Writer Len Wein
Illustrator Dave Cockrum
Colorist Glynis Wein
Letterer John Constanza
Second Genesis!
When people state legendary milestone comics, this is actually one of those comics.
I tried to see how much I spent on my copy, could not have been more than $45.00. I wish I could scan some of these pages. It is very readable, it just happens that a cat got to it and nibbled on the bottom right corner. I never intend to sell this issue, I just wanted to own it.
I looked and looked to verify that this is a first printing and not a Target reprint.
Published quarterly. Copyright © 1975 by Marvel Comics Group. Vol. 1. No. 1, 1975 issue.
So it is a first printing, just a readable copy, so I couldn’t get more than I oaid for it probably.
This makes me want to look into getting a poor edition of Uncanny 1, but I bet the same quality version of that, is still $200.00.
On the opening splash page of Chapter One, is the only time we see Beast. He us referenced later. Cool looking image of the original team and the all new team.
Now that I’m thinking about it, not sure where the All New All Different expression comes from, maybe issue 94?
This creative team goes all out in these introductory pages. They may not have plan for the success that started here, just trying to revive a dead franchise and increase international sells.
We are first introduced to Kurt Wagner on page two. Has it ever been revealed what he did to get them chasing him? Besides him looking the way he does? The foolish town people are quite organized by the time we join this story. I want to say in that X-Men Manifest Destiny Quitting Time story, Kurt may have given some back story.
Xavier stops everyone and offers Kurt a chance to be whole.
Wolverine appears on page 7, and joins on page 8. The bottom of the left pages all have one sentence descriptions of other Marvel titles.
The Canadian government invested a great deal of time and money turning him into what he is, indeed.
Poor Banshee gets two panels, and he is on the team. We get introduced to Storm, on page 9.
At this point, Xavier is the only one we see, is he flying back to the mansion between each stop and dropping each one off?
Have we ever seen what Storm was up to the week prior to this? She is clearly invested into the goddess position.
She is the one giving up the most.
Sunfire also gets two panels, one is wide screen. Makes sense as those two have made appearances already elsewhere. Plus, they are not sticking around to long, in Sunfire’s case.
History is made :
Illyana Rasputin is mentioned on page 11 and seen on page 14. Oh that poor little girl.
The captions from page 15 were reused for Uncanny 390, in a very touching fashion.
Page 16, we start getting racism into the comic. We were all having a good time, then John Proudstar shows up. He really doesn’t like white folks.
Xavier gets racist too, and that actually convinces Proudstar to join.
Shout outs to Arizona, and Camp Verde specifically.
Spider-Man and Valkyrie in Marvel Team Up 341.
Chapter Two
They get their costumes!
Well, three of them do.
Storm is surprised they fit perfectly.
Xavier explains Reed Richards’ unstable molecules “adjust themselves where necessary.”
Cyclops makes a dramatic entrance.
Page 22, we start the flashback to Krakoa. We see the original X-Men, minus Beast, plus Havok and Polaris.
Cyclops is so mad at Beast, then he gets even angrier at Iceman’s jokes.
Between pages 23 and 24, Deadly Genesis’ flashbacks occur.
Chapter Three
Cyclops reveals the new four’s mutant names. Mutant and Proud!
Cyclops splits the X-Men into duos
Cyclops and Thunderbird
Storm and Colossus
Banshee and Wolverine
Sunfire and Nightcrawler
I wanted to reference the sentence descriptions with issue numbers that I missed:
24, witness the frightful fate of Glenn Talbot in Hulk 188
26, Gwen Stacy is alive?….and well? Find out for sure in Spider-Man 145! That turns out well
30, the shattering secret of the Falcon — revealed in Captain America 186
So the four teams take a direction and all meet in the middle of the “island.”
Page 37, we see what happened to the original X-Men.
Chapter Four
We see Krakoa for what he really is!
42, who will be drafted in the search for the new Avengers? Find out in issue 136
So a pretty spectacular battle rages on with 13 X-Men.
Without Storm and Polaris, not sure how these teams would have survive.
Second Genesis is 47 of the 68 pages, the rest are origins and powers of the Original X-Men, minus Beast and Angel.
Daredevil! Luke Cage! Son of Satan! A gala guest star extravaganza in Defenders 24
The order of the back ups is : Cyclops, Iceman and Jean Grey.
They must have known they were not going to be using Angel. Not like they wound up using Iceman either.
All in all, a fantastic issue and officially the oldest comic in my collection.
