And now -- That my name shall be the final thing you hear! Prepare to die -- For daring to oppose that which no mortal can comprehend! 
Appearing in "I, Lucifer..."
Featured Characters:
- Professor Xavier - (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- Lucifer (Agent One) - (Main story and flashback)
- Supreme One (First appearance), (Only in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Mr. Philbert - bank manager
- Unnamed bank personnel, patrons & guards
- Unnamed policemen
- Unnamed carnival workers and carnival-goers
- Mabel & Herman - New York citizens
- Unnamed New York citizens
- Unnamed Tibetan citizens
Locations:
- Unknown bank
- A carnival
- Westchester County
- Southwestern US desert
- Buchanan's Butte
- Lucifer's headquarters
- Tibet - (Only in flashback)
- Himalayas - (Only in flashback)
- Lucifer's citadel - (Only in flashback)
Items:
- Cyclops' Visor, version 1
- Cerebro - (Repaired)
- Dominus - (Behind the scenes)
Vehicles:
- Mr. Philbert's limousine
- X-Jet
Synopsis for "I, Lucifer..."
Wearing X-Men costumes, Blob and Unus the Untouchable are holding up a bank so that the X-Men would be implicated for the crime. The security guard, nor the bank security prove any match for the untouchable and unmovable duo, who succeed in robbing the bank, fighting off the arriving police and escaping the scene on foot.
While at the X-Men's mansion, Scott, afraid of his uncontrollable optic blast and the fact that he cannot bring himself to tell Jean his true feelings for her decides that he must leave the X-Men. Without telling anyone, Scott packs a bag and leaves the mansion on foot. Warren, Jean, Bobby and Hank on the other hand are relaxing in the study when a news report about the Blob and Unus' bank robbery comes on the air. With the X-Men implicated in the robbery, the team rushes down to the Professor's study where Charles has just finished building a new Cerebro machine. The machine then reveals the identity of the two "X-Men" that robbed the bank, and Hank recognizes them as Blob and Unus. The Professor senses a third adversary involved in this crime and attempts to use his mental powers to learn who that is, but finds that some force prevents him. To make matters worse, Bobby enters the room after failing to find Scott and hands over a note written by Summers explaining to the Professor that he left the team. Unable to devote the time to finding Scott, the Professor sends out the other X-Men to get ready to face their enemies.
Far away, the X-Men's unknown foe is none other than the alien being that was responsible for crippling Professor Xavier: The evil Lucifer. With his plan in motion, the evil alien muses over how he manipulated Blob and Mimic from afar to set in motion the chain of events in his latest plan to take over the world. Some time ago, his scanners detected the meeting of Blob and Unus. At a carnival, the two men would challenge each other to see who would win: The untouchable man, or the unmovable Blob? The match would end in a stalemate when the two men found that their powers were evenly matched, and after the bout they would be manipulated from afar by Lucifer's machines to team up and work together as crooks, robbing whatever they wanted.
As Lucifer continues his plot, Scott happens by the Blob and Unus as they are robbing an armored car. Realizing that the two evil Mutant's actions would reflect negatively on the X-Men, he would change into his Cyclops costume and confront his two foes. However, instead of being able to stop Blob and Unus and expose their frame up, Cyclops only succeeds in enraging the crowd of people into a mob. In a fit of anti-mutant hysteria the crowd chases Cyclops away, rationalizing that he is the most dangerous of the three mutants, forcing the hero to flee the scene.
Watching the scene Lucifer is angry that their activities only netted one X-Man to come out of hiding. However, he becomes satisfied when he spots the other members of the team arriving on the scene (minus Marvel Girl who remained with the Professor). Beast arrives first and uses the device he previously used to deactivate Unus' powers, however Unus has since become immune to the rays effects thanks to the secret machinations of Lucifer. The X-Men try their best to fight off the two evil Mutants, however the crowd and police impede the teams efforts as they fail to realize that the X-Men are fighting against the impostors and think that they are all in league together, much to the joy of Lucifer. However, the battle takes a pitch in the opposite direction when Cyclops returns to the scene and knocks the two foes off their feet when he blasts the ground out for under them. Unfortunately, this causes the two to fall down into the subway tunnel below where a subway train just happens to be passing by. With an angry mob chasing them, the X-Men welcome Cyclops back into the fold and seek a hiding place until the mob subsides.
Back at Lucifer's base, the alien mastermind is alerted that the Professor is breaking through the mental screens he put into place to prevent Xavier from learning of his involvement in the battle. Prepared for this contingency, Lucifer has prepared a gigantic weapon that fires a powerful disruption beam that attacks the Professor's mind putting him in a coma like state. Still conscious, but rendered inert and his powers weakened, the Professor telepathically orders Marvel Girl to get his mental-wave amplifier to boost his powers. In doing so, the Professor learns that the mastermind behind this attack against the X-Men is Lucifer.
Professor X then tells Jean the story of how he first encountered Lucifer: Years ago, while traveling through Tibet, the Professor became interested in a city that was walled off and decided to investigate. When he is barred from entry, he coaxes the guards into letting him in with his mental powers. His presence in the town would attract the attention of it's ruler: Lucifer who would begin monitoring the strange visitor. The Professor would learn that he people in the town live in fear of it's ruler, and with his mental probes would learn that Lucifer's castle has a cache of weaponry and machines from another world within. The Professor would organize a group of villagers and try to convince them to follow him in a revolt against Lucifer. They would remain unconvinced until Lucifer attempts to kill them. With an army at his command, the Professor would storm Lucifer's castle and destroy much of the machinery inside. Lucifer is then contacted by his leader, and is told to abandon this base and go to another sector that is key to their invasion plans of the Earth. Fleeing the scene, the alien would cross paths with the Professor. Xavier would attempt to stop Lucifer from escaping, however the alien mastermind would drop activate a trap: a stone block which would fall on Charles, crushing his leg and confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Lucifer would escape, and in ending his story, the Professor explains that part of his reasons for forming the X-Men was for the purposes of dealing with the threat of Lucifer should it appear again.
Back at his secret hideout, Lucifer muses how his devices have been able to sway the behaviors of an entire town, and that soon he will build a device which will effect the entire world and put the entire human race under his control. With his plans almost coming to fruition, Lucifer calls his masters and request that they send Dominus, who is part of the final phase of their conquest of the Earth.
With the hysterical mob now gone, the X-Men leave their hiding place and return to the X-Mansion where they learn of the Professor's situation and Lucifer's involvement in the days events. In order to face Lucifer with their leader by their side, Beast creates a mental-distorter which would protect the Professor from the effects of Lucifer's weapon. With the Professor restored to normal, the team would load up supplies in their jet and fly off to the location of Lucifer's base to stop his planned conquest of the Earth, unaware of the danger which faces them there.
This story is continued next issue....
Notes
Trivia
- The Beast is incorrectly called "Warren" and Iceman is incorrectly named "Bobby Blake" in this issue.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- This begins a two-part story-arc that ends next issue.
- X-Men #9 - first appearance of Lucifer.
Links and References
References
- ↑ Reprinted in the following comics/TPB's:
- Essential Uncanny X-Men #1
- Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men 2nd Edition HC #2
- Marvel Masterworks: X-Men HC #2
- Uncanny X-Men #71