Warning: this installment gets REALLY WORDY. Claremont proselytizing to his best ability to make his ham-fisted narrative point. And really, there’s nothing like a character who constantly spouts Bible verses to make you wanna see them go down.
And as is the grand tradition, what would a villain be without notable last words they’ll later regret?
One thing I do appreciate about Claremont’s work is that he does like to give non-player characters their moments.
Here’s the real aim of Stryker’s technology, and it was used somewhat in the second X-Men movie.
One thing I should mention here that always fascinated me about Nightcrawler: the blacks on his face aren’t coloration; he’s actually always in shadow. His body somehow interfaces with a different realm such that the lighting just hits him differently.
I believe this scene was the inspiration for a similar scene in one of the X-Men movies, though I don’t recall which one now.
I wouldn’t expect that a bolt of psychic energy would have a physical effect on Magneto like this, but whatever. As we’ll see later, physics are fast and loose in the X-Men universe.
Is magnetism really holding everyone back? How, exactly?
Stryker’s a real dick.
Here’s the thing: I can absolutely see something like this happening today, on live tv. And it would absolutely rally a certain demographic to rise up and riot across the country.
I’d love to think that this is what real cops would do, but honestly, there are enough examples to the contrary that I don’t believe it.
When Wolverine says “my way”, you KNOW what way he’s talking about.
Now THIS part I like. Claremont was really good at writing combat sequences that took advantage of actual tactics and clever uses of the abilities of each X-Man. But again, they’re playing fast and loose here, because the panels and narration would have you believe that this is all happening concurrently, but Cyclops’s beams probably travel at the speed of light, and the actions of Wolverine and Nightcrawler don’t move that fast, so there’s no way these things are happening at the same time.
Remember earlier I was talking about physics? There’s no WAY this curving shot makes ANY sense. UNLESS it’s Brent Anderson’s way of showing that Cyclops just swept the area, turning his head, and that what we’re seeing is some kind of afterimage. Who knows? Looks weird either way.
Okay, here we go, the big moralizing standoff. Claremont’s speciality.
I’m not going to bother going over the logical flaws in these arguments. Let’s just ‘enjoy’, shall we?
But I will say that David Suchet’s portrayal of Hercule Poirot in “Murder On the Orient Express” has a GREAT rebuttal to someone saying they merely acted on behalf of The Lord, when he says “Then let The Lord do it, not you!”
Notice that Colossus doesn’t bother to change back to flesh for this moment.
A hell of a shot from the policeman.
Again, I love this bit of dialogue, and I’d like to think it could happen in real life. But probably not.
Scratch off the word “Pyrrhic” from the list of Words Chris Claremont Taught Me, along with “vaunted” and “nigh-invulnerable”. Even though it’s misspelled here.
I’m not sure I like the way Anderson draws Magneto’s costume. It seems ill-fitting, when every other artist draws it skin-tight over a ridiculous physique. This one may be more realistic, but it’s not as cool to look at.
WORDS
Boy, Xavier just doesn’t know what the hell he wants, does he?
Hallmark Moment.
I have to say this revisit of the old classic has really opened my eyes to the way memory changes with time. I might have to revisit all my old favorites to see if they still hold up. And if I do, you bet it’ll be here, in UNEARTHED! ‘Til next time, True Believer!
