My Trek Through the X-Universe
UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #5
Published: May 10, 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Penciller: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
The Rundown!!!
The X-Men's last battle against Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants injured the Professor, seemingly destroying his telepathic abilities. They return Professor Xavier to the mansion so that he can get some rest and hopefully regain his powers. The X-Men begin to ponder what they will do without Professor Xavier's help when they hear Marvel Girl's parents arrive for a visit. The X-Men quickly change into their civilian clothes so that they can greet their visitors. They excuse Professor Xavier's absence and give Jean Grey's parents a tour of the mansion. The party heads to the Danger Room where Hank McCoy explains that it is a gymnasium and they are receiving new equipment. While the group goes into the lunchroom, Scott Summers is accidentally trapped in the Danger Room and a program designed for the Beast starts automatically. He is able to escape the obstacles that the Danger Room presents by destroying it. Outside of the Danger Room, Jean's parents are unaware of anything out of the ordinary and they leave.
But nobody noticed that one of Magneto's henchmen, Mastermind, searching for the X-Men's headquarters! After a few minutes, he calls Magneto to pick him up, the X-Men are not nearby. On Asteroid M, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch ask him why it is so important to find the X-Men, so Magneto explains that as long as the X-Men are around they will intervene in his plans for mutants to rule the world. He then explains that he has devised a new plan in order to coax the X-Men out of their HQ.
At the Xavier Mansion, Scott Summers ponders a plan to stop the Brotherhood when Bobby Drake asks if he'd like to watch a track meet. He yelled at Bobby for not caring for the Professor. While Jean Grey covers Professor Xavier with a blanket, Hank McCoy and Warren Worthington III join Bobby by the television, along with Jean and the Professor. There is a contestant that manages to win the track meet using incredible jumps, so the crowd turns angry on him because they believe he is a cheater. The X-Men realize that the contestant is a mutant, so they head out to help him.
Once they rescue the mutant from the angry crowd, they take the bus to the mansion. As they arrive at the bus stop near the mansion, the Beast realizes something familiar about the mutant. The Beast pulls off a mask to reveal that it is actually the Toad, another one of Magneto's henchmen. The whole Brotherhood then arrives to attack the X-Men, and Magneto is able to capture the Angel. The Brotherhood flees with Angel, but they are forced to leave Toad who was captured by the X-Men. Back on Asteroid M, Magneto interrogates Angel as to the location of the other X-Men, but Angel refuses to tell him. Magneto then attempts to brainwash Angel.
The X-Men try to decide what to do with the Toad when he suddenly falls into a trance. The Toad's only thoughts are that he has to return to Magneto. He pulls out a communicator and summons a capsule for the sky. The X-Men decide to go with the Toad to wherever he is heading in order to find Angel. The X-Men appear on Asteroid M to the Brotherhood's surprise. Magneto heads over to activate a switch designed to kill the X-Men with the push of a button, but the console is sabotaged by the Scarlet Witch because she cannot tolerate murder. Magneto and the two siblings argue over their loyalties giving the X-Men enough time to free the Angel and attack.
The fighting causes some extensive damage to the space station which causes it to start to fall apart. Cyclops is trapped in a section of the asteroid that breaks off right away. Iceman has to create an ice tunnel so that Angel can go and rescue Cyclops. Before the asteroid is fully destroyed, the X-Men use the capsule to return to Earth. When the X-Men return to the mansion they try to tell Professor Xavier what had occurred. Professor Xavier informs them that he was able to follow everything, because he did not lose his telepathy. Since the X-Men performed this solo mission perfectly, they passed their final exams and the narrator informs that their training is over.
What I Learned This Week!!!
1)This is the first appearance of John Grey and Elaine Grey. The Characters would make at least 30 appearances in various X-Men titles until their deaths during the End of Greys story arc.
2)This battle marks the end of the X-Men's training as students at the school.
3)Cyclops almost floats away into space in this issue. Luckily
everyone is able to hold their breath in space while both talking and Iceman builds an ice bridge around them on Asteroid M.
4)This issue marks the first time Xavier reveals he intentionally decieved the X-Men.
5)In Page 3, Panel 3, while Bobby is defrosting, as sort of an Easter Egg, there's a banner that says "Marvel" behind him.
NEXT ISSUE: "Sub-Mariner Joins the Evil Mutants!"