In Battle Joined!

This story continues from X-Men #45…

Now

The Avengers have arrived at Magneto’s island to convince Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch to return to the ranks of the Avengers.[1] They find Quicksilver knocked out on the floor with Cyclops of the X-Men standing over him.

The Avengers ambush the leader of the X-Men who has to fend them off alone. As Cyclops uses his optic blast to keep the Avengers at bay he wonders how they got here and why they are attacking him…

Earlier

Having escaped Magneto’s fortress, the Angel decided to enlist the aid of the Avengers to help his fellow X-Men.[2] However, when he arrives on the room of Avengers Mansion he sets off an alarm and is captured. This sets off the alarm and when Goliath and the Black Panther go and check who they caught. Freeing the Angel, they learn how the X-Men were captured while battling the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Since the Avengers are seeking to return Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch to their ranks, they are very interested in assisting.

They all board an aero-car and fly to Magneto’s island fortress. It’s here that the Avengers become aware of a signal coming from inside their ship. The Wasp then finds a bug planted on one of Angel’s wings. Accusing the winged mutant for being in league with Magneto and trying to lure them into a trap, the Avengers quickly overpower him and tie him up. With the element of surprise out of their hands, the Avengers scale up the side of the mountain. It’s here that one of Hawkeye's spy arrows allowed them to see Quicksilver in a conversation with Cyclops, and this lead to the clash between the Avengers and Cyclops.

Now

This is all going according to Magneto’s plans. He was the one who planted the bug onto Angel and explains to the Toad that the Avengers discovery of the device and battle with Cyclops is all part of his scheme. Magneto looks forward to watching the Avengers and X-Men destroy each other. While he explains this, he verbally and physically abuses the Toad, who cowers toward the Scarlet Witch for protection. However, there is little that Wanda can do without her hex powers.[3]

Turning his attentions back to the Avengers, they have just defeated Cyclops in battle and are now fighting among each other. Both Hawkeye and the Black Panther trade blows with Goliath until the fight is broken up by the Wasp, who reminds them that they have bigger problems, namely Magneto. Seeing that the Avengers are at each others throats Magneto sees this as the perfect opportunity. Earlier, when the X-Men were captured, Magneto exposed them to a mind control device that now allows Magneto to manipulate their minds so they see the Avengers as their foes.

By this time, Cyclops has been found by Marvel Girl, Iceman, and the Beast. Just as Cyclops suggests they join forces with the Avengers they are suddenly bombarded by Magneto’s mind control device. They then find the Avengers and starts attacking them. While the Beast fight the Black Panther, Cyclops handles Goliath, Hawkeye fights Iceman, and the Wasp squares off against Marvel Girl. Since they are being mentally controlled by Magneto, the X-Men are not in fighting form and soon each one falls at before their opponents.

Magneto realizes that this happened because his mental control over the X-Men was somehow cancelled out. This was caused by the Angel, who has been free all this time. That’s when the Avengers come crashing into Magneto’s control room. Goliath explains that they only pretended to turn on Angel and later fighting among themselves in order to put the master of magnetism into a sense of false security. Fending off the X-Men, Magneto violently orders the Toad to set the part of the base with the Avengers and the X-Men to self-destruct and prep and escape ship. Having had enough for Magneto’s abuse, Toad cranks up the power supply so it will destroy the entire island. He then helps the Scarlet Witch get Quicksilver aboard a ship. As they take off, Magneto tries to climb aboard. However, the Toad kicks him loose. Magneto tries to use his magnetic power to cling onto the ship, but discovers that this was a craft that he constructed of non-metals.

As Magneto falls back into his fortress, the Avengers and the X-Men retreat in the aero-car just moments before the entire island explodes. Among the wreckage is Magneto’s helmet.[4]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Goliath, Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Panther), X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, Iceman), Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Magneto, Toad, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch)

Continuity Notes

1. Pietro and Wanda were manipulated into rejoining the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants by Magneto in Avengers #49. They were founding members of the group back in X-Men #4, but later quit in issue #11 of that series and joined the Avengers in Avengers #16.

2. Angel fled Magneto’s island in X-Men #44.

3. Wanda allegedly lost her powers after a bullet creased her skull in Avengers #49. Her powers won’t be restored until Avengers #75-76. However, it is later revealed in Avengers #185-187, that this was the work of the demon Chthon who is attempting to lure Wanda bake to Transia and Mount Wundagore so he can take over her body.

4. This final scene suggests that Magneto died in the blast. However, he survived the explosion and will be seen again in X-Men #62-63.

Topical References

• Dated pop-culture references: Strawberry Alarm Clock