This is "Out of Sight," a feature where I explore notable comic book moments that occurred off-panel. When I say "off-panel," I'm mostly talking about a character not being around and then showing up and us learning that something dramatic happened to them off-panel. I'm flexible enough that I can deal with maybe something "in between panels," as well. You can hit me up at brianc@cbr.com if you have a suggestion for a future column!

Reader Rob H. wrote in with this one.

As we all know, Scott Summers and Jean Grey are one of the most famous couples in the entire history of the X-Men. It doesn't mean that they are the BEST couple in the history of the X-Men, but they are certainly a very major part of the X-Men's history. However, the way that they finally got together as a couple is particularly odd.

Scott Summers, the X-Man known as Cyclops, was enamored with Jean Grey (then known as Marvel Girl) from the moment he met her in X-Men #1 (by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman)...

But by the third issue of the series, Lee had hit upon a general plot point that he would revisit many times during the next couple of years, which is the idea that Cyclops was into Jean but he believed that there's no way that she could go for a nobody like him...

This obviously tied in with the types of relationships that Lee was writing in his other books, like Matt Murdock being in love with Karen Page, but believing that there's no way that she would go for a blind guy, or Don Blake being in love with Jane Foster, but believing that there's no way that she she would go for a guy with a limp, or Captain America being in love with the idea of being a SHIELD agent, but believing that there's no way that Nick Fury would go for a guy like him.

In any event, after a few years (by which point, Lee had left the series and even his successor, Roy Thomas, had also left the book), Marvel tried a new bit where the X-Men split up and the book would then follow the adventures of the members of the team on their own, with Angel getting a solo story and Beast and Iceman paired together as well as Cyclops and Marvel Girl.

However, even though Cyclops and Marvel Girl were paired together, they continued to NOT be a couple, even going to the point of PRETENDING to be a couple to keep up appearances for their new solo career as superheroes (Jean had to become a model to explain why she wouldn't go home and Scott pretended to be her boyfriend while also becoming a roving radio correspondent, so he could explain being on the move, as well)...

So when did things change?

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Neal Adams steps in!']

When Neal Adams took over art duties on X-Men, he also was the main plotter on the series, as well. Adams had a pretty free rein on the book, and scripter Roy Thomas' job, often, was just to explain away whatever Adams felt like doing.

So, in X-Men #60, we learn that Scott and Jean are now a couple. Scott even acknowledges that it was dumb of him to take this long to get together with her...

The two would hilariously not actually KISS each other, though, until X-Men #94, well over a decade after they debuted...

They even made fun of this bit in X-Men #98...

See the little bit of meta-commentary there by having Stan Lee and Jack Kirby note that they never did kiss back when they were doing the book?

Thanks for the awesome suggestion, Rob!

If anyone else has a suggestion for a notable plot point that happened off-panel, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!