X-Men: "Too Late, The Heroes!"

The Uncanny X-Men #134 (1980)

By Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin

Background: Most of the X-Men are prisoners of the Hellfire Club, except for Wolverine. Jean Grey has been turned into the Black Queen under Mistermind's control. The X-Men active roster is: Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey.

So, What Happens? Cyclops has been defeated by Mastermind in a mental duel, but Wolverine breaks into the room where the X-Men are kept prisoner, and at the very same moment Jean frees herself of Mastermind's control and unlocks Cyclops' helmet restoring his powers. In turn, Cyclops frees the rest of the team, allowing the X-Men a rematch against the inner circle of the Hellfire Club. Harry Leland, the mutant capable of increasing someone else's mass, makes a fatal mistake and is quickly killed by Wolverine. Colossus disables the cyborg Donald Pierce but can't prevent his escape. Likewise, Sebastian Shaw defeats Nightcrawler but has to run away from Storm, whose weather powers are more than he can handle. However, the worse is yet to come: as a blackout plunges the club mansion into darkness, Jean Grey feels herself consumed by a dark power but is unable to do anything about it. The first one to suffer her wrath is her former tormentor, Mastermind. After explaining how mentally killing Cyclops broke Mastermind's hold over her, Jean expands his mind into the universe, to the point where he can't cope anymore and simply shuts down. Jean then returns to the X-Men and together they flee the building, but within moments the darkness within her takes full control and she emerges as Dark Phoenix, destroying the team's skycraft with everybody on board. 

Notes: Receiving a police dispatch about the X-Men fighting the Hellfire Club, Beast temporarily leaves the Avengers to rejoin his former team. 

Something Silly This Way Comes: Beast tells himself he doesn't really have friends among the Avengers, forgetting his friendship with Simon Williams. 

Review: If one talks to most X-Men fans, Chris Claremont and John Byrne's joint run on Uncanny X-Men is generally considered the title's best, and within this run the place of honor often goes to the Dark Phoenix storyline. What is often forgotten is how organically said storyline came to be, growing out of an already enjoyable Hellfire Club arc which found its conclusion with this issue. As it is, Too Late, The Heroes can be considered both an epilogue and a prologue, sharing the strengths and weaknesses of both.

Rounding the Hellfire Club storyline off takes up most of the story, quickly (and, occasionally, hastily) showing our heroes turning the tables on Shaw and company. If on the one hand there is a level of satisfaction at seeing the Club finally defeated after being on top for so long, on the other the pacing is a little off and at times things simply happen too quickly. Leland is killed almost off panel, and Pierce is disabled in mere moments despite facing a somewhat insecure Colossus. Even Shaw proves to be no match for Storm alone and has to run away. On a level, this makes sense: traditionally, superheroes always fare much better during rematches, and the X-Men had been taken largely by surprise the first time. However, there's a difference between winning and dominating, and the ease by which the heroes triumph ends up undermining the status of the Hellfire Club as a serious threat. Wolverine is also a bit of a problem as, after being the focus of the previous issue, he fails to play any significant role in the rescue, making that same issue a waste of time, albeit and enjoyable one.

What pulls the story above its limits is the talent of the duo at the helm. As usual with Claremont and, especially, Byrne, characters communicate in a very realistic and natural way. Thought balloons are always insightful, and it's especially fascinating to see what Shaw is thinking and how he's already assessing the situation and planning ahead, or Cyclops' reaction when figuring out what Wolverine did to Leland. The lion's share of what makes this issue so captivating however goes to Jean Grey, and to the chilling captions gradually detailing her inner struggle right before her confrontation with Mastermind. Having been anonymous at best and an enemy at worst over the past several issues, here Jean shines for one last time (well, until the next retcon that is), single-handedly setting in motion the X-Men's counter attack, defeating Mastermind and keeping her dark urges at bay for as long as she can before emerging as Dark Phoenix. In describing her torment, Claremont and Byrne outdo themselves, highlighting the stark contrast between her thoughts and actions, appearance and reality, desire and understanding.

The superb art by Byrne and Austin makes this dichotomy even more evident, especially via the skilful use of light sources, shadows and full-blacks in the panels where Jean confronts Mastermind. Byrne is a master of his trade, and his work on UXM is probably my favourite, coupling the level of expressivity we have come to expect of him with enough details to make George Perez proud. I would imagine this is thanks to Austin, as for a change there is hardly a page without background, and even the dirt on Wolverine's uniform is evident to see. Some say too much detail takes the storytelling away from the art, but I personally believe it all depends on how good the artist is at placing the figures inside his panels. When it works, and here it does, it's a pleasure to look at.

Final Verdict: A wonderfully-drawn, insightful and entertaining story, with only a few faults here and there. 4.5/5