The All New, All Different X-Men 112-113 (Claremont & Byrne)
Magneto tries to goad the X-Men into attack, but Cyclops holds them back. However when Nightcrawler teleports outside to check if Magneto is alone, he finds that they are happily flying through the air under magnetic power. Cyclops still manages to rein the X-Men in, but they are itching to have a go.
Magneto explains how he was ready at last to face the X-Men; how he went to the school only to find it deserted; how by blind luck he saw and followed the Beast and found his foes reduced to Carny freaks; he easily overcame Mesmero and Beast with a single magnetic blast, and now has everyone at his mercy.
The flying caravan has attracted attention and the Brazilian Air force is doing its best to give chase, but they cannot keep up with the UFO as they define it. Suddenly a body is thrown out the door and Mesmero leisurely begins to descend into teh Amazon below, unconscious, his descent controlled by Magneto.
They continue to travel over the surface of the world, protected by a sphere of magnetic force, travelling faster than any machine. Soon they are above the Antarctic, where they are carried down into the maw of a volcano, protected as they sink through the lava, then into a hidden base, one of many that Magneto has scattered across the globe.
As they land the X-Men are thrown to the floor hard, all except Cyclops who is better prepared knowing Magneto as he does, and without pause he lets loose a full powered optic blast, that smashes the villain through a wall. As he staggers to his feet he is punched by Colossus, but it is a pointless assault, what good is organic steel against a man who can control magnetism?
As the X-Man is thrown away, Beast attacks, but is outwitted by a static electric blast that knocks the Avenger out. Storm attacks, knowing that if she holds back at all she will be in trouble, but her ingrained love of life stops her cutting loose for real, and Magneto gathers her lightning using his own powers and blasts her with it. Night crawler watches from the shadows, almost invisible, he leaps into the fray, but before he even reaches his foe, Magneto pulls Colossus back through the air. Realising the danger at the last moment, the steel X-Man manages to turn back to flesh but it’s too late, he smashes into Nightcrawler knocking both of them out.
Next up Banshee comes hurtling in, hitting Magneto with a horrendous sonic wave, but once again the master of magnetism is ahead of his foes, he sets of a vibration in the walls, which creates a disruptive harmonic pattern (hey it’s comics) doubling the attack and then reflecting it back on Banshee. He falls.
Cyclops regains his feet and attacks, knowing that they are in serious trouble, the team have been attacking as individuals, when they do that they cannot hope to win. All the same his optic blasts begin to buckle Magneto’s defences. But he can do two things at once, and even as his shields begin to fall he grabs some metallic debris and pulls it across the room, so it smashes into Cyclops’ head. He collapses.
Phoenix attacks, and with her full fury unleashed Magneto suddenly is afraid, he is not just on the defensive, he is losing – but just as she realises she is enjoying the power it cuts out and Magneto is quick to take advantage, overpowering her, but as he begins to gloat, Wolverine comes out of nowhere and just misses cutting his spine out. Magneto seizes control of the metal claws (no mention of metal skeleton yet) and threatens to run them through Wolverines skull. At the last moment the claws retract, Magneto’s doing and he knocks the X-Man out, letting us know he wants the X-Men alive for now.
They all come to trapped in prison like chairs, their powers neutralised, with Nanny, a robotic prison warden looking over them. But worse they are told that Magneto has scrambled their nerves and muscles, they cannot move, they cannot use their powers, they cannot communicate.
In fact they have been reduced to the level of toddlers, while being perfectly aware of what has been done; much like Magneto had been.
And this is his revenge.
Magneto attacks and destroys an Australian military base, a message to the world that he is back and that there is no one now who can stop him.
Elsewhere Professor Xavier confesses to Lilandra that he has lost contact with the X-Men and is worried about their safety.
Nanny takes control of the X-Men regularly humiliating them, and we learn that days have passed. But Storm has learned the robots pre-programmed routine. Once it leaves the room she knows she has a certain amount of time until it returns, and she has spent the time imprisoned focusing herself. In a series of jerked movements, she manages to throw her head-dress off, bend forward and pull her hidden lock picks from it with her mouth. She remembers how brutally she was trained as a thief on the streets of Cairo, knowing how hard what she is attempting to do is. As she comes close to picking the lock, the clumsiness caused by the prison overwhelms her and the lock falls to the floor. All she can do is wait until Nanny returns. The robot humiliatingly brushes her hair, puts back the headdress, and we are told that for only the third time in her adult life Storm cries.
More weeks pass, in which time Magneto rebuilds his asteroid base, and it’s only when he receives a signal that there is something wrong in the Antarctica that he returns to find the base almost powerless, Nanny going around and around in circles. He braces himself guessing that somehow the X-Men have escaped, but Even then he is not ready for the multitude of blasts that hit him.
Despite the X-Men trying to pull in different directions, Cyclops keeps them working as a team, all linked telepathically through Phoenix.
Magneto thinks that a lull in the fighting has given him the time to recover, but what he does not realise is that Storm is sucking the humidity from the air, and as he gains his feet Banshee hits him with a sonic blast from behind. He spins leaving his back open and Wolverine slashes, this time ripping armour and flesh, and as reflexively he sweeps the X-Man aside Phoenix hits him with a blast of pure energy, knocking him off his feet and tearing apart banks of controls.
Dazed and hurt Magneto begins to find his feet, but it is then that Colossus breaks ranks and starts pounding Magneto, too dazed to throw the metal man back, Cyclops takes the opening he has been given and commands Nightcrawler and Beast to join the fight. Beast throws Nightcrawler through the air, he grasps the helmet and pulls it from Magneto's head.
Colossus' next blow hits naked flesh, nearly snapping Magneto's neck. It's a miracle and a testament to Magneto's strength that he is still conscious but it is then that Nightcrawler notices cracks in the walls and ceiling, red hot lava seeping slowly into the room.
Magneto laughs telling them that the control banks Phoenix destroyed were those that protected the base from the volcano, with those safeguards gone...
For a moment everyone is stunned, but it is all Magneto needs, magnetically throwing Colossus into the X-Men, and making his escape.
As the walls start coming down the X-Men scatter, being spit into groups as the walls come down.
Separated from the main group, Phoenix tries to reach Cyclops, but Beast intervenes, pulling her to safety as the roof comes down.
At the same time high above, Magneto looks down at the burning base and accepts a victory when it is torn apart in explosions. Convinced that nothing could have survived, he leaves. So he did not see the massive firebird that suddenly explodes out of the ground.
Phoenix and Beast stand alone in the Antarctic snow and ice, devoid of any strength Jean collapses and Hank tries to carry her, he manages a couple of steps and then falls too, the sub-zero temperatures claiming him too.
