X-Men #101 (Oct 76): Like a Pheonix From the Ashes!
Creative Team: Chris Claremont, author; Dave Cockrum, artist; Frank Chiaramonte, inker; J. Costanza, letterer; B. Wilford, colorist; Archie Goodwin, editor
Starting Line Up: Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Banshee, Storm, Colossus
Guest Star: Marvel Girl?
Synopsis: Jean Grey is dying. The shuttle is making a wild, desparate landing back on Earth, but the solar radiation has completely consumed Jean. The shuttle lands hard in Jamaica Bay in New York. Everyone who was in the life cell manages to swim to the surface. Cyclops tells everyone he's going to search for Jean despite their insistance that she's dead. Then out of the water, Jean in a strange new costume bursts upwards and proclaims herself Pheonix. She then faints, plummets, and calls for Cyclops. Xavier uses his mental powers to hide their escape as they rush Jean to a hospital. Some time later, Wolverine buys flowers for Jean, and curses himself for falling in love. When he gets to the hospital, he finds the rest of the X-Men, crushing his hopes for a private romantic moment. Moira asks Xavier if he can use telepathy to check on Jean's condition, but he's afraid it will trigger another seizer and vision. Meanwhile, Cyclops sits alone and realises only now that Jean is so close to death what she means to him. The doctor finally comes out and lets everyone know Jean is in bad shape, but will be ok. Everyone goes wild celebration except Cyclops, who breaks into tears of releaf. Xavier then sends the X-Men on vacation so he and Cyclops can stay and only have to worry about Jean. The X-Men, especially Wolverine, arn't thrilled with the idea of leaving Jean while she's in critical condition, but Xavier insists. Banshee then recieves this letter from his lawyer saying he's inhertited the Cassidy ancestoral castle, so the X-Men can take a trip there. Days later, the X-Men arrive at Cassidy Keep, a giant castle on the coast of Ireland. Their arrival is being monitered by the shadowy figure that killed Mr. Flaherty - Banshee's cousin, Black Tom Cassidy. He orders the keep's senestchal, Eamon O'Donnell, to make the X-Men feel at home, but not to let on about his evil plot or he'll kill the hostages he has,"The Families". Storm finds the castle to be so dead and cold, but Banshee feels completely at home. Nightcrawler and Colossus fight over who gets to escort Storm to dinner. As the group head toward the dinning room, a trap floor opens up and the X-Men fall to a deep sub-basement where they meet Black Tom Cassidy, and his partner... The Juggernaut. Storm realises how far underground they are, and has a panic attack.
Yeah, but is it good? One word - classic. Well, the first half. This is not an action issue. The previous was all out action, so this one is more character driven. And it introduces one of the most remembered X-Men stories of all time - Pheonix. The whole scene in the hospital is fantastic. The few pages there manages to show off Wolverine's growing love for Jean, his ignorance in social graces (did he not think the rest of the X-Men would remain by her side the whole time?), Xavier's concern for control over his mental powers, Nightcrawler being the team's ear and go to person for advice, and, of course, Cyclop's fear of losing the woman he loves. The cartoon and movie versions of Cyclops are nothing compared to the comic version. The other versions depict him as the team's dorky leader. The comic have him as a man of devotion to the two things in his life which have given him meaning: the X-Men, and his love for Jean, and how they sometimes conflict with each other. He's more real than the rest of the team. To be consistant, I refer to the X-Men by the code names (except Jean, just she isn't an official member at this point, so none of the other characters call her Marvel Girl), but with Cyclops it's hard not to refer to him as Scott, a real person you totally sympathise with. In Ireland, it's fun to see Nightcrawler play with his image inducer to find the perfect face to accompany Storm to dinner with. Nightcrawler is become the fun one of the team, with Storm being a total free spirit. And her claustrophobia is becoming a much bigger part of her character.
Significata: Jean died and is born again as Pheonix. Wolverine's love for Jean is growing. Xavier continues to worry about using his mental powers. Banshee finds out he has inherited Cassidy Keep. First full appearance of Black Tom Cassidy (and Eamon O'Donnell, too, I guess, if that matters). First mention of "The Families". The first appearance of Juggernaut in the new X-Men. The price of X-Men comics rises for 25 cents to 30 cents.
