X-Men (1963) #42

Cover by John Buscema

Cover Date: March 1968

On-Sale Date: January 1968

FIRST STORY: "If I Should Die,,,!"

Synopsis: Professor X really for real definitely dies while stopping Gro-Tesk from destroying the world.

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES

Page 12, panel 1

If you're looking for evidence that writer Roy Thomas didn't have the Changeling retcon in mind when he wrote this, and genuinely intended this to be Professor X, this panel is probably the best you'll find.  The narration mentions that he's using his mechanized legs to walk, which the Changeling definitely wouldn't need to do.  The retcon fits fairly well with the rest of the story, but this is a glaring discrepancy.  I'll just have to assume that the Changeling was wearing them because he's really committed to maintaining his disguise.

Page 14, panels 2 and 3

Xavier mentions here that Gro-Tesk's race was killed by radiation from underground atomic tests.  I'm not sure if this was revealed last issue, but it's consistent with Gro-Tesk's origin flashback.

While I'm on the subject of Gro-Tesk, he appears to die here, but he'll return in Ms. Marvel (1977) #6, written by Chris Claremont of all people (who should know better).  He makes scattered appearances over the decades, until he gets another apparent death in X-Men: Manifest Destiny - Nightcrawler (2009) #1.

Of more importance is Xavier's revelation of why he's been pushing the X-Men so hard for "these past days": he's dying of an unspecified but incurable illness.  Of course this will eventually be revealed to be the Changeling, who is dying of cancer.  It's admirable how he kept up his ruse, even in his thought balloons, until the very end.

COUNTING THE DAYS:

This story takes place over a single day, the same day as last issue.

SECOND STORY: "The End... or the Beginning?"

Synopsis: The Living Diamond shatters when he absorbs too much power. Professor X recruits Scott Summers into the X-Men, giving him the codename Cyclops.

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES:

Page 2, panel 5

Professor X says that he has been a recluse for years, seeing virtually no one.  I get the feeling that the word "virtually" is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting when I get to later origin flashbacks for Xavier.

Page 4, panels 1 to 4

The Living Diamond explodes here, and aside from a brief resurrection as a zombie in Sensational She-Hulk he's never returned.  I guess he could show up on Krakoa in the present-day books, it seems as though every mutant is fair game for that era.

Page 5, panel 3

The narrations says that this costume was previously designed, and has been modified for Cyclops.  I believe this is the first indication we get in this story that Xavier already had the X-Men in mind before reading about Scott in the newspaper.

COUNTING THE DAYS:

This story mostly takes place over one day, the same day as last issue.  There's an unspecified time lapse on page 5, during which Xavier modifies a costume for Scott.

• Day 1:
• Page 1 to 5.2: The Living Diamond is defeated, and Xavier takes Scott back to live in his mansion.
• Day 2 (an unspecified amount of time later):
• Page 5.3 to 5.7: Scott tries on his new costume and visor, and is given the codename Cyclops.