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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 29, 2017 0:25:25 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #130"Dazzler"Cover Date: Febuary, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: The Hellfire Club, Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, Jason Wyngarde Guest Star: Kitty Pryde (Introducing: Dazzler) Official Plot: Continued from last issue... Cyclops, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler have come to a Manhattan dance club to seek out the mutant in the are detected by Cerebro. Cyclops orders Nightcrawler to stay outside and watch secretly from the shadows for trouble while he and Jean search the nightclub for the new mutant. They are unaware that they are being watched by minions of the Hellfire Club, who have been sent out to capture the new mutant as well. Entering the club, Scott and Jean find the patrons to be very decadent. As they begin to canvass around to try and find the mutant, Jean finds the sordid thoughts among the crowd somehow attractive. While at the Hellfire Club's headquarters, Jason Wyngarde and the head of the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw -- get a report from the soldiers surveying the night club. Jason tells Shaw that he will personally see to Jean Grey and leaves to meet up with her at the night club. Shaw then checks in with the White Queen in Chicago. Emma reports back showing that she has captured Wolverine, Storm, Professor X, and Colossus, however the young mutant named Kitty Pryde has escaped. Unknown to her, Kitty has manage to sneak herself into Emma's industrial complex. Approaching Storm, she finds that something about the cages has dulled her mind. This however, doesn't stop Storm from being able to rip her costume and prove Kitty with a phone number to call. Kitty is soon spotted by one of Emma's guards and manages to flee the scene with her phasing powers. Back in New York, Jean continues to search through the crowd when she is confronted by Jason Wyngarde, and she finds herself seemingly living the past of her ancestor once more. She is at a burned out church in the middle of a wedding ceremony between her and Jason, with Sebastian Shaw acting as priest. When they exchange vows, Jean is unveiled as the Black Queen and she lustfully kisses Jason. The seeming "time slip" ends and Jean finds herself kissing the modern day Wyngarde right in front of Scott. Before Jean can begin to explain things, the musical act of the night appears on stage. She is a disco singer known as Dazzler who turns out to be the mutant they are seeking when they see her convert the sound around her into light displays. While outside, the car phone within the X-Men's Royals Royce begins to ring and Nightcrawler answers it. It is Kitty Pride calling for help, but before Nightcrawler can learn anymore he is attacked by one of the Hellfire Club soldiers in a specially made suit of armor to combat his powers. Two more of these soldiers also smash through the skylight of the dance club and attack Scott and Jean. Jean uses her powers to change their street clothing into costumes, shocking Scott at her display of power. The two find that these men's suit of armor have also been specially fashioned to combat their mutant abilities as well. They don't count on Dazzler entering the fight and distracting them with her light powers. This allows Jean to free Cyclops and the two switch opponents, easily defeating them. The last soldier and Nightcrawler crash through the skylight and he is easily defeated by Phoenix. Nightcrawler explains to Cyclops and Phoenix that the X-Men in Chicago were ambushed. Cyclops briefly explains to Dazzler that she is a mutant and that they need her help in saving their friends. Dazzler is surprised by all this, but agrees to help. As they leave in the Royals, the men inside the club explode, destroying all evidence of the battle. As Cyclops drives away, he spots Jason Wyngarde and wonders what he was doing kissing Jean. As his car passes by, the shadow that is reflected does not match Wyngarde's body. After the X-Men drive off, Wyngarde laughs over the progress he is making with Jean Grey. This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View: Once again, so much to say in this issue, which is effectively THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA: Part 2, and the continuation of the events of Part 1, while also expanding on it by introducing two more important mutants, and furthering the whole Jason Wyngarde/Jean Grey thing, as we start to see the trap slowly closing around both her and the rest of the X-Men. In short, while the events of last issue took place (and we reveal via a short check in on Emma Frost, who has Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, and Professor X captive), Jean, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler make their way to a run down disco in New York, hoping to find the other mutant Xaiver detected near the beginning of last issue. That turns out to be the evening's main performance, a growing disco star named Dazzler, who we reveal has the ability to manipulate sound into light. During this, Jason Wyngarde approaches Jean, and in a sudden time slip, we see her and Jason being wed in the courtyard of what is most likely the 17th Century Hellfire Club (With Sebastian Shaw as the reverend, who we'll get to fully in a second). Cyclops sees this, but is so flabbergasted, he tries to focus on the business of approaching Dazzler, when the Hellfire Mandroids, who attacked Nightcrawler (who was waiting back in the car, due to his demon-ish appearance), burst into the disco, and go after the other two X-Men as well. The X-Men quickly defeat the Mandroids, and it is revealed to Cyclops and Jean by Nightcrawler (who recived a phone call from Kitty Pryde) that the X-Men that went to Chicago were ambushed and kidnapped. Cyclops tells Dazzler (who helped them in the battle) that she is a mutant, and she agrees to help them rescue the other X-Men. They take off, as Jason Wyngarde watches, and laughs over the fate he knows eventually awaits them, whether they succeed in rescuing the other X-Men or not. First off, let's go back to Sebastian Shaw, who is revealed as the de facto leader of the Hellfire Club, as we see Frost reporting to him. Shaw is a rich mutant who has the ability to absorb any force or energy directed against him, and direct it back at the person attacking him. For example, if you hit Shaw, he could absorb the force of your blow, and hit you with both your power and his, and this goes for things like Cyclops' optic blast or Storm's lightning bolts (or anything like that) as well. Shaw and the Hellfire Club (who we'll reveal in full over the next few issues) have been sitting in the shadows, observing the actions of the X-Men, while slanting certain things in their direction (Like sending Wyngarde to Scotland to mentally seduce a vulnerable Jean Grey). Once again, whether they succeed in this current mission against the X-Men or not, they will get exactly what they want, as The X-Men (or even another potential super group) will infiltrate their home base in NYC, unaware they they have a group of mutants and superhumans waiting to take them out, and being rich and being the 1% (Both in financial and political senses), they can easily cover their crimes up, as they have friends in high places that are members of their secret S&M/High Society club. They suffer few losses, only temporary setbacks. Now, let's get into the focus mutant of this issue, Alison Blaire AKA The Dazzler. She was originally created by Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern, and John Romita Jr., and was meant to be a joint working agreement with Marvel and Disco king, Casablanca Records, who would provide a singer based on the Marvel created character. Originally, the character was meant to be based on Grace Jones, but Casablanca preferred the character to be based on the looks of Bo Derek (As a film about the character was also talked about). However, as Casablanca continued to try and make changes (and being that by the time that disco was on its way out), Marvel decided to end the relationship and just do the character the way they wanted, and UNCANNY #130 was meant to introduce her, but a solo book was the plan (And she would get it shortly after; the book lasting into the mid 80's). Of course, while her original appearances had her in full disco regalia, eventually she would be updated to fit the changing pop tastes throughout the 80's. Eventually, she would join the X-Men, but that wouldn't be until several years later (after originally being talked about for the spin off book, X-Factor, before being passed up for....well, we'll get to that in several issues, as I rant about retconning certain deaths of certain characters), and she would resemble Debbie Gibson more than Bo Derek as a disco queen. Still, let's stop to appreciate Dazzler as the total late 70's time capsule she originally was. GRADE: A
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 29, 2017 0:31:37 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 291"Old Soldiers Never Die"Cover Date: January, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: None, unless you count General Ross Guest Star: Marvel Editor Ann Nocenti Official Plot: The Hulk visits the Park Avenue headquarters of Marvel Comics and visits assistant editor, Ann Nocenti. He is depressed over recent events concerning General Ross and seeks Ann’s advice. He wants to know whether he should expose Ross as a traitor or not. Ann speaks with him at length, and suggests to him that Ross' personal demons are probably the greatest punishment that could ever be visited upon him. At the Pentagon, Ross sits in his office and contemplates his failings, both as a soldier and as a father. He recalls how ever since he was a child he wanted to serve his country. He enlisted in the military at eighteen and served in both World War II and Korea. After the war, he was promoted to the rank of General and given an office position in Washington. It was about this time that his wife Karen gave birth to their only child, Elizabeth. Although Ross wanted a son to carry on the family military tradition, he still loved his daughter very much. It became particularly painful for him years later, when Betty found love in the arms of scientist Bruce Banner, a man whom Ross viewed as a "milksop". He was present the day that Banner was caught in the wake of a Gamma Bomb explosion – an incident that prompted him to turn into the incredible Hulk for the very first time. For years, Ross hounded the Hulk and his crusade cost him a great deal. His military career dovetailed, and his daughter spurned his obsessive persecution of Banner. On several instances, Ross even engaged the Hulk directly, piloting advanced war machines specifically designed to incapacitate the green goliath. When Banner assumed full control over the Hulk's physical form, Ross was skeptical. He didn't believe that the world could ever regard the Hulk as anything but a monster. To safeguard the country against future Hulk-related instances, Ross conspired with the villain M.O.D.O.K. to destroy the Hulk. By aiding M.O.D.O.K., Ross committed treason. Now, Ross sits at his desk in a state of complete despair. Having dishonored his uniform, he places the barrel of his service revolver against his temple and prepares to commit suicide. Ross hesitates and eventually places the gun back onto his desk. He decides that he now has a new war to fight – his own conscience. Brodie's View: An alternate name for this issue really could have been "Tough Decisions," as that's what this issue mainly concerns in the fallout of the whole MODOK/Abomination storyline, especially where it concerns the actions of one General Ross, who due to his hatred of the Hulk/Bruce Banner, allowed MODOK to steal The Abomination from a military installation. The issue's prologue basically concerns The Hulk kind of breaking the 4th wall somewhat, by visiting the editor of his comic book, Ann Nocenti, and asking her advice about what should he do about Ross' treacherous actions; turn him in, or keep silent? Ann basically convinces him to keep silent by stating that the hell a man like Ross would reside in after doing what he did would be far worse than any military prison he would potentially be put in. With that, the Hulk thanks her, and leaves. We then CUT to our main story, as General Ross contemplates his actions by basically revealing his origin story, and all of the events that led to such an intense hatred for Banner/Hulk. He attempts to commit suicide by blowing his brains, but decides not to, and to try and potentially redeem his actions. Kind of a slow issue, but an important one, and one that kind of makes up for the silliness of last issue. It also really helps in developing Ross as a character, while showing how conflicted Bruce Banner was in how to deal with the actions of his ex girlfriend's father. It was a cool touch to actually bring the editor of the book into the story as somewhat of a character. Of course, this is covered over by stating that Marvel Comics does actually exist in the Marvel Universe, but is meant as a storytelling function for the heroes that reside against it (Funny how none of these heroes ever think of going after Marvel for a cut of the profits the company makes off of their actions, isn't it? ). The next few issues would involve very little in the way of bad guys doing villainous things (well, with the exception of next issue, but even then, the villain isn't really that effective), as much as the depiction of the fall of Bruce Banner as the intelligent Hulk, and as previously stated, this really starts next issue. GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 29, 2017 3:08:00 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #131 "Run for your Life!"Cover Date: March, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: The Hellfire Club: (Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, Jason Wyngarde, Harry Leland, Donald Pierce) Guest Star: Kitty Pryde & Dazzler Official Plot: Continued from last issue... Kitty Pryde is being chased through the streets of Chicago by minions of the Hellfire Club that are bent on capturing her. They are stopped telekinetically by Phoenix, however when the X-Men try to calm Kitty, she panics and runs at first until Jean can calm her down. After a round of explanations, and learning that the other X-Men have been captured by the White Queen, Jean probes one of the soldiers sent to capture Kitty and learns about the Hellfire Club. This troubles Jean, as the Hellfire Club is the organization that the man in her "time slips" is affiliated with. Soon, she, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Dazzler smuggle themselves onto the property owned by Frost Industries, thanks to Jean's telepathy making it appear that the Hellfire Club soldiers had captured them. This even fools the White Queen who goes back to painfully extracting information from Storm's mind. Kitty meanwhile phases into the room where the other X-Men are held captive and manages to free Wolverine by putting her hand through the lock in his cage. She is spotted and stunned by a guard, however Wolverine is already free and pops his claws to deal with the guard. Just then, Phoenix and the others make their presence felt and attack the complex. As Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Dazzler go to help the others, Phoenix confronts the White Queen before she can use her mental powers to wipe out Storm's mind. As Kitty, Colossus and Wolverine join the others they fight their way out of the complex, while Jean and White Queen lock in telepathic battle. Storm is horrified by Jean's show of power when her Phoenix effect emerged and overpowers the White Queen. Outside the other X-Men are about to turn back for Jean and Ororo when the complex suddenly explodes. Their worst fears are allayed however when Phoenix and Storm emerge from the rubble unharmed. Having pulled himself aside to watch the battle, the Professor commends his X-Men for a job well done. The next day outside of the Pryde home, Charles offers Dazzler a place with the X-Men, but she refuses telling him that she was born to be a singer not a super hero and departs. Just then, Kitty's parents emerge from their home, Kitty's mother relieved that her daughter has been returned home safe and sound. When Kitty's father demands from Xavier, he suddenly changes his tone and the Scott is told by Jean that she used her powers to change his mind and make him agree to let Kitty study at Xavier's school. Alone with Storm, Scott expresses his fears that Jean is abusing her powers, a feeling that Ororo believes as well. As they walk away to rejoin the others, Storm vows that they must do something before the power of the Phoenix consumes Jean. This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View: This is THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA: Part 3, and we get the end of the first section of this story, as Cyclops, Phoenix, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler (and Kitty Pryde, who the previously mentioned people save at the beginning of this issue) mount a rescue operation of the other X-Men (Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, and Professor X, who are captive and at the mercy of The White Queen of the Hellfire Club, Emma Frost). As the assault team fools the Hellfire Club guards into thinking they had been captured, and the White Queen tortures Storm for information, Kitty sneaks into the holding cell area, and frees Wolverine by using her phasing power to unlock his cage. Once free, he frees the other X-Men (other than Storm), and they join up with Cyclops and the others, who escape the Hellfire's Chicago HQ, as Phoenix rescues Storm by completely owning The White Queen in a telepathic battle (to the point where Storm is quite frightened of her ferocity). We then see the X-Men (and Dazzler, who Xaiver offers a place in the X-Men, but she respectfully declines, for now) at Kitty Pryde's home, as they return the teenager to her parents, who are quite upset. However, Phoenix uses her power to suddenly change their minds, altering their recollection of the events that transpired. Cyclops and Storm are worried about this, and how blase' Jean has become in using her powers in ways she never had before, and they worry about how that could get worse in the future. They're right to be worried. This is a pretty slam bang issue that delivers shit tons of action, while furthering the story leading to the events of next issue, as the Hellfire Club have basically kicked the X-Men in the ass, daring them to do something about it. Yes, they do (well, Phoenix does) take out the White Queen, but the Hellfire's Club plan is still intact, and due to Jason Wyngarde's continuing mental manipulations of Jean Grey, has actually solidified, as Shaw and the others (who we are introduced to the other main Hellfire Club members, Donald Pierce and Harry Leland, who we'll discuss more in the next review) have basically set the table for the X-Men to try and infiltrate their main headquarters, which would allow The Hellfire Club to officially trigger the trap they've been building for them. The Kitty Pryde and Dazzler attacks were basically a set up, as we will see in full next issue. However, before we move on to the events of the next issue, let's talk a bit about Emma Frost. I mentioned her in #129's review, as that was her first appearance, but I had a lot more to talk about that issue, so, I put off talking about her until now. Born from a wealthy family, Emma Frost discovered her talents to read and manipulate minds at a young age, and used that and her sexuality to climb to the top of any group and society function she wanted, and The Hellfire Club was no exception. As basically being Sebastian Shaw's right hand woman during this period, she was probably the one out of the group he knew he could trust the most, as their end goals were remarkably similar. It also seemed that Frost preferred being the hidden power behind the throne, rather than the person in charge, which was also perfect for Shaw (It's also assumed that at one point the two were lovers, but that can only be assumed). Frost would return after the events of this issue, and resumed her role as "The White Queen" of the group, and would officially become the head mistress of the Club's Massachusetts Academy, as, like Xaiver, the Hellfire Club would eventually take the idea of molding young mutant minds seriously in later years, and would basically form her own team of young mutants known as The Hellions. They would remain the foil and the thorn in the sides of both the New Mutants and The X-Men until they were largely slaughtered by a future criminal hoping to score points in yet another "secret society" of rich mutants (The Upstarts, of which Sebastian Shaw's son, Shinobi, was also a member) Trevor Fitzroy, who would also leave Emma Frost in a coma due to his actions. Frost would remain in a coma for a while, and upon waking, would be overwhelmed by guilt due to her letting her students down, until Charles Xaiver would offer her the job to basically fill the same role (along with Banshee), for a group of Newer mutants, Generation X. She would fill this roll until the book was cancelled, and then during Grant Morrison's run in the early 2000's, would actually become a member of The X-Men, a role she had served until very recently, when she mysteriously vanished. Whether she stays on the right side of the tracks, or goes back to her villainous roots at this point is unknown, but needless to say, we'll be seeing her quite a bit during the Claremont run alone. GRADE: A
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 29, 2017 3:15:02 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 292 "Dragon-Night!"Cover Date: February, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: The Ringmaster and His Circus of Crime (Various)/An Unnamed Villain Guest Star: Dragon Man & Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: In Mexico City, the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime perform under the big tent. The Ringmaster is frustrated that he is now forced to perform legitimate shows and that he can no longer enter the United States for fear of arrest. His star attraction is the monstrous android known as the Dragon Man. The Dragon Man is released from his cage, and breathes a trail of fire across the air. Fortunately for all concerned, the Dragon Man is completely under the Ringmaster’s control. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner and Kate Waynesboro travel to Mexico to visit a scientist named Professor Hernandez. Hernandez is financing Banner’s work with Gammascope technology. Hernandez feels that the Gammascope, when used to revitalize withered crops and vegetables, will help to end hunger in impoverished neighborhoods. After visiting the professor, Banner and Waynesboro spend the night at the Circus. Bruce doesn't immediately realize that the performers in the center ring are his old adversaries, the Circus of Crime. The Clown spots him and informs the Ringmaster that Bruce Banner is in the audience. The Ringmaster turns the hypnotic powers of his mind-control hat on Banner, forcing him to transform into the Hulk. The Hulk, rendered temporarily savage once again, engages in a fight with the Dragon Man. As dozens of people race about in stark terror, the Human Cannonball prepares to lend the Dragon Man some assistance. Kate Waynesboro spoils the Cannonball's aim, forcing him to plunge directly into the back of the Ringmaster. The Ringmaster's hat falls to the ground, and the Hulk stomps on it, destroying it's ability to control his mind. The Circus of Crime race to escape, and Waynesboro consoles the Hulk over the fact that the Ringmaster converted him into a mindless brute once again. Brodie's View: Well, here it is, the beginning of the end, and we start rather innocently here, as Bruce and Kate take a trip to Mexico in order to research gamma research that is happening south of the border. On the plane there, Bruce has a terrible dream involving a shadow Hulk attacking the plane they are on, and he awakens from this nightmare screaming and drenched in sweat. This just seems like a stress dream in this issue, but these dreams would continue, and lead to....well, badness. Anyways, this leads to the main story, as Bruce and Kate end up going to the circus, not realizing that it is being run by one of the Hulk's old enemies, The Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime, who we reveal has ensnared the creature known as The Dragon Man as part of his act. Of course, The Ringmaster spots and recognizes Bruce Banner in the crowd, and hypnotizes him, forcing him to transform into the Hulk and also join the act. However, at this point, The Dragon Man shakes Ringo's (The Forgotten Ringo) control, and as Dragon Man looks to smash The Ringmaster to pieces, Ringo orders the Hulk to protect him, and the two creatures fight. Chaos then breaks out, with Kate taking advantage of it to try and break The Ringmaster's control over the Hulk, which she does due to the Hulk accidentally crushing The Ringmaster's hypno-hat, breaking his control. On that note, the entire Circus of Crime splits, as does The Dragon Man, leaving Kate to console a devastated Hulk, who was upset at the fact that he was so easily reduced back into being a mindless brute once again. Quite a bit of foreshadowing happening here, as we see both in Banner's nightmare and the actual main story, that the Savage Hulk isn't as negated as Bruce thinks he is (Of course, he would actually admit as much throughout this run, but yet he doesn't seem like he really wants to believe it), and we would see events from both his past and his present coming back to haunt him over the next couple of issues....and then The Hulk goes off to fight The Secret Wars, and things aren't the same after he returns. Barring all that, on one level, this was a fun little issue, as we haven't seen The Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime encounter the Hulk in quite a while (The Ringmaster will make his return during the Peter David run, but not in the way one would expect, and without the CoC), and adding the Dragon Man in there was a nice touch, as it's always fun to see monster fighting monster. Of course, this wouldn't be the last monster vs. monster fight we see in this run, and the next one will be a doozy......promise. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 29, 2017 23:09:21 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #132 "And Hellfire is Their Name!"Cover Date: April, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain/s: The Hellfire Club: (Sebastian Shaw, Jason Wyngarde, Harry Leland, Donald Pierce....and Jean Grey) Guest Star: The Angel Official Plot: Continued from last issue... Following their near defeat at the hands of the Hellfire Club's White Queen, Cyclops has the X-Men seek refuge at Angel's aerie, feeling that the mansion is no longer safe for them at this time. Needing privacy, Cyclops is carried by Angel to a butte out in the middle of the New Mexico desert where they can talk privately, much to the chagrin of Professor X. There Cyclops explains the X-Men's most recent clash with the Hellfire Club. Warren finds this hard to believe as he and his girlfriend Candy are members of the Hellfire Club. Scott goes on to explain that he's worried about Jean's powers. Before he can explain any further, Jean arrives and interrupts them to have a private and impromptu picnic with Scott. When Warren leaves them alone, Jean takes off Scott's visor, and much to his surprise she is able to hold back his optic blast with her mental powers. The two embrace and make love on the butte as the sun sets. A week later on a stormy night, the X-Men return to New York City to infiltrate the Hellfire Club and learn why they are targeting the X-Men. Wolverine and Nightcrawler travel through the sewers to sneak into the club from below. As they are passing through the rapidly flooding tunnels, Wolverine slices open some electrical wires pointing out that they could use a distraction later if things get hairy, a move that Nightcrawler finds very sneaker. Meanwhile, with invitations organized by Warren, Scott, Jean, Peter and Ororo prepare to enter a prestigious party with in the club. Before they go in, they radio back to the Professor and Angel in New Mexico to advise them of their plan so that they can carry on if they fail. As Scott and the others enter the party and try to blend in, they are noticed on the security monitors by the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle: the cyborg Donald Pierce, and mutants Sebastian Shaw and Henry Leland. Shaw tells Jason Wyngarde that this is his chance to prove that he has full control over Jean Grey and send him out into the party. Sure enough, when Wyngarde goes downstairs he quickly sweeps Jean off into another one of his illusions. When Scott watches Wyngarde taking Jean upstairs he follows after him and is shocked when he reveals himself to be none other than the X-Men's old foe Mastermind. Following after them, he is blasted by Jean who, under Mastermind's full control, has transformed herself into the Black Queen. Hearing Scott's scream of pain over the crowd, Storm and Colossus change into costume and charge after their friend. Running upstairs they run into Sebastian Shaw, and Colossus learns the hard way that Shaw can absorb any attack directed at him and transform it into strength and invulnerability. Shaw easily defeats Colossus in battle, but Storm manages to escape by creating a thick fog to obscure his vision. Down in the basement, Wolverine and Nightcrawler emerge from the sewers to be attacked by Pierce and Leland. While Wolverine manages to damage Pierce's cybernetic arm, Leland uses his mass increasing powers to increase Wolverine's weight until he breaks through the floor and lands into the rushing waters of the sewers below, he is swept away and presumed dead. While upstairs, Storm is tracked down by Sebastian Shaw who easily defeats her in hand to hand combat. With the X-Men defeated and their prisoners, Sebastian Shaw notes Jason Wyngarde's cockiness and begins to suspect that he is going to vie to replace him as leader of the Hellfire Club. When the two quibble over how effective Mastermind would be without Jean as his slave. The argument is quashed by the others who propose a toast to the newest member of their club, the Black Queen. While down below in the sewers, Wolverine emerges from the waters alive and well. He is incredibly angry, having seen the Hellfire Club's "best shot" he is ready to show them his own. This story is continued next issue.... Brodie's View: Holy Shitballs!!! We're into the second mini arc in the overall DARK PHOENIX SAGA (Part 4), and after a brief rest and reflection at the home of former X-Man, Warren Worthington AKA The Angel, we see the X-Men attempt to infiltrate the main headquarters of The Hellfire Club during one of their parties, and....well, they get stomped worse than they ever could have imaged they would in that kind of a situation. It makes their #104 ass kicking by Magneto look like a back and forth battle, as it seems as The Hellfire Club had the mutant team's number before they ever even walked in the door (They did, as while Cyclops was a bit suspect over Jason Wyngarde's influence over Jean Grey/Phoenix, I don't think he had any idea how much she was already his; lock, stock, and barrel). Thanks to this, the battle is really over before it even has begun, and the other Hellfire Club members present (Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, and Harry Leland) make short work of the rest of the team, as each of the HC members know the strengths and weaknesses of the mutants they're fighting, while The X-Men have no clue. It's also revealed officially that Jason Wyngarde also isn't who he seems to be, that in fact he is a face from the mutant team's (the original team's) past, Mastermind (Former member of Magneto's version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants), who is wearing a new, and much more attractive face. However, while Mastermind was content enough to play background for Magneto, it really seems he is using his new conquest, The Phoenix, who re-imagines herself as she was in Wyngarde's time slips, the New Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, to try and make an eventual power play to replace Shaw as the leader of that group. Despite the political power plays, the fact is that their plan came off almost completely without a hitch: Jean would blast Cyclops into unconsciousness, Shaw would take down both Colossus and Storm, Pierce would take out Nightcrawler, and Harry Leland would use his mass increasing powers to cause Wolverine to literally crash through the ground of the basement of the Hellfire Club's building itself, and fall into the sewer, assumingly to be swept away. However, it is with this last part (and in truth, to also think that one could fully control a primal force like the Phoenix) that the Hellfire Club would make a major mistake, as they pretty much wrote Wolverine off as being a non threat, and as we see in the last panel of the issue, that would end up being a BIG F**KING MISTAKE ! However, before we move on, let's talk about the other two members of the Hellfire Club that we haven't yet talked about: Donald Pierce and Harry Leland. Out of the two, Pierce would be the larger thorn in the side of the X-Men (and in particular, Wolverine), as after this storyline, Pierce would leave the Hellfire Club, and eventually end up leading a group of cyborgs (Like Pierce) called The Reavers. The highlight of the group's run would be their catching Wolverine alone after the X-Men had vanished into a portal called the Siege Perilous, and literally crucifying him on a giant X. Pierce and the Reavers (Other than Lady Deathstrike and a couple of others) would appear to meet their fate at the hands of Trevor Fitzroy and the Upstarts, but upon doing a bit of research, I've learned that Pierce has returned more recently as a thorn once again in the sides of both The X-Men and a reformed Hellfire Club. Not much can really be said about Harry Leland. He's a large mutant that has the ability to affect mass. He would be a part of a later HC plot to get revenge on the X-Men for the events of this storyline, but the group would fail at that as well (Sorry....spoiler). He would show up here and there, not really doing much of note until we get to #208/9, as The Hellfire Club attempted to hunt down a hurt Rachel Summers, who had attacked their new Black Queen, the witch Selene (More on both of those characters as we get to them), but ended up fighting both the X-Men, and then the deadly future sentinel known as Nimrod, who would force the X-Men and HC to put their differences aside and team up against. Leland would sacrifice his life in that conflict, making the events of #132 and 209 the only real high points in his relatively uneventful run. GRADE: A
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 29, 2017 23:15:44 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 293"Assassin" Cover Date: March, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: An Unnamed Villain (Behind the scenes) Guest Star: The Fantastic Four (The Thing and Mr. Fantastic in reality, all 4 in a dream), Matt Murdock, & Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: A poor man, whose town and life were destroyed by the Hulk, disagrees with the Hulk's pardon and decides to do justice with his own hands. He waits for Banner in the airport and tries to shoot him. Banner turns into the Hulk to save his life. Banner talks to the guy, who reveals his motives. Banner releases the man of all charges and builds his town Hadleyville with his hands (actually, the Hulk's) the town that was destroyed by the green monster. Banners nightmares get worse. This time a savage Hulk fights and kills the Fantastic Four to get to him. Brodie's View: Both a lot and not very much happens in this issue. On the surface, it's basically about a normal guy who had his life and town destroyed by the Savage Hulk, taking a shot at Bruce Banner, as he's returning from Mexico with Kate Waynesboro. The assassination attempt, of course, fails, and the man is carted off to jail. In jail, the man explains why he took the shot at the Hulk, which Banner sympathizes with, and talks Matt Murdock (Daredevil) into representing his in court, who gets him off scott free. The man is still depressed, as he has no home to go back to, until Kate takes him back to where his town was to see that the Hulk has single handedly rebuilt his town to try and make up for the damage the Savage Hulk had caused. A side story involves Bruce and Kate doing some research on a strange burst of energy in space (It turns out to be The Beyonder, as this is basically one of the set ups for the upcoming SECRET WARS) at the headquarters of the Fantastic Four, while they are out on business. While staying there, Bruce has another nightmare that involves The Savage Hulk destroying The Fantastic Four to get at him. He wakes up, once again, screaming, as I think he thinks his guilt over the pain and suffering caused by the Savage Hulk is creating these dreams. Of course, there's more to it than that, but we'll see more of that in a few issues. That's about it, but it does set up quite a few things for the future: The whole SECRET WARS thing, furthering the whole "nightmare" thing, which started last issue, and will run through most of the rest of this run, giving us the last few days of the Bruce Banner controlled Hulk before shit starts going south. This will REALLY start happening in the next issue, and then into SECRET WARS, but until then.....enjoy the silence. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 30, 2017 0:32:45 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #133 "Wolverine: Alone!"Cover Date: May, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: The Hellfire Club: (Sebastian Shaw, Jason Wyngarde, Harry Leland, Donald Pierce....and Jean Grey) Guest Star: The Angel, Sean Cassidy, & Moria MacTaggert Official Plot: Continued from last issue... The Hellfire Club's Inner Circle has sent some of their soldiers down into the basement of their prestigious club to find the body of Wolverine, whom they assume was killed in a fight with Henry Leland. Wolverine however is alive and well, and is hiding in the rafters. When they his wet body drips water on the soldiers below, they try to shoot him. They fail and Wolverine mortally wounds three of them before he seemingly takes some rifle rounds to the stomach and falls over in some boxes. However, he has been playing possum, having rolled with the shots he tags one more of the soldiers. With only one left on his feet, Wolverine freaks him out enough to get close enough to grab him. Threatening the man with his claws, Wolverine demands to know everything he knows about his employers in the Hellfire Club. While upstairs, the other X-Men are a prisoner of the Hellfire Club, who are celebrating not only their victory over the X-Men, but the addition of Jean Grey as their new Black Queen. Cyclops, with a ruby quartz helmet on his head puzzles over the fact that somehow Mastermind was able to take control of Jean by making her believe that she is her ancestor, a decadent woman who was a member of the Hellfire Club, and that they are not her friends but captured thieves and slaves that have betrayed her. Realizing that he and Jean still have their psychic rapport, Scott tries to see if he still has access to it in a bid to try and free Jean from Wyngarde's control. Nightcrawler meanwhile asks Shaw what he wants from them, and Shaw explains that the capture of the X-Men will facilitate his goals of experimenting on mutants so that his club can custom make their own mutants. Meanwhile, on Muir Island, Sean Cassidy finishes his job around the island and goes to check on his lover Moira MacTaggert. She is exhausted after extensive research into Jean's new powers and she fears that her near infinite power levels could threaten the entire world. While in New Mexico, Angel and Professor X wait for word from the X-Men and Charles expresses the difficulty that he has with Cyclops leading the X-Men without his direction. Back at the Hellfire Club, Wolverine takes a dumbwaiter up to the main floor where a party is still going on. He is considering his options on how to slip by undetected when a guard manages to get the drop on him, putting a gun to his temple. While upstairs, Scott access the psychic rapport with Jean to get into her mind. To his dismay, he finds himself transformed into a Colonial era outfit and that Jason Wyngarde is in Jean's mind as well, despite the fact that Scott knows that Mastermind has no telepathic abilities. The two get into a sword fight, with Mastermind warning Scott that whoever dies here will likely die in the real world as well. Downstairs, Wolverine manages to get the better of the guard who has caught him and tosses him into the middle of the party. With this distraction, Wolverine storms through until he is confronted by the Club's security guards who pile onto him with their clubs swinging. While upstairs, Scott's telepathic sword fight with Mastermind ends when Mastermind stabbing Scott through the chest with his sword. In the real world the X-Men watch in horror as Cyclops suddenly screams and keels over and as far as the X-Men can tell, their leader is dead. This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View: Make no mistake about it, as it relates to THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA: Part 5, this is kind of that "Austin 3:16" moment for Wolverine, as he basically gets his first real chance at being a solo player and not having to fight alongside/be reigned in by his fellow X-Men. And we see some nice examples of this early on in the issue, as he basically tears through several of the Hellfire Club's guards, who were sent down to presumably finish the Canadian mutant off. In this issue, it very much seemed as if Wolverine killed the guards, which kind of fell into John Byrne's vision of the character as a barely reigned in killing machine. However, this would kind of retconned by Claremont in a future storyline (which I always found kind of a cop out), saying that Wolverine just wounded them badly. Some of these guards would later be fit with cybernetics and join Lady Deathstrike, and then later Donald Pierce (and Deathstrike's) Reavers, but for now, let's pretend Wolverine slices through them like a knife through butter and leave it at that. Anyways, we follow his progress as he fights up through the various floors, trying to reach his captive teammates. We also see those teammates fitted with shackles and devices that keeps them from using their powers, and completely at the mercy of the Hellfire Club, and their new recruit, Jean Grey/Phoenix, The Black Queen, who thanks to Mastermind/Jason Wyngarde's illusion powers, sees them as thieves and (In Storm's case) slaves in the 17th century illusion she believes she's living in. In fact, at one point, she ends up backhanding Storm like one would have a slave during that time, and the X-Men are shocked at how easily she takes to cruelty and evil. Meanwhile, Cyclops, who has been fitted with a ruby helmet to keep him from using his optic blasts, tries to use the psychic rapport he and Jean share to try and free her from Wyngarde's control, only to find Wyngarde already there and ready for him. Cyclops is transformed into a colonial to fit into Jean's fantasy, and he and Wyngarde engage in a duel, which ends with Wyngarde running Cyclops through, apparently killing him. Ouch! This is a kick ass issue, especially if you're a Wolverine fan, as it really show him being "The Best There is at What He Does," (Yup, in this case, Jericho did not do it first ) and tearing through the Hellfire Club like a one man dynamo. All this would come together in the next issue, and we get to see the tables turn, and then turn again in one of the most shocking endings in this entire run so far. Be there for the shit to officially hit the fan. GRADE: A
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 30, 2017 0:40:10 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 294"From Out of the Night Comes... Boomerang!"Cover Date: April, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain/s: Max Stryker/Hammer, Boomerang, An Unnamed Villain (Behind the scenes) Guest Star/s: Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: The mercenary known as Boomerang, having recently been released from prison, flies to the estate of the man responsible for his extradition – Max Stryker. Max Stryker, an aging crime lord, is dying from inoperable cancer. Having learned about Bruce Banner's advances in restorative medicine using gamma radiation, Stryker invited him to test the process on himself. Banner refused, citing that the process is not ready for human trials. Desperate, Stryker instructs Boomerang to kidnap Banner's research assistant, Kate Waynesboro in order to blackmail Banner into conceding to Stryker's wishes. At Northwind Observatory, Bruce and Kate continue their experiments with the Gammascope. They have now moved on to animal testing. The Douglas family brings their dying pet dog, Sirius, to the observatory and volunteer him as a test subject. The process works, and Sirius' health improves, albeit with the side effect of turning his fur green. Afterwards, Banner decides to clean up and take a shower. While bathing, he suffers a waking nightmare wherein he sees the Hulk attacking him in the shower. The nightmare ends when Banner hears Kate screaming from the adjacent room. Grabbing his trademark purple shorts, Banner transforms into the Hulk and rushes out to face Boomerang. Boomerang has Waynesboro by the throat, and strikes at the Hulk with his various gimmick boomerangs. Ultimately, he manages to destroy some heavy equipment and brings the entire assembly down on top of the Hulk’s head. When the Hulk revives, Boomerang and Waynesboro are gone. In their place sits the wheelchair bound Max Stryker. Stryker forces the Hulk to change back into Banner and give him the Gammascope treatment. Once again, the process appears to work, and Stryker is completely healed. Like Sirius, Stryker's skin is now green, but this is a small sacrifice to pay for renewed health. Afterwards, Banner changes back into the Hulk and leaps towards Manhattan to find Boomerang and Kate. He lands in Central Park and is distracted by a large metal construct that has suddenly appeared in the middle of the park. He is hypnotically drawn to it, and disappears moments after entering the construct's archway. Brodie's View: After the "calm before the storm" issue of #293, comes the actual storm (or storms) approaching. We see this in the form of old gangster, Max Stryker (His name will be changed to Max Hammer next issue). Perhaps Claremont had a problem with Mantlo using a villain with the last name Styker, due to his using a villain with that last name pretty recently, or perhaps it wasn't that at all, either way ), and his hired gun, mercenary/Marvel B List Villain, Boomerang (who does own the Hulk in this issue, due to the Hulk being all discombobulated by yet another nightmare of being stalked by a shadow/Savage Hulk), who kidnaps Kate in order to blackmail Bruce Banner into trying his new Gamma Cure on his cancer (as Bruce and Kate test it seemingly successfully on a sick dog in the beginning of this issue. Banner begrudgingly does (which is also a seeming success), and then takes off after Kate/Boomerang (While looking for them, he passes the statue made by Alicia Masters in #279, and wonders if he was truly worthy of it, which will, of course, be important later). He then is drawn to Central Park, and a strange alien structure that draws him inside, and then he vanishes...off to fight the SECRET WARS with other major Marvel Heroes. He won't come back the same. Of course, I'll get more in depth on Secret Wars in next issue's review, and even more later, when I review the issues themselves, I will say, however, that a big change is coming as we head towards #300. Buckle up, kids...it's going to be a bumpy (And interesting) ride. I will say that I liked this issue....a lot of good foreshadowing. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 30, 2017 2:53:41 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #134 "Too Late, The Heroes!"Cover Date: June, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain/s: The Hellfire Club: (Sebastian Shaw, Jason Wyngarde, Harry Leland, Donald Pierce....and Jean Grey) ....and then Dark Phoenix Guest Star: The Beast & Senator Kelly Official Plot: Continued from last issue... Cyclops has nearly been killed in psychic combat with Mastermind inside Jean's telepathic report she shared with Cyclops. As the Hellfire Club gloats over this victory, Jean looks on in worry. Before the Hellfire Club can do anything else, Wolverine bursts through the door tossing off guards as he goes. Sebastian Shaw orders Jean to attack Wolverine, which she does, however while the others are focusing on that she uses her telekinetic powers to unlock the ruby quartz helmet on Cyclops's head. Scott knocks out Donald Pierce before using his optic blast to free his fellow X-Men and blast Henry Leland. Jean stops her fight and tells Wolverine to go join the others, Logan goes after Leland to get revenge for his earlier defeat. Cyclops defeats Shaw by blasting out the ground out from under him, and Donald Pierce manages to escape when Colossus foolishly tries to stop him in his human form. Witnessing the battle, Mastermind decides to use his illusion-based powers to hide out and see what happens. As Wolverine dives down to the lower level of the Hellfire Club to attack his foe, Leland makes the stupid mistake of using his mass increasing powers on Wolverine causing him to land heavily on Leland with his claws out. As Sebastian Shaw tries to flee through the club, he is attacked by Nightcrawler and Storm. The disturbance at the Hellfire Club does not go unnoticed, as the authorities are called in an alert also goes in at nearby Avengers Mansion where the Beast is on monitor duty. Reading about how his former friends in the X-Men involved in the commotion, he erases record of the emergency call and goes to help his old comrades. Back at the club, Colossus catches up to Donald Pierce and gets in an arm wrestle with him. Colossus's strength proves better and he breaks Pierce's mechanical arm, however Pierce shocks Colossus in the face with his severed appendage and flees the scene. While else where in the club, Nightcrawler and Storm try their best to defeat Sebastian Shaw in battle, however he escapes as well. Meeting up with Pierce in one of the clubs many secret tunnels, he tells his comrade that he will make the X-Men pay for this. Upstairs Cyclops tries to calm the party goers, however Mastermind uses his powers to make them think that he is attacking them. Just then, the power cables that Wolverine slashed earlier in the night[1] connect with the rising rainwater causing the power to go out in the club. Cyclops runs into Wolverine in the dark and tells him to gather the other X-Men while he goes looking for Jean. Jean meanwhile, giving into the darkness in her soul tracks down Mastermind and pins him to the wall. She finds on him a device created by the White Queen that allowed him to beam his illusions directly into her mind. She is darkly amused, but destroys the device and then gives Mastermind what he wanted: control of cosmic power. Opening up his mind to the vastness of the universe Jean causes Mastermind to enter a catatonic state and leaves him. She runs into Scott and although she feels strange she accompanies him and the other X-Men as they flee to their ship parked in Central Park. Watching them go from the window, Shaw vows to ruin the X-Men's public image and turn them into public enemy number one. The X-Men load up into their plane and take off just as the authorities begin to arrive. Jean, finally unable to contain herself, gives in to her dark side. She changes her costume into a crimson version of her Phoenix outfit, and announces that she is no longer the woman they knew, but rather power incarnate. Suddenly, the X-Men's ship explodes due to her "power incarnate". This story is continued next issue.... Brodie's View: And now we enter the final part of this second arc, AKA THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA: Part 6, and prepare to enter the final story arc, the one we've been building to since #101. Even though Jean Grey/Phoenix shakes the mind control of Mastermind/Jason Wyngarde (due to Jason mentally "slaying" Scott Summers/Cyclops last issue), and does end up helping the X-Men (due to a distraction by an attacking Wolverine, finally coming for that payback for two issues ago) escape, and knowing the HC's powers now, they own them pretty handily. Mastermind tries to get away, and in one of the best scenes from this issue, is confronted by a Jean that is still being consumed by the evil awakened in her by Wyngarde, but no longer under his or the Hellfire Club's control, forcing him to know the cosmic truth an entity like the Phoenix knows, and basically fries his brain. She does escape with the X-Men, but upon take off, is consumed totally by that evil, and Dark Phonix is born (!!!!), blowing up the X-Men's ship, with all of them inside. I loved seeing the Hellfire Club get their asses kicked for totally underestimating the X-Men (and their hold over The Phoenix), and each of the team getting their cool little moments during that ass kicking. And the shock ending.....Shit! I can only imagine what the readers at the time must have been thinking. It's still a masterful moment, and we see everything that's great about this book just fully falling into place. However, the best is still yet to come, people.....the next few issues are going to be f**king insane and awesome (Not to say that these past few issues haven't been great. They have, but the last three parts is going to take it to another level). GRADE: A (Almost an A+)
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 30, 2017 3:01:10 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 295"Turning Point!"Cover Date: May, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: Max Stryker/Hammer, Boomerang, An Unnamed Villain (Behind the scenes) Guest Stars: Captain America, The Thing, Doctor Doom, Ultron, Kang: The Conqueror (All seen in flashback to SECRET WARS), Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: The Hulk returns from the Beyonder's Secret Wars. His intellect is greatly diminished, and his demeanor is more in line with that of the old savage Hulk. Further, he is nursing an injured leg, and requires a technologically advanced crutch to support his weight. He stomps through Central Park, and blusters past two pedestrians. He goes to the penthouse apartment of aging crime lord, Max Hammer. Inside, Hammer's underling, Boomerang, has Kate Waynesboro held captive. The Hulk leaps through the window and sends Boomerang sprawling across the skyline. Kate tries to talk to Bruce, but immediately recognizes that something is wrong with the Hulk. The Hulk catches up to Boomerang, who tries to fend him off with his rocketrangs. The Hulk smashes Boomerang across the back of the neck, rendering him unconscious. The Hulk calms down slightly, and Kate and he return to Northwind Observatory. When they arrive, they discover that Max Hammer has been using the Gammascope to cure dozens of terminally ill patients. Like Hammer, all of them have developed green skin as a side effect. Banner is shocked. He warned Hammer that the process had never been tested on human subjects. There is no telling what kind of long term side effects that technique may have. As if in answer, a man enters the laboratory. It is Mister Douglas, the owner of Sirius the dog, whom Banner had cured of bone disease a short time ago. Douglas stands holding Sirius in his arms. The dog is dead. He tells Banner that days after Sirius’ treatment, he began acting feral and attacked the children, so Douglas had to put him down. Moments later, Max Hammer begins convulsing and falls to the floor. When he rises, he is a snarling, large, green monster. Brodie's View: The title of this issue is "Turning Point," and hoo boy, is it one. The Hulk comes back from the SECRET WARS not in the same condition he left in (He had his leg messed up by Ultron in the last issue of SW, probably accelerating his decent into savagery). The intellect of Bruce Banner is about 75% gone, and not only has he regained his savageness, but he is REALLY pissed. From the moment he knocks over an older couple who try to help him, we know that this is NOT the Hulk we've seen for the last 20 or so issues. Not even close. This isn't even the child-like Savage Hulk that we had seen for a good decade and a half previous to that. This was something FAR more dangerous, and he hasn't even completely lost it yet. That comes next issue and beyond, heading up to #300. He remembers the whole deal with Kate and Boomerang, and jumps off after the mercenary. To say once he finds him, that he owns Boomerang, would be an understatement. Boomerang literally ends up running (or flying) for his life, as a Savage Hulk is on his tail and looking for blood. In fact, The Hulk very nearly kills Boomerang before Kate manages to find him and talk him down. Somehow, Kate manages to get The Hulk to transform back into Banner, but that only lasts until they get back to Northwinds to find that Ex Gangster Max Hammer (Stryker last issue) is using Banner's gamma cure to cure various sick people of their illnesses. Banner transforms again, and is ready to smash, but Kate gets him under control, and they go in to confront Hammer. As this happens, we find out that Hammer really should have waited until the "cure" was properly tested, as we find out that the dog that Banner tested the treatment on in the last issue, went savage, and had to be put down. Hammer freaks over this, which causes him to transform into a monstrous Hulk version of himself. We end on this cliffhanger, and the countdown to the end of the smart Hulk in ANY incarnation is ticking down quickly. This was definitely a game changer issue, and a statement that things were definitely going to be different by the time we hit #300. Of course, I don't think fans realized HOW different it was going to be, but we'll get to all that when we get to it. I would say that if this whole deal has any flaw, it exists on the part of Jim Shooter (who wrote SECRET WARS, and was meant to really get the Hulk's decent into savagery over more than he really did. I mean, don't get me wrong, he did some stuff, but he didn't handle it as well as Mantlo would have, had he had the chance to), as now Mantlo had to jump massively forward with his story again, rather than taking the time to gradually let things play out. Of course, he makes up for this by having things hit the fan in short order, and we'll see even more of that in the next issue, with a guest star that Mantlo fans are familiar with. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 31, 2017 0:50:13 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #135"Dark Phoenix"Cover Date: July, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Dark Phoenix, Sebastian Shaw (Behind the Scenes), Senator Kelly, The Sentinels (Mentioned) Guest Star: The Beast, The Angel, Sean Cassidy, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, The Silver Surfer, and Mr. Fantastic/The Thing from the FF, Moria MacTaggert, & Lilandra Official Plot: Having escape from the Hellfire Club, Jean Grey finally gives into the dark side of her soul awakened by Mastermind, becoming the Dark Phoenix and destroying the X-Men's escape craft over Central Park. Miraculously, the X-Men survive the explosion and with quick thinking manage to make it safely to ground with only minor injuries. Their attempts to talk Jean out of attacking them fails and she easily trounces the team with her cosmic level abilities. While not far away at the Hellfire Club, the authorities are investigating what patrons there believe was an attack by the X-Men. After seeing his colleague Henry Leland wheeled into an ambulance, Sebastian Shaw confronts US Sentator Robert Kelly, a guest at the party that nught. He recommends to Kelly using his government connections to restart the Sentinel program so that they can hunt down dangerous mutants as part of his secret scheme to vilify and destroy the X-Men. Before the two men can discuss things further, Shaw is shocked to see a giant Phoenix effect fill the sky. Shaw is not the only one, as Dark Phoenix uses her powers to fly away from Earth her abilities are picked up by Mr. Fantastic's scientific equipment, Spider-Man's spider-sense, Dr. Strange's mystical senses, and the Silver Surfer's cosmic senses. As Jean departs, an Avengers Quinjet lands in Central Park containing the Beast who has come to the aid of his former comrades in the X-Men. He finds them beaten but alive and agrees to fly them back to the X-Mansion in Salem Center. While in New Mexico, Professor X has a video call with Moira MacTaggert on Muir Island where they both compare notes and realize that their greatest fear, that Jean has lost control of her new powers, has finally become a nightmarish reality. While in space, Dark Phoenix loops around the sun and uses it's gravity to sling shot her out to a warp gate not far outside of Earth's solar system. This sends her to the D'Bari system, which is part of the Shi'ar empire. She then feasts on the solar system's star, causing it to go nova and obliterate all the living creautres on the planet D'Bari. This is witnessed by a Shi'ar flagship that goes in to investigate. While on the Shi'ar throneworld, Empress Lilandra is awoken to the news of the destruction and witnesses the destruction of the flagship at Phoenix's hands. Lilandra grimly considers that they must deal with this threat no matter the cost. On Earth, the X-Men have returned to their headquarters and wonder what they will do next. Scott, who still has his telepathic rapport with Jean witnesses the entire genocide through his minds eye and warns his fellow X-Men that Jean is returning to Earth, and she's hungry. This story is continued next issue.... Brodie's View: And now we come down to it; in the DARK PHOENIX SAGA: Part 7, which is titled, "Dark Phoenix," we finally get the transformation that has been building for a while, and was fast tracked by the machinations of Jason Wyngarde and the Hellfire Club. This is where it made more sense that the Phoenix and Jean were two separate entities that had bonded, rather than the Phoenix Force just taking the form of Jean, which was the retcon explanation of how one could bring Jean back after the events of....well, a couple of issues from now. However, we'll go more on depth on that whole deal when it happens, for now, let's just say that the Phoenix part of Jean REALLY liked living that Evil life that Wyngarde and the HC gave to her, and it wanted to take it to the next level. And take it to that level Dark Phoenix does, as she quickly trashes the entire team with very little trouble at all, and then explodes into space to feed her insatiable hunger (The force so great it causes people gifted with extraordinary senses, such as Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and The Silver Surfer (and Reed Richard's highly developed sensors) to feel the Phoenix's power. What she does next really kind of seals her fate both in a comic Kayfabe sense and behind the scenes as well, but we'll get more into that in #137's review. She flies into the sun of an adjacent universe, and devours it, causing it to go super nova and destroying all the planets rotating around it, at least one of them populated by sentient beings. She then encounters a Shi'ar ship, who tries to defend itself, but is quickly destroyed by the Phoenix (The ship's last moment viewed by the ruler of the Shi'ar, Lilandra, who orders an assemblage of the major races in the universe to decide what to do about this new super cosmic threat.....uh oh ). This is all (well, not the Lilandra stuff) felt by Cyclops, due to his and Jean's psychic rapport, and he knows that the Phoenix is coming back to Earth, and she's still hungry (Double Uh-Oh!!! ) Man, this is such a fantastic issue, and pretty shocking stuff, especially at the time, as this is one of the first times that a major hero had turned heel, and not only turned heel, but turned into a MAJOR, UNIVERSE DESTROYING HEEL. This really sets the stage for the last two parts of this beautifully, as The X-Men now have to face their friend, lover, and crush one more time, and this time, for the sake of the universe. They must kill Jean Grey, or at the very least stop her from killing again. These moral quandaries are where Claremont's X-Men are at their best, as there are no easy answers here, and things get even more complicated before the end of #137, and the end of this story. Plus, once again, the X-Men get their asses beat here, and by one of their own to boot. These are not the X-MEN of later years, when they were THE Marvel team.....these are the Bad News Bears of Marvel teams, who get their asses beat, and have to come back to try and do better the second time. Of course, in this case, a failure on that second try could not only lead to their deaths, but the death of the entire universe they reside in. Talk about your major stakes. GRADE: A+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 31, 2017 0:58:35 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 296 "To Kill or Cure!"Cover Date: June, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: Max Stryker/Hammer, An Unnamed Villain (Behind the scenes) Guest Stars: Rom & Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: The Galadorian space knight Rom flies across the countryside scanning the hills with his energy analyzer for signs of Dire Wraith activity. His analyzer picks up strong gamma radiation readings, and he follows them towards the Catskill Mountains. At Northwind Observatory, Max Hammer transforms into a grotesque version of the Hulk. Bruce Banner's rage consumes him, and he begins acting more like the savage Hulk of old. As the Hulks battle one another, Kate Waynesboro notices that the other recipients of the Gammascope process are suddenly falling ill. The Hulks continue to bash at each other, causing massive damage to the observatory. Suddenly, Banner breaks into a full fury and all semblance of humanity is gone. He punches Hammer and sends him hurtling through the roof of the observatory. He leaps after him and continues the fight in the mountains. Meanwhile, Rom appears at the observatory, and Kate explains why all of the patients are dying. Rom uses his Neutralizer ray to burn out all of the excess gamma radiation in their bodies. Although they all return to normal, they have also regained their former illnesses. Rom flies to the Hulk battle and turns his neutralizer against Bruce and Hammer. Hammer returns to normal, but the Hulk's gamma infected blood is too much a part of his genetic structure to produce the same effect. The Hulk leaps after Rom and begins beating on him. Kate tries to hold the Hulk back, but the Hulk angrily backhands her. Some of the Neutralizer ray begins to take effect, and the Hulk calms down slightly. With Banner's persona back in control, he is horrified to discover that he has lashed out against the woman he loves. Despair sets in and the Hulk leaps away before he can do any more damage. Brodie's View: Just a note for anyone that picks up the REGRESSION trade paperback, which collects Hulk #285-300. Since #296 was published (Which guest stars ROM), Marvel lost the rights to use ROM, so, when it comes to issue #296, REGRESSION definitely had to do a bit cutting and pasting, eliminating ROM from the issue, while still telling/showing the developments of this issue, at least as it relates to the Hulk. Luckily, I have the actual issue, so, ROM is in full effect in this one. Of course, he shows up a bit too late to do anything for The Hulk, besides provide himself as a punching bag for the Savage creature. In short, Max Hammer has turned into a Hulk like creature, and despite the Banner Hulk (in his final moments) offering him a possible cure, the monster doesn't want to hear it, and the Hammer Hulk attacks the real Hulk. Meanwhile, the other gamma cure recipients start dropping over from the radiation exposure, but neither monster even notices, as the Hulk loses what he has left of Banner's reason with each blow landed. At one point, he has grown angry enough that he no longer needs his crutch, and he tosses it away in a great moment. Finally, the Hammer Hulk nails the real Hulk in that (still) hurt leg, which causes the Hulk to snap, and all reason is gone. He turns fully into this new pissed off Savage Hulk, and just lays into Hammer, launching them both out of the shambles of Northwind. Just at that moment, ROM shows up, and cures the "Gamma People" of the effects of the gamma radiation exposure, leaving them as they were before, for better or worse. He (and Kate) then take off after Hulk and Hammer, who are fighting next to a creek. ROM is able to cure Hammer, but due to the amount of time the Hulk has been exposed to gamma radiation, the condition is irreversible. However, this still leaves the Hulk trying to drown/strangle what has suddenly become just a sick old man, so, ROM tries to distract The Hulk from the killing of Max Hammer. It works, and for a moment, The Hulk is even calmed back to intelligence, but it doesn't last, and The Hulk attacks ROM, and ends up backhanding Kate, who tries to pull him off of ROM. This shocks the Banner Hulk back for a moment, and horrified at what he has done, he jumps away, leaving carnage behind. Wow.....see, I told you things would hit the fan for the Hulk very quickly, and we have officially seen the last of the Banner Hulk. What the Hulk becomes over the next few issues ends up being a far worse of a threat than even the Savage Hulk was, and it would set the stage for what Mantlo would want to do with what would turn out to be his final Hulk storyline (#301-313, but I won't be reviewing that, as I don't have all the issues, but they are collected in the HULK: CROSSROADS trade). However, we're not done with the fall of the Hulk as a hero just yet.....we still have to reveal the real architect of Bruce Banner's downfall (well, other than Banner himself), and we will do that.....next issue. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 31, 2017 2:10:32 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #136"Child of Light and Darkness!"Cover Date: August, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Dark Phoenix Guest Star: The Beast, The Angel, Jarvis the Butler, Lilandra, Jimmy Carter, & Gladiator Official Plot: Continued from last issue... Following the Dark Phoenix destroying the D'Bari system, Empress Lilandra of the Shi'ar meets with a galactic council on the threat that the Phoenix poses to the universe. The decision is unanimous in light of the evidence: the Phoenix must be destroyed. While on Earth, the Phoenix's presence does not go unnoticed, and receiving a warning from Dr. Peter Corbeau, the President of the Untied States attempts to contact the Avengers to find that only their butler Edwin Jarvis is present. When Jarvis terminates the call with the President, he notes that it was the Beast's turn to stay behind on monitor duty and wonders where he could have went. The Beast is with his old comrades the X-Men, preparing for the Dark Phoenix's return by building a synaptic scrambler device to prevent Jean from using her powers. As Cyclops struggles to come to terms with what's become of Jean, Storm tries to console him. While down below in the Danger Room, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Colossus attempt to blow off some steam in the Danger Room. They all come to agree that they must destroy Jean if they must, however their foremost duty will be to try and save her. The Dark Phoenix meanwhile returns to her parents home at Annadale-On-Hudson and wakes up her parents and younger sister Sarah. Finding their thoughts impossible to keep out of her head, Jean attempts to keep her anger in check. However, she cannot and shows her family her powers by changing a houseplant into crystal. Noticing a fog outside Dark Phoenix realizes that the X-Men have found her and rushes out to meet them. Nightcrawler teleports behind her and places the synaptic scrambler on her head. Although this causes her great pain and limits her abilities, she is still able to hold her own against the X-Men's combined assault on her. When Wolverine gets close enough to her, she begs him to kill her with is claws, but Wolverine falters long enough for Phoenix's dark side to reassert control and blast him away. Having overheated the scrambler, Dark Phoenix removes it and locks the X-Men in stasis. She begins to torture them mentally until she is confronted by Cyclops who tries to convince her to stop fighting and almost has her won over when Professor X arrives and attacks her mentally. This causes her to flip back to her evil persona and attack Charles directly. The two lock in mental combat and after a match of wits, Charles Xavier manages to use his mental powers to force the Dark Phoenix persona deep into Jean's mind restoring their sanity. Although the X-Men have a heartfelt moment now that Jean is back they all wonder how long her sanity will last. When John Grey and his family approaches Xavier to demand answers, they are shocked when the X-Men are all suddenly teleported away. This story is continued next issue.... Brodie's View: In the penultimate issue in this storyline (THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA: Part 8), we see The Phoenix return to Earth, and the X-Men waiting for her; trying to stop her once and for all, no matter what that means. They receive a bit of help from The Beast, who designs a neural scrambler, which would (hopefully) weaken Phoenix enough to either subdue her or kill her. Unfortunately, both of those ends end up being a moot point, as The X-Men still hold back against her (Even Wolverine, who tries to go for the kill shot, but can't), which allows her once again to thrash the team. Cyclops, however, tries a different approach, and hopes to talk her down. This almost works, but Charles Xaiver uses it as a chance to shut Jean down psychically, which sets off a major battle between the two, which, luckily for Xaiver, enough of Jean is still inside the Phoenix to cause her to shut down, leaving just Jean behind. The X-Men celebrate, thinking they have won and exorcised the Phoenix once and for all, but it's a moot point, as they are suddenly all beamed away to who knows where (Ok, they're going to an intergalactic council, as Jean/Phoenix now must answer for the shit she pulled last issue, destroying universes and what not). Once again, a great issue, as The X-Men try to take down this cosmic level threat, while still being conflicted due to their respective feelings for Jean. This is the X-Men at their very best, but the best is yet to come, as we take this story to a level which truly involves the fate of the entire universe, and we get a team with almost the pure fire power of the Old/New X-Men team of Giant Sized X-Men......not that it'll matter much in the end, as in a way, the fate of Jean Grey and the Phoenix has already been decided, but we'll get to all of that in the next issue, and the size of that review will make up for the last few being kind of small......Promise. GRADE: A+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 31, 2017 2:16:59 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 297 "Sleep Now My Child"Cover Date: July, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: Nightmare Guest Stars: Various superheroes in a dream (Avengers, FF, and Doctor Strange), & Kate Wayneboro Official Plot: The Hulk has completely reverted to his previous savage state. He rampages through a small mountain community and is barely even aware of the destruction he is causing. News of the Hulk's condition has reached S.H.I.E.L.D. and agent Gabe Jones contacts Banner's assistant, former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Kate Waynesboro. Waynesboro wants to stop the Hulk, but not at the expense of Bruce's life. Jones is willing to do anything necessary to minimize the Hulk’s destructive tendencies. They reach the ruins of the small town and a throng of people beg Jones for help. Meanwhile, the Hulk wanders deeper into the forest until he comes to a stream. He sees his reflection in the water and a part of him realizes that he is no longer the hero that the world had come to forgive and admire. The Hulk howls in rage and begins pummeling at the mountainsides. Weary, he collapses to the ground and falls asleep. The Hulk has a dream wherein he sees Bruce Banner admonishing him for his brutal savagery. Other images appear including the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Betty Ross, Rick Jones and Kate Waynesboro. Each one takes their turn at calling him a monster. The final vision is that of Doctor Strange, who calmly addresses the Hulk and tells him that he can help. The Hulk awakens, and realizes that he must now seek out Doctor Strange. Strange will either help him, or else the Hulk will destroy him. From his netherworld dimension, Nightmare watches the Hulk's progress. He is the one responsible for plaguing the Hulk with the dark dreams that have resulted in his recent loss of control. Brodie's View: Bam! Well, you had to figure the mystery villain behind all this had to be SOMEBODY like Nightmare, so, why not Nightmare? Plus, it does actually make sense, as Nightmare is an enemy of Dr. Strange, and we'll get that explanation next issue, so, I'm not going to go into it more in this one. I will say that for those who were missing the Savage Hulk since 271, he was back, and quite pissed off. He destroys a town simply because it was his way, on his search for what was revealed to be Dr. Strange, as Nightmare has implanted in the Hulk's mind that the only one who can help him is Strange. However, the more the Hulk dreams, the more savage and pissed off he gets, so, the hope I guess is that the Hulk just tries to kill Strange before he could possibly help him. We get a pretty interesting dream, as the Hulk is still dreaming like Banner, and kind of showing him everything he lost due to his return to savagery: Friends, Allies, his Pardon. It kind of shows the mess Banner's mental state is in, due to the poking and prodding by Nightmare (and the events of the SECRET WARS). We also see Kate, now back in her SHIELD uniform, with fellow agent Gabriel, and they argue whether the mission is going to be to save Banner, or eliminate The Hulk by whatever means possible, and by #300, that's definitely going to be the needed option.....or perhaps not. By the way, LOVE the cover by Bill Sienkiewicz. That and #300 are probably my favorite covers in this whole run. I also love how Sal has been drawing the Hulk looking so tired and so PISSED. And he still has a ways to go on both of those things. #300 is going to be a monster, in more ways in one. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 31, 2017 4:29:07 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #137 "The Fate of the Phoenix!"Cover Date: September, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Phoenix/Jean Grey (Dies) (Professor Xaiver) Villain: The Imperial Guard Guest Star: The Beast, The Angel, Lilandra, The Watcher, The Kree, The Skrulls, and other major races Official Plot: Continued from last issue... The Watcher has come to witness an event of cosmic significance: The fate of the Phoenix. Following the destruction of the D'Bari system, the Shi'ar have teleported Phoenix, the X-Men, Angel and Beast aboard an imperial cruiser where Empress Lilandra has the unfortunate duty to tell her lover Charles Xavier that he galactic council has agreed the Phoenix must be destroyed. However, Xavier does not wish to put one of his students to death and calls for a duel of honor between the X-Men and the Imperial Guard for the fate of the Phoenix. After consulting this with the Kree and Skrull leaders, it is agreed that his will be allowable, and Lilandra agrees to the duel as well electing that the battle happen on the Moon's blue area. The Supreme Intelligence and R'Kill demand that their emissaries watch over the battle. The X-Men leave to rest up for the fight with most of them wondering what the Professor has gotten them into. That night, Jean has an alien tailor create a replica of her old Marvel Girl costume for her to wear, Nightcrawler and Angel practice in a training room, Wolverine -- after considering that this time he will kill Jean if he has to -- meditates, Beast takes a bath and takes up some of the local hospitality, while Storm and Colossus rest up for the fight. Scott is on one of the decks looking out into space brooding over his lot that the love of his life might be killed just when they were truly falling in love. His thoughts are interrupted when Jean arrives and shows off her costume, the two then decide to spend twhat could possibly be their last night together. The following morning, the X-Men all agree to fight for Jean and are teleported to the surface of the moon where they find their fliers cannot fly too high without breaching the protective atmosphere of the blue area. The group is attacked by Starbolt, Manta and Oracle, causing the X-Men to split up to divide the Imperial forces. One group consisting of Beast, Colossus, Storm and Wolverine travel into the underground tunnels and clash with B'nee and his partner C'cll. When Wolverine and Storm are knocked down a shaft, they are attacked by Hossar and Earthquake. Wolverine is knocked into the Watcher's citadel while Storm is defeated by the two Imperials. While above as the battle rages on, Smasher tosses Angel down another shaft, prompting Nightcrawler to jump after him leaving Cyclops and Phoenix alone and out numbered. Inside the Watcher's citadel, Wolverine awakens to have the Watcher reveal that he's been watching the Earth for centuries before kicking Logan out of his home. When Wolverine is approached by what appears to be Storm, his enhanced senses detect that it's really the Skrull Raksor. Before he can deal with the shapeshifter, he is blasted by the Kree known as Bel-Dann. Disgusted at being saved by one of his mortal enemies, Raskor shape shifts into a bestial creature and attacks the Kree. Meanwhile, down below, Nightcrawler finds no trace of Angel and attempts to get the drop on Manta, only to be blasted by her. Not far away, B'Nee incapacitates the Beast, while Gladiator goes toe-to-toe with Colossus and easily beats the X-Man into submission. Watching the battle from the Shi'ar flag ship, Xavier is upset witnessing his X-Men being beaten, and Lilandra mourns for her love. With the only X-Men left being Cyclops and Phoenix, the two agree to go out together and after a brief rest attack the remaining Imperials head on. However as the battle rages, Jean loses control of her dark side once more and begins to unleash the full power extent of her Phoenix powers once more. With no other choice, the X-Men begin to pick themselves up and change their focus to attacking Jean, despite the pain that it brings them to do so. When Colossus strikes a powerful blow to Jean strong enough to temporarily restore her sanity, she begs her fellow X-Men to end her life, however nobody can bring themselves to do it. Jean then runs into a tunnel with Scott hot on her tails. She traps him in a telekinetic shield and tells him that there is no other choice but for the Phoenix to die. Powerless to stop anything, Cyclops watches in horror as Jean triggers one of the long forgotten Kree traps on the Blue Area of the moon and has it blast her, incinerating her body. As the Phoenix dies, her final words are to scream out Scott's name. With Jean dead, Scott realizes how much he has lost that day breaks down in tears. Witnessing this event are the Watcher and the Recorder. The Recorder finds this emotional tableau intrigued by the fact that they resisted the Phoenix's destruction. The Watcher points out that regardless of what happened, humans are emotional beings, and that despite the fact that the Dark Phoenix was regarded as a monster in the end, she died a human. Brodie's View: Ok, so, I'm going to gush a bit about this one, as I think it's probably one of THE best X-Men issues ever. This is really the masterpiece that kind of sums up everything Claremont and Byrne have been building up to since #94 (and for sure once #97/98 hit). The funny thing is that Jean Grey wasn't originally supposed to die. In fact, Claremont and Byrne had already written and drawn #137, and their ending had Jean living, but basically after getting a partial lobotomy, which would have set up a future return for Phoenix/Dark Phoenix as a threat. However, Editor in Chief Jim Shooter made a judgement call that there was no way Jean/Phoenix could live in any form, especially after destroying an entire solar system by eating their sun. Chris and John would protest, but it would be for naught; Jean Grey/The Phoenix had to die, and I must say, it was the right call to make, and it sent The X-Men on a much different, but better path by having her die. And remember, this is before death in Marvel (and DC) comics became pretty much a marketing ploy. Hell, Elektra and Captain Mar-Vel were still alive at this point. This issue did end up setting the wrong example, and its reconning was one of the most money grubbing retcons in the history of retconning, and, once again, kind the led to the current era, where entire universes are retconned on a yearly basis. However, none of the above things wreck the perfectness of this story. As I've said numerous times, the X-Men are at their absolute BEST when things are at their worst and most hopeless, and this is perhaps the ultimate hopeless situation up to this point; stranded in space, fighting a losing battle for a person who is absolutely guilty of the crimes they are fighting said losing battle for in the first place. And yet, the X-Men have truly become a strange sort of family by now, so, every member of the team puts aside their personal feelings of whether Jean is guilty or not for her crimes aside, and fight for her because she is their friend/lover/crush, and, more importantly, because she was and is an X-Man (as corny as it sounds, but, then again, it's real for these characters). And fight they do, against the assembled Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar, which has gained some new members since The X-Men fought them last in #107 (my personal favorite is Warstar.....so bad ass). They try their damndest, but the IG are much better, and one by one, the mutants fall. Except once Cyclops falls, Jean turns back into Phoenix/Dark Phoenix again, and suddenly The X-Men are having to fight along side the Guard, to try and stop her before she destroys the entire universe. After having a bit of sense knocked into her by Colossus, she realizes what must be done, and her then killing herself right in front of Cyclops is still one of the most shocking and tragic scenes in Marvel history, even though we see it coming. And to put a stamp on the importance of this event, The Watcher makes a couple of appearances, which adds to the gravitas of this issue, as this was still a bit before The Watcher became kind of became a joke, so.....big deal, especially for an X-Man book. This changed the trajectory of this book, as it would shunt them down a darker, but yet more redemptive in a way, path. Of course, this would be helped quite a bit by a new addition to the team, which happens at the end of the next issue, but that's really the epilogue over what is basically the end of an era (at least for a time) for the team, and we'll see the entire history of the X-Men up to that point, pretty much, but be sure to wear black, because we're going to a funeral. GRADE: A++ (I know this is cheating, but I had to set this issue apart from the other "A+" issues)
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 31, 2017 4:34:21 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 298"Sleepwalker!"Cover Date: August, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: Nightmare Guest Stars: Various superheroes (Sub Mariner, Valkyrie, and Doctor Strange)(In Visions and Dreams only), Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: Nightmare (Earth-616) breaks the Fourth Wall and addresses the reader directly. He introduces himself and assures the reader that is present in everybody's dreams. He goes on to describe his hatred for Doctor Strange. It is because of Strange that Nightmare can never physically access the waking world. In response, Nightmare enjoys tormenting Strange by striking out at the sorcerer's allies. Recently, he has focused his attention on the Hulk. By plaguing the Hulk with terrible nightmares, he came to realize that he has actually been creating a psychological rift in the Hulk's subconscious. Whereas once the mind of Bruce Banner maintained control over the Hulk, now the monster has reverted to a state of nearly total savagery. The Hulk meanwhile, continues to plod his way across the countryside in search of Doctor Strange. Due to Nightmare's manipulation, the Hulk believes that Doctor Strange will be able to help him. He terrorizes a neighborhood pool party and willfully attacks the partier without provocation. Gabe Jones and Kate Waynesboro learn of the incident and pilot a S.H.I.E.L.D. Hoverflier to the scene. Kate provides Jones with a Gamma Gun, but the weapon proves useless against the Hulk. Jones smashes the device across the Hulk's face, but the Hulk responds by sending him sprawling across the ground. Kate tries to calm the Hulk down, and for a brief moment, he transforms back into Bruce Banner. He quickly reverts back into the Hulk though, and smacks Kate to the ground with the back of his hand. The Hulk ignores everything else around him and concentrates on finding Doctor Strange. Brodie's View: We basically get our Villain explanation in this one, as we begin with Nightmare kind of explaining what had happened to the Hulk. To get revenge on Dr. Strange, Nightmare decided to torment his fellow Defenders, and he focused his energies on The Hulk, due to all the psychic trauma that's already in his mind. So, he started giving Banner these dreams of a shadow, savage Hulk trying kill him, and the more Banner had these dreams, the more the savage Hulk started to peek out again, as he's Bruce's main defense in cases of psychic trauma. Sadly, this never really got the chance to really be shown in SECRET WARS, but I guess when there's so many things going on for various characters in each issue, sometimes things can get lost. Once again, this would have been a much better story to be played over like 15 issues, and without the SECRET WARS break in the first place. Anyways, Nightmare is planning to use this Hulk as a weapon against Doctor Strange, hoping that maybe the Hulk will do his greatest enemy in, or, at the very least, mess him up a bit. We'll see that next issue, but for now we see The Hulk's path of destruction, and this is a far different Hulk than we're used to seeing. This one is quite a bit meaner than the childlike Savage Hulk, as the Hulk decides to just wander into a pool party, and just starts tearing shit up just to be hateful; willingly and gleefully hurting people. Meanwhile, SHIELD is still caught up in his path, and Gabriel Jones and Kate try to stop the Hulk with a gamma gun, but the Hulk just owns him and turns to Kate, who brings Bruce out for a second, before transforming back into the Hulk, and just backhanding her out of the way. This was a pretty solid issue, as we basically got the plot all laid out for us, at least until next issue. We're going to get a Hulk/Doctor Strange showdown next issue......I won't ruin the ending, but, I will say the ending is yet another game changer, and it sets up a new status quo by the end of #300. The writing and art was, as always, very solid. I particularly liked the 4th wall break from Nightmare at the beginning of the issue. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 31, 2017 23:00:59 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #138"Elegy" Cover Date: October, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops (Goes on Leave), Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Kitty Pryde (Unofficially joins the team) (Charles Xaiver) Guest Stars: (In the main story)Lilandra, The Beast, Angel, and Iceman (In Flashback) Tons Villain/s: Tons (All in Flashback) Official Plot: At the funeral of Jean Grey, Scott Summers listens over the eulogy and thinks back over the years of his relationship with Jean Grey: He recalls the early day of the X-Men and how when Jean first joined the team they were all in love. He recalls the teams first battles with Magneto, Vanisher and the Blob; the formation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and their subsequent clashes against them. Scott remembers how distant he felt with his teammates when Professor X briefly put him in charge of the school and how Warren began pursuing a relationship with Jean. He also remembers their encounter with Ka-Zar in the Savage Land, the Stranger that saw the defeat of their old enemies Magneto and Toad, their battle against the Juggernaut, and Mastermold and the Sentinels. He recalls a succession of battles against the likes of Mimic, Count Nefaria, the Locust, Chulculcan, Banshee, the Super-Adaptoid, Warlock, and Cobalt Man. He remembers how Warrens eventual relationship with Candy Southern would give way for Scott and Jean to pursue their own relationship. The threats would continue to come however, with the return of Juggernaut who they defeated with the aid of Dr. Strange, their battle with Tyrannus and the Mole Man, their first encounter with Spider-Man, Mekkano and their battle against Factor Three which ended with a graduation and the group getting unique costumes. He next remembers the day they battle Grotesk a battle that saw the seeming demise of Professor X. The menaces never stopped, like when they saved Lorna Dane from Mesmero and a Magneto robot, and when they rescued his brother Alex from the Living Monolith, and later stopped Larry Trask's Sentinels, and battled Sauron, Magneto and his Savage Land Mutates, the Japanese mutant Sunfire and how Professor X resurfaced to prevent an invasion from the alien Z'Nox and how Hank was mutated into a more furry form. His mind then focuses on the formation of the new X-Men to save the old team from the mutant island Krakoa, and their first mission against Count Nefaria that ended in Thunderbird's death. He then recalls the capture of Jean and the X-Men by Stephen Lang's Sentinels that would lead to the rebirth of Jean as Phoenix. Battling the threats of Black Tom and Juggernaut, the return of Magneto, the arrival of Empress Lilandra and how Phoenix saved the universe from destruction by stabilizing the M'Kraan Crystal and after their battle with Weapon Alpha. He recalls how their clash with Mesmero and Magneto would leave Scott and Jean to believe each other dead. Scott would go on to help save the Savage Land from Sauron and Garok, Japan from Moses Magnum and their clash with Alpha Flight in Canada. While Cyclops and the X-Men were battling Arcade, Scott recalls how Jean was being secretly seduced by their old foe Mastermind. He remembers their clash with Proteus. Howe the reunited team would learn of Kitty Pryde and attempt to recruit her into the X-Men only to be ambushed by the Hellfire Club and how they manipulated Jean into becoming their Black Queen ultimately unleashing her Dark Phoenix persona until she sacrificed her life. With Scott's recollection complete, he offers his sympathies for Jean's parents. Lilandra offers them as well and gives the Grey's a gift, a holomatrix globe that would fill them with Jean's essence whenever they touched it. Meeting up with the Professor, Scott would tell him that he is quitting the X-Men. The Professor understands and wishes Scott the best of luck. With one X-Men leaving the ranks, a new one comes: A cab pulls up in front of Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and out comes Kitty Pride who sits on the steps waiting for the X-Men to come home from the funeral. Brodie's View: Endings and Beginnings.....this is what this issue is really all about, as this really is the end of an era in many ways; both when it came to the X-Men, and with comic books period. Hate mail came flooding in for the killing of Jean Grey, but the book was never hotter (And with the drumbeats of Byrne potentially jetting soon to start ALPHA FLIGHT (a departure we would help set up in #139 and 140)(He would also take over as the sole writing/pencils on THE FANTASTIC FOUR, which Byrne would really excel at). Anyways, this may seem at first as merely a flashback issue, which it is, but one strewn out in the memory of Scott Summers, as he stands over an empty grave; the grave of his first and only love, Jean Grey. The death of Jean Grey would send Cyclops away from the team for a short time, as he needed time to get his mojo back, I guess, as he has a rebound girl in like, five seconds after leaving. No shit. But, yeah, three fourths of this issue are flashbacks over the history of the team, from X-Men #1 all the way to #137, story-wise, as drawn by John Byrne. We then get Cyclops taking a leave of absence from the team, and Lilandra giving Jean's parents a holomatrix globe, which would fill them with Jean's essence when they touch it. However, it is what ends the issue that I want to talk about it for a second. The arrival of Kitty Pryde to the team really did help the books in quite a few ways. It gave younger readers an "In" character; a teenager being thrown into the Super Hero life, and all the brushes with death and tragedy that goes with it. She really helped soften the blow somewhat for the team, as they, for the most part, really work to make her feel part of the team, and by the time we get into the #160's, she'll definitely earn her place. She also basically helped them further the whole idea of the X-Men being this strange, somewhat incestuous (at certain times) family being brought together by simple fate and a choice. Of course, Chris Claremont would play this to the absolute hilt from here on in, but don't think the Claremont/Byrne team is done yet. Oh no.....there are still a few more stories to tell. Back to Kitty, though. If the team is a body, we now had a team that represented each part of that body: Kitty as the heart, Nightcrawler as the Soul, Wolverine as the Conscience (as he would become), Cyclops as the Backbone. Xaiver as the Mind, Colossus for Outer Strength, and Storm for Inner Strength (as she would definitely perfect this as she grows more comfortable in what was Cyclops' role up till now; the leader of the team). Cyclops would be back, and the two would kind of be co-leaders for this period, until Cyclops leaves for good (well, until the end of Claremont's run). Anyways, welcome to the X-Men, Kitty Pryde. Hope you survive the experience. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 31, 2017 23:07:34 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 299 "Strange Days Have Found Us!" Cover Date: September, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: Nightmare Guest Stars: Doctor Strange & Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: Incited by Nightmare, the uncontrolled Hulk enters New York. Kate Waynesboro and a policeman try stopping him inside the Lincoln tunnel but to no avail. Hulk goes after Doctor Strange who frees the monster from Nightmare but can't rescue Bruce Banner from the Hulk subconscious. The giant breaks free and leaps towards the city. Brodie's View: We finally get the fight we've been building up to since....well, #292, even though we didn't know it yet. The Hulk vs. Doctor Strange, or do we? I read a review of this issue in the past, and, what they said about Nightmare's whole plan does kind of ring true; it is pretty weak, since, we do get a feeling Strange is going to be able to mystically figure Nightmare out in like 5 seconds, and this is really what happens in this issue. Not saying this is a bad thing, as we get an official update on Bruce Banner's psyche, and he, upon realizing that Nightmare is behind his downfall, decides to commit psychic suicide (well, more just going into the deepest hibernation, allowing the Hulk in its purest form, to run free). We would get a follow up on the fate of Nightmare after this in Web of Spider-Man #7, as Nightmare pulls Spider-Man into his realm to try and save him from the dream Hulk Banner created to torment Nightmare for what he did. The real Hulk would also get his revenge on Nightmare during Peter David's last short little run. We also get the official end of the whole Kate Waynesboro thing, as Kate tries one more time to appeal to Bruce through the Hulk, only to get piefaced away by the Hulk, thereby destroying her last hope. She wouldn't show up again until World War Hulk, as somebody brought her back and gave her powers (Guess someone felt kind of bad by how quickly she was disposed of......I mean, this is kind of it for her until then). We also get a great moment before The Hulk reaches Strange, as he comes across the adamantium statue Alicia Masters made for the Banner Hulk in #279, and enraged, climbs it, and starts trying to smash it, as it represents everything deep down he knows he no longer is. We would see that statue once more. We then come to the "fight," which was more just Strange freezing the Hulk in place, and probing his mind, realizing instantly that it's Nightmare. His astral form enters the Hulk's mind, and finds Banner's psyche curled up in a ball. Upon telling Banner that Nightmare is behind his return to dormancy within the Hulk's body, Banner commits psychic "suicide," but first creates a Dream version of The Hulk to torment Nightmare for doing what he did. However, this leave the Hulk effectively mindless, and Strange being drained from the fight, weakens his hold on The Hulk, and allows the now mindless destroying machine to wander away from Strange, who collapses in a heap. Some really heavy shit is about to happen at the end of this run. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Feb 1, 2017 1:19:32 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #139 "...Something Wicked This Way Comes!"Cover Date: November, 1980 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Kitty Pryde/Sprite, and The Angel (Cyclops--on leave)(Charles Xaiver) Villain/s: The Wendigo Guest Stars: Vindicator, Shaman, Snowbird, and Heather Hudson from Alpha Flight (Introducing Stevie Hunter) Official Plot: The X-Men participate in a grueling session in the Danger Room. As Angel, Colossus, Storm and Nightcrawler go through their exercises, Professor X and Kitty Pryde witness the spectacle from the room’s monitoring station. Kitty is terrified to see the degree of danger that she may one day have to face. As the session ends, the team regroups and they decide to officially welcome Kitty to the team. When Nightcrawler appears in the room she is instinctively frightened by his appearance and feels bad for acting that way. When the Professor decides it's time that Kitty take up a code name, he suggests the name Ariel. She doesn't like it and chooses Sprite instead. When Nightcrawler inquires why Wolverine changed his costume, he replies that he just felt like it. Wolverine approaches the Professor and asks if he can go up to Canada and straighten out things with the Canadian government. The Professor agrees that this is a good idea and Nightcrawler asks to go along, hoping to meet Aurora again. Storm and Kitty leave the mansion for the streets of Salem Center. Ororo brings her to a dance studio owned by famed dance instructor, Stevie Hunter. Kitty is excited to begin taking classes, and feels that the physical exercise will help her balance out all of the mental challenges that the school might throw at her. Later, Wolverine and Nightcrawler arrive in Canada. They meet with Heather McNeil Hudson, wife to Department H's James Hudson, formerly known as Weapon Alpha. Now calling himself Vindicator, James arrives shortly after and prepares to settle affairs with Wolverine. Their past animosity has to be tabled however, as more pressing matters are brought to the forefront. In Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada, Heather Hudson comes home to find intruders in her home. Grabbing a broom she gets the drop on them, and is surprised to see that it is Wolverine. When she calls Wolverine 'Logan', Nightcrawler asks why Wolverine never told anyone his real name. Wolverine comments that nobody bothered asking. When Logan gets down to business, he asks Heather where James is, and she tells him that he's up in the Hudson Bay area investigating something with Alpha Flight on behalf of Department H. Up in Hudson Bay, Vindicator returns to the cabin where Alpha Flight has stationed themselves on this mission. With Aurora, Northstar, and Sasquatch on another mission, James only has Shaman and Snowbird with him. As they go over the maps of the area, Shaman's mystical alarms go off and Alpha Flight prepares for an attack. It turns out to be only Wolverine and Nightcrawler who offer their help. Vindicator is happy to see Logan and explains that they are out searching for a family that was attacked by the Wendigo. While the son managed to escape the father was killed, but the mother and her baby child might still be alive in the wilderness. Wolverine recalls his previous encounter with Wendigo and believes that if anyone can stop that beast it's him. Wolverine sends Nightcrawler out to their jeep to get their gear. As the sun sets, Nightcrawler's thoughts think about how Jean Grey had died in battle and curses the fates for being so cruel. Hearing something coming up behind him fast, Nightcrawler turns and is horrified to find that the Wendigo has come up behind him. This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View: So, yeah, this issue and the next are basically the soft launch for Alpha Flight as a new potential team comic, as it starts to introduce side characters and sets up potential storylines for some of the team members. Wolverine would also basically be the star of this short storyline, with Nightcrawler playing his wing man, as he would often do in future stories. Wolverine also debuts his brown and black costume here, which really does kind of define his look in the 80's. Anyways, the duo decide to take a trip to Canada to try and offer an olive branch to Alpha Flight, at least as it relates to the wife of Alpha Flight's leader, Vindicator (James Hudson), as she and James had been the ones to find Wolverine living in the wild (after his mind being wiped due to the Weapon X thing), and helped him straighten himself out (somewhat), and got him the job with the Canadian government. The two X-Men wind up helping a few of the team members with a Wendigo attack situation in the Canadian wilderness. Upon getting settled by the area, Nightcrawler is instantly stalked by the creature, as he goes to unload luggage outside the cabin they are all staying in. And all just happens in the main story. We also get Kitty Pryde officially joining the team, and watching her first Danger Room session (and getting her code name of Sprite). We see that The Angel has joined the team (for a short time) in Cyclops' absence, and that Storm has taken Cyclops' place as the leader of the team. It would take her some time, but we would see a different X-Men evolve under her eventual total lead. We also get to meet new supporting characters like Stevie Hunter, who would be Kitty's dance teacher, but would often get involved in storyline issues during this period. This was basically the Post Jean status quo for the team being shaped. We'll get much more Wendigo action in the next issue, as we really get to see some of Alpha Flight (and Wolverine and Nightcrawler) getting to use their abilities to try and take down this creature that once battled strongly against the Savage Hulk and Wolverine. Annnnd, we'll get even more views of the new status quo for the book, and hints of the event that will threaten even that. Like I said, still a few more hits for Claremont and Byrne before all was said and done. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Feb 1, 2017 1:29:51 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 300 "Days of Rage!"Cover Date: October, 1984 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: The Hulk Guest Stars: Doctor Strange, The Avengers (Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel II, The Wasp, and Starfox), The Human Torch, Power Man and Iron Fist, Spider-Man, various S.H.I.E.L.D Agents (Including Kate Waynesboro), and Daredevil. Official Plot: The rampaging Hulk stands on the roof of Smythe's Warehouse and begins tearing down a billboard. He hurls it down to the street below, and the panicking crowd cannot understand why the Hulk has suddenly become so feral. Daredevil observes the carnage and detects an abandoned child sitting in the midst of the fleeing pedestrians. He swings down and scoops the child to safety before the hordes of people accidentally trample him. Gabe Jones leads an attack squadron of S.H.I.E.L.D. hoverfliers to engage the Hulk. They launch napalm missiles at him, and the roof of the warehouse erupts into flames. Kate Waynesboro stands nearby watching the attack. She realizes now that the man she loved is hopelessly lost, and that the Hulk is truly nothing more now than a monster. The Hulk picks up a water tower from the roof of the building and hurls it at the S.H.I.E.L.D. hoverfliers. The ships are destroyed, and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents fall seemingly to their doom. Fortunately, Spider-Man arrives and catches them in a net of webbing. He then creates a web canopy to protect the agents from the deluge of (now blistering hot) water that descends down from the destroyed tower. The combination of steaming water and flames causes the roof of the warehouse to collapse and the Hulk falls down inside. From nearby Greenwich Village, Doctor Strange sits on the stoop of his mansion and observes events from afar. He knows that there is no chance of saving Banner, but he needs to find a way to stop the Hulk without destroying him. He goes into his sanctum to consult with the Orb of Agamotto. The Hulk meanwhile, emerges from the burning warehouse and stalks out into the street where he is met by a battalion of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and New York City police officers. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents fire upon the Hulk with their advanced handguns, but this proves fruitless. The Hulk tears up a section of the street pavement, which sends agents and police officers alike scattering across the ground. At City Hall, Mayor Ed Koch consults with New York governor Mario Cuomo regarding the Hulk's rampage. The governor recommends calling in the National Guard, but the mayor instead sends a signal to Avengers Mansion. Other heroes arrive on the scene to take their chance at bringing down the Hulk. The Human Torch unleashes a blast of flame, but the Hulk extinguishes him with a super-clap of his hands. Iron Fist charges up his fist and punches at the Hulk, but the Hulk catches the blow and re-channels the energy back into Iron Fist's body. Power Man charges at him from behind, and the Hulk responds by punching him through four skyscrapers. Eventually, the Avengers arrive and attack the Hulk as well. Starfox attempts to use his pheromone power to calm him, but the Hulk is beyond calming at this point and sends Starfox flying. The Scarlet Witch uses her hex power to electrocute the Hulk, but this doesn't even slow him down. The Vision tells Captain Marvel to assume the form of Gamma radiation and attack the Hulk. This too proves futile. The Vision engages the Hulk directly and tries to stop him by altering his density. The Hulk pounds the Vision across the top of his head, driving him several feet into the ground. Thor takes his turn and the two combatants rage across Manhattan trading blow for blow with one another. Thor is one of the few beings alive who can actually withstand a punch from the Incredible Hulk. Their fight carries over into Central Park, and the Hulk attacks Thor with his own commemorative Adamantium statue. Thor deflects the projectile with Mjolnir, and the impact sends shockwaves across the city. Finally, Doctor Strange arrives. After consulting with the Orb of Agamotto, he realizes that there is only one solution towards stopping the Hulk – exile. Having analyzed several different dimensional realms, he decides that the only place where the Hulk can no longer threaten a living being is in a Crossroads realm. Strange opens a mystic portal and places it before the Hulk, just as the green behemoth begins charging at him. As the Hulk enters the rift, the portal quickly closes. Brodie's View: We get the end of our run, and over it we've gotten the transformation from the Savage Hulk to the Banner Hulk to a Pissed off Savage Hulk, to now a completely mindless Hulk; a aimless destroying machine, and New York has a lot of things to destroy. We open our issue with The Hulk vs. SHIELD, as Spider-Man and Daredevil save the innocents who are caught in the crossfire of this huge battle, and in Spidey's case, saving a bunch of SHIELD agents that fall from a great height, thanks to the Hulk and a weak building. We then see Dr. Strange trying to find somewhere to send this Hulk, who has truly become a danger to all, even himself. We then CUT back to the Hulk, who quickly snuffs out The Human Torch, and owns both Power Man and Iron Fist (In the second's case, he basically takes Iron Fist's "Iron Fist Blow," and turns it back on him.....ouch; before coming face to face with The Avengers. We then get a massive battle, mostly between Thor and The Hulk, which ends in Central Park, as The Hulk lands near the statue created for him by Alicia Masters (told you we'd see that statue again), and tears it out of the ground, chucking it at Thor. Thor stops the statue with Mjolnir, which causes a huge GONG shockwave throughout the city, which I'm sure popped some eardrums for the nearby Avengers. Before things can escalate any further, Dr. Strange shows up and sends The Hulk through a portal, and to a mystical Crossroads that he would spend the next 12-13 issues. I can't help but think things came to this due to either Jim Shooter/fans of the Savage Hulk complaining about this Banner Hulk, and wanting the Savage Hulk back, and Mantlo saying, "Okay, you want a Savage Hulk.....I'll give you a f**king Savage Hulk," deciding to just make the Hulk completely mindless, and then sending him to a dimensional crossroads, so, we get a while of The Hulk, as, basically, a clean slate, exploring new and different worlds. The "Crossroads Saga" that follows would also be Mantlo and Buscema's swan song on the book, as by #314, John Byrne would take over both the art and the writing on the book, and he would last several issues, before a fall out with Marvel would see Byrne leaving, and Al Milgrom (he of the terrible covers) would take over for a bit before Peter David would take over as writer, and he would go on a ten year run which is usually discussed as being one of the best of that era.....and I agree. Back to this issue, though. This was a cool ending of the Banner Hulk saga, as The Hulk has become completely Savage again (and worse, as now there is no Banner influence to soften the Hulk), and this issue is pretty much nothing but fights and the aftermath of those fights. It was great to see Hulk vs. Thor again, and kind of sad to realize that just 20 issues earlier, Thor was commending the Hulk as a Hero, and now Thor is one of the only things standing between the mindless Hulk destroying the city or not. In other words, Thor is not fighting for the glory of battle or whatever, but in defense of innocents who might be hurt or killed because of the Hulk's rampage. The Iron Fist punch scene is also a fantastic "Oh shit!" scene, as we've never seen somebody just absorb Fist's blow like that before. Damn! Great issue, and a great ending to this run. GRADE: A By the way, here's a collection of the corner cover images from #292-300.
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