororo's friendship, and fleshing out its early stages makes a lot of sense for this series. But it doesn't quite hit home for me. The shopping, the theft, Ororo's uncharacteristic loss of control, and the quickness of the resolution... for me, it doesn't quite come together.
On the other hand, the ending is strong--I like the callback to Ororo's nervousness at the beginning, and the image of the two of them supporting each other. And as I said earlier, I love the portrayal of Jean's telepathy.
What did you think of this story?
And also...
Poll #21121 Favorite Friendship
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6
Which early Claremont-era friendship is your favorite?
View Answers
Jean and Ororo
3 (50.0%)
Kurt and Logan
6 (100.0%)
Scott and Hank
0 (0.0%)
Professor X and Moira MacTaggert
0 (0.0%)
Someone else, as I will explain in the comments.
0 (0.0%)
Next readthrough post will be X-Men 94 on Thursday; next Classic X-Men post will be #3, next Sunday.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-14 02:33 am (UTC)It seems like things happen a bit too fast--the visit, the shopping trip, the thief, the confrontation that is then quickly resolved. And Storm being unhappy about Jean knowing something so private and unpleasant makes sense--but in this era Storm was much more emotionally buttoned-down, and rarely lashed out with her powers, so the way she does that here seems rather jarring, especially given how short the scene is. She's horrified with herself when she calms down--but that's also dealt with very briefly. Maybe this idea just needed more space?
(Or maybe I never got past my original teenage reaction to this story—clothes shopping made me so miserable back then that I couldn't imagine it being a fun or neutral activity, so the rest of the story rang hollow after that.)