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X-Men Vol 1 1

Revision as of 13:32, 20 November 2018 by Artful Bot (Message Wall | contribs) (→‎Detailed Summary: Name change)
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Quote1 Class is now in session! Tardiness will be punished! Quote2
—Professor X

Appearing in "X-Men"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Races and Species:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "X-Men"

Jean Grey (Earth-616) from X-Men Vol 1 1 0002

Jean in costume for the first time.

Brief Summary

At Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester County, New York, Professor Charles Xavier summons his students telepathically. When the Beast, Angel, Iceman, and Cyclops arrive, he puts them through a series of exercises to hone their mutant talents. Xavier then introduces them to a new student, Marvel Girl, to whom he explains the purpose of his school: his students do receive an education, but they are also the first line of defense against evil mutants.

Meanwhile, at Cape Citadel, Magneto causes a rocket to crash. The next day he takes over the whole base and claims it in the name of Homo superior (i.e. mutants). When Xavier hears about the incident, he sends his X-Men on their first mission. Cyclops uses his eye beams to make a hole in Magneto's force field, thus alerting him to their presence. Magneto launches a volley of heat-seeking missiles, which lock on to Angel; Iceman knocks most of them out, and the Beast catches the last one.

Magneto then sends metal debris at Angel; Cyclops destroys it. Magneto flings a burning tanker truck at the team; Iceman covers them with an ice shield, and Cyclops blasts a tunnel under the flames so that they come up near Magneto. Unprepared for such power and resourcefulness, Magneto sets up another force field and levitates himself to safety.

Detailed Summary

A man is seen waiting inside his large exclusive private school. Suddenly, he "calls out" mentally to his students stating that he is Professor X and he is ordering them to appear in class at once. Then four costume-clad people appear and report for their lessons: Cyclops, the Angel, Iceman and the Beast. Angel and Cyclops help the professor get comfortable in his chair. Iceman plays a prank on Beast and freezes his arm. Angel has to pull the two off each other and Professor X begins their training lessons using his "training machine".

The Beast is first and is given timed lessons to help him with his agility skills. He first grabs a taut wire with his toes in a second and a half. He then spins wildly on the wire and jumps through the room in exactly three seconds. Then he practices his balancing skills while Cyclops slackens the wire tension causing him to jump off and land on his feet. The Angel takes his turn and tests out his wing reflexes. He flies around jet flames, through a giant closing clamp and then skips through a bladed spinner without a slip. He becomes overconfident and when a sound concussion blasts around him, he loses his edge and begins to fall but then recovers. Iceman asks the professor to allow him to take more risks even though he is the youngest student. The professor tells him not to rush things. Iceman then feels that if he is going to be treated like a kid, then he will start acting like one. He finds "snowman items" and puts them on to joke around. Beast throws a ball at him since he is off-guard and Iceman reacts quickly creating an ice "boomerang-sled" sending the ball right back at Beast. Cyclops shows off his leadership skills and uses his beams to stop the group from goofing off. Professor X stops the team and readies them for the new student who has just arrived by taxi.

A redheaded woman steps from the cab and the group begins bantering with each other about the fact that a girl is joining the school. The team goes and changes while the woman enters and is greeted by Professor X who apparently sent her [Jean Grey] a letter to be enrolled as a student of his school. She questions the type of school that she sees and Professor X states that it is a school for the "specially gifted", mutants, like herself and the others. The professor introduces the rest of the team, using their real names and codenames, to Jean Grey, whom he says is now known as Marvel Girl. She shows off her powers of telekinesis to the rest of the team by moving chairs and books. The Beast, tries to give her a kiss and she turns him upside-down and spins him wildly in the air then throws him onto the couch. Professor X then tells the group their mission is to protect the world from mutants who would harm humans or other mutants.

Meanwhile, just such a mutant named Magneto, is hiding near Cape Citadel watching a missile launch. He uses his powers of magnetism to control the missile and send it crashing off-course into the nearby waters. The Army and NASA standby and are astounded that the missile was destroyed. They conclude that someone tampered with the missile prior to launch. The next day, the Daily Globe newspaper states that this was the sixth missile to be destroyed and a "phantom saboteur" has struck again. Then the soldiers begin seeing weapons firing randomly and tanks being controlled remotely. A message suddenly is written out in metallic dust in the sky and reads, "Surrender the base or I'll take it by force. - Magneto." While the message is being read by the soldiers, Magneto launches a missile from a silo near the base. He causes it to fall into the sea near an unmanned target ship. Magneto then walks into the base and takes control of it. He uses his powers to entrap the soldiers in a "magnetic-fence" from which they cannot escape.

The X-Men are alerted to the crisis at the Cape. They each get ready into their uniforms and ready to go. They are driven to the airport in Professor X's Rolls Royce and take his private jet to the Cape. The X-Men arrive and request the army hold off firing on the base for fifteen minutes. Cyclops uses his power to make a hole in Magneto's magnetic force field and this alerts Magneto of their presence on the base. Magneto fires heat-seeking hunter missiles at the team. Angel causes the missiles to lock onto him and follow him around in the air, while Iceman freezes them with snowballs. One missile gets through and Beast catches it with his feet. Marvel Girl then telekinetically sends it off into the sea. Magneto is amazed at the team's abilities and sends a pile of metal hurtling at Angel. The team stops to help him, while Magneto rolls a flaming barrel of rocket fuel at them. Iceman quickly encases the team in an ice cocoon when suddenly the tank blows up.

Magneto thinks he has won and starts to walk off when suddenly Cyclops' beam shoots out from the ground. The team emerges and begins to strike at Magneto full force. Magneto takes flight via magnetic repulsion and blocks the team from following him with a magnetic force field. They eventually breach it and Magneto has already disappeared. The army is gracious that the base is safe once again and thanks the X-Men for their help. The team then flies back home in the jet, while Professor X telepathically congratulates the team for a job well done.

Notes

Scott Summers (Earth-616) from X-Men Vol 1 1 0001

Cyclops attacks Magneto's force field.

  • This issue is reprinted in many other comics and books, see references for more info.[1]
  • Cyclops is referred to as "Slim" throughout this issue. His real first name, Scott, is not revealed until X-Men #3.
  • Professor Xavier and Jean Grey claim not to know each other when Jean arrives at the school. It is later revealed in Bizarre Adventures #27, and Classic X-Men #42, that the two of them had several training sessions prior to Jean's arrival at the school.
  • Professor X claims that Cyclops is getting better at receiving the Professor's thoughts and that there will soon be no need to speak aloud to him. Indicating that the Professor previously had trouble communicating telepathically with Cyclops.
  • The issue establishes that Iceman is younger that Angel, Beast, and, Cyclops, and that he is the youngest of the original students. The Professor specifies that Iceman is 16-years-old. At the time of publication , this would place Iceman's birth c. 1947. This is a topical reference, due to the Sliding Timescale.
  • Iceman complains that the Professor is taking it easy with his training, due to his status as the "kid" of the team. He feels that the Professor is pushing the other males of the team harder.
  • When the X-Men prepare for the arrival of Jean Grey (and observe her from a window), the Professor comments on her beauty, Cyclops is impressed with the "real living doll", the Angel likes that she is a "redhead", and Beast announces that he is no hurry to graduaty (if he can be around her). Iceman is the only character who is not impressed at all with her. He comments: A girl...big deal" and steps away from the window. The implication is that Iceman is not interested in girls.
  • Jean Grey mentions that when Professor X contacted her about joining his school, he asked her for secrecy, and for her not to notify anyone except her parents. She also notes that the Professore never mentioned the course of study.
  • Jean Grey claims to have had the power of telekinesis for practically her entire life, and that she had to keep it a secret for her entire life.
  • Professor X mentions his (unnamed) parents, and claims that both of his parents had worked on the first atom bomb project. Later stories confirm that Brian Xavier was a nuclear scientist, but not that Sharon Xavier was a fellow scientist.
  • Professor X implies that the work of his parents with the atom bomb was responsible for his birth as a mutant. He also claims to Jean Grey that he was perhaps the first mutant ever born, something denied by most later stories.
  • Professor X states in this issue that there are many mutants walking the Earth, and that more mutants are born every year. He does not state how he knows this.
  • Since Magneto has no allies in this issue, he spends a few pages talking to himself.
  • Magneto introduces the term Homo superior in the second panel that he ever appears in.
  • When invading the base, Magneto seems to intentionally avoid physically harming the soldiers and officers. He captures everyone with no loss of life. He also seems strangely calm during the entire process.
  • While acclimating herself to her new environment, Jean Grey seems to find the Beast annoying and complains that the men of the team are not allowing her any privacy.
  • Following the destruction of his missiles by the X-Men, Magneto notes to himself that he must never underestimate the X-Men.
  • Angel becomes the first X-Man to meet Magneto face-to-face.
  • The X-Men reportedly defeat Magneto in less than 15 minutes, and an unnamed general comments that it is "uncanny". This first time the term is used for the Uncanny X-Men.

Trivia

  • Magneto's power shows that he can create manipulate the magnetic field around things to enclose them in the field. This theory was debunked and rather explained by the writers as his power to control the iron in one's blood and use that to contain them.
  • This comic's title was later changed to Uncanny X-Men and continued under that name until its numbering was rebooted with a new Uncanny X-Men series in 2013. A second X-Men title was introduced in the 90's, was briefly renamed "New X-Men", and was finally changed to X-Men Legacy. 2010 introduced a third series to use the adjective-less X-Men title. 2013 introduced a fourth.
  • Iceman was originally drawn as a "snowman" when his powers are activated and he regularly threw snowballs as weapons. This would later be changed to give him more of an icy look rather than snow-like.
  • Professor X's "training machine" that is shown is a precursor to the giant Danger Room that is created in the mansion.
  • Although this issue is the first appearance of the X-Men, the team has already been formed. Their previous storylines are shown in other titles and flashbacks.
  • The newspaper that headlines Magneto's first terrorist act is a Daily Globe newspaper.
  • Magneto makes a statement in the air using levitating bullets. The phrase says "Surrender the base or I'll take it by force - Magneto". This phrase is similar to the one used by the Wicked Witch in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, produced by MGM Studios.
  • Xavier's signature catch phrase "to me my X-Men" debuts on the final page.
  • This Comic Book was referenced in Marvel: Avengers Alliance and is one of the Comic Book Covers required in order to recruit Magneto in the game.
  • One od the Professor's exercises in this issue required Beast and Iceman to throw balls at each other. The Beast compares this to basketball, and jokes about the X-Men challenging the Harlem Globetrotters at the game. The Globetrotters are a real basketball team, from Earth-1218. They specialize in exhibition games, and their performances combine athleticism, theater, and comedy.
  • Jean Grey mentions her parents, but they are not actually depicted in this issue.
  • Jean compares her ner X-Men uniform to the fashion designs of Christian Dior (1905–1957). Dior was a French fashion designer and founder of the company Dior, one of the world's top fashion houses. His company still exists in the 21st century, under the control of billionaire Bernard Arnault (1949-).

See Also

Links and References

  • Official Marvel Guide to the X-Men (Vol. 2) #1

References

  1. ↑ Reprinted in the following comics/TPB's:
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