Issue(s): Uncanny X-Men #2
Cover Date: Nov 63
Title: "No One Can Stop The Vanisher!"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Jack Kirby - Penciler
Paul Reinman - Inker

Review/plot:
Xavier trains his students to fight a new evil mutant: the Vanisher.

He's a teleporter. Despite some heavy training sessions, the X-Men can't stop the Vanisher from stealing the army's continental defense plans.

So Xavier shows up and wipes the poor slob's mind.

He patronizingly tells his students "Always remember, my X-Men! The greatest power on Earth is the magnificent power we all of us [sic] possess... the power of the human brain!" Yeah, that's easy enough for you to say, Professor X - you have mental super-powers. Luckily the rest of the X-Men are given the Vanisher's human thugs to fight. Human thugs? "Three cheers for the Vanisher!" shout the human thugs after being told that it is only fitting that Homo Superior should be served by the inferior Homo Sapiens!

I like the fact that Marvel Girl is actually a useful and powerful character, and a full member of the team. Throughout this issue, though, her powers are referred to as 'teleportation'.

In this issue, Professor X has a government contact: Agent Fred Duncan of the FBI.

Here's some cool random panels.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 7 - Formative X-Men story. First Vanisher

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: X-Men: The Early Years #2

The Vanisher showed up in a 1975 Spidey Super-Stories issue, and for the longest time I thought he was just a non-continuity joke villain. In that story, his crime was trying to take out library books without a card...

yeah, marvel girl was probably the most respectable early female heroine. she certainly did more and had more self respect than the wasp or sue storm.

I agree, Kveto, but boy that's a sad competition to win. Lee and Kirby actively portray the Wasp and the Invisible Girl as indecisive, frivolous morons. With Marvel Girl, they sort of leave her alone, so she seems that much better in comparison.

The real stand-outs in the Silver Age, for me, are the Scarlet Witch and the Black Widow, who really begin to get attention 3-4 years after this point.

In the Silver Age, Wanda wasn't really that useful- she could only cast one or two hexes before falling down. Wanda only starts getting dangerous around the Avengers-Defenders War.

You know, I think I see why Marvel Saga covered this whole issue in one panel. Several thoughts:

1 - There a lot of commenters in this forum who think Reed is a dick (and there's a lot of evidence for that), but Prof. X is the real dick. He's always yelling at everyone.

2 - Seriously. Every sentence he says in the panels you showed ends in an exclamation point. All the words are in large caps. If he was on the Internet today he would write in all-caps. I'm certain of it.

3 - I love how the first few X-Men books have Magneto, The Blob, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, The Toad and Mastermind - all classic villains. Then there's The Vanisher, who would basically appear like once in the next 20 years before Fallen Angels.

4 - Does the Vanisher have the worst costume in history? Do you think Stan and Jack talked about this, or Jack just said, hey, a cobra hood, weird eyes, pink outfit, purple cape. In UXM #1 you mentioned the Bobby is gay theory. Is there a Vanisher is gay theory?

5 - Claremont would leave a lot of loose ends going at times. But I like a lot that he would also tie up older loose ends that he didn't create, such as the cooperation between Xavier and Fred Duncan and the files the government would have that needed to be erased in #157.

Somehow the Vanisher reminds me of something you'd see more of in the late 60s than the early 60s; the eyes/glasses in that first panel makes me think of Number 1 from Captain Marvel.

A fun comic, nutty in every way. Kirby's got action on every page and Stan's trying to see who can shout at the most people -- Professor X or the Vanisher. Best line of the issue goes to the Vanisher, though: "Permits are for homo sapiens, fool!"

The Vanisher imho was directly modeled on the Vanisher from the 30's who fought Doc Savage. Personally I think Stan or Jack got a lot of ideas from Doc. The Metal Master was also identical in name and plot to a Doc Savage villain.

You forgot to mention the Vanisher's real name is Telford Porter. Best it's-just-a-crazy-coincidence-that-my-name-anticipates-my-powers secret identity EVER!

Andrew: I think "Telford Porter" has been retconned to be an alias, and the Vanisher's real name is currently unrevealed.

I'm sorry, but, no. As long as Charles Xavier's evil brother's real name is still "Mark o' Cain" and Doctor Octopus is still Otto Octavius, Telford Porter does not get to be an alias.

Juggernaut is "Cain Marko", not Mark O Cain.

As for the Vanisher… don't tell me, tell Marvel.

I was trying to make a point about the transparency of the origin of the name...

Actually Andrew, you're smarter than I am in that regard: I knew "Cain" was biblical in nature, but I never put together the whole "Mark of Cain" reference until you pointed it out to me, so respect. ;)

Doctor Octopus has, at least, the excuse of his codename being self-appropriated monicker given to him by his co-workers. Who did create it based on his name and his unique work equipment... I actually can see something like that happen in real life.

Otto Octavius has an alliterative name and a mainly green outfit. All he needed was some purple in his costume and to be the half/step-brother of his arch-enemy and you'd have a 60s Marvel bingo win right there.