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The Uncanny X-Men #148

Aug 1981
Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum

The Uncanny X-Men #148 cover

Story Name:

Cry, Mutant!


Synopsis

The Uncanny X-Men #148 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Scott Summers and Lee Forrester explore the mysterious city that popped up out of nowhere at the end of last issue. Lee attempts to take advantage of the shelter and makes a move on Scott, but he rejects her advances, stating that it’s too soon for involvement again after Jean. Lee runs off in tears and frustration, only wanting warmth and comfort, not asking for any involvement. Scott, now alone and feeling like a major tool, stumbles around before tripping over a rock. He lets loose his optic blasts to the sky in frustration, before coming to his senses and replacing his blindfold. Lee returns and the two embrace, realizing that they need each other during this uncertain time. Meanwhile, on the grounds of the Xavier mansion, Wolverine and Nightcrawler engage in an impromptu training session. Nightcrawler skulks through the trees while Wolverine tracks him from the ground. All of a sudden, Wolverine seems to disappear! When Nightcrawler teleports down to investigate, Wolverine surprises and stuns him, winning their little duel, and stating that Kurt owes him yet another case of beer!

Inside the mansion, Angel is in a heated debate with Professor X and Moira MacTaggert. Angel argues that Wolverine is just as much of a danger to the team as to the those they face. Storm joins the argument, stating that they should not just give up on Wolverine, but Angel flies out in a huff, stating that he won’t be a part of any team that includes Wolverine! In the hangar, Banshee and Colossus work on the X-Men’s blackbird jet, while Colossus’ sister, Illyana Rasputin watches. Illyana wonders if she could be a mutant too, before Nightcrawler teleports in to inform Banshee that Professor Xavier wants to see him. Banshee enters the mansion to find a young woman named Theresa Rourke waiting for him with a letter. The letter informs Sean that Theresa is the daughter he never knew he had, from his first marriage shortly before his wife’s death! A joyous moment is had by all as father and daughter are united, aside from Moira, who excuses herself outside. She confides in Storm that she feels a bit jealous, that Theresa will steal Sean’s attention away from her, and Ororo admits that she feels similarly about Stevie Hunter, Kitty’s dance teacher.

Some time later, a mysterious, shadowy figure calling himself Caliban makes his way out of the sewers, feeling lonely and sensing others like him in a nearby building. Those others turn out to be Kitty Pryde, Storm, Stevie Hunter, and Spider-Woman, guests invited to see Dazzler perform at the nightclub atop the skyscraper. Caliban enters the ground floor, and the guards react in fear, causing Caliban to lash out before he runs to try and make his way to the other mutants he senses, hoping they will understand. Dazzler’s performance begins and the others hear screams as Caliban makes his way up the skyscraper. Kitty phases down through the floor to see what all the commotion is about, and Dazzler creates a blinding distraction, allowing Storm and Spider-Woman to slip out as well. Kitty comes upon Caliban and is immediately grabbed by him, while Storm and Spider-Woman come to her rescue.

Caliban fights back and makes his way down the elevator shaft with the fainted Kitty, wanting her to return to the sewers with him, as his friend. Storm and Spider-Woman follow Caliban once again, catching up with him right as he exits the building. They overpower him, and he surrenders, stating that he only wanted friends, hoping the others he sensed like him would ease his lonliness. They realize he’s a mutant and offer to help him, but Caliban slips away into the sewers again when they hear sirens approaching. Later, back in the club, the group gathers and wishes they could have helped Caliban more, realizing that each of them could have turned out like him, had Professor Xavier not found them. Kitty makes her own realization from this little debacle, that she’s been treating Nightcrawler badly simply because of how he looks and determines to start trying to make amends. Meanwhile, Scott and Lee try to make the most of their situation before they are found by the lone occupant of the mysterious city. Dread washes over Scott as he realizes that the master of this city is none other than Magneto, hoping against hope that he isn’t recognized, so far from help or civilization! To be continued!


 

Review / Commentaries


The Uncanny X-Men #148 Review by (October 23, 2024)

Review: There’s a surprising amount going on in this issue, featuring a ton of characters and lots of setup for future things. The main plot has to do with Caliban kidnapping Kitty and running into loads of trouble with the X-Men as a result. Turns out he just wanted friends, people like him, without having to hide away in the sewers due to his strange appearance. He ends up returning there, but he sets a precedence for sewer-dwelling mutants, his very existence some nice setup for the later introduction of the Morlocks. We also get some setup and foreshadowing for two different characters that will become more important X-characters in the future. The first is Banshee’s daughter Theresa, who met the X-Men in Spider-Woman #38 (thereby also justifying Spider-Woman’s otherwise very random guest appearance this issue), who is united this issue with her father, much to his surprise! Theresa will later take on the identity of Siryn, most notably as a member of a later incarnation of X-Factor.

The other character is Illyana Rasputin, who has already appeared briefly, but gets some foreshadowing of her mutant status after wondering this issue if she is one. Illyana will be more immediately important in the X-sphere shortly as Magik, future member of the New Mutants and an all-around cool (if complicated) character. Angel also leaves the team this issue due to thinking Wolverine is too dangerous, even though Wolverine hasn’t really done much to earn that reaction lately, while Angel has been mostly useless. He won’t be terribly missed for now. We also see the first instance of one of Wolverine and Nightcrawler’s special, improvised training sessions, which isn’t a huge thing, but it will become a regular occurrence and provides some nice moments for one of my favorite X-Men friendships. And of course, most immediately important is the ongoing sub-plot of Scott and Lee on the mysterious island. They discover at the end of this issue that the strange city belongs to Magneto, with yet another final page reveal for the Master of Magnetism, which will lead right into the landmark UXM #150 a couple of issues from now!

Comments: First appearance of Caliban. Guest appearances by Dazzler and Spider-Woman. Angel leaves the team. The X-Men met Theresa Rourke and Spider-Woman in Spider-Woman #38, leading to their appearances this issue.



> The Uncanny X-Men comic book info and issue index

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Dave Cockrum
Joe Rubinstein
Glynis Wein
Dave Cockrum (Cover Penciler)
Dave Cockrum (Cover Inker)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Janice Chiang.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Angel
Angel

(Warren Worthington III)
Banshee
Banshee

(Sean Cassidy)
Colossus
Colossus

(Piotr Rasputin)
Cyclops
Cyclops

(Scott Summers)
Kitty Pryde
Kitty Pryde

(Kate Pryde)
Magik
Magik

(Illyana Rasputin)
Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler

(Kurt Wagner)
Professor X
Professor X

(Charles Xavier)
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman

(Jessica Drew)
Storm
Storm

(Ororo Munroe)
Wolverine
Wolverine

(James Howlett)

Plus: Caliban, Lee Forrester, Siryn (Theresa Rourke), Stevie Hunter.

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