Monthly (Comic) Book Club - May - X-Men: Fatal Attractions 30th Anniversary19505
 COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
Monthly (Comic) Book Club - May - X-Men: Fatal Attractions - 30th Anniversary of the 30th Anniversary Uncanny X-Men #298 to #303 X-Factor (1986) #92 X-Force (1991) #25 Uncanny X-Men #304 X-Men Unlimited (1993) #2 X-Men (1991) #25 Wolverine (1988) #75 Excalibur (1988) #71 Week 1 (5/1-5/7): Week 2 (5/8-5/14): Week 3 (5/15-5/21): Week 4 (5/22-4/28): Discussion topic ideas: * Thoughts on the story or artwork * Details in the story, artwork, or presentation * References to outside events or other works of fiction * Making of/Behind the Scenes details * Editions you will be reading from * Items in your collection pertaining to this week’s selection |
||
| Post 1 • IP flag post | ||
 If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I'll have to double-check my non-Uncanny books (don't think I have Unlimited 2), but I should have all these loose to read. Hooray! | ||
| Post 2 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I haven’t put up the reading schedule yet since I’m at work and don’t have the correct reading order handy. I’s a bit wild that we are now as far away from Fatal Attractions than Fatal Attractions was from X-Men #1 |
||
| Post 3 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by dielinfinite Let's not talk about such things. The hologram covers, which I guess are the 'prime' issues, have an order of X-Factor 92, X-Force 25, Uncanny 304, X-Men 25, Wolverine 75, Excalibur 71. Unlimited 2 was published the same month as Uncanny 304, so I guess it could be slotted in between that and X-Men 25. So I guess I would recommend: Week 1 (5/1-5/7): Uncanny 298-300 Week 2 (5/8-5/14): Uncanny 301-303 Week 3 (5/15-5/21): X-Factor 92, X-Force 25, Uncanny 304 Week 4 (5/22-4/28): X-Men 25, Wolverine 75, Excalibur 71 And we would consider Unlimited 2 to be an extra book (especially since it's double-length) to be read in week 3 or 4. |
||
| Post 4 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Giving some background, the X-Cutioner's song crossover had just ended a couple months prior (part 9 was in Uncanny 296). That involved Prof. X being shot with a bullet that gave him the techno-organic virus, which was going to be fatal. The whole thing is orchestrated by Stryfe, who wants revenge on Cyclops and Jean Grey for ruining his life (it was unclear at this point if Cable or Stryfe is Cyclops' son, with the other being a clone). There's also stuff with Apocalypse and Mr. Sinister, the latter being 'paid' by Stryfe with some Summers DNA that turns out to be the Legacy Virus. In the aftermath, Prof X. was briefly able to walk until the technovirus left his system and Rogue was blinded and bonded with Gambit, setting up their more serious relationship. Other x-news at the time is that they were fully in their Blue and Gold teams phase, and Betsy Braddock and Kwannon have been revealed to be separate people. I don't think Magneto has been seen since the battle on Asteroid M at the beginning of Jim Lee's X-Men series. The United Nations had done something so that Magneto's powers wouldn't work inside the Earth's magnetic field, so he set off an EMP that fried most of the planet's electronics. There's a big fight on Asteroid M. The Acolytes were largely killed and Magneto was saved only by one of their sacrifices. |
||
| Post 5 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Uncanny 298 introduces the new Acolytes. It also reminds us that Bishop thought Gambit was the traitor he heard about in his future, so they don't get along very easily. Although I think that was cleared up a bit when it turns out Stryfe shot Prof. X at the beginning of X-Cutioner's Song... but my memory is fuzzy there. Gambit is also in full Gambit mode, with a big accent and happy to offer to touch folks whether it's in the Danger Room or not. The Acolytes are Magneto fanatics, following his more hardcore beliefs on mutant superiority and the long-term hatred received from humans. Most of these characters are making their first appearances, but they refer to Cortez, who was Magneto's right-hand man at the beginning of the Lee run, and Frenzy first appeared as a bad guy that X-Factor fought early on (when they were the original X-Men). They attack a school, trying to find a mutant child, but are also happy to kill any humans they find along the way. The X-Men fight them off, but not before a number of people die. |
||
| Post 6 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Uncanny 299 largely revolves around a debate over mutant-human relations, with Prof X on one side, Graydon Creed on the other, and Senator Kelly in kind of the middle. Graydon Creed is your average hate-group leader while Kelly is in more of a "they should be regulated" position, although he also refers to mutants as "genetically challenged". The X-Men series has long served as the superhero equivalent to the civil rights debate, but it's interesting how occasionally it also crosses over into (comic) Civil War territory by equating mutants with weapons that should be regulated. Equating mutants with guns strips them of their humanity, but it's interesting because (stereotypically) people like Creed would almost certainly be anti-gun laws. Beast interjects a little levity into the discussion by making it 100% clear where Creed stands in terms of history and being wildly dismissive at the same time. Beast has gone on quite a journey over the years, to where he's now basically a mad scientist anti-hero, so it's nice to see him a bit more fun-loving (to the extent the debate is fun). In the background, we get some signs that Magneto did not actually die on Asteroid M. We also have the Upstarts, a group of people so wealthy that they started a competition to see who could kill the most important people (mostly mutants). They serve to give us a reminder of how laughable 'death' is in comics: Cortez murdered Magneto (looking shaky), Fitzroy killed the Hellions (resurrected) and maybe at the time they thought Emma Frost died with them (she didn't), and Shinobi Shaw killed his father Sebastian (didn't take). Colossus' brother Mikhail killed himself, but he isn't dead anymore either. And next issue, we'll celebrate 300 issues of X-Men with a big fight in France! |
||
| Post 7 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by xkonk Sounds good! I meant to put the list together earlier this week but got distracted  |
||
| Post 8 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by dielinfinite Busy weekend with FCBD tomorrow, so I gotta get started! And you had a busy week winning the cover contest  |
||
| Post 9 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| #300 switches art duties over to John Romita Jr, who has a very distinctive style. I go back and forth on feeling particularly positive or negative about it; in general I would say it's fine. But you can always tell when you're looking at JRJR art. Colossus is obviously under strain with a number of his family members dying, and now Illyana being sick. Nonetheless, he's out with the X-Men looking for the Acolytes. They've kidnapped Moira MacTaggert and are searching her memory for what she knows about genetic manipulation, but it's a dangerous game for Cortez because she also knows what happened on Asteroid M. Neophyte overhears Cortez admit as much to Gamesmaster, gets kicked out of the castle and attacked by Cortez' guard, but the X-Men find him at the same time and the battle is on. It's a pretty vicious fight, with the Acolytes obviously not going easy but the X-Men also not holding back too much. Colossus is looking to put a beating on anyone he can, to the extent that he's disappointed to have to go save Archangel. Jean shoots some guy she just met miles away; the text tells us he's invulnerable, but I don't see how she would know that. The X-Men win, and the Acolytes seem to flee except for Cortez. After spending a week in the hospital curtesy of Wolverine, he's rescued as well. It seems kind of pointless, although conceptually they had a small breakthrough with Neophyte. But we get more hints that Magneto is alive, and that Illyana won't be. |
||
| Post 10 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| 298 is fairly straightforward, story-wise, though there are a couple of hanging questions by the end of the issue. What is the information Xavier wanted from the detective and what is the looming threat hinted at by the narration? And who alerted Xavier to the attack on the school? I will comment about the art. It is full-on 90s and I love it! No question a part of it is that I grew up in the 90: so this depiction of the X-Men IS the X-Men to me. |
||
| Post 11 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I was a little surprised that they very explicitly referenced ABC, Nightline, and Ted Koppel for Professor X’s interview. I’m just used to generic stand-ins for stuff like this in comics. The interview was classic X-Men “they’re a danger/unnatural” vs “they just want to live in peace” debate. It is interesting how applicable the X-Men’s experience has been to marginalized groups throughout their existence beyond even the racial issues that are most obvious. Many of Creed’s arguments are not unlike what we are hearing today regarding other marginalized groups. I was also a little surprised to see so much agreement between Xavier and Senator Kelly, who is often depicted as something of a nemesis to Xavier. The comic seems to suggest that Kelly’s mutant aide might be responsible in some form, possibly even manipulating him psychically. Beast’s segment was fun but I don’t think I agree with the art decision to give him completely white eyes as it makes him look somewhat sinister. I’m reading from the omnibus and at this point the book takes a detour to X-Factor for issues 87-91 before coming back to issue 300 |
||
| Post 12 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| X-Factor 87 is a really interesting issue. The issue is framed around each member being interviewed by a psychiatrist, later revealed to be Doc Samson, after an especially traumatic mission. I’ll admit I’m not terribly familiar with a lot of the team members but the interviews really get to an understandably human core to their angst and issues. Rahne is basically a teenager with a complicated relationship with authority, Quiksilver is something of a jerk because to him everyone and the entire world is frustratingly slow and inconvenient. Havok, as the leader of the team, feels overshadowed by his brother, Cyclops. The issue ends with a recap with the team’s government liaison and her evaluation of the team. It was very interesting to hear that her thoughts on the team, essentially an outsider’s perspective, was completely opposite of what was revealed in the individual interviews. It just really makes you consider that how you know someone could easily be completely opposed to the truth or how they see or think about themselves. This book also made me think about the 90s stereotype of angsty comic book characters. I think this book does an excellent job of portraying the characters’ angst and insecurities in a realistic and relatable way but I can also see how other books could do it wrong and create a character just angsty for the sake of angst |
||
| Post 13 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| X-Factor 88 is split into two shorter stories. The first has a group known as the X-Patriots holed up inside a hospital demanding treatment for one of their members. A mutant named Random shows up, hired by the mayor to resolve the situation. He starts making quick work of the X-Patriots, apparently able to counter their mutant abilities. X-Factor arrives, sans Quicksilver thanks to their government liaison who gave him some time off. That seems rather suspicious or at leas unusual to the team. Even more so to the reader that saw her attacked by a tentacled monster at the very end of the previous issue. X-Facter starts attacking Havok but has about as much luck as the X-Patriots did. Before things escalate, Havok simply offers to pay Random more than he was being offered by the Mayor and he just leaves, check in hand. X-Factor offers to take the X-Patriots back to Genosha where their member can be treated. On the way back, Rahne gets rather flirty with Multiple Man who thinks it’s suspicious enough to report to the team leaders who suggest it could be due to her being manipulated with as a Mutate (the significance of the term in this context being unknown to me). The story ends with a scene on Genosha where the country’s new director of genetics makes an ominous statement about solving rhe mutate problem permanently. The second story has Quicksilver asking Valerie, X-Factor’s government liaison, for time off to get away and try to salvage his marriage. Valerie agrees and Quicksilver runs off just as the call informing them of the X-Patriots’ appearance, leading into the previous story, comes in. Quicksilver carries his wife and runs to the safe house Valerie had volunteered they use. As they settle in, a local reports to someone they've arrived and that it is time to put their operation into effect |
||
| Post 14 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| X-Factor 89 is again split into two stories, one following the team and another following Quicksilver. The first story has X-Factor bringing the X-Patriots back to Genosha. The Genoshan president is trying to convince the leader of the X-Patriots to work with them in an official capacity as the representative of the Mutate population to help them move past what as done to them and re-integrate into society. Meanwhile, Rahne remains flirty and a bit handsy with Multiple man while still having nightmare from her time being manipulated as a Mutate. She confides all this to Moira McTaggert who figures its just Rahne’s teenage hormones acting up. Rahne is insecure about the thought as she feels, looking as she does, that no one would find her attractive. Moira decides to run some tests to get to the bottom of things and concludes that part of it is her teenage hormones, complicated by her canine physiology and the natural instincts that come with that. Moira also discovers that, according to the Genoshan medical records, when Rahne was having the Mutate procedures inflicted on her, she was also bonded in a master/slave relationship with Havok. Rahne understandably responds poorly to this news and runs out of the lab. The story ends with Sasha Ryan, the state geneticist, entering a secret lab and speaking with a shadowy figure that they must wait until X-Factor has left the country before putting their plan of cleansing their country of mutants. In the second story, Quicksilver’s reconciliation seems to be going well. He has to go into town to buy buy ingredients for the dinner his wife wants to cook. The local speaks into radio and tells someone to get ready. Inside the shop Quicksilver is confronted by a tabloid reporter with incriminating photos of his wife. This drives Quicksilver into a fury and he breaks the reporter’s nose and threatens to kill him if he publishes the photos. Back at the cabin, Quicksilver asks his wife if she’s been seeing anyone, which she denies. It is revealed the reporter is worker with the local who reveals that there are no explicit photos of Quicksilver’s wife but that his goal was to disrupt Quicksilver’s reconciliation and bring out his homicidal impulses. Back at the cabin, Quicksilver’s wife, through tears, says that she wants to go home the next day and Quicksilver agrees as the two lay in bed facing away from each other on opposite sides of the bed |
||
| Post 15 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| X-Factor 90 begins with Rahne on a bit of a rampage after the news she learned last issue. Polaris tries to let her vent until Rahne manages to cut her. Polaris then restrains Rahne using her magnetic powers and dumps on her some of the times she’d been used and manipulated as Rahne feels. This connects with Rahne and she calms down a bit as Polaris promises to teach Rahne how to take back her life. After learning how Rahne and other Mutates were manipulated into servitude, Havok flies into a rage and tears apart the president’s garden and defeats her Mutate bodyguard. After which the president promises to tel them the truth. Elsewhere, Multiple man walks in on Valerie speaking with Quicksilver and telling him not to come to Genosha after his failed reconciliation. Elsewhere, the President reveals that they are facing a major medical emergency trying to battle a mysterious disease that is killing mutates. Moira McTaggert reveals that she has been working with the government to fight the disease and that she will be meeting with Professor Xavier in Paris to get his help. A dying Mutate patient in the ICU, branded with the number 24601 from Les Miserables, escapes into the tunnels under Genosha. The government begins to mobilize units to terminate him before he can infect others but X-Factor insists that they will find him and being him back alive |
||
| Post 16 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| X-Factor 91 begins with Havok in the sewers attacked by Magistrates, Genoshan agents sent to terminate the escaped patient. The issue is fairly straightforward with various X-Factor characters encountering Magistrates as they search for the patient. Rahne obviously has some issues with Havok when they are left alone as she is unsure which feelings are hers and which are due to the Mutate program. Meanwhile, Valerie meets Quicksilver at the Genoshan airport where she sees him go from shitfaced drunk to hungover to sober in a matter of a couple of minutes due to his accelerated metabolism. Valerie seems to be acting fairly suspicious by not informing Quicksilver of the team’s actual whereabouts, activities, or even recent revelations. Multiple man ends up finding the patient as he is dying. He feels unable to save him, in part because of his own insecurities but also hindered by the containment suit he and the team are wearing to protect themselves from the disease the patient is carrying. Jamie decides to break containment to create a duplicate of himself to hep give CPR and save the patient to get him back under medical care. By the time they are found by the team, he has re-merged. Back at the hospital, the Genoshan president promising to help the nation do better in regards to the Mutates and to work on undoing the brainwashing committed by the previous administration after they address the immediate issue of the fatal disease. The issue ends with Jamie Madox clearly nervous about his exposure that no one on the team is currently aware of. |
||
| Post 17 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It seems Moira was captured by the acolytes after leaving Genosha as the X-Men arrive to her house in flames. @xkonk gave a pretty good overview of the issue so I’ll try to focus on things he didn’t already cover. The issue dropped a lot of little character moments, like mentioning of Storm and Forge’s history, we learn one of the Acolytes was one of Xavier’s candidates for the first class of X-Men (her helmet altar is a really cool image, I think, and could make a great subject for an art commission). Archangel also mentions that he thinks Bishop’s presence may be encouraging Xavier to become more pro-active and aggressive in ways other aggressive and lethal additions to the team have not. Wolverine even comments that Xavier’s use of mind manipulation to call off the raging villagers is understandable but an uncomfortable thought. Cortez mentions searching Moira’s mind for the process she used to turn X-Men against each other at some point. I’m not sure it is related but Moira is working with Mutates, essentially mutant slaves, in Genosha. Cortez is left in a precarious position as the leader of a cult with his control over his followers threatened. Although he is rescued by Amelia he is unsure if she knows the that he killed Magneto. Even worse, Gamesmaster revokes all his points for killing Magneto which probably means… Finally, Xavier and Moira finally have time to collaborate on the disease that is killing Mutates in Genosha. They find something in Stryfe’s files regarding it. Legacy. Jamie Maddox of X-Force is exposed, and Illyana is infected, though the passage Xavier recalls suggests destiny has something in store for her |
||
| Post 18 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The X-Factor background is neat. The 'main' Genosha stuff happened in the big X-Tinction Agenda crossover a few years earlier. That's when Rahne and others were on the Genoshan side due to brainwashing to various degrees. Moira having more of a background with the mutates is interesting. It takes on a bit more meaning now that she's gone over to the anti-mutant side in the current X stories. | ||
| Post 19 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Uncanny 301 is a fairly dense read and pulls in a lot of threads. It starts with the Upstarts, shifts to a bunch of interpersonal stuff with X-folks, and then goes to Fitzroy's attack on Forge. I could see how it would be a lot to take in if someone hadn't been a regular reader of the book, but even so there's a lot of hitting on the same themes from the previous issues. Colossus is going through a lot of stuff, making great personal sacrifices for the X-Men's cause. Iceman's relationship seems in trouble and he has to put off fixing it to run off and be a superhero. Storm and Bishop may or may not have something going on, but Storm's previous relationship with Forge didn't last. Mystique is going through stuff since Destiny died. It's tough being in a superhero book. I thought the description of the sound of Mystique's body was interesting. Simultaneously like air leaving a balloon and glass breaking. Not a combination you would think possible. |
||
| Post 20 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| #302 is more action, with Storm facing a hostile crowd in the street while trying to save them, and Bishop going after Fitzroy in Forge's destroyed home. Neither is going great but other X-Men show up and turn the tide. Colossus, for his part, has to be talked down from killing Fitzroy. He's obviously ready to snap under the strain of his losses. The 'X-Men don't kill' thing has long been nebulous to me. Heroes shouldn't kill unless they have to is a solid general rule, but it isn't an X-Men ethos the same way it is for Batman. Wolverine has obviously put a lot of people in the ground. Colossus somewhat famously (maybe just to X-fans) killed one of the Marauders during the Mutant Massacre, and I don't think anyone judged him. I'm not against Jean yelling at Colossus, but the argument seems to come and go a bit with the X-Men. |
||
| Post 21 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @xkonk I gotta admit, a part of me has always (probably unfairly) dismissed the bevy of other X-Groups as superfluous and filled with third-string characters but Peter David has done an excellent job with the X-Factor characters. Even someone with as imaginative name as “Strong Guy” is fun to read and the therapy issue in particular helps solidify and ground the characters in advance of the big event that’s approaching | ||
| Post 22 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| #303 has a 'special guest' artist. I wonder if JRJR was busy or if they wanted a different touch on this issue. I'm not 100% sure what Jubilee's reference to 'the head twins' is. Might be Betsy and Kwannon/Psylocke. It's kind of an odd choice to focus Illyana's death through Jubilee, since she doesn't have much of a history with Illyana and isn't the most empathic person. But it's still a touching issue that finds some time to bring in some X-lore for those unfamiliar. Jubilee makes a fair point about it seeming more unfair for a little kid to die randomly for being a mutant than for the mutants (or heroes in general) that die in the big fights. It feels like children should never die. But, this is still the comic book world, so Illyana would return about 14 years later (which is a long time to be dead in the comic world). |
||
| Post 23 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The omnibus goes out on a detour again so let’s see if I can keep up. After X-Men 300 we go to X-Men Annual 17. This book has two stories. The first story has art by Jason Pearson and it’s unimpressive. Passable at its best. The story begins with a mutant called Tower attacking a woman in San Miguel. She is rescued when X-Cutioner arrives and kills Tower. Next we jump to Jean Grey buying a dress while her son, Nate, is begging for her to buy him some X-Men toys. Suddenly they are attacked by three Nimrod-type sentinels because Nate is a latent mutant. Jean, apparently powerless flees but is cornered only to be rescued by Bishop and his sister, Shard. As soon as they finish the X-Men, lead by Bobby Drake as the Icemaster, arrive like movie stars to the hoots of fans. Scott, Jean’s doting husband, arrives on the scene with their daughter, Rachel. They are observed by a shadowy figure. It is Mastermind…Bishop, Jean, and Babby are passed out in his hospital room as he lays comatose in his hospital bed. Storm, Archangel, and Colossus are observing from the control room and we learn that the team were summoned to Muir island by a letter from Mastermind. He is dying from a “genetic deterioration.” Could it be Legacy as well? When Iceman, Bishop, and Jean enter his hospital room, Mastermind, consciously or not, zaps them with his psychic power. Back in the vision, Jean and Scott are cozying up by the fireplace when it erupts into the image of the Phoenix when little Rachel and Nate, wearing the costumes of their future selves, kill Scott, and intend to turn on Jean next for abandoning their future selves. Jean vents her frustration at feeling responsible for the two children despite not actually birthing either of them. She begins to suspect something wrong with the world and when she tries to read Nate and Rachel’s minds only finds her own own fears and frustrations. Jean destroys the homes and the children and finds Mastermind in the wreckage. He begins to speak but Bishop appears, having seen through the illusion of his sister still being alive. Mastermind disappears and Jean and Bishop go off in search of Bobby. Back on Muir Island, Mastermind’s vitals are dropping and Storm realizes that if Mastermind dies while Jean, Bishop, and Bobby are in his grasp then they will die as well. Meanwhile, X-Cutioner attacks the hospital seeking to kill Mastermind but Storm orders Colossus and Archangel to stop him. In the dream, Jean and Bishop find Bobby being held prisoner by Professor X. Jean finds the letter from Mastermind that summoned them to the island; learning that he had wished to make amends to Jean for what he’d previously done to her. When They reveal to Bobby the nature of the reality Professor X melts away into the weakened Mastermind. The weakened Mastermind reflects on his life to Jean. He tells her of his alienation when he was younger and how he found some relief from it when his powers manifested. Isolated from other people he admits his encounter with Jean was the closes he ever came to loving someone. In his weakened state he can’t return the X-Men’s minds to their bodies but Jean is able to force Bishop and Bobby back. Outside the battle with X-Cutioner is going poorly forcing Storm to face him with the full fury of her weather powers and ending the fight by calling down a fierce lighting strike on him. Bishop performs CPR on Mastermind while Jean is still trapped inside. In the vision, Mastermind asks Jean for forgiveness for all the hurt he’d put her through. She gives it and he used the last of his strength to return her to her body and dying at peace. After the battle Storm finds the X-Cutioner’s hi-tech sword and suggests that he had teleported away and wasn’t killed by the lightning blast. Archangel discovers Colossus’ body severely injured by X-Cutioner. The second story is very quick. Siena is out in the desert apparently having a bud run in with the state police. Trevor Fitzroy of the Upstarts arrives and, using his powers, dispatches with the state police by briefly summoning a mutant transport from the Days of Future Past future to ram into them. As the transport rushes by Siena recognizes her future self imprisoned on the transport. Fitzroy invites her to join the upstarts and when she asks how he knew where to find her he tells her that in the future she had told him where. |
||
| Post 24 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by dielinfinite there's an aside in one of this week's issues about how Colossus is stuck in armored form while he recovers. You got the reference! |
||
| Post 25 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| X-Men Unlimited begins with Cyclops, visor destroyed and severely injured, pulling himself out of the wreckage of the downed Blackbird into a fierce snowstorm. Xavier uses his mental powers to guide Scott to him and then the two find Storm, apparently traumatized by some damage done to the planet. Nearby, Siena Blaze tries to confirm that she’d killed the leaders of the X-Men only to be told by Gamemaster that she had not; that four of the most powerful mutants alive were still out in the snow. Siena asks what he means since there were only three mutants on the plane but he disappears without answering. Back at the mansion Bishop and Psylocke try to locate the missing plane but are hampered by major electromagnetic interference. Back in the snow, the team recaps the events leading up to the crash. They were in the Savage Land celebrating the birth of Shanna and Ka-Zar’s baby. On their way back the Blackbird is struck by a major EM attack. Storm guides the plane down and Scott cuts off the rear of the ship, losing his goggles in the process, so she’ll have an easier time controlling their descent. Back in the present, Storm tries to control the raging blizzard but becomes frustrated as the bitter cold of Antarctica is too much for her to control and she passes out, her effort revealing their location to Siena. While Storm recovers, Xavier asks Scott to stop calling him Professor as the rest of the graduated X-Men have since moved on and call him Charles. Something Cyclops finds very hard to do. Meanwhile, Bishop and Psylocke attempt a rescue in another Blackbird but are stopped by a wall of residual EM radiation. When she comes to, the weakened Storm finds herself longing for Forge before she and Scott realize the Professor has gone missing. Turns out Professor X had taken one of the onboard ATVs to seek out a weak psionic imprint, not telling the others because he knows they’d stop him. The ATV breaks down in the cold and Xavier tries crawling the rest of the way towards a mysterious tower in the dostance before passing out in the snow. Cyclops and Storm go out in search of the professor using Storm’s powers to drag the Blackbird’s escape pod. They think they find him but it turns out to be Siena who seems to make quick work of the duo. Xavier reveals that her victory was a mental projection and the three X-Men assault Siena. Defeated, Siena tells them she will teleport away on the Earth’s EM field, creating a vacuum of EM radiation that, when filled, will destroy the X-Men in an explosion. The X-Men get back in the escape pod and Storm uses the last bit of her energy to maneuver the pod to ride the shockwave of the explosion instead of being destroyed by it. Seeing the break in the EM radiation, Bishop and Psylocke are able to recover the escape pod with the ship’s tractor beam. Inside Xaviwr tells Storm and Cyclops how he survived in the snow. After passing out in the snow, Xavier found himself inside the tower, mysteriously free from the EM damage that Siena inflicted on the area. No host was detected but the hover desk responded to his mental commands. Xavier had then left the tower in search of Scott and Storm to being them to the tower but they then got caught up in the battle with Siena. As the Blackbird makes for home, they are observed by a shadowy cloaked figure in the snow. |
||
| Post 26 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I think I read that issue of Unlimited a bunch when it came out. I still remember parts of what you described. | ||
| Post 27 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
You actually read it?!  But it’s a first issue collector’s item! Says so right on the cover!Joking aside, clearly we’re right in the thick of the 90s speculation boom. Heck, I think one of the issues I read, X-Factor maybe? Takes a jab at Death of Superman’s collectibility. That said, with all the hooplah of 90s comics I think it’s sometimes overlooked that they (SOMETIMES) told some damn good stories behind those variant covers. I mentioned how impressed I was with the run of X-Factor I just read. The story in the annual was a pretty good story, despite the art. And I think overall it’s building up well to the return of Magneto. I think it’s obvious, even at the time, that Magneto would return eventually but I can’t say I was following the event at the time I wonder how obvious it was then and how big a deal it will be when Magneto does return |
||
| Post 28 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Issue 301 begins with Fitzroy summoning the Upstarts to select the Next high value target for their game. It turns out to be Forge. He will do something in the next 24 Hours that will affect all mutants. Colossus is healing from his battle with X-Cutioner and Moira confirms that Mstermind died of the same thing that is making Illyana sick now. Possibly the Legacy virus. Xavier sends Bishop and Storm to recruit Forge to help their tech get a better read on the virus. I’m assuming maybe that is Forge’s life-changing event? Shortly afterward it becomes a brutal fight between Fitzroy and Forge where Forge is literally being torn apart. As Bishop and Storm arrives the building Forge and Fitzroy are battling in explodes. So I’m more often a fan of Romita Jr’s art than not; and I do like it here but I just don’t like the way he interprets Colossus and Forge’s metallic hands. It’s just a nitpick, I know. I think it might be the overly bulbous knuckles and cylindrical digits that makes the hands fee very unnatural. Story-wise, I do like how each issue tries to tug on various ongoing story-threads, even if they were not immediately recent. Essentially everything feels like it’s coming from somewhere and not just “ and then So-So shows up.” |
||
| Post 29 • IP flag post | ||
|
COLLECTOR
|
dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The action in 302 picks up after the end of the last issue with Storm using her powers to divert the debris from the explosion away from the population but can’t avoid doing more damage herself. This of course leads to some classic anti-mutant, mob violence. Meanwhile, Bishop enters the building to find Forge. They are ambushed by Fitzroy who also survived the attack. Jean announces her arrival by destroying Fitzroy’s armor but he still gets the drop on Bishop and Forge who are rescued by Colossus. The stress of everything on Colossus is clearly on display. Much like in his fight with the Acolytes, he is looking to vent his rage physically on someone and has to be pulled away from Fitzroy to stop him from killing him. I agree that there’s something a little off about the “don’t kill people speech.” For me I think it was deferring to Bishop to try to make the point as he lays the burden of acceptability on the rules of society, which can obviously change. This means to kill or not kill isn’t necessarily objectively moral or not. I do feel like maybe Colossus has a point that maybe the situation for them has changed and they may be foolish to not recognize it. I kind of feel like maybe the scene might’ve been helped by focusing the page on Fitzroy’s bloodied and bruised face (I was thinking if Kirby’s swollen and battered faces from last month) instead of on Jean to sell her “look at what you’ve done” point. I think that would’ve sold the intended point better than Bishop’s malleable societal rules. The issue then ends with Jubilee studying for her remedial algebra test only to be interrupted by a visitor at the door, Kitty Pryde. I’m not sure if this is the first time the two of met but it is interesting as they both served the same role as something of an outsider’s introduction to the X-Men’s world but for two different decades. Heck, even the 90’s X-Men animated series that used Jubilee as the audience stand-in was preceded by an earlier, unsuccessful attempt with Kitty Pryde in a similar role Finally, I don’t know if there are official stats on the Blackbird but New York to Dallas is about 1500 miles and it essentially made the trip before the dust had settled from the explosion. Of course it just goes as fast as the story needs it to but that’s still pretty damn fast |
||
| Post 30 • IP flag post | ||
This topic is archived. Start new topic?