UNCANNY X-MEN #350 – December 1997

Trial & Errors
Credits: Scott Lobdell (co-plot, uncredited), Steve Seagle (script), Joe Madureira w/Andy Smith (pencilers), Tim Townsend w/Vince Russell & Dan Panosian (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: In the past, Gambit receives a mysterious vial from Mr. Sinister, in exchange for gathering the Marauders. In the present, Gambit is taken into custody by Spat and Grovel. The remaining X-Men ignore his wishes and follow them. In New York, Psylocke traces the “darkness” inside Maggott into the shadows. Maggott and Archangel follow her, and arrive inside a hidden citadel in Antarctica. When Joseph approaches the citadel outside, he falls down in pain as it rises from the ground. The X-Men investigate the citadel, where most of them are soon abducted. Rogue reaches the lowest level, where Gambit is being kept. Suddenly, Erik the Red appears with the robot Ferris. Erik announces that Gambit is on trial for his past sins. Gambit admits that he once made a deal with Mr. Sinister, while Psylocke reveals the recently unblocked memory she saw in Gambit’s subconscious. She tells the X-Men that Gambit recruited the Marauders shortly before the Morlock Massacre. Rogue is goaded into kissing Gambit, which forces her to relive the day from his perspective. She learns that Gambit tried to stop the massacre once he realized what was happening, but was nearly killed by Sabretooth. He then rescued a young girl from the carnage and ran away. Erik the Red forces the building to collapse, declaring that this is the deliberation. As the team escapes, Rogue saves Gambit from the falling debris. However, she refuses to take him with the rest of the X-Men, telling him that he will have to save himself. Meanwhile, Erik the Red and Ferris escape in an aircraft. Erik takes off his mask and reveals himself as Magneto.

Gimmicks: This issue shipped with an enhanced foil version and a non-enhanced one.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership lists average sales at 300,732 copies with the most recent issue selling 261,017.

Continuity Notes: Erik the Red is a false identity Cyclops once assumed back in the Silver Age. The identity was later usurped by an evil Shi’ar agent in order to throw the X-Men off-balance (according to some inserted pages in Classic X-Men).

It’s asserted twice in this issue that Gambit’s wife, Belladonna, was dead when he made his deal with Mr. Sinister. Actually, she died years after this would’ve happened, after Gambit had already joined the team.

The vial Mr. Sinister gives Gambit was addressed in the Gambit solo series. It's somehow connected to a brain surgery Sinister gave Gambit in order to dampen his powers (more info can be found here).

One of the flashbacks shows Gambit leading the Marauders into the Morlock Tunnels (in fact, it’s supposed to be another job that Sinister is paying him for). This contradicts the actual published comics from that storyline, which had the Marauders simply following the Morlocks home and learning their location. The girl Gambit saves from the massacre is Marrow, which is something Alan Davis picks up on in the future. Prism is incorrectly listed as a Morlock in this issue, when he's actually a Marauder.

When Gambit is first brought into the citadel, he identifies the voice he hears in the darkness as Mr. Sinister. Later, it’s revealed as Erik the Red, and then finally Magneto. The Sinister idea is a strange one, since there are clues throughout the issue that point to Erik the Red’s identity as Magneto. I wonder if the Sinister reference is something that survived an earlier draft and just slipped through.

Review: This is obviously a mess, and it’s something Marvel had to do a fair amount of backtracking on in subsequent years. It’s interesting that no one is credited for actually plotting this story (Seagle is only listed as “scripter”). Seagle was originally hired to replace Larry Hama on Wolverine, but was asked to take over UXM when Lobdell abruptly disappeared. His first issue was supposed to be #351, I believe, but he was brought in at the last minute to finish this one. He apparently claimed on Usenet that he was finishing the issue Lobdell started, which leads me to believe what we’re reading is a Lobdell plot heavily rewritten by editorial, then given to Seagle to script. Fan reaction to this issue was largely negative, with many of the complaints centering on Rogue leaving Gambit to die in the antarctic. Some people within Marvel must’ve had second thoughts, since it’s later retconned that a) the X-Men circled back and did at least try to find Gambit, and b) Rogue’s actions were motivated by the intense self-loathing she absorbed from Gambit. Fabian Nicieza tried his best to make this work in Gambit’s solo series, but it’s hard to justify such a ridiculous ending. There is one Rogue/Gambit moment I do like in this issue, which has Rogue regretting her kiss with Gambit, because he’s the one person she wanted to get to know “like a real, normal woman”. It reminds me of the final Classic X-Men backup story Ann Nocenti wrote, which shows what it’s like for Rogue to learn everything there is to know about someone at one time.

Other aspects of this story just don’t make any sense, period. After years of selling Joseph as Magneto, another Magneto (who turned out to be the “real” one) turns up on the last page. It makes for a dramatic final page, but it undermines a storyline that had been building for years, and it makes no sense given the context of this specific issue. Why exactly would Magneto put Gambit on trial? If he’s that concerned about what happened years earlier in the Morlock Massacre, why isn’t he going after Sinister and the Marauders? There are a few lines at the end that suggest he only staged the trial in order to drive the X-Men apart, but that’s not much of an answer (And why exactly did he choose the Erik the Red identity of all things?). He also claims that this is the first step in the “gradual erosion” of the team, which isn’t followed up on at all (the next time Magneto does something, I’m pretty sure it’s a high-profile stunt in “Magneto War”, and not a devious attempt at driving the team apart). It reads as if editorial just got bored with the Joseph storyline, and with a new creative team in place, decided to bring back the evil, ruthless Magneto they seemed to prefer. I can understand why they wanted to end the Joseph story, but to abruptly bring Magneto back without resolving any of the mysteries surrounding Joseph feels like a cheat.

Other nonsense in this issue includes Psylocke following the “darkness” within Maggott and suddenly ending up in Antarctica with the others. I understand that she needs to be there in order to pay off the scene from UXM #324 that had her entering Gambit’s mind, but this is obviously forced. Spat and Grovel’s role is never actually explained, as it appears that they were hired by Magneto all along (Then why were they being held captive with the others? And how did they know where Gambit was going to crash land in the first place?). The “trial” setup also doesn’t work, since there doesn’t seem to be enough room left in the issue for the X-Men to really debate what should be done with Gambit. His secrets are revealed, Erik/Magneto forces the building to collapse (which is somehow a “deliberation”), and Rogue gets a rushed kiss-off scene with Gambit. This might’ve worked better if the characters were already in the place they needed to be at the start of the story, but unfortunately the past few issues of the title just wandered aimlessly, barely moving the characters anywhere. It’s too bad that this is Joe Madureira’s final issue, since it looks like a rush job, and Andy Smith has to draw random scenes throughout the story. Instead of finishing his run with his collaborator of the past three years, Madureira ends up penciling an uncredited plot that’s largely nonsensical. It’s a not exactly a graceful ending for this specific era of UXM.

UNCANNY X-MEN #348 – October 1997

Because, I Said So
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Townsend/Holdredge/Vey (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Digital Chameleon (colors)

Summary: Nanny attacks Rogue, Joseph, Spat, and Grovel with an army of cybernetic animals. She neutralizes their powers and takes them into custody. Trish Tilby, who is being secretly monitored by a cybernetic bat, watches the events and leaves to find the Beast. Joseph tries to convince Nanny to let him go, but she refuses to obey his orders, claiming that the outside world is too dangerous while Zero Tolerance is targeting mutants. Nearby, Beast searches for his friends, and is ambushed by two shadowy figures. With her powers neutralized, Rogue begins to regain memories she’s absorbed and lost. Gambit is afraid that his secret will be exposed, and asks Rogue not to question him about his past. He embraces Rogue, telling her that this could be their only night together. Elsewhere, Psylocke suddenly disappears in New York, while Deathbird tends to Bishop’s wounds inside a space station.

Production Note: The one-page Archangel/Psylocke scene in this issue is clearly not by Madureira. It looks like Andy Smith’s earlier work to me.

Continuity Notes: The cybernetic animals commanded by Nanny are probably connected to the cyborg ape in UXM #345, but the story doesn’t offer any confirmation. The earlier appearance by the ape leads me to believe that Lobdell might’ve been planning some explanation for how exactly the X-Men ended up in Magneto’s arctic base (even Beast says that it “defies logic” that they would’ve ended up there), but it’s something that was lost in the change of creative teams.

Deathbird is lying to Bishop, claiming that the X-Men are all dead. They do have a subplot that’s picked up on later, but I don’t recall any explanation for why they were separated from the rest of the team.

When Joseph sees news footage of Moira MacTaggert inside Magneto’s base, he has a sudden thirst for vengeance. This is a reference to the final Claremont storyline, which revealed that Moira manipulated Magneto’s genes while he was once temporarily a child in the hopes of curing his mental illness. Even this close to UXM #350, Marvel’s still running with the idea that Joseph is Magneto (he’s even described that way on the recap foldout).

Review: It’s another issue of the team wandering around what’s been retroactively revealed as Antarctica. There is some nice character work with Gambit and Rogue, but a lot of this just feels like the story’s stalling until issue #350. The characters are now pointing out some of the plot flaws, which is either a sign that Lobdell did have something of a plan, or he was throwing in digs against editorial directives that never made sense. The question of who hired Spat & Grovel is raised, but never answered. And if it turns out that Magneto did hire them, there doesn’t seem to be a justifiable reason for Nanny to take them captive with the X-Men. As for the sensational character find of 1997, Landscape, he’s disappeared with no explanation in-between issues. Madureira’s art, which often saves mediocre stories, is inconsistent throughout the issue. That’s not surprising since he has three inkers, but some of the pages still look nice. For whatever reason, the two-page subplot scene with Bishop is more impressive looking than anything that happens in the main story.

UNCANNY X-MEN #347 – September 1997

Big Night
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (breakdowns), Tim Townsend w/Cannon & Milgrom (finishes), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: Gambit is taken into custody by Spat and Grovel, two bounty hunters he betrayed in the past. Nearby, Beast and Trish Tilby emerge from the remains of their spacecraft. Three miles away, Joseph and Rogue investigate the alien environment. Joseph tries to attune his magnetic powers to the environment, and inadvertently exposes it as an illusion. Joseph discovers Landscape, who is working with Spat and Grovel. He admits that he created the illusion, but won’t say why. Soon, Joseph and Rogue meet up with Spat, Grovel, and Gambit inside a cave. Their reunion is interrupted by Magneto’s servant robot, Nanny. Meanwhile, Callisto asks Marrow to help the X-Men fight Zero Tolerance, while Maggott follows Joseph’s trail in South Carolina.

Continuity Notes: This is the debut of three characters that never really caught on, Spat, Grovel, and Landscape. They’re bounty hunters with a grudge against Gambit. Grovel is supposed to be the creature that snuck up on Gambit in the previous issue, even though he doesn’t resemble a zebra in any way (he's a giant reptile). Spat is a young girl who de-ages everyday, and blames Gambit for the problem. Gambit implies that something happened in Madagascar between them, but it’s not elaborated on (apparently, Fabian Nicieza eventually resolved at least some of this in a Gambit story on Marvel’s website). Landscape, who Gambit calls “Brett”, is a mutant who can create holographic landscapes. When he’s asked why he created the alien environment, he doesn’t have an answer.

A brief flashback shows that Marrow witnessed Angel being nailed to the wall during the Mutant Massacre storyline. She’s a child in the flashback, which fits in with the idea that she aged rapidly in the dimension the Morlocks were eventually sent to.

Review: This is the beginning of an odd stretch of issues that closes out Scott Lobdell’s run. I’ve never heard all of the details, but apparently there was some behind-the-scenes drama that caused these issues to turn out as a mess. The first hint of this shows up in the opening few pages, as the creature who confronts Gambit blatantly contradicts what we saw in the previous issue. The landscape is then revealed as a fake, as a new character is popped into the story to justify the new location. This creates two problems that aren’t addressed – why did Landscape create a fake environment in the first place (he says that he was ordered to but doesn’t know why), and since we soon find out that the location is actually Antarctica, why isn’t anyone the slightest bit chilly? On top of that, Nanny (not the one in the egg-suit, the original one that’s dressed like a maid) drops by on the final page, which sets the scene for Magneto’s nonsensical appearance in #350. It reads like someone was either making this all up on the fly, or was constantly second-guessing what was supposed to be happening. In addition to a main story that makes little sense, Lobdell also introduces more characters with mysterious connections to Gambit. Is it a prerequisite that every character Gambit meets has to make vague comments about his past, and then name the foreign locale where he did them wrong? It’s gotten ridiculous by now. Since things continue to devolve from here, it’s hard to be charitable at all with this issue.

UNCANNY X-MEN #346 – August 1997

“The Story of the Year!”
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira w/Humberto Ramos (pencilers), Tim Towsend (inker), Comicraft (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: Peter Parker is sent on a mission for the Daily Bugle to photograph Henry Gyrich as a part of its Zero Tolerance investigation. His limo is suddenly attacked by Callisto and Marrow, which forces Parker to intervene as Spider-Man. Marrow is willing to kill Gyrich and his guards, but Spider-Man and Callisto try to talk her out of it. Gyrich’s guards suddenly turn into Sentinels and attack. They wound Callisto, which forces Spider-Man and Marrow to fight together. Gyrich, who didn’t know his guards were Sentinels, returns with reinforcements and shoots them down. Spider-Man talks Gyrich into letting Marrow leave with Callisto, who needs medical attention. Meanwhile, Bastion offers J. Jonah Jameson the information he’s decrypted from the X-Men’s files. He burns the disc, claiming that he won’t work with a murderer. Elsewhere, Gambit wakes up alone in a mysterious location.

Continuity Notes: Notice that Marrow is much more attractive in this appearance. I’m not sure if this is the first time she showed up with better looks (I’ve never read the Cable issue she appeared in a few months before this), but it becomes her standard look. I’m assuming there were already plans to add her to the team, and making her easier on the eyes was the first step.

This issue portrays Gyrich as being conflicted over Operation: Zero Tolerance, which is in sharp contrast to his appearance in the previous issue of X-Men. It’s possible that he was adamantly in favor of OZT in that issue because he was doing a television interview, but it’s still jarring to read the issues within a few days of each other.

According to Gyrich, his bodyguards were the same ones who were protecting Graydon Creed when he was killed. Presumably, this was supposed to finger Bastion in the assassination, but the clue was never paid off.

Some type of zebra-creature is standing behind Gambit in this issue. Paul O’Brien says that it’s a Kymellian, an alien race from the pages of Power Pack. This is totally ignored in the next issue.

Production Note: Marvel’s new cover design format debuts this month. Each comic now has a two-page foldout in the front cover, which has profiles of the characters and a recap of the current storyline. It’s a nice idea, but it lasted less than two years due to the added costs. The letters pages have also thankfully dropped the ugly computer-designed graphics in the background for just plain white.

Review: It wouldn’t shock me to learn that this issue was mainly just an excuse to have Joe Madureira draw Spider-Man. It certainly works on that level, since I remember looking over it again and again just for the art, which still looks impressive today. It is a fun action-oriented story that recaps the events of the current crossover while offering strong portrayals of Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson. My memory is that the Spider-titles were just overwhelmingly boring during this era, so this issue seemed like a welcome relief from the blandness. In terms of continuing the story from the preceding issues, all we get is one page of Gambit doing absolutely nothing, which doesn’t exactly work. I really have no idea why this storyline was allowed to drag on for so long, especially when the other titles were participating in a crossover. Since this is the first time the resurrected (and prettier) Marrow appears in UXM, the issue does have some added significance. I’ve never understood why exactly she was added to the team, especially if we’re to believe that Bob Harras was never a fan of reforming villains. She was clearly intended to be a bad bad guy (she was outright shown killing someone in cold blood in her first appearance), so giving her a makeover and having her join the X-Men seemed odd. The future writers tried to make this work, but I could never swallow it. Her appearance here is fine, since it’s only raising the idea that she’s capable of changing and there aren’t any X-Men here to question her about her past, but I never felt that her character arc had a meaningful resolution.

UNCANNY X-MEN #345 – June 1997

Moving On
Credits: Scot Lobdell (plot), Ben Raab (script), Joe Madureira & Melvin Rubi (pencilers), Townsend/Vlasco/Candelario (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccelato & Team Bucce! (colors)

Summary: In Guatemala, Sister Maria is attacked by a talking cybernetic gorilla. He wants to know where Joseph went after he left her orphanage, but she refuses to answer him. She’s saved by a mystery mutant (Maggott) who is also looking for Joseph. Meanwhile, the X-Men celebrate their victory with Lilandra. As Gambit secretly buries the dead, Beast discusses his relationship with Trish Tilby. He wants to move forward, but she’s reluctant. The next day, the team leaves on a craft escorted by Deathbird. Bishop studies Deathbird’s history and tries to discuss it with her, but she wants to escape her past. Soon, their ship is caught in the wake of a much larger vessel, which is also headed for Earth. The two crafts try to enter a stargate at the same time, which causes the X-Men’s ship to fall apart.

Continuity Notes: This is the first appearance of Maggott, although he’s only visible for one page, and isn’t named either. He speaks with an Australian (or English, it’s hard to tell) accent, which is something later writers dropped. Why exactly he’s after Joseph/Magneto isn’t answered until Joe Kelly’s run, which is still months away. And I have no idea what the cyborg gorilla is supposed to be.

The narrative captions continue to drop non-subtle hints about Gambit’s past, saying that he had an “unholy alliance” with a “sinister” foe, and that he had a “shameful role in one of the greatest tragedies his kind…has ever endured”.

I Love the ‘90s: An actual line from the Bullpen Bulletins: “Editor Kelly Corvese may have thought he won Rosie O’Donnell’s heart in February, but alas for him – another Marvel male had captured that precious organ two weeks earlier!” The item goes on to discuss editor Jay Gardener sending in Generation X merchandise to be showcased with other “G” products on her G-rated talk show.

Review: Oh joy, they’re still in space. I’m not sure why exactly Lobdell kept the space storyline going for yet another issue, especially when the other titles were in the middle of a crossover event back on Earth. If the X-Men actually had something interesting to do in space, I wouldn’t mind this so much, but it seems like the majority of this issue is killing time until it gets to the cliffhanger. I seem to recall that the mystery about the other ship (which is given its own two-page spread) is never resolved, and the cast just spends the next few issues wandering around in vaguely defined locations.

I’m sure Lobdell was also setting something up with Maggott, but he never got around to resolving this storyline either. If memory serves, Joe Kelly once had an internet column, and he discussed creating Maggott’s origin in one piece. If Lobdell had specific plans for the character, he apparently didn’t tell his editors, as Kelly claimed that his editors knew nothing about Maggott. This gave him a blank slate to create an origin story, which had Magneto helping a younger Maggott deal with his powers (however, the scene in this specific issue was never fully explained). The opening scene with Sister Maria and Maggott is actually fun, as it gives Madureira something cool to draw and opens the story in an unexpected place, but it’s frustrating to know that it’s more cryptic storytelling that never amounted to much.

UNCANNY X-MEN #343 – April 1997

Where No X-Man Has Gone Before!
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors), Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Deathbird regains consciousness as Gambit and Joseph return from their mission. Deathbird smells that they aren’t human and steals Bishop’s gun. After she guns them down, Gambit and Joseph are revealed as Phalanx imposters. Meanwhile, the Phalanx are storing the real Gambit and Joseph in pods. Rogue arrives and rescues them. During the fight, Gambit saves Rogue after she’s briefly absorbed by the Phalanx. After touching the Phalanx, Rogue learned that they destroyed the Shi’ar homeworld and are heading towards Earth. Later, Beast devises a plan that enables the team to abandon their ship in an escape pod after the Phalanx destroy it. They land on a nearby moon, where Deathbird keeps a hidden base in an abandoned mining station. The team teleports away with Deathbird, unsure if she can be trusted. Meanwhile, Bastion arrives at his base with Jubilee as his captive.

Continuity Note: Another form of the Phalanx debut here. The techno-organic components are apparently kept underneath their black outer layer. They claim that the Phalanx the X-Men fought earlier were “transient units” and “our foreguardians”. I think Louise Simonson eventually reconciled all of the Phalanx continuity in the short-lived Warlock series.

Review: The space arc continues, and moves at its own leisurely pace. (An ad that ran in several Marvel books from around this time claimed that this was a three-issue storyline. This might’ve contributed to my exasperation over how long the story eventually ran.) This issue establishes the Phalanx as the behind-the-scenes villains and pairs the team with Deathbird. It seems like this could’ve been established in ten pages or so, but the plot stretches out for the entire issue. As usual, the art is slick and the character interactions aren’t bad, but nothing in the issue is really engaging. For whatever reason, someone at Marvel apparently thought it would be a good idea to reform Deathbird, which is a direction the storyline will explore over the next few issues. Lobdell handles her nasty, belligerent personality very well here, so it seems like kind of a waste to make her more likable.

UNCANNY X-MEN #342 – March 1997

"Did I Miss Something ?!"
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato &Team Bucce! (colors)

Summary: The X-Men are transported inside a spaceship that’s flying out of control, approaching an asteroid belt. Beast recalibrates the ship, and Joseph protects the team from the asteroids. They enter a stargate and travel to the Shi’ar Empire. On the way, Rogue comforts Bishop, who feels lost after Xavier’s transformation into Onslaught. The team reaches a Shi’ar space station, and is shocked when the ship’s computers claim that all of its occupants are dead. While searching the wreckage, Beast realizes that the power core is gone. Meanwhile, Bishop discovers Deathbird, who is barely alive.

Continuity Notes: The team change into new outfits after boarding the spacecraft. Rogue’s new uniform has a “low-field force field” that enables her to almost touch someone. Marvel tried to make this Rogue’s new costume after the storyline was over (while ignoring the force field bit), but it didn’t catch on.

“Huh?” Moments: Three pages after a computer scan shows “0.00” bodies alive inside the space station, Bishop finds Deathbird. I guess you could argue that the scan missed her because she was clinging to life, but this always bothered me for obvious reasons.

A brief scene has Storm, Cyclops, Phoenix, and Wolverine returning home after their adventure in X-Men #60 and #61. Those were the issues that took place on the day Graydon Creed was killed (or at least on the day of his funeral, depending on which scene you believe), which was Election Day in November. This story explicitly takes place on Christmas day. So, apparently, it took over six weeks for these X-Men to get from Manhattan to Westchester.

Gimmicks: For some reason, this issue has an alternate Rogue cover.

Commercial Break: There are four pages in this issue dedicated to selling the final issues of Ghost Rider; the ones that gave him a bright outfit that made him look like a clown. These are the “extra pages” Marvel used to justify the higher price after dropping the nicer paper stock.

Review: I guess this was Lobdell’s attempt at doing one of the “X-Men in Space” stories that occasionally showed up in the Claremont run. My memory is that this storyline went on forever. In fact, I’m pretty sure that this title was unable to participate in the “Operation: Zero Tolerance” crossover because the space storyline went on longer than expected (I know a separate story involving Marrow had to be presented for one issue in order to justify at least one tie-in). Judged on its own merits, this issue isn’t so bad. The opening sequence with the out of control spaceship doesn’t really work, since it has no plot significance and comes across as Lobdell trying too hard for an “action” opening (what exactly is wrong with the spaceship is never even made clear). The issue improves as it moves along, though, providing some decent character moments amongst the cast.

Lobdell offers some variation on the “innocent civilian unfairly dragged into the hero’s adventure” cliché, as Trish Tilby acts thrilled to be in on the action, while also keeping her fears to herself, which at least makes her characterization more believable. Bishop has an inner monologue that finally gives his take on the resolution of the “X-traitor” storyline. He not only wonders what his role in this time is, but questions if he has any friends on the team. This could be another meta-commentary on the lack of connection between the cast by this point. There have been plenty of scenes with the romantic couples on the team in recent years, but little effort on showing Bishop forming relationships of any kind with the rest of the cast. Bishop was written out of the book after this storyline was over, so maybe this was intended as foreshadowing. I wonder how much of an interest was left in the early ‘90s characters within Marvel at this point. Bishop did get his own series a few years after this, but Marvel was giving everyone in the X-universe their own series by 1999. Reading this scene, it almost seems to be an acknowledgment on Lobdell’s part that Bishop just hasn’t worked out as an X-Man.

Outside of the character moments, you’re mostly left with a setup issue. In that regard, the characters move to where they need to be quickly enough, and the behind-the-scenes threat hovering over the team seems appropriately ominous. I’m sure this would be a lot duller with a different artist, which is how I often feel about the Lobdell/Madureira issues, but it mostly works as the opening chapter of a new storyline.

UNCANNY X-MEN #341 – February 1997

When Strikes A Gladiator!
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors)

Summary: Cannonball, Gambit, Bishop, Joseph, Rogue, Beast, and Trish Tilby gather in New York on Christmas Eve. Joseph leaves with Rogue and shows her a device he’s constructed from Xavier’s “Z’noxx (sic) Chamber”. The large construct protects him from Rogue’s powers, enabling him to kiss her on the forehead. Meanwhile, Cannonball is suddenly attacked by Gladiator while Christmas shopping. The other X-Men in the city notice the spectacle and arrive, just as Cannonball fights him to a standstill. Gladiator admits that he staged the fight in order to gain the X-Men’s attention. He reveals that the Shi’ar Empire needs help, and he’s been ordered not to interfere. He sends transit spheres to teleport the group away.

Continuity Notes: Cannonball manages to channel the kinetic energy from Gladiator’s punch and direct it towards his forcefield, which is the first time he’s had that level of power. A footnote says that the Imperial Guard miniseries explains why Gladiator isn’t able to help the Shi’ar.

The “Z’nox Chamber” is the psi-shielded chamber Xavier used to prepare for the arrival of the alien Z’nox way back in UXM #65. It also showed up during the buildup to the Onslaught crossover. It’s odd that a long-forgotten area of continuity would show up twice in six months after being forgotten for almost thirty years. The explanation for how it blocks Rogue’s powers is that it can filter powers in either direction (Joseph claims it “clothes” the mind she touches, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me).

I Love the ‘90s: Marvel debuts its second official website, Marvelonline.com (it redirects to Marvel.com today). Also, Joseph and Rogue’s kiss takes place on top of the World Trade Center.

“Huh?” Moment: Gladiator refuses to send Cannonball with the rest of the team, because it would be dishonorable to send a young person “into such danger”. Aside from the fact that Gladiator just spent ten pages fighting him, he also sent non-powered civilian Trish Tilby into the alleged danger.

We Get Letters: A letter writer correctly points out that Colossus and Gambit have never had a scene together, and the editor’s response just acknowledges that it’s true without offering much of a defense. Come to think of it, I can’t even remember a dialogue exchange between the characters at this point.

Review: This is another issue that’s light on plot, but is saved by Madureira’s energetic artwork. The majority of the issue is dedicated to a gratuitous Cannonball/Gladiator fight that ends up having no story significance at all. I guess having Cannonball defeat a Superman analogue was supposed to finish the long-running “Cannonball feels insecure about being an X-Men” subplot, but the idea’s not really emphasized in this issue, and it seems like it had already been dropped by this point anyway. The small character moments, such as Cannonball trying to shop on Christmas Eve, and Joseph and Rogue floating over the city in a horse-drawn carriage, are nice enough, but don’t have a lot of depth. It’s still enjoyable in an almost mindless way, but most of the issue would’ve been pretty dull with another artist.

UNCANNY X-MEN #340 – January 1997

Relativity
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors)

Summary: Iceman watches over his father in the hospital, as Storm and Gambit arrive to visit. Iceman tells Storm the details of the past day. While riding in Graydon Creed’s limo, Creed pointed Iceman (still disguised as a campaign worker) towards the nearby woods. As Creed flew away in his private jet, Iceman discovered the battered body of his father. Creed’s men had tracked down his father after his earlier outburst, and connected him to Iceman. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Creed begins to question Cannonball. Phoenix later asks him if he wants to abandon the undercover mission, but Cannonball decides that Creed no longer suspects him. In New York, Creed’s henchmen prepare to attack the X-Men gathering around Iceman’s father, but Wolverine stops them. While watching over his father, Iceman tells Storm that he’s leaving the team in order to spend more time with him. After Storm and Gambit leave, Iceman’s father begins to regain consciousness.

Miscellaneous Note: According to the Statement of Ownership, average sales for the year were 455,570 with the most recent issue selling 426,229 copies.

Review: Well, it’s an entire issue built around Iceman’s father getting beaten. Take on its own, it has some nice moments, but it doesn’t exactly work if you’re familiar with Lobdell’s earlier interpretation of the character. There is a brief attempt to justify his change of heart, but it doesn’t go any deeper than the senior Mr. Drake declaring that Creed threatened his family, and he couldn’t have that. If Iceman’s father had only been portrayed by Lobdell as just a normal bigot, and not a super-bigot, this would’ve been more palatable. Knowing that future stories just ignore his father’s condition (unless this is one of the forgotten plots Mike Carey’s picked up), also dampens the impact of the story, making it feel like a quickie justification for writing out Iceman, rather than an important event.

I do like the conversation between Storm and Iceman, which has Iceman struggling with his feelings over a verbally abusive father, and Storm mourning the parents she barely knew. It’s a pairing of two long-time X-Men who’ve barely ever spoken to each other, and Lobdell makes it work. The art is Madureira’s typical blend of manga and Western superhero comics, and it’s as strong as usual. Rather than distracting from the quiet scenes, Madureira’s stylized characters help to sell the story and keep the visuals interesting.

UNCANNY X-MEN #338 – November 1996

A Hope Reborn, A Past Reclaimed
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira w/Salvador Larroca (pencilers), Tim Townsend w/Vince Russell (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors)

Summary: Archangel collapses in pain as his metal wings begin to molt and are replaced by feathers. Ozymandias appears and tells him that his original transformation under Apocalypse was only the beginning. Meanwhile, Joseph is shown a holographic recreation of Magneto in the Danger Room. He wonders why the X-Men would accept him on the team if he really was Magneto in the past. Psylocke teleports in through the shadows and tells the team that Archangel needs help. In Brooklyn, a sickly Pyro visits a church confessional. As a dazed Archangel arrives overhead, Pryo tries to warn the priest about an upcoming event. The X-Men track Archangel to the church, just as Pyro’s Legacy Virus infection causes his powers to go haywire. After Joseph subdues him, Pyro tries to warn the X-Men about “her” upcoming plan. Pyro is suddenly consumed by the earth, leading Wolverine to assume that Avalanche kidnapped him. Elsewhere, Iceman and Cannonball begin to work undercover at Graydon Creed’s presidential campaign.

Continuity Notes: This is, obviously, the issue that ditched Archangel’s metal wings and revived his original ones. Psylocke’s “shadow teleportation” powers also appear for the first time. The only explanation is that the Crimson Dawn elixir must be responsible.

Review: I remember hating this issue when it was released, and it hasn't improved with age. Aside from Madureria’s attractive artwork (I particularly like his rendition of Magneto versus the original X-Men in the Danger Room scene), there’s nothing notable about this issue. It’s filled with vague clues that ended up with little to no payoff, so it's hard to care. Why exactly would Apocalypse remove Archangel’s metal wings? If it’s because he no longer serves him, wouldn’t he have done that years ago? And why replace them with his original wings? There’s no internally justifiable reason; someone at Marvel just wanted his old wings back, I guess. If Marvel wanted a “back to basics” approach to the character, that’s understandable, but keeping his blue skin is an odd choice. If you’re returning Angel back to his original appearance, why not go all the way? Keeping his blue skin just seems like a halfhearted attempt to acknowledge an era of the character’s past that the creators obviously wanted to move away from by this time.

Psylocke’s new, arbitrary powers are also frustrating. Supposedly, the shadow powers were added to have her stand out from the other X-Men telepaths. Making the character’s powers unique is admirable, but tacking random powers on to her while still maintaining her telepathic abilities seems pointless. It adds another wrinkle to a character that had already gone through too many alterations already. Morphing the proper British telepath into an Asian ninja should really be all of the distinction the character needs. She’s living in a stranger’s body, and now has to deal with her primal desire to physically attack opponents, even though her telepathy is the safer way to handle them. The earlier attempt to reveal that her personality had been merged with another character’s was misguided, but it didn’t last for long and it can easily be forgotten. Tacking on totally unrelated powers, and a mystical connection that’s altering her personality again, seems pointless. It makes her the cast member that the writers are always screwing with, leaving her as another X-character with the “too complicated” label.

The actual story for this issue is a setup for the current X-Factor storyline, although there are no footnotes in this issue to lead you towards that title. The X-Men randomly come across Pyro, he makes a few cryptic comments, and then disappears. I believe this leads into the “Assassination of Graydon Creed” storyline, which was another story with a vague ending that went years without a resolution. And, of course, the disease Pyro is suffering from is another long-running storyline that was ignored for years before getting a quickie resolution. So, really, this isn’t a highlight of the era.

UNCANNY X-MEN #337 – October 1996

Know thy Enemy
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Townsend & Russell (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors)

Summary: Wolverine tries to reassure Professor Xavier, who is distraught in the wake of Onslaught’s destruction. Meanwhile, Bastion watches on as Graydon Creed makes a campaign stop in Central Park, where the heroes sacrificed themselves to stop Onslaught. J. Jonah Jameson is intrigued by Creed’s anger, and decides to look into his past. Bastion returns to his base, where his men are examining the Sentinels controlled by Onslaught. At the mansion, Phoenix comforts Quicksilver, who lost his wife and sister to Onslaught. The team gathers for breakfast, hoping that Xavier will join them. Wolverine enters, telling them that Xavier wants to be alone. The team tries to move on and continues with their meal.

Continuity Notes: A narrative caption says that Bastion remembers, “staring into the eyes of his creator…and knowing fully…his reason for being”. One of Bastion’s aides is a shapechanger named Harper. Bastion slaps him for imitating his appearance and tells him to get back to work. I don’t recall if Harper appears again, or is given any type of an origin.

I Love the ‘90s: Beast offers “a google thank yous” to Cyclops, which had a different meaning in those faraway days. There’s also an ad for the Crash Bandicoot video game that promises you a “free alternative music CD” if you preorder his Playstation game. That’s pretty ‘90s.

Review: This is another quiet, talkative post-crossover issue. Xavier understandably receives much of the focus, as Lobdell pairs him with Wolverine for an extended conversation scene. These two character rarely interacted in this era, which is too bad since Lobdell seems to understand their relationship well. Wolverine’s changed the most since joining the X-Men, which proves that the example Xavier has set has merit (Although, judging by spoilers I’ve read online, it’s been revealed that Xavier mentally coerced Wolverine into changing. They really can’t let go of this, can they?). Lobdell doesn’t go for a pat ending, refusing to confirm if Wolverine’s talk with Xavier had any impact on him. It’s a well-written scene that actually works as a coda to the preceding storyline. Some of these post-crossover chats come across as excuses to kill time, but this is a scene that had to be done after the Onslaught story was over, and Wolverine is a good choice to act as Xavier’s foil and reassure him that his work has meaning.

The remaining character moments are hit or miss. I don’t really care for the slapstick scene between Cyclops, Beast, and Iceman, but Gambit’s jealousy over Magneto’s second chance as Joseph is nicely conveyed. The scene with J. Jonah Jameson is an early attempt on Bob Harras’ part for a more integrated Marvel Universe, but it doesn’t go very far. The Bastion scene reads like the thousand other brief and cryptic subplots that have cropped up over the years, so it’s hard to care too much about it. Overall, this is one of the stronger quiet issues, and Madureira’s art is still nice (although the tiny head he gives Beast in one panel is even more egregious than some of Liefeld’s anatomy blunders).

UNCANNY X-MEN #336 – September 1996

A Voice As Deep As Thunder
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Townsend, Dell, Russell, & Milgrom (inkers), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary: Inside Onslaught, Franklin Richards tries to speak to a comatose Professor Xavier. Onslaught appears, and tries again to draw Franklin to his side. Elsewhere, the united heroes continue to fight the Sentinels and rescue civilians. Gambit reaches out to comfort Joseph, which surprises Rogue. At the Fantastic Four’s home, Iron Man begins to recover from the damage caused by the electromagnetic pulse. The Thing helps carry him to a lab, where he’ll begin work on a psionic armor. Inside Onslaught, Xavier regains consciousness. As he tries to warn Franklin about Onslaught, Franklin disappears. Onslaught brags that he already has the child. Outside, Joseph attacks Onslaught. Onslaught deflects the attack and opens his chest to reveal a captive Xavier. The combined attack of the various heroes cracks Onslaught’s armor, allowing Thor to free Xavier. Onslaught declares that he is now totally free, as he uses the combined powers of Xavier, Magneto, and Franklin Richards to destroy the immediate area. The Invisible Woman protects everyone with her forcefield. She asks Xavier if he can sense Franklin inside Onslaught, and he responds that his psionic powers are gone. Nearby, the Watcher and Apocalypse discuss the threat Onslaught poses. The Watcher shows Apocalypse an image of Cable, claiming that he is the answer.

Continuity Notes: This is the issue where Xavier loses his telepathic powers. This sticks around until the end of the Seagle/Kelly run, over two years later.

Onslaught’s appearance has now changed to the monstrous form seen on the cover.

The X-Men’s plane crash from X-Men #55 is essentially ignored here. There’s a throwaway line claiming that they saved themselves from the crash (which is reasonable, since most of the X-Men involved can fly), but the idea that the electromagnetic pulse scrambled the Xavier Protocols is overlooked, as Iron Man uses the files to begin work on anti-Onslaught psionic armor.

Review: This is supposed to be an important chapter in the storyline, as Xavier is freed from Onslaught while Franklin Richards is absorbed into him, but it doesn’t feel particularly meaningful. Lobdell spends a lot of time on Xavier and Franklin, building up to the climax, but it’s hard for me to buy into the story when so much of it is illogical. How can Onslaught “absorb” Franklin? If he’s capable of taking people in and stealing their powers, why doesn’t he do this to all of the heroes? Why does Onslaught spend so much time trying to trick Franklin into following him, when he’s able to forcibly absorb him just a few pages later? None of this makes any sense. As for the heroes vs. Sentinels storyline, Lobdell doesn’t seem too interested in it. He instead uses the scenes with the heroes as conversation pieces, as the action mostly occurs off-panel. I can see why he’s chosen to do this, since most of the tie-in comics are covering this angle and there’s only so much you can do with it, but the conversations aren’t particularly engaging. We get a few pages of the Invisible Woman worrying about her son, Cyclops worrying about Xavier, and some brief interactions amongst the various heroes. It does help to maintain the human element, but none of the scenes really sell the drama of what’s going on. Teaming the Watcher and Apocalypse up is actually the best pairing in the issue, as it presents Apocalypse as more than just a psychotic villain and gives him more of a personality. Madureira’s art also helps to liven things up, even if he takes the manga influence a little too far on a few pages.

UNCANNY X-MEN #335 – August 1996

Apocalypse Lives!
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Apocalypse rises from his regeneration chamber and learns that Xavier and Magneto have merged into Onslaught. He predicts that the “age of wonders” which gave birth to the current generation of superheroes is ending. The Watcher stands silently nearby. Elsewhere, the Avengers arrive with X-Man at the X-Men’s decimated mansion. They’re attacked by a suspicious Gambit and Bishop, but the altercation is brief. X-Man senses a disturbance in the Astral Plane and creates a mental image of Onslaught. Magneto’s children, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, are upset when they learn that their father had a role in Onslaught’s creation. X-Force arrives at the mansion as the X-Men and Avengers formulate a plan. The united teams split up to warn the Fantastic Four that Xavier had viewed Franklin Richards’ file recently, and to find Magneto. X-Force is left at the mansion to guard the powerful telepath X-Man, and Storm volunteers to find the missing Cable. Cyclops and Phoenix make plans to meet Archangel and Psylocke on Muir Island, while Wolverine goes off on his own. In the sewers beneath Manhattan, the Dark Beast promises to create new attendants for Onslaught.

Continuity Notes: Nate Grey refers to himself as “X-Man”, the name I’m pretty sure he never used in his own series. His appearance in this title just emphasizes how absurd his name is, since he’s supposed to be highly suspicious of the X-Men. When he sees Phoenix, he mistakes her for Madelyne Pryor, which makes the incest aspect of their relationship even more explicit.

The ending of the “age of wonders” is foreshadowing for the ending of this storyline, which has the world believing that the Avengers and Fantastic Four sacrificed their lives to stop Onslaught. The Watcher is standing around because that’s what he does when writers need something to make an event seem important.

Onslaught is referred to as “pure psionic energy” which is the feeble justification for having him do whatever he wants, even things that are beyond Xavier’s power range.

Psylocke wonders if her exposure to the Crimson Dawn has made her heartless. Archangel doesn't exactly comfort her, saying that both of them have changed.

Apocalypse apparently has a telepathic link to Ozymandias, since he tells him that he’s scanned his mind and learned what he needs to know. The logistics of this don’t really make sense, unless Apocalypse has mental powers I’ve totally forgotten about.

The Dark Beast explicitly says that he did not create the Morlocks, in a line so obviously shoehorned in I can’t help but to wonder if it was added to appease some angry fans. It reminds me of Marvel’s recent backtracking on the various “It’s Magic!” explanations for the new Amazing Spider-Man continuity.

Commercial Break: The extra pages in this issue serve as ads for the upcoming “Heroes Reborn” event. Jim Lee quotes the now-standard lines about respecting the original material but updating it for modern audiences that always come with reboots. Rob Liefeld’s section brings us the infamous “Giant Boob Cap” and “Shrunken Head Red Skull” images.

Review: I guess the revival of Apocalypse was considered a big enough deal to take over the title of this issue, even though he’s only in the first few pages and has nothing to do with the actual story. A more accurate title might’ve been “Recap the Storyline and Assign Roles for the Tie-In Comics!” since that’s all that really happens here. I remember thinking that this issue was pretty dull at the time, but I was glad to see the X-Men finally interacting with the rest of the Marvel Universe again. Creating a more coherent, integrated Marvel Universe was a goal of Bob Harras, who was the new editor-in-chief of the entire line by this point, so that is one objective “Onslaught” successfully accomplished. (Although it’s ironic that Bob Harras was the one to bring this about, since other Marvel employees have accused him of hogging the X-characters when he was exclusively in charge of the X-line).

This is a snapshot of mid-90s Marvel, where the original Fantastic Four had to be reunited by editorial fiat, Iron Man was a “relatable” teenager, and the Avengers weren’t even trying to hide the fact that they really wanted to look like the X-Men. There’s not a lot of room for any of the characters to display much of a personality, but Lobdell does a capable enough job of preventing them from seeming too generic. The plot itself reminds me of the solicitations for almost anything Marvel and DC release these days…the heroes receive their orders and divide up to their own titles where they will deal with one aspect of the current crisis. It’s not particularly interesting, but it is fun to see Madureria’s take on the various Marvel characters.

UNCANNY X-MEN #334 – July 1996

Dark Horizon
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Juggernaut arrives at the X-Men’s mansion, hoping that Phoenix will unlock the secret of Onslaught inside his head. Inside, Phoenix tells Cyclops about her encounter with Onslaught. Cyclops says that she needs to speak to Professor Xavier, but she refuses, even though she’s not sure why. Meanwhile, as Archangel and Psylocke try desperately to contact the X-Men in Colorado, Cannonball tries to talk to Professor Xavier about his feelings of inadequacy, but is coldly rebuffed. Later, Cyclops tries to speak to Xavier inside the War Room, but is instead greeted by a telepathic projection that shifts between insulting him and asking for help. Bishop and Gambit encounter the Juggernaut outside and are knocked unconscious. Juggernaut finally reaches Phoenix and asks for help. She takes him to a psi-shielded chamber in the underground tunnels beneath the mansion. She says that they will learn Onslaught’s identity here. Elsewhere, Bastion chastises Graydon Creed for his conspicuous attempt at killing Senator Kelly.

Continuity Notes: When Bishop is working on Cerebro, he wonders why technology has barely advanced in his time. I have no idea what the significance of this is supposed to be. I know that it will soon be revealed that Onslaught killed the X-Men in his timeline, but were they implying that Onslaught’s victory also lead to technology being stunted for decades?

The telepathic projection of Xavier watches footage of X-Man and comments on the time he pulled his body from the Astral Plane. He says that “what I’m about to do…I couldn’t have done without you.” Allegedly, this allowed Onslaught to be born, even though he had been operating in the background for months before that issue.

Production Note: As I mentioned earlier, this is the month Marvel dropped the slick paper in the X-titles. I remember Marvel first announced that they would make up for the lessened paper quality by adding extra pages. Then, it became apparent that these extra pages would be hype pages for other Marvel books. It seemed like these would at least be fanzine-type articles and interviews, which I wouldn’t have minded. Instead, it became obvious that most of these pages were poorly put together ads, and the same extra pages ran in all of the titles each month. The added pages in this month’s titles are clips of previous Onslaught clues, which really just emphasize how haphazard this entire storyline has been. I remember feeling incredibly cheated by this at the time.

Review: This is a nice example of an issue that touches base on various subplots while building up a main story. Unfortunately, most of the subplots end up fizzling out over the next few months, but there was still some promise at this stage. The dark tone in the issue is successful in setting the stage for the Onslaught revelation, and I seem to recall being fairly excited when I read this for the first time. The clues regarding Onslaught’s identity aren’t even getting close to subtle now, as Xavier suddenly has a drastic change in personality. The previous issue had him acting a little snarky with his students, but now he’s behaving like a totally different character. Lobdell gets some humor out of the “evil” Xavier’s conversation with Cannonball, which basically has him calling Cannonball out as a total incompetent (which is unfortunately what the character had turned into at this point). The brief scene that has the Dark Beast offering a meta-commentary on all of the various fields of knowledge the Beast is supposed to be an expert on is also amusing. Madureira’s art remains a highlight, as he turns in one of the strongest renditions of the Juggernaut ever. He’s also able to keep the rest of the issue, which mainly consists of conversation scenes, visually interesting.

UNCANNY X-MEN #332 – May 1996

The Road to Casablanca
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Team Bucce (colors)

Summary: Professor Xavier meets with Zoe Culloden in her Moroccan office. He wants to know about Wolverine’s altered condition, but she refuses to speak to him because of Landau, Luckman, & Lake’s privacy policy. He allows her to mentally carry out a scenario where she kills him in order to protect L,L,&L’s secrets. She’s shocked to learn that the events were in her head, and that Xavier is using his power to prevent her from moving. He demands that she tell him what happened to Wolverine. Outside the office, Phoenix telepathically locates Wolverine. She leaves with Cyclops, Iceman, and Cannonball to find him. In the desert, Wolverine finds a castle. He steps on a trap door and falls a mile underground. There, he’s greeted by Ozymandias. Ozymandias has spent centuries alone, creating stone representations of his visions. He’s shocked to see Wolverine’s appearance, and wonders what mankind has evolved into. The X-Men arrive and attack Ozymandias when they overhear him threatening to “tear the answers” from Wolverine’s skull. Ozymandias creates animated stone statues and sends them after the team. While riding on the back of Iceman’s ice-slide, Cyclops is knocked off and falls down a deep chasm. Ozymandias grabs Wolverine, as a stone recreation of Magneto chokes Phoenix.

Continuity Notes: This is the first appearance of Ozymandias, who is yet another mysterious character with ties to Apocalypse. He’s named after the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which contains the famous line comic writers love, “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair”. Ozymandias makes a number of cryptic statements in this issue alone. He claims that he was a king before Apocalypse imprisoned him. He now “sets his blind eyes…his stone hands” to fending off madness by creating statues. Phoenix wonders if he’s an early mutant and Apocalypse didn’t want the competition, or if he’s a re-engineered human like Mr. Sinister (the Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix miniseries that gave him an origin was about to be released). In this issue, he’s presented as a victim of Apocalypse who fears his eventual resurrection, but I think he’s later portrayed as Apocalypse’s faithful biographer.

All of the statues created by Ozymandias resemble established X-characters, although Phoenix claims that she doesn’t recognize one of them. The statue is a male with an average build and medium-length hair parted in the middle. The art isn’t very clear, but it eventually occurred to me that this is supposed to be X-Man.

Xavier reveals to Zoe that he's aware of Landau, Luckman, and Lake's operations, which shocks her. According to him, L,L,&L have twenty-six offices.

Production Note: More nineteen page fun.

“Huh?” Moment: Ozymandias refers to etchings he’s made to represent recent events, like Avalon falling to Earth and Xavier’s fight with X-Man, but the drawings he’s referring to look like random lines that barely form any type of coherent image. I wonder if there was supposed to be some sort of computer effect in their place that wasn’t properly pulled off. The idea that X-Man pulled Xavier from the Astral Plane into reality is now presented as something of a big deal, but it certainly didn’t come across that way in the actual story.

Review: Well, the X-Men track down Roverine while another new mysterious villain is introduced. This isn’t exactly a highpoint of the era. Rereading it, this isn’t as bad as I remembered, since it actually tells a decent amount of story in nineteen pages, works in some action, and has Madureira’s typically strong artwork. It’s the connection to the inane “Wolverine as a dog” storyline, and the knowledge that Ozymandias turns out to be a dud, that makes the issue initially seem to be worse than it really is. Ozymandias’ design and powers actually don’t bother me; it’s the unimaginative origin and lack of personality that kills him. As the months go on, he just becomes that stone guy who hangs around Apocalypse occasionally. Apocalypse is already surrounded by dozens of characters with no personality, so I’m not sure what the point of Ozymandias was supposed to be.

The Xavier scenes seem to be setting up the upcoming Onslaught reveal, as Lobdell shows him willing to cross the ethical lines he’s made for himself in order to help Wolverine. The justification given is that after losing Sabretooth, he refuses to lose Wolverine. This, charitably, could come across as coherent long-term plotting, as one storyline leads to another, and Xavier’s character arc continues to take a darker turn with each event. However, reading all of these issues in a short amount of time just emphasizes the aspects that don’t work. Not only was Sabretooth’s reversion totally out of left field, but Onslaught was already making behind-the-scenes appearances before that even happened. Lobdell is trying to make something work and the pieces just don’t fit. On top of that, Xavier’s actions don’t make a lot of sense anyway. With his mental powers (and Phoenix’s), they could easily locate Wolverine, so he doesn’t need Zoe for that. As for his physical condition, the advanced Shi’ar technology the X-Men have at their mansion would likely tell him more than what Zoe can (granted, this is assuming that Xavier thinks the X-Men can bring him home). I understand that he would want information from someone involved in the case, but the idea that she’s his last resort and he has to cross these boundaries seems forced.

UNCANNY X-MEN #330 – March 1996

Quest for the Crimson Dawn

Credits: Scott Lobdell & Jeph Loeb (writers), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Wolverine and Archangel follow Gomurr to a warehouse filled with Chinese paper dragons. Shortly after Dr. Strange appears, the team is attacked by Shadow Ninjas, sent to guard the elixir that might save Psylocke. Gomurr vanquishes the ninjas and leads the group into the mouth of a paper dragon. Meanwhile, Gambit watches over Psylocke, wondering if she learned his secret when she entered his mind weeks earlier. When her condition worsens, he calls Xavier and Beast. Inside an extradimensional plane, Wolverine and the others meet Tar, the protector of the Crimson Dawn. Tar ignores Gomurr’s plea for help and sends his mystical “neon minions” to attack. As Wolverine fights them off, Dr. Strange shows Archangel the vein of the Crimson Dawn, which reveals that Psylocke is dying. Strange takes the portion of Psylocke’s soul that she’s trusted to Archangel out of his chest and releases it into the Crimson Dawn’s vein. At the mansion, Psylocke is suddenly overcome with a red energy, which stabilizes her vital signs. As the group returns to the real world, Dr. Strange questions if the battle for Psylocke’s soul has just begun.

Production Note

This is the second issue in a row that’s only nineteen pages long.

Review

It’s another issue that mainly consists of Wolverine and Archangel fighting vaguely defined mystical enemies. Like the previous issue, it’s obviously well-drawn, but for some reason Madureria has put the lead characters in ugly, stereotypical “Asian warrior” garb. Archangel is supposed to be the one annoyed by it, even though he’s just in a robe while Wolverine is wearing a horrible mesh, sleeveless shirt with karate pants. They look ridiculous, and even though the script points that out, there’s no real justification for why they’re dressed this way. It’s implied that Gomurr tricked them into wearing the clothes as a joke, which just emphasizes how annoying the mystical characters in this storyline can be. Tar, the guardian of the Crimson Dawn, has no motive to attack the team outside of the fact that he’s sick of people always asking him for things. That’s cute, but it seems out of place in a storyline that’s really trying to sell the idea that one of the X-Men is about to die.

Another problem with the “Psylocke is dying” angle is that hardly any of the other X-Men seem to be involved at all. The previous issue of sister title X-Men showed the team playing poker, while Psylocke was still stable enough to talk to Professor Xavier. Now, she’s suddenly in a struggle for her life, and the majority of the X-Men can’t be found. Lobdell and Loeb do create a strong scene with Gambit, though, which calls back to Psylocke’s earlier invasion of his mind. The idea that for a “fraction of an instant” he’s tempted to let her die in order to keep his secret is interesting, and it helps to convey the seriousness of his shame more than his break-up issue with Rogue did.

The ending of the issue is fairly lame, and I remember feeling cheated by it as a teenager, too. Instead of getting the Crimson Dawn elixir to save her life, Dr. Strange pulls a portion of Psylocke’s soul out of Archangel’s chest (uh…okay), sticks it into a mysterious blob, and suddenly she’s okay. Future issues will reveal that the incident left her with a facial tattoo and new powers, but none of that is revealed here (and, really, using this as a justification for screwing around with Psylocke’s status quo yet again is beyond inane). Ending any story by saving a character with “the power of love” is automatically going to make me roll my eyes. It’s also an incredibly rushed ending, as Madureria once again fills the early pages of the issue with splashes and large panels, forcing him to cram all of the necessary story details into tiny panels on the final pages.

UNCANNY X-MEN #329 – February 1996

Warriors of the Ebon Night

Credits: Scott Lobdell & Jeph Loeb (writers), Joe Madureria (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato & Electric Crayon (colors)

Summary

Dr. Strange has a vision that the X-Men need his help, so he sends his astral form to find them. In Manhattan’s Little Asia, Wolverine takes a skeptical Archangel to a tea house. He claims that there are mystic ways to cure Psylocke's injuries. Wolverine suddenly slaps Archangel’s hot tea to the ground, as the steam takes the form of a ninja. Wolverine and Archangel fight the ethereal ninja, until Wolverine notices a lone elderly woman watching the fight. He stabs her in the back, revealing her body to be a front for Gomurr the Ancient, who created the ninja in order to test the duo. Wolverine tells Gomurr that they need a “pint of Crimson Dawn from the Ebon Vein” and demands that he help them. Dr. Strange appears, telling Wolverine that he’s going to join their mission.

Production Notes

This issue is only nineteen pages instead of the normal twenty-two. It also has the first appearance of a computer generated character in this series, the “Steam Ninja”. The computer effects look a little dated today, but this was pretty impressive at the time.

Miscellaneous Note

According to the Statement of Ownership, average sales were 362,128 for the year with the most recent issue selling 373,556 copies.

Review

This is a very, very light read. Not only is the plot thin to begin with, but the story itself is only nineteen pages long. Plus, the opening four pages only have five panels combined (one of these pages is a splash of Dr. Strange flying over Manhattan, which is clearly a photograph and not a drawing, leaving Madureria with just a third of the page to actually draw). Lobdell is able to get a small amount of material out of having Wolverine and Archangel play off each other, but there’s barely any character work here. It’s really just setting up the plot of the next issue, which in turn sets up what is probably the dumbest thing ever done to Psylocke. This issue does have some impressive art and a fun action sequence, and it is nice to see a character rarely associated with the team like Dr. Strange show up, but there’s hardly anything else going on.

UNCANNY X-MEN #328 – January 1996

Precipice

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Steve Buccellato & Electric Crayon (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary

Phoenix performs a psi-scan on Sabretooth and learns that he mentally interpreted the holographic forest in the Danger Room as graphic depictions of animals killing each other. Professor Xavier confronts Sabretooth and sees that his old personality has emerged. Feeling that he’s done everything he can, Xavier contacts Valerie Cooper and arranges for him to be taken into federal custody. After he leaves, Boomer confronts Sabretooth about lying to her. He taunts her until she launches her time bombs at him. The explosion inadvertently frees him from his shackles. Psylocke rushes to save her, but learns that Sabretooth’s brain damage has erased the effect of her psychic “glow”. He nearly eviscerates Psylocke and then escapes.

Continuity Notes

Bishop is still struggling with his memories of the Age of Apocalypse. Cyclops theorizes that he and Phoenix had an easier time dealing with “time compression” after their time in future because of their psychic bond with one another. This is treated as if it’s going to be an important storyline, but it’s soon forgotten about.

Sabretooth claims that Cannonball wouldn’t love Boomer if he knew “what you used to be”. This ties in to issues of X-Force from around this time that imply that she might've been a prostitute, if I recall correctly.

Review

Now, over two years after it began, the “Sabretooth lives with the X-Men” storyline ends. I remember really liking Madureira’s art when I first read this issue, but hating the story because it was such a cheat. After months of acting like a wounded animal, the real Sabretooth is back with no explanation. I would have an easier time buying this issue’s assertion that he was faking the whole time, if there hadn’t been a recent issue of Wolverine which showed that he really had been lobotomized, and if the third-person narrative captions in several other issues hadn’t claimed that he was truly changed. It’s possible that his healing factor healed his brain damage and that his personality began to secretly reemerge over the weeks, and that might even be what the creators intended, but it’s not clear at all here. It reads like someone at Marvel just decided that they liked Sabretooth better the other way, so he suddenly changes back in this issue. Outside of the aforementioned Wolverine issue, which briefly played up the irony that Sabretooth was now a domesticated housecat while Wolverine was growing nastier and alienating his friends, I really have no idea what the point of the “tame Sabretooth” arc was even supposed to be. It seems like it was an idea thrown out as shock value after the books returned from the AoA that just stuck around for a few months because no one knew where to go with it. Judged on its own, this issue does have a few decent moments. Lobdell is able to portray Xavier’s disappointment over his failure effectively, and he handles Sabretooth’s malicious dialogue pretty well. Like I mentioned earlier, Madureira’s artwork is very impressive for most of the issue, even though the first half of the story is packed with so many splash pages and giant panels, the Psyclocke fight gets cramped into a lot of tiny panels towards the end. As the conclusion to a long-running storyline, though, it’s an awkward finale that doesn’t even mesh with the issues published just a few weeks earlier. Unfortunately, this type of scattershot storytelling will continue throughout the post-AoA era.