The Beginning of Carol Danvers' Transformation: Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 #163– November, 1982

Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 #163: "Rescue Mission"

In the previous issue the Brood have taken Carol Danvers to "examine" her as she has a unique DNA structure. Now in this issue we will learn part of the truth of what happened to her.

The issue opens with Carol Danvers being tortured. The Brood have kidnapped the X-Men to turn them into hosts. The Queen implanted eggs in them, and when the eggs will hatch the members of the X-Men will change into new queens for the Brood. They will absorb the genetic material and potential from the changing mutant and turn into something different. But Carol Danvers' DNA is unique. So, instead of being implanted with an egg, she is experimented on. The Brood are subjecting her to "evolutionary modifications." They changed her appearance to that of the Brood, but her mind is resilient, despite the enormous pain that she is under, she is aware of what is going on and she is still defiant. This is the beginning of her change.

Wolverine in the previous issue survived the transformation and remained himself. He has promised to find his friends and save them, even if it means killing them. Now that he is back in the Brood city, the first scent he catches is that of Carol Danvers. He remembers that scientists have taken her and he is not sure what would be worse, if she is dead or alive. He follows one Brood into the lab and kills them all.

Wolverine explains that he is a full warrior and not just because of his mutant abilities. Before he was an X-Men he was a Canadian Secret Service agent and before that he was a commando. Wolverine remembers that he and Danvers go way back, even if we as readers didn't see it and Danvers herself doesn't remember it. They worked together a lot when she part of the U.S. air force intelligence. She was once kidnapped by the Russian KGB and Wolverine and a team disobeyed orders and rescued her. He says that she was lovely inside and out, but now that he has found her she is barley recognizable. She has turned into a sort of green bubbling bubble. Wolverine decides to destroy everything in sight as he doesn't know how to reverse the machine or if the process is reversible.

In the end Carol Danvers emerge. Like a being stepping out of a cocoon. She has smoke coming out of her body like she was on fire, but it appears that she is still Carol Danvers, or still looks like her.

Wolverine tells Danvers that she will be fine, but he know that he is lying. He has no way of helping her. She feels a fire inside of her, beautiful and painful. Leftovers from the torture or her new powers? We still don't know. We do know from her starry eyes that she probably has cosmic awareness. Wolverine notices that her scent isn't human anymore. A fact that scares them both. Although why did she have a human scent before if she had partly Kree DNA? That makes little sense to me. Despite everything Danvers survived.

Wolverine tells her that they have to go. Before anyone notices what happened there and they have to try and save the rest of the X-Men. Danvers notes that despite everything that she has been through, physically she feel excellent, bursting with energy. They are going to need energy to survive.

Back on Earth, the X-Men mansion is being rebuilt. Corsair is there, Alex and Scott Summers' father. Alex, his son and his girlfriend Lorna Dane are there to give him the news that the X-Men have been taken. Yes, Lorna Dane like in the Gifted TV show, but with a different boyfriend. Corsair intends to rescue his son or avenge him.

Moira tells Corsair that Charles Xavier is on the verge of breaking as he both lost the woman that he loves, Lilandra, and his family, the X-Men. Still, Corsair must save his family, so he leaves, alone, to try and rescue his son.

Then we switch to his son, Scott Summers, aka Cyclops. He is on the Brood home planet, in the jungle and he is running away from the Brood. Scott sees a vision of the X-Men calling him and after he kills a few more of the Brood he realizes that it is more of the Brood that he is facing. They claim that they are the X-Men, which could be true if the eggs have hatched. The timeline fits for a change. But as they attack him, he sees an image of Xavier and realizes that it is his mind that is under attack. Once he realize that he manage to shack off the attack just like Xavier taught him to.

He wakes up in a bed, but he doesn't know where he is. He steps outside and sees Storm in a trance. He wakes her up and she wakes up crying. She too is in a psychological conflict with herself. They both feel like they already lost.

But, like in all comic book coincidences, suddenly they run into Logan and Danvers. Storm notices that Logan looks a bit different. I thought that there was something wrong with my copy so I didn't mention it, but all of Logan's skin has lines on it. A leftover from the failed hatching I guess. Logan tells everyone that they should steal Lilandra's yacht to get off the planet. It will be hard. It is a really high place where the air is barley breathable.

They find Colossus who still perceives the illusion that they are inside of Lilandra's palace. They need to split up. One team to steal the yacht and the other to find Lilandra. Logan still hasn't told Cyclops and Storm about the eggs. He doesn't know how to tell them. As they walk all four of them, Logan smells the Queen. Killing her will damage the working of her children. The other X-Men don't want to kill her or anyone. But as Danvers points out, they have other problems. The Brood found them. However, since they are carrying eggs, the X-Men mustn't be harmed.

This is why the fight is even. The Brood are holding back, even though no one, except Logan knows why. Danvers says that her guns are useless and she has no powers so she will go and try to save Lilandra in the meantime.

Wolverine, despite the X-Men's pleadings, goes after the Queen. She is angry when she senses that there is no life inside of him anymore. Danvers finds and frees Lilandra. She tells Cyclops that it is time to withdraw, but Wolverine opposes. He doesn't leave a job half done.

Storm saved Nightcrawler and Shadowcat and tries to fly them to the yacht, but her powers are crippled. She doesn't know it is the egg. Nightcrawler teleports with Shadowcat, but he also barley survives. Shadowcat enters the ship alone as she must find the airlock first. On the ship she encounters one of the Brood. She know that she can kill him if she activates the decompression, but she is unable to kill. She tries to warn him that they will both die. Still, she phases into the chamber and the creature accidently pushes the button that blows him outside and kills him. Shadowcat is full of remorse for a death that she did not cause. She saves Nightcrawler and drags him inside.

Back on the surface of the planet the X-Men, Danvers and Lilandra are fighting against the Brood. Cyclops yells to Wolverine not to kill the Queen, but Lilandra tells him that he is a fool. She must kill as it is a kill or be killed situation. Still, the Queen tells Wolverine that even if he will kill her she will live on. However, just at that moment Shadowcat teleports everyone to the yacht before Wolverine gives the Queen the killing blow.

They are saved. Temporarily. Lilandra tells the X-Men that they are still within dangers grasp as they are not far enough from the Brood's home planet. Wolverine is angry that Cyclops didn't let him kill the Queen and no one else understands why he hates her so much. Wolverine is about to tell them about the eggs when someone starts firing at their ship. The issue ends with a cliffhanger.

Carol Danvers has been experimented on by the Brood. This caused a significant change in her that we still don't understand. We do learn that she is still resilient. Despite all of the pain that she has endured, her mind survived and did not snap. Even though something is wrong with her, she immediately sprang back to action to help her friends. She got right back up. A true hero. A survivor.

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