New X-Men? #103

All-New, All-Different X-Men #103

“The Fall of the Tower”

Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum

Synopsis

While the rest of the X-Men are trapped by Black Tom and Juggernaut, it’s up to Nightcrawler and the Leprechauns (son of a bitch…) to come to their rescue! Also, we find out who’s paying for all these nifty gizmos Black Tom seems to have installed into the castle.

Rolling Commentary

… Someone is getting a very special room in hell, just for this opening splash page.

Page 4. So Nightcrawler’s got new powers and Leprechauns are not only real, but fairly common here in Cassidy Keep. Wow. I know realism is relative here in super hero comics, but the fact that O’Donnell the butler seems so matter of fact about these little dudes hiding out in the castle seems a bit… weird, I guess. Plus: Leprechauns. Oy.

I don’t know why I find this so funny, but on page 12 I almost laughed out loud when Colossus grabbed Wolverine and tossed him over the castle’s wall.

Page 14. I love that Wolverine seems to be the only person reacting properly to these little midgets. Also, first time we learn Wolverine’s name!

At the end. Ahhh…. Juggernaut really does love Tom…. Also, first D’Ken (though they don’t say his name, that’s who it is), and looks like the long awaited return of an old friend is coming soon…

Post Mortem

I’m never going to get a plausible explanation for those god damn leprechauns, am I?

It’s not that the last couple of issues were horrible, because they were actually quite fun to read. But… very little actually happened in them, quite frankly. Once the X-Men get to Ireland, it seems we get a fight scene that last two and a half issues while Claremont tries to figure out what to do with Jean now that she’s all Phoenixy. I’m not saying that’s what actually is happening here, just that that’s the impression I got reading it.

Like I said, the fight itself isn’t so bad, it just doesn’t go anywhere. We’re told about a dozen times that Black Tom is Banshee’s cousin, and apparently they both grew up in this castle. But that’s it, in terms of backstory. No mention of how and why Black Tom went bad, or what his mutant powers are, or how come Banshee’s sonic scream can’t rupture his ear drums. No mention of where and how Black Tom and Juggernaut met. If we had some of these things, the emotional impact of Banshee and Tom’s “final” duel would have been so much higher.

And what point did the Leprechauns really serve, honestly? Couldn’t Tom have been ransoming the butler’s family instead? Couldn’t Nightcrawler have just bamfed out of Juggernaut’s clutches rather than being rescued? The Leprechauns are weird, stupid, and completely replaceable in terms of plot. Plus, seriously, are we just trying to stereotype Ireland here or what? Gah. This could have been so much better simply by getting rid of them.