The X-Men (1963) #2

 

Cover by Jack Kirby

Cover Date: November 1963

On-Sale Date: September 1963

Synopsis: The Vanisher steals the USA's defense plans, with the intention of selling them to "the Communists". The X-Men aren't able to stop him, so Professor X steps in to give him a mind-wipe.

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES

Sadie Hawkins Day is a real thing, and it originated from Al Capp's Li'l Abner comic strip. Get this wild idea: apparently on Sadie Hawkins Day, women can ask men on a date! What a trip.

This day is usually said to fall on November 13th, so this issue can happen on any other day of the year except for that one. Vital information!

There's not much going on chronologically here, but it does establish that Xavier has made contacts in the FBI at some point in the past. Fred Duncan will be a not-too-frequent presence in the Silver Age before quietly disappearing from the 1970s onwards.

COUNTING THE DAYS

This issue doesn't really have much chronological information, and could take place at any point after X-Men (1963) #1 (but not on Sadie Hawkins Day).

Day 1:

• The flashback on page 5 and 6 is relayed by Professor X via telepathy, and shows the Vanisher robbing a bank with his teleportation powers.
• Pages 1 to 10, and the first 2 panels of page 11, take place on the same day. The X-Men do a lot of training while the Vanisher shows up at the Pentagon to say that he plans to steal the USA's defense plans "within the next few days".

Day 2: The last three panels of page 11, pages 12 to 16, and the first two panels of page 17 take place the next day, after newspaper reports about the Vanisher's exploits. Vanisher recruits an army of goons, the X-Men are brought in by the FBI, and they fail to stop the Vanisher from stealing the plans.

Day 3: The last three panels of page 17, page 18, and the first three panels of page 19. Newspaper are reporting on the defeat of the X-Men, who are sitting around like a bunch of chumps. The Vanisher makes demands for 10 million dollars, but Professor X has a plan.

Day 4: The last three panels of page 19, and pages 20 to 22 happen the next day. The Vanisher shows up at the White House with his goons to collect his ransom money. The X-Men fight the goons, while Professor X wipes the Vanisher's memories.