Issue Information
Title- Uncanny X-Men (Volume 1) #201
Release Date- January 1986
Writer- Chris Claremont
Artist- Rick Leonardi
Major Notes
Storm returns to the X-Men. First appearance of Nathan Summers aka Cable
Brief Summary
Duel
At the X-Mansion Madelyne Pryor has given birth to a healthy baby boy. The other X-Men are around her as they want to see the new baby. They all comment on how cute he is and while sitting on top of a comfy chair Nightcrawler makes a bit of a joke which leads to Rachel Summers knocking the chair over with her telekinesis. Nightcrawler teleports right to her and tickles her to submission. Madelyne then hands the baby over to KittyPryde while she goes to talk with Storm in private. Kitty is at first nervous to hold the baby but eventually her instincts kicks and she begins to love the baby.
In the hall Madelyne and Storm begin to talk. Madelyne admits that physically she’s fine and she asks about Professor Xavier. Storm tells her that he isn’t coming back and that Magneto is to take his place. She can also sense much anger inside of Madelyne and the new mother states how all the X-Men called her to see how she was, all but her own husband Cyclops. She is very angry about this and she feels that she was lucky that her labour was smooth. She isn’t sure whether Cyclops cares but Storm tries to assure her that he does and he has problems expressing his feelings.
In the other room Kitty hands the baby over to Rachel and she is a little chocked up to be holding her baby brother. She knows that she can’t hide the truth from Cyclops forever. Cyclops himself is looking up to the sky as he thinks about his new son and Xavier. He is also wondering if he can trust Magneto.
Far away on the Starjammers ship are fleeing when Binary arrives on the ship. She has been going over the ship and has discovered that it is crippled and that they’re lucky to still be alive. Xavier is on the ship and he knows that this is partially his fault since they rescued him from near death in Paris. Their star drive has been damaged so they cannot get to get to Earth quickly. They also can’t use the star gates anymore since they are all being heavily guarded. Through normal travel it will take them centuries to reach Earth.
A short time later Xavier is looking at the stars and he tries to spot Earth but it is impossible. Lilandra goes to him and he tells her how he is thinking of his students. He is also second guessing his decision to trust his students to Magneto. Lilandra tells him to be thankful for being alive and they both begin to kiss.
The next day at the X-Mansion Cannonball of the New Mutants is trying to write a paper on the computer but it crashes on him much to his annoyance. He goes to the window to see the X-Men playing baseball. Kitty pitches the ball which Colossus misses to hit causing him to earn a strike. Nightcrawler does have a quick word with Wolverine, he is worried about Cyclops, Madelyne and Rachel. At that moment Kitty pitches again but Colossus armours up hits the ball so hard that it goes miles into the air. Rogue flies up to catch it and a plane is flying nearby. The plane itself is Air Force One and is carrying the then President Ronald Regan. He spots her catching the ball and she even kisses the window before dropping down to the ground.
After the game Kitty is tired and takes a shortcut to her room through one of the classrooms. There she sees Cannonball who is still trying to get his work back from the computer. Kitty is able to help him but it takes longer than she expected and when she continues her journey she runs into Storm who tells her that her ophthalmology appointment has been booked. Kitty is not looking forward to the prospect of wearing glasses. She then hears shouting from Storm’s attic and Storm reveals that Cyclops and Madelyne are borrowing it. Kitty knows that the new parents are having an argument and she wisely decides to stay out of it.
In the attic Cyclops tells Madelyne how he should be leading the team and he can’t leave it to Magneto. Not after their history but Madelyne asks about herself and their new son. He has a responsibility to them and she believes that Storm is more than up to the task of leading the X-Men. Cyclops disagrees due to the fact that Storm is powerless. Madelyne tries to convince him otherwise when Storm enters the attic. She states that one of them should lead the X-Men and that a duel in the Danger Room is the only way to settle it. She gives him a chance to step down which he refuses as he walks out leaving Madelyne with the baby.
Later in the Danger Room the New Mutants are training but Cyclops terminates their exercise so that he and Storm can use it. As word spreads about the duel all the New Mutants and the X-Men cram into the control room so they can watch the duel take place.
Cypher activates the room which turns into a warzone and Cyclops tries to blast Storm but she is able to get out of the way. She then hides in some debris as he tries to search for her.
She is able to ambush him but he is able to force her off as she dodges his blasts. The others watch on and comment as the duel continues on. Madelyne is still in the attic and she hopes that Cyclops loses. She has already made plans to go home with or without him. She also notices the weather change as the duel continues. Storm is able to gain the upper hand and is able to grab Cyclops’s visor fuss putting him out of commission and winning the duel. Cyclops does congratulate her but he realises that there is no place for him in the team and he wonders if after everything that happens that he has a place with his wife.
That night Rachel goes to the Grey House where she begins to repair the crystal she destroyed. As she does this she transforms into the phoenix herself and on the moon at the spot where the Phoenix died a beam of energy travels to Earth. This is seen by the Watcher and when the crystal is complete Rachel kisses her grandparents and as she leaves the crystal is revealed to show both Jean and Rachel.
My Thoughts
Now we come back to the Uncanny X-Men in an issue that decided on who would lead the X-Men and would also be the last appearance of Professor Xavier for around five or six years. It also has a fairly famous cover that I have seen reproduced once or twice in other comics.
The first thing to really mention is that this issue rather than having art by either John Romita Jr or Dan Green instead we’re treated to the art of Rick Leonardi. I did like his art but it was hard for me to tell a couple of things but it is most likely because the copy I’m reading is in black and white (since I’m using the Essential Graphic Novels which don’t seem to be printed anymore).
One big thing I would also like to point out is although I don’t think he is named but this is the first appearance of Nathan Summers. Right now he’s a little baby but in the future he will become the X-Man and general mutant badass known as Cable. It might be a bit of time before we see him in the way that he is most remembered but even so he is a popular character in the franchise. He is even the only other X-Man besides Wolverine to have a solo series that ran for more than a hundred issues. I will speak more about him when he does appear as Cable.
The main point of this issue was the duel between Cyclops and Storm for leadership of the X-Men. I feel that one of the main reasons why Cyclops lost was the fact that he underestimated Storm. He thought that because she had no powers that she wouldn’t be up to the task but she more than proved that even without her powers she is still a formidable foe. There is even a hint about Storm’s powers returning as seen during Madelyne’s moment while the duel took place.
Madelyne Pryor was also an important character as she was basically having Cyclops choose between X-Men and his new family. I can somewhat see Cyclops’s point since he is the original X-Man but the fact of the matter is that he has a wife and child and he does need to put them before the team. The X-Mansion isn’t the best place to raise a family and I think he wanted to stay because basically he didn’t really know any other life and the fact that he couldn’t trust Magneto. This is understandable because Magneto has tried to kill Cyclops and the other X-Men on more than one occasion.
Once again we see the X-Men playing baseball and it seems to be their favourite past time. We know many of them are big fans of baseball (such as Kitty Pryde who is a fan of the Chicago Cubs). At least this game had a surprise appearance from then President Ronald Regan who Rogue seems to be a fan of. I’m sure if she does vote she definitely would have voted Republican.
The end of the issue does make us believe that Rachel will become the new Phoenix whether it will be for good or evil. I can see readers thinking that this might become the next Phoenix saga but I don’t think it ever pans out. It does develop Rachel more and shows that she is someone to watch.
In conclusion I give this issue a 9 out of 10. It was a great issue to read with many points to think about.
Next Issue
Longshot (Volume 1) #5