New Mutants (Vol. 1) #14

"Do You Believe in -- Magik?"
Published April 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Tom Mandrake
Cover Artist: Tom Mandrake

What's Going On?
Remember Illyana?  She's been lurking in the background of the occasional issue of Uncanny X-Men and New Mutants for a while, and she just starred in her own limited series: Magik (Storm and Illyana Limited Series).  Now, her nemesis Belasco has sent his demonic henchman, Sy'm, to bring Illyana back to Limbo.  Can the New Mutants help defend their teammate this relative stranger against this demonic thug?  Short answer: not really, she can defend herself just fine.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The kids decide to throw Professor Xavier a surprise party (with the help of Illyana and Stevie Hunter) to distract him from the fact that his alien girlfriend is a galaxy away.

- Instead of killing S'ym, Illyana has him swear loyalty to her.

- Professor Xavier surprises everyone by standing up and dancing with Illyana; apparently, this comic was released before Xavier was playing basketball in Uncanny X-Men #180.  

- Douglas Ramsey tells Kitty Pryde that he's been offered a scholarship at the Massachusetts Academy, which is run by Hellfire Club member Emma Frost.  He asks her to come along for his school visit.

Writing!
This issue tries something different by having Illyana narrate.  It isn't a revelation or anything, but it's a nice change of pace.  It is interesting that this issue was scheduled to be published after the Magik (Storm and Illyana Limited Series), since you would imagine that raising her profile in this issue would generate interest in the limited series, but whatever.  As far as the story goes, it's decent, but I still get the feeling that Claremont does not know what direction he wants to go with these characters; it feels like he's tossing out ideas, just to see what sticks.  That's not terrible --- here, it is just the degree that Magik is supposed to frighten people --- but it is a recurring theme in this book.  A more troublesome bit of writing involved the motivation for S'ym in this issue.  S'ym states that he was sent to bring Illyana back to Limbo by Belasco --- and yet, S'ym later tells us that Belasco has fled Limbo and has not returned since Illyana defeated him.  So...why and how did S'ym come to Westchester?

Art!

Nice erection, Stevie.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- One of the plot points in Magik (Storm and Illyana Limited Series) was that Belasco wanted to escape Limbo and return to Earth.  I like that it's not a big deal for him to send S'ym to Earth, though.

- Xavier wonders what horrors Illyana experienced in Limbo (subtle nudge for readers to pick up the limited series).  Too bad he hasn't bothered to ask her in the entire year she has been back.

- The New Mutants discuss how scary Illyana is.  Let's try to keep track of how often this is brought up.  I'm guessing not at all, after her first year on the team is complete.

- I know this isn't S'ym first appearance, and he is supposed to be a tribute (of sorts) to Dave Sim's Cerebus, but I just love his costume design: vest and undies.  Nice!  Also, how ridiculously over-powered is S'ym?  I know, he killed some alternate reality X-Men, but still...he just shrugs Cannonball and Sunspot off like they were nothing!  In their own book!  I'll take bets as to how tough S'ym will be to defeat in his next appearance...

- Don't worry, kids!  Stevie Hunter will save you!  Until her knee gives out (again).

- Illyana casts a spell to alter Stevie's memories so no one will know she is a sorceress.  I don't think this type of spell comes up again in this series.

Worth Noting:
- Remember the New Mutants cameo in Magik #3?  This is the tie-in.

- While it is not explicitly stated in this issue, S'ym mentions that Belasco's "mantle" is Illyana's by right of her victory.  This is the first allusion to Illyana being the ruler of Limbo.

- Again, this is not explicitly stated in this issue, but this is the issue that Illyana joins the New Mutants.  Aside from the fact that she seems to be accepted as one of the students and having the issue's narration told from her point of view, the cover shows her in a New Mutant uniform.  Despite the issue's title, she still has not been called "Magik" by anyone yet.

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #13

"School Daysze"
Published March 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Tom Mandrake
Cover Artist: Bret Blevins (the Marvel Wiki says Tom Mandrake is the sole cover artist, but Blevins' style is pretty obvious and his signature is visible under the UPC)

What's Going On?
Finally back at school after their South American adventures, Professor Xavier and the New Mutants welcome Amara to her new home.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Roberto flirts with Amara,which makes Danielle a little jealous.  I believe this never goes anywhere.

- Sam also tries to flirt with Amara, but his attempt is clumsier and less successful.

- Kitty Pryde and Doug Ramsey hack into Project Wideawake and clumsily control a Sentinel for a few moments, until the Wideawake folks force it to self-destruct.

- Kitty talks to Doug briefly about her parent's divorce.  This is the first time she has mentioned it since Uncanny X-Men Annual #6.

- The New Mutants are rude to Kitty Pryde, reviving the "X-Babies" feud that had not really been an issue for the team until now.

- Kitty Pryde worries about her relationship with Colossus, wondering if she may wind up falling in love with Doug Ramsey, with whom she has much more in common.

- Xavier suffers yet another blow from the as-yet-undefined psychic scan, as he did in the last two issues of Uncanny.

- Xavier and Lilandra have a long-distance holographic conversation, and it appears to be the last time we will see Lilandra for a while; she is going beyond communications range with Earth, so we probably won't see her for a while.

Writing!
This might be my favorite issue of New Mutants to date.  It's an issue spent entirely on character building, and it works pretty well.  When I realized that this was going to be yet another issue spent discussing how little control Amara has over her powers, I was disappointed.  However, despite the lack of any major action sequences, this issue finally felt like a sister title to Uncanny X-Men.  The action has not picked up, but it was nice to see these characters get a much-needed opportunity to expand a bit.

Art!
Well, it's more Sal Buscema, and he's given less to do than usual.  It's not that Buscema cannot handle character-based scenes, but he tends to make them a bit melodramatic.  It's not bad by any means, it just feels uninspired.


Retrospectively Amusing:
- Despite the cover of this issue, Kitty and the New Mutants do not have a major showdown (and she never wears a costume with that color scheme).

- It's the first issue back at the X-Mansion since Karma disappeared.  I wonder if any of the New Mutants will ask how Xavier's search for her is going...no?  Okay, I guess we're just assuming she is dead now, but it's okay because she has been replaced by a blonde babe now.

- Professor Xavier explains how much he respects privacy to Amara, stating that he will not use his psychic powers to pry in her mind.  The very next page has Xavier deciding that he had better remain in constant psychic contact with Amara.  Granted, he is completely justified in wanting to keep her from causing an accidental earthquake; I just love that those two panels are so close together in the story.

- According to Henry Peter Gyrich, Sentinels cost around five million dollars.  While I don't have $5m, that seems like a pretty reasonable price tag for giant walking arsenals with artificial intelligence.

- Gyrich makes a valid point, stating that the hacking of Project Wideawake is an attack on the federal government.  I'm going to hazard a wild guess that this concept never really causes and problems for Kitty or Doug.

- Xavier mentions the events of Marvel Team-Up Annual #6, which saw Sunspot and Wolfsbane get infected by the drug that created Cloak and Dagger.  That issue was released in October 1983, and this is the first time anyone in this comic has acknowledged those events.

- While both Sam and Rahne feel pretty stupid in computer class, Xavier chooses to help only Sam, even as he wonders how to convince Rahne that she's not dumb.

- When Amara asks if being a mutant is something to be ashamed of, Rahne answers in the affirmative and no one disputes it.

- There is a promo for the upcoming Beauty and the Beast at the end of this issue, promising  a February release.  Since the general newsstand practice was to have a publication date two months after the actual street release date, that means that this issue (ostensibly released in January 1984, but dated March 1984) was promoting a title for release in the following month.  Beauty and  the Beast was eventually given a release date of December 1984.

- I love the last panel of the issue.  Xavier being ever-so-chipper in the face of failure is cute, especially when you consider latter-day retcons that made him into a completely manipulative asshole.

- In her second appearance, Valerie Cooper is mentioned by name but has no speaking lines.  Clearly, a solid attempt at building an independent female character!

- Stevie Hunter's role seems to be expanding.  For a while, she was the gymnastics teacher for the kids.  Now, her role has expanded so that she can "help Charles work with all you kids."  That makes it seem like her role will be expanding in this title, but I don't belive that is actually true.

Worth Noting:
- Future New Mutants penciler, Bret Blevins, gets his first crack at the characters with this cover.

- Amara finally gets her code-name, Magma

- This is the first appearance of Doug Ramsey, although he looks a bit more rugged and handsome than he is typically drawn in later appearances.

- Rahne refers to Moira MacTaggert as her godmother in this issue; this is the first time a formal relationship has been suggested between the two characters.

Everything 80s:
- The 80's were absolutely ADORABLE with their video games that came in 8 different console versions! 

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?

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #4

"Who's Scaring Stevie?"
Published June 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: Bob McLeod

What's Going On?
The team's dance teacher, Stevie Hunter, is receiving threatening phone calls.  The police can't do much about it, since that would give the New Mutants nothing to do this issue --- er, because the threats are not specific, I mean.  The New Mutants decide to help Stevie track down the caller and end his reign of terror.  The perpetrator turns out to be another one of Stevie's dance students, Peter Bristow; Peter suffers a lot of physical and mental abuse at home, and didn't know how to handle Stevie being nice to him.  So, there's that.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Xavier makes a definite choice to not try and overpower the New Mutants with his personality, as he may have with the original X-Men.  Since he was a real dick in the first few years of X-Men comics (and pretty much in every major story after Brubaker's run, for that matter), that is a major character choice for him.

- Xavier apologizes to the team for being possessed by an evil alien and trying to kill them, thus marking the very last reference to the Brood saga in this series.  The New Mutants are surprisingly forgiving, by the way.

- Cannonball's still having difficulty making turns when he's "blastin'," but he finally manages his first turn in this issue.

Writing!
Well, Claremont uses his this issue to address child abuse; I guess that makes it an Issue issue.  As far as that goes, I've seen clumsier comics (usually in Spider-Man or Captain America), but this hasn't aged particularly well.  Nothing of any real consequence happens in this issue, which makes it feel like a fill-in spot, despite the contributions of Claremont and regular penciller Bob McLeod.  Oddly enough, Karma is a victim of physical and sexual abuse (as shown in issue #1), which would have made her a prime choice to act as the angry, scarred victim in this issue; while it would make for a far more interesting choice for her character, I suppose that's a lot of baggage to give a main character in the early 80s.

Art!
I have to admit, while this is the first New Mutants issue to not be pencilled by Bob McLeod, you have to have a good eye to notice.  Sal Buscema must have tailored his more angular style to fit the style of previous issues, but McLeod obviously put a lot of work into his inks here.  Just look at the facial expressions in this scene:

That does not look like Sal Buscema art.  That looks like Bob McLeod's work, pure and simple.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Rahne is portrayed as having super-speed in this issue.  Not faster than the eye can see, but fast enough to throw and catch her own frisbee toss.  I don't know if that kind of speed is ever mentioned again.

- Roberto puts together a phone tapping device that both records phone calls and tracks the location of the caller.  Since Roberto has never displayed such talent before, the unlikeliness is explained away by having Xavier help him make it.  

- Continuing with the disturbing violence against women theme that has been established in this comic, here we have Rahne at the mercy of the abusive Peter:

I don't think that the victimization of the female New Mutants is intentional by any means, but it is interesting that the only "strong" female in this team is Dani, who is only considered tough because she has attitude.  Sooner or later, these gals will have to start being fully developed characters, capable of defending themselves.

- At the end of the issue, Xavier "edits" young Peter's mind to remove any memories of the New Mutants.  While I understand how convenient that is for the kids, it is morally questionable, at the very least.  What I love about this scene, though, is that it doesn't worry any of the New Mutants.  Xavier was just recently controlled by an evil alien, and none of them are worried about Xavier manipulating people's (particularly their own) minds?  Those are some trusting kids!

Everything 80s:
- Roberto proudly admits that he took his phone-tapping idea from an episode of Magnum, PI.  Either Chris Claremont really liked that show, or he liked to use it as an excuse to explain away silly plot devices.

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #2

"Sentinels"
Published April 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Bob McLeod
Inker: Mike Gustovich


What's Going On?
Stevie Hunter takes Rahne, Roberto, Sam, and Xi'an to the mall to see "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" in the theater.  They are secretly monitored by agents of Project Wideawake, under the orders of Henry Peter Gyrich.  The idea is for the agents to detain the students because they are mutants (that makes sense, right?).  While the agents are making their move, Stevie receives a surprise encounter from Michael Rossi, from Air Force Intelligence.  Rossi alerts Stevie to the abduction of the students, and they (and the kids) manage to fight off the Project Wideawake agents.  That's when the gigantic, mutant-hunting robot Sentinels arrive.  The New Mutants manage to defeat the three Sentinels that were trying to capture them, but they also wrecked the mall in the process.  All's well that ends well, though, as the Project Wideawake agents get arrested and the kids return back to Xavier's school.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Remember how last issue ended, with Dani in a very dangerous Danger Room module?  Yeah, that doesn't really go very far in this issue.  Dani avoids some danger, is confronted by a gigantic Brood, and she gets knocked unconscious.  This somehow saves her from the Danger Room program and the Brood.  When the rest of the team finds and wakes her, Dani doesn't think anyone believes her tale.  However, Stevie knows that only three people can activate the most dangerous Danger Room sequences; Stevie was in town with the other students, Moira was in Europe, and Professor Xavier was at home, without an alibi.  Hmm...

- Sebastian Shaw is the man ultimately responsible for sending the Sentinels to attack the New Mutants (I guess?  More on that later...).  Shaw's plan is to make the kids ultra-paranoid, "suspicious of everyone, save their own kind;" once Xavier is "eliminated," Shaw plans to swoop in and have the kids willingly join the Hellfire Club. 

- After Roberto made a vaguely sexual comment about Rahne at the end of last issue, it is implied here that she has a crush on him.  I don't recall that ever being a major sub-plot in this series, so I'm curious as to when this is abandoned.

- Sebastian Shaw realizes that Roberto's father is a member of the Hellfire Club.  Not the evil, power-hungry Inner Circle, but the fancy high society club.  Shaw plans to use the older DaCosta to bring his son to the Hellfire Club.

Writing!
Woof.  This is a poor issue. 

Pushing the cliffhanger ending of last issue to the background of this issue feels unnatural, from a pacing perspective.  Having the situation resolve itself by having Dani get knocked unconscious and then not coming to more serious harm when she was utterly defenseless makes absolutely no sense and undermines the danger she was originally in.

As for the main plot, the Sentinels show up because...um...okay, fine, there is no clear cause-and-effect.  Bringing back Michael Rossi seems absolutely random.  On the bright side, it is fun seeing the kids' powers in action against the Sentinels, but they should be out of their league against Sentinels.  The small character moments in the story came across decently well, but Claremont's attempts at teenager dialogue don't feel very natural.

And then there are the thematic problems.  Just last issue, it was stressed that the New Mutants would not become a team of superheroes.  The very next issue, they are fighting giant robots in public.  Even worse, they do this without masks!  For some unknown reason, the team uniforms that they seem to wear under their street clothes --- because they're not a super-team that would need to switch into their disguises en route to hero-ing --- do not include even the most basic masks.  These costumes are based on the classic original X-Men uniforms (which all had masks) and the modified original Kitty Pryde uniform (which also had a mask).  And what about their lack of training?  None of the New Mutants who defeated these supposedly deadly Sentinels passed even the most basic Danger Room training sequence, and yet they easily defeat one of the X-Men's major enemies?  I'm not saying that I want the kids to die, but don't you think that maybe this win should have been a little less dominant?  Already, it feels like the focus of this title is being pulled in different directions, and the end product is suffering for it.

Art!
I like Bob McLeod's action sequences in this issue; I think he portrays the awkward bulk of the Sentinels very well.

...But there are some serious storyboarding problems.  There are slightly goofy, but annoying problems, like having the kids wearing their New Mutants uniforms under their street clothes --- including the long gloves and boots that they clearly were not wearing under their clothes.  That's a little silly, but not a big problem.  I'm more annoyed by the kids changing their clothes between panels, as they fight for their lives; that just seems like a misuse of time in an emergency. 

My biggest problem is sloppy storytelling.  Take this scene:

Roberto is inside a parking garage, when Sentinel hands block his way.  His only way out is to desperately break through a wall to the outside.  And yet, the last panel shows Roberto breaking through a wall one story beneath the Sentinel's attack. 

Or how about this? 

What happened to the Sentinel that was holding onto Sam?  It clearly was not shown crashing into Sentinel #3.  Did it just let go, and quit?

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The kids watch "E.T." in the theater and of course have to discuss whether or not E.T. is a mutant.

- Local teens go out of their way to introduce themselves to the New Mutants, because the locals haven't seen them around before.  That's pretty nice, I suppose, but it's not like Westchester is a small, remote village where everyone knows your name; the county has almost a million people in it in 2014, with dozens of schools.

- Sebastian Shaw's student recruitment plan is a bit overcomplicated, especially when you consider that the Hellfire Club eventually decides to recruit its own students at the Massachusetts Academy.  "Wait...you mean we can get kids to be on our side without creating a conspiracy?"
 
- Michael Rossi has been pretending to be dead for the past several years as part of Air Force Intelligence?  The Air Force?!?  Not the FBI or CIA?  Not SHIELD?!?  Unless I missed out on a rich history of Marvel using the Air Force as ultimate spy badasses in the 80s, this is a bizarre choice.

- You've got to love Project Wideawake's camera and microphone network.  It's not like they would have set up their own gear at the ice cream shop that the New Mutants visited on a whim, so that means they have the ability to hack the security cameras at the mall (which apparently also transmit audio?).  I would *LOVE* to hear a technical explanation for that, especially one that uses 1983 technology.

- Project Wideawake has its motives spelled out in this issue, and they essentially boil down to this: since mutants are not a nation-specific resource, it is possible that other countries are creating their own elite offensive unit of mutant soldiers and specialists.  That is a legitimate and sympathetic motivation.  So what is Project Wideawake supposed to do?  Um.  Well.  Be bigoted bad guys, I guess?  It's not very clear.

- According to Henry Peter Gyrich, he is under direct orders from the President to keep Project Wideawake a secret for as long as possible.  And now the Sentinels have publicly battled children and wrecked a shopping mall.  Oops.  Don't worry, though; I'm pretty sure this debacle is not mentioned again and has no lasting repercussions to the program.

- The Sentinels get called in as the "contingency plan" when the Project Wideawake agents encounter resistance.  Henry Peter Gyrich, head of Project Wideawake, said that he would never use Sentinels to apprehend children, only the most dangerous adults.  Which is right?  Did the agents have the okay to call in the Sentinels, or are we to believe that Sebastian Shaw has several Project Wideawake agents on his payroll?  And if that's the case, wouldn't they be found out and punished pretty damn quickly?

- The New Mutants and the Sentinels wrecked the local mall.  You would think that would be a big deal, but the kids get to go back to school at the end of the issue, scot-free.

- The "Professor Xavier has a Brood egg in him" sub-plot continues, even though the story got a resolution last month in Uncanny #167.  Looks like somebody is still getting the hang of publishing multiple related titles per month, eh Marvel?

Worth Noting:
- Michael Rossi was believed to have been dead before his return in this issue.  I believe his death was in Uncanny X-Men #96 at the hands of Sentinel master Stephen Lang, but I'm not 100% sure, since he did pop up in a few issues of  Ms. Marvel (Vol. 1) afterward; it looks like those appearances were only in flashbacks, but I can't be certain.

- The computer screen in Project Wideawake headquarters shows the ages of the New Mutants.  Roberto is 13, Rahne 14, Sam 16, and Xi'an 19.  I'm pretty sure that Roberto is not portrayed as the youngest in the group in any other issues, so this may be retconned quickly.

- Sunspot falls three stories and lands on a car, but does not seem to be hurt.  A Sentinel observes "evident by-product of enhanced strength is increased physical resilience."  So a three-story fall barely hurts him, but Wolverine can knock him out without any trouble in Uncanny #167.  Good to know.

Everything 80s:
- There are a few house advertisements for "Blip" magazine, Marvel's attempt to capture the attention of video gamers.  The attractions are things like video game-themed comic strips, "video games of the stars," and "visual appeal."  It lasted seven issues.

- As someone who went through a major First Wave Punk phase, this just made me groan:

Marvel Graphic Novel #5: X-Men - God Loves, Man Kills

 "God Loves, Man Kills"
Published: January 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Brent Anderson
Inker: Brent Anderson

What's Going On?
The story opens with two children running for their lives.  They don't get far before they are executed for being born mutants.

Magneto shows up on the scene shortly after to discover the bodies, but the killers are long gone.  It turns out that the killers are militant followers, or "purifiers," of the viciously anti-mutant evangelist, William Stryker.  Despite heading a profitable and popular religious business, Stryker is obsessed with ridding the world of the supposed evil of mutantkind.

Naturally, Stryker turns his attentions to the most prominent mutants in America, the X-Men.  He somehow has learned all about the team and their school, and sets his purifiers sights on taking them out.  The first step is to capture Professor Xavier, Cyclops, and Storm after Xavier is invited to debate Stryker on national television.  The second step is to torture and brainwash Xavier to the point where he wants to use his mutant power of telepathy to kill mutants.  Step three is to create something that will amplify Xaviers powers so they can be effective on a large scale.

From this point on, it is simply a matter of the remaining X-Men avoiding the same fate as their friends as they (and their arch-enemy, Magneto) try to prevent Stryker from using Xavier to kill all mutantkind.

Subplots, Oh the Subplots!
Since this is a stand-alone story, it would not make much sense for there to be many subplots percolating in the background.  This being a Chris Claremont story, though, he does manage to squeeze one in.  And which current X-Men subplot does he choose to bring up?  The notion of young love/statutory rape, of course!

Is it just me, or is it weird that Illyana seems so comfortable talking about her best friend having sex with her older brother?

Writing!
God Loves, Man Kills holds a fairly unique place in X-Men history.  This story was published in a prestige format with serious themes; heck, this was written by Christopher Claremont!

Chris writes comics, Christopher writes graphic novels

This story is considerably grimmer than the typical superhero comic in 1983.  Keep in mind that this was written years before The Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen; while I wouldn't argue that this story compares with either of those, it is interesting to see Claremont pushing the envelope in this direction.  The typical X-Men comic does not show or imply the murder of children, much less the difficult-to-punch-in-the-face concept of bigotry.  This story also draws a clearer line between the treatment of mutants and racial minorities.  This is a theme that Claremont spent a lot of time on during his X-Men run, but rarely as bluntly as here:

I wouldn't mind this scene so much, if it wasn't followed with a shot of Stevie admitting to herself that Kitty was right.  I get what Claremont was going for, but the man could be ham-fisted at times.

The story doesn't feel as daring as it probably did in 1983, but God Loves, Man Kills is still a pretty good tale.  It is easy for the team to fight super-villains, but deep-seeded prejudice is a complicated foe, and Claremont does a good job illustrating that.  In particular, I think William Stryker was given a surprising amount of depth for a one-off character.  Yes, he's a crazy bigot, but I thought the backstory he received did a fantastic job making him into a monster, instead of just a dangerous idiot.

It is Claremont's use of Magneto, though, that stands out the most in this graphic novel.  This is the first time readers would have seen the villain in action since Uncanny X-Men #150, where he had a major revelation; here, he is less of a villain, and more of a man weary of the cycle of violence.  Considering that Claremont had already established that Magneto was a survivor of the Holocaust, it shows remarkable restraint that Magneto's weariness and rage are not explicitly framed with that experience.  This Magneto feels older, wiser, and far more reasonable than in any other appearance he had made, up until this point.  In fact, he makes so much sense that a guilty Xavier briefly considers following Magneto's approach to mutant survival (!).

Is this story a classic?  It's definitely worth reading, but it doesn't stand up quite as well as Claremont's more famous moments on Uncanny.  If it wasn't for Brian Singer choosing this story as the basis for X2: X-Men United, I don't know if this would get much acclaim.  And that's too bad.  While it is a bit awkward in parts, this is a nice stand-alone story and it absolutely defines the Magneto character for the rest of Claremont's run.


Art!
Let's not forget Brent Eric Anderson's artwork!  I think Anderson's art is well-suited for an issue like this, where the focus is on characters talking, rather than on dynamic action scenes.  That is not because Anderson cannot draw solid action, but he is definitely better at conveying subtle emotions than most comic artists.  When he inks his own work, it is a little reminiscent of early (read: not weird) Bill Sienkiewicz.  What makes the artwork stand out most in this graphic novel, though, is the coloring by Steve Oliff.  The super-heroing scenes were more subdued than usual, and the use of sepia tones in Stryker's origin was just lovely.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- This story was actually not considered canon until Marvel wanted to tie into the second X-Men movie, which was partially inspired by this comic; the main reason for this was because it was published without the Comics Code Authority seal of approval.  It took twenty years for there to be any acknowledgement of this story in the pages of another X-Men comic, which eventually ended up being Claremont's "God Loves, Man Kills II" storyline in X-Treme X-Men.  Unfortunately, Styker and the Purifiers (now capitalized) have just become unsympathetic punching bags to be trotted out whenever unreasoning hate is needed to explain a plot point.

- Kitty Pryde is referred to as "Ariel" in Stryker's files.  I suppose that places this issue, continuity-wise, somewhere in-between panels of Uncanny #168.

-Cyclops' optic beams are force beams, not lasers.  I don't think his powers work this way:

- Despite the many, many opportunities this plot presented, there is no mention of Nightcrawler's religious beliefs in this graphic novel.  The contrast between a bigoted preacher and a forgiving monster seems too good to pass up, and yet somehow Claremont kept Nightcrawler in the far background of this story.  

- The explanation given for Styker knowing so much about the X-Men was that he gained access to the files of Fred Duncan, the team's old FBI liason.  If you don't recall Duncan or FBI involvement with the team, that is because the last time Fred Duncan was mentioned in an issue was 1968's Uncanny X-Men #46.   Claremont rarely referenced the stories that came before he took over this title --- with good reason, honestly --- so the fact that he pulled out this random factoid is both amusing and unusual.

Uncanny X-Men #165

"Transfigurations!"
Published: January, 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Paul Smith
Inker: Bob Wiacek


What's Going On?
This issue picks up where the last one left off, with the X-Men (minus Storm and Binary) about to be sucked into the vacuum of space.  Naturally, this only distracts them for a few moments.

Not even long enough for Wolverine to not remind them about his skeleton

Once they are safe again, the team reflects on their mortality.  Meanwhile, in her escape pod, Storm almost transforms into a Brood (Broodling?  Broodite?), but is saved by her elemental powers in the vacuum of space, which apparently has more atmosphere than I have been led to believe.  She is able to use her abilities to flare up like a star, which kills the Brood egg inside her and destroys her escape pod in the process.  She does not die, however.  She reappears in the X-Men's ship as a hologram (or maybe a ghost), right before she reveals that she has become one with a living Brood starship and swallows the X-Men's ship whole.

Subplots, Oh the Subplots!
- Moira MacTaggert makes an appearance to pressure Professor Xavier to stop sulking about his missing and possibly dead students and get back to recruiting young mutants to train.  I mean, come on!  He's been sad for, like, two issues!  Get over it!  Actually, this scene does have a pretty cool moment when Moira suggests sending a prospective student to Magneto or the Hellfire Club-run Massachusetts Academy; in a rare moment that shows a moral grey area, Moira explains that it is better for mutants to be trained by potentially evil people than to be left untrained.

- Wolverine and Nightcrawler share a moment as they discuss religion.  Fun fact: this is only the second time Nightcrawler's Christianity is mentioned.

- Colossus and Kitty have their first kiss and Peter politely declines to have sex with a fourteen year old.  Way to live by society's rules, Russkie.

When they rejoin the group a little later, Kitty is wearing Peter's ugly shirt as a robe.  It's a nice, subtle sign of their deepening intimacy.  It's a little weird that no one asks why she is wearing his clothes while Peter remains half naked, but maybe the team is confused by the coloring of Scott's hair this issue.

Art!
This is the first issue of Paul Smith's stellar Uncanny X-Men run, which means that Uncanny X-Men #164 was the final issue of Dave Cockrum's run.  It feels a little odd, in retrospect, that no mention is made in the letters section or in the credits; Cockrum played a major part in the look and feel of this team, and doesn't seem to get enough credit for it.

On to Paul Smith!  I love the simple lines on his pages and the way he conveys age in the faces of his characters; just compare his Wolverine to Colossus to see how much he does with only a few lines around the eyes.  He is also one of the few comic artists that can manage to draw a teenage girl without a DD cup size.  I'm looking forward to reviewing the rest of his run.

Writing!
This issue is a great example of Claremont in his Golden Age.  The main plot, the incubating Brood eggs, is advanced.  It's actually advanced in an unpredictable way, as the team gets Jonah-and-the-Whaled at the end of the issue.  Allowing the team to take a break from senseless action (aside from the explosive decompression scene) lets us see some great character reactions that deepened the connections between Wolverine and Nightcrawer, as well as Kitty and Peter.  The "Ghost Storm" that appears at the end of the issue is weird, I'll admit, but it leaves you wanting to know what is going on.

I also really liked the check-in scene with Professor Xavier, back on Earth.  It is clearly meant to foreshadow The New Mutants, but it felt natural enough.  I especially liked Moira giving Xavier some sass; her character had a lot of history with Charles, and her best moments are when she's not afraid to disagree.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Despite the fact that she punched a hole in the side of the damned spaceship, which sets up the first scene in this issue, no character mentions Carol Danvers, her transformation into Binary, or the fact that she blew a hole in their damned spaceship.  They're just like, "Man, that explosive decompression sure sucked.  What's for dinner?"

- Recurring non-mutant cast member Stevie Hunter makes a brief appearance to talk about dance and her knee injury.   Aside from an early issue of The New Mutants, I'm pretty sure that's the most she contributes for the next hundred issues or so.

- Storm's psionic ability to manipulate the elements apparently work even better in space, to the point where she basically goes supernova.  I'll have to remember this, because I'm fairly certain she has had trouble working in space at other times.

- There is a house ad in this comic for The New Mutants graphic novel, "coming this Fall."  This comic has a published date of January 1982.  I've been pacing my reviews to coincide with the alleged publication dates of these comics, but they appear to toy with time and space.