Cover: Dave Cockrum & Terry Austin

The X-Men #119

Mar 1979 · Marvel · 0.35 USD

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“'Twas the Night Before Christmas...”

About this Issue

The X-Men #119 closes out the team's Japan sojourn with two developments that reverberated across the Claremont–Byrne run for years: Banshee permanently loses his sonic scream saving the entire country from Moses Magnum, sidelining one of the team's founding members for nearly a decade of publication time, and the Muir Island subplot inches forward as an unseen Proteus—already possessing intruder Angus MacWhirter—kills in shadow, planting the seed for the landmark Proteus Saga that ignites in issues #125–128. The issue also carries the Eagle Award emblem on its cover, a public acknowledgment that the title had crossed over to British fandom and was gathering serious critical momentum at a time when its sales were still climbing. Together, these threads illustrate Claremont and Byrne's signature technique of braiding immediate action with slow-burn continuity, creating a reading experience where no issue feels disposable.

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writer, artist John Byrne · writer Chris Claremont · inker Terry Austin · colorist G. Wein · letterer Costanza · cover Dave Cockrum, Terry Austin

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History

The story is the second half of a two-part Moses Magnum arc, plotted by John Byrne and scripted by Chris Claremont, with Byrne on pencils, Terry Austin on inks, and a cover by Dave Cockrum. The issue is notable for a documented creative dispute between the two principals: Byrne wanted the splash depicting the island's destruction to run without any sound effect, trusting the artwork alone to carry the moment, but the finished book included the caption 'Kra-KOOM'—a deviation that reportedly infuriated him and became one flashpoint in their notoriously contentious collaboration. The issue's letters page also doubled as an announcement page, publicly celebrating the title's back-to-back Eagle Award wins in 1978 and 1979, and Marvel made the unusual decision to stamp the Eagle Award logo directly on the cover, reportedly one of the first times a Marvel book wore an awards emblem on its front.

Trivia · 8 facts

Written by Chris Claremont (script) and John Byrne (plot); pencils by John Byrne; inks by Terry Austin; cover by Dave Cockrum. Published March 1979.
Part 2 of 2 of the Moses Magnum arc ('Twas the Night Before Christmas…!'), concluding a storyline in which Moses Magnum threatens to geophysically sink Japan unless its government surrenders to him.
Banshee destroys Magnum's base by pushing his sonic scream to its absolute limit, reflecting Magnum's energy weapon; the exertion permanently damages his vocal cords, stripping him of his mutant power for nearly a decade of real publication time.
Proteus (Kevin MacTaggert / Mutant X) appears in shadow, having already possessed Angus MacWhirter—a grudge-holding character first seen in X-Men #104—at Moira MacTaggert's Muir Island facility; this is the first visual appearance of Proteus in any form, preceding his named cameo in #125 and full debut in #126.
The letters page announces that Uncanny X-Men won the British Eagle Award for Favorite Dramatic Comic Book and Favorite Team two years running (1978 and 1979), with Terry Austin also taking the Favorite Inker award; the Eagle Award logo appears on the issue's cover.
Guest stars include Sunfire, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing; Wolverine's developing relationship with Mariko Yashida (who first appeared in the preceding issue #118) is quietly advanced in the Christmas-day epilogue.
Jean Grey appears separately in Scotland, arriving at Muir Island to join Moira MacTaggert, Havok, Polaris, and Multiple Man—a gathering that sets the stage for the Proteus storyline.
The issue has been collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 3, the X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 6 ('Proteus'), and the Wolverine: First Cuts trade paperback.