{LIS} Uncanny X-Men 395

**Slartibartfast** · June 15th, 2001, 09:07 PM

Well, I'm gonna ignore Hostboard?s hiccups and try to carry on. Since we've all been scattered for a while, I figured I'd start up a topic on Kurt?s recent return to regular continuity...

Casey, our hero? Maybe so.
Ah, the long-awaited return of regular-continuity Kurt! Yay! Even though the end smells awfully familiar I liked it pretty well. Let's ignore his mouth though. Say "Aaaahhhh!" Kurt!

HELLA SPOILERS biggrin

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Well, Kurt apparently is a full-frocked priest now. Oh well. Oh, and a midwife too. biggrin

He does have his sense of humor back. Yay! And his curly hair. Yay! I was thrilled to see that he was in charge. Even if he's not official team leader, he was giving the orders. This whole issue also has really funy dialogue and Kurt gets in a couple good ones.

Some of his signiture talents have resurfaced. At long last, he's wallcrawling again. He perches on walls and furniture just like old times. Churchill is giving him a really long tail, which he uses well as a flashlight holder. Ah, now he just needs a sword back in that tail... His costume is cool, but, as Jyuu pointed out to me, it's really loose compared to the others' costumes. He's too skinny for it. Yu, and now Churchill draw him awfully scrawny nowadays. Oh well, minor point.

As Bamf pointed out over on Whizzer, his characterization was the standout. He's smart and articulate again. He doesn't mope or whine once and though there are a few religious references, I think they were mainly to establish him as a priest. I was also thrilled to see him talking to Logan. Their friendship has been ignored far too long and since Kurt rarely or never served with his other teammates, Logan would be the one he is most familiar with. Logan calls him 'pal,' and Kurt gives him unwanted advice just like old times.

It's not flawless, but it's the best characterization of him in a core book that I've seen in a while. Casey seems to have a genuine grasp on his character and I hope it only grows stonger. To feature him so prominantly in this issue bodes well I think. Let's hope for continued good elf days!

Mole chick: "What the hell are you doing?! "
Kurt: "Helping her deliver. Trust me. I'm a priest."
Bobby: "What does that mean? 'I'm a priest?' So What? Now if he was a cab driver I could see how-"
Warren: "... chill out ... you know what I mean."
biggrin

**Darkholme** · June 15th, 2001, 09:48 PM

And now, for counterpoint...

If Kurt is going to be a priest, fine. All well and good. But do NOT have him saying "Mein Gott" (major breaking of a commandment right there, and it happens TWICE this issue) and "charmed the hell out of her". If he's not going to kiss Cerise because of his piety, he shouldn't be swearing either, even if it is minor. And taking the Lord's name in vain is TOTALLY out of the question, even if he did do it before. There are at least a dozen other German phrases that could be used to express shock or disbelief. No need to be cliche...

I did like the fact the he's sticking to walls again and using his prehensile tail in logical way and the leadership role. But I thought his dialogue and characterization was the weakest out of anyone in this issue. I think Casey has a good hold of Chamber and Iceman. But not Kurt.

And actually, the same goes for Churchill's art. I really liked his Chamber and Iceman. But something about the Kurt did not gel with me. Especially the yoga page.

Anyway, I read the preview copy a week ago and was majorly disappointed. I read it again over the weekend, and was still irked. I read it Wednesday, and I still just don't like it.

And to top it all off, New X-Men and Ultimate have been delayed a week, so no more good X-Men writing for at least 5 days, 12 for the rest of you. Arrgh.

But then again, I hated Gladiator, and the rest of the world loved it. But give me Alan Davis Nightcrawler any day. Hopefully the mini will actually try to maintain some coherence to the character.

- Darkholme
still irked, 9 days later...

**Fasheem** · June 15th, 2001, 10:14 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Slartibartfast:
Well, Kurt apparently is a full-frocked priest now.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

BASTARD! Oh well, I can just keep saving my money, then. Too bad. That is the one area where I refuse to compromise.

**Spatula Gal** · June 16th, 2001, 01:54 PM

Doh!!
Sorry I didn't see this and just made a new topic on 395. Oh well, post there if ya feel like it. I basically said that i liked it.

**Blueflame** · June 16th, 2001, 02:43 PM

Let me jsut utter a short esclamation real quick... ITS BACK!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

I have not read any Uncanny before but I think I may have to check this one out.. thanks to you guys i am a raveing NC fan. So much so that the people at the comic book store recgnize me... ah yes the benifits( or maybe mal benifits) of living in a town in the boonies! biggrin

**Slartibartfast** · June 16th, 2001, 08:08 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Darkholme:

If Kurt is going to be a priest, fine. All well and good. But do NOT have him saying "Mein Gott" (major breaking of a commandment right there, and it happens TWICE this issue) and "charmed the hell out of her". If he's not going to kiss Cerise because of his piety, he shouldn't be swearing either, even if it is minor. And taking the Lord's name in vain is TOTALLY out of the question, even if he did do it before. There are at least a dozen other German phrases that could be used to express shock or disbelief. No need to be cliche...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You're absolutely right on that one. I don't have a problem with him saying 'hell,' but the 'mein Gott' is a problem. Your ordinary, run-of-the-mill Catholics will often say things like that. (Yes, I can talk about that as half my family is Catholic) But for a priest, it's pretty bad.

We know he is Catholic, but I've always wondered about why myself. I was relieved I wasn't the only one when I saw this on Rex's site...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
Catholic or Lutheran? We say neither; his foster mother was a witch, for crying out loud! Furthermore, his immediate family were a bunch of gypsies, so really, when he comes out with a habitual idiomatic phrase from his youth, it ought to be in Romany, not German. But, whatever. It's generally said that Kurt comes from "somewhere in the Bavarian Alps", and Bavaria is a very Catholic place, so it makes sense for him to be Catholic as opposed to Lutheran. But Kurt was in a traveling circus, and it has been pointed out that being a peripatetic Catholic is sort of a contradiction in terms; it's hard to be raised Catholic without having a regular parish church to go to.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just thought I'd throw that out there. I thought Rex had some interesting points and even though we certainly can't, or necessarily want to, change his religion, it's just one of those things I've always wondered about. Anybody else?

===={::??@m??::}====
In memorium
Douglas Noel Adams
1952 - 2001