X-Men (1963) #63

Cover by Neal Adams

Cover Date: December 1969

On-Sale Date: October 1969

Synopsis: Magneto creates a sexy lady mutant to hypnotise the X-Men, but is defeated because Marvel Girl is only attracted to manly men.

Proposed Placement: XY 3, May

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES:

Page 10

This flashback shows how Magneto survived falling into the ocean at the end of Avengers (1963) #53: he used his powers to burrow beneath the Earth's surface, where he found caves that eventually led him to the Savage Land.  Magnets can solve anything!  This apparently happened months ago.  I have that Avengers story placed in September of XY 2, about half a year before this issue, so it fits well.

There's another flashback that recaps Angel's story from last issue, but it doesn't add anything new.

Page 16

This is Lorelei, the aforementioned sexy lady mutate that Magneto creates to hypnotise the X-Men. She was just another "swamp savage" a short time ago, but Magneto has turned her into a "neo-mutant" by harnessing the power of the south magnetic pole, just as he did the other Savage Land Mutates.  Unlike the rest of the group that debuted in this story, Lorelei will pretty quickly fade into obscurity (which is a minor miracle given the predilections of long-term X-Men scribe Chris Claremont).

Page 19, panel 1

Magneto is wearing this weird costume with the arm-tubes to drain off his magnetic powers, as they will interfere with the delicate apparatus he is using to create his mutates.  Last issue it was said that he was wearing them as mechanical support for his arms, but that must have been a lie he's been telling to keep up his disguise.

By the end of the story Magneto is crushed under some machinery and presumed dead (although none of the dimwit X-Men bother to check whether he's alive under a big pile of metal).  He'll next be seen being rescued by the Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four (1963) #102 (although much later a story will be wedged in between in X-Men: The Hidden Years). The Savage Land Mutates revert back to normal at the end of the story, but they'll regain their powers within a few years in Avengers (1963) #105.

COUNTING THE DAYS:

It's difficult to tell in the Savage Land, but it seems as though the whole issue takes place in a single day following directly from last issue.