Uncanny X-Men #336,
September 1996
File this one under crossover issues that stand out more for
what they represent than for the stories themselves (See also Spider-Man
Unlimited #1, Civil War #1).
Uncanny 336 was a
chapter of “Onslaught,” a Marvel mega-event that included the X-Men, Avengers,
Fantastic Four and plenty of side books. The hype for Onslaught began building
in spring 1995, almost immediately after the end of the previous X-event, the “Age
of Apocalypse.”
In fact, according to Brian Cronin’s Comic
Book Legends Revealed, what started as a half-formed idea by Scott Lobdell
to have someone or something beat up the Juggernaut turned into an edict across
the books to allude to Onslaught before anyone knew what it was.
But I don’t remember Onslaught for being a confusing mess that
featured a teenage Tony Stark, a younger, long-haired version of Magneto or
Hawkeye wearing A Very ’90s Headsock.
What I remember is one panel, about a ninth of the page,
showing the left half of Cyclops’ face, fangs bared, saying two words: “Take
him.” Behind him, in shadow, Thor and
Storm are airborne, ready to attack the being holding Charles Xavier prisoner
and threatening to torture him slowly. Quite frankly, it’s my favorite thing
Joe Madureira ever drew.
Here, Cyclops isn’t just leading the X-Men. The Avengers and
the FF are following him into battle as well. The X-Man who had spent 30 years
suffering from crippling insecurity was now barking orders at almost every
major hero in the Marvel Universe. And that’s why I was
a teenage Cyclops fan.
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