X-Men 235: Welcome to Genosha... The Land of Rape and Honey

What we learn this issue besides that it's a great time to listen to a 1980's Ministry album.

LOOKS LIKE THE X-FUCKS ARE REALLY FUCKED NOW.

CLASSIC BIT, BRO. CLASSIC FUCKIN BIT.

THIS GUY IS RUNNING AWAY FROM THESE ARMY MEN IN THE MADE UP COUNTRY OF GENOSHA AND HE WANTS TO GET GET RID OF HIS STUPID FUCKING BABY THAT NEVER EVER SHUTS THE FUCK UP.

HE GETS KILLED BUT HIS BABY ESCAPES TO AUSTRALIA, WHERE THIS OTHER ADULT MUTANT FROM GENOSHA HAS ALSO ESCAPED TO. GENOSHA IS A BAD PLACE FOR MUTANTS. MADELYNE PRYOR GAVE THE ESCAPED MUTANT, WHOSE NAME IS JENNY RANSOME, A RIDE IN HER PLANE WHICH GETS AMBUSHED BY A SUPER POWERED GENOSHAN HIT SQUAD CALLED 'THE PRESS GANG', WHICH INCLUDEs THIS SUPER STRONG BLACK LADY WHO CAN LIFT A WHOLE FUCKING PLANE WITH HER BARE HANDS.

THE PRESS GANG ASSHOLES TELEPORT JENNY RANSOME, WHO IS A NURSE, AND MADELYNE PRYOR, TO GENOSHA.

WOLVERINE AND ROGUE LATER TRACK DOWN THE PRESS GANG BUT THEY GET TOTALLY FUCKED UP AND ALSO TELEPORTED TO GENOSHA.

THE REST OF THE X-FARTS SHOW UP AND FUCK UP SOME GENOSHAN ARMY MEN.

BUT THE PRESS GANG GET AWAY SO NOW THE X-MUFFS NEED TO GO TO GENOSHA TO RESCUE WOLVERINE, ROGUE, MADELYNE PRYOR, JENNY RANSOME AND THAT STUPID FUCKIN BABY.

This issue is a probably a little confusing to the lay X-Fan (but not to me, I'm no tyro (SAT VERBAL WHAT)), but it's basically just a set up for a multi issue rescue mission arc. Some fucking people, including a few X-Men, get kidnapped to some fucking Island near Madasgascar and now the rest of the non kidnapped heroes must fucking rescue their asses.

What you have to just kind of accept without much introduction is that there is a tiny independent island nation in the South West Indian Ocean run by white people who use super powered mutants as their slave labor force. This tiny nation of Genosha also operates as if Dred Scott applied to the whole world, and have no problem sending super powered troops into other countries to return the property of their oppressive, fascist and immoral government. The history of how such a nation ever came into being would make for a fantastic story if it hasn't already been told (if such a thing exists, I'm unaware of it), but anyway, it's there, and the citizens of the country are all enormous fucking dick heads.

Also confusing is how last issue ends with the Oz-Men finding a fucked up and passed out Madelyne Pryor on the floor of the subterranean outback hideout, and in this issue she shows up in the middle of the issue doing just fine and dandy and giving some rando a lift in an airplane. My guess is that's because this issue was published in the summer, and back then Marvel used to publish their most popular titles twice a month to take advantage of the non school months when kids had more free time and thus spent more on comics. JUST YOUR TYPICAL, NAKED, RUTHLESS CAPITALIST CASH GRAB FROM A COLD, UNCARING CORPORATE MONSTER.

Anyway, it's possible Claremont scripted this arc and the previous Brod arc simultaneously, and didn't know how the Madelyne Pryor sub plot was going to end when he started writing this one. This arc also had a different art team (the very capable and enjoyable Rick Leonardi on pencils and the hall of fame worthy P. Craig Russell on inks), so that, or some other editorially influenced mix up is certainly a possibility.

Or Claremont just didn't give a fuck. Either way, fun issue. Lots of action, if a bit convoluted, but in a good, nutzo comic book universe way. It ends rather abruptly but's thats OK since it's just the first chapter and Claremont had a lot of table setting to do and still managed to squeeze in plenty of action (though a mid book splash page did take up a lot of space that Claremont would otherwise have made ample use of for exposition, but it still worked).

Next issue, the Republic of South Africa, er I mean Genosha, is about thier butts kicked by some fucking mutants X-Bros.