Uncanny X-Men #171-175

Uncanny X-Men #171-175

Originally released in 1983

Written by Chris Claremont

Art by Walt Simonson (#171), Paul Smith (#172-175), John Romita Jr. (#175)

I've been having a great time with Chris Claremont's X-Men run, though unlike Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run, I'm definitely not going to be able to finish this by the time that I'm done this blog. (I still have roughly fifty issues to go until I catch up to the Inferno storyline, let alone whatever comes next) Issue 171 marks the first major change to the X-Men line-up in a while, as Rogue joins the team to the objection of everyone else on the team.

None of the team is particularly thrilled when Rogue shows up at the mansion looking for help, or when Xavier lets Rogue join the X-Men because he wants to help any mutant who needs it.  And all of this is before Carol Danvers makes it back to the mansion.

This prompts Carol to leave and join the Starjammers to see the universe.  Storm is tempted to fly off as well - she's been losing control over her powers as of late, and it seems like the stress of leading the X-Men (especially with Xavier overriding her decisions) has been getting to her.

As Rogue is reluctantly accepted onto the team, the X-Men head off to Japan, where Wolverine is engaged to the head of one of the most influential families in the country after killing her criminal father. His fiancee, Mariko, seems fairly open-minded when it comes to the strangeness that the X-Men bring with them.

Wolverine isn't exactly in the good graces of his future in-laws, though.  Mariko's half brother is the Silver Samurai, who believes that he should be running the family business rather than Mariko, and he's working with Viper to kill Mariko and the X-Men.

As the Silver Samurai is attacked by Yukio (a woman who Wolverine met in Japan - it seems like they had a relationship at one point, though it might have been unrequited and Yukio could have just had a crush on Wolverine), leading to Wolverine and Nightcrawler intervening. In the process, Viper impersonates one of Mariko's servants and serves the X-Men poisoned tea, leaving only Wolverine, Rogue, and Storm left standing.

As Mariko leaves to negotiate with Silver Samurai, Storm and Yukio follow to keep her safe. Of course, Silver Samurai isn't there to negotiate in good faith; he tries to kill Mariko, but the standing X-Men and Yukio intervene and he flees, intending to strike the X-Men who are still hospital-bound. This leads to a showdown between Wolverine and Silver Samurai at the hospital, where the Silver Samurai is wounded badly enough that he's forced to retreat, while Mariko keeps Wolverine from killing her half-brother.

With the family matter settled for now, Wolverine and Mariko begin the wedding ceremony.  All of the X-Men are invited, including Cyclops, who introduces them to his fiancee Madelyne Pryor.

It's awkward.  Also, Storm introduces her new look as she tries to embrace a more impulsive side of herself after spending the past few issues being intense and broody.

It's also awkward.  Compounding the awkwardness is that Mariko calls off the wedding after meeting with a mysterious guest.  She acts wildly out of character, making her villainous half-brother her heir and cutting all ties with Wolverine, acting as though she despises him after her thoughts and actions made it clear that she truly loved him.

The one responsible for this has very distinctive facial hair, and it's quickly made clear that this is the villainous mutant from the Silver Age known as Mastermind, a.k.a. Jason Wyngarde.  Mastermind previously used his illusion powers to turn Jean Grey into Dark Phoenix, and now he's ruining Wolverine's wedding and trying to drive the X-Men insane.

He's causing Cyclops to question reality and he's generally a perverted sociopath with no redeeming qualities.  I might have said this before, but when mutants start the resurrection protocol during the Krakoa era, every mutant should be allowed to kill Mastermind once, as a treat.

Issue 175 celebrates a 20 year milestone for the X-Men franchise as Mastermind makes the X-Men believe that Dark Phoenix has returned and annihilated New York City before turning her attention to her former teammates. In reality, this is Mastermind, using his illusion powers to make the X-Men see various people as Dark Phoenix, including Cyclops, who starts to figure out who's behind this.

This leads to the rest of the X-Men fighting their former leader, believing him to be a force of cosmic destruction and holding nothing back as a result.  It's a good showcase of Cyclops's planning ability as he uses his knowledge of the X-Men's powers to fend them off.

With the help of Rogue borrowing Xavier's powers and Storm flooding the room, Mastermind is beaten. I thought Storm's mohawk period was a point where she lost her powers, but rather, it turns out to be a time where she's more willing (or even eager) to use them in a violent way, nearly killing Mastermind in the process.

The twentieth anniversary issue concludes with the wedding of Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor. It's portrayed as Scott moving on from Jean and possibly the X-Men as a whole, but it's a bit painful to read knowing that it leads to Scott abandoning his wife and child as soon as he hears that Jean's alive, Madelyne going insane (and discovering that she's a clone) and becoming a supervillain (and dying), and their child being infected with a techno-organic virus and being sent to the future to become Cable. (And that's just the stuff that I'm aware of!)

These issues added a lot of emotional depth to Wolverine, making him feel more well-rounded as a character between his joy at being with Mariko and how crushed he is when she breaks off the wedding. Likewise, Rogue gets a lot of development; she was once someone who revelled in draining the power from others, only for her to take it too far to the point where she's terrified and desperate for help. The characters are a strength of the X-Men, and it's nice to see that Claremont isn't afraid to shake up the status quo or remove the last member of the original five X-Men if the story calls for it.