X-MEN #28: Devil in the House

The X-Men have some trouble with their newest roommate

Originally Published January 1994

We begin with tears... for fears!

Jubilation Lee, the youngest and sassiest of the X-Men is being hunted around the mansion grounds in the midst of a furious rainstorm, fearing for her life from none other than...

As you may recall, under circumstances that are not made clear to people who are only reading X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, Sabretooth the ferocious killer with a mysterious shared history with Wolverine, has taken up residence in the X-Mansion. He's also taken up residence in Jubilee's psyche -- rent-free one supposes -- as this is merely a dream.

I hope this is sweat...

Jean calls a meeting of the Grown-Up X-Men -- herself, Cyclops, Beast and Storm -- at Harry's Hideaway, the local tavern they suddenly have always been going to since they were kids. The subject at hand is Sabretooth: yay or nay? Storm is a yay: how is bringing Sabretooth into the mansion all that different from providing a safe haven for Rogue or Wolverine, both of whom were dangerous antagonists once upon a time? Isn't that sort of the whole philosophical point of the X-Men, after all?

Beast nays Storm's yay -- unlike Rogue (but quite like Wolverine, not that he mentions it) Sabretooth is a grown ass man, and has had control over his powers for quite some time. His problems are purely psychological in nature. He has to want to get better, and that might require some kind of, I don't know, doctor of psychology? Do they have those?

Scott surprisingly enough comes down on the side of compassion and restorative justice. Hell, with all those kooky memory implants, who's to say what Sabes is or isn't culpable for?

Still, it admittedly doesn't make one feel safe.

And speaking of people I wouldn't feel safe around, Revanche is still here, suffering from the Legacy Virus and being examined by the Professor (which I guess makes two people I wouldn't feel safe around.)

The Prof asks Curly-haired Betsy what her plans for the future are. She says she hasn't got much penciled in besides eventually dying of a horrible illness. To this, the Professor says, "Tru say, but could we maybe experiment on you before you go?"

Meanwhile, in another part of the mansion, the Straight-Haired Betsy is paying a visit to the guest of dishonor. Apparently, Sabretooth has become addicted to something he calls "The Glow" -- basically, he gets off on psychic brain-blasting.

Unfortunately, he deems Psylocke's offering insufficiently glowy and demands "the redhead."

All right Banshee, you're up.

While they get that sorted out, Rogue and Gambit go in to bring him his meal for the day -- a tray of uncooked steaks. It's a tense moment, as Sabretooth alludes to the mysterious shared past between himself and the Cajun, and advises Rogue to ask her "mom" Mystique about her long lost "brother."

"Nightcrawler's just fine, actually."

In the Prof's chamber, Jean and Scott inquire exactly what in the Sam Hell is going on in that brainpan of his lately. Xavier is willing to concede it's possible that his taking in of Sabretooth may have something to do with easing the guilt on his conscience after the way he, ahem, handled things with Magneto, but in truth it really is in keeping with the ideals that he has espoused all his life -- that as dangerous as Sabretooth is, there is a possibility to reform him and that that is worth trying.

He closes by saying he never asked the X-Men to follow him blindly and he really does welcome their feedback on the matter.

Left alone, Cyclops wonders if this Jean's opposition to Sabretooth's residency has something to do with Logan, and Jean's unresolved feelings toward him.

Moira pages Jean to see if she's down for the Glow Job. Jean assents -- it's the only way to come to terms with her fears and opposition to this Sabretooth project.

Jean deactivates the protective forcefield, but before Sabretooth can attack her, she uses her telekinesis to toss him around like a rag doll. She calls him a firecracker compared to her atom bomb, cleverly reversing the analogy that the nameless narrator had used on Jubilee early in the issue.

When Sabretooth comments that he can see what Logan liked about her, Jean advises him to get Wolverine's name out of his mouth.

Ultimately, she declines to give hm any "Glow," forcing him to face life as it is. I'm not sure I agree with that course of treatment, but this is a comic book after all.

In the morning, Jubilee is tasked with bringing Sabretooth his meat delivery. She finds him calm, but brusque and still spooky overall.

This day, she has learned that sometimes you have to share space with people who creep you out, and there's nothing you can do about it. 

Further Thoughts:

Stick it to my veins. Fabian Nicieza is a writer I like, but in 1993 he underachieved on X-Men. This was a moody, interesting, and thoughtful issue, which was constructed well and had a lot to say about the characters portrayed therein. It's marked by gorgeous, best-to-date art by Kubert, Ryan and Rosas, which enhances the tense and somber mood in and around the mansion, and especially wherever Sabretooth is. There's some decent Silence of the Lambs stuff going on here. The only drawback of this setup, to me, was having to center it on Jean Grey, and not Psylocke (who has enough going on these days anyway.) Being abruptly cast aside seems like a letdown given her famous early association with Sabretooth. Nevertheless, it finds a hook in examining Jean, who is ascending as herself for the first time, and her relationship with Logan, such as it is.

The best issues of X-Men are not usually the big splashy crossovers with everyone in them, or the ones with shocking twists, they're the ones that make time for the little moment to really exercise the characters -- the best asset the X-Men comics have -- and themes at work. Here we have a look into perspectives on restorative justice versus punishment, collective fear and frustration, and even addiction (even if, again, denying an addict a fix under properly supervised conditions is not typically recommended.) This is an issue that makes me proud to be an X-Men fan.