Punch Up: “To Me My ❌-Men”

Chapter Twenty-Two:

1984

August & September, 1984, Uncanny X-Men 187-188 by Romita Jr, Green, Glynis, Orzechowski, Claremont + Nocenti

Mixtape tracks: Corona & History Lesson Part 2 by Minutemen

Chapter 22 in “to me my ❌-Men,” where loose ends come to a head in a two hour meeting that brings the team together with an understanding, that they need to be together, because the path they are on is eroding into disaster, if they don’t. And of course another shoe is set to drop.

Previously on “to me my ❌-Men,” a perfect storm forges a tenuous bond. Plus, mutant and alien possession meet, in our third instalment of a comics masterpiece.

Ororo has all the reasons to be unaware of what’s behind her. As her mind is lost in what’s behind her.

The ability to materialise from out of no where is a power set I approve of, so the Dire Wraith are evolving into a terror I can support. Oh…so this Dire Wraith is extra special to me. As the Scout…

…or red shirt…

…Dire Wraiths.

Oh no they got Stan

He goes by Joe, but we know the truth. How the Wraiths do this is excellent horrible design in Romita Jr’s hands too.

Now a bunch of them are headed up to Forge and Storm has behind her outside…some look human others look like themselves…either way…oh Ororo’s got this. Hah. Of course.

She gets Joe’s gun and blows the head into a bunch a PHOOM!

Oh no that shot was a shotgun and it was Nāze.

So I Nāze for now is a Shaman and he had a dream about an eagle and it got taken out by some friends that were not friends. Thinks it a premonition of this moment.

Forge is under attack and Nāze is advocating for him as our “last best hope.”

I just absolutely love at least one panel on each page thus far.

Um…what’s a flame breathing deathwing? A cross between Lockheed and…

Shōji Kawamori & Kazutaka Miyatake’s Transformers

Ororo: “to late” Nāze: “so now what?” Ororo: “Sigh…we go to his rescue.”

Ororo is complimenting Nāze, without naming names, comparing them to Logan. Also revealing that’s who trained her to shoot.

Nāze and Ororo clarify. Ororo doesn’t like Forge, still trying to save him…of reasons. Oh, because his fate is hers…nobody else’s. That’s my girl.

OK, now we have Hellhounds. The Rom comic kind. Oh and they have exactly the same power as Kitty, the one where she can phase into tec and disrupt it. It has the drop on Ororo…not a big deal.

Nāze: “not as tough as they look.” And they don’t look that tough.

Ororo is bound by the ankle and dragged up, but she can free herself given the distance she is being dragged. Nāze take the elevator.

He is at war cry level. She is encountering winter weather conditions and aliens.

She is battling a spell, comes in contact with an alien, two now, is somehow like Rogue, sharing minds with Forge, Nāze, Wraith, and some sort of possible divinity. “Delicious terror.”

The Wraiths sense Forge is vulnerable, but Eagle Tower defence have different contexts to play out.

Ororo and Forge have issues, and now it is Ororo trying to convince she has good intentions. They are attacked and the head games force Forge to make a choice and he makes the correct one. He apparently had to use an ability he swore not to use, but it saves Ororo. And then Rogue and Colossus but through on the three. Forge is perfect:

“Nice entrance. Couldn’t you have sued the door.”

Rogue: “we wanted to surprise y’all.”

Got jokes.

Rogue mentions “talking” with Forges boss, Val. And Forge is like, not my boss, not my organization.

There is an entire floor of aliens to deal with now. Great!!

Oh, Forge can see most of them are illusions.

Nāze has slinked off to the Eagle’s Nest. Forges Sanctum. Somehow Forge has denied its power and Nāze sees this as foolish as he engages with it.

Rom and Starshine show and save the day.

Spoke to soon…fabric of reality has a hole and and black shadows with symbiotic smiles emerge, taking over Ororo, Peter, Forge, and Rogue.

Issue No. 188 picks up with these Shadowbeings. Forge has Ororo blast his leg off, so he can escape and hop away. He seeks Nāze, who is busy in his sanctum doing a spell with his tec. He is in communication with a being. The being know of him and is aware he is pissed by a Wraith too. The being posses both. Leaving one body and flames.

At the Dallas airport, Kurt teleports and takes Amanda Sefton out of a plane and into the ❌-Men’s jet. She is pissed, but he plans on explaining, they need her, on the way. Also, apparently this big crazy storm system (blizzard in Dallas) is a result of events in Thor (Ann’s editors note)…which is fine with us, because we don’t mind that teaser…given our plans here. And so…Amanda is teleported to save the ❌-Men…with her mystic bolts.

And as that worked against the shadows, the Wraiths are about to get Peter again, when lil’ sis Illyana, teleports in to save him with her sword. It’s an epic battle and Magik get the best panel. It’s a bit messy and Forge is argumentative, but things seem ok.

Oh, Peter Peter Peter…yes…your sister is also a sorceress.

Forge finds Nāze barely alive. Storm gets the drop on them, half cares, half wants to kill Forge. Let’s him know if he follows or tracks them, she will make sure he regrets it.

Our old friend Lee Forester is 73°12’ West Longitude by 28°17’ North Latitude, in her Arcadia. She fires on a shark. Savings a body. Magneto’s…I guess we know what happened when Warlock buzzed his tower and totalled his space port.

Meanwhile, 73°35’ West Longitude by 42°20’ Latitude Ororo is in her pool and her roommate Kurt has a towel. The Swim Suit issue prep continues.

She kisses her friend. Oh Kurt bless your heart. Chuck has called a meeting. Ororo is like, ‘so.’ HELLA!!! And Kurt pulls the ‘for me card.’

Illyana is having Rachel listen in on the ❌-Men’s meeting from the stairs. Something is happening with Kitty. Logan is in Japan.

Roberto is there now, Chuck shoos them away.

Rachel stays.

Oh they are getting into everything from the last year or so. Basically Kurt is like, look, the government is going to hunt us down. So can we just go already.

Oh wow…Rachel didn’t know (oh right she thought that was Jean in the background of the call), her Mom is dead in this timeline…until Kurt blurted it out.

Rachel looses it and does a psychic blast on Kurt.

Chuck stops her and then she reveals to the team basically everything…that they are all supposed to die and stuff…only I think she shows them in their own minds eye. So now they all have the same shared trauma. Isn’t telepathy great!

She does so in part to make clear to Kurt, if he turns from Chuck’s dream (sales pitch into kidnapping life for a cause) then all will be lost. And Ororo quotes Uncle Ben (Ben Parker, Pete’s Uncle…like the actual voice superheroes should follow), “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Kurt responds: “want it or not. Like it or not.”

Epilogue: Father of Duke, Jaime, loading snapper off a truck at a fish market finds a trinket in a fishes guts. And it speakers to him.

Next: Kitty and Logan’s limited series