In 1975, Marvel Comics introduced a new super
team comprised of some of their loaners and cast-offs. It might be difficult for
fans who came later to comprehend, but the X-Men had been the perennial
also-rans of the superhero world and the revival and incredible upswing that
began with Giant Size X-Men #1 and X-Men #94 didn’t really include
much of the original team. So, it was easy to grab Iceman and the Angel for this
new team (in fact, Angel was its financial backer). Hercules and the Black
Widow, both former Avengers, were also available, as was the ultimate loner,
Ghost Rider. Guest starts included Black Goliath (Bill Foster in his pre-Giant
Man days) and Soviet hero Darkstar. The creative talents of Tony Isabella, Bill
Mantlo, Chris Claremont, Don Heck, George Tuska, John Byrne and others are
included.