UNCANNY X-MEN #111: Mindgames!

The X-Men have run away and joined the circus, and Beast intends to find out why.

Originally Published June 1978

We begin with Beast in the always-fashionable Fedora-and-trenchcoat film noir disguise, blending in with the crowd at a circus. For our benefit, he reflects on the circumstances that brought him here: seems he stopped by the X-Mansion only to find it deserted. A little bit of sleuthing (and the mutant-detecting computer Cerebro) have brought him to this circus, but he's really not sure what he's looking for, having not really gotten to know the new X-Men (he's been busy Avengering.)

So while there does happen to be a short hairy guy "Manbeast of he Yukon" matching the description of Wolverine, and a white-haired African woman like Storm, and a strongman made of metal like Colossus, Beast does not feel completely sure he's come to the right place. Even seeing Banshee - a man he's met numerous times - working as the barker out front isn't quite definitive enough.

Beast isn't convinced until he sees a redheaded acrobat float safely down from her trapeze as if by telekinesis. Only then does he deduce that this is the very same Marvel Girl he has known for many years. Hank decides to pay his old friend a visit but finds something is... amiss.

Yeah, Jean Grey is now a tough-talkin' broad from the wrong side of the tracks, see? She smokes cigarettes and has a mole, see? A real Mae West type, see?

This new persona starts to make Beast think this is not Jean after all until a circus hand walks in and is definitely Cyclops, sporting ruby-quartz shades and all. Cy-carny picks a fight with Beast to get him to leave, but Hank decks his brainwashed buddy. "Slim" sounds the rube alarm, so Beast must fend off all sorts of aggravated circus performers.



Eventually thanks to the brainwashed Colossus, Beast is simply too outnumbered. They bring him before "the boss", who happens to be...

Mesmero, hanging around in his purple trunks, ready to exact his revenge! Look, if I got fooled into thinking that Magneto robot was the real deal, I'd be steamed about it too, but that's not the X-Men's fault. Still, Mesmero has enacted the ultimate humiliation on the X-Men by hypnotizing them and forcing them to perform for the masses. And sure, only two of these X-Men are the ones who actually thwarted him before but it's the principle of the thing!

While Mesmero prepares to enthrall Beast (imagine the act you could put together with him and Nightcrawler!) Wolverine begins to snap out of it. Apparently having hyper-keen animalistic senses makes him immune to hypnotism. Or maybe just being the hotheaded loner outsider badass with a killer instinct does.

Wolverine finds his way to Jean's tent. Slim tries to give him the "bum's rush" like he did to Beast, and it goes roughly as well.

Considering how many times he's done that to you, I'd say it's fair.

Logan literally smacks some sense into Jean (a la Cher) until her true identity and powers return. She uses them to free her teammates, who take out their frustrations on the hapless carny crew, fighting their way to Mesmero's coach.

When they arrive, it seems like the bad guy is ready for a fight, but instead he makes like Ric Flair and flops on his face, revealing that while this was Mesmero's revenge plot, it has been hijacked. Any guesses by whom?

Magneto never could resist a good old fashioned last-page twist reveal.

That's right, Magneto is back to finish the fight he technically won several weeks ago.

To be continued!

Further Thoughts:

Anyway, hope you like mind control stories because it will be happening to the X-Men on a yearly basis from now on.

As long as you don't really need to see the X-Men in action, this was mostly a fine issue; it's good to see the X-Men get back to their circus freak-punching roots, and the return of Beast for a brief stint is very welcome.

Aside from the grossness of Wolverine wantonly assaulting Jean Grey in hopes she'll snap out of her trance, there's one majorly disturbing moment in this story that I just have to address. Hypno-Jean repeatedly mentions that she has "a date" with the Boss - ie Mesmero, the guy hypnotizing her and controlling her every move. Unless you happen to be the current Premier of Ontario you probably already know that consent is not possible under those circumstances.

Since we are here reading this in 2018, I have to call it out as being over the line from "Mesmero is a bad guy and that's a bad guy thing to do" to "Writer Chris Claremont put this gross thing in there." It should be degrading enough to be forcing the X-Men to perform as circus-slaves without bringing sexual assault into it as a throwaway.

Oh, and as the newly-freed X-Men fight their way to freedom they wonder if they would feel bad if they happened to kill any of the circus henchmen for being complicit in Mesmero's scheme. That seems... a bit extreme.