Uncanny X-Men #171

"Rogue"
Published July 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Walt Simonson
Inker: Bob Wiacek


What's Going On?
Rogue, a member of Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, arrives on the doorstep of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, pleading for help.  Ever since she absorbed the powers and memories of Carol Danvers (back in Avengers Annual #10), her mutant powers have been out of control and she is on the brink of losing her mind.  After examining Rogue, Xavier decides to admit her to the school and into the X-Men.  The team is against this decision because A) she has fought the team as a villain B) she is an active member in a terrorist group that could be using her to set a trap C) she grievously injured their friend, Carol Danvers. 

I love Grumpy Xavier face

Xavier counters with a guilt trip; his argument is that if they believe in Wolverine, who is capable of great good and great evil, why wouldn't they do the same for any mutant?  In the end, Rogue joins the team, Binary shows up to punch her really hard, and then Binary leaves the X-Men (although she was never a part of the team in the first place).

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The X-Men leave the Morlocks in the Morlock Tunnel, with Storm commanding them to leave humans alone or face her wrath.  She also privately challenges Callisto to fight her again.

- No mention is made of Kitty Pryde's promise to stay in the Morlock Tunnels with Caliban, in exchange for his help against Callisto.

- It turns out that Madelyne Pryor is the sole survivor of a fiery plane crash.  The date of the plane crash was September 1, 1980 --- the same day Jean Grey died!

- Carol Danvers visits her parents for the first time since Rogue's attack.  Apparently Xavier has been helping her cope off-panel since then; she has regained most of her memories, but not the emotions that go along with them.  That means that she has no real ties to anyone on Earth, aside from the X-Men.  Way to set up her joining the Starjammers, Claremont.

- Kitty Pryde is still throwing tantrums about the New Mutants, and they are still unwarranted.

- Xavier is still going through physical therapy to try and walk again.  This time, though, Lilandra proposes the possibility that the problem is, in fact, physical and not mental.

- Illyana programs a Danger Room sequence for the team to blow off some steam with, but she accidentally programs a simulation of her time in Limbo, under the power of the demon Belasco.  Seeing the scenario briefly drives her mad, and she attacks Kitty before breaking down into tears.

- Storm is still struggling with emotional darkness.  It seems that the pressure she has put upon herself to become a good leader requires her to cut herself off from her emotions, and this is making her control over the elements.  And, apparently, she now carries a knife with her.

Writing!
Well, we've reached the end of the Morlocks story.  Looking back on it, I think it worked fine as another step for Storm toward a darker, grittier self.  It did not work well for anything else.  Kitty's subplot was completely dropped here (although I recall that it pops up again in a few months) and the Morlocks are left an undefined, unsympathetic mob. 

As for Rogue joining the team, I think this is one of the best examples of Xavier's dream at work.  Does it jibe with the way Rogue was written at the time?  I don't think so --- I would have to start collecting Dazzler to be sure, and I'm not willing to make that sacrifice --- if only because she was an unrepentant thug when the X-Men met her in Uncanny X-Men #158 (her only other X-Men appearance until now).  Still, this is a fairly interesting development for the character, especially since she appears not to have any heroic aspirations, which sets her apart from all the other villains-turned-heroes in the Marvel Universe.

On its own merits, this is a busy issue that juggles a lot of subplots and changes the team dynamic noticeably.  It's not that compelling as a single issue, but at least things happen.

Art!
I love me some Walt Simonson, but this issue is a little disappointing.  There are some pretty great panels, like the opening splash page with Storm:

For most of the issue, though, the art is underwhelming.  Characters look lumpy of unfinished, and Simonson's typically dramatic style is almost nowhere to be seen.  

Above: lumpiness

This could be because he was filling in on short notice, or because he did not want to stand out from Paul Smith's recent work on the title.  Personally, I think it is a combination of being rushed and not being compatible with the inker.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- With the end of the Morlocks storyline, I can now confirm that Angel had zero lines of dialogue in this story, and was completely objectified as a gentleman in distress.  It's not something you usually notice the first time through, and it certainly is unusual in a superhero comic.

- I love the fact that Claremont gives the date of Jean Grey's death.  It's a reminder of another era, when comic companies were not afraid to let their characters age.

- After several hints, this is the first direct reference to Illyana's time in Limbo.  It only took 11 issues for Claremont to get around to this, and we still have a few more months until the Magik limited series.  This is the earliest example of Claremont dragging out a minor subplot for a ridiculous amount of time that I am aware of.

- Claremont does a good job justifying why Xavier accepts Rogue on the team, but this is very different from any other addition to the team.  Rogue is not the first former villain to join the team --- that would be a mind-controlled Banshee --- but she is the first to not repent her evil ways.  Her motivations, while quite believable, are the most selfish I have seen for a super-hero character in this era; she's just trying to save her sanity.

Worth Noting:
- Rogue is now a member of the X-Men.  While it seemed unlikely at the time, she has become one of the team's mainstays for the last thirty-plus years.

- This is the first appearance of the Illyana's Soulsword.  It can apparently cut Kitty Pryde, even when she is phasing.

Everything 80s:
Apparently, Marvel made a promotional Kool-Aid comic.  Because kids love to read about what they drink.  I think the best thing about this ad is that there is a limit of one comic per household.

Daredevils #6

"Judgement Day"
Published June 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
After being kidnapped by the Special Executive last issue, Captain Britain resigns himself to the fact that he has been taken to an alternate dimension to testify on behalf of Saturnyne.  And by "resigns," I of course mean "punches people until he gets tired."

When he arrives at the Supreme Omniversal Tribunal, Cap is surprised to meet Captain England (of that Earth) and Captain Albion (of the "Earth next door"), both with themed costumes like his own.  Exhausted, Cap agrees to speak with Saturnyne, and is shocked to find her filthy and in shackles; she is on trial for the ruin of the alternate Earth that Mad Jim Jaspers warped.  While he doesn't like her, CapBrit won't let her be punished for something she is innocent of.  Unfortunately, the head of the tribunal is Saturnyne's replacement, Lord Mandragon, who has a vested interest in keeping Saturnyne from resuming her post.  Before the trial begins, Mandragon chooses to destroy the entire universe containing Mad Jim Jaspers' Earth; he argues that it is to keep Jasper's reality warp from affecting other alternate Earths, but it also serves to eliminate any evidence that the defense might have been counting on.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The Fury, the last sane creature on its alternate Earth, has come to the conclusion that its most recent prey, Captain Britain, may have escaped to another dimension.  It naturally concludes that it must visit alternate dimensions to track him down and kill him. 

Thanks to this decision, it is able to alter itself enough to survive the destruction of its universe.

- The alternate Earth where Mad Jim Jaspers reigned supreme has apparently become entirely enveloped in a reality warp, driving all the inhabitants insane.  This isn't terribly important to the main story, but it does establish the destructive scope of Mad Jim Jaspers' powers.

Writing!
The more I read of this run, the more impressed I am with how much Alan Moore fits into such a compact space.  This is, essentially, a pretty dull issue --- it is a lead-in to a trial --- but there are so many ideas being thrown around that it's easy to overlook the lack of action.  In this issue, we have Saturnyne partially de-villainized,  the introduction of the Captain Britain role as a constant throughout multiple dimensions, and a governing body that has the power and right to destroy entire universes with the flick of a switch.  That's some heavy stuff!  And yet, Moore keeps things pretty light, making small jokes here and there and using the Special Executive as light comedy relief.
Honestly, I'm surprised at how funny this series is turning out to be.  It's not "bwa-ha-ha" funny, but it is getting a little funnier each issue.  I especially liked the concept of "universe lag" for trans-dimensional travelers.  I wasn't so sure about Moore's choice to return to the multiverse after effectively rebooting the character, but I'm really liking where the series is going right now.

Art!
This is not the juiciest script Alan Davis has had to draw in this series, but he makes the most of his opportunities.  The all-out brawl between Captain Britain and the Special Executive was fun, but brief.  He clearly had fun creating the cast of thousands in attendance at Saturnyne's trial.  I think his most impressive work, though, was in designing the alternate Captain Britain characters.  Little is explained about them, but Davis does a great job conveying the variations on a theme that was required for the characters.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The unifying theme of Captain Britain uniforms is apparently thigh-high boots.

Worth Noting:
- This issue marks the debut of the concept of the Captain Britain Corps, which becomes a large part of the Captain Britain mythos.

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #4

"Who's Scaring Stevie?"
Published June 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: Bob McLeod

What's Going On?
The team's dance teacher, Stevie Hunter, is receiving threatening phone calls.  The police can't do much about it, since that would give the New Mutants nothing to do this issue --- er, because the threats are not specific, I mean.  The New Mutants decide to help Stevie track down the caller and end his reign of terror.  The perpetrator turns out to be another one of Stevie's dance students, Peter Bristow; Peter suffers a lot of physical and mental abuse at home, and didn't know how to handle Stevie being nice to him.  So, there's that.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Xavier makes a definite choice to not try and overpower the New Mutants with his personality, as he may have with the original X-Men.  Since he was a real dick in the first few years of X-Men comics (and pretty much in every major story after Brubaker's run, for that matter), that is a major character choice for him.

- Xavier apologizes to the team for being possessed by an evil alien and trying to kill them, thus marking the very last reference to the Brood saga in this series.  The New Mutants are surprisingly forgiving, by the way.

- Cannonball's still having difficulty making turns when he's "blastin'," but he finally manages his first turn in this issue.

Writing!
Well, Claremont uses his this issue to address child abuse; I guess that makes it an Issue issue.  As far as that goes, I've seen clumsier comics (usually in Spider-Man or Captain America), but this hasn't aged particularly well.  Nothing of any real consequence happens in this issue, which makes it feel like a fill-in spot, despite the contributions of Claremont and regular penciller Bob McLeod.  Oddly enough, Karma is a victim of physical and sexual abuse (as shown in issue #1), which would have made her a prime choice to act as the angry, scarred victim in this issue; while it would make for a far more interesting choice for her character, I suppose that's a lot of baggage to give a main character in the early 80s.

Art!
I have to admit, while this is the first New Mutants issue to not be pencilled by Bob McLeod, you have to have a good eye to notice.  Sal Buscema must have tailored his more angular style to fit the style of previous issues, but McLeod obviously put a lot of work into his inks here.  Just look at the facial expressions in this scene:

That does not look like Sal Buscema art.  That looks like Bob McLeod's work, pure and simple.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Rahne is portrayed as having super-speed in this issue.  Not faster than the eye can see, but fast enough to throw and catch her own frisbee toss.  I don't know if that kind of speed is ever mentioned again.

- Roberto puts together a phone tapping device that both records phone calls and tracks the location of the caller.  Since Roberto has never displayed such talent before, the unlikeliness is explained away by having Xavier help him make it.  

- Continuing with the disturbing violence against women theme that has been established in this comic, here we have Rahne at the mercy of the abusive Peter:

I don't think that the victimization of the female New Mutants is intentional by any means, but it is interesting that the only "strong" female in this team is Dani, who is only considered tough because she has attitude.  Sooner or later, these gals will have to start being fully developed characters, capable of defending themselves.

- At the end of the issue, Xavier "edits" young Peter's mind to remove any memories of the New Mutants.  While I understand how convenient that is for the kids, it is morally questionable, at the very least.  What I love about this scene, though, is that it doesn't worry any of the New Mutants.  Xavier was just recently controlled by an evil alien, and none of them are worried about Xavier manipulating people's (particularly their own) minds?  Those are some trusting kids!

Everything 80s:
- Roberto proudly admits that he took his phone-tapping idea from an episode of Magnum, PI.  Either Chris Claremont really liked that show, or he liked to use it as an excuse to explain away silly plot devices.