Writing: Scott Lobdell
Art: Whilce Portacio
What Went Down: Storm’s on the cover standing in the rain; that means a happy ending for her subplot, right? At any rate, the book opens on Iceman’s girlfriend Opal and his parents hiding behind an ice wall. Iceman’s father, an incredible racist, hates Opal because she is Asian (although it’s the 90’s, so it’s still considered politically correct to say Oriental). He also blames her for the appearance of the Cyburai. In case you haven’t guessed it, the Cyburai are samurai warriors who have cybernetic enhancements to their bodies.
On the other side of the wall, Iceman is fighting the four Cyburai with the assistance of Hiro, Opal’s former boyfriend/cousin.
Back in Westchester, Colossus and his brother, Mikhail, are outside a travel agency. Peter is going to get tickets so that they can both go to Russia, and Mikhail can be reunited with their family. You might be asking why they don’t just take one of the X-Men’s jets. All I have to say is that is a very good question. After Peter goes inside, Mikhail has a flashback to when he killed all of the people in the void with his powers. As this is happening, a pizza boy bumps into him, and Mikhail turns him into a tree. Yes, he has very vague powers that seem to change to fit the occasion. Colossus doesn’t see what happens, and both men go home.
At the same time Storm is flying around and considering Forge’s proposal. At the mansion, Forge and Jean Grey are discussing the proposal. Forge is bitter that Storm had to think about the proposal when he loves her more than anything. He asks Jean if the stray thoughts she picks up off Storm indicate whether or not she reciprocates that love as much as he does. Strangely, Jean’s answer seems to indicate that Storm does not.
Back at the restaurant, the fight is still going on. When asked why they want to kill Bobby’s parents, the Cyburai just mutter a bunch of generic stuff about honor. During the fight, Hiro says some impressive things about Opal that impress her a lot. Hiro realizes that he and Iceman are outmatched, so he tells Iceman to get Opal to safety because he has a plan.
Outside the mansion, Bishop is meditating in the rain. Mystique comes out to taunt him by turning into Randall to make him feel guilty. Right as Bishop is about to shoot her, Forge comes out to stop him.
As Iceman and Opal make their getaway, Hiro blows himself up, taking out the Cyburai with him. Iceman thinks he teleported away, but Opal claims she can feel that he is still there. She is devastated and resents Bobby for this.
Finally, Storm returns to talk to Forge, but before she can say anything, Forge tells her he’s leaving with Mystique because she actually needs him. After he leaves, Storm reveals that she was going to say yes.
How It Was: Pretty much the same as what I said about the last issue. The stuff with Storm is great; the stuff with Iceman…not so much. The real problem is that the Cyburai are just really crappy villains. None of them have names or personalities, and they just come off as so generic. If you play any kung-fu fighting game, you’ll probably see the same designs for the Cyburai as you will for the game’s enemies: the fat, bald guy, the long haired guy with a goatee, the shorthaired, skinny guy. Hiro is no better, and all anybody can do is talk about honor or reiterate plot points from the X-Factor story where they first appeared. Absolutely horrible.
The plot with Storm is much, much better as it is not predictable, and it explores the complexities of their personalities. Forge comes to believe that Storm has developed a façade as a tough, emotionless leader and that she is afraid to allow herself to be viewed in any other light. That’s not a bad assessment, since while the character of Storm has always been established as the tough but wise leader who gets the job done, the stress of maintaining that presence would start to wear on a normal person. The dialogue here is subtle and very well done. As for the parts with Mystique, she jumps in and out of lucidity at pretty convenient times, although this might be intentional to show that she is faking it. Otherwise, it’s just annoying.
Quick note—what’s up with Mikhail’s powers? First he can control portals, and then he can turn people into trees. In the next arc he gains even more powers, and it’s a little frustrating.
This is Portacio’s last issue of Uncanny, and it’s a pretty good one to go out on as far as the work on Storm goes. And even though it’s a dreadful storyline, the Cyburai parts still look good.
This issue ends a quaint little story about why it sucks to date superheroes—whether they have issues of their own or they are always getting attacked by villains. I’d still recommend it, but only for the Storm/Forge material.
B
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