Uncanny X-Men #163

"Rescue Mission"
Published: November 1982
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Dave Cockrum
Inker: Bob Wiacek

What's Going On?
After healing himself and destroying the Brood egg planted inside him at the end of the last issue, Wolverine comes back to rescue his friends.  There are just a few problems with that.  First of all, the X-Men are under a powerful illusion, making them think that they are at a fancy space party.  Second of all, they do not realize that they are all incubating eggs from the Brood Queen, and they will die when the eggs hatch.  Luckily, Cyclops and Storm have started to see through the illusion, which makes the whole "let's skedaddle" argument a lot easier.  Instead of just escaping, though (Storm leads a team to try and regain control of their spaceship), Wolverine wants to kill the Brood Queen.  That goes against the X-Men hero code, though.  Right when Wolverine is about to kill the Queen, he (and the rest of the X-Men fighting) are teleported to the safety of their spaceship by Storm's team.

Subplots, oh the Subplots!
- The hits keep coming for Carol Danvers.  Three years after her bizarre and rapey exit from the Avengers (circa Avengers #200) and two years after Rogue stole her Ms. Marvel powers and turned her into a normal-ish person (in Avengers Annual #10), Carol Danvers is apparently no longer strictly human.

- Heeey, people on Earth are missing the X-Men!  This is the first we've seen of anyone reacting to the kidnapping of the X-Men in this book (although the New Mutantrs graphic novel showed off Moira MacTaggart and Xavier mourning).  Oddly enough, they seem to know exactly what is going on.  That's a little odd, but I'll assume that the presence of Corsair in this scene means the Starjammers have been looking into things.  That's still a little sketchy, but it almost makes sense.  It is odd that we haven't seen Professor Xavier since the kidnapping, though...hint, hint...

Art!
This is more of the same from Cockrum.  The science fictiony scenes work best for him and are the most entertaining.  I thought his moderately subtle work with Carol Danvers and her "cosmic eyes" was quite well done.  There is also another scene of Wolverine cutting loose that is well done.  As for the issue, it's pretty solid.

Writing!
Chris Claremont may be the master of the simmering subplot, but here we see him actually progressing the main story.  This works quite well, except for the single scene set on Earth.  Look at this scene featuring Corsair:

Let me set the scene for you: Corsair has just teleported to Earth with his son, Havok.  Havok explains that his brother, Cyclops, and the other X-Men have been kidnapped by an alien race.  Havok fires a blast of cosmic energy (his mutant power) in frustration.  Vorsair is apparently taken by surprise, despite standing right next to his son.  What do we take from this?  Corsair is a terrible father who can't pay attention to his children, even when they have been kidnapped by killer aliens.  He is, though, a little slow on the cosmic draw.

Retroactively Amusing:
- Ignoring the fairly cool "cosmic eyes" on this page, I have to say that I love how quickly Carol Danvers' hair goes from sweaty and tortured to poofy hair-blown.

COSMIC EYES and HAIR VOLUME

Space torture apparently volumizes.

- I get what Cockrum is going for in this dream sequence --- a moderately subtle hint that the X-Men will turn into the Brood.  It is kind of funny seeing X-Men uniforms on thoraxes, though.

All in all, this is a solid issue on its own and it works well in the larger series.  This is one of those rare stories that are devoted to progressing the plot, and still manage to do justice to the characters.

Wolverine (Vol. 1) #2

 

"Debts and Obligations"
Published: October 1982
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Frank Miller
Inker: Josef Rubinstein

What's Going On?
Wolverine in recuperating at Yukio's, after his loss to Shingen in last issue.  He awakes to find ninja assassins, a group known as The Hand, about to attack.  Wolverine protects his new friend, and a bunch of faceless ninja cannon fodder serve their purpose and die. 

To repay his debt to Yukio, Wolverine offers to scare (and mmmaybe kill) the crimelord that sent The Hand after her.  Little does Logan know that Yukio is secretly working for Lord Shingen; she is tasked with the job of eliminating Shingen's only remaining rival in the Japanese criminal underworld --- and then she is to kill Wolverine!  Gasp!  Ignorant to all of that, Wolverine helps Yukio get where she needs to go.  In the process, Wolverine protects Mariko from an assassination attempt.  You would think that would earn the man some points with the little lady, right?  Well, to protect her, Wolverine went berserk and slaughtered a bunch of assassins before her eyes.  It seems that "savagely killing" is not one of Mariko's turn-ons, so she is horrified and Wolverine is extra depressed as the issue closes.

Worth Noting:
- This is the first time Wolverine faced The Hand, and the first time The Hand were seen outside the pages of Daredevil.

- Yukio as a lusty assassin?  Yeah, that happened.  Most, if not all, of Yukio's later appearances cast her as a carefree adventurer, rather than a hardened killer.  As for her attraction to Logan, I believe that is also something kept to this miniseries.

Art!
I was pretty happy with Frank Miller's pencils in the first issue, but a few things started to bother me in this one.  Why is the art so sparse?  There are a lot of panels here without any background whatsoever and Miller's attention to detail comes and goes, sometimes noticeably on the same page.  The action sequences are all still choreographed well, but I don't know if Miller ever really captures the savagery of Wolverine.  Wolverine berserk looks a lot like Wolverine in control to me.

Even with those issues, there are still some stellar pages that play toward Miller's love of the over-the-top.

Ninjas are terrible marksmen, apparently

Writing!
This issue is interesting, in that it has Wolverine do what he does and he still ultimately loses.  That quickly becomes a theme for Wolverine, but this is the first major instance of it I can recall.  Really, this is one of the few times to this point where he has been shaken up (the Proteus and Dark Phoenix stories being the others).  Claremont keeps the series going with lots of action and some subplot advancement.  He was a little less successful with the fleshing out of Yukio, though.  This is her first proper appearance, and she comes across as dangerous and mysterious, which is good.  It's a little weird seeing her hit on Logan so shamelessly, but it kind of fits her wild character.  There are a few points with Yukio, though, that are just painful to read...

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The first page of this issue has Yukio being frightened and pleading for Wolverine to wake up and fight.  In no other scene does she act desperate or ask for help, even when surrounded by ninjas about to kill her.  The page works on its own, but when you consider the character Claremont was trying to mold here, the same character who plays "chicken" with the bullet train in the next issue, it sticks out like a sore thumb.  Issue-to-issue contradictions are pretty common, especially early in a character's development, but page-to-page contradictions are always amusing.

- Yukio introduces her catch phrase in this issue: "Gotcha!"  She only uses it in her first few appearances, but it is awkward every time it is used.

Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans

Front Cover

"Apokolips...Now!"
Published: September 1982 (I think)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Walter Simonson
Inker: Terry Austin

What's Going On?
Does it really matter?  This is a company crossover, so it's not like anything important is going to happen here.  This isn't even set in the normal Marvel Universe (Earth-616), it is part of the rarely used Earth-7642, a world where the DC and Marvel characters coexist.  Still, the creative talent makes this one worth checking out.

The New God Darkseid was doing his thing, trying to channel the power of The Source, when he had an idea.  Why not try to manipulate the powerful cosmic power of the Phoenix to make this happen?  One problem, though...the Phoenix is dead, having perished when Jean Grey/Phoenix committed suicide at the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga in Uncanny X-Men #137.  That's only a slight problem for a megalomaniacal space tyrant, as it turns out.  Darkseid harvests the memories of the Dark Phoenix from the X-Men while they sleep, which is the first step toward harnessing her power.

DRAMATIC LETTERING!

To recreate the rest of her power, Darkseid must build machines in places special to Jean Grey, in order to harness more echoes of the Phoenix power.  One of the Teen Titans, Raven, has a precognitive dream about the Phoenix, while one of her teammates, Starfire, recognizes the threat the Phoenix Force can represent.  To nip that threat in the bud, the Titans decide to attack the X-Men, because team-ups always need a manufactured misunderstanding to fight over.  It doesn't take too long before they kiss, make up, and take on the true threat of Darkseid.  And Deathstroke, if only because both teams need a villain they can try to punch.

Yeah, a line seems the most natural way for groups to mingle

Art!
To this point, Walt Simonson was probably best known for his Manhunter work in Detective Comics.  He hadn't quite developed his classic style yet, but it is interesting how close he is here.  On his earlier Thor work in the 1970s, Simonson was an adequate artist.  Here, though, we see panels where his true potential can be seen.  Take this one, for instance: how many artists, aside from Jack Kirby, can pull off a panel like this?

It is also neat to see Simonson's pre-X-Factor take on some of the X-Men.  While his X-Factor work isn't as iconic as his Thor run, I have always been partial to that run.

Writing!
This one-shot, like everything X-Men at the time, was written by Chris Claremont.  I have to say that I'm surprised that he got the job here.  That's not because he was too busy, although this did come out at roughly the same time as he was writing the Wolverine limited series, as well as Uncanny X-Men, and was planning the launch of The New Mutants.  I'm surprised because this is a surprisingly dense issue; it has 62 pages with no ads.  Granted, this issue cost $2.00, compared to a normal comic's $0.60, but this could have easily been a dumb cash-in on two wildly popular comics.  Instead, we get one of the hottest writers in comics at the time with an up-and-coming artist, and they team up to make two street-level teams (let's be honest) play on a cosmic stage.  Looking back, that seems like an unlikely choice, but I'm pretty impressed with how legit the final product turned out. 

By the way, was Darkseid even a Titans villain at this point?  Or ever?

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Wolverine is relegated to the back cover, behind Beast Boy.  There really was a time when he wasn't the face of Marvel Comics!

- I love how serious the characters on the front cover look when you compare them to the goofy smiles of Kitty and Gar on the back cover.

- When the hell was this published?  This issue was published in January, 1982, according to the usually reliable Marvel Wiki.  The cover was clearly signed and dated in May, 1982, though.  And the September '82 Bullpen Bulletins lists this on their monthly checklist of issues to buy.  I went with that date, but then I saw an in-house ad in Uncanny X-Men #163 saying that this would be on sale August 8.  It doesn't matter in the big scheme of things, but I find it odd.

Paying Tribute to My Namesake:
They don't actually use the term "fastball special" here, but...well...it is.

Hint of Things to Come?
I thought giving Cyclops the power of the Phoenix is Avengers vs. X-Men was pretty clever, but that idea had apparently already made the rounds a few decades ago.

Wolverine (Vol. 1) #1

"Here, kitty, kitty..."

"I'm Wolverine"
Published: September 1982
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Frank Miller
Inker: Josef Rubinstein

What's Going On?
After a week or two of distributing rough justice in the Canadian wilderness, Wolverine returns home to find a stack of returned mail.  It appears that Logan's lady love, Mariko Yashida, has returned to Japan without a word.  When he tries to call her in Japan, whoever is on the other end simply hangs up the phone.  That's enough for Logan to drop everything and fly to Japan.  Once there, he finds Mariko --- and things get worse.  Mariko's father, Lord Shingen, has returned after a lengthy absence, and has resumed his position as the head of the Yashida clan.  To pay off a debt he incurred during his absence, Shingen has given away Mariko's hand in marriage.  Worse, Mariko's husband is crude and physically abusive.  Wolverine would have killed this loser, but Mariko intervened.  Her argument is that her love for Logan is secondary to her familial obligation to honor her father's wishes.  That would have been that, and Logan would have returned home and listened to Morrissey in his bedroom for a few weeks, but he was attacked with poison-tipped shurikens.  When he awoke, still groggy from the drugs, Shingen challenged Wolverine to a sparring match with wooden swords in front of Mariko.  Despite the non-lethal weapons, Shingen's expertise showed itself when he began landing blows that would have killed a normal man.  It doesn't take long for Wolverine to get sick of that crap and to pop his claws.  While justified in defending himself against lethal force, it certainly appeared to the onlookers that Wolverine had given in to his bestial nature and took a friendly match to a deadly extreme.  It didn't matter, though.  Shingen still solidly trounced Wolverine.  The last thing Wolverine remembered before losing consciousness was Mariko declaring him unworthy of her love.

Worth Noting:
- This is the first appearance of both Yukio and Lord Shingen.

- This limited series was published during the X-Men's Brood Saga, between September and December of 1982, but the end of the series was designed to coincide with Uncanny X-Men #172, which was published in August 1983.  I felt certain that there was some sort of behind-the-scenes drama that caused that delay, but I haven't been able to find anything online.  So, maybe that is not "worth noting."

- Is this the first X-Men spin-off?  I think it is!  Alpha Flight didn't start until 1983.  Even the Magik limited series, which picks up on plot threads from Uncanny X-Men #160, did not start until the end of 1983. 

Art!
We have Frank Miller on pencils here, and this is star-on-the-rise Miller.  What does that mean?  It means that this is less stylized than his later work, but he still adds enough nice touches to push the envelope of mainstream comic art circa 1982.  Take this page, for instance:

I didn't catch Miller's clever arrangement at first glance; it's clever and understated, words that stopped being used with his work about fifteen years ago.  Even though Wolverine has been featured in literally thousands of comics, having the path of his claws cross multiple panels and guide your eyes across the page is still pretty unique.

As much as I appreciate some of his choices, I have to admit that I don't particularly like the way Miller draws Wolvie's head in this issue.  It's a combination of his take on Logan's haircut --- it looks like it was styled from a Jello mold --- and some inconsistencies in the way he draws Logan's face.  But that's really just nitpicking.  The art is expressive and Miller captures the action well, which is exactly what you want in a Wolverine series.

Writing!
This series marks a huge departure for Wolverine as a character.  Of course, having Chris Claremont write 95% of his appearances to this point certainly helped assure that these changes actually stuck.  Up to this point, Wolverine was a loose cannon that was as dangerous to his friends as his enemies.  This is the point where the character starts to grow up and move beyond his origin as a clawed lunatic.  How different is this comic?  There is a three panel sequence that zooms in on Wolverine's eyes. 

Top panel: a face or a Rorschach test?

No claws.  No "bub."  No cowl.  Just eyes.  Right there, you have something more obviously character-based than any of his appearances to date.

It is also worth noting that Wolverine gets his ass handed to him by Shingen here.  Sure, it's the first issue of a limited series, but that is still a pretty rare feat.  This might be the first occurrence of Claremont's favorite method of legitimizing a threat to Wolverine and/or the X-Men: beating up Wolverine when he has been weakened.

Retroactively Amusing:
Wolverine mentions in this issue that the only family he knows is his father.  It's a throwaway line, but the notion that Wolverine knew anything about his past (pre-House of M) seems odd now.  Looking back, this is well before Wolverine met Sabretooth, who was sometimes suspected (and even plotted) to be his father, and long before it was revealed that Wolverine's memories were mostly forgotten or false.

Uncanny X-Men #162

"Beyond the Farthest Star"
Published: October 1982
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Dave Cockrum
Inker: Bob Wiacek

What's Going On?
Okay, after last month's flashback issue, we are now fully into the Brood Saga.  We find Wolverine on the run on an alien planet, fighting off the flora and fauna of this landscape, as well as killing any Brood (or "Sleazoids") that he encounters.  As Wolvie tries to make sense of the mess he's in, we flash back to the events leading up to this.  Basically, he remembers Deathbird showing up at the end of Uncanny #161 and then he remembers everything being okay.  Or was it?  In the flashback, Wolverine keeps seeing things looking pretty dire --- he and the X-Men are clearly the worse for wear and are surrounded by Sleazoids --- but only for brief flashes.  Every time he tries to concentrate on those flashes, he gets more and more disoriented.  In the end, it turns out that the X-Men are all having some psychic wool pulled over their eyes.  They have all been implanted with Brood Queen eggs, and the result of that looks like this:

The X-Men will transform into a Brood (is that the singular of "Brood"?), and that Brood will have their memories and abilities, but will presumably serve the Brood faithfully.  Wolverine has been sick and hallucinating the entire issue because his healing factor is fighting off the implanted egg.  The issue closes with Wolverine coming to the realization that, if he cannot find a cure for the others, he will have to kill each and every one of the X-Men.

Where Did All the Subplots Go?
In a rare turn for Chris Claremont, this issue is entirely devoted to a single plot thread.  We do not flash back to Earth, we do not focus on any of the other X-Men, and we do not catch up with Deathbird and Lillandra.  This is just Wolverine catching us up on the Brood plot and setting the stage for the next few issues.  I don't know how often this happens, but I'm going to be keeping an eye out for it in the future.

Art!
I'm a bigger fan of Dave Cockrum's initial run on Uncanny than this one, if only because of how well he designs characters.  After all, the costumes he created for the All-New X-Men became the standards for each of them.  But this issue really showcases Cockrum's strengths.  He does a gret job with science-fictiony stuff, and the two-page spread (that was too large for my scanner, sorry) he does of the Broodworld was excellent.  We are also treated to a rare full-page splash of Wolverine doing what he does best:

There are a lot of issues where Wolverine goes berserk, but they are usually only a few panels in a larger story.  This is Cockrum being given the room to show off, and it's pretty cool.

Writing!
One of the nice touches in this issue is the acknowledgement that Wolverine would normally follow his instincts if he was conflicted.  Claremont gets around that by having the illusion in Wolverine's mind being powerful enough to play havoc with his head and make him question his sanity.  When I was rereading this, my immediate reaction was, "Since when does Wolverine wait to stab things when his senses tell him to stab?"  That explanation made sense and doesn't take up too much of the story to explain.  Well done.

I'm a little less sold on Claremont's choice to take the X-Men back to space, though.  This is a pretty good issue, but the team has already met alien civilizations twice (the first appearance of the Imperial Guard and the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga, by my count) during his tenure as writer.  Space adventures have always struck me as missing the point of the X-Men.  Oh, well.  At least this story is off to a good start.

Retrospectively Amusing:
Cockrum's choice on how to show Wolverine's body almost-but-not-quite becomign Brood-like looks an awful lot like Wolvie is doing an impression of the Fantastic Four's Thing:

The letters page is also pretty funny for modern readers.  The bulk of the mail has fans overreacting from the very end of Uncanny #155, which ended with Colossus appearing to die at the very end of the issue.  At that point, Chris Claremont had been writing this title for five years.  Did anyone actually believe he would let an established character die such a cheap death?  The overwhelming message from the letters is that Claremont was being too cruel to the X-Men and the fans.  I can't imagine their responses to the Mutant Massacre.