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> Uncanny X-Men Masterworks Volume 1 |
Click panels for larger images From the Mouths of the Marvels:
"Which brings us to our next little problem. What are we going to do with thirteen X-Men?”
-- Angel, pg. 36
The X-Men vote Krakoa off the island!!!
(Click panels for larger images.)
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Giant-Size X-Men #1
Script: Len Wein/Chris Claremont • Letters: John Costanza
Ranked #4 in 100 Greatest Marvel Comics of All Time list
Villain: Krakoa
First Appearance: Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Storm/Ororo, Colossus/Peter Rasputin, Illyana Rasputin (unnamed,) Mama & Papa Rasputin, Thunderbird/John Proudstar,Krakoa
Joins Group: Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Banshee, Storm, Sunfire, Colossus, Thunderbird
Gadgets & Technology: Blackhawk jet (here called Strato-Jet)
Letters Page: No letters page in this issue.
But this is just the beginning of a long journey for Prof. X, as the mutant mentor cuts to
Quebec, Canada; Nashville, TN; Kenya in East Africa; Osaka, Japan; Lake Baikal,
Siberia; and Camp Verde, Arizona. At each stop, the most powerful mutant mind in the
world establishes contact with a new mutant: Wolverine, Banshee, Storm, Sunfire,
Colossus and Thunderbird, respectively. And with each mutant, he pitches the idea of each
coming together as a whole for the benefit of their fellow mutants and the world. There
are misgivings: for Storm, it is leaving a land where she is treated as a goddess of
wind and rain; for Colossus, it is leaving the happiness of his homeland and family; for
Sunfire it is his loathing of the Western world; and for John Proudstar, aka Thunderbird,
it is his bitterness towards "the white man" which has stolen his birthright. But despite
these concerns and emotions, they all accept the professor's invitation to meet an
unknown challenge.
These seven "new" mutants gather in the library of Xavier's school, clad in new uniforms
made of unstable molecules on loan from Reed Richards, all seemingly in awe of their
surroundings except for a cranky and impatient Sunfire. Emerging from the CEREBRO
room comes Cyclops, who begins to fill the assembled group in with the facts of their
mission. His story takes them on a flashback to when the X-Men, composed of Cyclops,
Angel, Iceman, Havok and Lorna Dane, raced off to respond to an incredibly violent
signal from CEREBRO. The signal indicated a new mutant on the island of Krakoa in the
South Pacific. The team races off in the "specially designed Strato-Jet" to the island,
where they alighted on the jungle floor. Emerging from the jet, the team was blindsided
by an unknown threat, knocking Cylcops out cold. He awoke at the control panels of the
Strato-Jet, realizing suddenly that his unshielded eyes were powerless! The jet went
into autopilot, taking a stricken Cyclops back to Westchester, where he explained to
Professor X what little he knew. But all of a sudden, Cyclops optic-blasts returned,
stronger and wilder than ever!
Cyclops explained that he had to retrain himself to use his stronger powers, while the
professor was out recruiting new members to help find the old members of the X-Men-
as well as the mutant menace on Krakoa Island! All assembled members agree to the
mission, save for Sunfire, who declares he will not risk his life for people he doesn't
even like. However, as the team flies off in the Strato-Jet for Krakoa, Sunfire returns, for
reasons unexplained.
Hours later, the X-Men reach the island. Dropping from the plane in seperate assault
teams, Storm and Colossus come from from the north, Banshee and Wolverine come
from the east, Sunfire and Nightcrawler come from the south, and Cyclops and
Thunderbird land the jet to come from the west end of the island. Thunderbird barely has
his first "white man" joke completed before they realize the Strato-Jet has disappeared into
thin air! They spot a towering temple in the distance, and as their only option, they travel
towards it, encountering seemingly living vines that attack them as they near.
The other assault teams have their own problems: Colossus and Storm encounter an
avalanche of rocks that seem to have a mind of their own; Banshee and Wolverine face
off against a giant crab; and Sunfire and Nightcrawler have a showdown with some
birds right outta Hitchcock. Through the use of their powers, they are all able to fend off
these strange attacks, and they all converge at the same temple. Inside the temple,
Colossus and Cyclops batter down a thick slab of rock that reveals an astonishing
sight: five X-Men hanging suspended in the middle of an organic system of feeding
tubes!
As the X-Men release their teammates from bondage, the island starts to tremble and
shake. A newly conscious Angel reveals the secret of the island of Krakoa- they had sought
a mutant on the island, and it turns out the island is a mutant! And the X-Men have fallen
for its trap, for returning to save the others has meant Krakoa can now enslave even
more mutants!
On cue, the beast that is Krakoa rises from the murky jungle floor in anthropomorphic
form and attacks, firing eye beams at the band of mutants and smashing at them with
its massive limbs. All thirteen mutants rally in battle, affronting him with all the power
at their command. Professor X, all the way in New York, establishes mental contact with
Cyclops, sharing with him a plan to exploit Krakoa's perceived weakness. Storm hovers
aloft, channeling the powers of electricity crackling through the air, while below Lorna
Dane completes a circuit with Storm using her magnetic powers. This challenge seems
to only strengthen the mutant-power siphoning of Krakoa, but the full effect of Professor
X's gambit is felt minutes later, as the magnetic field channels all the way to the center of
the earth and pushes upward. The island cannot bear the strain and, the lines of
gravometric force having been shattered by Lorna Dane, is launched upward through
the atmosphere and far out into distance space.
Having prepared for this, Cyclops led his band of mutants onto a floe of ice hastily
created by Iceman, which is dragged down into the water by a fierce whirlpool.
Quick action by Iceman saves them from drowning, and they recover themselves
onboard the floating Strato-Jet. The X-Men, all thirteen of them, fly back to New York,
wondering what the future can hold for all of them: Cyclops, Angel, Iceman, Jean Grey,
Havok, Lorna Dane, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Banshee, Thunderbird
and Sunfire.
--synopsis and panel images by Gormuu
--letters pages provided by Avengers Assemble
Issues Reprinted Click on cover image to learn more about each issue. |
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GS XM #1 |
XM #94 |
XM #95 |
XM #96 |
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XM #97 |
XM #98 |
XM #99 |
XM #100 |
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