X-Men 197: To Savor AIDS?

What we learn this issue besides that it was all a dream... FOR COLOSSUS.

This issue is all about robots. Like the Doctor Doom robot (spoiler alert!) yodeling on the front cover.

Good to see Cyclops back in action again. And by action I mean peen in vergene.

But not everyone loves rowbits.

At least the GLBT robot community is well represented int he pages of the X-Nards.

Nimrod, despite being called "Nimrod" and being florescent pink, Is a Charles Bronson in Death Wish/Dirty Harry type guy. In the next panel Nimrod incinerates the guys trying to rob him and the rest of the people in the restaurant. And everybody cheers! Vigilante justice is very hip in the mid 80's.

Also also see a page of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor which explains that Cyclops is about to be called back out off retirement and that Mageneto is a good guy now. His time switching sides, and a pretty big deal for such a classic, Silver Age villain.

And Storm isn't dead, but she still is in fucking Africa.

That's all the sub plots. The main story deals with Arcade, still looking like a god damned circus clown, convincing Colossus and Kitty Pryde to defend him from Doctor Doom attempts to kill him. To assist them Arcade allows them access to his fully stocked warehouse filled with S&M kitted out X-Bots. Seriously, Claremont HAS to be into bondage. There is no other explanation for the X-Men ending up in black leather and metal studs all the time.

Anyway, the main plot makes no sense but it's a good excuse to get Kitty and Colossus talking and holding hands and eventually becoming friends again. They'll pork again. It'll take a couple decades and Joss Whedon's unstoppable fan boy shipper urges but Colossus will finally get some of that sweet sweet Kitty Pryde poonanny.

The Arcade rowbits is also a good way to get around the whole, we can't wantonly maim and murder the main characters of the book, however mechanical simulacrum are fair game to be torn to pieces. So it's always fun to see Wolverine and Cyclops get brutalized by a robot dinosaur, which totally happens and it totally sweet.

Oh and then it wasn't a robot Doctor Doom it was sexy side kick assassin Miss Locke in a Docctor Doom robot suit. And the reason for the whole battle was just for the smell of it. Fucking weirdo that Arcade.

Next issue, more fucking Loaf Dreck.