The Annotated X-MEN# 9, Part 2
Page 8. This is kind of a stretch, the Angel flying around without a mask (especially since a few minutes earlier the X-Men were being all furtive and careful not to mention names) but it adds to the punchline of the sequence. In a movie adaptation (not likely right now, but you never know) this could be really funny. Meanwhile, Lucifer is confronting Professor X in his super-high tech cavern right beneath where the X-Men and Avengers are wandering around. The Professor recognizes a Thermal Bomb (whatever that is) and instantly figures out from the wiring that the bomb is attuned to Lucifer's heartbeat. Well, if you say so. But then, Professor X DID build Cerebro, so I guess he had genius level knowledge of electronics and such. How does Lucifer know the X-Men are overhead? Beats me, maybe he had little surveillance cameras all over the village above his headquarters ("I see Frau Blucher is shopping for groceries").
Page 9. Well, of COURSE you need a "mental directional impulse" to hurl a "destructive ionic ray!" Everyone knows that. You notice Magneto still has some telepathic powers at this point; I'm pretty sure this was a carry-over from the Henry Kuttner "Baldy" stories which inspired Lee and Kirby to create the X-Men (that's my theory anyway). Here we learn that a gifted telepath can send a mental warning a little faster than his illusory image can travel, and that both can outrace a destructive ionic ray. This might be useful knowledge someday.
Page 10. This page could be dropped from the story with no loss. It's weak. For one thing, Kirby wasn't good at drawing trees branches. Frankly, the sequence where Marvel Girl is about to step into a hole (d'oh!) and Cyclops has time to shout a warning, only to have her telekinetically move a branch in place to step on rather than sidestep or just stop.. well, it's dumb. But on this page, Lee and Kirby were reminding the readers what the Xers' powers were and it's the first time we see Bobby in his Iceman state. I suppose it might have been better to have Marvel Girl say something like "I don't need to sidestep as long as I have my telekinetic powers!" But Stan Lee didn't have time to polish every bit of dialogue or to think a caption over for awhile, he was scripting and editing nearly every Marvel title by himself.
Page 11. The Beast has those heavy yellow gauntlets in this one panel only. This happened now and then in the early issues as Kirby's pencil zoomed along. He was drawing THE FANTASTIC FOUR, THOR, THE AVENGERS, THE X-MEN, covers for RAWHIDE KID, TALES TO ASTONISH, TALES OF SUSPENSE... his output was amazing.) Bobby's dialogue in the first two panels is not only redundant, it repeats itself. Stan's editor should have caught that... whoops, Stan WAS the editor. Oh well. I like the way the Avengers act in character. Thor is imperious but not openly hostile. Captain America is reasonable (he's the one super-hero who can call everyone else "son" and sound natural, even though he is only physically in his mid to late twenties himself). Iron Man is pushy and disrespectful in a way Robert Downey Jr has nailed ("Then what are we waiting for? A bunch of masked teen-agers can't stop the Avengers!") The footnote about FF# #31 refers to when the Avengers met the Fantastic Four, who likewise tried to claim a battle for themselves; in that case, the Avengers allowed twenty-fours before they would step in. As a government-sanctioned team with members who were both experienced and powerful, the Avengers tended to take over wherever they showed up.
Page 12. Hah! Iron Man had that coming, for being so smug. Smacked right in the shoulder by Thor's hammer. I figure Thor must have been holding Mjolnir loosely at that moment. The way the hammer cannot be lifted by anyone except Thor or Odin is one of the cooler aspects of mythology or comics, and personally I would prefer that no one else ever ever be able to lift it (but do writers and editors ask me about it? No). The Angel's pose as he evades the shield is well done and a good continuation of his pose in the previous panel. The Beast catching Cap's shield with his feet is typical of the character before he became all furry and animalistic. His pose in panel 3 is just apelike enough for the character, I think, leaving him still able to pass for normal in public.
Page 13. Lots of cool details here as the free-for-all breaks out. Giant-Man has a good line with "Now, go swallow another dictionary somewhere..." Both Marvel Girl and the Wasp seem to be having an alliteration attack ("titian-haired tigress...?!"). It seems to me that the Avengers are holding back because they don't want to really hurt these kids. Angel punching Thor is the most unfair match since Ant-Man vs Galactus, but the Angel knows it and is just trying to keep Thor occupied. If you accept that Captain America can evade Cyclops' power beam, there's no reason why he couldn't just deck the X-Man with a punch or two, he's apparently trying to stall until he finds out what these kids are up to. The Wasp tackled tougher foes than Marvel Girl back then. I don't think she gets enough credit for sheer nerve. Once she flew inside the Hulk's ear to pester him, and once she whizzed around Sub-Mariner's head in a circle to do the same. She could have gotten squished by either of those guys before they realized she was not a bug ("Oops! Hulk sorry.")
Page 14. Not much to say about this page except that panel 4 has that classic Chic Stone squiggle and that Stan had seen a diagram of the human brain at some point.
Page 9. Well, of COURSE you need a "mental directional impulse" to hurl a "destructive ionic ray!" Everyone knows that. You notice Magneto still has some telepathic powers at this point; I'm pretty sure this was a carry-over from the Henry Kuttner "Baldy" stories which inspired Lee and Kirby to create the X-Men (that's my theory anyway). Here we learn that a gifted telepath can send a mental warning a little faster than his illusory image can travel, and that both can outrace a destructive ionic ray. This might be useful knowledge someday.
Page 10. This page could be dropped from the story with no loss. It's weak. For one thing, Kirby wasn't good at drawing trees branches. Frankly, the sequence where Marvel Girl is about to step into a hole (d'oh!) and Cyclops has time to shout a warning, only to have her telekinetically move a branch in place to step on rather than sidestep or just stop.. well, it's dumb. But on this page, Lee and Kirby were reminding the readers what the Xers' powers were and it's the first time we see Bobby in his Iceman state. I suppose it might have been better to have Marvel Girl say something like "I don't need to sidestep as long as I have my telekinetic powers!" But Stan Lee didn't have time to polish every bit of dialogue or to think a caption over for awhile, he was scripting and editing nearly every Marvel title by himself.
Page 11. The Beast has those heavy yellow gauntlets in this one panel only. This happened now and then in the early issues as Kirby's pencil zoomed along. He was drawing THE FANTASTIC FOUR, THOR, THE AVENGERS, THE X-MEN, covers for RAWHIDE KID, TALES TO ASTONISH, TALES OF SUSPENSE... his output was amazing.) Bobby's dialogue in the first two panels is not only redundant, it repeats itself. Stan's editor should have caught that... whoops, Stan WAS the editor. Oh well. I like the way the Avengers act in character. Thor is imperious but not openly hostile. Captain America is reasonable (he's the one super-hero who can call everyone else "son" and sound natural, even though he is only physically in his mid to late twenties himself). Iron Man is pushy and disrespectful in a way Robert Downey Jr has nailed ("Then what are we waiting for? A bunch of masked teen-agers can't stop the Avengers!") The footnote about FF# #31 refers to when the Avengers met the Fantastic Four, who likewise tried to claim a battle for themselves; in that case, the Avengers allowed twenty-fours before they would step in. As a government-sanctioned team with members who were both experienced and powerful, the Avengers tended to take over wherever they showed up.
Page 12. Hah! Iron Man had that coming, for being so smug. Smacked right in the shoulder by Thor's hammer. I figure Thor must have been holding Mjolnir loosely at that moment. The way the hammer cannot be lifted by anyone except Thor or Odin is one of the cooler aspects of mythology or comics, and personally I would prefer that no one else ever ever be able to lift it (but do writers and editors ask me about it? No). The Angel's pose as he evades the shield is well done and a good continuation of his pose in the previous panel. The Beast catching Cap's shield with his feet is typical of the character before he became all furry and animalistic. His pose in panel 3 is just apelike enough for the character, I think, leaving him still able to pass for normal in public.
Page 13. Lots of cool details here as the free-for-all breaks out. Giant-Man has a good line with "Now, go swallow another dictionary somewhere..." Both Marvel Girl and the Wasp seem to be having an alliteration attack ("titian-haired tigress...?!"). It seems to me that the Avengers are holding back because they don't want to really hurt these kids. Angel punching Thor is the most unfair match since Ant-Man vs Galactus, but the Angel knows it and is just trying to keep Thor occupied. If you accept that Captain America can evade Cyclops' power beam, there's no reason why he couldn't just deck the X-Man with a punch or two, he's apparently trying to stall until he finds out what these kids are up to. The Wasp tackled tougher foes than Marvel Girl back then. I don't think she gets enough credit for sheer nerve. Once she flew inside the Hulk's ear to pester him, and once she whizzed around Sub-Mariner's head in a circle to do the same. She could have gotten squished by either of those guys before they realized she was not a bug ("Oops! Hulk sorry.")
Page 14. Not much to say about this page except that panel 4 has that classic Chic Stone squiggle and that Stan had seen a diagram of the human brain at some point.