Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #401

Issue Date: 
February 2002
Story Title: 
Golden - A Silent Adventure
Staff: 

Joe Casey (writer), Ron Garney (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Hi-Fi Design (colors), RS / Comicraft / ST (letters), Pete Franco (assistant editor), Mark Powers (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Bill Jemas (president)

Brief Description: 

A distraught Banshee silently mourns the loss of Moira MacTaggert. An army of multiple men abducts Mastermind from a high tech facility after she suffers from a chilling virtual reality illusion. The multiple men attempt to take Mystique as well, but she’s nowhere to be found. Wolverine finds Stacy X up to her old tricks in a small town and forces her to come back with him. Nightcrawler finds Stacy and fumes at her, but Wolverine convinces him to ease off, much to Stacy’s surprise. In Europe, the Blob is haplessly escorted into an ambush where Banshee leaves him in dire straits.

Full Summary: 

In Scotland, Banshee solemnly stands before the gravestone of Moira MacTaggert and empties a bottle of whiskey on Moira’s snow covered grave. Then Banshee walks off.
Elsewhere, Mastermind lies comatose in a bed with a virtual reality helmet on her head. She believes that she’s in a castle by the sea gazing through a window-like opening in an incredibly thick stone wall. She turns around and faces the inside of the room where Quicksilver, Toad, and the Scarlet Witch face her. Toad rushes into Mastermind’s arm and the two of them embrace in a passionate kiss. Magneto arrives and kills Mastermind while the Toad watches in terror. Back in reality, several duplicates of Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man, remove the VR helmet from Mastermind’s head before they carry her off. The multiple men make their way through the facility, where they’ve rendered several guards and workers unconscious. They plan to take Mystique just like they did Mastermind, but they discover that her cell is empty and Mystique is nowhere to be found.
In a place called Chappaqua, Wolverine sneaks into a government official’s home, where several guards are comatose. A few of them lie with smiles on their faces, as if they experienced incredible waves of ecstasy. Wolverine stealthily makes his way through the house and finds the government official lying unconscious in a bed with a smile on his face. Stacy X leaps out of nowhere and attacks Wolverine with her martial arts skill, but Wolverine has no trouble winning and getting the best of her.
Later, Wolverine and Stacy chill in Wolverine’s apartment and watch television. Suddenly, Nightcrawler teleports inside and yells at Stacy in anger. Wolverine calms Nightcrawler down. When Nightcrawler isn’t looking, Wolverine signals to Stacy to keep quiet about the incident. Nightcrawler teleports away, leaving Wolverine and Stacy alone. Stacy is baffled that Wolverine helped her out.
A fleet of helicopters carries the Blob, suspended from cables, to a sleek headquarters in Europe. Once inside, Avalanche and Radius escort the Blob down a hallway. The Blob tries talking to Avalanche, but Avalanche gives him the cold shoulder. Avalanche and Radius take Blob into a room with Banshee and leave. Blob recognizes Banshee as an enemy and prepares to bat him, but Banshee overpowers him with a deafening sonic scream that batters the Blob senseless. The Blob falls to the floor before Banshee grabs him by the hair and lifts his head up, looking at the Blob’s defeated visage. Banshee smiles.

Characters Involved: 

Nightcrawler, Stacy X, Wolverine (all X-Men)

Avalanche, Banshee, Multiple Man, Radius (all X-Corps)

Mastermind II

Blob

Bill Clinton
In a virtual reality sequence :

Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Toad (all Brotherhood of Evil Mutants I)

Story Notes: 

The issue is part of Marvel’s ‘Nuff Said silent month. There is no dialogue, thought bubble or sound effect in the entire story.
In the last few panels, Banshee is physically strong enough to lift the incredibly heavy Blob’s head from the floor (with one hand no less), something you’d think only someone with superstrength would be able to do. After all, this is the immovable Blob. So it seems that the Blob needs to be conscious for his power to work, or else Banshee should not be able to lift his head.
Originally the politician in the scene with Stacy X was going to be New York's mayor Rudolph Giuliani. However it was changed out of respect for his work following the acts of terrorism on September 11th.

Issue Information: 
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