Issue(s): Uncanny X-Men #297
Cover Date: Feb 93
Title: "Up and around"
Credits:
Scott Lobdell - Writer
Brandon Peterson - Penciler
Dan Panosian - Inker
Lisa Patrick - Assistant Editor
Bob Harras - Editor

Review/plot:
Scott Lobdell follows up the X-Cutioner Song with a downtime epilogue. This is smart pacing. X-Cutioner Song was fun, and it didn't neglect characterization, but giving us and the characters a breather gives the story more impact by not rushing everyone off to the next end of the world threat, and it provides a chance to do some more in-depth character studies.

Caliban's attack on Cyclops and Jean at the start of the crossover happened at Harry's Hideaway, a spot near Xavier's school that Chris Claremont introduced. The building was destroyed, so the issue opens with Beast and Archangel going there to repair it...

...and they wind up talking about old times.

One thing i would have liked to have seen addressed here is that Angel's behavior towards Apocalypse during the crossover showed that he still had unresolved thoughts of vengeance and bitterness. I didn't feel like that reached resolution during the crossover. There's also the matter of Angel accidentally killing Kamikaze. Beast talks to Angel in general terms about what Apocalypse did to him, but it would have been great to see one or both of those points addressed more specifically.

Meanwhile, Rogue has not yet recovered from being blinded by Strobe. She wants to be left alone, but Gambit stays with her. He says he has feelings for her, and she says the same about him, but she doesn't trust his intentions. Their mutant powers work as a metaphor.

But he does stay with her.

And probably the most poignant thread is about Professor X, who, as a side effect of the technovirus he was infected with, is able to walk again for just a limited amount of time. He spends that time with Jubilee, the youngest X-Man and one that he hasn't yet had time to connect with. And vice versa.

Really nice stuff.

I thought Brandon Peterson was the weakest of the artists in the X-Cutioner's Song crossover (allowing that appreciation of Jae Lee's style is a matter of preference), but what he does here in these quiet moments is really good.

Storywise, it may be a little sappy, and the impact of Xavier's brief period of being able to walk is somewhat lessened by the periods prior and after this that he can walk again, and the Gambit/Rogue stuff is certainly soapy. But i still think it's nice to do character focused stories after a big crossover, and Lobdell mostly does well with this one.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: It's not said exactly how long it's been since X-Cutioner's Song, and Xavier doesn't know how long it will be until his legs give out again. So i could potentially put some space between the crossover and this. But i think it makes more sense for it to occur directly afterwards.

References:

• Caliban destroyed Harry's Hideaway in Uncanny X-Men #294.
  
• Rogue was blinded by Strobe in X-Men #15.
  
• The Beast tells Angel that he became the furry version of himself because he "couldn't leave good enough alone" in Amazing Adventures #11, whereas Angel's current condition is something that happened to him (circa X-Factor #18).

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Even as a kid, I knew this was a great issue.

There's a joke in this issue about the time Jubilee replaced Scott's ruby quartz glasses with a pair of Foster Grants. That's the kind of joke that seems funny if you don't think about it but makes Jubilee look almost sociopathic if you do, considering that Scott could have killed someone.

This sounds like a better issue than most of what Claremont wrote.

Post-crossover "downtime" isdues was always considered Lobdell's forte (well within the X-books anyway) Also, I know Lobdell gets a lot of complaints for his writing (most of it valid) but his take on Professor X is top-notch.

Also, is it me or are the best Jubilee stories where she's paired up with an "unlikely" patner dhe ordinarily wouldn't hang with (Professor X, Illyana, X-23, etc.)

About Warren, this is a petiod where the creators apparently tired of the "Archangek" ps
Ersona were doing a complete 180

Pressed "post" too fast. Whoops.

I meant to say that this is when the creators were apparently tired of the "Archangel" persona and were backtracking at a rather steadily pace from that stuff. Just before this crossover, a rather definitive line was drawn under the long-running subplot about Warren's metal wings (even if a few other writers haven't quire gotten the memo yet). We've also establish since the '91 Reconfiguration of the teams, that Warren's "skin" was actually a costume, and that his bald head gave way to a thick luxurious blonde mullet. I think Michael mention in other part of the crossover that he got his fortune back. And of course a few years later his metal wings will fall off and his feathered ones will grow back. All of this is "subtle" way to get the "original" Angel through back door. Lobdell and company CLEARLY trying to de-emphasize "Archangel" whenever posdible.

One of my favorite X-Men issues ever and probably my favorite not written by Claremont or Whedon. It does a great job of balancing the humor and the pathos. It makes great use of two characters, Jubilee and Xavier, that I normally don't care for.

I agree with Michael - the joke about the Foster Grants is hilarious (one of my all-time favorite lines) as long as you don't think too hard about it.

I think Jubilee gets a lot of grief, when she really has quite a few good stories when you consider the overall quality of the X-books in the 90s. The Legacy virus issue with Illy, this one, the issue where Wolverine leaves after Fatal Attractions, Age of Apocalypse.

I really think she's most tedious around Wolverine, actually, now that I think about it.

Scott Lobdell is such a contradiction. He can write such hacky glib nonsense for a bunch of issues, but then just absolutely knock it out of the park with an issue like this, which is the probably the best single issue of a core X-book since at least Inferno.

The night sky art is weird for the Angel / Beast plot though. The star density keeps making me think they're in space somewhere.

I really enjoyed this issue as well, I don't mind a downtime issue if it's done properly, like this one.

However, I'd trade the Rogue/Gambit part (all their discussions about their relationship feel the same to me anyway), for a Cyclops/Jean reactions of the events in the crossover.

I mean, chronologically, they go from the X-Cutioner's Song to that Spider-man guest appearance where they seem really happy...doesn't really work for me.