UNCANNY X-MEN #56: What Is... THE POWER?

The X-Men find out all about THE POWER, whether they want to or not.

Originally Published May 1969 

The X-Men are still in Egypt, with the Living Pharaoh, who will not stop calling everyone "infidels" and going on about power - both in the general sense, and in terms of the specific THE POWER.

Scott's brother Alex, as you can see, is still flummoxed by finding out that he is a mutant with zappy-hand powers. I really like this, because even though we could have safely assumed Alex would turn out to be a mutant, the way it is played, his surprise and uncertainty about it rings true, and plays much more deeply than it would have if his response was simply "Cool, I have powers now, let's kick butt!"

Don't get me wrong, there are butt-kickings to be handed out but in due time.

Pharaoh summons his goons once more and considering this is the third X-Men vs. Pharaoh Guys fight in as many issues it is an excellent, thrilling fight scene. Pharaoh manages to slip away with Alex in tow, still having a secret and undoubtedly nefarious fate in mind for the young blond Summers.

With Alex trapped in a Michael Jackson-style hypobaric chamber, he decides it is time for him to explain all about THE POWER. You see, The Living Pharaoh is not actually a king of Ancient Egypt, but an archaeologist (with that complexion? You don't say...) who also happens to be a mutant. His power (specifically, THE POWER) is linked to ambient cosmic rays, which his absorbs, and then he can do things with it. However, it has come to his attention that Alex, too, has, THE POWER, and that as he began to sponge up that cosmic goodness, it started to rob TLP of his THE POWER.

So it would seem that only one of them can wield THE POWER at any time, at least to its fullest extent, and Pharaoh deems Alex unworthy of being the one. so his device will drain all the cosmic fuel from Alex and transfer it to the Pharaoh, enabling him to, well, do this:

Which leads to this:

Which I think is an outcome that was not exactly expected, but can't be considered surprising either.

I'm not entirely sure what the Living erstwhile-Pharaoh-now-Monolith is planning to do as a forty-foot-tall colossus of destruction in the long-term but in the immediate present he goes on a rampage and it is pretty amazing.

It is made abundantly clear that the regular-sized X-Men don't really have a hope of defeating this guy, and Alex is fighting for his life in a plexi-glass sarcophagus.

In the nick of time, he manages to access his remaining supply of THE POWER, draining Monolith of his THE POWER, causing him to shrink and collapse. It's a bittersweet victory, however, because now Alex is the sole possessor of THE POWER and it is doubtful whether he will be able to control it.

See?

Further Thoughts:

Wow, our favourite mutant-powered teens are looking a little different this month, wouldn't you say?

Let's not bury the lede any further here: Neal Adams is awesome.

Adams had been a mainstay at DC Comics, but was not yet a superstar for his work on series like Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow.

The actual script and story are not that far out of line with what Roy Thomas or Arnold Drake had been providing in the series' history, but Adams' particular storytelling philosophy enhances it to a futuristic degree. I have no doubt that Don Heck and/or Werner Roth could have put together a capable conclusion to this story, but with Adams drawing, everything is better: the action is intense, the emotions are deep, the danger is huge.

I mean, it's Neal Adams - there's a reason he got a Very Special Credit at the beginning of this issue, and he earns it. There's the trippy, slanty layouts and other experimental flourishes, of course, but just looking at the characters under his pencil imbues them with such a deeper life than they've ever had before. The colours and inks are deftly on point as well.

It might be hyperbole to say that Neal Adams is the stealth best artist to ever draw the X-Men, and controversial to say the least considering who else draws the series later... but can you go too far in praising an all-time great like Adams?

It often seems to be the case that the final part of these multi-issue stories fail to stick the landing, and you can check the archives to see what I mean, but not only do I have no qualms about this particular finale, it's the best part of a very good story. The whole arc had been teasing the connection between Pharaoh and Alex, which led to a great payoff. The issue had a number of great smaller beats to break up the action scenes, including the individual ways the X-Men were in peril and the search for where Pharaoh had taken Alex. Nothing is lingered on too long, but it also isn't rushed through to produce a feeling of chaos.

Plus, I feel like more stories could stand to end with the villain getting the Rita Repulsa treatment.

I also have to give credit to the creators for their work on The Living Pharaoh... he could easily have been a corny one-note gimmick bad guy like the Locust or Merlin, but the creators manage to imbue his story with a surprising amount of weight and dramatic tension the whole way through.

One remarkable thing about this story is, even though the villain is defeated, it still ends on a cliffhanger with Alex's powers, which is an incredible storytelling trick to pull off. What will happen to Alex? Who will the X-Men fight next? How could you not be excited to find out?