UXM #97: "My Brother, My Enemy!"

(Brothers in armament.)

Comments

This issue is predominantly a tussle at JFK between the X-Men and "Erik the Red", with a mind-controlled Havok and Polaris in tow.  I'm not sure what can be said about that, really. Reviewing action sequences had never been particularly easy for me, because I've no idea what I'm supposed to be commenting or focusing on.  A lot of things explode, people get punched, and there's no needless body count.  So yay, I guess?  Plus, watching Cyclops sucker-punch Wolverine for his advanced dickishness is a rare treat.

A few other threads are showing up.  Through Xavier's dreams we catch our first ever glimpse of the Shi'ar, which combined with Jean's sudden an unexplained reappearance (though I guess quitting the team doesn't have to mean not hanging out with Scott and Charles socially) puts the pieces in place for the upcoming birth of Phoenix [1].   There's also an interesting final in which we see Steven Lang observing the debris from the battle through a monitor, which is itself being observed on another monitor.  Oooooooooh! 

It's a good picture, but it's also a perfect encapsulation of Claremont's storytelling method, plots inside plots isnide plots.  More than one of the writers who ultimately replaced Claremont tried to emulate the approach, but no-one did it as well as the master.

Clues

This story takes place over four days.

Date

Saturday 5^th to Tuesday 8^th September, 1981.

X-Date

X+3Y+123 to X+3Y+126.

Compression Constant

1 Marvel year = 3.72 standard years.

(Iceman is 28 years old.)

Contemporary Events

Ayatollah Ali Qoddusi, the Chief Prosecutor of Iran, is assassinated by the People's Mujahedin of Iraq.

Hideki Yukawa, the first Japanese Nobel laureate, who won the prize in physics in 1947, after his predicted pion was discovered, dies aged 78.

Standout Line

"Please tell Nightcrawler that Tony Stark's image inducer is not a toy. It's to make him look unobtrusive... not like some 1930's movie star." - Charles.

[1] Which is when Uncanny X-Men First Class picks up again after the Giant Size special.