X-Men #22-#23: "taste the irresistible might of my power horn"

X-Men #22 sees the X-Men team up to defeat a practice robot in the Danger Room, then go on vacation - their last one being rudely interrupted by Mimic in issue #19. Warren, Jean and Scott go off together. There's been, for quite a while now, a triangle developing between these characters. It's the sort of situation that can happen to anyone - Warren likes Jean, but Jean likes Scott. Scott likes Jean, but is afraid of his deadly mutant powers and dare not get close to anyone.

Meanwhile, Hank and Bobby are double-dating Zelda and Vera in Greenwich Village, and not for the first time, Hank's actions lead me to question his supposed hetereosexuality.

Soon, the plot cranks up, and Jean, investigating a supposed sighting of a flying X-Men, but knowing it can't be her or Warren, gets captured by a villain bearing the unlikely name of Plantman, who is acting as a minion for Count Nefaria, introduced the previous year (1965) in Avengers. The rest of the team are picked off one by one by the other members of Nefaria's gang, namely Scarecrow, the Porcupine, the Eel and the Unicorn. At this point Scott finally snaps and decides to hang a lampshade on it. "This must be homecoming week for obscure villains! We never heard of you, either!"

Nefaria wishes the X-Men to ally with him, an offer that would have been better made before he decided to hang them from the wall in chains. He is shocked they turn him down, and then outlines his real plan - to hold Washington D.C. to ransom for ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS! by encasing it in a giant dome. Fortunately the X-Men are able to work together (Jean using her telekinesis to open Scott's visor) to break free. Unfortunately, Nefaria is seen to get away with the money, and his plan, which framed the X-Men, trashes any remaining reputation they had. The X-Men have swapped in a ringer for the cash, and told the coast guard. Obviously this will vastly improve the mutants standing in the community and restore broken trust.

Continuity notes

First appearance of Count Nefaria in X-Men. Bobby uses the alias "Bobby Blake". Xavier has developed an exoskeleton that allows him to walk.