Touch Me Not

Uncanny X-Men #8 – By Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

I’ve never read this original tale of Unus until now. I’d always heard good things about it and seem to remember him coming back at sometime in the future in a story that I didn’t quite get and don’t remember at the moment (but that IS part of this journey, right? To put some of this stuff back into perspective for me, and maybe for any readers too!).

What impresses me most, and I talk about it in every blog, is characterization – and this issue is full of it! I’m convinced that Stan Lee was most interested in the Beast at this point in the series, and this issue is a great example of it. For the first time, one of the X-Men really becomes the focus of the issue. A plain clothes-clad Hank McCoy saves a child in the beginning of the issue only to be rewarded by the crowd identifying him and Bobby Drake as mutants and possibly X-Men. They throw insults as well as punches at the duo and chase them away. Hank gets angry enough, that he declares his disappointment in mankind and no longer wants to protect them. So he leaves the X-Men.

While his attitude comes about a bit quickly, Hank has good reason to resent the crowds. They applaud the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, but the X-Men are despised and ridiculed for their genetics. He feels he’s wasting his time, and won’t be able to change anything and decides to take advantage of humans instead of being all-out evil. He must have been inspired by Peter Parker, because he takes up wrestling as a way to earn his fortune. Hank does rejoin the X-Men in the end, but we are left out of WHY he really decides to come back. Let’s see if Lee picks this up in the future.

Not to be outdone in the character department, Scott Summers gets his moment to grow as well. Assuming the leadership of the team, Scott starts by running a training session for the team. He’s not outfitted in his usual uniform, but in a suit on the sidelines barking orders to his teammates. He pushes them beyond their normal practice routines resulting in most of them failing in their tasks. When the Beast returns however, he gives him the latitude it takes to solve the problem of Unus and his abilities.

The Beast initially encounters Unus in the ring, but the X-Men discover him through Scott’s use of Cerebro. Unus is a mutant whose power is a force field that protects him from any harmful contact. Unus himself can initiate any sort of touch – sitting in chair, picking a flower – but he can’t be punched, shot, zapped, poked or prodded in any way. His downfall comes when the Beast creates a ray that amps up his powers. Unus’s ability gets so powerful, that eventually even he can’t initiate contact with anything – not even to eat! The Beast gets him to agree not to join Magneto or harm anyone else in exchange for a shot from the ray that will reverse the effect. In the end, Unus agrees and walks away in a similar fashion to the Blob from last issue.

Hank’s emotional rollercoaster was the most interesting part of the issue for me. I like it when a character needs to face an issue, but sometimes needs to put it aside for the greater good. Hank didn’t want to come back, but he knew that the team needed his brains to defeat Unus. While he still may not be crazy about helping regular humans, at least he understands that they DO need the help!

An interesting issue that will set the stage for more emotional turmoil in the future.

Note: This issue was reprinted in December, 1994 as X-Men: The Early Years #8 (Cover by Tom Raney).

Professor Xavier and the X-Men #9 – By Jorge Gonzalez and NickGnazzo

This time around Gonzalez and Gnazzo stick to a pretty strict re-telling of the original story – even including some of Lee’s original dialogue and panels very reminiscent of Kirby’s artwork.

The biggest change is the story is narrated by Hank McCoy, the Beast. Being privy to his thoughts makes this story more compelling and gives the reader a better insight into McCoy’s thought processes and frustrations. It’s interesting to be part of Beast’s daydreams in the initial Danger Room sequence and hear his thoughts about Scott Summer’s taking over as Team Leader. The presentation here is a little heavier-handed then just witnessing Scott’s actions, but it gets the point across in the new perspective.

Most of the rest of the issue plays out almost exactly like the original with little exception. The budding Scott-Jean love affair is given more page time here. Lee embedded some dialogue in a panel here or there, but this version gives a full page to their flirtations, again with Scott being stoic about his leadership position. I feel Unus gets rushed through the realization that his increased powers are NOT a good thing. He’s moved too quickly too panic for my taste.

And finally, at the conclusion of the issue, we get some thought balloons and actual dialogue giving better resolution to the Beast’s return to the X-Men. Gonzalez picks up the dangling threads that Lee left and wraps them up into a neater little bow. Again, as with the original, I think his decision is a bit hasty, and the difference the X-Men make doesn’t REALLY involve plain humans, but Hank’s heart is in the right place.

As a reimagining, this was a fine read. It stayed truthful to the text of the original story, added updates where it fit, and closed some of the holes left in the original plot. I only wish more of this series were like this issue.

Up Next: Uncanny X-Men #9 and Professor Xavier and the X-Men #10