X-Men #127 (Nov 79): The Quality of Hatred!Creative Team: Chris Claremont, writer & plotter; John Byrne, plotter & penciler; Terry Austin, inker; Tom Orzechowski, letterer; Glynis Wein, colorist; Roger Stern, editor; Jim Shooter, editor-in-chief
Starting Line Up: Cyclops, Pheonix, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Banshee, Storm, Colossus
Guest Stars: Havok, Polaris
Synopsis: Proteus continues his assault on Storm so he can steal her body. Nightcrawler wants to help her but Wolverine is paralyzed from fear. Proteus is grazed by a bullet and it turns out his own mother, Moira MacTaggart, is the one trying to pick him off. Cyclops tries to stop her, but he sucker punches him and takes off after Proteus, who steals their jeep and gets away. The X-Men regroup to plan a new search. Wolverine is still shaken up, so Cyclops goads him into a fight. He also takes on Nightcrawler and Storm. After throwing them all around for a while, he stops and claims he was just trying to snap them out of their shaken state. It worked. With no other way to track Proteus, they decide they'll just have to follow the trail of bodies. Proteus, meanwhile, ditches his cop body and takes that of a young girl and takes her car to throw off anyone following him. He then heads to Edinburgh to look for the "one-I-hate". Moira arrived ahead of him to tell her estranged husband, Joe, a local politician running for MP, that they have a son he didn't know about and she believes he's coming to kill him. It's also hinted at that he was physially abusive, hence the seperation. He won't divorce her since it's in his political interest to be married to a renowned geneticist. He's so upset she never told him about his son he kicks her out. That's when Proteus finds him. The X-Men arrive in Edinburgh and Pheonix does a mind scan of the city. She find Proteus at the moment he takes over his father's body and it causes her intense pain. The X-Men fly into action, with Pheonix telekinetically carrying every X-Men except Storm (who can fly on her own). This would have been impossible before her Pheonix powers. Back in the city, Proteus didn't just take over his father's body but instead shared it with him, warping the two psyches into one. He comes for Moira saying he "wants her", but his exact meaning is unclear. Being a combination of her husband and her son, it's an extremly Oedipal moment. The X-Men arrive on the scene, but Proteus uses his reality warping to fend them off (turning the street 90 degrees and turning Cyclops' optic blast into flowers). Proteus then grabs Moira and threatens to take over her body (now we're into Norman Bates territory) if the X-Men come any closer. They decide they have to stop him no matter what.
Yeah, but is it good? Great stuff here again, although I would have loved to see more of Proteus using his powers to do... well anything. Being the middle part of a three part story, I can see why it was being saved for the last chapter. Cyclops goading Wolverine into a fight was gold, since the inevitable showdown has been built up since the very beginning. The whole incestuous undertones of the Moira/Joe/Proteus wern't so blatant it's disgusting, but there enough to make the whole situation weird and disturbing. This story arc and the two immediately following it as well as the few coming up soon afterwards are some of my favorite stories and one of the many peaks during the Claremont era. Lots to look forward too :)
Significata: Wolverine shows fear for the first time. Cyclops and Wolverine finally go at it, albeit only briefly and without conclusion. Wolverine finally gives Cyclops some credit as a good team leader. Moira is revealed to be still married, just seperated (and has been for almost 20 years).
