X-Men Annual #6
One more odd sidetrack before getting back to the main story. The story begins with Rachel Van Helsing, once a vampire hunter and now a teacher at Bard College. She comes home to find Dracula waiting for her. He tells her that she shouldn't have believed he'd suffered a final death. (For some reason Dracula is given a ton of weaknesses, and they work -- sort of. I'm assuming Dracula's death wasn't at all ambiguous, but he came back anyway with no explanation. Rachel Van Helsing is a character from Tomb of Dracula, I'm assuming, a descendant from the Van Helsing in the Dracula novel.)
At the mansion Kitty's freaking out because her parents are officially getting divorced. The other X-Men try to comfort her but she runs to her room in tears. She cries herself to sleep, not noticing a shadow drawing near.
At midnight she wakes up again and finds Storm, who becomes a vampire and bites her neck. She then goes around and drinks the blood of the other X-Men, before transforming into a half-bat monster and flying out of her loft. She meets with Dracula and greets him like a lover. But it was all just a dream and Storm wakes up. She senses that Dracula has summoned her through this dream and goes to find him. Kitty watches through the window, acting strangely out of character. She finds Colossus, who is doing homework, and gets fresh with him. He objects and we see an 'Aargghh' from behind closed doors. (Colossus says Professor X is in Muir Island, due back next week.)
Storm has been lead 3000 miles east, to England, by Dracula's summons. She finds a castle and enters, blasting the door open. Rachel Van Helsing, now a vampire, greets her. Dracula appears and says that he has tasted her blood, so she will rise from her grave as a vampire. He wants her to steal a spell book for him.
An hour later, in the town of Pendarrow, Storm prepares to enter another castle. She asks Dracula why he doesn't just get it himself, and he says a spell prevents vampires from getting close. Storm enters and is shot in the back by a crossbow bolt. She finds her attacker is Kitty, who seems intent on killing her. Kitty is joined in her attack by Colossus. Kitty grabs the spell book, saying she has the Montesi Formula and that Dracula will be dust before the night is done. Security guards attack Storm, firing at her, and she flees, leaping through a window. She's near death because of the crossbow bolt imbedded in her back, but Dracula catches her falling body and flees with her. (Storm wears a black body suit with a utility belt for this mission, rather than her costume.)
Storm relives the death of her parents and being buried alive in her dreams. She wakes to find herself in a coffin. Dracula apologizes, saying he had forgotten about her claustrophobia. He makes as if he's going to bite her neck and make her a vampire, but he is blasted away by Cyclops, who is joined by Wolverine and Nightcrawler. Dracula throws a spear at Cyclops, but Nightcrawler grabs it out of the air and teleports on top of Dracula, stabbing him through the chest. Rachel Van Helsing battles Cyclops, and Kitty and Colossus show up.
Dracula, Rachel Van Helsing, Kitty, and Colossus all flee, leaving the others to chat. Cyclops says they used the Blackbird's homing device to find where it went, as Kitty had taken it to get there. Cyclops blasts straight down, making a hole to the catacombs below. Storm uses her powers to float them down and Wolverine takes point, seeking their foes. They find Colossus and Dracula fighting, and Wolverine jumps in, slashing Dracula across the chest. Dracula grabs him and bites him, taking control of him and making him attack Cyclops. Storm fights Rachel Van Helsing, who breaks free of Dracula's control and begs Storm to kill her, but Storm won't do it. Wolverine fights Colossus in Dracula's stead. Kitty is reading the Montesi Formula, and Dracula begins to smoke. Nightcrawler teleports over to Kitty, knocking the book out of her hand. Kitty attacks Nightcrawler and reveals that she is actually Lilith, daughter of Dracula. Dracula slugs her one, but is soon impaled through the chest by a spear thrown by Rachel. She makes a cross over him with candlesticks and his flesh burns away from his skeleton.
The castle collapses and the X-Men narrowly escape. Rachel asks that they kill her with a stake through the heart while she watches the sunrise one last time, and Wolverine agrees to do so. Lilith appears and says she was created as a vampire to be her father's nemesis, and that her powers are unique. She found out about the Montesi Formula and leaked word of it to Dracula, to bait him into getting it, since she couldn't get close to the castle, either. She was ready to sacrifice Kitty's soul to use the Montesi Formula, but Nightcrawler saved her when he interrupted the spell. She says that Storm and Wolverine won't rise from their graves as vampires, since Dracula is now dead and departs. The end!
Overview: Kind of a mediocre issue. Maybe it would be more interesting if I'd read Tomb of Dracula. Once again Bill Sienkiewicz is doing the pencils and his work is strictly middle-of-the-road here, with minimal weirdness and no real standout work. Dracula doesn't appear again in X-Men, after this, at least until very recently. According to the Marvel Universe, the Montesi Formula was read at some point, wiping out every vampire in the world. This was undone later, I guess. Dracula seems to be enjoying the revolving door of death at Marvel before it really started. That doesn't bother me, as he's one of those characters like Doctor Doom, who is pretty much made to apparently die, only to return later.
Placing this issue: This issue isn't easy to place, since there really aren't any clues. There's no mention of the New Mutants or Starjammers, but that might not mean anything. The mansion was destroyed way back in issue #151, which would be an okay spot to place this before, except that Dracula first stared messing with them after that. In lieu of any clues, I think it goes best where I'm putting it: after the X-Men return from the brood storyline. In retrospect, it should go before the X-Men Special Edition, since Kitty learns of her parents divorce in this issue, but speaks of it more calmly in that one. Since the annual came out in 1982, I suspect that they just made it as generic as possible, so as to avoid awkward questions, like the ones I'm asking. :)
At the mansion Kitty's freaking out because her parents are officially getting divorced. The other X-Men try to comfort her but she runs to her room in tears. She cries herself to sleep, not noticing a shadow drawing near.
At midnight she wakes up again and finds Storm, who becomes a vampire and bites her neck. She then goes around and drinks the blood of the other X-Men, before transforming into a half-bat monster and flying out of her loft. She meets with Dracula and greets him like a lover. But it was all just a dream and Storm wakes up. She senses that Dracula has summoned her through this dream and goes to find him. Kitty watches through the window, acting strangely out of character. She finds Colossus, who is doing homework, and gets fresh with him. He objects and we see an 'Aargghh' from behind closed doors. (Colossus says Professor X is in Muir Island, due back next week.)
Storm has been lead 3000 miles east, to England, by Dracula's summons. She finds a castle and enters, blasting the door open. Rachel Van Helsing, now a vampire, greets her. Dracula appears and says that he has tasted her blood, so she will rise from her grave as a vampire. He wants her to steal a spell book for him.
An hour later, in the town of Pendarrow, Storm prepares to enter another castle. She asks Dracula why he doesn't just get it himself, and he says a spell prevents vampires from getting close. Storm enters and is shot in the back by a crossbow bolt. She finds her attacker is Kitty, who seems intent on killing her. Kitty is joined in her attack by Colossus. Kitty grabs the spell book, saying she has the Montesi Formula and that Dracula will be dust before the night is done. Security guards attack Storm, firing at her, and she flees, leaping through a window. She's near death because of the crossbow bolt imbedded in her back, but Dracula catches her falling body and flees with her. (Storm wears a black body suit with a utility belt for this mission, rather than her costume.)
Storm relives the death of her parents and being buried alive in her dreams. She wakes to find herself in a coffin. Dracula apologizes, saying he had forgotten about her claustrophobia. He makes as if he's going to bite her neck and make her a vampire, but he is blasted away by Cyclops, who is joined by Wolverine and Nightcrawler. Dracula throws a spear at Cyclops, but Nightcrawler grabs it out of the air and teleports on top of Dracula, stabbing him through the chest. Rachel Van Helsing battles Cyclops, and Kitty and Colossus show up.
Dracula, Rachel Van Helsing, Kitty, and Colossus all flee, leaving the others to chat. Cyclops says they used the Blackbird's homing device to find where it went, as Kitty had taken it to get there. Cyclops blasts straight down, making a hole to the catacombs below. Storm uses her powers to float them down and Wolverine takes point, seeking their foes. They find Colossus and Dracula fighting, and Wolverine jumps in, slashing Dracula across the chest. Dracula grabs him and bites him, taking control of him and making him attack Cyclops. Storm fights Rachel Van Helsing, who breaks free of Dracula's control and begs Storm to kill her, but Storm won't do it. Wolverine fights Colossus in Dracula's stead. Kitty is reading the Montesi Formula, and Dracula begins to smoke. Nightcrawler teleports over to Kitty, knocking the book out of her hand. Kitty attacks Nightcrawler and reveals that she is actually Lilith, daughter of Dracula. Dracula slugs her one, but is soon impaled through the chest by a spear thrown by Rachel. She makes a cross over him with candlesticks and his flesh burns away from his skeleton.
The castle collapses and the X-Men narrowly escape. Rachel asks that they kill her with a stake through the heart while she watches the sunrise one last time, and Wolverine agrees to do so. Lilith appears and says she was created as a vampire to be her father's nemesis, and that her powers are unique. She found out about the Montesi Formula and leaked word of it to Dracula, to bait him into getting it, since she couldn't get close to the castle, either. She was ready to sacrifice Kitty's soul to use the Montesi Formula, but Nightcrawler saved her when he interrupted the spell. She says that Storm and Wolverine won't rise from their graves as vampires, since Dracula is now dead and departs. The end!
Overview: Kind of a mediocre issue. Maybe it would be more interesting if I'd read Tomb of Dracula. Once again Bill Sienkiewicz is doing the pencils and his work is strictly middle-of-the-road here, with minimal weirdness and no real standout work. Dracula doesn't appear again in X-Men, after this, at least until very recently. According to the Marvel Universe, the Montesi Formula was read at some point, wiping out every vampire in the world. This was undone later, I guess. Dracula seems to be enjoying the revolving door of death at Marvel before it really started. That doesn't bother me, as he's one of those characters like Doctor Doom, who is pretty much made to apparently die, only to return later.
Placing this issue: This issue isn't easy to place, since there really aren't any clues. There's no mention of the New Mutants or Starjammers, but that might not mean anything. The mansion was destroyed way back in issue #151, which would be an okay spot to place this before, except that Dracula first stared messing with them after that. In lieu of any clues, I think it goes best where I'm putting it: after the X-Men return from the brood storyline. In retrospect, it should go before the X-Men Special Edition, since Kitty learns of her parents divorce in this issue, but speaks of it more calmly in that one. Since the annual came out in 1982, I suspect that they just made it as generic as possible, so as to avoid awkward questions, like the ones I'm asking. :)