Uncanny X-Men (Vol 1) #44: Red Raven, Red Raven...!

With the all the X-Men unconscious, Magneto intends to kill them. Quicksilver interjects, stating that it would be cowardly to kill them when they cannot fend for themselves. Magneto then reasons that if he can convince the X-Men to join the Brotherhood instead, he will have more powerful mutants on his side. Thus, the X-Men’s lives are spared, for now. Magneto holds Quicksilver responsible for the X-Men. Quicksilver wants the X-Men to “be securely imprisoned”.

For Cyclops, a shield is placed over his visor, his hands cuffed, and his visor’s “glove controls” disabled. Magneto developed “Hypno-magnetic bands” to prevent Marvel Girl from using her telekinesis. Beast’s hands and feet are placed in titanium cuffs. Angel is trapped in an “electrified cage”. And Iceman is held in a specially-designed “Thermo-nuclear Heat Tube”.

When the X-Men come to, they are disappointed to see that Quicksilver has rejoined the Brotherhood. Scarlet Witch is quick to jump in to defend her brother, but Quicksilver interrupts her to proclaim his allegiance to Magneto so as not to reveal his hidden agenda to Magneto.

Finally, the X-Men are left alone. Angel finds a strange device placed just within reach. Angel is able to use it to cut himself out of his cage. He proceeds to free his team mates but Cyclops is wary that the Brotherhood had planted the device to ensure that they would escape and walk into a trap. Instead, Cyclops tells Angel to escape to seek out the Avengers for help.






Magneto sees Angel escape and commands Quicksilver to go after Angel. But Angel outmanouvers Quicksilver and flies out across the ocean. After flying for miles, an exhausted Angel cannot fly out of the storm. He stops to rest on a rock, which rises from the water to reveal an island.

Angel explores the island and comes across “a vast complex of machinery”. The owner is Red Raven, who attacks Angel. They are evenly matched, and instead of fighting needlessly, Red Raven calls a truce. He explained to Angel that he merely wanted to protect the secret technology, and he was the first to discover the hideout.

As a child, Red Raven was the sole survivor of a plane crash. He was rescued and raised by a mutant tribe called the “Bird People”. After growing into adulthood, Red Raven realised that he was human, and that the Bird People planned to destroy the humans on earth. He tries to convince the Bird People not go to war but to no avail. In order to stop the Bird People, Red Raven had no choice but to place them in a permanent unconscious state hidden in an island under the sea. The island has since resurfaced, which they stand on now.

Twenty years have passed but Red Raven is still unsure about releasing the Bird People. He sentences them, and himself, to another twenty years in slumber under the sea. Angel is left alone on a raft floating out at sea as the island submerges into the depths below.

Rejuvenated, Angel resumes his mission to get to the Avengers.


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