Uncanny X-Men #227 (Fall of the Mutants)

Uncanny X-Men #227 (March 1988)
Rating:  ★★★★★★★★★
The Belly of the Beast!
Writer:  Chris Claremont
Artist:  Marc Silvestri
Inker:  Dan Green

This is it.  This is easily one of the most pivotal issues of Uncanny X-Men until the creation of the Blue/Gold teams.  This issue is a thrill ride throughout.  I especially love how a good portion is told from the perspective of the reporter, Neal.  Claremont is superb, giving us shots of each of the X-Men in action.  In fact, this issue alone is a fantastic starting point for any young reader as you don't need to know anything about the X-men.  Their powers are described in the next few panels.

I also love how Neal, who has tried to be the voice of reason, admits that the mutants can be scary when you have one who is more vicious than many of the villains and one who wields the power of the sun.  "What are we, compared to that?"

It's also an interesting concept.  The X-Men's world has turned into Vietnam during the war.  We discover that Forge unleashed the Adversary in a fit of rage over his fallen comrades.  I do like the idea of a mutant having fought in Vietnam and essentially coming away with PTSD.  Forge is a recluse and this is probably why.  The visuals are amazing and Silvestri does a great job showing the anguish on Forge's face as he tries to save his soldiers.  Of course this is all an illusion, but it serves to show what happened and where Adversary came from.

A big part of this issue is an attempt to give the X-Men the recognition they deserve.  Neal is somewhat of a "fifth wheel", but he just wants to give the X-Men a chance as the world is watching.  Of course some view him as an annoyance (actually just one:  Wolverine) but others appreciate what he is attempting.

Finally, the X-Men go after the villain.  The action is pretty intense from here on out.  Longshot's luck holds out and actually wounds Adversary.  Claremont actually has a history of showing the power of steel (an iron alloy) over magic.  I've always wondered where this came from, but it shows up several times.  Longshot functioning as a kite to pull the X-Men onto Adversary's citadel is fantastic.  He was always an enjoyable character.

Colossus gets to join the action in one of the greatest scenes of the issue.

The Adversary literally falls apart, revealing his true form.  It is a great return of such an iconic X-Man.  He quickly proves his worth in this issue (which is especially great as Wolverine proves to be useless).

Of course most who know the history know what comes next.  Even Storm, Rogue (who absorbed the Adversary's powers), Dazzler, and Havok are unable to force the Adversary back where he comes from.  So a decision will have to be made.  The X-Men must die.  This sets into motion several different changes.  Excalibur is created, X-Factor and New Mutants are forever changed, Illyana heads down her dark path which will ultimately lead to Inferno.  And of course the X-Men become celebrities.

Of course the X-Men don't die, but soon after they take up residence in the outback.  Many consider this the golden era of X-Men.  I'm not sure which incarnation I prefer, but there's no denying the great stories to follow.  This issue truly is a game changer and I'm not sure if there's a better end to a major story.  Ever.

Uncanny X-Men #226 (Fall of the Mutants)

Uncanny X-Men #226 (February 1988)
Rating:  ★★★★★★★★
Go Tell the Spartans
Writer:  Chris Claremont
Artist:  Marc Silvestri
Inker:  Dan Green

First of all, I apologize to all who enjoy reading these entries.  I ran out of time to complete one for Uncanny 225, which was the first entry of Uncanny X-Men in the Fall of the Mutants arc.  But here's the middle of the story.  Unlike X-Factor and New Mutants, the middle entry here isn't the climax, leaving the 3rd issue (227) to give the epilogue.  This one is more along the lines of a traditional trilogy and is a darker entry, with hope disappearing for the X-Men and possibly the world.

I don't know what it was, but this issue took me years to find.  Every other issue in Fall of the Mutants was easier to get hold of.  When I picked up Uncanny 227, imagine my surprise when Dazzler had a weird golden mask with a knife sticking out covering her face.  I always wondered how she got it there.  Well, once I finally picked up this issue, I finally knew.  Damn Spiral.  Of course, this is what I mean by darker.  Sprial discovers that her magiks are pretty screwed up and Dazzler is effectively blinded the rest of the arc.  Dallas comes under attack by dinosaurs and barbarians.  Nobody is spared.

This issue also introduces Manoli (a female technician) and her reporter, Neal.  These characters would actually be recurring throughout Claremont's books (they even show up years later in Fantastic Four when Claremont takes over that book for a couple years).  It's actually nice to see one who is skeptical of mutants' intentions (Manoli) and one who wants to just give them a chance (Neal).  The dialogue between them is fantastic.

Throughout it all, you see Freedom Force finally doing something other than hounding the X-Men as they must now protect a public against a threat to the entire world.  Freedom Force becomes a little more sympathetic, especially Destiny.  You can tell how she truly cares about the X-Men.  I wonder why she's even with them.  You also see the X-Men getting the first real public exposure.  Havok and Wolverine both have very different experiences in front of the camera (Wolverine, of course, wants nothing to do with it).

Lastly, we see Storm and Forge's relationship progress even further as they explore their love for each other.  It culminates in Forge developing a device that will restore Storm's powers.  It is successful and Storm's joy is apparent.  Of course this also announces to the Adversary that the next phase of the "game" is ready and he unleashes hell on earth.

The art in this issue is absolutely fantastic.  With maybe the exception of John Byrne, Marc Silvestri is the best artist up to this point.  Overall, this makes for an excellent read, but by itself, it makes very little sense as it has neither a beginning or an end.  Make sure to read it as it's intended:  as part 2 of a 3 part epic.

New Mutants #61 (Fall of the Mutants)

New Mutants #61 (March 1988)
Rating:  ★★★★★★
Our Way!
Writer:  Louise Simonson
Artist:  Bret Blevins
Inker:  Terry Austin

Most of this issue was a fantastic read and a great follow up to the first death of one of the New Mutants.  Cypher's death hit them all hard.  Rahne and Warlock were an emotional mess.  Rahne simply because of the guilt she felt and Warlock because he couldn't process the concept.  I love the emotional gambit that runs through the mutants.  You've got sorrow/depression (the aforementioned Warlock and Rahne).  You've got anger from both Illyana and Sunspot.  And lastly you have the two oldest mutants, Sam and Dani, who are a little more accepting of death and just trying to find a way to deal with it in a healthier manner.

You've even got bargaining.  Sam, who feels guilty over not watching over Doug (Sam's the oldest and always takes responsibility for everybody on his team), makes a pact with Rahne to consider her a sister.  Sam is missing his siblings and Rahne never had any, so it fills a gap in both their lives.  Sunspot and Dani clash when they try to call Magneto, both feeling guilt (which is a running theme throughout this issue).

You've also got Magneto who has no idea how to handle these children and Doug's death finally pushes him over the edge.  The X-Men's supposed death in Dallas after helping humans and the start of the Mutant Registration Act begins his reverting to old form.  Doug's death shook him badly.  So his response is to use his powers to try to bind the mutants in chains.  They of course fight back.  Illyana most of all.  Not only did she lose Doug, but her brother is now dead.  She once defended Magneto because he had once fought to defend her from S'ym.  Now, she sought to kill him.  The mutants pull her back and they flee, leaving Magneto alone with Doug's body.

This leads the mutants to decide to follow their own edicts.  They won't follow Magneto and Professor Xavier is gone.  So they grab some new costumes from the various clothes in the attic.  Then, and only then, do they truly look like dorks.

Okay, so maybe that was a bit extreme, but I really hated their new costumes.  I don't know if Bret Blevins had anything to do with the designs, but I'm sure he did.

The issue had some glaring issues which keep it from being a great issue.  Blevins' art is just bad.  As always, most of the characters are misshapen and distorted.  But some of the scenes are just especially bad.  As I mentioned already, the costumes were bad.  And I thought the final scene with them in their costumes was just corny.  There should have been a better way to end the issue.

Still, overall, I love the reactions to Doug's death and the emotions that play out.  Again, Simonson demonstrates her mastery of understanding teenage emotion.  This is definitely a good issue.  Too bad it couldn't be great.

New Mutants #60 (Fall of the Mutants)

New Mutants #60 (February 1988)
Rating:  ★★★★★★★
Suspended Ani-Mation
Writer:  Louise Simonson
Artist:  Bret Blevins
Inker:  Terry Austin

This issue was a bit more enjoyable than the last, mostly because the big bad isn't a bunch of some animals.  Still, the Ani-Mator still plays a part in here and that, along with Blevins' art, keeps this from being a great issue, instead of just a good one.  Still, we really find out just how low level The Ani-Mator is in his organization as he cowers behind Cameron Hodge (Warren Worthington's best friend who turned out to be the leader of a paramilitary anti-mutant militia, the Right).

Apparently, the mutants forgot that Illyana's sword would be useless here.

Still, the first half of the issue is all about the mutated animals and the Ani-Mator and they remind us that they really are a horribly thought out villain.  Also, Simonson demonstrates that she didn't really seem to care about anything Claremont had already put out there.  The scene above mentions the mutants contemplating getting Illyana's soul sword from Limbo, however they should already be well aware that her sword is only effective against magical creatures.  It would be completely ineffective against these creatures.

The mutants are gunned down by The Right

Cameron Hodge and the appearance of the "Smiley Faces" really ups the tempo.  They show up and it's then when you know that shit's for real.  Cameron Hodge wasn't necessarily a well thought out and complex villain, but I loved him nonetheless.  And his soldiers, with those creepy smiles, were just terrifying.  They bring the true threat of this issue.  They easily take down the mutants with tranquilizer darts.  Now luckily, Bird Brain rallies the remaining mutated animals and they stage a revolt against their masters (who have begun to murder the animals).  Of course, this still comes across as rediculous, but then we get a totally hectic battle, made even moreso when Sunspot and Warlock show up.  Don't even get me started on how they find their team who is on a remote island somewhere in the Pacific ocean.  When Bird Brain led the mutants there, he did so only through his own memory, and yet Sunspot and Warlock find their way through maps left behind?  In the entire ocean?  I guess some things just must be accepted, but this is just silly.

Cypher saves Wolfbane's life - at the cost of his own

During this battle, Cypher notices the Ani-Mator pointing a gun at Wolfsbane who is tussling with a Smiley-Face.  Cypher knocks her out of the way and takes the shot meant for her.  It's poetic in a way because they have been toying around with romance for some time now.  He dies the next panel.

Okay, so here's the thing.  The scene of him collapsing is just heartbreaking.  Reading it now I still get upset.  For one, remember that he's only 15 or 16.  He's a child.  Second, I actually liked Cypher.  I felt that his struggle against being useful versus his lack of physical powers and training made for some great conflict.  I'm also mad about why Louise Simonson killed him off.  She didn't do it to shake up the mutants or because it was planned over years and this was just his time to go.  She did it because he was boring to write.  Seriously.  She said that in an interview.  That is just lazy writing and a disservice to those who've come before her.  Still, I thought his death was handled well, especially in the next panel.

Rahne finding Doug's body was just shocking.  I mean, keep in mind that These are all kids.  The only one who might have been of age was Cannonball, but even he was about 17.  These kids had been through amazing adventures and yet they had never really encountered death like this.  Rahne completely lost control.  Warlock, who didn't understand the concept, even, spoke to him, unable to understand why he couldn't share in the rejoicing.  I really do have to hand it to Simonson.  Her stories may not have been the greatest, but she truly understood children and teens and how they should react to these very adult ideas.

New Mutants #59 (Fall of the Mutants)

New Mutants #59 (January 1988)
Rating:  ★★★★★
Fang and Claw
Writer:  Louise Simonson
Artist:  Bret Blevins
Inker:  Terry Austin

As with the other Fall of the Mutants entries, this issue is the climax of a building story involving some mutant "Bird Boy".  It's funny how for every fantastic story Louise Simonson belts out, there seems to be an equally ridiculous concept that almost ruins a series.  Thankfully, Bird Boy doesn't hang around long and appeared to only be a plot device to lead the mutants to this island to shake them up.

The mutants find out that the "trials" are very serious and very deadly

The one thing you might notice is the lack of Sunspot and Warlock on the cover.  They were off in the Fallen Angels series (along with Boom Boom from X-Factor).  Never read the miniseries, nor do I have any strong feeling to finally pick it up after all these years.  Don't worry, though.  The two show up in this issue and trip some automatic alarms that Magneto has set.  Of course the New Mutants aren't around to greet them.  They ran away from home (AGAIN).  This was a recurring theme in Simonson's books and it drove me nuts.  It culminates in this story but I'll get into it a bit more in the third book.

If the trials were a video game, these guys would be the final bosses.

Another theme appears to be "What makes a man".  Bird Brain appears at first a mindless animal until Cypher is able to communicate with him.  Turns out that he operates on more than just instincts.  But the eveil ani-mator (what is with these crappy villains) views him as a mindless beast.  The basic premise is that the Ani-Mator works for the Right (Cameron Hodge's group) performing experiments on animals, creating mutants.  Bird Brain and the other "animals" on the island must go through deadly trials.  Birdbrain escaped to try to find food and led the New Mutants back to the island.  The mutants decide to help Birdbrain's friends, but although they treat Birdbrain well, they have the same reaction to the rest of the animals.  They view them as dimwitted brutes and figure they should be easy.  They are wrong.  The animates easily beat the Mutants, leaving them at the mercy of the Ani-Mator.

The New Mutants are at the mercy of a madman.

Honestly, this entire arc is just bad.  Birdbrain is a character that we can't even empathize with since he's a mutated bird, not a mutant.  The Ani-Mator is so completely off his rocker that he's not even threatening, he's just laughable.  Bret Blevin's characters are all misshapen.  The best thing about this issue is that when read as a whole with the other two issues, it fits in.  The reader really does get the sense that this is trouble the likes of which the New Mutants have never been in before.

This is also one of the easiest Fall of the Mutants issues to get and I think this was probably one of my earliest.  None of the New Mutants issues have ever been terribly difficult to find (except maybe the Liefeld years).  So I've had this one quite some time and don't really remember trying to find it.  I think I picked up all three at the same time.  If I remember correctly, I found it at a small comic shop near a pizza place I would go with my parents every few weeks.  Ah, memories...

X-Factor #26 (Fall of the Mutants)

X-Factor #26 (March 1988)
Rating:  ★★★★★★★★
Casualties
Writer:  Louise Simonson
Artist:  Walter Simonson
Inker:  Bob Wiacek

This is generally considered the final Fall of the Mutants issue that follows the X-Factor storyline, although there is a tie-in after it in Fantastic Four.  This issue wraps things up perfectly for me so I hate even getting involved in the FF issue.  Why couldn't they have just left well enough alone?

X-Factor stands on Apocalypse's ship, overlooking various police and reporters.  They quickly rush off as explosions continue to erupt all over New York, remnants from the battle with the Horsemen.  Throughout several scenes, the police continue to  make attempts to arrest them, even as X-Factor continues to offer assistance to quell the fires and disaster.  Eventually, they take survivors to a hospital where Beast confesses to Trish Tilby that he was responsible for Ship wrecking the city.  Finally, as Marvel Girl and Cyclops continue their exhausting effort to save people, the police arrive and announce that they are no longer wanted fugitives, but rather considered heroes.  They pair return to Apocalypse's ship (since the X-Factor HQ was destroyed.  There, Cyclops and Marvel Girl get jiggy with it.  Iceman then arrives with new costumes.  The issue ends as X-Factor is given a parade for their help in staving off disaster.

This is an excellent issue and although it could use a bit improvement here and there, it's definitely worth reading.  Marvel Girl and Cyclops finally begin to patch up their relationship.  You really can feel the desperation while X-Factor rushes from fire to fire, trying to save New Yorkers, and yet you feel hope as they are successful.  Beast is a sad case in this issue as he has the reaction to the death as a child would.  It's made worse by the fact that it was he who destroyed the ship's gyroscope.  He feels incredible guilt and you really feel sorrow when he breaks down crying to Trish Tilby.

I also love how X-Factor finally becomes the mutant heroes that Xavier always strove for.  They are finally recognized as such, even having a little girl exclaim that her family would be proud of her if it turned out she was a mutant.  This issue makes for a great epilogue of the story (one that actually started 15 issues ago).

Maybe Death has reformed after all

I love seeing the teamwork between old friends

It's heartbreaking to see Beast like this

Cyclops and Marvel Girl reconcile!

Captain America #339 (Fall of the Mutants)

Captain America #339 (March 1988)
Rating:  ★
America the Scorched!
Writer:  Mark Gruenwald
Artist:  Kieron Dwyer
Inker:  Tony DeZuniga

This issue is a little different because I actually remember when I didn't have this issue.  This particular issue ties in to X-Factor #25 (remember when Famine just disappeared during her fight against Marvel girl) and continues in X-Factor #26.  I remember reading X-Factor #25 and thinking for the longest time how much I wanted to find this issue because it was a tie in to one of my favorite X-Factor stories.  I figure it's got to be good right?  Well guess what: it's the one issue I rarely read word for word.  I hate it that bad.  There are just so many things wrong with it.  I'm usually a bit generous with rating a comic, but this one truly deserves 1 star.

I hate this issue so much, I'm not even going to tell you what happens in it other than Famine causes crops to wither, The Captain, Falcon, Nomad, and D-Man (seriously - the guy's code name is D-Man and his costume is a bad Wolverine ripoff) show up, knock some sense into her and then she vanishes.  That's it.  That's seriously all that happens in here.

The art is awful.  I think I actually prefer Bogdanove because he at least puts some effort into the details.  Dwyer also forgets that the yellow mask that covers Famine is just that - a mask.  It's not a second skin but apparently in Captain America it functions just like that.

I won't complain about The Captain too much, because I know that this is his book.  Steve Rogers losing his "Captain America" mantle was a long running story in his book.  Of course, I'm not sure how anybody would get fooled by The Captain who had a flag on his chest and threw a circular shield at people.  Seriously?  People wouldn't know that was Captain America?

I will, however, complain about his supporting cast.  Falcon is useless (moreso than Angel who at least can use his wings as a weapon much like a giant bird), Nomad is crap with his little throwing discs, and D-Man...well, you already heard my opinion on him.  The battle against Famine is crap.  All D-Man does is try to subdue the horse.  Seriously.  Why was he even in this issue?

Freedom Force makes a guest appearance...which actually makes no sense continuity wise.  They laugh about the X-Men dying in Dallas, but this issue takes place while the X-Men were still fighting the Adversary!  On top of that, Freedom Force actually parted ways from the X-Men on reasonably good terms.

This issue was a blatantly obvious attempt to get X-Men readers interested in Captain America.  And it failed miserably.  It had virtually nothing to do with Fall of the Mutants.  Heck, it had nothing to do with New York.  I honestly feel stupider for having read it again.  And yet, it's part of the story, so I'll read it next time I go through my back issues.  In 40 years, my IQ will probably hit single digits from this issue.

Famine goes crazy

See?  Told you Falcon was useless.

Seriously...what good is a Horseman of Apocalypse if a glorified gymnast can take her down?

Power Pack #35 (Fall of the Mutants)

Power Pack #35 (February 1988)
Rating:  ★☆★☆★
Life or Death!
Writer:  Louise Simonson
Artist:  Jon Bogdanove
Inker:  Hilary Barta

Okay, so I'm going to try something a little different.  I really want to get two of these out each week, but I'm noticing that putting in an entire play by play of the issue just takes up too much of my time.  So I'll try an abbreviated synopsis.  If anybody is reading this and would prefer the longer version and don't mind the slower turn times, let me know.

So, during Apocalypse's attack on New York, the PP kids are waiting for their mom to get home when the lights go out.  The youngest rainbow one goes searching for her mom who is probably trapped on the subway.  There, she comes across Pestilence who is killing travelers.  Katie wins out, but is first made sick by the Horseman.  As the rest of the kids look for her, Apocalypse's ship appears overhead and they rush to help.  They see Cyclops and Marvel Girl and one of the kids knocks Pestilence off her horse.  Katie grabs her to save her, but the destruction of the antenna forces her to drop the Horseman, killing Pestilence.  The Power Pack kids then follow ship and try to stop the descent by destroying one of the engines.  The ship topples over and lands on the shore.  They rush home just in time to greet their mom who walks in.

Anybody who knows me and what I read know that I absolutely hate the Power Pack series.  I think it's ridiculous (more-so than most comics) and poorly written and I can't believe the same woman who writes X-Factor and New Mutants writes this garbage.  The art is even worse.  Jon Bogdanove is the worst artist I have ever seen on a Marvel title, and that's saying a lot.

Still, this issue has a few redeeming qualities.  First of all, I like the tie in to X-Factor and how closely the two titles work together (which is due to the same author writing both).  It definitely feels like a continuation of the story and how a crossover should act.

But the bigger thing is Katie's reaction to Pestilence's death.  Yes, Pestilence was a villain, and yes she probably deserved to die, but Katie demonstrates the innocence and hope that most 6 year olds are filled with.  Death upsets her, as well it should.  She is devastated by it, even though it happened to someone evil.  I have a daughter that age and reading this now, I realize that Katie's reaction is absolutely perfect.  And for that, I commend Louise Simonson on a gem within a garbage heap.

Ship shows up overhead - such a great view!

Pestilence is taken down by a child???  Some horseman...

Katie shows a very real reaction to death.