X-Men (1963) #30

Cover by Jack Kirby

Cover Date: March 1967

On-Sale Date: January 1967

Synopsis: The X-Men fight an ancient mutant who once masqueraded as Merlin.

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES

Page 1

According to the narration the X-Men are still recuperating from their battle with the Super-Adaptoid, so this issue is taking place not too long after last issue.

Page 7, panel 1

The Warlock, who claims to be a mutant, says that he was once known as Merlin.  The Marvel Database places this in the 5th century AD.  Later stories will reveal that there was a real Merlin, and this guy was just an impostor.  When things went bad for him he put himself into suspended animation, and didn't wake up until the modern day.

As for him being a mutant, I think this got retconned as well.  His immortality comes from a fragment of the Bloodgem, which ties him into the ever-gripping Ulysses Bloodstone continuity.  It's all stuff I probably won't have to deal with.

Warlock did make one previous appearance, as the Mad Merlin, in Journey Into Mystery (1952) #96.  He fought Thor for a bit, faked going back to sleep, and once he sensed that Thor was off-world he woke back up to menace the X-Men and get horny for Jean Grey. What a guy.

It's not all that relevant to my project, but there are two possibilities for Thor's extended absence from Earth. The first is his trip to Rigel, in Thor (1965) #131-134.  This probably happens between X-Men (1963) #21 and 22, around June of XY 1. The second possibility is from Thor (1965) #136-137, where Thor takes Jane Foster to Asgard in a bid to grant her immortality so that he can marry her.  That probably happens somewhere before or after X-Men (1963) #28.  (Note that I'm only basing this on relative release dates, and not any chronological clues from those Thor issues.)  I'll probably lean more towards the earlier story, because the Warlock has built himself quite an army, and the more time he has to do that in the timeline the better.

There's not a lot else to say for this story, which is very much filler.  The Warlock will be back a bit later as the Maha Yogi, and after that I believe he never darkens the pages of an X-Men title again.

COUNTING THE DAYS

This story takes place over a single day, not long after last issue (so it's happening some time in December of XY 1).