BHOC: UNCANNY X-MEN #119

UNCANNY X-MEN was perhaps the first Marvel comic book to display an awards symbol on its front cover, in this case that of the UK Eagle Awards. I can say that, speaking for myself, I had no idea what the Eagle Awards were (nor any inkling just how small they were as compared to similar awards today) and so I was at least somewhat impressed by this distinction being shown to one of my favorite titles. Which was the whole point of displaying it, of course–to maybe convince some impulse buyers of the book’s quality such that they’d pick it up and try it out. UNCANNY X-MEN sales were on the upswing, but it still needed all of the help it could get.

By this point, artist John Byrne had settled into place and begun contributing materially to the plotting of the series. While this process would eventually become troublesome to John as scripter Chris Claremont often went his own way when dialoguing the pages, it did allow for Byrne to have greater control of the overall storyline. It also didn’t hurt that editor Roger Stern was a close friend of Byrne’s, and so an ever-present sympathetic ear whenever tensions rose between the two creators. Byrne always had storytelling talent, but it was on UNCANNY X-MEN that it really blossomed and you could see the full range of what he was capable of. At the same time, Claremont’s scripting grew more complex and erudite. He was content to let Byrne take care of the X-Men’s outer lives while his copy delved into their inner selves. it was an effective combination.

It was also a really good looking series, with inker Terry Austin complementing Byrne’s linework with a slick, modern finish. At the time, it was maybe the most progressive-looking Marvel title on the stands in terms of its visual appeal. There was nothing that was quite its equal, even the other books that Byrne penciled wound up seeming a bit more “house style” as he was matched with more conventional inkers. They were good, but not as sleek as UNCANNY X-MEN. The entire package was very attractive and still holds up remarkably well to this day.

This issue was another installment in the X-Men’s long global journey home after almost having been killed within Magneto’s volcano base. Having made their way to Japan, the team is recruited to help out the Japanese Government in light of a serious situation: the international arms merchant Moses Magnum is threatening to cause major earthquakes throughout the whole of the island nation, causing untold death and destruction, if he is not paid an exorbitant sum. Misty Knight and Colleen Wing have tracked Magnum down to a heavily fortified base secreted in the Kuril Islands. So the X-Men need to penetrate the base’s defenses, deal with its defenders and shut down Magnum’s “Magnum Force” before he can make good on his threat. In essence, it’s a James Bond story with a super hero aspect to it.

Moses Magnum wasn’t exactly a world-beating threat in his previous two appearances, so here Claremont and Byrne amp up his abilities so that he can go toe-to-toe with the entire X-Men team. He’s also able to give them the slip while they’re pinned down by his operatives using Mandroid armored suits, a classic Neal Adams design that I expect Bryne really liked. Magnum unleashes his Magnum Force in retaliation for the X-Men’s attack, but in an act of heroism, Banshee is able to block Magnum’s energy output with his own sonic scream, turning it back upon the villain and destroying the base. This effort overstrains Banshee’s mutant vocal chords, and his power is effectively lost, giving Claremont and Byrne the excuse to ultimately write him out of the series in a couple of issues.

The pyrotechnics in UNCANNY X-MEN were always exciting, but I suspect that it was the character-building that kept people coming back. The final third of this issue is nothing but, with Banshee returning to the group after being discharged from the hospital and everybody celebrating Christmas together. Most of the character moments here are relatively hit-and-run, but even there, while they’re framed as though these interactions have been a regular thing within the group, this was the first time we got to see many of them. This was an interesting tact that Claremont often took, and as a reader who had come onto the series with issue #108, I simply assumed that I had missed the earlier stories where these relationships had been set up, never realizing that this was that moment. So it was a pretty good bit of slight-of-hand.

And the final page of the issue picks up on a plotline that many readers of the day believed had gotten lost in the shuffle. During the team’s first battle with Magneto on Muir Island, there was a warning indication that “Mutant X” had been freed from its cell. Who or what Mutant X was remained a tantalizing mystery. But here, we return to that issue’s supporting player Angus MacWhirter, who nurses a grudge against the mutants, and who breaks into Moira MacTaggart’s research facility intending on causing a bit of sabotage. But he runs afoul of the still-unseen Mutant X and loses his life as a result. This feels like a ton of space to devote to a subplot, given that each story is still only 17 pages long. But it brought the question of Mutant X back onto the front burner and set things up for the next cycle of stories–even though Claremont and Byrne wouldn’t get into it head on for another six issues.