X-Men Vol 1 28

A new mutant arrives in New York City, calling himself the Banshee and he has the powers to go with the name. Flying to an expensive art gallery, the sonic powered mutant uses his powerful scream to knock out the populous and to smash through the glass to get at an expensive painting of a beautiful landscape before fleeing the scene.

As this is going on, the X-Men are testing the range of Mimic's power-copying abilities and seeing if the Professor's mental powers can help boost the range. Mimic only gets so far before the powers he's copied from the X-Men begin to fade away and he is forced to land. However, Mimic is not worried about this because he believes that with his combined abilities he'll be the most superior member of the group. This leads to an argument between him and Cyclops over Mimic's risk taking, with Cyclops believing that Mimic is looking toward a big fall.

While back in the city, the Banshee has returned to a preset hideout where he is reunited with his colleague, a simplistic man named the Ogre, who has just learned the secret location of the X-Men's headquarters. When the Ogre realizes that Banshee had gone out and stolen a painting, he attempts to scold him for jeopardizing their mission. Banshee tries to downplay it but then realizes that he is running low on tobacco for his pipe. He goes back out into the city where he once more uses his powers to steal; this time tobacco from a closed up tobacco shop. The attack attracts the attention of the X-Men who begin to mobilize a mission to investigate. While in Manhattan, Jean Grey is in Central Park with Ted Roberts who is brooding over a letter from home. He tells her about his successful brother when they are interrupted by a radio report about Banshee's most recent attack.

Banshee has meanwhile returned to his hideout and he and the Ogre prepare to strike at the X-Men's base. They use a pyro-projector to cause a fire nearby to distract people from witnessing their ship's departure from the base. They travel to the X-Mansion, where the Professor, knowing that the attackers are coming to the mansion, has his X-Men prepared to counterattack. The X-Men are all knocked out by the Banshee's sonic scream, allowing the Ogre to kidnap the Professor and attempt to flee the scene. He is tripped up by the timely arrival of Marvel Girl who uses her telekinetic powers to keep the Ogre busy until the rest of the X-Men revive themselves and attempt to capture the Ogre instead.

The Ogre calls Banshee to attack the X-Men once more but is forced to flee when they overpower him, leaving the Professor behind. Returning to the ship, he finds that Banshee has returned as well and the mutant is hardly impressed that Ogre has returned empty handed, causing him to go back after the X-Men to try and recollect Xavier.

This time, the Professor has read the Ogre's mind and knows how he buffers against the Banshee's sonic scream and creates ear buffers for the X-Men to wear to protect their ears from his debilitating power. When the Banshee attacks, the X-Men are ready and they subdue him and seal him in a pressurized suit and vacuum chamber that prevent him from using his powers. While getting an extra oxygen tank in the cellar, Cyclops notices a giant locked door in the basement of the Mansion that he had not seen previously.

Mimic is sent out to search for the Ogre, but he sneaks into the mansion and attacks the X-Men. Cyclops uses his optic blast and causes him to retreat outside where he is attacked by the Mimic. Mimic smashes his mechanical costume, defeating him and destroying all of his controls. Xavier then allows banshee to free himself. Banshee then removes the headdress that he's been forced to wear, telling the X-Men that the Ogre and an organization called Factor Three had forced him to work with them by planting a bomb in the headdress. Banshee leaves the X-Men with some ominous words, that Factor Three intends to take over the world.

Notes

Credits:
- Stan Lee Editor
- Roy Thomas Writer
- Werner Roth Artist
- Dick Ayers Inker
- Artie Simek Letterer
- Irving Forbush Noise-Maker

Trivia

Cyclops notices a locked door in the basement - its the first time we see it, and its where the professor hides when he fakes his death and where the professor hides the Juggernaut.
Banshee was originally intended to be female by Roy Thomas, but the character was made male by an editorial decision. "Banshee" comes from the Gaelic "baen sidhe" (same pronunciation), which is a female spirit with a deadly wail.
According to Roy Thomas, Factor Three is supposed to be inspired by the early James Bond movies. Also, he says that on Page 15, Panel 1, he admits that it was accidental when Jean levitated a screwdriver, called it pliers, and Beast calling Jean a credit to her gender. He accidentally typed pliers instead of screwdriver, and it generated some negative and (somehow) positive feedback to Roy.

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References

X-Men Vol 1 28

Appearing in "The Wail of the Banshee!"

Synopsis for "The Wail of the Banshee!"

Notes

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