SPEAKER_03: 0:09

Hello and welcome to Uncanny Book Club. I'm Michael Petersfield, and joining me today is my co-host Adam Ward. Hey, I still haven't watched the X-Men next movie. Maybe next time. I gave you a little bit of an extra dramatic pause between Adam and Ward. How do you feel about it?

SPEAKER_02: 0:28

I like to really feed my whole persona that I have going on. Especially with this voice, which I have to preface is the result of sickness. So there you go. Well, feel better. I yeah, I'm trying. I got my green tea ready to talk about comics. I will say, if my note-taking was poor this week, it was because I was in a state of sick delirium.

SPEAKER_03: 0:54

If mine is poor this week, it's because I did it on a laptop that maybe ran through its entire battery in like 25 minutes. I'm not clear on what exactly happened. Well, yeah. In this episode, we'll be picking things up where we left off with issues 137 and 138. Issue 137 opens with a monologue by the Watcher. A pretty big hint that we're looking at a monumental issue. The X-Men find themselves transported onto a Shiar dreadnought and are confronted by Lilandra. The Shiar informed the X-Men of the atrocities committed by Dark Phoenix. Right before they apprehend Gene, Xavier uses his knowledge of the Shiar to invoke a duel of honor to settle her guiltiness. The duel is likewise approved by the Cree and Skrull Empires. We spend time with each of the X-Men who are experiencing a little bit of conflict over some recent events. Gene reunites with Scott the next morning, donning her Marvel Girl outfit. Each member of the current X-Men, as well as Beast and Angel, agree to stick with Gene, and everyone is transported to the blue area of the moon, which is a section of the moon with Earth normal environment. The Imperial Guard is likewise transported to the Moon, and Scott splits the team up, ordering them to whittle the guard down with hit and run tactics. Different teams engage in their own little mini battles. Unfortunately, Storm is the first to fall, and Wolverine ends up accidentally stumbling into the Watcher's home. He comes out feeling even shakier than when he encountered Proteus, and Storm greets him. His instincts warn him though, and he throws her, and she turns out to be a Skrull in disguise. A Cree Warrior also shows up saving the Skrull from Wolverine, but that's too big of an insult, and those two then begin fighting each other. It's not long before most of the team has been knocked out and eliminated from the contest. Clausus puts up a pretty impressive fight against Gladiator, but when the building collapses on top of the two of them, it puts an end to their battle. Good guy Gladiator does drag Peter out of the wreckage, though. Professor X watches in horror as it's down to just Gene and Scott. When Scott is cut down, the Phoenix breaks free of the psychic bonds, and the Imperial Guard are quickly taken out. Xavier psychically awakens the X-Men and orders all of them to attack Gene. Even Scott agrees with this, and each member begins to whittle away at Gene's Stannima. Wolverine decides to take advantage of the moon's reduced gravity and throws Peter for his own version of the Fastball special. He hopes that Peter will be able to do what he fears he can't and kill Gene. Peter says that he's never killed before. Apparently, energy beings don't count, RAP Proteus. And he pulls his punch. Gene says that she understands what must be done, and that while she's alive, the Phoenix will always emerge, and its emergence will always lead to Dark Phoenix. Just a few panels later, this is proved true as we see Gene switch over to the red and gold of Dark Phoenix. Scott chases after, but is frozen in place and has to watch in horror as Gene says her goodbyes, explains why, and uses a weapon among the ruins of the blue area to eliminate herself. Scott realizes that Gene had planned this from the start, if the royal guard weren't able to finish her off. In the final page, we cut to the watcher who explains to the recorder robot the momentous scene they've witnessed. He calls out humanity's extraordinary capacity for self-sacrifice, and in closing says, The X-Men do not realize it, they may never realize or accept it, but this day they have won perhaps the greatest victory of their young lives. Jean Grey could have lived to become a god, but it was more important to her that she die a human. Long summary. I mean, there's a lot to go over, man. It was a double-sized issue.

SPEAKER_02: 5:11

So what did uh were what were your overall thoughts here on this book? There's a lot that happens, but I also feel like a lot doesn't happen at the same time.

SPEAKER_03: 5:19

Sure. Yeah, there's a lot of those slow moments, and this book really can't be separated from the two that came before it in my mind. Like it's all kind of one flowing story. Yeah. I mean, in general, I would say that it's it was a very good comic, but maybe doesn't live up to some of what we saw with like Proteus and maybe even the last couple of issues. Unsure. It was very good though. I think there's a lot of interesting things going on.

SPEAKER_02: 5:51

I was gonna ask, do you remember if Proteus was a double-size issue or if that was just you know four issues? So with that in my mind, it makes me think because of how and what this book is filled with, I think they had this c this idea like, hey, we're gonna make this a double-size issue, so pack it in, you know? Instead of we're Proteus, Proteus played over four arcs and like really I think had the space to tell the story that needed to be told. I don't know that this needed to be a double-sized issue. We do see some nice character moments in some of the reflection that the various X-Men have at various points in this book. And while I think some of that is great, it also just felt like filler to fill out the pages of the book.

SPEAKER_03: 6:43

It would have been better if one of them like didn't want to do it. Like there wasn't any part of me that was wondering, oh man, is Angel and Beast going to stand with Gene? Like, who knows? But I mean, I that that was never really like a a doubt to me. I do have other notes though that really echo what you just said about I just wrote down some elements of this book do feel unnecessary. Yeah, and that they just had to fill some pages. Like everything with the Cree and the scroll. Yeah, that seemed totally meaningless, really. Like in the their involvement in any part of it can be easily cut out.

SPEAKER_02: 7:21

I agree. I do think that seeing Lilandra in this issue or in this big issue, it was such a different version of the character that we've really have seen to this point, right? Because when we're first introduced to her, she's, you know, uh runaway, she's not the empress sitting on the throne, really kind of being the representation of her people in like an official capacity. And then when we kind of see her after that initial story wraps up, where her and Charles are now like lapping it up on Earth, and then they go into space, and we don't really see her in this like position of power that we see her here. And I think having the Kree and Skrull kind of have this appearance kind of gives some weight, number one, to the situation, and I think number two, to just the authority that she has as an empress. You know, like they're really trying to establish. I think at this point, especially in like Marvel Comics universal lore, I'm not very familiar with what would have been happening at this time, but obviously, you know, the Kree and the Skrull are very well established alien races and have their fingers in like various different books and with various different characters.

SPEAKER_03: 8:42

Mm-hmm. So this is a way to just sort of put it into the audience mind of like, hey, like these three different factions, these groups, these these empires, these you know, political powers, they are all like kind of peers to each other.

SPEAKER_02: 8:56

I think it's that and also just it really establishes the like the the gravity of the situation. Like Phoenix has killed, I think the number was like 15 billion people or beings, aliens. Five billion, something like that. Something along those lines. Asparagus people. A lot is what it is. And you know, I made a note you you I as since we're kind of talking about this, you know, scene that plays out over several panels of the X-Men kind of reflecting, as you said, about whether they would help Gene in this, you know, dire situation and be like a uh gladiator type team to fight the uh like what what's the team name? They're not the is it it's not the Shiar. Is it the Shear? Yeah, it's like the Royal Guard. The Royal Guard thing, or yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever it is. So like an ironic given Gladiator is leading this, and I'm using this as the analogy, but to see them kind of come together like this, I wish it could have just been super short. Because as you said, like we're not really seeing them weigh in in a negative way or really questioning their support for Gene, but they do question Xavier just like tossing out this ultimatum.

SPEAKER_03: 10:19

It's like, oh, I wish you wouldn't have spoken for me. Yeah. But that just went along with it. Maybe not a ton of alternatives.

SPEAKER_02: 10:27

But like seeing them all kind of like have this moment, and then you have Lalandra and the the Kree and the Skrull, they're all there. Like, it's hard to not agree with their stance, right? Like, they basically want to eliminate the Phoenix, Jean's too powerful, she killed billions of lives, and is a danger to life across the universe. And they feel like this is this has happened in our backyard here, so we gotta take care of this. And here are the Kree and the Skrull coming back into the fold to like ensure that this goes well. The only thing I think they could have done without is like this weird observational situation they end up having to like verify that the team loses.

SPEAKER_03: 11:16

Well, I think that was just them like putting their finger on the scale to be like, yeah, we can't trust them. We need to we need to ensure the X-Men lose.

SPEAKER_02: 11:26

I wasn't expecting them to well, at least the scroll to get involved. I just figured, like, here's the cameo, we're setting the scene, and we're going to just leave them there watching from above instead of being down on the blue side of the boom getting involved.

SPEAKER_03: 11:48

Which amounted enough. It did. And the other thing I think they really could have cut was Angel's embarrassing moment of almost flying into space and floating away. Yeah. Like, I don't know what the point of that really was, just to establish, like, I it nah, it's just silly. I don't get it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 12:08

It's just awkward.

SPEAKER_02: 12:09

I don't yeah. It just makes him look kind of silly. He's probably a little rusty, but I think he was it was he the one who acknowledges that? I can't remember. Yeah, he does with Nightcrawler. Yeah, okay. I am remembering it correctly. I think despite that though, it is just kind of silly. But I guess it's there to like set the scene that this is not Earth, despite it having Earth-like characteristics.

SPEAKER_03: 12:34

It still is the moon gravity. Yeah. Here is the moon. And the atmosphere does not go up very high.

SPEAKER_02: 12:41

Yeah, apparently. Um, it was in it was fun kind of seeing that referenced a couple different times. The unfortunate way that we see it with Angel, but we do get this really awesome sequence of Wolverine throwing Colossus, which was really cool to see. Uh that's fun. We see Storm reference the differences in the atmosphere and how it takes a lot more of her power to actually like manifest the wind, which was uh a dire circumstance, I guess, in her fight with uh Earthquake, I believe is what the character's name was. Um seems right. It was I was not expecting the X-Men to just kind of fold the way they did, but it I think it really set up the royal guard. But they really get taken to the cleaners, huh? Yeah, and like almost every way, shape, and form. I mean, had Gene Things just go really bad. Yeah, had Gene not basically turned into the Phoenix, she like they would have lost like easily, I think.

SPEAKER_03: 13:45

I mean, they essentially did. It was just her left at the end.

SPEAKER_02: 13:48

I read something this week actually on I think it was like in a Reddit post that was talking about like Stan Lee's rules for comic writing, and he wanted characters like the heroes to always be weaker than the villains or antagonists, right? Like the the cards always have to be stacked against him, uh, they always have to be, you know, more powerful physically or actually like in their power set to really kind of make the odds just so imbalanced that when the hero overcomes it, however that happens, you feel satisfied with with that kind of outcome. And I can kind of see that here with the royal guard, right? Like Xavier's playing this as a last resort. I've trained the X-Men, Scott has trained the X-Men, here they go, they're more than capable at fighting, and then just one by one they fall.

SPEAKER_03: 14:53

It's disappointing considering how different things seem to go the last time they fought the Royal Guard. You're 100% right. I didn't even think about that, but you're absolutely right. It's just strange to hold those two different situations in balance. Question for you.

SPEAKER_02: 15:11

How often do you think uh, you know, like this edict gets tossed down, like this challenge? Because it could just be a case of berry. Well, I was gonna say maybe it's the opposite. Like maybe this is like very common space stuff. So maybe the Royal Guard like has been on the blue side of the moon.

SPEAKER_03: 15:29

That's where they do this kind of uh battle royale. They're not like native to the soul system, though. Like their situation is far, far away. Kind of makes it even worse, honestly. I it does make it worse. Like, the X-Men have home field advantage.

SPEAKER_02: 15:45

I have to say, there were a few instances when Colossus is getting like really played up, and I have been very critical of how Colossus has been handled, and I continue to be, because I was once again disappointed. Hey, he was not at least victorious in any exceeded expectations. You think he did exceed expectations?

SPEAKER_03: 16:11

Yeah. Please explain. Well, I mean, I think Gladiator is kind of as long as like isn't his thing if he believes in himself, he's basically invincible.

SPEAKER_02: 16:22

Let's find out.

SPEAKER_03: 16:23

Or if he believes in what he's doing, or I feel like his powers revolve around that idea. So at times he's just like a real powerhouse of a character.

SPEAKER_02: 16:34

Oh yeah, you're right. Yeah, he's it's tied to his confidence and will willpower. If he's certain he can win, he's practically unstoppable. If he doubts himself and loses faith, his power weakens dramatically.

SPEAKER_03: 16:47

So I feel like he like in his mind, he probably sees this situation as extremely just like this is what needs to be done, we have to stop the Phoenix. He's probably got like a lot of like his willpower kind of going into that. And I mean, like in that first panel, like Colossus cracks like a big pillar on him, and he's just standing there like it's nothing.

SPEAKER_00: 17:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 17:09

And then over the next few panels, you get that sense of this is like a like a kind of a no-brain sort of brawl with just like both characters like punching each other, wailing on each other. It's like uh Yu Yu Hakasho in the Dark Tournament with uh use K and is it Chu, I think. I'm not sure. Yu Yu Hakasho's great, but they're just like beating on each other, and it's not even like that Gladiator beats him in a fight, it's that you know, a building falls on them. Yeah. So I feel like he had like a good back and forth, and you know, he's stuck in there.

SPEAKER_02: 17:46

Yeah, that's you know what, that's fair. Um he was able to, I think, hold his own until yeah. I just want to see my boy, you know, succeed here, you know? Mm-hmm. That's fair. I just want him to have that moment because a lot of the team has had that moment and he just hasn't. And I know, I know he, you know, technically was the one who finished Proteus off, but yeah, you know, he it's it was like a big team effort, all right? It was a big team effort. He just happened to be a dude made out of metal. Even like this this the sequence with Gene, where it was like, okay, man, you gotta do this. You gotta take the shot. This is big high-end stakes. Like you cannot pull your punch. Wolverine gives him the peptop, throws him, don't miss pulls the shot. And like I get it, like that's just Pete's character, you know? Like he's yeah, there's no there's no way he's finishing that. He's an art boy. But let's just then like let's take him out of that situation, you know? Like, let's not make him that person who's having to like do this because at this point we all know he's not going to.

SPEAKER_03: 19:03

It's not suspension. Well, I mean, he didn't volunteer for that. He got thrown into it, literally, thrown.

SPEAKER_02: 19:10

This is more of like a critique of the writer, like the writing team, as opposed to like the characters. Like, you could have easily have switched that and made it Logan, and it would have been even more impactful given that through this issue he's talking about how he's the only one who can relate with what Gene's going through. Like he's the one that still loves her. Not that Scott doesn't, like, he's not comparing it, but like he is still bringing up this love that he has for her repeatedly in decisions. And you're right, loved. But he was even in a position where he almost killed her last time. And, you know, I get that they're going for like he just knows he can't do it, I think is kind of like what they're getting at when we goes or when he throws Peter. But I think you could have altered that and just thrown Logan and had him make this very, like, very big decision. And it would be it would have been a lot more meaningful, I think. And then you could have just had him maybe, you know, do it like uh X3, you know? Just like X3. Just like X3. That's what the people who made that movie read this comic and they were like, show through Logan, man.

SPEAKER_03: 20:32

It is interesting that we are kind of you know, tying back into those movies. Like this it is like a whole aspect of that story that sort of just gets skipped over every time. And yeah, kind of a choice, I guess.

SPEAKER_02: 20:50

I mean, it would be a little complicated though, right? Like to just like insert this into a story with no context of the aliens or any of the aliens would be even in space or I meant well, I meant more of like a kind of like a gene sacrifice sort of a deal.

SPEAKER_03: 21:08

Okay, yeah, yeah. And to be fair, I think the new movie does kind of I you know, it was honestly, I don't remember what happened at the end. I think she does sacrifice herself, maybe.

SPEAKER_02: 21:20

This was really, I think, like the culmination of Scott and Gene's story. Mm-hmm. You know, and that really got played up a lot too, as we see the X-Men kind of fall. When you look at these issues altogether, especially, it's up there with Proteus, but I still like the Proteus story more, just because I think it was a little tighter. Definitely. But overall, I think like the dynamic of Scott and Gene, you know, Chris really made me care about them and made me appreciate them. I think in a way that maybe I hadn't before. I think it was more like, oh yeah, Scott and Gene are just like always a couple, and like that was the idea of. Yeah, they they're the mutant couple. But I think reading this entire series to this point has really made me appreciate that dynamic a whole lot more, and I think really appreciate all of these characters a lot more than I maybe previously did. You know, aside from thinking some of these characters are really awesome, and you know, we've seen them be awesome in a many different kinds of ways and in many different types of medians, but reading it has felt very good. Like I love Storm so much more now than I did before. Like the character is just so much more developed in my mind than I think it was before we started reading these. And as I said, like I don't know that I really ever cared much about Gene in a meaningful way. I leave this feeling like I understand the character a lot better, that I understand the Scott and Gene dynamic a lot better. And that really makes me feel that the stories I've read already, like the dynamic that we kind of see play out in Krokoa between Gene and Scott, is I think it's more meaningful given the context that I have now.

SPEAKER_03: 23:18

Yeah, it is nice to go back to like the foundations of where the characters began and where their story starts.

SPEAKER_02: 23:27

I'll be curious to see where things go, because like we're obviously about to get a shift in dynamic.

SPEAKER_03: 23:33

It feels like these two issues was like a season finale. Yeah. And my excitement for the next issues is likewise the excitement that I would feel about a season premiere. Alright.

SPEAKER_02: 23:49

Like, do you know what happens next?

SPEAKER_03: 23:52

No.

SPEAKER_02: 23:53

I I only know that.

SPEAKER_03: 23:55

I mean, I know we know Kitty comes because she's on the covers. So, as you know, comic books is a group, you know, process. A group is telling a story, not just one person. You know, sometimes, you know, the artist is making certain decisions, you know, there's different people sometimes that work on the plot versus the dialogue. How do you feel knowing that this ending is not the original one that Chris Claremont and John Byrne turned in? In their original that they turned into the editors.

SPEAKER_02: 24:30

Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on. Before you tell me what it is, is it similar to what I just described? What did you just say? I was asking if it was similar to like the description that I just gave. Like of of Logan like Logan finishing Gene.

SPEAKER_03: 24:49

No, no, not at all. Okay, alright. You made me you made me think I missed something way, way different, but no, it's nothing like that. Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 24:56

Okay, all right. What what is the original plot?

SPEAKER_03: 25:00

Essentially, in the original that they turned into the editors, Gene does not die. Huh. Her sacrifice results in her losing all of her powers, not just her phoenix powers, but all of them. And I think the general idea was that it then transitions into her and Scott having their kind of happy ending, happily ever after, go off into the sunset together. And then the editor was like, absolutely not. She killed like five billion people. There has to be some sort of consequence to this. And in response to that, Chris changed the story to Gene dying, thinking that there was no way that they would publish something like that. And then they were all for it. And I guess that's just how we got to uh what this issue is. Like it was all the same except for like the last few panels or something like that. Huh.

SPEAKER_02: 26:01

I think it was the right call to not have Gene and Scott just walk off into the sunset. As I said, like it's hard to disagree with the stance of all of these alien empires when Gene can just fly out to wherever the hell she wants and kill billions of people. So the editor is right that in that Gene can't just walk away scot-free.

SPEAKER_03: 26:29

Well, the Phoenix is gone at that point. But I definitely agree with you. And I think this is it's one of those interesting things where like sometimes like an editor's suggestion or change can make something better. Like, I don't think this story would be remembered for what it is if Gene had survived. I think the reason why it is like, you know, held up so many years later is because it is that tragic ending. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 27:00

It's also a very selfless ending. And I actually felt like the watcher really summed it up well in that, you know, Gene could have been a god. The Dark Phoenix was strong enough, it essentially had unlimited power. And if Gene really wanted to, she could have just gave in and been unstoppable. But beat up Galactus for fun. Instead, she chose to die as a human, and that's what makes humans unique in and in that they can either do good or do bad. And Gene chose to do good. And that selfless sacrifice is what makes the story as good as it is. Now I think you could you could alter it a couple different ways, as we've talked about, because there's the selfless sacrifice that Scott could have made. And when Xavier told him to stop Phoenix, he like, you know, maybe he hesitates and then realizes this is what he has to do, and you know, he's blasting her with his you know, with his I-beam, and you know, it intensifies and intensifies, and you can have this, you know, telepathic conversation where you know he's apologizing and Jean's, you know, saying, No, this is what needs to happen. Like, I love you, Scott. You're the greatest man I've ever known. And Scott makes this massive self-sacrifice in taking out the woman that he loves.

SPEAKER_03: 28:40

Now you're just writing fanfiction.

SPEAKER_02: 28:42

I yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 28:44

And then Scott and Logan Keyes.

SPEAKER_02: 28:48

And then they all have a dance party, and the universe is saved. They did it.

SPEAKER_03: 28:54

The X-Men did it again.

SPEAKER_02: 28:56

Yeah. It's it's also kind of funny too, like, in the end, that there is like no repercussion for the X-Men in their actions. Now I know that they like fight Phoenix, but it's still I mean, I don't know. I I think if this was a real It was a trial.

SPEAKER_03: 29:13

They were just participating in the trial.

SPEAKER_02: 29:16

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00: 29:17

Again, the sickness. The Shiar affair-ish.

SPEAKER_02: 29:23

Uh Lalandra is at least. Probably. I mean she listened to the you know, the debt. I I'm I'll be curious to see if they stick around at all. Or is the Shiar? Yeah. Like with that within this story. Like are we like are we gonna continue to see like the dynamic between Lalandra and Charles? Or is that kind of Well they are married?

SPEAKER_03: 29:44

Well, yeah. But they do have a child together at some point. But I couldn't tell you when. And we still have to see Deathbird. I don't even know what that is. That's her sister. Okay, that's a cool name. I gotta look at the picture. This though. She's a much cooler looking shiar than most of them.

SPEAKER_02: 30:04

Dude, what the hell? That is so much cooler. You can tell this is a villain because they're all dressed in purple. Not always a villain. Name one hero who has purple attire that isn't Hawkeye, who also started as a villain.

SPEAKER_03: 30:16

Well, I'm not I'm not saying she's a villain currently. You know, she, you know, depend things change. She's a good aunt. Good aunt. Alright. Good aunt. Are you an aunt or an aunt man?

SPEAKER_02: 30:30

Um I would say overall an aunt, but I have an auntie as well.

SPEAKER_03: 30:37

Hmm. I end up using them pretty interchangeably. I'm not really sure if there's a a good pattern for that. I think Auntie is like issue 138.

SPEAKER_02: 30:48

Auntie is very British, that's all I'll say. Alright, yeah. Next issue.

SPEAKER_03: 30:52

Auntie, Mum. Issue 138 puts my time X position heavy comics to the ultimate test. The entire issue is a retelling of the X-Men from the very beginning all the way through to the issue that we just went through with the Shiar and the battle. Um, I don't think it makes sense to go through all of that in a plot summary, but as someone who is curious as to what came before all the Claremont stuff, but had also heard that it was pretty rough reading, I found it to be pretty interesting. In between the scenes of the past, we see the X-Men and others at Gene's funeral. Lalandra gifts a weird holographic matrix crystal thing to the Greys, which allow them to see their daughter in 3D as well as feel the sense of her personality. Scott says his goodbyes, and we learn that, at least for now, he's leaving the X-Men. Xavier tells Scott that he couldn't be more proud of him over the last few days, and in his narration, Scott says, I don't know where I'll go, what I'll do. Only one thing is certain, that no matter what happens, I won't crawl back into my shell again. With Jean, I became fully alive, a whole human being. I intend to stay that way. I owe her that much at least. In the closing panels, we see Kitty Pride arrive by taxi to an empty school. She sits on the front steps, bored. We close with the words, she's about to become the newest and youngest pupil in Charles Xavier's school. The X-Men will never be the same again. The beginning. Bumpa bum, dramatic.

SPEAKER_02: 32:32

I have to say, um, Kitty kind of looks a little cursed, and like some of the art is wonky. I'm scrolling. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_03: 32:41

Her face. Yeah. That's just how uh 13 and a half year olds look. They have that kind of stretchy face. Oh, is that what I have to look forward to? The s weird I assume so. Stretchy. I don't know, man. It looks like she's You didn't go through a stretchy face face? Not yet. No, it's weird. It's I feel like they're trying to highlight that like she's young and naive and has no idea what she's like. What is her shirt? Not in a bad way, but like can I be honest about the way I read it? Yeah. I I think it just says bitch.

SPEAKER_02: 33:20

Yeah, okay, that's what I thought it was as well.

SPEAKER_03: 33:22

That's exactly what I thought. Like when I read it, I was like, she's just wearing a shirt that says bitch. She's cool as hell. Maybe behind the famously known for having terrible fashion sense. Is she actually known for that? Uh yeah. I I don't know if it's always been a call-out or if that's just a more recent modern thing that Emma calls her out for constantly. I mean, I see it in this image.

SPEAKER_02: 33:50

We're in bad bitch to the first day of school.

SPEAKER_03: 33:54

There's a really good, it's in it's in uh the Quiet Council on Krikoa, where Sinister is saying something like extremely flamboyant and talking down about how terrible kitty's fashion senses. And Emma just replies, unfortunately, second and second and or something like that. Poor kitty. I gotta read that at some point. The Immortal X-Men stuff is all pretty fun. That's probably where that's from, if it's Quiet Council stuff.

SPEAKER_02: 34:24

Yeah, I read a bit of it, um, but not not nearly enough.

SPEAKER_03: 34:29

It's just fun seeing how severely dysfunctional they are and how just extremely incapable they were of setting up and leading a nation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 34:42

I mean, they had everything stacked against them, too. So I mean Yeah. It still wasn't like the ideal circumstance, but anyways. I have to say something. There is this a panel that really bothers me, and I'm curious if you know what I'm about to say.

SPEAKER_03: 35:01

Oh boy, let me scroll through. Off the top of my head. You referenced it in the recap. I referenced a lot of things in the recap. Like the It's not how terrible that master mold looks. No, it's weird.

SPEAKER_02: 35:15

Okay. Uh it it is the Grays receiving this very personal and futuristic gift from Lalandra. The person that basically murdered their daughter. I mean, I'm more pissy about the Grays receiving it, given like they in a lot of ways murdered their daughter with that nonsensical visit that Gene had at the Grays where he They were made up at the end of the issue, though.

SPEAKER_03: 35:45

It doesn't matter. You don't say it's just weird.

SPEAKER_02: 35:47

You don't say that thing. You don't say those things. You know?

SPEAKER_03: 35:51

I cast ye out, demon.

SPEAKER_02: 35:53

I yeah, I mean, it this is I I'll be honest, I kind of like just glossed through the recap, sick brain. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 36:03

Was there anything in like that before era that you were like, oh boy, that was a choice. I mean, or like beasts never not being furry is weird. Yeah, I mean, that never happened in X-Men. That was like after they stopped writing new stories and then they turned him furry and had him join the Avengers or something like that.

SPEAKER_02: 36:24

Yeah. Um, no, I wouldn't say there was anything that was like, oh, damn. Um, yeah, it was like whatever. It was a recap.

SPEAKER_03: 36:33

There was weird stuff with like, oh, like Charles Xavier switched places with a different mutant, and it wasn't him that died, and then he comes back.

SPEAKER_02: 36:46

I'll have to like go back through it again. Maybe I'll do that before we have our next episode. It probably is very good and important context to have, as we've kind of, or at least I found myself at times like questioning like some.

SPEAKER_03: 37:00

I feel like a lot of the content was not uh important. It is more just like a fun order of things of like, oh, this is when the juggernaut came and Magneto was kidnapped by an alien at some point, and Bolivar Trask is dead, maybe? I don't remember where that goes. Maybe he's not dead. Maybe that was another fake out. Fake out. And then all the sentinels flew into the sun. Oh, Bolivar Trask, it turned out, had a sun. Larry Trask. And then the Sentinels flew into the sun, and that's why they were gone. And then Sauron came, and then they fought Sunfire. Havoc has a weird outfit, more alien stuff, and then Krikoa happens. Boom. Yeah. It was a fun recap.

SPEAKER_00: 37:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 37:46

It's an impressive summary for the limited space that they had. Was this also technically part of the double issue? No, this is a single issue. It is a single, okay. I'll be honest, if I if I bought it, I would have been very upset. It's a bummer. Especially because like the cover is like, oh my god, Scott's leaving, which is true. It's not an act, it's not like a fake out this time. Also, I do like the cover, like that pink background of just like the collage of other comic covers. I don't know. Something's doing it for me. It's that in the Toys R Us shopping spree. Grand prize, minimum value,$3,000. Damn. A lot of Toys R Us with that. Minimum value, holy. Early 80s. Is this pre-Nintendo? Pre-NES? It's gotta be, right? Oh yeah. Damn, then what are you even gonna spend the money on? Buy a lot of G.I. Joe's, Hot Wheels. G.I. Joe's Army men.

SPEAKER_02: 38:52

Maybe they had a Big League chew. I don't know what year this issue came out. I'm assuming like 80-81. Oh, early 80s. Okay. I was gonna say you could. Yeah, it should be early 80s. Star Wars toys? There should be some, huh? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 39:07

I don't think Ghostbusters happened yet, so. We gotta look that up. Ghostbusters toys would be a good way to spend that cash. Yeah. I would have said 84. Like Ninja Turtles, but those weren't out yet. So it's on the precipice of a lot of really good shit coming out. And this is October, is what it says here in the top left corner.

SPEAKER_00: 39:29

So you know, it's right around the corner.

SPEAKER_02: 39:32

Depending on when you have to get the like do that. It's shopping spree.

SPEAKER_03: 39:37

Well, it might be. I mean, the the date and like the actual date that it's available get all wishy-washy, timey whimey. Who's to say when it actually was on store shelves? Now that I'm looking at this car, you're right, it is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02: 39:50

I like the pink. Yeah. Really pops, uh, especially with the silhouette of the other X-Men behind. Who is that in the back line?

SPEAKER_03: 39:58

Iceman? Yeah, is that Iceman? Is that Bobby? That's what I thought. He's not at the is he at the funeral though? Alright, let's look. Actually, he might be. I mean, that one makes sense. Is that beast at the funeral, but not blue? The whole thing is confusing.

SPEAKER_02: 40:12

Oh, like maybe he's using like his I don't know, like the transmography.

SPEAKER_03: 40:18

Yeah, an image inducer. Is Kurt not there? Or is that Kurt comforting Gene's sister? I think that's hopefully what it is. I think that is supposed I think that is Beast. That's Sly Dog. And I feel like that is Bobby on the next page.

SPEAKER_02: 40:38

Oh, next to Scott with the not so blonde hair.

SPEAKER_03: 40:43

Yeah. Like I think if we're looking at that first page where it just says eulogy, it's Hank, uh, Angel, Bobby, Scott. Yeah. And then on the other side, I think that might be Nightcrawler comforting the sister.

SPEAKER_02: 40:58

I think it is. We do see him transform at one point. Um, but he is in his uh blue form. He kind of emerges from a tree, so I don't know if he was like in there the whole time or I've been here the whole time.

SPEAKER_03: 41:15

Great stuff, man. I feel like what's the point of hiding their selves? Oh yeah, that's him in a tree.

SPEAKER_00: 41:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 41:22

Then who is the other man? Unless he like teleported there and like He might just be playing afterward. Scott, no. Gotta monkey about in the tree. You can't believe it, uh, Scott.

SPEAKER_02: 41:36

What are you doing? And then we have Scott stoically staring at the graveyard. Yeah. As I said, I would have been very disappointed if I picked this book up. It really does not add a whole lot that couldn't have just been like tacked onto the big version.

SPEAKER_03: 41:52

It would be a bummer to get this and then be like, alright, I guess gotta wait like another month until because it's all essentially recap. Yeah. Like, there's no story on here that isn't told by the actual cover of the issue. I do like the issue. I think it's very useful. It would suck to buy it.

SPEAKER_02: 42:13

I nah, I mean, I don't think it's all that useful because I just don't think it should be an issue at all. I think it this should have just been combined with what we had already in the past, like the last issue.

SPEAKER_03: 42:26

Like if you It does feel like something that would be tacked on as like the little freebie at the end of like big issues in more modern comics.

SPEAKER_02: 42:34

Like this could have been an epilogue that you tacked on to the end of that book, right? Or to the end of that issue where they're all at the graveyard. You s basically you could do shot for shot of all the scenes that weren't a recap, and like you would take up maybe like three pages, four pages like maybe three, maybe four.

SPEAKER_03: 42:56

They could have cut the fluff out and added this to it. That probably would have been a maybe better issue. Although, I I mean, it makes sense to end on the watcher's speech though.

SPEAKER_02: 43:09

Well, that's why I was suggesting it was like an epilogue, so you could finish the story that you're telling and then you know, have the the hanging nail of Scott's leaving the team. Uh good heavens. Which I have to say, I hope he stays away for a bit. Like I think getting a little Like how long? Well, I'm trying to be mindful because there's like comic time and then issue time.

SPEAKER_00: 43:34

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02: 43:35

Like I hope we don't see him for a couple of issues at least.

SPEAKER_03: 43:39

Yeah. Let the current edition of the team kind of establish themselves. I think it sets up a really interesting thing. Like, this is going to be the first time when none of the OG X-men are part of the team. You know, Scott's gone, Gene's gone, the other peeps are gone. It's just all new people at this point, essentially. I mean, yeah, they've been running for a few year years, but it's uh it's a pretty big deal.

SPEAKER_02: 44:07

Yeah, I mean, I think like overall this was good. I didn't even think like the little uh like this could have been cut from the book, like if we were to shrink this down to a single issue. But I thought like the whole interaction between Logan and the Watcher was like fun. Sure. You know, but really could have just been passed over.

SPEAKER_03: 44:27

Like I think you could just I think there's a lot of stuff like that in that issue. Like we, you know, like super naked, hairy wolverine was kind of like a fun addition, but didn't need to be there. Beast having like a maybe sexy massage was a fun addition, but didn't need to be there.

SPEAKER_02: 44:46

Yeah, I think if I had uh like I want to give this a rating and then a rating for the arc because we're kind of reading this without the other two attached to it, or the other three, or whatever it was. So this supersized issue, I think I would give it I'll give it like an like an eight. Same. Like I think it was solid overall, a little long at times. I think you know you could really go in and cut some stuff, but like overall, very enjoyable, and I think it like really was a nice capstone on the story that they've been like really telling over the last many years. Years at this point. Long time. I also want to just quickly say Jason Wingard is uh might very well be one of the baddest villains that they've ever had, considering it was his manipulation that really kind of kickstarted the events that have now unfolded.

SPEAKER_03: 45:46

I think we get there regardless, but things he seemed to really accelerate the problem.

SPEAKER_02: 45:53

Yeah. And then as for like the arc, I think I I said Proteus was probably as close to perfect as I could give. I think the arc I would probably give like an eight and a half.

SPEAKER_03: 46:06

Yeah, I'm assuming I gave Proteus a nine or a nine and a half. I would probably give this like a half a point under or just an eight and a half. I'm not really sure. It seems right. It's very good.

SPEAKER_02: 46:18

Yeah, like it was good. I think it was a very great story, and you know, I think you also have to consider the buildup to this. It was has been very long. Yeah. Like this is the payoff of a very long story that has happened even since Proteus. So, you know, in that context, I think it's it the payoff is good.

SPEAKER_03: 46:40

I think one of the and I think at times it maybe feels like I'm not giving it like a ton of praise and I'm being very short with just like it's good, it was great, blah, blah, blah. I think one of the most impressive things is that it was, I would say, like a satisfying conclusion to the story. And you don't always get a very satisfying conclusion to different stories. Yeah, that's yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_02: 47:05

This felt um it felt complete, you know. Like we can you could you you I think you said it best. This feels like the end, like this is the season finale, and we are about to start the next season where it's gonna be all new and all different and wacky new characters. Just wait until you see the changes of the team and their dynamic, you know. Like it I think it'll give it kind of a jolt that it probably needs to shake things up and make it different and you know, give Chris and the rest of the creative team an opportunity to go in an entirely different direction.

SPEAKER_03: 47:44

That does it for this episode of Uncanny Book Club. Thanks for listening, and we hope to see you next episode where we'll discuss issues 139 and 140. Bye. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Uncanny Book Club. If you enjoyed this podcast, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, or share with a friend.