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!