The X-Men have a cup of coffee in the past
Originally Published January 1995
We begin in Israel, twenty-something years before whatever year it is now, which is also the 50's, don't worry about it.
A fully mobile Charles Xavier and a troubled but hopeful man named Magnus are working at the hospital in Haifa -- Charles as a problematic expert in psychological disorders and Magnus as an orderly. While Magnus privately struggles whether to confide to Charles that he is a mutant, he checks in on the hospital's resident amnesiac John Doe, who confesses that the only thing he knows about himself is that he's spent quite a bit of time in hospitals over the years.
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| Perhaps a new hairstyle would give him -- or us -- a clue as to his identity |
Back in the future, the remaining non-timetossed X-Men recover Jean, who tells us...... pretty much just what we already know.
She is, however, able to deduce that Legion has absconded with the others somewhere into Xavier's past. But where, and when?
(Looks around at surroundings and tries to remember any notable times Charles has been in Israel that might be significant to Legion.)
Gosh, could be anywhere.
Back in the past, the temporally-displaced X-People have found each other, but lament that they are stricken with their own case of Time Traveller's Amnesia: they know they're from the future but they're not really sure what it all means: why they have fantastical powers, why Betsy is an Asian woman with a British accent (well, that's not really so improbable...) and why they rock these funny little X symbols.
Helpless and lacking direction, they meander around Haifa looking for something to do, which is always a fun way to head into the third part of a four-part story.
Back at the mansion, Wolverine has arrived to house-sit for their captive Sabretooth, who -- under the mistaken impression he was alone -- has been working on his latest escape attempt.
I have to admit, as much as I've enjoyed the Sabretooth-at-the-Mansion plot, it's a little baffling. Sabes is there pretty much voluntarily, seeking treatment for his addiction to telepathic juice. Why exactly does he keep trying to escape? Keep in mind, he already did successfully escape during the Phalanx Covenant, and then came back and is now once again in captivity.
Once more in the past, Magnus has an encounter with Legion that activates the amnesiac patient's many powers, putting all of the future Magneto's trauma on display.
Magneto, who is living in a world that does not even yet know beginner mutant menaces like the Blob and Vanisher, is shocked by this preview of 90's style mutant madness and flees in a combination of shock, fear and rage.
He runs to go get Charles, and explains that the young man is exhibiting some very disturbing symptoms (which is a very polite way of putting it!) Perhaps Charles could treat him the same way he treated Gabrielle (ew.)
But, uh, we may be beyond that.
Back in the future, Charles has summoned Cable, the X-Men's favourite voluntary time traveler. Cable isn't quite sure what he can contribute, however, as his time machine is actually out of order right now. Also, he's a wanted criminal in Israel, but where isn't he?
Anyway, no sooner than nothing meaningful happen with Cable than who should appear tits-first but Lilandra, Majestrix of the Shi'ar and onetime sex buddy of Charles Xavier. She comes to let us know that the M'kraan Crystal is positively throbbing with bad vibes, and it all comes back to David Haller.
But don't take my word for it, here's the Watchers to not tell you more!
I'd say to be continued, but did anything actually happen?
Further Thoughts:
If you were a kid picking up the X-Men comics at the local corner store in 1994, maybe you weren't that discerning and were just happy to get your twice-monthly fix of your favourite comic book heroes. And honestly, on a certain level there's something to admire about the restraint involved in putting very little of the X-Men into this issue, and furthering the story only by millimeters. There are times when restraint reads as building anticipation, which makes what comes next all the more exciting. That's possible, and if that's your read on this particular issue or any issue, that's valid and I support it.
For me, it feels a bit like padding, like simply not wanting to advance the story any more than you absolutely have to. To me, there was room for so much more in this issue, which is an ongoing complaint I have with X-Men comics at this point in history, and particularly the X-Men title.
One of the choices made is that the X-Men are in the past with amnesia. There's a lot that could be done with that, and hopefully is in the next few issues, but we're already at the phase where they have met back up and know that they have mutant powers. Legion also doesn't remember why he's here, which puts something of a damper on his whole mission to intentionally change the past. There's stuff you can do with that -- it's a premise you can sink your teeth into -- but I, as a perhaps-overly-analytical reader from 30 years in the future, am a little impatient with its treatment here.
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