Uncanny X-Men #178

"Hell Hath No Fury..."
Published February 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: John Romita Jr.
Inkers: Bob Wiacek and Brett Breeding
Cover: John Romita Jr. and Dan Green

What's Going On?
It is X-Men vs. the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants time!  After doing harm to Colossus last issue, the Brotherhood (Avalance, Blob, Destiny and Pyro) try to ambush Nightcrawler and his girlfriend, Amanda Sefton.  Storm and Wolverine act as the cavalry and manage to subdue the Brotherhood with surprising ease.  Surprising, that is, until Blob reveals that their attacks were just a distraction to allow Mystique to attack Professor Xavier.

Meanwhile, Rogue convinces Mystique that she joined the X-Men of her own free will in an effort to learn to control her powers; this helps convince Mystique to not kill Xavier.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Cyclops has sent the Professor a letter from his honeymoon; his (and Madelyne's) post-X-Men plan is to work for his grandparents' airline in Alaska.  But who took this photo of them in their honeymoon bed, and why did Scott send it to his father figure?

- After the attack last issue, Colossus is still a chunk of frozen metal.  Kitty Pryde breaks into the Baxter Building to grab one of Reed Richards' inventions that could help Peter, but something surprises her as she tries to escape; it appears as though she fell from the roof of the building and died.

- Callisto has Masque alter the body of a dead junkie.  From their conversation, it sounds like he is going to create a doppelganger for Kitty Pryde.

- Xavier suffers another strong psychic blow, although this one is foreshadowing the Beyonder and Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars. 

- Mystique seems to accept Rogue's claim that she is willingly trying to learn control over her abilities under Xavier's tutelage.  I'm reasonably sure this is the last time Mystique's Brotherhood acts as (potentially) deadly enemies of the X-Men. Sure, they later become Freedom Force and are still enemies, but from this point forward, Mystique's team is usually trying to arrest instead of murder.

Writing!
Chris Claremont does a good job making Mystique out to be a legitimate threat.  I liked the tactics and attitude of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; they showed teamwork that X-Men villains rarely display, and I liked the joy Blob seemed to get out of Colossus' injury.  It is interesting to see Claremont starting to round out Mystique's character; his run is famous for his evolving treatment of Magneto, but this change with Mystique feels kind of like a dry run for that.

Art!
The very first page shows off the difference between the inking styles of Bob Wiacek and John Romita Sr.; compare the roughness of Colossus on this page and compare it to the final page of last issue. 

Personally, I think Romita Jr.'s pencils look better with inks that leave the art looking a little rough, so I actually like this change quite a bit.  Romita Jr. still has a couple of panels where he gives the female characters some unfortunately prominent cheekbones, but that is something he will continue to do for the rest of his career.  Overall, though, I think JRJR is a great action artist, and this issue plays to his strengths well.  Something I particularly liked was how he drew Amanda Sefton's magic spells.  How has he never drawn a Doctor Strange series?!?

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Apparently, when Wolverine shows up to a danger room session, he brings his jacket and a six pack of beer.

- Angel answers the letters page in this issue.  Keep in mind that Angel has not been an active team member since the All-New, All-Different team was launched.  It seems like a weird choice, but the last words on the page are a reminder to X-fans to check out Angel's further adventures in the pages of The Defenders, so I guess that explains that.

Uncanny X-Men #169

"Catacombs"
Published May 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Paul Smith
Inker: Bob Wiacek

What's Going On?
When former X-Man Angel is kidnapped from his ritzy apartment by forces unknown, the X-Men are ready to track him down.  The team is shy a few members at the moment --- Wolverine is in Japan for his limited series and Cyclops has retired to Alaska --- so it is up to Storm to lead Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Kitty Pryde to hunt down their friend.  The trail leads the team to a vast network of underground tunnels (or "catacombs," if you want to swipe the issue's title), filled with hostile natives.  These humanoid underground dwellers (no telling yet if they are cannibalistic or not) call themselves the Morlocks.  Their leader, Callisto, had Angel kidnapped to serve as her trophy husband.  Naturally, the X-Men fight to save their friend, but they are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the opposition.  Things don't look good for these X-Men, and it doesn't seem like help will be on the way.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The White Queen has been struck down by an unknown psychic attacker, and is now in a catatonic stupor.  Her fellow Hellfire Club member, Sebastian Shaw, admits that only Charles Xavier could have done such a thing, but seriously doubts that Xavier would act like a villain.

- Xavier mentions some psychic interference that prevents him from keeping in contact with the team as they enter the Morlock tunnels.  This appears to be unrelated to what happened to the White Queen.

- Kitty hates her code-name, Sprite.  With yet another costume debuting here, is it time for a new code-name as well?

- Storm is having difficulty handling her emotions as leader of the team.  She is forcing herself to be cold and detached, which is disturbing her teammates greatly.

- Kitty winds up getting extremely sick, thanks to Plague, and is found and cared for by Caliban.  Caliban is still super creepy and wants to keep Kitty with him, underground, forever.

Writing!
This issue is a bit uneven.  There are things that I really like --- particularly the objectification of Angel in this issue (he doesn't even get any dialogue!), which turns the tables on your typical comic book gender roles.  I also liked Nightcrawler's naked trek across town; it was a fun use of his powers that shows both how far he has come in mastering them and an unintended disadvantage to being able to leave places immediately.

I was not crazy about the Morlocks, though.  I understand their appeal from a writing perspective --- mutants, like the X-Men, but not lucky enough to have "sexy" powers --- but I really think Claremont went in the wrong direction, introducing them this way.  Having an overly aggressive outsider culture --- they kidnap Angel and throw his girlfriend, Candy Southern, out of a skyscraper --- makes them automatically unsympathetic.  When you combine that with Callisto's ridiculously verbose introduction and her rapist undertones, this issue has a lot more "ick" than your typical X-Men issue.

Art!
Paul Smith does a good job making the Morlocks ugly in this issue, and the fight scenes look pretty good.  I like Kitty's new uniform better than anything she's had since her original outfit.  Domino masks are cool.

But when I think back on this issue, the one image that keeps popping into my head is a helpless Angel wearing what appear to be cloth diapers.  Was he not wearing underwear when he was kidnapped?

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Amanda Sefton comments that her mother taught her how to care for dragons, when Kitty leaves Lockheed in her care.  Ignoring the fact that Lockheed is an alien that may or may not match up with our understanding of "dragons," how does she say that and not have anyone react?  I know, her mother's a sorceress, but still...!

- With Angel kidnapped and Wolverine on leave, Storm asks if she can use borrow Wolfsbane to act as a tracker.  Xavier tells her absolutely not --- the New Mutants are not to be taken on "missions."  The message is that the New Mutants are to be kept out of danger.  Keep in mind that this is one month after they fought mutant-hunting Sentinels.

- Check out what Xavier is reading in bed:

Yes, that's an Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe gag.  Ha ha?

- Apparently, all it takes for Plague to make you deathly ill is for her to infect a single molecule on your person.  Yay, ridiculously over-powered characters!

- Callisto takes out Storm with a slingshot.  A SLINGSHOT.  Way to lead the team, Storm.

Worth Noting:
- This is the first appearance of the Morlocks, specifically Callisto, Masque, Plague, and Sunder.  Caliban made his first appearance back in Uncanny #148.

- Callisto's bravado reminds Storm of someone from her past that apparently wanted to rape her...

Pictured: six eyes, zero pupils

... which is a bit of a downer.  I believe this gets retconned by Claremont later on to explain why Storm doesn't kill, but it seems that the first take on this story is that she ran away.

Uncanny X-Men #168

"Professor Xavier is a Jerk!"
Published April 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Paul Smith
Inker: Bob Wiacek


What's Going On?
After being demoted from the X-Men to the remedial New Mutants team, Kitty Pryde is understandably upset.  After discovering that throwing a tantrum and pouting failed to change Professor Xaver's mind about the matter, Kitty tries a number of other tactics.  In the end, though, all it took was Xavier seeing Kitty in action to change his mind.  Kitty is an X-Man once more!

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- A new twist has been added to Xavier's psychosomatic walking pain sub-plot: when he tries to walk, the pain is so great that he cannot use his psychic powers.

- Lilandra plans to leave Earth with the Starjammers and try to reclaim her rightful place as ruler of the Shi'ar.  Xavier plans to remain on Earth and recruit/train more mutants.  It may be a bumpy road ahead for these lovers...

- Storm has trouble reconnecting with Mother Nature.  The narration implies that she knows the reason why, but does not spell it out for the reader.

- Cyclops and Nightcrawler visit their girlfriends, Lee Forrester and Amanda Sefton, respectively, for some Christmas romance.

- This issue begins the mystery of Madelyne Pryor.  Who is she, and why does she look and sound exactly like the late Jean Grey?

Writing!
This may be my favorite issue of this run.  There is so much going on in this issue, and yet my mind always focuses on the first page:

It's so pure, so simple, and so effective!  Kitty-centric issues are usually good, but this is probably my all-time favorite, for its blend of humor, teenage angst, and overall business.

While I think Kitty's age and what team she is on are natural fodder for stories, now that the New Mutants are around, I ultimately think this issue demeans the junior team; they don't really get out from under the "X-Babies" idea until X-Force is formed.

Art!
As per usual, Paul Smith does a good job with the action scenes in this issue.  What really makes this issue stand out, though, is how engaging the rest of the story is.  I love his take on Kitty, whether she is pouting or kicking ass.  And how awesome are his teaser panels for Lockheed?  Extreme close-ups with severe shadows rarely look this good.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- What does it take to be promoted from the New Mutants to the X-Men?  Apparently, all you have to do is kill some aliens with your space dragon.  How hard is that?

- Stevie Hunter and Illyana apparently only exist for Kitty to bounce ideas off of.  How many issues will go by before either does anything meaningful in this title?

- Kitty complains about putting on her old black-and-yellow uniform, which she hasn't worn in "ages."  For the record, she wore the damn thing in Uncanny X-Men #166. 

- It's a Christmas issue!  With an April publication date!

- For his romantic Christmas date, Nightcrawler lights some candles, pours some champagne, and puts on...his superhero uniform?  Whatever makes your lady happy, I guess.

- It appears that Xavier's mansion was rebuilt with a room specially made for Sidrian Hunter eggs.

- The last page of this issue is dedicated to some fan-created costume designs for Kitty Pryde, submitted before her code-name was changed from Sprite to Ariel.  It's not the designs that I find amusing here; it's the fact that they gave the page a title that can be abbreviated "KKK" for a Jewish character.

A+, editors.

Worth Noting:
- Wolverine leaves the country this issue for the events that took place in Wolverine (Vol. 1).

- Cyclops is now semi-retired for X-Mannery, as he plans to spend time with his newly discovered family in Alaska.

- Lockheed gets his name in this issue.  This appearance also means that he did not die on Sleazeworld.

- This issue marks the first appearance of Madelyne Pryor

Everything 80s:
The back cover has a video game ad, illustrated by Mad magazine's Jack Davis.

 Only in the 1980s would there be a video game about avoiding a nuclear meltdown.  And only in the 80s would kids have their mind blown by multi-colored squares on the screen.