Make Mine Marvel

Marvel Fanfare #22 (McKenzie/Steacy, Sept 1985). Doc Ock leads a prison break, dealing Tony a devastating blow. A glorious showcase for this book’s premium artwork, but the impact of this encounter feels like it’ll be mitigated by being in this side project.

Doctor Strange #73 (Stern/Smith, Oct 1985). Clea finally has her own triumph.

Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #2 (Skeates/Armstrong, July 1985). If I’m gonna stick through these alternate universe shenanigans, I suppose I should really go back and give Kirby’s classic Howling Commandos run a fair shot.

Doctor Strange #72 (Stern/Smith, Aug 1985). Confirming details of Clea’s past doesn’t feel especially magical to me.

Nightcrawler #4 (Cockrum, Feb 1986). This miniseries ditched the sword-and-sorcery thing for a cartoon farce. I don’t hate it.

Doctor Strange #71 (Stern/Smith, June 1985). Strange reunites with Clea. The enhanced backstory for the Dark Dimension is neat, but Smith’s artwork flattens all of Ditko’s psychedelia into a bog standard medieval village.

Nightcrawler #3 (Cockrum, Jan 1986). The next stop on Kurt’s interdimensional adventure is the land of Kitty’s fairy tale. Kooky!

Moon Knight #1 (Zelenetz/Warner, June 1985). Marc tries to reclaim his identity and auctions off the statue of Khonshu that has loomed over the halls of Steven Grant’s mansion. But the Egyptian pantheon has other plans! All other themes and characters get obliterated by Egyptology — it’s like Jake Lockley never existed. I still think there’s a lot they’re leaving on the table by not interrogating the conflict of Marc being Jewish and receiving powers from an Egyptian god, but the new direction’s pretty exciting so far.

Nightcrawler #2 (Cockrum, Dec 1985). Kurt gets to live out his Errol Flynn fantasies.

New Mutants #28 (Claremont/Sienkiewicz, June 1985). Already weakened by a recent mugging, Charles is unprepared to restore his son’s shattered mind. To make matters worse, he detects the return of… the Beyonder! I think that’s the first explicit tease for Secret Wars II.

Nightcrawler #1 (Cockrum, Nov 1985). In his first solo adventure, Kurt gets transported to a band of interdimensional sky pirates.

New Mutants #27 (Claremont/Sienkiewicz, May 1985). Professor X grapples with the consequences of his actions.

Uncanny X-Men #194 (Claremont/Romita Jr, June 1985). While Professor X contends with Legion on Muir Island, Nimrod instigates a public brawl in Manhattan. Mistrust of the mutants is worse than ever. Did you know that “nimrod” used to mean “hunter” (after a Biblical figure) but has come to mean “idiot”? Language is fun.

New Mutants #26 (Claremont/Sienkiewicz, Apr 1985). The FX series only shares superficial similarities with this source material. As ever, Sienkiewicz’s art lends an unsettling, ephemeral quality. Between Warlock’s silliness and David Haller’s troubles, the New Mutants operate in a particularly surreal tone.

X-Men #193 (Claremont/Romita Jr, May 1985). 100 issues since the debut of the “all-new, all-different” team! To celebrate, this issue has everything: Morlocks, Hellions, Charlie in BDSM gear, New Mutants cameos, leadership anxieties, a woo-woo subplot for Ororo, a villain dramatically moved by an X-Man’s display of compassion for a teammate, and the comics debut of Firestar (who first appeared in a 1981 TV cartoon). I’m sure I’ve said this before — the mutants’ corner of the Marvel Universe is so dense, it feels impossible to keep track of. But the relationships and themes keep this book one of the best in the whole publishing line.

Captain America #307 (Gruenwald/Neary, July 1985). Living in Steve’s shadow drives Jack to madness.

Power Man and Iron Fist #116 (Owsley/Bright, Apr 1985). There’s not much more context for this panel.