The 1986 event X-Men: The Mutant Massacre largely written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by a cadre of artists is, to me, typical of any X-Men event, encircling a single event from the perspective of the many X-Men teams. In context of when it was released with so many massacres and violence incurred all over the world at the time in the name of proxy wars.
It nonetheless contains otherwise gorgeous artwork, particularly the portions by Alan Davis (my favorite artist of the era) and Sal Buscema, both going for dynamic art and highly expressive faces in contrast to the above. Writing-wise, I am torn between the Power Pack issue, which introduced me to a team I have never read a single comic about that come across as an interesting grouping, as well as the main X-Men titles which bring the full weight of a massacre happening on the X-Men’s watch – especially with Magneto having just been christened as new headmaster in Professor X’s absence, Storm having just had lost a portion of the team missing in action.
As the coming and going from the Morlock tunnels brings steadily higher stakes and more of a steady body count, it becomes more and more hopeless. Each passing moment feels solemn and tragic, but sadly does not build up to anything other than a confrontation between Sabertooth – now a member of the Marauders, just one of the culprits – and Wolverine, and the traces of who is pulling the strings…later revealed to be Mister Sinister and Apocalypse, both who embrace a creed of “survival of the fittest” rather than the common survival of the species.
And they say that comics only now getting political.
Probably because you were not exposed to the politics they stood for back then. Bless your soul.
