I had to hold my breath when I saw the credits box. Gary Friedrich and Arnold Drake, who took over for Roy Thomas after his Godawful run, were doing such a great job—I was liking every issue again. And then, with #55, he’s back. But he’s better.
Much better.
In issue #54, Arnold Drake introduced the character of The Living Pharoah, who wielded the power of cosmic rays (yes, the same ones that transformed The Fantastic Four), and identified Scott Summers’ Brother, Alex, as someone who could use their power even better than he could. So he hunted the character down. With the final page of issue #55, we see why: Alex is of course a mutant!
Of course, Thomas is inheriting this story from Arnold Drake—who did a fabulous job with The X-Men. In fact, it’s Drake—not Thomas—who is credited with creating Havok, and Alex doesn’t become Havok until issue #58!
Anyway, the villain is nobody you care about. Trust me.
Don’t trust me?
Fine. Here’s who it was:
