I have mentioned before, on this blog, that I cannot distinctly remember my very first exposure to comic books. I KNOW I did brush up to a random Spider-Man issue in my youth, but the only thing I remember about the issue is that Peter Parker ate some Kentucky Fried Chicken in a panel. Yeah... REAL helpful... But I can at least recall one of my first single issue comics I bought upon visiting a corner party store with my parents. (You remember that time period, where stores actually had spinner racks of comics to browse through?) Bear in mind, I never read any other comics from this series, previous. I also didn't immediately follow up on collecting the following issues after this purchase. BUT this single issue left such a strong impression on me, it stuck with my memory for years on end, and I bring it up for discussion, today. Plus, it helps to balance out a lot of my personal snark towards that Canuckle-Head, Wolverine!
Maybe it was the vivid cover of "Uncanny X-Men #205" that grabbed me. Or maybe it was browsing the interior art that made me a purchaser. Whatever special alchemy possessed me to pick this issue to receive as a treat for being such a generally good lad, it was a piece of comics magic delivered by Chris Claremont and the special guest artist, Barry Windsor-Smith.
Some set-up details elude me. I have no idea why Wolverine's lost in a New York snowstorm. I also have no idea why Katie Powers, of the Power Pack, is lost in the storm also. But when they meet, Logan's in rather bad shape. Thanks to some quick Internet research, the reason why Wolvie's in such a poor physical state is because he had an encounter with Lady Deathstrike and Cole, Reese, and Macon... later of the Reavers killer cyborg group. This issue even EXPLAINS how the cybertronic quartet came to be!
Previously unknown to me, Sprial... You know, the multi-armed assassin under the employ of Mojo at this time, ran a "Body Shop". Lady Yuriko's got a real mad-on for Logan, because she seeks the adamantium bonded to his bones, to reclaim her family honor. (It involves the theft of the adamantium bonding process her father created). Now since adamantium isn't exactly easy to damage, Sprial bonds adamantium to her own skeleton, along with a few nifty cybernetic enhancements. One such that immediately springs to mind is Lady Deathstrike can elongate her limbs, in particular. As for Cole, Reese, and Macon, you have to turn back the hands of time to when the X-Men battled the Hellfire Club during the "Dark Phoenix Saga". Remember those poor Hellfire Club guards that were hacked to bits in the Club's sewers by Wolverine? Well, THEY'RE BAAAAACK! (And truth be told, they've usually been the least efficient members of the Reavers. Eh... I suppose Donald Pierce couldn't be picky about hiring killer cyborgs.) Now what Windsor-Smith does successfully with this sequence is showcase just how truly grotesque the process of becoming half-man/half-machine could very well be. Yuriko and crew... for their deadly re-imaginings... are certainly more monstrous than sleek for the power they achieve.
We then follow Katie Powers and Wolverine, as they attempt to find shelter from the storm. I do remember some lines of dialogue involve Katie wondering who she could contact to help out the rapidly fading Wolverine. (Also, kids... Remember a time when Wolverine couldn't just instantly heal from ANY injury he received? Ah... Logan has it so easy, in general current times...) Before Katie can decide on calling... from a pay phone... Spider-Man, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and probably Irving Forbush, the newly pressed cyborg assassins track Wolverine down to finish the job.
What follows is a very stylish battle sequence. Now while my particulars as to how the former Hellfire trio are handled are fuzzy, the battle between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike are as vivid as ever in my imagination. AND for added benefit, they are exquisitely easy to find through some internet searches!
In my latter years, I've grown to really appreciate the evolution of Windsor-Smith's artwork. It took Barry a few years to shed his initial Neal Adams riff style. But when he developed his own artistic touch, you couldn't deny the magic of what he could achieve. I may have been all of five or six when I owned this comic, and can you imagine the impact of what seeing such grotesque depictions of cybernetic alterations, and such vivid battle sequences did to my wee little mind? This book is nearing being 30 years old, and this artwork STILL holds power! Anyways, since Lady Deathstrike is too valuable a villain to waste on a one-off story, while she is bested by Logan, she is not utterly destroyed. ... And probably to the chagrin of the forthcoming Reavers, I know the Hellfire trio walk away from this battle with minor wounds to lick. ... Or get buffed out at the "Body Shop", which Spiral never seems to reopen after this particular story. But to be fair, Spiral soon starts hanging with the former Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, under the governmental rebranding of their team as the Freedom Force.
We conclude with Logan recovering his composure... and his physical well-being... as the storm calms. He and Katie Power hold hands, and presumably end up reunited with her family, while Wolverine actually makes tracks back to spend time with the X-Men. Don't you just have the warm and fuzzies?
In conclusion, I believe what makes this comic so memorable to me are a few factors worthy of consideration. One being this was basically a one-and-done story. I STILL don't feel as if I needed to know what happened immediately previous to Wolverine... or even Katie Powers... to get the general gist of the story. You have them lost in a storm, dealing with cybernetic assassins. Somehow you get the impression that this story would probably elicit a six-issue miniseries if written in the current comics environment. Another factor being that while the story is very basic... and if you were to be critical, EXTREMELY bare-bones... it's the visceral action that carries the day for the pages. And one other MAJOR factor is Barry Windsor-Smith's eye-catching artwork. Not to knock John Romita Jr. as the regular X-Men artist around this time, but can you imagine what it was like for a long-term X-Men fan to see the transition from JRJR's traditional style, to the EXPLOSION of BWS's artwork? And this won't be the only time he would give creative life to Logan. Just check out the "Weapon X" storyline that was originally presented in "Marvel Comics Presents" to see what else he had to contribute to the legacy of Wolverine.
My own individual copy was lost to the general travails of time. I know the last time I had the issue, it was beat to hell, and if I were to have attempted to get it CGC-graded, that professional would've laughed in my face. But sometimes it's the books that were worn down due to multiple re-readings that hold more personal worth that a monetary value of collectibility. And also it holds much personal worth as one of my earliest memories of reading a single issue of a comic. A step towards an interest that would make even the darkest times of my life that much more bearable. And NO CGC-grade can measure that worth.
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