UXM #5: "Trapped: One X-Man!"

("Why do we even have that lever?")

Comments

It seems Lee has moved on from classic characters to classic architecture, as we gain our first glimpse of Asteroid M.

I love the idea that Cyclops would be really worried about his chances of surviving a Beast workout.  Hank was always in danger of being dismissed in comparison to his flashier teammates (even Angel eventually got razor-sharp knife-launching metal wings), so this is a nice nod to the idea that he genuinely can do things nobody else could. In a perfect world, this wouldn't be undercut a few pages later when Beast is defeated by an unexpected suitcase, but you can't have everything.

Xavier won't see people because his mental powers are gone?  What a whining loser.  Though, since we know he's faking, he's clearly just doing it as part of an act.  He must think his students think he's a whining loser.  That's obviously much better.

Some of the X-Men's commentary whilst watching the track meet is a bit worrying: "They feel it must be a trick of some sort... It makes them feel less inferior!"  Go tell it to Magneto, you racist prick.

Not that Magneto is doing so well this time around.  If you're entire plan revolves around one of your flunkies not being recognised, why not ensure that by also sending the guy who's power is creating illusions.  Man, that's as massive a slip-up as an automated shuttle service for captured lickspittles that you make no attempt to monitor for stowaways.  Or building a base with multiple sections, each of which will explode if someone acidentally brushes up against the wrong button.  Between all that and failing to curb the rebellious tendencies of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, Magneto has never seemed more Skeletorish.


Clues

The implication is  that this story takes place over a single day, but by "implication" I mean only that no change of day is actually specified.  Given the amount of time it would presumably take to give the Greys a tour of the mansion, and for Quicksilver to pick up Mastermind and then fly into space, it seems likely that the track meet Magneto has the Toad enter takes place the following day.

We also need to consider the time it takes the X-Men to drive back from Santo Marco, which is where things get a bit muddled.  One would assume that they made all haste to return to the mansion; Xavier's "condition" isn't really something you'd go to a hospital for, and in any case we later learn that he's faking.  On the other hand, Magneto bitches that they've wasted weeks searching for the X-Men's secret base.

I think the most plausible scenario is that the X-Men did get back to Westchester as fast as possible (meaning this issue opens about three and a half days after the last one ended), and that Magneto has been searching for the X-Men ever since the Cape Citadel incident, only taking time off when he decided he wanted to invade a banana republic for no good reason.  Fucking Magneto, how does he work?

Lastly, major props to Lee for his hand in what I think is my first ever viewing of a trio-specific panel, in which the same events are related by the narration, the art, and the dialogue.  It may not be art, but it's certainly unique.

Date

Saturday 6^th  to Sunday 7^th  October, 1978.

X-Date

 X+36 to X+37.

Compression Constant

1 Marvel month = 6.54 standard months.

Contemporary Events
 New South Wales undergoes the Wranslide.

Stand-Out Line

"We forgot the X-Men! They've crashed through!" Magneto reminds all budding supervillains to leave a Post-It note around whenever your arch-enemies are inside your secret base.

Also available in "Avalon", "Genosha" and "periwinkle" variants.