UNCANNY X-MEN #331: The Splinter of Our Discontent

Frost gets bit!

Originally Published April 1996

We begin with an explosion as it seems some of Beast's latest experiments have gone askew.

While those heroes in X-Force help pick up the pieces and guide Dr. McCoy to the infirmary, Beast thinks to himself, "Little do they suspect that I am actually Beast's evil double from an alternate timeline, and I have kidnapped him and taken his place! This ruse is going to work perfectly even though I am also, through the complications of time-travel, twenty years older than him."

Meanwhile, Emma Frost visits her office and thinks about how awesome it is to be a r*ch b*tch, when she is greeted by a surprising visitor.

Ice of you to drop by

At that exact moment in the Colorado Rockies where some of the X-Men are having a bit of a getaway at Warren's pad, Bishop thinks that he shall never see a sight as lovely as a tree.

Specifically, it's a jumping-off point for ruminations about how he grew up in a heavily urbanized warzone and almost never saw nature growing up, and when he did, it rocked his world, much like meeting young Remy LeBeau has challenged certain preconceptions he had held about who killed the X-Men. Bishop is thinking about possibly considering weighing his options about whether he wants to issue Gambit an apology for his zealous claim that Gambit is due to betray the X-Men any day now.

Watching on, Professor X has his own thoughts about the latest generation of X-Men: who are these guys really? I don't even remember hiring them. They just showed up and started working here.

In a literal sense, it's a matter of, these new X-Men are people whose pasts are shrouded in mystery, not open books like the original students, leading to any number of hidden agendas and unknown quantities that might stir up things in the X-Men's lives. In an out-of-universe way it's like "Shit, there really are a lot of mystery men with dark secret pasts running around these days."

But speaking of dark secrets, Warren has decided he needs a little time off, what with the grievous injuries to his girlfriend Betsy and the general psychological toll of being an X-Man. The "dark secret" part comes in when Charles laments that he can't change Warren's mind about the matter, and Warren rebuts "Oh, I think you could Mr. Telepath." Does the name Vanisher ring a bell?

All the twelve-year-old readers in 1996 are clutching their prized copies of 1964's X-Men #2

It's resolved that Warren will take a little sabbatical from protecting a world that hates and fears him, and Gambit notes with a shit-eating grin that he'll be back before long.

Back in New York, Emma throws a jab Bobby's way that I am sure is not meant to signify anything deeper

Bobby reiterates his point: He had asked Emma for help developing his powers, and she said no. Can't argue with that, Bobby's a little too old for a Generation X uniform, you know. She teases him that if he really wants it he'll figure it out, and he points out, oh, he has.

Dark Iceman Saga when?

Bobby reveals that as much as he's improved the scope of his abilities, it's now a matter of life and death -- he's still got that massive hole in his chest from the battle with Post, and if he doesn't get some assistance he's probably going to die if he tries to go back to his non-ice form, and that's bad.

Somewhere else, which may or may not be the Grand Canyon, or simply at a different canyon that is also grand, Cyclops and Phoenix look out over the desolation. "This is where we fought Post," Cyclops notes. "Why does it look so different?" Phoenix asks. "I dunno, must just be one of those things," he answers.

"Oh, and by the way, doesn't it feel like Onslaught is a big deal?"

"Yes, my love -- the biggest."

Iceman ices Emma to the wall and confronts her about the ambiguous appearances she's been making in his subconscious lately, whether they are her acting on him or simply his own brain going haywire. She breaks out and seemingly gets away, preferring to taunt him with visions from his life, like his racist father...

"They're eating cats and dogs et cetera et cetera!"

...and Opal, whose appearance Emma uses to insinuate Bobby never really loved her.

What could Bobby possibly have to gain by only pretending for show that he loved a woman?

Bobby smashes his way through the taunting visions until he returns to Emma -- who never actually escaped. It was all a next-level mind game.

She goads him into changing back. He protests that he'll die. She counters that no, he won't. He argues that he doesn't know how. She corrects him that yes he does so just do it.

Just top-level instruction here from Headmistress Frost.

And faster than you can say telepath:

Emma has a heartfelt moment where she semi-apologizes for pushing Bobby so hard to live up to his potential, and all is well that ends well.

Further Thoughts:

The Bobby drama is something that has been simmering in the background of the X-Men comics for quite some time, and it is refreshing to see that this is the resolution it's been building to. It converges nicely with the injuries Bobby sustained against Post, prompting a crisis that needed resolution instead of him simply sitting around worrying about it.

In general, the X-Men of the 90's give you these long-running issues that characters may be contemplating for years on end and here we see it put to good use as when the time goes, it gives us a rather strong issue examining Bobby and his potential.

Pay attention also, in recent issues, to Xavier's contemplativeness. We know that he's been reconsidering what it's all about with the X-Men and where things are going and -- implicitly -- how gosh darnit things just aren't what they used to be (as always, meaning when the writers were kids.) What could this all mean?