Introduction By Stan Lee

Hi, Heroes!

Wait'll you see what we have in store for you this time around! You remember that our last X-Men Masterworks (as we so modestly refer to these valiant little volumes) features the introduction of our new team of merry mutants in answer to an overwhelming amount of your requests. "Requests" did I say? "Threats" might be a better word, and you know how easy we are to intimidate!

That's why last ish, in our unstinting benevolence, we afforded you the chance to meet our great new team of extraordinary evil-smashers. But now that the intros are over, fasten your seatbelt, frantic one! You're about to see them in blazing, burgeoning, bombastic action against some of the most fantastic foes any battling bevy of do-gooders has ever faced!

Naturally, each and every story is a certifiable winner, and it's tough to pick the best one from among the dramatically dazzling array of contemporary classics contained within these two deliciously-designed covers. However, I must confess that I have one special favorite, because as you've probably already guessed, we here in the Marvel Bullpen are the biggest fans of all! There's no way we could create and produce these epic adventures day after day, year after year, if we didn't love the myths and legends and fantasy and foul-ups every bit as much as you do!

But getting back to my own particular favorite, it's actually the very first story in the book, the one that so powerfully presents the birth of Phoenix.

Look, we all know there are countless ways to tell any story. Give the same plot to any dozen writers, and you'll end up with twelve totally different versions of the same theme. Bearing that in mind, I've a hunch that when you read "Greater Love Hath No X-Man￯﾿ﾽ" and see the way one of my all-time favorite comic book scribes, the oh-so-talented Chris Claremont, dreamed up the death of Jean Grey and the birth of Phoenix, you'll agree with me that no one, but no one writing comics today could have done it in such a dramatic, unique and truly original manner. If you've read it before, you'll enjoy it twice as much this time around; and if you haven't yet thrilled to one of the truly great super-hero sagas of our time, I envy you. You're in for a treat you won't soon forget!

But I can't close this passionate paean of praise without including a few well-deserved words for the artistry of Dave Cockrum and John Byrne, whose illustrations abound throughout these glamour-packed pages. No matter how thrilling a story may be, it needs artwork to match in order to create a successful comic book epic. Well, as you're about to see, we've got the artwork for you-and thanks to the brilliance of Dave and John, we've got it in abundance!

Incidentally, I think you'll get a kick out of the little note, which John put at the end of one of the stories, praising Dave for his illos. John was so flattering that his little accolade read somewhat like an epitaph. The part that cracked me up was the line below, where Dave added the terse response: "I'm not dead-Dave Cockrum"!

Well, I've made no secret of the way I feel about the stories that follow. But why spend time reading my comments when you could be gleefully plunging into the dynamite yarns themselves? In fact, I'll cut this short because I've managed to whet my own appetite for the ever exotic X-Men brand of extravagant excitement! So let's dispense with the chatter and get to the heavy stuff.

Or, as we are ever wont to say here in the hallowed halls of Marvel-the best lies just ahead!

EXCELSIOR!