Daredevils #3

"...Thicker Than Water"
Published March 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
Captain Britain/Brian Braddock responds to a distress call from his sister, Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, who is afraid for her life.  Betsy is a psychic working for the British government organization STRIKE; unfortunately, STRIKE has been corrupted at the highest levels, and the conspirators are killing psychics to cover their trail.  While Betsy is catching Brian up on current events, another of Betsy's psychic comrades is murdered.  Being a hero, Brian suits up and arrives at the scene as Captain Britain.  There, he meets the killer: Slaymaster!

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- It seems that the Vixen, lord of the underworld (or something like that), has taken over the British equivalent to SHIELD, STRIKE.  CapBrit mentions that he had crossed paths with Vixen's agents in the past, but never managed to get to the inner circle and meet/fight the man.  I'm going to go ahead and say that this Vixen will be a character operating in the shadows for a while.  Just a guess.

Writing!
It looks like Alan Moore is intent on revamping the Captain Britain universe; each issue has brought back a supporting character and/or villain from older CapBrit stories, and there is a lot of potential in what Moore has introduced (psychic secret agent sister, killer computer, multidimensional conspiracy, etc.).  That said, the reveal at the end of the issue that the mysterious killer is Slaymaster was a bit underwhelming for me.  It's not an awful reveal (although "I'm Slaymaster!" isn't the best bit of dialogue), but it is clearly intended to be awesome.  It's not.  Slaymaster has not been mentioned in this series yet, so casual readers don't know him, and even fans of the character haven't seen him in almost six years.  I'm sure Moore's update of the character will be a good one, but the build-up to the reveal could have done more.

Art!
It looks like Alan Davis is trying out some different things in this issue, and they don't all work well.  I thought the layout and clearness of the inked lines on this page was great:

I guess it's similar to Frank Miller's work on the bear scene in Wolverine Vol. 1 #1, but that doesn't make it less striking.  I'm a sucker for unusual action storyboarding, I guess.  Now look at this earlier page:

The background characters being sketchy is one thing, but Brian's head looks...unfinished.

The reveal of Slaymaster was visually interesting, but didn't quite work for me:

The panel layout is unusual, but works well for storytelling.  Having Slaymaster breaking multiple panels implies his importance, so that's good work, too.  And yet...is that the guy who is supposed to impress the reader?  His head and neck seem disproportionately large and that pose is not particularly threatening.  Still, subjectively "bad" Alan Davis art is still Alan Davis art; that is to say, even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Retroactively Amusing:
- One of Betsy's comrades refers to her as "Liz."  I was so used to Elizabeth Braddock being "Betsy" that it never even occurred to me that she could go by "Liz" instead.  Apparently, I'm an idiot.

- I always thought that Betsy Braddock had purple hair as a symptom of her mutant powers, like Polaris' green hair.  Apparently not; she dyes it, and has dyed it for over thirty years now.  Is this the only time any character has been confused by her hair?

- There is a villain called "The Vixen" and everyone seems to assume Vixen is a man.  I'm not an expert, but isn't "Vixen" an inherently feminine word?

- Slaymaster apparently values his anonymity enough to wear a disguise (that actually makes him stand out from a crowd, but whatever...), until he has the opportunity to show off his skills in public.  Then it's off with the mask, and time to announce his name to the crowd!

Worth Noting:
-While this is not the first appearance of Elizabeth Braddock, it is the first time she take recognizable shape.  Her trademark purple hair makes its debut here, and her interest in danger is hinted at.  The origin of her powers is not explained, and she has precognition in addition to her normal telepathy, but she is no longer the blonde-haired pilot that was introduced in Chris Claremont's original Captain Britain Vol. 1 run.

- Both Betsy and Slaymaster have difficulty recognizing Brian Braddock/Captain Britain because the character underwent a fairly major makeover at some point after Captain Britain Vol. 1.  He went from a slim, athletic type with side-parted hair to a hulking bruiser with a sculpted quaff.

- Slaymaster was a villain in Captain Britain Vol. 1, and he had a stupid costume that looked like a crappy Halloween version of Bullseye.  In his last appearance, he was presumed dead, having been eaten by sharks.  That is a sentence that I wish I had more opportunities to use.

Daredevils #2

"An Englishman's Home..."
Published: February 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
Having survived (he thinks) his ordeal on the alternate Earth, Captain Britain returns home to the ruins of Braddock Manor, which was destroyed some time ago during a team-up with Captain America (Captain Britain Vol. 1 #18).  Or was it?  While the average Joe sees nothing but rubble, CapBrit sees the mansion unblemished.  He enters and is greeted briefly by his family's housemaid, and then by scenes from his past; the kicker seems to be the skeletons of his parents asking him to join them in death.  All he has to do is allow his old enemy, Mastermind, to kill him.  That's when CapBrit remembers that Mastermind is a hologram controlled by the computers in Braddock Manor's basement --- and holograms would explain all the crazy things he has seen since returning home!  The Captain then figures out how to shut down the computer (which is basically sentient and has developed a way to self-replicate and grow vast enough to cover an entire cavern), thus saving the day.

Sub-plots, oh the Sub-plots!
- There was an offhanded remark by Merlin last issue, where he mentioned that he might not have put Captain Britain's mind back together in the right order; the Captain may very well be insane.  As Merlin and Roma observe the Captain's actions from afar, he once again mentions the possibility of insanity.  I'm guessing that this issue marks the end of this brief subplot, since it acts as a red herring for the true villain.

- Apparently, the Fury is not satisfied with killing Captain Britain.  Despite seeing the smoldering husk of the Captain at its feet, the Fury's animal instinct tells it that the Captain has survived.  That might be a problem later.

- A mysterious woman with super-strength has a panic attack that roughly coincides with Captain Britain's death.  While she isn't mentioned by name, she seems to have felt the Captain's death and is afraid something (the Fury?) will come after her soon.

- CapBrit is the only person able to see through the hologram of Braddock Manor as rubble, and he is able to "sense" where the computer's core is.  His reaction is "It's almost as if my senses have been enhanced somehow.  But by who?"  That would be Merlin and Roma, sir.

- Captain Britain has a ridiculously futuristic supercomputer in his basement that has murdered his parents and tried to kill him.  Naturally, he knows enough about computers to reprogram this nearly sentient device so he can "put it to work for [him]."  That seems like a good idea.

Writing!
It was an interesting choice for Alan Moore to retcon the destruction of Braddock Manor.  At that point, the mansion had been destroyed for about six years; reestablishing it as Captain Britain's base of operations feels like a step back.  I suppose you can describe it as back-to-basics, but that's never been Alan Moore's thing.

Art!
This is basically a psychological drama issue, so there's not a lot of action inherent in the plot.  Luckily, Alan Davis can tell a story that doesn't require uppercuts.  Honestly, I think his strength is in facial expressions.  A personal favorite moment is when he pulls out his "I'm under mind control" googly eyes.

I'm not quite sure if I like Davis inking his own work, though.  There is a sketchiness to the finished product here that doesn't do his work justice.

Retrospectively Funny:
- As a reader of the X-titles, I knew that there were several villains named Mastermind.  I did not, however, know that Marvel UK had one, too.  This prompted me to do a bit of quick research; there are apparently five Masterminds in the Marvel Universe, none of whom has been particularly threatening since the Dark Phoenix Saga.

-  According to this issue, no one knows that Braddock Manor is still standing.  And yet, it has electricity and phone service.  I don't think the Mastermind computer can control minds outside of the house, so...I guess we're left to believe that Brian Braddock pays his bills several years in advance?

Daredevils #1

"A Rag, a Bone, a Hank of Hair..."
Published: January 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis


What's Going On?
Captain Britain (AKA Brian Braddock) is dead.  He was snuffed out by the cybiote being known as the Fury in an alternate reality, where the Fury had killed every super-hero; the Fury made sure to kill the crap out of Cap, too --- all that was left was ash and bone bits.  Apparently, that is not enough to keep a comic character dead, as the mysterious Merlin and his daughter, Roma, spend this entire issue reassembling and reviving the late Captain.  While Roma has the "easy" job of re-growing and improving a superhuman body from a hip bone...

Merlin is in charge of bringing back the mind and soul of Braddock.  To do this, he helpfully reviews the formative moments in Brian's life and adds some cryptic insights.  Having caught the reader up to speed, Merlin then adds mind to body and presto!

We have ourselves a living, breathing, and more powerful Captain Britain.  Even better, he wakes up on his own Earth, with no memory of his death; he happily assumes Merlin magically saved his life at the last minute and brought him home.  As Cap weeps with joy at his good fortune, Roma weeps with pity because she knows that Captain Britain is *dramatic pause* doomed.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- This introduces (I think it's the first mention of it, anyways) the concept of Merlin using Captain Britain as a pawn in a larger game.   You can't tell exactly what has taken place in this game, but the implication is certainly there that Merlin has been manipulating Brian for many years, perhaps even for his entire life.

-So, Captain Britain is doomed?  That might be mentioned again.  Just a guess.

Writing!
While it is unusual to spend an entire first issue in a recap, I have to admit that Alan Moore wrote a pretty satisfying issue.  It boils the character down to his basics and mentions some of the (presumably) major themes for this series.  Not much actually happens in this issue, but the Merlin conspiracy subplot introduces some interesting potential.

Art!
The coloring in my reprinted trade paperback is not the best, but that is certainly not the fault of the wonderful Alan Davis.  This issue is a little weird, because so much of it is being seen through a hazy effect, but Davis still manages to make a story that is almost entirely exposition fun to look at.

On a side note, I'm pretty certain that Davis uses almost this exact same panel sequence for Merlin in an issue of Excalibur in the issues leading up to Excalibur (Vol. 1) #50. 

It will be interesting to see how (or if) this adds context to those later stories.

Retroactively Amusing
- Since #1 issues are now seen as an inviting jumping-on point, it is funny to see this first issue acting as a direct continuation of a story from another title that just happened the month before.

Worth Noting
- This is actually the third "issue" of Captain Britain from Alans Moore and Davis.  The first two came from Marvel Super-Heroes #387 and #388.  I put quotations around "issue" because the story is obviously not a full issue's worth; Daredevils and Marvel Super-Heroes were anthology titles that combined previously published American comics with original British comics.  As such, the page-count is much reduced when compared to a normal comic book.  Still, these are some wonderfully dense and busy pages.

- Captain Britain's powers have been slightly altered in this issue.  His powers, once a byproduct of his costume, now originate inside him and the costume has become an amplifier for that power.  His personal force field (which apparently was a thing before) has been "limited," but it is not specified how or why.  His perceptions have been enhanced.

- Why am I covering a Captain Britain story in a X-Men-centric comic blog?  I originally started this with the intention of just re-reading the comics I already had, but reviewing them has given me a new taste for the era.  I've already ebay-ed a few X-Men spinoffs from the 80s to get a better picture of the times, with mixed results.  More importantly, though, reviewing these old comics makes me think about other old comics that I love, and sub-plots that I never really understood as a child.  For example, I have always been a fan of Chris Claremont and Alan Davis' initial run on Excalibur, but I never really understood a large portion of the supporting cast; Saturnyne/Sat-Yr-9, I'm looking at you!  So, since Chris Claremont co-created Captain Britain, and Claremont incorporated elements if this run in both Uncanny (circa #200) and Excalibur (vol. 1), and because Captain Britain stories eventually leave a large impact on future X-Man Psylocke's future, I've decided to review this Marvel UK title. *phew!*

Uncanny X-Men #167

"The Goldilocks Syndrome (or: 'Someone's Been Sleeping In My Head!')"
Published: March 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Paul Smith
Inker: Bob Wiacek

What's Going On?
The X-Men return from space, which is good.  They believe that there is one last Brood queen egg, though, and it is incubating inside Professor Xavier; since Broodlings absorb the power of their hosts, a Brood queen with all of Xavier's power and none of his scruples would be bad news, indeed.  On their way to assassinate Xavier, the X-Men wind up fighting the newly-formed New Mutants, who are just trying to defend themselves.  Unfortunately, the X-Men are too late and Xavier begins the irreversible (except when it's not) transformation into a Brood queen.

There's so much action, even Karma's powers look dynamic!

When the X-Men finally defeat him, Cyclops claims the right to kill his father figure.  However, Xavier's personality takes control of the Brood body and begs to be killed; this somehow convinces Cyclops to spare his teacher's life.  Luckily, the Starjammers apparently returned to Earth with the X-Men, and their doctor, Sikorsky, clones Xavier a new body from cells they had lying around and transfers Xavier's brain from the Broodling to a new body.  Because of course that is an option.

With Xavier's miraculous/ludicrous recovery, the X-Men are one big happy family again, only with the New Mutants, to boot!  Except...Xavier decides that Kitty Pryde belongs with students her own age and demotes her from the X-Men to the New Mutants. ***sad trombone***

Subplots, oh the Subplots!
- This marks the end of the Brood saga, and the end of the Brood as a legitimate threat in the Marvel Universe.  They never really play a large part in any story, ever again.

- Ororo feels lonely and out of place, even among friends.  The countdown to mohawk Storm begins...

- Nightcrawler fears that the New Mutants will not accept him as a person, due to his appearance.  If that sounds familiar, it's because he had the same worries about Kitty when she joined the team.

Maybe they would like him better if he didn't give them the Three Stooges treatment

- Cyclops discusses spending time with his father, Corsair, and (indirectly) leaving the X-Men.  His first idea is to go into space with the Starjammers (which is relevant again now because of 2014's Cyclops series), but Corsair wants to visit Scott's grandparents in Alaska first.  Remember this casual decision when Mister Sinister explains his evil plans, cira Inferno.

- Lilandra makes a hollow threat toward the Fantastic Four, claiming that they will be held responsible according to Shi'ar law for the deaths caused by Galactus in the future.  Why is this a hollow threat?  First off, because Lilandra is an exiled queen with no real authority.  More importantly, though, it is because she never follows up on that, as far as I can recall.

Reed Richards, AKA: Charlie Brown, super genius

Now, I'm certainly not the expert in behind-the-scenes comic book drama, but I know John Byrne was writing Fantastic Four at this time, and he went out of his way to discredit Claremont's portrayal of Dr. Doom in an issue of Uncanny, so this might just be Claremont jabbing back at his former partner.  Regardless, can we all agree that it is weird to see Johnny Storm in his tighty whiteys running into his sister's bedroom, where she appears to be naked?

- Xavier can walk in his new body, but he has psychosomatic pain that makes it incredibly difficult.  This will be his primary subplot for the next year or two.

Fun fact: all recovering paraplegics opt for skintight spandex when they regain the ability to walk.

Writing!
I think Chris Claremont is at his best when he is tying things together, and he manages to do quite a bit of that in this issue.  The Brood saga wraps, the X-Men and New Mutants meet, a new status quo is introduced for Professor Xavier, and a logical choice is made in relegating Kitty to the junior team.  AND we have all those other subplots!  The Storm and Cyclops ones will actually turn out to be important, too!  There is a lot going on in every issue with this creative team, and it is a blast to read.

Art!
I like Paul Smith's artwork, and I think he did a great job with the action in this issue, but there must have been some miscommunication between him and Claremont for Psyche's attack against Cyclops.  Cyclops losing control would, I would think, look like he can't control where his optic beams are going.  Smith drew Cyclops as an orc.  That's not the same thing.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The X-Men are trying to ambush Xavier, right?  Kitty even comments about how quiet she's trying to be as she approaches him.  If they want to sneak up on Xavier, why do they literally break through the walls of the building?

- What the hell is Kitty Pryde wearing?  It looks like she found some Starjammer clothes that got washed with Corsair's reds.

Everything 80s:
- When the X-Men arrive, the New Mutants are all watching Magnum, P.I.  This makes for the earliest published instance of them watching this show.  I don't know why, but the New Mutants watching Magnum was kind of like the X-Men playing baseball for Claremont; it was their pastime.

They all seem unnaturally attracted to Tom Selleck, right?

Worth Noting:
- This is the first time the New Mutants are referenced as the "New Mutants."

This issue marks the end of the Brood saga and, for all extents and purposes, the end of the Brood as a credible threat from now on.  From this point on, the Brood are frequently described as on the brink of extinction (much like the Skrulls, but without Brian Michael Bendis trying to revive them as a threat) for the next 30 years.  This is probably my favorite post-Dark Phoenix cosmic X-Men story.  Granted, there are not that many, but any time the X-Men go into space, I feel like they're out of their element.  This storyline works because it doesn't try to feel epic; it tries to feel desperate, which brings the focus down to something more approachable, something closer to the normal themes of hatred and alienation the X-Men typically deal with.

This storyline saw the exit of Dave Cockrum from the series, mid-storyline.  That was a lot more common in the 80s, but the shift from Cockrum to Smith is pretty jarring, even with the same inker.  I really enjoyed Cockrum's second run on the title.  He is definitely of his era --- there is an undeniable 70s feel to his artwork --- but he is among the all-time best creators of character and costume designs, and shaped so much of what we now accept as iconic with the X-Men.  Was this run as impressive as his first on Uncanny?  Most people would say no, and that's probably fair.  Still, this run (which is actually a little longer than his first run) had a lot of great moments; the most important of which was definitely the transformation of Magneto from a MWA-HA-HA villain to a relatable character with an emotional arc.

This storyline also marks the beginning of the X-Men as a family of titles.  Not only do we see the introduction of The New Mutants, but we also get Wolverine, the first-ever X-Men limited series.  This is truly the genesis of the X-titles as we now know them, for better or worse.

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #1

"Initiation!"
Published March 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Bob McLeod
Inker: Mike Gustovich

What's Going On?
An undisclosed period of time has passed since the events of the New Mutants graphic novel, and not a whole lot has changed.  The kids are still kind of awkward with each other and they are still having trouble controlling their powers.  The highlight of all this is Dani accidentally making Shan relive the death of her parents and her own brutal rape.  Oops!

A while later, the students gather for their first Danger Room training exercise.  The task is simply to cross from one side of the Danger Room to the other, but the training sequence is designed to counter their abilities.  Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Karma and Sunspot all fail in rapid succession.  Psyche, though, has a panic attack and runs away.  While she sulks and works up her nerve to try again, the rest of the team go into town with Stevie Hunter.  When Psyche returns and takes her Danger Room challenge (unsupervised), she passes...and is then struck down by an unseen assailant.  When she awakens, she finds herself in the Danger Room still, but with all the safety modes overridden and danger imminent.

Subplots, Oh the Subplots!
- Moira MacTaggert and Illyana visit London for a meeting with Israeli ambassador Gabrielle Haller.  Gabrielle wants Moira to help her autistic mutant son, although it is not explained how she wanted Moira to help.  The boy's father is Charles Xavier, although Gabrielle wants to hide that fact for some unknown reason.

- As the students head to town, they are followed by government agents as part of Project: Wideawake.  Why the government is following Xavier's students, or how they know about Xavier's school for mutants is not explained.

Writing!
Honestly, the writing feels a little rough in this issue.  The characters haven't really found their groove yet, and there isn't a particularly likable point-of-view character.  It looks like Claremont is trying to make Dani Moonstar the narrative focus in this issue; her nervousness helps with that, but it doesn't erase the broadly-painted stereotype she was portrayed as in the graphic novel.

Art!
Bob McLeod's biggest strengths are how well he portrays distinct characters (face, body, etc.) and their their facial expressions.  Sometimes that leads to goofy-looking scenes, but McLeod's weak scenes are still pretty endearing.

I mean, this is a pretty cute scene, but that is one crowded co-ed bathroom.

The choice to ink and color Dani's mental projections pink does not work as well on the typical cheap comic book paper as it did in Marvel Graphic Novel #4.

This looks less like an innovative way of expressing a superpower and more like a Pepto Bismol nightmare.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Apparently, there are times where smacking a woman in the face is heroic.  Fun fact!

- I love how eloquent Roberto is in this issue.  He is never portrayed as a dumb character, but the traditional take on the character is certainly more of a party boy than a wordsmith.

- Apparently, the entrance to Storm's attic bedroom is in Kitty Pryde's room.  That doesn't seem awkward at all.  I suppose the other explanation is that several rooms have entrances to the attic, but that's still awkward and weird.

- Moira brings Illyana to London for a meeting with an ambassador because...she is a background character that Claremont likes to include in things, I guess.

- When Roberto asks if the students will become the new X-Men, he prefaces it by saying that he has been in the library, reading about the history of the school.  While it doesn't surprise me that Xavier would keep case files about his team's adventures, I would think that information would be sensitive enough to not leave in books kept in the school library.

- Xavier states that he will never have a team of super-heroes again.  Obviously, that shows the man in mourning, but it's hilarious in retrospect, especially after the publication of of X-Men: Deadly Genesis.

- Xavier lists himself, Moira MacTaggert, and Stevie Hunter as the adults that may supervise Danger Room sequences.  It seems like Claremont was preparing for Stvie to have a fairly large supporting role in this book.  I wonder how long that lasts?

Worth Noting:
- Dani, Rahne, and Roberto get their code-names this issue; they are Psyche, Wolfsbane, and Sunspot, respectively. 

- The scene with Gabrielle Haller is the first reference to Xavier's son, Legion, although his first appearance will not come for at least another year.