Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #13

"A Funeral on Otherworld"
Published June 1984
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciler: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
The battle-weary Captains Britain and UK find themselves teleported to Otherworld, just in time to witness the funeral of Merlin.  Afterwards, Roma promises to not interfere further in their lives; Captain Britain and Captain UK are no longer pieces on Merlin's chess board.  They return to Earth-616 and go their separate ways,

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Captain Britain is surprised to find himself a celebrity among the Captain Britain Corps, considering the last time he met a multiversal counterpart, they were busy punching him in the face.

- Saturnyne is is reinstated as a Majestrix and given a full pardon by Mandragon when she threatens to release a Jim Jaspers clone on his homeworld.  Saturnyne scraped some cell samples from Jaspers' corpse, with presumably this threat in mind.  Roma makes sure that this is only a threat; unbeknownst to Saturnyne or Mandragon, Roma killed the cells, making them un-clonable.

- Earth-616 will recover from Jim Jaspers' reality warping, but it doesn't mean that Jaspers' time in power has been erased.  Tom is still dead, and Elizabeth Braddock will still mourn him; per Roma, a woman named Victoria Bentley will help her recover.

- Merlin has taken many shapes over many dimensions over many years,  His reasoning for doing this to manipulate his chosen champions will remain unexplained, until he is less dead.

- Captain UK plans to stay on Earth-616, since her home dimension was destroyed.

Writing!
Some writers excel at the "quiet" issues, the falling action issues that wrap up long storylines.  Alan Moore might not be one of those writers.  This isn't a bad issue by any means, but it is easily the least interesting one of this run.  I liked that Moore went out of his way to add to the Merlin mythos, and I thought it was interesting that he didn't hit a "reset" button to erase the Jaspers concentration camps, but other than those small moments of interest, this issue could have been summed up in a single panel that read "The End."

Art!
In an otherwise dull visual issue, Davis had fun with the Captain Britain Corps.  Not much action, but some interesting costume designs being used here.

Worth Noting:
- This issue wraps up Alan Moore's run on Captain Britain and his relationship with Marvel Comics in general.

Uncanny X-Men #182

Published June 1984
"Madness"
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Dan Green
Cover Artist: John Romita Jr.

What's Going On?
Upon returning to the X-Mansion after flying all the way from Japan, Rogue was supposed to check in on the New Mutants and Kitty Pryde.  Before she can do that, Rogue is distracted by an alarm going off in Professor Xavier's study; it is the alarm to the X-Men's emergency phone line.  Rogue listens to a message from Michael Rossi, stating that his and Xavier's suspicions have been confirmed and that he is on SHIELD's helicarrier.  The message is cut off abruptly, as if he was assaulted.  Rogue leaves to help Rossi without a second thought.

Rossi was caught trying to access SHIELD's files on Sebastian Shaw.  One of the SHIELD agents, secretly on the Hellfire Club's payroll, is instructed to kill Rossi.  Before he can do the deed, though, Rogue breaks into the helicarrier and rescues Rossi.  She then takes him to a safe location to recuperate.  There, it becomes apparent that the reason Rogue was so eager to rescue Rossi was because, after the physical exhaustion of flying halfway across the world, her mental defenses were weak, which allowed the personality of Carol Danvers to assert dominance in Rogue's body.  Michael Rossi and Carol were once lovers and colleagues, so Rogue-as-Carol tries to treat Rossi like a long-lost love.  It doesn't go well.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The misdeeds that Illyana's phone message hinted at are the events of New Mutants (Vol. 1) #15-17.

- The White Queen's cameo sets the stage for an appearance by Sebastian Shaw in the next issue of New Mutants.

- Nick Fury has authorized deadly force to apprehend Rogue, and he wants her caught soon.  The main reason for this is because the secret Hellfire Club mole killed another SHIELD agent right before Rogue rescued Rossi, so the mole framed Rogue for the murder.

Writing!
Rogue had not really exhibited any signs of the craziness that drove her to join the X-Men since she joined the team.  This was a nice reminder of what she was dealing with as a character.  It's also a great showcase of Rogue's power set.  Granted, just about every super hero has broken into the SHIELD helicarrier at one point or another, but I thought that the concept of inflicting damage with a dollar coin was inspired.  Go figure.  Give a character a showcase issue, and you get all sorts of cool moments.

Art!
I think the highlights of this issue are the moments where Rogue's personality begins to clash with Carol's.  They are subtle moments, but I think JRJR does a good job capturing the mood.

This issue also gave Romita and Green to partake in one of their favorite hobbies: making a character ugly.  Not many artists would have made Rossi look borderline Elephant Man after a rough interrogation, but if there is a reason for a character to look lumpy, this is the art team to highlight it.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- I love how Rogue just dismisses Madelyne's worries about Cyclops.  If the X-Men were returned halfway across the globe, maybe Cyclops was dropped in an ocean or is stranded in Antarctica.  Sure, he wasn't (as we saw last issue), but I think his safe return is worth at least a fleeting bit of concern.

- The X-Men were involved in Secret Wars for about a week of Earth-time.  I like that Michael Rossi and the New Mutants apparently both left emergency messages only hours before Rogue returned to the mansion.  Good timing, right?

- Apparently, Rogue is constantly on her guard, trying to keep her personality dominant and Carol Danvers' locked away in her mind.  I say "apparently" because this is the first mention of the problem since Uncanny #171.

- Somehow, Michael Rossi giving Rogue a backhand slap across the face without the benefit of gloves does not cause her mutant power to harm him.

- This month's letter page has Storm answering the fan mail.  As luck would have it, this coincides with the mail from the debut of her new punk look.  The letters are split as to whether or not the change is good, but the more important thing to note is that there were letters written by someone named "Wolf" and someone named "Razorblade."  Edgy!

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #16

"Away Game"
Published June 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inkers: Tom Mandrake and Kim Demulder
Cover Artist: Tom Mandrake

What's Going On?
After realizing that they had walked into a trap at the end of last issue, the New Mutants manage to distract the Hellfire Club's goons long enough to regroup and form a plan.  That plan: split up and try to rescue Kitty Pryde and Doug Ramsey.  As they go about their mission, though, they discover that the Hellfire Club has their own team of teenage mutant students --- the Hellions!  The two squads face off and when the dust settles, Kitty and Doug have not been rescued, and Cannonball, Magma, Sunspot and Wolfsbane have captured.  Dani and Magik escape via one of Magik's teleportation discs.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The White Queen informs Kitty Pryde that her struggles against the Queen's psychic indoctrination are pointless; the White Queen has already broken her down.

- Dani continues to get emotionally distressed when she sees the effects of her mutant power on others.

- Amara's control over her mutant ability belies how little she has used it.  Considering that she had never gone full "Magma" in Nova Roma before the New Mutants came, that means she has more or less mastered the basics of her powers within only a few issues (since New Mutants #12).

- Thunderbird on the Hellions doesn't seem like too bad of a guy.  He expresses concern for both Sunspot and Wolfsbane when they get hurt.

- The Hellions don't appear to be great at teamwork.  I wonder if this will come into play later?

Writing!
This is a pretty fun issue.  The New Mutants don't appear to be horribly outclassed by their new rivals, the Hellions; last issue made the excellent point that the team would be hopelessly outmatched by the Hellfire Club, so giving them opponents that they can actually compete against was a good choice.  This sort of fight makes so much more sense than say, fighting (and defeating!) Sentinels or Viper.  Now, was sending in the junior team to capture the New Mutants a good strategic choice for the Hellfire Club?  Good lord, no.  The fact that the White Queen elaborates on the Hellfire Club's general motives makes this even more nonsensical, but I'll take the small victory of having villains in the same proverbial weight class as the New Mutants.

Art!
I know I've mentioned this before, but the quality of Sal Buscema's pencils are always shown to be questionable when there is an issue with multiple inkers.  I've gotten used to Tom Mandrake's inking (and cover art) --- it's not super-dynamic, but he is a solid storyteller and he does a pretty good job portraying the team as kids.  I didn't hate Kim Demulder's work in the back half of this issue, but the difference is noticeable.  Here is Mandrake on the left and Demulder on the right.

Again, nothing against Demulder, but I prefer this comic when the characters look their age.

Another weird thing in this issue was the coloring.  On the one hand, we finally got to see Dani use her powers and not have it presented in the hard-to-see day-glo pink that has been her trademark since her debut.  I don't have any strong preference in how Dani's powers should be visualized, as long as I can see the picture on the page.

On the other hand, this issue sees a lot of questionable coloring choices.  Throughout the issue, the colorist had trouble deciding where the New Mutant costumes stopped and where necks began.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- I am always interested by the changing of the Marvel corner box on the front cover, and I am frequently amused when comics try to disguise how scantily clad some characters are.  This month's corner box, with the White Queen's super-high-waisted panties gives the best of both worlds.

- The White Queen gives some exposition to explain the Hellfire Club's attitude toward mutants; they are simply a means to an end, and that end is power.

- This is the first appearance of James Proudstar, the younger brother of the late X-Man John Proudstar.  But how can Claremont draw attention to their connection without announcing it via exposition or outright stating Jimmy's name?  If you answered "Have them share the same codename, Thunderbird" you are only partially right.  You forgot, "Use an exclamation that only a Native American in a comic book would use" and "Color his skin so red that it almost matches the magenta of his costume."  Racism is so much easier than subtext!

- I wonder if the New Mutants will escape next issue?  (cue last panel)

Worth Noting:
- This is the first appearance of the Hellions as a team.  Specifically, Catseye, Empath, Jetstream, Roulette, Tarot, and Thunderbird.

Everything 80s:
- Jetstream's "compu-scan" computer-aided visual equipment may have as many as 8 bits of graphic power!

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1

 

"The War Begins"

Published May 1984

Writer: Jim Shooter

Penciler: Mike Zeck

Inker: John Beatty

Cover Artists: Mike Zeck and John Beatty

What's Going On?
At the end of many Marvel comics in April 1984, the characters found themselves mysteriously drawn to an enormous mechanical construct in New York City's Central Park.  When the heroes approached the construct, they (and it) mysteriously disappeared.  In the comics dated May 1984, the heroes had all returned, some (like the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man) with significant changes.  So what happened in between issues?  Secret Wars.  So let's see what it's all about.

A collection of super heroes (Spider-Man; Hulk; Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch and the Thing of the Fantastic Four; Wasp, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, and Iron Man of the Avengers; Professor Xavier, Storm, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus and Lockheed of the X-Men) find that they have been teleported to an unknown place in deep space.
For reasons they don't understand, the villainous Magneto is included among their numbers.  Nearby, on a separate construct floating in space, a collection of super-villains (Enchantress; Ultron; the Absorbing Man; Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver and Bulldozer of the Wrecking Crew; Kang; Galactus; the Lizard; Molecule Man; Doctor Octopus; and Doctor Doom) has also been gathered.

As the various heroes and villains are adjusting to their situation, they witness the galaxy around them beign destroyed by a mysterious force.  Only one star remains, and the rubble from the universe is brought together to form a hodgepodge patchwork planet. 

Just after witnessing this, a disembodied voice instructs the heroes and villains: "Slay your enemies and all your desires shall be yours." 

Galactus, sensing that this creature from Beyond actually has the power to do anything, demands that it cure the endless hunger that drives Galactus to consume entire planets for food.  He is unwilling to engage in battles that the one from Beyond desires, and instead flies toward the light that represents the Beyonder.  The mighty Galactus (and Doctor Doom, who wanted a closer look at the Beyonder) is swatted away with no apparent effort from the Beyonder.

The heroes and villains (including Galactus and Doom) are then transported to the new planet's surface.  After deciding who would lead each side (Captain America for the heroes and...well, no one in particular for the villains), the heroes braced for the incoming assault from the villains.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots:
- While most of the villains are buying into the idea of killing their way into the Beyonder's good graces, Doctor Doom is awed by the sheer scope of the Beyonder's power.  He wants to understand the power and dismisses the notion of competing for the chance of benefiting from it.

- For reasons unbeknownst to anyone except the Beyonder, Magneto is categorized as a "hero."  Most of the heroes accuse Magneto of being a villain, but the X-Men (specifically Xavier and Cyclops) make the unusual choice to defend him.

- Realizing that the other super-villains are too petty for his tastes, Doctor Doom tries to conference with his nemesis, Mr. Fantastic.  When he encounters the other super-heroes treating him like a common villain, Doom abandons his attempt to meet with Richards and goes his own way.


Writing!
I don't know if I've ever read anything else Jim Shooter has written, so this series will give me a non-Claremontian experience for a change.  How is the writing?  Well, there are a few bright moments.  I think Shooter does a decent (not great, but decent) job with Doctor Doom.  Most of the other characters are pretty two-dimensional, but Doom actually acts against expectations, which is great.

I also really liked the Galactus/Ultron interaction.  It did a good job setting up the Molecule Man for anyone unfamiliar with him, it made Doom look good, and it showed off how powerful Galactus is.  When Galactus was eventually defeated by the Beyonder, this made the Beyonder seem invincible.  That is how you build up a threat in a story.

As far as characterization goes, though, Shooter played everything super-simple and ignored a lot of established character developments (like Xavier being able to walk or Storm leading the X-Men).  I guess I'll have to wait and see if that becomes irritating or not.

I also liked the nod Shooter gives to Claremont's nascent Magneto redemption arc (remember, Magneto hadn't appeared in-continuity outside of a flashback since Uncanny X-Men #150) by having Magneto categorized as a hero.  Of course, Shooter goes out of his way to make Magneto sound like a jerk, but given the cringe-worthy dialogue he gives Wolverine, maybe that's just what he thinks "cool" sounds like.

Art!
Mike Zeck did some fantastic work in the 80s --- his cover art, in particular, is great --- and he was given a hefty task with this series.  There are a LOT of characters here and this is a twelve-issue series delivered monthly.  Not surprisingly, Zeck takes some shortcuts,  Take a look at the background in this introductory scene:

Don't get me wrong --- there are a lot of cool, poster-worthy scenes.  I think Zeck and John Beatty did a good job, given the time and space limitations (34 characters in one issue?!?).  I am curious if their work suffers as the series goes on, though.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The devils in the details, part one: Cyclops and Rogue were not with the X-Men when they entered the Beyonder's mechanical construct in Central Park.  For that matter, I doubt Galactus or Ultron were in NYC that day, either.  So...if the Beyonder was just teleporting people away from whatever they were doing, why even bother with the Central Park device?

- The devil's in the deails, part two: While the X-Men are all shown changed from their street clothes into their hero threads, Xavier was given a suit, blanket, and put in a wheelchair.  Please note that Xavier had recently started walking again in the pages of Uncanny and New Mutants just prior to this series.  Congratulations on being selected for Secret Wars, Chuck!  Have a seat!

- How short would this battle royale have been if Galactus had not A) decided to not compete and B) destroyed Ultron?

- Wolverine is a huge jerk (1 of 4): Isn't it weird how awful the Avengers are to the X-Men in this issue?  It's not like Cyclops hasn't met them on several occasions by now.

- Wolverine is a huge jerk (2 of 4): I think all of Wolverine's lines in this issue have him waving his claws around.

- Wolverine is a huge jerk (3 of 4): By the way, has anyone noticed Wolverine's claws?

Wolverine is a huge jerk (4 of 4): I love the disrespect Wolverine is giving Captain America here.  I don't think I've ever seen him show anything more derisive than grudging respect in any other team-up.  P.S.: Wolverine has claws.

Worth Noting:
This is the first mention (although it doesn't take physical form) of the Beyonder.