"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.
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!
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