X-Men #112
The story starts with Magneto promising to destroy the X-Men. Cyclops orders everyone outside the wagon they're in, with Nightcrawler scouting ahead. From outside "Ach -- nein!!" is heard. Colossus rips open the door and reveals that the wagon is flying through the air at high speeds, and Nightcrawler is hanging from the steps. Colossus helps him back in. Wolverine threatens Magneto, but Cyclops reminds him that Magneto's the only thing keeping them in the air. Magneto recounts how he went to the X-Men's mansion and found it abandoned. Before he could begin to track them down, Beast showed up, and he just followed Beast until the time was right to strike. (Yeah, Magneto knows where the X-Men live.)
Cyclops wonders why Magneto attacked Mesmero when they used to be allies. Magneto says he has never met Mesmero, and the Magneto who was Mesmero's ally and who claimed to be Polaris's father was a robot. (That story was from X-Men #58. I don't remember much about it, and I can't seem to find my X-Men digital collection, so I can't look it up. Strangely, a (much) later writer revealed that Polaris was indeed Magneto's daughter. What are the odds of a robot version of you lying about someone being his daughter, but then it turns out she really is your daughter, and you never knew about it? Pretty low, I'd say.)
In half an hour, they have flown four thousand miles and are over the Andes. A jet observes and is mystified. Magneto drops Mesmero out of the wagon, disturbing the pilots even more. Storm calls Magneto a monster for chucking Mesmero out, but Magneto assures her that he is controlling his descent and that Mesmero won't die. After going south some more, they come to an active volcano. Magneto drops them into the caldera, protected by a magnetic force bubble. Beneath the lava is a dome, which opens for them, with Magneto keeping the lava out with his powers until the dome closes again. We are shown an image of the complex and told about it: "Buried a mile under the ice cap, it covers an area of five square miles, one of a number of similar installations Magneto has scattered throughout the globe. Drawing its power directly from the Earth's core, the complex is totally self-sufficient and virtually impenetrable, a masterpiece of automated technology that would do Tony Stark or Reed Richards proud." (This demonstrates how powerful Magneto is, succintly, and not just in raw power, but in resources and intelligence. He's a genius with a great amount of technology and whatnot at his disposal. Sadly, I'm pretty sure none of the other 'similar installations' ever turn up. The drawing of the installation is cool.)
Magneto makes the wagon explode in the air, sending the X-Men flying. Most land without harm, or take to the air, but Wolverine hits the ground, face first, knocking him out. Cyclops immediately blasts Magneto, ordering Colossus to attack him. Magneto withstands his punch and flings him away easily. Beast attacks him with a "Kawabonga, sweetums!" but is taken out with a multi-kilovolt static charge. Storm whips up a blizzard with hundred-knot winds on Magneto, but holds back for fear of killing him. Magneto comments that the cold actually enhances his power, making him a "living super-conductor," and strikes her down. From the shadows, Nightcrawler observes that, once again, he's taking their best shots and striking them down. He takes a stab at a sneak attack, but Magneto flings him upward while pulling Colossus downward at the same speed. Colossus turns human to avoid killing Nightcrawler, and the two collide and fall to the floor unconscious. Banshee attacks him, and Magneto tries to cover him in tiny flakes of metal again. Banshee sends his sonic scream out in all directions to deflect the attack, but Magneto makes the walls vibrate so as to warp Banshee's scream back on him. (Poor Colossus. I wonder if they thought of Magneto when they put him on the team. Nightcrawler is shown to be invisible in the deep shadows, I think for the last time during Chris Claremont's run, here. This also appears to be the first time Banshee can't talk while using his sonic scream, which just seems like common sense.)
Cyclops blasts against Magneto's force field, disappointed in the team's failure. He doubts that if they act as a team, any villain alive could stand against them. Magneto pulls a metal module into the back of Cyclops's head, knocking him out, then says that only Marvel Girl is standing between him and victory. Phoenix attacks him telekinetically and telepathically, while re-introducing herself to him as Phoenix. Magneto thinks that her power rivals Professor X's, and she thinks to herself that for the first time he actually looks scared. But then, abruptly, her power stops, and Magneto sucks the life-energy out of her, using a "bottle-effect" he's created around her, using the magnetic field of the Earth itself. Magneto is starting to gloat, when Wolverine wakes up and takes a free shot at his back with his claws, but he only catches Magneto's cape. Magneto uses his powers to pull Wolverine's claws at his face, and Wolverine tries desperately to hold his arm. At the last minute, Magneto retracts his claws, so he only punches himself out. (Powerful as Phoenix is, Magneto says her power only rivals Professor X's. I guess he's still the most powerful telepath on Earth. She comments on the source of her power being the sun, which doesn't follow with later appearances. I think I commented on something similar earlier, didn't I? Not sure what the deal with the "bottle-effect" is. It's even in quotation marks in the comic. Wolverine can't cut through his own bones. His claws can cut through virtually anything and his bones are virtually unbreakable, but when matched against each other, the bones win. But his bones STILL haven't been established as adamantium yet.)
When the X-Men awaken they are in technological chairs with their hands in large metal bindings and metal collars around their necks. Magneto says that at first he simply wanted to kill them, but he realized that that would be too simple. He wanted them to suffer as he had, having been reduced to an infant. He introduces a robot called Nanny, who he says will tend to their every need and be the "perfect mother." The robot says, "Hello, children. It's so nice to meet you. I hope we shall all be great friends." Magneto challenges the X-Men to use their powers, or even try to speak, and they realize that they can't do so. He says the collars give them no more control than a six-month old child, and that if there is a Hell, "it cannot be any more terrible than this." The end!
Classic X-Men: Two new pages of the X-Men facing Magneto in the beginning of the issue, showing the thoughts of each character. Phoenix's attack on Magneto is more detailed, but the "bottle-effect" isn't cleared up for me any.
Overview: First, as an aside, the cover was done by the excellent artist, George Perez, most famous, perhaps, for doing the run of Teen Titans that the Cartoon Network series was based on. Artists didn't tend to work for both companies back then, at the same time, so I suspect this was before he was working on Teen Titans. This story sort of establishes Magneto as a near-unstoppable force of nature. He swats all the X-Men around pretty easily, except for Storm, Phoenix, and to a lesser extent, Banshee. Normally I think Doctor Doom is kind of considered to be the major Earthly super villain, but Magneto is a hard act to follow when they write him like this. In my opinion, this issue and the next (spoiler alert!) are the two best Magneto fights, ever!
I think we're starting to see John Byrne's influence, as well. Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum were more about the crazy ideas and tended to play things fast-and-loose, but John Byrne has a great reverence for the characters and he's all about maintaining their integrity and watching continuity and other such things. He gets co-plotter credit next issue, and I've read interviews where John and Chris talk about the enormous phone bills they racked up, discussing the issues. Though they had differences of opinion, they really got some of their best work off of each other.
Cyclops wonders why Magneto attacked Mesmero when they used to be allies. Magneto says he has never met Mesmero, and the Magneto who was Mesmero's ally and who claimed to be Polaris's father was a robot. (That story was from X-Men #58. I don't remember much about it, and I can't seem to find my X-Men digital collection, so I can't look it up. Strangely, a (much) later writer revealed that Polaris was indeed Magneto's daughter. What are the odds of a robot version of you lying about someone being his daughter, but then it turns out she really is your daughter, and you never knew about it? Pretty low, I'd say.)
In half an hour, they have flown four thousand miles and are over the Andes. A jet observes and is mystified. Magneto drops Mesmero out of the wagon, disturbing the pilots even more. Storm calls Magneto a monster for chucking Mesmero out, but Magneto assures her that he is controlling his descent and that Mesmero won't die. After going south some more, they come to an active volcano. Magneto drops them into the caldera, protected by a magnetic force bubble. Beneath the lava is a dome, which opens for them, with Magneto keeping the lava out with his powers until the dome closes again. We are shown an image of the complex and told about it: "Buried a mile under the ice cap, it covers an area of five square miles, one of a number of similar installations Magneto has scattered throughout the globe. Drawing its power directly from the Earth's core, the complex is totally self-sufficient and virtually impenetrable, a masterpiece of automated technology that would do Tony Stark or Reed Richards proud." (This demonstrates how powerful Magneto is, succintly, and not just in raw power, but in resources and intelligence. He's a genius with a great amount of technology and whatnot at his disposal. Sadly, I'm pretty sure none of the other 'similar installations' ever turn up. The drawing of the installation is cool.)
Magneto makes the wagon explode in the air, sending the X-Men flying. Most land without harm, or take to the air, but Wolverine hits the ground, face first, knocking him out. Cyclops immediately blasts Magneto, ordering Colossus to attack him. Magneto withstands his punch and flings him away easily. Beast attacks him with a "Kawabonga, sweetums!" but is taken out with a multi-kilovolt static charge. Storm whips up a blizzard with hundred-knot winds on Magneto, but holds back for fear of killing him. Magneto comments that the cold actually enhances his power, making him a "living super-conductor," and strikes her down. From the shadows, Nightcrawler observes that, once again, he's taking their best shots and striking them down. He takes a stab at a sneak attack, but Magneto flings him upward while pulling Colossus downward at the same speed. Colossus turns human to avoid killing Nightcrawler, and the two collide and fall to the floor unconscious. Banshee attacks him, and Magneto tries to cover him in tiny flakes of metal again. Banshee sends his sonic scream out in all directions to deflect the attack, but Magneto makes the walls vibrate so as to warp Banshee's scream back on him. (Poor Colossus. I wonder if they thought of Magneto when they put him on the team. Nightcrawler is shown to be invisible in the deep shadows, I think for the last time during Chris Claremont's run, here. This also appears to be the first time Banshee can't talk while using his sonic scream, which just seems like common sense.)
Cyclops blasts against Magneto's force field, disappointed in the team's failure. He doubts that if they act as a team, any villain alive could stand against them. Magneto pulls a metal module into the back of Cyclops's head, knocking him out, then says that only Marvel Girl is standing between him and victory. Phoenix attacks him telekinetically and telepathically, while re-introducing herself to him as Phoenix. Magneto thinks that her power rivals Professor X's, and she thinks to herself that for the first time he actually looks scared. But then, abruptly, her power stops, and Magneto sucks the life-energy out of her, using a "bottle-effect" he's created around her, using the magnetic field of the Earth itself. Magneto is starting to gloat, when Wolverine wakes up and takes a free shot at his back with his claws, but he only catches Magneto's cape. Magneto uses his powers to pull Wolverine's claws at his face, and Wolverine tries desperately to hold his arm. At the last minute, Magneto retracts his claws, so he only punches himself out. (Powerful as Phoenix is, Magneto says her power only rivals Professor X's. I guess he's still the most powerful telepath on Earth. She comments on the source of her power being the sun, which doesn't follow with later appearances. I think I commented on something similar earlier, didn't I? Not sure what the deal with the "bottle-effect" is. It's even in quotation marks in the comic. Wolverine can't cut through his own bones. His claws can cut through virtually anything and his bones are virtually unbreakable, but when matched against each other, the bones win. But his bones STILL haven't been established as adamantium yet.)
When the X-Men awaken they are in technological chairs with their hands in large metal bindings and metal collars around their necks. Magneto says that at first he simply wanted to kill them, but he realized that that would be too simple. He wanted them to suffer as he had, having been reduced to an infant. He introduces a robot called Nanny, who he says will tend to their every need and be the "perfect mother." The robot says, "Hello, children. It's so nice to meet you. I hope we shall all be great friends." Magneto challenges the X-Men to use their powers, or even try to speak, and they realize that they can't do so. He says the collars give them no more control than a six-month old child, and that if there is a Hell, "it cannot be any more terrible than this." The end!
Classic X-Men: Two new pages of the X-Men facing Magneto in the beginning of the issue, showing the thoughts of each character. Phoenix's attack on Magneto is more detailed, but the "bottle-effect" isn't cleared up for me any.
Overview: First, as an aside, the cover was done by the excellent artist, George Perez, most famous, perhaps, for doing the run of Teen Titans that the Cartoon Network series was based on. Artists didn't tend to work for both companies back then, at the same time, so I suspect this was before he was working on Teen Titans. This story sort of establishes Magneto as a near-unstoppable force of nature. He swats all the X-Men around pretty easily, except for Storm, Phoenix, and to a lesser extent, Banshee. Normally I think Doctor Doom is kind of considered to be the major Earthly super villain, but Magneto is a hard act to follow when they write him like this. In my opinion, this issue and the next (spoiler alert!) are the two best Magneto fights, ever!
I think we're starting to see John Byrne's influence, as well. Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum were more about the crazy ideas and tended to play things fast-and-loose, but John Byrne has a great reverence for the characters and he's all about maintaining their integrity and watching continuity and other such things. He gets co-plotter credit next issue, and I've read interviews where John and Chris talk about the enormous phone bills they racked up, discussing the issues. Though they had differences of opinion, they really got some of their best work off of each other.