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.
• Armor-Piercing Response: Banshee is quite skeptical of Xavier's claims, until the Professor describes the image he saw in Lilandra's message: the Cassidy family's crest in their ancestral home.
• 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.
  • Also Xavier and Juggernaut (whose real name is Cain, after all). Juggernaut freely admits he was in on this scheme solely to kill his hated stepbrother, who he tries to send out the nearest window (although Banshee saves him).
• 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.
• Fights Like a Normal: Since their powers just cancel each other out, Banshee and Black Tom opt for a fist fight. They allude to this being quite a common thing.
• 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.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: After all the ruckus he made getting to Cassidy Keep, Banshee says his singing voice is even worse.
• Hope Spot: After Lilandra blasts off Juggernaut's helmet, Xavier makes quick work of him with a telepathic attack. Then Black Tom shoots the Professer In the Back.
• 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.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: When called out for serving a monster like D'Ken, Gladiator says he simply serves the throne.
• 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.
• No-Sell: Juggernaut tries to punch Gladiator aside, but the guy doesn't even budge an inch.
• Oh, Crap!: After Gladiator no-sells his punch to the gut, a dumbfounded Juggernaut can only muster, "Huh?"
• Only in It for the Money: Black Tom fully expects Erik to pay him for his services. Averted by Juggernaut, who only wanted the chance to kill Xavier.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After getting the call from Xavier, Wolverine insists they head out to Muir Island immediately. Some on the team think Xavier is suffering from delusions again, but Cyclops says Wolverine is absolutely right. Gambit expresses disbelief over Scott saying that, while everyone else stares in silence.
• 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.
• Villainous Friendship: Juggernaut and Black Tom. The two are close enough that Black Tom can get away with scolding him for almost losing on Muir Island, while Juggernaut almost crushes Erik to death for not paying Tom what was promised.
• 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.
• Written-In Absence: According to Cyclops, Beast is back at the mansion and working with Dr. Corbeau to try to track the alien ship's location.
• 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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