This is the very first shot of the evil mutants team, and rather than causing mayhem or committing felonies, they’re eating a meal. But look how Stan and Jack tell a whole story in a single panel: Toad is grotesque—one hand is bigger than the other—and Quicksilver tells us he’s “chomping” his food. Quicksilver is scolding someone, and calling them a “fool.” Scarlet Witch is asking him not to get into “another” fight, revealing that her brother is kind of dick and that she’s a person who places at least some value on peace and getting along. And Mastermind is hitting on Wanda.
The only thing I can’t figure out is what’s going on with the mashed potatoes. And that’s not the only food sequence in this issue…
Back to the villains: Scarlet Witch seems more of a hostage than a volunteer to Magneto’s band of evil mutants…
There’s no mention of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver being related to Magneto–I’m quite sure nobody had thought of that yet–but we do see him rescuing both of them from angry mobs.
So they didn’t start as villains, and their motivation is that they are “driven” to support Magneto. It’s interesting that the Magneto-as-daddy plot point kind of developed organically, consistent with the ways the characters were portrayed.
Big fights.
The Brotherhood meet the X-Men and we see how they respond to meeting Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
I know it seems a little silly for Angel to be attracted to her, but remember: He’s a teenager. Full of hormones.
At the end of the issue, the X-Men foil the Brotherhood’s plans, but in the process Professor X loses his powers.
This issue is one of my 100 favorite self-contained issues of all time. For the full list, go here.
Okay! I’ll bite! WHY is it “silly” for the Angel to find the Scarlet Witch attractive?? She’s devastatingly attractive, a fact which mostly works to her detriment as an indentured member of Magneto’s Brotherhood, but, as of the time of this story, exactly one year after the chartering of Professor Xavier’s school, she and the Angel are both teenagers! I’d put she and Quicksilver at eighteen, and the Angel at seventeen, based on all the available data on their respective backgrounds. So-again- why is it “silly” for the Angel to find the Scarlet Witch to be attractive?? At this point in her storied life, being hot was the single-biggest thing she had working in her favor, and, in just a few more years after she joins the Avengers, gets shot and loses her powers altogether, ( beginning in Avengers#49 ) it will be the ONLY thing she has going for her! She had to leave the team at that point, ( and her comfortable circumstances at the Avengers Mansion, with the accompanying handsome stipend ) because the Assemblers are not a charity, and couldn’t keep her around if she could not contribute! At that point, she and Pietro had to take their accrued salaries by that point, and strike out for the “old country” in search of a cure for what ailed her, which put them back on the radar of Magneto! But, that’s a different tale! X-Men#6 is also memorable for that scene where Magneto actually tries to pimp Wanda out to the Sub-Mariner! Oddly, ( and fortunately ) that didn’t work out! But, once again, Wanda’s beauty becomes a driving point of the story, as all the male characters in this tale cannot overlook the charming stunner in their midst! As Marvel Girl puts it at the conclusion, “I’m glad they’re gone! That witch is MUCH too attractive!”, to which the gallant and observant Mr. Worthington ( correctly ) responds: “You know something, Jeannie?? So are YOU!!” Indeed! Tally-ho!
All valid points. I think what I meant is that being attracted to someone who is trying to kill you is maladaptive, and having horny thoughts WHILE they are trying to kill you is…Not terribly realistic, unless you’re a masochist (and there’s no indication that Warren has that kink). But your points about her being attractive are good ones.