Daredevils #5

"Executive Action"
Published May 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
A group of mercenaries, the Special Executive, have been hired to bring Captain Britain somewhere.  They successfully execute a plan to breach the highly defended Braddock Manor, neutralize the psychics that are currently living there, and confront Captain Britain while he is in bed.  A fight ensues, but only because the Special Executive didn't explain the matter properly; they have been hired by Saturnyne to bring him as a witness for her trial defense.  Of course, Saturnyne is the one who left him stranded in an alternate reality to face certain death, so Cap isn't too keen on helping her cause.  That doesn't stop the Special Executive, though...

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Betsy Braddock is apparently romantically involved with her fellow psychic, Thomas Lennox.  Personality goes a long way, I guess, but the pairing of a fashion model with a guy who looks like this feels like a fanboy fantasy.

- Heeey, looks like we haven't left the dimension-hopping reality-bending from the previous volume of CapBrit stories.  The return of Saturnyne means the return of alternate Earths, which will probably lead to the return of the Fury.

- According to Special Executive member Cobweb, their leader, Wardog, seems to be getting the group some lousy jobs.

Writing!
The idea behind this story is a pretty simple one, but I like the way it's presented.  It could have been a few scenes of Wardog giving exposition, followed by several pages of his plan being enacted.  Moore spiced the story up by using Wardog's exposition to explain the plan while it was in action.  It's a simple device, but it worked very well here.  I'm a little surprised to see Moore returning to the more cosmic themes of the Fury storyline already, having spent the last few issues establishing a new status quo for the Captain.  There's nothing wrong with that, of course, it just seems like Moore is changing directions at this point.  I guess we'll see how the story progresses. 

Art!
As the artist introducing the Special Executive to the story and (probably) to the reader, Alan Davis is tasked with showcasing the abilities of the team members.  This group has some members with unusual superpowers, and Davis does a pretty great job illustrating them.  It's got to be tough to visually explain the concept of Fascination's power set...

...and that pales in comparison to a convincing image of Cobweb being psychically in tune with all her future and past selves.  I like it when Davis is given the chance to get creative like this.

Retroactively Amusing:
- The Special Executive first appeared in 1981's Dr. Who #51, and some of its members are from Gallifrey.  That means that, licensing issues or not, the Doctor Who Universe is the Marvel Universe.  That is very cool.

- I'm not judging, but it's interesting that Brian and Betsy Braddock both sleep naked, especially since the British are supposedly the more conservative audience.

Meanwhile, American audiences are treated to a lot of pajamas in the X-Men books.

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #3

Quite the coloring job, Marvel.  Was "pitch black" too difficult?

"Nightmare"
Published May 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Bob McLeod
Inker: Mike Gustovich

What's Going On?
Dani's having nightmares about the creature that attacked her in the Danger Room last issue, to the point where her screams wake the entire house.  "It's okay," the other New Mutants assure her, "It's just a dream..." except for the fact that the knife she stabbed the creature with in her dream is covered with blood!  Gasp!  Dani takes the knife to present as proof that she is not crazy to Professor Xavier, but he is already on the phone with Moira MacTaggert, explaining how crazy Dani is, and how he doesn't know what deep, dank hole to put her in.  For whatever reason, Dani dismisses her own proof to the contrary and decides that she must be nuts.  But maybe she's not!  Dani gathers the New Mutants together to help her decide if she's nuts, when their entire world goes topsy-turvy.  The evil Brood creature appears and attacks the team, but when they fight back, the creature vanishes!  The entire grounds of Xavier's school transform into a nightmarish landscape, where the New Mutants don't know what is real and what is not.  That is because the Brood creature is using Dani's powers against the entire team, without her knowledge.  Eventually, Dani realizes that her powers are the key to defeating the monster and has Sam knock her unconscious.  This wins the day, and the New Mutants are left wondering what happened to them that day...until Magnum, PI is on TV, which heals all wounds.


Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Banshee witnesses Illyana singing a song of tribute to missing friends; he assumes she is referring to the X-Men, but she is really singing her tribute to the friends she lost in Belasco's dimension --- the story of which has not been told yet, because her limited series hasn't been written yet.

- Cannonball still has trouble making sharp turns when he's "blasting."  At what point will that stop being the defining factor with his powers?  (Best guess?  After Chris Claremont leaves the title.)

- Is that Sunspot holding Wolfsbane's hand I see?  Woo-woo!  Romance on the horizon!  Or not...

Writing!
The further I get into this series, the less impressed I am with the writing.  Why?  Because this issue is obviously crap.  Let's ignore the fact that this issue takes place chronologically between two much better issues of Uncanny X-Men that have already been published.  On its own merits, this is still a poorly written comic.

Let's start with Dani's dream; I am okay with the "death" scenes she imagines for her friends, but the actual nightmare creature was just...boring.  The fact that is was a bear wearing a mask just made it seem ridiculous instead of scary.  Worse than that is how Brood Xavier handled the New Mutants.  I can understand the Broodling wanting to get rid of Dani, since she has psionic abilities.  I do not understand why she was the sole target, when Karma also has psionic powers.  I also don't understand why the Brood Xavier ever made a physical appearance when attacking the team; it is apparent that the Broodling is forcing the New Mutants to fight apparitions.  What is less obvious is the fact that sometimes --- especially when Dani stabs the Brood when she is dreaming --- the Brood is actually fighting and getting injured.  If it has access to Xavier's mental abilities and Dani's illusion abilities, why would the Broodling ever need to put itself in danger?

Worst of all: this issue does not actually ever explain what is going on!  I get it; Xavier has become possessed by a Brood that is using his mental powers.  But if I was just reading this title, I would definitely not know any of that.  New Mutants has not explained that Xavier has been possessed by an alien, it has not explained what the hell a Brood is, and it sure as hell didn't explain that Brood Xavier was manipulating Dani's powers in this issue; there's a hint at the end of the issue, but not enough to satisfy readers that aren't keeping up with the X-Men.  Did that all need to be spelled out?  Not necessarily, but this comic isn't making it easy to be a casual reader.


Art!
I'm sure that this is just me seeing a trend where there really isn't one, but there seems to be an awful lot of dudes beating on women in these first few issues of New Mutants.  The first issue has Roberto giving Xi'an a full forehand smack, and here he is, using his super-strength against her ribcage:

And how does the issue climax?  With Sam rocketing his fist into Dani's face!

These images may have been taken completely out of context, but I think we can all agree that Bob McLeod is good at drawing women getting knocked out.

Keep in mind that this comic is probably aimed at an audience younger than that of the X-Men.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Apparently, a Demon Bear "murdered" Dani's parents.  In case the word "Demon" didn't clue you in that this is an unusual bear, the fact that she uses "murdered" instead of "killed" is a nice hint.  Also, how hilarious is it that the monster in her dream was wearing a mask, revealing a bear's head underneath?

- Dani takes the blood-stained knife to Xavier as proof that she's not crazy, and yet none of the artwork after that first scene supports her claim.  Yay, Comics Code!  The lack of blood on the knife doesn't at all make her look batshit crazy when she contemplates suicide a few panels later...

That's right...Dani shouldn't be allowed to live and we shouldn't be allowed to see blood

- When Dani screams herself awake from her nightmare, Sam and Roberto are immediately at her door.  That implies that their rooms are next to hers.  That seems like a poor arrangement on Xavier's part; I'm not saying that these are not well-behaved kids, but that's an awful lot of faith to put into horny teens not trying to have sex in the middle of the night.

- Moira MacTaggert does not want to have children with former X-Man Banshee, because her last child turned out to be a murdering bastard.  Good point.

-  Sam brings up an excellent point; why doesn't Xavier just expel Dani, if the Brood Xavier is that worried about her?  Does there need to be a solid reason for him to get rid of her?  Hell, Illyana went to Europe with Moria MacTaggert because...um...reasons.  Why couldn't Dani get shuffled off in a similar fashion?  This entire issue is a waste of time!

- Karma tries to possess Brood Xavier in this issue and is defeated by Brood Xavier's mental ickiness.  Thank goodness she tries the exact same thing, minutes later, in Uncanny X-Men #167.  Just because she's the oldest doesn't mean she's the smartest.

- According to Brood Xavier, it is well within Dani's abilities to turn her psychic projections into physical apparitions...if only she had trained more!  Wah-wah!  Too bad this is never mentioned again.

Worth Noting:
- The first page of this issue helpfully points out that this story takes place between Uncanny X-Men #166 and #167.

- This is the first mention of the Demon Bear. 

- For all intents and purposes, this is the end of the first story arc of New Mutants.  This is the 80s, of course, so this wasn't being written for the trade, but this is the effective end of the storyline that led to the formation of this team.  The New Mutants were gathered because Xavier has lost the X-Men, and has decided to teach a new generation of mutants.  Now that the X-Men have returned (in-between this and the next issue), the theoretic dynamic will shift.  Theoretically, there should be less pressure on the New Mutants to

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.