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x_men_classic2019-01-20 02:40 pm
sheliak) wrote in x_men_classic2019-01-20 02:40 pm
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Readthrough: X-Men Classic 3
In this issue, the X-Men return Thunderbird's body to his family, and mourn him. Along the way, both they and the reader learn a little more about John Proudstar, and why he made the choices he did.
This is the story that made me care about John Proudstar. I still think it’s one of the best of the Classic backups.
(Apologies in advance—some of my scans have a blurry edge, on account of being taken from a large and not entirely cooperative hardcover.)
(Usually I post more essential scenes, but this page is so pretty I couldn't resist including it.)
Charles Xavier mourns the loss of a student he barely knew, and admits to himself that Thunderbird is unlikely to be the last.
Jean comes to support the Professor, knowing as she does that it’s hard to face death as a telepath, even comparing Xavier’s experience with Thunderbird to the traumatic awakening of her own powers when Annie Richardson (here Annie Malcolm) died in her arms. It's a scene that illustrates how close the two of them are, and it's especially poignant knowing that Jean will be the next to fall.
The X-Men return Thunderbird’s body to his family; his younger brother steals the body before it can be buried. This isn’t a spoiler; the Proudstar parents guess the culprit immediately, and Jean and the Professor overhear their thoughts.
The other X-Men, however, don't think to ask the telepaths what's going on, and the telepaths themselves decide not to pry further to discover why James did it. Logan sets out immediately; the other X-Men change into their costumes before following him, some distance behind.
As they walk, the X-Men talk about John, wonder what they could have done differently, and mourn. That's the bulk of the issue, and a large part of its strength.
(Cyclops doesn’t get an individual scene here—he’ll get one in the next Uncanny issue, of a sort. He’s too private to angst in company, I suppose!)
Banshee comes the closest to calling the death suicide; he feels responsible, even though he knows John chose to die, and swears to do better.
Kurt and Piotr share a flashback of a time the three of them talked in the Danger Room, and John revealed a little more about himself than usual.
Ororo’s flashback is longer and comes closer to the root of the problem. There's the one-sided rivalry with Wolverine that consumed so much of Thunderbird's brief time with the X-Men, of course:
And there's an expansion on that careless-seeming line in Giant-Sized X-Men, that John Proudstar never did like the jungle. I love the use of shadows here, and the double-meaning of the surrounding plants. Visually, the first two panels here are among my favorites from this issue.
If Wolverine has any such memories of his fallen teammate, he doesn't choose to share them with the reader. Instead, he follows James and learns that he's giving his brother a proper funeral. (There's a note in the narration about James's voice cracking, and how ashamed he is of it—that's an endearing touch.)
Meanwhile, Logan wants to know why John made the choices he did. Luckily for him, James left some expository items lying around.
Logan puts the pieces together: John enlisted in the army, lied about his age to do so, fought in a war (presumably Vietnam given the timing and visuals) and came back traumatized and unable to deal with it. He made friends and watched them die; since then he was lost, adrift, and angry, with nowhere to go.
Logan's only sympathetic to a point-but when he talks to the X-Men, he's much kinder to both them and the dead. Throughout this story, he's been balanced between the gruff loner he was early on, and the more complicated person he developed into later.
The story ends with a return to James Proudstar, blaming the X-Men for his brother's death and swearing vengeance. It's an unfortunate way to end the story; it's been quiet and nuanced throughout, so this return to superhero drama (and to relatively simplistic motivations) seems awkward and out of place.
Still, the story as a whole is strong enough to overcome that ending, at least for me.
I adored this story as a teenager; it made me care about (and yes, mourn) John Proudstar, when before all I'd felt was that it was a shame he'd died before getting fleshed out at all.
I’m fairly sure that this was published after James Proudstar made his first appearances in New Mutants and X-Men; that surprised me, as this story read like foreshadowing, and as a teenager I assumed it really had been his first appearance. And James’s furious speech in the end is by far the weakest part of the story, for me. I’m afraid it put me off of the character for years; I thought of him as the ‘boring’ brother even though he’s had much more characterization, simply because he’s so much less nuanced in this story.
What did you think?
Next Thursday: Cyclops mourns, and also quarrels with the narrator, with catastrophic results.
Next Sunday: Wolverine and Nightcrawler bond.
This is the story that made me care about John Proudstar. I still think it’s one of the best of the Classic backups.
(Apologies in advance—some of my scans have a blurry edge, on account of being taken from a large and not entirely cooperative hardcover.)
(Usually I post more essential scenes, but this page is so pretty I couldn't resist including it.)
Charles Xavier mourns the loss of a student he barely knew, and admits to himself that Thunderbird is unlikely to be the last.
Now naïve of me--how foolish--
--to think I could send the X-Men into battle after battle, against the most hopeless of odds, and have them always emerge unscathed. Such mad luck could not last forever.
Jean comes to support the Professor, knowing as she does that it’s hard to face death as a telepath, even comparing Xavier’s experience with Thunderbird to the traumatic awakening of her own powers when Annie Richardson (here Annie Malcolm) died in her arms. It's a scene that illustrates how close the two of them are, and it's especially poignant knowing that Jean will be the next to fall.
The X-Men return Thunderbird’s body to his family; his younger brother steals the body before it can be buried. This isn’t a spoiler; the Proudstar parents guess the culprit immediately, and Jean and the Professor overhear their thoughts.
The other X-Men, however, don't think to ask the telepaths what's going on, and the telepaths themselves decide not to pry further to discover why James did it. Logan sets out immediately; the other X-Men change into their costumes before following him, some distance behind.
As they walk, the X-Men talk about John, wonder what they could have done differently, and mourn. That's the bulk of the issue, and a large part of its strength.
(Cyclops doesn’t get an individual scene here—he’ll get one in the next Uncanny issue, of a sort. He’s too private to angst in company, I suppose!)
Banshee comes the closest to calling the death suicide; he feels responsible, even though he knows John chose to die, and swears to do better.
If I'd pushed a little harder--taken a risk or two-we wouldn't be buryin' John today.
That's daft, Sean Cassidy, an' you know it.
Thunderbird had every chance to jump clear.
He chose to stay with that plane until the end.
What demons drove you to such a mad decision, laddie? If I'd been a better friend, I might have helped you fight them off.
That'll never happen again, with anyone--I swear it!
Kurt and Piotr share a flashback of a time the three of them talked in the Danger Room, and John revealed a little more about himself than usual.
Ororo’s flashback is longer and comes closer to the root of the problem. There's the one-sided rivalry with Wolverine that consumed so much of Thunderbird's brief time with the X-Men, of course:
And there's an expansion on that careless-seeming line in Giant-Sized X-Men, that John Proudstar never did like the jungle. I love the use of shadows here, and the double-meaning of the surrounding plants. Visually, the first two panels here are among my favorites from this issue.
Never.
If Wolverine has any such memories of his fallen teammate, he doesn't choose to share them with the reader. Instead, he follows James and learns that he's giving his brother a proper funeral. (There's a note in the narration about James's voice cracking, and how ashamed he is of it—that's an endearing touch.)
Meanwhile, Logan wants to know why John made the choices he did. Luckily for him, James left some expository items lying around.
Logan puts the pieces together: John enlisted in the army, lied about his age to do so, fought in a war (presumably Vietnam given the timing and visuals) and came back traumatized and unable to deal with it. He made friends and watched them die; since then he was lost, adrift, and angry, with nowhere to go.
Logan's only sympathetic to a point-but when he talks to the X-Men, he's much kinder to both them and the dead. Throughout this story, he's been balanced between the gruff loner he was early on, and the more complicated person he developed into later.
The story ends with a return to James Proudstar, blaming the X-Men for his brother's death and swearing vengeance. It's an unfortunate way to end the story; it's been quiet and nuanced throughout, so this return to superhero drama (and to relatively simplistic motivations) seems awkward and out of place.
Still, the story as a whole is strong enough to overcome that ending, at least for me.
I adored this story as a teenager; it made me care about (and yes, mourn) John Proudstar, when before all I'd felt was that it was a shame he'd died before getting fleshed out at all.
I’m fairly sure that this was published after James Proudstar made his first appearances in New Mutants and X-Men; that surprised me, as this story read like foreshadowing, and as a teenager I assumed it really had been his first appearance. And James’s furious speech in the end is by far the weakest part of the story, for me. I’m afraid it put me off of the character for years; I thought of him as the ‘boring’ brother even though he’s had much more characterization, simply because he’s so much less nuanced in this story.
Poll #21162 Favorite Scene
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 3
Which scene(s) are your favorite?
View Answers
Jean and the Professor
2 (66.7%)
Sean's internal monologue
0 (0.0%)
Kurt and Piotr's flashback
0 (0.0%)
Ororo's flashback
1 (33.3%)
Logan putting the pieces together
2 (66.7%)
James at the funeral
0 (0.0%)
Something else, which I will explain in the comments.
0 (0.0%)
What did you think?
Next Thursday: Cyclops mourns, and also quarrels with the narrator, with catastrophic results.
Next Sunday: Wolverine and Nightcrawler bond.
no subject
In retrospect, though, this was a lousy place to meet James; even though he comes off better in New Mutants, I was grumpily bored by him for years before I admitted that no, he's a perfectly sound character and actually does have more character development than his brother. Just... not in this story.