Will the X-Men accept Count Nefaria's offer to help ransom the city of Washington D.C.?
Edited in Ecstasy by: Stan Lee
Written in Rapture by: Roy Thomas
Drawn in Delight by: Werner Roth
Delineated in Depth by: Dick Ayers
Lettered in a Lawn Chair by: Artie Simek
Originally Published August 1966
So, here's the haps.
As per usual, the X-Men have been captured. The Legion of Mid-Grade Villains (Plantman, Scarecrow, Porcupine, Eel and Unicorn) have delivered them to Count Nefaria, who is hunkered down outside Washington, D.C. He reveals that, with the X-Men's help, he plans to ransom the city. And, if you're asking, "Is this the kind of ransom that involves encasing the city in a giant translucent dome a la The Simpsons Movie," then my answer for you is... yes!
Nefaria's plan is to coerce the X-Men into working as his go-between with the city officials who will provide him his one hundred million dollars (doctorevil.gif). I guess he figures that while the X-Men enjoy a certain closeness with the military - and perhaps some access? - they are also suspicious characters in the eye of the public, so going rogue would not be that big of a stretch.
Involving both the technology of erecting a giant suffocating dome and a series of holograms, as well as two distinct quintets of superpowered representatives,it is not a plan that could be described as "beautiful in its simplicity."
But, let's say for the sake of argument that teaming with the X-Men is somehow better than using the supervillains he has already hired, who have proven themselves effective, if not entirely trustworthy.
Using his holographic X-Men, Nefaria issues his demands. The real X-Men escape and decide to "play along," while back in New York, Professor X is hard at work on the device that will Definitely Come In Handy Later.
The X-Men retrieve the bounty on Nefaria's behalf. What ensues is actually a pretty interesting game of hot potato between the X-Men, the Turncoat Supervillains who are in business for themselves, and the Military.
Then the story takes a particularly weird turn as a mysterious figure enters the fray and decides to commandeer Nefaria's complicated machines while he looks helplessly on.
Here's a hint, his name rhymes with Compressor Savior.
In a pretty decent fair-play twist, Xavier goes on to explain that he used Nefaria's hologram device to make him think he had the briefcase, when in fact he doesn't. Hoisted by his own petard.
So, the bad guy is thwarted and presumably the X-Men's reputations are saved somehow. But there's one final twist: Professor X has brought a letter for Jean Grey from her parents, saying that since she has actually graduated from Xavier's school, they feel she has to actually - gasp - transfer to another college!
Further Thoughts:
In the past I have been derisive of grandiose, seemingly incomprehensible plans from the villains, whether by Lucifer or Magneto. But I have nothing but appreciation for the sheer scope of Nefaria's scheme. And sure, I referenced Austin Powers when it comes to Nefaria's dollar-figure appraisal of Washington D.C.'s market value, which (inflation aside) is surely far below the overhead costs of his dome-creating and hologram-generating technology, to say nothing of the payoff to his hired help. But he does take care to note that this is only seed money for future crimes yet-to-be executed. Which makes me like the guy even more, because all this was clearly just phase 1 of an undeniably bananas series of escalating heists.
I love the aspect of cartoon villainy where it doesn't even seem like the villain is in it for the money, but for the thrill and the outlet for their insane ambition. Moneymaking opportunities come and go, but opportunities to ransom an entire city within a snowglobe? That not really about the pricetag. So in that respect, I admire this two-parter a lot more than others might.
I do have my doubts about Professor Xavier's walking apparatus, because I wonder if comics should ever deal with providing easily-accessed comic book solutions to real-world afflictions like paralysis. It takes some of the weight out of it and eliminates representation. The device is used only a handful of times afterward before the creators realize that its better if Professor X just doesn't walk.
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