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Hello and welcome to another week of comic book greatness here in Ye Olde School Café! Everyone would agree that Chris Claremont and John Byrne had one of the best runs in comics period, with their awesome ride on Uncanny X-Men. But you really don’t get a sense of how good it really is until you reread it a few times. You can also compare it (if that’s your thing) to any other run of that specific title, and it will stack up nicely. All this being said, let’s get back to 1979, and finish off our look at the mighty Proteus!

As Storm is reeling and quite frankly stunned that her gale force winds are not slowing down Proteus, she takes to the air for an advantage. It lasts all of about five seconds. Proteus easily knocks her right out of the sky using some stones and dirt lying around. As Proteus is about to possess Storm, Nightcrawler and Wolverine are watching, and scared out of their wits. Moira has a different plan of action, though, and has hidden herself from Proteus’s sight by camouflaging herself on a nearby hill, and then blasts away at him with a high-powered rifle. Cyclops immediately tries to grab the gun out of her hands, but Moira is crafty, and hits Cyke with the butt of the rifle, temporarily knocking him down. By the time she turns back around, Proteus is gone.

After things settle down, Cyclops and the others are still trying to figure out how to stop Proteus, but also why Moira has gone off the deep end and tried to kill her son. Realizing that the team is low on morale, and Wolverine is an absolute mess after the confrontation, Scott decides to have an impromptu training session to get the team ready! Not too far away, Proteus has ditched his policeman “body” for a young girl. Moira has also been busy, visiting her ex-husband, Joe, to warn him that their son is coming. Joe is furious that Moira has kept this secret from him, but then he realizes that Moira is right in assuming that Proteus is coming for him.

Just as Moira leaves, Proteus appears and possesses his father. He immediately goes after Moira, but the X-Men have been alerted to his presence by Jean, so they’re there in a hurry. They battle, but in truth never had a chance. Proteus even grabs Moira to use as a human shield. He tells the X-Men that if they try to stop him he’ll possess Moira next! The team realizes that even with his threats, Proteus must be stopped. They attack him full force, but they have little to no effect. Wolverine, Banshee, Nightcrawler, it doesn’t matter, they don’t do squat against this mental giant.

Proteus then tells the X-Men how he escaped from his prison on Muir Island. And then how he’s been masquerading around as local citizens, until now. He then demonstrates just how powerful he is by warping reality and sending everyone into a tailspin. Storm attempts to stop him, but he easily rebuffs her actions. He freezes her inside of some cocoon, but Wolverine quickly breaks her out. Banshee then takes a shot at him, and the bullet fires true and hits its target. Proteus then uses his powers to open up a giant hole by Banshee, almost swallowing him whole! Jean swoops in for the save, and it’s up to Wolverine to then try his luck. He does surprise Proteus with a well placed slash to the abdomen, and that’s followed up by Scott and Havoc blasting from two different directions.

As Proteus begins to show signs of getting weaker, he quickly tries to run away. Moira is waiting for him, though, and so is Colossus. Proteus then attempts to kill Moira, but Colossus won’t let that happen. He changes to his steel form, and then has an idea. He uses this form to punch Proteus, but then holds him there and lets his metallic form disrupt the energy form of Proteus. This causes a massive explosion, and the rest of the team comes running. They arrive just in time to see Colossus comforting Moira about the apparent death of her son. She’s lost a son and the father to that son in one day. Banshee then goes to her and the two embrace while the X-Men head for home.

Well, that’s it! This story may not have the moral implications of other stories or even the best finish as most other Claremont/Byrne stories do, but again, if you read it a few times, you’ll come to appreciate the heart-felt story of when Moira lost her only child. See you next week!

Click here for X-Men: Proteus pt 1!

Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net