Uncanny X-Men #182

Published June 1984
"Madness"
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Dan Green
Cover Artist: John Romita Jr.

What's Going On?
Upon returning to the X-Mansion after flying all the way from Japan, Rogue was supposed to check in on the New Mutants and Kitty Pryde.  Before she can do that, Rogue is distracted by an alarm going off in Professor Xavier's study; it is the alarm to the X-Men's emergency phone line.  Rogue listens to a message from Michael Rossi, stating that his and Xavier's suspicions have been confirmed and that he is on SHIELD's helicarrier.  The message is cut off abruptly, as if he was assaulted.  Rogue leaves to help Rossi without a second thought.

Rossi was caught trying to access SHIELD's files on Sebastian Shaw.  One of the SHIELD agents, secretly on the Hellfire Club's payroll, is instructed to kill Rossi.  Before he can do the deed, though, Rogue breaks into the helicarrier and rescues Rossi.  She then takes him to a safe location to recuperate.  There, it becomes apparent that the reason Rogue was so eager to rescue Rossi was because, after the physical exhaustion of flying halfway across the world, her mental defenses were weak, which allowed the personality of Carol Danvers to assert dominance in Rogue's body.  Michael Rossi and Carol were once lovers and colleagues, so Rogue-as-Carol tries to treat Rossi like a long-lost love.  It doesn't go well.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The misdeeds that Illyana's phone message hinted at are the events of New Mutants (Vol. 1) #15-17.

- The White Queen's cameo sets the stage for an appearance by Sebastian Shaw in the next issue of New Mutants.

- Nick Fury has authorized deadly force to apprehend Rogue, and he wants her caught soon.  The main reason for this is because the secret Hellfire Club mole killed another SHIELD agent right before Rogue rescued Rossi, so the mole framed Rogue for the murder.

Writing!
Rogue had not really exhibited any signs of the craziness that drove her to join the X-Men since she joined the team.  This was a nice reminder of what she was dealing with as a character.  It's also a great showcase of Rogue's power set.  Granted, just about every super hero has broken into the SHIELD helicarrier at one point or another, but I thought that the concept of inflicting damage with a dollar coin was inspired.  Go figure.  Give a character a showcase issue, and you get all sorts of cool moments.

Art!
I think the highlights of this issue are the moments where Rogue's personality begins to clash with Carol's.  They are subtle moments, but I think JRJR does a good job capturing the mood.

This issue also gave Romita and Green to partake in one of their favorite hobbies: making a character ugly.  Not many artists would have made Rossi look borderline Elephant Man after a rough interrogation, but if there is a reason for a character to look lumpy, this is the art team to highlight it.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- I love how Rogue just dismisses Madelyne's worries about Cyclops.  If the X-Men were returned halfway across the globe, maybe Cyclops was dropped in an ocean or is stranded in Antarctica.  Sure, he wasn't (as we saw last issue), but I think his safe return is worth at least a fleeting bit of concern.

- The X-Men were involved in Secret Wars for about a week of Earth-time.  I like that Michael Rossi and the New Mutants apparently both left emergency messages only hours before Rogue returned to the mansion.  Good timing, right?

- Apparently, Rogue is constantly on her guard, trying to keep her personality dominant and Carol Danvers' locked away in her mind.  I say "apparently" because this is the first mention of the problem since Uncanny #171.

- Somehow, Michael Rossi giving Rogue a backhand slap across the face without the benefit of gloves does not cause her mutant power to harm him.

- This month's letter page has Storm answering the fan mail.  As luck would have it, this coincides with the mail from the debut of her new punk look.  The letters are split as to whether or not the change is good, but the more important thing to note is that there were letters written by someone named "Wolf" and someone named "Razorblade."  Edgy!

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #16

"Away Game"
Published June 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inkers: Tom Mandrake and Kim Demulder
Cover Artist: Tom Mandrake

What's Going On?
After realizing that they had walked into a trap at the end of last issue, the New Mutants manage to distract the Hellfire Club's goons long enough to regroup and form a plan.  That plan: split up and try to rescue Kitty Pryde and Doug Ramsey.  As they go about their mission, though, they discover that the Hellfire Club has their own team of teenage mutant students --- the Hellions!  The two squads face off and when the dust settles, Kitty and Doug have not been rescued, and Cannonball, Magma, Sunspot and Wolfsbane have captured.  Dani and Magik escape via one of Magik's teleportation discs.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The White Queen informs Kitty Pryde that her struggles against the Queen's psychic indoctrination are pointless; the White Queen has already broken her down.

- Dani continues to get emotionally distressed when she sees the effects of her mutant power on others.

- Amara's control over her mutant ability belies how little she has used it.  Considering that she had never gone full "Magma" in Nova Roma before the New Mutants came, that means she has more or less mastered the basics of her powers within only a few issues (since New Mutants #12).

- Thunderbird on the Hellions doesn't seem like too bad of a guy.  He expresses concern for both Sunspot and Wolfsbane when they get hurt.

- The Hellions don't appear to be great at teamwork.  I wonder if this will come into play later?

Writing!
This is a pretty fun issue.  The New Mutants don't appear to be horribly outclassed by their new rivals, the Hellions; last issue made the excellent point that the team would be hopelessly outmatched by the Hellfire Club, so giving them opponents that they can actually compete against was a good choice.  This sort of fight makes so much more sense than say, fighting (and defeating!) Sentinels or Viper.  Now, was sending in the junior team to capture the New Mutants a good strategic choice for the Hellfire Club?  Good lord, no.  The fact that the White Queen elaborates on the Hellfire Club's general motives makes this even more nonsensical, but I'll take the small victory of having villains in the same proverbial weight class as the New Mutants.

Art!
I know I've mentioned this before, but the quality of Sal Buscema's pencils are always shown to be questionable when there is an issue with multiple inkers.  I've gotten used to Tom Mandrake's inking (and cover art) --- it's not super-dynamic, but he is a solid storyteller and he does a pretty good job portraying the team as kids.  I didn't hate Kim Demulder's work in the back half of this issue, but the difference is noticeable.  Here is Mandrake on the left and Demulder on the right.

Again, nothing against Demulder, but I prefer this comic when the characters look their age.

Another weird thing in this issue was the coloring.  On the one hand, we finally got to see Dani use her powers and not have it presented in the hard-to-see day-glo pink that has been her trademark since her debut.  I don't have any strong preference in how Dani's powers should be visualized, as long as I can see the picture on the page.

On the other hand, this issue sees a lot of questionable coloring choices.  Throughout the issue, the colorist had trouble deciding where the New Mutant costumes stopped and where necks began.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- I am always interested by the changing of the Marvel corner box on the front cover, and I am frequently amused when comics try to disguise how scantily clad some characters are.  This month's corner box, with the White Queen's super-high-waisted panties gives the best of both worlds.

- The White Queen gives some exposition to explain the Hellfire Club's attitude toward mutants; they are simply a means to an end, and that end is power.

- This is the first appearance of James Proudstar, the younger brother of the late X-Man John Proudstar.  But how can Claremont draw attention to their connection without announcing it via exposition or outright stating Jimmy's name?  If you answered "Have them share the same codename, Thunderbird" you are only partially right.  You forgot, "Use an exclamation that only a Native American in a comic book would use" and "Color his skin so red that it almost matches the magenta of his costume."  Racism is so much easier than subtext!

- I wonder if the New Mutants will escape next issue?  (cue last panel)

Worth Noting:
- This is the first appearance of the Hellions as a team.  Specifically, Catseye, Empath, Jetstream, Roulette, Tarot, and Thunderbird.

Everything 80s:
- Jetstream's "compu-scan" computer-aided visual equipment may have as many as 8 bits of graphic power!

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #15

"Scaredy Cat"
Published May 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Tom Mandrake
Cover Artist: Tom Mandrake

What's Going On?
Worried about Kitty Pryde's safety as she visits the Massachusetts Academy, Magik decides to cast a spell that allows her astral projection to visit the academy without being noticed.  There, she witnesses Kitty tied to a chair, in the clutches of the villainous White Queen; the Queen somehow senses Illyana's presence and disrupts the spell.  With the X-Men missing, the team tries to get help from other adult super-heroes, but has no luck.  Desperate, they decide to take the bus --- because unlicensed teens driving Xavier's Rolls Royce would be suspicious --- to the Massachusetts Academy to save Kitty, but instead fall into a trap!

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The White Queen tells Kitty that Doug Ramsey is in love with her --- and that Kitty secretly loves him back.  Gasp!

I love that it looks like Doug is crooning into an invisible karaoke microphone as much as it looks like he's dancing with himself.

- The New Mutants are now aware of Illyana's powers of sorcery.  So I guess the memory-erasing spell she cast on Stevie Hunter last issue wasn't really needed.  Well, that secret lasted all of one issue.

- Both Kitty and the White Queen can see Illyana's astral form.  When Illyana reflects on that fact, she is confused because he astral form is "invisible to mortal eyes."  For some reason, Kitty seeing her seems more confusing to Illyana than the White Queen.  Are telepaths not considered mortal by Illyana?

Also, I love that the White Queen's (presumably) psychic attack is coming from her hand.  And she knows who Illyana is?  She's got quite the information network, since Illyana returned from Limbo after the last time the White Queen encountered the X-Men and is now several years older than any official records of Colossus' family would indicate.

- The New Mutants try to call the Avengers and Fantastic Four for assistance, but they are also missing, thanks to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars.  It's a small moment, but it makes the kids seem less idiotic when they go to save Kitty; at least they tried to get help first.

- Illyana is reluctant to use her mutant power of teleportation, because her control over it is still shaky.

- Sunspot and Wolfsbane find themselves distracted and almost hypnotized by the sight of Cloak and Dagger's church refuge.  This is another reference to their appearance in Marvel Team-Up (the last one happened in #13)

- Sam compliments Dani's leadership abilities while criticizing his own lack of skills.  Dani also makes a good point, building up the imminent confrontation with the Hellfire Club as a serious problem.

- Sam and Rahne share a moment where they discuss their Christian faith and how Rahne is not the spawn of Satan.  It's a nice scene.  Sam doesn't often get portrayed as the religious type --- a little bit country, sure --- and it's a sensible thing for him to bond with Rahne over.

Writing!
This is a solid issue, and it has some good character moments.  I especially like that Chris Claremont takes the time to have at least Dani and Sam realize that fighting the Hellfire Club is going to be way out of their proverbial weight class.  Unfortunately, this issue brings to a head something that has been bothering me for a few issues.

I don't like the presence of Kitty Pryde in the pages of these recent issues of New Mutants.  Now, she's an X-Man, lives in the mansion with the kids, and is best friends with Illyana, so it makes sense that she pops up from time to time.  I just don't like her being instrumental to the plot of this title.  She hasn't had much time on the page, but her relationship with Doug Ramsey (including them hacking into Project: Wideawake!) happened here; the team doesn't have any emotional investment in Doug, so rescuing Kitty is the impetus for the team's trip to the Massachusetts Academy.  You know what would have made more sense?  For Doug to befriend one or more of the New Mutants (as a computer tutor, perhaps?) and then be unwittingly drawn into the clutches of a X-enemy.  That would have been a more satisfying narrative.

Art!
It's more of the same from Sal Buscema and Tom Mandrake.  Solid storytelling with a focus on non-action scenes.  It's not super-pretty, but it works well enough.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- I'm keeping track of how many times the New Mutants refer to Illyana as scary/evil.  Since she joined the team last issue, we are now two-for-two!

- While this issue does not explicitly state where it falls in the Secret Wars timeline, we have some clues.  First off, the New Mutants are not worried about the X-Men being missing, so it probably has not been too long.  After learning that the Avengers and Fantastic Four are not home Dani concludes that the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men all vanished on the same night.  That means 1) this issue takes place on the evening/morning after Secret Wars started 2) the Avengers' butler, Jarvis, is happily willing to speculate the fate of the Avengers to complete strangers

3) Dani appears to know something (like Marvel's publishing initiatives?), stating that the Avengers, FF, and X-Men all disappeared on the same night.  She didn't get the Fantastic Four's disappearance from their robot receptionist, though.  According to it, they might have just been out to dinner.

Everything 80s:
- Illyana (who shares a room with Kitty) has a Garfield stuffed animal and a Tom Selleck poster on the wall.

Worth Noting:
- Kitty's outfit in this issue is the first appearance of the typical "Hellions" uniform.  So there's that.

Uncanny X-Men #180

"Whose Life Is It, Anyway?"
Published April 1984
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inkers: Dan Green and Bob Wiacek
Cover Artists: John Romita Jr. and Dan Green

What's Going On?
Storm continues to deal with the emotional changes that led to her punk rock makeover back in Uncanny X-Men #175.  She confides to Xavier that she fears that she may be losing her mind; he gives her a cursory psychic scan and announces that he finds no obvious signs of mental illness.  She and Kitty later have a heart-to-heart about Storm's need to grow as a person, and Kitty's desire to keep things from changing.  After their talk, it appears that the rift in their friendship has been mended.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Professor Xavier is finally able to walk without pain.  In fact, he is healthy enough to play basketball.

- Professor Xavier suffers yet another unexplained psychic assault from an alien scanning wave.  As the issue closes, Xavier is able to zero in on the source of the attacks, and the X-Men head to Central Park to investigate.  There, they find a giant mechanical construct that they are drawn to.  When they enter it, the X-Men disappear.

- Kitty Pryde and Doug Ramsey continue to bond.  When Doug reveals that he has an appointment to visit the Massachusetts Academy (which is run by the villainous White Queen of the Hellfire Club), Kitty decides to accompany him on his visit.  She reasons that, since the White Queen is still comatose (ever since Uncanny X-Men #169), there is no real threat.  On the plane to Massachusetts, though, she finds out how wrong she was; the White Queen is awake, and appears up to no good.

- Peter continues to feel insecure about his relationship with Kitty, and threatened by the fact that Doug has a lot in common with Kitty.

- Colossus' arm sling indicates that he is still healing from the wounds he received in Uncanny #177. 

Writing!
There isn't much of a main plot in this issue, so this issue is mostly character development and the advancement of sub-plots.  I tend to like these change of pace issues, and this one is no different.  I liked that we finally saw Storm dealing more with her recent changes; this was definitely overdue.  It was also nice to finally see Xavier walking without pain --- that sub-plot had been dragging on for far too long.  What I was less thrilled about was the moronic way that Kitty got herself into trouble in this issue.  For such a smart character --- a genius, mind you --- to come up with a plan that basically boils down to "I think I'll go into enemy territory without reconnoitering and assume that everything will turn out okay," is insulting to the reader; even worse, Xavier and Storm agree to the plan.  I realize that Claremont is doing this to explain A) why Kitty is not in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars and B) give the New Mutants a reason to go to the Massachusetts Academy in their own title, but it definitely feels out of character for everyone involved.

Art!
The artwork is pretty solid once again, even with Romita Jr. having two inkers.  Honestly, I can't tell much of a difference between the work of Dan Green and Bob Wiacek in this issue, unless it explains this panel with Kitty's face being light on the details.

It doesn't have JRJR's typical wavy hair look, either.  I think it looks pretty good, honestly, but it stands out to me because faces and hair don't usually get a delicate touch with Romita's pencils.  I was a bit confused by the reveal of the White Queen, though --- what was going on with the shadows on her face? 

Since there's not a lot of action in this issue, Romita draws a lot of static images.  Still, he managed to fit in a nifty basketball scene with Xavier and a few panels of Storm looking intimidating.  I don't think the plot played to the art team's strengths, but it all worked out pretty well.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Professor Xavier is surprised to find himself attracted to Storm.  It's harmless, but still creepy.  I don't think this point was ever brought up again, thankfully.

Worth Noting:
- The whole sub-plot with Xavier and the psychic scans that popped up in the last three issues was a lead-in to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars.  The Beyonder was the one that Xavier sensed scanning the globe.  It would have felt a lot less drawn-out if Xavier didn't suffer a similar (but unrelated and unexplained) attack back in New Mutants #6.  It does seem odd that Xavier is drawn toward Secret Wars, but a similarly powerful telepath like Emma Frost apparently feels free to go about her own business.

- This is the first issue where Xavier is able to walk without pain, and that will remain the status quo for the next seven-ish years.

Everything 80s:
- Ladies and gentlemen, I present Kitty Pryde: fashion icon!  Headband?  Goofy earrings?  Leg warmers?  Tall boots over pants and leg warmers?  Quadruple check!  I love it when artists have Kitty wear trendy clothes.

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.