Featuring: X-Men
Release: March 4, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
X-traordinary script by: Stan lee
X-travagant art by: Jack Kirby
X-ceptional inking by: Chic Stone
X-emplory lettering by: Artie Simek
20 pages
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| Strange Tales #134 | Reading order | X-Men #12 |
| X-Men #10 | X-Men | X-Men #12 |
The basic tension of the series is that every mutant that comes along, Magneto wants to recruit them to be evil. And Professor X wants to recruit them to be not evil. General agreement that no third option is acceptable; every mutant must join either the X-Men or Evil Mutants. When Blob tried to do neither, the X-Men attacked him and tried to mindwipe him. The only fine print there is the word “mutant”. Occasionally, someone such as Ka-Zar turns out to not be a mutant, in which case they are not obligated to join either team.
Now we meet a man who describes himself as a Stranger. He is very powerful. Is he a mutant? If so, they must recruit.
The Stranger finds a very hip landlord, able to explain what she requires in ways the kids can understand: scratch, square, cabbage, jack, moola, dough.
Only Cyclops’ dark glasses control his power. Even shutting his eyes is not enough to contain the blasts.
Besides the introduction of the Stranger, the big news in the issue is that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver decide to part with Magneto. They’d been considering it for a while. She had long felt in his debt for saving her, but they agreed the debt is paid. They seek to settle down and live quiet lives.
It is a good time to get away from Magneto, as things are about to go not well for him. Turns out the Stranger is an alien who studies mutations, and is going to take Magneto and Toad back with him for further study. He is an alien so advanced as to seem godlike to us. Perhaps his power is on par with that of the Watcher?
That explanation doesn’t satisfy Magneto, who really wants to know what Stranger’s power is.
Mastermind was transformed by the Stranger into inert matter. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have defected. And Magneto and Toad have been taken into deep space. That is the end of the so-called Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. (They’ve actually never been called that, save on the cover of their first appearance.)
The title of this story is “The Triumph of Magneto”. Every title that claims the villain triumphs is a lie, and often 180 degrees wrong. This is the story of Magneto’s final defeat. However, Professor X has an explanation for the title.
And now for the annoying chronological stuff. The X-Men return home from their battle with the Stranger to find a new menace approaching, more powerful than any they’ve ever faced. (They just faced a god.) Which means the next two issues must take place the same day as this issue. They add these unrelated last pages to get you excited about the next issue. A tease of what’s to come, but they have the effect of not leaving enough temporal space between the stories for the rest of the Marvel Universe to take place.
Avengers #15-16 take place together as well, and this story must precede that one. So, chronologically it must be that X-Men #11-13 precedes Avengers #15-16. And not for minor reasons. Huge developments.
Yet, in terms of publication, Avengers #15 was released before X-Men #11 and Avengers #16 merely a week later. We’ll emphasize that point again after reading Avengers #16. X-Men #13 was released a full 4 months after Avengers #16, yet must take place first.
Long story short, we’re going to jump ahead in X-Men and read the next two issues now.
Rating: ★★★½, 61/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
Points for the important developments for Wanda and Pietro, and because I think the Stranger is a really cool concept.
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men vol. 2. You can also find this story in X-Men Epic Collection vol. 1: Children of the Atom. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Professor X
- Cyclops/Scotty Summers
- Angel
- Marvel Girl/Jean Grey
- Iceman/Bobby Drake
- Beast/Hank McCoy
- Stranger
- Magneto
- Toad
- Mastermind
- Quicksilver
- Scarlet Witch
Story notes:
- Radar-image beam constructs pictures of an object from radar blips; unable to project picture of Stranger because Stranger too powerful.
- Stranger rents a furnished room.
- Stranger’s powers/feats: produces money out of thin air; can walk on air; can walk through walls; emits energy blast; turns person into solid block of matter; creates cone of energy to transport himself and others; grows giant; creates thin film of anti-magnetic-membrane.
- Even shutting eyes doesn’t stop Cyclops’ eye beams. Only dark glasses contain them.
- Richard Chamberlain reference.
- Magneto’s goal: enslave human race, allow mutants to inherit earth.
- Cyclops out of costume for most of issue.
- Wanda’s hex power throws Hank off balance, then hexes the ceiling down.
- Jean swooning over Cyclops.
- Cyclops saves Quicksilver from being frozen.
- Wanda and Pietro agree to no longer serve Magneto; their debt is repaid.
- Cyclops invites them to join the X-Men; Wanda considers but Pietro refuses.
- Jean fears Wanda is in love with Scott.
- Pietro and Wanda return to Central Europe to be rid of battle; they may return someday.
- Strangers always refers to himself as “a stranger”.
- Stranger an alien, journeys planet to planet, studying mutations, taking mutant specimens back to his world
- Stranger takes Magneto and Toad to space to study.
- Mastermind trapped as inert matter.
- Professor X twice called a menace their most deadly danger ever; is this new one more dangerous than the Stranger?
| Previous | #329 | Next |
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| Strange Tales #134 | Reading order | X-Men #12 |
| X-Men #10 | X-Men | X-Men #12 |
