STORY: "World Within Worlds" (22 pages)  While most of the X-Men fight the Mole Man, the Angel takes Lucy Robinson to see her family, and Magneto joins forces with the Sub-Mariner to invade Manhattan.

What you need to know:
We're now into the home stretch, as Byrne introduces the final major storyline for the series: Magneto and the Sub-Mariner join forces, in anticipation of their invasion of New York.  This is the same story which appeared in Fantastic Four #102-104, and the next few issues are (to an extent) taking place in the margins of that story.  The invasion starts at the end of the story.

Remarkably, Professor X conveniently manages to detect what's happening (even though he's not looking and he's in Iowa).  After the invasion starts, he resorts to astral projection to confront Magneto and address him sternly.

Lucy Robinson convinces the Angel to abandon the Promise and take her to see her family.  She's actually got mind-influencing powers, which is why he's so happy to comply.  Lucy also claims that she can't release Havok or Lorna from their chambers because it'd kill them, although Xavier works out a rather simple solution very easily in the next issue, so she might just be feigning ignorance. 

Lucy's family aren't desperately pleased to see her - partly because she's a mutant and partly because she disappeared without warning thirty years ago.  Her excuse is remarkably dumb: "When he said he and his people put themselves into suspended animation and only emerged for a week every decade, somehow I got confused.  I didn't understand what suspended animation was.  I thought I'd only be gone for a week!"

The hidden cover number is #86.  It's just above the Beast's right thigh, forming part of the texture of the rocks.

Comments:
Yes, we're still introducing new storylines.  The final three issues are largely built around the Atlantean invasion storyline from Fantastic Four #102-104, which is an odd decision given that the X-Men weren't actually in that story.  And indeed, they aren't in it this time either, as we'll see.  It's a very weird thing to introduce this late in the day.

On the plus side, aside from her moments of blinding stupidity, Lucy Robinson's reunion with her family is a rather good scene.  But the Mole Man story is just dreary - he unleashes traps, the X-Men jump around a bit, and the art isn't much to write home about.  (The "mind-numbing glare of the Valley of Diamonds" is especially underwhelming.)  The book is losing the plot by this stage.

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Professor X (next behind the scenes in Fantastic Four #103), Cyclops, the Angel, the Beast, Iceman and Marvel Girl I

SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Teri Martin

VILLAINS
The Mole Man and his Moloids
Magneto (appears on pages 1-2 in a scene repeated from Fantastic Four #102; appears on page 21 between Fantastic Four #102-103)

GUEST APPEARANCES
The Fantastic Four: Mr Fantastic, the Human Torch, the Invisible Girl, the Thing and Crystal (all between pages of Fantastic Four #103)
Namor the Sub-Mariner (appears in a scene repeated from Fantastic Four #102-103)

OTHER CHARACTERS
Lucy Robinson
Mikey Robinson (her son) and his unnamed son (first and only appearance for both)

Written: 3 June 2006

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