Professor Xavier makes the news!
Originally Published April 1993
We begin in Kuwait, where former X-Person and now freelance tech guy Forge is helping Government Flunkie Henry Gyrich excavate the site of a mysterious crash that would appear to be the remains of the fallen Asteroid M. What's worse is that inside, they find something... spoo-oo-ooky!
Could this mean that Magneto maybe didn't die at all?
Well, I know it's pretty far-fetched for a comic to do such a thing but... maybe!
Later for that, though. In New York City, the Professor and Jean are preparing for an appearance on ABC's Nightline (although Ted Koppel seems to be out sick today, conveniently.) The Professor's recent assassination attempt has made him something of a spokesperson for the Mutant Rights movement. Boy, if people only knew!
The Professor is here to debate Senator Kelly, known for sponsoring the mutant registration act that is scheduled to send the world into doom and gloom sometime in the next decade, and semi-professional racist troll Graydon Creed, founder of the hate group Friends of Humanity. By comparison to Creed, Kelly is an eminent statesman and man of respect.
Upstate, Archangel is still tending to little Teddy from last month's adventure, and interacts with a kindly Mother Superior who offers some words of support.
The debate starts with Creed claiming that the FOH are here to represent the best interests of non-mutantkind agains tthe rising tide of genetically superpowered individuals who might terrorize. Guest host Elton Cayer wonders if their vigilante tactics might be justifiable in light of the actions of group like the Acolytes, the Brotherhood, and the MLF. Xavier counters that hey, aren't the X-Men cool, though? They've saved the world a few times. And there's lots of anonymous, friendly mutants, probably in your hometown, who just live quiet lives (in a statement that surely won't rile up Creed's followers who are uncomfortable sharing a public restroom with mutants.)
Creed counters by claiming that the X-Men killed Kelly's wife -- a misstatement that the relatively moderate Kelly resents being used for political gain.
Watching with bemusement from afar are the Upstarts -- including their latest member and current top scorer Fabian Cortez -- who resents Creed's membership in the group. Which is fair -- he may be a hateful bastard but he hasn't murdered anyone yet (that we know of.)
The squabbling Upstarts are put right by their mediator, Gamesmaster, who is responsible for scorekeeping in their contest of one-upmanship. Apparently there will also be one final member of the Upstarts... a girl! Specifically, an as-yet-unnamed protege of Fitzroy.
Back at the debate, Cayer turns his attention to Xavier, and how he almost got killed for his controversial "Hate is bad" speech. Cayer notes that Xavier may become a martyr for a cause that "isn't even his," and Xavier notes that dying wouldn't be as bad as living in a world where hate and fear ruled unopposed. Charles also notes you don't have to be black to know that Black Lives Matter.
Back at the mansion, the recently-orphaned Peter and Illyana Rasputin share a tender brother-sister moment.
On Nightline, Hank McCoy calls in to basically deflate Creed's rhetoric with absurdist schtick.
Watching with other X-Men in a bar, Bishop's eye catches a strangely-familiar face, which is confusing to him as he won't be born for another seventy or so years.
 |
| He's probably just seen her at the barber shop |
Storm proposes a toast - to fallen friends, and even foes, and whatever the future holds... perhaps without acknowledging the irony that they are in the presence of someone who can tell them exactly how bad the future is.
With the debate over, Charles and Kelly realize they have more in common than they thought -- Kelly isn't the zealot he initially came off as, certainly not by comparison when sitting next to Graydon Creed. Both the Senator and the Professor express to one another a desire to protect the world from human and mutant threats.
But as Jean watches on, intrigued at the dynamic between the two, she receives a telepathic message from Senator Kelly's mysterious aide.
Outside, Cyclops is ready to whisk Xavier out to the Blackbird, bound for France. Apparently, they've found out that's where the Acolytes are based... it's time to take the fight to them.
To be continued, no doubt, in a big ole 300th issue spectacular!
Further Thoughts:
This was hardly the most dynamic and action-packed issue, which is a stylistic choice you've got to respect, although maybe not if you're the type of reader whose eyes glaze over when confronted with that much text and not a punch or explosion in sight. This is more prose-based and ideological than pretty much anything even Chris Claremont did with the series; we see Scott Lobdell using it as a vehicle for his take on intolerance in the world today, which I applaud.
To a modern reader, it might read as a little too moderate: Kelly is not the fearmonger he might have been built up as, but an eminently reasonable person -- a rarity in real-world politics if I'm being honest. Creed is meant to be the zealot but although he still has oxygen to espouse some of his ideas, he is pretty effectively dunked on. In an era of constant 24-hour news filled with talking heads jabbering on and on in an uninformed but zealous manner, we know that a real debate between these parties could easily devolve into something much more absurd and borderline violent, way more comic booky than even Beast's hilarious take (which I enjoyed, his tactic of fighting hate by not taking it seriously.) Since this is the first time we're meeting Creed he should probably have been given the chance to rant and rave more to set up his future role more effectively. We all know he's a bad guy, but we need to know why he is dangerous and wrong, more than Beast teasing him.
Dare I say it, I'm starting to like the Upstarts? I think they're a neat little group that only exists because they are comic book characters engaged in comic book plots that have no kind of simulacrum to real life. They're not aligned -- in fact, they're in opposition with one another, basically in a contest to see who can be the biggest comic villain. Sure, why not. The characters themselves may not be the most engaging, but I dig the concept.
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