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Post by LovesGilKane on Jul 25, 2017 0:48:13 GMT -5
I like the adherence to the 1960's melodrama/adventure vibe while trying to infuse a Coipel/Leinil line-work-charm into it.
Although Jean always had a Diana Dors figure/booootayyyy; never some breadstick Anne Hathaway look (though I appreciate Mzzzzzzz Hathaway).
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 13, 2017 9:11:28 GMT -5
X-Men #34 Thomas/Adkins 'War in a World of Darkness' Plot: The team works on fixing Cerebro so they can find where Factor Three has the Professor, but meanwhile, Ted Roberts calls Jean... his brother has been kidnapped and taken to the center of the Earth? Apparently, he had some new super Cobalt Alloy (and is totally fine after his Cobalt Man episode), and was kidnapped by Tyrannus, who is battling the Mole Man for dominance of the center of the Earth. Luckily, Ralph left a fully functional and easy to operate super borer lying around. So Warren, Bobby, and Jean head ot the rescue while Scott and Hank work on repairs. Mole Man tricks them near the River Lethe, which makes them forget who they are... so he then sics them on Tyrannus (which they were going to do anyway). Mole Man has a diamond Robot, which fights Tyrannus' new Cobalt one, but Ralph builds in a flaw, so after doing major damage Angel blocks up its eyes and gets it to fall in a pit and explode. Meanwhile, Scott and Hank pick of the borer (which the others inexplicibly left behind), and catch up to save the day from the amnesia thing. They leave the villains in the forgetful mists of the Lethe... the end! Notes: -Funny to have a fill in with such major villains, but that's what it feels like. I'm not sure if they didn't have a plan for the 'Factor Three' plot yet or what, but leaving that hanging seems weird. Perhaps Roy wanted the Professor gone for a while? -Mole Man has clearly been hitting the gym... - From the 'you know it's the 60s when...' dept. Jean Grey threatens to 'take you over my knee telekinetically'. I have to say, Adkins draws one heck of a Jean Grey! - I'm not sure if they were talking to him by radio and it wasn't clear, or it was just an editorial screw up, but both Jean and Bobby seem to refer to Warren as 'Scott' when he's driving the Super-Borer. - According to the internet, we never see Ted Roberts again... that's a weird one..seems like someone is bound to use him at some point - The X-Men mention they've read about the Mole Man from the Fantastic Four's files... which is a bit odd, since they were just fighting, and didn't seem that friendly but we'll go with it. - Roy breaks out the classic lit references, referring to Jules Verne and Alice in Wonderland. OVerall, very entertaining story with really good art.. one of the better ones since Thomas started. Plot: B+ History: C-
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Post by chaykinstevens on Nov 13, 2017 11:40:22 GMT -5
According to the internet, we never see Ted Roberts again... that's a weird one..seems like someone is bound to use him at some point The Marvel Chronology Project lists three further appearances: Roy Thomas' Cobalt Man story in Incredible Hulk #173-4, and Avengers/Thunderbolts #3 by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 13, 2017 22:06:12 GMT -5
According to the internet, we never see Ted Roberts again... that's a weird one..seems like someone is bound to use him at some point The Marvel Chronology Project lists three further appearances: Roy Thomas' Cobalt Man story in Incredible Hulk #173-4, and Avengers/Thunderbolts #3 by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza. Yeah, I saw the Hulk story, that's not an X-Men book, though.. I kinda meant that. I'm definitely going to read that (Maybe even toss a review here). I had no idea about Avengers/Thunderbolts... pretty sure I own that... I'll have to check it out at some point.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 13, 2018 0:56:42 GMT -5
X-Men #35 'Along Came a Spider' Thomas/Roth/Adkins Plot: Our story starts with Banshee, who has been hunting for Factor Three since last we saw him.. and he's finally found him. He is defeated by a robo-spider at their base, though, and is just able to get off a message to the X-Men to be careful of a spider/ Meanwhile, the team is focusing on hunting for clues, and discover that a saucer like the one Factor Three used has been around. Cerebro finds a mutant nearby and away they go (except for Jean, who stays at the mansion to trace the signal) The saucer in question carries that same robot, who comes upon Spider-man, who just happened to be riding his motorbike no where in particular and ended up near the mansion. The X-Men arrive just after he defeats the robot, so the team assume he's working for Factor Three and attack. Both sides kinda don't try that hard, and after a bit of a stalemate, Jean calls in to tell them the signal is gone (aparently robots are mutants too), and just when Spidey is ready to get serious, the Beast apologises to me. Mr. Parker wants none of it, and takes off. At the mansion, Jean has the Factor Three bases location, so time to plan a trip! Plot: D History: B (moves a big plot forward a bit, and is a famous crossover. Also, the internet tells me the Factor Three guy watching screens is Changling, who was retconned into the team at one point and served as the inspiration of Morph from the cartoon) Notes: - I haven't read this before (just seen that classic cover), so it was kind a letdown... it's just not a good comic. The cross over is massively forced, and Spider-man is not written well. - So apparently when Banshee shucked the mind control gear, he apparently joined the team, as he's set up with a chalet in the mountains, lots of gear, and a magic crystal to call the mansion. I'd have thunk that'd be more clear, but whatever. -Funny that even though that hideous handband he wears was a mind control device, he's still wearing it.. guess he got used to the fashion - So Jean is apparently now to fragile to risk in combat.. as she stays back, and Scott wants to leave her home on their Europe trip. They bad part is, her thoughts agree... that seems like a big about face, but maybe Roy was just trying to get across she's happy Scott cares? -Speaking of Scott caring, Hank made a snide remark about Jean calling Scott and not one of the others, as if it was not clear they were a thing... maybe it's not official yet, but Mrs. McCoy's boy is pretty smart. -... except for this issue, where he blindly charges at Spidey, even WHILE he's thinking maybe they should talk first. I know they need an excuse to do 'first they fight, then they team up', but really. (though really there was no team up per say, Spider-man just accidently helped the X-Men without them realizing) -Loved Spidey's banter comparing Angel to Vulture.. good stuff. -Lots of reference in this one, just in case you missed it. I wonder if that would help in today's 'write-for-the-trade' market? It would cetainly help the problem of constant long stories that are tough to jump into sometimes. -I'm not sure why, but I found the panels (there were more than a few) the the team looking through the library in the fighting gear hilarious... watch out for that card catalog, Iceman! -Spider-man seemed off dialogue wise (Except for the Vulture reference).. I think Roy was trying too hard or something. - Just a point of order.. during the fight Spider-man says he can fight all 5 of them, when there are only 4. (he gets it right later) - There's a comment at one point about the driving in Warren's Rolls but having no money... I agree! They clearly do have money, since they have fortune in electronics, unless they were thinking of making that a thing, which seems really dumb.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 14, 2018 12:22:07 GMT -5
I'd cut Roy some slack on this issue, wildfire: not only was it Roy's first attempt at writing Spidey, it was the first time *anyone* other than Stan wrote Spidey. It was bound to read a bit off.
Cei-U! I summon the baptism of fire!
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,413
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Post by shaxper on Jan 14, 2018 13:21:17 GMT -5
it was the first time *anyone* other than Stan wrote Spidey. Wow. I did not know this.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 14, 2018 22:09:06 GMT -5
I'd cut Roy some slack on this issue, wildfire: not only was it Roy's first attempt at writing Spidey, it was the first time *anyone* other than Stan wrote Spidey. It was bound to read a bit off. Cei-U! I summon the baptism of fire! So far, I don't think Roy's X-Men is a bad book per say, but it's not great either.. it's definitely not Roy Thomas' writing wheelhouse, IMO.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 19, 2018 8:53:45 GMT -5
X-Men #36 Thomas/Andru/Atkins 'Mekano Lives' Plot: The X-Men have found Xavier, but they can't afford to get to Europe, because the plane doesn't have any gas in it and Warren's parents are on a cruise. While they're worrying about it, two random burglars break in, and we get some Beast solo action. After melting their brains and forcing them to turn themselves in, they team tries to get a job. Cyke, Jean, and Warren try to get a construction job (but get shut down because they aren't in the union), which Beast and Iceman use their powers to be street performers. Things are going great, as the rest of the team arrives (after having the Rolls get towed and bumming a ride), a new supervillain named Mekano 'thanks' the X-Men for the distraction and starts trashing the new library. He succeeds pretty easily, as the X-Men deal with the cops, but trips during his getaway... so Jean has to save him. Turns out he was the guy they bummed a ride from, and he's the son of the ruch guy that donated the library, and he was having angst. The old rich guy funds the Europe trip to thank them, and we're off to Europe! Plot: D History: D Notes: -Granted they were non-super powered, but it was odd having the rest of the team sitting and talking about how Beast was fighting bad guys in the 2nd floor. -So yeah, erasing memories with Cerebro? When did that work, and why is it allowed? That's pretty evil... I mean, whole events have been based on that! - While the scenes with the team trying to work were fun, they don't make sense... did they think they'd make $1500 is 10 minutes? Waiting a couple days doesn't seem unreasonable. Instead, they essentially take a reward for saving the day, which is totally against the super hero code, even if Cyke says it's a 'loan' - Jean is still a delicate flower, even while she's showing stronger powers than ever. Also, Cyke's eye blasts function as a tractor beam in this fight, gently lowering an obstacle to the floor instead of blowing it up. - The whole 'bad guy claiming the good guys are working with them' thing happened alot in the early MU... did the cops wise up eventually, or did the villains get dumber, because it seems to always work. - This is another one where the team loses.. this team really just isn't that effective. I feel like that totally could have been an interesting plot if they focused on it!
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Post by rberman on Feb 19, 2018 14:31:49 GMT -5
Just catching up with this thread after re-reading the first issues of X-Men... -- How old the X-Men are is pretty weird. It's specifically stated Iceman is 16, and the youngest while Beast is the oldest.... that makes the others early college age. So why are they in a school for gifted 'youngsters'.. why not a college? There's also the fact they ACT alot younger... by appearance, story, and personality, I'd peg Bobby at 12-13 and the others at 15-16. It's almost like they wanted them to be kids, but felt sending kids into battle wasn't OK. I know later the ages get knocked back a bit (Bobby tells Kitty in a WatXM issue he started at 14, IIRC)...I do wonder if there was intent, or Stan just hadn't really thought about it? This smells like another "Stan vs Jack" discontinuity. Hank in particular looks like a collegiate linebacker, but Lee's "zowie!"-filled dialogue makes them come across more juvenile than Kirby's art alone would imply.
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Post by rberman on Feb 19, 2018 14:51:52 GMT -5
The Vanisher also refers to 'Homo Superior', so I guess that's just a common phrase, and not something Magneto made up. In issue #1 Angel speaks of himself as something different than Homo Sapiens, though he doesn't say what. By issue #3, even circus performer The Blob knows to describe himself as Homo Superior. Obviously this was just Lee's short-hand for "they have super-powers, and don't ask why." If you try to make sense of it in-story, you'd have to suppose that the term "Homo Superior" had been around for many years and everybody knows it, but we don't have any pedigree for the term, older heroes and villains who've been using it for a while, etc.
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Post by rberman on Feb 19, 2018 15:00:06 GMT -5
I would have liked to see Jean try to stop the elephant (in #3), instead of just playing damsel in distress... the elephant is about as large as the giant ball she lifted last issue in the danger room. She wasn't able to hold it for long, but she did for a bit, and, as she said, they've been 'training'. Or if Jean doesn't want to try moving the elephant with her TK, she could always try moving Jean out of the Elephant's way... This was the second issue in a row of "The X-teens dink around with the villains while waiting for Professor X to fire up his massive brain to save the day." This is of course the trouble with mind control as a super power since it tends to make everyone else redundant.
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Post by rberman on Feb 19, 2018 15:27:55 GMT -5
Magneto decides to flee, and leaves 2 bombs behind, on small one to kill the X-Men, and a nuclear one to take out the entire country. Professor X senses the trap, and takes the hit to save Beast... So... the X-men are racing down a corridor. Beast barrels ahead, while Xavier is being pushed in his wheelchair. His mental powers somehow help him discern a mechanical booby-trap on the door at the end of the corridor. The solution of this crippled telepath is to... fling his body from the wheelchair ahead, faster than Beast can run? So he can trigger the bomb upon himself? That makes, um, zero sense in a few ways. First of all, Xavier is a telepath, and his first instinct would have been to zap Beast and prevent him from moving closer to the trapped door. Second, how on earth is paraplegic Xavier able to move more quickly than a mutant whose powers include strength and agility, and who already was ten feet ahead of him? This is the most surreal moment in the issue, and I can only chalk it up to some weird editing plus Lee making up absurd dialogue to subvert Kirby's art.
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Post by rberman on Feb 19, 2018 15:59:02 GMT -5
Toad gets left behind, and they suspect a trap, but board his ship to break into the Asteroid anyway. Toad is seemingly brainwashed, and desperate to get back to Magneto. It's not actually a trap, and they surprise Mastermind, sending him scurrying to Magneto, who has whipped up a 'Magnetic Intensifier' (this time it's a headband) to boost his powers. I have mentioned before around here that I am totally convinced that Lee messed up Kirby's story about "Toad the athlete." Just looking at the pictures, it seems that Toad went to compete in an athletic event but got mobbed, then rescued by the X-Men. He puts his head in his hands and helps them get to Asteroid M. The obvious implication is remorse. But Lee's dialogue transforms it into "Magneto mind-controls Toad to return to the asteroid, and the X-Men tag along." As with all mind-control stories, the element of personal drama is completely sapped that way.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 19, 2018 22:23:37 GMT -5
I definitely remember that track scene seeming weird, but I never thought about it in the context of Lee v. Kirby plot-wise.. interesting. I'll have to look at it again. The thing with the Professor was one of the few times where he was actually nice, so I think in my head i disregarded the logic there and let him have his moment . Yeah, back in the beginning they seemed really incompetent.. especially issue 3, where they get punked by a bunch of carnies. I wonder if they were planning to have Xavier really be the star, and it just didn't work out? At issue 36, they're still struggling . Feel free to continue to comment.. it's always great to have new discussions!
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