Tales of Asgard Tuesday: Journey Into Mystery #101

Tales of Asgard -- Journey Into Mystery #101 (from the Tales of Asgard tpb)
"The Invasion of Asgard"
Stan Lee-Jack Kirby/George Bell

Doug: You know what I've always wondered? How does an immortal age? I ask, because in this story we see Heimdall for the first time. Having read many a Thor yarn through the years, I always assumed that Thor and all of the warriors were approximately the same age. Yet here is a young Thor again, perhaps 13-14 years of age (he looks older than he did in last week's story), and Heimdall is much older than he. Additionally, and I think we've mentioned it before, Odin is old! What sayest thou?

Karen: I sayest, don't think about it! Although I would posit that the Heimdall we see here looks younger than the one we see circa the Buscema period.

Doug: Loki's at it again. There have been rumblings of "the forces of evil" launching a unified assault on Asgard. Wanting to do his part, Thor offers to help Heimdall guard the Rainbow Bridge. But Loki asks him to come away, so that Loki can show Thor a secret passageway. Loki claimed to have found a tunnel whereby the bad guys could gain access to the Realm Eternal. Loki urges Thor to guard this hole, and Loki will then run for reinforcements. Thor, ever brave and just a bit gullible, agrees.

Karen: Well, young Thor is certainly very trusting, which is a virtue I suppose. Although Loki has already shown his true colors, as we saw in the previous story, so maybe Thor just isn't that bright! I love the panel where Heimdall tells Thor he can't help him. He's totally freaking out!

Doug: The forces of evil include a pantheon of uglies: a troll, an ice giant, two wolf gods, rime giants, and the Norn hag atop a dragon. Not so good. So there's lil' Thor to face them with but a shield and sword. But if he's not long on brain, he is on brawn and guile. Pulling a trick from his father's book, Thor cleaves the ground with his sword, forcing a geyser that drives back the initial assault. He then uses the same sword as a bat and rifles large chunks of rock at the assemblage. However, their numbers are two great and their sorcery too strong, and Thor eventually succumbs. As they are about to kill him, help finally arrives!

Karen: I really like all those different creatures Kirby drew, but the rime giants -what the heck is a 'rime'? - are the coolest looking.

Doug: Well, since you asked (and I thought it was a made-up term, too)... Ymir was the first and greatest of the Rime Giants, according to cybersamurai.net. Apparently Kirby didn't make it up, and the Marvel Wiki details all of the giants of Jotunheim. So there you have it -- see, you can learn stuff reading comics! I always told my mom that!

Doug: Loki, you see, didn't go for help. It was only the sounds of battle that alerted the Asgardian warriors -- led here by Odin. As the forces of evil are driven away, Thor is rewarded with newfound strength -- he can almost lift Mjolnir! And Loki smolders...

Doug: We are going to take leave of this series for awhile. It's been really fun going through these stories -- they really did augment the Journey Into Mystery books of the day. As we said at the outset, we were both reluctant to embrace the re-coloring, but if I can speak for both of us, I'll say we've been won over. The next time you see this at your LCS or local bookstore, give it a look-see. It's been a fine addition to my library.

Across the Universe: X-Men 108

X-Men #108 (December 1977)
"Armageddon Now!"
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: John Byrne
Inker: Terry Austin

Karen: Welcome to part two of this pivotal X-Men story -pivotal because it marked the end of the Cockrum Era (well, the first one anyway) and the beginning of the Byrne/Austin era. I have to say, I recall being surprised that Cockrum was gone when I first got this issue, but the Byrne/Austin team immediately won me over. They were every bit as good at capturing the enormous scale and spectacle that Cockrum had conveyed in the previous issue.

Doug: If I recall, I also wasn't put out by the art change. The Byrne/Austin team was solid from the beginning, and the story was so powerful that the plot really carried the day. I always have thought it odd, however, the the book had a Cockrum cover -- I suppose he'd done that ahead of whenever he'd have done the interiors. Say, another thing that makes this pivotal is the severe ramping up of Phoenix's power. Shades of things to come!

Karen: After a brief recap of the situation, and a quick trip to Earth, where big brains like Reed Richards and Hank Pym ponder the meaning of the cosmic 'blinks', we return to the X-Men and the Starjammers. The M'krann crystal is glowing with power, and from it comes a tiny, muppet-like being named Jahf, who says he is there to prevent anyone from entering the crystal. Of course, Wolverine scoffs at the little fella, and soon finds himself punched into orbit! This was hilarious, and Wolverine truly deserved it -he was such a jerk back then!

Doug: Jahf's certainly a little Byrne-guy -- I'm not sure how Cockrum would have drawn him, but Byrne's handling is really good. Was it your sense that in this very issue we begin to see the shift from a focus on Nightcrawler to a focus on Wolverine? Logan's not even on the cover, but I just got the sense that he was about to take a bigger role. And shoot -- it doesn't take long, as he'll be the featured guy in the very next issue.

Karen: It's no secret that Nightcrawler was Cockrum's favorite, and with his departure, Kurt seemed to be the odd man out frequently. I do wonder how things might have been for both Nightcrawler and Wolverine if he'd stayed on the title longer.

Karen: Jahf begins manhandling everyone. Jean gives us another amazing display of power, when even in her weakened state, she telekinetically grabs a meteor in space above and sends it slamming into the tiny enemy. Wow. Unfortunately, Jahf is a tough bugger. It takes Banshee getting into his face-literally-and cutting loose with all his sonic power to destroy him (it's OK, he was a robot).

Doug: I sensed here, too, that we'll begin to see Banshee take a lesser role on the team. Although he saved the day against Jahf, the strain on his throat will lead to his depowering over the next couple of years until he basically became an afterthought.

Karen: But Jahf was just the beginning; the next guardian, Modt, is a Godzilla-sized robot. As he starts attacking the heroes, one of the Starjammers, Raza, who sounds a bit like Thor in speech patterns, heads for the Emperor and angrily throws him into the light at the center of the crystal. Suddenly, everything changes and they are all inside the crystal. It's a bit trippy. Everyone starts experiencing their worst nightmare. However, it has limited effect on Phoenix. Jean transforms into the fiery bird-like image we all know so well and probes the center of the crystal.

Doug: I liked the contrast between the two guardians. And in regard to Phoenix -- this is what I alluded to in our intro. You know, we've discussed in the past Thor's role on the Avengers, infinitely stronger than his teammates. As we go through our X-Men reviews (which for whatever reason, we've chosen to do in order), it will be interesting to revisit this concept as it relates to Jean. There's no doubt that as powerful as Xavier or Havok are, Phoenix is in a class that might surpass even Galactus...

Karen: Yes, do you really need a whole team when one person can travel across the universe and throw meteors and people? It's the same problem you have with Superman in the Justice League: what can Green Arrow possibly do to contribute when Supes is there? Oh well, back to our story, already in progress: It all gets a bit complicated, but apparently there's this nasty neutron galaxy inside the crystal, and if it gets released, it will destroy everything, which would be pretty terrible. Jean's trying to stop it but needs help. Storm offers to anchor her with her own life-force, and then Corsair -or Major Summers, as it shockingly is revealed -serves as her other anchor.

Doug: Complicated? I think this was the first time Claremont really challenged me to keep up with him. Of course, years later I'd just give up. Storm's nobility is priceless -- she was such a good character back in these days. The Corsair reveal was nice, because they didn't mess around with it for a dozen issues. I guess I can't say I was surprised, as I'd not given Scott and Alex's heritage much thought in the past -- you tell me they're orphans, they're orphans. Which I guess brings up the fact that this reveal was a retcon. How does anyone feel about it? We've had debate around here before concerning what is tolerable and what should just not be in the realm of retcons.

Karen: Of course, now, that entire Corsair storyline has been completely fleshed out, including the recent addition of yet another Summers boy, Gabriel, who also went by the name Vulcan. As much as I actually enjoyed that particular story, one has to wonder if there was a need to add another unlikely Summers kid to the clan. But we can get into that more this Friday (hint hint).

Karen: Phoenix winds up putting the neutron galaxy genie back in its bottle and everyone is star-gated back to Earth, safe and sound. It's a little too quick and easy a wrap up, but the art more than makes up for it. There's a dedication to Dave Cockrum at the end, and underneath, it simply says,"I'm not dead. -Dave". I miss funny stuff like this nowadays.

Doug: It was interesting that the Imperial Guard had no role in this conclusion. I guess I would have fancied this story as a triptych, but perhaps Cockrum's departure hastened the conclusion of the tale. You mentioned the dedication to Cockrum, and with some very minor research, I uncovered the following interview from TwoMorrows' Comic Book Artist #6 -- I was looking for the specific reason Cockrum left the book. I actually have this magazine, but had long-ago forgotten this interview:

CBA: Were you excited about working on the New X-Men? 

Dave: Yeah, because it was a potentially hot series and I looked forward to the opportunity to do lots of neat stuff. I worked closely with Len to start but it didn't stay that way too long. He was in the process of becoming editor-in-chief at that point, and had gotten too busy to stay on. He plotted the next issue of Giant-Size X-Men (which became X-Men #94 and 95), but Chris Claremont came on and stayed as writer for 18-odd years. I knew from the start that I wasn't going to ink it myself but I did ink the first issue because, well, I wanted to.

CBA: So you stayed with the book for two years?

Dave: I stayed through to #107. I couldn't stay with it because I was on staff by that time—my job was to design covers—and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I was tired and I gave it up. Later on, they asked me to do that Marvel Fanfare with the X-Men in the Savage Land and it was fun! I called up Chris and said, "This is really fun! If Byrne ever wants to leave the book, give me another chance at it." And Byrne left the book that following Monday. That was a weird juxtaposition! So I got the book back and I was enthusiastic again. It was fun for a long time.

The only reason I left the book the second time was because I had previously put in a proposal for The Futurians. It sat on Jim Shooter's desk for about a year, and he finally said, "Yeah, you can do this if you want." I was in some doubt whether I should quit the X-Men and do that but I really wanted to do it. Chris and Louise Simonson, the editor, talked me into giving up the X-Men because they thought I was more enthused about The Futurians. That was probably the biggest mistake of my life! That was about the time they started paying the royalties and reprint money. It takes nine months after an issue goes on sale before you get a royalty check so I hadn't received one yet by the time I quit the X-Men. When the first one came it was $2000 right out of the air! I thought, "Geez!" And it got better, and from what I heard, people like Jim Lee were making $40,000 a month on royalties. (That's why they could afford to go off and start Image.) If I had known about that kind of money coming in—even the $2000 a month—you couldn't have pried me off that book with a crowbar. The Futurians was never that successful.

Another Pulse-Pounding Open Forum... Brought to You by YOU!

Doug: Hey, kids! It's been about a month since our last do-it-yourselfer, so why not bring it back? You, our regular readers, have had great response with this previously, so we're giving you another crack at it. So far Terence Stewart asked us to name our favorite Bronze Age Marvel cover, and the Inkstained Wretch queried which Bronze Age comic we might now wonder why we ever bought.

So, here's the routine, in case you're a relative newbie around these parts:

Whoever is the first to comment can post a question, posit, or general gibberish in the hopes of starting a conversation. Everyone who piles on later -- that's what we're talking about today! So, if you are reading this and no one else has commented, then it's all you! If you're coming along later and the comments are rolling in, please don't hijack the thread.

As always, have fun!

Justice League: Classy or Jazzy?

Karen: A simple question today friends: which do you prefer, the original Justice League theme song, or the Justice League Unlimited version?

Karen: I think the original is better, much more dramatic and classy (and apparently influenced heavily by music from a Hammer film called Twins of Evil). I hated the new theme when it came out, but I have to admit it has grown on me.

Cut-and-Paste

Doug: Today's edition of the Open Forum is a fantasy draft of sorts. Today we're going to let you choose a super-team of your own making. It can be a team built for power, stealth, fun, silliness, really whatever you are in the mood for. It can be classically outfitted, or a mix of retro. and contemporary.

Let's use that old stand-by of the Henry Peter Gyrich-led Avengers by-laws: you have to have seven (7) members. No more, no less. And just for kicks, name your leader/chairperson/team captain.

I know that I would like to have Captain America and Mon-el on my team. Cap is the best leader of any team from any comics company. Mon-el? I've just always liked him, mostly because he was Superboy without the Superman Silver Age baggage (man, I loved Superboy but just could not stand Superman when I was a kid!). And I think Mon-el has one of the coolest super-suits around. Yeah, I know it's plain, but it's a clean, classic look.

I keep wanting to put Tarzan on my team, but I'm afraid he'd be even more limited than Aquaman, and I don't want to have to imagine juicing-up his character with Batman-like gizmos. So instead I'll have to go with T'Challa, the Black Panther. Stealth, intelligence, nobility -- he fills an important character-driven role.

To fill out my roster, I'd like to have Hawkman, the Hawkworld version -- a flawed, intergalactic policeman. He is also tech-driven, has some great characterization potential, and would provide a bit of an edge. I'd like a two-fer in the draft by taking Havok and Lorna Dane. I've always thought that they would have made great Avengers. Havok's raw power is a plus, and the couple dynamic within the team could be good.

Lastly, we'll need someone who can carry their weight yet provide a little comic relief. No one does that better than Benjamin J. Grimm, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing!

I know I'm Marvel-heavy, but that doesn't surprise me. Sure, I could have gone with other fave DC characters like Batman, Superboy, or Colossal Boy. But this is my first impression so I'll stick with it.

So OK -- who do you have?

Spotlight On: Walter Simonson

Doug: Lately we've been covering the Tales of Asgard series. We've also from time to time reviewed a Thor story. So perhaps it's only fitting that we take a pause to offer our readers the opportunity to sound off on one of the Thunder God's premiere creators of the Bronze Age, Walter Simonson.

Doug: Call me a heretic, but I've not read Simonson's run on Thor. He started on the book during the time I was out of comics, and his style just doesn't appeal to me -- I never got back to buying or reading those issues. I tend to like my super-heroes drawn in a pretty conservative manner -- realistic anatomy (as far as muscle-bound types go, you know), a la both Buscemas, Adams, Byrne (sometimes he's pushing it when he's overly elongated), Rogers, etc. I know comics are picture stories, but I tend to focus on the picture more than the story -- but that's an Open Forum for another day.

Doug: I did, however, encounter him in the pages of X-Factor, a book I was really liking with Jackson Guice on the pencils. Simonson's style was such a departure, and when he began writing it as well I didn't care for the direction the book took. If I remember, it was under his watch that the Angel lost his wings, and the Beast was changed back to human form but with drastically-decreased intelligence. Hey, I was enjoying have the gang all together again -- I wasn't looking for the rug to be yanked out from under me!

Doug: We'd be remiss if we didn't mention Simonson's tenure at DC on Manhunter and other characters. He's also certainly remembered for the X-Men/Teen Titans crossover as well. I did acquire that book and for the most part enjoyed it. But, as you can see from the sample at left, it's pretty straightforward superhero art; my criticisms of Simonson on the other books mentioned in this post deal with his stylized anatomy. It's just not for me.

So expound on your opinions on his art, his writing, his "style" -- whatever you got! Win me over!

Marvel and DC: Side-by-Side in 1980

1980

Doug: The '80's. The "Me Decade" was over and the Reagan era would begin. Doug spent 8 1/2 years of the decade in high school and college, got married, and by 1990 was even gainfully employed! I bought my last comic book with the offerings cover dated for May. In the world that exists in more than four colors, President Carter announced that the United States Olympic team would boycott the Moscow Summer Games, ex-Beatle John Lennon was murdered outside his Manhattan condominium, Mount St. Helens erupted, everyone who cared found out "who shot J.R.?" and The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining, and Raging Bull were at the cinema.

Karen: I'm right there with you. Went from teen-age years to adulthood in that decade. By 1988 I had graduated college and had my first 'real' job. I can readily recall John Lennon's death, the Challenger disaster, and the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake - the last one was especially significant to me, as I was living in the Bay Area at the time and felt every bit of that quake. But in 1980, I was still living at home and still reading comics...

Doug: January began with Marvels priced at 40c; by the end of this year they'd be 50c. Man, a quarter just wasn't worth what it used to be! On the spinner racks, the "Dark Phoenix Saga" began in X-Men #129 with the introduction of the Hellfire Club. The Marvel Chronicle reports that as the "Dark Phoenix Saga" came to a head in X-Men #137, the book had grown to become Marvel's 3rd-best seller behind Amazing Spider-Man and Star Wars. Anyone else out there surprised that Star Wars was in 2nd place above all other longjohn comics? I am. Speaking of Spidey, ASM #200 hit with a story about the burglar who had murdered Uncle Ben way back in Amazing Fantasy #15. As I recall, this one ended a multi-month cliffhanger with Aunt May on death's door. Did it involve Mysterio? Or was that some other multi-month cliffhanger with Aunt May at death's door? The memory fades... Dazzler debuted in X-Men #130 (the last issue of that title I bought -- duh. Totally missed the "Dark Phoenix Saga" when it was new), as Marvel missed the boat on the disco craze. She-Hulk #1 was cover-dated February and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema. She was the last major Marvel character created by Lee. In March, Epic Illustrated began publication and ran as an adult-themed (not like those adult-themed magazines) magazine overseen by Archie Goodwin.

Karen: I'm not too surprised about Star Wars selling so well; after all, it was (and still is) a huge phenomenon. I bought a few issues, but once Carmine Infantino started drawing it I lost all interest. I do fondly remember those issues of X-Men, Dazzler not withstanding. The book was electric at that time. 

 Doug: I think we'll see as we go through this year that DC was determined to avoid the pitfalls and general dismality (just made that word up) of the previous two years. One marketing technique that DC began to employ was stapling 16-page previews of upcoming releases, full color, into their leading magazines. This couldn't help but create buzz -- face it, a free comic just to get you to buy a new comic? How could a fan lose? Anyway, January saw Superboy kicked out of his own mag, as the title became simply The Legion of Super-Heroes with issue #259. Young Clark landed on his feet, however, in The New Adventures of Superboy #1. I bought that, but it was less than memorable. By this time, Superboy was firmly entrenched in my mind as a team player, and his solo adventures seemed stuck in the 1960's.

Karen: The Legion around this time really had lost the feel of a teen team, at least to me.

Doug: In the spring, the last issue of Avengers I purchased was #195, which introduced the Taskmaster. You think Wolfman and Perez ripped him off with Deathstroke the Terminator? I do -- and shoot, Perez even drew Taskmaster's debut! DC Comics Year By Year gives no entry for April-June. Nada. I thought this was going to be a better year for them?

Karen: The colors, the abilities -those two were separated at birth!

Doug: Summer's biggest event, according to The Marvel Chronicle, was the introduction of Bernie Rosenthal as a love interest for Steve Rogers in Captain America #248 by David Michelinie and John Byrne. That's it. No wait -- Foggy Nelson got married in Daredevil #166 by Frank Miller. Yeah, that's about as exciting as the first "event". DC was a bit stronger, releasing a Batman 3-issue mini, The Untold Legend of the Batman, by Len Wein, John Byrne, and Jim Aparo. I actually got a reduced-size reprint of this as a cereal giveaway after the Batman movie came out, in late '89 or 1990. DC continued to move its heroes around, looking for the best place to market them. Aquaman landed in Adventure Comics #475, oddly sharing billing with not one but two other features (Plastic Man and Starman). Similarly, the Huntress moved into the pages of Wonder Woman #271 -- both Adventure and Wonder Woman advertised 8 extra pages, and were priced at 50c.
 
Karen:Yawn. Oh excuse me....

 Doug: I'll be honest -- this is a pretty weak year overall for Marvel. In fact, outside of the first couple of months, this looks like the last 2-3 years DC has had. You want to know the big deals in the fall of '80? How about the introduction of Nathan Lubensky as a lover for Aunt May in Spectacular Spider-Man #47, Cap making a one-issue run for president in CA #250, the debut of Madame Web in ASM #210, Moon Knight #1, and the bow of the U-Foes in Incredible Hulk #254, by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema. I feel about as excitable as Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off...

Karen: I do recall that issue of Captain America, and the U-Foes, but yeah, not a whole lot of excitement there.

Doug: But DC dropped a bomb akin to Marvel's Giant-Size X-Men #1 when Marv Wolfman's and George Perez's New Teen Titans hit the shelves cover-dated November. They had debuted as the above-mentioned color insert in the middle of DC Comics Presents #26 (Superman and Green Lantern). In that insert fans saw Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven for the first time. Old hands Robin, Kid Flash, Beast Boy (now called Changeling) and Wonder Girl were along for the ride. The original series ran 91 issues, then went into a Baxter paper series that lasted another 130 issues. Not bad. I mentioned Deathstroke the Terminator above as well -- he debuted in NTT #2. I think I'm going to have to give a slight edge to DC for 1980.

Karen: The rebirth of the Teen Titans was huge. Finally, it felt like DC had something that could really compete with Marvel. That series had it all -great stories, character development, new characters and new realms to explore, and of course that gorgeous George Perez art. I was hooked, despite my long-time Marvel Zombie affliction. I was still more of an X-Men fan, but by the time Byrne left that title, my enthusiasm for it waned. I think I was with Teen Titans for at least the first three years of its run. Definitely a high point for 80s comics.

Tales of Asgard Tuesday: Journey Into Mystery #100

Tales of Asgard -- Journey Into Mystery #100 (from the Tales of Asgard tpb)
"The Storm Giants"
Stan Lee-Jack Kirby/Paul Reinman

Doug: I know we've only done three of these reviews (and I've enjoyed reading and reporting on all three), but it seems like it's about time we got to seeing Thor and Loki! Well wait no longer, friends! Today is a really neat tale, for me very reminiscent of Jack & the Beanstalk.

Karen: Somebody definitely had their book on Norse mythology handy! I recall reading about Thor and Loki dealing with giants in just this same manner when I was into mythology as a kid.

Doug: I don't think it says, but I'd guess that in this story Thor and Loki are around 11-12 years old. They are off on a mission, and it's not clear if they've been sent or are on their own -- my guess is that they've gone off so that Thor can be a hero -- in a spin borrowed from Greek mythology, in order to inherit the hammer of Odin Thor must perform many deeds of valor. These "untold tales" are really a lot of fun, and Stan and Jack did a great job of taking what they'd already built up in terms of characterization and showing us some foundational elements to the then-present. Here we see the brash Thor and the crabby Loki on a mission into the castle of storm giants, to retrieve the golden apples of Iduna, which have been stolen. Say, did you happen to notice a no-prize worthy misplacement on a word balloon on the second page? Stan obviously wasn't paying any attention to Jack's pencils when he dialogued it.

Karen: Thor's awfully cute with his little page-boy haircut. The twosome's personalities are already set.

Doug: Opportunistic Loki is having none of Thor's mission. First chance he gets, he shoves Thor from their hiding place, into full view of the storm giants. They quickly identify him as an Asgardian, but Thor is not one to cower. He in turn threatens them, and it's game on. Thor's strength, at such a young age, is unbelievable yet makes for some great images. Wielding a sword, he hacks through one of the table legs and immediately follows that with an assault with... pepper. This is fun!

Karen: I laughed out loud when I saw Thor riding that pepper shaker! This was just good, fun stuff, and imaginative as heck. I bet Kirby was having a blast.

Doug: It was only a matter of time before the giants turned the tide, and at that moment Loki stepped in to save the day. Pushing a pile of wet leaves (were these just laying around the castle?) into the fireplace, the room fills with acrid smoke (was the flew not open?). Thor uses the distraction to free himself from the giant's grip, before Thor runs after Loki.

Doug: The godlings make their way to one of the ramparts, where the apples are stored atop a giant bald eagle. Loki leaps atop the bird and threatens to leave Thor behind. As the giants approach, Thor's having none of Loki's scheme, so slashes the bird's tethering and away they go.

Karen: Even as a kid, Loki was nothing but trouble! I love how the virtuous Thor automatically assumes that Loki was trying to help him by setting those leaves on fire. Of course Loki reveals his true motives in the next instant.

Doug: Of course when they return to the throne room it's Thor who is praised by the Allfather, while Loki does his usual slow burn. And what of the hammer Mjolnir? Almost... Thor can almost lift it.

Against A Legion of Enemies: X-Men 107

X-Men #107 (October 1977)
"Where No X-Man Has Gone Before!"
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Dave Cockrum
Inker: Dan Green

Karen: We're back to a favorite series of ours, X-Men, and just in time to be dumped into the middle of a galactic civil war right along with our favorite mutants. To recap: the X-Men followed a kidnapped Princess Lilandra through a stargate and have arrived on an alien world halfway across the universe, confronted with a legion of super-powered beings!


Karen: The second and third pages comprise a two page spread with almost all the Imperial Guard (aka the Legion doppelgangers). I know there are guides out there on the net, but I'd rather just name off the guardsmen and their counterparts off the top of my head. Let's see:

• Gladiator stands in for Superboy
• Tempest is Lightning Lad
• Mentor doubles for Brainiac 5
• Hobgoblin for Chameleon Boy
• Starbolt is like a juiced up Sun Boy
• Fang fills in for Timber Wolf
• Oracle should be Dream Girl with that name, but I think she's more like Saturn Girl

Karen: There's also an obvious Colossal Boy clone, a Wildfire clone, and a chick who looks like Shadow Lass, but no names are given. Maybe next time. Got any more to add, Doug?
Doug: Yeah, I think the big guy in black and yellow (who actually looks a bit like Colossus) is a stand-in for Star Boy, the girl with the long red fringe on her boots and sleeves must be Phantom Girl (gives the impression of bell-bottoms, no?), and the guy in white/navy blue with the stylized T on his chest must be Ultra Boy. On the splash you mentioned, there's a girl in purple standing between Tempest and Starbolt. On the third panel after the Starjammers arrive, she's diminutive -- so there's our Shrinking Violet! Right below that is a woman in green with a blue cape -- she has white hair... Princess Projectra? So that's 15 "Legionnaires" if we got 'em all.
Karen: So of course with all these costumed nuts in one place, all hell breaks loose. The badly-outnumbered X-Men take the fight to the Guard. Cockrum does a great job of conveying non-stop mayhem. Claremont does an equally good job in throwing in bits of characterization all through the battle, keeping the Cyclops-Wolverine feud going, for example.

Doug: I agree. Scenes like this remind me why, as a kid, Cyke was always one of my favorite leaders. Yeah, he's sullen all the time, often even abrasive. But the guy is so focused, and has a plan ready for just about anything. I noticed in this issue, maybe it was the first time, that Logan referred to himself as "Wolverine", dropping "the".

Karen: Speaking of Wolverine, this is the issue where he gets the notoriously awful 'Fang' outfit. After his own costume is burned off of him by Starbolt, Wolvie beats up Fang and steals his atrocious suit because "it beats fightin' in the all-together." No, Wolverine, it doesn't! Really, would Wolverine even care if he was running around naked, as long as he was in a fight? That seemed a bit off, but obviously Cockrum or someone thought this would be a good costume for him. Now I've never been a fan of his John Romita-designed yellow and blue suit, but this one was a real stinker. That's the only real mis-step Cockrum makes though.

Doug: I love the scene in Iron Fist #15, which directly follows the goings-on in X-Men #108 and also which you already reviewed, when Wolverine burst in on D. Rand wearing these duds. Ugly, and a heckuva lot scarier than the yellow/blue outfit. But as long as we're talking "dressed for success" here, I never did care for his brown/beige outfit. Yuck! Give me the
original over that earthtoned disaster.

Karen: Really? I actually thought that one was more appropriate for him, more natural colors for an animal-based character.

Doug: Yeah, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Mantis, yes. Vulture, no.
Karen: Lilandra's brother, D'Ken, plans to sacrifice her to some sort of creature known as the Soul Drinker, a creepy-looking energy-type being with a forked tongue. Fortunately Nightcrawler is able to teleport to her side and free her. This is the first time Kurt would dare teleporting with another person, and the strain of it nearly knocks him out.
Doug: The scene with Kurt saving Lilandra was really well done. Probably a minor part of the story by the time it's all said and done, but it was carried out with some real drama, and served as a future plot vehicle knowing that he could teleport other people, too.

Karen: Lilandra reveals to Cyclops that her brother had discovered a source of 'ultimate power' (on the very world they are standing upon) and plans to take it for himself. Since he is a complete whack job, this would be a bad thing. She opposed him and civil war broke out. Lilandra escaped and fled to Earth, as she had formed a psychic bond with Xavier. Claremont tries to tie this in to X-Men 65, when Xavier harnessed the mental power of the entire planet to drive back an alien invasion but it's kind of weak.

Doug: It's comforting to know that megalomaniacs aren't just holed up on Earth...

Karen: The fight continues, but as it goes on, the X-Men begin to succumb to the Guard's superior numbers. All looks lost and then - the Starjammers arrive! Cockrum shows their arrival on a full page shot, with the team seemingly jumping down from the heavens. It's dramatic all right. Together, they make quick work of the rest of the Guard, and then manage some introductions. The Starjammers look a bit like pirates, and with the exception of Corsair, who is human, they are all alien beings. Cockrum was really at his creative height. All his designs- not just for characters, but ships, technology, backgrounds -are incredibly diverse and original.

Doug: As long as we're talking doppelgangers, didn't you think Raza looked a bit like Tharok of the Fatal Five? The arrival of the Starjammers was exciting, but mysterious as well. Ch'od identifies them as heroes, but that's about all they know. They've obviously tangled with the Imperial Guard before, and it seems like they, as these other teams we've discussed today, feature representatives from several intergalactic races. Jean's epiphany is a great bit of foreshadowing.

Karen: However, the worst is not over. The nine stars that power the M'Krann crystal that D'Ken covets are now in alignment. A beam of brilliant white light shines down from them directly into the enormous crystal. Back in orbit around Earth, Dr. Peter Corbeau and Reed Richards both detect that the universe has momentarily 'blinked' out of existence. If it happens again, the entire universe might cease to exist! Can you say 'high stakes' for our next issue?

Doug: Since Giant-Size X-Men #1, have you been hit with the notion that the "high stakes" these guys play for are coming much more often than they ever did for the original team? There have many cases in the first two years of the new team when the Earth, or even the universe, has been severely threatened. This is a bit beyond the Blob just causing trouble... But it's all good stuff!