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STORY: "Trapped: One X-Man" (24
pages) The Brotherhood capture the Angel, but the X-Men
travel to Asteroid M and rescue him.
What you need to know:
Xavier does his "Only fooling, I've still got my powers
really!" routine in order to prove that the X-Men can get by
without him. Apparently this is their "final exam".
If you're into very minor supporting
characters, you'll be thrilled to know that this issue
features the debut of Jean Grey's parents. They don't
turn up again for another 99 issues, and they're not actually
given first names until issue #105.
Asteroid M, Magneto's satellite base, turns
up for the first time. In this issue, it appears to be a
genuine asteroid which he's customised for his purposes.
The Toad nearly gets lynched after entering
a track meet and using his powers to win (as a scheme to draw
the X-Men's attention). It's the first time the book
really plays on the idea of humans fearing and hating mutants.
We establish that Scott can fire his optic
beam without actually operating the visor by hand. (If
you find this sort of thing exciting, it's later revealed that
he spent a while using buttons in his gloves to trigger the
visor, and after that he shifted to some sort of cybernetic
device.)
The Toad is so devoted to Magneto that he
simply leads the X-Men right back to Magneto's base, even
though that wasn't meant to be the plan.
Quicksilver is still standing up to Magneto
and playing the conflicted villain.
A more innocent time:
The Scarlet Witch is shocked that Magneto would consider
murder. Evidently she's already forgotten that he was
planning to nuke an entire country last issue. Or that
he's a lunatic supervillain who wants to conquer the world,
come to think of it.
It's safe to travel through the vacuum of
space protected only by "a tubular ice bridge." The
bridge will keep out "the bitter cold."
Comments:
Hmm. Two issues in a row of the Brotherhood of Evil
Mutants, and a plot that kind of wanders around in circles
without really going anywhere in particular. And boy,
that "final exam" stuff is corny.
Mind you, it's got Asteroid M in
it. But all told, it's a bit repetitive, coming straight
on the heels of the Brotherhood's introduction. It
doesn't really add anything that issue #4 didn't already
cover.
FEATURE CHARACTERS
Professor X, Iceman, the Angel, Marvel Girl I (all between
pages in Strange Tales #120), Cyclops and the
Beast (all next in Fantastic Four vol 1 #28, then
all but Professor X in Marvels #2)
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
John Grey (Jean's father; first appearance; last in issue
#-1; next in issue #104)
Elaine Grey (Jean's mother; first appearance; last in
flashback in the Phoenix story in Bizarre Adventures
#27; next in issue #104)
VILLAIN
The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants I: Magneto, the Scarlet Witch,
Quicksilver, the Toad and Mastermind I
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