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This was a strange time for everyone’s merry mutants. Sales of the book were slow and so the format was constantly being played around with. During this time, the X-Men featured a main story of 15 pages and five to six page back-up story, which at this point were the origin of the different X-Men. You may notice a big carousel of artists and writers that appeared on the book as well as the title that would always highlight a different character, whether its hero or villain. Yes, it was rough times for the X-Men and it wouldn’t really get better until the mid 70’s when Claremont started writing the title. This is interesting to see what Marvel tried to get this title to sell.
Spoilers Ahead
-X-Men #43- Roy Thomas and George Tuska (filling in for Don Heck) worked on the main story, a story where Magneto strikes at the X-Men when they are at their weakest and most distraught. Their leader, Professor X, has just been buried and they are mourning at the funeral. Quicksilver shows up to try to get help for his sister, who has lost her powers, but runs away when he thinks he is accosted. The X-Men hear a taped message from Xavier about a Magneto threat so the X-Men seek out this tip and are quickly captured. The back-up story (by Thomas and Werner Roth) basically tells how Cyclops’ optic blasts work.
-X-Men #44- Angel frees himself in this tale (done by Gary Friedrich and the pencilling team of Roth/Heck) and flies away to try and get the Avengers for help. He runs into an old Golden Age character named Red Raven. The two fight before Red Raven sees Angel is no threat. We hear Red Raven’s origin (a human brought up amonst a race of human like people with wings and RR putting all of them in suspended animation when they want to try and destroy Earth). Red Raven goes back in suspended animation and Angel flies off to find the Avengers. The back-up (by Friedrich and Tuska) starts the origin of Iceman, who uses his powers in public and gets arrested. Cyclops (wearing his new costume in this story taking place in the past) is told by Xavier to free him.
-X-Men #45- Cyclops escapes from his shackles and has a run-in with Quicksilver. They end up arguing and then fighting as Magneto watches on. Their fight is broken up when the Avengers show up. The back-up story has Cyclops breaking Iceman out of prison, but Iceman doesn’t want to leave and the two fight. They end up wasting their energy and the townies with guns arrive. (Friedrich/Heck/Roth teamed up for the first story, while Friedrich/Tuska worked on the back-up).
-Avengers #53- So The Avengers show up at Magneto’s base and we see the backstory of how Angel showed up to the Avengers Mansion, doesn’t recognize Black Panther as a member and they fly to Magneto’s lair. Magneto had placed a device on Angel that the Avengers find and they start to distrust Angel and leave him on the ship. They then see through Hawkeye’s spy arrow that Cyclops and Quicksilver are talking and again distrust the X-Men. The Avengers show up but start infighting. Cyclops frees his friends but we see Magneto had weakened the X-Men’s mental resistance and he forces them to fight the Avengers. The X-Men fight the Avengers until Angel breaks free and stops Magneto’s device. It seems that the Avengers actually planned the whole thing (tying Angel up, the infighting) to lull Magneto into false security. It all ends with Magneto seemingly falling to his death in the rocky ocean floor below when a fed up Toad kicks him down. Roy Thomas and John Buscema worked on this issue together, as they were a long-term Avengers team during this time.
-X-Men #46- The X-Men finally mourn their fallen mentor and return home. Foggy Nelson informs them that Xavier left everything to them and leaves. Meanwhile, an FBI agent that Scott knows has some news for the X-Men. This news is interrupted by Juggernaut returning from his crimson prison. He wants to kill his brother and doesn’t believe that he’s already dead when the X-Men tell him. So the X-Men battle Juggernaut but he’s sent back to his prison thanks to some safeguards Charles put on the device. After the fight, agent Duncan tells the X-Men they must disband! They leave and they never know if they will be back again. The back-up origin continues ad Cyclops and Iceman escape the mob and Iceman becomes the newest member of the X-Men. (Friedrich/Heck/Roth teamed up for the first story, while Friedrich/Tuska worked on the back-up).
-X-Men #47- This is a Beast/Iceman team-up as the two go out on the town with their girlfriends and run into The Maha Yogi, who the X-Men defeated before when he was known as Warlock. Beast and Iceman manage to defeat the foe and enjoy a night on town with their ladies. The back-up features a look at Iceman and his powers. (Friedrich/Drake/Heck/Roth teamed up for the first story, while Drake/Roth worked on the back-up).
-X-Men #48- Cyclops and Marvel Girl are the stars of this issue, as Jean works as a model and Cyke as a radio news broadcaster. They run into a mob of computer androids stealing things and it seems Computo is behind it all. Jean and Cyke stop the robots and see that Quasimodo was the one really behind it all. That’s one threat over. The previews say that Beast and Iceman battle Metoxo the Lava Man next issue but that never happened. It shows just how crazy things were for the X-Men at the time. The back-up deals with Beast and a look at his powers. (Drake/Heck/Roth teamed up for the first story, while Drake/Roth worked on the back-up).
-X-Men #49- Steranko did the cover for this issue, which features the X-Men teaming up again to battle a Magneto devotee named Mesmero who has his own gang of soldiers. Bobby befriends a girl named Lorna Dane who the villains bow to at the end. The back-up features the beginning of the origins of the Beast, as his father was infected with radiation that was passed onto his son. (Drake/Heck/Roth on the first one, Drakce/Roth on the back-up).
-X-Men #50- The inimitable art of Steranko takes over the art for the next two issues. The X-Men look for Lorna Dane and their fallen ally, Iceman. The X-Men battle more of Mesmero’s henchmen as Lorna Dane debuts in a new outfit and Magneto shows up at the end, claiming to be Lorna’s father! Hank’s origin continues. He excels in football, and a villain is watching him at the end. (Drake/Steranko on the primary, Drake/Roth on the secondary).
-X-Men #51- Steranko is not even given a credit on the opening splash page, for art it says, “do we have to tell you?” showing just how unique his art was at the time. The X-Men battle Magneto and Mesmero and end up escaping at the end of the issue. The X-Men have a plan to fight back but Bobby’s not involved. We meet a new foe who enters Magneto’s base named Erik the Red. Beast is kidnapped by a villain named El Conquistador who holds Hank’s parents hostage to Hank can steal things for him. The X-Men are on the case. (Drake/Steranko and Drake/Roth).
-X-Men #52- Erik the Red gets into Magneto’s base and gets the trust of Magneto and Dane. Mesmero doesn’t trust him as much, though. Erik has full run of the place now and lets the X-Men in. It seems Erik is really Cyclops. Iceman shows up and tells Lorna that Magneto is not really his father. Loran is no longer obliged to help him and the tables are turned on Magneto. Magneto destroys his lair and the X-Men leave, victorious. El Conquistador has Hank in his clutches, and El Conquistador will not let his parents free after Hank steals something for him. The previews for next issue promise Cyclops, dead or alive, but that didn’t happen, it needed another issue until we got it. (Drake/Heck/Roth followed by Drake/Roth)
-X-Men #53- The X-Men are using some of Xavier’s machines and unwittingly unleash Blastaar onto the scene! The X-Men battle him and eventually send him back home. This was a fill-in that was drawn by Barry Smith, in his first Marvel work. Finally, Beast’s origin is complete as the X-Men arrive and rescue Hank and his parents from El Conquistador. (Drake/Smith worked the first, Drake/Roth worked the second).
-Ka-Zar #2- This and the next two tales are the extra features for the volume. We are really honored to have Jerry Siegal (yes, the one who created Superman), wrote these three stories. So Angel is flying around his home, stops a robbery, visits his ailing father, then goes out on a date. Unfortunately, on the way home he learns his father has been murdered! We know that a villain named Dazzler was behind it all. Angel is pissed and looks for the killer.
-Ka-Zar #3- Angel is still in a rage but he is subdued by Dazzler’s men as Warren Worthington III. Warren is taken to Dazzler’s lair and Warren puts on his Angel costume and breaks free. Dazzler captures him and unmasks him at the end.
-Marvel Tales #30- Angel’s true identity is shown and we see the true identity of Dazzler, Angel’s uncle! Yeah, he was jealous and all. So Angel steals a diamond for his uncle for one of his devices but Angel double crossed him by giving him a piece of glass. Bart is pissed and punches Angel as he’s flying away with his uncle and his girlfriend. They both drop and Angel saves the girlfriend, leaving Dazzler to drop to his death.
-The Bottom Line- Roy Thomas, legendary writer for Marvel, pens the introduction and I love all the introductions he does. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Marvel and discusses very candidly about how the X-Men struggled on the stands and the efforts made to make it a seller. He even talks about the great Jerry Siegel and his work on the three Angel tales printed at the end of this volume. This was a weird volume for me. I love the X-Men and nothing can beat their run of the first 35 issues or so. But there was change that was very evident in this volume. Marvel (and Stan Lee) were trying anything to get this title to sell, with a veritable revolving door of artists, stories, back-up stories and the such. It was tough to get a firm grip on the story since it was only about 15 pages long each and the back-ups were only 5 pages. Still, the stories were well-told despite all the chaos surrounding the title. Lorna Dane was introduced and she’s still a main player in the X-Universe today. We get to see the first artwork of Barry Smith (which honestly is not his best stuff as Thomas notes in the intro) and the great art of Steranko. If you want to see the X-Men at their lowest, sales-wise, and all the things that were done to try and save a title (instead of just ending it), then you should pick this up. It does have some decent tales stuck in there. Besides, where else will you actually find a legend (Joe Shuster) writing for Marvel?
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