Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Andy Kubert
What Went Down: We open on a touching letter that Wolverine has sent Scott and Jean, telling them that he cannot attend their wedding. He wishes them the best, tells them they are meant for each other, and sends his “love” in some surprisingly nice handwriting. Jean is getting her dress fitted with Storm, her mother, and Rachel Summers; everybody expresses their love and excitement.
All of the original male X-Men are talking with Scott and trying to tie his bowtie. Luckily Professor X shows up to show them how to do it, and shares some touching sentiments. Then there’s a wedding…it’s actually quite uneventful.
During the wedding, the X-Men have apparently asked Sabretooth to sit on the lawn in the snow and hang out. He contemplates doing something mischievous until he discovers a message from Wolverine written in the snow.
In case you care, Rogue catches the bouquet, and Gambit catches the garter. Jean uses her telekinesis to let her dance with the Professor. After the wedding, Scott and Xavier share another tender moment where they say they love each other and are thankful to know each other. Later, going through his mail, Xavier finds a note from Moira that says Cable might hold the key to a Legacy vaccine; this doesn’t go anywhere. He then takes the time to open a letter to him from Wolverine that simply tells him to lighten up.
How It Was: This issue is meant to be really warm and heartfelt, but it always comes off to me as a little dull. I understand why it happened in X-Men, since it was the more popular title at the time, but I can’t help and think that this issue would have been a lot more successful in Scott Lobdell’s hands. Not that Nicieza does a godawful job; it’s just nothing spectacular for an event that was hyped to the extreme.
One real problem is the overabundance of narration from Professor X. Because not a lot is actually happening in this issue, it falls to Xavier’s narration boxes to try to frame the events as undeniably important and touching. Even the attempts at humor from Lila Cheney and the Beast fall a little flat. The only really interesting part is the letter from Wolverine, but it raises the question of how he found out, and why his handwriting is so pretty.
Perhaps the real problem is that this issue doesn’t mean much as far as the status quo for Scott and Jean is concerned. At this point, Cyclops and Jean Grey were pretty much inseparable, and nothing really ever changes within the dynamic of their relationship. They’re still the lovey dovey pair of X-Men, and that doesn’t really change until Grant Morrison’s run a little over a decade from this point.
While the story is fairly dull, the art looks very nice. Poor Andy Kubert has to draw all of the X-Men, plus a ton of supporting characters and guest stars, in formal wear and he does an admirable job of making sure everyone looks unique. Jean’s dress looks really nice and fancy, and everything is bright and cheery. Ideally, the wedding should have only been about half an issue, with the other half dedicated to things to come. I guess you could complement the creators on the fact that the issue actually feels like a wedding, but I don’t think that that’s the tone the X-Men should really be striving for. Important, but sappy and unexciting.
C-
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