Uncanny X-Men #304

Uncanny X-Men #304
Writing: Scott Lobdell
Art: John Romita Jr. 

What Went Down: Part 3 of Fatal Attraction: The Acolytes begin the issue by trying to kill their defacto leader Fabian Cortez. The reason for this is that Exodus has come down from Avalon to tell the Acolytes that Magneto is alive and Cortez tried to kill him. Amelia Voght is about to suffocate him, but Exodus spares Cortez’s life and teleports the team away. As he leaves, Exodus mentions that Cortez will be the victim of someone else’s legacy; this seems like a pretty obvious foreshadow of Cortez getting the Legacy Virus, but he never does.

Over at X-Men HQ, it’s the day of Illyana Rasputin’s funeral and Xavier is depressed that he couldn’t saver her. His girlfriend Lilandra beams a holographic message to him saying that she shares his pain and that it wasn’t his fault. Xavier wheels himself to his study and brings up a screen that says “The Magneto Protocols.”

Up on Avalon, Magneto gives a monologue about how he wishes that he could save every human, but now admits that the world is doomed. He flashes back to the death of his first daughter Anya. When humans attacked him and caused him to drop his daughter’s body, Magneto went crazy and killed them all.

Meanwhile Kitty Pryde is scouring the kitchen for something to eat. When Kitty questions the purpose of being a mutant, Storm flies her into the sky to cheer her up. Unfortunately they find Colossus burning all of his paintings as he grieves. Kitty tries to comfort him, but he is still emotionless.

Apparently there is a chapel on Xavier’s property, so Bishop and Banshee are setting up for the funeral there. Bishop doesn’t understand the purpose of a memorial service, and Banshee comments that he must come from a very horrible future indeed. Bishop drops an allusion that Banshee was said to lead the next generation—an obvious foreshadowing of the upcoming series, Generation X.

All of the X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, and Excalibur attend the funeral, making this the only real part where all of the teams crossover. After the service, Colossus confronts Professor X and blames his dream for failing him and his sister. Before the discussion can continue, Magneto and the Acolytes show up. Using his powers, Magneto is able to prevent every hero from moving as he offers the X-teams salvation on his base Avalon.

Quicksilver brings up the massacre of innocent humans in X-Factor #92. To set an example, Magneto kills the Acolyte Senyaka, even though he claims that he would have sanctioned the attack if he had been available. Magneto then proceeds to bring Avalon down over New York and right above the mansion; Xavier notes that the base contains Shi’ar weaponry that Magneto took while he was headmaster.

The whole time Magneto has been talking, Bishop’s powers have been passively absorbing his magnetic energy. Bishop lets it go, staggering Magneto and destroying the chapel. Cyclops and the other energy-wielding mutants decide to charge up Bishop with as much energy as possible, while Rogue tries to absorb Magneto’s powers. Bishop attacks with all of his stored energy, backed up by the rest of the X-Men. As Magneto takes damage, his base tries to break up, since he is apparently holding it together by his will; Jean struggles to hold it up.

Colossus prevents Bishop from finishing Magneto and offers to join the Acolytes. Magneto accepts, much to the shock of everybody else. Xavier takes control of Magneto and uses his powers to push Avalon back into space. The result leaves him exhausted and hanging onto Magneto in space. Xavier begins to fall, but Archangel eventually catches him.

How It Was: Finally, the X-Teams actually crossover during the crossover. And for the most part, I think Lobdell makes this issue work pretty well. We are treated to some nice character moments from Professor X, Kitty, Colossus, and Bishop that explore each X-Man’s reaction to Illyana’s death. While there is a little bit of flowery narration, it still manages to fit the tone of the issue and doesn’t stand out too much. Unfortunately, with so many characters in one issue, a lot of them feel needlessly forced into the action; most characters have one line or fewer. Plus, with the inclusion of so many characters, it makes the absence of other characters readily apparent; for instance, how come Rachel Summers, Psylocke, and Moira MacTaggert don’t appear at all?

Although the funeral is important to the plot of this issue, the central focus is once again the appearance of Magneto. This is a very controversial take on the villain that tends to split fans. Many see Magneto as acting crazy in this issue by crashing a funeral, bringing his Acolytes with him, and killing one of them in front of everybody. It doesn’t lend much credibility to his followers that they don’t think twice after seeing Senyaka gutted. But I think what Lobdell and Nicieza are trying so hard to convey is Magneto’s frustration with the whole back and forth with the X-Men. For years he’s tried to conquer the world in an attempt to bring safety to mutants, but finally he’s fed up and realizes that he can’t save everyone. At the same time Cortez has betrayed him and he needs to make a statement of strength for all of those who do follow him. Why didn’t he use Cortez instead? Errr… well Cortez is needed for the Avengers/X-Men crossover Bloodties that takes place after Fatal Attractions.

The whole basis of Magneto’s character is that he believes he has to subvert humanity before they subvert mutants—by any means necessary, and this issue marks his realization that he can’t save all mutants (tying in quite well thematically to X-Force’s rejection of him in X-Force #25). As for Colossus’ decision to join Magneto, I think it has been set up very well for the last couple of months. Some people read Peter joining Magneto after seeing Senyaka murdered as stupid, but if you look at the dark place the character is in at this point, he really doesn’t have a lot to live for. He’s looking to lash out at the world, and he really doesn’t care about what happens to himself. So while many will argue with the directions certain characters take in this issue, I think that their actions are perfectly justified on the part of the writers.

On the other hand, I am less than impressed with the fight this issue. The Acolytes are wheeled out to give the impression of a potential battle royale, but then Magneto just shoves them back on Avalon. Even with all of his power, I find it hard to believe that Magneto can single handedly beat all four X-Teams by himself, and the fact that the heroes’ whole strategy relies on supercharging Bishop feels kind of gimmicky, especially when you take into consideration that Magneto is holding Avalon in the air while holding back the X-Men.

I think this issue does a great job with Magneto; people argue that the characterization isn’t true to Magneto, but what Lobdell set out to do was portray a Magneto on the brink, finally willing to begin his war on humanity after so many battles with the X-Men. The back and forth between Xavier and Magneto at the end of the issue shows that these are still the same characters, they are just more committed to their opposing philosophies than ever before. It may be a stretch for some readers, but you have to take into consideration that in the last Magneto story he was basically ready to retire, but he got pulled back into the conflict and it almost cost him his life. That’s enough to make anyone up the stakes. Plus the Magneto flashback sets up the fact that Magneto is both dangerously unstable and that he is tortured by the fact that he cannot control his fate and the fates of those he cares about. The end result is a more dangerous, more unpredictable Magneto, and that has to lead to nothing but good things for readers.

B+

X-Force #25

X-Force #25
Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Greg Capullo

What Went Down: Part 2 of Fatal Attractions: A mysterious shadowed character is looking through files of various X-characters and mentions an interest in X-Force. It’s Magneto, in case you were wondering. At Camp Verde, home base of X-Force, a different shadowy figure holding a large gun is observing the team’s return from a mission. Feral smells an intruder, so Cannonball orders the team to break off into twos and search for him. Each group gets taken down in a non-lethal manner before the intruder is subdued by Cannonball. And surprise, surprise: the mysterious character is Cable, returning to the team for the first time since the X-Cutioner’s Song. In case you were wondering, Cable was off having his own adventures in the future in his solo title.

Most everybody is excited to see that Cable is still alive; Feral informs us that Cable’s scent is different, so she was not able to identify him earlier. On the other hand, Rictor and Sunspot are decidedly not happy to see Cable. That is until he informs them that they are both wrong about Cable being responsible for the deaths of their respective fathers; Stryfe killed Rictor’s father, and Gideon the External killed Sunpot’s dad. Cannonball and Cable share a hug over the burden of leadership.

While half of the team hangs outside, the other half fills Cable in on what has occurred in his absence. One new development is that X-Force has saved their brainwashed friends Rusty and Skids from the Mutant Liberation Front; however, the two mutants must be kept unconscious so that they don’t attack their friends. Cable also reveals his real name, Nathan Dayspring, and part of his history to the group as a sign of faith. Their conversation is interrupted by an intruder alert.

Outside, Exodus emerges and takes out three of the four X-Force members outside. The rest of the team arrives, but they are also defeated. Exodus requests the presence of the New Mutants on the Acolytes’ new spacestation base Avalon. Cannonball agrees as long as all of the New Mutants, plus Rusty and Skids, are allowed to come. While this initially appears to be a betrayal on his part, Cable reveals that Sam planted a tracking device so that the rest of the team could follow.

Up on Avalon, Exodus gives a tour, and it is revealed that part of the station is composed of Cable’s old ship Graymalkin, and from technology gleaned from his computer, the Professor. A mystery man in a purple robe appears. Since Exodus bows before him, it is safe to assume that it is Magneto. Magneto then proceeds to cure Rusty and Skids’ brainwashing, giving them back their freedom.

On the X-Force ship, Cable feels conflicted about Greymalkin being used, since it represents the only item Cable has left from his time. Magneto invites the rest of X-Force to join him, and the rest of the team lands on the station. Cable’s group has a fight with Exodus before teleporting to Sam’s team. Cable wants to blow up Avalon, but Rusty and Skids want to stay because they feel grateful to Magneto. Cannonball convinces Cable that everyone has a right to make their own decisions, just as they did when they left Xavier’s. Cable agrees with him, but then he teleports everybody back to the ship. He runs to the computers and extracts the Professor from them; happily, the Professor’s personality is more or less intact. Before Cable can arm the station’s self-destruct, Magneto finds him and they fight. The fight ends with Magneto disintegrating the parts of Cable’s body that are contaminated with the techno-organic virus. Cable teleports away, and Magneto talks with Exodus about how Cable is the true winner since he won the loyalty of X-Force.

How It Was: A nice step up from the previous issue of the crossover since Magneto actually appears in it. Actually, Nicieza has found a nice balance of series story threads versus crossover story threads with this one. Cable’s return is great to see, and it feels like a natural fit for this crossover issue since Cable’s disappearance occurred at the end of the last crossover. Also Magneto’s return doesn’t overshadow Cable’s reunion as Nicieza gives plenty of space to Cable as he tries to reconnect with his team and reveal some newly discovered facts about his past to X-Force and X-Men readers. Magneto’s plot actually ties in thematically to Cable’s return as this issue focuses on both characters vying for control over X-Force and the subtle similarities and differences between their respective philosophies. Instead of side stepping continuity, Niceza uses this opportunity to remind readers that Magneto used to be in charge of the New Mutants, and this is his first time seeing them since then. Cannonball especially gets some nice scenes where he gets to stand up to both leaders and show his progress as a character and leader. Unfortunately, Rusty and Skids deprogramming does get lost in all the action happening, and their whole purpose for being on Avalon rings a little close to nothing but plot convenience. After all, why would Cannonball bring two mutants brainwashed to kill him as back up in an unknown situation.

So from a character standpoint, this issue hits a home run. As for the action, well…most of it feels a little forced at times. The introduction of Exodus is rather lackluster—he’s just your traditional one-dimensional Acolyte who worships the ground Magneto walks on and can’t be bothered with a personality for himself. He beats up all of X-Force by himself, so he is definitely established as powerful, but his rationale for initially attacking the team seems rather forced. The scenes in the beginning foreshadowing Cable’s return are much better, even if the identity of Cable is rather obvious to just about every reader. As for the climactic battle between Cable and Magneto, it’s nicely drawn, but when somebody attacks Magneto with guns, is there any question about the outcome? Side note: if Magneto dissolves Cable’s limbs that are infected with the techno-organic virus, shouldn’t they be gone for good? I don’t know since I never read the next issue, but Cable does get better in time to appear in Excalibur #75, the final part of this crossover.

On the art front, this is Greg Capullo’s last issue. All told, it’s a pretty good issue to end on as part of a major crossover, and one that sold particularly well. Everything is big and bright as it should be, and as mentioned before, Cable vs. Magneto is pretty awesome looking for the three pages that it lasts. You could probably ignore the X-Factor issue and start reading the crossover from this issue with nothing lost. The reintroduction of Magneto succeeds at bringing back all of the complexity of emotion that the character is known for as well as demonstrates how fierce and unpredictable he can be.

B+

X-Factor #92

X-Factor #92
Writing: Scott Lobdell and J.M. De Matteis
Art: Joe Quesada

What Went Down: Part 1 of Fatal Attractions: This issue opens with a nurse being interviewed by members of X-Factor about the Acolytes’ attack at a hospice that she worked at. Basically the Acolytes slaughtered everybody just for being human. Shortly after completing the interview, the nurse’s heart stops beating; X-Factor leaves as doctors file into the room to save her.

Unbeknownst to X-Factor, the Acolyte Scanner is using her power of astral projection to monitor the team. She reports to Fabian Cortez, who is insistent that he will soon have X-Factor member Quicksilver. He also abuses the girl when she questions the necessity of attacking harmless dying humans.

The rest of X-Factor meets up in a secure location where the Acolyte Spoor has been captured. The team wants to make him pay for the murders he’s committed, but their liaison Val Cooper stops them. Spoor acts defiant until Quicksilver walks in, after which the villain acts like he is in the presence of a god, since Quicksilver is the son of Magneto. Val decides to take Quicksilver and Random with her in case the Acolytes attack Project Wideawake, assuming that Quicksilver will have the same effect on the other Acolytes. The rest of the team decides to follow in a stealth craft powered by Polaris’ magnetic powers.

Along the way to the base, X-Factor glimpses Exodus in the villain’s first appearance; this is little more than a cameo, and we won’t learn his true purpose until the next issue of the crossover. At the military base, armed guards draw weapons on Val and company, but Quicksilver steals all of their guns. Inside, Random and Quicksilver discover that Project Wideawake is the codename for a new Sentinel project. The rest of X-Factor arrives just in time to be angry with Val. Surprisingly, Pietro sides with the humans, saying that the Acolytes justify the humans’ fear and caution.

Before the debate can get very far, the Acolytes do attack, and a fight ensues. Highlights include Multiple Man being forced to kill the Acolyte Mellencamp by creating a double inside of the villain, and Wolfsbane rescuing Senator Kelly. Fabian Cortez tries to convince Quicksilver to join them, but he refuses. Amelia Voght teleports all of the Acolytes away, and it is revealed that Val was being mind controlled by some green gunk in her stomach, explaining why she brought Quicksilver into a trap. Unfortunately for her, X-Factor is still angry that she hid the Sentinels’ existence from them prior to being controlled.

How It Was: This issue marks the beginning of Fatal Attractions, a very odd crossover where the issues involved don’t make up parts of a story; they just share a common story theme or villain. Apparently this was in response to some fans complaining about how much crossovers like the X-Cutioner’s Song set them back money-wise. The idea is that every issue in the series can be enjoyed independently of each other while still telling a fraction of the story of Magneto’s resurrection and attempt at domination. Of course, this meant that some of the issues only loosely connected to the other ones. And since the crossover is made up of six issues priced at $3.50, most fans ended up spending more money for half as many issues as the previous crossover. Oh well, at least the covers are cardstock and each contains a cool hologram on them. Those holograms are really fun to look at.

As for the story, this issue has probably the loosest association to the rest of the crossover. All that happens is that Cortez has the Acolytes attack sick people at a hospice because he is a jerk, and then X-Factor fights the Acolytes because… well the only reason I can think of is so that the other X-teams don’t feel the necessity to fight them later, and they don’t. The dialogue is still quite good despite the absence of series visionary Peter David. The comedic tone and emotional beats of the heroes feel just like David might have written them. Unfortunately, the Acolytes don’t fair as well, when all of their members either act like homicidal maniacs or idiots too stupid to question the tactical advantage of fighting dying hospital patients.

Overall, this issue just doesn’t contribute that much to the overall narrative of the crossover. The only moments to really take away from it are the brief appearance by Exodus, which gets fleshed out in X-Force #25, and the fact that Cortez identifies Quicksilver as the son of Magneto, which comes into play in the Bloodties crossover that takes place right after Fatal Attractions. So we have a bunch of plot elements that get resolved in other books. Like I said it’s missable, but the writing and art make this an enjoyable issue nonetheless.

B-

X-Men #24

X-Men #24
Writing: Fabian Niceza
Art: Andy Kubert

What Went Down: We open on Rogue and Gambit finally getting around to sharing a date. They are trying to enjoy themselves in spite of all the tragedy surrounding Illyana’s death and Psylocke’s personal problems.

Outside the X-Mansion, Banshee returns after leaving in issue number four to go after Moira MacTaggert. Since Moira had to return for the X-Cutioner’s Song and the Legacy Virus, it seems that he must have given up after a while. The two make up, but not much more comes out of their relationship, since Banshee is going to be busy teaching Generation X in a couple of months.

Xavier and Beast are inside looking at the data from Illyana’s illness. Xavier apologizes for not including Beast in the study sooner, and Beast concludes that even he can’t solve the mystery of the cure to the Legacy Virus.

Jean picks up Cyclops at the airport. She is hesitant at first, but after they embrace, they both promise to face their problems together.

Psylocke and Revanche are in the woods sparring; both women find that they are too evenly matched. Wolverine appears and tells them to get over their hatred of each other.

Kitty Pryde comforts Jubilee as she cries in Illyana’s bed with her doll. Kitty suggests she keep the doll to remember the little girl by.

Back on their date, Gambit tries to get a kiss, but is once again shut down. To compensate, Rogue offers to reveal her real name, but Gambit stops her, saying that names don’t mean anything.

In the mansion, everyone welcomes Cyclops and Banshee. Cyclops reiterates what he learned from Sinister last issue. At the dock, Wolverine comforts Jubilee, the Psylocke twins share another moment of accusing each other of being imposters again, and Cyclops and Jean go to bed after reaffirming that they both need each other.

How It Was: Another quiet, contemplative issue. Niceza shows that he’s no slouch in the emotional department either, while still furthering, or at least paying lip service, to some ongoing storylines. Jubilee is responding to Illyana’s death, the Betsys are still at each other, and Sean and Moira begin their relationship anew after breezing over her breakdown in issue number four. The most important facts are those on the Legacy Virus since this is going to be the focus of the X-books after the upcoming crossovers. That being said, nothing new is really learned as everyone just reiterates what they’ve learned about the virus thus far.

The main purpose of this issue is to finally resolve the Cyclops/Psylocke relationship, show that he is definitely choosing Jean, and explore the Gambit/Rogue relationship some more. This offers some interesting polarities to highlight as one relationship is based on comfort and familiarity, while the other is based on hesitance, danger, and excitement. Rogue’s teasing of her real name is kind of a disappointment for long time fans, but seeing Gambit evolve from pure seduction to a place of comfort and understanding in a natural way is well worth it. Or is Gambit just afraid of revelations since he is hiding things from Rogue and the X-Men? Ooo, so many potential glimpses into the character.

This is a well done issue, but at the same time it doesn’t really stand out all that much. Still, everyone feels true to character as well as down to earth, so it succeeds as a nice prelude to the big bombastic Fatal Attractions crossover next month.

B

Uncanny X-Men #303

Uncanny X-Men #303
Writing: Scott Lobdell
Art: Richard Bennet

What Went Down: Jean Grey is looking to comfort Jubilee after the death of Illyana Rasputin. Jubilee retells her experiences in an attempt to appease Grey as well as try to understand her own feelings better.

In the flashback, Xavier and Moira struggle to cure Illyana while Jubilee plays with her. When Kitty Pryde shows up with fresh sheets, Jubilee shows signs of jealousy for the relationship the two girls share. In the present, Jean explains Illyana’s former life as a teenager to Jubilee, even though Iceman already explained this to her in X-Men #17. Although Illyana has no memories of being a teenager, Kitty has managed to stay in touch with her best friend all these years.

Back to the flashback, Jubilee comes to the Professor for a prognosis, but only discovers his frustration as he is running out of options. Jubilee goes back to Illyana’s room, and the three girls spend the afternoon getting to know each other.

As the Gold Team is returning from its mission last issue, Illyana’s symptoms flare up suddenly; she is about to die unless something is done. Xavier suggests using Shiar technology to freeze her until a cure can be found, but Kitty explains that Illyana wouldn’t want to live like that. While the adults talk, Jubilee puts the girl’s doll back in her arms and later reads to her before she passes away.

Jubilee then recounts the Gold Team’s reaction to the young girl’s death; Colossus completely shuts down emotionally. In the present, Jubilee finally breaks down and cries, and Jean comforts her.

How It Was: One of the very rare instances of a comic promising to be the best of the year and actually fulfilling that promise. Of course, the mandate is made a little easier by a year full of Upstarts stories, but this is still an exceptional comic.

Once again Lobdell demonstrates how relatable the X-Men can be by choosing Jubilee as the center of the story, as she is fairly unfamiliar with Illyana, yet nonetheless affected by her death. Because Illyana is an innocent little girl as opposed to a costumed combatant, the death really hits home on a level that pretty much anybody can appreciate, and the confusion Jubilee suffers at trying to understand the nature of this tragedy is brilliantly depicted. Also, having Jean Grey, the symbolic mother of the team, coming to console the girl works really well for this story.

There are really too many great character moments to explore; one standout moment would be Xavier’s breakdown in front of Jubilee. Even something as subtle as Iceman cutting off his own joke conveys the utmost sense of discomfort and tragedy. Plus the scene where Jubilee picks up Illyana’s doll is just perfect.

Minor pet peeves include the clunky exposition of Illyana’s history, but realistically it is necessary information for readers unfamiliar with the character, who hasn’t been an active super hero for a number of years now. Meanwhile guest artist Richard Bennet’s art is perfectly suited for this type of story. His characters are smooth and detailed—very closely resembling the style of the cartoon. The emotion displayed on characters’ faces is actually moving, yet there are some misfires—the first appearance of Kitty in this issue resembles the Joker a bit. Minor bits aside, the backgrounds are detailed and the characters are full of expression where it counts. The debate over whether to pull the plug works and manages to stay out of the realm of cliché. Despite the absurd looking helmet Xavier puts on the girl’s head, it still can’t take away from the tension of this issue.

This is easily one of the best character death issues ever. It contains gravity, it’s down to earth and accessible, and it actually manages to convey a sense of loss and make the reader feel something. Of course, like most great things in comics, it has recently been undone, leaving Illyana alive and well in the current issues of X-Men and New Mutants. However, recent events still can’t take away from how well this issue was done.

A

Uncanny X-Men #302

Uncanny X-Men #302
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Art: John Romita Jr.

What Went Down: Because the top of Eagle’s Aerie was blown up last issue, Storm is forced to use her powers to deflect the debris from bystanders. The problem is that she can only use the wind, and it is a very imprecise process. To many of the bystanders, it appears that Storm is causing the wreckage to fall as opposed to protecting them from it. At the same time, Bishop uses his powers to shoot through the wreckage at the top. He discovers a weird structure erected where Forge’s base should be.

At the mansion’s medical wing, Illyana’s condition is worsening, and Professor X is trying his hardest to help her. Illyana asks for her brother, but since Colossus is away on a mission, Xavier uses his powers to impersonate Colossus and comfort her.

Some debris strikes Storm, and an angry mob descends on her, blaming her for putting them in danger. A lone police officer with a shotgun gets the crowd’s attention, giving Storm a chance to collect herself. Inside the building, Bishop inspects the dome and finds Forge alive and in a horrible mood.

On the street, the crowd has decided that they can take on the police officer, but the rest of the Gold Team arrives to protect him. Iceman gets to make an ice web to catch the remaining debris, freeing Storm from her task.

As Bishop tries to get Mystique and Forge out of the building, Fitzroy attacks again. Unfortunately for him, Jean Grey pops his armor from the inside with her powers. Fitzroy manages to get a hold of Bishop and Forge, but before he can drain them Colossus tackles him and starts wailing on him. Peter comes close to killing the villain, due to his pent up rage over his sister’s health, but the rest of the Gold Team stops him. In a reversal of roles from his first appearance, Bishop ends up being the one to calm Colossus down.

Inside the X-mansion, Jubilee answers the door to find that Kitty Pryde has come to visit Illyana.

How It Was: It’s the conclusion of a big fight, and it’s not bad. Not great, but not bad. The fight with Fitzroy is essentially over, and he gets defeated twice this issue in summarily anticlimactic fashion. The real conflict comes from the mob outside, but the angry mob attacking the X-Men has been done many times before, most recently in Uncanny #300. In a nice change of pace, there is one representative human who is not an intolerant idiot, yet the rest of Texas gets portrayed as angry bumpkins. There are few nice character moments, such as the scene with Professor X and Illyana. Colossus’s breakdown comes off as somewhat hysterical and melodramatic, but in hindsight I think that it does a great job of setting up Colossus’ decisions in later issues. It’s also nice to see Bishop demonstrate his growth over the last couple of issues, but his argument isn’t very strong. He claims that the criminals he killed were okay because he was a law enforcement officer carrying out a sentence, but the problem is that Fitzroy belongs to that same group of criminals that he was killing. Another major flaw with the story involves the fact that Forge was supposed to do something incredibly important if he lived, and at the end of the story he doesn’t do anything.

The art has more sideways pages, which is something to dislike. Also, there is a panel where Forge is using a crutch in the wrong arm. Barring that, there are some great panels in this issue, like Jean shattering Fitzroy’s armor…no matter how lame that scene is. It’s another mediocre issue—it has action in it, but it’s rather uncompelling. The great news is that this is the last issue to have anything to do with the Upstarts. Of course, that’s probably also the reason that all of the Upstarts issues are so uninteresting. Still, this issue does lead into some interesting events over the course of the next couple of issues.

C

Uncanny X-Men #301

Uncanny X-Men #301
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Art: John Romita Jr.

What Went Down: Selene, the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club is being held captive by Trevor Fitzroy. Her body is being shredded and reformed by technology Fitzroy brought from the future. Fitzroy is using Selene’s suffering to gain the attention of the Gamemaster. Selene reveals that she is the one who formed the Upstarts in an attempt to forge the next generation of mutant leaders.

Gamemaster sets up a telepathic meeting with all of the Upstarts and introduces Siena Blaze to all the other members. This meeting is to decide the next high priority target of the Upstarts; since Fitzroy called the meeting, he gets first chance to attack. Gamemaster chooses Forge because his actions are about to affect every mutant on the planet unless he dies.

At the mansion, Colossus has a big dent in his head from the X-Cutioner’s weapon in this year’s annual. Because of the injury, he cannot return to human form. Peter is in the middle of comforting his sister Illyana, who is still sick, while Professor X and Moira observe him on a viewscreen. Moira wants to tell Colossus that his sister is infected with the same disease that killed Mastermind, but Xavier wants to wait until there is more evidence.

All the way in Dallas, Texas, we find Forge looking out a window and questioning why he didn’t alert the X-Men to Magneto’s potential return. Mystique interrupts him asking if he wants to work out; he agrees because Mystique has kept her deal to hold a single form for three days because she is still having identity problems after the death of her friend Destiny. Meanwhile, Storm and Bishop are enroute to Forge’s base, Eagle’s Aerie, to ask Forge for help in curing Illyana’s illness.

As Forge and Mystique exercise, an alarm goes off and Fitzroy bursts in. Forge uses weapons and traps in his base to hold Fitzroy off.

Back at the mansion, Iceman’s girlfriend Opal Tanaka has stopped by for a surprise visit. They are about to take the opportunity to discuss their relationship, but Archangel interrupts and tells Iceman that they have to go to Texas to help fight Fitzroy. Opal tells him that it is okay for him to go, but secretly feels jealous that Iceman prioritizes the X-Men over herself.

In Texas, Forge thinks that he has defeated Fitzroy, until the villain kicks off Forge’s mechanical leg and crushes his mechanical hand. The explosion of the hand distracts Fitzroy long enough for him to get away. Bishop appears and engages Fitzroy, but it is really Mystique in disguise, and she is injured in the attempt. Storm approaches the tower from the outside, but the top of the building suddenly explodes.

How It Was: This is another Upstarts story, so the same complaints of the other ones apply to this one. Thankfully, this is the last of the Upstarts stories to appear in the X-Men titles. It’s pretty average as far as X-Men stories go, but it does offer some nice set pieces for Forge and Fitzroy; poor Forge hasn’t had anything interesting to do since X-Men #3. Here he gets some cool one-liners and some solid action sequences where he gets to give and take some damage. Even the scenes with Mystique and Forge prior to the fight are really good as they explore Mystique’s new status quo as well as the potential romance between Forge and Mystique.

The rest of the issue is nowhere near as strong. Iceman and Opal’s relationship is still circling the tube. Colossus is still concerned about his sister, rightfully so, and complaining about villains who take him away from her. Plus the scenes with the Upstarts are all unnecessary exposition recapping everything the reader should know up to this point. The information that Selene founded the Upstarts is interesting, but once again nothing ever comes from this revelation. Although I will admit that the conversation between Storm and Bishop is pretty interesting, and subtlely reveals Storm’s own still conflicted feelings about Forge… and potentially Bishop; I just love how Bishop was unsure whether he and Storm were dating or not.

John Romita Jr.’s art is very good. Once again, my only complaint is the four pages that you have to turn the book sideways to read. This issue is entertaining enough, but overall it isn’t that memorable. Definitely a few good character beats in it, though.

B-