X-Men #132 (Apr 80): And Hellfire is Their Name!Creative Team: Chris Claremont, writer/co-plotter; John Byrne, co-plotter/penciler; Terry Austin, inker; Tom Orzechowski, letterer; Glynis Wein, colorist; Jim Salicrup, editor; Jim Shooer, ed.-in-chief
Starting Line Up: Cyclops, Pheonix, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus
Guest Star: Angel
Synopsis: The X-Men arrive in New Mexico at Angel's desert getaway. Cyclops asks to speak to Angel in private, so he flies them off into the desert. Xavier is upset. He didn't want to the X-Men to hideout in the desert and he doesn't understand why Cyke wants to speak in private. Cyclops explains the X-Men can't go to the mansion since someone who knows all about them is after them. He recaps the events of finding Dazzler and Kitty Pryde, half the X-Men being captured by the White Queen, the rescue, the psi battle with Pheonix, and the White Queen choosing suicide over capture (so that's what happened...) He then tells Angel about the connection to the Hellfire Club. Angel is skeptical since he inherited a membership to the Club when he inherited his family's foturne, and the one time her went, they didn't seem like any sort of danger. He starts to tell Angel about Phoenix' change when she shows up. Angel takes off and the lovers have a moment. Phoenix uses her power to hold back Cyclops' optic blasts as they make sweet love in the desert. A week later in NYC, the X-Men begin their assault on the Hellfire Club while Xavier stays with Angel in New Mexico. Because of the distance, and his inability to resort his psychic rapport with them, they're going in without his help. Wolverine and Nightcrawler are sneaking in through the sewers. Because of the rain storm, the sewers are filling up fast. Wolverine exposes some electrical wires in case things don't go well and an unexpected black out could come in handy. Cyclops, Phoenix, Storm, and Colossus arrive as invited guests of Angel. Their arrival is immediately detected by the Inner Circle (Sebastian Shaw, Jason Wyngarde, Donald Pierce, and Leland). Wyngarde goes in to action by dancing with Phoenix and she immediately timeslips. He completely takes her away from Cyclops and leads her upstais. Cyclops tries to follow. Wyngarde reveals himself to be none other than Mastermind (I'll explain later) and Cyke chages after him, only to be blasted by the Black Queen Jean Gray. Storm and Colossus hear the commotion and charge into battle. They are met by Shaw, whose mutant power is he can absorb any kinetic engery (such as a punch) and it increases his strength. He turns Colossus' own strength against him. Storm creates a fog and tries to get away. Meanwhile, in the basement, Wolverine and Nightcrawler arrive, but are met by Pierce and Leland. Wolverine slashes Pierce's arm and reveals him as a cyborg. Leland uses his mutant powers to affect any object or person's mass (actually they mean density) and makes Wolverine so heavy he crashes through the floor back into the sewers. Pierce captures Nightcrawler, while elsewhere Shaw finishes off Storm. The Inner Circle celebrate their victory over and capture of the X-Men, as well as their new Black Queen. But down in the sewers, Wolverine pulls himself out of the water, and gets ready to go in alone.
Yeah, but is it good? If the entire issue sucked, the last panel alone would save it. The bottom half of the last page in one panel with Wolverine, pissed off, waist deep in water, dripping wet, claws extended and gleaming, the shadow of a sewer great cast upon him, and he says "Okay, suckers -- you've taken yer
best shot! Now it's my turn!" Just one of my favorite scenes. t looks just amazing in my b&w version. I always loved John Byrne's artwork. But anyway, the rest of the issue doesn't suck and in fact is very good. There is tension among the heroes, cool villains (at least Shaw is, anyway), a heel turn, and the return of an old villain. Mastermind was one of the X-Men's earliest enemies. He was a part of Magneto's original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and latter the mysterious Factor Three. He was never much more than a second rate villain, but here he's sure got a new lease on life and he's became very dangerous to the team. Jean become the Black Queen, despite all of Wyngarde's claims she would become his, still must have come off as a surprise at the time. But most of you know where this is going ;) Excellent stuff, and the big fight is still to come.
Significata: Phoenix finally falls under Jason Wyngarde's influence and becomes the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. Jason Wyngarde revealed as Mastermind. First appearance of Donald Pierce, a cyborg, and Leland, who affects a being's DENSITY. Sebastian Shaw's power revealed to be the ability to absorb kinetic energy and add it to his strength. White Queen's fate revealed as suicide. Xavier mentions he's been unable to re-establish his psychic rapport with his students since returning to Earth.
