In the late 90s, writer/artist John Byrne launched a series called X-Men The Hidden Years that would tell stories that filled the "gap" in the early 70s when X-Men was a reprint title. With embellishment by the legendary Tom Palmer, Byrne attempted the verisimilitude that the Thomas/Adams era had continued into the Bronze Age. But did he succeed?
This collection comprises three story arcs and begins with a very lengthy recap encompassing the Arnold Drake/Steranko era. The disagreeable Japanese mutant Sunfire gets a rather manga-esque makeover. It's quite an appealing look but at odds with Byrne's oft-stated agenda of putting "toys back in the box" as he found them.
In Once More The Savage Land, the X-Men are sent by a newly-returned Prof. X to check whether Magneto really died at the end of the Lorelei debacle. Of course he didn't and is projecting his astral form, as he did in his earliest Lee/Kirby appearances, to dominate a Burroughsian lost civilization. The priests of this race are a little like the Wieroo in Out of Time's Abyss.
In Escape to Oblivion, the X-Men and Magneto are separated , escaping an devastating volcanic eruption in a primitive giant dirigible. Meanwhile Havok and Lorna Dane are on a wild goose chase with Ka-Zar. So far, so familiar.
Finally, we have Behold a Goddess Rising: shipwrecked in Africa, the mutants meet a young Ororo for the first time. An amnesiac Bobby Drake, meanwhile, falls into the clutches of Karl Lykos, Byrne introduces the first new villain of the series: Deluge, another energy vampire with vague elemental powers. Deluge's cloak and armour make him look quite like Adams' Magneto, despite his doughy, zombie-like face.
Unfortunately, the stories are quite repetitive and slow-moving; I had the sense of having seen it all before- in previous incarnations of the X-Men. The first five issues of globe-trotting feel very long and it seems a mistake to split the team up again so soon. However, this is probably consistent with Byrne's Back to Basics mantra.
I like to think the bat-like race are related to the creature in Conan # 100's "Death on the Black Coast". However, after Angel encounters the bird-like Avia, nothing really happens to the character. I did enjoy the cameo by the FF however, especially seeing Sue's replacement, Crystal, again.
Later in the series, Byrne explored plotlines that weren't just retreads of Thomas and Adams. The low-rent incarnation of The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants- sleazy carnies Mastermind, Unus and the Blob- show up. Kraven hunts the Beast, who struggles with his animalistic impulses. Angel's Uncle Burt, the villainous Dazzler, has diabolical plans for the widow Worthington. Lorna Dane falls into the clutches of a group of survivalist mutants, whom I think were the group created by Kirby in the 50s Yellow Claw ( although one is a refugee from a Ditko story in Amazing Fantasy).
The series ended with a retelling of Magneto's alliance with Namor from Kirby's very last issue of the FF. It seemed an odd idea, even given that Mags is a recurring member of the regular cast since X-Men 1. Xavier's relationship with young Ashley Martin's mother and his martinet behaviour are dismissed as summarily as Avia.
I read somewhere that Byrne was working towards introducing the Eternals and the arrival of the Fourth Host on Earth. I stated on the 'optikon recently that Kirby's Bronze Age ancient astronauts had no place in the mainstream MU. That said, I would have liked to have seen more of Byrne's Eternal heroine, Pixie.
Speaking as we were of splitting the team up, what did Byrne dislike about Iceman? The junior X-Men is sidelined for most of the collection. Nor did he feature in the Byrne/Claremont era of the merry mutants. As the youngest student at Xavier's school- a teenage boy of perhaps 15 or 16 years old - Bobby struck up a friendship with self-mocking polymath and hipster McCoy ( a logical choice when the alternatives were insular gloomy Scott or vain, wealthy Warren). Yet Hank shows little interest in Bobby under Byrne; nor do we see the development of the friendship with Angel that led to the Champions and New Defenders.
In the end, it's exciting to see Cyclops, Angel, Storm and Mags, pencilled by Byrne again. Perhaps the schizophrenic storytelling led to its demise but the series was allegedly cancelled since there were (ahem) too many X-books. With bitter irony for Byrne, Marvel subsequently launched an untold tales comic by Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz: X-Men First Class. (Hmm. Memorable punning!)
This series played very fast and loose with Marvel continuity with guest appearances by Dr. Strange and 21st -century movie icons The Lizard, Thor and Black Widow.
Oh, those Russians
Coming Attractions: "The World Will End In 1983!"
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