Well, Harbinger had been slowly dying/making room for its new attack on the new characters. Just because dead is dead, doesn't mean it had to be exercised every other month, kids. This issue traces the entry of a middle-eastern hypnotic villain who is able to subdue the entire team with a quick bit of flashery. Sad. This book was one of the first places I saw the worthlessness of many of the characters - but especially Zep. When Pete is down - and apparently that is MUCH easier than it used to be, the team crumbles like a house of cards - especially with this rip-off of (contemporary) Boom-Boom from X-Factor or whatever. Down to the green hair. Sheesh.
Sub-Mariner as an X-MAN?
These issues are painful. The Silver Age is recognized as a force in comics, but the book writing isn't very easy at all. It's nice to see some sides to these characters, though. In this book, the X-Men see the sides of not only Sub-Mariner - who I thought was one of the best characters early on, but also in Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. The two quickly become strong characters - and although we won't see that in Magneto for many years to come, the writing in this issue is starting to pave the way. The dialogue, though, is becoming Star Wars painful.