Chronological X-Men - Part 09 Review

Part nine – I wonder who has more lives a cat or Jean Grey?

(The Uncanny)X-Men #40 The Mark of the Monster!/The First Evil Mutant! -

Well it didn’t have to happen but they did it anyway… in this issue the X-Men fight Frankenstein. I guess it’s okay, I mean it’s not exactly a bad story but yet again we basically have another character from another book (although this time a novel) showing up in the X-Men universe while characters like Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Unus, Blob, Mastermind, Master Mold and the Sentinels just waste away waiting to be brought out of the X-Men Rogues Gallery closet. The back up story was actually better to read than the main one, Jack Winters continues his manipulation of Scott while they go on the run from the police and FBI while Charles tries to find them. We learn Jack’s origin and he ends up teleporting himself and Scott away just before the police barge into his home.

(The Uncanny)X-Men #41 Now Strikes… the Sub-Human!/The Living Diamond!-

(The Uncanny)X-Men #42 If I Should Die!/The End… or the Beginning?-

This story introduces us to a handful of new characters like Prince Gor-Tok/Grotesk, the Sub-Human and Dr. Hunt, we also get King Krono, Princess Ingar and an entire race of subterrans, but they’re all in flashbacks and are all dead. We get the return/continued appearances of Jack Winters/Jack O’Diamonds/Living Diamond (who also dies,) Zelda and Vera both come back too. This story, along with the back up story have quite a few weird little ‘mishaps.’ In the backup story Charles exhibits what looks like are telekinetic powers instead of just his telepathic ones. In the main story Charles has been acting off ever since the battle with Factor Three, first he’s teaching the X-Men to fight in the dark (while that wasn’t seen, it has been mentioned) and by the end of this issue it’s revealed that Charles is suffering from a fatal illness that actually ends up claiming his life by the end of this issue and that’s why Charles has been acting so strangely, he’s been desperate to push the X-Men so they’ll be able to function once he dies. Charles’ mechanical legs have been showing up a bit too, which is odd because they were beyond repair the last time we saw them. He isn’t the only one acting strangely though, Jean has been weird recently too and how she’s starting to show some signs of telepathic powers (but this is Jean Grey after all, you all know where this is going to end, so I won’t get into it too much because lord knows a huge chunk of reviews will be devoted to nothing but her.) Next let’s talk a little bit about the WTF moments shall we? Why does Charles lead Grotesk to the machine that will destroy the Earth- weren’t there other places he could have lured him? Why did Charles have to use a rubber mask to look like Dr. Hunt – couldn’t he have just wiped the minds of the people in the building, or made them believe he was Dr. Hunt? What is the point of Charles remaining in disguise while he confronts Grotesk? It’s not like the Sub-Human knew what Dr. Hunt looked like.

(The Uncanny)X-Men #40 The Mark of the Monster!/The First Evil Mutant!: C-

(The Uncanny)X-Men #41 Now Strikes… the Sub-Human!/The Living Diamond!: C

(The Uncanny)X-Men #42 If I Should Die!/The End… or the Beginning?: C