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The X-Men #125

Sep 1979
Chris Claremont, John Byrne

The X-Men #125 cover

Story Name:

There's Something Awful on Muir Island!


Synopsis

The X-Men #125 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 5 stars

At her Muir Island base, Moira MacTaggert runs some tests to try and determine the extent of Jean Grey’s powers as the Phoenix. She fails to find anything conclusive, as the two are secretly watched by the possessed body of what used to be Angus MacWhirter, now something entirely different! Jean thinks of all of the events that got her to this point, becoming the Phoenix, facing Magneto, all the way up to her recent vacation, and all of the wonderful people she met on the perfect getaway. Meanwhile, in Westchester, the X-Men run through a challenge session in the Danger Room where Colossus is tasked with keeping a hydraulic ram from crushing him. Wolverine attempts to help by slashing through the wall to the machine’s power but is rebuked by a jet of water for his trouble. Next up, Cyclops tries to catch Nightcrawler with a trapdoor, but he simply teleports to the far wall. Cyclops then activates some sonic beams to throw Nightcrawler off balance and impede his teleporting. Cyclops has Banshee shut down the program, stating his frustration that the team isn’t meshing as well as the old team did. Wolverine storms out and Storm tries to talk to Cyclops, who states that they’ve been lucky recently and their luck won’t last forever.

We then cut to Asteroid M, where Magneto is recuperating after his last battle with the X-Men. While he refines his plans, his computer screen suddenly displays a picture of his deceased wife Magda. He reminisces for a bit before erasing the picture, not letting it distract from his plans. Meanwhile, in Scotland, Jason Wyngarde plans as well. He reveals that he was really all of the nice people Jean met on her vacation and that he plans to use the connection he’s established to mold her until he and the Hellfire Club can claim her. Speaking of Jean, at that moment she’s talking with Polaris about the directions life has been taking them, showing off a little by using her powers to change her outfit with each step. Moira, meanwhile, discovers that Jean’s been holding her powers back subconsciously and that if they get out of control again, she could become something akin to a god! Out in space, Charles Xavier comes to the very same conclusions after reviewing the data of Jean saving the universe from the M’Kraan Crystal. The potential danger this fares makes Xavier decide that he must return to earth!

Back on Muir Island, Moira discovers a gold tooth outside Mutant X’s cell. She opens the cell and discovers that Mutant X is missing, to her shock and horror! Jean passes Multiple Man and Havok on her way back to the research center, while Havok worries that Jean is acting out of character, using her powers to show off more than she ever has. Jean then senses Moira’s distraught thoughts and races to find her. She turns a corner and suddenly finds herself in an 18th century setting, with period appropriate clothes to match! Her mind tells her that it’s real, before she’s suddenly tackled by the mysterious Mutant X, causing Havok and Multiple Man to react to her scream.

Back in Westchester, Beast stops in on the mansion, concerned that the alarms he set up had been disconnected. Nightcrawler pounces on him, thinking him an intruder. The two wrestle in the dark, until lightning flashes allowing the two to get a good look at each other. Nightcrawler teleports and alerts the others, thinking that he’s seen a ghost! They head upstairs where Cyclops and Beast react in surprise and delight that the other is alive! They catch up, with Beast letting Scott know that Jean is alive as well. Scott calls Muir Island to alert Moira of their arrival, but the phone is answered by Polaris. Surprised to hear Scott, she tells him that there may be something going on, after they all heard Jean scream and the alarms started going off. Cyclops tells her that they’re on their way when Polaris suddenly screams as well, and the line goes dead! To be continued!


 

Review / Commentaries


The X-Men #125 Review by (August 14, 2024)

Review: There’s a metric ton of stuff going on in this issue, setting up and propelling several different plotlines, all of them important. The biggest for the future is definitely the continuing growth of Jean’s powers as the Phoenix, with her potential virtually limitless. Moira and Xavier both come to this conclusion separately, even prompting Xavier to return to earth, which is obviously an important development. Not only that, Jason Wyngarde increases his own hold on Jean after their initial meeting, causing her to think she’s in the 18th century for a moment, in what will be a continuing plot thread leading us ever closer to the famous Dark Phoenix Saga! Most immediately pressing is the escape of Mutant X (soon to be known as Proteus) on Muir Island. This finally pays off the little tease all the way back in UXM #104, that was then followed up on briefly a few issues ago. This will comprise the next few issues, as the X-Men discover just what Proteus is and how to stop him!

Speaking of the X-Men, they finally discover that Beast isn’t dead and vice versa, after about 12 issues of each side thinking the other was kaput. Scott also finally discovers that Jean isn’t dead (effectively dooming his relationship with Colleen; this will not be the last time something like that happens). Most surprisingly, we even get a little interlude with Magneto, where he accidentally calls up an image of his deceased wife, Magda. This moment always stood out to me, as it’s some of the first little bits of depth and humanization that Magneto gets, a bit of a precursor to the much more interesting direction that Claremont takes him in later. It’s also the first time Magda is mentioned, therefore being the first time it’s even implied that Magneto once had a wife or something akin to a more normal life. There’s just so much going on here, propelling both immediate and future storylines, making for a very significant and memorable issue, while also serving as the first part of the memorable Proteus storyline!

Comments: First appearance of sorts for Proteus (other than as a voice), possessing the body of Angus MacWhirter. First mention of Magda, Magneto’s former wife. The X-Men and Beast finally find out the other isn’t dead, after about 12 issues.



> The X-Men comic book info and issue index

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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

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

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Banshee
Banshee

(Sean Cassidy)
Beast
Beast

(Henry Phillip McCoy)
Colossus
Colossus

(Piotr Rasputin)
Cyclops
Cyclops

(Scott Summers)
Havok
Havok

(Alex Summers)
Lilandra
Lilandra

(Lilandra Neramani)
Mastermind
Mastermind

(Jason Wyngarde)
Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler

(Kurt Wagner)
Phoenix
Phoenix

(Jean Grey)
Polaris
Polaris

(Lorna Dane)
Professor X
Professor X

(Charles Xavier)
Storm
Storm

(Ororo Munroe)
Wolverine
Wolverine

(James Howlett)

Plus: Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man), Proteus (Kevin MacTaggert).

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