Cyclops

I’ve read Uncanny X-Men since the ‘80s.  That means I’ve experienced some high points and some (very) low points.  It also means I’ve gotten to know the characters.

My favorite X-Man has always been Nightcrawler.  He was, in better times, the heart and soul of the team.  I’ve also enjoyed, depending on who is writing the title and its storyline, Wolverine, Storm, Kitty Pryde, Colossus, and Sunfire.  I have not ever really gotten into Cyclops, however, despite his status as the team’s spine.e his status as the team'

Cyclops has always been a one-note general to me.  I was even cold to him when he first got romantically involved with Emma Frost, no pun intended, despite the potential for character development.  He’s never been all that interesting, and there were always better players in the ensemble. 

That has changed.

Brian Michael Bendis, a writer with whom I have had problems with in the past, is the reason for this turnabout.  While I loved Bendis’ work on Daredevil, I do think he tends to get a little wordy and stuck on himself at times (and this has nothing to do with him turning down my interview request for Film Threat over a decade ago).  That said, Bendis’ work on Uncanny has taken the generic character of Scott Summers and has filled him with more issues than Matt Murdock had back in the day.  Not only has Bendis made Cyclops relatable, he’s made him interesting to a degree writers tend to fantasize about.  He’s become the standout Marvel always wanted him to be.  The comic is now the Cyclops show, and it is worth reading again.

I’m sure that someday, when Bendis has moved on to some other title, Cyclops will slowly fade into the background and become just another body.  Until then, however, Bendis is doing for him what he did for Daredevil, and future writers of the character should take note:  this is how you write him.  Mark Waid was able to keep Daredevil’s momentum going.  Will Bendis’ successor be able to do the same with Summers?  Only time will tell, but if they don’t, the title will, as it has in the past, suffer … and so will the readers.

Revamping the Uncanny X-Men

It's a move that reeked of the usual sales desperation.  The Uncanny X-Men had lost its way (again).  Events in the mutant series of books dictated that this had to happen.  So on and so forth.  What it really boils down to is a fool and his money are soon parted, and I'm a fool missing some money.

I've been an Uncanny X-Men fan since the early 1980s.  I've been through good.  I've been through bad.  And worse yet, I've been through the boring.  I've been saddened by Claremont leaving, and horrified when he returned.  I've seen Wolverine undergo about 936 different variations.  I've watched my favorite characters killed ... and many brought back to life.  I've witnessed some incredible storytelling and have watched Marvel pander to the almighty dollar.  For a title that has been around in one form or another since the 1960s, this is not unexpected.  To start its numbering over with issue one ... well, that is worth looking at.  Let's look at some of the arguments that have been made.

"It's just a number."  That's what one fellow fan said to me.  He's right. It's just a number.  It doesn't detract from the issues that have come before it.  It erases none of those stories from my memory.  It does, however, give new readers no clue as to what has come before them.  Therefore a sense of history is erased almost like Orwell wrote it himself.  Yes, the stories are still out there, and a search of eBay shows you can get all the back issues.  But the days are gone when some new reader sees issue #143 and thinks, "Wow, what has gone before I got here?"

"The stories got too convoluted."  Yes.  Yes they did.  All the X-titles became a huge mess, dictated by a publisher that cared more about squeezing out every last dollar than it did making sure writers stuck to something cohesive.  All it takes, however, is good writing to fix those problems.  A relaunch just guarantees the same thing will happen again ... especially when you have about 50 other X-titles going.  It will get messy ... again.  The titles do, it must be said, clean house from time to time without relaunching a book.  It could've been done here, as well.  Marvel just saw dollars and decided that a lame attempt to boost sales could make some people forget how lame the attempt would actually be in the grand scheme of things.

"The direction the various mutants split in made this a necessity."  No it didn't.  It made it so that there were new stories that could be told.  Uncanny X-Men has been filled with direction changes.  They have been handled with various degrees of success.  Each time they have been done with a relaunch, they have not stuck and have been handled with all the finesse of a bull on meth.  Will this time be different?  Only time will tell, but I'm actually enjoying it so far despite all my complaints.

Yes, that's right, I'm enjoying the title.  Just a few months into its run, and I have to say it isn't bad.  It also didn't need to be relaunched, however.  We could be at issue #548 telling the same story.  This new direction didn't merit a total relaunch of the title.  It was pointless and unnecessary.  Perhaps a few new readers were picked up, but I can't help but wonder how many people said enough is enough and dropped it.  Probably not many.  If they are like me they know the title will go through cycles of various degrees of greatness, and when it's good it's really good ... and that's always worth waiting around for.

Besides, it'll probably revert back to its old numbering in a year or so anyway.

X-Men #5 Revisited: Merry Marvel Madness of the Worst Sort

If your only knowledge of the X-Men comes from the three movies and the current run of comics, you may not realize that the title, which started in the 1960s is far different from what you read today.  The core team of Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, Cyclops and Iceman didn't really come to their own until issue five, when they graduated Professor Xavier's final exam of sorts.

X-Men, as the series started off before becoming Uncanny X-Men, was not always popular, and it wasn't always good, either.  Issue five, which was written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby, found the heroes battling Magneto, Mastermind, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Toad on Asteroid M in order to get back a kidnapped Angel.  At this point in the history of the title, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were not known to be Magneto's children.  Professor Xavier, who was injured last issue, did not join his students on their mission because he was said to have lost his mental powers from that injury.  Of course, typical to Professor Xavier, that was all a lie.

Professor Xavier, as has been said in the past, was a jerk.  At that time he was a pompous, stern taskmaster who hid a secret love of Marvel Girl (very disturbing), and commanded his students to be at his side within a set number of seconds lest they get demerits.  Lying about losing his mental powers was not out of character.  Using that lie to cause the team to go into space and almost losing teammate Cyclops all under the guise of a final exam doesn't seem that out of place, either.  And in hindsight, looking at what the X-Men were to face throughout the decades, it is a thoroughly acceptable final exam of sorts, but taking this into story at its face value at the time, it seemed a bit harsh even for the professor.

By the time this issue hit the spinner racks, the X-Men title was far from the two-dimensional work coming out of DC.  Marvel was known for characters with problems, and these first five issues proved no exception.  What stands out the most, and is moved forward here, is the plight of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.  They have joined sides with the evil Magneto, not because they share his views, but because Magneto saved Scarlet Witch's life.  The loyalty the two siblings (Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are established as brother and sister) have toward the master of magnetism is tested throughout issues four and five, and when Cyclops makes a plea to Quicksilver in this issue to switch sides, you can understand Quicksilver's conflicting feeling (as well as buy his explanation why he won't turn traitor to Magneto).  Such character development, however rudimentary it was, happened to be standard in Marvel's output at the time.  DC eventually played catch-up, and now it is status quo for most of the comics industry.

Reading this when it came out in the Sixties must have been a heck of an experience.  The plot twists we take as mandatory today weren't not the norm.  Villains were not typically so conflicted.  (And like most things, the villains are far more interesting than the heroes in this issue.)  It was probably senses-shattering to a young reader, and felt edgy to an older reader.  Unfortunately, it still has its flaws.

The contrived way in which Magneto uses Toad to help capture/trick the X-Men is flawed thinking at its best.  Toad, in disguise, somehow enters a live, televised track meet (this plan was apparently put together at the spur of the moment, so I'm not sure how this would be possible) that just happens to be watched by the X-Men on television at their academy.  I don't know how Magneto would know the heroes would be watching, but his logic was apparently spotless, as the X-Men crashed the track meet after the crowd became unruly.  As far as grievances go, this is a fairly major one as the entire plot hinges on it.  Magneto apparently just wanted to find the X-Men's "secret" location, and once Toad's identity was made, he and his evil henchmen stepped in to save him, capturing Angel in the process.  The capture of Angel was not the crux of the plan, but it became an added bonus that inadvertently led the X-Men to Magneto's secret base of operations.  In other words, a plan that should have never worked in the first place because it was built too much about random happenstance, actually ended up working the exact opposite of how the criminal mastermind envisioned it.  This is poor storytelling, though it does make for a grand adventure.

Having what is otherwise a solid story rest upon such a flimsy foundation denigrates the entire work.  It is fine for moving the action along, but as soon as you start to think about it, it falls apart.  So does the X-Men graduating.

Did Professor Xavier somehow know this was going to happen?  He had taken himself out of the mix the previous issue.  How long would he have kept his "lost" powers a secret?  Would they have returned had the threat been minor?  Or did he suspect Magneto would attempt something fairly quickly?  We don't know because the readers were kept in the dark to the professor's plans the entire time.  We know now they came back, but the readers who delved into this issue when it first came out had no idea that was going to occur.  For all they knew, he would remain powerless forever.  Again, a major plot point (the X-Men graduating) hinged upon uncontrollable circumstances ... or at least that is how it seems.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are considered masters.  Their influence upon comic books is not even a subject of debate.  Lee is not, despite the accolades, a master writer.  He is the George Lucas of comic books -- a man with great ideas that are often poorly executed.  Kirby, however, is deserving of all the praise.  If this issue were to be presented as something new in 2011, however, it would not pass muster.  Even Kirby's art is subdued for this issue.  Considering the time period when it came out, it is a thoroughly enjoyable read ... as long as you don't think about the plot too much.

Annoying Store Owner

Michael Tierney, owner of Collector's Edition in Arkansas, is a man who has always annoyed me. His Trendwatcher write-ups in the ever-shrinking Comics Buyer's Guide and letters in the same place have made him seem like a reluctant moral crusader who is out to protect children from upsetting comic books (which is, when it gets down to it, the parent's job). Granted, since parents are lazy and since comic books have a bad history when it comes to "harmful matter" and children, some may see Tierney's advice and wisdom as a blessing. I differ.

In the December 2009 issue of Comics Buyer's Guide Tierney is once again featured in the CBG Trendwatchers section. Apparently he was profiled by his "state" newspaper. This brought him all kinds of publicity, which is great for a store owner. What really filled his heart with wholesome glee, however, was the parents.

"Most gratifying were all the parents," he wrote, "who came in to thank me for my efforts to provide them better content information. I felt like The Hulk on the cover of Incredible Hulk #279, where he's carried on the shoulders of a cheering crowd." I think that swelled head makes him more like the Leader, but I'll grant him his small victory. After all, he is in Arkansas and those people probably need someone to tell them what is safe to read.

When I managed Comic Castle I often had parents asking me what was "safe" for their children. I would give recommendations, but only after saying something like, "Well, I don't know your child, or even how mature he or she is. I can recommend some titles and tell you why I recommend them, but you need to look at what I'm recommending before you buy it because you know your child better than I do."

Parents seemed to appreciate that, and I had parents turn down Uncanny X-Men but at the same time pick up The Filth. (The mother who did that said she did so because the violence in the Marvel title seemed exploitive and there for no other reason then that's what heroes did, while the Vertigo title at least had a story with substance behind it. Interesting, as I enjoyed both titles.) I didn't feel like a crusader or hero, though. I was just doing my damn job. Tierney, it seems, likes his role as a moral barometer, and based on the recommendations he often gives, I would say he's knows what's safe if only because he is very familiar with boring.

I have never stepped foot in either of the man's stores, and probably never will. If the man runs his shops like I think he does, you will find nothing all that thought provoking or even erotic. It's his store. He doesn't have to stock those kinds of titles. They exist, however, and some comic book fans like them. Again, he may stock those types of things, but I strongly suspect that Vertigo and a few indie titles are about as thought provoking as he gets. (I doubt he ever carried Skinheads in Love, for example, but I could be wrong.)

Thanks for keeping America's children safe, Mr. Tierney. All the mouth-breathing parents sure appreciate it.

Cover Review: Uncanny X-Men #258 Marvel Legends Reprint

I imagine if you're already buying a Marvel Legends toy you are familiar with the X-Men. This cover would not make me a fan, however.

Psylocke is featured. You either love her or hate her. This image doesn't really portray her as the bad ass she can be. Instead, it's a little overly sexualized (which is something she always was), but also makes the comic seem like it's meant to appeal either to boys who haven't had the courage to talk to girls yet, or girls with power fantasies. Nothing wrong with either, but it doesn't represent the X-Men.

The background images fade into the background and if you stop looking at the cover for more than sixty seconds you end up forgetting about them. You do remember that "Not for Resale" blurb, as it breaks up the overall theme of the piece, but is apparently necessary (and often ignored).

Uncanny X-Men have had some terrific covers. Many are iconic and are featured on many top cover lists. This will never make those lists as it is as forgettable as it is boring.

Discovering Nightcrawler

I don't even think I have this issue of Amazing Spider-Man anymore, but this is the one that made me appreciate Nightcrawler. I don't remember much about the story, either, other than the Punisher was involved and someone on that rollercoaster got shot (and of course there were a few fights along the way). If I had an issue of Uncanny X-Men with the fuzzy elf in it, I don't remember, as it was this story that made him my favorite X-Man.

I don't have a deep answer as to why Nightcrawler is my favorite mutant. It's not that he's a great, interesting character, and nor are his powers that impressive. No, my reasons were much more base.

I just really liked the way he looked.

Nightcrawler is a hero, yet he looks kind of evil. Sharp teeth. Blue, fuzzy skin. A tail. Three fingers and toes. Those eyes. He looks like a demon, which is often mentioned when people reference him.

The second X-Men film got his powers down pretty good, but thoroughly fucked up the look with that scarification. He no longer looked all that scary to me. Instead, he looked kind of goofy, though I know a lot of people liked his character. I can't complain about anything other than the look when it comes to his movie character, though, because most everything else was done right.

Later on, as I read more storylines showcasing him, I became more appreciative of the character's flaws, inner-strength and faith. My focus shifted from looks to actual character, and I ended up liking him even more. Of all the X-Men he is probably the most actualized.

The first Nightcrawler limited series was a bust. His solo series that came out a few years ago wasn't garbage, but it wasn't so hot, either. He remains, however, far more interesting than Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost or Deadpool. Or at least that's my opinion. Wolverine may get all the attention, but Nightcrawler will always be the number one mutant to me.