X-Men #104 (Apr 77): And the Gentleman's Name Is Magneto
Creative Team: Chris Claremont, author; Dave Cockrum, artist; Sam Grainger, inker; Patterson, letterer; A. Yanchus, colorist; A. Goodwin, author
Starting Line Up: Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Banshee, Storm, Colossus
Synopsis: The X-Men, now in Scotland, are trying to get passage to Moira McTaggert's island north of the main island. Her usual ferry captain, Angus MacWhirter, refuses to give "a bunch o' costumed freaks" passage. Colossus "persuades" him to let them take his hovercraft. Moira asked the X-Men to check on her lab when she didn't hear from her aid, Jamie Maddrox, in some time. Just before they reach the island, the hovercraft is torn apart. As the X-Men try to run to the lab, they hit an invisible wall. A large chunk of the ground with the X-Men on top is then torn from the ground and hurtles the team towards the wall of the lab. Their combined power allows them to break down the wall. But once inside, they ae confronted by Magneto. Outside on the lab's landing platform, Cyclops and Moira land in the Blackbird. Cyclops is a little upset about Xavier never telling him about this lab for containing the world's most dangerous mutants. Moira finds Jamie Maddrox uncounscious on the floor. He wakes up and tells them the lab was attacked by Eric the Red, Havok, and Polaris. He then returns the baby Magneto to an adult. The two then forge an alliance. Cyclops then realises what the new X-Men are up against and takes off to find them. The X-Men are being trounched, yet again. Colussus armored form and Wolverine's adamantium claws make them easily manipulated by Magneto. Storm's electrical powers are useless against him as well. Nightcrawler can't teleport away fast enough to escape Magneto. And Banshee, who holds his ground against Magneto the best out of the group, is eventually encased in iron, the particles being pulled from all the metal around them. Cyclops then arrives and catches Magneto off guard. He manages to stun him long enough to free Banshee and regroup the other X-Men. Cyclops then orders the X-Men back to the Blackbird. Wolverine flips at the idea of running from a fight, but Cyclops explains he's realised that Eric the Red has been using their former friends and enemies to get to Xavier himself, and he's in New York, totally unprotected. Wolverine is still mad. Magneto gloats over his victory, but in the process, his magnetic powers deactivate the cell doors for something labeled "Mutant X". Meanwhile, somewhere in space, a human named Christopher tells a lizardy alien named Ch'od he's worried about the Emperor's mad plan to use the dimensional gate. Meanwhile, in orbit around Earth, the ship and figure from Xavier's dream arrives. The figure says she needs to stop her mad brother's plan, but is then attacked by an Imperial Cruiser. Meanwhile, Jean is released from the hospital and is visiting her parents with Xavier and Misty Knight. They are being watched by Havok, Polaris, and Eric the Red.
Yeah, but is it good? It's Magneto. 'nuff said. I want to go back to a point I made in earlier reviews about villains using over dramatic English. Here it makes sense. Magneto is an itelligent man. He uses his braggart language to gain him psychological advantage. An island or a demon wouldn't understand this, or speak the language. As great as Magneto is, though, this is no where near the greatness a Magneto story can reach. This does continue to show the new X-Men do not fight well as a team, and no mutant can take on Magneto one-on-one. And now the pieces are set. Even if I didn't know what was going to happen next, I'd know it would have to be big. An epic story is about to begin.
Significata: Magneto is returned to adult hood. He defeats the X-Men. Wolverine continues to question Cyclops' leadership. Colossus begins to question his place in the X-Men, feeling life on the farm was so much simpler, and far less deadly. Havok and Polaris are still under Eric the Red's control. Mutant X is mentioned for the first time. First appearance of Angus MacWhirter, who is of minor importance later on. First appearance of Jamie Maddrox since he debut in a Fantastic Four story as a villian. The Emperor's mad plan is mentioned of for the first time. The figure from Xavier's dream finally arrives on Earth, but so does an Imperial cruiser. Jean is released from the hospital. The X-Men's most epic story is about to unfold.
