Writers: Chris Claremont, John Byrne
Artists: John Byrne, John Romita Jr. (p), Terry Austin, Bob McLeod (i)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
With the publication of the Days of Future Past trade paperback and Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men: Volume 4 hardcover, the first 53 issues of the “All-New, All Different” Uncanny X-Men (including Giant Size X-Men #1 and Annuals #3 and #4) are now available in a combination of hardcover and softcover format. So let’s hark back to those early 1980s halcyon days when the adventures of the X-Men unfolded in only one monthly title, although other spin-off titles soon emerged, particularly New Mutants and X-Factor. X-Men continuity in the early 1980s was blissfully uncluttered and precise. According to the Uncanny X-Men #143, a little over a year of “comic book time” takes place between Uncanny X-Men #96 and #143.
Collected in Days of Future Past are Claremont and Byrne’s swansong, their final six issues of collaboration on Uncanny X-Men following the epic “Dark Phoenix Saga” and before Byrne became writer/artist of Fantastic Four. The stories included here are:
- A one issue recap of X-Men history up to the death of Jean Grey as narrated by Cyclops (who then promptly quits the team),
- An annual focusing on Nightcrawler’s origins (drawn by John Romita Jr. with inks by Bob McLeod),
- A two issue Alpha Flight team-up,
- The two issue “Days of Future Past” story (which has now been copied ad nauseam in both X-Men books and super-hero comic books in general)
- And a one issue Kitty Pryde spotlight that double as an homage to the 1979 Ridley Scott movie Alien (the movie is even alluded to in the issue).
All in all, this trade paperback presents cherished X-Men history in the form of some entertaining (if not necessarily well connected) tales. Reading the issues again for the first time in at least ten years, I’m left with a few impressions.
First, whatever Marvel Comics paid long time X-Men letterer Tom Orzechowski was not nearly enough. Just flipping through Days of Future Past, I realize that today’s letterers have it way too easy. These are some wordy comic books. I had forgotten how over-written these Uncanny X-Men issues are. Jim Shooter, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief during the late 70s/early 80s, dictated that every issue of every Marvel comic had to introduce all of its characters as if it was a reader’s first issue because for some reader, it IS his or her first issue. As a result, lengthy phrases get repeated from issue to issue. Every issue has to state that “at Wolverine’s mental command, retractable razor-keen adamantium claws pop out of the backs of his hands. They’re forged of the strongest metal known to man and are capable of cutting solid steel as easily as paper.” Thought balloons are encyclopedic, not only explaining the panel’s action but the character’s impressions, behavior and sometimes life history: “It was a lifetime ago when I was a street urchin in Cairo, being trained as a thief by Achmed el-Gibar. Those were hard days, but happy ones--though I was happier still years later in Kenya. The urchin became the goddess, Ororo--the weather-witch who used her mutant powers to help the local villages.” This thought occurs just before Storm enters the Sentinels’ citadel, which means it has absolutely nothing to do with the action. On one hand, it’s admirable that all this information can be conveyed in one thought-balloon. On the other hand, because these wordy balloons and captions and dialogue are not confined to breaks in the action, they bog down the story. This is especially true of the final issue of this trade paperback: Kitty Pryde’s rite of passage battle against a stray demon from Uncanny X-Men #96 meant now to resemble the creature from Alien. The issue operates on a classic horror movie stalker plot with an overmatched Kitty trying to keep moving, keep her wits and out-think her near unstoppable opponent. Unfortunately, the wordiness interrupts the flow of the chase. Nowadays a comic book with a similar plot would feature very few thought balloons or captions, allowing the artist to provide the action unassisted.
Perhaps I’m evaluating these stories too much from today’s aesthetic standards. Who knows? Twenty-five years from now, maybe we’ll be admiring wordy comics again.
In the tales presented here The X-Men (both the comic and the characters) try to move past the Jean Grey tragedy. Chris Claremont, John Byrne and editor Louise Jones must have deliberated quite a bit at the time over where to take the series next. The focus of the series gets shifted to new X-Man Kitty Pryde, a precocious young teenager who I’m assuming was brought into the X-Men so the team had a relatable character for young readers. Kitty’s personality vacillates appropriately enough between spunky and insecure. Thankfully, she’s not obnoxious like Jubilee, the next young teen-aged X-Man introduced in 1989. Of course, focusing the series on Kitty Pryde only frustrated young readers in 1980 (as I’m sure it would today) because too much of the spotlight is taken away from the tough-talking, berserker-prone hero they all idolize…, Wolverine. Certainly Wolverine has his moments in this trade paperback (particularly aiding Alpha Flight against the Wendigo), but as the back cover image indicates, these are for the most part Kitty’s stories.
The other significant developments are the replacement of Cyclops with Storm as the X-Men’s leader and the insertion of original X-Man Angel onto the team. As expected, Storm initially doubts her ability to lead the team, but what I found more interesting was Angel’s inability to fit in with these new X-Men. He is depicted as a super-hero with considerable rust and considerable concerns about Wolverine. Except for one instance with Colossus, he doesn’t take the time to bond with his teammates. He also isn’t showcased. It’s no exaggeration to describe him as a minor character in these issues, and it’s not surprising that within a few issues (which are not part of this trade paperback) he makes a hasty departure from the team. I wonder if Angel was placed on the team JUST to have a member who doesn’t fit in, as a reminder of how different the new X-Men are from the old. Or did the X-Men creators only realize “after the fact” that they didn’t have much for Angel to do? Regardless, these issues create an interesting and subtle dichotomy between Kitty Pryde and Angel. In Days of Future Past, Kitty Pryde is the inexperienced X-Man who is learning how to use her powers, what it takes to be a super-hero and how to befriend her teammates (particularly Colossus). Angel is the experienced X-Man who has already earned his stripes but seemingly has little interest getting to know his teammates.
Acquiring Days of Future Past should be a no-brainer. It doesn’t present the very best of the Uncanny X-Men but it does display the end of an era: the last time the series had “uncomplicated” magic and the last issues of the dream team of Claremont and Byrne.
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