The X-Men #107

History

Written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum — with inks by Dan Green, colors by Andy Yanchus, letters by Joe Rosen, and editing by Archie Goodwin — the issue was part two of a three-part arc ('Where No X-Man Has Gone Before!') continuing from the cliffhanger in #105, with the interlude of #106 pushing readers through a roughly four-month wait for resolution. Cockrum had previously spent two years as the artist on DC's Legion of Super-Heroes backup feature in the Superboy comic, and he brought that experience directly to bear: when he and Claremont needed a super-powered alien army for the Shi'ar Empire, Cockrum proposed modeling each Imperial Guard member's powers and costume on a specific Legionnaire — an approach he even ran by DC's Legion writer Paul Levitz, who reportedly raised no objections. The Starjammers had a separate origin story: Cockrum had originally conceived them as a standalone space-pirate series and pitched it to Roy Thomas for Marvel Premiere or Marvel Preview, but was turned down; frustrated, he brought the concept to Claremont, and the decision to integrate the Starjammers into X-Men is what led to the plot twist that Corsair is Cyclops' father. This issue also stands as Cockrum's final issue of his initial Claremont collaboration; John Byrne took over as penciller with #108.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First full team appearance of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, including Gladiator (Kallark), Fang, Oracle, Smasher, Starbolt, Mentor, Hobgoblin, Electron, Impulse, Nightside, Quasar, Tempest, Titan, Magic, Vril-Rokk, and Astra — all created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum.
• First full team appearance of the Starjammers (Corsair, Ch'od, Hepzibah, Raza, and Cr'reee); Corsair and Ch'od had only a brief cameo in issue #104.
• First appearance of the M'Kraan Crystal, the universe-imperiling cosmic artifact that becomes central to both this arc and later Marvel cosmology.
• First appearance of the Soul-Drinker creature, deployed by Emperor D'Ken against Lilandra.
• Phoenix mind-probes Corsair and discovers he is the father of Cyclops and Havok — a revelation not confirmed openly in-story until issue #154; this issue also marks the first time Nightcrawler teleports while carrying another person (Lilandra).
• Each original Imperial Guard member was deliberately designed as a pastiche of a specific Legion of Super-Heroes member (e.g., Gladiator = Superboy, Oracle = Saturn Girl, Mentor = Brainiac 5, Fang = Timber Wolf, Hobgoblin = Chameleon Boy); Cockrum had spent two years as the Legion's artist at DC before joining Marvel.
• The issue's story title, 'Where No X-Man Has Gone Before!', is an explicit homage to Star Trek's opening narration; this is also the first time in the series that the X-Men physically visit another planet.
• This is Dave Cockrum's final issue of his initial run as artist on the title; John Byrne replaced him as penciller beginning with issue #108. The issue was later collected in the trade paperback X-Men: Starjammers by Dave Cockrum (collecting #107–108 and subsequent Cockrum issues).

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