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x_men_classic2019-04-07 11:50 pm
sheliak) wrote in x_men_classic2019-04-07 11:50 pm
Readthrough: Uncanny X-Men 107
Since 106 was left out of the Classic reprints (entirely fairly), this is two Uncanny posts in a row. Next up is Classic again (Lilandra!) and then we're back to Uncanny with John Byrne's first issue.
Speaking of, this is Dave Cockrum's last for a while, and it has some great pages...
And the next one too, because they're both great:
(I know that the Imperial Guard were a Legion of Super-Heroes riff, but I don't know enough about that group at the time Cockrum worked on it to say anything about them. Other than that I like Oracle's outfit (flying lady directly above Gladiator, in pink). It was originally a Phoenix concept and it would've been terrible for Phoenix, but I love it and I'm glad he threw it in here.)
Aside from being a loving LoSH reference, the Imperial Guard are the minions of the Shi'ar emperor--Lilandra's evil brother, Eric the Red's boss--which means that they are not in favor of the X-Men rescuing Lilandra. A fight ensues!
Jean is out on her feet after taking the team across galaxies, and the X-Men are outnumbered by a wide margin. But they're also very clever. See Nightcrawler, versus a shapeshifter who just turned into a huge alien monster-beastie:
Wolverine is not having nearly as nice a day; he loses his clothes to a fire-wielding opponent and decides to jump another Guard for his uniform.
Meanwhile, Nightcrawler rescues Lilandra from her brother's soul-drinking executioner. This is the first time he's ever teleported a passenger (in the original; Classic retconned things otherwise), and it's a cool moment.
Lilandra froze in the face of the Soul-Drinker, but once away from it she recovers quickly and gives Cyclops an explanation of just what's going on.
Her brother sought ultimate power and was willing to risk the universe to do so; she disapproved. He branded her a traitor for doing so, so she escaped and led a rebellion--which lost. But as she desperately escaped her pursuers, she made psychic contact with Xavier as he defended the Earth from the Z'nox (a supervillainous threat in the 60s, I believe) and fled to him, hoping that he could help her save the universe. Erik the Red (real name Davan Shakari, as revealed recently) was already the Shi'ar Emperor's agent on Earth, so he was tasked to keep the X-Men from aiding her...
At that point they're interrupted by Gladiator, who's extremely grumpy about Lilandra's betrayal of her oath. The battle continues, and the X-Men, who've lost the advantage of surprise, are losing...
... when an unseen person shoots Gladiator as he's about to kill Lilandra. (It's an energy weapon and he's outrageously superpowered, he'll be fine.) More importantly, the cavalry has arrived!
The tide quickly turns; the Starjammers manage to defeat the remaining Imperial Guard members, and the X-Men tentatively start to make friends with their rescuers. (Kurt admires Ch'od's small fuzzy pet.) Meanwhile, Jean is suspicious of Corsair's American accent, so she reads his mind, and discovers something shocking...
... but Emperor D'Ken starts cackling about how he's won anyway, because the stars have aligned and ultimate power will soon be his...
... and far away on Earth, Dr. Corbeau frantically tells the Fantastic Four that the universe itself seems to be in danger of dying.
Classic added a double-page spread of the X-Men's thoughts as they go through the portal--Wolverine happy that he's got a fight where he can truly cut loose coming up, Banshee wishing he'd told Moira he loves her, Kurt delighted to be having such an adventure, Jean torn between joy at her powers and wishing that she didn't know her friends' inmost thoughts. And after that, there's a page detailing the Starjammers' decision to go to the rescue, establishing that they're risking their lives to save the universe, and a bit of their personalities and their loyalty to each other. There are also a few dialogue edits--the most important one is the removal of the line about Nightcrawler never having teleported another person before.
Speaking of, this is Dave Cockrum's last for a while, and it has some great pages...
And the next one too, because they're both great:
(I know that the Imperial Guard were a Legion of Super-Heroes riff, but I don't know enough about that group at the time Cockrum worked on it to say anything about them. Other than that I like Oracle's outfit (flying lady directly above Gladiator, in pink). It was originally a Phoenix concept and it would've been terrible for Phoenix, but I love it and I'm glad he threw it in here.)
Aside from being a loving LoSH reference, the Imperial Guard are the minions of the Shi'ar emperor--Lilandra's evil brother, Eric the Red's boss--which means that they are not in favor of the X-Men rescuing Lilandra. A fight ensues!
Jean is out on her feet after taking the team across galaxies, and the X-Men are outnumbered by a wide margin. But they're also very clever. See Nightcrawler, versus a shapeshifter who just turned into a huge alien monster-beastie:
Wolverine is not having nearly as nice a day; he loses his clothes to a fire-wielding opponent and decides to jump another Guard for his uniform.
Meanwhile, Nightcrawler rescues Lilandra from her brother's soul-drinking executioner. This is the first time he's ever teleported a passenger (in the original; Classic retconned things otherwise), and it's a cool moment.
Lilandra froze in the face of the Soul-Drinker, but once away from it she recovers quickly and gives Cyclops an explanation of just what's going on.
Her brother sought ultimate power and was willing to risk the universe to do so; she disapproved. He branded her a traitor for doing so, so she escaped and led a rebellion--which lost. But as she desperately escaped her pursuers, she made psychic contact with Xavier as he defended the Earth from the Z'nox (a supervillainous threat in the 60s, I believe) and fled to him, hoping that he could help her save the universe. Erik the Red (real name Davan Shakari, as revealed recently) was already the Shi'ar Emperor's agent on Earth, so he was tasked to keep the X-Men from aiding her...
At that point they're interrupted by Gladiator, who's extremely grumpy about Lilandra's betrayal of her oath. The battle continues, and the X-Men, who've lost the advantage of surprise, are losing...
... when an unseen person shoots Gladiator as he's about to kill Lilandra. (It's an energy weapon and he's outrageously superpowered, he'll be fine.) More importantly, the cavalry has arrived!
The tide quickly turns; the Starjammers manage to defeat the remaining Imperial Guard members, and the X-Men tentatively start to make friends with their rescuers. (Kurt admires Ch'od's small fuzzy pet.) Meanwhile, Jean is suspicious of Corsair's American accent, so she reads his mind, and discovers something shocking...
... but Emperor D'Ken starts cackling about how he's won anyway, because the stars have aligned and ultimate power will soon be his...
... and far away on Earth, Dr. Corbeau frantically tells the Fantastic Four that the universe itself seems to be in danger of dying.
Classic added a double-page spread of the X-Men's thoughts as they go through the portal--Wolverine happy that he's got a fight where he can truly cut loose coming up, Banshee wishing he'd told Moira he loves her, Kurt delighted to be having such an adventure, Jean torn between joy at her powers and wishing that she didn't know her friends' inmost thoughts. And after that, there's a page detailing the Starjammers' decision to go to the rescue, establishing that they're risking their lives to save the universe, and a bit of their personalities and their loyalty to each other. There are also a few dialogue edits--the most important one is the removal of the line about Nightcrawler never having teleported another person before.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7
Favorite scene(s)
View Answers
Those establishing splashpages
4 (57.1%)
Kurt outwits the shapeshifter
4 (57.1%)
Kurt rescues Lilandra
1 (14.3%)
Wolverine loses his clothes and steals a replacement
0 (0.0%)
Lilandra Explains
0 (0.0%)
Starjammers!
2 (28.6%)
Something else, as I will explain in the comments.
0 (0.0%)