Uncanny X-Men #173

"To Have and Have Not"
Published September 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Paul Smith
Inker: Bob Wiacek

What's Going On?
After the X-Men were poisoned last issue, the last two X-Men standing (Wolverine and Rogue) go looking for Viper and Silver Samurai.  They dutifully track down the only clues they have, only to find that they have been tricked, and that they have been led on a wild goose chase on the other side of town, leaving Mariko and the X-Men relatively defenseless.  Rogue and Wolvie rush back to the hospital just in time; Rogue fights off the ninjas while Wolverine defeats Silver Samurai in a one-on-one fight.  Lady Mariko stops Wolverine from landing a killing blow, but this puts her within the reach of Viper; as Silver Samurai collapses in defeat at his mistress' feet, she shoots a ray gun at Mariko.  Luckily, Rogue arrives in time to test her invulnerability, as she shields Wolverine and Mariko from the gun with her own body.  Viper's gun overloads and explodes, so she is forced to teleport away with Silver Samurai to fight another day.  Rogue was seriously injured, but Wolverine kisses her to lend her his healing ability.  A week later, the wedding ceremony of Wolverine and Mariko is stopped by Mariko herself; she calls the wedding off, explaining that Wolverine is simply "not worthy."  The last page hints that Mariko may have been under mind control at the wedding.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Storm and Yukio are wandering through Tokyo at night, the worse for wear after their fight with Viper and Silver Samurai at the warehouse last issue.  They are apparently far away from the hospital where the X-Men are, and no one will give them sanctuary to rest.  Unfortunately, street gangs in the area are not being very polite to them, and they will have to fight their way across town.  Storm seems to be embracing Yukio's daredevil attitude.

Maybe Storm's distressed and brittle hair will lead her to change her hairstyle?

- Wolverine doesn't like or trust Rogue at the start of this issue, but he seems to have fully accepted her after she nearly sacrificed his life for Mariko.

- Storm got a mohawk and a leather outfit, just in time for the wedding.

With any luck, this will end the sub-plot of Storm losing control of her weather powers because...um...punk rock haircut, I guess.  Kitty is very upset with Ororo's transformation. 

- Cyclops uses the wedding to introduce Madelyne Pryor to the X-Men.  Storm's reaction was an obvious double-take, while Lilandra pulled out a light sabre (or something similar) to try and kill her.  Apparently, Cyclops chose not to warn any of his friends that Madelyne is the spitting image of Jean Grey.

- In the clearest expression of his fears to date, Cyclops fears that Madelyne may be the reincarnation of Jean Grey.

- The final page hints that Mastermind may be the villain behind Mariko breaking up the wedding.  It is uncertain if he is responsible for more...

Writing!
This might be one of my all-time favorite single issues of Uncanny X-Men.  I love Rogue earning Wolverine's trust through self-sacrifice, I love the interactions before the wedding, and the fight scenes are all pretty great.

Upon re-reading this story, though, I was struck by some logical inconsistencies in Storm's sub-plot, but there was nothing plot-breaking there.  I am curious as to the whole Oyabun sub-plot; I guess we're supposed to assume that Mastermind teamed up with Viper and Silver Samurai to pose as the Oyabun to eventually lead Wolverine and Rogue on a wild-goose chase --- but shouldn't Viper's forces have attacked Mariko's guards at the hospital much earlier?  There is no good reason for Rogue and Wolvie to return in time to save anyone.  Aside from that, this is another strong issue from Claremont.

Art!
As much as I appreciate Paul Smith's work with character moments, I have to say that he does make a pretty action sequence.  While this issue's fight between Wolverine and Silver Samurai may be a little reminiscent of Frank Miller's wordless fight between Wolverine and Ogun in Wolverine #4, I still like it.  It makes the Samurai look very formidable, something I don't think is ever truly conveyed again after this.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Wolverine's guest list: I understand inviting Cyclops and a plus-one, and the Starjammers have helped the X-Men a few times, so that explains Corsair's invite (although not the absence of the rest of their team, especially since Nightcrawler isn't using an image-inducer).  I don't get inviting Havok and Polaris, who I am pretty sure have not had any pleasant scenes with Wolverine to date.  And if they're getting an invitation, why not Banshee or the other original X-Men or the New Mutants?  Why not Alpha Flight?  Granted, not everyone can attend a destination wedding, but Wolvie's guest list is just the current X-Men roster and the Summers clan.  I'm going to assume this is because, at this point in his publication history, Wolverine has not been connected to every damn character in the Marvel Universe yet.

- How hilarious is it that Cyclops didn't warn anyone about Madelyne's appearance, even though he wasn't shocked by Lilandra's attempt to use lethal force against her?  If there has ever been a hint that Cyclops will not do a good job protecting Madelyne, it's here.

- What, exactly, is Storm's timeline in this story?  She survives a poisoning and shows up to fight the Silver Samurai with Yukio, although the logic for that didn't make a bunch of sense last issue.  Following that, she never makes it back to the hospital, where her friends are close to death.  Mariko made it back with plenty of time, but Storm missed the entire fight, despite having the same starting point.  And then, ten days later, she shows up to Wolverine's wedding with a punk rawk makeover?  An important question is not being asked here: what has happened in the last ten days?  Has Storm been missing all that time?  Did she return to the hospital eventually, and just decide she needed a mohawk right before the wedding?  I think there's an interesting story being completely ignored here.

- Colossus handles the replies to the letter section this issue.

The highlight of this is an extended Q and A session, where he explains that Binary's powers (and code name) are derived from a white hole, from which she gets her powers.  Which was mentioned when...?

Worth Noting:
Check out John Byrne's contribution to the monthly Bullpen Bulletins section:

I think it's funny that he opted to have the X-Men (among his most popular work to date) with their backs to the "camera," but he prominently displayed his current projects, Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight.  Am I imagining things?  Maybe, but even Iron Fist and Power Man have more prominent positioning that the X-Men!

Daredevils #8

"Arrivals"
Published August 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
The big fight from last issue continues for a bit before the Special Executive decide to escape with Captain Britain and Saturnyne.  They return to Braddock Manor just in time for Captain UK (the cowardly Linda from last issue) to arrive and imply that the fate of Earth 238 --- the reality where all the superheroes have been hunted down and murdered --- is impending for this  reality, too.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The Fury has reached Earth 616 (barely) and has tracked down Captain UK.  Luckily for her, she has the good sense to follow her own instincts and go to Braddock Manor for help.  Meanwhile, the Fury is repairing itself until it is strong enough to continue its mission to kill Captain Britain (and, presumably, all the other super heroes).

- Lord Mandragon is not at all upset that Saturnyne has escaped.  In fact, her escape makes him the default successor to her title of Omniversal Somethingorother.  His plan to secure his position is to determine what reality she has escaped to and then destroy that entire universe.

- Tom, Betsy Braddock's boyfriend, doesn't want to live in Braddock Manor any more.  It's just too weird and dangerous for him.

- Captain Britain seems to be getting tired of his hectic and dangerous lifestyle.  I don't know if this will come up again later, but it's an interesting plot seed.

Writing!
Like last issue, Alan Moore distracts from the (relatively) slow pace by punching up the humor.  The Wardog joke was okay:

...and the Cobweb gag was a little better:

...but I genuinely enjoyed this moment of clarity by Captain Britain:

Aside from the humor, I think it is worth mentioning that Alan Moore has established three very credible imminent threats in this issue.  There is the impending doom that may be set into motion by the Jim Jaspers of Earth 616, the dimension-destroying ambition of Lord Mandragon, and the viciousness of the Fury.  This is all building to a head quite nicely.

Art!
Most of the issue shows off Alan Davis' talent for capturing humor, which is an uncommon talent in the industry.  In what is quickly becoming typical for this run, he balances that character-based work with a good dose of action. 

Retrospectively Amusing:

- Remember that sophisticated hologram to convince people that Braddock Manor is rubble?  Apparently, that didn't give Captain UK a problem when she came to visit.  I also like that the doorbell ringing didn't surprise anyone, despite the whole hologram thing.  I wonder if that detail is going to be dropped now?

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #6

"Road Warriors!"
Published August 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inkers: Armando Gil, John Tartaglione
Cover: Bob McLeod

What's Going On?
Picking up from where last issue left off, Team America learns to work together as a team, en route to the AIM facility that Viper wants them to steal something from.  Professor Xavier coaches them, telepathically, from afar.  They manage to steal the McGuffin, but it doesn't really matter, since the New Mutants have taken the fight to Viper.

The issue begins with the New Mutants breaking into the home of Nguyen Ngoc Coy, the self-styled kingpin of the San Francisco underworld and uncle to Karma.  The idea is to force General Coy to give them information on Viper, which will help them rescue Dani.  Unfortunately, the General realized that the New Mutants wouldn't actually kill him; instead, he offers the information they seek for a price --- Karma must work for him for a year.  With this knowledge, the team attacks Viper's base.  Just when victory seems to be within their reach, though, the Silver Samurai and Viper teleport away.  While the team applauds themselves on a job well done (assuming that Wolfsbane's injuries are not serious, that is), Viper instructs the Silver Samurai to hit the self-destruct button for the compound.  The building explodes, with the New Mutants inside!  Cliffhanger!

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- While in captivity, Dani laments how often her mutant powers seem useless.

- Karma agrees to serve her uncle, in a criminal capacity.  No mention is made of her two younger siblings, who depend on her.  This is the same job she risked her life to avoid taking, back in her first appearance (Marvel Team-Up #100).

- Silver Samurai is upset that his father, Shingen Yashida, has died and left him without an inheritance.  Why he is bringing this up, abruptly, roughly ten weeks after his father's death, I do not know.  Nevertheless, he and Viper agree to attack Mariko Yashida and her fiance, Wolverine, as soon as they are done with this mission.  This is picked up in Uncanny X-Men #172. 

- Xavier suffers a crippling psychic attack while monitoring Team America.  Its source is unknown, although Xavier is somehow able to identify that it came from a mutant, one he believes is just manifesting its ability.  UPDATE 05/25/2016: I stumbled across some info on SuperMegaMonkey that provides some insight into this scene.  According to a fanzine (Amazing Heroes #39, the 1984 preview issue that I cannot find any screenshots of), Claremont was planning a second New Mutants graphic novel with Bob McLeod, and the mutant Xavier sensed here was supposed to show up in the graphic novel. 

- During and after the attack on Viper's stronghold, Karma is taunted by a malevolent psychic voice.  It claims that it will possess her, body and soul, and use her as a weapon against Xavier. 

Writing!
I hope you don't like  logic, because this issue is completely devoid of it.  Remember that time when Xavier decided that the New Mutants shouldn't try to attack a terrorist, and instead should wait for the X-Men to arrive to save the day?  And to buy the X-Men time, Xavier helps Team America steal the thing that the terrorist wants?  Yeah, that was last issue.  Now, Xavier is well-aware of the New Mutants' plan to attack Viper's base --- in fact, he's planning on it!  The X-Men aren't mentioned once in this issue, so I guess waiting for them (Where are they, anyway?  It can't be Japan, because the Silver Samurai is there when they arrive, and that story takes place after this one.  Maybe they were busy packing for Japan?) was forgotten about.  Now, if the New Mutants are going to be attacking Viper's base, it makes Team America's task --- which was essentially just a stall for more time --- completely irrelevant.  Sure, you can argue that the New Mutants were supposed to check-in with Xavier before attacking (but after infiltrating?  Um, okay, sure.  Whatever), but that ignores the fact that they were there in the first place.  Were they supposed to wait until Team America delivered the McGuffin, and attack only if Viper didn't free Dani?  Then why get in place hours before Team America could have shown up?  Ugh.  I hope the stories get better, now that this Team America tie-in is over.

Art!
Woof.  This is an ugly issue.  I'm not a big fan of Sal Buscema in general, but this issue obviously needed more TLC.  On the bright side, the characters are all very expressive.  On the other hand, those expressions were all pretty ugly, and their expressions don't always match up with the dialogue.  Check out the first panel here, where the team is getting berated, but everyone is all smiles:

The fact that this is there are multiple inkers credited implies that this issue had to be rushed to meet its deadline.  That doesn't make it pretty, though.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Looks like Team America doesn't rate a mention on the cover, for the second straight month.  BEST.  GUEST APPEARANCE.  EVER.

- I love how the team breaks into General Coy's penthouse.  Sunspot could have easily just forced the door open, but instead he shatters the door to splinters while Cannonball breaks through the ceiling.

- General Coy's bodyguards are very...intimidating.  They don't at all look like disco prostitutes.

- When stealing the McGuffin from the AIM facility, a member of Team America says this:

What is he holding them off with?  I don't see a gun.

- When the AIM facility explodes, two members of Team America are inside it.  Neither is injured, and the only explanation given is that the McGuffin they stole must have protected them; this is never brought up again.  Um.  Okay.  I guess that's better than "the artist and writer were not on the same page."

- Yet again, a female member if the team is beaten by a man, with ease.  This time, it is Wolfsbane (again), and she has once again been dispatched, off-panel.

- The entire Team America subplot winds up being irrelevant.  Their search for a McGuffin never plays an important part in this story, aside from keeping Xavier from preventing Xi'an from promisng to work for her evil uncle.  Hell, even that subplot winds up being irrelevant after next issue.  Good writing, Claremont.

Worth Noting:
- Karma's mutant powers seem to have become more powerful.  She is seen possessing multiple people multiple times in this issue.

- Wolfsbane apparently has a healing ability.  I guess it's supposed to be a side-effect of her lupine abilities (why would a wolf or a werewolf heal faster than normal people?), but it apparently is still effective when she is in human form.

"Good, now we can stop caring!"