Suggestions From The Long Box- X-Men #9 (Jan. 1965) by Bob Hefler

I'm currently re-reading my old X-Men collection and I had a twinkle in my eye when I read an early an unsung issue. This edition of my “Suggestions From The Longbox” stirs up a tale of an iconic bad guy and an iconic hero vs. hero super battle. The book is X-Men #9. The cover of X-Men #9 has some exciting hook banners on it, meant to grab the reader. “Guest-Starring: The Mighty Avengers” “Another Truly MARVEL-ous Star-Studded Epic!!” and “See The Desperate X-Men, Trapped In The Heart of Europe!” True, the book is guest-starring the Avengers, and that makes it a truly MARVEL-ous Star-Studded Epic. But nowadays, being trapped in the heart of Europe is no big deal. Modern X-Men go to Paris for lunch or take a ten minute trip to London to dress shop. In fact, the most amazing thing about this issue is the caption that reads,
“And Wait Till You Meet Lucifer.” If you really know your X-Men history, you know that Lucifer is the villain that cost Professor Charles Xavier the use of his legs.

Lucifer shows up in issue #9, as a major world threat, and Professor X and his merry band of mutant teens rush to stop him. Reading this story now, I laugh. I found this stuff exciting as a kid but there are probably a hundred X-Villains more powerful than Lucifer. It turns out he's just a regular guy with big dreams of world domination and a very large bomb. Xavier decides to take on the evil Lucifer by himself, face to face, just as the Avengers show up on the scene. Professor X discovers that his old nemesis has rigged a massive atomic warhead to go off if his heart stops for any reason. The Prof instructs the X-Men to protect Lucifer from the Avengers while he uses his keen intellect and mental powers to find a way to stop the madman. There's an amazing battle between the two teams, and back in the early 60's kids loved it when their favorite heroes fought each other.

Lucifer is one of the X-Men's very first foes. I always thought he was one of the lamest, and I think everybody else felt the same way. Otherwise, wouldn't he have been as well known as Magneto, Doctor Doom, The Vulture, or the Red Skull? That Lucifer has been virtually forgotten by fans, makes this treasure of a comic book one of my very favorites. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were human. Not everything they touched turned to gold. However, some of those things, like X-Men #9, can be gold plated. Read X-Men #9 if you can find it or pick up a re-print somewhere. The nostalgia alone, makes it a really fun book.  Thanks for reading, folks.  This is Big Bob Hefler and that is my suggestion from the longbox.