Featuring: X-Men
Release: February 14, 1967
Cover: April 1967
12 cents
Good as gold editing by: Stan Lee
Solid-silver scripting by: Roy Thomas
Platinum-plated pencilling by: Werner Roth
Iridium-bright inking by: John Tartaglione
Lead-lined lettering by: Sam Rosen
Stable elements all!
20 pages
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|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury #41 | Reading order | Ghost Rider #2 |
| X-Men #30 | X-Men | X-Men #32 |
My X-Men…
From the cover, it looks like the X-Men are battling Iron Man. But it’s not Iron Man… it’s the Cobalt Man. Cobalt is better than iron, maybe? I’m not really a chemist or metallurgist.
Probably close enough to seeing a battle between the X-Men and Iron Man.
I think it’s worth noting Professor X refers to the team as “my X-Men”, a phrasing which will be common. “To me, my X-Men” is later a famous catchphrase.
Thomas is continuing to build on the mystery of what Professor X is doing in his locked laboratory, experiments he is hiding from the X-Men.
This issue is the payoff of seeds Thomas has been planting about the brother of Ted Roberts. In issue 27, we learned that Ted lives in the shadow of his successful brother Ralph.
Now we meet Ralph. A genius inventor who had worked for Stark, but finally left to start his own company.
As competitive brothers are wont to do, they have an impromptu pole-vaulting competition.
Ralph suffers a head injury, which hopefully won’t lead to any erratic behavior.
Thomas is good about referencing past issues, and thus we again meet Bernard the Poet, whom we last saw in issue 14. Vera and Zelda are more impressed than Hank or Bobby.
While Hank and Bobby are off with their lady friends, Warren and Scott both go to see Jean. It’s time to settle the rivalry and have Jean choose between them. Of course, there’s also Ted. And now Ralph.
Angel bows out of the competition and decides to go off on his own, finally ready to move on from Jean. Scott and Jean accompany Ted and Ralph to Ralph’s lab.
Warren ends up at a club, where he runs into someone he knew from back home. Candy Sothern. Perhaps he’ll be all right even if he doesn’t end up with Jean.
She suggests he treat her to a Diet Pepsi. Which seems inappropriate for this blog on Coke & Comics.
“I’m a Believer” by the Monkees is playing, described as an “oldie but goodie”, having been released three months before this issue came out.
Ralph has built a machine to travel deep into Earth’s core.
Scott and Jean note they’ve already been beneath Earth’s surface.
I am trying to review my previous posts and confess I am blanking on when they did. Most every other superhero has traveled to a kingdom below Earth’s surface, belonging to either Mole Man or Tyrannus or Kala… but have the X-Men?
Maybe they are referring to the hidden land they found that tunnel to in Antarctica. Was that somehow beneath Earth’s surface? It certainly wasn’t that deep in any sense, as they just walked there. I don’t think it’s subterranean, as the Plunderer just took a boat.
Ralph shows only Ted his secret project, a suit of Cobalt armor that can match Iron Man. And while Stark keeps the secrets of Iron Man’s armor to himself, Ralph will share his work with the US government. (For a fee, I assume.)
The only minor flaw in the suit is that wearing it for 2 hours causes it to turn radioactive and then explode like a nuclear bomb.
And also the intended wearer bumped his head earlier, which may lead to a slight psychotic break.
At this point, the rest of the X-Men are summoned and we get to see the X-Men battle Iron Cobalt Man.
The X-Men triumph, New York does not become a nuclear wasteland, and Ralph regains his senses.
But Ted had been with Jean and Scott when Ralph went crazy. And then they disappear and Marvel Girl and Cyclops show up. Marvel Girl with her red hair and Cyclops with his red glasses… and they are joined by three friends who greatly resemble Jean’s three other former classmates.
Could Ted be starting to suspect anything?
Here’s the bulletin for the month. They are omitting the “Mighty Marvel Checklist”, trusting fans can figure out what’s coming out through other means. We get some personal tidbits about various staffers, like that John Romita is also a volunteer fireman.
And a note that it’s been several weeks since Stan or Jack have met in person, collaborating instead over the phone.
The newest additions to the Mighty Marvel Marching Society include one Mike Johnson. I can’t confirm whether he’s the current Speaker of the House, but I can confirm he is not the Mike Johnson who wrote a letter in a recent Fantastic Four issue. That Mike Johnson was from New Jersey, and this one is from Oklahoma. Must be a common name. Who knew?
Mutant Mail-Box.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 54/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
Almost a 4 in significance. Cobalt Man is a bit more than a minor villain. Candy So(u)thern is a relatively significant supporting character.
I also have this issue reprinted in X-Men #79 (1972), with a cover from Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia.
Characters:
- Angel
- Beast
- Iceman
- Cyclops
- Professor X
- Ted Roberts
- Ralph “Ralphie” Roberts/Cobalt Man
- Bernard the Poet
- Zelda
- Vera
- Candace “Candy” Sothern
Story notes:
- X-Men (sans Jean) in Danger Room scenario.
- Angel back in shape after his injury.
- Mimic has returned to college.
- X-Men get the weekend off; Bobby will call Zelda; he and Hank can double date. Warren will cruise in his Mustang; Scott offers to help the Professor with experiments. Professor X declines for mysterious reasons and suggests Cyclops return the books Jean had brought from the university library.
- Professor X is playing cupid by sending Scott to Jean.
- Warren suggests it’s time to make Jean choose between him and Scott.
- Hank and Bobby will meet the girls at Coffee A Go-Go.
- Ralph and Ted have pole-vaulting competition.
- Ralph’s pole cracks and he hits his head.
- Ralph used to work for Stark until a few months ago, experimenting with cobalt. He left to form the Roberts Research Lab.
- Jean and the Robertses go to Never-Say-Diner, near Jean’s dorm, where Scott and Warren catch up and join them.
- Ralph invites them to his lab. Warren declines.
- Bernard recites Amorphous Ode to a Yo-Yo.
- Bernard joins the foursome at their table.
- Warren finds himself at the Monkee’s Paw club, which had been Pizza Paradise last week.
- Warren runs into Candy Sothern, who he knew back in Nassau County, but has since moved to the city.
- Candy is working at the UN building and taking night courses at Archer College.
- Candy does not like to be called Candace.
- Ralph thinks a cobalt alloy can be used to make a ship to travel to Earth’s core, thanks to its high melting point of 1495C.
- Scott and Jean look at Ralph’s subterranean pictures. They have been subsurface themselves, but seen nothing like that.
- Ralph quit because Stark wouldn’t share the secrets of Iron Man’s armor. He’s observed Iron Man and thinks he can duplicate some feats in the cobalt armor, cobalt being superior to iron.
- Ralph plans to turn over his designs to the government, while Iron Man keeps his secret.
- If Ralph wears the suit over 2 hours, the armor produces the deadly radioactive cobalt-60, and the suit becomes a C-bomb.
- Ralph’s transistors operate by Stark’s principles.
- Ralph seems to snap, perhaps a consequence of his fall.
- Cobalt Man destroys his own lab to protect his secrets.
- Cyclops and Marvel Girl suit up to battle Cobalt Man.
- Cyclops contacts other X-Men with signal device in wrist-watch.
- Professor X can’t interrupt vital experiments, but contacts other X-Men.
- Vera and Zelda notice that Hank and Bobby abandon them mid-date a lot.
- Warren struggles to explain the nature of his school to Candy.
- Warren has to leave Candy suddenly and promises to call her tomorrow.
- Warren had decided to give up on Jean, and now is excited about Candy.
- Ted suspects Ralph might head to Stark Industries, based on his rantings.
- Stark lab recently destroyed and will be rededicated Monday, indicating this takes place between Tales of Suspense #88 and #89.
- Ted explains to the X-Men about the radiation issue.
- Water short-circuited the power source.
- Ralph recognizes Stark was right to guard the secret of Iron Man’s armor.
- Does Ted suspect the truth about Scott and Jean– that they are X-Men?
| Previous | #669 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury #41 | Reading order | Ghost Rider #2 |
| X-Men #30 | X-Men | X-Men #32 |
