TITLE: The Uncanny X-Men issue #144
YEAR: April 1981
COMPANY: Marvel Comics
WRITER: Chris Claremont
PENCILLER: Brent Anderson
INKER: Josef Rubenstein
LETTERER: Tom Orzechowski
COLORIST: Glynis Wein
EDITOR: Louise Jones
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jim Shooter
Scott Summers (Cyclops) had left the X-Men and is now working for a fishing company. Escaping life as an X-Men is what he needs after the death of Jean Grey.
Meanwhile, Man-Thing watches a man who is dying of cancer and seeing the evil D’Spayre make the man take his life.
And at the X-Men mansion, the group are doing cleanup after a monster attack which Kitty Priyde (Sprite) was able to show off her power. But the destruction was more than anyone expected and for Logan and Nightcrawler, they can’t help but joke around with their new teen member. Which proves a little difficult for young Kitty.
As for Scott, his boss (who happens to be the daughter of the man who killed himself) asks him to come along with her to their home near the swamp area. As the woman greets her father, he transforms into D’spayre and tries to kill her by throwing her off the staircase. Fortunately, Scott is able to save her but immediately D’spayre tries to get into Scott’s head and make him remember the pain he suffered when his own parents were killed in a plane accident and how his parents rescued him and his brother before their plane blew up.
Then remembering the Sentinels and then trying to use the death of Jean Grey to make Scott feel despair. But if there is one thing that Scott won’s allow, anyone making him feel despair but it doesn’t work. As Scott shoots D’spayre with a blast, the Man-Thing then confronts D’Spayre, while Scott changes his clothes to become Cyclops and both he and the Man-Thing takes him on with success.
If anything, this issue was an interesting team-up comic featuring Cyclops and the Man-Thing. It was unexpected as Man-Thing is a character you would not expect to see in the pages of “The Uncanny X-Men” but Chris Claremont manages to find a way to bring Cyclops to the swamp area.
But it worked and the issue, while a little dark in a Man-Thing kind of way, was pretty cool.
It also brought back memories when young Kitty was always being razzed on and in this case, emotional because Logan and Nightcrawler were always joking about her. But it also setup how Colossus was always there for her as well during her more emotional moments.
But overall a cool issue and I really dig the artwork by guest artist Brent Anderson.