X-Men #100: Face Off

Our last issue had the X-Men make their way onto Lang's space station and defeat the Sentinels. The Sentinels were only the first wave, though, and in X-Men #100, we see the main plan, with a fight that pits the original line-up of X-Men against the new guys.

It's pretty clear something isn't quite right: the others might be brainwashed, but Beast is not very furry. After some fun fighting (including our very first Fastball Special) and quipping, their Marvel Girl is revealed as an android. Game over for Lang. And, unfortunately, for the space station. They are forced to use the space shuttle to get back down to Earth, but the solar storms (which have been foreshadowed in previous issues) means that most of the X-Men and Corbeau have to stay in a radiation shielded area, while Jean pilots the shuttle herself, keeping radiation at bay with her telekinesis, and having acquired piloting knowledge from a quick rifle through Corbaeu's brain. The issue ends on a cliffhanger as they re-enter the atmosphere...

I talked about why the Sentinels don't make much sense last post. There's another problem here: if it is possible to technologically duplicate Havok or Scott's powers, why are people still using guns? Wouldn't a mind-reading machine utterly change the legal system? It's an unanswerable question which exposes the lie that is at the heart of superhero universes. Technologies like these don't just stay confined to a few people and get used for wish-fulfillment, they'd profoundly affect societies.