The Case of the Missing Mutants

In Defenders #124, Beast reminded Iceman an an early plot orchestrated by the Secret Empire.

Beast: Or have you forgotten how the Empire kidnapped you, me, and half the mutants in the Western Hemisphere a few years back--and tried to tap our X-energies for their own ever-so nasty ends?

Beast wasn't exaggerating. After the Irish mutant Banshee feared that he might be the next one abducted (Captain America #172), Professor X, Cyclops and Marvel Girl of the X-Men enlisted the help of Captain America and Falcon to rescue the following mutants from the clutches of the Secret Empire:

Angel Beast Blob Havok Iceman Mastermind Mesmero Unus Lorna Dane (not yet Polaris)

Concluding in Captain America #175 (April 1974), the suspenseful storyline explained the X-Men's absence at a time when their own title published only reprints. The number of known mutants from the Eastern and Western Hemispheres would increase drastically in the year ahead, with the return of all-new X-Men stories in their series.

These images come from Captain America #172 (above) and #175 (below).

X-Men Impostors

Before Blob joined numerous supervillains in pretending to be Defenders, he pulled off a similar stunt in X-Men #20 (reprinted in #71). During that earlier crime spree, Blob and fellow evil mutant Unus disguised themselves in costumes matching those of the original X-Men. The ruse exacerbated an undercurrent that followed the X-Men and would carry through to the New Defenders. To much of the general public, all mutants were a menace, with little distinction made between mutant heroes and mutant villains. X-Men #20 also provided an important piece of background about Professor X, telling how he had lost the use of his legs when facing an evil extraterrestrial called Lucifer.

As a sign of their achievements, the original X-Men began wearing individualized costumes in #39. The original costume style returned as a student uniform when Kitty Pryde joined the X-Men in #139; the New Mutants would would wear a variation of this original uniform as well.

Metal Men

Given that Luke Cage had steel-hard skin and became crime-fighting partners with Danny Rand, the following letter from Power Man & Iron Fist #88 seemed inevitable.

Dear Denny,

A battle I would love to see is Power Man and Iron Fist against Magneto. Since Luke's skin must have indeed taken on the properties of steel and Danny's "iron fist" may have taken on the properties of iron, both would be susceptible to Magneto's mutant ability.

By the way, Power Man must be a good teacher. He taught Danny to drive in only two days.

John DiMaio
Mineola, NY 11501

Two issues later, the duo squared off against Unus the Untouchable, who had worked with the master of magnetism as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Unus first appeared in X-Men #8.

Coming of Age

The end of Defenders #16 left five members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants transformed into infants. Yet when the evil mutant Blob next faced the Defenders (#63), he was an adult again. What happened to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the time in between?

Following his transformation into an infant, Magneto went in captivity at the mutant-research facility on Muir Island, off the coast of Scotland. When the villain Eric the Red used an energy ray to restore him to adulthood, the master of magnetism broke free (X-Men #104).

Held inside a neighboring cell, other members of the Brotherhood inadvertently returned to adulthood as well. But they did not rejoin Magneto. Instead, Blob, Lorelei, and Unus teamed up with Vanisher, who concocted a plot to keep them free (Champions #17).

Chased by a trio of mutant-hunting Sentinels (secretly controlled by Vanisher), the escaped members of the Brotherhood sought refuge in headquarters of the Champions. Since Angel and Iceman of the original X-Men were members of the Los Angeles super-team, Vanisher gambled that the Champions would sympathize with their fellow mutants and agree to harbor them.

The first part of the plan paid off beautifully, as Black Widow, Hercules, Ghost Rider, Angel, Iceman, and Darkstar trounced the Sentinel robots. But instead of taking in the evil mutants, the Champions captured the band of criminals.

Mastermind, a founding member of the Brotherhood who too became an infant in Defenders #16, did not regroup with his teammates in Champions #17. But the master of illusions must have returned to his true age with the others, as he would become the lynchpin in the Dark Phoenix saga in the pages of the X-Men.

Champions. Vol. 1. No. 17. January 1978. Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska (artist), John Byrne (embellisher), John Costanza (letterer), Phil Rachelson (colorist), Archie Goodwin (editor). This was the last issue of the Champions series.

The Ultimate Mutant

With the original X-Men on assignment (Marvel Team-Up #23), Professor Xavier turned to the Defenders for help. The result was one of the most important tales in mutant history (Defenders #15-16). The Defenders accompanied Professor X to the technologically equipped caves that Magneto and his latest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were using as a base. The battle that transpired emphasized the strengths and weaknesses of each character.

• After learning that Mastermind's monsters weren't real, Dr. Strange still responded defensively to the convincing illusions, creating mystic mirror-images of himself to avoid getting hit.
• When punching alone didn't harm the Blob, Hulk was smart enough to uproot his grounded foe.
• Valkyrie's mystical blade could not penetrate the force field surrounding Unus the Untouchable, but she easily knocked Unus backward when he let down his guard.
• Nighthawk and Professor X were immobilized by the siren song of Lorelei, a woman Magneto had technologically mutated. But Xavier had enough willpower to reach over and activate Nighthawk's new jetpack, propelling Nighthawk into Lorelei.

The heroes might have won, were it not for Magneto's latest creation, Alpha the Ultimate Mutant. The brutish being withstood all attacks, then teleported the evil mutants away. Since Magneto had already sealed off the exits, Hulk tunneled a new way out. The escaped heroes soon found Magneto and company threatening the United Nations.

Naïvely obeying Magneto's commands, Alpha levitated the U.N. building into the sky while Magneto proclaimed that it was his mutant birthright to rule humanity. When the heroes approached, Alpha used his vast power to freeze the Hulk in place, spin Nighthawk in a whirlwind until he blacked out, and turn Valkyrie's legs to putty. As Dr. Strange readied to cast a spell, Professor X intervened. Instead of fighting, Xaviar challenged Alpha to use his growing intellect to discern if Magneto was truthful or deceptive.

After contemplating the situation, Alpha set the U.N. building back in place and announced that he would leave Earth while his abilities continued to evolve. Before flying into space, Alpha punished the evil mutants by turning them into infants. The villains eventually recovered, but the event became a turning point in X-Men continuity. Magneto's rebirth accounted for his increased stamina and progressively sympathetic disposition in later years, and even came up during his landmark trial in Uncanny X-Men #200.

In Defenders #15, Professor Xavier harnessed mental energy from the Defenders to break through an electrical barrier in Magneto's lair. This panel noted Hulk's reduced intellect while asserting his desire to work with the team. Lein Wein wrote #15-16. Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson illustrated the two-part tale.