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x_men_classic2019-01-31 06:53 pm
sheliak) wrote in x_men_classic2019-01-31 06:53 pm
Readthrough: Uncanny X-Men 97
Havok and Polaris really cannot catch a break. At all.
We open with another dramatic nightmare courtesy of Professor Xavier! He’s dreaming about alien spaceships. (It’s not as out-there as his demonic nightmare last issue, but it still looks pretty cool.)
After he wakes up, he has a sweet moment with Moira.
(I do like that Cockrum drew in the railing on Professor X's bed.)
The scene then shifts to Alex and Lorna, who are off doing research in the desert by the Rio Diablo. (I have no idea if this is a real place or not, but it sounds cool.) They’re very sweetly in love. Alas, they are also X-Men characters, so Lorna’s musings about how happy she is and how much she loves Alex are interrupted by a supervillain. Also, the narrator picks on her when she makes the mistake of thinking her quite impressive magnetic powers will be a match for any intruder.
Classic inserted a new page of Alex thinking about a) how much he loves Lorna, and b) his and Scott’s complicated family history. It’s a nice counterpoint to Lorna’s scene in the original, and it’s a helpful introduction, too, since the two of them haven’t been much in focus in Classic so far.
Alex hears Lorna’s scream as she’s attacked, and rushes home, only to be decked by his brainwashed girlfriend. On the bright side, brainwashed Lorna has a fine sense of drama!
Back with the X-Men, Kurt is already using his image inducer to make himself look like a movie star; Professor X disapproves (he’s supposed to be inconspicuous!) but tells Jean to relay his opinion rather than saying it himself. Charles, she’s graduated!
Before Jean can either relay this advice or refuse to do so, their brainwashed comrades attack! And the brainwasher makes himself known. He is… we don’t know who he is, but he’s stolen Scott’s old alias.
As a teenager, I had never read the Silver Age stuff, so I was just confused by the whole plot thread. You were a red viking, Scott? Why did you think that was a good idea? Was this an attempt to look sexy for Jean? And also, why on earth did this new villain take on that alias? (Possible answer: Scott did the Eric the Red thing during Polaris’s origin story; this guy has brainwashed Polaris and apparently decided to take on the mantle of a character from her past. Alternately, he just thinks the outfit is cool.)
Now that I know better, I would like to state, for the record, that this new Eric is a coward. He added pants to that costume. It was better without them. Scott’s original, with the bike shorts, was the only worthy version. Luckily, Classic included a frontispiece of the better version:
(I keep spelling him Erik. In my defense, Magneto took on the alias much later, once his name had been established to be Erik, so there technically also was an Erik the Red…)
Meanwhile, Jean has been knocked out, and Storm is defending her from Polaris. After a brief hiccup (Storm didn’t know that Polaris can fly), Ororo manages to leave Jean in safety and is able to use her full power. At this point, the two are evenly matched.
Alex—who’s been fighting Scott, and showing some concern for him despite the brainwashing—panics, swearing that he’ll kill the X-Men if Lorna is dead. (Of course, she isn’t.) Erik the Red decides that he'd better quit while he's ahead, takes his pawns, and runs.
Scott threatens to use his optic blasts to attack, but doesn't actually do so—he's not actually willing to try to kill his brother. Wolverine tells him to go ahead and do it, and Scott decks him. Wolverine makes to attack… and Ororo stops him.
And he listens. Wolverine will give anyone else trouble, but not her. It's a nice bit of foreshadowing for her later leadership role.
She doesn’t get the last word of the issue, though—that goes to the narrator, here with a last bit of snark for the X-Men, and a splash page of Steven Lang watching the X-Men, while an unseen figure with very fancy gloves watches him…
Besides that: what do you think of Scott and Alex's family drama? Storm's showdown with Polaris? Alex and Lorna's doomed idyllic life, and even more doomed dissertations?
And am I the only one who keeps calling him Erik the Red?
This Sunday, Colossus has an ill-fated romance.
Next week: Scott and Jean attempt to go on a date. Also, Sentinels!
We open with another dramatic nightmare courtesy of Professor Xavier! He’s dreaming about alien spaceships. (It’s not as out-there as his demonic nightmare last issue, but it still looks pretty cool.) After he wakes up, he has a sweet moment with Moira.
(I do like that Cockrum drew in the railing on Professor X's bed.)
The scene then shifts to Alex and Lorna, who are off doing research in the desert by the Rio Diablo. (I have no idea if this is a real place or not, but it sounds cool.) They’re very sweetly in love. Alas, they are also X-Men characters, so Lorna’s musings about how happy she is and how much she loves Alex are interrupted by a supervillain. Also, the narrator picks on her when she makes the mistake of thinking her quite impressive magnetic powers will be a match for any intruder.
Classic inserted a new page of Alex thinking about a) how much he loves Lorna, and b) his and Scott’s complicated family history. It’s a nice counterpoint to Lorna’s scene in the original, and it’s a helpful introduction, too, since the two of them haven’t been much in focus in Classic so far.
Alex hears Lorna’s scream as she’s attacked, and rushes home, only to be decked by his brainwashed girlfriend. On the bright side, brainwashed Lorna has a fine sense of drama!
Back with the X-Men, Kurt is already using his image inducer to make himself look like a movie star; Professor X disapproves (he’s supposed to be inconspicuous!) but tells Jean to relay his opinion rather than saying it himself. Charles, she’s graduated!
Before Jean can either relay this advice or refuse to do so, their brainwashed comrades attack! And the brainwasher makes himself known. He is… we don’t know who he is, but he’s stolen Scott’s old alias.
As a teenager, I had never read the Silver Age stuff, so I was just confused by the whole plot thread. You were a red viking, Scott? Why did you think that was a good idea? Was this an attempt to look sexy for Jean? And also, why on earth did this new villain take on that alias? (Possible answer: Scott did the Eric the Red thing during Polaris’s origin story; this guy has brainwashed Polaris and apparently decided to take on the mantle of a character from her past. Alternately, he just thinks the outfit is cool.)
Now that I know better, I would like to state, for the record, that this new Eric is a coward. He added pants to that costume. It was better without them. Scott’s original, with the bike shorts, was the only worthy version. Luckily, Classic included a frontispiece of the better version:
(I keep spelling him Erik. In my defense, Magneto took on the alias much later, once his name had been established to be Erik, so there technically also was an Erik the Red…)
Meanwhile, Jean has been knocked out, and Storm is defending her from Polaris. After a brief hiccup (Storm didn’t know that Polaris can fly), Ororo manages to leave Jean in safety and is able to use her full power. At this point, the two are evenly matched.
Polaris: We’re too evenly matched, Storm —
Polaris: — I guess we’ll just have to call this game a draw…
Storm: A …. game?
Storm:Is this all that this is to you, Polaris—a game?!
Storm:You attacked us without warning, without provocation—
Storm:… You sought our deaths without a thought for the innocents who might be endangered—even slain—by your attack—!
Storm:And you dare call this… a game!?!
Alex—who’s been fighting Scott, and showing some concern for him despite the brainwashing—panics, swearing that he’ll kill the X-Men if Lorna is dead. (Of course, she isn’t.) Erik the Red decides that he'd better quit while he's ahead, takes his pawns, and runs.
Scott threatens to use his optic blasts to attack, but doesn't actually do so—he's not actually willing to try to kill his brother. Wolverine tells him to go ahead and do it, and Scott decks him. Wolverine makes to attack… and Ororo stops him.
Storm: No!
Wolverine: Huh?!
Storm: You will do nothing, Wolverine—not now, not ever…
Storm: Or you will answer to me.
And he listens. Wolverine will give anyone else trouble, but not her. It's a nice bit of foreshadowing for her later leadership role.
She doesn’t get the last word of the issue, though—that goes to the narrator, here with a last bit of snark for the X-Men, and a splash page of Steven Lang watching the X-Men, while an unseen figure with very fancy gloves watches him…
Poll #21247 Erik the Red
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
Eric the Red should wear...
View Answers
Shorts, like Scott did originally.
4 (50.0%)
Pants, like this imposter.
1 (12.5%)
A kilt, like... no one in canon, but it should happen.
3 (37.5%)
Besides that: what do you think of Scott and Alex's family drama? Storm's showdown with Polaris? Alex and Lorna's doomed idyllic life, and even more doomed dissertations?
This Sunday, Colossus has an ill-fated romance.
Next week: Scott and Jean attempt to go on a date. Also, Sentinels!