Sentinels and Lang

X-Men #98

Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Dave Cockrum
Colorist: Janice Cohen
Inker: Sam Grainger
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Published by Marvel Comics, 1976.

Merry Christmas, X-Men…The Sentinels Have Returned!

It all starts innocently enough with the wonders of Christmas-time and a White Christmas in New York, but of course, with the X-Men, you know that can’t last long.

Actually, it seems to be a nice break for the team, having fought so many battles recently…I mean, Charles Xavier is on vacation, why can’t the rest of the team get a break? But of course, things go sideways when the Sentinels show up. And what I think is cool about this encounter is that it’s the first Sentinel experience for some of the new members of the team.

In any case, as usual with the giant robots, there’s a lot of action in this issue. Cyclops and Jean take out one of the Sentinels, but it’s partner kidnaps Jean leaving Scott to be rescued by Storm. And while the robots were designed to take on the original X-Men, they are fighting the new members and are not fairing too well.

But this is more than just a simple attack on New York as we next see that the Sentinels attack and capture Xavier who was on a boat off the Bahamas.

In the end, it turns out this is a plan laid out by Dr. Steven Lang. who we saw a couple of issues ago. And it appears Lang is known to the X-Men = I’m gonna have to find out a bit more about him since it seems he’s some kind of Nazi who has no problem slapping a woman.

In the end, the team has been split up…Wolverine, Jean, and Banshee are with Lang and Scott, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Moira are back at the school. I’m not sure where Xavier is, but as Logan, Banshee, and Marvel Girl make their escape from Lang, they find out they’re in space.

It’s a pretty good issue with lots of action, character development, and it sets the stage for an ongoing story with Steven Lang and the Sentinels. I certainly enjoyed it. Oh yeah, and it had a cameo by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Verdict

This was a great issue and a good starting point for anyone interested in the early X-Men. I easily rate this a Read.

This comic can be found on Comixology, on Marvel Unlimited, or at your local comic book shop.

Comic Corner | Reading Recommendation of X-Men #98