The Second Coming of... Kukulcán!

 

In the fall of 1966, while Jean Grey is away at Metro College, Professor X and the rest of the X-Men are tracking what they believe might be a new mutant. Readings from Cerebro, the Professor's mutant detection apparatus, are inconclusive in that regard--but the decision is made to deploy the X-Men to Manhattan to locate him. Talk about trying to find a needle in a haystack.

But we readers are more knowledgeable than even Cerebro, since we've already been introduced to Juan Meroz, better known in gem-hunting circles as El Tigre, a treasure hunter scouring the ancient sites of Central America with his two hired hands and currently attempting to locate the gold of one of the Mayan gods. His search bears fruit, but, in the process, he comes across an ornament which intrigues and dazzles him even more than his find.

When his men, however, decide that they've had enough of their master's mistreatment and move to reverse their roles while taking the gold for themselves, El Tigre discovers not only the stone's powerful abilities that can be wielded by the one who possesses it, but also that when joined with its other half within its pendant it can bestow on him the power and might of the god Kukulcán.

With his two hirelings in tow, El Tigre's research on the pendant leads him to the pre-Colombian wing of the city museum in (you guessed it) Manhattan, where, thanks to Cerebro, the X-Men have followed. But our hirelings are good at skulking as well as setting traps--and soon enough we find Cyclops on his own, taken by surprise by a museum guard who is then put under El Tigre's control. Consequently, the deputy leader of the X-Men can only stand in place helplessly as El Tigre claims his prize, and his power.

Obviously the X-Men's Danger Room training never included any sessions on how to battle your foe(s) in the dark or how to disarm someone holding a gun on you, two pieces of information that should make a lot of petty criminals happy when the news gets out. Now the team (minus Marvel Girl) have an incarnation of the Mayan god Kukulcán to deal with--and from the look of this story's two covers, this could be a battle that, win or lose, may see the X-Men paying the price.

Riding high on his transformation, El Tigre--that is, Kukulcán--quickly comes to a decision as to his next move, and where that should take place. Yet there are three obstacles to his departure, men who are eager to confront him for different reasons but who are made to realize all too quickly the formidable nature of his new power.

When the X-Men regroup and return to confer with Xavier, we learn more about the curse mentioned with Meroz's discovery of the pendant piece in San Rico--specifically, that the curse was triggered centuries ago by misuse of its powers which resulted in a holocaust in the form of a volcanic eruption which buried the Mayan city in molten lava. But though aware of the curse, no such thoughts haunt Kukulcán, who upon his arrival takes immediate steps to restore the city to its prior state and sets about establishing a power base for himself as well as seeing to its repopulation.

Ironic that their status as mutants, which they would discard in a second if they could, prevents the X-Men from falling under Kukulcán's mental sway and thus makes them the human race's only hope against his incursion. And since we're looking to get to the main event, it seems that Kukulcán's dedicated servants and defenders aren't keen on facing a handful of outnumbered X-Men--but the team finds an altogether different reception when Kukulcán himself enters the fray.

We're obviously seeing signs of friction between the Angel and Cyclops, as Warren has developed strong feelings of resentment toward Scott in regard to Jean Grey's continued and growing affection for him--feelings which Scott shares and has only recently resolved to bring out into the open. As the situation with Kukulcán flares up, both Scott and Warren appear to put all of that aside for the time being; but when the tide of battle begins to turn, and two of the X-Men take steps to isolate and inhibit Kukulcán's likely source of power, Cyclops all but hands their foe victory when a mistake in tactics takes them both out of the fight, leaving it doubtful when or if either will ever recover.

X-Men readers may have experienced a sense of déjà vu at the scene, as, just four issues prior, a disagreement in the field prompted a decision from Cyclops to prevent Angel from taking matters into his own hands, though fortunately leaving the injured X-Man shaken but alive.

Meanwhile, what of Kukulcán? It seems the X-Men's strategy of forcing him to expend his power more fully in response to their attack has paid off--and it's Kukulcán himself who sees to his own doom, as the ancient curse is once again set in motion.

In the X-Men's race for survival from the holocaust, they find that Kukulcán has reverted to El Tigre; but further tensions await when everyone gathers to see the severely injured Angel and are witness to his words of condemnation toward Cyclops, tainting their victory with unmistakable and palpable tragedy.

All right, so you and I both know that the Angel should be flying with the angels after being hit by a full-force eye-blast from Cyclops that could normally "demolish a fully armored tank," but he goes on to recover none the worse for wear. Besides, Cyclops sulks enough, don't you agree?

AND ON A RELATED NOTE...
A prior cover comparison of issue 26,
featuring the work of Werner Roth, Jack Kirby and Gil Kane.