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With Piotr grieving his lost love(s) and Rogue continuing to brood with guilt over her previous assault on Carol Danvers, Kurt relies on his jokier, jovial nature to try to boost his peers' morale.
Conversations about Rogue always seems to return to the theme of consent...
...to our typical Danger Room cold open, featuring the very pared-down team of Piotr, Kurt, and Rogue.
With Ororo's absence, Kurt has assumed leadership of the team–although our fuzzy elf is a far less natural fit in the position than his predecessors in Ororo and Scott.
Our other group of heroes have tried to make an alternative entrance, where the cover-alluded fight between the Vision and Colossus finally takes place, ending in a stalemate in the form of their deaths.
All seems lost for our heroes, with Gath having grown to powerful...
...their escape. At this point, I'm so confused about whether or not Illyana's Soulsword "frees" someone from the spell entirely or just enough that it Piotr calls her snowflake, because neither makes sense.
Illyana yells at Amara–who is usually itching to get into a fight...
...of Rogue's "gemform" in this issue, which until this scene I had assumed was just an error of coloring on the digital remaster of the comic.
Rogue often gets the short end of the stick, and while I could hear the argument that it's actually subversive to allow a woman on...
...a rare example of one of the early-Run's "meh" issues. There's a lot of the story that happens in Claremont's head and not on page, which can make certain moments–like Wasp's random collapse–feel unearned.
Similarly, we get first mention...
...and Illyana fitting the story properly within his type of narrative structure.
The upcoming arc of Uncanny X-Men is great, but I can't help but feel like this Conan crossover-esque issue is a distraction that doesn't much to move forward the team's story until its close.
The assembled Avengers and X-Men rise to defend the seemingly helpless girl against her attackers, who flee as Illyana draws her Soul Sword.
Her sword and will are powerful enough to disrupt Gath's spell, and she frees Piotr from the curse's influence.
Why at this point she...
Callisto has largely thus far proven herself antagonist to the X-Men, but Claremont manages to frame Callisto as an honorable, devoted leader to her people.
The Morlock seems genuinely upset with the news of Ororo's assault, and swears vengeance on those who would bring her...
...the two mutants into a grotesque, hybridized mutant tracker.
Kulan Gath's enforcers manage to capture the New Mutants, who he wickedly warps in his own image, transforming all save Warlock and a missing Illyana into another group of hunters in his name.
Warlock flees...