In every installment of “If I Pass This Way Again,” we look at odd comic book plot points that were rarely (sometimes NEVER!) mentioned again after they were first introduced.

Reader Steve S. wrote in about an odd part of Blob's history that has never really been explained.

The Blob, believe it or not, has a pretty interesting history before he solidified his place as a member of Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

The Blob debuted in X-Men #3 (by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman). Now, I do not wish to suggest that the Blob is not a powerful mutant, as he is. He has gone toe-to-toe with some of the strongest superheroes in the Marvel Universe. However, it still says a lot about the power levels of the original X-Men (before later writers expanded both Iceman and Jean Grey's powers) that the Blob so clearly outclassed them when they first met him.

Come on, you have to love a guy who's like, "Eh, I guess I could be a superhero. Sure, why not? Wait, you guys are all much weaker than me. What's the point? I'm out of here."

Also, at the same time, how freakin' sketchy does Professor X sound? "He turned us down! Take him to my lab so that I can erase his memories!" Of course, in the end, Professor X succeeded in erasing his memories.

Magneto, though, found Blob himself a few issues later and tried to recruit him.

You have to love how Blob tells HIM off, too! But Magneto has a hole card...

Few X-Men villains have ever had a better reason to become villains than, "Oh, yeah, that dude wiped my memory. Screw that guy!"

At the end of the issue, though, Magneto attacks the X-Men with Blob still near by them and Blob is all pissed about Magneto turning on him, so he quits the Brotherhood. He still doesn't want to join the X-Men, though.

He shows up again in X-Men #20, where he finally meets a REAL friend, Unus the Untouchable...

The two ended up joining a number of teams over the next decade or so, with Blob even re-joining the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with Unus along for the ride. During that time, they were reduced to infancy. When Magneto was cured, though, it inadvertently cured them, as well. They ran up against the Champions, who defeated them...

Okay, so the Blob is now in prison and about to be recruited to join Mystique's newly-reformed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. It's what he does next that confused Steve and honestly, it stumped me, as well.

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In X-Men #140 (by John Byrne, Chris Claremont and Terry Austin), we see the set-up for the Brotherhood re-forming in the following issue by seeing the Blob escape from prison. But look HOW he escapes...

Implosion? Huh? What does that even mean?

Steve has a theory as to why it showed up this time and never showed up again:

1) When the Blob doesn't want to move, his feet stick to the ground. Sometimes, Colossus or the Hulk were able to lift him, and they took a portion of the ground with him, stuck to his feet. So, Blob's power may be akin to a magnet that would affect solid ground. So, his lady Lawyer (Raven Darkholme?) probably guessed that if he concentrated long enough, he could spread his power onto his whole cell, attracting the walls to him.

2) As for why he never used it again? Simple: It takes days. Blog didn't have the patience to go through days of immobility and fasting again.

Works for me, Steve!

But yeah, it's very odd to see a new power like that introduced and then never shown again.

Thanks for the suggestion, Steve!

If anyone else has a suggestion for an interesting plot point that was introduced and then almost instantaneously ignored, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!