| Synopsis | - Continued from last issue....
Cyclops and Iceman's attempt to recruit the Avenging Angel into the X-Men has hit a snag when the egotistical loner suddenly attacks them in his apartment. As the two young mutants try to stop the fight, the Professor monitors the situation with his mental powers. Although the two X-Men have ranged mutant abilities, they are no match for Warren's fighting skill. Attempting to seek an end to the fight, the Professor telepathically contacts Warren and explains the situation, calming the young mutant down.
However, the Professor also detects another danger, the cylinder of a new radioactive isotope that the Avenging Angel has relinquished from some thieves. Somehow the isotope has become active while being in contact with the Avenging Angel's mutant biology and is about to explode at any moment. Realizing that only extreme cold will stop it, Warren suddenly flies up high into the sky to prevent a potential explosion from harming anyone. In the freezing cold of the upper atmosphere, Warren breaks open the cylinder and the radioactive material is rendered harmless by the cold.
The Avenging Angel blacks out from the cold and lack of oxygen, however revives just in time to pull out of his free fall. Returning to the X-Men, he agrees to meet with the Professor and join their ranks as the Angel.
- Continued from last issue...
The X-Men and Alex Summers fly across the Egyptian desert trying to find someone who can turn the Living Pharaoh over to when they find an archeological dig of an Egyptian tomb and decide to see if there is anyone there that will take the Pharaoh into custody. Alex is shaken over the revelation that he too is a mutant like his brother Cyclops, and the Pharaoh mockingly tells the X-Men that there is a connection between Alex and himself but refuses to reveal any secrets. Marvel Girl then detects some trouble, and warns the team in enough time to avoid the opening salvo lobbed from the Pharaoh's minions. The X-Men are stunned, allowing the Pharaoh and his minions to grab Alex and flee the scene in their ship. When Iceman fails to stop them, Warren follows after them, dodging their blasts.
When the other X-Men recover, Cyclops is worried about Jean when she takes a little longer to revive from the blast. Needing to know the location where the Living Pharaoh had taken Alex, Jean establishes a psi-link with Warren and finds that he has tracked the Pharaoh and Alex down to the Pharaoh's secret hideout, another ancient temple almost identical to the one they found earlier. Inside this temple, within the Pharaoh's lab, the Living Pharaoh has Alex bound inside a strange high-tech sarcophagus and explains to the young mutant about their connection. He explains that they are both mutants who can harness cosmic rays in different ways, however through some twist of fate, the Pharaoh's powers have been limited due to Alex's similar mutant nature. These powers, the Pharaoh explains, have begun to wane as Alex's abilities began to manifest. Sealing the sarcophagus, the Pharaoh explains that Alex is cut off from the cosmic rays and will eventually die, giving the Pharaoh full access to his powers for the first time.
Now with unfettered cosmic power flowing within him, the Pharaoh begins to mutate further, growing in size and shape. He breaks through the roof of the temple just as the X-Men are arriving. Grabbing the Angel, the Pharaoh and tells them all that he is now known as the Living Monolith. The X-Men attack, freeing Angel from his grasp and the Beast knocks the Monolith to the ground. This only is a minor inconvenience for the Living Monolith who reaches out for Marvel Girl when he hits the ground. While back inside the lab, Alex attempts to access his powers with all his might and they suddenly activate.
Outside, the Living Monolith has Marvel Girl as his hostage and uses his cosmic blasts to keep the X-Men at bay. Gloating over his new powers, the Living Monolith doesn't realize that his powers are fading and that he is shrinking in size until it's too late. Weakening rapidly, the defeated Monolith drops Jean as he rapidly shrinks down to his normal size. Just then, the temple suddenly explodes violently. When Scott rushes toward the ruins he finds that his brother is alive and well. However, Alex is brimming with power warning them that he cannot control his new found mutant powers.
This story is continued next issue....
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| Notes | - * Iceman actually does look vaguely snowy in the Angel origin story - someone was actually paying attention to the first few X-Men issues.
* This issue is reprinted in many other comics and books, see references for more info.
* credits for Story 1:
** Five-Star Feature By:
** Stan Lee, Editor
** Roy Thomas, Scripter
** Tom Palmer, Inker
** Herb Cooper, Letterer
** And Introducing The Penciling Wizardry Of: Neal Adams
* credits for Story 2:
** The High-Flying Angel Wins His Wings In This Cataclysmic Conclusion By:
** Stan Lee, Editor
** Roy Thomas, Writer
** Werner Roth, Artist
** Sam Grainger, Inker
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