Issue(s): Uncanny X-Men #299, Uncanny X-Men #300
Cover Date: Apr-May 93
Title: "Nightlines" / "Legacies / Epilogue"
Credits:
Scott Lobdell - Writer
Brandon Peterson / John Romita Jr. - Penciler
Dan Panosian / Dan Green / Dan Panosian & Al Milgrom - Inker
Lisa Patrick - Assistant Editor
Bob Harras - Editor

Review/plot:
Forge and Henry Gyrich are in Kuwait, examining the remains of Magneto's Asteroid M, which turns out to be surprisingly intact. Inside, they find the "statues" of two Acolytes, and the husk of Magneto's armor.

Meanwhile, Professor X has agreed to participate in a television debate with Senator Robert Kelly (who, remember, last issue was complaining about the "liberal media"). But the two men instead find themselves agreeing with each other and debating a third participant named Graydon Creed.

Creed is said to be behind a hate group called Friends of Humanity. Creed himself "came out of nowhere". We also learn that he's one of the Upstarts, despite protests from Fabian Cortez on the grounds that he's human.

Note above that it's said that the government has declined to implement the Mutant Registration Act despite its passage.

The Beast makes a satellite appearance during the debate, but his contribution is more flippant.

The rest of the X-Men are watching on TV at Harry's Hideaway. Bishop fails to understand the "social significance" of the Beast's raspberry, and then thinks he recognizes a waitress.

That is retroactively the first appearance of a character named Fatale.

After the show, Jean hears a telepathic voice in her head. It seems to be coming from Kelly's aide.

This was a good all talk issue. As with last issue, this book is really on track to deal with the mutant metaphor head on, something that editor Bob Harras and Chris Claremont seemed to come into conflict about towards the end of Claremont's run. I like the debate here. On the downside, Scott Lobdell uses a Claremontian tactic of introducing characters and dropping hints that don't get fully explained, and (arguably unlike Claremont) it seems that the creators didn't really have any idea where they were going with the characters when they were introduced. That's true of Creed, Noah Dubois (Kelly's aide), and the waitress.

The X-Men rush directly from the television show to France, where Wolverine has detected an Acolyte presence, for issue #300. This begins a run by John Romita Jr. (which is not that long and has a fair number of interruptions). It's worth noting that Romita was on this book one hundred issues ago, in another story that took place in France and dealt with the question of mutants and Magneto. And Romita doesn't get the whole team from that era back together, but we do get a guest appearance by Nightcrawler.

Nightcrawler meets up with Forge, who provides him with some equipment that will boost Cerebro's mutant-detecting abilities, in the hopes of penetrating a dead zone where the Acolytes are thought to be. Forge himself does not consider himself an X-Man anymore, so he leaves.

The other X-Men were supposed to meet Moira MacTaggert, but she's already been captured by the Acolytes. A young Acolyte, an unnamed "neophyte", which will hilariously become his code name, is uncomfortable with the way Moira is being treated.

Moira tells Neophyte that Cortez is lying about Magneto's death. Neophyte confirms it when he hears Cortez talking with the Gamesmaster. Neophyte tries to flee, and he's helped by a human who is then killed by a new group of Acolytes, Cortez' private guard.

They made a Senyaka ("Sanyaka?") action figure, so i kind of know him. The hairy guy is Spoor and the other one is Katu Kath. The Acolytes continue to fail to leave an impression, and it's incredible how many new mutant villains keep turning up, but at least these guys have distinct costumes and villain names (sort of). There are other new Acolytes introduced in this issue as well, but i'm not bothering to call them out.

The X-Men show up and stop these guys, and Neophyte, who has phasing powers, helps them get into the Acolytes' base.

Iceman gets creative with his powers while fighting Frenzy.

I kind of like the idea behind this. Not that Iceman necessarily needs to be super spikey, which is very 90s, but the idea that he can do more with his powers makes sense to me.

Here's another of the new Acolytes, Javitz.

And this one, naturally, is Seamus Mellencamp.

The X-Men manage to beat the majority of the Acolytes. On his own, Xavier encounters one named Amelia Voght, who it turns out that he knows.

Fabian Cortez manages to overload Bishop's energy absorption powers...

...but he's then distracted by Neophyte...

...and gutted (non-lethally) by Wolverine.

Neophyte then leaves.

In an epilogue, Fabian Cortez is said to have been in a hospital for a "week" before he's 'rescued" by Voght, who has teleportation powers. However, it's implied that she knows that he doesn't really speak for Magneto. And after she leaves, the Gamesmaster hints to him that Magneto is still alive (and his "points" in the Upstarts' contest are withdrawn).

Throughout these issues, Illyana has been getting increasingly sick. And Colossus' attitude about it is unusually harsh.

In the epilogue, it's confirmed that she has a virus.

Moira's use of the word "legacy" reminds Xavier of something he read in the files of Stryfe (Illyana's entry from the Stryfe Strike Files freebie handbook is reprinted), and this virus will be known as the Legacy Virus.

One other note: Archangel tells Bishop that Bishop is having an influence on Xavier, causing him to be more proactive, in a way that previous people on that side of the argument did not.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 6 - first Graydon Creed, Noah Dubois, Fatale, & more Acolytes (Senyaka, Katu Kath, Spoor, Francisco Milan, Isaac Javitz, Seamus Mellencamp). Legacy Virus named.

Chronological Placement Considerations: As noted last issue, Forge says that the Acolytes attack on the school last issue happened "yesterday". Moira MacTaggert appears here after X-Factor #88-91. As Michael notes in the comments, in issue #299, the Gamesmaster makes reference to Siena Blaze, and note Fitzroy's surprise.

This therefore takes place before both the back-up in Uncanny X-Men #17 and X-Men Unlimited #1. See the Considerations on X-Men #20-23 regarding placement of this arc vs. that one, especially as it relates to Illyana's sickness.

References:

• Asteroid M crashed to Earth in X-Men #3. That's also the story where Fabian Cortez "murdered" Magneto.
  
• Professor X is still recovering from the assassination attempt in Uncanny X-Men #294. It's said that the unity concert in that issue happened "less than a week" after "a young mutant was nearly beaten to death on the very spot" (Central Park). That seems to be a reference to X-Factor #83.
  
• Creed brings up the death of Senator Kelly's wife, from Uncanny X-Men #247. Despite what Kelly said at the time, he says now that he doesn't blame the X-Men for his wife's death.
  
• Trevor Fitzroy killed the Hellions in Uncanny X-Men #282.
  
• Shinobi Shaw killed his father in X-Factor #67.
  
• The locals in France do not trust the X-Men after they were framed in Uncanny X-Men #200.
  
• A flashback shows Xavier going over the files of his potential recruits with Moira. He had photos of some of the All New, All Different team (Storm, Colossus, and Nightcrawler), but considered their international citizenships to be too complicated to deal with at the moment. He also mentions Magneto plotting something related to Cape Citadel, a prelude to Uncanny X-Men #1.
  
• Iceman got his power upgrade in Uncanny X-Men #291.
  
• Moira saw evidence of the Legacy Virus in X-Factor #90.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

This is around the time Romita, Jr. lost me for a while. I found this transition a bit harsh. I also wasn't in love with the x-titles as I had been, so that may have factored in.
I'm also curious if anyone's ever compiled a list of mutants who were revealed to have supposed to have been in Xavier's first class. Seems like a very poor way to add some history/importance to a new character.

And so, the nightmare of JRJR begins :(

Re: Neophyte. Note that in this story, it's obviously his rank, not codename. It's the later writers (who weren't paying attention) made it into a name. The same writers that didn't notice that Neophyte *left* the Acolytes and wasn't supposed to be their constant member...

Creed's inclusion into the Upstarts made no sense... but nothing about the Upstarts made sense ;) BTW. Do you guys think that it was decided from the beginning that Creed was Sabretooth's son?

Between Asteroid M, Starcore, & Graymalkin, space stations in the Marvel Universe don't seem to stay in space for too long;).

@Wantas check around uncannyxmen.net. Maybe Spotlight on Xavier?

Lobdell's scripting really had a problem with redundancies in issue 299. First he had Jean refer to "Stryfe's assassination attempt on your life". Then he had Xavier say that Creed had the "popular support of the people". Clearly, in addition to being X-Men, Jean and Xavier are also members of the Department of Redundancy Department.
The X-Men say a toast to the heroes and villains that have passed away but Maddie isn't mentioned- possibly to avoid controversy about what category to place her in.
@Waynas- Voght turns out not to be a former student but an ex-girlfriend of Xavier's that he never mentioned because when she walked out he started to use his powers to make her change her mind about leaving him.
@Piotr W- this is Creed's first appearance in the flesh but he was previously mentioned in Stryfe's Strike Files, and the file referred to his father's "tooth and claw" methods, so yeah, they definitely had Sabretooth planned as his dad from the beginning.
Also described in Stryfe's Strike Files were the Gamesmaster's powers but this is the first time we see them in a story- he's an omnipath- his mind in all places at all times.

Speaking of Stryfe's Strike Files, Xavier quotes the passage about Illyana from them, so shouldn't that be listed as a reference?
Fitzroy mentions planning to recruit a female Upstart, so this should take place before he recruits Siena Blaze in the Annual.

In hindsight, Graydon Creed wasn't much of a character and only seemed more important because he had a much bigger role in the 90s X-men cartoon as the leader of the Friends of Humanity.

And as much I've always liked JR Jr, I have to agree that didn't much enjoy his early 90s X-men work. I can't exactly place why, but I think it's because I don't care for the very 90s character designs on a lot of the foes they fight like the Acolytes.

Thank you, fnord, for confirming that I stopped reading these titles just in time. Those debate scenes are horrible. Rational questions long-suppressed leap to mind. "Professor Xavier, you claim that mutants are just going about their lives, but have you ever inducted one to serve your purposes and then let him die as part of the cause? Does the name Doug Ramsey ring a bell?" "Have any of your students tried to end the universe? I am looking at a Miss Jean... Grey, is it?" "Do any of your students commit wanton murder with blades? Can any of your students destroy a city by taking off their sunglasses? Do any of these students freely warp the minds of lesser human beings? Could they destroy an airplane by having a bad dream after being warped by your students in service to whatever mission you've set them on?" "How stupid do you have to be, Professor, to think that nobody on the planet has a legitimate right to not want to live at the mercy of whatever you and your students decide is best for us? The successive headmaster at your school set off a volcano in a city which had done nothing to harm him in any way. Then one of your students decided that New York City was better off being attacked by demons, with no justification other than she was your student. And who knows what else you get up to without deeming to inform your inferiors of your decisions? And you're the ones wearing Klan robes to mask your identities! Have you no shame?"

"Your students, Professor, videotaped themselves sacrificing their lives to defeat some weird magical menace, yet here they are again hale and hearty. I think the American people deserve to know what you're actually doing. Have any of your students driven anyone to suicide for not going along with your teachings?"

"And didn't you have a public funeral several months ago? Normal people do not do this, Professor Xavier. If you wish to prove that you, your students and your unidentified supporters around the world, you need to avoid doing things like taking over Cape Cidatel or Santo Marcos, which the headmaster who followed you totally did."

"A 'raspberry,' Professor, suggests that you and your students - who have now infiltrated the Avengers and invaded SHIELD headquarters - do not consider yourselves bound by law, human or American. We have the right to respond in kind."

I'm glad Michael mentioned that Graydon Creed was in the Stryfe's Strike Files. I thought I remembered that but it's been 23 years. So, this was his first appearance, but he had already been given a description, so a lot of X-readers already knew who he was.

Like Wanyas, and Piotr, the art completely threw me off. I didn't read Daredevil, so the last time I had seen JRjr's art, the bodies weren't so wide. I much prefer his earlier work on X-Men, Spider-Man and Iron Man than his later work and never really understood why this became so popular.

One thing I remember that I thought odd at the time. When Nightcrawler and Forge interact, Forge calls him Kurt as if they know each other. Yet, at least on page, they have just about never met. Forge certainly wouldn't be on a first name basis with him. It was just odd scripting.

While I had only been collecting again for six months at this point, I also knew this was the beginning of the end because I had promised myself if they undid the work of X-Men #3 and brought back Magneto I was going to quit again and it was clear from the start of #299 that it was the direction they were headed in. I originally though it would happen in 300 for the big number issue, not realizing they would have an "anniversary" issue coming up soon.

Does the general public know that Xavier trained the X-Men a this point?

In any case, it's probably no surprise that a bunch of people sitting ina TV studio with *one of the most powerful telepaths in the world* don't ask the tough questions and find themselves convinced by his platitudes. Why, it's almost uncanny how persuasive this Xavier fellow is....

And no the general public doesn't know Xavier trained the X-Men at this point- they don't find out until Morisson's run in 2001. Creed knows through the Gamesmaster's telepathy and Fitzroy's knowledge of the future but he can't very well say "A time-traveler and a telepath told me Xavier was the X-Men's founder" without making people suspicious about HIM.

I'm going to buck the trend here and say I like JRJR art here. Though he seems to have forgotten to draw all the pupils and irises in everyone's eyes.

My art complaint is about that first scan. Those statues just look like people. I realize now that the quotation marks around "statues" was supposed to indicate one of the Acolytes had turned people into shells with their power, but at the time I thought it meant the people were just stock still like statues, worshiping Magneto. (Of course, I was quite young at the time)

Regarding Stryfe's Strike Files, I asked FNORD back in May if he would be covering it.
Here was his response -
"It's just a handbook, right? With entries mostly from the cards that came with X-Cutioner's Song, i think? I don't intend to cover it." "I think i'll still give it a pass. I've been ignoring that kind of framing for the back-up features in the annuals. I do have the issue in a box with my handbooks and such, so i could pull it out if the reference in UX #300 seems important."

And no the general public doesn't know Xavier trained the X-Men at this point- they don't find out until Morisson's run in 2001. Creed knows through the Gamesmaster's telepathy and Fitzroy's knowledge of the future but he can't very well say "A time-traveler and a telepath told me Xavier was the X-Men's founder" without making people suspicious about HIM.

Though at the very least Hank McCoy, Jean Grey, and Warren Worthington III are all publicly known as mutants and members (past or present) of the X-Men. So that's, what, 60% of Xavier's school that have turned out to be superhuman mutants and founding X-Men?

But then, in most comic-book universes almost no one can figure out things that should be blindingly obvious.

Has Jean gone public about being a mutant at this point? I don't think so.

How can Anne-Marie, Chrome and Delgado still be "Characters Appearing" when they're dead?

Speaking of which, does X-Men Unlimited 1 take place before #300 since that's where we see Magneto alive (even if we don't quite know it yet.)

ChrisW a lot of the points you bring are an inherent "flaw" on the super-hero genre on general and often are accepted as reasonable suspension of disbelief to make allowances for the story. Many of these aspects were debated about (rather badly) in Marvel's big Civil War event (and probably it's sequel as well), and to a lesser extent, the Uptopia and Schism era of the X-books.

And of course Sen. Kelley is presented as a rather "moderate" voice of opinion here (and from here on out) which makes his "liberal media" jab from last issue rather jarring.

@Jon- no, X-Men Unlimited 1 can't take place before X-Men 300 since Fitzroy talks about planning to recruit Siena Blaze for the Upstarts in issue 299 and she's already a member in X-Men Unlimited 1.

Has Jean gone public about being a mutant at this point? I don't think so.

She's not even using a codename anymore when she fights alongside the other X-Men.

@Erik Berk: I admit that Forge and Nightcrawler haven't had much interaction, but they did meet back in issue #188.

@Omar- but in X-Men 30, Xavier says that not everyone at the wedding knows about Jean's powers. (Granted, they'd have to be pretty dumb not to know, since there's plenty of superheroes at the wedding.) Jean's identity isn't treated as public knowledge until Morrison.

Jean stopped wearing a mask under Whilce Portacio. But, I guess she doesn't care since she can just use her TP on anyone who recognizes her, or her TK on anyone who tries to use a camera. That would work in the 20th century. Not so much with drones these days though.

I didn't mean to imply that Kelly would know the X-Men were Xavier's students or have details about them (well, I did, but more out of irritation with the X-Men than anything) because there can be no equality with such overwhelmingly-destructive forces and their refusal to recognize it doesn't help.

Phil Sheldon recognized the original X-Men on the spot, and Xavier is far too connected to the team for people [Kelly] to avoid the connection. He went to Santo Marco with them, visited them after the first Sentinels attack, attended Reed and Sue Richards' wedding with them. Long connected to FBI agent Fred Duncan. Magneto's trial. The endless supply of SR-71s delivered to his school. You think Carmen Pryde didn't call the police when Kitty went missing, right before sending her to Xavier's? Hank and Warren's long connection to the school?

Honestly, it was just irritation with these mutie bozos destroying lives and property willfully and then claiming to be oppressed. Their bad decisions are the root of their problems. What are they going to do, sic X-Factor on me?

Phil Sheldon recognized the original X-Men on the spot, and Xavier is far too connected to the team for people [Kelly] to avoid the connection. He went to Santo Marco with them, visited them after the first Sentinels attack, attended Reed and Sue Richards' wedding with them. Long connected to FBI agent Fred Duncan. Magneto's trial. The endless supply of SR-71s delivered to his school. You think Carmen Pryde didn't call the police when Kitty went missing, right before sending her to Xavier's? Hank and Warren's long connection to the school?

We know that the Prydes got their minds "adjusted" by Phoenix and that Duncan was covering for the X-Men, not trying to expose them. The X-Men also destroyed a bunch of government records from the Duncan era back in Uncanny X-Men #158. And we know from stories like Uncanny #2, #3, and #13 and Avengers #110 that Xavier was even mindwiping other superheroes who happened to meet the team.

It's honestly not that much of a stretch to imagine that he's messed with a lot of minds. The Illuminati retcon (ugh) also means he's probably got Doctor Strange helping out too.

You're right about the mind-wiping, but that's why I suggested Carmen Pryde. Jean can adjust his mind, but she isn't removing the police reports of a missing 13-year old girl. He even said he'd been in contact with them, because the police had identified the bodies in the destroyed malt shop. It's clear he wasn't blaming Emma for any of this (whether she adjusted his mind is an entirely-different subject) so the connection to Xavier would be made yet again.

When Jean mindscanned him before she she wiped Carmen's mind, she also planted the suggestion to call the police and let them know Kitty was all right and had been removed just before the fight by Xavier's quick thinking and cautious students. Of course, Carmen forgot that his wife had mentioned Kitty would be staying with a friend overnight instead of coming straight home. Where she was while he made the call. "Sorry to have troubled you, officers!"

So that would be not one, but two calls to the police regarding this future Xavier student. Calls that would be on record for any United States Senator to inquire about if he happened to be curious about a big mutant battle in a Chicago suburb.

Of the bodies identified in the malt shop, how many were Massachusetts residents? Because this same future Xavier student left Xaviers a short time later to transfer to the Massachusetts Academy, and then went back to Xaviers. After that, she bought a plane ticket to go back to Massachusetts with a local Westchester boy, who also transferred to Xaviers and later died under mysterious circumstances.

She was also listed as one of the passengers on the personal plane of the Emperor of Japan. Then she made a private trip to Tokyo at the same time as her father, then wound up transferring to a prestigious English school, St. Searles. The girl really gets around. Either she or her exact doppelganger broke into Westminster Cathedral on live television at the Queen of Ruritania's wedding. Normal people don't do this!

It's worth remembering that this story was published in 1993; the kinds of deep data-diving and extensive cross-correlations we take for granted today really weren't really on the pop-culture radar then.

That said, there's probably a good retcon X-Men story somewhere about a pair of dogged investigative reporters trying to put this together, only they keep waking up with missing notes, missing sources, and even missing memories.

And we get little, ambiguous hints (from heir perspective, anyway) about all the people playing games around them, from the Upstarts to the Commission on Superhuman Activities to Xavier to Landau, Luckman, and Lake.

What happens when you try to learn more about a secret war with multiple factions (each beset with forms of infighting) where virtually every side has someone who can literally make things disappear down he memory hole?

You may want to check the two-issue "Conspiracy" series from early 1998, Omar.

Omar, I love that idea and I'll steal it if I ever get the chance. :)

That's why I was trying to keep the examples for Kitty at the most basic level of public knowledge, regardless of what a US Senator might have had access to at the time in real life (or in the Marvel Universe.] Nothing about her long vacation on Muir Island interrupted by a short trip to Latveria "for health reasons" for instance, or the fact that Kelly actually met her during his assassination attempt. She was wearing a mask after all, and somehow seemed more "mature" then.

What do you have the FBI, the CIA, SHIELD or the Commission on Superhuman Activities for if not to check this stuff out?

Also, technically, as far as the public is concerned, Magneto was never the headmaster of Xavier's school. Xavier was briefly replaced by his "cousin", "Michael Xavier", who may have held some resemblance to a certain Master of Magnetism but was totally jut Xavier's heretofore unseen cousin.

I mean, it's flimsy, but I appreciate Claremont took the time to establish that Xavier set up an alias for Magneto to use, and it's no more flimsy than many other comic book secret IDs.

As for the JRjr art, I'll join Berend in bucking the trend: I LOVE this version of JRjr's art. I love his art, period (he's probably my favorite comic book artist), but for me, his blocky, wide-body figures are the best. My appreciation of his work is all relative to how close it is to his work from this era. I wish he'd stayed on UNCANNY longer this time around (and had fewer fill-ins).

I would guess that JRjr isn't inked by Al Williamson, so he has less reason to be the best he can be. He's also being pressured by the editors to look more like the Image creators. And at this point, he's the only link to the "classic" X-Titles. [Other than Alan Davis, who is leaving soon.]

Also, just based on what a US Senator would have access to, where did Xavier's "cousin" come from? Cain Marko is his only known sibling. Yeah, the arguments are all flimsy, and they exist in a world where nobody notices Superman wearing glasses (or "Hey Wolvie, what's up with the stupid eyepatch?") but that's what really offends me about X-History, that it really falls apart under the slightest real-world scrutiny.

I'm fine with optic blasts and strong guys lifting cement trucks over their heads without gravity taking over and secret identities, but when you get away with all this, and still claim to be oppressed, that's where I think you've left any claims to equality in the dust. Mutants are superior. Humans are superior. Pick one and be ready to fight about it. Just don't claim equality, because it just doesn't exist.

Well, it's hard to argue that the X-Men, specifically, are oppressed, at least on any kind of consistent basis. They live in a fancy mansion. They don't have to work any kind of conventional job to support themselves. Either through ignorance (nobody in the government checking up on them) or specific action (computer viruses meant to eradicate references to them in the federal data network), they pretty much get to keep to themselves. But that doesn't mean mutants, in the general sense, aren't oppressed in the Marvel Universe, and those are the ones the X-Men are fighting for, what Xavier is speaking up for here and elsewhere as the public face of mutant rights. The mutants who don't live in a protected mansion, who don't have fancy, combat-ready powers (and thus weren't recruited by Xavier). The mutants who might just look funny or have an innocuous power but are otherwise just trying to live a normal life but are persecuted for it. Those are the mutants Xavier is arguing are equal to humans, who don't deserve to be singled out and face prejudice just for existing.

And if you kiss one of them, you could lose your mind and abilities permanently. If they want to teleport or walk through walls into your house, there's nothing to stop them. All the destroyed buildings whenever one of them makes the news, which happens increasingly-frequently, as do the mind-wipes.

At least mutants are "born that way." This would easily apply to all super-people. Count Nefaria, James Proudstar and the X-Men all infiltrated NORAD. And those are just the ones we know about. A world where mutants are born and exist peacefully is not possible in a world where superpowered lunatics violently inflict their particular desires upon the world. At least the designated 'villains' are sent to prison. What about the rest?

"Illyana's entry from the Stryfe Strike Files freebie handbook is reprinted"

Freebie? I paid for mine at the newsstand and had to pass on a lot of candy that week in favor of the book. Unexpected publications can really wreak havoc with kid's allowances, and that one cost $.50 more than the standard books of the time.

I'm fairly certain that i got Stryfe Files free from my comic dealer at the time as part of a bundle for reserving all of X-Cutioner's Song. Maybe it was just a deal specific to my dealer, or maybe i'm misremembering (but it's unlikely i would have bought a handbook on my own).

Stryfe's Strike File definitely had a price tag attached to it. The GCD lists it at $1.75, with the extra $.50 over the then-standard $1.25 due to the silver foil (or whatever) cover (yep, it was a crossover tie-in handbook, AND it had a gimmick cover). I wouldn't be at all surprised if some dealers offered it as a promotional item, though (kudos to your dealer fnord). I definitely plunked down the $1.75 for it, though rather gleefully, cuz I love Handbooks (though I was disappointed it was written "in character", so to speak, rather than via the dry encyclopedic voice of the old Handbooks. Made it seem less authoritative).

fnord is lucky that he got his copy of Stryfe's Strike File for free. I had to pay for mine. I had no intentions of getting it, but my comic shop ordered it for me because I had both X-Men monthly books as well as X-Force on my pull list. I was dismayed to find Stryfe's Strike File appear in my pull file, and I remember that it stayed in there for at least a couple of months as I kept putting off buying it. I suppose I could have told the shop owner that I didn't want it, but it was a very small shop that usually did not order too many extra copies of anything, and the owner always gave me at least 10 percent off cover price. I didn't want him to get stuck with an extra copy of that book, so after a few weeks I finally bought it.

By the way, it's been argued a on more than a few occasions that the X-Men are not actually an effective metaphor for racism...

http://darrylayo.tumblr.com/post/73054582539/thoughts-on-orion-martins-x-men-of-color

Ben, obviously that article's writer and I are basically on the same page about this. I also liked Tony Stark's line in the latest "Captain America" movie about holding the Scarlet Witch prisoner, that she's not an American citizen and no one's going to give a visa to a Weapon of Mass Destruction, which she very much is.

Wow, Jean Grey making fun of a fellow mutant's physical deformities, what an asshole. If this is the kind of mockery to expect from a moderate mutant activist then it's no wonder Melloncamp joined the Acolytes. "Didn't realize Mephisto had any kids"...shit, that sounds like the sort of bullying a 'mutie' might face in high school. That it took a mere weeks for Bishop's double-barreled, take-no-prisoners, direct approach to have an effect Professor Xavier is indeed surprising; but to think that Jean went from a clean-cut mutant rights' spokesperson to a cruel and snooty Uncle Tom after no more than a few minutes of exposure to Graydon Creed's mutantphobic vitriol is downright SHOCKING. Don't bring her to a panel debate on mutant rights ever again, Professor. She's too darn susceptible! Oh, c'mon, it was just a joke at Melloncamp's expense, BUT THAT'S HOW THE MARAUDERS GOT STARTED. Today, it's just a put-down, tomorrow you'll be mutant-massacring malformed Morlocks mercilessly all the way across the NYC sewage system.

All joking aside, though: Graydon Creed actually had a pretty poor showing on the TV debate. The Beast kept interrupting him, poking fun at his amazing racism with tiresome taunts, yet he hardly got a word in edgewise. Granted, the Beast interrupted the host himself--heck, I've never seen a talk-show with that many guests interrupting each other and getting away with it. But Creed let him ramble on and on. For a crowd-riling hate-monger, he was kind of a wuss.