Uncanny X-Men #168

"Professor Xavier is a Jerk!"
Published April 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Paul Smith
Inker: Bob Wiacek


What's Going On?
After being demoted from the X-Men to the remedial New Mutants team, Kitty Pryde is understandably upset.  After discovering that throwing a tantrum and pouting failed to change Professor Xaver's mind about the matter, Kitty tries a number of other tactics.  In the end, though, all it took was Xavier seeing Kitty in action to change his mind.  Kitty is an X-Man once more!

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- A new twist has been added to Xavier's psychosomatic walking pain sub-plot: when he tries to walk, the pain is so great that he cannot use his psychic powers.

- Lilandra plans to leave Earth with the Starjammers and try to reclaim her rightful place as ruler of the Shi'ar.  Xavier plans to remain on Earth and recruit/train more mutants.  It may be a bumpy road ahead for these lovers...

- Storm has trouble reconnecting with Mother Nature.  The narration implies that she knows the reason why, but does not spell it out for the reader.

- Cyclops and Nightcrawler visit their girlfriends, Lee Forrester and Amanda Sefton, respectively, for some Christmas romance.

- This issue begins the mystery of Madelyne Pryor.  Who is she, and why does she look and sound exactly like the late Jean Grey?

Writing!
This may be my favorite issue of this run.  There is so much going on in this issue, and yet my mind always focuses on the first page:

It's so pure, so simple, and so effective!  Kitty-centric issues are usually good, but this is probably my all-time favorite, for its blend of humor, teenage angst, and overall business.

While I think Kitty's age and what team she is on are natural fodder for stories, now that the New Mutants are around, I ultimately think this issue demeans the junior team; they don't really get out from under the "X-Babies" idea until X-Force is formed.

Art!
As per usual, Paul Smith does a good job with the action scenes in this issue.  What really makes this issue stand out, though, is how engaging the rest of the story is.  I love his take on Kitty, whether she is pouting or kicking ass.  And how awesome are his teaser panels for Lockheed?  Extreme close-ups with severe shadows rarely look this good.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- What does it take to be promoted from the New Mutants to the X-Men?  Apparently, all you have to do is kill some aliens with your space dragon.  How hard is that?

- Stevie Hunter and Illyana apparently only exist for Kitty to bounce ideas off of.  How many issues will go by before either does anything meaningful in this title?

- Kitty complains about putting on her old black-and-yellow uniform, which she hasn't worn in "ages."  For the record, she wore the damn thing in Uncanny X-Men #166. 

- It's a Christmas issue!  With an April publication date!

- For his romantic Christmas date, Nightcrawler lights some candles, pours some champagne, and puts on...his superhero uniform?  Whatever makes your lady happy, I guess.

- It appears that Xavier's mansion was rebuilt with a room specially made for Sidrian Hunter eggs.

- The last page of this issue is dedicated to some fan-created costume designs for Kitty Pryde, submitted before her code-name was changed from Sprite to Ariel.  It's not the designs that I find amusing here; it's the fact that they gave the page a title that can be abbreviated "KKK" for a Jewish character.

A+, editors.

Worth Noting:
- Wolverine leaves the country this issue for the events that took place in Wolverine (Vol. 1).

- Cyclops is now semi-retired for X-Mannery, as he plans to spend time with his newly discovered family in Alaska.

- Lockheed gets his name in this issue.  This appearance also means that he did not die on Sleazeworld.

- This issue marks the first appearance of Madelyne Pryor

Everything 80s:
The back cover has a video game ad, illustrated by Mad magazine's Jack Davis.

 Only in the 1980s would there be a video game about avoiding a nuclear meltdown.  And only in the 80s would kids have their mind blown by multi-colored squares on the screen.