UNCANNY X-MEN #255: Crash & Burn!

 

The Freedom Force are here to save the day!

Originally Published December 1989

To begin with, do call it a comeback...

That's right, the X-Men's very own fighting Irish screaming shamrock respectable, well-rounded individual from the beautiful nation of Ireland, Sean Cassidy aka Banshee, has returned to the fold in full force, with his sonic scream ready to bust some eardrums. And it's not a moment too soon either, because Muir Island is under siege by -- you guessed it folks, the main event, the reason why we are all here today, the only thing that gets any of us up in the morning...

Bonebreaker, Prettyboy and Skullbuster are the first to feel Banshee's wrath, decidedly taken aback because the last they heard, Sean was out of commission as far as super-powering went.

Banshee's screams disrupt Bonebreaker's chassis, putting him down for the count. Recent Muir Island visitor Lorna Dane arrives for the assist, looking to put Skullbuster away, but she is stopped by...

Um...

Well, I searched as hard as I could, wracked my brain for any possible alternative, but there really is no better way to say this, so I might as well come out with it.

Lorna gets ensnared by Prettyboy's chesticles.

With Lorna in his grip, Prettyboy begins his trademark gross-ass re-wiring of her brain. 

Damnit all, if there's one thing this woman doesn't need, it's to be brainwashed into being evil again!

Luckily, Banshee arrives in time to neuter Prettyboy's chesties. He then scoops Lorna up and flies with her in tow back toward the safety of the facility, but runs into an unexpectedly-placed invisible force field, knocking both out cold.

Bonebreaker congratulates nearby allies Cole, Macon and Reese for their success, but the Hellfire guys are a a little confused -- they certainly didn't put up any invisible wall.

Perhaps some kind of wildcard is in amongst the "good guys," one who may have some kind of psychological affliction that prevents him from being a truly reliable teammate.

But as we ponder that question we travel back to Cairo, Il, where Inspector Jacob Reisz meets with Dr. Shen, who has been attending to the mysterious young girl who arrived some days ago. Shen is reluctant to simply hand the vulnerable young girl over to the authorities, drawing parallels to her homeland, China, which had very recently witnessed the Tian An Men Square massacre.

Reisz assures Shen this is totally different, and really for the girl's own good, but when they get to the mystery girl's room they find she has vanished!

And not only that, Shen notices something a little shady about this Inspector Reisz when she sees his face in the monitor.

Back at Muir Isle, some reinforcements are able to get the drop on the Reavers, so to speak.

Freedom Force has entered the chat. While Blob and Avalanche lay the groundwork -- geddit, because of Avalanche -- Mystique, back up in the plane, plies Destiny for answers as to what's troubling her. The heart-to-heart doesn't get very far, however, as the plane has an unexpected hop-on.

The plane goes into a tailspin and its passengers -- Mystique, Destiny, Pyro, Stonewall and Forge -- are put in danger. Luckily, they all are able to walk away unscathed (they must have had their tray tables up and seat backs in the upright position) and Pyro can easily contain the wreck's flames before they hit the fuel tank.

Mystique, irritated with Forge mostly because she believes him responsible for the demise of her daughter Rogue, commands the maker to escort Destiny into the complex. Forge protests, saying he's more useful out here, but Mystique counters that Val Cooper made it clear that Forge was too valuable an asset to risk in combat, so he has to take the safe road.

However, when they arrive at the complex, Destiny waves Forge off: if he is not by Mystique's side, Raven will be the one to pay the "ultimate price," which she will not allow.

Plus, she notes, there seems to be something between those two in the cards for later. Forge is skeptical, noting that his heart belongs to another, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see about that.

And so alone, Destiny is brought face to face with the mysterious and volatile mutant known as Legion. But I dont know why she'd be worried, he seems like a swell kid.

On the battlefield, things are not looking great for the Freedom Force, as in short order they lose Avalanche and Stonewall, with Blob also incapacitated and remaining members Pyro and Mystique on the run. Pyro laments that he'll never get to see if his next book is a bestseller. (I'd say it's unlikely, but I'd have to check the comps... oops sorry, my day job creeping in there.) But just as the remaining FF-ers are prepared to meet their makers...

In comes Forge with a specially-designed Reaver-killing gun.

Forge is preparing to pull the trigger on Pierce, too, but before he can, the Reavers teleport away, living to fight another day.

You know what though, I think we'll be hearing from that crazy Reaver. And I don't mean a postcard.

In the aftermath, Mystique is left bitter that Forge wasn't able to come to her assistance sooner (he explains, he literally had to invent and build a gun), noting the losses that she has now incurred -- that's two he owes her.

This guy just can't invent himself some credit

Later, as Forge watches the sunset contemplatively, Banshee approaches with a couple of offers. First, can he build a security net that will prevent attacks like this from happening again? Sure, easy peasy. Second... would he like to do some travelling?

Lorna has informed the group that the X-Men are indeed still alive. It's time to go find them.

I, too, would like to find the X-Men.

Back in Cairo, that mysterious young girl has stolen away into the catacombs beneath the hospital. She believes that the people here are servants of "The Evil One" and means to escape.

In pursuit, "Jacob Reisz" claims that the girl is a psychotic killer mutant, who used her powers to kill an innocent Doctor... or so they'll say.

It becomes imminently clear that there is really not something right with this guy.

Further Thoughts:

Amidst the rest of the issue, we actually do get our first glimpse of one of the X-Men following their trip through the Siege Perilous. Psylocke has turned up on an island in the South China Sea, dazed and confused, a captive of the ninja clan known as the Hand, and their leader Matsuo Tsurayaba.

At least they gave her a robe, that was nice. I mean what, was she going to run around in a bathing suit?

I've discussed, somewhat at length, the questionable current direction of the series, being that it is now very specifically being built around the absence the X-Men have left behind and the consequences of their being scattered. This, unfortunately, brings us the very weird stylistic choice to cast the Freedom Force -- the former terrorist group now operating as government flunkies (essentially trading out their original villainous modus for another one) -- as the heroes and saviors of the piece. As has been debated in the comments section of this very blog, I can't say whether the inhabitants of 1989 were truly clamoring for a Mystique star turn and less so for her team, but it's clear she's a Claremont Fave, being imbued with a pathos and humanity that offsets her self-interested and opportunistic ways.

It helps -- certainly in the long-run -- that the queer-coded Mystique and Destiny pairing has an iconic resonance through the years that people have latched onto. Whenever they've appeared in the comic it's been increasingly clear that they are gay and in love (they had a child together for pete's sake) but the situation is always tapdanced around in that bashful 1980's Comics Code Authority way. I've never made it a secret that I actually dislike the way the character of Destiny is deployed in the comics, being that she is a future-seer and thus very hard to fit into an ongoing action-adventure narrative. But this readthrough has really made me appreciate Mystique and I do like the two together.

So there is a depth there and a meaning to all this, but unfortunately because the book is so deliberately unfocussed the death of Destiny, slayed between panels by a character who has barely ever appeared -- is not given the momentousness that maybe the writer was hoping for. It's just one of many things that have happened in the last few issues. Perhaps that's the point, that the X-Men comics are suddenly like life: we don't always understand the many entangled and stray threads and we certainly can't see where they're headed when we're the the moment. (If that's the case and this is all on purpose, I am not a fan. I like my stories to, generally, be stories.)

It's not all for naught. In her parting moments, Destiny underlines to Forge and Mystique that their paths are intertwined, and as the sun sets on this particular issue, all of the scrambled and confused events that brought this ramshackle team together has resulted in a very particular pairing with a very specific mission: Find. The. Fucking. X-Men already.

Understands the assignment