Hey everybody, welcome back to another week in Ye Olde School Café! This week, we’ll be wrapping up our look at the X-Men relaunch of 1991 by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee! This was a fantastic time for comics in general, because you had some great stories/books that year (Infinitity Gauntlet, Robin, Sandman, etc.). As we all know now, the big explosion came back to bite the industry in the backside, but it persisted nonetheless. This title certainly was part of that big explosion. Let us finish off with this great Tpb (trade paperback) right now!
Logan took quite a beating at the hands of Omega Red, so he’s basically passed out. Maverick takes him to his hideout, and waits. In the meantime, the X-Men use a psychic link between Psylocke and Wolverine to track him down. They make it to where he was being held, but are almost immediately attacked by Omega Red. He takes them out easily, and then Matsuo tells him that he’s bringing in an expert tracker to find Logan. The tracker is none other than Sabretooth, and he quickly gets on the trail. Meanwhile, Maverick is treating Logan for his wounds, but also keeping him chained up, because Logan doesn’t remember their days as a team of CIA operatives. While he’s doped up, Logan does start to remember the good old days (or maybe Maverick is reliving them?) of espionage. We watch, as a mission to obtain a double agent that has been undercover, and also something called “Carbonadium Synthesizer,” goes terribly wrong. Basically, the team is doing OK, but then when they get trapped, Creed panics (or gives in to his blood-lust) and kills the double agent. Logan does manage to hide the Carbonadium Synthesizer from the Russians, but then afterwards, he and Creed get into an altercation, and that pretty much ends their relationship.
Back in the present, the other squad of X-Men also get attacked by some ninja and the Fenris twins. Only Psylocke seems to be able to defend herself, but then Matsuo uses a code word that was implanted before in Betsy’s mind to assume command of her actions. She knocks out Rogue, which ends the fight. Now that all the X-Men are captured, Matsuo and Omega Red join Sabretooth, as they have tracked Logan to Maverick’s hideout. Before hey get started, Creed remarks that he remembers Gambit from “the Big Easy” (and if you know why, kudos to you for being a true X-fan!). The alarms alert Maverick and Logan to the presence of intruders, and they try to make a break for it. In no time, though, Sabretooth and a still-brainwashed Psylocke locate and incapacitate both of them.
Now that the X-Men, and Maverick and Logan, have all been taken care of, the party is on. Matsuo believes that somewhere in the recesses of Logan’s brain lies the secret location of the Carbonadium Synthesizer, and that Dr. Cornelius can get it out of him. The doctor tells them that it might kill Logan, but they tell him to press on. We again see more of the botched mission from the past, and how the hate was building between Logan and Sabretooth for a long time. As Logan screams in agony, Psylocke kicks Omega Red in the back of the head and reveals that the shock to Logan has loosened Matsuo’s grip on her mind (because of the psychic link), and she’s ready to deliver a beating to everyone. Back inside another area of the complex, Sabretooth is escorting Maverick and two of Matsuo’s goons to another area. Sabretooth keeps mumbling the same line over and over again. The guards seem perplexed, but Maverick has it figured out and knocks out the two guards. He asks Sabretooth if he’s under the mental commands of Psylocke, and he tells him that he is indeed. Maverick then tells Sabretooth that he’s going to help him locate and free the X-Men to help Logan. He reluctantly follows Maverick, but then Psylocke gets knocked unconscious and she loses her grip on Sabretooth. As Maverick is trying to free the X-Men, he’s savagely attacked by Sabretooth. Beast gets loose, though, and uses his restraints to slow down Sabretooth. The rest of the team gets free, and then Cyclops blasts Sabretooth through the wall of the room where Logan is being tortured.
The ultimate brawl ensues, as the X-Men and Maverick battle Omega Red, Sabretooth, Matsuo, and the Fenris Twins. Sounds great, but honestly, Omega Red takes a beating, Sabretooth and the others basically don’t do anything, and the X-Men run away to the Blackbird. Back at the mansion, Logan tells Cyke that he has some unfinished business back in Berlin. The story switches back there to show Matsuo digging up the grave of the double agent. He has learned through the interrogation of Logan that it is the most likely place he has hidden the Carbonadium Synthesizer. Just as he excavates the casket, Logan’s claws burst through the top and he slashes Matsuo. Dr. Cornelius is holding a gun on Logan, but Maverick shoots him from a distance. He and Logan team up for this little surprise, and then Logan gives the prize to him, and tells him to protect it. As Maverick tries to thank Logan, he turns around to realize that he’s already gone.
Well, that’s it for this week’s edition, and I hope you enjoyed this look back at a very exciting and reinvigorating time for the house of Xavier! Check back next week to see what’s in store!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
