From: trombley-sarah@yale.edu (Sarah Trombley)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.xbooks
Subject: Re: Mutant Crossovers
Date: 17 Dec 1992 22:11:02 -0500
Organization: Yale University Science & Engineering UNIX(tm), New Haven, CT 06520-2158
NNTP-Posting-Host: minerva.cis.yale.edu

In article <17DEC199221354967@udel.edu> jdelisle@udel.edu (J. G. Delisle) writes:
>In article <BzFH3B.J8o@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, chak@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Chak the Destroyer) writes...
>>I agree that the whole massacre wasn't her fault, however the way the team
>>got beat up was.  I mean, what did she do while she was down there?  She
>>gave Rogue her I-am-the-morlock-leader-so-I-must-go-down-there vest, and then
>>she punched Scramble in the chops once.  What kinda person goes into a tunnel
>>full of mutants (or regular super humans) trying to kill a bunch of other
>>mutants while she has no powers.  My answer, only a stupid one.  Plus the
>>fact that she didn't let magneto go down.  Let's see, how many people in the
>>Marauders utilized metal?  Riptide, Scalphunter, and Harpoon pop into mind.
>>Then later, Polaris, who has only 1/2 the power of Magneto takes out a couple
>>of more.  Overall, I would say that Storm is a schmuck and shouldn't be allowed
>>to lead a girl scout troop.
>> 
>>Chak
>
>	Yes, but did Storm _know_ there would be all kinds of metal-using
>Marauders down there? Nope. If anyone is to blame for that, it's Psylocke --
>she probed the dying Morlock's mind, she _should_ have known! :-)

Not as if she'd really have to.  Look, Magneto ranks right up there with
the most powerful mutants on the planet.  We all know that he doesn't
need to oppose metal-based powers to be effective...it just makes it more
fun.

>	I have to agree with the fact that Magneto stayed behind to defend the
>X-Mansion. What good would it have done them if the place got blown up?

...And why would it be blown up?  Don't they have the same chance of its
being blown up _any time_ they take off on a mission?  At the beginning
of the Massacre, they had absolutely no indication that the Mansion might
be attacked.

 (See
>Inferno for the answer to that.) Besides, if you're talking about maximum 
>firepower, why not take Cannonball (invulnerability), Magma (lava blasts), 
>Warlock, not to mention a few of Magik's pet demons? (other than the fact 
>that the NM got slaughtered against the Danger Room Marauders.) I think
>the idea of protecting the kids and "putting all your eggs in one basket" 
>comes to mind.

You want to protect the kids, send them to Muir Isle.  Isn't that what
they ended up doing anyway?

 Mags  probably could have taken the Marauders out 
>singlehandedly, which is why he was left behind. 

*blink*  Sure.  Makes a lot of sense to me.  You know that there's some
sort of _awful_ situation down in the tunnels--you know it'd take a
considerable force to wipe out the Morlocks--you know that time is
of the essence, since there may still be survivors down there--so you
keep your most powerful member on a house-sitting mission.  It seems
to me that, given the situation, it would be a lot more important 
strategically to _stop the Marauders_ than to protect the Mansion.

>	The reason the X-Men got slaughtered was that they had no ranged 
>attacks, whereas the Marauders did (Riptide, Scalphunter, Vertigo, Harpoon).
>Remember how only Nightcrawler could reach Vertigo, and nobody could stop
>Riptide from tearing him apart when he was too tired to 'port? Even Dazzler
>would have been useful!

Hmm.  Now which mutant available at the time had a ranged attack?  A ranged
attack capable of reaching across continents and starting volcanos up?
Hmm?  (I do think your reason is sound.)  When the X-Men started getting
slaughtered, when they realized what they were up against strategically,
well--there are telepaths and teleporters galore around.  ETA of Magneto:
45 secs. maximum.

>	What kind of leader would order her "troops" into the hole, and then
>stay behind because she didn't have any powers? She defeated a powerful
>_mutant_ to win the leadership of the X-Men, so why can she fight off a few?

No argument here.  

>	Yes, Storm made some bad decisions, from the omnipotent third person
>point of view (the one you and I have). Unfortunately, she only knew what
>she was told, until it was too late.

No, let's face it, Magneto wasn't allowed to go into the tunnels not
because of strategic considerations, but so that the Mutant Massacre
could last more than four splash-pages.  Claremont had the same problem
with including Magneto as Excalibur later had with Phoenix (admittedly
on a smaller scale)--with such a powerful member, it's hard to explain
why anything would be a challenge.  Claremont could certainly figure
out that the Marauders in particular had no chance against Magneto.  
He had to be kept out.
 
>
>	Joe Delisle
>
>+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>| From the terminal of Joe Delisle      |                                    |
>| jdelisle@loyola.edu  (preferred)      |    "Home is where the hell is."    |
>| jdelisle@cs.loyola.edu                |                                    |
>|              "I was up above it, but now I'm down in it"                   |
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-- 
Sarah Trombley                                       trombley-sarah@yale.edu
"I try to know what I need to know.  I make sure to know what I want to know."
							
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