Uncanny X-Men Annual #7

"Scavenger Hunt"
Published December 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Pencillers: Michael Golden and Bret Blevins
Inkers: Michael Golden, Tom Mandrake, Bob Wiacek, Terry Austin, Brett Breeding, Joe Rubinstein, Steve Leialoha, Sam de la Rosa, Al Milgrom, Bret Blevins
Cover: John Romita Jr.

What's Going On?
The X-Men are enjoying an uneventful day off when their baseball game is interrupted by a cosmic-level threat, Galactus, because he must...steal Xavier's mansion?  That is not the planet-eater's typical M.O.; it soon becomes apparent that the thief was only disguised as Galactus.  For reasons, probably. 

The X-Men chase his energy signature across the world, where the thief steals all sorts of super-hero memorabilia (Nick Fury's eye patch, Ka-Zar's sabre-tooth tiger, a Fantasticar, etc.).  Eventually, Rogue realizes that this must be some sort of bizarre scavenger hunt.  But who would be involved in such a ridiculous and unlikely quest?  The Impossible Man.  It's not really a mystery.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The White Queen, last seen in Uncanny #169, is still comatose.  The Hellfire Club is apparently keeping her under close observation...in a Sleeping Beauty-esque mausoleum.  Sebastian Shaw vows to settle the X-Men/Hellfire conflict sooner, rather than later.  

In other White Queen news, it is revealed that her condition is due to something Mastermind did to her off-panel.

Writing!
Well, it's an Impossible Man story, and this was Claremont's main contribution to Assistant Editor's Month.  Impossible Man exists to add cartoonish comic relief to otherwise typical superhero comics.  Assistant Editor's Month had most of the Marvel titles do silly things or get meta by involving the Marvel Bullpen staff.  Neither has aged particularly well with time.

That said, this issue is fun, in a nonsensical fluff sort of way.  It's not great, it doesn't add much to Claremont's current storyline, and can be pretty easily forgotten.  On the other hand, it also ends with this head-scratcher:

Wait...what?!?

Art!
Most of the pencils in this issue (except for a bit of the Marvel Bullpen part) were by Michael Golden.  Golden's comics career is a strange one --- from what I can tell, he is best known for runs on Bucky O'Hare, Micronauts, and The 'Nam.  Despite none of those being what you might call classics, he also co-created Rogue and was clearly an inspiration for Art Adams.  Check out this Adams-esuqe scene:

Golden did a good job drawing Wolverine, too.  This is probably the best Wolvie cowl I've seen since Byrne left.

One of the best moments in this issue, though, is when Golden is paying an obvious homage to Jim Steranko:

Those dialogue-free scenes feel straight out of late-60s SHIELD comics.  Good stuff.

Now, I don't think Golden's art is great in this issue --- some pages are cool, some are kind of awkward or ugly --- but it should be noted that *ten* different people inked this issue.  I'm going off on a limb and saying that there was a deadline crunch.  I will also irresponsibly speculate that Golden (like Art Adams) is a bit slow with his pencils.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The cover art (and the corner box) features Cyclops joining in the fight, but he left the team in issue #176 and does not appear in this comic.

- Hey, look, it's a Claremont-ism!  The X-Men are playing baseball!  Even though Claremont only wrote this into the script four times in his 20+ years with the characters, it is a trope that feels unique to him.  This time around, you have to give him credit for adding a new layer; having Rogue and Nightcrawler as the only fielders on a team is a pretty efficient idea, given their powers sets.

- Kitty mentions that the X-Men captured Mastermind in Uncanny #175.  Then what happened?  I love that the resolution to his scheme failing is not examined.  I guess he went to mutant prison or something?

- The editor's note regarding when the Avengers last faced Rogue is wrong.  It should be Avengers Annual #10, not #7.  

Worth Noting:
- The Iron Man in this issue is James Rhodes.  From the context, it seems like this is his first interaction with the X-Men.

Magik (Storm and Illyana Limited Series) #1

"Little Girl Lost"
Published December 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: John Buscema
Inker: Tom Palmer
Cover: John Buscema and Tom Palmer

What's Going On?
On her fourteenth birthday, Illyana Rasputin stands outside Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and reflects on the six years that she spent in an alternate dimension, Limbo.

Admittedly, this is a pretty solid first page of a series

She first arrived with the X-Men, as they battled Limbo's demon-lord, Belasco.  Belasco managed to separate her from the team, but future/alternate reality versions of Storm and Kitty Pryde (now called simply "Cat") help Illyana escape Belasco's clutches.  Unfortunately, before they can do that, Belasco manages to corrupt a piece of Illyana's soul, turning it into a Bloodstone.  When Belasco gets five Bloostones from Illyana, it will allow the Elder Gods to cross dimensions (which sounds bad).

Once they have escaped, Storm spends some time with Illyana in meditation, introducing her to sorcery and magic; it is unclear whether they were meditating for a long time, or if Storm's magic made Illyana age faster, but she finishes her lesson one year older.  Illyana learns that sorcery allows the user to create, change, and heal the world around them; creating and healing are fine, but change for change's sake leads one down the path toward evil.  At the end of that year, Cat tells Illyana that Storm will not help her return home to Earth.  Cat will help her, but the path will be dangerous.  Illyana chooses to join Cat.  Meanwhile, Belasco seems to believe that these events have ultimately played into his hand.


Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Storm and Cat were members of the same X-Men team that came with Illyana to Limbo.  In their reality, though, Illyana went back to Earth without incident, and the X-Men were trapped in Limbo instead.

- The Storm in Limbo is an elderly version of the character that cannot use her mutant powers because they put too much stress on her body.  Instead, she has spent time as Belasco's apprentice, although she ultimately chose a less demonic path.  Nevertheless, her soul has been corrupted by Belasco, and her good witch magic is weakening.

- Cat is this realm's version of Kitty Pryde.  She is essentially a grim and gritty take on the character, and one that Belasco has changed to look slightly more feline.  Her goal is to kill Belasco without relying on magic.

- Belasco told Illyana that he loved her when he created the first Bloodstone.  She seems to believe him, mentioning it when Storm frightens her.

Writing!
If you just want to look at how this particular issue propels the plot, the writing is not too bad.   Illyana is captured by a bad guy, escapes, and learns from Storm.  That's pretty simple.

While I don't think there's anything wrong with the writing of this particular issue, it is not the most reader-friendly first issue I have come across.  Claremont manages to explain what's going on, but it requires a lot of exposition.  This takes place between the scenes of an X-Men comic (not even one within the past year), features alternate versions of two X-Men, and the villain is a sorcerer/demon from the pages of Ka-Zar.  Nothing here is simple, and in this single issue, it becomes apparent that Illyana's backstory will forever be a convoluted mess.

Art!
For a story that takes place in a demonic dimension, the art is surprisingly standard.  John Buscema and Tom Palmer do a decent job telling the story, but this environment begs for an artist that is willing to get weird.  Can you imagine this story, as drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz?  That would have been awesome.  Still, Buscema still manages to do some decent swords and sorcery artwork.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- It's not mentioned in this (or any other X-Men) issue, but Belasco directly inspired Dante's Inferno.  That is legitimately his backstory, and the story was told in the pages of Ka-Zar, of all places.  Also amusing is the fact that Belasco's Elder Gods are poorly defined --- even the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe is confused as to who they are.

Worth Noting:
- This story is a flashback to what happened between pages in Uncanny X-Men #160, which was published in August 1982, sixteen months earlier.

Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #7

"The Candlelight Dialogues"
Published December 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
The story picks up an unspecified amount of time after Daredevils #11, after Jim Jaspers has taken control over England and super-powered people are placed in concentration camps. 

Two women, Sue and Meggan, trade campfire stories they have heard about Captain Britain fighting their oppressors and winning, remaining free.  

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The events hinted at in the alternate Earth of Mad Jim Jaspers and The Fury have finally become reality for Earth 616.

Writing!
This is an interesting transition issue for Alan Moore.  While it has become obvious that Captain Britain and friends will need to battle Jim Jaspers eventually, it was an odd choice to leave off last issue with the group going to confront Jaspers and then jumping forward to a world where they have already lost the battle.  However, since Jim Jaspers can warp reality, I suppose there is no need for Moore to bother with the build up to their confrontation; with Jaspers' abilities, Moore is able to immediately raise the stakes and skip the less interesting buildup scenes.  Very clever, Mr. Moore.

That said, this may be my least favorite issues so far in this storyline.  I think I get what Moore is aiming for --- he's raising the stakes by jumping to a dire situation, and he's building the mythology of Captain Britain at the same time.  Sadly, though, that means that this issue feels a bit like filler.  None of the characters we have been following for months accomplish anything, and in a title that has managed to squeeze in a lot of progress in a small number of pages, this feels like treading water.

On the other hand, this issue's format may be a result of a publishing switch.  This issue kind of serves as an introduction to Captain Britain, and since this is the first issue of the storyline published in  Mighty World of Marvel, it makes some sense to reintroduce the character to the (potentially) new readers.  That doesn't make it any more interesting to read, but I suppose I can follow that logic.

Art!
Alan Davis flexes some new artistic muscles with this chapter, playing with extreme close-ups and shadows.  Honestly, he doesn't have a whole lot to work with in this story.  He has CapBrit kicking some ass, and the rest of this issue features people being inactive.  One of the nice things about an Alan Davis-drawn issue, though, is his ability to make characters look good, even if they are doing nothing.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Look!  Sympathetic characters (without healing factors) smoking!

Worth Noting:
- You might have noticed that this Captain Britain story, which is clearly picking up after the events of Daredevils #11, is not the next issue of Daredevils.  That title was cancelled, but the original stories that were being published in Daredevils were adopted by Might World of Marvel.  They were both anthology titles, mostly comprised of reprinted stories from the American Marvel line, with the occasional original story from British creators.


- This is the first appearance of Meggan, Captain Britain's eventual wife.  Her feral-like appearance is a far cry from the blonde bombshell look she sported in Excalibur (Vol. 1).  It will be interesting seeing how she develops, to see how natural her transformation is.

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #10

"Betrayal!"
Published December 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: Tom Mandrake

What's Going On?
Remember last issue, when the team had been drugged, making Cannonball and Sunspot fight in the arena as gladiators?  Yeah, that's over now.  The team has been embraced as demigods because Wolfsbane is a redheaded werewolf (there's an explanation for that, but it's pretty dumb).  Now that they are honored guests, the team gets involved in local politics, helping Senator Gallio arrest his rival, Senator Aquilla.  Even though they appear to be on Gallio's side, Sam and Roberto are starting to question that loyalty.  The more they learn about Gallio and Nova Roma, the more they find to dislike.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Rahne gest angry whenever Amara is mentioned.  Dani wonders if Rahne's anger is due to something that occurred between the two girls, or if Rahne is jealous that Sam seems to be favoring Amara.

- Roberto is worried about his missing mother.  He thinks back to all his recent loss and blames himself for the deaths (presumed or not) of his late girlfriend, Karma, and his mother. That's a lot of death in a short period of time, although I would think that Karma's fate would be A) out of his control, since it was caused by a bomb B) less important to him, since he barely knew her, but loved the other two women.

- Rahne admits to Roberto that she enjoys being a wolf more than a human, and it is challenging her religious convictions.  The two almost discuss this and develop their characters, when someone shoots at them.

That was close!  Roberto almost had to console her!

- When Sam tries to reprimand Rahne, she gets upset, arguing that he is not the leader of the New Mutants.  Roberto reflects that Dani has been taking charge lately, and she would make a better leader than he would.

- Dani is kidnapped by worshipers of the Cult of Fire, to join Amara and another girl as human sacrifices to Selene.  When Selene tries to kill Amara by throwing her in a lava pit, Amara's mutant abilities manifest.

Writing!
The Nova Romans worshiping Rahne was both inspired and idiotic.  It is inspired because I doubt Claremont planned this story out when creating Wolfsbane, and it is a fairly clever manipulation of Roman history.  It is idiotic because...well, it just is.  "She has red hair like Caesar!  And we have a creation myth involving a lady wolf!  WORSHIP HER!"  I might have bought into it if Claremont had foreshadowed it, maybe with some Caesar artwork showing off his red hair, or maybe paintings or sculptures of wolves in background shots, but nothing like that is present.  This feels like exactly what it is: a way to have the team play both gladiators and gods in the same story arc.

Speaking of ways to get the story from Point A to Point B, it is revealed that Roberto speaks Latin, and has been hiding the fact.  I'll go into how goofy that is in a little bit, but what a lazy storytelling choice!  "I need to let the other characters know what the people speaking the foreign language are saying, but how?  Of course!  One of them is fluent is a dead language that exists only on paper!"

Aside from those lame choices, this story keeps on trucking.  It is still an awful concept, but Claremont is doing his best to sell it.

Art!
While I wouldn't argue that the art here is great, I don't have a problem with the Sal Buscema/Tom Mandrake team.  The storytelling is decently clear, and Mandrake softens Buscema's angular pencils almost as much as Bob McLeod's did.  It's just not very exciting.  I will give credit where it's due: the debut of Magma's mutant powers looked pretty cool.

I'm not a big fan of leaving major character design in the hands of the colorists of the time, but those pink/red accent marks on Magma's lava body are pretty striking.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Roberto mentions that his father, Emmanuel DaCosta, was once a slave.  Without more information, it's hard to disprove that claim, but the last nation in the Western hemisphere to have legal slavery was Brazil.  They abolished slavery in 1888.  So where was he a slave?

-  Dani is kidnapped moments after sneaking out of a guarded palace.  Those are some diligent kidnappers.

- Roberto speaks Latin.  Putting aside how unlikely it is that he would be able to understand the spoken form of a dead language, spoken in an accent he has never heard before, this is just an odd choice.  Roberto is the second-youngest member of the team, and is not portrayed as particularly studious.  Wouldn't it have been less of a stretch for the lonely Catholic girl, Wolfsbane, to know some Latin?

- Remember last issue, when Selene was referred to as the Black Priestess?  Yeah, that doesn't come up again when we witness her cult worshiping her.

- Dani and Amara get manhandled by Selene in this issue.  I don't know if this really qualifies as part of the whole "female characters being easily dispatched by physical force" theme in this title, but it's close.  The only reason I hesitate is because it looks like Selene is supposed to have super-strength.  It's not explicit, but she sure doesn't look like she should be able to pick Dani up by the throat...

...much less backhand Amara across the room, so I'm guessing that is the explanation. On the bright side, this is the first time we see a woman as physically intimidating in this title.

Worth Noting:
- Selene implies that she is a mutant, and Dani discerns that Selene's abilities are psionic in nature.  Selene can block Dani's abilities and force the drugged prisoners to act against their wills.  She can also touch souls, whatever that means, and maybe has super-strength?  I wonder if these will be the same abilities she has in later appearances?  The answer is "not really."

- Amara debuts her mutant powers for the first time

Uncanny X-Men #176

"Decisions"
Published December 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Bob Wiacek

What's Going On?
The newlyweds, Cyclops and Madeline, are on their way to their honeymoon destination when they encounter a storm while flying over the Pacific.  Their plane is hit by lightning, but they survive...only to encounter an aggressive giant sea squid.  But what chance does a giant squid have against the man who beat up all the X-Men last issue?

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Wolverine confronts Mariko for calling off their wedding, back in Uncanny #173.  He correctly attributes their breakup to Mastermind's manipulations, but she argues that the things she did (apparently off-panel) under his influence were so bad (read: criminal) that she is honor-bound to fix the situation on her own.  If she dies in the process, it is up to Wolverine to to slay her remaining foes.  Wolverine tries to give back the Yashida Clan Honor Sword (given to him by Mariko in Wolverine (Vol. 1)), but she refuses.  Basically, he proved himself worthy when he killed her evil father, regardless of the cost; it is up to her to show that she is equally worthy by cutting Clan Yashida's ties to the Japanese underworld.

- Henry Peter Gyrich, the Marvel Comics designated "political bureaucrat who has to be involved in super hero matters," is invited to a meeting where mutants are seen as an increasing danger.  Magneto is the textbook example of how dangerous mutants can be (based mostly on his exploits from Uncanny X-Men #150).  The other reason for worry (according to the bureaucrats) is that mutants are popping all over the globe, even in Communist nations.  Remarkably, the usually insensitive and abrasive Gyrich comes across as very reasonable, while the typically sensible Val Cooper looks like a bigot.

- Callisto tells Caliban that she wants to make Kitty Pryde fulfill her promise (made in Uncanny #170) to live forever with Caliban in the Morlock sewers. Masque warns Callisto that this may cause conflict with their new leader, Storm.  Callisto hopes it does.

- Cyclops decides to not join his father and the Starjammers in their space adventures (the choice was last mentioned in Uncanny #174).  He wants to live a normal, non-super hero life with Madeline. 

Art!
This is John Romita Jr.'s first full issue on art, and one if his more annoying (to me, anyway) habits shows up right away.  He has this weird thing where he likes to overdo the cheekbones on female characters at times, making it look like their lower jaw is caving in.

Is it a big deal?  Not really.  It's just a Thing He Does that I'm not terribly fond of.  On the other hand, I loved his cloaked-in-shadows Wolverine, and he did a good job with the sea monsters and the underwater sequences.  Overall, the man is off to a nice start.

Writing!
This is one of those "slow" issues that frequently come after a major storyline ends, and that is perfectly okay.  Chris Claremont (at least, according to interviews looking back at the character) had intended for Madeline Pryor to simply be a doppelganger of Jean Grey and nothing more.  This issue ended with a caption reading "The Beginning;" this was Claremont's attempt to give Cyclops a happy ending, as he retires from the X-Men and begins a normal civilian life.  How different would this series have been if characters were allowed to actually do this?  It would be weird, right?  This issue served as a well-deserved bon voyage to a character that had lived a pretty tortured life up to this point.  Unfortunately, when Marvel decided to launch X-Factor, a lot of this progress was lost...

On the bright side, Claremont decided to have Wolverine and Mariko realize off-panel that Mastermind undermined their wedding.  Why that had to be off-panel, I don't know, but I disagree with the choice.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Behold!  The color-changing bikini!  First it is black...

...and then it is white!

Could she have changed?  It's doubtful.  Is it important?  Absolutely not.  This is the sort of thing kids would try to get No-Prizes for.

- Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter spent half of a page complaining about Romita Jr.'s cover art.  That's an odd choice.

Everything 80's:
- Check out this ad for CBS' Saturday Morning Cartoon lineup.

The Little Rascals/Richie Rich?  Pac-Man?  Rubik, the Amazing Cube?  Menudo?!?  Good lord, what children went through in 1983!




Worth Noting:
- This is the last mention of the Yashida Clan Honor Blade/Sword for a good long while.  I think it next pops up in Wolverine (Vol. 2) #78.

- Finally!  Someone acknowledges that Mastermind ruined Wolverine's wedding!  The act that no one addressed this last issue really bothered me.

- Valerie Cooper makes her first appearance as someone that is alarmed with the "mutant problem."  This is an odd angle for her character, since she quickly becomes one of Marvel's most reasonable government (read: not bigoted) employees.

- Cyclops has officially left the X-Men and is now considered (by Claremont, anyway) retired from super heroing.