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The X-Men #130

Feb 1980
Chris Claremont, John Byrne

The X-Men #130 cover

Story Name:

Dazzler


Synopsis

The X-Men #130 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 5 stars

After Cerebro detected two new mutants last issue, half the team went to Chicago leaving the rest to check out the New York-based mutant. The trio of Cyclops, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler pull up outside a shady disco club on Delano Street, in the heart of one of lower Manhattan’s worse neighborhoods. Unbeknownst to them, their every move is being watched by the Hellfire Club, with detailed intel on their powers and weaknesses. Nightcrawler waits outside to keep watch while Cyclops and Phoenix head into the club, each scanning for the new mutant, Phoenix with her telepathy and Cyclops with the micro-Cerebro built into his watch. We then switch locations to fifth avenue, and the headquarters of the Hellfire Club. On the surface, they’re a distinguished gentlemen’s club, with a secret inner circle who use the Club as a means of gaining power, led by Sebastian Shaw. Shaw is notified of the X-Men’s current whereabouts, while Jason Wyngarde warns not to underestimate them. He then heads out to continue his mission of enthralling Jean Grey in his own unique way.

Shaw then receives a video call from Chicago, where Emma Frost, the White Queen, shows off her fruitful side of their mission. She has Professor X under sedation, while Colossus, Wolverine, and Storm are each trapped in cages that nullify their powers and dull their minds. Unknown to Emma, she has another guest, as Kitty Pryde phases through the wall behind some cover to survey the situation. Wanting to help in any way she can, Kitty sneaks up to the cage holding Storm and makes her presence known. Storm gives Kitty a tag from her uniform that the Hellfire Club missed when searching her and tells Kitty to call the number on it to reach the other X-Men for help. Kitty is spotted by the guards and runs, diving through the floor to the level below, before Emma Frost orders the entire complex be shut down to find her.

Back at the disco club, Jean has no luck finding the new mutant, when she is suddenly approached by Jason Wyngarde once more, much to her surprise! No sooner does this happen, then she experiences what she believes to be another time-shift, as she finds herself 200 years in the past, about to marry a man that looks just like Wyngarde! The two are wed and Wyngarde reveals “Lady Jean Grey” as the Hellfire Club’s new Black Queen, as the two kiss in a passionate embrace! Jean suddenly snaps out of it to find herself in the present kissing this Wyngarde, much to Scott’s confusion! Before Jean can even begin to explain, as she has no idea what’s been happening either, the announcer introduces the start of the main show and presents the star of the evening, Dazzler! She begins her performance, when Cyclops’ micro-Cerebro goes off, signifying that Dazzler is indeed the mutant they’re looking for!

Meanwhile outside, a call comes in on the car phone and Nightcrawler answers, hearing Kitty panickedly tell him that the other X-Men have been captured and that she’s running for her life! Before he can get any more information, Nightcrawler is ambushed by one of the Hellfire Club’s armored henchmen, who is just as prepared for Nightcrawler as the Chicago group was for their targets. Two more crash through the ceiling of the club, equally prepared for Cyclops and Phoenix, with Cyclops even noting that their countermeasures are exactly like the ones used in the Danger Room! Dazzler helps out, blasting one of the henchmen, allowing Phoenix and Cyclops to turn the tides on their attackers. After Nightcrawler and the third henchmen come crashing through the roof as well, they finish off the last goon and Nightcrawler explains the situation going on in Chicago. They explain to Dazzler that she’s a mutant and she decides to stick with them for now as they head off to Chicago to rescue the other half of the team. As they speed down the street, they pass Jason Wyngarde on the corner. Cyclops notes his shadow thrown across the wall behind him but doesn’t register who he really is, and by the time he may later, it will already be too late! To be continued!


 

Review / Commentaries


The X-Men #130 Review by (August 28, 2024)

The Dark Phoenix Saga continues in tense and exciting fashion! After last issue’s trio of character introductions, this issue treats us to yet another with the debut of the Dazzler, the other of the two new mutants Cerebro detected last issue. Though this is her first official appearance, her creation is a bit more complex, as she was the joint creation of Marvel and a partnering music label that wanted to create a disco themed superhero. However, stuff like this takes awhile to come to fruition and by the time she finally appeared, disco was pretty much out of style. A little late to the party there. It also means Claremont and Byrne are not really her creators, as the idea of her was around earlier, with many others collaborating on her various elements.

While not quite as major of an introduction as Kitty Pryde or Emma Frost, that makes this issue no less classic, as Dazzler will go on to have her own surprisingly long-running series before returning to the pages of the X-Men. She also gets to help the X-Men right away, after they get ambushed much like the other half of the team did last issue. The Hellfire Club using their intel to throw the same things used in the Danger Room at the X-Men showcases their resourcefulness and paints them immediately as a group to be reckoned with. We also get the second bit of foreshadowing to the Club’s end goal, as the most recent of Jean’s hallucinations show her as the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, though the significance of this will become more apparent to both Jean and the audience a few issues from now. I love how tightly this story is woven, both internally and in the grand scheme of the series, with little bits here and there throughout the whole series up until now. This is considered one of the comic stories in one of the comic series for a reason.

Comments: First appearance of Dazzler. Part two of the Dark Phoenix Saga. First time Sebastian Shaw is fully seen.



> The X-Men comic book info and issue index

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Main/1st Story Full Credits

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



Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Colossus
Colossus

(Piotr Rasputin)
Cyclops
Cyclops

(Scott Summers)
Kitty Pryde
Kitty Pryde

(Kate Pryde)
Mastermind
Mastermind

(Jason Wyngarde)
Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler

(Kurt Wagner)
Phoenix
Phoenix

(Jean Grey)
Professor X
Professor X

(Charles Xavier)
Storm
Storm

(Ororo Munroe)
White Queen
White Queen

(Emma Frost)
Wolverine
Wolverine

(James Howlett)
Plus: Hellfire Club.

Thor

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