Uncanny X-Men #177

"Sanction"
Published January 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: John Romita Jr.
Inker: John Romita Sr.
Cover: John Romita Jr.

What's Going On?
Mystique is focused on taking down the X-Men, to the point of training herself and her team at Arcade's Murderworld so they can better anticipate their foes.  That training pays off an unspecified amount of time later, as they ambush Colossus and seriously injure him.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Nightcrawler asks Amanda Sefton about his early childhood, as a way to determine what connection he might have with Mystique.  Amanda does not have much information to offer, so Nightcrawler decides to ask his foster mother, Margali, about it the next day.

- Mystique makes some oblique references to Destiny, regarding her relationship to Nighcrawler.  Nothing definite is said, but she could not bring herself to "kill" Murderworld's Nightcrawler robot; she was able to kill Rogue without hesitation.  Clearly, he is important to Mystique.

- Kitty is still upset over Storm's punk rock makeover.

- Lilandra and the Starjammers finally leave to battle for the throne of the Shi'ar empire.  Lilandra and Xavier still pledge their love to each other.

- Kitty mentions Doug Ramsey to Colossus; this is the first time Peter has had anything approaching a rival for her affections.

Writing!
This is another fun issue from Claremont.  It's always interesting seeing hypothetical situations that would kill our heroes, so it was pretty cool seeing what Claremont saw as legitimate mortal threats to the team in this issue's Murderworld scene.  I don't know how plausible the kills are --- Colossus, Rogue and Wolverine all "died" under what I consider unlikely circumstances, and Storm's "death" required a very unique piece of equipment --- but it is still interesting to see some of the team's weaknesses.  It was also interesting to see Colossus given a legitimate physical threat for the first time in this series.

Art!
John Romita Jr. is inked by his father, the legendary John Romita Sr. in this issue, and it's an interesting look.  I think Romita Sr. has an appealing old-school style to his inks --- his work on Colossus's face is very reminiscent of his work on Amazing Spider-Man, circa 1975 --- but I'm not a huge fan of how he smooths out Romita Jr.'s lines.

Peter...Parker?

Romita Jr. is at his best with brutal action scenes (although he does very good character work), and his father's more polished approach reduces some of JR Jr.'s impact.  That doesn't stop the pair from creating one of the all-time best Colossus panels, though.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- In Murderworld, Mystique kills Wolverine by slashing his throat.  I actually laughed out loud when I saw that.  Before Paul Cornell's run on Wolverine, I think it had been 20 years since Wolverine would have been stopped by something as minor as a fatal neck wound.

- Apparently, the skulls on Mystique's outfit can transform into weapons.  I don't know if this is ever used in another X-Men comic.

- I've read a few articles about Chris Claremont's alleged plan for the Mystique/Nightcrawler mystery, and while I have no doubt that Claremont considered it --- you can read more about it here, but the gist is that Mystique is the father and Destiny is the mother of Nightcrawler --- I am confident that it was not always his plan.  Not in this issue, at least.  Why not?  1) When they argue, it seems more like an employer/employee fight than a quarrel between lovers 2) Destiny is about as ancient as Aunt May, and is too old to have birthed Kurt 3) Destiny refers to Kurt as "Nightcrawler" instead of his given name, despite Mystique knowing his name back in the "Days of Future Past" storyline 4) Mystique states that the X-Men have her child --- singular --- and is referring to Rogue.

- Havok does not get a line in the farewell to Corsair.  It's not like he has been in a lot of issues lately, but Havok has not had any dialogue since Uncanny X-Men #163.

- Stevie Hunter alert!  She acts as a sounding board for Kitty's whining about Storm.  This is her first appearance in the X-titles since New Mutants #4.

Worth Noting:
- According to the Murderworld scene, Mystique can imitate Wolverine's sharp claws.  That means that she can imitate more than a person's basic appearance.  How far that can go, we don't know...yet.

- This issue has the first mention of Doug Ramsey, although it will be another month or two before he makes his first appearance.

- This issue's contribution to Assistant Editor Month is a one-page gag about the Official Marvel Handbook.  It's not very funny, but at least it's only one page instead of an entire issue, right?

Daredevils #4

"Killing Ground"
Published April 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
It's an all-out fight issue, as Captain Britain takes on Slaymaster.  Despite Captain Britain's personal force field and vast strength, Slaymaster is a far better fighter.  It takes all CapBrit has, and a tiny bit of help from his sister and her pal, to take out the villain.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Captain Britain invites Betsy Braddock and her two remaining psychic friends to live with him at Braddock Manor.

- When Slaymaster is defeated, Vixen calls up Arcade to complain.  Apparently, Arcade was Slaymaster's trainer.  Arcade vows to finish Slaymaster's job, if only to settle a personal grudge against Captain Britain.

Writing!
I like that the issue begins with some bits of inner monologue, instead of the typical superhero fight banter.

I don't normally think of "fight choreographer" when I think of Alan Moore's strengths, but he's actually quite good.  He updates Slaymaster into a legitimate threat that, in his next appearance, will be a legitimate cause for excitement; despite Captain Britain's nigh-invulnerability and strength, Slaymaster is a capable opponent here.  I almost rolled my eyes when Slaymaster started his spiel about ninjas --- there isn't much more 80s and overused than ninjas, right? --- but his conclusion that his hand isn't much use, except for cutting, was pretty great.  In fact, the only misstep in the whole issue (and a subjective one, at that) was having Slaymaster and CapBrit face off within arm's reach, completely unprepared for battle, when they are in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out fight.

It sets up that great line about cutting, but why wouldn't you have them looking like they were ready to hit each other here?  It's such an odd choice that it had to come from the writer and not the artist.

Art!
Alan Davis is getting better with each issue.  The sketchiness from the previous issue is almost entirely gone.  Now, we are treated to some gorgeous and graceful-looking fight scenes!  Life is good.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Alan Moore takes some time to ridicule superhero comic fans.  It won't be the last time.

The "Coming Soon" sign is a bit of an Easter Egg, too.  We'll be seeing Saturnyne and the Special Executive in the next issue.

- Either Captain Britain knows how to program the hologram of Braddock Manor so that select people can see the building for what it is, or he is going to have some confused roommates soon.

Worth Noting:
- Inspector Dai Thomas makes his return in this issue.  Apparently, he used to hate costumed heroes.  Given how friendly he was with Excalibur, I'm curious as to when that changed.