There are great characters, great codenames, and great costumes. This issue was the first time an X-Man managed to pull off all three. Enter: HAVOK! Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of The X-Men #58 awaits!
THE X-MEN #58
Writer: Roy Thomas/Neal Adams
Penciler: Neal Adams
Inker: Tom Palmer
Colorist: Neal Adams
Letterer: Artie Simek
Editor: Stan Lee
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: 15 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $650.00
Release Date: May 13, 1969
Previously in The X-Men: After attending his younger brother’s graduation, Cyclops became worried that the young man might also be a mutant. Given his uncontrollable eye-powers, it seemed like a valid worry. Of course, when brother Alex was kidnapped by The Living Pharaoh, his powers were revealed as cosmic energy manipulation that makes eye-beams look like a lighter at an Eagles’ concert, and even less controllable than Cyclops’ own. The emergence of such a massive mutant power also brought forth Larry Trask, the son of the late Bolivar Trask, whose greatest creations have returned. Those creations?
THE SENTINELS!
Turns out that the battle with The Living Pharaoh wasn’t just tough on the mutant heroes; it was another turning point in humanity’s disgust with the Homo Superior. Trask has leveraged that into a power grab, sending out his giant robots to capture ALL mutants everywhere in the world. (It’s 1969, however, so that means maybe two dozen people.) Iceman and The Beast are overpowered by a Sentinel in the direct control of Trask himself, with the youngest X-Man getting captured to allow his big-footed companion to escape. He takes the time to radio back to Cyclops, Marvel Girl, and The Angel, setting out to find Bobby’s missing girlfriend, Polaris. Having spent hours combing the Egyptian desert for Alex, Angel has finally had enough!
This Angel costume, his graduation togs, is THE single ugliest uniform in his sartorial history (and this is a man who used to wear a blue wetsuit adorned with a fuchsia bird emblem), but the art of Neal Adams makes it look amazing. The whole issue is a treat for art fans, from the creative layouts to the detailed and vivid facial expressions. But the piece de resistance comes when Iceman finds that Trask and The Sentinels have also grabbed the elusive Alex Summers and outfitted him with a costume to help him monitor his cosmic radiation absorption and output…
…the greatest costume in Marvel’s pantheon of mighty mutants.
Strangely, for someone who hates mutants and wants them all locked away, Larry took the time to give Alex Summers a cool codename to go with the amazingly cool (and graphically unique) costume, dubbing him Havok. Unfortunately for Mr. Trask, by breaking his promise to Havok, who has fallen in love at first sight with Iceman’s girlfriend, he’s crossed the wrong mutant.
As Larry’s Sentinels capture the aforementioned Monolith, as well as Mesmero, The Angel, and The Banshee, he angrily gives the order for the Sentinels to gather all mutants…
…and KILL THEM. His patron, Judge Chalmers, tries to stop him, instead ripping off the amulet that young Trask has always worn, revealing the terrible truth.
The shock ending is one of the best parts of an issue packed with development after development and an unclear time frame, but the sheer unyielding pace of it helps to drag readers past the goofier parts. Though Thomas is the only one credited for the issue, both he and Adams have said that they co-plotted it, and while I’m not sure how The Angel flew from Cairo to New York City in the space of a couple of hours, X-Men #58 is a damn fine comic book, with top-notch art and the debut of the coolest X-Man of them all (until the year 1979 or so), earning 4.5 out of 5 stars overall.
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THE X-MEN #58
Complicated interconnected plotting and gorgeous art have become the staple of X-Men comics, but this era is where that all starts.
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Writing8
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Art10
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Coloring10
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.