X1C (v2) #6: "The Catalyst"

(Baffled beyond the stars)

Comments

(For the record, it seems I was wrong.  This is the first issue of X1C to have 2008 on the cover, but it hit the shelves in 2007). 

Man, it's good to be back reading a comic with momentum.  This is probably one of Parker's less fun romps, in all honesty, but since it involves the team losing their powers that's perhaps unsurprising.  Warren's devastated reaction to losing his wings, in particular, is very nicely done.  All the talk at the start seemed a little too long - and it's difficult to square Xavier's willingness to tell NASA he's a telepath with his usual total secrecy on the subject (maybe he plans to wipe everyone's minds after he's seen their data analysis) - but such is the nature of set-ups I suppose.

Cyclops' use of the the Danger Room is pretty much identical to how Jean-Luc Picard finishes off two Borg drones in First Contact, but since Parker's version of the trick is roughly ten million times less idiotic than Braga/Moore's, I'm content to let it go. [1]

Clues

This issue takes place over two days, which from Bobby's sleepy complaints are a Friday and a Saturday.  The arrival of the Sentinels once more puts us at some point after UXM #18, so we'll start filling up the space between UXM #21 and #22.  There's clearly too much vegetation around for it to be winter, so we'll startthis story on the first Friday in April.

Date

Friday 7^th to Saturday 8^th April, 1979.

X-Date

X+Y+6 to X+Y+7.

Contemporary Events

The PRC joins the IOC.

Standout Line

"I am now entering the comet's coma." A bit of a barren issue quote-wise, so I figured I'd note the line that at least taught me a little something about astronomy.

[1] Seriously, I fucking hate that holodeck scene.  We're supposed to believe that the Borg are capable of developing technological counter-measures to any weapon they've encountered, more or less instantaneously, and we're expected to believe no species in the last three hundred years (at least) has ever tried to hit them with small projectiles launched at high speeds?  That's some bullshit right there.