Recap / X-Men S3 E5 "The Phoenix Saga, Part 3: Cry of the Banshee"

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• Adapted Out: A sort-of adaptation of X-Men issues #102 and #103, but leaving out a few things, such as the presence of Cassidy Keep's leprechaun population (no, really).
• Adaptational Mundanity: In X-Men #102 and #103, Black Tom had upgraded Cassidy Keep into a fortress armed with freaking laser cannons. Here, it's just a big standard British castle. Also, again, no leprechauns.
• Big Damn Heroes: Phoenix can not only detect Xavier's call for help from across the planet, but she can also fly there several times faster than their Blackbird jet.
• Blow You Away: Gladiator can do this against the X-Men. It's not even part of his powerset, it's just how his lungs are built.
• Bullying a Dragon: Banshee and Wolverine don't get along, and were it not for Moira, they probably would've come to blows.
• Cain and Abel: Sean and Black Tom Cassidy are one of the classic examples.
• Call-Back: Erik the Red somehow has a few mind-controlled spacemen from the space station two episodes ago to act as Mooks.
• A Day in the Limelight: For Sean Cassidy, aka Banshee, who technically debuted last week but gets proper focus here.
• Evil Laugh: The episode ends with D'Ken pulling one, as befits an evil space emperor.
• Fatal Reward: When Black Tom asks for the $10 million Erik said he'd pay, Erik tries to kill him, only to learn the hard way nothing he's got can hurt Juggernaut.
• Gale-Force Sound: Banshee relies on bouncing his supersonic voice off the ground to elevate himself for Not Quite Flight. The real question is why he's airlifting the one with super hearing.

  Wolverine: You may as well sneak in with a marching band!

• Green-Eyed Monster: Moira is worried Charles's condition may make him lash out at Sean for being her new boyfriend.
• I Want Them Alive!: Erik the Red hired Black Tom and Juggernaut to bring Lilandra in alive, though Tom notes his wording never specified she had to be in 100% good nick. Fortunately, Erik doesn't mind unconscious.
• Know When to Fold 'Em:
  • When Juggernaut squeezes him, Erik coughs up the money he promised.
  • After seeing Gladiator effortlessly toss Juggernaut away like a ragdoll, Black Tom steps out of the way.
• The Nose Knows: Logan's superior nasal abilities help prove Charles was telling the truth, when he smells Juggernaut, along with Black Tom and Lilandra. While he doesn't recognize her scent specifically, he can tell it's not human.
• Out of Focus: Storm's busy keeping by Jean's bedside, meaning she misses the action in this episode.
• Power Nullifier: For some reason, Banshee and Black Tom's powers don't work on each other.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Unlike their comic counterparts, who went after the X-Men for revenge (Juggernaut) or pointless sadism (Black Tom), here Tom is in it solely for the money.
• The Worf Effect: Gladiator proves to be several levels above the Shi'ar we've met, being able to toss Juggernaut and trounce all the X-Men. That is, until Phoenix hands him his ass, anyway.
• You Have to Believe Me!: It gets worse for Xavier this time, as Juggernaut and Black Tom kidnap Lilandra and somehow get away without a trace, leading Moira to think Xavier caused all that damage with a psychic fit.

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