The X-Men #31
The X-Men #31 is a double-debut issue from Marvel's Silver Age: it marks the first appearance of both Cobalt Man (Ralph Roberts), a scientist whose cobalt-powered armor deliberately echoed Iron Man's technology, and Candy Southern, Warren Worthington III's longtime love interest whose relationship with Angel would thread through X-Men continuity for decades. Beyond the debuts, writer Roy Thomas used the issue to deliberately pivot the book's romantic dynamics — introducing Candy as a way to move Warren away from the long-simmering Scott/Warren/Jean love triangle and give the characters more distinct personal lives. The issue also planted seeds for future Marvel Universe crossover storytelling, with Cobalt Man later reappearing in contexts ranging from a Hulk battle to a pivotal role in the lead-up to the Civil War event.
In "We Must Destroy... the Cobalt Man!", the X-Men take a rare break from saving the world—only to find themselves in the middle of a high-stakes showdown when a former Stark employee dons a mysterious new suit and goes rogue. Written by Roy Thomas and brought to life by Werner Roth’s dynamic art and John Tartaglione’s inks, this 1967 classic features a wild, suit-powered rampage that puts the team on the defensive. The cover by Dan Adkins captures the chaos in bold, striking detail.
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Written by Roy Thomas and penciled by Werner Roth — who had been working on the book since 1965, initially under the pseudonym Jay Gavin to hide his Marvel work from DC editors — the issue was edited by Stan Lee and inked by John Tartaglione, with a cover by Dan Adkins. Thomas acknowledged in an introduction to a later collection that he was conscious of making the Cobalt Man armor visually distinct from Iron Man's and worried the colorist might accidentally render it in red and gold. Roth, per Thomas's own later assessment, was better suited to character-driven relationship scenes than superhero action — a dynamic that actually served this issue's considerable soap-opera content well. The story was reprinted as X-Men #79 (December 1972), giving it a second life for Bronze Age readers.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Cobalt Man (Ralph Roberts), a former Stark Industries employee who built a cobalt-alloy powered armor intended to rival Iron Man's, created by Roy Thomas and Werner Roth.
- First appearance of Candy Southern (misspelled 'Sothern' in this issue), Warren Worthington III's childhood sweetheart and long-running love interest; the spelling error was acknowledged and corrected in later appearances.
- Story title: 'We Must Destroy… the Cobalt Man!' Cover date: April 1967; release date: February 1967.
- Full creative credits: script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Werner Roth, inks by John Tartaglione, cover art by Dan Adkins, lettering by Sam Rosen, edited by Stan Lee.
- Iron Man (Tony Stark) appears only in a single explanatory panel — noted to be away on other business — leaving Stark Industries defenseless until the X-Men arrive; it is effectively a cameo, not a story appearance.
- The issue also features a brief cameo/mention of Juggernaut, and Ted Roberts (Jean's college acquaintance) begins to suspect that Jean Grey and Scott Summers are secretly Marvel Girl and Cyclops.
- Ralph Roberts' ship-to-Earth's-core technology, introduced here, is directly revisited in X-Men #34 when the team uses his drilling vehicle.
- The issue was reprinted in X-Men #79 (December 1972), and Cobalt Man went on to appear in key later stories including Incredible Hulk #173–175, The Defenders #42–43, and Civil War #1 (2006), where he dies in the Stamford incident alongside Nitro.
Cast · 14 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
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The X-Men are given a weekend off and head out for some fun. Cyclops and Angel visit Jean in college and find her engaged with brothers Ted and Ralph Roberts. Ralph, who used to work for Tony Stark, takes them all to his lab where he puts on his new Cobalt Man suit to impress his brother. Going a little batty, Cobalt Man wrecks the lab and heads out to Stark Industries to confront his old boss. The X-Men assemble to battle him before his suit becomes radioactive and blows up.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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