X-Men (1963) #61

Cover by Neal Adams

Cover Date: October 1969

On-Sale Date: August 1969

Synopsis: The X-Men chase Sauron down to Tierra del Fuego, where he jumps off a cliff rather than hurt his girlfriend.

Proposed Placement: XY 3, May

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES:

I didn't mention it last issue, but the "Strangest Teens of All" tag-line has started appearing on the covers.  As far as my timeline goes, this is only true for about half the team.  As of May XY 3, I have Beast at age 20 (about to turn 21), Cyclops and Angel also 20, and Iceman and Marvel Girl at 19.  Havok and Lorna would also be around 18 or 19.

Page 14, panel 1

Tanya says here that she's now "of age", which would put an absurdly large age gap between her and Karl if she's just turned 18 and he's been through medical school and established his own practice.  As I said last time, I just have to assume that her father's very controlling, and that she can't marry until she's 25 or some such ridiculousness.

Page 16, panel 1

Professor X's notes state that he discovered Lykos was a "non-mutant variant" while they were working together.  Presumably a non-mutant variant is any super-powered being that's not a mutant, and would include such luminaries as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.  I don't know that I've ever seen it used outside of this story, so it may be exclusive to Xavier.  As for whether this discovery caused them to stop working together, that's unclear.  I can't see Xavier being okay with Lykos going around draining people, but it's also difficult to see him learning about it and letting Lykos roam around free afterwards.

Lykos' backstory and his connection with Xavier remain frustratingly vague.  Xavier's not around in this story to shed light on the matter, and future Sauron arcs tend to focus more on his status as a pterodactyl-man than a doctor.

COUNTING THE DAYS:

This issue continues directly from last, which ended in the evening.  It proceeds as follows:

• Day 1:
• Page 1 to 18: The X-Men fight Sauron and encounter the Anderrsens. Sauron flees to Tierra del Fuego.
• Day 2:
• Page 19.1 to 19.5: Sauron flies south to Tierra del Fuego and reverts back to Karl Lykos.
• Day 3:
• Page 19.6 to 20.6: The X-Men and Tanya Anderrsen arrive in Tierra del Fuego, and Karl Lykos appears to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff.