Analysis Notes
| Cover, General |
Cosmic Boy’s costume is misdrawn on the cover and throughout this story; he should only have four chest disks, not five. |
| General |
Only pages 1 to 9:1 are dealt with here. |
| The presence of Aparition, the absence of Shvuaghn Erin and Koko, and Spark having lost her lightning powers places this story as between Superboy v3 #45 and Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #98. |
| Inside Cover |
The inset of the Legionnaires in the “Who’s Who” section is from the cover of < >, by Jeff Moy and W.C. Carani. The inset in the “Previously…” section is from Unlimited Access #1, page 38:2. |
| Credits |
“Marvelous Editor” = Brevoort works for Marvel Comics. “Direct Consulting Editor” = Mike Carlin works for DC Comics (note the initial letters of “Direct Consulting”). |
| Mark Gruenwald was the driving force behind the initial DC vs. Marvel / Marvel vs. DC series. He died in 1997. |
| The title is a lyric from “The Time Warp,” from the movie musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show (or the stage version, The Rocky Horror Show). |
| 1 |
Brainiac 5’s force field usually displays a blue aura when in use, but not here. Ultra Boy’s speech indicates that it is being used, though. |
| Note Brainy’s foot below Ultra Boy’s fist. Brainy’s leg failed to get drawn in between the edges of the explosion. |
| 2:1 |
Although it is not stated in this story, the Legionnaires should see this as another “timeslip” like their ones to the 1950’s and the 1940’s, with the perceived “lesson” being about dealing with extreme adversity. When taken in the light of Legionnaires #<53> and Legion of Super-Heroes v4#< >, the X-Men would be seen by the Legionnaires as alternate timeline versions of themselves, no stranger than others shown them by the Time Trapper. |
| 2:2 |
“Twen Cen”? Kesel should lay off the “kewl” dialogue, or stick to established Legion terms like “Klordny.” |
| 2:3 |
Odd that the Sentinel should react to Triad’s split as though it were a malfunction. The Sentinels had already encountered (and killed) Maddrox the Multiple Man in this continuity. <Verify this> |
| 2:4 |
The lightning bolt must be an arc from the dying Sentinel, since Spark doesn’t have those powers at this time. |
| 3:1 |
Sigh. Tinya’s enhanced powers were originally to control electronics rather than to just do a Kitty Pryde-style short circuit. What little finesse there was in the power modification is long gone. |
| 3:5 |
<Verify 2012 as the year in the original story.> |
| Triad is between Saturn Girl and Access. |
| 4:1 |
In the green outfits: Magneto, Kate Pryde, Storm, Franklin Richards, Colossus, and Rachel Summers. |
| Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl are in the extreme foreground. |
| 4:2 |
The Legionnaires were very reluctant to tell people they were from the future while they were trapped in the 20th century. Saturn Girl’s telepathy, plus whatever information Access gave them between 3:5 and 4:1, must have convinced Cosmic Boy to okay this revelation. Observe that this evidence of time travel set the “bug” in the X-Men’s ear about possibly changing their own past. |
| Note that Spark (who had lightning powers) is speaking to Storm (who also has lightning powers). Observe the other Legion/X-Men pairings: Brainiac 5/Franklin Richards (intelligence), Saturn Girl/Rachel Summers (mental powers), Cosmic Boy/Magneto (magnetism), Ferro/Colossus (metal body), Apparition/Kate Pryde (intangibility). One wonders if this story was in the works all the way back when the composition of Team 20 was decided; if not, the pairings are an amazing coincidence. |
| 4:3 |
The “Days of Future Past” story was the beginning of a lengthy process of reclaiming Magneto into the role of an anti-hero rather than a supervillain, which culminated in him eventually leading the X-Men for a while. |
| 4:4 |
“Lucky it happened near me”?! Access must not realize that his presence must have caused them to cross universes in the first place! |
| 4:5 |
The Uncanny X-Men #153 featured “Kitty’s Fairy Tale,” a bedtime story told to the young Illyana Rasputin. Aspects of that tale proceeded to crop up in the “real” Marvel Universe after that. And of course, some versions of the X-Men have had ample exposure to alternate universes, dimensions, and timelines in the past. |
| Rachel’s comment refers primarily to the plot of The Uncanny X-Men #141-142, where Kate Pryde’s consciousness is sent back in time, effectively escaping the world. However, it also refers to Rachel eventually physically sending herself - or a version of herself - back in time, disrupting and either preventing or causing (it is unclear which) “Days of Future Past.” (Yes, it’s all as confusing as it sounds from this summary.) |
| 5:1 |
Kate Pryde is behind Colossus. |
| 5:2 |
This is how Brainiac 5 often works best, producing a solution while other people are philosophizing about whether one could even exist. |
| Magneto and Colossus are partially seen. The smooth curved bit next to Magneto must be Ferro. |
| 5:3 |
Indeed, with the Sentinels’ ability to sense mutants, plus the fact that the inhibitor collars were made by the Sentinels, the use of Sentinel components in the nullifier makes perfect sense. |
| “Inspirational apparition”: yeah, just drive home the cross-team comparisons with a sledge hammer, Karl. |
| 6:1 |
Franklin Richards is between Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl. Colossus is next to the nullifier. Triad and Apparition have presumably already gone through the portal. |
| 6:2-3 |
The subtext here involves the fact that Rachel’s mother was Phoenix, and thus Rachel knows about dealing with mental powers that are just barely held in check by the human consciousness. This parallels the then-recent severe upgrade to Saturn Girl’s powers, which fans compared directly to Mastermind’s tampering with Jean Grey’s powers which led to Dark Phoenix. |
| 7:2 |
“Long-lost brother” is rather a tasteless statement for Ferro to use, considering his twin brother was killed probably only a few weeks previous. |
| 8:1 |
Except that this amnesia was needed to preserve the status quo for The Uncanny X-Men #141, it is unclear what would have caused the amnesia. We’ve seen such happen on occasion when time travel to the past causes a rewrite of the present, though, and since this probably happens with all of Access’ brief universe merges, it can be assumed that temporary timeline manipulation is at the core of his powers. |
| 8:3 |
Storm’s comment about “world conquest” makes no sense in the context of “Days of Future Past;” Magneto has apparently been attached to the remnant X-Men for some years, and certainly has had no opportunity to do world conquering. |
| Magneto is now paralyzed, as he is when seen in The Uncanny X-Men #141. Of course, that had echoes of Professor X, the wheelchair-bound leader of the original X-Men. |
| 8:4 |
The Sentinel’s statement here runs contrary to the robots’ correct characterization. They should have simply executed all present. The mutants’ presence together was a blatant violation of the Mutant Control Act. |
| Franklin Richards, Rachel Summers, Colossus, Magneto (being carried), and Storm are colored gray. Wolverine is colored blue. |
| 8:5 |
This story serves to set in motion the events of The Uncanny X-Men #141-142. |
