"Massacre"
November, 1986
Artist: John Romita Jr & Bret Blevins
Inker: Al Williamson
Author: Chris Claremont
This issue really kicks off the Mutant Massacre. If the past two issues (Uncanny 210 and X-Factor 9) were the fuse, this is the TNT. It starts off with a single page introduction to the Marauders. Most of them show up here: Scalphunter (their leader), Vertigo (the only one in this issue who first appeared years ago as one of the Savage Land mutates), Harpoon, Scrambler, Arclight, and Riptide. They don't waste any time with Scalphunter blowing away several Morlocks with a single blast. Riptide unleashes shurikens with deadly effect. Scrambler disrupts the Morlocks' defenses and an entire room is slaughtered in two pages of story. A single wounded Morlock escapes just in time to cry out a warning to Callisto before Harpoon strikes her down. Even Callisto and her troops are no match as Vertigo and Arclight take them down.
Back at the X-Men mansion, things are calm as we are reminded about Wolverine and Nightcrawler's injuries (one after Lady Deathstrike and Phoenix, one after Nimrod). However, before either can agree to relax, a critically wounded Morlock shows up from underground, pleading for help. He dies shortly after but not before a new mutant, Psylocke, glimpses the massacre in his mind. Illyana teleports the X-Men to the tunnels where they find Callisto barely alive, but everyone else around her dead or dying. But before the X-Men can really get their bearings, Vertigo and Riptide attack. Nightcrawler teleports, dropping Riptide with a kick and then goes after Vertigo. His multiple teleports leaves her unconscious, but he's weak (he's been injured, remember?) and Riptide gets the drop on him, enveloping him in a whirlwind of razor blades. Nightcrawler is left critically wounded in one of the most horrific scenes in the X-Men to date. The X-Men decide to press on, but Illyana will head back with the injured Morlocks and Nightcrawler.
Elsewhere, it is revealed that Annalee's kids (who were discovered murdered in Uncanny 193) were in fact killed by Scalphunter. He now finishes the job as he slaughters Annalee in front of two more children. Colossus and Kitty both meet up with Scalphunter and Arclight, but Colossus is easily dispatched. Shadowcat can't be harmed, but she instead goes after Colossus who is buried in rubble. As the other X-Men look around, Wolverine recognizes a certain female scent he thought was head, and we see Cyclops' optic blast overhead but before anybody can meet up, the tunnels collapse. Colossus and Shadowcat show up with Annalee's two children, who are alive, miraculously. Before anybody can rest, the Marauders attack again. Scrambler is beat mercilessly by Storm and Callisto but Riptide is able to kill even more Morlocks with his blades.
Scrambler goes after Rogue, but their powers negate each other. Harpoon takes the opportunity to strike at Rogue and Shadowcat jumps in the way, hoping her intangibility would protect Rogue as well. Unfortunately, Harpoon's energy spear has the desired effect on Kitty.
What follows is one of the most shocking events ever to hit the X-Men. Colossus moves towards Harpoon but Riptide blocks his way. In a fit of anger, Colossus grabs Riptide by the neck and brutally snaps it, killing the Marauder.
In the aftermath, Storm discovers that Kitty can no longer "unphase" and she is stuck as a living ghost. Storm elects to take the wounded back to the mansion, but she leaves one behind: Wolverine. She wants a single prisoner. He may do what he wishes to the others he finds.
This was the first issue I ever collected of the Mutant Massacre and it still remains my favorite. This issue was so incredibly shocking and really changed the X-Men for a long, long time. Colossus took his first life. Nightcrawler and Kitty were critically injured and wouldn't rejoin the X-Men until 15 years later. The Morlocks were extinguished and would never be the same. I still rush through the pages when I read this issue because I can't wait to see what happens next. It's an incredible read. It's also heartbreaking. So many moments just cause the reader pain: Scalphunter boasting about his slaughter of Annalee's children and his murder of Annalee herself, Harpoon wounding Shadowcat, Riptide almost killing Nightcrawler, the loss of Colossus' innocence. This issue had so much going for it, it was almost impossible to follow it up. Claremont did, and he did it well. But I still maintain that this was the best issue of the crossover.
No comments:
Post a Comment