This is the latest in a feature that spotlights unexplained comic book plot points (unexplained in the comics themselves, of course, as quite often there are outside explanations, like "the artist made a mistake," etc.).

Based on some discussion about Cyclops' love life the other day, let's look at the bizarre way that the X-Men kept operating in the open without finding out that their teammates they thought were dead were not dead and vice versa...

In X-Men #113 (by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin), the X-Men are fighting Magneto in his volcanic base in the Antarctic. Things went pear-shaped and Beast and Phoenix are separated from their teammates as the volcano erupts...







In the next issue, we establish two things. 1. That both groups survived but perhaps more importantly (okay, I guess nothing is more important than both groups surviving, but you know what I mean), 2. That both groups think that the OTHER group is dead...









This leads to a powerful moment when Jean has to tell Professor X that the X-Men are dead (Jean doesn't know that Xavier has had some experience with losing entire teams of X-Men by this point, as we learned decades later)...



And FOR THAT FIRST ARC, that's all good. No problem with it at all. The X-Men are in the Savage Land, cut off from the rest of the world, so there's no way for them to know that Jean and Beast survived. Similarly, Jean and Beast can't know that they survived because the X-Men are in the Savage Land and Jean is not a powerful telepath who can reach out to find Scott's thoughts...oh, okay, I guess that maybe Jean should have figured things out, but whatever, who knows the precise limits of her powers at the time.

But then, the X-Men come OUT of the Savage Land, and this is when it just becomes inexplicable, and in the case of one character who was appearing in both X-Men and Power Man and Iron Fist, sort of disturbing. Go to the next page to see stuff get really weird...

So with Professor X ready to go off with Lilandra now that the X-Men are dead and with Beast back to the Avengers, Jean Grey decides to go to Scotland. On the way there, she runs into her roommate, Misty Knight...



The next issue, the X-Men TEAM UP WITH MISTY KNIGHT! Plus her partner, Colleen Wing!!







Somehow, it never occurs to Cyclops to tell Misty, JEAN'S ROOMMATE, that Jean is dead. I can understand her not mentioning that she had just seen Jean (although, even there, you'd think it would have come up in passing), but not that he wouldn't say anything about it to her.

Plus, "Why don't I feel anything?" Man, perhaps Cyclops is just a sociopath. That would explain a lot.

So they get through the entire Japan arc without anyone contacting anyone. Cyclops doesn't call his brother, Alex, in Muir Isle. He doesn't call Moira MacTaggert (also on Muir Isle). Why doesn't he do this? Because Jean is now on Muir Isle, and that would make things too easy!

They then travel through Canada on the way back home, and they're attacked by Alpha Flight. Again, no contact with anyone. Although Scott and Colleen cozy up to each other on the flight.

In X-Men #122, the X-Men are now back in New York, but don't think to, you know, contact the Avengers to let them know that Beast is dead because that, of course, would let them know that he ISN'T dead.

Colleen, meanwhile, is putting the moves on Scott...



And as we establish the next issue, she knows that he thinks Jean is dead. So COLLEEN knows that Jean is supposedly dead, as well, and SHE has never discussed things with Misty? Or, more disturbingly, does Colleen KNOW that Jean isn't dead and is just keeping quiet to date Scott? Is Colleen ALSO a sociopath? Maybe she and Scott belong together!



FINALLY, after a full calendar year's worth of stories, Beast goes to check in on Xavier's mansion and discovers the X-Men there and Scott's all, "Oh yeah, I could have called Moira at any point in time before this and let my brother know I'm alive."









Years later, the X-Men were also though to be dead for quite a while, but that was intentional. They were even made invisible to recording devices to help keep the illusion up.

Feel free to make suggestion for future installments by e-mailing me at brianc@cbr.com! And feel free to be contrarians and try to explain why this makes sense!