Scott and Madelyne get a little tied up on their honeymoon.
Originally Published December 1983
We begin with a bit of a snog.
Scott and Madelyne are on their honeymoon, flying their own rad seaplane to a secluded island in the Pacific, that famouas tropical getaway "Gorabora."
After pretty explicitly joining the mile-high club, the happy couple discusses their plans. Specifically, should they live in Alaska, or maybe New York, or in outer space, with Cyclops' Space Pirate father? It's the kind of Q all newlyweds grapple with. (My wife and I ruled out Alaska pretty quickly.)
Yes, for whatever reason Corsair and his band of spacefaring pirates have been all too happy to hang around above Earth for weeks just waiting for Scott to make up his mind once he gets back from his fabulous tropical vacation. That's nice and all, but if I'm Ch'od, I'm tapping my foot somewhat impatiently.
Unfortunately, while worrying about a storm coming up behind them, then slam into a freak lightning storm in front of them, and the plane goes down!
Come to think about it, these two combined have pretty rotten luck when it comes to major air and water craft.
Meanwhile, in the port city of Agarashima, in the northern Japanese prefecture of Miyago (which doesn't exist, but there is a Miyagi prefecture, so it's like a Japanese work setting a scene in the State of Uhio.) Mariko Yashida gets an unexpected visitor at dawn.
Wolverine has come to return the Honor Sword of Clan Yashida, again, which was delivered to him in New York by an imperial messenger, after he went to all the trouble of returning it when she broke off their planned nuptuals. Mariko insists it is still his (what with his having killed her father and all) and Wolverine concludes that that means she is his as well. I would check his math on that, myself.
Long story short, despite the fact that Mariko only called off the wedding because of Mastermind's meddlings, she had went and got the clan re-entwined with all their shady underworld dealings while under his influence (whoopsie!) So she still can't marry Logan, as she feels only she can untangle them, and must keep Wolverine out of this to protect his honor. Hence no wedding. That's, uh, a new one.
Now to me, this is flimsy as hayle, even before you consider my limited understanding of what "honor" really means to the Japanese in real life and as depicted in this comic. It really just reads as Editorial going "You know, we can't actually have Wolverine be married, so let's use any premise we can to slam that door shut and walk away from it." But the specifics, as wanting as they are, let Wolverine and Mariko come off well, so it's easier to let go.
Wolverine, for his part, understands, and says sayonara once and for all. (I'm not being glib, he really does.)
Back down in the Pacific, Scott and Madelyne are working on repairing their craft, which has had its electronics system frazzled by the lightning strike, and other unspecified engine trouble. Unfortunately, they are on a ticking clock, as the storm behind them is approaching, causing the water to swell and rock the boat, slowing the repairs.
Also, there's sharks.
And... worse.
Elsewhere, in
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| Henry, it's never a good sign when they start the meeting without you. |
So to recap, nobody in the government knows, or cares to find out, that the X-Men were able to stop Magneto quite handily (albeit with a timely assist from his Personal Trauma.) As always, Bad P.R. is the X-Men's worst enemy. I guess what happens on the Mysterious Caribbean Island Base stays on the Mysterious Caribbean Island Base.
From this somewhat misinformed point, Frank pivots to the bananas-paranoid conclusion that the computers say that also, if the Avengers wanted to take over the world, they couldn't be stopped either. Just putting that out there.
From there, he introduces Dr. Cooper (no relation to Sheldon, I assume) who segues into talking about the X-Men, who represent an entire race of superpowered beings, gifted from birth with fantastical flying abilities, crazy mental powers, and kooky eyebeams, in contrast to the Avengers, who are just a group of randos who got their powers mostly by working for 'em like good Americans.
According to Val here, it was one thing when the U.S. Government was merely concerned that the Mutant Race might possibly supplant Homo sapiens at some undefined point in the future, but Valerie's real concern, and the true thesis of this lengthy powerpoint deck, is the revelation that - shock of shocks - not all mutants are American!
Yes! Imagine if Russia had it own mutant who could turn his skin into steel, or if a Japanese man could shoot fire out of his hands! It may be more likely than you think! The implications of other countriws sharing any advantage with tbe United States are dire, dire I tell you!
Valerie's big point is that, if other nations are going to use mutants as weapons (which in Valerie's presentation is something they are certain must be happening) the United States also needs to get on that train and weaponize mutants for the good of freedom-lovers everywhere. It's not the worst idea I've ever heard (that would be More Sentinels Please) but Gyrich, of all people, has some reasonable objections, noting that this is exactly what Magneto expects humans to do, and why the master of magnetism hates them so much.
It's a brief but vital scene that has a lot to unpack as you can no doubt surmise from the digital ink I've already spilled on it. I think it's good for the book to hit the "What is the government doing to oppress mutants lately" button every now and then.
I wonder how nervous the United States government would be if they knew that the vast majority of mutants were, in actuality, relatively harmless vagrants living in a storm drain under New York City? Well they'd probably still be uncomfortable.
Speaking of whom, back in Beautiful New York City, in the Fabulous Underground home of the Morlocks, Caliban returns to his sewer-den to find Callisto, Masque and Sunder rifling through his meager belongings. They're a little concerned about Caliban's behavior lately, as he has been even more lugubrious than usual. He plays it off, but they know the truth, pulling out a class photo or acting headshot of Kitty Pryde that Caliban has somehow acquired. Masque taunts, but Callisto reminds Caliban that the four in that room founded the Morlocks together, and that despite Storm having usurped her position as leader, she still looks out for her people.
Callisto has also acquired a new leather vest, or Storm was kind enough to send the old one back.
Caliban confesses that he feels he has been shamed, tricked by Kitty, given that she literally promised to stay forever if he would help her friends, and then pointedly did not. Granted, she was unconscious and in desperate need of medical attention at the time but she definitely was not in a hurry to come back for him.
Never mind the fact that she was absolutely not capable of giving consent at that point...
Luckily, Callisto hints that she has a dastardly plan to get Caliban exactly what he wants, and maybe even a shot at a rematch with Storm to boot.
Back on the open ocean, repairs are going swimmingly - so to speak - and Cyclops and Madelyne are prepared to take off. But as she goes to retrieve the anchor, she is engrabbened!
Cyclops dives in after her, intent on making the rescue, but he too is betentacled by the undersea beast. Dragged underwater, disoriented, out of his element and without his visor to properly control his optic blasts, the former leader of the X-Men struggles against the enormous cephalopod.
Once Madelyne surfaces and is safely out of range, Cyclops has only seconds to act before he runs out of breath and drowns...
The two hustle back to the plane, and after a bit of a struggle with waterlogged engines, manage to get... ignition!
Once they are safely cruising, Scott reveals he has decided he is ready to settle down and start a family, all the things he couldn't have when he was part of the X-Men, and couldn't have if he lived in Space. The newlyweds share a tender moment, but Madelyne notes she is too tired from their near-death experience to go have another shag, and the autopilot isn't working anyway.
As always, I love it when a story ends with "The Beginning."
Further Thoughts:
It's likely that, if I told you "In this one, Cyclops dithers over making a very obvious choice not to move to space, and then gets attacked by a giant squid" you would either think this issue was barely worth your time, or just kind of silly. But as much as there's a lack of suspense surrounding the outcome of the battle (or Scott's decision for that matter) the climactic action scene with the squid is extremely well done and suspenseful. As absurd as it would seem, to be fearing for Cyclops' life against something as mundane as this after the Brood and Mastermind and Magneto and so many other villains, it's fun to watch it play out. The point is not that he might die, the point is to watch how he survives. In the same way I always love watching the X-Men plummet to their near-deaths from an exploding airplane, seeing Cyclops get pulled under, exclaim his lack of breath in long thought bubbles, and blast wildly away hoping he doesn't hit Maddie is a thrill. Score one for Mr. Romita Jr. in laying out and pacing this issue.
As I said, there is not much surprise about Scott's decision. The book has been inching gradually in the direction of retiring Scott as a hero altogether for years, only to pull him back toward the X-Men a few times now. In the aftermath of Mastermind's return it really feels like this happily ever after could stick. But of course, we know that's not how it works around here...
As one of those tried-and-true buffer issues, this story does well to seal off much of what we have been reading: sealing up Scott and Maddie's story by literally having them fly off into the sunset, as well as confirming the end of Wolverine's relationship with Mariko - as clunky as some of that is, I accept it. But also, we return to the Morlocks, who will remain a going concern for the X-Men in the near future, and the Government's efforts to answer he mutant question in a satisfactory way, whether through "Project Wideawake" or something else altogether. Always good for the book to hit tge "What is the Government doing to oppress mutants lately?" button.
Delving into Comics Twitter (at my own peril) I saw someone grousing about how the treatment mutants "didn't make sense" since it's not like the U.S. Gov is in a hurry to oppress the Avengers of Fantastic Four. And it only takes one scene for Claremont to script an entire diatribe on what, exactly, is the Government's position on Mutants, and why they might be different from the Avengers, and what the big fat hairy deal is anyhow. It's a scene that seems frighteningly realistic and close to home in how the actual people who control major nations of the world react to situations like this - especially the element of "Us vs. Them" and "Our Mutants vs. Their Mutants." The only thing missing is some nation like Norway having a really great system of integrating mutants into society, and everyone in the Government meeting going "Nah it would never work here."
It's heartening to get to the wnd of a big story and see exactly where the next several are going to come from. The ability to keep so many stories running, to keep the world of the X-Men so overflowing with action and drama from so many different sources is why this one book was already becoming such a vibrant franchise unto itself.
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