#95. Write a Review of Your Entire Comic Collection: (Uncanny) X-Men 19

#3. (Uncanny) X-Men #19
Written by Stan Lee
Art by Jay Gavin and Dick Ayers
"Lo! Now Shall Appear - The Mimic!"

The Short Form: The Mimic infiltrates the X-Men in order to steal their powers so he can gain access to a machine that will increase his own, but ends up losing his power instead.

The Cast:
Professor x / Charles Xavier - Super psychic bald school teacher.
Cyclops / Scott Summers - Love struck field leader of The X-Men.
Marvel Girl / Jean Grey - The original telepathic red headed knockout.
Beast / Hank McCoy - Brain and Brawn all rolled into one.
Iceman / Bobby Drake - Sub zero practical joker
Angel / Warren Worthington III - Rich kid with wings.
The Mimic / Calvin Rankin - Power Mimicry, Douchebaggery

The Long Form:

This is a blast from the past by X-Men and Marvel Universe creator Stan Lee written during the heart of the swingin' sixties and is it ever a product of that era - and that is not a bad thing. An entire vocabulary was being updated and discovered during this era and there is a freshness and energy that so many of today's comics lack. Stan Lee (along with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and many talented others) essentially created the Marvel Universe as we know it during those years, totally changing the nature of the super hero comic. Sure - the dialogue is tremendously dated and hokey but man howdy do they pack a lot into one issue! We get the debut, origin, and ultimate defeat of new character The Mimic on top of the continuing Cyclops/Jean Grey love subplot. Beast and Bobby go on a double date, the whole gang gets a supposed vacation - only Angel is left without a lot to do.

And check out that title! "Lo! Now Shall Appear - The Mimic!" At their best, Super Hero comics are a tremendous blend of the absurd and the dramatic and while the formula wasn't perfected for the X-Men during this time period (that would be Chris Claremont in the 70s) these are the building blocks being laid. This is far from essential reading, but a lot of fun for what it is. And this is the first appearance of The Mimic (who is a total douche bag here) a character who would go on to have a really interesting run in Exiles many decades later, exploring his potential as a hero. There are no dropped ideas in comics, only those on hiatus.

I put the ( ) around Uncanny because at this point the title is still just X-Men, though this is the book that would become and stay Uncanny X-Men until now.

Who Should Read This: X-Men fans who are looking into their history, and those who love that kooky Silver Age.