X-Men #79

X-Men #79
Writing: Joe Kelly

Art: Germain Garica

What Went Down:  The issue opens on Officers Aguinal and Cleveland, who you might remember as the police officers Marrow beat up in X-Men #68, if you’re a fan of inconsequential background characters from comics.  The narration establishes that these two cops have had a string of bad luck since their run in with Marrow. 

Speaking of Marrow, she’s busy on the street terrorizing a young couple for calling her a freak.  After leaving the couple, we learn that Marrow is in a particularly foul mood.  Pursuing the young mutant is Storm and a healthy Callisto.  Both women are worried what Marrow might do since she is so angry.  We get a flashback of Marrow arguing with Storm.  Callisto interrupts to tell Marrow that she needs the young Morlock to stay with the X-Men.  Callisto tells Storm that she wants Marrow to have a shot at life.  Storm notes that Callisto makes a cryptic reference to her own safety, but Callisto ignores her.

Down in the Morlock tunnels, a shadowy figure is going to Callisto’s room to give her an injection.  Of course Callisto isn’t there, so this causes the figure to become angry, worrying about the effects on his agenda.  Marrow is off sulking in Battery Park over everybody leaving her.  Cannonball shows up to bring Marrow home.  Marrow is elated that he cares, but proceeds to attack him anyway.  Meanwhile the cops interview the attacked couple, and they both realize that the girl being described is Marrow.

At the mansion, Beast and Maggot are discussing Marrow’s disappearance.  Cecilia bursts in and yells at Maggot because his slugs have eaten her medical books and underpants.  While they fight, Beast wonders if there might be a better place for Maggott to develop his powers.  Above Manhattan, Storm and Callisto debate where Marrow belongs and whether someone can be helped if they don’t want it.  Callisto brings up how Storm tore out one of Marrow’s hearts, which angers the X-Man. 

Cannonball loses track of Marrow, so he pulls out a letter from his brother Josh to reread.  The letter says that Sam’s mother is very sick, and Sam needs to come home.  Marrow attacks Cannonball because she is angry that he is leaving, and the two fight for a bit.  Cannonball explains to Marrow that she isn’t the only one to suffer loss, and the two police officers show up to arrest Marrow.

Maggott chastises his slugs for eating Cecilia’s books and not destroying the evidence.  Beast comes in and suggests to Maggott that he might learn to control his slugs if he were to join Generation X in Massachusetts.

Marrow attacks Officer Cleveland, and Cannonball tries to explain that the cops are just doing their jobs.  Marrow remembers her own anger when she heard Sam on the phone describing how he was leaving.  She asks the officers if they’ve lost anything, and they describe their bad luck and the fear and uncertainty that has gripped them ever since being injured by Marrow. 

Storm and Callisto show up, and Marrow realizes she doesn’t want to be a monster.  Callisto shares a final moment with Marrow before leaving, and Storm vows to be Marrow’s teacher and ally.  Cannonball offers to take Marrow home, and the X-Men fly off.  The two cops decide to return to their old beat, realizing that the monsters aren’t so bad, and we catch a glimpse of the mysterious shadow figure.  He is excited that Marrow has been left alone with the X-Men.

How It Was:  This is the conclusion to Marrow’s drastic redemptive character arc, and although it’s pretty overt and on the nose, it’s still pretty good.  Yes the lesson that actions have consequences and everyone suffers loss seem obvious, but looking at a young girl raised away from civilization, deprived of things we take for granted, it’s just about believable.

Kelly’s dialogue and character interactions are phenomenal.  From Callisto and Storm’s debate that shows their distaste and mutual respect perfectly to Marrow’s naive teenage perceptions of unfairness in the world, every word feels just right.  I love how Storm is meant to confront the perceptions she has of herself in light of the way Marrow fits into her life.  Still, my favorite moment is Maggott yelling at his slugs, and then forcing them to finish off the doctor’s books. 

The inclusion of the two cops from issue #68 seems pretty random and unnecessary, since Marrow has Cannonball to juxtapose her life against and the couple on the street to feel remorseful about, but I guess it does bring closure in a weird way to her first “heroic” act in an X-Men comic.  It’s unclear whether Cleveland and Ag were injured by Marrow, or randomly injured in Operation Zero Tolerance in their flashbacks; obviously it doesn’t matter since Kelly is just laying it on thick for Marrow to learn her lesson.  I can’t really stand these whiny cop characters, but they’re tolerable for one issue.

This issue is notorious for hanging plot threads.  The mysterious creature experimenting on Callisto never gets resolved to my knowledge, just forgotten.  My understanding from interviews is that it was meant to be Dark Beast, in case you’re curious.  Also, it’s clear that Kelly intended for Maggott to join Generation X, but the character only makes a guest appearance in an issue or two before fading into Marvel character limbo. 

This issue is light on action, but heavy on solid characterization.  It’s a shame that this is the last we see of Cecilia and Maggott on the team since there was so much potential left unexplored with those two.  And I personally thought Maggott was really funny.  Still, I think Kelly is to be commended for creating a believable redemption for Marrow, goofy cop characters not withstanding.

B+

X-Men #76

X-Men #76
Writing: Joe Kelly

Art: Mat Broome

What Went Down:  Cecilia Reyes is busy conducting a physical on Marrow to make sure there was no permanent damage from the battle with the N’garai.  Of course they don’t get along.  Cannonball accidentally walks in and is embarrassed.  Everyone wonders where Maggott is.

Maggott is actually hiding in the attic, trying to avoid a physical exam.  Wolverine catches him and explains that hiding doesn’t help his credibility.  Maggott decides to tell the story of his origin in order to explain why he doesn’t like doctors. 

Maggott grew up in South Africa.  He was the second youngest son of a family with five children.  During his childhood, Japheth, as he was called, was chronically sick and his family spent lots of money they didn’t have on treatments and medicine.  One day the boy overheard his mother praying for his death, so Japheth decided to go out to the desert in a jeep and kill himself.  The only problem was that his younger brother Daniel was asleep in the back.  Japheth and Daniel try to walk back, but the heat overwhelms them.

We get an interlude with Storm finally picking up the mail for the school, including the package for her that has been floating around for five or so issues now.  Maggott continues his story, and we learn that Magneto just happened to be flying across the African desert.  He stops to help the boys, realizes Japheth is a mutant, and uses his magnetic powers to release the boy’s powers, his two slugs.  All are surprised that the slugs burst out of his stomach, yet the hole closes afterwards.  Japheth also turns blue for the first time as the slugs devour an animal.

Magneto takes the boys home, but when they arrive, they find that the revolts against apartheid have finally gotten violent.  Japheth’s brother Lot has been killed, and his father is in the middle fighting the authorities.  Japheth begs Magneto to save his father and the community, but he is horrified when Magneto uses his powers to not just stop, but also kill all of the oppressors.  Magneto leaves young Japheth, who is celebrated for bringing Magneto to save them. 

Maggott finishes his story by explaining that his slugs are his digestive system.  In order to eat, his slugs have to eat for him, and then jump into him in a very painful process.  Maggott says there is more to his story, but Wolverine tells him there is plenty of time for that.  Just then Storm shows up to chastise both guys for being in her room.  Storm opens the package for her and reveals a talking statue of a woman name Ainet, who raised Storm, telling her that people are dying in her home. 

How It Was: Well this issue is touted as the “Tragic Origin of Maggott,” and I can’t say it’s really all that tragic.  It does start with some excellent character moments from Marrow, Cannonball, and the rest at the beginning.  I love how Marrow yells at Sam while trying to flash him against his will.  Kelly does a lot with these scenes: there’s conflict, animosity, flirtation, and just plain fun.  And once again it’s nice to see that we’re getting more of all the new characters, not just Maggott, in this one.

As for the origin itself…it’s not the worst.  Maybe I’m biased; given the fan feedback I’ve read, sometimes I feel like I’m the only fan who liked Maggott.  He’s goofy and mysterious; it’s nice to see characters join a team without everything known about them.  I like that this takes place in apartheid South Africa, a modern setting that just screams out the importance of the themes in the X-Men—fighting for equality and acceptance.  And the idea of Maggott’s condition being a burden on his family is a nice sympathetic touch that mirrors the struggles of millions of families across the world with inadequate health care.  Once again, social and historical relevance is nice to see—it worked wonders for Magneto’s character in the 70s and 80s.  All in all this starts out as a very modern origin.

Then we get to the part where Magneto just happens to be in South Africa for no reason, and he decides to take a break and magically start Maggott’s powers.  It’s a heck of a coincidence, and it sort of degrades to the “saved by angry mob” that most heroes and villains start at.  After all, Magneto’s own kids Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were saved from a mob by Magneto.  Moreover, this situation creates more questions than answers about the nature of Maggott’s relationship with Magneto—questions that Wolverine should probably be bringing up, like if Maggott ever worked for the Master of Magnetism. 

As for the tragedy part, the fact that Maggott has to absorb his slugs isn’t really that sad.  Similar to my problems with issue #74, the body horror aspect could be interesting, but we’re never really allowed to see what’s happening.  The art shows off some nice African landscapes, although I really do not like the cover; I get that it’s reflecting traditional African depictions of people in tribal art, but I can’t see the distorted image jumping out and selling the book to new readers.

It’s a shame that Maggot disappears in a few issues.  Even though his origin wasn’t that dramatic, it does present him in a sympathetic light.  It feels like the story after this one is the one that Kelly wanted to tell, but never got the chance to.

B-

X-Men #75

X-Men #75
Writing: Joe Kelly

Art: German Garcia

What Went Down:  Wolverine wakes up asking about Maggott.  Storm and Cannonball tell him that he’s been unconscious due to his severe injuries and needs rest; Wolverine ignores them and tells them to find Maggott and save him.  In an alley, Maggott yells at his slugs, thinking them responsible for the Salem Center murders.  He kicks them, but this causes him pain.  At the institute, Cecilia explains to Beast that the slugs couldn’t be the killers because the wounds on Wolverine are consistent with a post-mortem autopsy. 

We get a quick glimpse of a Russian person strapped to a table about to be cut up, followed by the X-Men searching for Maggott.  Cannonball brushes off Storm due to their conflict over Marrow, and Rogue explains that she and Marrow aren’t that different.  Wolverine returns to the N’garai cairn and finds it active; he is also weakened from his injuries.  Beast shows up with Cecilia, who is wearing one of the Wasp’s old costumes that Beast picked out for her after his adventures with the Avengers in Avengers #1-4 (Continuity, Yea!).  The group notices figures coming out of the cairn.

Maggott is about to turn himself over to some police officers, but Rogue stops him just in time.  Storm tries to convince Maggott it’s not hopeless, but his slugs run away, so he jumps off the roof after them.  Instead of landing on the ground, everyone goes through a portal to find a room of dead bodies.

Cecilia panics seeing the alien monsters.  Beast and Logan let her go, but quickly realize that the attackers can negate their powers with sorcery.  Cecilia is about to be eaten by an alien dog, but Marrow saves her and kills the one Beast is fighting.  More monsters show up with Wolverine’s bloody mask, making them think he is dead. 

Maggott materializes in front of some of the monsters.  He hopes they’ll kill him, but Wolverine shows up in tribal garb to save him.  Beast and Marrow are forced to observe the alien trying to pierce Cecilia’s forcefield.  When she calls him a N’garai, it gets angry and insists that it is called Pilgrimm.  Elsewhere Wolverine explains that time works differently in the N’garai world, and he’s been there for a lot longer than it would appear. 

The Pilgrimm explains to Cecilia that his people, the Ru’Tai, were the slave caste in the N’garai hierarchy, but Mai’keth the Undying One freed them and allowed them to ascend.  All of the X-Men converge, and a fight ensues.  Pilgrimm recognizes Wolverine as Mai’keth, the liberator of his people, and Wolverine realizes that his actions are responsible for giving Pilgrimm his power and killing all the people.  The whole team works together to destroy the Eye of Kierok—the source of Pilgrimm’s power, and Cecilia winds up being the one to save the day by sitting on it.  The X-Men save the remaining prisoners as the base crumbles; they exit the portal and wind up in Las Vegas.  Meanwhile, the alien N’garai have surrendered to the police, and Pilgrimm has escaped in the guise of the Russian he was torturing earlier. 

How It Was:  Remember when every 25 issues you were treated to a double-sized anniversary issue.  No…well that’s probably because nowadays comic books renumber every other year.  But in the eighties and nineties this was a standard tradition, or maybe it was a standard gimmick. So soon after the double-sized X-Men #70, this could’ve come off as excessive.  However this issue does feel like a defining moment in the overall adventures of the X-Men by presenting a story that allows the three new members to all step up and take their place on the team.  This is a classic X-Men saving the world tale, which seem to occur less and less as time goes on.

First off, the humor is great in this issue.  Whether it’s Wolverine’s take on the classic “time to make the donuts” line, Marrow’s handling of the alien monsters, or the Beast’s attempts to provide Cecilia with a super hero uniform, this issue is just full of smiles.  Which isn’t to say that it’s all laughs; Kelly mixes the jokes with very human moments for the characters.  Beast’s moment where he thinks he solved the Legacy Virus is a great, out of nowhere touch that shows the true insecurities behind his jolly demeanor.  Some of it is a little over the top—I can’t see Wolverine feeling so guilty about being responsible for deaths that he freezes up instead of flipping out, and Maggott’s desperation seems over done at times.  But it’s nice to see something beyond the goofy Maggott we all know (and some of us love); here he is fragile and vulnerable which goes a long way in making him sympathetic. 

Plus I really enjoy Kelly’s nods to continuity.  The macguffin is the Eye of Kierokk, which ties to the N’garai’s first appearance.  Rogue’s discussion with Storm over Marrow is also really well handled.  This is a double-sized issue that manages to handle a lot of things, and balances it all mostly well.

There are some pacing issues.  The second third of the issue gets bogged down in mythos and exposition.  A lot of it is confusing—there’s a lot about the differences between the N’garai and this new type of N’garai that is essentially the same thing.  And it’s never really revealed why Pilgrimm can control Maggott’s slugs or what they were doing at the crime scene.  Mostly minor issues.

Garcia’s art is pretty fantastic, and it’s understandable that Pacheco wouldn’t want to do a second double-sized issue so soon after the last one.  His designs for the N’garai are pretty awesome, and I just love Marrow’s reactions in this one.  Reading this, I was struck by how superior it was to many team books today.  While it seems like common sense to build up new characters with stories like this, to show growth and stakes of some kind, I can’t help but notice the trend today of introducing members to teams and then completely ignoring them for months, or even years, as they fade to the background.  Kelly and Seagle both should be commended for writing these characters and trying to invest readers in them by creating significant moments for them.

A

X-Men #74

X-Men #74
Writing: Joe Kelly

Art: Carlos Pacheco

What Went Down:  Marrow is in the Morlock tunnels with a suffering Calisto, praying for Calisto to be saved.  We see that she is praying to a handmade doll of Archangel, calling him the one who was reborn. Coincidentally, Archangel is flying high over New York, enjoying the feeling of flying with his organic wings.  He has decided that he must confront his personal demons, which involves revisiting the Morlock tunnels…the place where he first lost his natural wings.

At Harry’s Hideaway, Wolverine is talking to the proprietor and reading the paper about the mysterious murders and mutilations in the city.  At the mansion, Beast and Cecilia are testing Maggott’s powers while he hams it up.  Maggott throws a snowball at Cecilia, causing Beast to laugh, so Cecilia tackles Beast.  Maggott notices that Eany and Meany, his slugs, have disappeared. 

Down in the sewers, Marrow goes off for fresh water while Archangel relives his memories of the Morlock Massacre.  He crashes in the sewer, and he is confronted by the Abomination.  Marrow observes this from far away.

Wolverine examines a crime scene, using fake credentials to gain access.  Below, Archangel knows he is outmatched by Abomination, so he tries to get away.  Marrow realizes he is going the wrong way, and runs off to help him.  In her weakened state, someone approaches Calisto with a needle.  Calisto hallucinates that it is Colossus, who she used to share a relationship with; the stranger notes it is strange that she sees Colossus, but plays along.

Marrow confronts Abomination to try to buy Archangel time to escape.  Warren feels ashamed that a young girl is coming to his rescue, so he makes a stand to save Marrow.  Back at Xavier’s, Maggott finds his slugs, but finds evidence that they may’ve murdered someone.

Abomination tries to disillusion Marrow by showing Warren how ugly she is.  Abomination lashes out and tries to explain that they will never be appreciated by the surface world.  Marrow digs out some knives and throws them at Abomination’s eyes. 

Wolverine is running back to the mansion after smelling Maggott’s slugs at the crime scene.  Suddenly, he is attacked from behind.  Abomination pulls out the knives and debates with Archangel whether Marrow can ever be accepted on the surface.  Abomination walks off, warning Marrow that she’ll be back.  Marrow reveals her real name of Sarah to Warren, and Warren says he’ll put in a good word for her to the X-Men.  Archangel notices that her knives are old flechettes from when he had metal wings, but Marrow disappears before he can question her.  Maggott finds Wolverine in the snow covered in blood and thinks that his slugs are responsible.

How It Was:  This is a bit of a random one, with a ton of coincidences driving it, but it’s actually a fun little shot of Warren and Sarah’s personalities.  This is one of the better stories to feature Archangel; he hasn’t had much to do in any X-Men stories in a while.  Kelly wisely ejects the horrible idea that Warren thinks his life is super difficult, instead choosing to focus on his more traumatic and sympathetic experiences.  Whether intentional or not, this serves as an excellent revisit of the previous Morlock story with Archangel, where he froze up and cried for the whole story.  Kelly sets this up as something that Warren has to do in response to all of the changes that have occurred in his life; he hasn’t really had to time to process anything, and he has to show himself that he can take charge of his own destiny.

As for Marrow, this is a strange turn to have her crush on/worship Archangel, but Kelly wisely focuses mostly on the power of the imagery.  The idea that as a child Marrow wanted something to believe in is a solid direction that isn’t really exploited enough here; Marrow comes off as a little out-of-character after having rejected so much from the material world.  It’s a shame that the story chooses to ignore Marrow’s past life as a terrorist because I think that might make for a more interesting conflict.  Still, it’s nice to see that the writers are actually doing something with her and not letting her fade to the background.

As for the plot, it’s quite odd that Marrow wouldn’t seek help from the X-Men if Calisto was actually dying.  Also, I’m unfamiliar with the Abomination having anything to do with the Morlocks before this, so his appearance seems out of the ordinary.  Kelly has clearly set up the themes of darkness and redemption, but in dealing with both characters’ histories, it’s strange that they’d confront an antagonist that has so little to do with both of them.  Plus his motivations are a little off.  First he wants to kill both of them, and then it becomes a debate over whether Marrow can be accepted on the surface. Yes the angel and devil parallels are not lost on me, yet it feels a little over done.  I think this might’ve worked better if Marrow had just attacked Archangel for trespassing, with the two eventually coming to an understanding over their dark histories and mutual respect.  The stuff with Marrow’s hero worship and the Abomination doesn’t quite fit.

As for the subplot with Calisto, this gets forgotten after X-Men #79, so don’t get your hopes up.  It was supposed to lead into a story about the Dark Beast and his connections to the Morlocks, which might’ve been interesting, but we’ll never know.

The art is pretty fantastic; Pacheco brings his A game and does a great job contrasting the bright snow-filled sky with the dark, oppressive sewers.  In a story where so much of it is dependent on atmosphere, Pacheco sells us on the quiet desperation of Marrow taking care of Calisto, or the internal struggle between Archangel and his memories. The only flaw, although it’s a pretty big one, is the final page.  It’s supposed to be a big reveal that Maggott’s slugs have potentially mutilated Wolverine, but due to the Comics Code, we only get Wolverine with a scar on his chest screaming.  It doesn’t really convey the horror that Maggott is feeling; it looks more like Maggott walked in on him in his underwear.

This is probably the best Archangel story of the nineties, which isn’t saying a lot, but still it’s pretty good.  I question the structure of the story, but I really like where it takes the characters, and I like the overwhelming odds, even though the threat just sort of peters out and walks away.  It’s still worth a look.

 B-

Alpha Flight #9

Alpha Flight #9
Writing: Steve Seagle

Art: Roger Cruz

What Went Down:  Alpha Flight’s supervisor General Clarke, who bears an uncanny resemblance to DC’s Lex Luthor, is overseeing Alpha Flight through the robot Manbot’s cameras.  In the cockpit of their Alphajet, the team discusses how they need to keep a low profile to avoid sparking an international incident in the U.S.  They are supposedly tracking Wolverine through his adamantium skeleton, although all the fans know this is a lie because Wolverine doesn’t have adamantium bones any more.  They also discuss the video footage they saw of Wolverine killing Madison Jeffries.

Back at Department H, an aide interrupts General Clarke, saying it’s about a new harvest named Lilli.  Clarke calms the Lilli, who is trying to escape, and insists she can leave at any time.  She is then sedated under the pretense of removing a security mark.

We get the same scenes from Uncanny #355 of Wolverine confronting the team, with some minor added dialogue between the Alpha Flight characters.  Clarke observes that Wolverine smells Guardian, and the audio and video cut out for a moment.  After Wolverine drives off, we get to see an argument between the members of Alpha Flight before Guardian flies off to confront him.

There is an interlude with the mutant Sunfire talking on the phone with someone.  He reveals that he has been in Canada getting treated by Dr. Huxley, and he has discovered he is dying of radiation poisoning.

The fight between Wolverine and Alpha Flight occurs exactly as it did in Uncanny #355 with Rogue flying by and retrieving the X-Men to help Wolverine, except of course the art is a little different.  The one difference is that we get to see what Murmur saw when she examined Maggott’s mind…it’s a dark room with lots of tentacles in it.  Cannonball and Flex stop the fight, and General Clarke demands to be informed when the team arrives.

How It Was:  I don’t really know how to label this one.  It’s not so much a crossover as a reinterpretation of the same events from a different team’s point of view.  That’s actually a really interesting idea, and in a story where both sides have competing agendas, this format would work pretty well.  Given that Alpha Flight’s members are so clearly in the wrong in both issues, it’s not quite as effective.  The worst offense of all is that this issue isn’t solicited at all in Uncanny #355.  If you’re going to try to cash in on the popularity of the X-Men, wouldn’t a good place to start be to tell X-Men fans to buy this comic?

As for the different perspective, the majority of this issue is a scene for scene rehash of Uncanny #355.  Most of the different scenes are just exposition setting up why Alpha Flight is after Wolverine, which was already clearly defined in the beginning.  I will admit to being somewhat intrigued about the overall conspiracy driving the plot.  Parts of it make me think that it might be a precursor to the plot of the Weapon X ongoing in the mid-2000s, although that certainly can’t be the case.  The only problem with this is that Clarke is such a generic evil military-type that I don’t have much faith in this going anywhere ambitious.  However I do like the setup of Sunfire dying of radiation poisoning, although it feels like that might belong more in an X-Men comic.

We do get to see a little more of the dynamics of the Alpha Flight team.  Younger James Hudson isn’t an uncontested leader, Radius has problems with lots of team members, and Manbot is a spy directly under Department H’s control.  Oddly enough, plot points from the X-Men issue aren’t explained for the sake of Alpha Flight readers; nobody ever mentions that Sauron is the one in the bag, and the reveal of Maggott’s mind being just a room of tentacles is a real let down.  I don’t even think the issue explains who the X-Men are or defines their members like the Uncanny issue clearly defined Alpha Flight.  The art’s good, although the coloring is a little dark and muddy at times. 

This is just a weird experiment that was poorly executed.  It might’ve made more sense as a two-part crossover, but it feels weird to have these two teams come together and then have no real resolution.  I can’t say that the story makes me feel strongly about either of the teams; it feels really abrupt and rushed. 

C-

Uncanny X-Men #355

Uncanny X-Men #355
Writing: Steve Seagle

Art: Chris Bachalo

What Went Down:  We start with a clever bookend involving the answering machine at the Xavier Institute.  We hear messages of Nightcrawler saying hi, department of education inspector Margaret Stone talking about a representative staying at the facilities, and Jean wanting to alert the group about their adventures in #352. 

Meanwhile, Wolverine has decided to chain Sauron up in a burlap blanket and drive him on his motorcycle to the authorities.  Sauron tries to get out of it, mentioning their time together in the Savage Land, but a low-flying aircraft interrupts them. 

In Manhattan, Rogue is meeting with Dr. Agee, a scientist who says he has a cure for being a mutant.  Rogue doesn’t fully trust him, as shown by her clever alias of Ms. Smith, but she does allow him to take a DNA sample. 

Wolverine continues riding until he is confronted by Alpha Flight--Canada’s premier super team. Alpha Flight has been tasked by the Canadian government to bring in Wolverine for killing their teammate Madison Jeffries; unknown to the team, their bosses at Department H are brainwashing them and faked the footage of Jeffries being murdered.  Wolverine goes through all the team members to introduce them to new readers, then nonchalantly ignores them and drives off.

All the way in Alaska, Jean is outside crying in her Phoenix uniform; she has also summoned a pretty large and fiery Phoenix effect.  Cyclops apologizes for yelling at her and tries to make her understand that he has a lot of bad memories associated with the Phoenix uniform.  Jean insists that she is claiming the Phoenix identity to empower herself and overcome the ghosts of Dark Phoenix and Madelyne Pryor

Believing he has convinced Alpha Flight not to pursue him, Wolverine is surprised when the team attacks.  AF members Murmur and Sasquatch catch Sauron making a run for it and stop him.  Rogue just happens to be flying home from Dr. Agee’s and spots Wolverine fighting all of Alpha Flight.  She flies off to get more X-Men. 

Wolverine holds his own against the team.  During the fight, Alpha Flight is shocked to notice that Wolverine has bone claws because Department H told them they were tracking his adamantium signature.  Wolverine points out that James and Heather Hudson have both examined him since he lost the metal skeleton, so they should already know his bones and claws aren’t metal anymore.  They seem to be coming to a consensus when Sasquatch attacks.

The X-Men show up to save Wolverine.  During the fight, Cannonball and Flight member Flex stop to discuss what the fight is all about.  At the same time Maggott gets beaten up (again) and Murmur tries reading his mind, but this causes her to scream.  Cannonball yells for everyone to stop fighting, and he and Flex explain that Wolverine and the X-Men were captives of Operation Zero Tolerance at the time the murder was supposed to have taken place.  Alpha Flight starts to realize that they are being manipulated.  Wolverine and Storm offer to help the team if they need it.  Wolverine also notes that Sauron has disappeared.

The issue ends with Cyclops leaving a message on the machine about his concerns for Jean.

How It Was:  Real quick to get out of the way…there is a minor continuity issue with this story.  It’s obviously written to take place right after Uncanny #354, with Rogue leaving to the Agee Institute and Scott and Jean fighting.  However, X-Men #73 has to take place in between these two issues because Joseph is there in #354, but gone in this issue.  You can write it off as Rogue making two trips, but it’s clear that this is her first meeting with Agee and the writer intended for this to be a continuous story.

Anyways, this is a tried-and-true example of a writer trying to leverage the popularity of a successful comic to boost the sales of a flagging one.  Steven Seagle was the writer of both Uncanny and Alpha Flight, and at the time the X-titles were consistently #1 and #2 in comic sales monthly.  It makes sense that you’d try to expose your less popular characters in a more popular book, and the two teams did have a history together, so it wasn’t totally out of the blue.

Just for some background, Seagle’s Alpha Flight involved a new team that was being manipulated by their handlers at Department H; any time the team would start to catch on, they’d be subdued and brainwashed to forget.  So we have our premise, where Department H wants Wolverine, so they come up with a false reason to compel Alpha Flight to action.

As an introduction to Alpha Flight from an X-Men point of view, it’s not very strong.  None of the characters really get to shine, Radius is a jerk, Flex is a wimp, and the other characters aren’t very well defined personality-wise.  The twist of Wolverine’s bones not being metal makes no sense since the team is obviously tracking him somehow, so why would their shady manipulators choose to create a lie that would be so quickly found out?  Wolverine hasn’t had metal claws or bones for almost five years at this point.  On the other hand, it doesn’t really make sense that Wolverine would take Sauron out on his bike by himself.  Can’t he just call the authorities and have Sauron taken away?

So the plot’s not strong, but that doesn’t matter because we all know the real purpose for this issue is some hot hero-on-hero action.  So how does it rate as a big, dumb fight scene?  Well…not spectacular.  The scenes with Wolverine fighting Alpha Flight are pretty fun, but once the other X-Men show up it soon devolves.  Storm takes out Vindicator with one lightning bolt, and the X-Men are able to pretty much dominate even though they’re outnumbered eight to five.  Except for Maggott, who once again gets taken out.  Even worse, the story struggles to find something to do with Sauron, but winds up just having him disappear.  Still, I will admit that I do have a soft spot for Alpha on X fights, even if this isn’t the best example of one.

The art is pretty good, although sometimes Bachalo’s distorted style looks off.  Dr. Agee’s head is just way too big, and Puck and Wolverine don’t seem to be proportioned right.  As a marketing ploy, I can’t say that this was too successful, as I can’t really see this inspiring too many people to pick up Alpha Flight.  There was even a tie-in issue to this story that was so poorly advertised that I, the X-enthusiast, didn’t pick it up until years later because I was unaware of its existence.  There’s a lot of weird plot mechanics going on with this one, but it is an amusing distraction as a big, dumb fight.

C+

In Case You're Interested...

The X-Men's New Year's Resolutions for 1998

Beast: 1) Eat fewer Twinkees. 2) Read more 15^th Century texts. 3) Cure Legacy Virus.

Cecilia: I want to finish my residency… and get a life going again.

Wolverine: To be the best there is at what I do…soon as I figure out just what that is.

Storm: Find the wisdom in my leadership.  Learn from my friends.  Reestablish my relationship with Mother Earth.

Maggott: To do right by my new friends…to become an X-Man…To be free.

X-Men #73

X-Men #73
Writing: Joe Kelly

Art: Jeff Johnson

What Went Down:  It’s New Year’s Eve and Joseph is contemplating his place on the team.  His meditation is interrupted by a pillow to the head as Rogue yells at him for watching her sleep.  Downstairs the X-Men are wallpapering the mansion with terrible-looking green and red striped paper.  Beast jumps down and reads a letter written from Professor X in prison, but it depresses Wolverine because in reality Charles is a prisoner for being who he is.  Joseph speaks of Charles’ tenacity and spirit, but Wolverine storms off anyway. 

In the Zero Tolerance Hulkbuster base, Senator Kelly is being led by an assistant to go and free Charles Xavier.  In Rio de Janeiro, Sebastian Shaw is ignoring his assistant who is organizing the Hellfire Club’s New Year’s Ball.  Back at the mansion, Maggott is talking to his slugs about how nice it is to have new friends when Joseph appears and asks him to explain how he knows Magneto.  Outside, a mystery person observes them.

In an autopsy room, a cop and a forensics specialist go over another victim of the mystery murderer in Salem.  While the victim looks to be mauled by an animal, marks on his body resemble internal examinations.  At Xavier’s, Marrow knocks over Cecilia while stealing her bag and medical books.  Cecilia chases after Marrow, knocking Beast away with her force field.  Although Marrow gets away, Beast is impressed that she used her powers offensively. 

Beast also shows her a morale boosting exercise.  He has pinned a sheet of paper on the wall for X-Men to post New Year’s resolutions on.  One of Beast’s goals is to cure the Legacy Virus, so Cecilia bets him that he can’t do it in a year.  Beast accepts the bet, and invites her to record her own goal.

Up in the air, Joseph recaps how Maggott called him friend in Antarctica.  Maggott’s internal monologue explains that the real Magneto has sworn him to secrecy.  Joseph is attacked by energy blasts, causing him to drop Maggott.  The attacker is Sabra, and she is there to apprehend Joseph, thinking he is Magneto.

At Shaw’s party, we get cameos from Norman Osborn, Warren Worthington, Betsy Braddock, and Tony Stark.  Fitzroy interrupts Shaw for official inner circle business, but Shaw is depressed that the Inner Circle has failed so often, and that by next year there probably won’t even be one.

Storm and Wolverine both fill out Beast’s sheet, and Storm tries to apologize to Logan for pushing him to solve her problem with Marrow.  Wolverine brushes it off, saying he knew what he was getting into, and that he still showed Marrow that she wasn’t invincible. 

In Germany the parcel addressed to Storm from Africa is about to be sent back for insufficient postage.  Some African tribal warriors appear and threaten the postmaster.

Sabra easily defeats Maggott.  She is about to kill Joseph when Maggott explains that he isn’t really Magneto.  In the OZT base, Senator Kelly discovers that Charles Xavier’s cell is empty.  At the Hellfire Club party, Shaw tells a mystery person called Wraith that he accepts, and the picture of the gold idol bursts into flames.  Sabra wakes Joseph up, and Maggott tells him that he isn’t the real Magneto.  Sabra offers him a chance to find out who he really is, but he must leave with her now without saying goodbye to his friends, since he may be part of a plot of some kind.  As the two leave, Sabra reveals that she knows Maggott’s real name is Japheth.

Finally, Beast watches the ball drop at midnight by himself.  He is depressed that no one else joined him, until he finds that four of the X-Men have added their own resolutions to his.

How It Was:  This is a fun one, and I have to say that most of this is due to Joe Kelly’s awesome writing of the Beast.  The jolly genius is the heart of this issue, trying to look devil may care, but also showing distress at the state of the team currently.  His New Year’s resolutions are fun and hopeful, and I enjoy the playful nature of his relationship with Cecilia Reyes.  Some might take this as being unfaithful to Trish Tilby, but Trish is so boring and generic anyways.  Bottom line: every panel with Beast in it is delightful.

As for the story depicted on the cover, this turns out to be more of Maggott’s story than Joseph’s.  I’ve always liked Maggott; he’s got a unique power and his dialogue is usually pretty funny (I love how he hopes Storm is showering outside again).  However after rereading this issue, I am starting to see why he was never a runaway hit with the fans.  Namely, he gets his butt kicked a lot.  I never realized it before, but he gets trounced by Psylocke, Juggernaut, Sauron, and now royally by Sabra.  It’s a shame that he never puts up much of a fight because I feel like he’s an unconventional and likable character.

As for Joseph…poor Joseph.  For a while he was the exciting new direction of the X-Men—the good Magneto, trying to redeem himself without falling to the same fate of his past life.  But over time he just got pushed further and further to the background.  Now with the new recruits coming, nobody really has time for him, so Joseph has to go.  I understand where the creators were coming from with an already overabundant cast of characters, but I always felt that Joseph should’ve had a better exit.  At the very least he deserved a goodbye to the other characters.  Here Joseph just gets told a bunch of stuff the reader already knew from Uncanny #350 and X-Men #72, then he’s shipped off with Maggott’s real name thrown in as a sign of good will.  Pretty disappointing for such a noble character.

Outside of the weak fight with Sabra, and her seemingly out of nowhere fixation with Magneto, the rest of the book is solid.  Along with Beast’s goofiness, the scene where Wolverine and Storm talk about Marrow is excellent.  It shows their relationship and personalities off to the tee.  Johnson’s pencils aren’t as sharp as Pacheco’s, but they’re still bright and clear.  Kelly continues to excel at bringing these characters out and making their relationships and conflicts readable and fun.

B+

Uncanny X-Men #354

Uncanny X-Men #354
Writing: Steve Seagle

Art: Chris Bachalo

What Went Down:  We open on Rogue running through the woods and crying.  Meanwhile, Sauron is in a big fight with the other X-Men.  Thanks to Wolverine’s absorbed energy, Sauron is able to take down Cannonball.  While chasing Iceman, Sauron remembers the events that led him here.  After fighting Ka-Zar in a one-shot, Sauron hid in the jungle lord’s luggage when he moved to New York.  After absorbing the life force of a random mutant off the street, he was drawn to the mansion because of the heat wave, since pterodactyls are cold-blooded.

Sauron pulls a gun out and shoots Storm.  Iceman knocks it away, but Sauron is able to hypnotize him into thinking Jubilee is a monster.  Maggott jumps on Sauron’s back in his blue super-powered form, but Sauron shakes him off, taking out Cannonball in the process.  In space, Bishop is now able to talk.  He questions Deathbird about not saving the other X-Men, saying he understands.  His internal monologue reveals that he knows Deathbird is insane.  Then their ship is attacked by a giant sphere shaped ship. 

Rogue returns to the mansion to find Joseph lying in a wrecked room.  It’s unknown if Magneto beat him and destroyed the room, or if Joseph just lost control of himself.  Rogue starts CPR, and Marrow walks in on her, commenting that Rogue should know better.  Joseph wakes up, and Rogue runs off again.

Jubilee takes on Sauron by herself.  Impressively, she manages to hold him off for a while, but she’s eventually knocked out.  In Alaska, Cyclops is trying to shoot holes through the middle of snack chips as part of personal training and rehabilitation.  Jean walks in wearing her Phoenix costume.

As Sauron decides which X-Man to absorb first, Wolverine wakes up and the two fight.  Sauron is about to triumph when Jubilee blasts his ears at full power, knocking him out.  We learn that Storm was only grazed by the gun, and Wolverine wants to find Rogue.

Speaking of Rogue, she’s in a taxicab on her way to the Agee Institute to learn about getting her powers removed.  Rogue has a flashback that reveals that she did indeed touch Wolverine while he was unconscious.

How It Was:  I cannot remember the last the time the majority of the X-Men team took on a threat together; it may’ve been Onslaught.  All I know is that most of Lobdell’s run was small pieces that focused on smaller groups of characters, or even solo characters.  Outside of the Sentinels from OZT, this is the first serious threat they’ve faced in a while.  And as unlikely as it is that Sauron could take on six X-Men, Seagle sells it by having the villain dismantle the team quickly.  Pulling a gun is an odd choice for an X-Men villain, but I’ll let it go.  Sauron’s reason for being there, that he was drawn to the warmer climate, is a little harder to swallow, but it’s still a pretty good fight.

I’m confused about the direction of the Joseph thread.  After his seizure was ignored by Wolverine last issue, Rogue finds him unconscious in a demolished room.  Was he attacked by Magneto?  Did he lose control of his powers?  It would be nice if I could tell what the heck was happening here.  Marrow’s undefined status on the team is also confusing.  After X-Men #72 it seemed like Marrow was leaving the team, but she keeps popping up in Uncanny and interacting with the characters. 

Rogue is still the driving force this issue.  She starts out slow this issue; always running off and crying does get a little old after a while.  But the end is so good when it’s revealed that she did touch Wolverine while he was unconscious.  This is a pretty dark place to take the character, but also an intriguing one.  I like the idea of her fighting her own temptations to touch, and not always being able to win.

This is a pretty decent fight, with some great moments from Jubilee.  Characters like Joseph and Iceman do get slighted, but the developments with Rogue are really intriguing.  While Sauron doesn’t have a great reason to be here, he makes for a good random villain of the week.  I’m just happy to see the X-Men being super heroes again.

B

X-Men #71

X-Men #71
Writing: Joe Kelly
Art: Carlos Pacheco

What Went Down:  This issue is narrated by Jean Grey.  We open on Jean telekinetically meditating and trying to wipe the mansion of traumatizing telepathic residue, conveniently allowing her to recap the last couple of issues.  Cyclops, newly operated on, yells out in pain, but when Jean recovers, Scott has fallen back asleep.  Both of them are preparing for a vacation to Alaska to help Scott heal.

Downstairs, most of the X-Men are being repulsed by Marrow’s bad manners at the breakfast table.  Beast and Cecilia Reyes analyze one of Marrow’s bone shards, and Cecilia accidentally makes a comment that sounds like a pass at Beast.  Marrow gets angry at the X-Men for judging her and throws her food on the floor.  Jean walks in and Cannonball gets in a fight with Maggott over the language he uses in front of the lady. 

Outside, Wolverine helps Storm dig up her tiara and some golden coins she has hidden for emergencies.  They discuss their guests, especially Marrow, whom neither of them trusts.  Jean tries to sneak up on the pair, but Logan still manages to detect her.  Jean observes that Logan doesn’t want her to leave, even though he’d never admit it.

Cannonball has decided to take Cecilia and Maggott to Westchester, and Jean decides to join them.  Marrow interrupts, noting that she wasn’t invited because of her appearance.  Maggott offers to stay with her, but she rebukes him and storms off after arguing with Storm. 

At the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw is being served tea by his servant Kiko and recalling the events of a recent Cable story.  A mysterious shadowed figure appears, stops time around them, and presents Shaw with a picture of a golden idol that distresses Shaw.  We also see what appears to be crow or raven.

At the mansion, Beast says goodbye to Trish Tilby and Iceman as they drive home together.  Wolverine has a man-to-man talk with Cyclops, expressing his concerns about the new recruits.  He tells Scott that if he leaves, things will be done differently.

While in Westchester, everyone bickers until they notice a news story announcing that the Avengers and the Fantastic Four have returned after “dying” during Onslaught.  Jean allows herself to get lost in the feelings of hope from the crowd of people.  In the attic, Wolverine and Storm discuss how they are going to handle Marrow.  In Cairo, we get a quick set up scene of a man running a package to a mail pile outside a plane.  As soon as he puts the package in, the man starts to bleed to death, but he tells Anansi that he has beaten him.  The package is addressed to Storm.

Back in Westchester, the group seems more hopeful.  We get another subplot setup of a homeless man getting murdered while Cannonball asks Maggott where his slugs are.  The next day Jean and Scott leave after discussing the future of the team.  In an epilogue, Marrow is carving things in the wall of her room and complaining about the X-Men.  Wolverine appears and tells her that she needs to be taught a lesson.

How It Was:  Even though the last story was kind of a wash, it was still supposed to be a major crossover, meaning that this issue is a quiet, contemplative issue that examines the new status quo.  Basically there are three new potential recruits, all of the X-Men’s nice things are gone, and Cyclops and Jean Grey are taking a break from the team.  And although it’s not much, it’s a solid direction for the book; certainly more than we ever got in the post-Onslaught issues. 

This is a great issue for Jean, who hasn’t had a lot to do recently.  She makes for the perfect narrator since she knows the established characters inside and out, and Kelly’s script really emphasizes this.  From Jean’s confusion over how Logan detected her downwind to her reaction to Storm’s hidden trove, Kelly establishes that Jean is a lynchpin to the X-Men, and he actually manages to make it feel like her leaving affects the team significantly.  In fact all of the characters really come into their own under Kelly’s hand.  Marrow’s rebellious attitude really shines as she riles up everyone else in the group.  She remains sympathetic even though she is purposefully trying to antagonize the team due to the fact that she’s had such a hard life and most of her arguments are actually true.  In another interesting dynamic, it’s clear that Storm and Wolverine aren’t being objective or open to Marrow at all, yet their view also has credence given recent issues with Sabertooth and Onslaught.  Even the flirting between Beast and Cecilia is enjoyable.

The center of the story, the Marvel heroes returning, is handled very nicely.  In what could’ve come off as an in-house ad for the Heroes Return line, Kelly puts the focus on the X-Men’s reaction to learning that Onslaught did not kill the heroes.  The moment of hope at the end makes for a good juxtaposition to the frustration and melancholy that have led up to it thus far. 

So really this issue is just an exercise in great characterization.  Well, the conflict between Cannonball and Maggott feels forced, but other than that everyone else comes off perfectly.  The only other misfire with this issue is the Sebastian Shaw subplot that gets mentioned in a couple of future issues before disappearing forever.  It’s disappointing to see this problem persist with a new creative team, but I guess it can’t be helped.  Overall this is still a fantastic issue.  There is absolutely no action at all, but the characters and interactions are handled so well, you’ll hardly notice.

A

X-Men #70

X-Men #70
Writing: Joe Kelly
Art: Carlos Pacheco

What Went Down:  We open on Iceman using an ice slide to bring Cecilia Reyes and Marrow back to the X-mansion.  Cecilia is terrified by the height and speed, but Marrow goads Iceman into going faster.  When they reach the mansion, they discover that not only has Bastion stolen everything in it, he has used nanotechnology to strip the building of the paint and carpet.  Cecilia runs off, demoralized that she has nothing in her life.

As Cecilia cries to herself, she observes the X-Men bursting through the ceiling because Cyclops has a bomb implanted in him that is going to go off soon.  Of course, all of their medical equipment is gone, so they all start to despair.  Storm is shocked to see Marrow in the mansion. At the same time a giant is carrying a lawyer down the road to the mansion.  Seeing how little hope the X-Men have, Cecilia takes charge of the situation.  After getting a telepathic explanation from Jean, she assigns everyone tasks to do to help Cyclops.

Storm has to get boiling water.  While she generates some rain, Marrow appears to taunt Storm for trying to kill her.  Storm tells her she might want to go back to the sewers.  Cannonball manages to steal some medical supplies, but there’s no scalpel, so Wolverine’s claws have to be used to operate on Scott.  As the surgery/bomb removal begins, the doorbell rings.  Storm finds the Juggernaut, wearing a suit and tie, outside with his lawyer.  It turns out that with Xavier missing, the school and its assets fall to him as Charles’ stepbrother.  Storm slams the door on him and uses her powers to wash out the roads.  Marrow flirts a little with Cannonball while Cecilia continues the operation.

Juggernaut bursts through the door, but he is surprised to see the mansion empty.  He changes into his Juggernaut armor, but the remaining X-Men return just in time to confront him.  Juggernaut taunts the team when he sees that Gambit and Bishop are missing, causing Rogue to lash out.  Maggott decides to take on Juggernaut, but he is easily subdued.  Seeing how pathetic of a state the team is in, Juggernaut decides to leave and come back.

Beast and Joseph show up to help get rid of the bomb.  Wolverine lashes out at Trish Tilby, blaming her story on the Legacy Virus for creating the hysteria that has led to Operation Zero Tolerance and Cyclops’ situation. 

It turns out that this bomb doesn’t explode; it expands and fills a three-mile radius with goo that suffocates and preserves anything in its path.  Marrow gives Cecilia some bones to pry the bomb out and Rogue throws the bomb to one of Maggott’s slugs, who promptly eats it.  Cyclops thanks Cecilia for helping him. 

Later, everyone leaves Cyclops’ room.  Jean explains to Scott that she is worried about how fractured the team is, along with the addition of three strangers.  We end on Marrow carving some menacing threats on the door to the basement.

How It Was: Two double-sized issues in one month!  Brilliant!  I’m just going to go ahead and proclaim that I really love Joe Kelly’s run, especially this issue.  He just has such a great handle on the characters, similar to Lobdell, but he also manages to infuse his characters with a healthy amount of humor and agency.  Even double-sized, this issue has a lot of characters in it, and Kelly balances them all incredibly well, giving each one a moment or two.

Most important of all is that this is the issue where Cecilia demonstrates that she has value beyond whining and absorbing damage.  While her personality could be hard to take in previous issues, coming off as almost selfish, one page into Scott’s operation is all Kelly needs to demonstrate that Cecilia’s abrasive personality is a necessary, and valuable, quality in her field of work.  She takes charge of veteran X-Men in a convincing way, prioritizing her patient over all else.  Marrow also gets some great scenes.  Her playfulness leaves her motivations ambiguous; the reader isn’t quite sure whether Marrow wants to be a hero or stab them all in their sleep.  The tension between Marrow and Storm is well portrayed, and well-earned, setting up a lot of Kelly’s future issue.

Even Maggott is finally more fleshed out.  Yes, his personality has gotten a complete overhaul from his appearances in Uncanny, but in my opinion it’s for the best.  Before Maggott was so generic and uninteresting; now he may be a little goofier and full of himself, but it’s entertaining if you go with it.  And really, who wants to take a hero with giant mutant slugs seriously?

As much as the issue is about the new characters, it’s also about how utterly defeated the old ones are.  Longtime readers have seen the mansion destroyed numerous times by this point in continuity, but having it completely stripped bare is a new and even more unsettling visual.  Yes there is no real reason for it, other than Bastion going out of his way to be a tool, but it presents an interesting obstacle for the mutants to overcome, physically and emotionally.

I even really like the stuff with the Juggernaut.  Yes, it’s absurd that Xavier hasn’t willed his assets to any of his students, especially before voluntarily leaving for the government, but this gives us more conflict and tension for the main characters.  Unfortunately as I always say—too bad the stuff with the Juggernaut never really goes anywhere. 

Some minor hang-ups: it is a little convenient that Maggott’s slug could consume a bomb capable of coating three miles of area.  Yes I know Maggott needs something to contribute to his intro, but it is a little forced.  Also, Jubilee, Archangel, and Psylocke have disappeared.  I realize that Kelly already has an overwhelming cast, but it feels strange to have these characters missing, even if Steve Seagle comes up with an excuse for Betsy and Warren later.  It’s just odd that Jubilee would leave before this was resolved, but I understand she would’ve had nothing to contribute to the story.

In the span of this issue, Kelly delivers a fun one-and-done story while also setting up a number of plot threads, most of which will go unfulfilled.  He clearly has a handle on where he wants to go, and all the new characters have unique and compelling voices.  My only regret is that many of these threads go unfurthered and the new characters don’t stay around long enough.  This is the most substantial roster shake up since 1991, and it’s all for the best.  The title has energy and direction that it hasn’t had since Onslaught.

A

Uncanny X-Men #350

Uncanny X-Men #350

Writing: Steve Seagle

Art: Joe Madureira and Andy Smith

What Went Down:  On his way to his trial, Gambit reminisces about meeting Sinister prior to his final job for the villain.  Gambit tells Sinister he’s done working for him, after assembling a group of villains.  Sinister insists he needs one last job and throws Gambit a tiny vial for his payment.  In present day Antarctica, Spat and Grovel are piloting a snowmobile to an unknown location.  The snowmobile is taken over by an unknown source and disappears.

Elsewhere, Beast is cobbling together a transport for the group to go after Gambit with.  Joseph explains that he has used his powers to reconfigure some of the robots’ clothes from the last story, but this might just be an excuse to cover up for the artist drawing the wrong costumes.

In Manhattan, Psylocke has knocked Maggott out and is examining him while Angel fights his two slugs.  Betsy begins to do her shadow teleport because part of Maggott is “missing” and something in him “attracts” her.  Warren and the slugs hurry into the portal to follow her.

In his cell, a mysterious voice chastises Gambit for his crimes.  Gambit assumes it is Sinister.  Meanwhile, the X-Men have pieced together a working transport.  The team pulls over when Joseph starts to feel ill.  Outside, Rogue finds one of Gambit’s playing cards, and Joseph raises a giant citadel from the snow. 

After a one page interlude where Xavier has a nightmare about different teams of X-Men asking where he is, the X-Men journey into the castle.  They split up to look for Gambit, even though Joseph is about to fall over from illness.

Coincidentally, Psylocke has also managed to teleport to the very same citadel; for some reason Angel and Maggott appear in different parts of the building.  Warren discovers a noose, and Maggott runs into Joseph.  Joseph recognizes Maggott, although he doesn’t know from where.  Then Joseph is knocked out by a mystery person, whom Maggott recognizes.  Beast, Trish, Psylocke, and Angel are all captured by the mystery person as well. 

Rogue finds Gambit in a cell.  She tries to convince him to leave, but he refuses.  A person dressed like Erik the Red appears with Spat and Grovel, and they take down Rogue. 

On a plane over Pennsylvania, the other team of X-Men is returning home from New Mexico after surviving Operation Zero Tolerance.  Jean is trying to help Cyclops, who has a bomb in his stomach.  Cannonball contemplates how out of place he feels among such close friends, and Jubilee warns him about thinking too hard.

Erik the Red and his robot assistant Ferris stand before the captured X-Men.  Angel is announced to be Gambit’s defender while the rest of the X-Men make up the jury.  Warren notes that Erik the Red isn’t a person, but a disguise that different characters have used over the years, like Cyclops and a Shi’ar agent.  Some the other X-Men wonder if it might be Joseph, but Erik drags the badly beaten Joseph out for them all to see. 

Gambit tells the first part of his story; he admits to working for Sinister and not telling the team.  Naturally the team is less than thrilled by this.  All of a sudden Psylocke recalls some memories of Gambit’s that she had gleamed from his mind waaaayy back in Uncanny X-Men #324, but conveniently forgotten about until this very moment.  She tells the X-Men that Gambit assembled Mr. Sinister’s Marauders right before the Morlock Massacre.  Archangel is angered by this because he lost his wings during that event.

Then Erik commands Rogue to kiss Gambit and reveal the rest of his secrets.  Rogue doesn’t want to, but she is forced.  Gambit showed the Marauders the way to the Morlock tunnels, not realizing that they were going to kill all the Morlocks.  Once he figured out their goal, Gambit tried to stop them, but he was wounded by Sabretooth.  Injured, he managed to save one Morlock child, who later turns out to be Marrow. 

After kissing Gambit, Rogue absorbs his powers and is able to free herself and the other X-Men.  They beat on Erik the Red until he retreats, collapsing the hideout in the process.  Rogue grabs Gambit while the other X-Men escape through Psylocke’s teleportation.  Gambit thinks that Rogue has decided to forgive him, but instead she is disgusted by what she has learned.  She decides to leave him stranded in Antarctica because she can’t stand to be around him.

In an escape craft, the robot Ferris attends to Erik the Red.  Erik removes his disguise, revealing himself to be Magneto, the Master of Magnetism. 

How It Was: Finally, we come to it.  Gambit’s big secret revealed.  Was it worth the wait?  Well, that’s hard to say, but at least it’s over and done.  There are quite a few surprises in this book, such as the real Magneto, but the execution leaves a little to be desired.

The fact is that there are some wonky plot mechanics going on here.  Psylocke’s weird teleporting power ends up sending her, Maggott, and Archangel to the citadel for absolutely no reason other than plot convenience.  Yes he was looking for Magneto, but he hadn’t found him yet.  Psylocke’s interest in Maggott is completely forgotten after this issue, so it reads especially strange here.  Psylocke sticks out again when testifying against Gambit.  How could she forget all of this information until this issue, twenth-six issues from the original mind scan?  It’s just such a convoluted way of getting to the point, and there had to have been a simpler way to tell this story, although Steve Seagle did okay with what he inherited.

On top of Psylocke’s strange plot contrived moments, the rest of the X-Men serve no purpose here.  This story could’ve easily been Joseph, Rogue, and Gambit and probably been a lot better for it.  Also, Magneto’s purpose here never plays into any larger stories at all; later he just makes a throwaway comment about how he was trying to sew dissention among the X-Men.  At least Spat and Grovel make their last appearance (as far as I know).

This issue still has some moments.  I like Erik the Red’s grandiose entrance, and I chuckled every time he repeated for the group to be silent. Plus Magneto’s robot is named Ferris (Get it, ferrous.  Ha!). The flashback with Gambit trying to stop the Marauders is a nice little moment, especially since Gambit’s been so moody for the last year or so of issues.

The big moment of the issue, what will make or break it for the reader, is your reaction to Gambit being left behind in Antarctica.  I’m conflicted.  On the one hand it works so well thematically with Rogue doing everything to convince Remy she can forgive him and ultimately not being able to.  Yes it’s a little contradictory since Rogue was a villain before and ruined her fair share of lives, but it’s easy to see why Rogue is upset and why she would feel utterly betrayed, given the circumstances of their recent bit of intimacy.  But then there is the fact that she just leaves him alone, shirtless even, in the middle of Antarctica, where he would surely die.  That’s a really steep punishment, especially coming from an X-Man because they don’t even kill their enemies.  I tend to lean more toward the camp that enjoys the scene.  It’s melodrama, but it builds on the (very few) good parts that have been in previous issues, and it opens up some interesting story potential for Rogue.  Yes, it’s strange that she tries to kill him by stranding him, but that gets written away later, you’ll see.

Joe Mad turns in his last regular art duties, and unfortunately he was unable to finish the whole book.  Yes, it is a double page anniversary issue, but it’s still disappointing.  Paul Smith’s filler is perfectly fine, but it doesn’t match Madureira’s style whatsoever.  Plus, for a double-sized issue, not a lot happens until the very end.  There’s almost no action, and most of the exposition is recapping all the events up until now for potential new readers.  Yes this story is drawn out, and most of the threads are never picked up again, but I once again find myself enjoying the Gambit and Rogue emotional roller coaster.  It’s just too bad more didn’t come from the events of this issue. 

C+