Uncanny X-Men #244-247

Uncanny X-Men #244-247

Originally released in 1989

Written by Chris Claremont

Art by Marc Silvestri (#244, 246-247), Rob Liefeld (#245)



I wanted to look into the first appearance of Jubilee, not realizing that it was the issue immediately after Inferno. (I'd already read Inferno for my other blog, so that works out)  As I continue my inadvertent quest to read through Claremont's X-Men in what feels like the most confusing manner possible, jumping all over their timeline like I'm Cable or Kang the Conqueror, I'll see how Jubilee started out. (I mainly know her from the 90s X-Men series, though I know that she becomes a vampire at some point)



Issues 244 and 245 are a comedic interlude after the dramatic events of Inferno.  When Jubilee is annoying security guards at a mall with displays of her powers, the guards call in self-proclaimed mutant hunters, who comes across as bumbling versions of the Ghostbusters.



Meanwhile, the X-Men are cooped up in the Australian outback, and with Rogue and Carol Danvers switching control between them and the rest of the team getting cabin fever (aside from Storm, who's used to the wilderness), Dazzler proposes that they go shopping, using the assistance of an Australian mutant named Gateway to teleport to the same mall that Jubilee is at.




Awestruck by the likes of Storm, Rogue, Dazzler, and Psylocke, Jubilee follows them back to the outback unnoticed, though not before the knock-off Ghostbusters (the M-Squad) try to capture the assembled mutants to no success.



Issue 245 has a group of aliens setting out to invade the Earth, with only a lowly data analyst realizing that they're up against a planet that has fended off the Kree, Skrulls, and Galactus (the only planet on record to do the last of those actions), which is home to at least one Herald of Galactus and (as far as the rest of the universe knows) the Phoenix.




Also, the aliens choose Australia as their landing spot, which is a bad idea even before taking into account that the X-Men are there.  News spreads across the Earth, but even the press (from a major Metropolitan city, with a logo that doesn't even seem lawyer-friendly at this point) doesn't consider it to be a big deal.



Issue 246 brings back two prominent Sentinels: Nimrod, a highly advanced Sentinel from the future, and Master Mold, the source of the original Sentinels.  Of course, the tone takes a darker turn, with the wife of Senator Kelly (who already hates mutants) getting caught in the crossfire.



Rogue's identity crisis continues, with Carol taking control for most of these issues, even having Rogue don a variant of her Ms. Marvel costume. (Rogue is not a fan of a lot of Carol's choices, from her room decoration to her choice of outfit)



Despite the two Sentinels being involved in the story, they don't seem to cooperate well or work together.  Master Mold determines that, to fulfill its prime directive of killing all mutants, it must kill all humans since they are the source of mutants.



Meanwhile, Nimrod informs Master Mold that it has evolved or "mutated", and therefore must target itself.  The final page of issue 247 almost feels like self-parody - as Senator Kelly vows that the Nimrod project will have all of the funding that it needs, we cut to a former leader of the Hellfire Club watching this through surveillance footage - and Nanny and the Orphan-Maker watching them through surveillance footage. (I almost expected a page after that, showing Mister Sinister watching them through surveillance footage and muttering that everything is going exactly as he planned it, unaware that he's secretly being watched by Apocalypse)



Jubilee wasn't in this as much as I thought (she makes a brief appearance raiding Dazzler's wardrobe and criticizing her music choices as being for old people in their twenties), but it continues to live up to the high bar that Claremont's X-Men run has set so far.  It's got a good mix of tones, and the team is large enough that they can mix and match just about anyone and it makes for an entertaining combination.

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