You'd think that Claremont and Paul Smith doing a nice quiet little issue about Wolverine's funeral, narrated by Scott Summers, would be a no-brainer. Well, in a way, it is.
A rundown:
- Xavier shown searching for the cure to the genetic future of mutantkind by mixing together potions that give off smoke--like this is Dr. Strange in the '60s or a cliche mad scientist from a bad black & white horror movie. Why aren't more geneticists in the Marvel Universe shown mixing smokey potions??
- Kitty nonchalantly referring to Sabretooth as Wolverine's father. So we're still just throwing that revelation out there with zero fanfare, explanation or backstory.
- Sabretooth, in response, again hinting that Kitty is some sort of relation to Wolverine as well. Again, this is just thrown out there once again with no further elaboration or query from Kitty.
- Xavier again with the smokey potions. Though this time he doesn't have the Cerebro helmet on. In the first instance with the smokey potions, he had the extra benefit of wearing the Cerebro helmet as well.
- Scott goes to Jean's room to tell her to get ready for the funeral because "the guests are arriving". Then turn the page and Scott's narration tells us that "Jean falls asleep in my arms." What?! Bizarre transition. They weren't even touching on the previous page. Scott came there to tell her to get ready, then without warning we're told that she just fell asleep? Again, really bizarre transition.
- Scott's narration spins things as if he completely "lost Jean to Logan. But they were truly happy together". Huh? When did that happen? When were Logan and Jean "happy together"? All that happened was that in the day before Wolverine died Jean shared a few moments with him (and some of these moments were just really the two of them TALKING via telepathy). Yeah, I can see where things would be really awkward for Scott, but from his narration you'd think that Jean and Logan ran off together and lived alone on a deserted island for a year!!
- Rahne Sinclair miscolored because the colorist apparently thought she was Storm?? Maybe I've got a misprint or something, but when Rahne first appears she looks black and has short white hair.
- WTF Is Ben Grimm Jewish??? He's wearing a yarmulke! Actually--I looked this up and, YES, apparently Ben Grimm IS Jewish! I never knew that before, and it's so weird to learn something rare and true from THIS COMIC!
- Weird silent moment exchanged between Forge and underage Storm. Actually, I mean, this isn't Claremont's fault, because the moment had to happen and it's handled tastefully...and it by definition SHOULD be the weird, uncomfortable moment that it is...But it still should be listed as another noteworthy strange moment in this comic.
- Weird panel where Smith's art shows suddenly Cyclops being a head taller than Warren Worthington and Bobby Drake. The latter two are shown as being about the same height even though Bobby has always been kinda average height at best and Warren has been drawn previously as a perfect 6-foot-plus male specimen. Two panels earlier Cyke and Warren were shown as the same height.
- Psylocke returns. We're told she's been in Excalibur. It will be interesting to see how Claremont explains where some of the absent Blue and Gold team members--the ones he evidently didn't want to use--have been. Where's Colossus been? Oh, a few pages ago we were told that Iceman had gone back to being an accountant. Before I forget, regarding Psylocke: Kitty calls Betsy her "best big sister"...Huh?! Kitty's "big sister" figure was always Ororo. And at this point in continuity Kitty and Psylocke had never been on the same team together yet!!
- Bruce Banner in disguise as a flower delivery man. This is just...too ridiculous. The premise of this. The idea that the Hulk would care to send flowers to Wolverine's funereal is strange enough, but the idea that Bruce Banner would disguise himself as a flower delivery man?!?!?
- Scott says that Wolverine's former true love Yuriko couldn't make the funeral--and that's supposedly for the best because sparks were sure to fly between her and Jean. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!! The idea of Jean and a polite little member of Japanese aristocracy fighting at a funeral--like they would have turned into redneck women and caused a scene by fightin' over the man they both loved?!?!?!
- In a flashback montage, Paul Smith draws Wolverine as if his claws protrude not from the back of his hands at the wrists, but rather from IN BETWEEN HIS FINGERS.
...I gotta stop. Oh yeah, at some point it's revealed that the Queen of England sends her condolences. (I know this is from the ridiculously obscure LATE '90s X-Men mini-series "True Friends". But still, it's just weird.)
Guess what, though? I was damn pleased with this issue (I gave it a 3 overall). And I'm not even talking about the FLASHES of competency in this issue, when you fall back to the comfortable fact that what you're reading is supposed to be one of those "quiet little X-Men issues" that Claremont used to script so well. Yeah, that mood is good, until it's shattered every other page or so by the appearance of something anachronistic, random, or erroneous. No, I just get off on this stuff. It's so much fun.
Oh yeah, and in this continuity Cyclops didn't send Nathan (Baby Cable) into the future. The kid's been living with his grandparents in Alaska. STRANGE.
If this stuff amuses you, you MUST READ X-MEN FOREVER. It is so much fun. And don't get me wrong, this isn't quite the sort of fun you can have in a "love to hate it" sort of way. I'm far from meanspirited, upset or snarky about all the shortcomings of this book. Yes, there are a lot of failings, but nevertheless there's still an underlying vibe of goodness that prevails through every page of this series: sure, when Claremont screws up, you laugh at it...but you laugh in a good-natured way; and when Claremont doesn't screw up, he's showing you the good nature of beloved characters. This is QUITE a fucking book; I'm happy and filled with joy and goodness every time it comes out. The experience of this is without a doubt worth $4.
Story: 2 - Average
Art: 2 - Average
I thought everyone knew Ben Grimm was Jewish. :)
Posted by Diabhol on 10/30/09 at 12:36 PM