The X-Men #118
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeX-Men #118 marks the debut of Mariko Yashida, who would become Wolverine's most significant romantic attachment in comics history and the emotional core of the celebrated 1982 Claremont–Frank Miller Wolverine miniseries. The issue is also the first story to establish that Logan speaks fluent Japanese and feels a deep cultural affinity for Japan—character depth that laid the groundwork for decades of Wolverine storytelling and directly shaped the 2013 film The Wolverine. As part one of 'The Submergence of Japan,' it shows the Claremont–Byrne team expanding the X-Men's world beyond North America into genuinely international settings, bringing a new cultural texture to superhero comics of the Bronze Age. The issue also advances the ongoing subplot of Professor Xavier and Lilandra traveling to the Shi'ar galaxy, keeping the cosmic strand of Claremont's long-form storytelling alive alongside the Japan action.
In "The Submergence of Japan," the X-Men land in Tokyo to confront a sudden assault by Mandroids led by Moses Magnum, setting off a high-stakes battle in the heart of a nation on edge. As Wolverine crosses paths with Mariko, the team faces a crisis that forces Xavier to make a fateful decision—leaving Earth with Lilandra, believing his allies are lost. Written by John Byrne and Chris Claremont, with art by Byrne and inks by Ric Villamonte, this pivotal 1979 issue features a cover by Dave Cockrum and Terry Austin.
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Produced during the peak collaborative period of writer Chris Claremont and co-plotter/penciler John Byrne, issue #118 was released on newsstands November 14, 1978 with a February 1979 cover date, inked by Ricardo Villamonte and edited by Roger Stern under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. The cover—unusually—was drawn by Dave Cockrum and Terry Austin rather than Byrne, while Byrne handled all interior pencils. In an interview later published in Back Issue! magazine #4, Byrne revealed that he had modeled Mariko Yashida directly on Lady Toda Mariko, a character from James Clavell's 1975 novel Shōgun, which he had just read; he frankly admitted the design was an intentional lift and that he conceived the character as one destined to eventually die.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Mariko Yashida (daughter of Lord Shingen Yashida, cousin of Sunfire), created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne and modeled by Byrne on a character from James Clavell's novel Shōgun.
- First story to establish that Wolverine speaks and reads fluent Japanese and has a deep prior history with Japan, a character trait that would define his solo mythology for decades.
- Story title: 'The Submergence of Japan!' — Part 1 of 2; Part 2 concludes in X-Men #119.
- Villain Moses Magnum appears (in holographic cameo), threatening to sink Japan; Magnum had previously debuted in Giant-Size Spider-Man #5.
- Guest-stars include Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida), Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and Iron Fist; Professor X and Lilandra appear in a subplot set aboard a Shi'ar starship.
- Script by Chris Claremont, co-plot by John Byrne, interior pencils by John Byrne, inks by Ricardo Villamonte, colors by Glynis Wein (Oliver), letters by Tom Orzechowski; cover by Dave Cockrum and Terry Austin.
- Reprinted in X-Men Classic #24, Essential X-Men Vol. 1 (collecting Uncanny X-Men #94–119), and Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 3 (collecting issues #111–121).
- Mariko Yashida was later portrayed by Tao Okamoto in the 2013 20th Century Fox film The Wolverine, directed by James Mangold and loosely adapted from the Claremont–Miller Wolverine miniseries that itself grew out of the Japan arc begun here.
Cast · 15 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Spécial Strange #22 (1980), X:en #2/1984 (1984), Prosjekt X #2/1984 (1984), Die Gruppe X #5 (1986), The Official Marvel Index to the X-Men #6 (1988), Classic X-Men #24 (1988), El Asombroso Hombre Araña Presenta #83 (1989), Marvel Masterworks #24 (1993), X-Men reklamtidning #[nn] (1994), Marvel Special #7 (1996), Essential X-Men #1 (1996), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #3 (2004), The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #1 (2006), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #3 (2010), Marvel Gold. La Imposible Patrulla-X #1 (2011), Wolverine: First Cuts #[nn] (2013), X-Men: Children of the Atom #[7] (2019), X-Men Epic Collection #6 (2020), Projekt X #2/1984, Ryhmä-X #2/1984, X-Men [Χ-Μεν] #19
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