Comic Browser:

#114
#115
#116
#117
#118
#119
#120
#121
#122
#123
#124
#125
#126
#127
#128
#129
#130
#131
#132
#133
#134
#135
#136
#137
Selector

The X-Men #119

Mar 1979
Chris Claremont, John Byrne

The X-Men #119 cover

Story Name:

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...


Synopsis

The X-Men #119 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

The X-Men have been roped in to helping stop Moses Magnum from sinking Japan. Storm flies Nightcrawler above his island base, before Nightcrawler teleports to the top of the base. He takes out a guard and makes his way inside while reminiscing about how the X-Men have been dragged into saving the world yet again. In flashback, we see Japan’s prime minster briefing the X-Men on the situation. Moses Magnum has issued an ultimatum, to be handed over sole control of Japan, lest he sink it with his mysterious doomsday weapon, capable of just that. Nightcrawler radios Misty Knight, telling her that everything is alright so far, and she then signals Storm and Banshee to distract the base’s external sensors from the air.

While Storm and Banshee act as distractions, Cyclops and Sunfire tunnel underneath the seabed with the others, waiting for Nightcrawler’s signal, so they know just where to tunnel up and into the base. They receive the signal and blast a tunnel right into Magnum’s base. However, Magnum is waiting for them, having already taken out Nightcrawler, and he punches Colossus straight through to the outside. Colossus skids along the ground, digging his hands into the earth, and managing to just stop himself from going over the edge and into the ocean. Feeling as if he hasn’t been contributing much to the team lately, and with this only reinforcing that, Colossus vows to start earning his keep! Inside, the battle continues to go poorly for the X-Men, as Magnum takes out Wolverine!

Cyclops sends Sunfire to signal Storm and Banshee to come inside to help, as Magnum reveals his new and improved Mandroids! Making good on his promise, Colossus jumps in and completely trashes the Mandroids, throwing them around with little effort. Magnum runs to activate his doomsday weapon, firing a huge beam of energy straight down to cause an enormous earthquake that will completely level Japan! Banshee orders Cyclops to get everyone else out as he flies outside, knowing he’s the only one who can stop the beam. Banshee counters Magnum’s weapon with a wall of sound, pushing his powers to their limits, until the entire base explodes! A full day later, Misty Knight finally finds the X-Men safe and sound but with Banshee definitely worse for wear.

Cut to ten days later, and Banshee is returning from his stay in the hospital, with things having been touch and go for days, revealing that he almost died. He’s disappointed that none of the X-Men came to see him home, until he flicks on the light to reveal that they were waiting to surprise him with a Christmas party to welcome him back! Wolverine heads off to see Mariko, while Storm reflects on how close the X-Men have become in the time they’ve known each other, and Colossus admits to feeling a bit homesick. Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, we see Jean Grey arrive after a long vacation, where she’s greeted by Moira MacTaggert, Havok, Polaris, and Multiple Man. They plan to celebrate Christmas together, as Moira figures that Muir Isle will be alright in the meantime. However, we see that MacWhirter, the bitter old boat captain that crossed paths with the X-Men before (in UXM #104), has plans to break in and wreck the place. He makes his way inside, before being attacked by an unseen force, not even having enough time to scream! To be continued!


 

Review / Commentaries


The X-Men #119 Review by (July 24, 2024)

Review: The X-Men are tasked with stopping Moses Magnum before he can sink Japan! Magnum isn’t particularly interesting, as we never really learn his motives beyond wanting control of Japan for…reasons? The most notable event of this issue was Banshee’s big, shining moment, being the one to stop Magnum by pushing his powers to their limits! This was essentially their way of eventually writing out Banshee, as his heroic act damaged his vocal cords, rendering his powers unusable for quite some time. Claremont apparently felt as if Banshee was a bit redundant and didn’t quite fit with the others, often not knowing what to do with him. So, they give him a shining moment that will ultimately result in his departure. He’ll continue to show up every now and then, and sticks around here for another ten issues or so but the writing is on the wall.

I also feel as if the title is a little misleading. For one, it’s only Christmas at the end of the story, which is ten days after the main events of the issue, jumping past Banshee’s hospital stay. So, it’s literally not the night the before Christmas, and the issue doesn’t otherwise have anything to do with Christmas so it feels weird for the title to have focused on that. We also get another breadcrumb in one of Claremont’s characteristic dangling plot threads, that will act to set up an important story a few issues from now! MacWhirter, that crotchety old boat captain, gets attacked and killed by something unseen, a precursor for things to come, as well as serving as another reminder of what was initially set up all the way back in UXM #104, with the mysterious Mutant X!

Comments: Moses Magnum mentions his previous appearance, which took place in Power Man Annual #1 (which was also written by Chris Claremont).



> The X-Men comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
DIAMOND SELECT TOYS Marvel Premier Collection: Cyclops Statue, Multicolor 11 inches
Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Main/1st Story Full Credits

John Byrne
Terry Austin
Glynis Wein
Dave Cockrum (Cover Penciler)
Terry Austin (Cover Inker)
Additional Credits
Letterer: John Costanza.



Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Banshee
Banshee

(Sean Cassidy)
Colossus
Colossus

(Piotr Rasputin)
Cyclops
Cyclops

(Scott Summers)
Havok
Havok

(Alex Summers)
Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler

(Kurt Wagner)
Phoenix
Phoenix

(Jean Grey)
Polaris
Polaris

(Lorna Dane)
Storm
Storm

(Ororo Munroe)
Wolverine
Wolverine

(James Howlett)
Plus: Colleen Wing, Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man), Mariko Yashida, Moses Magnum.

Thor

The Marvel Heroes Library is a fan Marvel Comics site
Version 14.8.33 (Dec 10, 2024. VS22)

Copyright © 1997-2024 Julio Molina-Muscara (creator, webmaster)
Site content is a collective effort by the MHL team and Marvel aficionados

Characters are copyright © Marvel or their respective owners. All portions of this Marvel fansite that are subject to copyright are licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 unported license All rights reserved