Hello my darlings! I’m back, and with six freaking issues too! I have officially finished 1967! Thank Odin! These six issues are action-packed. All three of the X-Men issues are one big, Factor Three filled arc that I’m so happy to have finally gotten to, so let’s start there this time around! (And fair warning, this is going to be a LONG, LONG post. Even by my standards!!)

The X-Men #37-39. We start with some mysterious person from F3 watching a tape of the X-Men battling Juggernaut and studying the group. We learn the F3 is somehow able to extract memories from Banshee and the Prof and that is how they’re seeing this fight. Meanwhile, our mysteriously broke teenagers (sorry, still annoyed about that waste of an issue…) are on their flight to Europe and trying to talk strategy without being overheard. But of course, F3 has been watching them, so they know which flight the kids are on and attack it! I’ll be honest, I was a little surprised they attacked a commercial flight like that. I mean, I know I SHOULDN’T be, but I still was. F3 misses the airplane luckily, but the X-Men realize what’s happening and do the stupidest thing they’ve EVER done…they jump out of the fucking plane. (apologies for the language, but seriously?!?) I WISH I were kidding. These morons open the plane door, which in the real world could have crashed the plane or at least sucked a few passengers or flight attendants out, and then jump out WITHOUT parachutes!

So, our favorite idiots are free falling through the air. Scott and Hank are clinging to Warren, but his wings are strapped in their harness, so it’s not like he’s flying right now. He’s falling just as fast as they are. Jean is using her powers to slow herself and Bobby down a bit, but they’re still falling too fast not to be killed. And then, Scott’s Ruby quartz glasses fall off and he has to keep his eyes closed so as not to kill everyone with his optic blasts.

Guys, I love this arc. I really do. But this is so, so stupid. They’re so, so stupid. But anyway, Hank and Scott almost get impaled on a mountain top, but Scott blasts it just in time. Warren get his wings free and grabs them and then flies over to Jean and Bobby. But he’s not strong enough to carry them all and they’re falling too fast for Jean to stop them. Bobby finally gets the idea to create an ice slide, and they all slide down it and land hard, but safe. Oh, and somehow, through all of this, Hank has managed to hold onto the briefcase carrying their costumes! Seriously. So, they change into costume and are attacked by some of those mechanical spiders that we met a few issues ago. (The dumb one with Spider-Man. LOL) They make a valiant attempt at escape, but our heroes are eventually caught and brought into the F3 secret base.

Once there, we see that our X-Men are being tried for “betrayal of mutant-kind” for helping humans and defeating evil mutants. It’s obviously a kangaroo court of sorts. The witnesses are Vanisher, Unus, The Blog, and Mastermind. They’re also the jury. (See what I mean?) We meet the prosecutor, a mysterious mutant named Changeling. He is running the court and is second in command to The Mutant Master, who watches from the shadows. We get a rehash from our “witnesses” of their defeats by the X-Men, and then the kids are quickly pronounced guilty and sentenced to death. But, before the sentence is carried out, Mutant Master decides to tell them his entire plan for destroying the human race so that mutants can rule the earth. Seriously guys, WHY do villains ALWAYS do this? I mean, I get that it’s the writer’s lazy way of letting the reader know what’s going to happen if the hero doesn’t pull through. But it’s dumb.

So, Mutant Master plans to start WW3 by killing a bunch of Eastern military brass, and then breaking into a US military base and launching all the nukes. Then, once the Cold War has erupted into an actual war and the planet is devastated by nuclear fallout, he and his band of Evil Mutants will rule the wasteland that is left. This is seriously the silliest plan ever, but hey…it’s 1967. This was actually a legit fear of most people. (At least, the part about a nuclear war was). MM sentences the X-Men to the Oblivo-Ray which is apparently a fate worse then death. It will make them slaves with no sense of self. But, of course, Changeling then leaves the X-Men unattended while the machine starts up, so our heroes escape thanks to some quick thinking on Cyke’s part and some great teamwork. They easily defeat a giant robot left behind to guard the base. MM sees all this, and warns them that they’ll still be too late to save the world. And this is the end of #37!

Ok, sidebar time! The way the X-Men work together here to get out of the Oblivo-Ray (OR) and escape the giant robot is awesome. These guys are no longer kids. They’re a seasoned, well trained, well led fighting team equal to any other team in the 616. Cyclops is a great leader. He keeps his cool when they’re in the OR machine, coming up with a plan to short circuit the machine. He directs Iceman to create icicles for Marvel Girl to levitate over the hot machine so that they melt and drip water all over the circuit boards. It’s a great use of everyone’s powers! I love seeing them use their powers in new ways like this. It’s a nice change from just having MG telekinetically lift Cyke’s visor and having Cyke blast everything. Or Iceman straight up freeze something. It’s interesting and shows the kids are smart, not just tough. And when they take out the giant robot? Seamless teamwork guys! Seriously. It takes them like 1/2 a page and they work together from the start to blind the thing so it can’t find them. I’m so happy. THIS is the X-Men. THIS is why I love them. They have their inner “family” drama no matter what iteration of the team it is, but at the end of the day, they fight like a well oiled machine and they have the best powers that are used in the best ways! Ok, sidebar over!

So, Issue #38 starts with them stealing some egg-pods and heading back to the school just before the base blows up. While the X-Men regroup and try to strategize back at the school, Changeling is starting to question MM. He thinks the pods the X-Men used to escape were awfully convenient and also questions why they didn’t just straight up kill them instead of leaving them alive and attached to a machine. (At least ONE of these villains is smart not a total moron.) They send a radio transmission to Blob and Vanisher who are “behind the Iron Curtain” to see how things are going. Cerebro picks this up for some reason, and the X-Men are able to figure out where they are. MG, Angel, and Beast take one egg pod to the Far East to stop Blob and Vanisher from killing the military leaders there, while Cyke and Iceman head to the US military base to try to protect the missiles MM said he was going to launch.

Beast sacrifices himself and gets caught so that Angel and MG can fly to the roof of the castle the secret meeting is taking place in. Once there, they meet Blob and Vanisher with a bunch of android henchmen and begin to fight. During the fight, the androids blow up and Vanisher, well, vanishes. This leaves Blob, MG, and Angel knocked out to be caught and imprisoned by the guards. They’re thrown in the same cell as Beast.

Meanwhile, Cyke and Iceman break into the military compound and try to reason with the top brass. They explain why they’re there, and that the missiles are going to be hijacked. Of course, no one believes them, and so the boys start destroying all the missiles!!! It’s kind of a bold (albeit desperate) move on Cyke’s part, and I’m sort of impressed.

The military begins to attack them, so now they’re dodging bullets and destroying government property as quickly as they can.

And, while ALL of that is going on, Changeling is also talking to Professor X. Charles is trying to convince Changeling that he’s being stupid and that MM’s plan will kill everyone, even mutants. Changeling says that MM has technology that will protect him and chosen others from the radiation. Changeling eventually loses his temper with Charles and threatens to kill Charles if he doesn’t shut up. But he is immediately rebuked by MM, who is watching and says that he alone shall decide who should die and when. This  brings us to the end of #38, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance!

#39 opens back with Cyke and Iceman. They’ve given up trying to destroy all the missiles as it’s an impossible task. Instead, they fight there way into the compound and Iceman freezes over the air filtration system. MM said they planned on gassing everyone on base so that they could have control of the missiles, so our boys figure if the air is frozen over, there’s no way for the base to be gassed. Just then they’re attacked by Mastermind and Unus. As the fight goes on, the troops hunting down Cyke and Iceman are drawing closer. Cyke comes up with another brilliant idea, and he and Iceman use their powers together to create a thick, cold fog. Under this cover, they escape, as do Unus and Mastermind, leaving the base safe from MM’s plan. They take off in their egg pod to go find MM and hopefully rescue the Prof and Banshee. (TBH, I almost forgot that F3 had Banshee too!)

Meanwhile, Angel, Beast, and MG escape from  their cell, leaving an unconscious Blob behind. They try to convince the military leaders that they’re in danger, but of course, no one believes them. Somehow, MG uses her powers to sense where the bomb is hidden, (don’t ask. I’m just as confused as you are…) and they attempt to steal the briefcase it’s in instead. Just then, Blob shows up, having regained consciousness. He gets the case from MG and decides to just hold it until it detonates. He reckons he can survive the blast with this mutant powers. Since she can’t get it away from him with her powers, MG decides to try and reason with Blob. She points out that MM would probably make the bomb powerful enough to kill Blob too so that Blob couldn’t be captured and reveal the plan. Blob buys her reasoning, and drops the bomb to run away. They only have seconds, so Angel flies the bomb as high as he can so the detonation doesn’t kill anyone. Our three heroes leave while the communist leaders are still to stunned to stop them, and they also head to find MM.

In a cut away to MM, we learn that he allowed the X-Men to escape in the beginning so that if anything went wrong, they would be blamed for the attacks. But they’ve made sure this doesn’t happen and are now headed for him. Cyke and Iceman get to MM’s base first, only to find themselves facing Vanisher, Blob, Mastermind, and Unus all at once. But the other three show up before the fighting starts and just as things are about to go crazy, Professor X rolls in and tells everyone to stop. He says the MM has been playing everyone and that he isn’t who he says he is. He points out that MM let the X-Men escape, and that his plan will kill EVERYTHING on Earth, not just the humans. MM freaks and sets his androids to attacking everyone. The X-Men and “Evil Mutants” fight side-by-side to destroy the androids. Banshee escapes from his cell and joins the fray. He realizes that a certain frequency will blow up the androids. He does this and then tries it one octave higher. This frequency causes MM to transform into a gross, octopus looking green alien!!! He’s attacked by Unus and can’t handle Banshee’s screams. In his agony, he hits the self destruct button on his floating chair and commits suicide! (I know, right?!?)

And just when things couldn’t get weirder, there are suddenly TWO Professors in the room! Turns out that the one who showed up and accused MM of treachery was actually Changeling. Go figure. The real prof proves himself by using telepathy. Seems Changeling can mimic voices and appearance, but doesn’t get the powers. Once everything has calmed down, the X-Men become stupid again. They decide to let all of the evil mutants go! Apparently since they all fought together to destroy MM, it means they can’t capture the bad guys. The amazing issue actually ends with the Prof going on and on about the day there are no “good” or “evil” mutants, just men fighting together against a common foe. *EYEROLL*

Oh, wait, no it doesn’t. He makes that speech and then we cut to that night in the school. Apparently before the Prof was kidnapped, he and Jean decided everyone needed new uniforms!! The guys make jokes about them not actually changing much, just the trim. It’s a nod to the last costume change that really didn’t change anything. But this time, we get costumes that make them individuals! Jean and Charles explain that, since they’re not kids anymore, they shouldn’t dress in “uniforms” like kids. They’re individual adults and are now dressed that way. Scott’s in the classic blue with yellow visor he’ll sport for years to come. Jean is in her iconic green dress with yellow mask. Angel is in yellow and red with his blonde hair coming out the top of his mask. Hank is in red and blue. It’s similar to his old costume, but better colors and more stylized. Bobby even comments that he got new boots and gloves, although he doesn’t really look all that different given his powers. See below:

So, overall this was a great arc. It was worth all the build up over that last few months of issues, and it was a well done. We got to see the kids work as an awesome team, without help or guidance from the Professor. (I should probably stop calling them “kids” now. They’re all college-age and this arc made a big point of showing that they aren’t kids anymore)  They figured out a game plan on their own and executed it well. And Jean seems to be growing in her power quite a bit, and in her confidence. It’s nice to see. (The same thing seems to be happening with Wanda over at Avengers Mansion. Our girls are competent women now. They’re equal to the guys, and sure of themselves and their powers.) AND, on top of all of that, we end with them in their more iconic, colorful costumes!!!! I love it!!

There’s one more thing we have to talk about in regards to X-Men before we hop into the city and check on our Avengers. Starting in issue #38, there are special “issues” in the back that are going to chronicle “The Origins of the X-Men”. They’re fun and it’s cool to see how Charles found them all. The first installment in #38 shows us how Charles decided to start his school. He sees a news clip about a mutant that saved people, only to be attacked by an angry mob. (It’s Scott!!!) The news piece ends with the reporter saying that the FBI will be starting a special investigation into mutants. Charles heads to Washington to meet with Fred Duncan, the agent heading up the investigation. He explains who he is and gives them a demonstration of his powers. They both agree that learning about and watching young mutants would go better if they were approached by another mutant instead of FBI agents. Duncan agrees to let Charles track down the teenage mutants they’ve got info on and train them, and in return Chuck will report into the FBI periodically on their status. (?!??!)

The installment in #39 is a continuation of this arc from Scott’s side. We see him destroy a crane, causing a heavy crated to plummet towards the crowded street below. He blows it up with his optic blast just in time, but the crowd turns on him and he runs for it. Turns out this is the very first time his powers have manifested like this! He has had headaches his whole life until an optometrist gave him ruby quartz classes. They stopped the headaches but no one could explain why. (But we know, don’t we my loves!) Anyway, it was the optometrist that reported him to the FBI and so Xavier interviews him and that’s how we learn about the headaches and glasses. Meanwhile, Scott is on the run, afraid to return to the orphanage where he lives. (so sad!! Seriously guys, the Summers’ family history is TRAGIC, as you’ll see as we get further into our reading) He hops a train out of town, ends up being accosted by “hobos” and then saved by police who then immediately recognize him as the runaway they’re looking for.  They remove his glasses and his uncontrollable optic blasts scare them away. He learns that he’s immune to his own powers, finds his glasses, and then runs away through the woods before the police can return with reinforcements. He stumbles across a cabin where he feels an unnatural pull to go inside. He does, and there he meets a man sitting in the shadows who tells Scott that he sensed that Scott was born to rule, just like him and that he his also a mutant! DUN DUN DUN!!!

OOOOOK…so, 3000 words later, that finishes off The X-Men for 1967 and for this post! Whew! But there’s no time to lose kiddies, because now we must check in on out mutant twins and their teammates over at Avengers Mansion!!

So, Avengers #45. We open with Iron Man and Thor still with the Avengers. Apparently today is “Avengers Day” in NYC to thank the Avengers for thwarting the Mandarin’s plan for world domination (See my post here about AA #1 if you don’t remember. Which is totally fine, since I wrote that post like a month ago. I know, I suck. Moving on…) Anyway, everyone’s gathered in Central Park for the ceremony except Janet and Steve. In her ridiculous fashion, Janet shows up “fashionably late” in a brand new, expensive sports car and designer clothes. (Remember that inheritance from a few issues ago? Neither did I. But, it’s now important. Janet is loaded.) She makes a scene, Hank gets jealous, and we all move on.

Meanwhile, we learn that in the crowd is the Super Adaptoid (SA) (who we last saw in X-Men!) Crash course for those of you who weren’t around or don’t remember: He’s an android created by AIM to destroy Captain America. He can absorb and then use the powers of anyone around him. Everyone’s waiting on Cap, and some of the Avengers show off their skills to keep the crowd entertained. Thor and Iron Man have to cut out before he arrives, but not before SA absorbs their powers. So, Cap FINALLY shows, they say thanks to everyone for the support, and then Hank announces  that Herc will be made a full time Avenger now!!

Herc is shocked, but happy and honored. Just then, SA attacks! The battle is fierce and SA is totally winning and it’s bad. The battle goes on for the ENTIRE issue. It gets a little tedious, but there you go. Each Avengers tries to take SA on alone, and they all fail. Then, FINALLY, our favorite silver-haired mutant comes up with a plan. They all attack him at once, forcing him to use all of their powers at once. This is too much for SA, and he short circuits. The crowd remerges and continues the celebration, but our Avengers are morons today, so they had the super dangerous, ultra powerful robot over to the NYPD?!?! WHY DO THEY DO THIS SHIT?!?!? Ahem. Sorry. Done now.

One quick side-note: After they defeat SA, Pietro makes a comment that SA should be pitied because he is just an android created by humans to do their bidding. Wanda notes that he seems bitter, and Steve reminds him  that the evil humans wanted to use SA to control humans AND mutants alike. Keep this seeming random outburst by Pietro in mind as we move forward. (Spoiler alert) It’s going to fester and build, but it’s done well, and is very indicative of Pietro’s character throughout the years.

On to #46. The Avengers are hanging out with nothing to do. Hank announces that he is working on some experiments with ants because he might go back to being Ant Man instead of Goliath. He thinks to himself that now that they have Herc on the team, they don’t need his raw Goliath power. Herc is even stronger than Goliath. But they could use Ant Man’s unique skills. Cap is sulking and preoccupied with thoughts of quitting and living as Steve Rogers. (Again…*eyeroll*) Clint and Natasha show up. She’s out of the hospital and fully recovered. Then Janet shows up with her new chauffer. Hank chides her for letting in driver into Avengers HQ, so she sends him away. But, as he leaves, we learn Hank was right. He is using Jan to get into the building and check it’s defenses.

Clint and Natasha decide to take a walk and Herc and Wanda are going to join them. First, they change into normal clothes and Herc shaves off his beard! It’s kind of a cute moment. Pietro and Cap are going to go to a baseball game, and leave Jan and Hank back to work on his ant experiments. We find out Jan’s driver Charles is actually Whirlwind, who used to be the Human Top. He’s an old villain of Giant-Man who was locked up. He’s back with more power and a new name. He breaks into the mansion, manages to shrink Hank and Jan with Hank’s equipment, and then, because he’s a dumb villain, dumps them into the colony of red ants Hank was experimenting with instead of just killing them himself. He also plants a time bomb in the laboratory. The red ants attach Jan and Hank, who don’t have their little headsets to control them. They fight  them off, and Janet eventually kills the Queen ant. That makes the ants stop attacking long enough for Hank to build a mini headset with some machine that’s in the colony and they control the ants to get out.

Meanwhile, the baseball game was apparently rained out? (Even though the other four Avengers out for a walk didn’t run into rain, and there is no rain drawn in ANY panel in the entire issue, but whatevs! Plot device!) Anyway, Cap and Pietro are back just in time to fight Whirlwind! Whirlwind is actually a bit scared, since Quicksilver’s speed seems to be the only thing that could stop him. They battle and Hank climbs out of the tank, He rushes to a voice amplifier to warn Cap and Quicksilver about the bomb that’s about to go off. He tells them where it is, and Quicksilver rushes it out over the river to explode safely. But on his way back to the mansion, he hears people below. They saw him with the bomb, and are talking about not trusting him or Wanda since they’re mutants. Pietro thinks to himself that basically, humans suck, and they will eventually push him too far and he will strike back. YIKES!

In the excitement, Whirlwind escapes. Cap un-shrinks Jan and Hank. Quicksilver is pissed that Whirlwind escaped, but eventually calms down so Hank can announce that now he can be both Goliath AND Ant Man depending on what the situation calls for!

Now it’s time for issue #47. Guys, before we start, I have something I have to get off my chest:

Ok. I’m done. Why the happy dance you ask? Because my loves, the villain for this issue (and at least one more to follow that I haven’t read yet) is none other than MAGNETO!!!!!!!!! I’m so freaking excited! I’ve missed Mags!!

Anyway, Mags and Toadie are still on the Stranger’s far off planet where he exiled them. But, Mags can feel “magnetic rays” coming from space. They’re getting stronger and he believes he can use them and his powers to escape. We learn the rays are coming from Garrett Castle in the US where a man named Whitman is working, He’s the nephew of the Black Knight, and wants to do something good with his experiments to try and make up for this evil uncle.

At the same time, over at Avengers Mansion, Cap has called a meeting to announce that he’s quitting the Avengers. (AGAIN!)

Hawkeye is upset and because of that gets in a fight with Natasha and takes off. Janet and Hank take off for an already planned vacation in Vegas (driven to the airport by her driver, Charles who is really Whirlwind). Herc announces that now that he’s an Avenger, there’s something he needs to take care of. He heads to Olympus to ask Zeus  to lift his exile so that he can return to Earth by his choice. He climbs Mt. Olympus only to find the city totally abandoned!!

But, that’s apparently a story for another time. Next we see that Mags and Toadie have indeed used Whitman’s magnetic rays to escape from the Stranger and return to Earth. They lock up Whitman and his bad assistant Norris. (Norris had just knocked Whitman out before they arrived so that he could take all the glory for himself) and Mags decides to get the band back together. For whatever reason, he decides not to call Mastermind right now (probably because he’s currently caught up with F3!) He wants Wanda and Pietro back in his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. We see a flashback of how he saved their lives and thus put them in his debt. He tricks the twins into coming to the castle with a coded message. Once there, he attacks them with a giant robot to test their powers. All this time as Avengers has paid off, and they easily defeat their foe. Mags is impressed!

He invites them  to join him, but they refuse, saying they’re Avengers now. Mags is obviously pissed, so he attacks them with MORE robots. They manage to destroy the robots, but when they attempt to attack Magneto, he captures them!! And that’s how the issue ends!

So, my loves, we’re done with 1967. I know this was REALLY REALLY long. I’d apologize, but I kind of feel like, if you’ve read this far, you must like SOMETHING about my writing style, so there’s no need for an apology. Hehe. Anyway, We’ll move onto 1968 soon. I’m excited now that Magneto is back in play. I’m also excited to see where this story-line with Pietro’s bitterness is leading. I think I know, and I think it’s pretty obvious, but still, it will be fun to see it play out. I’m also excited for our X-Men to start working more like an adult team with Charles as a mentor instead of like kids with a teacher!

And, one last thing before I go. As some of you may know, this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day!!!! This is my favorite weekend of the year. My shop, Carol & John’s goes all out every year! Midnight release party Friday night into Saturday morning, events all day Saturday. They highlight local artist who are there to do sketch covers, they create pieces for an art gallery. Every year all those pieces sell. They’re amazing. Cleveland has some amazingly talented artists! Every year has a theme. It’s normally tied into whichever comic movie is coming out that same weekend. So, this year it’s obviously Civil War themed. It’s going to be a crazy good time. So, any of my readers in the NEO area, come out and join us. Dan (hubby) and I will be there all night Friday and will be stopping by on Saturday with our daughter. We’ll both be in costume too! Just look for Wonderman and his companion. (Sorry guys, not revealing my costume until that night!!) And any readers not local to NEO, I really urge you guys to find a local shop in your area to go check out FCBD. Even if they’re not doing a huge event like C&J, there will be tons of FREE COMICS to check out. And while you’re there, maybe pick up some other comics (X-Men) and support your local businesses! So, between a midnight showing of CA:CW on Thursday night and FCBD activities Friday and Saturday, it’s safe to say I won’t be getting much reading done this weekend. But I’ll post pics of my awesome costume and of the event afterwards and tell you all about it! And then we’ll pick up with 1968 next week. Until then my loves, keep searching…