Significant issue with some obvious plot-holes
This is one of the most important issues in the entire series. The first death of Professor X, the first time Jean Grey uses telepathy and the opening of a period where the X-Men operate independently from their mentor. An bold new direction for a underperforming series. But there are enough plot-holes here to make the story less than enjoyable.
The good:
- The issue begins with a rather tense confrontation between Warren and Jean. Angel and Iceman have returned to the Mansion to seek her help. She has flatly refused to go. The Professor won't even see them. Warren accuses both psionics of abandoning Scott and Hank (who are fighting for their lives elsewhere) to their fate.
Jean warns her enraged teammate: "Don't push me too far, Warren ...". At that moment the Prof intervenes in her favor. He assures them all that Cyclops and the Beast can take care of themselves. He orders the two male X-Men to stay at the Mansion. Assigning Jean with the duty of guarding them.
Warren is still angry. Noting that the Prof is clearly hiding something. And that Jean supposedly loves Scott. But isn't lifting a finger to help him. Robert keeps his cool and tries to calm down his teammate.
Well, so much for the X-men as a "perfect team". There is a clear atmosphere of distrust here. Even resentment. Jean herself seems ready to let Warren have it. The tensions among the team are arguably more interesting than the Grotesk subplot.
- Cyclops and Beast hold their own in the Battle with Grotesk. He may be invulnerable, but he has to deal with attacks in two fronts. He eventually leaves. The two return to the Mansion. And its time for Scott and Jean to have their first real fight. Scott demands to see Xavier, "right now". He continues by proclaiming "Nobody says no to... Cyclops! Not you [Jean]... Not even the Professor!"
Jean naturally has had enough. Next thing he known, Mr. Summers is floating right below the ceiling. While , supposedly, holding back the other three X-Men. The artwork leaves it somewhat unclear if she is even paying attention to the other three. She merely explains that she has her orders. Which are to keep them all in the Mansion.
The tension continues its crescendo. For all of his bravado, Scott seems helpless. A pretty nice reminder that Jean is no pushover. There is an indication that Xavier has left on his own and doesn't want any X-Man to follow him. Arguably this is a spotlight issue for both psionics.
- Jean has established telepathic contact with the Prof. The rest of the X-Men are unable to listen anything. this is used as a first indication of Jean's new power. She is now both a telekinetic and a telepath.
A subtle enough clue that Jean is getting a power upgrade. One that makes her more useful in stories. Paving the way for many future storylines.
- In the rematch with Grotesk, Warren gets creative for a while. He is using "solar orbs" to shine concentrated sunlight right into Grotesk's sensitive eyes. He contemplates that the Prof uses solar energy for his experiments.
For once, the high-tech of this series makes sense. Solar energy is well-known as a renewable resource. The sight of Warren with light beams coming out of his hands is rather impressive. Though the image reminds me of Birdman, a 1967 Hanna-Barbera characters who can " shoot solar rays from his fists", so Thomas may be tipping his hand to Alex Toth here.
- With his dying breath, the Prof explains that he was already dying from a terminal disease. He was driving the X-Men hard in an attempt to have them ready to operate without him. That is what he had confided in Jean. He was keeping them back from fighting Grotesk to protect. Figuring that only his own life was worth risking.
The Prof dies in Warren's hands. With all the X-Men silently mourning. Iceman sheds a tear, the only tear for the dead man.
One of the most tragic moments in the series. Though his methods of keeping them safe almost tore the team apart. It is somewhat undone because the dying man has been retconned into the Changeling. But this still makes him the first X-Man to die.
According to a later interview of Roy Thomas: "Our original intention was that he [Xavier] would remain dead. I don't think we intended to bring him back". The death was obviously intended to shake the status quo of the series and Thomas vaguely recalled discussing the matter with Stan Lee. Bringing him back about 25 issues later and retconning the dead man as the Changheling attempting to redeem himself was a later idea. Which strangely fit some scenes in #40. Both Thomas and Neal Adams have claimed coming up with the later idea on their own.
The world's strongest telepath needs rubber masks to disguise himself. He can't just create illusions. Where's Mastermind when you need him? Then leads the enemy right to the device which can destroy the planet. He couldn't just lure him to another location or sent him on a wild goose chase. Then he arranges things to get himself stuck in a room with a Hulk-like character who hates humans in general. Setting the stage for a man-to-man fight. Quick, bet on either the 6 feet (1,82 meters) cripple or the 7 feet, 3 inches (2, 22 meters) berserker. Who do you think wins?
- Previous fights have already established that their typical powers are no match for Grotesk. So you would expect the X-Men to come up with a better strategy, creative uses of powers or technology. No, they don't. They keep using the same ineffectual methods. "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different result" is a well-known definition of insanity.
- The Oscillotron jams and Jean can not affect it with her telekinesis. So Charles and Jean combine their telepathy to "bombard" the device.
Telepathic bombardment of a machine? Doesn't really make sense.
- The Prof risks his life to deactivate the Oscillotron. Grotesk punches at the machine to reactivate it. Result: the machine explodes and kills them both.
This is supposed to be a particularly tragic moment. Until you remember that the Oscillotron uses nuclear energy for power and these two got really careless with handling it. I would nominate them for a Darwin Award: " the Darwin Awards commemorate individuals who protect our gene pool by making the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives. Darwin Award winners eliminate themselves in an extraordinarily idiotic manner, thereby improving our species' chances of long-term survival."
