STORY: "Life Lessons" (24 pages)  Wolverine fights Marrow to try and teach her respect.  It backfires, as Marrow nearly kills him and then flees back to the tunnels.

What you need to know:
Wolverine and Marrow spend most of the fight talking about what Marrow really wants from the X-Men.  Marrow basically insists that she hates the X-Men, and wants to slaughter lots of humans as a precursor to gaining respect for mutants.  Pointedly, she never actually explains why she's sticking around.  Wolverine, meanwhile, theorises that she's drawn to the X-Men by a desire for something better.  Marrow doesn't like this sort of talk, so she stabs him through the throat. 

However, later on when she's running the way, she has a soliloquy making clear that she thinks she isn't good enough to be allowed into the X-Men.  Her problem, of course, is that most of the X-Men agree with her.

Cannonball still wants to befriend Marrow and see if she can be rehabilitated, but Storm won't let him talk to her.  Cannonball is, understandably, deeply unimpressed by Storm's attitude and accuses her of betraying the team's principles.  He toys with quitting the team and joining his friends in X-Force, but eventually decides to stick around.  (Nonetheless, his disenchantment does lead him to take a break from the team and show up in X-Force #75-76 between issues.) 

After the other X-Men have to break up her fight with Wolverine, Marrow flees back to Callisto in the tunnels.  Poor Callisto is still seriously ill in bed, and apparently Marrow's been sneaking out to take care of her before now, since Callisto already knows where Marrow's staying.  Marrow can't bring herself to tell Callisto how things are going, and claims that "I'm making friends."

With Jean out of the way, Maggott has moved on to flirting with Cecilia, who plainly isn't in the mood.  Meanwhile, Joseph finally remembers that Maggott recognised him when they met in Uncanny X-Men #350, and decides that he must get around to asking about that.  (On any view, it defies credibility that Joseph waited that long, but there you go.)

Gabrielle Haller is lobbying Robert Kelly to have Professor X released from jail.  Kelly will duly turn up next issue, trying to achieve exactly that. 

Sabra reveals that Mossad have uncovered Magneto's "Erik Lehnsherr" identity as a fake created by master forger Georg Odekirk.  This retcons away Magneto's history as given in X-Men Unlimited vol 1 #2 and, by implication, restores the possibility that he might indeed by Jewish (as earlier stories had always strongly implied) rather than gypsy. 

Magneto confirms the retcon by murdering Odekirk, now that the cover has been blown.  According to Magneto, he took on the Erik Lehnsherr identity when he was on the run after avenging his daughter's murder by destroying a large chunk of Vinnitsa (as seen in flashback in the second story in Classic X-Men #10).

Another victim of Pilgrimm is found in Salem Center.  Once again, we're given the impression that Eeny and Meany are to blame, setting up issue #75's story.

Comments:
Another wonderful issue as Kelly continues to dig into the horribly strained relationships between his cast and makes them work.  This is the turning point where Marrow becomes a sympathetic character for the readers, although not yet for the other X-Men.  The masterstroke is Kelly's subversion of the old "tough love" cliche, where Wolverine seems to be on the verge of breaking through in the usual sentimental style, only for it all to go horribly wrong when you turn the page.  Instead of everyone lauding Wolverine for his wise insight, we get Wolverine flying into a berserker rage for the first time in ages, and an appalled Cannonball demanding to know on what planet it seemed like a good idea to rehabilitate Marrow by kicking her head in. 

Although the X-Men's attitude towards Marrow is understandable, they behave so appallingly to her that from here on we have a real reason to root for her.  It's an incredible piece of writing by Kelly in turning around a character who ought to be unworkable in this role.

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Storm (last in Uncanny X-Men #351; next in Uncanny X-Men #353-355, then concurrently in Uncanny X-Men #355 and Alpha Flight vol 2 #9)
Wolverine (next in Elektra vol 1 #14, then in Wolverine vol 2 #119-122, then in Maverick #4, then in Uncanny X-Men #353, then in flashback in Uncanny X-Men #354, then in Uncanny X-Men #353-354, then concurrently in Uncanny X-Men #355 and Alpha Flight vol 2 #9)
The Beast (last in Amazing Spider-Man #429; next in Avengers vol 3 #1-4)
Joseph (last in Uncanny X-Men #352; next in Uncanny X-Men #353-354)
Cecilia Reyes (last in Uncanny X-Men #351)
Cannonball (last in Uncanny X-Men #352; next in X-Force vol 1 #75-76, then in Uncanny X-Men #353-354, then concurrently in Uncanny X-Men #355 and Alpha Flight vol 2 #9, then in issue #75)

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
Maggott (between Uncanny X-Men #352-353)
Marrow (next in Uncanny X-Men #353)
Callisto (last in the second story in X-Men Unlimited vol 1 #18; next in issue #74)
Gabrielle Haller (between issues #40 and #86)

VILLAINS
Magneto (last in Uncanny X-Men #350; next in X-Men '98)
Pilgrimm (behind the scenes)

GUEST APPEARANCE
Sabra (last in issue #69)

OTHER CHARACTERS
Georg Odekirk (a forger; first appearance; dies)

Written: 9 March 2006

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