tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post4782093451304268941..comments2024-03-16T14:43:09.430-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining X-Factor #39Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-86705921056539998192014-08-29T17:57:48.271-05:002014-08-29T17:57:48.271-05:00"… sugah." I corrected that to "sug...<br><i>"… sugah."</i> I corrected that to "sugah" before entering the verification but it didn't take. Honest.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-1108162265209534662014-08-29T17:55:33.863-05:002014-08-29T17:55:33.863-05:00@wwk5d: // Hmmm. I always saw it as Psylocke imply...<br>@wwk5d: <i>// Hmmm. I always saw it as Psylocke implying "Next time some psycho is about to rip out your throat, I hope you really do enjoy it" //</i><br /><br />That reading makes at least as much sense as mine, I guess. I was going off the fact that <i>(1)</i> Psylocke said "he" rather than "someone" and <i>(2)</i> with his eyes visibly rolled back Sabretooth looked dead. So I took Rogue's "???" response to Psylocke's remark as meaning, "What d'you mean next time? He ain't comin' back, sugar."<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-48233179289749195482014-08-29T04:36:21.017-05:002014-08-29T04:36:21.017-05:00"Circa issue #300, for example, he was planni..."Circa issue #300, for example, he was planning on establishing Gateway as the new mentor figure"<br /><br />Really? One version I read of his plans was having Magneto returning back to "lead" the X-men after Professor X dies fighting the Shadow King...<br /><br />"Psylocke seems to know. At least that's how I took her "... next time, he's all yours" comment to Rogue after she fries [clone] Sabretooth's brain — with Rogue not understanding, granted, hence the "???" reaction."<br /><br />Hmmm. I always saw it as Psylocke implying "Next time some psycho is about to rip out your throat, I hope you really do enjoy it", with Rogue's reaction being "Geez, bitchy much?". Of course, Rogue and Psylocke never had the best relation during their tenure together while CC was writing them...wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-29339673729607555162014-08-28T21:06:54.310-05:002014-08-28T21:06:54.310-05:00"Either somebody actively screwed up in misre..."Either somebody actively screwed up in misreading / misremembering the page or there was passive editorial neglect in failure to notice that Claremont and Simonson had each come up with the same story title."<br /><br />I blame Bob Harras. Or Weezie.<br /><br />Anyone but Claremont, who is perfect and never does anything wrong.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-34618435784595413852014-08-28T21:05:39.077-05:002014-08-28T21:05:39.077-05:00"Heh. I've been waiting for you to pop up..."Heh. I've been waiting for you to pop up and complain about that. :)"<br /><br />Ha, did I already do that rant? Sometimes i forget which rants remained in my head and which ones I committed to online ink.<br /><br />Am I wrong on that? "Wimpy" feels like a weird word for Madeline-as-Goblin-Queen to use. It's such a childlike taunt to my ears.<br />Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-73800981333711197162014-08-28T21:00:16.286-05:002014-08-28T21:00:16.286-05:00@Teebore: // I don't think the X-Men are suppo...<br>@Teebore: <i>// I don't think the X-Men are supposed to know that he's cloning the Marauders at this point. //</i><br /><br />Psylocke seems to know. At least that's how I took her "... next time, he's all yours" comment to Rogue after she fries [clone] Sabretooth's brain — with Rogue not understanding, granted, hence the "???" reaction. Why Rogue wouldn't have learned when Psylocke did, and/or why Psylocke wouldn't let on to the others if, say, it's something she gleaned in this moment from being inside [clone] Sabretooth's head, is another story.<br /><br />@Teebore: <i>// establishing lines of communication and swapping notes would have made sense //</i><br /><br />Really. X-Factor's embrace by the people of New York and the media is due in large part to the X-Men's sacrifice, I believe, so <i>both</i> teams had a reason for the Outbackers to remain ghostlike. (I don't know how long either situation lasts, mind you, although obviously the X-Men operate publicly again — and the general populace is knee-jerk reactionary towards mutants again — eventually.) A bit more of an epilogue was called for, however.<br /><br />@Teebore: <i>// I've always taken it that Sinister's armor is his skin //</i><br /><br />Which is my supposition. Probably I could've phrased it better, but I wasn't saying that as Nathan's avatar Sinister couldn't be touched; I was saying, like you, that perhaps since he's a physical manifestation there's no distinction between his "outfit" and his "skin" even though he appears to be a humanoid wearing armor.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-33609160134030563112014-08-28T20:58:04.889-05:002014-08-28T20:58:04.889-05:00@Jason: // Sloppy. //
Yeah. I was surprised by th...<br>@Jason: <i>// Sloppy. //</i><br /><br />Yeah. I was surprised by that. The end of <i>X-Men</i> #243 — I'm looking at it right now — has the caption "Ashes to Ashes," echoing the splash-page story title, followed immediately by "To be concluded in <i>X-Factor</i> #39: Dust to Dust!" Either somebody actively screwed up in misreading / misremembering the page or there was passive editorial neglect in failure to notice that Claremont and Simonson had each come up with the same story title.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-29112266156997354362014-08-28T17:19:49.764-05:002014-08-28T17:19:49.764-05:00@Teemu: Has there ever been any out-of-universe i...@Teemu: <i> Has there ever been any out-of-universe info on why the X-Men left the Australian Outback almost as soon as they got there, without getting anything much done there?</i><br /><br />I think it's a combination of Claremont getting bored with the idea, Harras/Lee pushing for more traditional stories, and Claremont eventually leaving before paying some of it off. Circa issue #300, for example, he was planning on establishing Gateway as the new mentor figure; that, presumably, would have tied off some of the Gateway danglers and made more of the whole Outback status quo. <br /><br />@Jason: <i>I liked Longshot's pathetic "just standing there" pose at the end of X-Men 243, as I thought it was the right body-language for a character undergoing a huge crisis of confidence. It annoyed me as a kid that the opening splash of this page didn't match.</i><br /><br />Whereas I had the opposite reaction, having read this issue countless times before getting to read UXM #243. For me, it was UXM #243 that failed to match up to this issue! <br /><br /><i>Also annoying was that X-Men 243 was titled "Ashes," and then the Next Issue blurb said, "Continued in X-Factor 39 -- DUST!"<br /><br />But then instead X-Factor 39 is titled "Ashes to Ashes." Sloppy.</i><br /><br />That has always bugged me as well, however. <br /><br /><i>Also, something I forgot -- I think it happened in X-Factor 38, where Madelyne trash-talks the X-Men by calling them "wimpy." That seemed like such an egregiously immature word choice.</i><br /><br />Heh. I've been waiting for you to pop up and complain about that. :)<br /><br /><i>As a kid, I was even bothered by the storyline ending in X-Factor rather than X-Men, because it meant that it would end on a creative low-note. Alas, X-Tinction Agenda would follow the same pattern.</i><br /><br />No so much "Inferno" for me (cuz I like/liked <i>X-Factor</i> at the time), but definitely true for "X-Tinction Agenda". I HATED the Bogdanove art in that as a kid, and I still don't like it very much. <br /><br />@anonymous: <i>Actually, that's the weird thing- he quit writing Avengers as of Avengers 300, which came out the same month as X-Factor 37, and his first Fantastic Four issue was FF 334, which came out the same month as X-Factor 48. So what was he doing those 9 months?</i><br /><br />Huh. I never bothered to check the dates on that, and clearly, I should have. Now I'm more curious than ever why he left as of this issue. <br /><br />@wwk5d: <i> I hope Teebore does end up reviewing them, though.</i><br /><br />I am planning on covering them. Probably together, in one post. Whether as a regular <i>X-Men</i> entry on a Wednesday or a special post or something, I'm not sure yet. But they'll be covered. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-61027319328739135222014-08-28T17:11:22.724-05:002014-08-28T17:11:22.724-05:00@Angmc43: My brother, on reading it, surmised that...@Angmc43: <i>My brother, on reading it, surmised that the Sabretooth here was a faulty clone.</i><br /><br />I think Claremont has said that the only Sabretooth appearance he considers to be that of the original is the one in <i>Wolverine</i> #10 (and maybe one of the <i>Classic X-Men</i> backups), which puts your brother in good company. <br /><br />@Drew: <i>Given that, Sinister has had Summers and Grey DNA on file since the Silver Age.</i><br /><br />It's been awhile since I read that, but didn't it make clear that his samples of their DNA were destroyed or otherwise rendered useless by the end of the story? Or am I imagining that. <br /><br />@Blam: <i>I think that's pretty weak. All kinds of reasons for the teams to confer in the wake of this adventure present themselves — even if they are going to withdraw to their own operations subsequently — from catching up with Jean to discussing Magneto to checking in on the New Mutants.</i><br /><br />Me too. I'm not saying they needed to move in together, but establishing lines of communication and swapping notes would have made sense and not overly-distorted the whole "mythic outlaw heroes" thing Claremont clearly still wanted to do. <br /><br /><i>Rogue only touches Sinister's armored body, not his exposed face, so I have to wonder if this a flat-out mistake or if it's maybe some clue to the fact that his entire body is a manifestation of Nathan</i><br /><br />I've always taken it that Sinister's armor is his skin, much like how if Rogue touches an armored Colossus, she absorbs his power. How it gels with the (ultimately unestablished) idea that Sinister is an avatar of Kid Nathan, I have no idea, but I suppose we can't ding Simonson since that was never technically established and, officially, he's physically there. <br /><br />@Anonymous: <i>But Rogue absorbed Sinister through her GLOVES- the simplest explanation is that Simonson didn't understand how Rogue's powers work.</i><br /><br />I usually chalk that sort of thing up to storytelling convenience - like how, in the 60s, we didn't always see Cyclops' visor raise up, or see him push the button in his glove to raise it, every time he fired an optic blast (unless doing or not doing so was integral to the plot). <br /><br />Here, I just assume Rogue has a hole in her glove, or removed them off panel, etc. <br /><br />@Jonathan: <i>One thing that might be added to the "Notable" section is that this is the issue when Warren gets his "Archangel" codename</i><br /><br />That's actually at the very end of XF #38; I pointed it out in that post. <br /><br /><i>I find it suspicious that TWO sets of x-teams spent lengthy stretches off-world around this time, for instance, while another one simply starts to fray at the seams.</i><br /><br />To be fiar, the "fraying at the seems" was wholly intentional on the part of Claremont - he wanted to split up the team and experiment with the idea of a team book without a team. The other two do read a bit like Weezie spinning her wheels. Or, at least, stretching out an idea longer than it needed to be to kill some time (though I do love the Judgment War story...). <br /><br /><i>They'll have a few "unofficial" pseudo-crossovers in the meantime which, reminisce of the JRJR days, will have subplots being resolved in different books then they started.</i><br /><br />Do they? All I can really think of offhand is Jean's appearance in the mid 260s, but by then, the team is basically just Banshee and Forge. What am I forgetting?Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-29616280080896117462014-08-28T17:11:19.494-05:002014-08-28T17:11:19.494-05:00@Tazirai: This should have been the book that was...@Tazirai: <i> This should have been the book that was slightly longer than the one preceding it.</i><br /><br />I would have liked that, too, but I get why the wanted to add some extra pages to the issue celebrating the new X-Men's 25th anniversary. <br /><br />@Teemu: <i>Post Inferno, something just wasn't there anymore.</i><br /><br />Well, he definitely moves forward in terms of introducing more danglers - the difference, I think, is that unlike the pre-"Inferno" danglers, most of the post-"Inferno" ones don't get paid off (or are paid off by someone else). <br /><br />Claremont had a plan that would take the book up to issue #300, but of course, he left before then, so a lot of the stuff he sets up gets little or no payoff. And I'm sure some of his plans got altered a bit even before he left by the presence of Lee and the desire to do more "retro" stories. <br /><br />@Matt: <i>I seem to recall Bastion popping up during "Onslaught" for example</i><br /><br />Bastion showed up during the run-up to "Onslaught", but didn't feature in the story itself. You're right though, the 90s crossovers did a pretty good job of presenting a finite story and still moving setting up the next thing. "X-Cutioner's Song" had a pretty clear ending, but it still setup the Legacy Virus. AoA clearly had a defined ending, but that ending led into "Onslaught", the runup to which introduced Bastion, leading to "Operation: Zero Tolerance". <br /><br /><i>To be honest, that's probably the best way to fix the whole mess. Tell me Mr. Sinister was manipulating someone, and all is forgiven.</i><br /><br />I mock less the sentiment than the haphazard way it's introduced. I agree, that's a great way to retcon out Scott's behavior; they should have done more with it than introduce it via an aside from Angel in the last issue of the crossover. <br /><br /><i>Sometimes I feel like I'm literally the only person in the world who read and understood this statement.</i><br /><br />Heh. I can certainly appreciate your frustration. FWIW, I did consider that scene when I wrote this. The problem, as you say, is that while XM #23 clearly presents the vulnerability as a lie, as you also say, everyone else just kinda ignored that, and as a result, the incorrection has become correct, and the correction looks like the anomaly. Kind of like how if everyone uses a word the wrong way, eventually, the language just accepts the incorrect definition as correct. Frustrating as hell, but it happens. <br /><br />@Mike: <i>Problem was, "what's next" was somewhat aimless, partly due to changing of guards.</i><br /><br />And partly by design, which didn't make it any less aimless. I respect the whole idea of "Dissolution and Rebirth" as a creative choice, especially coming from a writer nearing 15 years on the title, but at the same time, it's hard to get too excited about stories featuring no team and Kid Storm. <br /><br />@Anonymous: <i>Why aren't the X-Men worried that Sinister might have survived death by cloning himself?</i><br /><br />I don't think the X-Men are supposed to know that he's cloning the Marauders at this point. Heck, even to readers at the time, it was more of a hint than an outright fact. I don't think it's until <i>X-Men</i> (v2) #34 that it's made clear to the X-Men just how extensive Sinister's cloning is. <br /><br /><i>As ignored subplots go,Naze didn't bother me as much as Karma- Xavier and Storm never so much as lifted a finger to look for her until the New Mutants went after her.</i><br /><br />Ditto. And then after he writes her out again, then brings her back for <i>Wolverine</i>, he STILL leaves her plot dangling for a later writer to resolve (poorly). <br /><br />Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-7568131026540499882014-08-25T00:41:25.163-05:002014-08-25T00:41:25.163-05:00"I'm surprised Jean never broke out into ..."I'm surprised Jean never broke out into "Ding dong, the witch is dead..." at any point once Maddie died."<br /><br />Ha! That particular witch was the Wicked Witch of the East in the movie, and we do remember how Dark Phoenix introduced herself to her father upon visiting their house in Annandale-on-Hudson in UXM #136...<br /><br />Though it's better if the little hypocrite just keeps her yapper shut, it's <i>her</i> cosmic carbon copies and s'ymulacrums you can't amp up with the littlest bit of power without them going totally and homicidally berserk.<br /><br />About Walt Simonson, he doesn't seem to have been doing anything much between Avengers #300 and his FF if http://comicbookdb.com/creator_chron.php?ID=116 is to be believed. Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-7421186780125117712014-08-24T15:36:18.002-05:002014-08-24T15:36:18.002-05:00"Those hadn't been published at this poin..."Those hadn't been published at this point. Didn't come out until roughly a year after "Inferno" ended."<br /><br />Eh, close enough lol I hope Teebore does end up reviewing them, though.wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-26166525033473854532014-08-24T15:03:57.038-05:002014-08-24T15:03:57.038-05:00"I'm surprised Jean never broke out into ..."I'm surprised Jean never broke out into "Ding dong, the witch is dead..." at any point once Maddie died."<br /><br />WAY too funny! :D I can just imagine her & the X-Factor crew singing & dancing to The Fifth Estate's version!<br /><br /><br /><br />...wow, my captcha is: "taken mmnate" ..kinda topicalReesenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-52589043148914369782014-08-24T12:35:44.647-05:002014-08-24T12:35:44.647-05:00"There are some Classic X-men (or was it X-me..."There are some Classic X-men (or was it X-men Classic as this point?) issues that were printed at this point that had original material detailing Cyclops and Sinister/Nate's time together at the orphanage that does fill in some of the blanks."<br /><br />Classic X-Men 41 and 42. <br /><br />Those hadn't been published at this point. Didn't come out until roughly a year after "Inferno" ended.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-1053030243599946582014-08-24T08:05:11.146-05:002014-08-24T08:05:11.146-05:00"Too bad Walt Simonson ends his run on such a...<br />"Too bad Walt Simonson ends his run on such a bad looking issue (I guess he was too busy writing shitty Avengers stories at this point to focus on this title). "<br />Actually, that's the weird thing- he quit writing Avengers as of Avengers 300, which came out the same month as X-Factor 37, and his first Fantastic Four issue was FF 334, which came out the same month as X-Factor 48. So what was he doing those 9 months?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-88744299738409631442014-08-24T06:13:30.626-05:002014-08-24T06:13:30.626-05:00"because otherwise that exchange in which Sin..."because otherwise that exchange in which Sinister implicitly channels Nathan from the orphanage, taunting Cyclops with "You always were a sissy," is sort-of left hanging there."<br /><br />There are some Classic X-men (or was it X-men Classic as this point?) issues that were printed at this point that had original material detailing Cyclops and Sinister/Nate's time together at the orphanage that does fill in some of the blanks. <br /><br />"The "post-Inferno" malise that some here have complained about is probably less due to resolving long-standing x-baggage and more because the writers didn't have a clue what to do next and relied on stalling tactics"<br /><br />More or less true. Pre-Inferno, there was lots of danglers that needed to be toed up, but it helped that the titles were all building up to something down the line (Fall of the Mutants and Inferno). Without a new big event on the horizon, CC and Simonson do flounder a bit and are rather directionless.<br /><br />"I liked Longshot's pathetic "just standing there" pose at the end of X-Men 243, as I thought it was the right body-language for a character undergoing a huge crisis of confidence."<br /><br />I did too. If anything, it made for a great cliffhanger. THIS guy is going to take down Sinister and Polaris? Gotta read the next part.<br /><br />The attempts to justify and whitewash Scott are just so over the top it becomes so ridiculous. Not only was Maddie an evil scheming bitch all along, but he was also being influenced/manipulated/what you want to call it by Sinister as well. Way to absolve him of *any* wrong doing whatsoever. I'm surprised Jean never broke out into "Ding dong, the witch is dead..." at any point once Maddie died. Because Maddie was a jerk!<br /><br />As for the danglers issue...I think CC was just sidetracked by a weak editor and lots of behind the scenes issues ever since the JRJR era, and did the best he could. Well, when he felt like it.<br /><br />Too bad Walt Simonson ends his run on such a bad looking issue (I guess he was too busy writing shitty Avengers stories at this point to focus on this title). If nothing else, I'll miss the supreme bitchface most of the characters give. And nobody, and I mean nobody, draws characters giving supreme bitchface quite like Walt Simonson. wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-71496839089100173132014-08-24T04:25:13.677-05:002014-08-24T04:25:13.677-05:00The artwork in this issue is so, so bad. I especi...The artwork in this issue is so, so bad. I especially hate the way Simonson and Milgrom portray Wolverine's inferno-ized solid black face. (That was a weird thing for Silvestri to do anyway, but at least Silvestri made it look cool.)<br /><br /><br />I liked Longshot's pathetic "just standing there" pose at the end of X-Men 243, as I thought it was the right body-language for a character undergoing a huge crisis of confidence. It annoyed me as a kid that the opening splash of this page didn't match.<br /><br />Also annoying was that X-Men 243 was titled "Ashes," and then the Next Issue blurb said, "Continued in X-Factor 39 -- DUST!"<br /><br />But then instead X-Factor 39 is titled "Ashes to Ashes." Sloppy.<br /><br />Also, something I forgot -- I think it happened in X-Factor 38, where Madelyne trash-talks the X-Men by calling them "wimpy." That seemed like such an egregiously immature word choice.<br /><br /> It's Mr. Sinister who's secretly a little kid, not Madelyne.<br /><br />I also dislike that corny last panel ... not just the Scott-apologism, but the fact that everyone is dramatically looking up at the "camera" while saying it. Jean's fawning compliments are irritating enough, but the idea that rather than looking at Scott while saying it, she's looking vaguely out towards the sky ... Gad, it's corny.<br /><br />All of these factors (get it?) contributed to my feeling as a kid that X-Factor had the "bad" writer and the "bad" artist, while Uncanny was the one with the A-list creative team.<br /><br />As a kid, I was even bothered by the storyline ending in X-Factor rather than X-Men, because it meant that it would end on a creative low-note. Alas, X-Tinction Agenda would follow the same pattern.<br /><br />Still, overall, I agree that Inferno was a genuinely climactic "event" storyline, filled with incident that seemed genuinely significant to the X-canon.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-82435940119669252102014-08-24T04:11:55.128-05:002014-08-24T04:11:55.128-05:00Jonathan: Long-simmering subplots are fine (Captai...Jonathan: <i>Long-simmering subplots are fine (Captain America at the time was doing this rather well.) The problem is that these subplots weren't "developed" as much as "ignored." These issues should have been solved years ago (especially since most of them could have been resolved by having the x-teams meet up long instead of instituting contrivance after contrivance to keep the teams separated at their own peril.)</i><br /><br />Oh, yes, I must stress out that my celebration of long-simmering subplots didn't include the mess of X-teams being artificially separated and everyone just introspecting about it instead of calling each other. Though after what mess Warren caused with his phone call I really can't blame if everyone adopted the policy of "anyone not calling Summers ever again".<br /><br />I have to say though that I have hard time thinking the Madelyne bit or Illyana's Darkchylde arc as (mere) subplots, but it may be they just have got elevated in my mind because Marvel felt they need a massive linewide crossover to solve them.<br /><br />Of course, in the end, did they actually solve how many lesser danglers particularly in the Inferno? They found the Marauders, and Nathan, and Mr. Sinister's game was revealed, yes, but then again they already did Harry Palmer's Broodswagen bit earlier, and Rogue vs. Carol Danvers (non-)solution is coming up soon with Nimrod (and Master Mold of X-Factor fame).<br /><br />Claremont haven't seem to leave so many danglers since... Mutant Massacre (?), and the once he did, like the one with Gateway, never got solved. Harras influence? Has there ever been any out-of-universe info on why the X-Men left the Australian Outback almost as soon as they got there, without getting anything much done <i>there</i>?Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-86302926123179279392014-08-24T01:16:11.574-05:002014-08-24T01:16:11.574-05:00One thing that might be added to the "Notable...One thing that might be added to the "Notable" section is that this is the issue when Warren gets his "Archangel" codename (Beast suggest it after pointing out that Wartren isn't quite so far gone as to embody the "Death" moniker.)<br /><br />I disagree that the "danglers" didn't need to be resolved soon. Long-simmering subplots are fine (Captain America at the time was doing this rather well.) The problem is that these subplots weren't "developed" as much as "ignored." These issues should have been solved years ago (especially since most of them could have been resolved by having the x-teams meet up long instead of instituting contrivance after contrivance to keep the teams separated at their own peril.) As I mentioned before one of the reasons they met in THIS crossover is that a change in editorial (both within the X-books and Marvel in general) started forcing Claremont's hand. In that respect I have to give a check point for editorial meddling there.<br /><br />The "post-Inferno" malise that some here have complained about is probably less due to resolving long-standing x-baggage and more because the writers didn't have a clue what to do next and relied on stalling tactics (I find it suspicious that TWO sets of x-teams spent lengthy stretches off-world around this time, for instance, while another one simply starts to fray at the seams.)<br /><br /><i>"Though the teams have finally met and all misconceptions about each other (one are mutant hunters, the other dead) have been stripped away, they'll go back to own books for awhile and won't directly interact again much until "X-Tinction Agenda", the next big X-book crossover (which is a little under two years away, publication time, from this point).</i><br /><br />That's not quite true. They'll have a few "unofficial" pseudo-crossovers in the meantime which, reminisce of the JRJR days, will have subplots being resolved in different books then they started.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Jon Dubyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783906806644566810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-23120003612023165472014-08-23T21:38:55.063-05:002014-08-23T21:38:55.063-05:00"I've only read its predecessor, and that..."I've only read its predecessor, and that back when it was published, of which I really only remember the basic premise: the newlyweds being tossed into the future — their minds, anyway, I think, into the bodies of people who just happened to look like them — right after their wedding to help their now ancient alternate-future daughter protect and rear little baby not-Sinister, Cable-to-be Nathan."<br />The Further Adventures involves a time-traveling Jean and Scott meeting a 19-Century Sinister.<br />"Rogue only touches Sinister's armored body, not his exposed face, so I have to wonder if this a flat-out mistake or if it's maybe some clue to the fact that his entire body is a manifestation of Nathan — which could probably be a cheat to consider it all organic, especially since Sinister overpowers her anyway. That would also be an explanation as to why he doesn't die after being totally blown apart."<br />But Rogue absorbed Sinister through her GLOVES- the simplest explanation is that Simonson didn't understand how Rogue's powers work.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-85669026990361946212014-08-23T16:39:32.873-05:002014-08-23T16:39:32.873-05:00// Mr. Sinister is killed this issue, blasted apar...<br><i>// Mr. Sinister is killed this issue, blasted apart by Cyclops. //</i><br /><br />I was totally not prepared for that — most likely because he does come back, and while I'd never actually read anything with him in it until now I've known of him as an extant thing.<br /><br /><i>// and formally inserting Mr. Sinister into the character's backstory //</i><br /><br />Surprisingly, I'm okay with this; I knew it was coming and wasn't sure how I felt about it, but the way it unfolds works well enough. Not that there's been much competition — and not that parts of the issue aren't still abrupt or overly expository, in particular that whitewash of Scott's actions at the end — but this is probably the most I've enjoyed <i>X-Factor</i> to date, quite possibly because the revelations feel very "Claremont". I wish Claremont himself, or even Simonson, had taken the opportunity to establish explicitly that Sinister was in fact Nathan or at least Nathan's projection or whatever, because otherwise that exchange in which Sinister implicitly channels Nathan from the orphanage, taunting Cyclops with "You always <i>were</i> a sissy," is sort-of left hanging there.<br /><br /><i>// the </i>Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix<i> limited series will eventually reveal exactly why Mr. Sinister started looking in the direction of the Summers bloodline //</i><br /><br />I've only read its predecessor, and that back when it was published, of which I really only remember the basic premise: the newlyweds being tossed into the future — their minds, anyway, I think, into the bodies of people who just happened to look like them — right after their wedding to help their now ancient alternate-future daughter protect and rear little baby not-Sinister, Cable-to-be Nathan.<br /><br /><i>// The X-Men and X-Factor go their separate ways at the end of the issue, with Storm saying each team has a different role to play in bringing about Xavier's dream. //</i><br /><br />I think that's pretty weak. All kinds of reasons for the teams to confer in the wake of this adventure present themselves — even if they are going to withdraw to their own operations subsequently — from catching up with Jean to discussing Magneto to checking in on the New Mutants.<br /><br /><i>// When Rogue attempts to absorb Mr. Sinister's power, his consciousness takes over hers. //</i><br /><br />Rogue only touches Sinister's armored body, not his exposed face, so I have to wonder if this a flat-out mistake or if it's maybe some clue to the fact that his entire body is a manifestation of Nathan — which could probably be a cheat to consider it all organic, especially since Sinister overpowers her anyway. That would also be an explanation as to why he doesn't die after being totally blown apart.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-7130173533386699002014-08-23T13:33:51.123-05:002014-08-23T13:33:51.123-05:00"... Summers out of reach." I just reali..."... Summers out of reach." I just realized: if Scott's normal aversion to phones had worked like it should have when Warren called him in X-Factor 1 all this terribleness would have been averted. They might have had an answering machine at Summers residence, yes, but perhaps Maddie would have heard Warren's message first and deleted <i>that</i> recording about X-Factor there and then and they would have soken help to their marital mess and lived happily ever after and stayed in Alaska and maybe the other Summers boy would have started his stint as the leader of the X-Factor a bit earlier.<br /><br />The genetics bit, though: I can't remember how the DNA recombination stuff goes but there have been other specimens from the same genetic combo and it's not always Cable. I never read one bit of that wholesome-feel youngster X-Man Nate Grey, but do I assume correct that Summers and Jean didn't get to screw up his upbringing? Look how well that one went. The others, again...Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-26417291417878291322014-08-23T10:15:00.090-05:002014-08-23T10:15:00.090-05:00Not so fast, Drew, this is where the old nature vs...Not so fast, Drew, this is where the old nature vs. nurture thing raises its ugly head! To create a Cable you need not only the genetics but also proper rearing, in this case Slym and Red there raising him up. Have you not seen <i>Boys of Brazil</i>?<br /><br />This here would of course rather be Boys of Summers. The story would start with Mr. Sinister noticing in the yellow box narration that there's "Nobody on the street, nobody on the beach. Empty streets, empty lanes..."Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-57086308769455560862014-08-23T07:56:11.558-05:002014-08-23T07:56:11.558-05:00"It will be some time (and several later writ...<b>"It will be some time (and several later writers) before it's revealed exactly why Mr. Sinister is so keen on creating and controlling the offspring of Cyclops and Jean Grey"</b><br /><br />At least until a few years ago in that X-Men and Spider-Man miniseries, where back in the Silver Age, Sinister hired Kraven the Hunter to obtain DNA samples of all five original X-Men... which he did, successfully, allowing Sinister to create a Mimic-style monster. Given that, Sinister has had Summers and Grey DNA on file since the Silver Age. He could've created a million Cables anytime he wanted. (Dear God, the horror...)<br /><br />So apparently Sinister really DID create Madelyne purely to screw with Cyclops. <i>What a dick.</i>Drewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-54589841817462612152014-08-22T19:23:55.882-05:002014-08-22T19:23:55.882-05:00"Yep, Archangel's accusation that Siniste..."Yep, Archangel's accusation that Sinister caused all of Scott's bad choices seems added on at the last minute, with no previous hints to back it up. Of course, let us not forget Warren was the one who made that decisive phonecall that mortally wounded Scott and Maddy's marriage."<br />I never read that as Sinister mind-controlling Scott, just manipulating. Of course, the real problem is that either way, there's no evidence that Sinister did anything but sit back and watch Scott take a two-week walk around New York.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com