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Post by Ozymandias on Nov 8, 2022 4:43:09 GMT -5
The Uncanny X-Men issues #125–128.
There was some demand for more fine grain, so I'm adding half points for the part of the spectrum which got the most votes in The Dark Phoenix Saga poll. There's also a poll for Days of Future Past running along this one.
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 8, 2022 7:07:29 GMT -5
I gave it a 6.5. It wasn't quite as good as Dark Phoenix but it was the storyline that really sold me on the Claremont/Byrne/Austin X-Men. It didn't hurt that it included Polaris and Madrox, two of my favorite minor mutant heroes.
Cei-U!
I summon the Stornoway ferry!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 8, 2022 9:24:41 GMT -5
I have no memory of this storyline at all. I’m sure I’ve read it at least a couple times. But I’ve got nothing.
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Post by badwolf on Nov 8, 2022 9:27:22 GMT -5
It's hard for me to rate this separately as I consider it to be part of the Dark Phoenix saga. And with the exception of X-Men #125, which I've had since I was 9 or so, I've only read it once or twice. It's very good though, as was everything from this era.
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 8, 2022 9:28:18 GMT -5
Liked it, especially Cyclops getting to show his leadership skills (instead of writers telling us how good a leader he is) when noticing Wolverine being shell-shocked. Proteus himself lacks any personality though, so that docks it some points.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 8, 2022 10:22:43 GMT -5
It was the first extended storyline where I got to read the bulk of the issues. Prior to that, I had read a smattering of random Cockrum issues (#96, 97, 104); but none of the Byrne. I enjoyed it tremendously, more than Dark Phoenix, once I read it (I missed it and the next issue I read, after 128, was 138). One, it tied back to issue 14, when Magneto had been restored by Eric the Red and fought the X-Men to s standstill, on Muir Island. During that battle, there was an alarm that "Mutant X" had been freed. Nearly two years later, Claremont got back to Mutant X, who was Proteus. Two, seeing Wolverine taken down like that was far more shocking than anything in Dark Phoenix and its use of Phoenix's "timeslips" turned out to be more intriguing than the reality of Mastermind creating illusions for her to experience. It also gave a lot of depth to Moira MacTaggert, a character I liked since she first charged through the X-Mansion, with an M-16, firing at a demon.
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Post by Ozymandias on Nov 8, 2022 10:48:27 GMT -5
Liked it, especially Cyclops getting to show his leadership skills (instead of writers telling us how good a leader he is) when noticing Wolverine being shell-shocked. Proteus himself lacks any personality though, so that docks it some points. One of the high points in the story, no doubt. Battles are common in superhero lore, dealing with the consequences, not so much.
I have no memory of this storyline at all. I’m sure I’ve read it at least a couple times. But I’ve got nothing. Memory is a finicky thing, it was 40 years ago, but I recall it quite well. I read it again years later, so that helps, as it probably does the fact that publication was stopped in Spain for three years and a half, splitting the story right down the middle.
It's hard for me to rate this separately as I consider it to be part of the Dark Phoenix saga. And with the exception of X-Men #125, which I've had since I was 9 or so, I've only read it once or twice. It's very good though, as was everything from this era. I gave both the same rating, it's a continuum in every sense, but people seem to have a predilection for one or the other, hence the two polls.
[...] it tied back to issue 14, when Magneto had been restored by Eric the Red and fought the X-Men to s standstill, on Muir Island. During that battle, there was an alarm that "Mutant X" had been freed. Nearly two years later, Claremont got back to Mutant X, who was Proteus. Claremont was famous for forgetting subplots. I wonder if the delay was because of planning or lack thereof. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 8, 2022 12:42:49 GMT -5
Liked it, especially Cyclops getting to show his leadership skills (instead of writers telling us how good a leader he is) when noticing Wolverine being shell-shocked. Proteus himself lacks any personality though, so that docks it some points. One of the high points in the story, no doubt. Battles are common in superhero lore, dealing with the consequences, not so much.
I have no memory of this storyline at all. I’m sure I’ve read it at least a couple times. But I’ve got nothing. Memory is a finicky thing, it was 40 years ago, but I recall it quite well. I read it again years later, so that helps, as it probably does the fact that publication was stopped in Spain for three years and a half, splitting the story right down the middle.
It's hard for me to rate this separately as I consider it to be part of the Dark Phoenix saga. And with the exception of X-Men #125, which I've had since I was 9 or so, I've only read it once or twice. It's very good though, as was everything from this era. I gave both the same rating, it's a continuum in every sense, but people seem to have a predilection for one or the other, hence the two polls.
[...] it tied back to issue 14, when Magneto had been restored by Eric the Red and fought the X-Men to s standstill, on Muir Island. During that battle, there was an alarm that "Mutant X" had been freed. Nearly two years later, Claremont got back to Mutant X, who was Proteus. Claremont was famous for forgetting subplots. I wonder if the delay was because of planning or lack thereof. I think he put it there, in 104, for a lurking danger; but was too caught up in the Shi'ar story to do anything with it and forgot about it, until someone brought it up. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Nov 8, 2022 15:35:43 GMT -5
I have to give it a 9. I think it's every bit as good as the much more lauded Dark Phoenix Saga. I love the little character bits, like Cyclops showing some leadership by picking a fight with Wolverine to shake him out of his doldrums.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,408
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Post by shaxper on Nov 8, 2022 15:52:26 GMT -5
I've probably read it four times now because it comes so early in the run, but I never remember it particularly well. I know I found it suitably creepy and that I was impressed by the twist revelation of who Proteus really was, but I didn't find it anywhere near as memorable and nail-bitingly addictive as, say, the earlier M'Kraan Crystal saga. I do remember thinking that the resolution Claremont added to the story in the Classic X-Men reprint made it a lot better, though.
I'll give it a 7.5 because it was somewhat forgettable, and yet I don't remember being frustrated/disappointed with any particular aspect of it.
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Post by tonebone on Nov 9, 2022 11:25:15 GMT -5
I have no memory of this storyline at all. I’m sure I’ve read it at least a couple times. But I’ve got nothing. Same here. |
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Post by Graphic Autist on Nov 9, 2022 13:55:06 GMT -5
Soid story and beautiful art. I gave it a 9 (as I did with DOFP.)
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Post by spoon on Nov 11, 2022 9:39:28 GMT -5
Liked it, especially Cyclops getting to show his leadership skills (instead of writers telling us how good a leader he is) when noticing Wolverine being shell-shocked. Proteus himself lacks any personality though, so that docks it some points. I also liked seeing Cyclops smack Wolverine around . . . uh, I mean show his leadership. Really good classic X-Men with a mix of tragedy, action, and character moments. I read it via Classic X-Men reprints, so I also remember it in connection with a very trippy backup story featuring Havok and Polaris, even though that isn't part of my assessment of the original storyline. |
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Post by Ozymandias on Nov 16, 2022 1:56:49 GMT -5
Claremont was famous for forgetting subplots. I wonder if the delay was because of planning or lack thereof. I think he put it there, in 104, for a lurking danger; but was too caught up in the Shi'ar story to do anything with it and forgot about it, until someone brought it up. I'd need to read it again to verify, but I seem to remember there were further breadcrumbs between then and #125. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 16, 2022 10:55:25 GMT -5
I think he put it there, in 104, for a lurking danger; but was too caught up in the Shi'ar story to do anything with it and forgot about it, until someone brought it up. I'd need to read it again to verify, but I seem to remember there were further breadcrumbs between then and #125. There may have been; I had a big gap in reading the material, until Proteus and have only read it a couple of times, in Classic X-Men and the Essential X-Men volumes. What mostly stands out in my mind is a background alarm notice, in #104, with a placard that said "Mutant X", caused by Magneto's passing through the facility (on Muir Island) and then, later, when the Proteus storyline began, in earnest. |
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