Captain America #172-#175: Secret Empire

The X-Men make a guest appearance in Captain America #172-#175. This is an important arc for Captain America, which leads to him abandoning his identity. It's less important for the X-Men, and I can see why it was omitted from the Essential Classic X-Men. But it does follow up directly from Steve Englehart's Amazing Adventures arc (again by Englehart, who also wrote the last post's Avengers story). Looking at Englehart's regard for these characters, it makes me curious what an Englehart X-Men series would have been like... Did he ever pitch for the job?

The first intrusion of mutants into this storyline is in issue #172, when Banshee, queuing for Merle Haggard tickets, literally bumps into Captain America. Cap's reputation has been trashed by machinations of his enemies at this point, and Banshee - who were are told is in hiding - takes off his street clothes and starts a fight with Cap and Falcon! After some inconclusive fighting Cyclops arrives, looking for Banshee. Professor X, Cyclops and Marvel Girl explain the situation to Cap. Various mutants - including all the other X-Men - have been captured by a group, the same one that has set up Cap.

In a continuity-heavy page, we're told that Angel has been missing since the events of Avengers #110-#111, and they could not locate the Beast, either. Havoc and Lorna Dane are also missing, having never returned to the X-Men after their appearance in Incredible Hulk #150. Further, Iceman went missing on a scouting mission. This has left Professor X with only Cyclops and Marvel Girl, and led them to try to recruit Banshee. They'll take Captain America and the Falcon as allies instead, though. Linda Donaldson finally did capture the Beast for the Secret Empire, although she was confused when Hank McCoy, who she was spying on, vanished too. Steve and Sam save her from a staged attack from Cyclops, which gives them an "in" with the Secret Empire.

There's an odd scene in #174 which appears to be there to explain why the X-Men are suddenly wearing their "classic" costumes again, rather than the redesigned individual ones from later in the run. The mutants (the missing X-Men as well as Mastermind's fake brotherhood line-up, and Mesmero) are finally rescued by a team-up of Cap, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Gabe Jones, and Peggy Carter (!). Cap then goes to confront Moonstone, and unmasks Number One - who is revealed to be some prominent government official (presumably *Nixon, although we never see his name or face), just as he commits suicide. This is Marvel's version of Watergate, although from text we can see that the some real Watergate scandal has happened as well. An editorial note note in the letters column for #173 apologises for the plot, planned long in advance, now seeming like small fry, saying that it has been curtailed early for different things.

We're promised, in a letter in #175, that X-Men will be making its return as a series soon - that they'd nearly put an announcement in #174 but had pulled it at the last moment...

Avengers #110-#114: The Ballad of Vizh and Wanda

A lot's been happening in the world of Avengers since we last checked in with them in issue #53. Back then, they consisted of Black Panther (T'Challa), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Hank Pym (Giant-Man) and Janet Van Dyne (The Wasp). As my handy chart shows, by Avengers #110 (April 1973) they have added the Vision (who is a sentient robot type thingsynthezoid), regained Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Thor and the Scarlet Witch (Wanda). I'm not sure where Giant-Man and the Wasp have gone - possibly they remain very small for the entire story.

Anyhow, they get a communication coming through, from an anonymous sender, who shows them the X-Mansion. They don't recognise it, but do vaguely recognise the prone body of Xavier, from Reed and Sue's wedding. Thor remembers who he was from way back in Avengers #9, and identifies him as "Professor Charles Xavier, mentor to the long-hidden X-Men". But who's behind this all, but Magneto! He here calls the group he'd organised in X-Men #4 the "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants", possibly for the first time? The story treats the X-Men mostly as victims to be saved by the Avengers, but ends with both groups having learnt something about each other.

Since there's not much with the X-Men proper going on here, let's see what the mutants in the Avengers are doing. The Vision (who is a kind of android, who I think is at this point was supposed to be the body of the original Human Torch overlaid with the mind of Simon Williams) agreed that he reciprocated Wanda's love for him in #108, and the happy news was shared with Iron Man in #109. He doesn't say a word to their face, but privately he thinks that "society isn't going to go for this one", and he "hope[s they] know what [they]'re letting [themselves] in for". Pietro (who had been missing) turns up in #110, announcing his engagement to Crystal of the Inhumans. He's really not keen on finding out about Wanda and the Vision's relationship, going so far as to forbid it. One could perhaps read this queerly, but really it's not. It's about interracial marriage, in a United States that only saw Loving v. Virginia six years ago.

Going a little ahead, #113 has a vox pop about the issue, with one bigot saying "They aren't people. It makes me sick". They get a lot of hate mail, too:

only the lord Jehova can create life. androds are agents of the devil, and will bring hellfire and brimstone to america! wize up befor it's to late! androds have no soles! a friend."

It's enough to make you want to set up a Westboro Baptist Church parody site. We then get a hate group that conditionally accepts Wanda as a person, but draws the line at androids. They decide to kill the Vision to avoid setting a precedent, through the method of suicide bombs.

In #114 Wanda thinks back to why she was so naïve, and realises that she had passing privilege as a mutant. Her brother, Quicksilver, never had that, so was quicker to see how unpopular such a match-up would be. On the streets, she is met with sexually suggestive comments from builders (something I never would have credited 1970s comics as acknowledging as such a problem!) It's going to be a long way to go.

Amazing Adventures #11-#16, Incredible Hulk #161: A Beast is Born

Amazing Adventures was an anthology series in the 1960s, which would later be renamed Amazing Adult Fantasy, and then Amazing Fantasy for its final issue #15, which introduced a small character called Spider-Man. A revival of Amazing Adventures started in 1970, this time starting as a split title with the Inhumans and Black Widow as co-headliners.

Amazing Adventures #11 (April 1972) began a brief run as a Beast solo title. Hank has left the X-Men and got a job at the Brand Corporation, where he will be researching mutant genetics (although apparently without having outed himself as a mutant?). Xavier let him go, unlike the other mutants, who he has been keeping in lockdown since the events of #66 (another blow for The Hidden Years).

He successfully isolates what will later be called the "Mutant Growth Hormone", which he believes should give normals powers for a couple of hours, perhaps. His colleague Carl Maddicks develops an instant dislike for him. There's some spying shenanigans, and Beast ingests the MGH, and then well, goes blue and stuff. Well, grey at first. And then black (shown as blue). And angry. Not Jekyll and Hyde so much as just Hyde. His polysyllables fade off a bit.

In #12 (May 1972) he manages to disguise himself well enough to get back to work, instantly becoming a genius-level make-up artist after consulting a couple of books in the library. The one weakness is his inability to kiss someone. Just as well, really, as his newly-introduced love interest, Linda Donaldson, is really some kind of spy who killed Maddicks in the last issue. In #12 he gets into a misunderstanding with Iron Man, and in #13 gets set up by Mastermind (who has reformed the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with Unus and Blob - using that name in dialogue for the first time). #14 has him fight Quasimodo, the Living Computer.

Following this Beast recovers at Patsy Baxter (neé Walker)'s place, where she discovers his secret identity as Hank McCoy. We find out here that this succession of enemies - including Mastermind's Brotherhood, has been arranged by the Secret Empire, who are Linda's paymasters. Warren pops up for an assist against Griffin, and then him and Hank talk. This is the first time any of the X-Men have seen the new Beast. Hank is left alone, and then goes to the library where he runs into Vera... (who, like Zelda, hasn't been seen since X-Men #47).

The whole Secret Empire plot is forgotten, as Vera and Hank go north, run into the Marvel bullpen in Rutland County (in a strange crossover with Justice League of America), and Beast fights and defeats the Juggernaut in #16 (January 1973). It feels more like a date than the first part of the story concluded in Incredible Hulk #161 (March 1973), where she brings Hank to her lover, Calvin Rankin/Mimic, who is dying and may take the world with him. She apparently still doesn't know Hank is an X-Man, despite knowing all about Calvin. They save the world, but not Calvin... (which of course is temporary, he pops up in Legacy in 2012, although I don't know quite how temporary).

Although the physical transformation he undergoes here is very important to his character in the future, it's a bit of a letdown to finally read this. It's not really great material for Beast, as he gets victimised and led from set piece to set piece. And it isn't caused by some kind of heroic sacrifice, the spirit of curiosity, or even (as in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class) an attempt to cure himself. It's just idiotic, as he himself recognises.

Incredible Hulk #150

Incredible Hulk #150 (from April 1972) is the latest in that long-running storyline where the Hulk is on the run from General Ross, whose capture-and-release program is being investigated by Congress. While fleeing, he notices Lorna, and believes her to be the green-haired Jarella, who he has been obsessed by.

Lorna's there to look for Alex, who we learn has fled the X-Men immediately after issue #66, scared at himself for nearly killing Bobby. He's chilled out since, joined the counter-culture and started reading the Whole Earth Catalog (worth a read if you've not heard of it: it's odd now to think that people would accuse NASA of hoarding pretty pictures rather than milking them for all they were worth). And so we discover that although X-Men: The Hidden Years is pretty consistent with the X-Men comics, it simply doesn't fit with the other stuff from the interregnum. The Marvel Chronology Project puts this issue after the entire run of Hidden Years, which seems to be pushing it, frankly. Alex agrees to come back with Lorna, eventually.

This is a much better attempt at doing a "look! the hulk and the X-men share much of the same tragedy!" thing than #66 or even #40. But still, it's mostly full of smash.

Amazing Spider-Man #92, Marvel Team-Up #4

Amazing Spider-Man #92 (from January 1971) randomly features Bobby as Iceman. He spots Spider-Man dragging Gwen Stacey cross-city. What Bobby doesn't know is that Spider-Man is only doing this to try and cover for his Peter Parker identity. Bobby goes to Gwen's rescue and chases Spider-Man off, and then gets co-opted by shady DA candidate Sam Bullit. We don't like Bullit for several reasons, but mostly his racism towards Joe Robertson and use of dog-whistle politics (before that term was invented). No particular information relevant to the X-Men is revealed.

Marvel Team-Up started in 1972 as a second Spider-Man title, dedicated to the webslinger, well, teaming up, with other Marvel superheroes. Issue #4 features our first proper appearance of the X-Men as a team since their cancellation (well, Bobby, Scott, Jean and Warren, anyway). Beast we'll see more of tomorrow. They team up (after a brief misunderstanding and fight) to take down Michael Morbius, who is stealing life force from other people to remain alive... That's about it.

Both of these are reprinted in Essential Classic X-Men vol 3, and are fairly generic guest appearances of the X-Men in other people's comics, much as had been happening before 1970. Neither stand to be analysed as X-Men stories disguised by being in someone else's title.