X-Men Part 13
X-Men: First Class (Vol. 2) #1–5, 2007, by Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz/Julia Bax
X-Men: First Class Special, 2007, by Jeff Parker and Kevin Nowlan/Colleen Coover/Nick Dragotta/Paul Smith
To begin with, yes, the special actually came out in between Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, but I am suggesting that it be read after the first five issues of Vol. 2. There is a very good reason for this, and I will explain when we come to it.
To begin, Vol. 2 of X-Men: First Class is good in almost the exact same ways that the first series was. It’s simple and fun, it drops in details that remind us of the continuity, but it doesn’t allow those same details to bog down the story that it’s trying to tell, and it focuses on the kids being kids. It also has the advantage of not being an eight issue mini-series, which means that some of the storylines can last for more than one issue. In these issues, this is used most effectively in a two issue story where the team is sent to Monster Island via one of the Professor’s telepathic commands. For those unfamiliar, Monster Island is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an isolated island, apparently near Japan, that’s inhabited almost solely by monsters, some of them gigantic. The Professor refuses to tell them why they’re in this incredibly hostile environment, and gets progressively more aggressive as the mission continues. Eventually, it’s revealed that it isn’t the Professor at all, but Mastermind (still stuck as a statue, but aware of everything around him) trying to get his revenge on the team by sending them to the most dangerous place he could think of. It’s a simple story, but it does what the best X-Men stories do. It forces the team to work together to overcome otherwise unbeatable odds, while sprinkling in generous helpings of interpersonal drama. And it wouldn’t have been possible in the previous book, with its one issue limits on storylines.
These issues also give us some fun cameos from younger versions of other Marvel heroes. We had that last time with Dr. Strange showing up briefly in one issue, but this time we get whole issues framed around these relationships. Jean starts a mentorship with the Invisible Girl (this is before she rebrands as the Invisible Woman) of the Fantastic Four, and sees what a strong woman can bring to a team of boys. I especially enjoyed this issue because it presented a counterpoint to almost all the cringeworthy moments from Stan Lee’s run. It also emphasized its points by making the rest of the X-Men look like they can barely function as people without Jean around. There’s a great gag where they’re convinced she’s going to leave the team to become the newest recruit of the Fantastic Five.
In another issue, we see the team recruited to apprehend the Incredible Hulk by Professor Xavier’s government contacts. This is another nice callback to the Sixties issues, with Professor Xavier happily volunteering the team to back up the FBI. I have always wondered at what point the team shifted from government freelancers to wanted outlaws. It seemed like a part of their careers that was just ignored or forgotten when the team came back into print under Chris Claremont in 1975. If there is an official parting of ways, I haven’t ever read it, and I’ll be looking for it as we move forward. But if there’s not, this story works as a beginning of that break up. The team happily heads into the wilderness looking for the big green monster that the army has had such trouble with, only to find a very misunderstood man that’s doing everything he can to avoid being turned into a weapon by his own government. The team is left jaded and a little horrified, and Professor Xavier ends the issue seeming to second guess his working relationship with government agencies.
My favorite issue of this bunch focuses not on the whole team, but just two members. When the students get a week off of classes, Hank and Bobby “borrow” Warren’s car and take a road trip along the east coast. They end up trapped in a hurricane, and Bobby has to make a protective bubble of ice around the car. But along the way they visit a bunch of roadside attractions, meet some strange people, and, most importantly, really cement a friendship that lasts decades. It’s a lot of fun, and it works because, again, Jeff Parker is writing them as teenagers that are acting like teenagers. Bobby and Hank don’t feel like real best friends in the original series, even though they double date and spend tons of time together, because they don’t feel like real people. But stories like this road trip issue give them the room to feel like real people and that’s a great change of pace.
Before moving on to the Special, I want to mention the covers to these issues, just like last time. We don’t have Marko Djurdjevic, but Eric Nguyen does an incredible job in his place. They’re all beautiful, painted scenes from the stories themselves. The detail, especially in the story elements, is a lot of fun. Having the face of Professor Xavier grinning in a very non-Xavier way on the cover of the issue where we find out Mastermind has been impersonating him is great.
Now, why did we wait to read the special till after these five issues, even though it came out first? The Special is a collection of shorter stories, all written by Jeff Parker, but illustrated by a number of different artists. One of them (probably my favorite) is actually brought to us by the incredible Paul Smith, whose art will define the X-Men for a bit in the 70s. This story involves the team coming into conflict with Dragon Man, an artificially created literal “Dragon Man” that was around a lot in the silver age. When they realize that he’s basically a scared animal that’s being manipulated, Jean adopts him and he follows her around like a puppy, basically becoming a giant, dangerous, unpredictable member of the team for a little bit. But eventually all of that collateral damage becomes more than they can handle, and it becomes clear that he needs to live somewhere where he can be the large, destructive, creature that he is at heart. So, the team, of course, takes him to Monster Island. The whole story is sweet, silly, heartbreaking, and ridiculous (like all the best X-Men stories). But it also has to occur after the two issue story where Mastermind sends them to Monster Island. Otherwise it doesn’t make sense at all why they have no idea where they are or what’s going on during that storyline. One doesn’t just forget Monster Island after visiting.
My only problem with this story is that it’s presented as a flashback that Scott is telling Kitty Pryde, presumably not long after she joins the team in the 70s era. This is all fine, and it’s actually really sweet because it’s shown to be Scott first starting to talk about Jean after the events of the Phoenix Saga (which we’ll get to in good time, don’t worry about it now if you don’t know). But it’s strange to have a story with a framing device set five to ten years after everything else in the issue. Kitty feels very out of place here, and it makes what is otherwise my favorite part of the issue just feel off.
The rest of the book is a fun mix of what has made the First Class books so good (focusing on the kids being kids) and references to weird things from the Silver Age stories (like Bernard the poet). There’s also some very funny gag strips by Colleen Coover that capture the spirit of the era really well. It’s a great issue, and it’s well worth a read.
