X-Men Vignettes, Chapter Forty-Four (1990)

 

X-Men Vignettes #44 (1990)
"Her First & Last"
Writer - Ann Nocenti
Pencils - Kieron Dwyer
Inks - Hilary Barta
Letters - Joe Rosen
Colors - Glynis Oliver
Edits - Edelman, Harras, DeFalco
From: Classic X-Men #44 (February, 1990)

Somebody queue up Kenny Loggins, cuz... This is it! Today is the final chapter of X-Men Vignettes... well, sorta.

Thanks to the tip from our great friend, Chris U, I now know that there was supposed to be a back-up story in Classic X-Men #45... which, all we fake-ass X-Historians know... didn't appear there. Well, I didn't know nothin' bout any'a dat! What's more, I didn't know that the story meant for Classix #45 would eventually see print in the pages of Marvel Fanfare #60 (January, 1992)!

So, with this newfound information, I took to the mean streets, added around 150 miles to my odometer... and, came up with bupkis! Ya see, what I didn't realize about Fanfare #60 was, a) it was the final issue and evidently, rather underprinted, and b) it has Black Panther on the cover, who just so happens to be one of the more exploitable Marvel characters of current year!

So, what's a fella to do? If you've been with me for awhile, you'll be familiar with many of my hunts... the Lady Cop issue of 1st Issue Special, Vartox's appearances in the pre-Flashpoint Power Girl, DC's New Talent Showcase... there've been a bunch. Well, here's what I did... I asked one of the guys at a nearby comic shop if he might have a copy "in the back". Now, "in the back", as it pertains to comic book back issues, is a pretty nebulous locale... as it could mean several things. Maybe it's literally in the back room of the shop... maybe it's off-site not yet rotated in to the shop's stash... maybe they've got a warehouse, or at the very least a storage unit... maybe it's their own personal collection... or, maybe they'll just find it on eBay and sell it to me for twice what they paid for it? I don't ask for the specifics... cuz, honestly, it doesn't really matter to me, so long as I get the thing in my hot li'l hands.

All this to say... I'm about 85% sure that I've procured a copy of Marvel Fanfare #60. Just waiting on a call to swing in and pick it up. So, while this is the end of the Vignettes "proper", it ain't the end of our time cuttin' it up here together. Be on the lookout for the "missing" Vignette in the coming days!

Now, this does leave us with a question... it's that usual "end of a project" question. What's next?

Well, it's time for my usual "end of a project" answer... which is to say, I dunno...

What I do know is that I've gotta get back behind the mic for a bit. For folks who've been with me from the start, you'll likely be somewhat familiar with my content creation "origin story". Well, of late I've been in discussions with... and ultimately welcomed back into the Weird Science family -- where I'll be doing a bit of X-Content, including coverage of this summers A/X/E: Judgment Day crossovent. That said, I'm going to have to "get current" on "current". As it stands now, I'm around a dozen or so shows (and books) behind where X-Lapsed needs to be... and so, I gotta start spittin' again.

That's not to say we're done here... not by a longshot (and, no, I'm not about to start covering Longshot... yet). There's still plenty I wanna write about -- got some long abandoned blogging projects that may need some love and attention... and, of course, I'm always down to discuss any of the "forgotten" Vignette-y X-Men stories. We already covered a few Wolverine solo ditties from Marvel Comics Presents... maybe an X-Focused return to MCP could be our next thing?! We'll see, eh?

Anyway, that's enough vampin' from me -- thanks for joining me on this odd little trip thru the X-Men's Days of Forgotten Past... I hope you enjoyed!

--

Today's story is Rogue-centric... and it opens with her hanging out with her buddy/pal/sweetheart, Cody. Err, he's "Freddy" here, but... c'mon, we know it's Cody. Rogue plays tough... kinda like one of the boys... and just as our visit begins, she's thrown from the handlebars of CodeFred's bike. She lands gracefully, "Good as a cat", sayeth our slackjawed friend. He chases her, scoops her up... and goes to give her a kiss. Naturally, she fights him off, giving him a good judo toss to evade the lip lock. Her "mother" sees this all play out, and is not at all pleased. CodeFred tells Rogue that "Kissin's fun", before hoppin' back on his bike and pedalin' on down the road.

Mystique approaches Rogue to warn her that she's gotta be more careful. Ya know, skin-to-skin contact is kind of a no-no for her... hence the odd bodysuit she's wearing. Funny, Codefred didn't seem to care, or even notice, that his gal-pal is covered neck to toe in fabric. Anyway, rogue stomps off, claiming that she wants to play and have fun... and she's done doing "missions" with her weird parents.

On the porch, Mystique is joined by Destiny... who advises caution in how to deal with Rogue. Ya see, she's not like them... and she will leave them when it becomes clear that their Brotherhood has "darker ways" of doing business. Further, Destiny suggests that Mystique might be jealous of Rogue. Jealous of what, exactly? The uncontrollable powers that keep her isolated? The fact that she's barely a teen-ager and already has white hair? Her slackjawed boyf? I dunno...

From here we jump to a nearby cliff, where Rogue and CodeFred are taking turns defying death by swinging on some rope that's dangling over the edge. Sounds like fun, eh? Our boy once again attempts to force himself on Rogue... and gets swatted away. He's starting to become frustrated, and asks her why she won't do this one thing. Now, I know this is a "coming of age" story of romance... but, I swear "current year" must be majorly effing with my mind, cuz now I think I've been trained to see this as the early stages of a sexual assault. Oy. Anyway, CodeFred decides that he's got one last ace up his sleeve... he's going to DARE HER to kiss him. Well, he probably should'a lead with that, cuz that was all it took! Rogue plants a kiss on our boy.

And the next three pages are a collage of everything Rogue sees in CodeFred's life. His experiences, his fears, his joy... ya know, his everything. Things Rogue wanted to know... but, not the way she wanted to find it all out. She's been robbed of a proper courtship... she wanted CodeFred to share these things with her willingly... not have them (literally?) sucked out his mind.

Rogue runs off while our boy is still a bit dazed. He was kayoed for a bit, but doesn't end up in a coma. I guess that was a late addition to add a bit more trauma to Rogue's story...

From here, Rogue rushes back home... where it would appear she's had an entire change in attitude. She's suddenly gung-ho to go out on the next Brotherhood mission... and gleefully jams down a pile of chocolate chip cookies (wow, are these home-baked?). This is where we leave her... and the Vignettes project!

--

A somewhat "lighter" story to wrap up the Vignettes Initiative... especially when compared to the last few chapters, which were positively dripping with angst. I quite liked it. I feel like this hits the "sweet spot" in as far as how these backups should be treated. We're adding to a characters' backstory in a way that doesn't break any of the (then) current-day toys. It's a profound moment in Rogue's life... but, doesn't... I dunno "insist upon itself". Definitely not a day Rogue would forget... but, also not a day she'd talk everybody's ear off about. Does that make sense?

This is a story I think many of us seasoned X-Fans are at least tangentially familiar with. I mean, it even got play in the Animated Series. I think the telling might've been a little bit different -- like that her powers actually manifested at the time of the kiss... and the kiss leaving poor Cody-Freddy in a coma, but at its core, it's the same little ditty... and it's well-told.

I appreciate how Rogue's change of demeanor was presented. Having just seen firsthand what her powers can do... she kinda buries her grief and sadness. She knows that she's been robbed of an experience she was really looking forward to in learning bits and bobs about Freddy as their relationship grew and developed. She cried out in the beginning of the issue that she wanted to be "normal". Now, more than ever, she realizes that... that's just not in the cards for her. It's heartbreaking. And so, rather than dwell on it... or, at the very least not tipping off Mystique that she dun goofed -- she becomes very enthusiastic about the Brotherhood's next mission. Red flags? Sure... but, to a confused pre-teen/teen-ager, she's not thinking about any of that.

As far as the "mission" is concerned... well, since the Nocenti-Rogue story that appears in Marvel Fanfare #60 is called... "The Mission", maybe we can assume that there's more to tell? I suppose that's something we'll find out together... in, hopefully, just a few days!

Oh, last thing before we put a pin in this one -- I do wanna say that I really dug the art. I feel like it suited the story quite well.

X-Men Vignettes, Chapter Forty-Three (1990)

 

X-Men Vignettes #43 (1990)
"Flights of Angels"
Writer - Chris Claremont
Pencils - Mike Collins
Inks - Joe Rubenstein
Letters - Joe Rosen
Colors - Bob Sharen
Edits - Edelman, Harras, DeFalco
From: Classic X-Men #43 (January, 1990)

Well, this was a pain in the ass. If you read yesterday's piece, you'll know that this issue of Classix is one that I was prrrretty sure I owned, but was unable to actually locate. If you're familiar with the ridiculous rules I have for this place, you'll know that I only cover books that I physically own... in some form or fashion. Could be original issue, collected edition, whichever -- though, at the start it was even more rigid than that. I tell ya, I've got problems.

So, I spent the better part of a couple of hours yesterday tearing apart a few rooms across two residences trying to find it. This is the kind of stupid stuff I spend my time doing. I could be out there trying to make the world a better place, could be volunteering, could be actually productive... but no, that kinda stuff can wait -- Classic X-Men #43 is missing!

All that to say -- I didn't find it. I even hit a few shops (including two horrendous swap marts) to try and procure a second copy... but, alas, no. Time well spent, eh? What is my life anyway?

So, while I was unsuccessful in search... I do own it. It's in my Excel Spreadsheet... and, books don't get added to that by mistake. I literally type up the information from the credits and indicia for every single comic that gets added... so, it's somewhere in the house. That said, I don't feel too bad about resorting to snipping the pics from Marvel Unlimited. I'm sure I'll probably find the hard copy... in about an hour and change when I'm done writing up this piece.

Was the search, the headache, and the hassle worth it? Welllllllll... read on.

--

We open with a recap of the life of Jean...ix. And, I wanna get my overall density out of the way right from the jump. As we discussed when she was shoehorned into Cyclops' story yesterday, Jean's backstory is "conveniently inconvenient"... which is to say, it's whatever the hell whoever is writing it wants it to be. Ya dig? Maybe I'm just a tremendous idiot, but I feel like they play way too fast and loose with her... even this (relatively) early on. So, is this Jean? Is it the Phoenix? Is it both? Is it neither? Yes. Anyway, after this photo album-in-the-shape-of-a-woman burns to ash (with flaming bird imagery, natch); she, they, it wakes up... somewhere.

Nearby on this barren patch of cosmic land, is a flight of stairs leading down. From those stairs climbs a man, holding a whole lotta steel girders and whatnot. Jean's understandably confused, and goes to ask him the whats and wheres. He isn't too forthcoming with that information... perhaps these are answers she's going to need to discover herself?

After petulantly stomping away, Jeanix realizes that she's now wearing white. She is, once again, confused. The Green Phoenix was the "good" one, the red the "bad"... so, what does white mean? Before she can figure it out, she slips and bumps her butt on the ground. She takes in the sights around her... seeing hundreds, if not thousands of stars all around. Only, they're not stars... each little glimmering "pin prick" is an entire galaxy. Jean is stood before the entirety of the universe.

The Construction Worker at the End of Time approaches to comfort her, bringing with him a cuppa hot somethin'. Jean indulges her inner-Claremont, talking so much poor Joe Rosen likely had to use one'a those jeweler's eye piece gimmicks while lettering. She compares herself to Alice in Wonderland... which, I mean... that's usually the "go to" when a writer wants to implement a level of depth to their story, right? She then goes to dive off the side of this odd construct -- but, the Village Person stops her. Ya see, if she were to jump -- she'd fall... forever.

He then leaves her to return to his work. Jeanix talks about having died once before... on her way, to Jamaica Bay (I'm guessing). But that death was nothing like this. That's probably because you didn't actually die? Again, fast 'n loose. Jeanix doesn't care to speak with this fella anymore, and so she heads down the stairs he climbed up from. Only, it brings her right back to the same place. The dude tosses her a tool belt so she can help him build... whatever it is he's building.

A little while later, Jeanix has built a small tower gimmick. Satisfied with her work, she gives it a closer look. From it, bursts a blast of light... followed by a vision of the time Dark Phoenix wiped out the Asparagus People... or, in the words of current-year writers, who likely never read The Dark Phoenix Saga (or anything X, pre-2019)... the "Broccoli People". Whatever veg ya wanna refer to 'em as, it's the D'Bari... and Jean is there with them for the horrible event.

Jeanix's "This Was Your Life" doesn't end there, however, as next she finds herself on board the Shi'ar Starship she'd destroyed as Dark Phoenix. She's being forced to relive the atrocities... by actually experiencing them. She recalls the hunger, and pleasure she felt as Dark Phoenix during all of this, causing her to shout out.

This brings our Construction Worker back from the YMCA to check in. He tells her to let everything that happened go. Jeanix realizes that this dude... is Death. He tells her that the place they're at is the... ugh... Alpha and Omega... the beginning and end. Ya know, considering how often we hear that line in comics... there sure are a lotta people, places, and things that are exactly that. Jeanix also deduces that... she might be death as well. Oh, please be done.

No, it's not done... we got more retconnin' to do. Ya see, Jeanix is preoccupied with all the death and destruction she'd caused -- to which, our Blue-Collar Grim-Reaper tells her that she's not looking at the entire picture. Sure, there was destruction and loss of life... however, over the course of her existence, she's saved countless lives as well. Fair point... but, then it gets weird. Remember how in yesterday's chapter, Jean and Professor X just showed up at the end of Cyclops' story? Remember how unnatural and forced that felt? Well, there was reason that happened... I think. Death asks if Jeanix thinks it was an accident that she "touched minds" with a young Scott Summers... who had become an orphan due to that actions of Emperor D'Ken. Death explains that the mental contact they shared was what drew Scott to Xavier's School where they'd meet and fall in love. Then... some time later, they would work together to stop that same Emperor D'Ken from effin' around with the M'Krann Crystal. So... um... yeah.

Jeanix's just as displeased with this reveal as I am... unhappy that her entire life has this preordained or fated framework to it. She asks if their entire lives have been spent as nothing more than playthings for Death's own "celestial amusement". Our man doesn't really answer the question, instead giving her a lesson on what the Phoenix actually is... not a "being" or an "entity", but instead... a force. "The sum and substance of all that lives". Clear as mud, right? This is starting to feel like nothing more than a string of impressive-sounding-but-ultimately-meaningless phrases Chris Claremont had scribbled on Post-it's and stuck all around his office.

Anyway, this appears to be enough for Jeanix to embrace her Phoenixhood. She lights up into the flaming bird, feels the "life force" and the cosmos singing at her... and she leaves to... I dunno, secretly spread her Phoenix-ness around the universe?

We wrap up with Death the Builder left all alone on his planetoid looking at pictures of various Jean life events... including several that feature... Mister Sinister. Not sure if these photos are in any sort of order, as take us from Jeanix getting vaporized... Jean's first run-in with the Phoenix... Jean winding up in Jamaica Bay... Mr. Sinister mucking about with, what I'm going to guess are several attempts at "makin' Maddy". In any event, Death apologizes -- knowing that Jean's got some very tough lessons yet to learn.

--

My Lord, but that was endless...

This might just be a "you had to be there" sort of story. I mean, as I've said, Jean's history is what it is... it also what it was... and finally, it's whatever the hell whoever's writing her wants it to be. She's a hard character to peg down... especially considering how little effort's been put into doing so over the years. Perhaps, had I read this back in ye old 1989/90, I'd have a better appreciation for it. For all of Claremont's efforts in trying to make sense of the "was she?" or "wasn't she?" of the Jean/Phoenix/Jeanix situation. Instead, I'm reading this (for the first time) over three decades later.

In the time since this story came out, Jean's actually died -- and was off the board for well over a decade. The Phoenix has found several different hosts, been stolen as a concept from the X-Men by the Avengers... and even spent some time in the friggin' Ultraverse! Several non-Jean characters have wound up visiting the White Hot Room. What I'm trying to say is... there's been a lotta sh-- stuff gone down that makes a story like this feel both painfully overwritten and almost quaint.

Let's set all the Jeanix bits aside... cuz, gun to my head, I couldn't tell ya what her story is or was... or what it was supposed to be in 1980... 1990... or 2022! Instead, here's my main takeaway... the idea that the Jean/Scott relationship was preordained. I'm really not sure what Claremont was going for here... or why he went to such lengths to retcon that into their histories. In fairness, it's been a minute since I'd read Inferno (the first one)-era X-Men -- by Classix #43, Inferno and the Maddy reveal were already in the rear-view -- maybe this was odd "fated" deal was mentioned during that? I honestly couldn't say. In any event... I don't like this addition. To me, all it does is lessen their relationship. Maybe I'm just an idiot. You tell me!

Overall... I did not care for this one. It was cool seeing the White Phoenix costume, as I've always felt that was a pretty striking look... but, everything else? Ehh. At least it tied in with the main story of the issue, I guess?

Next time out, we wrap up our look at the Vignettes proper, with the story you may all be more familiar with from the X-Men Animated Series. It's Rogue an' Codeh', sugahs... don'tcha dare miss it!

X-Men Vignettes, Chapter Forty-Two (1989)

 

X-Men Vignettes #42 (1989)
"When Dreams Are Dust"
Writer - Chris Claremont
Pencils - Mike Collins
Inks - Joe Rubenstein
Letters - Joe Rosen
Colors - Gregory Wright
Edits - Edelman, Harras, DeFalco
From: Classic X-Men #42 (Mid-December, 1989)

Today we're going to wrap up our two-part Cyclops ditty... which, when I read the first part, I think I was imagining that it was a "Part 1 of 3", strictly due to how slowly it was paced. I actually had to edit yesterday's article to correct myself a couple'a times. As we'll learn today, it's not a three-parter -- and, well... I suppose we can discuss whether that's a good thing or a bad thing out the other end of the piece, eh?

Also, a bit of news that shouldn't affect anything, but -- I seem to have misplaced my copy of Classic X-Men #43. I'm like 95% certain that I own the thing... just, gun to my head, couldn't tell ya where it might be! Worst case scenario, the next piece will have panels nyoinked from the Marvel Unlimited version. Best case, I'm able to locate the ish and share the same, inimitable crooked-Chris pics I usually do for our foray into the White Hot Room.

--

We open with young Hal Jordan hanging out with his father at the air field. Oh wait... okay, okay, it's young Scott Summers, just looking very young Hal Jordanesque. If you look quickly, his sweater vest almost looks like one'a Hal's bomber jackets. He is very psyched to be checking out this private air show... I wonder if Claremont may've been really into planes around this point -- he'd already published his novel, First Flight... which would get a couple of follow-ups over the next several years. Anybody ever actually read that? I know I tried... but, just couldn't get into it. Anyway, Scott's out with his BFF, Doc Robyn - and the man in the air is Colonel Richard Bogart (his wife, Tricia is there watching from the ground as well). The Colonel does a few tricks before landing the plane.

Once outta the cockpit, Richard invites Scott if he'd be interested in going for a ride. Initially, Scott's very excited... but, that fades quickly. He remembers that he's "damaged goods", and that it might not be the best idea. Just then, a cluster of skydivers begin their descent. They've got smoke flares attached to their boots, adding a bit more interest to the dive. Scott sees this, and assumes that they're burning. He flips the eff out, runs toward the field and throws himself on the ground, as though he were burning up himself. Doc Robyn rushes over to try and calm him down... he starts crying out that they're being shot at... and also, that he'll protect someone named Alex. Hmm. Before he ran off, he said something about a burning canopy and a Roman candle... which causes Richard to... rub his chin. Hmm.

That night, Robyn tucks Scott into his bed at the Home for Foundlings... and gets an absolute earful from Nate. He rags on her for her poor decision making, and even questions her credentials... after all, if she were any good at what she did -- why in all hells is she working in a dump like this. She asks why he's such a nasty little jerk, to which he threatens to one day show her. Ruh-roh.

The next day, Robyn and Tricia are getting some air miles in... chatting about that creepy little bastard, Nate... and how, the Doc is actually quite disturbed by him. Meanwhile, back on the ground, Scott and the Colonel are getting to know each other a little bit better. Now, the Colonel seems to think there's more to Scott's story than meets the eye, and attempts to get a bit more information out of him... which, ya know, is hard to do when you're interrogating an amnesiac. Seems as though Scott's memory comes and goes... when he's occupied with other things, the memories appear to flow... when he's not so preoccupied, however -- they stop.

We hop to lunchtime, and the Bogarts take Scott and Robyn to a mess hall or something. While Scott slurps down a milkshake at the bar, the growed-ups talk about him in a nearby booth. Robyn informs the Bogarts about Scott's sensitive eyes... and how, eventually, he'll have to wear glasses made of ruby quartz. Richard reveals some of what he's been able to glean from Scott's sparse stories... and would really like to reunite the li'l fella with whatever family he may have left. In the meantime, however, he suggests that perhaps he and Tricia go ahead and adopt him.

This takes us back to the Home for Foundlings, where Doc Robyn is chatting up the Chief Administrator about getting Scott adopted out to the Bogarts. The Admin, evil jag that he appears to be, isn't cool with this at all. He tells Hanover that she's going outside of regular procedure... however, she's steadfast that this is the right play. After much arguing, the Admin finally (appears to) give in. He tells her they can proceed with the, uh, proceedings... but, warns that, should anything go a bit ca-ca, it's on her head.

Later yet, Scott and the Colonel are back at the airfield... where the latter tells the former that they're hitting a lot of roadblocks in the adoption process. Lots of inquiries are being made... seems like a battle of attrition between they and the Home for Foundlings. Richard tells Scott that they're not going to give up... and even goes as far as to tell him that he's been searching for Scott's natural family. Scott... doesn't take this too kindly, assuming this means that the Bogarts wanna just pass him off to another family. Richard assures him that isn't the case at all, and even invites Scott to spend Christmas with he and his wife. Scott is so touched by the invite, that he calls the Colonel "dad". Wow.

That night, we rejoin Doctor Robyn who wakes up in a darkened room. The lights come on, revealing that she is in the presence of... Sinister. He tells her that she's become rather the nuisance... and, it looks like he's going to have to finally put a stop to her.

Some time later, Scott is waiting outside the Home for Foundlings for the Bogarts to show up. Nate tells him that he's a "dreamer", as the Colonel and Wife don't actually care about or want him. He heads back inside to chat up Doc Robyn a bit... only to find that she's... a very different lady, indeed. Her hair is tied up, she's in a very conservative dress... and doesn't appear to have any time for her one-time obsession. She tells Scott that the Bogarts haven't checked in in several weeks... and suggests that they're no longer interested in pursuing the adoption. She basically parrots what Nate said outside, telling him that they don't care. We know differently though, as interspersed between these panels, we see shots of the Bogarts laying dead on a mountain.

This takes us to the end... which, to me, is where this all falls apart. It's Professor Xavier and Jean practicing Jean's telepathy. She scans and finds another mutant mind... Scott's. He approaches them, thinking this is all a dream. We close out with some unnecessary (in my opinion) Phoenix imagery... and that's that.

--

Like I said at the jump, with the way the first part of this was paced, and having a bit of an idea where this was heading - I would'a bet money that this was a three-parter. It wasn't... and, I feel like that kinda hurt the flow. This chapter almost felt manic in its pacing... just rushing through the beats, without giving any of them proper room to breathe. Not that I'm looking for decompression or anything, but -- I dunno, this was supposed to be poignant and tragic... but, it came across like we were about to watch the "part-two" of a two-part television show, and what we read here today was the "Previously on..." bit.

Of course, it didn't help matters that we needed to forfeit a page of this to attend to some Jean retconning. Jean is one of those characters who, for me, it's kind of hard to get a "bead" on... as she's basically written as being whatever the current writer wants her to be. Was she ever actually the Phoenix? Well, that depends on who's telling the story. Did she die? Again, gotta ask whoever's sitting in the scriptin' seat. Was the Xavier's first pupil? Sometimes. Was she originally a telepath or telekinetic? Ain't dem da same t'ings? I mean, we (think we) know the answers to those questions... but, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. Writers are going to adhere to whatever the want.

And, I mean -- I'm not against retconning Jean in as Xavier's first student, or whatever -- it's just that, if we're going to play fast and loose with X-Men history (and pre-history), howsabout we try not to contradict stuff that's come before. As we discussed over in the Essential X-Lapsed, Jean was "given" telepathic powers by Professor X when he was about to fake his death. I said that was stupid then... but, I mean... it happened. I dunno what I'm trying to say here, gang... the whole "capper" page just felt unnecessary... and (in my opinion) robbed the Cyclops story of an extra few panels of breathing room.

What happened to Robyn? Well, I suppose we can guess that she's been brainwashed. Is that satisfying? Well, it could'a been, if it were made a bit clearer and/or had a bit more room to breathe. She didn't come across as hurtful or aloof toward Scott (a bit blunt, maybe), it just seemed like she was too busy to stand around talking to a kid in the hallway. What happens from here? Like, we know Scott runs away... we know he briefly gets tied up with that dorky Jack O'Diamonds. But, what does he do... like right now? He just head back to his room with Creepy Nate... and wait?

The Sinisterness of this story was... okay? Another bit that I feel needed a bit more room. I mean, at the time in the main book, we had an idea that Sinister was "into" the Summers's's's's... but, that really isn't made clear here. He just seems like a bad guy -- his motivation wasn't properly fleshed out here, at least not to me. I suppose maybe they weren't completely sure what Sinister's story was going to be at this point. Hell, we're some quarter century later, and I still don't think we've got any writers who can agree on Sinister's story.

Anyway, not much more to say about this one. It was disappointing. After the great build of the first part, this came across like a rushed let-down. Can't really hold that against anyone -- it's pretty clear that the Classix Backup initiative is on its last legs, and I'm sure it's not anywhere near Priority One in the X-Offices. Plus, we already know that this isn't the Sinister story Claremont originally intended to tell. There are elements of his original in play... but, perhaps had he been given full-reign to write his version of Sinister, this may've been a bit more satisfying a read.

X-Men Vignettes, Chapter Forty-One (1989)

 

X-Men Vignettes #41 (1989)
"Little Boy Lost"
Writer - Chris Claremont
Pencils - Mike Collins
Inks - Joe Rubenstein
Letters - Mike Heisler
Colors - Glynis Oliver
Edits - Edelman, Harras, DeFalco
From: Classic X-Men #41 (December, 1989)

If you were to speak of the Classix Backups... you'd probably one of a few boilerplate responses. First, people will go nuts about the Art Adams covers... which is fair, because they're pretty fantastic - though, it's easy (for some "X-Scholars") to forget that he isn't doing the interior art. Second, folks'll mention the name "John Bolton" with their noses pointed aloft, and act as though they're the only one who's ever seen his work. Third, they might just mention the story we're about to discuss. This is... kind of an important one, so much so, that the primary custodian of the X-Men franchise has returned to tell it!

Chris Claremont is back... and, check this out -- we're getting a Cyclops-centric little ditty! Part One of Two, even! We're going all the way back to Scott's time in the Home for Foundlings... where, if my pro-friggin-fessional cover didn't tip y'off... something Sinister this way comes.

Let's do it.

--

We open at the playground at the Sinister Home For Foundlings in Nebraska. If you've been following the current-year stuff, you might recall that they recently burnt this place to the ground in the opening arc of Hellions -- which, like I always say on-air: "If you're not reading Hellions -- you should be reading Hellions." It's 18 or so issues of some of the finest in current-year comics, I honestly cannot recommend it enough. The book is so good, it almost brought this tired old cynic to tears! Anyway, it's here were some a-hole kid named Toby Rails is beating the crap out of this little weirdo called Nate. Nate is Scott Summers's's's roommate, and for reasons he can't quite explain, Scott has almost this "big brother" protectiveness over him. Hmm. Scott rushes into the fracas, and gets socked in the mush for his troubles. The fight is soon broken up by John Byrne.

Scott is whisked away to the nurse's office to get his face fixed up. In true Claremontian fashion, our new-doc introduces herself by name in her very first panel. She's Doctor Robyn Hanover, by the by. As she giddily presses some rubbing alcohol into Scott's eye-wound (I mean, she's smiling like the Cheshire Cat here... friggin' sadist), they talk about his homey Nate. Scott can't quite explain why he's so protective of his blonde buddy... especially since, he really doesn't actually like him all that much. He says something about the boy just rubs him wrong. A lotta wrong-rubbing in this scene.

That night, Scott has a nightmare. An odd, fragmented nightmare. There's fire, and falling... Scott is reaching out to save his roommate Nate from falling to his death. It's almost like something our boy might've experienced before winding up in the Orphanage. Hmm. Oh, and in case it's not clear -- Scott doesn't know anything about the time before he woke up at the Orphanage. He doesn't know much about what happened to his folks, or who they even were -- he also doesn't (consciously) know that he has a blonde little brother.

Scott awakes with a shout... which brings Doctor Robyn running in like a rocket. Nate tells her that Scott had a bad dream, but everything's okay now -- sorta the "nothing to see here!" gag. Doctor Robyn ain't buyin' it... and wants Scott to spend the night with her in the infirmary just in case. Toby Rails is there to see all this play out, and he starts singing about how Nate probably wants to make out with Scott... which, I mean -- imagine the bully at your school, or camp, or wherever... singing the K-I-S-S-I-N-G song. Ridiculous, right? Oh well, the Doc takes Scott -- Nate tells her she's making a hyooge mistake.

We rejoin Toby who's stomping back to his dorm. Along the way he bumps into... something Sinister. Mister Sinister, even! Sinister tells him that he's "tolerated" him until now... but, things are about to change.

The next morning, we catch up with Doctor Robyn, who is in the office talking about her new obsession... Scott Summers. She learns that he's been at the Home for Foundlings for over four years now. Also, that he came in after being in a coma for over a year after a skull fracture -- they assume he has severe brain damage. The only thing he seems to remember pre-coma was that he was nearly kidnapped by aliens. Which, well -- we know to be the case, but seems rather far-fetched, dunnit?

Robyn heads out to the hallway, where she runs into the Chief Administrator of the Orphanage... who gives her a few warnings: 1) don't wear sneakers in my hallways, ya hussy, 2) wear a longer skirt in my hallways, ya hussy, and 3) Scott Summers is still below the age of consent, so quit sniffin' around him. Well, that's the gist of it, anyway.

Let's stick with Robyn... because, Claremont really wants us to know her. She's moving in to her new office, with the aid of her new best friend, Scott Summers. As she hangs up a framed portrait of a plane, Scott takes a keen interest. He's a big-time fan of flyin' machines, ya see. He'd even want to one day be a pilot... though, he's sure his traumatic brain damage would keep him outta the cockpit. Robin feels like she's making headway... and is probably just about to offer Scott a libation, when -- there's some rumblin's coming from outside. Toby Rails... bully x-traordinaire, and amateur crooner... is in trouble!

And... indeed he is. He's actually stood atop one of the facility's dorms... and it looks like he might just jump. Rather than actually doing anything, the orphans and staff alike just gather and watch the scene play out. Li'l Nate is among the crowd, and seems mighty pleased that his tormentor might just take the leap. Doc Robyn calls him out for being so harsh... but, it doesn't do much for the little psychopath.

Now, since none of the adults will do anything about this -- it's up to the brain-damaged kid, Scott Summers to climb up the building and confront the a-hole who punched him in the face yesterday. Scott warns that it's a long way down and all that -- but Rails ain't hearing none of it... claiming he's about to "fly", he jumps. Scott manages to catch him by the hand... but, his grip can only hold for a few moments. Toby sandbags himself... and Scott just can't keep his grip. Toby falls.

It's weird, only after the fact does Doctor Robyn climb to the roof. Like, couldn't she have been of help, I dunno, 45 seconds ago? Like, if there were an adult up there, maybe they'd have been able to physically restrain Toby before he did what he did? I dunno. Anyway, as the Emergency Service Vehicles leave the premises, she tells Scott that none of this is his fault. He then waxes on a bit about the color of the sky.

We close out the chapter with Scott leaving the roof... and walking back to his dorm with his homey Nate. Nate, by the way, shoots a look that could kill in Doctor Robyn's direction... which she cannot help but to notice. She recalls that this is the same sort of look he shot Toby Rails last night. Uh-oh.

--

Now, okay, I may've had a little bit of fun with this one -- but, I really quite enjoyed it! Truth be told, and this might cost me my Fake-Ass X-Historian card, but -- this was my first time reading this one! I'd always heard about it -- as the genesis of the Sinister/Cyclops relationship, but up until now, never actually sat down with it. I wanna say the first time I'd read OF it was probably back in my old USENET stomping grounds -- it was probably part of Kate the Short's X-FAQ. Good grief, it's been a long time since I'd last thought of that. It was in that FAQ where I learned about Claremont's original intention for Mr. Sinister -- as a manifestation of an "imaginary friend" of sorts to Scott's twisted roommate that the Orphanage. I was instantly intrigued... because, it just seemed like such a cool idea. The look of Sinister... the name "Sinister"... it all seems like something a small child would think up when trying to concoct something "scary".

There was reference made to this very story -- which, as an X-Fan -- and a Cyclops-fan, I probably should have checked out some quarter-century ago. But, I didn't... and that's all due to a misunderstanding I had about it. When I read that this was the "intended" origin for Mr. Sinister, I think I kinda filed it away in the "out of continuity"/What if...? pile. As though, maybe the X-Office gave Claremont an issue's worth of pages to "play out" his original concept. Hey, it's not like the Vignettes have been making all that great'a use of those pages of late. In reading this far, however, I'm fairly certain that this story is in continuity... and, likely won't go all the way into Claremont's original vision. I'm guessing that Sinister isn't so much Nate's "imaginary friend"... but, Nate himself. Like, Sinister has taken the form of a child to get to Scott. He's probably also taking the form of other folks at the Home for Foundlings... at the very least, I'd guess he's also the Chief Admin who came down hard on Dr. Robyn for her sneaks.

At this point, Sinister's motivations aren't entirely clear. I mean, with all of our hindsight, we could make a few educated guesses -- but, in a vacuum, we're left wondering... at least for now. Why would Nate/Sinister orchestrate Toby Rails' suicide? Did he know that Scott would be the one to step up? Did he know that Scott would be unsuccessful in stopping him? Is that part of the plan? Was Doctor Hanover's arrival planned... or, is she a monkey wrench in the Sinister machine? If so... and since I don't think we've seen her since... I'm not too confident she's going to be making it outta this tale.

Overall -- like I said, this one ain't perfect... and relies a bit too much on convenience factors, but I very much enjoyed it all the same. I'm happy to have finally checked this one out, and am looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

X-Men Vignettes, Chapter Forty

X-Men Vignettes #40 (1989)
"Fundamental Imbalance"
Writer/Letters - Tom Orzechowski
Pencils - Jim Fern
Inks - Joe Rubenstein
Colors - Glynis Oliver
Edits - Edelman, Harras, DeFalco
From: Classic X-Men #40 (Mid-November, 1989)

Typed out, the word "forty" always looks so weird to me... I swear each time I try and type it, I instinctively try and spell it "fourty"... which, well... still looks weird, but still sorta right. Oh well.

This is the fou... for... err, 40th Vignette, so we are officially in the "home stretch". After this piece, we'll be at the Final Four! After that? Who knows. All's I do know is our "work" here will likely never be done. We'll see where the tides take us, and all that. Hopefully I can think of something before I re-dig that copy of Marvel Riot out to putchy'all to sleep with my attempts to annotate!

--

There's a gimmick to this story... as we watch the scenes play out in the "current day", there are bits of an angry maternal lecture sprinkled in. In case I don't elaborate as much as I perhaps should -- the lecture is coming from the mother of the, say it with me, NEW MUTANT who we'll never, eeeeeeever see agayn. The lecture is, uh, directed at... ya know, that new mutant, who is a bit of a wild child. Not that Wild Child. Anyway, this is a Nightcrawler story... so, we follow him around New York City, where he comments that it's like he's in a different country every couple of blocks. He happens across a one-legged street performer... breakdancing. Any guesses who our new mutant might be? Now, it turns out that her dance routine is just a distraction so her pals can engage in a bit of pickpocketing. It would'a worked, had Nightcrawler not caught them in the act.

With the jig very much up, our dancing queen takes off... and basically leaps around as though she'd been bitten by a radioactive grasshopper. Nightcrawler gives chase, following her into the subway... they both board a train where Kurt tells her how impressed he was with her dancing. Maybe he isn't totally clear on the pickpocket situation... or, at least this gal's role in it. Anyway, by the time they reach the next stop, our gal's done hopped the coop.

Kurt ain't done yet though... he's gonna keep searching. All the way into a darkened alley. Here, he's confronted by some very 80s gangbangers... who proceed to beat the bejeezus out of him. At first, Nightcrawler gives as good as he gets... but, the numbers eventually catch up. He's not x-actly out of the fight, but enough so where our girl decides to intervene. She leaps down from a fire escape and whacks the dudes with her crutch. She has a great catchphrase, by the way: "Party Time, you Dinks!"

Once the dust settles, Kurt and... the girl (she doesn't get a name), chat for a bit. He tells her again how impressed he was by her dancing and agility, and all that. She doesn't appear all that comfortable with this talk... and, I mean... can you blame her? It might be worth noting here that our gal is something of a "two face". In some panels she looks like a late-teen or twentysomething, in others she looks like a 45 year old who'd been rode hard. Anyway, Nightcrawler tells her that he's an X-Man (she initially jokes that he might be an Avenger... perish the thought). He explains that the X-Men have a school where Mutants can yadda yadda yadda. He happens to know that this unnamed street performer is a mutant, ya see -- because, well... he's carrying a miniature version of Cerebro in his pocket! Ooooookay. Well, if nothing else, now we know that "Unnamed One-Legged Red-Haired Street Performer" can be Goldballed!

After a friend of our gal tends to Kurt's bruises, Into Central Park they go... I feel like a lot of our Nightcrawler Vignettes have a scene in Central Park... though, maybe it's just two of 'em. Anyway, the Gal ain't feelin' the idea of heading upstate to attend some creepy school... and would prefer to remain here, with her "boys". Just like that, "the boys" show up. In our "confessional caption", we see that her mom doesn't like the people our Gal associates with. Seems it was part of the reason she either ran away, or got kicked out. I tell ya, these lecture "beats" aren't landing quite as well as I think they're supposed to.

Anyway, Nightcrawler leaves her in peace... and takes the long train ride back to Westchester, thinking about his own childhood and adolescence with the gypsies.... and his relationship with his "mother" Margali, after the death of his "brother" Stefan. Meanwhile, our Gal sneaks off to a payphone where none of her "boys" can see her -- and she makes a call... to her mother. Aw.

--

What's that thing I've been saying a lot of late? Oh yeah, we've gone full-blown X-Men Unlimited!

I'm a bit torn on how I feel about it though... as, I'm totally fine with the idea that there are mutants out there who want nothing to do with the "mutant lifestyle". They're less worried about designing a gaudy costume and doing heroic or villainous things... and just wanna be left alone to, ya know "be". I'm cool with that. I just feel that there are only so many different flavors of that, ya follow? I feel like we've read this one before... because, in many ways, we have... and will again. Maybe it's the dozens of similar X-Stories that have come out between 1989 and now that has skewed my view -- and, maybe, back in the long ago, this was a more "novel" idea. Sadly, I can't speak to that.

Stories like this are so formulaic... and, like I just said... that really isn't the fault of this story itself. It likely wasn't yet one of the go-to tropes to "fill x pages of x". As we discussed yesterday, here we meet a new mutant -- who appears to affect one of our a-listers in a profound way... who we'll never, ever see or hear from (or about) again. I mean, sure -- that's part of the human experience, I guess. We do run into people who may wind up having a profound and lasting impact on our lives... people we may not even know the name of -- but, it seems to happen an awful lot to our heroes. Really not a serious point for or against... it just kinda made me shrug, as if to say "here we go again..."

I kinda glossed over it in the synopsis, but the parallels here between the Gal and Kurt as it relates to their relationships with their mothers were interesting. And, just in case you skimmed the synopsis -- or have a similar reading comprehension as yours truly, by "mother", we're not talking about Mystique... this is Kurt's adoptive mother, Margali. Kurt was thought to have been responsible for the death of Margali's actual son, Stefan -- which, as you might imagine, put a bit of a crimp in their relationship. Our Gal's deal seems... a little (well, a lot) more on the petulant edge of the spectrum. The "I never asked to be born!", stomping out of the room sort of thing. They're also both performers... so, there's another parallel I guess.

That said, it's always interesting to "meet" a one-off mutant. It's equally interesting (at least to me), when nobody's ever thought to bring them back -- even for the "X-Twitter X-Pert" cred it might earn a creator. Why not stick Unnamed Street Performer in the background of a scene from... I dunno District X, or whatever the Bishop Police Procedural was called pre-Decimation? I'm sure the current crop would get all the kudos for digging one of these nobodies out! Then again, that'd be assuming that current crop read any pre-2019 X-Stuffs... which... I wouldn't bet a penny on.

In closing... I wanted to find a reason to share this panel... but, couldn't make it fit organically into the synopsis. It's Kurt, back at the mansion. Check out the (horrifying and) ree-deek-o-los portrait of Xavier in the background!