Issue Information
Title- Uncanny X-Men (Volume 1) #176
Release Date- December 1983
Writer- Chris Claremont
Artist- John Romita Jr. and Bob Wiacek
Major Notes
First appearance of Valarie Cooper
Brief Summary
Decisions
Cyclops sneaks a kiss from his new wife Madelyne Pryor who is flying a plane over the South Pacific. At first Madelyne isn’t too happy with this but she still loves him and they are currently on their honeymoon. They talk to each other about their new lives and if they will go to space with Corsair and the Starjammers. As they’re flying Madelyne spots bad weather approaching them. At first they don’t seem to be in any danger but suddenly they find themselves in strong winds and a downpour. They struggle to keep the plane level and they are suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning which short-circuits the plane causing it to plummet from the sky.
In Japan at the ancestral seat of house Yashida Mariko is in bed when she is awoken by something coming into contact with her. When she comes to she sees that it is her family’s ancestral sword and Wolverine is standing over her. She sent it back to him through a messenger and he asks why. She states that he is worthy of it and he thinks it makes him worthy of her. She declines stating that while she was under Mastermind’s power that she re-established links with the Japanese underworld and that she only must severe them. That is so she can show him that she is worthy of him and he understands and leaves.
In the South Pacific Cyclops and Madelyne have been able to land the plane and they are trying to fix the plane’s engines. The weather is calm for now but the storm is coming their way and they have to fix the plane before it hits. Despite what has happened the pair do go for a kiss but Cyclops slips off the wing but is grabbed by Madelyne. At first there seems to be no danger but a shark bursts up from the sea and tries to eat him. Madelyne does pull him up to safety. They hug each other knowing that they have just dodged a bullet but they don’t see the shark beneath the waves being captured by large tentacles.
At the Capitol Building in Washington DC Henry Peter Gyrich arrives. There is a Security Council meeting and he has been summoned. He is allowed inside and as he goes to the meeting he sees that it has already started. He sees a man explaining about the attack on the Russian city of Varykino by Magneto. As Henry sits down a man named Judge Petrie and he introduces him to the security staff along with his assistant Doctor Valarie Cooper. The presentation shows fear of mutants and that if the Avengers were to turn rogue they could overtake the country with ease.
After that presentation has ended Valarie steps up and begins to talk about the X-Men. She states that mutants are a threat and that governments around the world are beginning to mobilize teams made up of mutants and other superpowered beings. She intends for the US Government to have their own mutant team to counter this but Henry sees this as a bad idea. Magneto’s main argument was that mutants would be enslaved and he feels that this will be nailing the point home. Valarie disagrees and states that it is the only way.
In the South Pacific the weather has turned and they try to start the engines. They begin to malfunction again and they are running out of time. Madelyne jokes about if she were the Phoenix she could fly them out. Cyclops doesn’t find this funny and reacts negatively towards it. Madelyne reminds him about the plane crash in which she was the sole survivor and they talk a little about Corsair’s offer. The don’t notice the tentacle coming out of the water.
In the sewers of Manhattan Caliban goes into his room and discovers Callisto, Masque and Sunder there waiting for him. He demands to be left alone and Masque has a picture of Kitty Pryde in his hand. Caliban snatches it away from him while Callisto that they were the founders of the Morlocks and they should stick together. Caliban is heartbroken that Kitty didn’t keep her end of their deal and Callisto vows to make Kitty keep her word. This brings joy to Caliban and she doesn’t care what the new Morlock leader Storm has to say about it.
Cyclops and Madelyne are inside the plane and they are able to start the engines. This brings joy to them but Madelyne has to leave the cockpit so that she can go outside and pull up the anchor. Suddenly a tentacle grabs her and pulls her into the water. Cyclops spots this and tries to rescue her but another two tentacles grab him and pull him under the water. As he is dragged down he sees a giant squid. He unleashes an optic beam at it which causes it to let go of both himself and Madelyne.
Cyclops tries to swim to the surface but a tentacle grabs his face causing his glasses to come off. He opens his eyes and unleashes an optic blast which makes it let go of him. He is able to swim to the surface but without his glasses he can’t open his eyes. He and Madelyne begin to swim back to the plane but the squid grabs him again and drags him down. In a last ditch effort he unleashes a powerful optic beam and then swims up to the surface.
Madelyne helps him back to the plane where he is able to get his mask and visor back on. They then try to start the engines again but they are waterlogged. They think they are done for and kiss each other for luck as they try again. This time the engines start and they are able to fly away safely.
Now airborne the pair take a moment to relax and they are both happy that they have escaped death. Cyclops has also made the decision on whether he will go to space with Corsair. He chooses to stay on Earth so that he can stay with her and the pair cuddle up as they continue their flight to their honeymoon destination.
My Thoughts
Now we are back with the Uncanny X-Men with an issue that only featured two of the X-Men (Three if you count Kitty Pryde being in a photograph). With all the action in the last issue this one felt more like it was at a little slower pace.
The most featured member of the X-Men in this issue was definitely Cyclops who seems to have run into trouble while trying to go on a honeymoon with his new wife Madelyne Pryor (who ten issues ago hadn’t been introduced). We saw a little more about him and he also finally made his decision on whether he would go to space and be with his father or stay on Earth. We saw him happy for once because a lot of the time we see Cyclops (especially after Jean Grey’s death) he has been a very sorrow man. It is nice to see him happy for once and not always brooding.
Wolverine was the only other X-Man to make an appearance in this issue as he tried to have Mariko Yashida as his wife again. I understand her reason for not marrying him just yet, it is not because she doesn’t love him but because she needs to severe the ties to the Japanese underworld that she established while under Mastermind’s control. I think the reader would love nothing more than to see them wed and yet there is always something that prevents this from happening.
The issue is also the first appearance of Valarie Cooper who is a human who is concerned about mutants. I don’t think so much that she wants to see them wiped off the face of the planet and she even becomes an ally to future X-Men spin off team X-Factor. I don’t remember too much about her though so I’ll have to wait and see what happens.
The issue also leads us up to two different things. First is that the government is planning on having their own team of mutants working for them. This is what I believe will lead to the formation of X-Factor although that doesn’t happen to about two or three years after this issue. The second point to bring up is that ousted Morlock Leader Callisto intends Kitty Pryde to uphold her end of the bargain that she had with Caliban. I don’t think that Callisto is doing this out of kindness for Caliban but instead to have some manner of revenge on Storm. I think she is planning on Storm going down there to stop it all and Callisto challenging her to trial by combat once again. She sees it as her only way to become the Morlock leader once again.
The villain so to speak of this issue was a giant squid who we don’t actually know whether it survived its encounter with Cyclops. I guess there can be squids that size living in the South Pacific but we don’t know that for sure. Either way it is fun to have one pop up every now and again although it shouldn’t be used regularly. Then again it was fun seeing Cyclops battling a creature that he stood little chance against and yet still come out on top.
In conclusion I’m giving the issue a 7 out of 10. It was a good issue for a set up and to show the aftermath of last issue’s wedding.
Next Issue
New Mutants (Volume 1) #10