Uncanny X-Men 105 Review

[OldGuy]

Uncanny X-Men 105

By Brian Rempel

June '77

Cover Art: Dave Cockrum featuring Phoenix, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Storm vs. Firelord

Writer: Chris Claremont

Interior Art and Inks: Dave Cockrum

Story Title: Phoenix Unleashed

X-Men 105 Summary

Well kids, it's time to sit down with another classic Claremont/Cockrum X-Book. I love this job!

Our creative team wastes no time in getting right to the good stuff in this book. The splash page let's you know from the start that this will be non-stop action for 31 pages!

Our story starts at "a private airfield in Westchester New York" with the entire team running headlong at Eric The Red, with orders from team leader Cyclops to "Get him, X-Men!".

"They attack without a moments hesitation." The first to strike is Colossus with a huge left hook that sends Eric The Red reeling. Cyclops follows up with a fierce blast from his ruby red visor that takes down Eric. With Wolverine rushing in to finish the job, Eric exclaims "Stop….I beg you! I come in peace!" with Wolvie replying "Fine Bub - - 'cause yer goin' in pieces!".

Then, out of nowhere, our multi-clawed friend takes a powerful energy blast right in the back with the exclamation that "I have seen enough!" Who said that!? Wait, what's this?! It's Firelord! But who's Firelord?! Well, according to him he is "Galactus' former herald, he whose power is like unto that of a raging sun!". And he isn't very happy about Eric getting the tar beaten out of him either.

Firelord makes short work of Colossus and Cyke with just one shot from his "firestaff". Nightcrawler lasts a little longer due to his acrobatic maneuvering, but he gets blasted down eventually as well. Banshee and Storm come to the rescue only to be blasted out of the air by two powerful fire beams shooting from Firelord's eyes. "From start to finish, it's been less then a minute."

With all of the X-Wimps down, Firelord goes to check on his friend Eric The Red, only to be asked "did you have to treat the X-Men so harshly?" What's this? A bad guy with a conscience? Hmmmmm…….

It seems that Eric is manipulating Firelord into doing his bidding against the X-Men as we learn in the following flashback sequence as recalled by Eric. In our last issue, after the X-Men escaped Magneto's wrath, Firelord just happened to come flying by Eric's command base. At this point, Havok and Polaris, were attacking him and kicking his butt. Firelord responded to the attack by easily taking out the two X-Flunkies. At this point Eric convinces Firelord to take up his fight with the X-Men. Firelord then vows to take out Professor X in order to weaken the X-Men to the point where Eric can clean the floor with the leaderless band of Heroes (sounds like a good plan to me!).

Cut to a giant spaceship somewhere not far from Earth…."Ship's log, Imperial date 2131.6: We have followed Princess Lilandra Neramani across the face of the known, and unknown, universe……and now, when she is within sight of her goal…..we have caught up with her."

Ships Captain: "Status Report Science Officer."

Science Officer: "Class M world Captain. Sentient hominid life forms, level 4.7 on the Varakis Scale."

Unidentified Officer: "She'll be in planetary atmosphere soon Captain! The Prime Directive……"

Captain: "Does not apply here in this case, maintain firing range."

Science Officer (continuing computer scan of Earth): "Captain! This planet has faced Galactus four times in it's immediate history and beaten him back!"

Captain: "Whaaaaat?!?"

At this point they decide to get the hell out of Dodge, but before they are completely gone they manage to pop off a few more photon torpedoes. Most of them miss, but one does not. Lilandra's ship is destroyed, but not before she manages to beam down to earth.

Why do I feel like I just read a page out of a Star Trek comic book?

Cut scene to Jean Gray's (Phoenix) 5th Floor apartment in Greenwich Village where she's serving coffee to her parents, Professor X and her roommate Misty.

They're all enjoying some mild conversation over coffee when all of a sudden Misty notices a weird light coming from a corner of the room…

Misty: "Jean, it looks like that Star Trek transporter effect." (Didn't I just say that?)

Jean: "That's crazy, Misty! But…."

All of a sudden the group is faced with the humanoid looking form of a space traveler in a space suite.

Professor X: NO! "It's impossible! Yet, it's happening. And this time everyone can see it. I'm coming face to face with the figure from my nightmares!!"

As the space traveler removes it's helmet and collapses to the floor, Professor X exclaims……

"Lilandra!!"

Jean, Misty and the Professor help Lilandra out of her suite and then…….THKOW! A wall of the apartment is blasted into pieces! It's Firelord!

Firelord: "I have come for Princess Lilandra and the man called Charles Xavier. Resist me at your peril."

Phoenix: "You just made the biggest mistake of your life, because I am PHOENIX! And I want you to get out of my house!!"

Blam! Firelord gets blasted out of the 5th floor apartment with the force of a…..well…..a Phoenix. As Firelord exits the building, Phoenix isn't far behind, and she's flying! (She hasn't flown to this point in her mutation if memory serves.)

The battle rages and is carried into Washington Square Park where we see a shadowy figure in an alley (it's Eric The Red) saying to himself: "This Phoenix is more trouble then I'd anticipated! Her power rivals Firelord's. But while she fights Firelord, Xavier is defenseless! This is my last chance to stop the Princess. I dare not fail!"

Back in the Phoenix/Firelord fight…..Phoenix gets blasted with a starbolt and seems to be getting her butt kicked…

In the apartment: Jeans parents are more then a little surprised to see their daughter flying around shooting power bolts from her hands, and Professor X is giving Lilandra a telepathic language lesson. When all of a sudden Eric The Red makes his appearance!

Misty pulls out her trusty six shooter and exclaims: "Freeze it Buster, another move an' I'll fire!" (Oh pleeeease tell me that didn't just happen! I half expected her to say "or I'll bust a cap in your [!@#%^&^]".) As Misty is waiving her peashooter around, Lilandra recognizes Eric as "Shakari!"

Eric: "Aye Princess, Shakari! Who you exiled to Earth. Now, at your brothers Imperial command I have come to take you home to die!" And he blasts her with a "stun blast" from his hand to prove he's serious.

The blast takes out everyone in the apartment (That's what will happen to you if you play with guns.). Eric drags everyone to the rooftop where he proceeds to build a nifty little star-gate. At the same time a ship comes flying in and following the ship are Storm and Banshee! Yea! The X-Men have arrived bub! Now it's butt kickin' time!

Eric fires off a blast at Storm, but she manages to dodge it, only for the bolt to strike the ship with the rest of the X-men inside! BOOM! The ship blows up!

As the X-Men fall from the sky and Eric is activating his star-gate, Phoenix shakes off Firelords attack like it was nothing. She then blasts him with a bolt so powerful it knocks him back twelve miles to the Jersey Meadowlands! As she pursues Firelord she is contacted telepathically by the Professor and he let's her know that she's needed back at the apartment.

From another direction, we see Storm flying in with Wolvie and Colossus in tow and Banshee with Cyke hanging from one hand…but where is Nightcrawler?! After a little "But I thought you had him!" conversation between Banshee and Storm, we see the little blue goblin pulling one of his best acrobatics routines while making his way to the rooftop…

As Nightcrawler comes over the roof he sees Eric with Lilandra in his arms just as he steps through the star-gate. The Professor tries to warn Eric that his actions will carry consequences that he's not aware of, but it's too late. Eric steps through and the star-gate closes. Needless to say, the Professor is more then a little miffed.

After some small talk, Phoenix taps some of the cosmic power that resides in her body to re-open the star-gate. The X-Team of has a brief conversation weighing the pros and cons of following Eric and they decide they really have no choice, so through the gate they go with Phoenix not far behind. Just as Phoenix steps through the gate, guess who makes his way to the rooftop? Yup, Firelord……wont this guy ever quit?

Firelord: "Where is she? Where is Phoenix!?! Our battle is far from ended humans! Tell me where she is or by all the stars in space, I'll blast you and your dustmote world to atoms!" (Just for the record, "dustmote" isn't in my Webster's Unabridged so don't ask me.)

Professor X: "Then blast away Firelord, for Phoenix is where you can not reach her! You may destroy the earth today, but if the X-men fail, tomorrow the universe will die!"

Review

The GoodThe Firelord/Phoenix fight sequences are killer. There's more raw power between these to than just about anyone else in the Marvel Universe at this point.

With the build up to the impending Starjamers saga, Phoenix starting to discover her real potential and the Eric The Red/Firelord tie in, there are more plot twists in this book then in a day time soap.

The writing and art is some of the best ever and the complexity of the story line is first rate. In three panels (two on pg. 17 and the 3rd on pg. 22) there is an interesting little sub plot that's not pivotal to the story in any way, but somewhat humorous none the less. At the beginning of the fight between Phoenix and Firelord, Phoenix hits FL with an energy blast that knocks him into Washington Square Park (remember that part?). In the Park are several civilians that begin to flee the area. Among them are two people of particular note. One of them is drawing while the other one is describing something. Their conversation goes like this:

Chris: "..anyway Dave, he hits the ground with this incredible sound effect."(at that moment Firelord hits the ground with an incredible sound effect) "..uh and uh, Dave?! Aren't you listening?"

Dave: "Chris, do us all a favor..shut up and run!!"

Can you guess who that was? Yup, it's Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum writing the story that we're reading and they are right in the middle of it! Now that's cool!

The BadThe only bad thing (if you can call it that) about this book is that it was difficult and time consuming to write this review and not leave anything out. There was so much to cover that I had to read one panel then write, read one panel then write, read one panel then write……..Even with the time I put into this review, it really doesn't do this book justice. If there are only some "must read" issues of these early New X-Men books, then this is certainly one of them.

The UglySomeone wasn't paying much attention to detail when they let this book go to the presses with Havok's name misspelled "Havoc" through the entire issue.

Best LineThere are two lines that are both classics. The first is Wolvie's. After Firelord blasts the ship the X-Men are in with a starbolt (Cyke is piloting and losses control)….

Wolvie: "What's'a matter leader-man? This more'n you can handle?"

Man, these two just never let up do they?

The next line is only two panels away just as the ship blows up in mid air.

Nightcrawler: "Oh, no, not again!"

You'd think he'd be used to it by now….

Cheesiest LineJust after everyone goes through the star-gate, Phoenix's father demands to know what the Professor has done with his daughter and the Professor replies with:

"I think I have sent her and my X-Men as well, Mr. Grey, to their deaths."

Come on, how many times now have the X-Men been faced with "their greatest threat ever"?

RATINGS

Plot: 9 (Can you have too much plot? No!)

Dialogue: 9(Not as much "cheesiness" as there usually is.)

Art: 10(As much as I like the Byrne books starting with 108, Cockrum has really found his "sweet spot" at this point)

Overall: 9.3

[chrisco37]

Another great review! Keep 'em comin', you hopped up rat!

 

Chris

[ArAich]

Interesting review OG....when exactly did you write this...

[OldGuy]

I don't know exactly when I wrote it. It was about two years ago, probably a little longer. Why?