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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

X-amining X-Men #140

Rage!
December 1980

In a Nutshell
Wolverine and Nightcrawler fight Wendigo

Writer: Chris Claremont
Plot/Pencils: John Byrne
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Editor: Louise Jones
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
Outside the X-Mansion, Colossus struggles to remove a tree stump from the ground when Angel drops in. Colossus explains that he finds the work clearing the ground to be a relaxing reminder of his former life, but then Angel is called away by Professor X. Xavier asks him his opinions of his new teammates, all of whom Angel has no problems with except for Wolverine. Calling him dangerous, Angel worries that Wolverine could hurt one of his teammates during one of his berserker rages. Professor X defends Wolverine, saying he has great potential and that Professor X considers part of his mission to help Wolverine fit into society. In Salem Center, Storm picks Kitty up from dance class, and finds herself jealous of the close relationship Kitty has developed with Stevie Hunter. Meanwhile, in Canada, Nightcrawler is attacked by Wendigo. He manages to elude the monster for awhile, but ultimately is punched into Alpha Flight's cabin and knocked out. Wolverine and Alpha Flight rush outside and manage to fight Wendigo off. 


As Vindicator and Shaman deal with a fire started by Wendigo, Wolverine and Songbird proceed to follow him back to the cave where he's trapped Mrs. Parnall and her baby. Just as Wendigo is about to eat the woman, Wolverine attacks, flying into a berserker rage and managing to stun Wendigo enough to escape with Mrs. Parnall and her child. The creature soon catches up to them, but Wolverine is joined by Nightcrawler and Alpha Flight. With the group unable to do more than stagger Wendigo, Snowbird transforms into a wolverine and attacks with such ferocity that Wendigo is knocked unconscious. As Wolverine manages to talk Snowbird out of her own berserker rage, Shaman is able to reverse the spell on Wendigo and transform him back into Georges Baptiste. Vindicator quickly takes the man into custody, and tells Wolverine he'll speak to the minister about Wolverine's resignation, ensuring he'll have no more trouble with Canada. However, when Vindicator meets with the Prime Minister, he's told that Alpha Flight has been disbanded. Meanwhile, in New Mexico, Blob escapes from prison and departs to join the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  

Firsts and Other Notables
This is the first issue to offer a significant look at Wolverine's past, as we get a handful of panels showing a flashback to his time with the Hudsons, establishing they discovered him near death in the woods years ago and helped nurse him back to health. It's also stated that the Canadian Secret Service was responsible for giving him his adamantium skeleton and claws, and his ire at that is why Wolverine left to join the X-Men when Professor X approached him. Not surprisingly, Wolverine's back story has been endlessly (and in many cases, needlessly) explored, deepened and retconned (then retconned again) throughout the years, and while the Canadian government's role in giving him his adamantium skeleton remains technically true, his knowledge of that fact in this issue was, for many years, retconned out in favor of the idea that Wolverine had little knowledge of the people responsible for giving him his metal bones.


Wolverine also declares that he's been two things in his life: a soldier and a spy. Again, later stories will reveal that to be less than true, although it can be argued that at this time, it's true as far as Wolverine can remember.


Alpha Flight is disbanded by the Canadian government at the end of the issue, ostensibly due to budget cuts, though it's suggested the team will remain together in some capacity. Alpha Flight will next appear in the first issue of its own series in 1983, written and drawn by John Byrne.


In a setup to next issue, Blob makes his triumphant return to X-Men, busting out of a specially-designed prison cell via a technique he learned from a lady "lawyer" who had visited him earlier and promised him transportation away from the prison and a place with the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants if he could escape his cell. 


A Work in Progress
Colossus gets a nice scene where he explains that he finds nature humbling and which shows he doesn't express himself very well, which Angel quickly contradicts.


Angel's animosity towards Wolverine is established for the first time, and Professor X mentions Wolverine's potential as a super-hero and leader. While Angel's dislike of Wolverine more or less comes out of left field here, the backup story in Classic X-Men #1, set after the events Giant Size X-Men #1, retroactively establishes the mutual dislike between the two characters. 


Storm's jealousy of Stevie Hunter is much more apparent this issue, and it's clear that Storm has already become very protective of Kitty. 


I Love the 80s
En route to pick up Kitty from dance class, Storm is pestered by a guy who wants to take her to a disco.


It's rather goofy that Snowbird's just-a-regular-wolverine berserker rage is able to defeat Wendigo when the berserker rage of Wolverine, who is presumably much stronger than a wolverine and comes complete with unbreakable bones and claws, wasn't able to do so.


The Canadian Prime Minister is still depicted as Pierre Trudeau.


Despite the fact that she's cowering in fear for her life and the life of her infant child, Mrs. Parnall gets sexed up on the cover of this issue, flashing a little side boob.

Claremontisms
We get our first overt callback to "The Dark Phoenix Saga", complete with a footnote, as Wolverine must talk a wild Snowbird down in the same manner as Cyclops did Phoenix in issue #136. 


This issue opens with Colossus musing on his past as a farmer and his current life as an X-Man while trying to remove a tree stump. This is not the last time we'll see an X-Man trying to clear the grounds of the school of a tree, as it becomes a recurring device Claremont uses when he wants to do an introspective scene with a character. 


The Best There Is at What He Does
 Wolverine and Nightcrawler debate the morality of Wolverine's actions in a great little scene.


It's in the Mail
I'm not sure what cracks me up more: that someone sent in this letter, or that it was printed and received a response. 


John Byrne on Nightcrawler
"After three years on the book, I finally figured Nightcrawler out. I came to The X-Men being very down on Nightcrawler because I felt that Cockrum had given him far too much of the spotlight. Then I proceeded to give far too much of the spotlight to Wolverine but [laughter] I felt in those early days it was Nightcrawler Comics co-starring the X-Men, so I practically wrote him out of the book as far as my end of it. I just did almost nothing with Nightcrawler...Finally, after three years on the book, I decided that Nightcrawler was the one things happened to. He was the guy who got the stupid stuff happening to him for no apparent reason. That was the whole point of the bear coming up and tapping him on the shoulder and the hair standing on end, and doing the Bugs Bunny wrapping-around-Wolverine thing [in issue #139]. He was going to be the intentional silly point of the book...And of course that proved to be almost my last issue, so I never got to do anything with that, once I finally figured out who he was."

Sanderson, Peter. The X-Men Companion II. Stamford: Fantagraphics Books, 1982. p100

John Byrne on Wolverine
"As I saw it, Wolverine was in the X-Men so he could be controlled. He was a homicidal maniac, and Professor X wanted to keep him in check. (I used to say the perfect Wolverine moment would be to find him eating breakfast in the kitchen at the Mansion. Kitty walks in and says, 'Good Morning' in just the wrong tone of voice. The other X-Men come in later, to find Wolverine still sitting at the table eating his Cheerios, and Kitty in 57 pieces on the floor.) I never care for the 'berserker rage' or 'ninja' stuff that came in later. That suggested he was in control, or at least in more control that [sic] I thought he should be."

Nickerson, Al. "Claremont and Byrne: The Team that Made the X-Men Uncanny." Back Issue August 2008: p11.

Teebore's Take
Falling as it does between Claremont and Byrne's two epic storylines, I've never been a terribly big fan of this two part story. The preceding issue is enjoyable enough, exploring as it does the post-"Dark Phoenix Saga" status quo and featuring some nice character development for Wolverine and Nightcrawler. This issue, unfortunately, settles in as a generic action story, and while Wendigo is certainly a fitting villain given his connection to Wolverine's past (publishing-wise), he isn't exactly a dynamic or interesting character. Granted, "generic" for Claremont and Byrne is, even in this issue, a darn sight better than most super hero action stories, and the action sequences here certainly showcase the dynamism we've come to expect from Byrne and Austin, and Claremont continues to use the action sequences to deepen the characters as we get a closer look at Wolverine.

But in the end, this story suffers from its timing. Coming on the heels of "The Dark Phoenix Saga" while knowing what's to come (both "Days of Future Past" and Byrne's departure), the biggest problem with this issue is that, after the introduction of a new status quo last issue, the majority of this issue is devoted to what is, essentially, a Wolverine solo story. In and of itself, that's not a bad thing, but knowing that we'll get only one proper story featuring the entirety of the new team established last issue before Byrne leaves (and, really, only two stories with that team at all), devoting this issue to a one-off adventure featuring only two of the team members feels like a wasted opportunity. Granted, it's a criticism born of hindsight and context, two things that wouldn't have affected readers when the issue was originally published, but as it stands, this Wendigo story feels like its spending time that should have been spent elsewhere.

Next Issue
Days of Future Past!

25 comments:

  1. It's seems pretty lame that Wendigo could be taken down by a wolverine. I would assume Snowbird changed into some sort of oversized wolverine? They're normally as large as a medium sized dog.

    I've googled it and really can't find any instance of wolverines killing a human...but they have chased wolves and polar bears away from carcasses.

    My point being, any villain worth their salt shouldn't be taken down by a wolverine.

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  2. @Dr. Bitz: I would assume Snowbird changed into some sort of oversized wolverine?

    No, just a regular-sized Wolverine as far as the story says. (that panel of her on Wendigo's back seems about equal to a medium-sized dog).

    And yes, it's ridiculous that that would take down Wendigo when Wolverine couldn't. I don't care how berserker she was as a wolverine...

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  3. word. i mean- couldn't they have chosen a different animal for her to morph into and be all badass? they just forced us to compare Wolverine with a wolverine

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  4. @Anne: they just forced us to compare Wolverine with a wolverine

    One of the commenters on Jason Powell's review of this issue likened it to Batman being upstaged by a bat, which I've always thought was pretty apt.

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  5. I don't really have a whole lot to say about this issue. I've also never found it all that compelling. I like that it fleshes Wolverine out a bit, and I enjoy the scenes in Westchester, but that's about it.

    Angel's enmity towards Wolverine remained for some time, all the way up to the X-Tinction Agenda, as I recall (don't they have a gladiatorial duel or something in Genosha?)

    I flipped through this one the other night, and I noticed that at the end, Byrne again draws Wolverine's cowl as a sort of helmet, as he did in issue #110. I think it's a nice touch, but I don't believe any other artists ever followed that example.

    Your thoughts on why you aren't too keen on this issue make a lot of sense, Teebore. I never really considered it before, but you make a great point about not getting to see the full "new" team in action more than once from Byrne's pencil. And as you note, we really only see them twice at all before Claremont pulls a 360 and writes Angel out. I wonder if he just didn't like the character, or what?

    I had read Byrne's description of the Kitty/Wolverine/breakfast scene before... I first saw it a Wizard interview, but I know it's popped up elsewhere over the years, both before and after.

    I had never seen his take on Nightcrawler before, though -- I kind of like it, though I'm pretty sure Dave Cockrum would not have been pleased to see his beloved "Nighty" turned into a comic relief character. It's interesting that after Byrne leaves and Cockrum returns, he tones down the Nightcrawler spotlight somewhat, while still giving the character plenty of attention.

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  6. @Matt: Angel's enmity towards Wolverine remained for some time, all the way up to the X-Tinction Agenda, as I recall (don't they have a gladiatorial duel or something in Genosha?)

    They did indeed, though of course, at that point that enmity was fueled by the fact that Angel had become a dark and brooding pseudo-Wolverine by then, with, ironically, his own "potentially dangerous to his own teammates" issues.

    I think the tension between them may have even hung around for a little bit post-"X-Tinction Agenda", shortly after the original X-Men rejoined the team, but then sort of disappeared as the two X-teams started co-mingling more following the Image Exodus. At any rate, it's certainly a thing of the past these days.

    I think it's a nice touch, but I don't believe any other artists ever followed that example.

    It is, but you're right: I don't think it ever gets shown that way again. Which makes me curious about who the first artist to draw the cowl as something that could be pulled off and left hanging from the neck of the costume was. I know Jim Lee drew it that way several times, but I can't imagine he was the first artist to do it...

    You make a great point about not getting to see the full "new" team in action more than once from Byrne's pencil.

    That's the thing that's always bugged me about this issue that I couldn't put into words until I was working on the post for issue #139 last week.

    I wonder if he just didn't like the character, or what?

    I'm pretty sure I have a Claremont quote lined up for Angel's departure issue, but I forget exactly what aspect of the character it speaks to. At any rate, as far as I know I think it does pretty much boil down to Claremont just not liking the character (largely because he felt Angel was redundant), and with Byrne, Angel's big backer, gone, Claremont pulled him from the book as quickly as he could.

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  7. It kind of makes sense that Angel and Wolverine would butt heads; Angel was the original teams hot head, wolverine was the new model.

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  8. she could've at least turned into a honeybadger, amiright?

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  9. @Chris: It kind of makes sense that Angel and Wolverine would butt heads; Angel was the original teams hot head, wolverine was the new model.

    Good point. I tend to forget, since he was the hothead in a bland, Silver Age kind of way, but Angel definitely was the hothead of the original team.

    @Sarah: she could've at least turned into a honeybadger, amiright?

    Ha! Indeed. Heck, any creature that wasn't represented by a more powerful human avatar standing nearby probably would have been better.

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  10. @Sarah-
    but...but then would honey badger given enough of a shit to even care about wendigo?

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  11. Nope. Honey badger don't care.

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  12. "I would like..."
    "I would like..."
    "... to feed your fingertips..."
    "... to feed your fingertips..."
    "... to the wolverines."
    "... to the wolverines."

    Your (main) problem with this issue — which I was really curious to hear about after last week's post — is one that I share, Teebore, but I can't bring myself to feel disappointed in the work on its own merits.

    I'm definitely starting to feel the loss of Byrne already. I wish we had a little more of him on the book after the Phoenix saga — not for any specific storylines that he and/or Claremont might've been planning per our past discussions, just for more good old-fashioned superhero stuff exactly like this. I've always found "Days of Future Past" haunting, especially since I haven't read most of the later revisitations of it, but it's so important and the issue after it is such a trifle.

    So do you guys pronounce it "wen-dih-goh" or "wen-dee-go"? I always said the former, and that's what my dictionary has, but on Supernatural they stress the middle syllable with a long "ee" sound.

    I don't understand why the fact that Wendigo prefers "fresh-killed meat ... means he'll keep his captives alive". Doesn't it just as likely mean that he'll eat them right away?

    Claremont must've heard some words from Byrne on Snowbird's true nature, because her speech is much more reserved and formal now.

    That was one suspiciously bloodless Wendigo / Wolverine battle.

    It's always weird for me to see Logan with shorter hair and no muttonchops (but still those flares where his hair goes up on both sides, of course) as in the flashback here.

    Wendigo reverts to human form, wearing shoes, a blue suit, and an orange turtleneck that are completely intact.

    Chris Claremont, in a letters-page reply: "The Phoenix plotline has been resolved, hopefully, once and for all."

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  13. It's rather goofy that Snowbird's just-a-regular-wolverine berserker rage is able to defeat Wendigo when the berserker rage of Wolverine, who is presumably much stronger than a wolverine and comes complete with unbreakable bones and claws, wasn't able to do so.

    My rationalization of this strange turn of events is that Snowbird as a wolverine could rip into Wendigo that way when even Logan couldn't because her powers are supernatural.

    Despite the fact that she's cowering in fear for her life and the life of her infant child, Mrs. Parnall gets sexed up on the cover of this issue, flashing a little side boob.

    Plus your sight line follows her arm into the swaddling, which obscures her own hand, and back out to her baby's waving arm, which makes her look like Kristin Wiig's "odd sister" from SNL's recent run of Lawrence Welk Show skits.

    Wolverine and Nightcrawler debate the morality of Wolverine's actions in a great little scene.

    Nightcrawler: "I understand, Logan. What you say is reasonable, logical, justifiable. But does that make it right?"
    Logan: "Dunno, elf. Now shut up and lemme smoke my cheroot."

    Dr. Bitz: I've googled it and really can't find any instance of wolverines killing a human...

    Now would be a good time to clear out your cookies and browser cache.

    Matt: I flipped through this one the other night, and I noticed that at the end, Byrne again draws Wolverine's cowl as a sort of helmet, as he did in issue #110. I think it's a nice touch, but I don't believe any other artists ever followed that example.

    I've been taking note of that too. The fact that the mask holds its shape, helmet-style, is just cool as well as (or because it's) sensible. Guardian's does the same, but since it has circuitry in it you'd expect any artist who thought about that for a moment to make sure it's solid; on the other hand, most artists would make a "regular" mask look all flimsy, even if it had rigid pointy parts like Wolverine's does.

    VW: mingons — 1. Villains in the Star Trek / Flash Gordon mash-up. 2. Adorable dyslexic French kids.

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  14. @Blam: I wish we had a little more of him on the book after the Phoenix saga — not for any specific storylines that he and/or Claremont might've been planning per our past discussions, just for more good old-fashioned superhero stuff exactly like this.

    Ditto. I'd have liked to see what they could do with this team, with Kitty, with this new status quo, before Byrne left.

    but it's so important and the issue after it is such a trifle.

    Which is precisely my problem with that issue, but we'll get into that in a few weeks...

    So do you guys pronounce it "wen-dih-goh" or "wen-dee-go"?

    I've always pronounced it as the former, but then, when the Uncanny X-Cast reviewed this issue, they had a similar debate, and one of the hosts, Rob, inspired by the character's habit of repeating his name broken up into its syllabic components, settled on pronouncing it as "Wen-dee-go!" while exaggerating the middle syllable to hilarious effect, and his pronunciation of the name has now become something of a minor running bit on their show.

    So even though *I* still pronounce it as "wen-dih-go", now I also can't help but hear "wen-deeeeee-go!" whenever I see the name...

    I don't understand why the fact that Wendigo prefers "fresh-killed meat ... means he'll keep his captives alive". Doesn't it just as likely mean that he'll eat them right away?

    Good point. For that matter, the implication seemed to be he was about to eat Mrs. Parnall alive, which is somewhat different than "fresh-killed".

    That was one suspiciously bloodless Wendigo / Wolverine battle.

    Very true. That's one of those conventions-of-times things that is so ingrained in my that I didn't even notice it, but I should have, and included it in "I Love the 80s".

    It's always weird for me to see Logan with shorter hair and no muttonchops

    I love that "no muttonchops" is one of the key indicators that it's a younger Wolverine.

    Wendigo reverts to human form, wearing shoes, a blue suit, and an orange turtleneck that are completely intact.

    Haha! Again, one of those genre conventions I just completely overlooked, but that definitely deserved a mention (at least Bruce Banner's post-Hulk pants are shredded, even if the consistency of their waistband remains dubious). Thanks for pointing it out!

    My rationalization of this strange turn of events is that Snowbird as a wolverine could rip into Wendigo that way when even Logan couldn't because her powers are supernatural.

    Ah, that is a nice rationalization.

    ...which makes her look like Kristin Wiig's "odd sister" from SNL's recent run of Lawrence Welk Show skits.

    Ha!

    "Dunno, elf. Now shut up and lemme smoke my cheroot."

    Double Ha! (For whatever reason, "cheroot" is one of those words I just find implicitly hilarious...).

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  15. I don't know why, but I've always read and pronounced the word normally as WEN-di-go, but when reading or pronouncing it saying its own name, it's Wen-DEE-go. So a little of each, I guess.

    I don't have Incredible Hulk #181 in front of me for reference, but knowing Byrne's attention to detail, I would assume that he was just going off what had been originally presented there.

    And since Baptiste transformed into Wendigo using some sort of mystical ceremony, maybe his clothes changed with him as part of the spell? That's my No-Prize solution, anyway.

    So until Wolverine is revealed to have a female clone, mike mine Marvel!

    (Sorry; I'm pretty sure that's how you're always supposed to end a No-Prize attempt...)

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  16. @Matt: And since Baptiste transformed into Wendigo using some sort of mystical ceremony, maybe his clothes changed with him as part of the spell? That's my No-Prize solution, anyway.

    That's a pretty good No-Prize explanation. Magic is magic, after all.

    So until Wolverine is revealed to have a female clone, mike mine Marvel!

    That makes me think it's be kind of fun to put together a list of all the "until X happens, make mine Marvel" statement that appeared in letters pages through the years and then see how many, like that one, have actually occurred...

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  17. Teebore: That makes me think it's be kind of fun to put together a list of all the "until X happens, make mine Marvel" statement that appeared in letters pages through the years and then see how many, like that one, have actually occurred...

    Ha! I'm not sure if that would be hilarious or just painful. Until* the Hulk sips daintily from a teacup while selling Marvel subscriptions from his parlor, make mine Teebore! [*After, too.]

    VW: emblesh — Drunkenly ink pages and/or tell tall tales.

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  18. @Blam: I'm not sure if that would be hilarious or just painful.

    Probably funny at first, but increasing painful the longer you did it...

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  19. These last half-dozen issues are the peak of Byrne-Austin art. The disco pimp chasing Ororo looks authentic and charming, not embarrassingly dated, like say Wonder Man with a mullett circa '89-'90. To me Byrne (and most comic book artists outside the Hernandez Bros.) drew realistic 70s and early 80s contemporary fashions a lot better and more than from the mid-80s on.

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  20. @Chris: To me Byrne (and most comic book artists outside the Hernandez Bros.) drew realistic 70s and early 80s contemporary fashions a lot better and more than from the mid-80s on.

    I can't say I've ever noticed it, but at the same time, very rarely have I ever noticed any Byrne-drawn characters in sterotypically 70s/80s clothes, which is probably an indication of that.

    Byrne's fashions are certainly a lot better/less jarring than the old Silver Age issues where everyone palled around in stuffy suits...

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  21. I always took this as just another adventure in a long series, and was not looking for another earth-shatterig, cosmos re-defining epic, so I was okay with the mere superheroics. Plus, I loved Alpha Flight for some odd reason. I wish current Marvel would take a hint and throw some done in one-or-two adventures in between their gigantic line wide dust-ups. They're mostly reserved for ancillary anthologies like Manifest Destiny nowadays, right? I suppose it would throw off the trade collection. Argh, don't get me started.

    I always assumed that Snowbird-wolverine would be more deadly than Logan-Wolverine because she regressed to a purely animal instinct (plus the power of the daughter of a god becuase magic that's why.) While Logan-Wolverine-Man, berserker rage or now, is still essentially human. Though the adamantium claws and combat training would definitely help in his favor. But seriously, she was a freakin' polar bear only fifteen minutes earlier. Isn't that a bit deadlier than a wolverine, and a better opponent for a Wendigo?

    Finally, concerning Byrne's comments about Nightcrawler. I for one would not want to read the further adventures of comedy relief shrieking, jumping, hair-on-end Kurt Wagner. He's a suave swashbuckler, not Beast Boy from the Teen Titans cartoon.

    Claremont and Cockrum kind of neglected him a bit in the upcoming run, Paul Smith got him exactly right in one issue, John Romita JR. was dumbfounded and forgot him all too easily. It wasn't until he was shuttled off to Excalibur that his true characterization came out under Claremont and Alan Davis. Or at least the characterization that I most preferred. But Byrne's concept is just wrong, for any main character. A main character can be funny, have humorous things happen to him, but shouldn't be the constant butt of the joke. Than he's just Orko or Snarf.

    --mortsleam

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  22. @Mortsleam: I wish current Marvel would take a hint and throw some done in one-or-two adventures in between their gigantic line wide dust-ups

    Agreed.

    I suppose it would throw off the trade collection. Argh, don't get me started.

    I won't get you started if you don't get me started. :)

    But seriously, she was a freakin' polar bear only fifteen minutes earlier. Isn't that a bit deadlier than a wolverine, and a better opponent for a Wendigo?


    Ha! I hadn't thought of that either, but you're definitely right.

    He's a suave swashbuckler, not Beast Boy from the Teen Titans cartoon.

    Agreed.

    It wasn't until he was shuttled off to Excalibur that his true characterization came out under Claremont and Alan Davis. Or at least the characterization that I most preferred.

    I too prefer that take on the character (though I've read woefully little of early Excalibur), and agree that he does tend to get lost in the shuffle prior to joining Excalibur. Heck, he was made team leader (more or less by default) at one point during the JRjr run, and that went so ignored that I often forget about it entirely, and file that whole period under "Storm was the leader".

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  23. Speaking to the subject of Byrne's fashions, I recall that a few months ago on his forum, he mentioned that he has always tried to draw characters wearing fashions that would hopefully appear contemporary to the time, yet not seem dated years later. He felt that he had mostly succeeded, with the main exception being the fact that he apparently thought in the 70's that bell bottoms would never go out of style.

    And Chris, I agree -- the final half-year or so of this run really showcases the Byrne/Austin team at its zenith. If there's any truth to Byrne's claim that he was doing the lion's share of plotting at this point, I wonder if the leap in artistic quality has anything to do with the fact that he was now drawing stuff he had come up with mostly on his own...?

    In the introduction to the Marvel Masterworks volume containing the very end of this run and the beginning of Cockrum's second, Terry Austin says that he was invited to remain on the title as inker following Byrne's departure, but he declined. I wonder what that would've looked like?? It certainly would've maintained a sense of continuity between the two runs.

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  24. @Matt:...with the main exception being the fact that he apparently thought in the 70's that bell bottoms would never go out of style.

    Ha!

    In the introduction to the Marvel Masterworks volume containing the very end of this run and the beginning of Cockrum's second, Terry Austin says that he was invited to remain on the title as inker following Byrne's departure, but he declined.

    I really wish there was some kind of online source or collection of those Masterworks introductions, cuz I feel like there's probably some good material for these posts in them (just not good enough to warrant ~$30 a piece to buy them when I already have the issues themselves in multiple other formats).

    I recently skimmed Englehart's intro from the volume that collects most of the "Hiatus Years" issues, and he said several things that would have been nice to include in my posts on those issues.

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  25. The animal wolverine beating Wendigo bothered me when I read this at age 12! Wendigo can probably lift 50 tons (he fought the Hulk right?) and a wolverine can beat him? Stuff like this drove me nuts. Claremont or Byrne was trying to teach us how powerful real life wolverines are or something. No.

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