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The X-Men #94

Aug 1975
Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum

The X-Men #94 cover

Story Name:

The Doomsmith Scenario!


Synopsis

The X-Men #94 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Charles Xavier gathers his X-Men, both new and old, to tell them how proud he is of them, as well as his plans for the future of the team. Sunfire, however, immediately lets it be known that he has no plans to stick around. He agreed to help out once but cares nothing for the X-Men and departs, making it clear that he won’t answer if called on again. Professor Xavier asks the other new recruits if they echo Sunfire’s sentiments. Colossus is initially unsure, but Storm and Wolverine readily agree to stay. Banshee initially argues that he’s getting too old for this kind of thing but Xavier rebukes that idea and Cyclops points out that he would finally have a place to belong, making up Banshee’s mind. Angel then awkwardly admits to the Professor that he and the other original X-Men have decided to move on with their lives and Jean Grey explains to the shocked Xavier that it’s because they’ve grown up. Wolverine says to skip the sob story, sparking an angry reaction from Iceman, causing Cyclops to have to subvert a fight between the two, to Wolverine’s chagrin. Havok then asks his brother what he plans to do and Cyclops doesn’t have an answer.

Cyclops spends the entirety of that night walking the halls of the mansion and thinking over what he should do, while cursing his mutant power and the constant frustration it brings him. The next morning, the exiting former X-Men find Cyclops still in costume, signifying his decision to stay. Scott and Jean have an emotional farewell, as their lives go in different directions for now. Cyclops then gets down to brass tacks and introduces the new X-Men to the Danger Room, where they’ll hone their skills. Cyclops trains the new team in the Danger Room for weeks, slowly crafting them into a functional team. Eventually though, the tiring effort takes its toll and Thunderbird is injured from a careless mistake. Cyclops reprimands Thunderbird for his carelessness, causing Thunderbird to push back in defiance and Xavier to summon Cyclops to his office.

Our scene then cuts to Valhalla, the mountain base of Norad, the North American Air Defense Command. One of the workers receives a strange package in the mail. When opened, it opens a portal that lets the Ani-Men enter the base and make quick work of the guards there. The Ani-Men’s boss, Count Nefaria, also makes his appearance and uses anesthetic gas spread throughout the base to bring it entirely under his control. Nefaria recounts his previous encounter with the X-Men, from X-Men #22-23, as well as his plans to ransom the world! Back at the Xavier Institute, Nightcrawler comes to check on Cyclops, to make sure he’s okay after his argument with Thunderbird. Xavier then psychically summons the two to the briefing room, where a broadcast of Count Nefaria is playing, detailing his plans to fire missiles from the base on any country unwilling to pay his price, effectively holding the world ransom. Turns out, Beast had contacted Xavier about dealing with Nefaria, as the Avengers are currently occupied.

The X-Men head out to Valhalla in their Blackbird jet. On the way, they’re intercepted by the U.S. Air Force. Cyclops speaks with General Fredericks, who doesn’t trust the X-Men but will take any help he can get. He reveals that Nefaria armed the Doomsmith System, which controls the missiles, but that after a certain point the system can no longer be shut down, putting the X-Men on a time limit. The base’s sensors pick up the X-Men approaching and Nefaria sends out a few missiles to deal with them. Through some fancy flying, Cyclops manages to avoid most of the missiles, but one sneaks through, badly damaging the Blackbird. Cyclops hits the eject button, detaching the escape pod from the rest of the crashing ship. However, this does not escape Nefaria’s notice, and he fires a disruptor beam which completely disintegrates the pod, leaving the X-Men to fall to their deaths!


 

Review / Commentaries


The X-Men #94 Review by (May 22, 2024)

Review: After Giant-Size X-Men #1 ended with the team wondering what they were going to do with so many X-Men, we get our answer right away here, as half of them immediately leave. The original X-Men, sans Cyclops, all decide to move on with their lives, and Sunfire decides he doesn’t like anyone and heads out too. The feelings mutual, apparently also amongst the writers, prompting his exit. Speaking of writers, the legendary Chris Claremont begins his history-making tenure on the series with this issue, at least for scripting duties. Len Wein still provided the plot for this and next issue, as it was left over from the planned Giant-Size X-Men #2 that never materialized.

The actual plot mostly revolves around Cyclops whipping the new team into shape in the Danger Room. We get the first taste of the contentious relationship Cyclops and Wolverine will have, after Wolverine doesn’t take kindly to Cyclops breaking up a fight between him and Iceman. Thunderbird gets the same treatment from Cyke after getting injured in the Danger Room, highlighting the reasoning behind a big development that occurs next issue. Other than that, the X-Men also head out to stop Count Nefaria’s plan to ransom the world via the U.S. Air Defense’s missiles and starting the trend of whatever vehicle they’re in completely crashing. Check out next issue for part two of this story and the shocking death of an X-Man!

Comments: Chris Claremont’s first issue as writer, or at least scripter. Len Wein still provided the plot. First time the new X-Men use the Danger Room. Count Nefaria recounts his previous encounter with the X-Men, which took place in X-Men #22-23. Small guest appearance from Beast.



> The X-Men comic book info and issue index

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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Dave Cockrum
Bob McLeod
Phil Rachelson
Gil Kane (Cover Penciler)
Dave Cockrum (Cover Inker)
Additional Credits
Plot: . Letterer: Tom Orzechowski.



Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Angel
Angel

(Warren Worthington III)
Banshee
Banshee

(Sean Cassidy)
Beast
Beast

(Henry Phillip McCoy)
Colossus
Colossus

(Piotr Rasputin)
Count Nefaria
Count Nefaria

(Luchino Nefaria)
Cyclops
Cyclops

(Scott Summers)
Havok
Havok

(Alex Summers)
Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler

(Kurt Wagner)
Polaris
Polaris

(Lorna Dane)
Professor X
Professor X

(Charles Xavier)
Storm
Storm

(Ororo Munroe)
Wolverine
Wolverine

(James Howlett)
Plus: Ani-Men, Thunderbird (John Proudstar).

Thor

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