The Soviets Strike Back!

Magneto has just recovered an important device from the remains of Asteroid M. However, his activities have gathered the attention of the Avengers and the Soviet Super-Soldiers, who both want to bring Magneto to trail for his past terrorist activities.[1]

After escaping capture from the Avengers, the X-Men are now leaving Southeast Asia in their Blackbird jet. As they leave, they are unaware that one of their tail fins has been damaged. This was caused by the Titanium Man who — along with his fellow Soviet Super-Soldiers — have been incapacitated by the Avengers. Although his armor has been pinned down by Darkstar’s dark matter powers, the Gremlin is able to escape his Titanium Man suit and snap Darkstar out of the trance put on her by the Avengers’ Doctor Druid. Finally free, the Crimson Dynamo insists that they continue pursuing Magneto to bring him to justice for his crimes against Russia. However, he earns the ire of his teammates when a slip of the tongue reveals that he is prejudiced against mutants. He deflects from this revelation by reminding the other Soviet Super-Soldiers how Magneto has killed many of their countrymen.

Meanwhile, back aboard the Blackbird, Magneto has hidden circuits recovered from his Astroid in his helmet. He has kept this a secret from his fellow X-Men as he has to experiment on them before he can tell them what he has. Little does he know that his mind is being read by Doctor Druid, who has stowed away onto the X-Men’s plane and has been using his mental powers to cloud his presence from their vision. Druid finds Magneto’s mind powerful and hopes that he can divine the truth before the mutants can see through his illusions. He tries to send out a telepathic summons to the other Avengers who are trying to figure out where the X-Men could have gone. However, doing so gives him away and the X-Men quickly restrain him. In order to learn how much Druid knows, Rogue kisses him on the forehead and absorbs his mind and powers. She confirms that Doctor Druid wasn't able to give away their location. That’s when the damage to the Blackbird becomes extreme enough that Storm can no longer keep it in the air. However, rather than initiating an emergency landing in the ocean below, Magneto uses his power to keep them afloat until they can safely land the plane. Wolverine knows just the place and tells them to head southwest.

The Avengers, meanwhile, are trying to pick up the X-Men’s trail. A few hours into their search, they are contacted by Doctor Druid who informs them that the X-Men dumped him off somewhere in Singapore. Heading there, they quickly find the Blackbird, which had been stashed away at an air freight depot. Believing the outlaw mutants to still be in the country, the Avengers spread out to try and find them. Little do they know that the Soviet Super-Soldiers have hacked into their radio signal and are heading their way to hunt for Magneto themselves.

Ultimately, it is Vanguard of the Soviets who gets the first lead, recognizing Havok wandering around even though he is out of costume. Before he can close in on the lone X-Man, he is ambushed by Wolverine. Although Vanguar’s force field powers can protect him from the feral mutant’s adamantium claws, he falls victim when Rogue sneaks up behind him and kisses him, stealing his powers and knocking him out. The X-Men quickly reunite and head to the nearest port where Wolverine has arranged for them to leave the country aboard a Dutch freighter. While the X-Men make plans to lay low until the heat dies down, Magneto sits in his bunk and thinks over what he has. Hidden in his old helmet are circuits that can be assembled into a powerful mind altering device. He had originally created them as a means of enslaving the human race. Now that he has reformed, Magneto believes he can use the weapon to purge humanity’s of its prejudice toward mutants and finds himself struggling over the morality of making such a decision.

His thoughts are interrupted by Storm who has come to confront Magneto over the secret he is keeping from the rest of the team. Before he can explain himself, the freighter is attacked by the Soviet Super-Soldiers. The Avengers also arrive on the scene shortly thereafter. In the ensuing battle, the Crimson Dynamo’s desire to nail Magneto leads to some reckless behavior and he punches a hole in the hull of the ship and it begins taking on water. Everyone has to drop pursuing Magneto to save the crew of the ship and the other Soviet Super-Soldiers. While this rescue effort is going on, Magneto manages to escape. After everyone is saved, the Soviets insist on taking the Dynamo back to Russia to face punishment for his act of damage.

Miles away, Magneto watches from another ship and learns from the captain that the Avengers saved the crew of the sinking vessel. He is no heading back for Singapore to complete his unfinished business.

Recurring Characters

X-Men (Storm, Wolverine, Magneto, Rogue, Dazzler, Havok), Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Black Knight, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Doctor Druid), Soviet Super-Soldiers (Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, Darkstar, Vangard, Ursa Major)

Continuity Notes

1. Magneto’s situation here is rather complicated. The details:

   • The Russian government want to execute Magneto for sinking a Russian nuclear submarine and creating a volcano in the middle of a populated city, as seen in Uncanny X-Men #150.

   • The Avengers want him after he skipped out on his trail before the World Court in Uncanny X-Men #200. That was also the same issue where Maggie reformed and joined the X-Men at the behest of Professor X. This will remain the status quo until issue #253.

   • Asteroid M was destroyed in New Mutants #21. Its remains fell to Earth in X-Men vs. the Avengers #1. The device Magneto sought was recovered last issue.

Topical References

• Russia is referred to the Soviet Union and their intelligence service the KGB among other Cold War era anachronisms. These should all be considered topical references as the USSR dissolved in 1991.

• The X-Men’s jet is identified as a SR-71 Blackbird. This should be considered topical as the SR-71 was retired from use in 1998.

• In this story the country of Cambodia is referred to as Kampuchea. This isn’t necessarily a topical reference as that is the name in which the country is referred to in eastern societies. Cambodia is the commonly used name in the west.