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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 25, 2017 2:06:59 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 282"Again, Arsenal!"Cover Date: April, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: The Leader, Arsenal: The Living Weapon Guest Stars: The Avengers: (Captain America, Iron Man, She Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, The Wasp, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)), Rick Jones, Bereet, Betty Ross, & General Thunderbolt Ross Official Plot: The story opens with the Leader sitting at his computer aboard Omnivac, his orbiting space station, plotting ways to conquer the world, now that he believes the newly intelligent Hulk, finally under the control of Bruce Banner, is no longer a threat. Back at the Empire Hotel, Tony Stark is informed by the management that Bruce Banner and his friends can no longer stay at the hotel after it was trashed in last issue's battle with the Leader. They relocate to Avengers Mansion to avoid more civil destruction. There, Bruce Banner helps Iron Man search for Ommivac, using Stark's Omnifunctional Detection Device. Banner's Krylorian lover Bereet requests permission to film scenes for a documentary she is making on the Hulk. Iron Man refuses because there is no security clearance for cameras in Avengers Mansion. Bereet storms out in a huff and meets Jennifer Walters aka the She-Hulk in the hallway. Jen tries to be friendly but Bereet gives her the brush off. Meanwhile in the Bahamas, Betty Ross is sunbaking on the beach in a bikini trying to forget Bruce Banner. Her father General Thunderbolt Ross, on the beach in full military uniform, tells her that Banner remains a monster and should be forgotten once and for all. He embraces his daughter and they both shed a tear. Meanwhile back at Avengers Mansion Bruce and his cousin the She-Hulk are in deep conversation. Bruce asks Jen for forgiveness for turning her into a monster, but she tells him that she does not consider herself a monster and likes being the She-Hulk, as she is no longer the victim she once was. Her origin is retold. A former lawyer, Jennifer Walters was gunned down and laid close to death until a gamma-radiated blood transfusion from Bruce saved her, but also transformed her into the savage She-Hulk. She considers herself now "an aggressive, positive force for good"; she likes being green and fighting supervillains and only has gratitude for what Bruce did. She tells Bruce that she does not consider herself or Bruce to be monsters and reassures him of her support. Suddenly, Jarvis is heard crying out in pain. Bruce, now with the power to transform into the Hulk at will, morphs into the Hulk and heads off to see what is happening, just as Stark's Omnifunctional Detection Device locates Omnivac. Arsenal the Living Weapon has emerged from the deepest sublevels of Avengers Mansion (see Trivia Notes below for background on the Living Arsenal). The She-Hulk is attacked by the Living Arsenal and she wonders whether Bruce still has the rage that the Hulk had formerly now that he has control over his transformation. That question is answered in the affirmative as Banner gets angry and fights the living Arsenal with the Hulk's full power, until he destroys him. Banner discovers that the fight has been set up by the She-Hulk and her fellow Avengers, who suddenly appear, to prove to him that if he fights with Hulk's heart instead of Banner's head he can still be unstoppable. Iron Man informs the Hulk that the Leader has been located and the Hulk calls the Avengers to join him and go after the mad genius. "Next Month: Follow the Leader!" Brodie's View: This issue is pretty cool for various reasons. On one hand, it gets rid of unnecessary side characters like Rick Jones, who had been hanging around the book for a while at this point. Don't get me wrong, I've always dug Rick Jones, but this was pretty much the perfect point of the story for him to get out at. We wouldn't see him again in the pages of The Hulk until John Byrne's run a couple of years later. As for Bereet....well, her participation was no longer necessary in any kind of way, especially with the direction the book would take in the second half of the 280's and beyond. We would see her a couple more times in the next few issues, and then she wouldn't show up again until Starlord was kicking her out of his ship near the beginning of the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY movie. Pretty fitting end for a mostly forgettable character. On the other hand, we get The Avengers for the next few issues (Yay!!!), and we get the first chance for Bruce Banner to converse with his cousin, Jennifer Walters, The She Hulk, since the events that led to her becoming such. It was nice that, for the most part, this was mostly the Two Hulk's issue, as there were things that really needed to be said between the two characters, and Mantlo handles this all quite nicely. Jennifer is trying to get Bruce to be at ease at being The Hulk (Yet without losing the Savage edge needed to defeat The Leader), as she is being She Hulk (Unfortunately, I don't think Jennifer ever quite got that her cousin was extremely messed up in the head, which is why he never had it as easy being green as she mostly did). The two Hulks encounter an old Avengers villain, Arsenal, a robot driven to serve the needs of a mistress that is no longer alive, but, being damaged, is on a dead set mission to still try and serve her by destroying all in its path. Of course, this is all just a set up for The Hulk to be able to harness his anger, and do what he needs to do to his enemy, after getting so totally owned by The Leader in the last issue. The Hulk does, and at the end of the battle, Jen and the rest of The Avengers join him with information that they have located The Leader in space, and setting up the second battle between the two (with The Avengers acting as back up this time). Whoot Whoo!!! Yeah, I really dug this issue, and, once again, it accomplished what it needed to accomplish: make the Banner Hulk regain the "Eye of the Tiger" he needed to defeat The Leader, while also re-connecting with family. It's really kind of too bad The Hulk didn't end up rejoining the Avengers at the end of this little story, as one can only imagine what that team could do with TWO Hulks plus a Thor and Iron Man on the power side. OUCH!!! I'm so glad Sal Buscema is back on pencils for this one, as it was great seeing him draw two Hulks PLUS The other Avengers.....and he's not done yet, as we get Two More Issues of this super team vs. The Lethal Leader. Action as YOU demanded it, True Believers.....this is what comics are all about! GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 25, 2017 22:10:51 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #122"Cry for the Children! "Cover Date: June 1979 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, & Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Juggernaut, Black Tom Cassidy, Arcade, Miss. Locke, & Jason Wyngarde (Mastermind) Guest Star: Phoenix, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Luke Cage, Havok, Polaris, Jamie Madrox, Moria MacTaggert, & Lilandra Official Plot: Back at the X-Mansion after a long absence, Cyclops has Colossus run a strength test in the Danger Room, finding that the Russian mutant has not been performing at his peak strength after a series of defeats have diminished his confidence. When he proves unable to force back some crushing walls with his strength, Wolverine decides to force him to do it by damaging the Danger Room's safety controls and putting himself at risk. This forces Colossus to get past his insecurities and use his full strength to prevent Wolverine from being crushed. Cyclops then leaves Wolverine to do repairs on the Danger Room. Leaving, Cyclops would run into Colleen wing who would ask Cyclops if he'd like to go out on a date. Glad to have a day off after their battle with the Living Monolith Cyclops agrees to go. He first checks on Nightcrawler and Banshee who are working in the hanger getting the Blackbird back in operational order. As Scott leaves to prepare for his date, he wonders where the Professor could have gone while they were missing in action. At that moment in deep space, Charles Xavier tries to get used to living on the Shi'ar throneworld where celebrations of Lilandra's ascension to the throne has met with much fanfair. While in Scottland, Jean Grey continues her extended vacation in the area. On her way back to Muir Island after a day of shopping she runs into a man named Jason Wyngarde who helpsher with her packages and sees her on her way. When she joins Moira and the others on her boat, they ignore the fact that sailors are looking for boat renter Angus MacWinter. As they leave Wyngarde watches as they leave and is convinced that he will make Jean Grey fall in love with him. As he stands in his light, his shadow is much different than his body. Back in New York, Cyclops and Colleen are on their date and Scott decides that they should talk about their abrupt relationship. While elsewhere, Wolverine drops Storm off in the Harlen neighborhood where she was born. Driving back through the city, Logan spots Mariko Yashida entering the Japanese embassy and stops to try to get in and is refused at the door. Ororo meanwhile is walking through her old neighborhood and notices that it has become even more of a slum than she remembers. Entering the old apartment building where her parents used to live, Storm is surprised to find that it is become another abandoned tenement that has become a shooting gallery for junkies. When the junkies attempt to rob her, she uses her weather powers to keep them at bay, but when one tries to get the jump on her, she is saved by Power Man and Misty Knight who happened to see her on the street and went to make sure she wouldn't get into any trouble. Scott and Colleen Wing part company, Colleen returning to the city to handle her detective work, but before leaving she leaves Scott with a key to her apartment and an invite to come anytime. Lastly, aboard a private aircraft owned by the novelty assassin known as Arcade, the Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy are on board seeking to hire Arcade to assassinate the X-Men. Loving the possible challenge, Arcade tells the two men that he will take the job and that the X-Men are as good as dead. This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View: This is an R&R issue for the X-Men, but a better series of letters used to describe this issue would be the "3 S's: Subplots, Sidestories, and Setups," as that's kind of what this issue is. Not a lot seems to be happening, but a lot really is, if that makes any kind of sense. We get character development between the teammates, as Wolverine helps Colossus through a crisis of faith by literally putting his ass on the line to prove that the metal Russian is stronger than he thinks he is, both inside and out. We get what seems to be a blossoming relationship between Cyclops and IRON FIST regular, Colleen Wing (it wouldn't last too long, though, for obvious reasons). We get to check in on Charles Xaiver, who sits by the sidelines as his beloved Lilandra takes her rightful place on the Shi'ar throne abdicated by the mind frying of Lilandra's insane brother, D'Ken (#108). We see Jean Grey enjoying life on Muir Island, but running into a handsome man named Jason Wyngarde, who is not what he appears to be (he starts to play a bigger part in things in a few issues, but this is his first appearance.....or is it?), while showing Scottish sailors looking for the lost Angus MacWinter (who met his fate a few issues ago at the hands of the mysterious Mutant X, which we'll learn more about in a few issues as well). We get our main story, somewhat, as Storm goes to the apartment building she was born in, only to find that it has become a haven for Heroin Junkies, who try to jump her. This allows for a guest appearance by Luke Cage and Misty Knight (as, once again, Claremont was writing IRON FIST at the time, hence, all of these characters showing up constantly in other books he was also writing, such as this one and MARVEL TEAM UP). Finally, we get the set up for the next couple of issues, as Black Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut plan to get revenge on the X-Men for kicking their asses in #103, by hiring the psycho assassin with his own murderous theme park, Arcade, to take them out. Arcade takes the job, and states that the X-Men are as good as dead. Wow! Once again, Claremont packs more shit into a "rest" issue than most current writers do for "Big Action Issues," as there is SO much going on here; some subplots that plays out over the next couple issues, some that stretch into storylines that play out a year or so later. Remember back in #108, when John Byrne joined the book, that I stated that this was the point that the book kicked into that 4th Gear? I would say next issue is the point where it kicks into 5th, and it wouldn't slow down until Byrne leaves 20 some issues from now. In other words, we're getting into some mighty deep cotton over the next few issues, and the intensity grows and grows until we get the X-Men's finest hours, which those in the know KNOW what I'm talking about, but for those that don't, hold on to your butts. Shit's about to start getting REAL real, son. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 25, 2017 22:16:28 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 283"Follow the Leader!"Cover Date: May, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: The Leader, Jackdaw Guest Stars: The Avengers: (Captain America, Iron Man, She Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, The Wasp, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)) Official Plot: The Avengers and the Hulk arrive to Omnivac (the Leader's space station), but the Leader is not there. Instead of him, there is a robot connected to the AI of the ship who calls himself Omnibus. Omnibus invites the Avengers and the Hulk to have dinner. While they are seated at the table, the robot tells them about the Leader's plan. The Leader pretends to irradiate pre-historic men with Gamma rays to improve nature. While he is talking, he plays a special piano that actives a time machine that sends the Avengers through time. Hulk and She-Hulk remain at the space station because of his Gamma condition and destroy Omnibus. Brodie's View: Don't let the shitty cover art fool you. This is another kick ass issue in a kick ass little story involving The Hulk (and The Avengers) vs. The Leader and his various lackeys and robots, and good ole' Sal Buscema is still doing the interior art (YAY!!!). The beginning of this issue finds The Avengers and The Hulk leading an assault on The Leader's space station, Omnivac, just wrecking through The Leader's Humanoids due to their sheer awesomeness. They get inside the ship to find The Leader gone, Jackdaw beaten to a pulp, and a butler robot named Omnibus (who administered the beating to Jackdaw for trying to stop The Leader, once she realized the full extent of his plan (Go back to the beginning of time, and irradiate early man with gamma rays, basically making them all into beings like him and the Hulks)). After Omnibus explains this, he flips a switch, which zaps all of The Avengers but The Hulk and She Hulk into the time stream. The two Hulks destroy the shit out of Omnibus, and with the help of Jackdaw, jump into the time stream in order to save The Avengers and stop The Leader. Whew! Like Chris Claremont on the X-Men, Bill Mantlo is proving that he can pack the hell out of an issue with action and story, as the first part of this issue is all action, with The Hulk marveling at the effectiveness of The Avengers at taking out The Leader's Humanoids, especially once Captain Marvel uses her energy altering abilities to take away their malleability, allowing The Avengers to just plow through them like the goombas they were. You can tell that both Bill and Sal are having a lot of fun with this storyline, and who can blame them? You also get an ending that forces The Hulk and his cousin, The Savage She Hulk, to once again have to work together to save the day, which is pretty sweet, as it could have very easily just have been left to The Hulk, but having Jen stick around as well is a very nice touch, and it allows some fun family bonding between the two. The next issue will be fun, as we get to see the two Hulks jumping to various points in history, but we'll get to all that in the next review. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 26, 2017 1:53:19 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #123 "Listen -- Stop Me if You've Heard It -- But This One Will Kill You!" Cover Date: July 1979 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Arcade, Miss. Locke, Mr. Chambers Guest Star: Spider-Man, Colleen Wing, Amanda Sefton, & Mariko Yashida Official Plot: The Amazing Spider-Man is swinging through New York's Greenwich Village, lamenting over his personal finances and fretting about his date with Cissy Ironwood when he recognizes Colleen Wing and Scott Summers and stops in to say hello before continuing on their way. Scott and Colleen are unaware that they are being watched by one of Arcade's minions, Mr. Chambers, who uses a specially rigged garbage truck to capture them. Overhearing this, Spider-Man recognizes the noise and realizes Arcade must be after his friends and arrives too late to stop the kidnapping. Considering the fact that the Arcade might be after the X-Men, Spider-Man decides to try to get in touch with them. The Wall-Crawler's hunch proves to be true, as Nightcrawler, Colossus and their dates Amanda Sefton and Betsy Wilford are all gassed and taken prisoner by Miss Locke. When Wolverine ends another date with Mariko Yoshida, he too is captured by Mr. Chambers. While Arcade takes care of Banshee and Storm personally by breaking into the X-Mansion and taking them out with tranquilizer darts. When Spider-Man calls into the school, Arcade answers the phone and tells Spidey that he's too late to warn his friends, angering the Wall-Crawler so badly, he smashes the phone booth he's in. When the X-Men come around they find themselves in uniform and placed in giant glass pinballs. Arcade introduces himself and sends them off through his gigantic booby-trapped pinball machine. After bouncing off a number of electrified bumpers, each ball goes down a separate slot sending each X-Man into a different room. Cyclops lands in a room where he has to make a choice between three doors, with only one leading to safety. In order to force him to make a decision a moving wall threatens to crush him. Colossus ends up in a room where he is confronted by a robot disguised as a KGB agent named Alexi Vazhin who begins interrogating Colossus over his loyalty to Russia while powerful hypnotic lights confuse him. Wolverine ends up in a hall of mirrors that create distorted robotic duplicates of him to battle. Nightcrawler is trapped in a room where remote control cars chase after him with cutting buzz saws. Banshee, still unable to use his mutant powers, has to make it through a holographic simulation of a World War II battle, where some of the model jets are real. Lastly Storm finds herself trapped in a dark room that is filling with water. With her claustrophobia setting in she tries to blast her way trough the roof with a lightning bolt onto to have it reflected back at her. Cyclops meanwhile decides not to choose any of the doors and instead blasts through one of the walls with his optic blast. This clears a passage into the hall of mirrors, damaging the replicating mirrors. After helping Wolverine dispatch of the last of them, the two X-Men head for the exit door only to be attacked by Colossus who has been brainwashed into thinking that he is a Russian loyalist called the Proletarian. From Arcade's control room, Colleen, Amanda, and Betsy, restrained in present shaped harnesses can only watch helplessly from the control monitor. Arcade howls with laughter that with Colossus under his control, the X-Men are finished. This story is continued next issue.... Brodie's View: F**k yeah! Now I would say we're officially in the BEST OF THE BEST era of the Claremont/Byrne run, and what better way to start things than with Spider-Man on the very first page, as the beginning of this issue almost seems like it could turn into a Marvel Team Up at any point. The reason for this is that the main villains of this issue and the next, Arcade and his various helpers, made their first appearances in the pages of Marvel Team Up (Which Claremont and Byrne were also teamed up on at the time), which was also the introduction of Captain Britain, who would later go on to become pretty important to the X-Men Universe as well. Anyways, Arcade was hired to take out Captain Britain, but ended up getting Spidey as a bonus. Needless to say, despite being put through the wringer, Spidey and Capt. Britain survived, and now it's The X-Men's turn to see if they can survive Arcade's amusement part of death, the aptly named Murderworld. And one by one (or in the cases of Nightcrawler and Colossus, who are with dates (Nightcrawler's being Amanda Sefton, who appeared in #98, and who would go on to be revealed as someone from Kurt's past, but he doesn't know this yet), two by two, as Arcade gasses and kidnaps an entire group), the X-Men and whoever they happened to be with at the time (Cyclops is on a date with Colleen Wing when he is kidnapped, and she is as well) are kidnapped and transported to Murderworld. Spider-Man realizes what is happening, but is too late to prevent it from happening, and destroys a phone booth in his anger and helplessness of the situation. (A shot at Superman, perhaps?) The X-Men come to, to find themselves in a giant pinball machine, and as they are hit by a giant ball, they are sent to different parts of Murderworld, as Arcade watches the various situations play out. Colossus ends up finding himself in what appears to be an interrogation room, where he is brainwashed by what appears to be Russian agents (playing off of his split loyalties between his mother country and his family with The X-Men) into being a Russian Superhero called The Proletarian (High Marx to Claremont/Byrne for that one ), while the other X-Men find themselves in various death traps, designed to test/counteract their various abilities. All of this happens for the amusement of Arcade, who is obviously insane, and therefore, having the time of his life getting to watch an entire team fight their way through his deadly amusement park. Ok, first off.....I've always really dug Arcade. It's awesome that Claremont and Byrne basically gifted Marvel with its own version of Batman villains like The Joker and The Riddler, while making his original enough on his own to not be a complete rip off. It's kind of sad that Arcade has mostly become known as an X-Villain, as he really would be better suited as a regular Spidey villain, or other ground level heroes like Captain America or Daredevil. Of course, that's not saying that Claremont wouldn't get quite a bit of usage of Arcade during his run, as he most definitely would, and deservedly so, as he's a great villain, with the whole deadly amusement park thing, which makes for very fun set ups for heroes to have to fight their way through. I mean, as far as allowing for creativity, Arcade is really both a writer and an artist's dream, as far as what can be done with him and Muderworld. Plus, we get Spider-Man as a guest star, which allows for a call back to MTU, which is always a great thing, to boot. These next two issues are a LOT of fun, and they really set the stage (and the standard) for the awesomeness to come. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 26, 2017 2:00:13 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 284"Time-Lost!"Cover Date: June, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain/s: The Leader, Jackdaw, Nazis Guest Stars: The Avengers: (Captain America, Iron Man, She Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, The Wasp, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)), Captain America (1944), Bucky (1944) Official Plot: Bruce Banner reprograms the time machine to follow the Avengers and leaves behind Omnibus in pieces. Captain America is in France in year 1944 at the end of the World War II. He doesn't remember how he got there and fights along Bucky against German soldiers. Hulk helps them and then takes Captain America through time. Hawkeye and Iron Man are in Sherwood in the XII Century playing Robin Hood and an armed Knight. Hulk takes on Iron Man and Captain America takes on Hawkeye. Thor is in Greenland fighting with Vikings. He is also reminded of his true identity and follows the others in the quest to find the Leader traveling through time. They get to the pre-historic Earth. The Wasp and Captain Marvel II are controlled by the leader at the top of a volcano. Captain Marvel II begins to irradiate the Earth with Gamma rays. But the Avengers stop them. The Leader falls to the volcano and Hulk holds Captain Marvel II. When they get back to their time, they found out Omnibus was still "alive" and tried to stuck them in time, but Jacksaw saves them. Finally, the Wasp invites Hulk to rejoin The Avengers. Brodie's View: Very solid and fun finisher to this cool little storyline that has really been building for almost ten issues, but took place over the last 4. What started off as The Hulk vs. The Leader, and then became The Hulk and The Avengers vs. The Leader, has become The Hulk and She Hulk having to rescue the rest of The Avengers, who are stuck in various time periods, and then stopping The Leader from irradiating the Earth during pre-historic times with gamma radiation. We first go to WW II, as Captain America finds himself fighting alongside his (seemingly) long dead sidekick, Bucky, against the Nazi's. However, Cap knows deep down something is wrong with this, and the appearance of the two Hulks causes him to remember what had happened, and the three go to find the others. Next, we get to go to Sherwood Forrest in the 12th century, as Hawkeye and Iron Man are battling on opposite sides, as Hawkeye has become Robin Hood, while Iron Man is an Armed Knight in service to the Sheriff of Nottingham (assumingly). After a bit of a fight, Cap and the Hulks convince the two Avengers to join them, as they then find themselves in Greenland, with Thor fighting Vikings. They quickly convince Thor, who joins the rest of them as they head back to Pre-Historic Earth, as The Leader has The Wasp and Captain Marvel II captive, and he plans to use the energy powers of Captain Marvel to irradiate the Earth. However, the assembled might of The Hulks and the rest of the Avengers foils old flat top's plans, and he falls into a volcano, seemingly to his death (yeah.....right), and the Avengers and The Hulk return to the present to find Omnibus completely dismantled, and Jackdaw as the reason they made it back all right (as Omnibus had been trying to trap them all in time permanently). The issue ends on kind of a cliff hanger, as The Wasp asks The Hulk to rejoin The Avengers (which he helped found), but The Hulk doesn't have time to answer them before the issue ends. Damn, talk about a cool ending. We got to see The Hulk at his most heroic, fighting alongside THE Super team for Marvel at the time (though, the X-Men were kind of taking that crown away from them during this period) against THE Hulk villain in The Lethal Leader. I hate to say this, but things really don't get this fun during this run again, as things would become more somber in the next few issues before....well, I'm sure you can guess what happens in the 290's. This is the Hulk getting to be the hero he rarely got to stay being, as the rampages the Savage Hulk would go on would always kind of dampen the good he did, at least in most people's (including Bruce Banner's) minds. Very solid writing and art by Mantlo and Buscema here. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 26, 2017 19:41:18 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #124 "He Only Laughs When I Hurt!"Cover Date: August 1979 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Arcade, Miss. Locke, Mr. Chambers Guest Star: Colleen Wing & Amanda Sefton Official Plot: Continued from last issue... Captured by Arcade, the X-Men have been forced to fight their way through his Murderworld. As Cyclops and Wolverine face off against their comrade Colossus, who has been brainwashed into thinking he is the "Proletarian", a Russian loyalist, Arcade hows with laughter from his control room. With him are his prisoners Amanda Sefton, Colleen Wing, and Betsy Willford. When Colleen demands to know who he is, Arcade explains to the women that he was just one of the idle rich of Beverly Hills until his father cut off his money, prompting him to murder his father. Finding a knack for killing, the boy who would become Arcade used his family fortune to construct his Murderworld theme park and hire himself up as an assassin. He recounts how he was previously hired by the Maggia to try and eliminate Spider-Man and Captain Britain, and then later hired by Black Tom and Juggernaut to eliminate the X-Men. With his life story explained, he returns his attention to the monitor... In one room, the battle between Colussus, Wolverine and Cyclops continues. The brain washed X-Man manages to knock both of his comrades through different revolving doors. In one room, Storm tries desperately to get out of a room that is rapidly filling with water, struggling to keep her claustrophobia in check while trying to find an escape route. Cyclops ends up landing in the room where Nightcrawler struggles to avoid being cut by a number of bumper cars lined with razor blades. When Cyclops arrives all the cars pop out at once to strike. While Wolverine ends up in the holographic simulation of that Banshee is caught in. When Wolverine's senses allow him to find a wall, he attempts to cut through it. Arcade, having had this done when he was trying to kill Spider-Man and Captain Britain has a surprise waiting for the two mutants: robot duplicates of the Hulk and Magneto. While Storm decides to find an escape under the water. Doffing her cape and boots she swims down and finds a grate that might lead to a way out and desperately travels through hoping that she can find an exit before she runs out of breath. Cyclops manages to dispatch the razor-cars and blasts a hole in the wall that leads to an access tunnel. He sends Nightcrawler off on his own to try and find the control room while he blasts his way into another room. This is the room where Wolverine and Banshee are fighting the Hulk and Magneto robots. As Cyclops lends Wolverine and Banshee a helping hand, Nightcrawler gets the drop on Arcade, Miss Locke and Mr. Chambers. Taking Miss Locke's machine gun, Nightcrawler blasts the controls to Murderworld before being brought down by knock out gas. As Cyclops and the others finish fighting off the robots, a panel in the wall opens dumping out water and Storm into the room. Cyclops manages to revive Storm using CPR when Colossus enters the room. Still under the influence of his brainwashing, Colossus knocks aside Wolverine and Banshee and then begins to choke out Storm and Cyclops. Storm however manages to appeal to Colossus, making him snap out of his brainwashing. With the battle lost, Arcade decides to let the X-Men live and pushes a button that ejects the X-Men and their friends out of Murderworld into an abandoned amusement park. Rescuing their friends, they find Arcade has left a note with Nightcrawler telling the X-Men that they won the first round, but he'll get them next time. Although Wolverine wants to go back, Cyclops advises against it and the team decides to return home to recuperate from their battle. Brodie's View: More fun and games of the dangerous sort in this issue, as we pound through the second half of this whole deal with Arcade and Murderworld, as The X-Men try to survive the deadly amusement park's traps, and survive the onslaught of one of their own (Colossus, who has been brainwashed into thinking he's a hero named The Proletarian). Meanwhile, as Arcade watches the action, he recounts his own origin story to his other captives (The seemingly helpless Colleen Wing, Amanda Sefton, and Betsy Wilford, all dates of the various X-Men when they were nabbed last issue, and all being used as hostages, should the X-Men find their way to Arcade's control room, we can assume). Finally, Cyclops and Storm are able to overcome Colossus's brainwashing, and with the help of Nightcrawler, who teleports into Arcade's control room and blasts the controls for Murderworld, the X-Men are able to escape the deadly theme park. They, however, find a calling card from the crazed assassin for hire, saying that he would see them again.....and he will. Man! This was such a fun couple of issues, as Arcade made a perfect villain for the mutant team, but one that allowed them to use their powers and wits to escape his deadly playground. This was definitely Claremont and Byrne at their best, as the fun writing definitely complimented the circus fun house art Byrne provided, and nothing was off limits (at one point, The X-Men fight robot versions of Magneto and The Hulk, which allowed Byrne to draw Magneto and The Hulk....in a fun house setting). This was also almost a precursor to the next storyline, as Byrne would get to draw some insane shit in the next few issues, which I'm sure he had a lot of fun doing, but we'll get to all of that when those issues come. The next issue brings a continuance of subplots, but a lot of important ones, ones that would cover the next 12-13 issues....and beyond. BTW, I forgot to mention this in the last review, but if you notice in the upper left hand corner of the cover, that with last issue, Byrne has taken over at drawing the faces of the various X-Men. Not a huge deal, but still pretty cool none the less. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 26, 2017 19:47:54 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 285"Today is the First Day of the Rest of My Life!" Cover Date: July, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: Zzzax Guest Stars: Scott Lang (Ant Man II), Rick Jones, & Bereet Official Plot: Bruce Banner makes a personal recording of his memoirs reflecting upon the life history of his time as the savage Hulk. Concluding his report, he goes outside to oversee the progress of his latest project, Northwind Observatory. He has hired Stark Industries to construct the observatory and engineer Scott Lang is present as foreman. Lang asks Bruce about what it is like being a hero, but Banner merely wishes to devote his life to science now, not heroism. The construction crew installs a gamma-powered core into the facility, but Banner realizes too late, that this is the same device that was once used by Soulstar Industries to harness the power of Zzzax. As the couplings are connected, an energy surge sweeps across the cables and Zzzax is reborn. Bruce transforms into the Hulk and fights him, but his brute strength has little effect against the "living dynamo". Rather, it is the intellect of Bruce Banner that wins the day. Applying his knowledge of science, the Hulk creates a circuit that destabilizes Zzzax's form, sending his atoms back into outer space. In New York, dozens of people gather about a movie theater to view the premiere of "The Life and Times of the Incredible Hulk". Rick Jones happens to pass the theater and sees the project's director, Bereet, exiting a limousine. Rick chastises Bereet for capitalizing on the Hulk's newfound fame, but Bereet retorts that Rick has been using his guilt over the Hulk for years to define him as a person. Brodie's View: Not as much slam bang action as we've had the last few issues, as the first part of this issue is Bruce Banner basically recounting The Hulk's origin story, and major events leading up to the current issues' events. Meanwhile, Stark employees (Including Scott Lang.....yes, the Scott Lang played by Paul Rudd in 2015's ANT MAN movie, as Lang was also Ant Man in the comics by this point) help to build his new observatory, where he could continue the work he never got to really pursue Post his becoming the Hulk, as he spent most of his time on the run. He decided to pass on The Avengers' offer to join their ranks, as he decided that hero-ing wasn't really in his future, even with his having control over the Hulk. However, the word and concept of being a "Hero" would pretty much come back to haunt him several times over the next ten issues, including this one. Long story short, a gamma core installed in his Northwind Observatory would end up summoning the electricity creature, Zzzax (always loved this character, cheesy name and all), who starts to wreck havoc. Banner transforms into the Hulk, and tries to fight the creature, but how effective is physical strength against a creature made of electricity, really? Luckily, the Banner Hulk figures this out, and creates a circuit that destabilizes Zzzax's form, and Banner shoots him into space. The grateful Stark employees thank him, calling him a "Hero." We also get an official send off for Rick Jones, as he runs into Bereet at the premier of her new movie on The Hulk's most recent adventures. He basically calls her a parasite, and she pretty much retorts with "Takes one to know one," and leaves him. This would be the next to last appearance for Bereet (we get a small bit with her in #287, and then never again), and Jones would be next seen in the pages of ROM, with cancer caused by his exposure to gamma energy back in #269 (Don't worry, the Beyonder cures him. Who is the Beyonder, you may ask? I'll get to all that later). That's about it for this issue; kind of slow compared to the last few issues, but I will give some solid points for Zzzax, who I will once again admit to loving. GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 26, 2017 22:46:05 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men Annual #3 "A Fire in the Sky!" Cover Date: August 1979 Writer: Chris Claremont Artist: George Perez Team: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Arkon Guest Star: Jarvis (briefly) Official Plot: A quiet summer Sunday in Manhattan is shattered upon the arrival of Arkon the Magnificent. He has come to Earth once more to seek the aid of Thor and the Avengers once more. However, when he goes to Avengers Mansion, their butler Jarvis informs Arkon that Thor is away on persona business. Without Thor all seems lost when Arkon is suddenly contacted by his Grand Vizier who tells him of another that might be useful to him: The X-Man known as Storm. The X-Men, having survived their ordeal against Arcade are engaging in a Danger Room training session with Banshee running the controls since he has lost the use of his powers. During the training session, Storm gets caught between two blasts of wind, causing her claustrophobia to kick in. Before they can shut the Danger Room down, Storm panics, unleashing the full fury of her powers, wrecking the control room and sending the Danger Room into utter chaos. The X-Men however are saved from injury thanks to Cyclops's quick thinking, using his optic blast to hit the emergency shut off. While the other X-Men clean up the damage, Cyclops consoles Storm who is troubled in this new role as a super-hero which is vastly different than her role as a "goddess" in Kenya. When Storm enters her room to spend time alone she is attacked by Arkon who demands that she help him. Storm however is not harmless, and she fights back, smashing Arkon down through the floor right in front of Cyclops and Banshee. Cyclops blasts Arkon outside of the mansion and all the X-Men pile onto him. During the fight, Arkon tosses one of his mystical thunderbolts at Storm, striking her and teleporting her away. The X-Men manage to fight Arkon to a stand-still and remove his quiver of thunderbolts. With Wolverine threatening him with his claws, Arkon is forced to show them how the thunderbolts work. They teleport away, leaving Banshee behind to contact the Avengers or Fantastic Four should they not return. The X-Men and Arkon appear in the middle of his royal palace and see that Storm is nowhere to be found. They soon have to defend themselves against the Imperions of Arkon's world. When Nightcrawler spots the Grand Vizir making an escape, he follows after him as the other X-Men fight their way through the palace. Nightcrawler follows the Vizir to another castle where Storm is being held. Upon hearing that Storm is willing to sacrifice her life to help these people, he tries to get the drop on them and Storm accidentally attacks him. Seeing the lightning bolt from the faraway palace, the other X-Men commender a flying beast and ride it to the castle where they find Storm, but she refuses to leave. Arkon appears and explains to them that his world does not have a sun and gets it's light from an energy ring that encircles their world. He explains how the Avengers once came and restored it with a device when the ring was failing. Being unable to find Thor to restore the power in the device, he sought out Storm as a substitute. Examining the device, the X-Men come up with a solution to repair the device: As Wolverine and Nightcrawler repair it's mechanisms, Storm channels her powers through Cyclops, super charging him with energy. He blasts the device with his optic blast giving it enough energy to restore the energy ring around Arkon's world, however the device explodes. When Arkon's people come and inspect the wreckage, they find Arkon and the X-Men alive. With the artificial sunlight of their world restored, Arkon and his people celebrate the X-Men as heroes. Parting as friends, Arkon thanks the X-Men for their help and uses his thunderbolts to send them back home. Brodie's View: Okay, so, no Byrne for this Annual (the first two annuals happened for the original team, FYI), but we get a pretty awesome fill in with the one and only George Perez (and Frank Miller doing the cover to boot), who was drawing The Avengers at the time. This makes sense, as the "villain" for this issue, Arkon, had history with The Avengers (and Thor specifically, whose absence when Arkon came looking for him is what led to The X-Men, and specifically Storm's involvement in this story). Arkon is a barbarian like ruler of a Alternate Earth ( ) that more resembles the world of Conan than ours. Anyways, his world is dying due to an energy ring that simulates a sun for Arkon's world, as it has no actual sun, is on the fritz, and it would take lightning to restore it. This is why Arkon came to Earth in the first place; to seek out Thor, as he had fixed it the last time, but with Thor off doing something on his own, Arkon had no choice but to kidnap the next best thing, the weather goddess Storm. However, his lack of explaining things just makes it look as if Arkon had kidnapped Storm for shits and giggles, and a pissed off X-Men follow them to Arkon's world in order to get her back. After a bit of fighting, the X-Men discover what was really going on, and they decide to help Arkon fix his machine. They leave Arkon's world as heroes, setting up a future story on Arkon's world (and a couple of annuals later, we would get that follow up). This was a fun story with some pretty kickin' art, as Perez in no slouch in the art department himself. Claremont's always been a fan of high adventure stories, and this was no exception, allowing The X-Men to battle in an environment and against the type of foes they rarely get to face. It's almost as if Claremont was getting these fun stories out of the way, as he knew that the immediate future for the mutant team was going to be the opposite of fun. (Hmmmm.....) Plus, it was a cool spotlight for Claremont's favorite character, and one he would do a lot with in the post Byrne era, Storm. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 26, 2017 22:51:01 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk Annual #12"Amazing Grace!"Cover Date: August, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Herb Trimpe Villain: The "Reds" of Cygnet VII Guest Star/s: None Official Plot: Bruce Banner is spending time at Northwind Observatory when he notices a shaft of concentrated gamma radiation beaming down from outer space. Turning into the Hulk, he races out into the woods to investigate it. He finds that the ray is actually a transport beam, and a green-skinned woman named K'Rel is now running through the woods. Soon after, a space ship arrives and several red-skinned warriors capture the Hulk and K'Rel. They take them back to the planet Cygnet VII. Cygnet VII is run by the 'reds', a race of religious fanatics known as the Proselytes. But Cygnet VII's other indigenous species, are a race of green-skinned humanoids, who are of a different and obviously offending faith than the Proselytes. The Hulk finds that the Proselytes have deemed all 'Greens' to be heretics and routinely imprison and torture them. K'Rel tells the Hulk that their own priests foretold the coming of a great champion who will help them overthrow the shackles of their oppression. It doesn't require the brain of Bruce Banner to realize that the Hulk is destined to be the champion of the Greens. After a grueling experience in the Proselytes' slave arena, the Hulk inspires confidence in the enslaved Greens and leads a revolt against the Reds. With the Hulk in charge, they take command of the royal temple and overthrow the Proselytes. K'Rel is made the new priestess of the Greens. She wants the Hulk to remain with her on Cygnet VII, but he has to return to Earth. She places him on board a ship that begins to ferry him back to his birth planet. On board the ship, the Hulk uses the ship's instruments to monitor the current activities on Cygnet VII. He is heartbroken to discover that the Greens have now become the planet's dictators and have enslaved the Reds just as they were once enslaved. Brodie's View: And now we get an Annual on the Hulk side of things. I will say that this was an interesting story, and the start of a downbeat couple of stories (between this and #286) for the Banner Hulk, after the grand bombast of issues #281-284. In fact, these two stories probably cause that failing of self confidence that make the events of the 290's happen a lot faster than they probably would have ordinarily (although, the events of SECRET WARS probably didn't help either, but we'll get to all that shortly). In short, The Hulk is transported to a world populated by humanoid creatures with two different skin colors: Reds and Greens. The Reds are the ruling class, and treat the Greens as slaves and second class citizens. The Hulk and the Green woman he followed to this world are captured, and the Hulk is meant to fight to his death in a gladiator pit for the amusement of the Reds. However, the Hulk proves to be more than they bargained for, and he brings freedom for the Greens, and the downfall for the Reds. Satisfied with his actions, he leaves this world, hoping that the Greens will take the reigns of power with fairness and mercy, as it relates to the Reds, despite what they did. However, fairness and mercy isn't on the menu for the Greens, and as the Hulk watches with horror, as he's rocketing back towards Earth, The Greens treat the Reds worse than they were ever treated, including mass killings of the Reds. I will say that this was a good story by Mantlo, and one that makes an important point about whether two wrongs make a right, as far as the treatment of other races is concerned. Sometimes you have to forgive and forget the best you can, and that's a lesson the Greens definitely don't care to learn, as they only want revenge for how they were treated. The Hulk, on the other hand, has been on both sides on the equation, so, at least the Banner side of him has had to forgive and forget some of the actions of certain people, as it was often justified at the time, as, at times, The Hulk could be worrisome due to his unpredictable mood swings. However, as in #273, he paid the price for charging into a situation thinking he would play the big hero, without looking at the long term cost of his actions. In fact, as in that issues, his actions, while done with the purest motives, end up creating a worse situation, and this is a huge blow to his confidence. I would say that the only downfall to this issue is its art. Sorry, but I've never been a huge Herb Trimpe fan, at least as it relates to The Hulk. I think had Sal Buscema been doing the art chores on this issue, it would have came off a 100 times better. I am happy that a long time Hulk artist got one more shot at bat with the art chores, but, yeah, not that big of a fan. Still, the story does make up for it. GRADE: B
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 27, 2017 2:41:36 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #125"There's Something Awful on Muir Island!"Cover Date: September, 1979 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Mutant X/Proteus, Jason Wyngarde, Magneto (briefly) Guest Star: Phoenix, The Beast, Polaris, Havok, Jamie Madrox, Moria MacTaggert, & Lilandra Official Plot: On Muir Island, Moira MacTaggert begins examining Jean Grey to learn the upper limits of her Phoenix powers. After some examination she points out that Jean had unconsciously put up barriers to keep her powers at her previous levels following saving the universe from the M'Kraan Crystal but now they seem to be returning to their cosmic level powers, and would like to know why. As Jean finishes up her test for the day, she recalls the events that brought her to Muir Island following the supposed deaths of her comrades. However, the other X-Men are alive and well and believe Jean to be dead. They practice in the Danger Room until Wolverine loses his temper over "playing games" with the team and storms off. While high up in space aboard Asteroid M, Magneto goes over his computer records. When he comes across an old datafile on his late wife Magda, he deletes it so that he does not have to relive the pain of her passing. Meanwhile, the man named Jason Wyngarde, a mutant himself has been slowly molding the mind of Jean Grey since he first met her, taking on different guises and accessing her mind planting the seeds to transform her into his beloved Black Queen. This is while Jean is talking to Lorna about her relationship with Alex. In Moira's lab, Moira pores over the data and ponders over the fact that Jean has been granted the powers akin to a god and wonders where Charles Xavier may be and wishes he would come back. Xavier is still in the Shi'ar galaxy as Lilandra's consort. Xavier is spending his time considering the power that Jean Grey wields and realizes that he needs to return to Earth. Back on Muir Island, Moira is going to tell Jean about the extent of her powers when she steps on a gold tooth. Examining it she realizes the problem and rushes to the room where Mutant X is stored and is horrified to find that the being is not there. Elsewhere on the island, Jean is wandering around when she detects an intruder in the vicinity. Changing into her costume she begins to search for the intruder when suddenly she finds herself seemingly transported back in time to the Victorian era for a brief moment. She snaps back to reality when someone jumps her, looking into the mans face she screams in terror bringing Alex and Madrox to go and investigate. And in the States, having detected activity at the X-Mansion, the Beast returns to his old home to find that the X-Men he thought were dead are alive and well. He tells Scott that Jean is still alive and is staying on Muir Island. When Cyclops puts in a call, Lorna answers the phone and tells him that there is a security situation going on at the island. However, before she can explain further, Lorna is attacked by some strange being that has a need for her. The last thing Cyclops hears before the line goes dead is Lorna's screams. This story is continued next issue.... Brodie's View: This is another subplot and sidestory issue, but this one moves things a lot faster than #122, as some long term stories start to really play out, and we check in on one that will take place even further in the future (but more directly in the pages of The Avengers). We also get a major misunderstanding sorted, for all the good that does. For one, we get an update on The Phoenix, and the fact that her power has grown exponentially since the last time we majorly saw her use them, which worries both Moria MacTaggert (who is testing Jean's powers on Muir Island) and Charles Xaiver (who we see briefly in space). Moria is actually a major player in the next major storyline, as the mysterious Mutant X, who was accidentally freed by Magneto's escape in #104, and who has been skulking around in the shadows, killing people and jumping into their bodies, has a major connection to Dr. MacTaggert (One we'll find out in a couple of issues). We do, however, see her freak when she discovers that Mutant X is missing, as she knows how dangerous he is, and he is REALLY dangerous. Probably one of the most dangerous mutants the X-Men has ever come up against, and we'll start to see that next issues. For now, he still stalks the shadows, leaving corpses in his wake, and at the end of the issue, he comes across Polaris, and her fate is left unknown at the end of the issue . We also see another appearance by Mr. Jason Wyngarde, who has undisclosed mental powers, and evidently the powers to create illusions as well (OK, I'll let you in on a secret....he definitely has the second, and is getting help with the first), as he is mentally seducing Jean Grey into thinking she's experiencing some sort of flashback to a past life with him in the Victorian era. These flashbacks would increase with intensity and detail over the next few issues, and their result will end up leading to a tragedy of cosmic proportions. But this, as I've said before, is a tragedy that's really been building since #101, when Jean became Phoenix, and even faster after the events of #113, as she thought she lost the love of her life and her team of friends, and vice versa (and to add to this, Xaiver leaving for space), as it left Jean very vulnerable and open for a slime like Wyngarde (and the group he represents) to creep in and work his mojo on her. BTW, The X-Men do finally find out that Jean and The Beast are still alive, due to The Beast showing up at the X-Mansion. Cyclops calls Muir Island, and reaches Polaris, who is about to get Jean, when Mutant X shows up, and, well, as I said in the last paragraph, what happens next is left to next issue to find out. But before this review ends, we must mention that we also get to see Magneto recuperating in his space base, Asteroid M, after getting his ass majorly beat by Colossus in #113. He is piling through his files, when the face of his lost love Magda shows up, causing him to pause and reflect on their past love. Magda will later be revealed to be the mother of Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch (which will be revealed in an issue of The Avengers that came out shortly after this one......of course, I guess this has been retconned recently, which is really shitty and petty on the part of Marvel, IMO, as it really killed one of the cool little connections between The X-Men and The Avengers that existed), and establishing this, while giving complexity to Magneto, is also the beginning of a slooooow burn face turn for the master of magnetism, but that wouldn't happen until much later. For now, it's a very cool moment for one of Marvel's major villains, and one that led to him being one of the most well defined. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 27, 2017 2:48:29 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 286 "Hero" Cover Date: August, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo (Based on a Harlan Ellison story) Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: Kang The Conqueror (kinda) Guest Star/s: None Official Plot: "The Hero", an armored soldier from the XLI Century, is sent to Bruce Banner laboratory by a Gamma ray. He starts shooting everywhere until Hulk knocks him out. When he awakes, he asks desperately for his helmet as he has to receive "war orders". He hits Bruce Banner apart and gets to his gun and helmet. Then, just when he shoots Banner, a Gamma ray hits the observatory and sends them both to the XLI century. Once there, they see a poster with a picture of the "Hero of the day". The Hero shouts "NO" several times. Bruce doesn't understand what happens until the soldier rips the poster. The poster underneath is a pic of the soldier. He was "The Hero" of the planet before he was sent to the past and has lost this "honor". Several soldiers appear with shouts of "Enemy". Bruce asks them "Who is the enemy?" and they ask him "It doesn't matter, War must go on" and shoot him. The Hero no longer shoots the Hulk as he sees he helps him and they begin to talk. Suddenly, everyone turns to fight Hulk until they capture him. They took him to the "king" who gives the orders trough their helmets. The king results to be Kang. Kang continues saying "Attack the enemy! Destroy the enemy! Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!" who is now the Hulk. Hulk escapes and destroys Kang, which really was a machine that repeated one thing: "Destroy!". The commands to war stop. Then the Hero takes his helmet off and faces the rest of soldiers saying "No more King! No more battlestructs! Voice over! Voice gone!". But the rest of the soldiers shoot him as they don't know anything else but war. The Hero dies. Hulk returns to Earth the same way he got there with The Hero in his arms. Brodie's View: Fresh off the heels of the events of last month's annual, comes this story that also deals with mankind's vicious natures, and the nature of being a "Hero." Once again, The Hulk finds himself drawn into a messed up situation, and once again finds that his interference actually ends up making things worse, rather than better. A soldier known as the "Hero of the Day" fights an endless war in a future where war is encouraged by its "King," which is a giant statue of Kang the Conqueror (One can only assume that this is one of the alternate realities that Kang conquered in the past, and set up a society centered around war and battle for his own amusement, but got bored with it, and went on to conquer other realities, not giving a shit what happened to this alternate future and its inhabitants). Somehow, he ends up in the Hulk's reality, and just as the two are about to potentially fight, a beam sends the both of them back to the "Hero's" future, where the Hulk discovers the sort of world this soldier came from. As they fight the other soldiers, the Hulk convinces the "Hero" that there is more to life than endless war, and upon discovering their "King" is merely a statue of Kang that barks out commands on an endless loop, the Hulk destroys the statue. As the other soldiers stand around, confused, the "Hero" tries to convince them that they need not fight any more, but being that all the soldiers know is war, they kill the "Hero," and the Hulk returns to the past, once again heartbroken, with the dead "Hero" in his arms. Now, before I say more about this issue, I will say that Mantlo based this story loosely on one by Harlan Ellison, which caused a bit of controversy when it came out, as some readers saw the obvious parallels to Ellison's story, and blasted both Marvel and Mantlo for ripping Ellison off (In Mantlo's defense, he wanted the story to be partially credited to Ellison, but Marvel forgot to do it. They did mention that it was adapted from Ellison's story in a later issue's letter page). However, with all that being said, it still works very well adapted into a Hulk story (And hey, it's not the first time Harlan has basically written a Hulk story, as he actually wrote a few in the early 70's), and makes a very powerful statement about trying to convince societies built around war to live a peaceful life is not always as easy as one thinks it is, as when all you know is war, peace can be an even scarier prospect, and one than many living that life would rather risk death than try. It, unfortunately, for the Hulk is just another example of his best attempts at being a Hero in his own regard just failing totally, and it definitely sets the stage for what would happen in the next dozen or so issues. Let's put it this way, this whole story arc is broken into two different trade paperbacks: PARDONED and REGRESSION. PARDONED ended with #285, and REGRESSION begins with the Annual and this issue, as this is kind of the beginning of the downfall of the Banner Hulk. We will, however, get a bit of a reprieve for the next few issues, and then in #292, shit starts hitting the fan. GRADE: B+
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Magnus the Magnificent
King Koopa
didn't want one.
I could write a book about what you don't know!
Posts: 12,404
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Post by Magnus the Magnificent on Jan 27, 2017 11:03:13 GMT -5
Nothing much to add, but I really dig your reviews, Brodie. Byrne/Claremont X-men was the best. Bill Mantlo is criminally underrated/not mentioned as a great writer, certainly the best one Hulk ever had, IMO.
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 27, 2017 23:53:56 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #126 "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth...!"Cover Date: October, 1979 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Mutant X/Proteus, Jason Wyngarde Guest Star: Polaris, Havok, Jamie Madrox, & Moria MacTaggert Official Plot: Responding to Lorna Dane's call for help, the X-Men rush to Muir Island in the Blackbird. Splitting into small groups to quickly search the facility, the X-Men deploy before their jet has even finished landing. Banshee and Cyclops find Lorna and the body of Angus MacWhirter. In short order the X-Men find the rest of the station's known inhabitants. Moira tells the X-Men that Mutant X has escaped. Jamie recounts the events that happened after the X-Men were called - Jamie created duplicates to search the grounds after Lorna screamed. When one of them found Proteus, he possessed the doubles body, knocking Jamie for a loop. Wolverine brashly argues for immediate pursuit, but Cyclops, intimidated by the ease at which Proteus overpowered Jean Grey, Polaris, and Jamie Madrox, asks Moira for more information. Moira at first refuses to talk, but finally relents and reveals Proteus is her son. Elsewhere, Proteus has escaped the island in Madrox's doubles body to the city of Stornoway. There he finds himself in need of a new body, but his attempt to snag Jason Wyngarde's is foiled by some sort of psychic defense. Ferdie Duncan fares less well. The next morning the X-Men head to the mainland, reasoning Proteus will head towards a major city, and split up to search the area. Their activity does not go unnoticed - Jason Wyngarde observes their dispersal, and causes Jean to suddenly experience another reversion to the 18th century. She's riding a horse with Jason, on a hunt. Suddenly the dogs bring their quarry down, and when Jason clears them off they find its a man playing the part of the stag. And then Jason tells her it was her idea! She comes back to reality to find a mummified corpse where the man-stag's body was! Wolverine, however, has picked up Proteus's scent. Ignoring the radio call that Jean has found a body, he follows his nose to a policeman. Proteus, impressed by how fast Wolverine saw through the flesh facade, tries to possess him - only to discover his body is laced with metal, a substance that is highly toxic to him! Nightcrawler comes driving up as Wolverine threatens to gut Proteus, only to find that Proteus is capable of warping reality itself! Wolverine's connection to the natural world via his heightened senses makes him especially susceptible, and he and Nightcrawler seem as if they will be overwhelmed when Storm arrives. While her attack distracts him, he quickly turns gravity upside down on her, smashing her into the earth. Injured, and soon to become Proteus's prey, she tries her hardest to blow him away with a massive gust of wind... and fails! This story is continued next issue.... Brodie's View: Holy crap! The storyline started last issue, which has now become known as the "Proteus Saga," really kicks into high gear, as The X-Men rocket to Muir Island, expecting to find Polaris dead at the hands of the mysterious threat that is stalking the small Scottish Isle. However, they find Polaris alive, and we find out that one of Jamie Madrox's multiples discovered Mutant X (which will henceforth be known as Proteus) and Proteus (A Body Jumping mutant) possessed the multiple instead,broke loose of the facility, and is now making his way to the mainland of Scotland. The X-Men are reunited with Phoenix, Havok, and Moria MacTaggert (Who reveals the truth about Proteus. He is her son, which she had kept contained at Muir until she could find some way to help him with his abilities), and they go off in search of Proteus before he can kill again. Meanwhile, looking for another body to possess, Proteus attempts to approach Jason Wyngarde, who is there for his own machinations, but a mental block scares Proteus off from possessing him, and instead Proteus possesses someone else. Wyngarde, however, soon spots the X-Men, who are trying to locate Proteus, and makes Phoenix go through another "Time Slip" illusion, that shows her and Jason participating in some strange 17th century hunt that turns out to be hunting human prey dressed up like a stag. Jason hands Jean a knife to kill their pray, but before she can, she reverts back to the present time, and the person she was going to kill turns out to be one of Proteus' former body's remains. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Nightcrawler come across a cop, who Wolverine discovers has been possessed by Proteus, who then tries to possess Wolverine, but can't due to his metal skeleton (Metal is Proteus' one weakness.....important for later), and instead, turns his actual powers on the two X-Men, which is the ability to ALTER THE VERY REALITY AROUND HIM, which messes Wolvie up even more than Nightcrawler, due to his enhanced senses. Storm comes across the scene, and tries to fight Proteus, but to no avail, as he turns his power on her, which slams her to the ground and leaves her helpless for the approaching body jumper. Holy Crap times 2......things have gotten REAL real (son) really f**king quick for the X-Men, as they face one of the most dangerous threats they've ever faced. A mutant that can alter reality itself, and is VERY tough to kill or stop, as he can simply jump into another body, and is purely motivated by HATE. Hate for the parents who he felt abandoned and imprisoned him. Hate for normal people, who he sees as merely food. Hate for The X-Men, for trying to stop him, and being allies of Moria. Just.....pure hate. And to add to all this, you have that rat bastard, Jason Wyngarde, who is playing his own deadly game that will soon be fully revealed, if the X-Men even survive this little mission. Talk about jumping from one fire into another. A lot of important shit goes down in the next 10-11 issues, and the mutant team will be lucky to survive it (And some don't ). Claremont and Byrne are cooking with pure gasoline by this point, and the intensity does not let up at all during this whole period. I can only imagine the rage readers during this period felt by having to wait another 30 days to find out what the hell would happen next. You only need wait until later. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 28, 2017 0:07:08 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 287"Loose Ends"Cover Date: September, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain/s: MODOK, The Abomination, General Ross Guest Star/s: Bereet, Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: Doctor Kate Waynesboro arrives at the newly constructed Northwind Observatory as Bruce Banner's new research assistant. Bruce doesn't realize that Kate is actually an undercover agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. sent to monitor the Hulk's progress in case he begins to lose control. Bruce and Kate develop a quick likeness for one another, something that does not elude Banner's Recordasphere. The Recordasphere, initially designed as a computerized companion, has developed an emotional tie to Banner, and views Waynesboro as a threat to it's relationship with it's creator. It also discovers that Kate is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Bruce continues working on his latest creation, the Gammascope. He notices that large surges of gamma radiation have been building up just outside of Earth's orbit. Waynesboro tells Bruce that Gamma research could prove vital towards restorative medicine, but Banner is concerned that such research might also reproduce results similar to that which first transformed him into the Hulk. Brodie's View: Once again, kind of a vague description of the events of this issue. I will try to go a little more in depth. First off, this issue is entitled "Loose Ends," and in a way, it is kind of an apt description of what happens in this issue, but I think a more fitting title would be "Endings and Beginnings," as there are just as many threads created as tied off. I will get to the "Loose Ends" first, however, as the issue begins with The Hulk burying the "Hero" from last issue, in a stretch of land near to his Northwind Observatory. It's coming back from this that he meets Kate Waynesboro, but we'll get back to her in a second. First, I want to say that the other major "Loose End" that is taken care of is the Banner/Hulk's last "love interest," if you want to call making out in the park "love," the alien Bereet. We basically see her talking to a Hollywood agent in the aftermath of her movie on the Hulk being a big hit, but her being unhappy, as she finds out what a lot of people who sell their souls for fame and fortune do, that the Hollywood life isn't all it's cracked up to be. In a way, it's taking her right back to where we found her in #269, as a successful filmmaker who finds no joy in her success. The way her brief part in this issue ends, it seems like we might follow up on Bereet's plight, but, nope, this is actually her last appearance in a Marvel comic.....like, ever. She doesn't appear again until GUARDIANS, and even then just as a name drop for comic dorks like me to Lol over. Her being in that movie serves about as much purpose as she ended up serving in this run. She was just....there for the most part. That's about it on the "Loose Ends" portion of this issue, as the rest of it kind of sets up the events of the next 10 or so issues. The introduction of Kate being the longest lasting, but not the only plot point started. I will say that Kate, while not sticking around as a love interest as long as Betty did, definitely serves well as the "Love Interest" for the Banner Hulk during this particular moment of his life, and it definitely subtly sets up the events that take place as we near the end of this run, as she is secretly a SHIELD agent, sent to watch over Banner/The Hulk, should he lose control and become Savage again. This is noticed by his computer/recorder/helper, who harbors secret feelings for Bruce (or as much as a machine really can). However, Kate's mission would eventually become kind of derailed, as she, too, obviously develops feelings for Banner, complicating things quite a bit. Then, of course, we have the last portion of this issue:one that sets up the major storyline for the next few issues, as another villain from the past, MODOK (the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing) breaks into a military installation to break out another Hulk villain, The Abomination. General Ross, also not a friend of the Hulk, goes to stop MODOK, but holds up when he finds out that MODOK is acting on a plan to destroy the Hulk. Veeerrrrryyyy iiiinnnntttteeeerrrreeessstttiiiinnngggg, yes? I will say I am pleased with this whole deal, as I friggin' LOVE MODOK's giant head and little arms and legs having ass. He's a villain that could only have come from the wild and crazy 70's. The Abomination is another favorite Hulk villain, so, this is definitely shaping up to be a cool little storyline that we'll see develop over the next couple issues. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 28, 2017 0:31:32 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #127"The Quality of Hatred!"Cover Date: November, 1979 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain/s: Mutant X/Proteus Guest Star/s: Polaris & Havok Official Plot: Continued from last issue.... Storm has failed to drive Proteus off with a powerful gust of wind as he inexorably closes to steal her body as his own! She risks flying once more, but Proteus warps space around her and brings her back to the ground - knocking her unconscious. Just when Storm seems doomed, a sniper distracts Proteus - the deadly metal of the bullets a real threat to him. On a nearby ridge, Moira MacTaggert aims to finish him off, but Cyclops stops her, not understanding that the only way to end this is with Proteus's death. Moira knocks Cyclops out to get her shot, but Proteus takes off in the X-Men's jeep, not wanting to be vulnerable while he switches bodies. Moira takes off after him. The X-Men regroup and patch up their wounded. Wolverine, badly shaken by his encounter with Proteus, is verbally abused by Cyclops to snap him out of it. This escalates into a brawl, as Cyke planned, and he brings the other X-Men who fought Proteus into it. Finally, he sues for peace and explains his motivation - to test their psyches to see if there was any other damage not immediately apparent. South of them, Proteus claims his next victim, Jennie Banks. He then hides the policeman's body, and fixes Jennie's flat tire, and continues on his way talking about killing "the one he hates". Moira goes to see Joe MacTaggert, her estranged husband. She tells him he has a son, and that he's trying to kill him, and leaves. Proteus knows of this visit, and that it has hurt Moira, and he closes in for the kill. The X-Men detect Joe's psychic 'death scream', and know they are close. However, Proteus has decided he wants Moira, and reality suddenly goes wild in Edinburgh! The X-Men arrive, but Proteus foils their initial assault, and grabs Moira as a hostage! This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View: When last we left our heroes, the dangerous mutant known as Proteus had messed Wolverine and Nightcrawler up by using his reality warping powers, and was closing in on Storm. Storm had been trying to help her fellow X-Men, but had ended up being wounded by Proteus, and the body jumper was closing in for the kill. We pick up there, as Proteus is about to jump into Storm's body, when a bullet wings him, causing him to flee (as metal is his one weakness). The rifle person ends up being Moria MacTaggert, who is trying to kill Proteus before he can kill again. Cyclops stops her, and they briefly argue over whether murder is the answer, until Moria sucker nails him with the rifle, and takes off after her son. The X-Men come together and try to regroup over their respective encounters with Proteus. Cyclops notices that Wolverine is as shook as he's ever seen him after his encounter with Proteus, and goads him into a fight to bring back Wolveie's edge. It works, and the X-Men resume the chase. Moria goes to her estranged husband to warn him about his son, but Joe (her ex) laughs her off, and she leaves. However, Proteus follows behind her, and possesses the body of his father. With this, he gains his father's memories, and suddenly wants Moria, and as he goes for her, he warps the reality of Edinburgh, Scotland, just as The X-Men arrive. The intensity really picks up in this issue, as we see Moria ready to kill to protect mankind from the huge threat her son is. We also get to see more of her background by establishing that her husband (an abusive lout) is a big man about town in Edinburgh (though, not for very much longer at this point), and Proteus possessing him gives the insane mutant new purpose, to possess his mother/wife in every way possible. The implications of this are quite disturbing, as it is obviously meant to be. On the other end of things, we get the X-Men being shaken to their core (particularly Wolverine, due to his enhanced senses) after their first encounter with the mutant. We get to see Cyclops displaying the skills that made him the obvious choice to be team leader, by goading Wolverine (and the rest of the team) into a fight to see how shaken they really were. This made Wolverine even give Cyclops props for his leadership ability, which is a huge step from the guy who used to question every decision Scott Summers ever made up to that point, and at a few points even calling him a coward for ordering the team to step back from a useless and potentially dangerous fight. In the next issue, we'll see the major showdown between the whole team and Proteus, and, yes, that fight will be to the DEATH. GRADE: A-
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 28, 2017 0:40:10 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 288"Anyone Out There Know How to Cure a Case of... Yellow Fever?!" Cover Date: October, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: MODOK, The Abomination, & General Ross Guest Star/s: Kate Waynesboro Official Plot: At Project Earthfall, M.O.D.O.K. tortures the Abomination as General Ross watches nearby. Ross agreed to help M.O.D.O.K. free the Abomination so that the super-villain could use him as an instrument against his former creators, A.I.M. In exchange, M.O.D.O.K. has agreed to send the Abomination out to destroy the Hulk first. Unfortunately for both of them, the Hulk beat the Abomination so badly during their last encounter, that the green gargantuan is nothing more than a quivering mass of cowardice. Elsewhere, the Hulk goes to the dentist. Dr. Bates takes a scraping from one of the Hulk's molars for examination. The Hulk doesn't realize that Dr. Bates is actually an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and has been working in collusion with Kate Waynesboro. Banner's Recordasphere overhears a private conversation between Waynesboro and Bates and grows concerned. Partially sentient, it has developed great affection for Bruce Banner and now views Waynesboro as a threat. In an effort to safeguard Banner, the Recordasphere sabotages Waynesboro's car. The vehicle caroms off the side of the road, and Banner is forced to change into the Hulk to save her life. Back at Project Earthfall, M.O.D.O.K. runs the Abomination through a dangerous obstacle course in the hopes of bolstering the creature's bravado. When this tactic fails, M.O.D.O.K. turns his mental ray blasts against the Abomination. He tells him that he will destroy the Hulk or else he will cause him more pain than he has ever dared dream. Brodie's View: So, we really have two separate stories going on here, but that will change in the next issue. However, we're talking about this particular issue, so, we'll just talk about the two stories as completely separate entities. In the main story, we have MODOK freeing The Abomination to use as a weapon against the organization he was the former leader of, A.I.M (Advanced Idea Mechanics), but General Ross agrees to let them walk away purely on the condition that MODOK has The Abomination destroy the Hulk first, which MODOK agrees to. However, since his last confrontation with The Hulk (The Savage Hulk stomped him in #270), The Abomination has developed a pathological fear of The Hulk. MODOK attempts to counteract that by torturing the Abomination until he fears what MODOK will do to him next more than he fears The Hulk. Speaking of The Hulk, we see him at the dentist getting some work done (which is a sentence nobody reading before #272 would have ever guessed we'd ever read), which secretly was just a way for SHIELD to get his dental records (as Banner doesn't realize that his new assistant, Kate Waynesboro, is also a SHIELD agent sent to watch over him). However, Banner's Recordasphere does realize this, and due to the machine's growing feelings for him, tries to kill Waynesboro by taking control of her car, and running her and Bruce off the road. Of course, Bruce becomes the Hulk and rescues her, which she repays by making out with him, making her officially a "Love Interest." This was a decent issue, and one that moved things along pretty quickly, as it relates to both the Bruce/Kate relationship and the whole MODOK/Abomination storyline, which will intersect with Bruce and Kate's in the next couple of issues, as will General Ross committing high treason by allowing MODOK to just float into a military installation and float off with The Abomination, due purely from his hatred of Bruce Banner/The Hulk. That particular chicken will come home to roost very shortly as well. This was basically a set up issue, but a pretty decent set up issue, and, hey, MODOK and The Abomination. Once again, pretty awesome. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 28, 2017 4:03:19 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #128 "The Action of the Tiger!"Cover Date: December, 1979 Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne Artist: John Byrne Team: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, and Colossus (Professor Xaiver) Villain: Mutant X/Proteus Guest Star: Moria MacTaggert, Polaris & Havok Official Plot: Continued from last issue... Holding Moira as hostage, Proteus causes reality to bend and break in the city of Edinburgh, forcing the X-Men to save the innocent people thrown into harm's way. Proteus reflects on how he got here. The X-Men finally bring the fight to Proteus, but he foils each of their assaults in turn. Proteus makes a tactical withdrawal, bringing Moira with him, but Phoenix catches up and nails him with a powerful psychic attack. He finally manages to retaliate, but Wolverine has caught up and puts his deadly adamantium claws to use through Proteus's side! Cyclops and Havok then let Proteus have it with both barrels, but though the attack weakens Proteus, he escapes and snags Moira from Wolverine's grasp! Colossus pursues, and throws Proteus away from Moira, shattering his decaying body! Uncloaked by flesh, Proteus is a being of pure energy, and he delights in torturing Colossus's psyche as he slowly roasts him with fire. But Proteus didn't figure on Peter Rasputin's ability to transform himself into organic steel! Colossus transforms, and thrusts himself into the heart of Proteus's energy form where his metal body is anathema to his foe. In the end, relieved that their foe is defeated, the X-Men grieve for having to take his life. Brodie's View: We come to the end of the Proteus story, but, man, does it end with a BANG.....literally. We start the issue with Proteus causing the reality of Edinburgh, Scotland to warp around him, nearly killing a few of the X-Men, as they try to stop him without hurting his hostage (Proteus' mother, Moria MacTaggert). Finally, Proteus retreats with Moria, but is caught by Phoenix, who attacks him with a powerful psychic assault. However, Proteus is able to turn that attack back on Phoenix, bringing Wolverine into the fray, who basically tries to gut him. Weakened by Wolverine's metal, Proteus is then hit by both sides by Cyclops and Havok, who start to burn out Proteus' latest body, that of his own father (!!!). Wolverine snags Moria, and climbs up a cliff to escape from Proteus, but Proteus uses his powers to cause the ground to rise up to meet Wolvie and Moria, and Proteus snags Moria and rises to the top of the cliff, where Colossus is waiting. Colossus grabs Proteus, and flings him against a wall, causing his decaying body to shatter, leaving Proteus as a being of pure energy. Proteus then tries to possess Colossus, but Colossus transforms into his metal form, and thrusts his fists into Proteus' energy form, destroying him. The rest of the X-Men celebrate, as Colossus comforts a grieving Moria on the death of her son. Once again, what more can one say about this storyline? It was f**king intense from start to finish, as The X-Men fought a seemingly undefeatable foe, and it's only due to their working as a TEAM that they were able to defeat him by basically causing him to burn himself out, and then using Colossus' metal body to end him once and for all (which, as much as The X-Men loath killing....well, most of them, there really was no Stopping Proteus by that point. He had grown too powerful to contain). And props for letting Colossus be the one that delivered the kill shot, as the Russian X-Man kind of needed a BIG moment like that after spending the last few storylines being chumped by Moses Magnum and brainwashed by Arcade. We got to see a lot of emotional moments between the team members during the battle, which was great as well, particularly as it relates to Phoenix, as we saw the differences between the two men that have feelings for her (Cyclops and Wolverine). This is also notable for being the send off, as least as it relates to being part of the X-Men, for Banshee, who officially quits the team to relax and recoup with Moria at the beginning of next issue. Honestly, he was kind of done at the end of the Moses Magnum storyline, but he hung around for the last several issues due to not really having a purpose anywhere else. Now he does, and other then some appearances here and there, we don't see Sean Cassidy as a regular character again until the Post INFERNO period (or into the late 240's/early 250's.....in other words, quite a ways away). However, fret not, as we would start to see new mutants introduced in the next issue, and things will NEVER be the same. Of course, you can say that about the entire next storyline, which is often debated as being THE greatest X-Men story ever. Seriously....it's THAT good. GRADE: A
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 28, 2017 4:11:23 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 289 "A.I.M For the Top!"Cover Date: November, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain/s: MODOK, The Abomination, A.I.M Agents, General Ross Guest Star/s: Kate Waynesboro & Betty Ross Official Plot: While MODOK is pushed to leave his facilities by a rebel force of AIM, Bruce is attacked by the Abomination who still fears the Hulk. The Recordasphere tries stopping the green monster but is destroyed in the process. Kate blasts the Abomination and Bruce discovers she works for SHIELD. Feeling cheated, the Hulk unleashes his anger on the Abomination til he begs for peace. But since MODOK would dislike his failure, the Abomination grabs Kate and leaves through the roof, covering the Hulk with stones. Bruce has no option but to develop a tracking device for finding the Abomination. And before he goes after the kidnapper, Betty Ross and Thunderbolt Ross show up. The old soldier loses it when finds Hulk alive and confesses the unlocking of the Abomination. The Hulk goes after Kate, Betty complains to her father and leaves him alone. Brodie's View: Ugh! Could somebody stop Al Milgrom from doing these covers? I know it's a little late to complain, but dude is a terrible artist. Luckily, once again, we get good old Sal Buscema doing the interior art, so, it's all gravy on that end of things. Anyways, this is the next part of the whole MODOK/Abomination storyline, as MODOK grows tired of waiting (and a lot of that is due to A.I.M declaring war on him, their former leader), and sends The Abomination after The Hulk, assuring him that the Banner Hulk is no longer as great of a threat as he was when he was savage. The Abomination reluctantly agrees to the mission, and invades Northwind, just as The Recordasphere is about to reveal that Kate Waynesboro, Bruce's current love interest, is secretly a SHIELD agent, sent to spy on him. However, with the Abomination suddenly showing up and attacking, the Recordasphere sacrifices itself to buy Banner a few moments to transform into the Hulk. At first, The Hulk holds back on the Abomination, but after discovering Kate's SHIELD loyalties, he goes off on The Abomination, beating him into a pulp (Although, he does feel guilty about doing it afterwards). While he's distracted, The Abomination goes for an improvised Plan B, and kidnaps Kate, forcing The Hulk to follow him back to MODOK. However, before The Hulk can follow him, General Ross and his daughter Betty suddenly arrive, with "Thunderbolt" accidentally spilling the beans that it was he that basically allowed this to happen by letting MODOK spring The Abomination. Pissed, the Hulk takes off after Kate, while his daughter chastises her father for allowing his hatred of The Hulk to cause him to turn traitor on his own country. This was a pretty cool issue that instantly solved a bunch of things one would have thought would have been long term storylines: Kate secretly being a SHIELD agent, The Recordasphere's having an unhealthy love of its owner, and General Ross' traitorous turn. All are kind of suddenly resolved (or as much as they can be in the middle of a larger storyline) in an issue, which makes me think that Jim Shooter probably laid out what he was doing with Secret Wars, and what he wanted post SW, as far as The Hulk was concerned, forcing Mantlo to quickly wrap up storylines he probably figured he could have stretched out for several issues before resolving, or perhaps not. Perhaps this was Mantlo's plan all along.....who knows? Anyways, we got to see The Banner Hulk vs. The Abomination for the first time, and The Abomination still getting his ass owned. Sadly for old fish face, this would be pretty standard for most of their fights. All the same, this leads to next issue's big blow out, which doesn't exactly turn out like one would expect, in a few different ways. GRADE: B+
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 28, 2017 20:50:46 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #129 "God Spare the Child..."Cover Date: January, 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, & Jason Wyngarde Guest Star: Banshee, Havok, Polaris, Jamie Madrox, & Moria MacTaggert (Introducing: Kitty Pryde) Official Plot: Following their battle against Proteus, the X-Men are getting ready to return back to the United States from Muir Island. As they depart, Banshee decides to stay behind as he no longer can use his powers. When Cyclops offers Madrox, Havok and Polaris to join the X-Men, each respectfully refuses and the X-Men leave. As they jet through the air, they are unaware that not far behind them a private jet owned by the Hellfire Club, Jason Wyngard is once more using his powers to access the mind of Phoenix, in his continued bid to make her fall in love with him. Wyngarde makes Jean believe that she is reliving the life of her ancestor aboard a ship headed to America and that Wyngarde's ancestor is her lover. She snaps out of this supposed "time slip" when Scott asks her if she is okay. The two begin talking about their relationship and Cyclops assures her that his brief "romance" with Colleen Wing when he thought Jean was dead was only friendly. The two confess their love for each other and share a kiss. As they approach the X-Mansion, they are alerted that security on has been breached. Storming their home, the X-Men are surprised to find that their mentor, Charles Xavier, has returned to Earth. Over the next few days, Scott and Jean spend a lot of time catching up. When Wolverine suddenly storms out of the Danger Room, Scott has to explain to the Professor that this team of X-Men operates differently than his original students. Before an argument can burst out, Cerebro detects two new mutants who's powers have manifested, one in Chicago and the other in New York. As the Professor mobilizes the X-Men to investigate the two new mutants, they are unaware that they are being spied on by the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. The leaders of the Hellfire Club seek to obtain these mutants before the X-Men, and send their agent the White Queen to deal with the one in Chicago while Jason Wyngarde goes to deal with the one in New York. In the suburb of Deerfield, young Katherine "Kitty" Pryde is returning home from her ballet practice, bothered by the series of headaches that she has been experiencing recently. When she arrives home she finds her parents discussing sending Kitty to a private school in Massachusetts with it's headmistress Ms. Emma Frost, the White Queen in her civilian guise. Kitty doesn't much like Miss Frost, and realizes that the fact that she is being sent off to private school means that her parents are serious about splitting up. As she goes up into her room to rest, another headache hits her and when she opens her eyes after the pain subsides, she finds herself strangely on the floor of the living room. She rushes back up to her room as her parents are seeing Ms. Frost out, and welcomes their next visitor: Charles Xavier, who seeks to get Kitty to come to his School for Gifted Youngsters. Kitty spies Xavier and his students, Logan, Peter and ororo and finds that they are much more interesting. Kitty is asked to take Xavier's friends out, and she brings them to the local malt shop where Kitty makes instant friends with Ororo. Ororo reveals to her that they are really the mutant heroes known as the X-Men, much to Kitty's surprise. Just then, three men in armored suits jump through the storefront window and attack the three X-Men. As the X-Men battle the men, they find that they have been armed to combat their abilities. As the fight rages, Kitty is knocked aside and she is surprised when she phases right through the wall, but passes out when she lands in the alley. The X-Men realize that they can defeat their enemies if they switch opponents and easily trounce their attackers. Their victory is only brief as they are then struck by a massive mental attack by the white Queen who orders her minions to take the X-Men hostage. As they speed away she causes her downed minions armor to explode, killing them for their failure. As the white Queen has the X-Men stripped down out of their uniforms she tells her surviving troops she intends to experiment on them. When she is asked what she intends to do with Kitty, the White Queen dismisses her telling them that she can get her anytime. What the White Queen is unaware is that Kitty, having gotten the hang of her powers, has smuggled herself aboard the Hellfire Club's hovercraft, and wonders what she can do all by herself. This story is continued next issue... Brodie's View: Even though it wasn't really labeled as much, this is essentially THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA: Part One, and there is a LOT to say about this much loved (and deservedly so) storyline. I'll do my best to address the major factors of each issue. Basically, these next few issues are the culmination of several storylines that have been building since Claremont took over writing the book, and definitely since the fall out of the whole conflict with Magneto in #113. For one, we finally start to see the full reach of the mysterious secret society of rich mutants/super beings known as The Hellfire Club. Back in #110, a B villain named Warhawk broke into the X-Mansion, and turned the defenses of the mansion against the X-Men. However, that was not his main goal for being there; his main goal was to bug the X-Men's computers for the Hellfire Club (called The Counsel of the Chosen up until now), and we see that the secret group has been directly observing the actions of the mutant team ever since then. This was how they knew Jean Grey was going to Europe, and it basically set the stage for the mental machinations of Jason Wyngarde (who we've seen several times over these last 6-7 issues)(Also who was a X-Villain known as Mastermind in the original team's run), which continue in this issue, as Jean believes she is having visions of a past life in the 17th Century with Wyngarde. Their bugging the X-Computers also is what cues them in on the focus of the next 2-3 issues specifically; the detecting by the returning Charles Xaiver of two new mutants, one in Chicago, one in New York. We'll get to the 2nd one in the next issue, but I want to focus on the first before I go any further. It's funny, but the character of Kitty Pryde owes her entire existence to Jim Shooter, and where he thought the X-Men book needed to go in the future vs. where Claremont and Byrne thought it should go. Claremont and Byrne saw the book as being about prejudice, using mutants as being the stand in for any group of persecuted people, whereas, Shooter thought the book should be about Xaiver's being a school for new mutants, and being that the X-Men were mostly adults and a fully formed team by this point, that new mutants need to be introduced. Enter Kitty Pryde, who was named after a girl Byrne went to college with, she definitely fit the bill of a "New Mutant," and a character that would need Xaiver and the X-Men as teachers in the usage of her recently manifested powers of intangibility. Having her be the focus of a tug of war between the X-Men and the Hellfire Club (and more specifically Emma Frost AKA "The White Queen" of the Hellfire Club, who also makes her first appearance in this issue) instantly sets them in motion as major rivals for the future of mutant-kind. However, I don't think the Hellfire Club was as concerned with gaining future mutants at this point in the game (This would change later, as Frost and the Hellfire Club would assemble their own group of "New Mutants," called The Hellions, to act as foils for Xaiver's assembled group of young mutants), as they were in basically goading the X-Men into doing exactly what they wanted them to do; step into the spider's lair by meeting them directly. The next 3 issues, even though Frost kidnaps three of the X-Men (Storm, Colossus, and Wolverine) in their attempt to get Kitty, was basically meant to enrage the team into seeing the Hellfire Club as a threat they needed to face. We'd see even more goading in the next 2-3 issues before the trap would be sprung in #132, but we'll get to that when we get to it. Anyways, we meet Kitty as a 13 year old living a somewhat normal life in suburban Chicago, but experiencing massive headaches that end with her falling through the floor of her bedroom. Emma Frost is introduced by her parents as a representative of the Hellfire Club's Massachusetts Academy, which Kitty takes a instant dislike to, and deservedly so, before being introduced (As Frost is leaving) to Xaiver, Storm, Wolverine, and Colossus (all in civilian clothes), who hope to enlist Kitty to their "School for Gifted Youngsters." Kitty winds up going to a local malt shop with everyone but Xaiver, where after a bit of bonding with Storm, they are attacked by Mandroids of a sort (But serving Frost and the Hellfire Club), who are programmed to counteract each of the mutant's power. The three X-Men are able to dispatch the three Mandroids before being dropped by Emma Frost's psychic attack, leaving them easy prey for the Hellfire Club. Kitty is barely able to get away, and is on the run from the sinister Ms. Frost. The other major events of this issue that I haven't mentioned, is, as stated in the last review, the official departure of Banshee as an X-Man, and the refusal of Havok, Polaris, and Jamie Madrox to join/re-join the team. This would leave the team a member short, and while that would eventually be solved, they remain a member short for this entire storyline. We also do get to see more of Jason Wyngarde's (who we learn is heading to New York to meet the X-Men as they go to investigate the new mutant in that city) continued mind games of Jean Grey, as she flashes back to the 17th century, and coming to what at that point was the colonies with her lover, Jason. She flashes back to the present, as she and Cyclops appear to work out the issues left unresolved by the time each thought the other was dead (Including Cyclops' mini romance with Colleen Wing). However, she neglects to tell him about her mind slips, which kind of shows that the mental ensnaring under way by Wyngarde is most certainly working. This would intensify over the next few issues until the events of #132 happen. We would also get the return, as previously stated, of Charles Xaiver, who is happy beyond words to see his "children" alive and safe, but makes the common mistake of trying to hold on too hard and treat them like they were still students, rather than the adults and solid team they had become in his absence. This both adds to Jim Shooter's desire of a reason for Xaiver to eventually return to his role as a teacher with a group of "New Mutants," and it adds to the tragedy to come, as Xaiver is so focused on playing the father again, that he doesn't see the obvious threats that are hanging over the team until it was too late, but we'll get to all of these events as they happen. For now, GREAT issue, and a very memorable and historic one, as it relates to the direction of both the team and the book itself. GRADE: A
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Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jan 28, 2017 20:57:24 GMT -5
Incredible Hulk # 290"Unholy Alliance"Cover Date: December, 1983 Writer: Bill Mantlo Artist: Sal Buscema Villain: MODOK, The Abomination, A.I.M Agents Guest Star/s: Kate Waynesboro (Briefly transformed into Ms. MODOK) Official Plot: The Abomination brings Kate Waynesboro to an A.I.M. facility in Maine. He is surprised to discover that A.I.M. has routed out M.O.D.O.K. and preserved the facility for their own endeavors. The A.I.M. agents discover that Kate is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and decide to use her as the template for a new M.O.D.O.K. Unlike the previous M.O.D.O.K. however, this one will be completely subservient to A.I.M. The Huk uses a Gamma-tracker and follows Kate and the Abomination’s trail to Maine. Outside of the cliff side compound, he encounters M.O.D.O.K. The villain explains to him what A.I.M. intends to do with Dr. Waynesboro. The Hulk bursts into the compound, but he is too late. A.I.M. agents place Kate inside of an alteration chamber, and when she emerges, she is a feminine version of M.O.D.O.K. known as Ms. M.O.D.O.K. Ms. M.O.D.O.K. rebels against her A.I.M. creators and sides with M.O.D.O.K. M.O.D.O.K. pronounces the recreated Waynesboro as his new bride. They merge mental energies with one another in a bizarre display of shared intellect. Turning, M.O.D.O.K. attacks the Hulk and then the Abomination. Projecting a lethal dose of concentrated Gamma energy, M.O.D.O.K. disintegrates the Abomination before the eyes of his new bride. Ms. M.O.D.O.K. is repulsed by M.O.D.O.K.’s cruelty and turns against him. The two begin fighting one another, and the Hulk leaps on top of M.O.D.O.K. The villain shoots him with a mental blast and fires another blast at Ms. M.O.D.O.K. The bride falls backwards into the alteration chamber and reverts back into her human form of Katherine Waynesboro. M.O.D.O.K. continues firing blast after blast until he brings the entire laboratory crashing down. He then flies off and evades capture. The Hulk emerges from the rubble and pulls the unconscious Waynesboro to safety. Brodie's View: Hee, hee, hee....Ok, I do hate to laugh about the last chapter in this whole MODOK/Abomination storyline, as, for the most part, it's good, but the set up for the climax is quite goofy. Let's back up for a second and talk about this one, as we start with The Abomination bringing Kate Waynesboro (The Hulk's current squeeze) back to MODOK's headquarters, only to discover that A.I.M has taken over, and caused MODOK to run for the hills. They discover that Kate is a SHIELD agent, and decide to turn her into a new MODOK, but one that will be totally subservient to them. Meanwhile, The Hulk arrives to the area outside of MODOK's former base, only to discover Mr. Big Head/Little Arms and Legs himself, who tells the Hulk what A.I.M plans to most likely do with Kate, and the two form an uneasy alliance in order to break back into the base, and they do, but they are too late, as A.I.M has already placed Kate in an alteration chamber, and she is turned into a female MODOK named....hee, hee, hee.....Ms. MODOK (Wouldn't MODAM have been better, if we were going to go there? ). Anyways, A.I.M tries to order Ms. MODOK to kill MODOK and The Hulk, but she refuses, and attacks them instead. MODOK gets a head stiffy, and declares that he and Ms. MODOK are now shacking up. The Abomination tries to toady up to MODOK, but MODOK just casually destroys him (Don't worry, The Abomination will be back), causing Ms. MODOK to regret her decision, and MODOK turns on her, blasting her back into the alteration chamber. Luckily, this just happens to transform her back into her human form, without any kind of side effects. MODOK throws a tantrum, and brings the base down around The Hulk and Kate, but The Hulk is able to pull Kate and himself to safety. Yeah, kind of a cheesy ending to what was, up until that point, a decent storyline that could have gone either way. I think perhaps Mantlo had something more grand in mind for this storyline, but once again, I think he was given the mandate to wrap this whole deal up as quickly as possible, or perhaps this was always the plan. Once again, who knows. Mantlo was involved in a serious accident in the late 80's, and has been living in a hospital, a shell of his former self ever since, so, if he even could remember what he was thinking then, I doubt he'd be able to explain it, and I doubt Jim Shooter would even remember what the deal was with this. Next issue, we get a bit of a wrap up to the whole General Ross situation, and then we're right into the lead up to The Hulk going to SECRET WARS, and the downfall of the intelligent Hulk begins. GRADE: B-
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