Re-reading the early issues of the revived, \u201cAll-New, All-Different\u201d X-Men<\/em> title for the first time in decades, your humble blogger has found himself struck not only by how quickly writer Chris Claremont \u2014 still a relative neophyte in 1975 \u2014 made the book his own, but also by how enduring many of the concepts and characters he introduced in the first half-dozen or so of the stories he wrote on his lonesome (the first two issues under his byline, #94 and #95<\/a>, had of course been plotted by his predecessor, Len Wein) have ultimately proven to be.\u00a0 Half a century on, it\u2019s hard to imagine what the X-books \u2014 or maybe even the Marvel Universe, period \u2014 would look like, had neither Moira MacTaggart<\/a> nor the Shi\u2019ar<\/a> (to name two of the most prominent examples), ever existed.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Cover to X-Men<\/em> #96 (Dec., 1975). Art by\u2026 let\u2019s go with \u201cvarious\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That said, not everything<\/em> that Claremont threw at the wall in the way of mutant mythos-building early on stuck \u2014 nor was every individual story a straight-up winner.\u00a0 As a case in point, let\u2019s take Claremont\u2019s first more-or-less solo flight as writer, X-Men<\/em> #96, which features the done-in-one \u201cNight of the Demon\u201d (I say \u201cmore-or-less\u201d based on a credit given on the splash page to Bill Mantlo for a \u201cwelcome plotting assist\u201d).\u00a0 Produced in collaboration with artist Dave Cockrum (with Sam Grainger on inks), the story pits the titular heroes against the N\u2019Garai \u2014 demonic \u201cElder Gods\u201d whom Claremont had created for one of his earliest pro comics writing assignments (in Giant-Size Dracula<\/em> #2 [Sep., 1974]) \u2014 but who frankly seemed rather superfluous in a Marvel Universe that already seemed to have the Lovecraftian angle pretty well covered via the Undying Ones<\/a>, Shuma-Gorath<\/a>, and so on.\u00a0 While I won\u2019t try to convince you that the N\u2019Garai had no<\/em> juice whatsoever (a look at their page<\/a> at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe would put the lie to such an assertion pretty quickly), I think it\u2019s safe to say that as X-villains, they\u2019ve never been more than \u201cC\u201d-list at best.\u00a0 And even if their later track record had<\/em> proved more impressive, this particular<\/em> outing still wouldn\u2019t be all that memorable \u2014 at least, not for this reader.<\/p>\n On the other hand, there are other significant developments in this issue which are worth noting before we move on to the ostensible main topic of this post (i.e., X-Men<\/em> #97) \u2014 beginning with the introduction of an important new supporting character whose name we\u2019ve already dropped above\u2026<\/p>\n Along with being both a good bit younger and easier on the eyes than Sean \u201cBanshee\u201d Cassidy was expecting, Moira MacTaggart offers yet another surprise to her fellow Gael, further on in the story, when she throws herself into the middle of the X-Men\u2019s fight against a big, bad N\u2019Garai named Kierrok and sprays the demon with machine-gun fire.\u00a0 \u201cA nice widder-woman,\u201d<\/strong> indeed.<\/p>\n Well before that happens, however, we have the following scene, which sets up a near-future storyline that\u2019ll kick off properly in X-Men<\/em> #98, and culminate in the book\u2019s milestone 100th issue\u2026<\/p>\n Gee, that big purple leg in the last panel above looks kind of familiar, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 If Dr. Steven Lang\u2019s references to Bolivar Trask and his son earlier on the page hadn\u2019t already given the game away, this visual clue clinches it:\u00a0 the Sentinels are back.<\/p>\n We now turn to the story\u2019s \u201cA\u201d-plot, if only briefly, for another couple of developments that will prove to have long-term significance.\u00a0 To set the scene: after having inadvertently released Kierrok of the N\u2019Garai from a stone structure in the woods near Professor Xavier\u2019s School for Gifted Youngsters, the X-Men manage to hold the attacking demon-god at bay\u2026 but only just, and only for the moment.\u00a0 Along the way, we have this dramatic interaction between Kierrok and Wolverine:<\/p>\n Coming on the heels of a moment earlier in the issue where, while training in the Danger Room, Wolverine had almost disemboweled Nightcrawler, this scene establishes not only Wolvie\u2019s tendency to occasionally lapse into berserker rages, but also his personal ambivalence as to whether that should be considered a bug or a feature.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, despite Wolverine\u2019s very thorough shredding of Kierrok, the N\u2019Garai gets better almost immediately, and the battle is rejoined.\u00a0 So Prof X sends Storm out to cut the demon\u2019s power off at its source, by sealing up the very same stone structure (Claremont\u2019s script calls it a \u201ccairn\u201d<\/a>, but \u201cobelisk\u201d<\/a> seems more appropriate to what Dave Cockrum has drawn) that Cyclops earlier shattered with his eyebeams while agonizing about the death of Thunderbird in the finale of X-Men<\/em> #95 (that\u2019s right, this whole mess is basically Cyke\u2019s fault)\u2026<\/p>\n Storm\u2019s dramatic action takes care of the menace, sending Kierrok as well as the other demons back to their nether-dimension.\u00a0 But as to the meaning of her sudden, panicked feeling of entrapment, and its accompanying visions of her childhood, both the weather-worker and we readers would have to wait until issue #102 \u2014 which, thanks to X-Men<\/em>\u2018s bimonthly publishing schedule, wouldn\u2019t be out until September, 1976 (which of course means that this blog\u2019s discussion of the Secret Origin of Storm That Was Never Intended by Her Co-Creators will have to wait until September of 2026, or thereabouts).<\/p>\n \u201cNight of the Demon!\u201d ends with another bit of foreshadowing\u2026<\/p>\n Colonel Michael \u201cMickey\u201d Rossi would seem to be the very model of a throwaway character \u2014 someone introduced briefly into a storyline to move the plot forward a tad, and then forgotten about by the writer as quickly as they are by the reader.\u00a0 For whatever reason, however, Chris Claremont didn\u2019t forget Col. Rossi; a couple of years later, he\u2019d use him in flashbacks in Ms. Marvel<\/em> to build out the backstory of Carol Danvers, and then, sometime after that, bring him back into present-day X-continuity in the pages of New Mutants<\/em> #2 (Apr., 1983), revealing along the way that he (obviously) hadn\u2019t actually died in that crash in X-Men<\/em> #96, after all.\u00a0 You never know, I guess.<\/p>\n We now come to X-Men<\/em> #97, whose cover by Rich Buckler and Dave Cockrum (hey, thanks for signing your names, guys!) gives me strong Neal Adams vibes \u2014 and whose first-page credits box indicates that Chris Claremont is finally flying completely solo\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026though, having said that, I don\u2019t want to understate the importance of Dave Cockrum\u2019s contribution to these early Claremont X-Men<\/em> stories, as the artist\u2019s visual imagination made us want<\/em> to see more of the new characters and other plot elements being introduced herein, whereas a less creative illustrator might not have piqued our curiosity quite as sharply.\u00a0 I mean, just look<\/em> at these ships\u2026!<\/p>\n And here we get our first glimpse of another new character who\u2019ll ultimately loom at least as large in X-lore as Moira MacTaggart: the Shi\u2019ar empress, Lilandra \u2014 albeit we only get to see her through a glass darkly, as it were.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be another seven issues (or fourteen months) before we get a decent enough look through her spacesuit\u2019s insectoid faceplate to guess that she\u2019s (probably) female \u2014 and another two-month wait beyond that before Charles Xavier actually meets his future lady-love face-to-face.\u00a0 Chris Claremont was playing a long game\u2026 but if one was willing to wait, one\u2019s patience would be rewarded.\u00a0 (Well, usually, anyway.)<\/p>\n \u201cI had no right<\/strong> to ask you, not after\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Again, Claremont teases us with a mystery that won\u2019t pay off for some time to come\u2026 years, in this case.<\/p>\n For the record, this is the first time that Lorna Dane (first introduced back in X-Men<\/em> #49 [Oct., 1968]) has gone by the name \u201cPolaris\u201d.\u00a0 And \u2014 despite her obviously being mind-controlled at this particular moment \u2014 it\u2019s one she\u2019ll keep, long after the present storyline concludes.<\/p>\n Yep, even Charles Xavier was cracking Jaws<\/em> jokes in late 1975.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, although Jean Grey had seemed to make a pretty big deal of kissing Scott \u201cCyclops\u201d Summers goodbye when she moved out of the X-mansion back at the beginning of X-Men<\/em> #94, it sure doesn\u2019t seem like she\u2019s gone very far<\/em>, does it?\u00a0 It\u2019s also interesting to note that the arrival of the former (?) Marvel Girl on the scene, coming on top of the return of Alex Summers and Lorna Dane to these pages, makes for the inclusion in this issue of every<\/em> character who\u2019s ever been a regular member of the X-Men team \u2014 with, of course, the notable exceptions of the three currently ensconced with other<\/em> super-teams (i.e., the Beast with the Avengers, and Angel and Iceman with the Champions).\u00a0 It feels rather like Claremont and Cockrum didn\u2019t want to let anyone<\/em> go, if they could possibly help it.<\/p>\n This was the first appearance of \u201cTony Stark\u2019s image inducer<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 \u2014 obviously a very handy gadget, although Kurt \u201cNightcrawler\u201d Wagner ended up not using it all that much after a year or two.\u00a0 In the words of Dave Cockrum, \u201cwe just sort of went for a blue-is-beautiful-and-to-hell-with-you-guys attitude.\u201d\u00a0 (See The X-Men Companion: I <\/em>[1981], p. 55.)<\/p>\n Oh, and the \u201c1930\u2019s movie star<\/strong>\u201d Kurt is intended to look like here is Errol Flynn<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the record, poor Alex Summers\u2019 long-established superhero moniker, \u201cHavok\u201d, gets misspelled as \u201cHavoc\u201d throughout this issue.\u00a0 Oh, well\u2026<\/p>\n Knocked off his feet by Alec and Lorna\u2019s combined powers, Scott tells his teammates to get after them before they can reach Professor X.\u00a0 The X-Men dutifully spring into action, but even as they do, Havok takes aim at the swiftly taxiing airplane carrying the mutants\u2019 mentor\u2026<\/p>\n Cover to X-Men<\/em> #52 (Jan., 1969). Art by Marie Severin and Joe Sinnott.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Eric the Red \u2014 or, as it was originally spelled, Erik<\/em> the Red (the letter \u201ck\u201d just couldn\u2019t catch a break this issue, it seems) \u2014 was indeed a false identity briefly assumed by Cyclops back in X-Men<\/em> #51 (Dec., 1968) and #52 (Jan., 1969), all for the purpose of hoodwinking two of the team\u2019s foes, Magneto (actually just an android replica, but never mind that now) and Mesmero.\u00a0 So who is this new<\/em> Erik, and why has he adopted this obscure old guise of Scott Summers?\u00a0 While the first of those questions will be answered several issues from now, the second never will be, as best as I can tell \u2014 at least not \u201cin-story\u201d.\u00a0 (The real-world answer may be assumed to have something to do with either Chris Claremont or Dave Cockrum, or maybe even both, thinking that the character\u2019s name and costume were too cool to leave as a mere historical footnote.)<\/p>\n Dazed, Storm just barely manages to shake off the effects of Polaris\u2019 blast in time to catch the unconscious Jean Grey; after depositing her charge safely on a rooftop, she changes into her costume before returning to the fray\u2026<\/p>\n Havok quickly recovers and fires off a blast that hits the wall behind Cyclops, causing it to fall on top of him.\u00a0 Horrified, Alec rushes to his brother\u2019s aid \u2014 but Scott, who\u2019s unharmed, reluctantly takes advantage of the moment to punch Alec while he\u2019s off-guard.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Colossus and Nightcrawler attempt to double-team Erik the Red\u2026<\/p>\n Two issues earlier, in the climax of X-Men<\/em> #95, the team had lost one of their number, John \u201cThunderbird\u201d Proudstar, when the plane he was hanging onto exploded in midair.\u00a0 Colossus getting crushed by the wing of a grounded<\/em> plane might not be exactly the same thing, but it\u2019s surely close enough to justify the script\u2019s reference to d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu<\/i>.<\/p>\n In the next few moments, several things happen very quickly.\u00a0 Racing to the fallen Lorna\u2019s side, Alec finds her dazed, but not, it seems, seriously hurt.\u00a0 Next, reinforcements for our heroes arrive, as an aircraft bearing Wolverine and Banshee descends to the tarmac.\u00a0 Guessing that Prof. X must have summoned the newcomers mentally, Erik the Red abruptly decides that this day is not going to go his way after all \u2014 and, gathering the still-enthralled Havok and Polaris in his arms, he takes to the skies.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/50yearoldcomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/xmen96.jpg?resize=193%2C300&ssl=1\")
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