X-Men #8 (Nov 64): The Uncanny Threat of... Unus, the Untouchable!Creative Team: Stan Lee, writer; Jack Kirby, penciler; Chic Stone, inker; S. Rosen, letterer
Starting Line Up: Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Marvel Girl
Synopsis: Iceman gets more control over his powers and loses the snowman look, looking more like the Iceman of later years. Xavier is still on his own mission. Beast is nearly lynched for being a mutant after saving a child. He's so mad he quits the team and becomes a professional wrestler (which is real). He wrestles Unus, another mutant whose power is nothing harmful can touch him. Beast finds Mastermind offering him a position in the Brotherhood if he can defeat the X-Men. He womps them pretty good until Beast creates a ray gun that amplifies Unus' power to the point where nothing can come close to him, including food. Out of fear, he promises to lead a good life.
Yeah, but is it good? It's a nice little story with a very minor villain. Unus keeps popping up every once if a while for quite a while. And while the Brotherhood is actually in the fight thi issue, their presence is still felt nevertheless. The idea of humans fearing mutants is brought up again. It's not a major focus in the old days, but it is nice to see the topic touched once in a while. And it's good to see Beast questioning his role in protecting people who hate him to the point where he quits for an issue. It makes you think. There's some interesting Cyclops stuff here as he takes his role of leader so seriously he's no longer "one of the boys" and furthers his distance from Marvel Girl.
Significata: First appearance of Unus. Beast quits but quickly rejoins the team. Xavier is still away on his own mission.
