TITLE: X-Men vol. 1, issue #113
YEAR: September 1978
COMPANY: Marvel Comics
Writer: Chris Claremont & John Byrne
Embellisher: Terry Austin
Letterer: A. Kawecki
Colorist: G. Wein
Editor: Roger Stern
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
The Chris Claremont and John Byrne (and also Dave Cockrum) years of “X-Men” were no doubt one of the best years of storytelling and artwork for the popular Marvel Comics series.
And while issue #114 would feature a new title for the series , which would change to “The Uncanny X-Men”, issue #113 was the first issue with the series becoming a monthly. It featured the second part continuing the return of Magneto but also would showcase Storm’s past of learning how to pick locks but also to learn one of the reasons why she wears that headpiece.
Magneto fights against the men and women of the Royal Australian Aerospace Research Facility to steal parts in order to create his headquarters on Asteroid M.
The X-Men have been captured, locked in chairs which nullify their powers and reduces their physical abilities to that of a six-month old infant, while there brain is left unimpaired. And the X-Men are being taken care of by a robot.
Meanwhile, Professor X is in the Cyclades Islands in Southern Greece, distressed because he has lost all telepathic rapport with the X-Men.
As the X-Men try to find a way out of their prison seats, Storm tries to find a way to use her lockpicking techniques to unlock their shackles and escape.
And escape they do, but while fighting Magneto, they damage Asteroid M and now the whole facility is going to blow up. Will they survive? Will Magneto save them?
Of course, that answer is quite obvious as no major X-Men character has died since issue #95, which was the character Thunderbird and Marvel Comics wouldn’t keep him dead as they would revive him again decades later, kill him again and revive him again. And I’m sure he’ll die again, be revived again, killed again, revived again because it’s Marvel.
But this issue was interesting to see the X-Men fight against Magneto but also to get a glimpse of Storm’s past and how she learned her lockpicking techniques.
Otherwise, an entertaining storyline, while not the best, it was still enjoyable.