Editor’s note: Bronze Age Essentials uses Marvel’s inexpensive B&W Essentials volumes to sequentially review extended runs of Marvel comics from the 1970s and ’80s.
X-MEN #113 (Cover by John Byrne and Bob Layton)
This should have been titled “Momentum!” Last issue’s thick inks are replaced with fine, elegant detail and more original art to dream about when you win the lottery (notably, Pages 1, 6-7, 17). Story gruel with tasty bits is replaced with filling, meaty drama, action, suspense, character development and heady plot. Plus, Magneto is an engineering wunderkind!
This is such a good story, it makes you wonder why Hollywood just didn’t crib a script from here. Maybe it’s prejudice against Antarctica, but that continent has a long cultural history as a place where mystery and evil beings dwell.
Grade: A
Collected in:
I agree, that base of Magneto’s was absolutely gorgeous in design. Phoenix is so $@#&! clumsy!
This was awesome. It’s been a while since I’ve read this, but wasn’t there a wonderful section of of Maggy’s headquarters in this?
This looks like a great battle scene. Mag I won’t call him Maggy is really a complicated chracter who needs a rump kicking.
Greetings Everyone!
There’s a wonderful cut-away/anthill view of Magento’s base in 112, and Phoenix did indeed do humanity a disservice by destroying this Wonder of the World. (Again, she can lay waste to vast complexes, but can’t protect herself from little darts or third-tier mind control.) One wonders how long Byrne spent in laying out the plan. Too bad contemporary architects or engineers don’t read ‘old’ comics… here’s an example of geothermal engineering a decade or more ahead of its time!
Tom K.
That made for a splendid idea for a post, Tom! Here’s that base in all its glory.
If I recall correctly from an interview, Byrne drew half the base, then had it copied and mirror-image flipped, and pasted to the original…voila! One impressive looking base for half the effort.
I remember reading this originally, and coming to that panel, and thinking “Why doesn’t Magneto just go straight and use his powers to become an enormously rich, successful and respected engineer? It’d be much less hassle…”
Hi Comicsfan–
That is an awesome post!
Comicsfan and B. Smith–
Your thoughts lead me to something I’ve thought about, but haven’t quite found a satisfactory answer to: Given Magneto’s power and engineering skills, and his goals, would he act the way he does in the X-men comics? Even given the enormous ego, wouldn’t it be better to undermine/destroy/enslave humanity indirectly, like building a global black psy-ops network, or Google, instead of this perpetual one-man frontal assault? (Same could be asked about Dr. Doom or Lex Luthor.)
In other words, wouldn’t it ‘better’ to be like the Four in Planetary?
Tom K.
Except that I think Magneto’s whole point is that of recognition and acknowledgment–that homo sapiens acknowledge the right of homo superior to not only exist, but realize that mutants are the next natural step in evolution, a step that has irrevocably arrived. He announces such things at practically every confrontation. Xavier sees such acknowledgment as a step-by-step process of acceptance, but Magneto–perhaps because of his victimized past–isn’t willing to patiently wait for peace while mutants are hunted and killed. I think for Magneto to surreptitiously accomplish his goals would be out of character for him, given his impassioned feelings on the matter. There must be any number of ways for a powerful and resourceful figure such as Magneto to establish a mutant order to the world before humanity knew what hit it–but none of them will gain him the “light switch” of acceptance, or the obesience, that he believes is his race’s due.
Comicsfan–
That is the best summary of Magento’s overall ‘reason-for-being’ that I have ever read–thanks, and I hope it’s okay if I perhaps crib from it in the future.
Cheers!
Tom K.