X-Men #109 (Feb 78): Home Are the Heroes!
Creative Team: Chris Claremont, author; John Byrne, artist; Terry Austin, inker; Joe Rosen, letterer; Andy Yanchus, colorist; Archie Goodman, editor
Starting Line Up: Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Banshee, Storm, Colossus
Guest Star: Pheonix
Synopsis: The X-Men finally return home. Storm eagerly checks on her plants in the attic. She whips up a small shower to water them. Pheonix recalls the events that occured after leaving the M'Kraan Crystal: The Imperials living up to their oath of killing the X-Men, Lilandra being exiled while the legal issues of her becoming the Empress are worked out, Corsair asking Pheonix not to reveal to Scott he is his father, and Storm overhearing it. Pheonix then decides to finally explain to her parents about her powers, without Cyclops. She feels she's changed since facing the Neutron Galaxy. Banshee and Moira McTaggart off on a picnic. He asks Moira if she's seen Havok. She tells him Havok and Polaris went off to Moira's lab after being broken from Eric the Red's control. Meanwhile, somewhere, someone has targert someone else. Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Nightcrawler calls up Amanda and asks her out on a date. He interrupts Colossus writting a letter to his parents asking if he wants to go with Amanda's friend Elizabeth on a double. He declins, going on the picnic with Banshee and Moira. Cyclops watches Pheonix outside with her parents, explaining what's happened to her. Cyclops is brooding again. Nightcrawler tries to talk to him, but is interrupted by Banshee. Wolverine surprises the group by wanting to tag along on the picnic. He wants to go hunting deer, but with no killing. Meanwhile, somewhere, some guys are tracking "Weapon X". While Wolverine is hunting a deer, he's attacked by Weapon Alpha. He's to bring Wolverine back to Canada. He's not going easy. Meanwhile, Banshe and Moira frolicking in the lake whil Storm and Colossus talk about their homelands. Wolverine smashes through a tree nearby. Colossus and Storm rush to his aid, and battle with Weapon Alpha. One of Weapon Alpha's force blasts goes stray and accidentally knocked Moira out cold. Banshee snaps and goes after Alpha. Seeing he's outnumbered, he hastily retreats. They search for him, but find nothing. Wolverine warns they won't give up so easy, and he'll be back.
Yeah, but is it good? It's a great change of pace. After months of fighting cosmic entities, the X-Men are back to good old fights with regular people with strange powers. Weapon Alpha isn't a mutant, though. He just has a nifty power suit ala Iron Man. This is just one of those nice character building issues. Nightcrawler, especially. He shows his girl crazy side, and then right after he's beaing the team therapist again. Colossus begins to show how home side he is, and uses Storm as a surrogate sister to help him through it. And gotta love how the Canadian villain isn't really all that bad. Moira accidentally gets hurt, he feels bad, so he leaves them alone.
Significata: First appearance of Weapon Alpha. Cyclops begins to worry than Pheonix has changed. Nightcrawler begins his relationship with Amanda. Colossus starts to get homesick.
