Amazing Spider-Man #440 (October, 1998)
"The Gathering of Five, Part Two: A Hot Time in the Old Town"
Guest Writer - John Byrne
Pencils - Rafael Kayanan
Inks - Bud LaRosa, Jimmy Palmiotti, Rodney Ramos, & Rafael Kayanan
Colors - Mike Rockwitz & Mark Bernardo
Letters - Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Liz Agraphiotis
Edits - Ralph Macchio
Chief - Bob Harras
Cover Price: $1.99
We're two-days into our deep-dive on The Byrne/Mackie Reboot... and, ya know... so-far, so-good, right? Well, least I think so.
Today we're going to discuss an issue written by Byrne himself (and tomorrow we've got one by Mackie), so maybe it's here where we'll get a better "feel" for what we're truly in for.
Let'sa find out.
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We open with Spider-Man hot on the trail of... the Molten Man. Now, there's a boring member of the Rogue's Gallery, innit? The Molten Man is stomping through the streets of New York City... leaving a path of, well, moltenness in his wake. Spidey's not sure what he's up to, however, as he's not like trying to steal anything or hurt anybody. Our man pops in to ask some questions... and it's as though Raxton's looking right through him. He's in a trance or something. Worth noting, at this point Raxton has been on the "straight and narrow"... though, is working for one of Osborn's companies.
Molten Man stomps through a department store, triggering the in-shop sprinkler system to kick on... which, when it hits him turns into a cloud of scalding steam. Spider-Man stops to evacuate all of the shoppers, allowing Raxton to slip away. Byrne has Spidey paraphrase a Superman tag-line, after which, he asks if he's infringed on a copyright. And, yes, all of the jokes in today's book will be just as forced and unfunny.
We shift scenes over to a seedy-looking Pawn/Antique Shop, where Norman is chatting up a creepy old man about the MacGuffins. Turns out, this fella has one of the "shards" (so, I guess that's the technical term for them). It's here we learn that during the Rites of the Five... only three participants will be granted that "great power". We'll learn a bit more about that in later on this issue.
Back on the street, Spidey is back on the Molten Man's trail. It's... ya know, probably very helpful that dude leaves a path of melted slag everywhere he walks, right? Anyhoo, Spider-Man realizes that Raxton has taken to the sewers... and so, he gives chase. Worth noting, the New York sewer system smells worse than Jonah's gym socks. Oy...
Just like in the department store before, the sewer is suddenly filled with scalding steam. Stands to reason, right? Anyhoo, Spidey surmises that the steam is upwards of 200 degrees, and realizes he's gotta get outta there before he cooks. Unfortunately, there's a ledger truck set atop the nearest manhole cover. Well, I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a call back to the Lee/Ditko "The Final Chapter", but... it's Byrne, so maybe? Whatever the case, he's able to lift the truck and escape the steam.
Ready for another forced and awful joke? I know ya are! A bystander asks where Spider-Man came from, and... well...
At this point, Spider-Man swipes a map of Manhattan from a newsstand and tries to figure out his next move. Hasn't he... ya know... swung through Manhattan every day for like decades at this point? Oh well, I guess this at least gives us a nice sight-gag? If only there were a Twitter or Tumblr to share this on back in ye old 1998.
Whatever the case, he somehow deduces that Raxton is headed toward the docks. As it turns out, at that very moment, Robbie and Alison Mongrain are arriving at said docks aboard a tramp steamer. So... we might assume this issue is happening like a week or two after the last one? Heck, I dunno how long it takes for a slow boat to travel across the Atlantic.
Just then... the Molten Man strikes... Super-Shredder style, right through the docks! Thankfully, he announces himself upon arrival. Wait, did I say "thankfully", I meant to say "mind-bogglingly".
Raxton tosses Robbie aside and b-lines it toward Alison. She takes off toward dry land. Robbie asks "what hit him", so I guess the Molten Man's proclamation one page ago that he is, in fact, The Molten Man wasn't enough for him.
Robbie grabs a conveniently placed crowbar and smacks Raxton in the back with it. It is ineffective. Lucky for him, Spider-Man has shown up. In a neat bit, Spidey webs up his fists and feet so he doesn't burn himself on the Molten Man.
While Spidey and Raxton beat each other upon the head and shoulders, Alison and Robbie plan their next move. Alison announces that they gotta find Peter Parker. Robbie protests, suggesting they stay and help Spider-Man (that's cute, Robbie). Alison winds up convincing him that it's best the flee the scene.
Spidey and Raxton fight through the dock (dude is molten, after all) and wind up in the drink. Spider-Man is almost pulled under a large barge... where he fears he might be turned into "Spider-Man pate". Oy. He manages to escape the pull and return to dry land... however, the Molten Man is nowhere to be found.
We pop over to the Osborn Building, where ol' Norman is still chatting up the old weirdo from the Pawn Shop. Their discussion is interrupted by a phone call from... good grief, the friggin' Scrier. It's... kinda funny seeing this Scrier holding a telephone, though I can't explain why. Anyhoo, the Scrier reveals that the "mission" (referring to whatever the heck the Molten Man was supposed to do) has failed. Norman, as you might imagine, isn't happy.
After hanging up on the Scrier, Norman and the Weirdo get back to their discussion. It's here we learn some more about the particulars of the Rites of the Five. Ya see, there are four "shards" plus the spindle... that much we knew. There will be five participants all seeking "great power"... yeah, we knew that too. Only three of the five will actually get "great power"... we just learned that a few pages back. But, what is this "great power"... and what happens to the unlucky two?
Well, the "great power" includes, well... POWER. Also KNOWLEDGE and IMMORTALITY. So, there's the lucky three. Those less lucky will be "gifted" with DEATH and MADNESS. So, it's a 60% chance you get something good... buuuuut, there's always the possibility that this might be one'a them "monkey's paw" sort of situations. Annnd, that's where we leave it.
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So, this was... uh... less good than the first chapter? Fair to say? From soup to nuts, writing to art... this was definitely a far weaker outing.
Let's get the Byrne out of the way. This wasn't outright bad or anything, but some of these "jokes" were pretty cringy, forced, and felt like they were trying too hard to evoke of a different era of Spider-Man. I mean, quipping about Jonah's sweat socks? The "daddy spider and mommy spider" bit? C'mahhhn. I expect a little more creativity when it comes to quips.
We did get from Point A to Point B, which was good. We got Alison and Robbie back to New York, we learned a bit more regarding the "gamble" of the Rites of the Five. Can't much complain about that. Sure, back in 1998, the latter didn't feel so much like a "Spider-Man story beat", but... in 2020, it's like those "street-level" rules don't apply anymore. It's far easier to accept this sort of tale nowadays.
The art... well... this certainly isn't up to the standards that Joe Bennett set yesterday. This is quite a bit rougher... likely not helped by the four different inkers in play here. Heck, looking at the credits, Byrne himself is listed as a "Guest Writer". Was there some sort of shake-up that made this issue a "last minute" sort of thing? Was there any reason why regular Amazing Spider-Man writer, Tom DeFalco couldn't do this one? I just feel like, if you're trying to establish a "new direction", the lead-in story probably shouldn't be treated as a rushed afterthought, no?
Oh well. I guess we can chalk this one up as being just "ehh"... and hope for a better Chapter Three.
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Sensational Spider-Man #32 (October, 1998)
"The Gathering of Five, Part One: Acquisitions"
Writer - Todd DeZago
Pencils - Joe Bennett
Inks - Ralph Cabrera
Colors - Tom Smith
Letters - Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Liz Agraphiotis
Edits - Ralph Macchio
Chief - Bob Harras
Cover Price: $1.99
Okay... we're going to dip back into the old blogging bag o' tricks. What do we do when we're stuck? What do we do when our focus is shaken? What do we do when we don't know what to do?
Well... we start a project.
I don't know if we'll see this one all the way through... I hope we will, but I can't make any promises. This is a comics topic I would file under "unfinished business"... as it was something I would threaten Reggie with regularity while we were working on the show(s).
The subject of Spider-Man would come up during our recordings, and I'd say, "One day we will get around to... (imagine thunder and lightning sounds here) the Byrne/Mackie Reboot!" And so, starting today, that's exactly what we're gonna do. I figured we'd start with The Gathering of Five storyline that leads into the big wrap-up of the Spidey Volume Ones. I probably could've gone back further... or, heck, just started with the first issues of the Volume Twos... but, I think this is probably the best place to begin to give us just enough context.
A little housekeeping before we hop over the hyphens... I'm still going to be sharing audio offerings here with regularity, but I haven't decided if those will just be "Spidey-skip-days", or if... heck, maybe I'll just have two posts on those days. One thing I'm coming to learn (and accept) is that there ain't no such thing as rules here anymore. Somehow, still haven't missed a day though.
And now... let's get ready to reboot.
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We open at the Aleister Building, where inside Norman Osborn is trying to cut a deal with one Hamilton Cromwell, a... ahem, fifth-degree maegis of the Elite Dark Chamber. Woof. Turns out there are a fivesome of MacGuffins, which when put together hold the potential of doling out some "great power". Guess who already has one of these tchotchkes? Norman shows Cromwell a piece that resembles a spindle. The other four pieces, by the way, look like quarters of a circle... so, when assembled, they... ya know, actually assemble. Cromwell, by the way, has one of those "quarters".
Here's the thing, though... he isn't keen on the idea of performing the "Gathering" ritual... or, the "Rites of the Five". After showing Norman exactly where he keeps his piece... he kicks him out. Something tells me that Norman isn't going to give up... well, actually, Norman himself tells us that he's not going to give up.
We shift scenes and, hey look, it's Spider-Man... and he stops swinging through the skies of New York to deal with a mugging. All he has to do is disarm the baddie... because the fella he was holding up is, well, built like a house.
Next stop, Peter and MJ's house (Aunt May's house, actually, but she's dead at the moment), where the latter is studying for some "difficult" Psychology classes she signed up for over the Summer. Her Aunt Anna enters the room to inform her that she's got a phone call... it's her old modeling agent! He's got a gig for her, if she's interested. She stops to think it over, even noticing a Parenting magazine on the table next to her... which, starting a family was one of the reasons she left the "biz"... buuuuut, decides she's back in the game!
Back to Spidey as he's clung to the side of... I wanna say Grand Central Station... or something that looks like it. He's waiting for his "usual" bus to head back home to Queens. Before he can, however, he notices one of Osborn's armored goons causing havoc in the streets... this is Override!
Spidey gives chase, tracking Override all the way to that Aleister Building from the beginning. The baddie busts his way in, and even kills a pair of Security Guards... then, makes his way down to that super-secret sub-basement where Cromwell keeps his MacGuffin sliver... only, it looks like a full-on round chocolate chip cookie here.
At this point, Spidey confronts Override... and, well, they fight for a few pages. The baddie manages to give Spidey the slip for a second... but, before long our man's back on the trail. They somehow wind up in "The Menagerie" of the Building... which is to say, a room full of horror-containing canisters. Override is stopped by, uh... balaclava-wearing security? Okay.
Once Spider-Man arrives, the horrors are let out. So, we get a page of Spidey battling some generic beasties... while Override beats a hasty retreat.
Spider-Man is eventually able to overcome... but, it's too late. He knows Norman's likely already got that weird cookie Override stole out of the basement. Speaking of which, that's pretty much exactly what's going down on the other side of the city! Override hands over the MacGuffin... which, again... does not look like it did at the beginning of the issue.
Here, Override reveals that he only took this job because his wife is very ill. He knows a thing or two (literally, just a thing or two) about this Gathering of Five Ritual... as in, it might bestow "great power". Also, that it requires five people as well as the five trinkets. He asks Norman if he himself might get a seat at the proverbial "table" for the Rites... hopeful that whatever "great power" he might receive will help him cure his wife. Norman gives the big ol' thumbs up. See? He's not such a bad guy!
We begin our wrap up with the revelation that Norman's in cahoots with... aw hell... the Scriers. How did I forget about that? Good grief. You ever wanna tune me out of a Spidey story... toss a Scrier in it! He learns that Kaine and a woman named Mongrain (who he had hired during Mary Jane's pregnancy to swipe the Spider-Fetus) are now on the table as pawns in all this.
We close with the revelation that Alison Mongrain is hiding out in Paris... and has just been located by ol' Robbie Robertson!
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Ya know, I feel like when people stop and think about infamous eras in the Spider-Books, their minds immediately go to The Clone Saga, or Sins Past, or One More Day... and, trust me, if I were discussing any of those, I'm sure this piece would get far more engagement than it actually will. The Byrne/Mackie Reboot, in hindsight, trumped all of those stories... again, that's with near a quarter-century of hindsight.
Now, after reading this first part of the lead-up... ya know, this wasn't as bad as I remembered. Again, this is only one issue... and, for this project, we'll be looking at over fifty... so, it isn't saying all that much. But for a start, I was okay with it. I remember not being so on-board back in 1998... and let's talk about why that might've been...
The main complaint I remember hearing about The Gathering of Five (as well as elements of a lot of Spider-Man stories of the mid-late 90's), was that it didn't feel like a Spider-Man story. It wasn't "street-level" enough... it had to do with weird mumbo-jumbo, mysticism, and other very un-Spidey stuff.
I wonder if the, in my opinion, very un-Spidey stuff we got from the Spider-Man "brain trust" in the 22 years since has kind of desensitized me to the inherent "badness" of this storyline? Just think about everything that happened to Spider-Man after the turn of the century...
- Spider-Totems
- Unmaskings
- The Osborn/Stacy Twins
- Deals With the Devil
- Body-Swaps
- Becoming a wealthy tech wizard
- Having like a dozen other Spider-Heroes running around
... to name a few.
Very... to me, un-Spidey stuff. Almost makes the odd trappings of The Gathering of Five seem like "just another day" in Peter Parker's life, dunnit? I guess if "exceptions" are around long enough, they eventually become "the rule"?
Anyhoo, let's actually look at this issue instead of kvetching about much of what came after (though, no promises)...
For the most part, I enjoyed this well enough. There was plenty of action (though, it was pretty shoehorned in), blended with soapiness, angst, and greed... everyone's motivations are pretty clear, and we have a kind of "direction". I tell ya one thing, I think we got more out of this Part One than we ever would in a Part One from "current year".
Override... pretty lame villain, though was fleshed out decently enough here. They gave him an altruistic reason for wrapping himself up in Osborn's business. That's fair enough. We'll learn more about the Rites of the Five as we move along... so, I won't go into the risks/rewards of participation just yet. I do like, however, that he's purely motivated out of desperation and far-flung hope. We get the impression that, outside of his wife, he's really got nothing to lose here.
Mary Jane. Hmm. Almost feels like they're trying to turn the reader against her, dunnit? Nah, probably all in my head, right? She and Peter were in full-on "settling down" mode not too long before this. Ben Reilly was Spider-Man, MJ was pregnant... and with Aunt May's passing and nothing keeping them there, she and Peter were goneski from New York City. She'd lose the baby, and Peter would pop under the webs again, of course... but, it seemed (at the time) like they were going to continue pursuing a semblance of a "normal family".
That kind of goes out the window here, doesn't it? Mary Jane does take pause when offered the modeling gig... to consider the life-altering decision she's about to make... but, ultimately appears to forgo becoming a mother for now. Were we readers supposed to see that as a sort of betrayal? A sign that maybe she and Peter aren't ready to be grown-ups just yet? There's a lot we can read into from that scene... especially with everything that has happened since.
Then there's Norman. He hasn't been back on the table all that long at this point (relatively speaking)... but he's definitely aiming quite a bit higher than he did in his prior life. He's not dressing up like a cartoon goblin, for one. For another, he's exploring some pretty dicey hoo-doo in order to procure some nebulous "great power". Feels like he's being "leveled up" a bit with this story. They're showing us more of a cerebral Norman... he's really the "straw that stirs the drink", and retroactively, he always has been. Not a bad look for him as the "big bad", though I could certainly do without the Scriers.
Overall... yeah, not bad. I'm actually surprised! It's been... err, twenty-two years since I last cracked the cover on this... so, maybe it's just faulty memory... maybe I'm softening in my old age... or maybe, this is a comparable "breath of fresh air" from what would come later... but, yeah... not bad.
Worth noting, this era of comics is probably on my absolute favorite paper stock. It's like a perfect blend of newsprint and gloss... and, hoo boy, the smell (while likely toxic) is amazing!
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I was talking with a really good friend of mine yesterday, and I was reminded of some old goals that I'd set... and, also some old goals Reggie and I had set as it pertains to where we wanted our show(s) to go. I could bore you all with talk of "the numbers", which is as nebulous and frustrating as it sounds... but instead, I want to share with you something a bit more substantial.
We were pretty pragmatic when it came to the possibilities of the show(s)... we never saw this as a money-making or fame-breaking venture, because... I mean, does anyone these days not have a podcast? Sure feels like most folks do!
There were a couple of thing we did want out of this, however... and it basically all comes down to procuring certain sponsorships. We were both huge fans of, basically every magazine coming out from TwoMorrows (Alter-Ego, Back Issue!, etc.), and also of The Comics Journal. These were our physical data-mines, where we could research darn near anything we wanted about the comics industry and its history... and, if we couldn't get all of our answers there... we were able to use what we did learn in order to be pointed in the right direction.
Now as far as the "sponsorship" would have gone... we wanted to work out an arrangement in "trade". We weren't looking for money or promotion or anything... what we really wanted was to finagle a way into getting access to the archives. Everything we did was in service of the show(s)... we knew, with that kind of access (though between us, we already owned a ton of paper from these publications), we could deliver an even better product. It was important to us to consistently deliver a top-quality program, and I hope that shows. We figured we'd promote our research materials hard... hopeful that listeners might want to explore these publications, and help support the companies.
We never got around to pitching this idea/partnership to TwoMorrows or Fantagraphics. I don't think we ever felt "ready", ya know? Like, we hadn't established ourselves as being legitimate. What I wouldn't give to turn back the clock and give it an actual "go". I mean, worst they could'a said was "no", right? I've been told "no" before. It sucks, but... it is what it is.
As we brainstormed, we thought perhaps our best "in" with the companies (TwoMorrows, initially), was to submit a written piece for publication. This might put the "Chris and Reggie brand" in their atmosphere, ya know? That was another big goal we shared... we wanted to be published... either by writing our own book (of which we had a couple "in the works") or, in the legit comics press. To us, TwoMorrows and Fantagraphics were as legit as you could get.
But... what would we write about? What piece of comics history hasn't already been talked to death... by folks with first-hand accounts, much less just by a couple of research-junkies with a podcast?
That's when we remembered our Weird Comics History episode where we did a deep-dive on the history of the relatively short-lived DC Comics Imprint Piranha Press (which would ultimately evolve into Paradox Press). Not too many people out there were talking about this... and we figured this was just off the beaten path enough to fall into the "Chris and Reggie" wheelhouse.
Now, this was originally a two-parter that were ran as segments on the Weird Science show (Episodes 76 & 77)... so, before we broke away into a standalone. That means the episode was purposely left on the brief side, as to not completely mess with the flow of our parent show.
A revisit/fleshing out of this story was on our "to-do list" for this Summer... and we were always hopeful of scoring an interview with the elusive brains behind this operation.
I invite you to give this a listen, if you're interested. It's a piece of DC (and Comics) history that doesn't get near enough mention... and we felt it was pretty important in how it brought some indie/underground flavor to a mainstream comics company.
Something I'm learning with all of this is... well, kind of contradictory. First "it's never too late"... and also, "nothing's guaranteed". Maybe it isn't too late to see Reggie's and my name in print? I guess we'll have to see.
X-Men (vol.2) #1 (October, 1991)
"Rubicon"
Co-Plot/Writer - Chris Claremont
Co-Plot/Pencils - Jim Lee
Inks - Scott Williams
Letters - Tom Orzechowski
Colors - Joe Rosas
Assistant Editor - Suzanne Gaffney
Editor - Bob Harras
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Cover Price: $3.95 / $1.00
Breaking up the incessant pod-plugging with... well, a re-purposed synopsis that I'd originally wrote for... a podcast. We covered this issue during the first episode of From Claremont to Claremont: An X-Men Podcast back in April... actually recorded this segment wayyy back in like November/December, 2019. I really dragged my feet on that show.
Before we get into it, I want to apologize for the lack of "new" comic book "discussions and reviews" here... as I know it's what the lion's share of visitors to this place are looking for. All of my metrics are telling me that folks, with few exceptions, aren't interested in my personal stories or remembrances. Unfortunately, for the moment, that's all I'm able to do.
Reading comics just isn't something I'm able to bring myself to do. I'm sure y'all understand that, considering the circumstances. I'm hoping this passes before long... but, I can't make any promises. Again, I'm sorry.
Today though, a piece that will be new to... well, pretty much everybody visiting. The discussion piece below the synopsis is all new. Thanks for reading.
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We open with a pair of ships desperately seeking Asteroid M, which, if you're not aware is one of the places Magneto is known to hang out. And well, that's exactly who they find! Our man destroys both ships... and tells them, in no uncertain terms that, just like the Hulk, he wants to just be left alone. They can do as they please on Earth... but, they're not going to bring violence into his home.
One of the crew members pleads for Magneto not to leave them to die in space. Magneto tells them they have nothing to worry about, after all, if they were to die... it would just lead to further stress for him. She then informs Magneto that the reason for their "visit" is that... they're all Mutants! They're here to pledge their lives in Magneto's service. The second of the ships, we come to find, was sent by S.H.I.E.L.D., and is full of folks who are most definitely not Mutants... and who have no interest in throwing in with the Master of Magnetism.
We shift scenes to the Star City (not that Star City) Cosmodrome in Baikonur. It's here that we learn that those Asteroid M visitors actually hijacked the ships. The Russians also know that Magneto was responsible for them going "boom"... and enact something they refer to as "The Magneto Protocol".
Meanwhile, in Washinton, D.C. George H.W. Bush is meeting with Colonel Nick Fury. He's worried that American shuttles exploding over Soviet airspace might just lead to an International Incident... at the very least, it wouldn't be prudent. Fury thinks on it a bit, before offering something of a possible solution.
We shift scenes to beautiful Salem Center, New York... Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, home of the X-Men. Cyclops and Storm, the leaders of the team observe while Beast, Forge, and Banshee initiate a Danger Room training scenario for the teams. The gimmick this time around is, the X-Men must infiltrate the Mansion and "capture" Professor X.
Speaking of whom, we shift scenes to a conversation between he and Jean Grey. He's mostly thinking out loud, considering everything that had changed since he'd been away from the X-Men. That is to say, while he was away enjoying sharing his newly-cloned body with the Majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire, Lilandra. He thinks about his oft-mentioned "dream" of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants.
Back in the Danger Room scenario, Rogue and Iceman narrowly evade some heat-seeking missiles, and insodoing, affords Archangel and Colossus the opportunity to bust into the Prof's study. Upon getting "Fastball Specialed" inside, however, Colossus finds himself easy pickin's for a Jean Grey psychic-blast!
Meanwhile, the second team... and certainly the more "90's cool" team, consisting of Wolverine, Psylocke, and Gambit work their way through the "low-road" toward Charley (ie. the sewers). They are ambushed by a whole lotta golden robots. Logan and Betsy take the fight to the bots, while Gambit slinks away into the study.
He nails Jean with a charged up playing card... gives her a big smooch, and well... gets exploded on! Turns out, this "Jean Grey" was just another Danger Room robot! According to the rules of the Danger Room, Gambit is now "dead".
Cyclops and Company are joined on the "bridge" by the actual Jean and Xavier... and share some pithy banter about the Cajun having no qualms about kissing Scott's woman. Just then, Wolverine cuts his way into the control room... and pops his claws right in the Professor's face, thereby "winning" the Danger Room Challenge.
We jump ahead to a video-call from Nick Fury, which fills the X-Men in on all the space-shuttle-splodin-situation, courtesy of their old pal and foe, Magneto. Rogue doesn't really see what the big deal is... after all, Magnus was only defending his turf. It's worth noting, that she and Mags had become a bit "friendly" over the past little while, so her point of view might be a bit biased. Cyclops maintains that, all things being equal, there's still reason for concern when it comes to Magneto. Cyclops proposes that the X-Men be split into two "strike forces"... which Xavier accepts, thus officially kicking off the Blue and Gold era.
We rejoin our space-visitors from the open. They all "come to" on Magneto's Asteroid M. Considering the disparate crews have very different "purposes here", it should come as no surprise that none of these fools are all that happy to be together... and, in fact, jump right to insulting and pummeling one another! That is, until Magneto enters the scene... and informs them that they'd better behave while in his home.
One of the first crew, a Mutant woman named Anne Marie runs toward Magneto, again pledging her life to him. She is shot in the back by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, "Deke". She dies in Magneto's arms... once again swearing her life to his cause.
This is where the worm most certainly turns. Magneto loses it! Up until now, it would seem that he wanted to explore peaceable options... but, in seeing what ol' Deke did to one of "his kind", that has all changed. Major Delgado, also of S.H.I.E.L.D. apologizes for Deke... but, only sorta. It's kind of like one'a those "I'm sorry you're offended" sorta deals. He's not exactly tickled that Anne Marie is dead, but... she did break the law! Magneto's all "your laws don't mean diddly-squat up here"... and tells Delgado to hold his tongue... or else. Another Mutant, one we're about to become very familiar with named Fabian Cortez, steps up and kinda works on poisoning Magneto's mind more and more.
Back at Xavier's, the Professor engages Cerebro to track Magneto. Upon realizing that he's just about to enter Earth's atmosphere, Cyclops's BLUE team is dispatched. The team includes: Cyclops (duh), Wolverine, Beast, Gambit, Rogue and Psylocke... aka. the far cooler ones to a 12-year old Chris. Anyhoo, they load into a brand-new Forge-forged Blackbird, and head out.
We rejoin Magneto, who had in fact entered Earth's atmosphere! He's floating above the Mid-Atlantic Ocean and is raising the Leningrad Submarine outta the drink. He peels it open and comes to find that it still has it's nuclear missiles intact! Now, the Leningrad Submarine had been sunken by Magneto way back in Uncanny X-Men #150 (September, 1981). This is one of those times where an editor's note would've come in handy.
The X-Men arrive... in their, ya know, metal jet... to face off against the Master of Magnetism. Magnus decides against destroying the rig, and instead just holds it in place. Maybe he has turned over a peaceful new leaf? Gambit and Beast hop out of the Blackbird... which doesn't work out all that well. Beast gets bludgeoned with a chuck of submarine, leaving Gambit to toss some charged cards at the baddie. Worth noting as Magneto didn't kill Beast, Remy doesn't charge the cards up enough to kill.
Psylocke uses this distraction to her advantage, and manages to slip in close enough to Magneto to kick the helmet right off his head. Magnus is able to defend himself, and finally asks the question: "Why do you assault me?" That is to say, he tells them flat-out that he ain't here for a fight! Well, at least not a fight with them.
Cyclops nails Magneto with an optic-blast, and Wolverine rushes in to start slashin'. Again, Magneto pleads with the X-Men to back off. He isn't there to fight! But, ya see... at this point, the light of day is able to shine into the submarine, revealing a whole lotta skeletons. Skeletons of men Magneto had killed when he sunk the submarine back in the long ago. It's too much for the Master of Magnetism to take!
He flashes back to his youth in the Concentration Camps... and just flips out! He rises from the submarine... with the missiles! Rogue flies up to try and reason with the man. She apologizes for the way the X-Men have responded up to this point. Just when it seems as though she might be getting through, she is pelted from behind with a blast from a Soviet jet! This tells Magneto that he was right the first time... humans will never accept their kind! He then detonates one of the nukes, giving him all the distraction he needs to escape the scene.
We rejoin him back at Asteroid M, where he is addressed by Fabian Cortez. They briefly chat, before Magneto passes out from the pain of the Adamantium-chest shaving Wolverine gave him earlier. Cortez gathers the rest of the followers around their Master... and promises to lead them all to greatness (or something, assuredly "greatness adjacent").
Back on the Blackbird, Cyclops tries to sweep for Rogue... but comes up with bupkis. Turns out, she's at a hospital in Hammer Bay, Genosha. She wakes up to find herself ambushed by Fabian Cortez and the rest of Magneto's Acolytes. They offer her the opportunity to join their cause. She politely declines... by punching the Acolyte Delgado... not to be confused with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent from earlier in the issues, this is a different dude!
Anyhoo, the Acolytes don't like taking "no" for an answer... and so, a battle is on. Just then, the X-Men's Blue Strike Force arrives to even the odds. Wolverine and Beast discuss how weird it is for their to have been two Delgados... I wonder if they're just poking fun at Bob Harras's editing, or if Claremont had planned for this to become a story point had he remained on the book? Whatever the case, Logan breaks away and is able to go one-on-one with the ring-leader of this fracas, Fabian Cortez. He does the ol' "fist to the throat, threaten to pop the claws" thing... which only causes ol' Fabe to smirk like the cocky a-hole that he is. Worth noting that Logan says that Cortez's scent is "familiar". Not sure where this might've been headed. More Claremontian "plot-dangling" at play!
Just then... Magneto arrives! He talks... a lot. Like, a lot a lot. He declares his Asteroid M as a Mutant safe-haven, and invites all mutants to live there without fear.
We wrap up back at the Mansion. Moira MacTaggert is frantic, and confides with Banshee that everything that's going down is all her fault!
--
Gather up a dozen comic book fans (if you can find that many in one place), and ask them when the various "ages" of comics (Gold/Silver/Bronze) started and ended, and you'd likely come up with a slew of different responses. Fans see different moments in comics time as being indicative of the tonal shift in "Comics Ages"... heck, ask me that question today... and a week from now, and you just might get two different answers!
One constant, however, is X-Men (vol.2) #1. It's kind of the "great divider" when it comes to comics fandom. Now, this is purely anecdotal, all from conversations I've had personally with X-Fans, and is by no means intended as a "blanket statement"... but, X-Men (vol.2) #1 is usually the issue where people started or stopped reading the X-Books. This was the start... or end of a "Comics Age" as it pertains to the X-Family of books... and, that is something that has always fascinated me.
Talk to older fans... and this issue is sort of the line in the sand. Where they stopped reading/buying/enjoying the X-Men. Talk to, well... not-quite-as-old fans (like myself), and it's where we discovered the X-Men. It isn't often I talk to someone where they describe this as just "the next issue" of the run, ya get what I'm trying to say?
Whether you like them or not... there's something very important about this book... and this era of the X-Men family of titles. From all of the marketing and boatloads of money (this issue still holds the Guinness World Record for most copies sold, in part due to the multiple variant covers) they started to bring in... to the careers that were in the process of launching... to the folks who were about to be jettisoned from the company. There was a lot of stuff going on... much of which is probably more interesting than anything that might be in the actual comic itself!
So... what about the actual comic itself? I can say that it is a collection of very iconic images. Nearly every page of this issue has been burnt into my brain. Outside of Superman (vol.2) #75, I don't think there's any other book that I have that kind of feeling toward. I remember it actually being quite difficult to put this synopsis together, as I wanted to include basically every-single-page. It's some peak Jim Lee pencils... though, with some of the usual complaints you might see about his work, ie. characters being overly-posed.
As far as the story goes... I like it. I like it a lot. I feel like the next issue is quite a bit better, in that it drops some rather shocking revelations that really change (and explain) the motivations for one of the main characters. But this issue's no slouch. It's pure Claremont, and if you're a fan of Claremont X-Men, I think you'll be a fan of this.
This is one of those tough ones to "recommend" as... I mean, millions of these things sold, so chances are... you've already read this... or, at the very least own a copy (or four) of it. I would say, if it's been awhile, maybe give it another look. This is an actual "Mutant Milestone", unlike the yearly reboots and relaunches we get nowadays.
Before we start, I just want to address yesterday's episode of Morituri Mondays (#20). While listening back to edit, I... I dunno, I feel like I might've sounded a bit "off". If that was indeed the case, and it isn't just me looking for odd pauses and gaffs, I apologize. For all I know, that's how I always sound regardless of the situation.
I'm working hard at getting back "into form", assuming of course there is a "form" I used to have. Also assuming anybody noticed or cared in the first place...
Anyhoo, onto an almost embarrassingly "stream of consciousness" discussion about how Reggie and I became de facto Young Animal experts... mostly by process of elimination.
Strikeforce: Morituri #20 (July, 1988)
"... Salute You!"
Writer - Peter B. Gillis
Pencils - Brent Anderson
Both for the Final Time!
Inks - Scott Williams
Letters - Phil Felix
Colors - Max Scheele
Edits - Carl Potts
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $1.00 USD
Release Date: March 1, 1988
