August 21, 1994

IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WERE FIVE TROUBLED teen-agers -- Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman and Marvel Girl -- all normal until they turned 13. Suddenly they could do superhuman things -- fly, shoot energy from their eyes and much, much more. Called the X-Men, "the strangest superheroes of all," they promptly went to war against Magneto, the master of magnetism and a real bad guy. It was a rebellious style, only slightly masked by the jackets and ties the X-Men then wore. An early issue has Iceman, whose frigid rays cool any situation, exclaiming: "Here's a quick-freezing icy sweatshirt for you, Stretch! This'll cramp your style real good!"

WHEN Thomas F. Prendergast, a senior vice president of the New York City Transit Authority, was named president of the Long Island Rail Road, a commuter watchdog said he was concerned that changes lay ahead for a railroad that many people thought was already moving in the right direction. "Now they'll start shuffling and shuffling and shuffling as the new president comes in with all his managers," the chairman of the Long Island Rail Road Commuters Council, Sheldon J. Schachter, said. "It takes time to reorient. And the fact of the matter is there is an agenda that had been set."

THE offer is heavenly -- a bountiful buffet of fresh homemade dishes, everything from grilled chicken and vegetables to scallops in white wine with mustard, capers and fresh basil to a dozen salads, wheels of baked bread and to-die-for desserts. The price: Whatever your heart says you can afford. The motive is lofty too. The Wandering Monk's Guild and Bakery opened its doors in New Haven earlier this summer with the intent of using profits from the bistro to help subsidize a soup kitchen for children a short distance away on State Street.

As Mexican voters prepare to cast ballots today, many express both frustration with the ruling party and a reluctance to face change. Will their anger cancel out their reticence? Article, page 16.

MAKING IT WORK 3 Teaching cycling to adults is a balancing act: stroking their egos when they fall, stoking their courage to try again. NEW YORKERS & CO. 4 125th Street hair wars: Amid criticism from established shops, immigrants weave braids in makeshift "salons."