BRONZE AGE MINUTE: X-Men #106

Marvel; August 1977
Cover by Dave Cockrum

Title: “Dark Shroud of the Past!”
Synopsis: Trapped in a fever dream, Professor X relives a previous battle between new X-Men and old.

Writers: Chris Claremont and Bill Mantlo
Penciler: Bob Brown and Dave Cockrum
Inker: Tom Sutton

Review: Oh, no, it’s the foe few heroes can overcome: The Dreaded Deadline Doom! After several months of building to the X-Men’s first encounter with the Shi’ar, the big payoff moment is nowhere to be seen. Instead, we have a flashback story from a different creative team. Regular writer Chris Claremont takes a stab at weaving this inventory tale into his current saga, but the seams are jagged at best. And the dramatic tension of this new vs. old team showdown is further undermined by similar events in X-Men #100. Add some pedestrian art and this issue is a dud.

Grade: C

Second opinion: “An inventory story… which progresses the storyline not one bit.” – Jason Powell, “The Best There Is at What He Does: Examining Chris Claremont’s X-Men,” 2016. “Best if politely endured and then forgotten.” – Jim Johnson, The Comics Buyer’s Guide to the X-Men, Comics Buyer’s Guide Presents (2003)

Cool factor: Umm…
Not-so-cool factor: Fill-in issues rarely bring the cool factor.

Notable: According to Chris Claremont on the “X-Mail” letters page, this fill-in issue was caused, in part, by Dave Cockrum’s desire to be involved with John Carter, Warlord of Mars #1.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 35¢ variant of this issue. According to MyComicShop.com, there is also a Mark Jewelers variant.

Character quotable: “The sanctity of my mind is very precious to me.” – Professor X, not known for feeling the same way about others

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