Robots!
Originally Published September 1968
Bikinis!
This guy!
Jealousy!
New job!
Robot burglary!
Robot hands!
Robot belly!
Underground lair!
Recycling!
Computo!
Quasimodo!
Quasi...modo?
End!
Further Thoughts:
As you might imagine from my brisk rundown of this issue, I didn't think much of it. There was potential here - yes, the Robots (or "Cybertrons") of the Hive are the about-twentieth brand of robot the X-Men have encountered in 48 issues, but at least they are established as having individual specialties... and what specialties they are! I'll be pining for a return of blimp-robot for years to come, I kid you not. There's also some kind of weird hierarchy under Computo which might have borne examination. We don't really get enough time for it to mean anything, just a quick bust-em-up fracas... we never even get a good look at Computo before he is unmasked, he just seems to be a disembodied voice, which makes the big reveal a little flat... and confusing to say the least.
The problem is maybe that with only 15 pages of story time (we're still seeing those Origins backup stories for some time to come) we don't have much time to establish both the Hive's "deal" and Scott and Jean's new status quo.
As to that... it's all well and good that you're establishing what these two are up to - Jean has a modeling job, Scott is working as a reporter for a radio station - but it becomes clear next issue that there was an abrupt change in direction and none of it will be followed up on anytime soon. Spoiler: this means we never do get to meet Metoxo the Lava Man. Our loss... surely his battle with Iceman would be one for the ages.
There was another Marvel superhero around this time with a dayjob as a journalist who would up with a redheaded model girlfriend, and I think it worked better for him.
Scripter Drake takes another shot at those Kids and their Youth Culture, having Cyclops scoff about wasting energy broadcasting psychedelic pop music. Legendary Future X-Men artist John Byrne would later claim that in the 60's Cyclops was the "cool" X-Man. Yuck.
When I was young, Cyclops WAS the cool X-Man! See how much damage can be done by a character being poorly handled!— John Byrne Says... (@JohnByrneSays) January 10, 2018
Having recapped nearly fifty of these dang comics, I feel comfortable saying that Cyclops has been a giant stick-in-the-mud since Day One. Literally every X-Man is cooler than him, including the Professor, and he's dead.
If you're wondering what the deal is with Quasimodo - and why he is the leader of a Robot Cult - I should point out he is not intended to be the actual Hunchback of Notre Dame written about in Victor Hugo's novel, but - according to Wikipedia - an artificial creation with organic components who took that name due to his resemblance to the famed fictional bell-ringer. I know it's confusing because we established not that long ago that Frankenstein's Monster is real in X-Men comics. But as we know, it turns out he is actually a robot made by space aliens - so he's real in the sense that Zangief is real, but this Quasimodo is really just a robot cosplayer. The Merlin that the X-Men have encountered twice, meanwhile, is the actual Merlin.
It's a testament to the intricacy and scope of the now-flourishing Marvel Universe at this time that we were expected to get all this without more than a footnote from Stan Lee saying "Remember him from some other comic?" for explanation. This is a lot easier to do when you're only publishing a dozen or so titles every month, rather than the slate of 60-or-so they do these days.
I should end by saying, and I think I have established a track record of this, I actually enjoy random kooky villains of the week, if the story is done well, so this is just a missed opportunity as far as I'm concerned. This issue was one of the least substantial nothing-est outings we've had yet.
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