"No blamed cigarette is gonna stop me from smokin' it!" - Unus

Stan shows that only evil mutants smoke.

Unus was the latest in a long line of misunderstood villians -
All he really wanted was to have his cake and eat it too.
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The cover is just okay, the white background doesn't help. Unus is in purple on the cover but in red in the story.

The story opens with a scene that seems reminiscent of the first-ever X-Men scene from X-Men 1. The X-Men are being trained in the Danger Room (I don't know if it's been named that yet), but the difference is that now this superteam is led by a teenager. That seems fairly momentous. I'm trying to think of previous superhero teams led by a teenager. Teen Titans and the Legion? I can't think of any others offhand.

Now we know - Jean loves Scott. And so we have yet another couple that loves each other but doesn't know they love each other, because each one thinks the other doesn't. It would have been nice to see this revelation in a more highlighted, private scene. Instead the moment is relegated to thought balloons in the middle of the training session.

"If only I could tell her the words I really want to say! How gorgeous her lips are...how silken her hair is...how I love her! But, I dare not...I haven't the right! Not now, when I'm supposed to be their leader! I can't listen to my own heart! I must be detached...unemotional!"

"Oh, Scott...if only you felt about me as I do about you! But you don't...you just don't!"

Speaking of her "gorgeous lips", you have to admire Scott for looking past outward appearances. Personally, I'd be wary of a woman who had such trouble merely applying her lipstick:

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This first scene offers the most memorable Iceman illo since his "snowman" pose in X-Men 1.
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And speaking of "snowman", it looks like Jack decided to start drawing him "icier" beginning this issue.

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The reader wonders who "Lucifer" is. Is Xavier hunting Satan???

Is Mastermind actually the Miracle Man from FF #3? He kind of looks the same and has the same power. Maybe he just changed his name.

The X-Men are again missing their pupils on several pages, as they often are in this Masterwork. Here's a sample.
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And now to the heart of the story. I think this is one of the better X-Men stories so far. There are some great scenes and deeper characterization. It's the first time that the public is seen to turn against the X-Men (they were enamored of them in X-Men #2), although they don't actually seem to realize that these two mutants are in fact X-Men. The "unthinking mob" displays racism, or more accurately "species-ism", when they chase Hank and Bobby through the streets. (Note Bobby's comedic legs even in the midst of this serious scene, and he holds onto his hat.) The interesting thing is that the woman is actually correct about the rumor she relays: "I've heard there are many such mutants in hiding...waiting to take over the world!" There are. I have to admit, I'd be kind of scared too.

So Hank takes center stage in this issue and the story is lent more moral substance than previously seen in the series. He rails, "I think Magneto and his evil mutants are right..."!! He quits the X-Men! And he becomes the third mutant to make his living as a performer (after the Blob and Unus). Speaking of which, how can Unus make any money as a wrestler if his opponents can't even put on a show by grappling with him?? It's interesting that both Unus and the Blob have only defensive powers. How dangerous can Unus be with only human strength? (Unless inhuman strength is part of his mutation, and there's indication of that.)

The Beast and Unus combine for a good mano-a-mano conflict in the midst of a team book, with Hank winning out through the previously-established power of his noodle (but will he use his new machine on Magneto??). In fact, there is entertaining symmetry and irony in the plot, as they first battle for money as wrestlers and then, the second time, with mutant costumes on to settle the score as good and evil mutants. Both encounters offer rewardingly dramatic page-ending panels. There's this one:

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..."PUNGGG!"

And this one:

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Thoughtful readers can easily suspect how Hank will defeat Unus. One of the best pages in the issue is page 18, which features no one other than Unus. The page details his progression from elation to consternation and confusion. Here's the first panel:

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...and the last panel. Nice illo here.

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The three-page battle between Unus and the X-Men is well-done. "Is there nothing you freaks can't do?!!" Also mesmerizing is the X-Men's amazing total distrust of Hank. Jean says, "Wasn't it enough to desert us? Did you have to betray us as well?!" And there's this beautiful exchange: "Don't make any sudden moves, Beast! We're all watching you!"..."I applaud your good judgement! You couldn't have selected a lovelier specimen for observation!" You go, Stan.

At one point Cyke says, "Unus must be back at the gym by now!" When did Scott find out who Unus is in his everyday life?

The story ends with Unus simply walking away, just like the Blob last issue and Doom in FF Annual 2.

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Now I want to see what it would look like for heroes to let Magneto or Loki walk away, or Octopus or the Goblin. Or better yet - the Hulk dismissively walks away from Thunderbolt Ross to end a story. That would seriously rock. How about the FF collectively turning their backs on the Watcher? That would be hard to top.

Readers can be forgiven for missing the thematically subtle moment when Scott declares himself also an "Untouchable". He commands Hank, "Take your hand off me!"

I was waiting for Hank to tell him, "Stop being so unal."


"Now we're getting off focus." - the Elder Son of Storytime