Random Back Issues #14 - Uncanny X-Men #228

Tune in next week, when we see a tale from Logan's past involving Sinatra trying to teach him to croon. Or vice versa. Could go either way with Wolverine these days.

This was the first issue after the X-Men's "death" in Dallas fighting that Trickster god. No, not Loki. It's set as a letter mailed sometime earlier from Dazzler to a bounty hunter friend of hers, O.Z. Chase. I only found out today that O.Z. and his dog Cerberus were supporting characters in Dazzler's ongoing because of Googum's post on the last issue of Dazzler's series. I assumed that was the case - Claremont never shies away from using character's preexisting supporting cast - but he's also not immune from just creating characters and saying they're old friends.

For some reason, the letter is all about a time recently when Dazzler and Wolverine helped O.Z. out, as he'd been accused of murder. He was there for almost all of it, so Dazzler describing so much of it doesn't really make sense, but oh well. Dazzler tried to handle it solo, because she was sick of Wolverine telling her nothing she was doing was good enough, only for Logan to beat her to Florida anyway.

O.Z. was hired to bring in a drug lord that skipped bail, but the guy has zappy hand powers and nearly killed the bounty hunter. Logan's pretty sure the guy is an ex-KGB agent named Zaitsev he fought in the past (I was thinking he was from a story arc in Marvel Comics Presents around issue #124, but that was an East German named Hans).

To make a bad situation worse, Henry Peter Gyrich shows up, saying Zaitsev was supposed to give them info about the Soviet mutant program, but double-crossed them. he suggests it might help the X-Men reputation if Logan helps. Since I'm sure the true story would never see the papers, I'm not sure I buy that (plus only an idiot would trust Gyrich).

Dazzler, Wolverine, and O.Z. go hunting through the swamps, and find Zaitsev fending off Russians trying to silence the traitor. Zaitsev's good enough to hold his own against Logan, but leaves himself wide open while trying to kill Dazzler, and Logan cuts him open. The Russian still flees farther into the swamp, while yelling for Gyrich that he wants the two X-Men and the bounty hunter dead in exchange for his cooperation. Dude, he already gave you a bunch of cash, which you wasted trying to be a drug lord.

It doesn't matter, because O.Z.'s large dog, Cerberus ain't having any of this "gettin' away" or "making deals" shit, and kills Zaitsev. Gyrich's pretty pissed about that, which you have to consider a win. It turns out O.Z. has been reading this in a booth in a bar, where one of the other patrons says how glad he is the X-Men are dead. Unfortunately for him, this is a bar which allows to bring shotguns and large, angry dogs inside while they get drunk, so he has to eat his words.

Next issue would be the official start of Australian era, which I'm fond of, at least the first year and a half or so.

[12th longbox, 40th comic. Uncanny X-Men #228, by Chris Claremont (writer), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Terry Austin (inker), Bill Wray (colorist), Tom Orzechowski]