UNCANNY X-MEN #226: Go Tell the Spartans!

The X-Men are the last line of defense against the unravelling of all reality -- as per uzhe.

Originally Published February 1988

The X-Men have been battling the Freedom Force -- the U.S. Government's own officially sanctioned mutant-hunting Goof Troop -- on the front steps of Eagle Plaza, formerly the home and workshop of Forge and currently the place where the X-Men are scheduled to die. 

Inside, the X-Men lick their wounds, particularly Wolverine whose healing factor is bringing him back from near death (much to his chagrin according to some wry Claremontian narration.) As a hostage, they have Mystique, who tries to play the "I am an agent of the U.S. Government with a warrant for your arrest" card to no avail. Outside, their own members -- Dazzler, Rogue and Psylocke -- are held likewise captive. Also the building - a 100-storey skyscraper - seems ready to collapse on their heads. Also also, Mystique points out (in support of her "turn yourselves in" argument) that Destiny has foreseen that everyone inside the building at daybreak will die. And also also also, this is happening:

As to whether this counts as daybreak, I'll leave to the judges to make their ruling but it sure doesn't help the vibe of the room.

Dazzler mounts an offense against her captors in an attempt to free herself, but it proves ineffective against the Freedom Force's most overqualified member, Spiral, who retaliates by affixing Destiny's kooky faceless mask onto Dazzler via a magic knife. Whattayagonnado?

Rogue comes to the aid of her teammate when Spiral threatens to behead Psylocke, but she can't lay a gloved fist on the dancing otherworldly sorceress. Spiral again gets the upper hand(s) but before she can do anything her attention is caught by something off in the distance.

In another place, perhaps another plane of existence entirely, we see Ororo, reveling in a bucolic natural wonderland. You'll recall that when we last saw Storm, she had been tricked by the Adversary into near-fatally stabbing Forge, and then they turned into a beam of light and zapped away up into the Heavyside Layer together. Nothing out of the ordinary.

While Forge is still recovering in a nearby cave, they two are Adam-and-Eveing it up in this Edenic environment in which they find themselves. Storm can sense a sweetness in the air -- this is a world with no technology, not even any people, unspoilt altogether. Forge suspects the Adversary has created them a new world of their own, perhaps as a sort of prison.

Back in Dallas, all of time begins to unravel as the city becomes home to dinosaurs, brutes, barbarians, and all kinds of futurepeople, all of whom are decidedly hostile. Watching from Eagle Plaza, Wolverine decides to cut Mystique loose, deciding that this is bigger than their fight and if they, and the city of Dallas, hope to survive they'll have to work together.

And so the X-Men and the Freedom Force join forces to rescue various citizens of Dallas from some of the more immediate threats, like a Tyrannosaurus...

And the barbarians.

Watching the proceedings, and broadcasting it for the world to see, are Neal Conan of NPR and his associate Manoli. Manoli is a bit skeptical of the X-Men's heroism, but Conan, the consummate bleeding heart lib, thinks they deserve a chance to live their lives.

Back in Otherworld, Forge and Storm work to suss out what exactly is going on. Forge's mountain of power has been destroyed, likely across all realities. But if the Adversary wanted them dead, they would be dead, 100%. Noting the Adversary's phenomenal cosmic power, Forge deduces that they may merely exist to be pawns in the game. Forge starts to think that this new Earth may be a good place to put down roots and get away from the goodguy mutant grind, but overall he feels that wherever Storm is, that's his home. 

Storm is a little more skeptical, preferring the Earth of her birth, and elects to go on a walkabout to try to decide what comes next for her, leaving Forge to work on Next Steps, should they decide to make an effort to return home. 

Back on Earth Classic, as the X-Men and Freedom Force work to corral the survivors of the Time Attack, some Cheyenne arrive, venturing far out of their usual jurisdiction. They have come to say that this is the doing of the Adversary, an ancient foe who twists and undoes reality, and there's only one man who can help, someone who has spent a lifetime preparing for the battle. Before anyone can explain to the Chief that they've got a guy like that but doesn't live here anymore, the whole tribe is felled, shot by some nearby hicks in a jarring outburst of violence.

Amidst all the chaos, Destiny is surprised to find Colossus, since none of the timelines she saw included him. When he asks her what she has seen, she says it's mostly death, but maybe a little scrap of hope, for the World and for Freedom Force, with the key being up in the Aerie atop Eagle Plaza. But for the X-Men? Nada. 

Colossus determines that means he is meant to go to the top of the Aerie and be the difference-maker. Madelyne points out they it has been repeatedly stated that the X-Men are going to die here, but Colossus, who has been wondering what it is that brought him here in the first place besides a renewed dedication to his duty as an X-Man, thinks that dying to save the world is probably a good thing.

Colossus links up with Psylocke, who scans his mind and finds the face of Roma. Being that Psylocke is acquainted with her as the Guardian of the Omniverse and Supreme Caretaker of all Reality, she realizes that some serious stuff may be going down, so yes, we should go up to the Aerie. The X-Men all agree to march toward their certain doom, despite the fact that it's very high up and the elevators are out of service. In fact, the entire building has been thrown into a recreation of Vietnam, as per usual when Forge's stuff is involved. 

As all the X-Men affirm their commitment to the cause, they offer some parting words to Neal Conan's camera.

A year has passed on Earth Jr; Storm has gone to her African homeland, looked into the heavens and wondered what it is she is meant to do. Is she destined to be the "Bright Lady" of this world and bring human life into it?

She returns to Forge, finding him having already set up his cabin with solar panels and ready to welcome her home.

The reunion is joyous to start with but they are faced with a monumental decision. Do they let their love for each other consecrate this new world by bringing life to it? Or do they find a way back to go to Earth 1.0, do battle alongside their friends and share their fates, passing up the opportunity to create a new, and possibly better world?

I think you can guess which way they go.

They climb atop Forge's new Aerie, where he explains that he has cannibalized his bionic leg to build a Power-Giver-Backer for Storm, but if it doesn't work, that's their only shot, and hell, it may even kill Storm, who knows, the thing's never been used. 

They take another moment to exhale their reticence -- they wish they could just stay here and be in love and all that stuff, but they know they would not be doing the right thing.

A moment passes and Storm does not feel her powers return. She begins to dread that if they do return, she'll revert to being the untouchable, inaccessible goddess she once was. Forge gives her the old shut-up-kiss to remind her that she has grown in all this time--

And before you know it...

Yes! At long last, after three years of realtime storytelling, Ororo is once again Storm, mistress of the elements. She uses her lightning to activate Forge's Sender-Back-to-Earther...

Back on the Earth We Know, the trigger-happy yayhoo laughs -- he is impressed by Forge and Storm's gumption, declining retirement to a specially-designed guaranteed paradise to go one more round with him -- the Adversary!

Oh, so that's why he shot all those Cheyenne!

And for his first move, he's bringing down the house!

Further Thoughts:

After years of anticipation, Storm's powers are restored at last, and I could not be more thrilled with how it all went down. The seeds of this story were planted way back in the run-up to the original "LifeDeath" story, so bringing it home to rest by incorporating the romance-such-as-it-is between Storm and Forge works beautifully. The scenes in their paradise even ring every so slightly with the tone and flavour of Claremont and Windsor-Smith's original story, although it's still set amidst a pitched, frenzied battle back on the other Earth.

What I loved even more is the mythological element. Storm and Forge have a chance at winning for the Earth (the one where all our favourite heroes live) because they deny the temptation of starting over in a world built especially for them. Everything from how we got here -- with the Adversary's long con on Storm -- to the way home resting on Forge restoring Storm's powers, fits beautifully -- thematically, structurally, and in content. It makes for an utmost satisfying read. Considering how long it took to get here and how well-laid the tracks were, it may be the biggest payoff in all of X-Men comics, certainly during its classical period.

The ostensible "A"-plot of the issue -- not the one we're really drawn to but the one that helps this bad boy balloon up to its 39-page girth -- sees the X-Men and Freedom Force teaming up to face timey-wimey threats. It gives them something to do, and helps to engage with the dilemma of the X-Men's public standing. The Freedom Force, whom we hold to be villains, have the favour of the masses because they're government employees (despite largely being mutants.) Associating with them, ironically, helps the X-Men's position a little bit, and we have the Greek Chorus of Neal Conan and Manoli Wetherell to consider the Normie point of view as they regard the heroes performing their fabulous feats. In the end, Wolverine's simple plea to "Remember us" stands as a strong statement in light of whatever might go down next.