A Classic Comic Story

I recently read this classic two-part story in X-Men 141 and 142, cover-dated for January and February 1981 (but on spinner racks in stores in the fall of 1980). I've never been a huge X-Men fan, though I do prefer the original team (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl) to the more popular team from the 70s and 80s with Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Storm. But while I've heard plenty about this particular story, I've never actually read it before.

The super-quick rundown: The story starts in the far-distant future of...2013. The Sentinels run America and are threatening the rest of the world; they've killed off almost all the superheroes and villains, mutant or otherwise, and mutants are forced to live in camps. A small group of survivors from the X-Men have a desperate plan to send one of their number back in time and stop the events that led to this grim dystopia. That one is Kate "Shadowcat" Rasputin, wife of Colossus. The plan is successful, and Kate's mind is sent back in time to possess her younger self, who just happens to be the newest recruit of the X-Men. She tells the current team what is about to happen, and they rush to DC to stop the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants from killing Senator Kelly, Professor X and Moira McTaggart, which is what triggered the really bad future. While the X-Men are fighting the Brotherhood (led by Mystique and consisting of Pyro, Blob, Destiny and Avalanche), in the future the X-Men are trying to infiltrate and shut down the Sentinels base inside the Baxter Building. It...does not go well for them. Even Wolverine gets killed in this one. But in the present, the X-Men do stop the assassination. At that point, we don't see anything more in the future; all we do see is the aftermath of the assassination attempt, which sees the US Government start up the secret Project Wideawake, which is of course related to dealing with 'dangerous muties'.

John Byrne plotted this story out; Chris Claremont wasn't really into this, so Byrne got co-plotting credit to go along with his outstanding artwork. Byrne never intended for this to be anything more than this two-part story; the question of what happened in the future was left unanswered. Maybe that timeline was erased, or maybe it was an alternate timeline that still continued on; Byrne's preference was that it just vanish.

Of course, Marvel went back to this well time and time again. The mutant hysteria thing was always at the forefront of Marvel Comics throughout the 80s and 90s, even in books that didn't have anything to do with mutants (such as the Avengers or Spider-Man). One of the characters from this story, Rachel Summers, would reappear later on as a time-traveling hero. And, of course, one of the most popular X-Men movies was based on this storyline, although it was set in the early 70s rather than the early 80s, and Wolverine was the star (naturally).

So, what did I think of it as a story? Well, it was a grim tale of power gone amok and what happens when the government sets loose super-powerful AIs with adaptable robots that can kill any opposition. It's bad. Very bad. And the future X-Men did not fare well in their efforts; all but Rachel and Kitty are dead by the end of it before the timeline is changed, and as I said, we don't learn their fates at all once the present X-Men succeed in their efforts to stop the assassinations. I've never been a fan of grim stories, really. But the desperate plan to change the past and the contrast between the child Kitty Pryde and the woman that possesses her is well done. The X-Men are just as I remember them; Wolverine is a savage who isn't afraid to kill; Storm is a new leader, unsure of her position and abilities. Nightcrawler and Colossus are heroic enough, and Angel was always my favorite anyway. Professor X doesn't have much to do in this except learn that the possessed Kitty is telling the truth, and get knocked out by Mystique.

As I said, it's a classic story, and I think it works well as a standalone story. I don't think they needed to revisit it so often, although I won't lie and say it was unexpected. It was a very popular story at the time, and popular comic stories always get a boatload of unnecessary sequels, prequels, and expansions. It's just the way of things. So, as a story I'll rate this a solid 8 out of 10; as the beginning of an endless parade of mutant hate stories, I'll drop it to about a 6.

Top 10 Heroes

Everyone has heroes. Heroes are a part of our lives from the moment we're old enough to recognize other people. For many of us, our parents are our first heroes. Dad is the strongest guy in the world, and Mom is the most beautiful woman who ever lived. They are our icons, the people who inspire us to be more than a crawling infant. As we get older, our view of heroes expands. Maybe it's a sports star, or a movie character, or a comic book. Heroes continue to inspire us as we grow up.

And as we grow, our heroes change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes...not so much. We can often fall into the trap of admiring and emulating someone who we think is heroic, but ends up having feet of clay, or worse, their heroism was only in our minds, because we thought they were cool, and 'cool' equaled 'hero' to us.

But throughout our lives, whether we recognize them or not, we all have our heroes. I'm going to list ten of mine, heroes who have inspired me as a writer and as a person. Some of them are heroes from my childhood; some are heroes from later in life, and some are recent acquaintances. But they all have one thing in common: They are heroes.

But, what is a hero? Well, that depends on each of us. We all have our different views on what a hero is. And tastes change over time; what was once considered heroic becomes problematic as society views these older heroes as racist, sexist, etc. But they are who they are, and they still have those heroic qualities that made people admire them throughout history.

In my case, my heroic tastes run to the noble and great, the mighty who protect the weak. When I played D&D, my favorite class was always the paladin. The knight in shining armor, the epitome of the medieval hero, the man who would stand unflinching before the very hordes of hell and hold the line. Stories of King Arthur and his knights always fascinated me, even to this day. But knights come in different forms, sometimes in a way we don't expect.

So, here are ten of my favorite heroes from movies, literature, comics...and real life.

10. Sir Richard Burton. The only historical figure on my list, Sir Richard Burton is one of the most incredible men who ever lived. He was a soldier, a spy, a polyglot, and a diplomat. He explored the world; he spoke over two dozen languages; he wrote prodigiously about his travels, and gave us two of the most famous (and notorious) collections of writing in English history: The first complete translation of the Arabian Nights, and the Kama Sutra. He is a titan in history, and while the number of people who remember him or his activities is dwindling, he casts a massive shadow over not only history, but literature. For more on that, check out this link at DMR Books' blog: The Literary Afterlife and Legacy of Sir Richard Burton. If a writer were to invent Burton, he would be ridiculed for creating such an over-the-top, larger-than-life character. But he was real, and he was definitely a hero.

9. Luke Skywalker. I've written about Luke before. While everyone I knew was into Han Solo, Luke was my guy. He was a paladin, even though it was called a Jedi Knight. He did what was right, he didn't fall into temptation, and he did something extremely Christian: He redeemed a fallen soul, his father, before he died. Luke Skywalker is a fantastic hero, in more than one sense. We will ignore the fake Luke Skywalker that appeared in the new sequel trilogy, because that was not Luke Skywalker.

8. Honor Harrington. The only woman on my list, she is the star of David Weber's Honorverse series of books. I know that she's a ridiculous Mary Sue, but I still like her. True, you could switch her out with a male character and, other than the romance parts of the story, you'd see nothing different. The thing that I appreciate is her absolute devotion to duty and her determination to uphold the traditions of the Navy and the Queen she serves. She's obviously and blatantly modeled on Horatio Hornblower, with not a little bit of Admiral Nelson thrown in. But there's nothing wrong with that. I've been reading her books since the first one came out, On Basilisk Station, many years ago, and I never get tired of them. Sure, I'll skim over the technical exposition to get to the action. Action is the point, anyway. And the Honor Harrington books have a whole hell of a lot of action. Space battles galore! And sword fights, just because! It's fun, and she is a great hero.

7. Conan. I'm a newcomer to the pulps; I've read a few Conan stories, and yes, I've seen the two Arnold movies (but not the Jason Momoa one). But let's face it: Conan is as larger-than-life as it gets. He's Richard Burton, minus the civilization. He gets around, he explores the world, but he always remains true to himself and his own code. I'm looking forward to reading more of Howard's greatest creation as I progress through my Appendix N list; what I've read so far makes me want to read more. As for the movie version, I prefer the second movie to the first one, which I know makes me insane. But the first one was plodding and as soulless as one of Thulsa Doom's thralls. Plus, I'm not a big fan of the R-rated stuff. The second one was more of a romp, light-hearted and silly at times, but I found it had more action.

6. Spider-Man. I always looked at Peter Parker with a sympathetic eye, because I could most definitely identify with him. Smaller, shy, bookish...Peter's trials and tribulations throughout high school resonated with me. And he was someone that, through extraordinary fortune, because extraordinary himself. But he still acted and felt like a typical high school kid, one who didn't have all the glory and the girls, like so many of us. And the thing I liked about his adventures was that he didn't always win. In fact, he often got his butt kicked the first time around. But he never gave up, he always came back and found a way to come through when it mattered. No wonder he became the most popular comic book hero on the planet for a good chunk of time.

5. King Belgarion. This one is a sentimental favorite. I didn't read Lord of the Rings until I was in high school, and while I enjoyed it (I was among the many who assumed that LotR was the ur-text for Dungeons & Dragons), I found it to be a bit of a slog to get through. The long descriptive passages turned me off, and I found my eyes glazing over as I skimmed ahead looking for some action. But David Eddings' Belgariad was my real introduction to epic fantasy. I got the first two books for my twelfth birthday (along with the first Foundation book, which made LotR look like an Edgar Rice Burroughs book). It took me a couple of tries to get into the story, since it started off rather slow, but once I got into it, I was hooked. I read the entire series as each book came out, and I reread them regularly. Garion, like Peter Parker, was a character I could identify with. Hey, he was roughly my age. And he was on this incredible journey of discovery, not only of the world around him, but of his own heritage and power. To this day, it's still my favorite fantasy series, largely because of Garion and his earnest heroism. He didn't always know what to do, but he did it sincerely.

4. Madmartigan. I wrote about this recently, too, although I focused more on the movie in general and not as much on Madmartigan. But despite his single appearance in this movie, Madmartigan was one of my favorite characters, ever. He wasn't much at the beginning; a thief, a liar and a swindler, but by the end of the movie, he had more than redeemed himself. The moment where he swears himself to Willow's service still gets to me, and his heroic one-man stand against an army (and a dragon) had me riveted. Plus, he got the girl in the end, which is always important.

3. John Carter. The foundation of fantasy and science fiction literature in the twentieth century, John Carter's shadow looms over everything. He debuted in 1912 in All-Story Magazine, and turned a whole generation of boys into readers. Without him, there's no Star Wars, no Superman, and no Dungeons & Dragons. He changed it all, creating a whole new genre of planetary romance, and setting a new standard for a superman with his fighting prowess and incredible leaping. His indomitable spirit and indefatigable endurance make him one of the deadliest warriors ever. And that was E.R. Burroughs' first written work! I've read four Barsoom books so far, and they're all fantastic. In every sense of the word.

2. Captain James T. Kirk. I was actually torn between Kirk and Cpt. Archer, his predecessor as captain of the first Enterprise. Archer's Enterprise is still my favorite of the Star Trek series, with its relatively-primitive technology and that sense of exploration and wonder that was missing from the 24th-century shows. But Kirk is still the man, and will continue to be so. His willingness to do what was right, even in defiance of the almighty Prime Directive, is one of the most important qualities of a hero. And while sometimes his stories got a bit preachy, you could always count on him to jump into the action and save the day. He was the ultimate leader, a man who could inspire everyone around him to greater heights, and he deserves every accolade the Federation ever gave him.

1. Superman. Of course it's Superman. Just as I preferred Luke to Han, there was never a question in my mind of 'Superman or Batman.' Superman just exceeds Batman in every significant way. Sure, Bruce has more money than Fort Knox, has the cool villain gallery and the great toys, but let's face it: Superman would take out Batman in about three seconds. I don't care how much prep time Bats has; Superman moves at near-light speeds, can heat-vision you from a mile away, can hear you coming from even further, and can bounce pretty much anything you throw at him.

But that's not what makes him a hero. He's the greatest hero because although he has the ability to do all that, he holds back. He's the ultimate example of how far we can go as a race, but he's still grounded with his friends, his career, his family, and his humanity. Yes, the most powerful being on the planet is still human where it counts. He's the shining, noble knight who will fly in to save the day, never hesitating to put himself in harm's way to protect the weak. He could rule the world, and no one could prevent it. But that's not what he's all about; he's about inspiring us to be greater than we are. And in the end, that is the most heroic action of them all.

If these are the kinds of heroes you like as well, you might be interested in checking out my first fantasy novel, Arrival, the first book of the Chronicles of Meterra. It's got literal knights in armor doing the right thing, carving their way in a strange new world. Check it out, and support indie publishing.

Pulp to Pop

Holy, there were quite a few people checking out the blog yesterday. Compared to what I've been getting, anyway. Welcome to any newcomers; it looks like the Traveller series has been a success. Maybe sci-fi is the way to go after all.

So, I had an interesting discussion with my son yesterday. We were talking, as usual, about the pop culture stuff that I'm collecting for him and his brothers to save them from having to watch ugly cartoons and god-awful movies that insult us at every turn. We just finished watching the Adam West Batman movie, which is a total blast of a film. It's egregiously silly, I know. But when I was a kid, that was the only live-action Batman around, and I loved it. He loves it, too.

But I also told him about getting reprints of the original Batman stories from Detective Comics back in the 1930s and 40s. I told him I had a copy of the original Batman story from Detective Comics 27 back in 1939. No, it's not an actual copy of Detective 27. If I could afford that, I wouldn't be here, would I? He expressed an interest in reading them, of course. Who wouldn't? Well, my wife wouldn't, but she's just not as cultured as we are, I suppose.

I particularly enjoyed the part where I mentioned that Batman kills a couple of people in that first story. His shock was absolute. He stared at me in disbelief; everyone knows Batman never kills! Unless it's Ben Affleck beating the holy hell out of guys in a warehouse, at least. Yeah, that's still a killer scene. If that Batman was patrolling the city, I wouldn't even return library books late.

But my son was blown away by the idea that Batman even used guns in those early issues. And it got me thinking (and talking to him) about where Superman, Batman and other early superheroes came from. People think of Superman as just appearing, fully-formed, in Action Comics #1 and changing the pop culture landscape with Kryptonian swiftness. But that just isn't true.

Superman wasn't even a unique idea; Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator features Hugo Danner, a man with incredible strength and powers very similar to those of the original Superman. And of course, John Carter was the genesis of the man who can leap prodigious distances and fight with tremendous strength and skill. It all goes back to Edgar Rice Burroughs, folks. Never forget that.

And that Superman wasn't the all-American Boy Scout he would later become; he was rough, gruff and tough, like the two-fisted pulp heroes of the day. He threatened criminals and shady characters with things like running across high-voltage wiring, or dangling them from buildings to get information from them. He was no Boy Scout, not then. But he was still awesome and cool beyond the telling of it.

Likewise, Batman came out of the pulp heroes such as the Shadow, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and Zorro (who figures prominently in his origin as well). Masked men who relied on their skill and weapons to fight against evil (although the Shadow's mind-powers gave him a bit more to work with), Batman was simply those characters come to a visual medium like never before.

So, what happened to make these pulp-style heroes into the paragons and icons they are today? When did they develop their 'no-killing' codes? When did Batman decide that he'd never use a gun (because that's what killed his parents)? Those are questions that will take a bit more research, but it's interesting to compare what they were like in the late 1930s, and what they became three decades later, when Batman was TV's golden boy and Superman was still the box-office champion in the comics.

Thinking about their supporting casts, which are, other than Spider-Man, probably the most extensive in comics history, it's interesting to note that in their first appearances, only one of the iconic supporting cast members appeared in each case. In Superman's case, it's Lois Lane. No Jimmy, no Perry White, not even his Kansas parents. In fact, Kansas isn't even mentioned. All we get in the first issue is 'baby rocketed to Earth from another planet' and a few quick vignettes showing Superman in action. Stripped down to the core, it's still a pretty fantastic beginning. In the meantime, over in Gotham City, the only supporting character who appears is Commissioner Gordon. No Alfred, and no Robin, of course. just Bruce and Jim. And Gordon doesn't have much to do in the story, either.

So, it's really fun to go back and observe these characters in their nascent, primitive form and see just how much of their core was already present. Superman was already larger-than-life, public and showy but devoted to justice. Batman was dark, brooding and mysterious, using his acrobatic fighting skills to right wrongs and put down criminals hard. Harder than later, but still. It's a fascinating portrait, and I just wish I could have read these without eighty years of pre-existing baggage to color my impressions of them. Still, it's a lot of fun to read.

Now, if you like pulp-style heroics, you might want to check out The Gilded Age: The Awakening, the first book in a series that will describe a world much like our own, but with a secret hiding in plain sight: People with incredible abilities and powers, just discovering what they can do...in 1908. Check it out, and support indie publishing, because that's where you'll find the modern stories you really want to read.