 |
| THE UNMOVABLE AND THE UNTOUCHABLE by Dave Goode |
I've
been ribbed for years by a buddy, independent comic book artist
William Murchinson, about being a fan of the original team of X-Men.
Or as he jabs "the team with Frosty the Snow Man"... Of course he's just
joshing. Like most Lee & Kirby created
comics from the beginning of the Marvel Age the early X-Men stories
were magic. Two of my favorites were X-Men N0.3 (Jan. 1964) and X-Men No. 8 (Nov. 1964).
I've been a fan of carnival and circus themed movies for as long as
I can remember. The colorfully costumed performers of the big top
reminded me of comic book heroes. And of course Superman's original
costume was inspired by circus performers. But that's
a story for another day.
In Beware Of The Blob (X-Men No. 3) the uncanny X-Men face
off against the massively built Blob, a sideshow attraction who
imagined being played in a movie by pro wrestler Haystacks Calhoun. The
highlight of the story is the X-Men's headquarters
being attacked by carnival performers led by the indestructible and
immovable Blob.
Five issues later the X-Men would face an adversary from a
different kind of circus when they battle The Uncanny Threat Of Unus,
The Untouchable (X-Men No. 8 ). In what remains my favorite story
from the original X-Men series Hank Mc Coy a.k.a
the Beast leaves the team briefly for a career as a professional
wrestler. There he meets wrestler Unus, the Untouchable a mutant with a
personal force field.
The highlight of this story to me is the Beast's foray into the
grunt & groan racket. His ring entrance is something that Vince McMahon could only dream of.
