X-Men and the Micronauts #2

"Into the Abyss!"
Published February 1984
Writers: Chris Claremont and Bill Mantlo
Penciller: Jackson "Butch" Guice
Inkers: Bob Wiacek and Kelley Jones
Cover Artists: Jackson "Butch" Guice and Bob Wiacek

What's Going On?
After being defeated last issue, the Micronauts find themselves split up as a team, fighting an enemy that is attacking them on a physical and emotional level; one by one, they are defeated...and then healed by The Entity as his loyal followers.  Meanwhile, the X-Men split up with Baron Karza, leaving him on Homeworld to build up an army to attack The Entity.  They then use Bioship's mental connection to Commander Ranin to figure out where in the Microverse the Micronauts are, and they go there.  When they arrive, they find themselves in an incredible facsimile of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, only they are about six inches tall and are attacked by full-sized Micronauts, dressed as X-Men and led by Professor Xavier.  Once the X-Men have been defeated, it is revealed that the "Xavier" leading the Micronauts is actually The Entity in disguise.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Baron Karza still has his consciousness switched with Kitty Pryde's.  While he is awake in Kitty's body, he has enough control over his mental powers to control his own body and keep Kitty from assuming control of it.  When he is defeated in Kitty's body by the Entity, it looks as though Kitty has been freed to control Karza's body.

- When Professor Xavier falls asleep in the X-mansion, The Entity weakens and swears to go after the cause of his weakness.

Writing!
Like last issue, the story is pretty evenly split between the Micronauts in the first half and the X-Men in the second half; perhaps Manto and Claremont split their writing chores that way?  In this issue, each member of the Micronauts has a moment in the spotlight, but the X-Men are largely handled as a team.  It makes sense, I suppose, for the lesser-known characters to be fleshed out a bit, since the point of a crossover like this is to draw some of the X-Men readers over to the Micronauts title.  The New Mutants make a brief appearance in this issue, but they primarily serve as background decor.  There really aren't any great moments in this issue, but it does move the plot forward, at least.

Art!
Jackson Guice gets to have some fun with the character spotlights on the Micronauts, but other than that this issue is pretty bland; he seems to have some problems with some of the faces in this issue, but nothing too distracting. 

Primary mutation: weather control.  Secondary mutation: vaguely fish-like head

We do get a slightly better look at The Entity in this issue, but there isn't enough detail to show his face beneath the helmet.  There are two inkers in this issue.  I expected Kelley Jones' inks to have an obvious difference to Wiacek's --- Jones is a very distinctive penciller, so I assumed that his inking would be similarly stylized --- but, for the most part, their work here is difficult to distinguish.  Some of Kelley's trademark tendencies toward teh grotesque do show up in this panel, though:

The Entity's face appears to be inspired by Jason Voorhees

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The Entity comments that all living beings are like toys to him.  Since half the characters in this story are based on toys, I thought that was cute.

Everything 80's:
I'm not saying that comic readers do not enjoy fishing, but this advertisement is targeting an audience that you don't see ads for in modern comics.

Magik (Storm and Illyana Limited Series) #3

"Soulquest"
Published February 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Ron Frenz
Inker: Tom Palmer
Cover Artists: Ron Frenz and Tom Palmer

What's Going On?
Two more years have passed, as Illyana has become Belasco's magical apprentice.  Under his tutelage, she has experimented with the warping of simple creatures --- something Storm warned her might cost her soul --- but without impressive results.  Storm finally makes her move and attacks Belasco in his stronghold.  She does not stand a chance. 

She also looks like a pirate

While she is battling Belasco, Cat (ever loyal to Belasco, since her change last issue) attacks Storm.  Illyana defends Storm and kills Cat.  Belasco promises to take the next step toward the total corruption of Illyana's soul, to  be followed with the stealing and sacrifice Storm's soul to Belasco's Dark Gods.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Illyana is manifesting great magical power, but she does not have a lot of control over it yet.

- Belasco's magical pentagrams are made of red-black fire, and his back is turned to the point.  Typical Satanic imagery.  Storm's magical pentagrams are silver, and she faces the point; this is supposed to indicate that her spells are for healing.  Illyana's pentagram is silver...but we don't actually see which way she faces.  Hmm...

- Illyana is beginning to mainfest her mutant power, the ability  to control the "stepping discs" of Limbo, which can transport you in time and space.

- Illyana traveled back in time and witnessed when Storm's soul was corrupted by Belasco.  Years ago, when she was Belasco's apprentice and at the peak of her magical and mutant powers, Storm savagely attacked Belasco.  When he was helpless, she landed a killing blow.  The result was the corruption of her soul, but not the actual death of Belasco; apparently, he cannot be killed in Limbo.

- While Storm's soul was corrupted by Belasco, a lifetime spent trying to undo the damage has left her soul more good than evil, if no longer innocent.

Writing!
*Sigh* Another issue in, and another few years have passed without making me care about this story.  Ostensibly, we should be seeing Illyana losing her soul as she is Belasco's apprentice in this issue.  In practice...not so much.  She has a corrupt side that we see at the beginning of the issue, but it's only apparent for a few panels.  Instead, we are shown Illyana being an observer (yet again) as someone else attacks Belasco.  I was surprised that so much focus was given to Illyana killing Cat because there is no real foreshadowing of this scene in any of the Illyana/Kitty Pryde scenes in Uncanny X-Men around this time --- certainly nothing where Illyana specifically recalls murdering the alternate version of her best friend.  The writing in this series is not really justifying the existence of this series.

Art!
Again, I'm not terribly thrilled by the art, but there's nothing bad here.  The story is just underwhelming, so there is not much for the art to do.  The scene with young Storm attacking was pretty good, but not fantastic.  The sequence where Illyana battled Cat was solid storytelling, but nothing too fancy.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Despite the cover of this issue, Belasco never asks Illyana to choose between his love and Storm's life, although the last page comes pretty close to mirroring the cover image.  Why thy felt the need to include the misleading dialogue on the cover, I don't know.

- Illyana's mutant power appears to be tied to Limbo.  She can control/manipulate the "stepping discs" that can transport her anywhere/when within Limbo.  These are supposedly a natural feature of Limbo, that have existed before Illyana arrived.  Over time, this ability becomes the ability to teleport wherever she wants on Earth, with the understanding that she is momentarily stopping along the way in Limbo.  It may seem like a slight difference, but the implied locality is actually a pretty significant change.

- The reference to a New Mutants issue makes it clear that she will be involved in that title, despite having only made peripheral appearances in issues #1 and #3 so far.  I guess it makes sense.  There are only a few young mutants in the Marvel Universe at this point, and she made the most sense to play a part in Xavier's school; Franklin Richards was both too young and a part of the family dynamic in Fantastic Four, Siryn would make more sense with her father on Muir Island, but Illyana's brother is an X-Man and she's been lurking in the background of the title for months.

Worth Noting:
- A scene in this issue plays a part in New Mutants #14, which will be published in a few months.

Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #9

"Among These Dark, Satanic Mills"
Published February 1984
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
Captain Britain makes his way through the surreal world that is Jim Jasper's London on his way to confront the villain.  Meanwhile, his friends fall under attack from Jaspers' Beetle enforcers, despite their best efforts.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Despite his wounded hands (from protecting Captain UK in Daredevils #10), Merlin refuses to quit his chess game.  Roma comments that it looks inevitable that he will lose.  Since Captain Britain is Merlin's chosen champion, that bodes poorly for his upcoming battle.

- Elizabeth Braddock and Alison Double are captured by the Beetles

- On the run from the Beetles, Saturnyne harasses Captain UK until she responds with violence.  Saturnyne seems to think this will lead to UK doing more than whining in the battle to come.

Writing!
While I can't say that nothing happens in this issue, it felt a little like Moore was treading water here.  It was nice to see Captain UK take her first step toward redemption, and Tom Lennox's death may have repercussions (or maybe not), but the main story did not progress.  Captain Britain went from leaving to confront Jaspers to...continuing on his way to confront Jaspers.  

Art!
For an issue where it felt like not much was happening, Alan Davis had a few pretty cool panels.  I especially liked how he indicated Elizabeth's premonition. 

Nothing spectacular, but I like how the blending of panels implied a connection.  He also did a pretty good job with the last panel.  Davis is so good when he gets to have fun with the characters.  Also, what artist chooses to draw feet?

Retrospectively Amusing:
-Despite all the craziness swirling around him, Jim Jaspers is still found in his office.

- I find it astonishing that none of the events in this title are ever recapped when Psylocke reflects on her history.  Her lover was murdered!  And yet, I am fairly certain that his name never comes up in any of Claremont's 80's or 90's issues.

Worth Noting:
- The title of this issue is taken from a poem by William Blake.  Since the mills in the poem seem (to me; I'm not a poetry major) to reference the industrial revolution, I'm not entirely sure what the relevance is here.

- Thomas Lennox dies in this issue.  Despite having died in the middle of a story with reality being warped, Lennox has never come back to life.  (Yet.)

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #12

"Sunstroke"
Published February 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: Tom Mandrake
Cover Artist: Tom Mandrake

What's Going On?
After their Nova Roma adventure, the team takes some time to unwind in Rio de Janeiro.  Unfortunately, Amara gets heatstroke on the beach while she is unwinding, and gets lost in the city while losing control of her lava powers.  The team has to track her down and get her under control.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Roberto confronts his father, Emmanuel, about his attempts to have hired thugs derail his mother's expedition into the uncharted Amazon.  Emmanuel does not try to defend himself, and the two simply argue and part on bad terms.

- Emmanuel DaCosta accepts Sebastian Shaw's offer to join the Hellfire Club.

I love the halo of light surrounding Emmanuel in this scene.  It sure makes this seem more important than it ever turns out to be.

- While praying, Rahne mentions that she still has feelings for Sam, but that he seems to have a crush on Amara.  Rahne fears for her immortal soul for simply being a mutant.

- Nina DaCosta has chosen to stay in Nova Roma for...you know, reasons.

- Amara's father is now the top politician in Nova Roma.

Writing!
It looks like I spoke too soon, proclaiming last issue as the final part of the Brazilian tour.  While I will admit that the Roberto/Emmanuel scene had to happen, I don't think we really needed an issue justifying why Amara is joining the team.  She had minimal control over her powers in Nova Roma, so this story felt redundant.  But hey!  At least now the team has someone who needs to be taught how to control her powers!  Ever since Cannonball learned to turn mid-flight, that focus has been missing in this title.

Art!
Sal Buscema and Tom Mandrake's art has settled into consistently acceptable work.  That may seem like faint praise, but...well, it is.  It's not particularly splashy or exciting, but it certainly is not bad, although some of the contemprary style choices for the characters are questionable.  Nice sunglasses, Dani!

To be fair, this art team hasn't had many exciting things to draw, except maybe the occasional Magma scene.  Even that scene is less impressive in this issue.  Again, nothing is wrong, it just isn't good.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- I've noticed several scenes in this title where one of the female characters is easily defeated in a physical battle.  This is the first time the issue of consent has popped up.  Not surprisingly, it is not exactly an opportunity for a feminist manifesto.

- Sunspot has super-strength.  Cannonball can fly and is strong enough to carry Sunspot.  Therefore, Cannonball is strong enough to carry Sunspot while he is carrying a truck.  Sure, that logic checks out.

- Wolfsbane is unhappy with the team seeming to only include her when they need her to track someone, and she is upset that Sam has a crush on Amara.  Immediately after mentioning this, she is asked to track Amara.  She indicates no reluctance or annoyance when asked, and when the whole episode is over, she appears to have accepted Amara as a friend.  Because that is how teenagers work.

- When Amara passes out in the street, some kids find her and bring her home to help her recover.  That was nice of them.  Why, then, did it sound like they were going to sexually assault her?

- Amara's heart's desire is the death of her and the entire New Mutants team.  I'm reasonably sure this is never mentioned again.

 I do like that the random bystander knows who the New Mutants are.

- Amara has caused several volcanic eruptions within the city limits of Rio.  How worried are the New Mutants about being held accountable for millions of dollars worth of damage?  If you answered "So worried that they make a joke about it and laugh it off," you are correct.

- One of the fan letters in this issue laments how frequently and easily Rahne gets beaten in this title.  It's nice to know I'm not the only one noticing these things.  In my defense, I haven't used the phrase "Liberated Woman."

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.