Issue(s): Uncanny X-Men #176
Cover Date: Dec 83
Title: "Decisions"
Credits:
Chris Claremont - Writer
John Romita Jr. - Penciler
Bob Wiacek - Inker
Louise Simonson - Editor

Review/plot:
Scott and Madelyne's honeymoon. Starts with a crash landing at sea and a fight with a shark...

...but it gets better, by which i mean a fight with a giant squid octopus.

Meanwhile, Wolverine confronts Mariko again now that Mastermind is no longer manipulating them.

She still loves Wolverine, but because of her responsibilities to her clan she will not marry him.

Also meanwhile, Henry Peter Gyrich meets with Frank Lowell from the CIA, Dr. Valerie Cooper...

...and a Judge Richard Petrie, regarding Magneto's failed attempt at getting the world powers to disarm their nuclear weapons, and the possibility of exploiting mutants to further national security goals. Gyrich is actually the voice of reason at the meeting, which means the proposals are pretty radical.

And the core team of Morlocks (Callisto, Masque, Sunder, and a reluctant Caliban) scheme to wrest control of the Morlocks from Storm.

They'll start by making Kitty Pryde fulfill her promise to marry Caliban.

The shark and octopus fall into the "unnecessary threats to get some action sequences into an otherwise entirely downtime issue" category, but still a nice issue. JRJR's art on X-Men is very good, and he's beginning to go beyond the typical Marvel house style into his own stylized angular art.

Cute memo reprinted in the original issue regarding the cover.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 5 - first Valerie Cooper

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Mariko called off her wedding with Wolverine in Uncanny X-Men #173 because of Mastermind's manipulation.
  
• The X-Men stopped Magneto from attacking the world's governments when they wouldn't disarm their nukes in Uncanny X-Men #150, but the government doesn't know that.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: X-Men Classic #80

Claremont's two prologue scenes in Uncanny #176, "Decisions", each flag up dubious moments from Claremont's own run: the Valerie Cooper scene gives a detailed recap of Uncanny #150, which featured Magneto attempting to force the countries of the world to disarm - a somewhat noble goal, albeit tyrannical in execution. The X-Men stopped him, effectively allowing the governments of the world to keep on building bombs and weapons. The Morlock scene reminds us of a much more recent adventure, wherein the X-Men encountered a group of underprivileged, disenfranchised, self-loathing mutants and reacted to their plight with no compassion.

The very premise of the X-Men - protecting humans from other mutants – is "explicitly counter revolutionary." "They were not created to fight for civil rights; rather they were created to fight against those who did so."

With these prologue scenes, Claremont is deliberately flagging up problematic moments in the story of the X-Men - moments that Claremont himself is responsible for - in order to plant the first seeds of a new kind of X-Men. In the coming issues, Claremont would upset the status quo in significant ways. Valerie Cooper would eventually recruit Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants - ironically rechristened "Freedom Force" - and THEY, not the X-Men, will be the "counter-revolutionary" force of the series.

Meanwhile, the Morlocks would transform into a much more sympathetic group - often acting in the story as allies of the X-Men rather than enemies. Eventually, the X-Men are forced to seek shelter in the Morlocks' underground catacombs after a particular catastrophe, and soon after, the X-Men fight to defend/avenge the Morlocks during the ambitious "Mutant Massacre" storyline.
Granted, it will turn out to be a slow transition (the X-Men will still live in a mansion for the next three years plus) but as early as this we see Claremont laying the groundwork for a significant reorientation of the overall premise's skewed politics.

I hope Wolverine gets frequent flier miles because he's been going back and forth to Japan a lot.

I hope those ruby quartz visors waeren't the only protection Scott was wearing, becuz he going back and forth inside Maddy a lot this issue.

The National Security Adviser in this issue is a judge named Petrie. There was a Salia Petrie in Coaremont’s Ms Marvel. It’s an instance of Claremont reusing names, but there could be a link between the judge and the astronaut Salia—maybe he’s her father.