The early X-Men have a serious supervillain problem. Sure they have Magneto, the Juggernaut and the Sentinels… but over the next few reviews for the villain origins, I’ll go over the very lame and forgotten supervillains created after the end of the Lee & Kirby run.
X-MEN #24 (1966)
by Roy Thomas & Werner Roth
I may have problems with Roy Thomas’ writing later in his career, but when he took over the Avengers he did a spectacular job.
His run on the X-Men, however…
The X-Men ran into a problem into this period, and it’s mainly caused by their secret identities. Remember these were supposed to be teenagers attending Xavier’s school: now that they have graduated, why are they still hanging out at the school?
In Marvel Girl’s case, this leads to her being sent to college.
That’s a problem unique to the X-Men in this period. They were supposed to be around the same ae of Spider-Man, but when he graduated he went to college as Peter Parker and continued his career on the side. The X-Men don’t really have a life besides the school in this period, so they’re basically stuck in limbo for a long time.
The Human Torch is the same age, and he went to college in this period… although nothing really came of it besides gaining Wyatt Wingfoot as a recurring character.
I think he might have interacted with Jean Grey once or twice, but despite the obvious setup for a team-up (maybe even a flirt), absolutely nothing comes from it. Which is kind of weird when you think about it: the X-Men are not yet segregated into their little corner of the Marvel Universe yet.
Having her dating the Torch would CERTAINLY have been more interesting than the constant, and I do mean CONSTANT simping from Cyclops.
I should also mention this is the first appearance of Ted Roberts, who will only be important for the next supervillain origin.
Speaking of supervillains, I should probably start talking about the whole reason I’m reviewing this: meet the Locust, one of the lamest X-Men foes ever.
Whose gimmick is growing giant locusts.
A villain so lame, in fact, that nobody believes he even exists.
Don’t worry, Locust. I’m sure you’ll get recognized once the news talk about this.
And apparently this is X-Men business, thanks to one of the flimsiest excuses ever to involve them.
Look, I’m sure human-sized locusts would be TERRIFYING in real life… but as far as superheroes go, they’re not exactly impressive adversaries.
Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen. Almost taken down by pesticides.
On a completely unrelated note, Jean Grey runs into a weird teacher… Dr. August Hopper.
Yep. An entomologist called “Doctor Hopper” showing up in the same comic book as the Locust. Definitely not suspicious at all.
Doctor Hopper has created a Magno-Ray™ that can turn insects into giants.
And his plan is to unleash giant locusts against the world, only to show up with his DISINTEGRATOR RAY (WTF!?) and be hailed as humanity’s savior.
I cannot believe this is not an Ant-Man villain.
Professor Xavier’s qualifications are all over the place. In this period he’s probably not supposed to be a scientific genius, although future retcons will state he’s an expert on genetics.
Still doesn’t really explain why he’s using a stethoscope to determine whether a giant locust is a mutant or not!!!
Jean Grey shows up to share an outrageous theory: that Doctor Hopper might actually be *gasp* a supervillain!
Also: Cyclops is immensely annoying in this period. NOT EVERYTHING REVOLVES AROUND YOUR WEIRD RELATIONSHIPS, SCOTT!!!
Speaking of all over the place: when Xavier visits the chemical plant where Hopper works, he’s doing some detective work by “mental probing” the equipment. (WTF does that mean!?!?)
Xavier is enough of a super-scientist to figure out that Hopper’s “formulae” contain enough ionic particles to make giant insects.
This leads the X-Men to the next army of giant locusts, and they get their first view of the Locust.
You’d expect this to be a cakewalk for the X-Men, but NOPE!
Locust is so lame that he’s nearly defeated by slipping on ice.
But Locust has an ace up his sleeve: not only he can make insects giant-size, he ALSO has a helmet that lets him telepathically control insects.
It wouldn’t be a Roy Thomas without his most annoying trademark: forcing a completely unnecessary reference that feels unbelievably forced in the moment.
If that was Beast saying it, yes it would fit his personality, but… ICEMAN!?
Would he SERIOUSLY even know who Eugene O’Neill was!?!?
The X-Men don’t even defeat the giant insects, because despite being a world-renown entomologist Locust forgot that wasps are nature’s serial killers.
I still have no idea WTF this plot is even doing in an X-Men comic.
Despite losing his army, Locust has returned to his lair vowing to kickstart mutant hysteria over ten years in advance.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the story turns completely bonkers.
Yes.
Now.
Because Gandalf shows up!!!
Yep. This is actually happening.
Gandalf is actually Professor Xavier (WTF!?!?) wearing “mechanical legs” (double WTF!?!?).
Sooo… yeah. Xavier, who I remind you is THE MOST POWERFUL TELEPATH EVER, just dressed up as Gandalf as a distraction.
And you know what’s the funniest part?
IT WAS COMPLETELY POINTLESS.
Unfortunately for Locust, his insect-controlling helmet has a glaring weakness.
The insects almost kill Locust, but he’s saved by the X-Men…
…which causes him to surrender himself to the authorities.
Yeah you’re not fooling anyone, Gandalf. Just admit you just used your telepathy to mind control him.
Historical significance: 0/10
The introduction of Ted Roberts is the most historically significant part. Let that sink in.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
Between Locust chewing the scenery and Gandalf, what else?
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
This was soooo bad. Locust is as stereotypical as he’s lame, the plot is extremely generic, and the attempt to flesh out the civilian life is unconvincing. The X-Men are particularly unimpressive: even this early in their career, they’re supposed to be MUCH better heroes than this.
And I still have no idea why the heck Xavier cosplayed as Gandalf!!!
How close is this to the modern character? What modern character?
Locust has exactly TWO appearances after this one.
The first is a 1975 story by Len Wein where he fights the Hulk.
I can’t imagine why he thought this was a good idea.
That’s where we learn Locust has a daughter, who almost gets killed by his giant bugs.
She ends up being saved by her fiancée, who is apparently the Locust’s greatest foe.
I’m with the Hulk in this one. Utterly baffling decision to bring up the Locust again.
The Locust’s third, and so far final appearance, is in a 1990 issue of X-Factor written by Louise Simonson.
Now don’t look surprised, but the X-Men BARELY remember this guy.
He’s gone full mutant-hater, and he’s switched from using giant locusts to giant cockroaches.
He barely lasts a handful of panels.
I’m writing this 33 years later, and this is STILL his last appearance.
It’s also BY FAR his best: despite the brevity, just these few panels make me care more about him than the previous two combined.
I’d feel sorry for him if he wasn’t the Locust.
The Locust is far from a winner but an imaginative writer could probably do something with a guy who commands giant, plant-devouring grasshoppers in the Krakoa era X-Men.
That Hulk issue with Locust was the first comic book I bought along with an issue of Fantastic Four and young me was impressed with the character, artwork and story. I get the criticism and will politely demur. Plus Locust vs Ant-Man or Yellowjacket is a missed opportunity! What happens when Locust makes bugs grow, which Hank Pym can then control? A better built-in weakness than Iron Man or Wolverine vs Magneto I cannot conceive.