"Cry, Mutant"
I have to make a confession about these recaps: I've been omitting some things. In a (vain) attempt to make these mini-reviews readable, and to give some sort of central point, I've been keeping out a few pages of subplot. But here, the subplot comes to the fore, because the first page shows Cyclops, in his shirtless and blindfolded splendor, stumbles into a recently unsunken island, where a gigantic temple, adorned with statues, including one of Cthulhu, has suddenly been revealed. Cyclops is unable to see it, but is guided by Aletys Forrester, a fishing boat captain who we were introduced to a few issues ago, and is equally sexily ragged, who explains to them what they are seeing. This is all in the first few pages, and then we go to...
After the last arc was completed, the X-Men are all having a more casual time at the mansion, which in this case means such drama as Angel leaving the team because he doesn't like Wolverine, and sometimes X-Men member Banshee learning that he actually has a long lost daughter, which makes civilian X-Men associate Moira McTaggert have to have a heart-to-heart chat with Storm about feelings...
Okay, are you ready for the main story? Because the main story is Spider-Woman, Storm, Kitty Pryde and Kitty Pryde's dance instructor all going out to watch Dazzler perform and in this section, we pass the Bechdel Test quickly as the ladies all talk about important topics...until an intruder attacks them! After a brief superhero battle, they find that the intruder, Caliban, is actually just a lonely mutant who wants friendship. This would be the first appearance of Caliban, and thus, the first appearance of the Morlocks, a group of literally underground Mutants who would become a counterpart to the mansion-dwelling, Blackbird-flying X-Men.
Then we are back at Cyclops. Remember Cyclops? Because in the middle of the weird arisen island/temple, the master of the place announces himself...and it is Magneto!
I literally got hungry for a sandwich while reading all of this.
I made a scorecard: this issue featured nine current or future X-Men, as well as Professor X, Moira McTaggart, the future Majik, Spider-Woman, Caliban and Magneto. And three plot important civilians. What I am saying is, there is a lot going on here. In past issues, I said that the basic idea was still a fairly obvious comic book plot, and then the layers of drama were sprinkled on top of it. But here, the many subplots and interactions are the main story, and the "comic book plot" is basically shoehorned into the middle of it. At a time when Marvel policy was that every issue should be self-contained and comprehensible to a new reader, it was quite an accomplishment to make a story that only made sense in layers.