tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post1150663757017633195..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining X-Men Annual #11Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-45744374737543000272017-02-06T12:53:05.170-06:002017-02-06T12:53:05.170-06:00This is my favorite of the Annuals I've read. ...This is my favorite of the Annuals I've read. It's stand-alone, and an excellent in-depth look at the characters at the time, from then-newbies like Dazzler and Longshot to familiar faces like Rogue. <br /><br />I feel that the most interesting "heart's desires" belong to Storm, Wolverine, and Psylocke.<br /><br />In Storm's case, her "desire" is a radical departure from how we usually know her. The Storm of the 1970s, (and the 90s, and the 2000s) is very much rooted in her origins as the African goddess -- she's seen as a queen, a savior, a kind of Mother Earth/fairy godmother hybrid. Seeing her wish here -- no cares, no responsibilities, no powers, just a fun, never-ending night on the town with best friend/girlfriend Yukio -- shows how very different the reality is from the archetype. I feel that the remainder of Storm's portrayals during Claremont's run, from here through into the Outback era, fight to create a balance between Ororo-as-goddess and Storm-as-fighter. I also feel that this is the best psychological profile of "Storm-as-fighter" that we get. There's only the slightest amount of disconnect between her fantasy and reality, where at this oint in the book, she's more or less constantly stating, or at least thinking, how much she wants her powers back.<br /><br />Wolverine is interesting in that this is, while not the first, at least one of the few depictions of his "fantasy world" where Jean Grey is not a factor. To me, that says that he loves Mariko more than he wants Jean -- indeed, I feel like his feelings for Jean are bound up more in his resentment of Cyclops than anything else. The fact that Jean finds him hot, but does not love him in return, only confuses the issue. Between the departure of Cyclops in #138 and the X-Men's reunion in Inferno, Logan only mentions Jean a handful of times, and then only when she's brought up by another character or when he comes across her trail. Otherwise, he's pretty strictly a Mariko man. Even during the "From the Ashes" event that features Mastermind's illusion of a reborn Dark Phoenix, Logan is so tightly bound up in feelings for Mariko (having been recently devastated when she left him at the altar) that Madelyne and her resemblance to "Jeanie" bareley even registers in his mind, compared to Lilandra who goes aboslutely apewire. For all that everyone loves a good love triangle, this issue cements it in my mind that Mariko, not Jean, is Logan's "true" love.<br /><br />Psylocke -- is my favorite X-Man during this period of the team's run. Usually, my all-time favorite X-Man is Storm -- she's my all-time favorite fictional character, period -- but in the post-Mutant Massacre period, up through the end of Fall of the Mutants, Betsy is just the more interesting character. Where Storm's crises of faith fit her character, Betsy's doubts and concerns portrayed in this Annual are what SHAPE her character. She wants to be a hero, a warrior, a champion, and she has the power to do it, but she lacks focus, training, and physical prowess to match her psychic power. Unlike Jean, who even at her weakest point was still a plenty tough telekinetic, Psylocke is basically Professor X in the field with poofy sleeves. Although she's VERY creative with her telepathy, anything resistant to it can trounce her. I feel it's this dilemma which leads to her acquiring Australian armor (one of the most sensible and useful wardrobe choices any X-Man ever made), and informs her post-Siege Perilous "ninja" period. What Claremont got, that many MANY other writers did not get, is that when she went ninja, Psylocke was given the heart's desire exhibited here. Despite the identity crisis and the VERY convoluted explanation given by Nicieza, in the end, Psylocke got exactly what she wanted, and Claremont wrote that conflict brilliantly, as he writes most inner conflicts.Ingonyamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17767964255684263275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-88050837338474949242014-02-17T00:04:22.767-06:002014-02-17T00:04:22.767-06:00This is one of my favorite issues. Psylocke was th...This is one of my favorite issues. Psylocke was the POV character it seems. I'll always love her as the British woman not quite up to snuff for an X-man and wanting to prove she can hang with the club. I always think that if she had never become asian. She would have become what Emma became, The premier team Telepathic badass, without all the ninja stabby stuff. She didn't need it. She would have grown naturally. I don't think she would have ever become some punch you in the face type. She was pretty tough as the armoured psychic warrior.<br /><br />BTW she did have Precognition and had a fair amount of control over those powers also. She helped Brian beat Slaymaster using them.Taziraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14009288045314604699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-32573787190673216282014-01-28T16:51:19.869-06:002014-01-28T16:51:19.869-06:00@wwk5d: The fun fact isn't that Revanche appea...@wwk5d: <i>The fun fact isn't that Revanche appears in "Blood Ties" but Wolverine doesn't...it's that Revanche appears but Psylocke doesn't lol</i><br /><br />Ha! Yes indeed. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-77114185683892031102014-01-28T02:41:15.587-06:002014-01-28T02:41:15.587-06:00To me, her precog powers are like Wolfsbane's ...To me, her precog powers are like Wolfsbane's healing factor. wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-5245778008893900992014-01-28T02:35:03.010-06:002014-01-28T02:35:03.010-06:00I dispute the truth. :)I dispute the truth. :)Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-34164805914732186082014-01-28T02:01:20.980-06:002014-01-28T02:01:20.980-06:00You can dispute it, but that doesn't mean you ...You can dispute it, but that doesn't mean you are correct ;)<br /><br />She used them occasionally, especially during the Jaspers Warp storyline. From uncannyxmen.net:<br /><br />"Later, Great Britain was hit by a reality warp caused by Sir James Jaspers. In the altered reality, super-beings were incarcerated in concentration camps, forcing Brian and his friends to go undercover. Betsy used her precognition ability to tell the others when it would be safe to leave their hide-out to search for food or medicine, but not before long they were discovered."<br /><br />And even if she didn't use them as frequently as she did her telepathy, the fact remains they did exist and she did have them, even if various writers seemed to forget she did ;)wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-91972263842180452652014-01-28T01:20:04.943-06:002014-01-28T01:20:04.943-06:00"before she joined the X-men, back when she w..."before she joined the X-men, back when she was was just appearing Marvel UK titles, she had precognitive abilities which CC seemed to ignore"<br /><br />I would dispute that. I dont' remember her ever demonstrating precognition in the Marvel UK stories. I remember them SAYING she had them, like maybe once, but never her actually using them. Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-58587040011040375232014-01-27T21:23:08.572-06:002014-01-27T21:23:08.572-06:00It always seemed a disservice to Psylocke's ch...It always seemed a disservice to Psylocke's character when she was turned into an Asian ninja. Fine if they wanted one in the book...then create one. This issue did seem the start of her concern with being a hard-edged warrior, leading to her armor costume (which I always liked), and then the ninja transformation. Another early key issue for me in my collection.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-19374733193363643852014-01-27T14:08:39.584-06:002014-01-27T14:08:39.584-06:00Asian Psylocke was interesting when CC initially w...Asian Psylocke was interesting when CC initially wrote her...it's once he leaves that the character begins to suffer.<br /><br />The fun fact isn't that Revanche appears in "Blood Ties" but Wolverine doesn't...it's that Revanche appears but Psylocke doesn't lolwwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-87518315079256083862014-01-27T12:19:33.494-06:002014-01-27T12:19:33.494-06:00@Jason: See, moments like this are why it takes a ...@Jason: <i>See, moments like this are why it takes a musical theater veteran to play Logan in live action. </i><br /><br />Ha! I had no idea the song he was singing was a showtune. That's great!<br /><br />@Blam: <i>The young girl he adopted (or had Mariko adopt) in Uncanny #181 makes what I think is her first appearance since Kitty Pryde and Wolverine as a photo on his little Shinto altar.</i><br /><br />That's...pretty awesome. I never noticed that before. Considering how rarely Amiko appears under Claremont's pen, that's pretty impressive.<br /><br />@wwk5d: <i>Speaking...if Maddie is Jean's clone, wouldn't they have the same scent as far as Wolverine is concerned?</i><br /><br />@Mike: <i>Also, Psylocke's actually a semi-interesting character. I came of age with '90s Psylocke, whose personality was blandly edgy at best</i><br /><br />Ditto, and going back and reading these pre-Asian Psylocke issues, I gained a greater appreciation for the character as a result. The seemingly-proper British woman yearning to be a hardened warrior is much more interesting than the woman is just a hardened warrior. <br /><br /><i>fun fact: Revanche showed up in the X-Men/ Avengers crossover "Blood Ties" but Wolverine didn't</i><br /><br />Hey, it's not Revanche's fault she was hanging around during pretty much the only time Wolverine was written out of the X-books for a consistent period of time. :) Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-49452759879911057312014-01-27T11:48:48.770-06:002014-01-27T11:48:48.770-06:00"... Meant, not too far away, just too many o..."... Meant, not too far away, just too many other scents from him to juggle and pinpoint ;)"<br /><br />Well, he was standing near Meatloaf...<br /><br />I like this Annual, mostly due to Alan Davis's art. Also, Psylocke's actually a semi-interesting character. I came of age with '90s Psylocke, whose personality was blandly edgy at best (and the less said about Revanche the better)(fun fact: Revanche showed up in the X-Men/ Avengers crossover "Blood Ties" but Wolverine didn't) (stupid Revanche). I like conflicted '80s Psylocke much more.<br /><br />- Mike Loughlin<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-82928153797738348392014-01-27T08:00:59.962-06:002014-01-27T08:00:59.962-06:00"Might the scene with Psylocke suggest that w..."Might the scene with Psylocke suggest that whatever controlled her to compel the team through the Siege Perilous after their return from the Savage Land, had its hooks in her this far back?"<br /><br />I don't think anything was controlling her...that was her own (some would say bad) decision to "save" the remaining X-men from the Reavers, no?<br /><br />"And given she likewise saw herself as a Reaver in that story, might the influence have been implanted by Spiral during New Mutants Annual #2?"<br /><br />She didn't see herself as a Reaver per se; before she joined the X-men, back when she was was just appearing Marvel UK titles, she had precognitive abilities which CC seemed to ignore. However, for that story, she suddenly had those powers again and "saw" herself and the X-men being slaughtered by the Reavers. Hence her decision to coerce the X-men into fleeing.<br /><br />If Spiral had implanted influence in her, it probably would have been to surrender/submit to Reavers instead of running away from them...wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-62550602118773154222014-01-27T07:10:23.389-06:002014-01-27T07:10:23.389-06:00@Nathan Alder: Might the scene with Psylocke sugge...@Nathan Alder: <i>Might the scene with Psylocke suggest that whatever controlled her to compel the team through the Siege Perilous after their return from the Savage Land, had its hooks in her this far back?<br /><br />And given she likewise saw herself as a Reaver in that story, might the influence have been implanted by Spiral during New Mutants Annual #2?</i><br /><br />Bionic eyes at least were. Isn't she technically a cyborg then...Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-13367105125659628412014-01-27T05:04:51.427-06:002014-01-27T05:04:51.427-06:00Meant, not too far away, just too many other scent...Meant, not too far away, just too many other scents from him to juggle and pinpoint ;)<br /><br />Speaking...if Maddie is Jean's clone, wouldn't they have the same scent as far as Wolverine is concerned?wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-48458434366452800112014-01-27T05:00:00.501-06:002014-01-27T05:00:00.501-06:00"Wolverine finally comes face-to-face with th..."Wolverine finally comes face-to-face with the revived Jean Grey in Meatloaf's back-cover pitch to benefit the Special Olympics. Probably not considered in continuity…"<br /><br />It *is* in continuity. Except he was too far away to catch her scent, and just thought it was Maddie dressed in spandex for some reason.<br /><br />"That could be said about the Marvel 25th anniversary cover border thingy"<br /><br />Ditto. <br />wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-66720864807599637852014-01-27T04:58:35.811-06:002014-01-27T04:58:35.811-06:00Might the scene with Psylocke suggest that whateve...Might the scene with Psylocke suggest that whatever controlled her to compel the team through the Siege Perilous after their return from the Savage Land, had its hooks in her this far back?<br /><br />And given she likewise saw herself as a Reaver in that story, might the influence have been implanted by Spiral during New Mutants Annual #2?Nathan Adlerhttp://fanfix.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-30076008454742210962014-01-26T23:49:26.843-06:002014-01-26T23:49:26.843-06:00@Blam: Wolverine finally comes face-to-face with t...@Blam: <i>Wolverine finally comes face-to-face with the revived Jean Grey in Meatloaf's back-cover pitch to benefit the Special Olympics. Probably not considered in continuity…</i><br /><br />That could be said about the Marvel 25th anniversary cover border thingy and it was practically on the front cover of each and every title in Nov '86. Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-33065164203402478422014-01-26T23:10:10.914-06:002014-01-26T23:10:10.914-06:00// Wolverine ... considers using his power to make...<br><i>// Wolverine ... considers using his power to make humanity better, but realizes such an act would be fundamentally wrong //</i><br /><br />So, Magneto's arc in <i>The X-Men vs. The Avengers</i> in two panels.<br /><br />In other Logan news:<br /><br />The young girl he adopted (or had Mariko adopt) in <i>Uncanny</i> #181 makes what I think is her first appearance since <i>Kitty Pryde and Wolverine</i> <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/112544365095293670244/XMen?noredirect-1#5972692643615803890" rel="nofollow">as a photo on his little Shinto altar</a>.<br /><br />Wolverine finally comes face-to-face with the revived Jean Grey <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/112544365095293670244/XMen?noredirect-1#5972692649971532722" rel="nofollow">in Meatloaf's back-cover pitch to benefit the Special Olympics.</a> <i>Probably</i> not considered in continuity…<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-82585262504809815342014-01-26T21:09:17.091-06:002014-01-26T21:09:17.091-06:00What a silly theory about the musical theatre, Jas...What a silly theory about the musical theatre, Jason! Because in that case, due to all Claremontese in the source material, shouldn't we expect to also see at least in the more talkative roles some established Shakespearean theatre talents... oh.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-46563959887962418352014-01-26T12:52:54.988-06:002014-01-26T12:52:54.988-06:00Well, glad that confirms my theory lolWell, glad that confirms my theory lolwwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-22863053941306395572014-01-26T12:27:43.897-06:002014-01-26T12:27:43.897-06:00One other thing about this issue ... that song Wol...One other thing about this issue ... that song Wolverine is singing in the opening pages is a showtune. The song comes from Irish playwright Brendan Behan's 1958 script THE HOSTAGE. <br /><br />See, moments like this are why it takes a musical theater veteran to play Logan in live action. <br /><br />"My fanwank is that Wolverine used his new powers to give himself the adamantium claws and skeleton."<br /><br />That's not fanwank, it's canonwank! Peter Sanderson made it so in "The Wolverine Saga" published circa 1989.<br /><br /><br />"Next Issue<br />It's back to business as usual"<br /><br />Excellent. It has been too long since I have known mutants by their deeds. :)Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-63841169631702474602014-01-25T14:20:20.738-06:002014-01-25T14:20:20.738-06:00"I never considered that, but it makes sense...."I never considered that, but it makes sense. I just figured Claremont likes to have someone on the team he can show working on the Blackbird when the call to action comes in, so why not Rogue? The Danvers part makes sense though."<br /><br />It does get brought up very briefly again, in one panel, in the issue right before Fall of the Mutants. Don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read that far ahead, but hope you pick up on it, Teebore ;)wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-34864723983746188632014-01-25T13:41:51.297-06:002014-01-25T13:41:51.297-06:00@wwk5d: My fanwank is that Wolverine used his new ...@wwk5d: <i>My fanwank is that Wolverine used his new powers to give himself the adamantium claws and skeleton. Subconsciously, of course ;)</i><br /><br />Oh yeah, I have no problem with that happening in this instance; I pointed it out more to further undermine the attempts to use this as a justification for Wolverine's amped up healing factor, because no matter how powerful it is, it couldn't rebuild the adamantium unless magic is involved (like it is here). <br /><br /><i>It also plays into her post Siege Perilous 2.0 status quo...</i><br /><br />Yeah, Psylocke's whole arc from her joining up to her post-Perilous transformation is pretty much about her struggling to prove herself as a warrior. This issue is another example of that. <br /><br /><i>Hey, gotta put those memories of Carol Danvers to good use, right?</i><br /><br />I never considered that, but it makes sense. I just figured Claremont likes to have someone on the team he can show working on the Blackbird when the call to action comes in, so why not Rogue? The Danvers part makes sense though. <br /><br /><i>At this point, I think he can get drunk, it just takes a lot of booze to get there, and even then, he won't stay drunk as long as a normal person would due to his healing factor...</i><br /><br />That's my take as well, and he pretty much says as much in this issue, that he's had to drink A LOT to get to the point he's at. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-58817575839794672562014-01-24T23:48:31.941-06:002014-01-24T23:48:31.941-06:00I love this annual too. Again, not ground-breaking...I love this annual too. Again, not ground-breaking or anything like that, but between the strong character work and the lovely artwork, it's a good read. I also agree that while it's not quite at the level of the Art Adams annuals, it is better than most of the other annuals. <br /><br />"This issue is most notable for the scene in which Wolverine is, nearly-instantaneously, resurrected entirely (including his adamantium skeleton) from a single drop of his blood by his healing factor."<br /><br />My fanwank is that Wolverine used his new powers to give himself the adamantium claws and skeleton. Subconsciously, of course ;)<br /><br />"Psylocke expresses to Captain Britain her desire to prove herself a warrior, which later plays into her fantasy inside the citadel."<br /><br />It also plays into her post Siege Perilous 2.0 status quo...<br /><br />Interesting how frumpy Betsy is dressed in her scene with Brian in the kitchen. By the time Silvestri comes aboard, her choice of bedwear switches to sexy underwear, see-through nightgowns, high heels, and striking the occasional modeling-on-the-beach pose (http://uncannyxmen.net/images/spotlight/psylocke14.jpg). Hey, it's Silvestri after all ;)<br /><br />"Rogue has seemingly become the X-Men's de facto grease monkey in the absence of Banshee and Nightcrawler"<br /><br />Hey, gotta put those memories of Carol Danvers to good use, right? Granted, she was a pilot, not sure how much mechanical work Carol did. Maybe Rogue just spent time assisting Nightcraweler off panel?<br /><br />"This being an annual and whatnot, the villain is of course especially smitten with Storm."<br /><br />Of course.<br /><br />"I thought Wolvie couldn't get drunk."<br /><br />At this point, I think he can get drunk, it just takes a lot of booze to get there, and even then, he won't stay drunk as long as a normal person would due to his healing factor...<br /><br />wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-19614185640216354332014-01-24T22:29:14.985-06:002014-01-24T22:29:14.985-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02659086093669118972noreply@blogger.com