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| Uncanny X-Men #1
Sep 1963
The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1
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X-Men:
The issue that started it all! We meet Professor Charles Xavier and the original X-Men:
Scott "Slim" Summers (Cyclops), Hank McCoy (the Beast), Bobby Drake (Iceman), and Warren Worthington III
(the Angel). A new student joins the Prof's school - Jean Grey (Marvel Girl). Their first mission is to
stop a new evil mutant named Magneto who's taken over the military base Cape Citadel. The X-Men work
together, and quickly drive Magento off. The base General describes their performance with one word:
Uncanny!
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| Uncanny X-Men #2 Nov 1963 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
No One Can Stop the Vanisher: A new villain named the Vanisher steals defense plans from the Pentagon, and the X-Men must stop him! The Prof uses his mental powers on the Vanisher, confusing him long enough to be captured. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #3 Jan 1964 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Beware of the Blob: The Prof sends the X-Men out looking a new mutant he detected - and they find the Blob (in the circus). They try to recruit him, but he turns on them, bring his circus buddies to come attack the mansion. The Blob only gets stopped after the Prof uses an "intensifier ray" to increase his mental powers, making the Blob forget all about the X-Men (this is 2 issues in a row where the Prof "confuses" the villain!). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #4 Mar 1964 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: Four new mutants are working for Magneto: Toad, Mastermind, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. The Scarlet Witch (Wanda) is only helping Magneto because he saved her from humans who wanted to kill her. Quicksilver (Pietro) is her brother, and he's only helping Magneto out because his sister is. We learn much, much later that they are actually Magento's children! Anyway, Magneto steals a battleship, and they take over the "tiny republic of Santa Marco". The Professor and the X-Men drive down there, storm the capitol building and the Prof gets injured by a bomb left by Magneto. The "evil mutants" flee, but not before Quicksilver defuses the other (nuclear!) bomb that Magneto left behind. The Prof's mental powers have been deadened by the explosion that hit him. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #5 May 1964 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Trapped: One X-Man: Returning to the mansion with the disabled Prof, the X-Men meet Jean Grey's parents for the first time. Later, the X-Men see a mutant winning a track and field meet until the crowd turns on him. The X-Men go to "rescue" him, but he turns out to be the Toad! The Evil Mutants ambush the X-Men, kidnapping the Angel, but leaving the Toad behind. The X-Men use the Toad to travel up to Magneto's latest hideout - Asteroid M. A big battle naturally ensues, the asteroid seems to break apart, and everyone escapes. Upon returning to the mansion, the X-Men learn that the Prof was only faking the loss of his powers to test his students. They passed this "final exam" of their schooling. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #6 Jul 1964 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Sub-Mariner Joins the Evil Mutants: Magneto contacts Sub-Mariner (Namor, the King of Atlantis), hoping to enlist him. The X-Men follow them to Magneto's latest hideout (an island near the Bermuda Triangle) and have a big fight (Namor holds his own against everyone, eventually destroying Magento's giant magnet). The X-Men capture Quicksilver, but let him go, hoping to eventually persuade Wanda and him to join them. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #7 Sep 1964 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Return of the Blob: The X-Men "graduate", and the Prof announces he's leaving for a while, putting Cyclops in charge. Charles shows Scott his secret project - Cerebro - used to detect mutant powers. The first mutant detected is the Blob, who's recoved from his forced memory loss (issue #3) as Magneto tries to recruit him. The X-Men attack, and are getting their butts kicked until they're (ironically) saved from Magneto's missile attack by the body of the Blob. The Evil Mutants get fed up with losing and take off. The Blob gets fed up with everyone trying to control him, and walks off to rejoin his circus. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #8 Nov 1964 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Uncanny Threat of Unus, the Untouchable: One day in the city, the Beast saves a child from the roof of a building, but the scared humans still attack him. He gets fed up trying to protect the people who fear or hate him, so he leaves the X-Men! While wokring as a wrestler, he comes across Unus, a mutant with powers that allow him to never even be touched. After Unus whomps the remaining X-Men, the Beast decides to help out again, building a device that enhances Unus' power. The X-Men think the Beast is trying to betray them, until they realize that now Unus can no longer touch anything himself (even food). The Beast returns Unus to his original mutant power on the condition that he doesn't get "out of line" or ever try to contact Magneto (or they'll boost him permanently). After proving himself this way to the X-Men, the Beast rejoins them. Also, in this issue we learn for the first time that Scott and Jean harbor secret feelings of love for each other, but won't tell each other. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #9 Jan 1965 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Enter, the Avengers: The X-Men go to Europe to help Professor Xavier in hi battle with Lucifer, the villain who cost Xavier the use of his legs years ago. Xavier confronts Lucifer in his underground lair, only to learn that he can't harm the arch-villain, or a nuclear bomb will go off. While looking for Xavier, the X-Men are waylaid by the Avengers (Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Giant-Man, and some little pixie). Just as the Avengers are really about to whomp on the X-Men, the Prof neutralizes Lucifer and contacts Thor, calling for a halt to their battle. The X-Men join the Prof underground, where they help him disarm the nuclear bomb, and then let Lucifer go (it wasn't until later that the X-Men (and the writers) got smarter and decided to start trying to detain all these villains they defeat). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #10 Mar 1965 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Coming of Ka-Zar: The X-Men see a TV report of a loincloth-clad wild man in Antarctica, and go to investigate. The X-Men stumble across a hidden entrance to .... The Savage Land! Jean gets kidnapped by swamp warriors. Ka-Zar, Lord of the Jungle, shows up and helps the X-Men. They rescue Jean (and Angel, who got captured, too), and then Ka-Zar asks them all to leave his "jungle" and not to return. I don't think this "jungle" was officially called the Savage Land back at this time, but this is what we learn to call it later. Guess what? The X-Men do return!, and Ka-Zar is much friendlier (and speaks better English) in later issues. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #11 May 1965 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Triumph of Magneto: The Evil Mutants and the X-Men are all in pursuit of a Stranger in town who can walk on air and walk through walls. Magneto "wins", and he and the Toad are taken away by the Stranger, who admits he is "from the stars" and is collecting specimens of mutants from different planets. The trio take off like rockets from the Earth into space and aren't seen again until issue #17. Meanwhile, they left Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch behind, who decide they're through with Magneto, but don't want to join the X-Men either. Also, when the Evil Mutants were first pursuing this Stranger, Mastermind tried some of his tricks on the Stranger, who responded by turning him into a stone (metal?) statue. At the end of the issue, he remains in this state in the care of the X-Men. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #12 Jul 1965 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Origin of Professor X: As the mansion is being assualted by an unknown mutant, the Professor tells the X-Men some of his history. When the Professor was very young, his father was killed in an atomic blast in New Mexico. His father's colleague, Dr. Marko, somehow escaped, and after the funeral convinced the greiving widow Xavier to marry him. Marko soon brought his delinquent son, Cain, to live with them, and Charles used his budding mental powers to learn that both of them were basically evil. Years later, Charles and Cain were fighting together in the Korean War, and Cain discovered the Sacred Lost Temple of Cyttorak. He picks up a ruby, and receives the power of the Juggernaut! The cave they're in begins to collapse, and only Charles makes it out. It took the Juggernaut all these years to dig himself out of the cave-in. Now, he's back and he wants the Professor's life! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #13 Sep 1965 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Where Walks the Juggenaut: The Juggernaut seriously kicks the X-Men's butts, only to be stopped by Charles' mental powers. However, first the X-Men had to remove his helmet, which was shiielding him from all mental attacks. Note: the Juggeranaut's power is that nothing can stop him, as opposed to Unus' power where no one can touch him, and as oppopsed to the Blob's power where no can hurt him. C'mon - these powers are basically the same! When do we get some original villains?!? |
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| Uncanny X-Men #14 Nov 1965 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Among Us Stalk the Sentinels: Dr. Bolivar Trask begins to stir up anti-mutant hysteria, and has a publicized debate with the Prof (who takes the side of the mutants, but doesn't admit that he is one). During the debate, Trask releases his Sentinels, which are supposed to defend the world against mutants. The Sentinels are self-aware, though, and decide that they should be guardians off all humans, and proceed wreak havoc. They fly away with Trask as their captive, except for one Sentinel who stays around to fight the X-Men. Our favorite muties are getting whooped when the Sentinel suddenly crashes to the ground. The X-Men don't know what stopped that Sentinel, but all take off after the other Sentinels.... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #15 Dec 1965 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Prisoners of the Mysterious Master Mold: The X-Men attack the Sentinel fortress, only to all be captured (except Xavier, who was only in the battle mentally). The Sentinels are run by the Master Mold, and during its mental probe of the Beast, Trask hears that the true purpose of the X-Men is to protect humanity from evil mutants. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #16 Jan 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Supreme Sacrifice: While the X-Men are all prisoners, the Prof goes back to determine what suddenly stopped that Sentinel back in issue #14. He determines that a nearby decorative crystal blocked the Sentinel's transmission beam (from the fortress?), rendering it helpless. The Prof (and the Army) bring the crystal to the fortress, knocking out all the Sentinels inside. Meanwhile, Dr. Trask is being forced by Master Mold to create more Sentinels, but he rebels, destroying the equipment, himself, and Master Mold (?). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #17 Feb 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
And None Shall Survive: All the X-Men have to head to the hospital after their battle with the Sentinels. One by one, they return to the mansion, only to be captured by someone waiting for them. Iceman is still in the hospital, so he is the only one not captured by the evil power, who we learn is Magneto! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #18 Mar 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
If Iceman Should Fail: Iceman is contacted by the Professor to come save all the X-Men. He arrives at the mansion, and lays a trap for Magneto. The other X-Men escape, and Magneto is ready to blast them all until the Prof spring his surprise - he has summoned the Stranger (from whom Magneto escaped). Mageto takes off in his magno-car, with the Stranger in hot pursuit. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #19 Apr 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Lo! Now Shall Apear the Mimic: The Prof grants the team a short vacation, during which they run into the Mimic. We is able to mimic the powers of anyone near him (athletic, mental, or mutant powers!), but only while he's in their vicinity. He tracks Jean Grey back to the mansion, where he confronts the X-Men with all of their powers! Acting as a team, they're able to defeat him temporarily, but then he grabs Jean and runs off to his hideout (in a mine). The X-Men follow, and the Mimic uses their powers to reach a device of his father's buried in the mine that is supposed to make the powers he absorbs permanent. Instead, the device removes all of his powers. The Prof erases his memory, and everyone goes home happy. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #20 May 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
I, Lucifer: Guess who's back? Lucifer (last seen in issue #9) has recruited the Blob and Unus to work to help him get his revenge on the Professor. The X-Men make quick work of the Blob and Unus, who end up on top of a subway train, heading out of town. When the Prof realizes who's behind those two, he tells Jean Grey the story of how he first met Lucifer in Tibet. Lucifer (who is from another planet) had taken control (mentally) of an entire city, and Charles helped some rebels overthrow him. But, as Lucifer fled, he triggered a trap which fell on Charles and paralyzed him. The other X-Men return to the mansion, and then quickly take off to Lucifer's new hideout in the southwestern U.S. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #21 Jun 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
From Whence Came Dominus: While the X-Men sneak into Lucifer's hideout, some of Lucifer's robots capture the Prof. Lucifer describes his alien race's plan to conquer the Earth with a machine called Dominus that they've used on countless other planets. When the X-Men destroy the robots which are used to operate Dominus, Lucifer's plans are ruined and he is called back to his home planet. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #22 Jul 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
Divided We Fall: Count Nefaria and some other minor villains (all from other Marvel comics) launch a plan to hold Washington, D.C, for ransom. He captures all the X-Men (by using image-doubles of themselves to lure them out), and claims he will get the X-Men to help him with his plan. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #23 Aug 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
To Save a City: Nefaria somehow encases the Capitol in a bubble, and will remove all the oxygen if the X-Men don't help him. Of course, the X-Men agree to help "to save a city", but plan on double-crossing him when the get the chance. They never get the chance, 'cause the Prof walks into Nefaria's control room and destroys the bubble controls, freeing the city. Oh yeah, you read that right - the Prof did indeed walk right in, with the help of new battery-powered, lightweight, flexible braces. How long does he use these things? |
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| Uncanny X-Men #24 Sep 1966 The Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Plague of the Locust: Jean Grey's parents make Jean enroll in a real college (since the X-Men did actually graduate, back in issue #7), so she's "leaving" the X-Men (no one has left for an entire issue so far!). At Metro College (in NYC, naturally), she sees the crazy ex-professor Dr. August Hooper, who turns out to be a new, misguided villain known as the Locust. He's growing enormous insects and releasing them on farms, planning to make a fortune on selling a pesticide made especially for them. Naturally, the X-Men get involved, and Jean Grey helps out, too. During one battle, the X-Men interfere with the Locust's control of his insects and they turn on him. The X-Men save his life, and he repents his evil ways. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #25 Oct 1966 |
The Power and the Pendant: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #26 Nov 1966 |
Holocaust: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #27 Dec 1966 |
Re-enter: the Mimic: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #28 Jan 1967 |
The Wail of the Banshee: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #29 Feb 1967 |
When Titans Clash: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #30 Mar 1967 |
The Warlock Wakes: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #31 Apr 1967 |
We Must Destroy the Cobalt Man: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #32 May 1967 |
Beware the Juggernaur, My Son: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #33 Jun 1967 |
Into the Crimson Cosmos: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #34 Jul 1967 |
War in a World of Darkness: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #35 Aug 1967 |
Along Came a Spider: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #36 Sep 1967 |
Mekano Lives: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #37 Oct 1967 |
We, the Jury: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #38 Nov 1967 |
The Sinister Shadow of Doomsday: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #39 Dec 1967 |
The Fateful Finale: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #40 Jan 1968 |
The Mark of the Monster: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #41 Feb 1968 |
Now Strikes the Sub-Human: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #42 Mar 1968 |
If I Should Die: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #43 Apr 1968 |
The Torch is Passed: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #44 May 1968 |
Red Raven, Red Raven: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #45 Jun 1968 |
When Mutants Clash: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #46 Jul 1968 |
The End of the X-Men: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #47 Aug 1968 |
The Warlock Wears Three Faces: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #48 Sep 1968 |
Beware Computo, Commander of the Robot Hive: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #49 Oct 1968 |
Who Dares Defy the Demi-Men: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #50 Nov 1968 |
City of Mutants: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #51 Dec 1968 |
The Devil Had a Daughter: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #52 Jan 1969 |
The Twilight of the Mutants: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #53 Feb 1969 |
The Rage of Blastaar: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #54 Mar 1969 |
Wanted: Dead or Alive - Cyclops: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #55 Apr 1969 |
The Living Pharoah: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #56 May 1969 |
What is the Power? 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #57 Jun 1969 |
The Sentinels Live: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #58 Jul 1969 |
Mission: Murder: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #59 Aug 1969 |
Do or Die, Baby: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #60 Sep 1969 |
In the Shadow of the Sauron: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #61 Oct 1969 |
Monsters also Weep: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #62 Nov 1969 |
Strangers in a Savage Land: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #63 Dec 1969 |
War in the World Below: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #64 Jan 1970 |
The Coming of Sunfire: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #65 Feb 1970 |
Before I'd Be Slave: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #66 Mar 1970 |
The Mutants and the Master: 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #67-93 Apr 1970 - Apr 1975 |
Reprints: during this period of time, Marvel reprinted earlier stories of the Uncanny X-Men. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Amazing Adventures #11 Mar 1970 Mutations |
The Beast: The Beast recounts the story of how he came to permanently look like his nickname. Hank McCoy left the X-Men and began work at the Brand Corporation during research on mutations. One night, he overheard a jealous co-worker (Dr. Carl Maddicks) planning to steal his work. He used his mutant serum on himself, became the fuzzy blue creation he all know and love, and foiled the plan. However, he didn't get to the antitote in time, and became permanently stuck as the blue Beast! One sidenote - it looks like Hank's love interest in this issue (Linda Donaldson) was also working for the "Masters" who put Dr. Maddicks up to stealing Hank's work. Linda even "killed" Maddicks after he failed (he shows up, and gets killed again, in X-Factor #2-3). |
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| Amazing Adventures #11 Mar 1971 Mutations |
Birth of the Beast: Herein lies the story of where Hank's mutation came from (his Dad saved a nuclear plant from meltdown, but was exposed to excessive radiation in the process), how Hank's mutant abilities began to show up (he was a football star), and how Hank later joined the X-Men (they rescued him from the Conquistador, who wanted to use Hank's mutant abilities in his quest for power. |
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| Giant-Size X-Men #1 1975 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Second Genesis: The original X-Men are missing! Professor X gathers a new team of mutants (Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Banshee, Storm, Colossus, Thunderbird, and Sunfire) to help Cyclops find the original X-Men (Angel, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Havok, and Polaris). Cyclops "lost" them while they where searching for a powerful new mutant that Cerebro detected on the island of Krakoa. The new X-Men team flies in the Blackbird to the island, where they find that the island itself is the powerful new mutant, and it's feeding on the mutant energies of the X-Men (it used Cyclops as bait to bring more X-Men). Naturally, a big battle unsues (joined telepathically by Prof. X; why doesn't he do that more often?). Eventually, Lorna Dane (Polaris) lifts the island right out of the ocean, and sends it hurtling into space. This issue also contains the extra segments Call Him...Cyclops, I, the Iceman, and The Female of the Species, where we get some background on Cyclops, Iceman, and Marvel Girl. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #94 Aug 1975 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Doomsmith Scenario: Sunfire leaves the new X-Men, and all of the old X-Men except Cyclops (Angel, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Havok, and Polaris) also quit the team. Count Nefaria and his Ani-Men take over Valhalla (the mountain that houses NORAD) and have activated the Doomsmith system (auto-launch of the nukes). The new X-Men respond to the help request (phoned in by The Beast from the Avengers). They fly to Valhalla in the Blackbird, only to be shot down right above the mountain. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #95 Oct 1975 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Warhunt: Nightcrawler BAMFs inside the mountain (hey, I thought he needed to be able to see where he was teleporting!) and let's the rest of the team in. The X-Men defeat the Ani-Men in battle, destroying the Doomsmith circuitry. Nefaria takes off in his plane and John Proudstar (Thunderbird) jumps on the plane just as it takes off. While airborne, he destroys the plane's controls. The plane plummets and crashes, killing both Nefaria and Thunderbird! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #96 Dec 1975 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Night of the Demon: While Scott (Cyclops) is grieving over the death of Thunderbird, he lets off a few optic blasts in rage. One of them blasts open a seal on the tomb of Kierrok the Shatterer of Souls (a N'Garai demon). Meanwhile, Moira MacTaggert shows up at the Mansion as the new "housekeeper" (I still haven't figured out why Charles really invited her there). That evening, Scott comes flying through the wall of the Mansion, in the middle of a fight with Keirrok. The team begins fighting a futile battle against the demon. Eventually, the Prof sends Storm off to look for Kierrok's tomb. She finds it (crawling with minor N'Garai demons), and destroys it. Kierrok disappears when his tomb is destroyed, but is it really dead? (A N'Garai demon returns in issue #143.) Also in this issue, we get a glimpse of Dr. Lang and his mad Project Armageddon. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #97 Feb 1976 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
My Brother, My Enemy: As Xavier heads off on a vacation (the recover from the psychic messages he's been getting from an alien (Lilandra, whom we later meet)), Havoc and Polaris are brainwashed by Erik the Red into trying to kill Xavier. A big battle ensues at Kennedy Airport - Cyclops and Havoc fight each other (even though I believe that their powers can't harm each other), and Storm whomps Polaris. Seeing Wolverine and Banshee show up, Eric the Red decides the better part of valour is discretion - he retreats, carrying off Havoc and Polaris. In the final frame, we see Dr. Lang watching the X-Men on a monitor, and another person watching Dr. Lang watch the X-Men! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #98 Apr 1976 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Sentinels Have Returned: While enjoying Christmas in New York City, the X-Men are attacked by Dr. Steven Lang's Sentinels, and Jean Grey, Banshee, and Wolverine are captured. While on a fishing trip with Dr. Peter Corbeau, the Prof is attacked by a Sentinel and captured, too. Eventually, Dr. Corbeau shows up at the Mansion, and he deduces that the X-Men are "not on the Earth". The captured X-Men excape, breaking through the walls - only to find themselves floating in space! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #99 Jun 1976 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Deathstar, Rising: The Sentinels retrieve the nearly-dead X-Men floating in space. Meanwhile, Dr. Corbeau discovers that the Sentinels are being built on SHIELD's orbital platform, so the earthbound team gets themselves installed as the crew on a Starcore shuttle and launched into space. Approaching the orbital platform, the shuttle is taken out by the Sentinels, and the shuttle rams into the platform. The X-Men are reunited, and proceed to whomp the Sentinels (Lang even comments that "the Trask notes...were incomplete, the Sentinels [are] second-rate"). Just as Cyclops and Marvel Girl are about to capture Lang, they are surprised by someone, and captured. The other X-Men are then confronted by the Prof and all the original X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman), who want to kill the new X-Men. Also in this issue, we get our first glimpse (?) of Black Tom, Banshee's evil cousin. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #100 Aug 1976 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Greater Love Hath No X-Man: The two generations of the X-Men battle it out for a while, before Wolverine realizes that Jean Grey "ain't Jean Grey!" Those "original X-Men" were nothing more than advanced robots: X-Sentinels. After making short work of these upstarts, the real X-Men attack Lang, and he actually dies (mostly his fault, though). The orbital platform is falling apart after all this fighting, and the X-Men head back to the shuttle (which rammed into the platform last issue). Realizing that they can't survive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere in a damaged shuttle, especially with the current solar flare activity, Jean Grey seals the hull telepathically, and pilots them back to earth. However, the solar radiation is breaking through Jean's shield.... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #101 Oct 1976 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Like a Phoenix From The Ashes: Jean Grey appears to die from solar radiation as she pilots the shuttle back to Earth. However, after they crash into Jamaica Bay (next to Kennedy Airport), Jean Grey rises like a Phoenix from the waters! She immediately collapses, though, and spends the next several issues in the hospital recupperating. Scott and the Prof stay with her, but the other X-Men decide to take a vacation at Banshee's ancestral castle in Ireland. Upon arriving, they discover that Banshee's evil cousin Black Tom and the Prof's step-brother Juggernaut have set a trap for them! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #102 Dec 1976 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Who Will Stop the Juggernaut? Storm is fairly freaked out by being trapped in the castle dungeons, so it's up to Banshee, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus to fight Black Tom and Juggernaut (without any success!). Storm flashes back to her childhood, and how her parents died in Cairo in 1956, then how she was trained by Achmed El Gibar to be a thief, and finally how she came to the Serengati where she became the Storm Goddess until the Prof found her (back in Giant Size X-Men #1). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #103 Feb 1977 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Fall of the Tower: Nightcrawler's unconscious body is removed from the battle scene of the previous issue by Leprechauns, who notice an interesting aspect of Nightcrawler's mutant power - he's invisible in the shadows! Eamon O'Donnell, the seneschal of Cassidy Keep, tells Nightcrawler how Black Tom has kidnapped most of the Leprechauns, and hopes to kill his cousin, Sean Cassidy (Banshee). Black Tom is actualyl taking his orders from "a tall man in red armor and a horned helmet" (we later find out that this is Eric the Red). Nightcrawler and the Little People eventually free the other X-Men, and a big battle ensues. Black Tom and the Juggernaut end up falling of a castle tower into the storm-tossed Atlantic (don't worry - they're not really dead!). We end the issue seeing that the "horned" guy is actually taking his orders from someone else (whom we learn in issue #107 is D'Ken, the mad Shi'ar Emperor). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #104 Apr 1977 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Gentleman's Name is Magneto: As the X-Men leave Cassidy Keep for Moira's Muir Island, they're attacked by Magneto! Meanwhile, Scott and Moira, at Charles' urging, fly to Muir Island in the Blackbird, finding Jamie Madrox unconscious. Jamie wakes to tell about Havoc, Polaris, and Eric the Red sneaking in and restoring Magneto from the baby into which he'd been turned some time ago. Scott runs off and joins the other X-Men against Magneto. While Magneto is down for a few moments, Scott orders a "retreat" to New York to protect the Prof. On a side note, the battle on Muir Island released a couple of Moira's subjects: the Dragonfly Lady (last seen as one of Nefario's Ani-Men) and something ominous called Mutant X (he shows up later in issue #125). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #105 Jun 1977 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Phoenix Unleashed: Returning to Westchester, the X-Men find Eric the Red and Firelord (Galactus' former herald) waiting for them. Firelord was duped into helping Eric, by thinking that the X-Men were trying to kill Eric. Meanwhile, Lilandra's ship is blown up by photon torpedos just after Lilandra teleports to Jean Grey's NYC apartment, where Jean, her parents, the Prof, and Jean's roommate Misty are having coffee. Firelord busts in, demanding Lilandra and the Prof. Jean gets pissed at the interruption and the destruction, transforms to Phoenix, and starts whomping Firelord. Eric the Red (who's real name is Shakari and was banished to Earth by Lilandra) grabs Lilandra and jumps through a stargate he constructed on a rooftop. Phoenix powers-up the stargate again with her raw power, and all the X-Men jump through, hoping to find Lilandra and help stop her brother. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #106 Aug 1977 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Dark Shroud of the Past: A filler issue. While the X-Men have gone off who-knows-where, Xavier has a flashback to a time (between issues 96 and 97). The new X-Men got attacked by the old (original) X-Men in the Danger Room, but it all turned out to be a figment of the Prof's mind (tormented by the telepathic projections from Lilandra). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #107 Oct 1977 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Where No X-Man Has Gone Before: Continuing where issue #105 left off, the X-Men travel through the stargate, to arrive on an ancient world, and begin to fight Gladiator and the Imperial Guard for Lilandra. D'Ken summons the Soul-Drinker to eat Lilandra's soul, but Nightcrawler bamfs her to safety. The Starjammers show up out of nowhere, and join the fight helping the X-Men. (Jean mindprobes Corsair, leader of the Starjammers, and is shocked at what she discovers. As we learn next issue, Corsair is the father of Cyclops, and also of Havoc.) It all seems futile though as the Deathstars align, and the power up the M'Kraan Crystal. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #108 Dec 1977 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Armageddon Now: The M'Kraan Crystal is tearing apart the sky in front of the X-Men (and apparently also the entire universe). The X-Men are confronted by Jahf, the first "guardian of this gate to eternity". He punches Wolverine into orbit (literally), starts to fight all the X-Men, and is defeated by Banshee. Only to be replaced by Modt, the significantly larger second guardian. One of the Starjammers throws D'Ken against the Crystal, and in a flash, everyone gets transported inside the Crystal. Everyone is subjected to their own worst fears, and Scott lets loose his optic blasts, blasting through Jean, and then the sphere at the center of the Crystal. It's starting to crack, so Jean transforms into the Phoenix and enters the sphere, which turns out to be a neutron galaxy. It's breaking free of its confines (a "geodesic latticework of anti-energy"), but Phoenix (drawing strength from Storm and Corsair) rebuilds the lattice, containing the power of the M'Kraan Crystal once again. Everyone transports home, including Lilandra who says D'Ken has been driven insane, and she's going to hide out on Earth until the Empire settles down again. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #109 Feb 1978 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Home are the Heroes: Everyone returns to the Westchester mansion, and life returns to "normal". While out tracking deer one day, Wolverine (Weapon X) gets attacked by James MacDonald Hudson (Weapon Alpha). Apparently, the Canadian government wants Wolverine back working for them. The other X-Men get involved, and Weapon Alpha eventually disappears (literally), thinking he'll bring Alpha Flight back to finish the job. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #110 Apr 1978 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
The 'X'-Sanction: A deranged guy named Warhawk breaks into the mansion and overrides the Danger Room's controls to beat the crap out of the X-Men in there. Nightcrawler bamfs out (with Wolverine) and the rest of the X-Men eventually break out on their own. Confronted by all of them, Warhawk gives up. The readers learn that he was working for someone else, but we don't know who.... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #111 Jun 1978 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Mindgames: Beast is looking for the X-Men is Texas, and finds them performing in a circus! Beast is eventually captured by the circus hands, adn brought before Mesmero, who is the one who's enslaved the X-Men. Well, except for Wolverine, who breaks free of his chains, and starts to free the minds of the other X-Men. They go to confront Mesmero in his circus wagon, only to find Magneto has taken care of Mesmero, and is waiting to take care of them, too! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #112 Aug 1978 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Magneto Triumphant: Magneto takes the wagon (with all aboard) up into orbit, and brings it down in his underground Antarctic lair. Magneto imprisons the X-Men under the care of a robotic Nanny. He says he's doing this because Charles and "my treacherous creation, Alpha" (?) turned him into a baby (Defenders #16). [Apparently, Magneto was restored to adulthood by Erik the Red between then and now.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #113 Sep 1978 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Showdown: Storm uses her lockpick to set herself (and then the others) free. The ensuing fight with Magneto causes the subterranean complex to crack open, and molten lava begins to pour in. Magneto gets free in a magnetic bubble. Jean and Beast get free, protected by the Phoenix's power. However, they don't last long exposed to the brutal antarctic conditions. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #114 Oct 1978 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 (This was the first issue to use the title "Uncanny X-Men" on the cover.) |
Desolation (The Day the X-Men Died): Jean and Beast get picked up by a helicopter (alerted by the Phoenix's power), but they are convinced that the other X-Men must have dies in Magneto's complex. When they return to Westchester, Jean breaks the news to the Prof that "the X-Men are dead". However, we know the truth! The other X-Men tunneled out of the complex, and end up in the Savage Land (apparently, Scott's been there before). The X-Men recuperate at a local village, believing that Jean and Beast are dead (but it looks like Banshee and Colossus actually get laid, too!). While resting by a stream, Storm gets attacked by Sauron! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #115 Nov 1978 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Visions of Death: A battle ensues, and Sauron eventually changes back to his natural form - Karl Lykos. Just them, Ka-Zar, Lord of the Savage Land shows up. Ka-Zar and Lykos actually came looking for the X-Men's help (well, why did Lykos/Sauron absorb Storms power?). Recently in the Savage Land, Lykos observed Zaladane perform a ritual on Kirk Marston (a nobody?), turning him into Garokk the Petrified Man. Garokk and Zaladane began to take over the Savage Land (by first ousting the vampire-race of Sheenars, who had transported one of their cities right into the Savage Land). Lykos and Ka-Zar ask for the X-Men's help in defeating Garokk and Zaladane, but Scott refuses, claiming that it's more important for the X-Men to go protect the Prof from Magneto than to save all the people of the Savage Land (lame!). But, as the X-Men are leaving the Savage Land, it begins to snow - inside the Savage Land! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #116 Dec 1978 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
To Save the Savage Land: The X-Men decide to stay "to save the Savage Land". They approach the "Citadel of the Sun God" and are attacked by warriors on pteranosaurs. Cyclops, Colossus, Banshee, and Ka-Zar get captured. Storm, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler sneak into the citadel (Wolverine actually kills a guard!). They free the other X-Men, and Cyclops engages Garokk one-on-one. The citadel begins to crumble (hey, this is the second citadel in Antarctica that the X-Men have destroyed while they're still inside!), and everyone makes it out, except for Garook, whom Storm acually tries to save. With Garokk gone, the X-Men resume their journey home, taking a small boat out to sea, but they are quickly overtaken by a tremondous storm! [Garokk returns in issue #149.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #117 Jan 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
Psi-War: The X-Men are rescued at sea by the Jinguichi Maru, a Japanese boat heading back home. Meanwhile, back in NY, the Prof reminisces about his younger days: getting engaged to Moira MacTaggert in grad school, loosing her after he got drafted (and injured), meeting a young pickpocket in Cairo (Storm), and then engaging the leader of the Thieves' Quarter, Amahl Farouk, in a psi-war. After Cairo, the Prof mentions he fought the alien Lucifer in Tibet, where he lost the use of his legs (issue #20). After this stroll down memory lane, the Prof agress to go with Lilandra back to her Empire (he still thinks the X-Men are dead). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #118 Feb 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
The Submergence of Japan: The X-Men arrive in Agarashima, Japan, aboard the Jinguichi Maru, only to find the city on fire! They set out to find Sunfire (last seen quitting the new X-Men team in #94), hoping to get some help to get home. They arrive at Sunfire's (Shiro Yoshida's) and find Misty Knight there (Jean Grey's roommate - I've never found out what her real story is). Wolverine meets Mariko (Shiro's cousin) for the first time, and we almost find Wolverine's real name (I take it that this was a secret at one point). An earthquake hits, the Mandroids show up, the X-Men shoo them away. Then, a hologram delivers a message from Moses Magnum, Master of the Magnum Force, saying that he will sink Japan tomorrow if he's not declared its ruler. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #119 Mar 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 1 |
'Twas the Night Before Christmas: Mr. Osama (?) briefs the X-Men: his grandniece/detective Colleen Wing and her partner Misty Knight discovered Magnum's hideout in the Kuril volcanoes. Sunfire and the X-Men attack, and eventually Banshee stops Magnum, destroying the entire island chain, and almost himself in the process. Sean gets out of the hospital and is surprised by an X-Men Christmas Party waiting for him back at Shiro's. Meanwhile, Jean Grey arrives in Scotland (after spending 6 weeks in the Greek Isles) and is greeted by Moira, Alex, Lorna, and Jamie. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #120 Apr 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Wanted: Wolverine! Dead or Alive: The X-Men fly back from Japan, but are waylaid by Hudson (last seen in issue #109) and the rest of Alpha Flight. Forced to land their plane in Calgary, the X-Men split up after their first tangle with Alpha Flight. Wolverine and Nightcrawler are captured. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #121 May 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Shoot-out at the Stampede: Big showdown between the X-Men and Alpha Flight. The X-Men actually get their butts kicked, until Wolverine agrees to give himself up if the rest of the X-Men can go free. Everyone agrees, although the X-Men are significantly disturbed. However, on the plane ride back home, Wolverine shows up, somehow having escaped from Alpha Flight! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #122 Jun 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Cry for the Children: Back at the mansion for the first time since issue #110, things are feeling lonely for the team without Xavier or Jean around (and remember, these guys don't know that Charles and Jean think they're dead!). Colossus is feeling like a big failure, so Wolverine tries to "cheer" him up. Wolverine sabotages the Danger Room controls, and then puts himself in harm's way in the Danger Room so Colossus has to "save" him. This does make Colossus feel a little better about himself. Meanwhile, Storm decides to go visit the original home of her family (in Harlem?), and gets attacked by the druggies living there now. Elsewhere, Scott and Colleen Wing begin to flirt. And across the Atlantic, Jean meets Jason Wyngarde for the first time. In the prologue, we see Black Tom and the Juggernaut (last seen in issue #103) meeting with Miss Locke (the "finest and most expensive assassin in the world") and Arcade. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #123 Jul 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Listen - stop me if you've heard it - but this one will kill you: All of the X-Men are easily captured by Arcade and transported to his custom-built Murder World. They're all separated and put through different (deadly) tests. Wolverine and Cyclops start to team up when they're attacked by Colossus, who's been brainwashed into thinking he's the Proletarian, Worker's Hero of the Soviet Union. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #124 Aug 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
He Only Laughs When I Hurt: Arcade reminisces about how he came to be the twisted murderer he is while the X-Men are alternately fighting to break free or fighting against the Proletarian. The X-Men break Colossus free of his brainwashing while Nightcrawler destroys Arcade's control booth. Arcade admits the X-Men have beaten him (for now), and lets them go. |
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| Uncanny X-Men Annual #3 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
A Fire in the Sky: Akron the Imperion kidnaps Storm, and the other X-Men follow after her. Akron's planet was previously saved from destruction by a machine from the Avengers. However, the power in the machine has failed, and the world will die if the power is not restored. Akron's plan is to use Storm to recharge the machine, and once she understands she agrees to the plan, despite the risk to her own life. All the X-Men end up helping, the world is saved, and the X-Men are returned home. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #125 Sep 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
There's Something Awful on Muir Island: On Muir Island, Jean begins to get control of Phoenix's powers, but is also beginning to be attacked mentally by Jason Wyngarde's halucinations. Also, Moira notices the Mutant X is no longer in his holding cell (we saw this back in issue #104). Meanwhile, back at the Mansion, the Beast drops by to check out the place and finds the X-Men (he thought they were dead, and they thought he was dead, way back in issue #114). The reunion is interrupted by a call from Polaris/Lorna on Muir Island - then the call is interrupted by a scream from Lorna, and the line goes dead. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #126 Oct 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth: The X-Men make it to Muir Island in under an hour and scout out the place. The find Moira, Havoc, Polaris, Jamie, and Jean (although Jean is halucinating and calls Scott "Jason"), and get an update (mostly blowing by the fact that the X-Men were supposed to be dead). Jean was the first attacked by Mutant X, but she easily drove him off. Jamie heard Jean's scream and sent a bunch of his "duplicates" out to see what was going on. One of his duplicates discovered Lorna getting attacked by Mutant X, and when he helped Lorna, he got killed. (Mutant X uses the bodies of those he kills, but his bodies don't last long, so he has to keep killing.) Moira is the last to give an update, brief and to the point: Mutant X is her son! Everyone sets out on the trail, and Wolverine is the first to find him, although now he's calling himself Proteus. He attacks Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Storm in a most unusual way: he warps reality! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #127 Nov 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
The Quality of Hatred: Proteus stops his attack when Moira starts shooting at him (she probably would have gotten him, too, if Cyclops hadn't stopped her). Moira figures out that Proteus is going after his father (and Moira's estranged husband), Joe MacTaggert. She warns him and leaves, and then Proteus kills him and then grabs Moira. The X-Men show up, and the battle begins! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #128 Dec 1979 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
The Action of the Tiger: This is actually a very cool issue! (Despite the title having nothing do with the story that I can see.) Proteus and the X-Men duke it out in the middle of Edinburgh, with reality always twisting to whims of Proteus. Eventually, Proteus is destroyed by Colossus' metal armor (metal was deadly to him). [Is Proteus really gone for good?] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #129 Jan 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
God Spare the Child: The X-Men leave Muir Island, but Banshee remains behind (with his love, Moira) because he still can't use his sonic scream. Arriving back at the mansion, they find the Prof returned from his time away with Lilandra. Things quickly get back to "normal", and then Cerebro detects two new mutants, one in NYC, and the other near Chicago. We also learn that the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club has a tap on Cerebro, and plans on recruiting these two new mutants also. The Prof, Wolverine, Storm, and Colossus go to Chicago to meet the 13 1/2 year old Kitty Pride, who doesn't yet know she's a mutant. Emma Frost (the White Queen) was there just before the X-Men, trying to recruit Kitty. While the X-Men are talking to Kitty in a mall, they're attacked by soldiers of the Hellfire Club, and they're all captured! Kitty escapes, thanks to her new-found power - the ability to pass through walls! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #130 Feb 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Dazzler: Meanwhile, Cyclops, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler are investigating the new mutant in NYC. They track the signals down to a nightclub. While scouting around inside, Jean is psycically attacked yet again by Jason Wyngarde. In this dream/illusion, she marries Jason, and he dubs her the Black Queen. She "wakes" to find herself actually kissing Jason in the club (much to Scott's chagrin!). They don't get a chance to talk about it though, 'cause as suddenly as their new mutant shows up (a singer named Dazzler), they're all attacked by soldiers like those that captured the X-Men in Chicago last issue. With Dazzler's help (not too mention the Phoenix's), they easily beat these goons. Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Kitty sneaks into where the other X-Men are being held, and Storm gives her a phone number to call. She dials up the X-Men in NY, and the team gets on their to help their comrades. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #131 Mar 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Run For Your Life: The X-Men catch up with Kitty in Chicago as she's being hounded by more goons (easily beaten). Phoenix probes their minds and learns where the other X-Men are. The team busts into Emma Frost's building, a big fight ensues (natch), and everyone gets out. Except for Emma Frost - she tangled with Phoenix, and the fight brought the building down around them. Phoenix walks out unscathed, and the White Queen is presumed dead [she returns in issue #151]. Dazzler is offered a place with the team (she now knows the real names, too), but she refuses. Kitty is returned to her parents, and Phoenix has to manipulate their memories to keep them calm. [Kitty returns in issue #138.] Scott and Ororo begin to worry about Phoenix's use of her power. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #132 Apr 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
And Hellfire is Their Name: The X-Men go to visit their old friend Angel, down in New Mexico. Scott and Jean finally talk about all the things that have been happening. The rest for a week, and then head back to NYC to take on the Hellfire Club (except for the Prof, who stays behind). Wolverine and Nightcrawler try sneaking in through the sewers, while Peter, Ororo, Jean, and Scott try to masquerade as guests at the Club. Jason Wyngarde shows up, and whisks Jean away. For some reason, this time time Scott is able to see through the facade and recognizes that "Jason" is actually Mastermind. [I haven't seen Mastermind since issue #11, when the Stranger turned him into a statue and the X-Men were looking after him. What happened to him between then and now?] The X-Men attack the Inner Circle: Sebastian Shaw (the leader, with the power to absorb kinetic energy), Wyngarde/Mastermind (with the power of illusion), Harry Leland (with the power to increase mass), and Donald Pierce (a human/cyborg). The X-Men get their butts kicked and get captured (except for Wolverine, who ends up back in the sewers). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #133 May 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Wolverine - Alone: Wolverine starts to work his back up from the sewers to the upper floors where the X-Men are being held prisoner. But, upstairs Scott decides to contact Jean through the psychic link they share. Somehow, Wyngarde/Mastermind is waiting for Scott there - they have a sword duel, and Jason "kills" Scott! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #134 Jun 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Too Late, The Heroes: OK, Scott isn't really dead - Jason only killed Scott's astral form. That sets Jean off, though, and she turns on the Inner Circle just as Wolverine fights his way into the room. This time, the X-Men kick some butt! Jean gets to take care of Mastermind, though, and she does him a nasty turn. Jean gives him all the power at her command, and it seems to drive him quite insane. As the X-Men are leaving the Hellfire Club, Jean blows up their skycraft and announces that she is no longer the woman they knew - she is Phoenix! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #135 Jul 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Dark Phoenix: The Jean Grey we've all known and loved is no more - Dark Phoenix has taken over! She proceeds to beat the crap out of the X-Men, and takes off to the stars. After creating a star-gate to travel to a distant galaxy, Dark Phoenix is "hungry", so she replenishes herself by feeding on a sun. Unfortunately, the sun should choose was in a system that was home to the peaceful D'Bari, andthe death of the sun caused the death of their entire race. This action didn't go unnoticed - Shi'ar Imperial Cruiser was nearby, and decided to attack the Phoenix entity. Phoenix utterly destroyed the cruiser, but not before they notifed Lilandra, the Shi'ar Empress. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Beast responds to an Avengers' call and finds the X-Men where Phoenix left them. He helps them back to the mansion, where Scott senses that Phoenix is coming back to Earth - "and she's hungry!" |
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| Uncanny X-Men #136 Aug 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Child of Light and Darkness: The X-Men prepare for the return of the Dark Phoenix by training and making a psychic-dampening device for her. It doesn't do any good, though - when the engage the Phoenix in battle she overpowers them and their device. She is beginning to show her human-side again while talking to Scott. But, that's when the Prof and Angel show up, and the Prof engages Phoenix psychically and actually beats her (although he claims that Jean was helping him). The Prof claims that he has contained the Phoenix-entity inside Jean's mind, but as the X-Men begin to rejoice, they all suddenly disappear! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #137 Sep 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
The Fate of the Phoenix: The X-Men find that they've been transported to the flagship of the Shi'ar starfleet. Lilandra has declared that Phoenix is too dangerous to live, so Jean/Phoenix must be put to death. The Prof challenges Lilandra to a Duel of Honor (kind of strange, since neither the Prof nor Lilandra end up doing the fighting!). So, the X-Men and the Imperial Guard are transporting to some ancient ruins on the surface of the Moon where they are to battle for the live of Jean! (Interestingly, Jean chooses her original Marvel Girl costume.) The X-Men put up a valiant fight, but eventually are completely trounced. Jean and Scott make their final stand - but the Phoenix rises again! The other X-Men attack Phoenix, trying to wear her down. Jean eventually flees into one of the ruins, where Scott confronts her. She has changed again, from the Phoenix into the Dark Phoenix, but while Jean is in control for a few moments, she tells Scott that she should be destroyed because she will never be able to control the power of Phoenix. Jean mentally activates an ancient weapon hidden in the ruins, and utterly destroys herself! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #138 Oct 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Elegy: During Jean Grey's funeral service, Scott reminisces about her, and about the X-Men's past. In fact, this issue provides a great overview of all of the X-Men issues before this (from #1 right up through #137). At the end of the issue, Scott leaves the X-Men (he doesn't return to the X-Men until issue #150), and Kitty Pride shows up at the mansion (although everyone else is still at the funeral). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #139 Nov 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
...Something Wicked This Way Comes: Wolverine decides he'd better go back to Canada to straighten things out with the governemt and Alpa Flight (see issue #121). Nightcrawler decides to tag along, and the two head up to Hudson Bay, Canada, where they end up helping (part of) Alpha Flight take on the Wendigo. The Wendigo is Bigfoot-like ferocious beast who was once a man. Wolverine actually tangled with the Wendigo a long time ago, so this mission instantly becomes personal for him. The issues closes with the Wendigo attacking Nightcrawler (who's all alone). Also in this issue, Angel begins to train with the X-Men again (he's way out of shape), and Kitty begins to take dance lessons from Stevie Hunter (although Storm doesn't trust Stevie). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #140 Dec 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Rage After beating up Nightcrawler, the Wendigo makes his move on Wolverine and the Alpha Flight members. Eventually, they subdue him, and Shaman turns him back into the man he was (Georges Baptiste). |
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| Uncanny X-Men Annual #4 1980 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Nightcrawler's Inferno: The X-Men thrown Nightcrawler a surprise birthday party, but one of the gifts is a trap that leaves Kurt almost dead. Charles calls in Dr. Strange, who's involvement gets him and all the X-Men transported to the Hell of Dante's Inferno, courtesy of Margali, a sorceress. After travelling throught the nine levels of Hell (actually, a facsimile), they find that Margali was Kurt's foster mother, and she holds him responsible for the death of her biological son (Stefan). He wasn't actually responsible, and his foster-sister Jimaine (also a sorceress) shows up to protect Kurt from their mother, who wants to kill Kurt. Margali uses Dr. Strange's amulet to learn the truth from Kurt, and then lets everyone go. We also learn why Kurt's foster-sister knew he was innocent - she's been mascarading as his girlfriend Amanda Sefton for months! [Dr. Strange's power comes from his amulet, the Eye of Agamotto. One of the powers he uses is called the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. Juggernaut received his power in the Temple of Cyttorak. The common source of these powers is revealed in Dr. Strange II #44.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #141 Jan 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Days of Future Past: Pay attention - things get get weird for a couple issues! This issue opens in NYC in the year 2013. Most of the X-Men are dead, and mutants are routinely exterminated by Sentinels. Kate (Kitty) Pryde-Rasputin is one of the few survivors, but like all mutants, she wears a collar which inhibits her powers, and she has to stay in a mutant concentration camp. But, there is a Resistance movement! Wolverine is still free, and helping those inside the camp - Storm, Colossus (Kate's husband), Magneto, Franklin Richards (the son of Reed Richards, from the Fantastic Four), and his wife Rachel Summers. Their plan is quite a longshot - using equipment smuggled in by Wolverine to disable their collars, Rachel is going to send Kate's mind back in time 33 years, into the mind of young Kitty Pryde in 1980. (Ironically, in this same future, Rachel in turn is later sent back to our present by Kate (see Uncanny X-Men #184). Her purpose is to stop the assignation of Senator Kelly, the Prof, and Moira in Washington, D.C. The transfer works, but the X-Men aren't ready to believe that Kate from 2013 is inside the Kitty they know and love. Still, they give her the benefit of the doubt and go to the scene of the "crime". Once there, Kate's story is proven true as the New Botherhood of Evil Mutants shows up to kill Kelly. This new Brotherhood is run by Mystique (Raven Darkholme, a shape-changer) and it is made up of Destiny, Pyro, Avalanche, and the Blob (the only original member of the Brotherhood). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #142 Feb 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Mind out of Time: The X-Men duke it out with the new Brotherhood. Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Storm eventually beat the Blob, Avalanche, Pyro, and Mystique. When Kurt finally sees Mystique in her natural form, he asks why they look alike. She responds, "Ask your mother, Margali Szardos. Who would know better than she?" (Szardos is Kurt's foster family. We learn much later in X-Men Unlimited #4 that Mystique is actually Kurt's mother.) Meanwhile, Destiny had left the fight in search of Kelly, but Kate shows up just in time to foil the assassination attempt. Immediately thereafter, Kate's mind leaves Kitty's body, and Kitty returns back to normal. Of course, the X-Men do not truly know if Kate's plan really succeeded or if mutantkind is still doomed in the future! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #143 Mar 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Demon: Back in issue #96, the X-Men sealed a cairn through which N'Garai demons were passing into our dimension. In this issue, Kitty is home alone for Christmas/Chanukah (she's Jewish), and a N'Garai demon attacks the mansion. (Is this supposed to be Kierrok from issue #96?) After a pretty wild battle, Kitty manages to destroy the demon - as well as the Danger Room, the Blackbird, and most of the mansion. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #144 Apr 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 2 |
Even in Death: This issue brings us up-to-date with what Cyclops has been up to since he left the X-Men in issue #138. He's signed on to work on the Arcadia fishing boat, captained by the very attractive Lee Forrester. There's a pretty strange plot revolving around Lee's father (he dies), D'Spayre (the demon of despair), and the empathic Man-Thing (formerly a man named Ted Sallis). Other than that, we see that Scott and Lee are attracted to each other, despite Scott's best intentions. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #145 May 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Kidnapped: This feels like a bit of a re-hash of issues #123 and #124. Several of the X-Men's friends and family are captured by Miss Locke and placed in Murderworld. Miss Locke will only free the hostages if the X-Men free Arcade from the clutches of Dr. Doom. Charles recruits Havoc, Polaris, Iceman, and Banshee to help out on this one. One team heads to Dr. Doom's castle in the Adirondacks, where they are quickly captured. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #146 Jun 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
X-Men vs. Murderworld: The other team tracks down the location of Murderworld (beneath a dump in "North Beach"), but they are also captured. Each of the X-Men (whether in Dr. Doom's castle or in Murderworld) is placed in a dangerous situation where they must use their wits and skill to escape. The team in Murderworld are the first to escape, and they head north to help out the other team. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #147 Jul 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Rogue Storm: Dr. Doom has imprisoned Storm in an organic chrome shell. Her claustrophobia is driving her crazy, brewing up a real storm of epic proportions, centered around the castle. By the time the other X-Men free themselves, and then release Storm, she's become a power similiar to the Phoenix. However, Colossus talks her out of her fury, and Storm disperses the storm and returns to normal. Storm gets Dr. Doom to release Arcade, not knowing that the other X-Men team has already freed the hostages. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #148 Aug 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Cry, Mutant: This issue (and actually the couple previous) catch us up on Scott (aka, Cyclops). He and Lee are shipwrecked in the Bermuda Triangle, but they come upon a strange island (looks like something out of H.P. Lovecraft), which turns out to be a new headquarters for Magneto (last seen in issue #113). For some reason, Scott's optic blasts don't work on this island. Anyway, the rest of the issue is kind of scattered: Banshee is introduced to the daughter he didn't know he had (Theresa Rourke), Angel leaves 'cause he thinks Wolverine is a psycho, and Storm, Kitty, Stevie Hunter, Dazzler, and Spider Woman meet Caliban when he tries to kidnap Kitty (he just wanted another mutant for a friend!). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #149 Sep 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
And the Dead Shall Bury the Living: Charles can sense that Magento is up to something, so he sends the X-Men down to Antarctica to scout out Magneto's last known location. The only thing they find, though, is that Garokk is still alive (see issue #116), having been saved by Magneto and placed in charge of guarding Magneto's old headquarters. The X-Men defeat Garokk and he tumbles into a deep pit. This is how we thought Garokk died last time, so I doubt he's really dead this time either. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #150 Oct 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
I, Magneto: This is fairly important, special double-sized issue. Magento's power seems tremendous, and he offers the world a choice: turn over control of your countries (and all nuclear weapons) to me, and he will run the world, fairly and without prejudice. The Russians sent the Leningrad submarine to attack Magneto's island, and he sinks the sub, killing all aboard. He then attacks the city of Varykino, flooded it with lava, but letting all the residents escape. Meanwhile, the X-Men are out on a rescue mission, looking for Scott and Lee after their shipwreck. They happen to fly the Blackbird too close to Magneto's island, and he zaps it down (without even knowing that the X-Men were inside). The X-Men swim to Magneto's island (where none of their powers work), while the Prof, Moira, Peter Corbeau, and Carol Danvers (the former Ms. Marvel) wait in a boat. The X-Men proceed to destroy Magento's equipment, while Storm contemplates killing Mags in his sleep. She resists, but he awakes and blows her away! Magneto also grabs Charles (in his metal chair) from the boat, and pulls him to the island. Magneto then captures ALL the X-Men, with only Storm still free. She recovers from Magneto's attack, and breaks one more computer, the one that stopped everyone's mutant powers from working (except for Magneto's). All the X-Men attack, and are actually doing quite well against Magneto, until he realize that Kitty is off destroying more computer equipment. He finds her and attacks with all his might, and he thinks he kills her. When he stops, he is despondent over slaying a child, and realizes he has "become much like those I have always hated and despised." He leaves, and Kitty recovers in Storm's arms. |
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| Uncanny X-Men Annual #5 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Ou, la la -- Badoon: The Fantastic Four respond to a fight in NYC involving a Shi'ar named D'Syndri. She's fighting invisible Badoon warriors, who kill D'Syndri and kidnap Reed, Johnny, and Ben. Sue Richards goes to the X-Men, and because of hints from the dying Shi'ar's lips, they all head off to Akron's homeworld (last seen in Annual #3). When they get there, they find the Badoon have taken over the planet (and kidnapped Akron). The Fantastic Four and the X-Men eventually save the day, destroying the Badoon base and freeing the planet. Storm and Akron have a touching moment where they admit their love for each other, but neither will leave their respective duties to stay with the other. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #151 Nov 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
X-Men Minus One: Kitty's parents (for no reason) pull her out of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and transfer her to the Massachusetts Academy. In the past, that Academy was run by Emma Frost, the White Queen, but she's been presumed dead after her fight with the Phoenix in issue #131. Well, no surprises here - Emma Frost is still alive, and this was set up as a trap for the X-Men. Ms. Frost uses a "persona exchange gun" to switch bodies with Storm, and then she, the Hellfire Club, and several Sentinels (last seen in issue #100) attack the X-Men at their mansion. The issue ends with the X-Men in New York captured, but Storm (in Emma Frost's body) escaping. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #152 Dec 1981 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
The Hellfire Gambit: Storm escapes with Kitty, who at first doesn't believe that it's Storm in Emma's body. Through various actions and expressions, Kitty does come to believe Storm, and together they head back to the mansion to help the other X-Men (who aren't doing too well). It looks like Harry Leland has killed Wolverine - but it turns out that Amanda's (Kurt's girlfriend) used a spell to fool Leland into thinking Wolvering was dead [this is the first time I've seen an example of her powers]. Kitty phases through the mansion and through the "inhibitor collars" on all the X-Men, setting them free. Natch, a big fight ensues, and the X-Men win. However, after Storm gets her body back, she plans on killing Emma Frost, but Wolverine talks her out it: "There's so much beauty in you, 'Roro. It'd be a shame to spoil it for the likes of her." After Storm lets her go, Emma agrees to have Kitty transferred back to Xavier's School. Oh, Sebastian Shaw is seriously injured in the battle. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #153 Jan 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Kitty's Fairy Tale: This starts out looking like a silly, filler issue, but ends up being a nice little tale. Kitty tells Illyana Rasputin (Peter's sister, one of those kidnapped by Miss Locke back in issue #145 and subsequently rescued) a bedtime story. I won't say much about the story, but it's a fun, strange charicature of recent events in the X-Men's lives. A couple examples (to tempt you into reading this) - the Blackbird is portrayed as a real dragon named Lockheed, and Wolverine is portrayed as an ugly and fierce (but lovable) "Fiend". |
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| Uncanny X-Men #154 Feb 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Reunion: Most of the X-Men are on Magneto's Lovecraft-esque island in the Bermuda Triangle (which Magneto abandoned back in issue #150). However, Scott and Ororo are hanging out back at the mansion when Corsair crashes a spaceship into their lake. Scott learns that Corsair is his father (we knew back in issue #108), but the reunion is interrupted by an attack of Sidrian Hunters. Cyclops, Storm, and Corsair take off in the Blackbird, fighting with the Sidri in the skies over NYC. Finally, Corsair kills all of the Sidri, despite Cyclop's and Storm's protests ("X-Men don't kill"). Corsair tells them why the Sidri were after him (which I'll explain next issue). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #155 Mar 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
First Blood: All of the X-Men are transported to a Shi'ar dreadnough floating above Earth. Empress Lilandra has been kidnapped, and the trail led to the Starjammers (that's why Corsair was being pursued) and to Earth. If the X-Men can't find who has kidnapped Lilandra, Lord Samedar will destroy Earth! The Prof buys the Earth one day, and all of the X-Men and Starjammers are returned to the Earth (except for Kitty and Nightcrawler, kept behind as prisoners) to find Lilandra. In NYC, the X-Men are attacked by Brood warriors and by Lilandra's sister Deathbird, who has kidnapped Lilandra in order to claim the Shi'ar throne. There are some pretty intense battle scenes, and eventually Deathbird kidnaps the Prof and takes off in her ship. Colossus is severely wounded, and the X-Men think he's dead! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #156 Apr 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Pursuit: The Starjammers beam everyone up to their ship, where the revive Colossus. However, on the Shi'ar ship Kitty and Kurt and show footage from the battle that makes them think Colossus is really dead! Xavier is reunited with Lilandra (who had also been kidnapped by Deathbird), but when he first wakes his psychic sense of Lilandra is one of a "fiend from the Abyss". [Did he sense a Brood queen growing inside her???] Meanwhile, Corsair tells his story to the X-Men, including how his wife Anne (Cyclop's and Havoc's mother) was killed by D'Ken, the former Shi'ar Emperor. The Starjammers' ship is swallowed by an Acanti star-whale, and all aboard battle the Brood who are waiting for them in the Acanti. Our heroes find Xavier and Lilandra, and they all bust out of the Acanti. However, Storm realizes that the Acanti is a living creature, somehow under the control of the Brood, and she's worried that their escape may have mortally harmed it. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #157 May 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Hide 'n Seek: Xavier tries to contact Kurt and Kitty telepathically, but while he's doing it he notices an "anomaly" within himself. When he tries to examine this alien feeling he goes into a catatonic shock, and does not recover until the end of issue #161. [Also, we learn in issue #166 that the anomaly inside Xavier was a Brood queen growing!] Anyway, there are several small fights until Lilandra manages to contact her fleet saying that she's OK and that Admiral Lord Samedar is a traitor. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #158 Jun 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
The Life that Late I Led: The Starjammers are working out with Carol Danvers, who lost her mutant powers to Rogue but is still in extraordinary shape, thanks to her modified genes. The X-Men see a TV interview interview with Senator Kelly that leads them to believe the government will soon start investigating mutants. Moira tells everyone that Charles worked with the government when he first created the X-Men [where did that come from???], and that the government has records of all of them! Carol, Ororo, and Logan sneak into the Pentagon under false papers and erase the records. However, while they're there they run into Mystique (hiding under her Raven Darkholme persona) and Rogue, and several battles unsue. I never did find out what those two were doing in the Pentagon... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #159 Jul 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Night Screams: In a rather unusual story, the X-Men run into Dracula in NYC! Storm gets bitten, but Kitty convinces her to fight the evil inside her, and Storm turns on Dracula. The vampire respects Storm's noble spirit and lets her go. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #160 Aug 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Chutes and Ladders: Back on Magneto's island in the Bermuda triangle: while the X-Men are working out, someone lures Illyana Rasputin away from the group. The X-Men go to find her, only to find themselves transported to the realm of Belasco (a sorcerer, chief disciple of the Dark Ones). In this realm, the X-Men run into other versions of themselves - Nightcrawler is evil and works for Belasco, Storm is a witch, and Colossus and Wolverine are dead. Kitty and Illyana are being held by Belasco and his demon S'ym, while the "real" X-Men work to free everybody. After their first fight with Belasco, he flees and the X-Men are about to follow, until they're stopped by Storm! Actually, it's an older version of Storm who tells how she and the other X-Men came down here to find Illyana, but Colossus and Wolverine got killed, Nightcrawler got corrupted, and Storm learned to be a witch. She uses what she's learned to help the "real" X-Men escape. However, as they're leaving, Belasco grabs Illyana and when the X-Men finally pull her through to the real world, she's seven years older! She doesn't seem any worse for spending half of her childhood in Belasco's realm, but she does carry his bloodstone medallion, which has 3 of its 5 stones in place. [I've never read what actually happened to her in there, but it's in the Magik series and more details are brought out in various New Mutants issues.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #161 Sep 1982 The Essential X-Men Vol. 3 |
Gold Rush: While the X-Men watch over Xavier's catatonic body, we get to see one of Xavier's flashbacks. Charles was travelling through Israel in the early 1960's, between his trip to Egypt (see issue #117) and his trip to Tibet (see issue #20). While there he met Magnus (Magneto) and Gabrielle Haller. After Charles revives Gabby from her catatonic state (induced at Dachau in WWII), she is captured by Germans (the Hydra Bruderschaft, led by Baron Strucker) who've been waiting to wrest the secret location of the Nazi gold from her (she learned it while she was a play-thing for the Nazis). Charles and Magnus follow them and foil the German's plan. Charles gets the girl, but Magnus gets all the gold! [At some point not covered by this flashback, Charles and Gabrielle have a son named Legion.] For some unexplained reason, the Professor awakens after this flashback. All of the X-Men (except for the Prof) head up to Lilandra's ship for a farewell party, but Deathbird shows up again and captures everybody (she's really quite good at that). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #162 Oct 1982 The Brood Saga, Part 1
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Beyond the Farthest Star: This issue opens with Wolverine wandering around an alien landscape. Through his running commentary we learn that he's on the Brood homeworld and he's escaped from captivity. He and all the X-Men have been infected with a Brood embryo, but the others have all been hypnotized to think they're on the Shi'ar homeworld (instead of the "sleazoid" homeworld) and that everything is OK. While he's on the run, Wolverine is overcome by the egg "hatching" (it really just takes over the host's body, transforming it into a Brood). His mutant healing power allows him to defeat the egg (although his skin partially changed), and now he decides to rescue the other prisoners (or kill them if there's no stopping their transformations). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #163 Nov 1982 The Brood Saga, Part 1 |
Rescue Mission: Back at sleazoid-central, Carol Danvers is being "tested" by the Brood. She shows the same remarkable abilities that we saw back in issue #158. The tests push Carol too far, and we see the results next issue. Anyway, Wolverine frees her, and together they free the others. Storm, Nightcrawler, and Kitty head up into space to try to take control of Lilandra's spaceship. Kitty has to kill a sleazoid, but she feels sorry about it. Back on the planet, Wolverine tries to kill the Brood Queen despite Scott's protestations, but they're all transported up to Lilandra's ship (which is in the hands of the other X-Men). Wolverine is still the only one who knows that everyone else is carrying Brood eggs, but he can't bring himself to tell them. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #164 Dec 1982 The Brood Saga, Part 1 |
Binary Star: The good guys fight the sleazoids in a big space battle. Storm calls on some lightning to disable the Brood ships, but accidently destroys some of them. She's upset since she knows the ships are living creatures (these look like "sharks" not the "whales" we've seen before). During the battle, Carol completes the transformation initiated by the Brood's tests. However, she doesn't transform into a Brood (I don't think she ever got an egg), instead she transforms into a new superbeing, calling herself Binary. Meanwhile, Storm's losing touch with her elemental powers. I don't know if this from her egg-infestation, from being in space, or from something else. (This plot actually continues for quite some time.) Storm turns her senses inward, detects the egg growing inside her, and takes off in a small spaceship. Wolverine finally has to tell everyone that they have eggs growing inside them. They're all freaked, but Binary is especially pissed and flies off - punching a hole in the hull! The X-Men start to get sucked out of the spaceship.... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #165 Jan 1983 |
Transfigurations: 2 The X-Men, of course, don't get sucked out. Storm starts to transform, but is able to hold off the transformation long enough to destroy the ship she left in. The X-Men agree to go back to the Broodworld and kill the Queen (which, for some, is a major step). Kitty and Peter talk about doing "it," but Peter won't because he's too honorable for that sort of thing. Storm returns in the form of a hologram. An Acanti star-whale arrives and swallows the yacht. Back on Earth, Charles receives a letter from Reed Richards about Xian Coy Manh (Karma). Even though he is majorly depressed about the "loss" of the X-Men, Moira convinces him to admit her into the school (this thread is picked up in the New Mutants series). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #166 Feb 1983 |
Live Free or Die: 2 Storm merges with the infant Acanti. She wants the X-Men to recover the "Soul of the Prophet Singer" a mystical device that will help free the enslaved Acanti. The X-Men decide it's better to die fighting for something than against. To make a long story short, the X-Men get the Soul, and in return, the Prophet Singer cures them all of the infection in the nick of time. The Broodworld explodes thanks to Binary, and the Starjammers arrive to ferry the X-Men home. Cyclops proves he can add 2 and 2, and realizes that the Professor is infected as well. [Shouldn't Lilandra also be infected???] Kitty meets Lockheed the dragon for the first time , but he is left behind on Broodworld. [Did she name Lockheed after the dragon in her fairy tale?] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #167 Mar 1983 |
The Goldilocks Syndrome: 2 The X-Men come home and find the New Mutants (Xian, Sam, Dani, Rahne, and Roberto). They fight, and then they all fight the Professor, who transforms into a Brood Queen. They manage to save him by cloning a body for him, and transferring his mind into the cloned body. Lastly, Kitty is demoted into the New Mutants. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #168 Apr 1983 From the Ashes |
Professor Xavier is a Jerk: The Prof tries some physical therapy to learn to use his legs in his cloned body, but the psychosomatic pain is unbearable and inhibits his mental powers. Kitty tries to convince the Prof to let her stay in the X-Men. Ororo learns she's losing more of her elemental powers. Scott goes to visit Lee Forrster in Florida. Also, Kitty runs into Lockhead the dragon underneath the mansion [how did he get there from the Brood homeword?!?] and together they defeat a couple of Sidri hunters (lurking down there since issue #154). Finally, Scott travels to Alaska with his dad to meet his grandparents. The pilot who meets them in Anchorage is named Madelyne Pryor, and she looks and sounds exactly like Jean Grey! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #169 May 1983 From the Ashes |
Catacombs: Warren Worthington's girlfriend (Candy Sothern) calls the X-Men because she thinks something bad has happened to Warren (Angel). While on the phone with the Prof, she's attacked by Sunder. The Prof sends Nightcrawler over to their place, where he Angel being carried down into the subway. He can't follow, 'cause someone (Sunder?) throws Candy out the window and Kurt has to save her. Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Kitty head down into the subway, where the find the hideout of the Morlocks. Kitty gets infected by Plague, and gets separated from the group. The others find where Angel is being kept prisoner by Callisto, the leader of the Morlocks. A fight ensues, but the X-Men are overwhelmed by the Morlocks. Meanwhile, Caliban (remember him from issue #148?) finds Kitty, and tries to take care of the infection Plague gave her. Also in this issue, we see that Emma Frost (the White Queen of the Hellfire Club) has been struck down by some psychic attack. Sebastian Shaw has finally recovered from his wounds back in issue #152, though. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #170 Jun 1983 From the Ashes |
Dancin' in the Dark: Up in Reindeer Falls, Alaska, Scott and Maddy have been becoming an item. Scott feels guilty for enjoying himself, so he shows Maddy a picture of Jean. She's a little freaked out, but they continue their romance. Scott even shows her his mutant power! Back beneath NYC, the X-Men break free and fight again, but this time Storm gets infected by Plague. Still, she challenges Callisto to a duel for leadership of the Morlocks. Storm wins after she stabs Callisto in the heart - she'll survive, but no one can believe that Storm would so "casually" try to kill someone! Kitty and Storm are cured of the infections. Also in this issue, we see that Mystique has a nightmare involving Jason Wyngarde and Jean Grey (in their 18th Century personas), and wakes to find that her protege Rogue has fled. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #171 Jul 1983 From the Ashes |
Rogue: Up in Alaska, Maddy has a nightmare and tells Scott her secret - on September 1, 1980, she was landing a 747 in San Francisco when the plane crashed, killing everyone on board - except for her! Scott realizes (but keeps to himself) that 9/1/1980 is the day that Jean died on the moon! Back at the mansion, Rogue shows up and asks for the X-Men's help - she can't control her own mutant power (the ability to absorb other mutant powers), and her mind is being torn apart with the persona she stole from Carol Danvers. Guess who picks this moment to also show up at the mansion? Yeah, Carol Danvers. Of course, the two go at it for a few minutes, but the X-Men calm everyone down. The X-Men don't really want to help Rogue, but the Prof reminds them that they must help all mutants. Carol/Binary realizes that she's not really an X-Men, so she takes off. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #172 Aug 1983 From the Ashes |
Scarlet in Glory: The X-Men all head to Tokyo, where Wolverine's been for a while. He's getting married to Mariko, the daughter of the late Yashida Shingen. There are some confusing events that happen in Japan, and I'll try to sum them up quickly. Mariko's father had tied in their Clan Yashida tightly with the criminal underground and Mariko wants to break those bonds. There's a power-play for the Clan by Silver Samurai (Keniuchio Harada, Mariko's half-brother) and Viper (who poisons all the X-Men, except Storm). Someone named Yukio (a former lover of Logan's?) helps Storm defeat the Silver Samurai and Viper, but Storm's powers get out of control (again) and she blows up a warehouse. In the resulting fireball, Storm and Yukio see the shape of the Phoenix! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #173 Sep 1983 From the Ashes |
To Have and Have Not: Logan and Rogue team up, battle some more bad guys. Rogue gets hurt, and Logan makes her absorb some of his mutant healing power. Separately, Storm and Yukio have some adventures, and Storm likes Yukio's free-spirit and attitude. So much, in fact, that Storm cuts her hair into a mohawk! The issue ends at Logan and Mariko's wedding ceremony, where Mariko tells Logan "he's not worthy" and leaves him at the altar! The last panels show Logan crying, and someone else smiling (it's Jason Wyngarde!). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #174 Oct 1983 From the Ashes |
Romances: Logan confronts Mariko about why he's "not worthy". She refuses to enlighten our hero, who leaves behind the Clan's Honor Sword which he had been given. Meanwhile, at the X-Men's mansion, Kitty and Colossus start making out in Storm's attic-apartment, but Storm comes home (interrupting something that could have gone much farther!).Scott takes Maddy up in space on his father's spaceship (get your own 'ship, you bum!). Corsair is leaving soon, and wants Scott to come with him. Carol Danvers (Binary) does decide to go with the Starjammers, since there's nothing left for her on Earth. Scott decides to stay on Earth, and when they get home, he proposes to Maddy! However, he ruins things by point-blank asking Maddy if she's Phoenix. She punches him, takes off, and then "returns" as Phoenix, knocking him out with a fire/energy attack. [The tension here is somewhat ruined by quick shots of Jason Wyngarde hanging around everywhere.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #175 Nov 1983 From the Ashes |
Phoenix: Back at the mansion, the X-Men see the "Phoenix" in the sky, and then see Scott plummeting toward the ground. The X-Men rescue Scott, and bring him inside the mansion, only to find out that Phoenix is hiding in Scott. Phoenix takes off, but Scott is knocked out. When he recovers and starts walking around, the other X-Men still perceive him as Phoenix. Scott figures out that Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), must be behind this, and eventually convinces the other X-Men, too. [Mastermind wants vengeance for what Phoenix did to him in issue #134.] The X-Men beat up Mastermind, and then Maddy Pryor shows up. [Where did she come from? If Mastermind was really Phoenix, why was Maddy nearby at all?] Anyway, after everything's over, Scott and Maddy get married! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #176 Dec 1983 From the Ashes |
Decisions: This is a bit of a filler issue. Scott and Maddy are flying off to the honeymoon, when their plane makes an emergency landing in the middle of the ocean. They're attacked by a giant squid (octopus?), but Scott blasts it away. In Tokyo, Wolverine confronts Mariko, still wanting to get married (Mastermind was the one who made her call off the wedding). While under his influence, Mariko made some agreements with the Japanese underworld, and she won't marry Logan until she can't fix it. Elsewhere, we see Caliban, Callisto, and Masque talking about Kitty, especially the fact that she promised Caliban that she'd stay with him forever (in issue #169). Also, we see a meeting in Washington involving Henry Peter Gyrich, Dr. Valerie Cooper, and others. They propose that the government must use mutants in order to keep track of (and control) other mutants. [Forward in issue #199, Freedom Force is formed for this purpose. However, I think X-Factor eventually fulfills this role, even though they start out in X-Factor #1 as an independent group of "mutant-hunters".] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #177 Jan 1984 |
Sanction: 2 Mystique fights robot X-Men in Murderworld as a training session. The Starjammers leave to return Lil to her throne. And the rest of the X-Men (Colossus, Kitty, and Kurt, plus Amanda) go out for a night at the Met. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants attack and Colossus is turned into a statue (after being super-heated by Pyro, then chilled by liquid nitrogen tankers). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #178 Feb 1984 |
Hell Hath No Fury: 2 Everything continues, and Nightcrawler and Amanda have to fight off the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Kitty breaks into the Baxter Building to find a gizmo of Reed Richards that should fix Peter. Wolverine and Storm arrive to help Kurt, but it was all a trap so Mystique could 'rescue' Rogue. Rogue convinces Mystique that she's there under her own free will, and Mystique trades the Prof's life for letting the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants go. Kitty found the gizmo and was about to air-walk down, when she was surprised by ... something. Kitty is found dead at the foot of the Baxter Building. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #179 Mar 1984 |
What Happened to Kitty? 2 Wolverine says the body isn't Kitty. She smells different. Storm can add as well, and realizes Masque is behind it. A scanning wave from outer space assaults the Prof (similar events are happening all over the Marvel Universe). Kitty is about to be married to Caliban. She resists, but Callisto reminds her about a certain promise she didn't keep. We meet Leech for the first time, and Kitty realizes that (she shouldn't make stupid promises? Nah!) she should keep her word. The X-Men show up to rescue Kitty, but Kitty says she'll stay. Rogue manages to save Colossus by absorbing his power, so he turns to flesh, and the Morlock healers fixes him up. (It's really painful for Rogue, but hey, who said hero was an easy job?) Kitty agrees to go back with Caliban, but he releases her from her promise, since he knows she'll be miserable down there. (What a nice guy!) |
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| Uncanny X-Men #180 Apr 1984 |
Whose Life is it, Anyway? 2 Storm checks with the Prof to see if her recent behavior is the result of a insanity. He says it's not. Kitty and Doug Ramsey (yea!) tilt a video game in a local mall. It seems that Doug was recently accepted into the Emma Frost's Mass. Academy. Peter is really jealous because Doug's a brain, Kitty's a brain, and Peter isn't. He's thinking of breaking up with her. Storm roughs up some muggers while visiting NYC. The Prof reveals that Doug is a mutant with "the gift of languages." He wasn't recruited into either the X-Men or New Mutants because he has a "quiet" power. Kitty and Storm have a heart to heart. Emma bwah-hah-hahs when she meets Kitty, and the X-Men leave for the Secret Wars. |
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| >Uncanny X-Men #181 May 1984 |
Tokyo Story: 2 The X-Men get back from the Secret Wars, but arrive in Japan, not NYC with the rest of the heroes. The small dragon that Lockheed shacked up with grew to enormous size on Earth, and the X-Men (with the help of the Japanese military and Sunfire) convince it to leave. The Prof learns he's not a combat leader, and Wolverine adopts a child whose mother was killed in the chaos (he foists the kid on Mariko). Lastly, Senator Robert Kelly introduces the Mutant Affairs Control Act. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #182 Jun 1984 |
Madness: 2 Rogue flew home ahead of the X-Men to check on Kitty. [The New Mutants rescued her, btw.] She hears a phone message from Col. Michael Rossi, a former lover of Carol Danvers. The exhaustion of flying halfway around the world catches up with her, and Carol's mind starts to take over. Thanks to Carol's spy knowledge, she is able to rescue Rossi from SHIELD, where he was framed by a Hellfire Club plant. She has a painful confrontation with Rossi, and almost snaps. Nick Fury orders SHIELD to catch Rogue and Rossi, and deadly force is authorized. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #183 Jul 1984 |
He'll Never Make Me Cry: 2 Peter breaks up with Kitty, officially because he fell in love with an alien healer on the Secret Wars Battleworld. The healer died, but Peter is still carrying a torch for her. This, natch, tears up Kitty pretty badly. Wolverine is offended by this and, with Nightcrawler in tow, takes Peter out to a bar to "reason" with him. Juggernaut happened to be at the same bar, and Wolverine provokes a fight between Peter and Jugs. Wolverine keeps Nightcrawler out of it. Jugs wins, and when he wakes up, Peter demands to know why Wolverine let him down. Wolverine points out that Kitty almost sacrificed her life for Peter, and he dumped her. Selene, a villain from New Mutants, shows up in NYC. Kitty heads off for the Kitty Pryde and Wolverine mini-series. Sometime after the end of the issue, Wolverine leaves after her. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #184 Aug 1984 |
The Past ... of Future Days: 2 We see Forge's place in Dallas. It's techno-heaven. He gives a power neutralizer to Val Cooper and Raven Darkholme (Mystique) . Rachel Summers makes her first appearance (in the "present"), and can't understand why Storm (who she sees on TV) is punk. "She never looked like that." Selene hunts Rachel down. Fortunately, the X-Men arrive and save her. Now Rachel is really confused, because the Professor never walked in her history. [Rachel came back from one possible future, the Days of Future Past from issues #141-142. It's obvious that this is an alternate future.] |
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| New Mutants #18 Aug 1984 The Demon Bear Saga |
Death-Hunt: Rachel arrives at the mansion, where she has a flashback to her (alternate) future - the Prof and and all the other students get killed by the army! We also get our first view of Warlock - he's being pursued by his father (Magus) who wants to kill him. While the rest of the New Mutants are sleeping, Dani leaves the mansion and faces the Demon Bear that "killed" her parents. From Dani's point of view, she kills the Bear. However, when her teammates show up, it's Dani that they find dying in the snow... |
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| New Mutants #19 Sep 1984 The Demon Bear Saga |
Siege: Dani is rushed to the hospital. Rahne transforms into her werewolf form, to take advantage of the psychic link she share with Dani when Rahne is in that state. Rahne breaks the connection without getting much information (she thinks the link causes Dani's critical state to deteriorate). Meanwhile, police office Tom Corsi and nurse Sharon Friedlander are attacked by the Demon Bear. The New Mutants find the blood, and Illyana casts a ward around Dani's operating room. The Demon Bear attacks the New Mutants, and during the attack Illyana arm transforms to some kind of armor. Her Soulsword changes too, and she uses it to drive off the Bear. When the Bear attacks again, it transports the New Mutants to a different place (except for Dani, who's still protected by Illyana's wards). |
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| New Mutants #20 Oct 1984 The Demon Bear Saga |
Badlands: The New Mutants find themselves in the Bear's own magical realm. The Bear converts Tom and Sharon (captured last issue) into Indian warriors and makes them attack the Mutants. During the battle Rahne makes one more psychic link to Dani, and Rahne figures out that Illyan's Soulsword is the only way to defeat the Bear. Natch, the Bear is quickly dispatched, and everyone is transported back to earth. (Tom and Sharon still look like American Indians, though.) Out of nowhere, two new people show up. Guess who? Yeah, they're Dani's parents (William and Peg Lonestar), who weren't really killed by the Demon Bear, but only imprisoned inside it. Dani is healed by the Morlock Healer, and reunited with her parents. |
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| New Mutants #21 Nov 1984 The Demon Bear Saga |
Slumber Party: Warlock is still fleeing from his father, and he heads to Earth at a breakneck speed. Unbeknownst to Warlock, he crashes into Magneto's asteroid (I guess he's been hidin there since Uncanny X-Men #150). Warlock and Magneto fall to Earth (Magneto is found by Lee Forrester in Uncanny X-Men #188). Warlock crashes into the lake at the mansion while Sam is skinny-dipping. Sam and Bobby take it into the mansion, where they leave it. Warlock wakes up and starts feeding on energy. The New Mutants discover it one-by-one, but have to act cautiously, since there's a slumber party (with non-mutant local girls) going on in the mansion. The New Mutants want to try to communicate with Warlock, so they go get their friend Doug Ramsey, who doesn't know that he's a mutant with the Gift of Languages. They "talk" to Warlock, learn his story, and invite him to join the New Mutants! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #185 Sep 1984 |
Public Enemy: 2 Henry Peter Gyrich takes the Power Neutralizer and is determined to take down Rogue. Mystique protests (since she doesn't want her foster daughter hurt, but can't do much without blowing her cover). Rachel sneaks a look at the Professor's address book, and calls Scott's home in Alaska. When she hears his voice, she breaks down crying and whispers "Daddy! Mom!" (She doesn't know it's Maddy, not Jean.) Forge is royally pissed about Gyrich. Storm catches up with the runaway Rogue, sunning herself on the banks of the Big Muddy in Caldecot County. Storm lets Rogue drain her powers after a long conversation, and Gyrich picks that moment to attack. Rogue is stunned by the Neutralizer on a low setting, all hell breaks loose with the weather. Rogue breaks off the fight to save some bystanders, and Storm heroically takes a hit from the Neutralizer to save Rogue. Forge shows up too late. And lastly, the Dire Wraiths (alien shapechangers from "ROM") decide to kill Forge since his gizmo is so like Rom's. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #186 Oct 1984 |
Lifedeath: 2 Forge tries to help Storm deal with the loss of her powers. (This is the main point of the issue, but it's very interesting and involved. It also foreshadows the Fall of the Mutants.) Meanwhile Rogue meets up with Val Cooper, who is five seconds from being Wraith-Chow. Storm storms ;-) away from Forge, who she blames since he built the neutralizer. |
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| >Uncanny X-Men #187 Nov 1984 |
Wraithkill: 2 On her way out, Storm is attacked by Dire Wraiths. Naze, Forge's mentor and a Shaman, rescues her. More Wraiths attack, and the X-Men (including Rogue) come in time to same the day. However, kill all you want, they make some more. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #188 Dec 1984 |
Legacy of the Lost: 2 Naze, in a last ditch attempt to save their lives, tries to invoke the Great Spirit. He fails, and the Trickster/Adversary possesses him. Illyana and Amanda Sefton show up and help defeat the sorcerous Wraiths. This is the first time Peter is confronted with Illyana's magical and mutant powers. Lee Forester rescues Magneto from the ocean. Nightcrawler wants to disband the X-Men, since now the US government is after them. When he mentions that Jean Grey died, Rachel goes berserk. She tells them of her future, and the X-Men are reminded of what may happen if they don't keep fighting the good fight. Jamie Rogriguez finds the necklace of Kulan Gath, an evil sorcerer. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #189 Jan 1985 |
Two Girls Out to Have Fun: 2 Amara (Magma of the New Mutants) and Rachel tour NYC, while the X-Men wish Storm a fond farewell on her ocean voyage to Africa. Rachel detects Selene, who applies to the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club as the new Black Queen. Rachel and Amara decide to find Selene and kill her. They do okay, considering the opposition, but the X-Men arrive and break up the fight. Jamie was taking the evil necklace down to be destroyed in a furnace, when he gets mugged. The mugger is consumed in the magic of the necklace, and Kulan Gath is freed. We learn that in her future Rachel was a Hound for the Sentinels (not of her own free will!), tracking down renegade mutants so Sentinels could kill them. (We learn more about Hounds and their master, Ahab in the Days of Future Present. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #190 Feb 1985 |
An Age Undreamed Of: 2 Kulan Gath's "Master Spell" has turned New York into a fantasy city. The Avengers become a troupe of warriors and the X-Men become outlaws, given magic powers for unknown reasons. The only ones who remain normal are Spider-Man & Warlock (see the old Marvel Team Up for why; KG has a big hate for the "Man-Spider" since he foiled the last attempt to free himself). The Morlocks work for KG, and try to hunt down Storm, whose boat hadn't left yet. Dr. Strange is helpless, and Xavier and Caliban are merged to find mutants to serve KG. The New Mutants (except for Warlock) are transformed into servants of KG. Selene finds Amara and Rachel and starts to arrange heroes to overthrow KG. She starts with Storm and Callisto, who tumbled outside the spell. The two return to the city, with Selene modifying the spell so they will remain rebels against KG. Spider-Man and Illyana (who's forgotten her powers) are attacked by the New Mutants. Spider-Man is caught, but the Avengers and X-Men save Illyana. Captain America organizes them into the Avengers. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #191 Mar 1985 |
Raiders of the Lost Temple: 2 Spider-Man and the captured Selene are tortured by KG. The Avengers go to the Met. Library to find information that'd help them defeat KG. They are attacked by the Morlocks, the Vision (a golem), and the Scarlet Witch (a powerful witch now). Rogue are Rahne are killed. Warlock rescues Storm and the "Avengers" escape. Warlock tries to remind Storm of the old reality. The Avengers sneak into KG's castle, and much fighting results. Sunder, Vision, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Illyana, Callisto, Warlock, and Spider-Man all die. Storm manages to steal KG's necklace from Selene, who killed KG. Storm becomes a Technarch and frees Dr. Strange, who uses Illyana's power to turn time back so the spell never happened. But how to prevent KG from being freed in the first place? Nimrod, "the Ultimate Sentinel", arrives in the past and kills the mugger, saving Jose. The necklace falls in the mud and sinks below. [This was a great 2 issue saga. One of my favorite stories.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #192 Apr 1985 |
Fun 'n' Games: 2 Nightcrawler, Rogue, and Colossus play "tag." Nightcrawler wins hands down. He also manages to trigger Rogue's 7th sense powers that she absorbed from Ms. Marvel. They find Magus, Warlock's father. Thanks to Rogue they manage to survive. Magus vanishes. Meanwhile, Rachel, Storm, Illyana, and the Prof pick up Kitty and Wolverine from the airport. Rachel has a flashback to when Kate Pryde of the future sent her back to the present. The Professor gets mugged by anti-mutant scumbags and is injured. [The X-Men/Alpha-Flight mini-series takes place between panels of this issue.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #193 May 1985 |
Warhunt 2: 2 The Prof is found by the Morlocks and returned to the X-mansion. The Morlock children are mysteriously killed. Thunderbird II kidnaps Banshee to get revenge on the X-Men for his brother's death (issue #95). Thunderbird is helped by Empath, Roulette, and Firestar of the Hellions. Storm (finally) goes off to Africa. Thunderbird manages to get Banshee into SAC, and challenges the X-Men to rescue him (so if they do, they'll get in major hot water with the government). The X-Men and the Army and the Hellions fight. The X-Men win, and Thunderbird discovers he isn't a killer. He will remain with the Hellions. Firestar also decides to remain at the Mass. Academy. [She's not technically a Hellion. See her own mini-series for details.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #194 Jun 1985 |
Juggernaut's Back in Town: 2 The X-Men are roused out of a sound sleep by the news that Juggernaut is loose in NYC. Storm manages to piss off Andrea and Andreas Strucker. Nimrod shows up and attacks the X-Men and Jugs. Using Kitty's plan, Rogue absorbs the powers of all the X-Men and beats up Nimrod. Col. Vashin from issue #123 appears and comments on the state of mutant affairs in the USA. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #195 Jul 1985 |
It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: 2 The Power Pack wake up and their parents have forgotten them. Not only that, all their toys are gone. They easily slip their folks but get caught by the Morlocks. Kitty recognizes Katie (somewhat uglied by Masque) and gets the X-Men to save the kids. They fight the Morlocks and discover that the Power kids were taken and mindwiped by Morlocks to ease the pain of Annalee (who broadcasts her pain with her empathy). Callisto makes her give up the kids. The Power kids agree to visit her, however. Lastly, the X-Men get called into the Secret Wars II. [They fight the Beyonder, and rescue some of the New Mutants from the Gladiators in LA. See New Mutants and SW-2 #1 for more details.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #196 Aug 1985 |
What Was That?! 2 The Prof discovers that one of his students wants to kill him, but since he's so weak from his earlier injuries, he can't catch who in the class is the crook. Storm is shot in Africa by Andrea Strucker. The X-Men and Magneto agree to play detective and find out whodunit. The Beyonder walks by, making it an official SW-2 crossover. Kurt is having problems reconciling his religious faith with the idea that cosmic doofuses like the Beyonder are allowed to exist. Kitty stumbles on the scumbags. Rachel accidentally triggers the 'psi-screamer' in the Prof's office, she quickly recovers and finds Kitty. She almost kills the leader of the plot, but Magneto (of all people) stops her. Rachel reveals her past to Mags and Kitty, and makes allusions to the Holocaust. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #197 Sep 1985 |
To Save Arcade: 2 A fluff issue. Arcade vs. Colossus and Kitty in a birthday party for Arcade in Murderworld. Nimrod is becoming a popular vigilante hero in NYC (they think he's a guy in a suit). There's some nice interplay between Kitty and Colossus, and their friendship is healing. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #198 Oct 1985 |
Lifedeath: From the Heart of Darkness: 2 Storm has massive hallucinations and comes to terms with the loss of her powers and her place in the X-Men while healing from her gunshot wound. There's an aside on the famine in Ethiopia that's very well done. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #199 Nov 1985 |
The Spiral Path: 2 Cyclops returns to the X-mansion. He noticeably avoids Rachel. Moira tells him and Wolverine that the Prof is dying from the injuries (he's not giving his body a chance to recover). Mystique proposes the idea of Freedom Force to Val Cooper. Rachel has flashbacks to the death of Phoenix in our timeline and of her early childhood in her own. Kitty and Magneto attend a Holocaust Memorial Service to help find some of Kitty's relatives. Freedom Force (the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, plus Spiral from Longshot) fight the X-Men in an attempt to capture Magneto. Mags gives himself up to be tried by the World Court for his past crimes. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #200 Dec 1985 |
The Trial of Magneto: 2 Magneto is on trial in Paris for being a bad mutant. The Prof and Gaby Haller (from issue #161) are the defense attorneys. They present an eloquent defense. Meanwhile, Fenris (a.k.a. Andrea and Andreas Strucker, the kids of Baron Strucker, also from issue #161) are framing the X-Men as terrorists. The Prof is on his last legs from all his injuries. Maddy Pryor gives birth to Nathan Christopher Charles Summers all by herself in the X-mansion. Fenris attacks the trial, Magneto saves the innocent people, but avoids capture afterwards. Charles is about to die and "wills" the X-Men and New Mutants to him. Fortunately, Lil and Corsair bamf him up to the Starjammer's ship, but have to warp out of the system soon (we don't see him again (except for brief glimpses in New Mutants #50-51 and X-Factor #50) until issue #277). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #201 Jan 1986 |
Duel: 2 The X-Men get all gushy over little Nate (even though they never name the kid until Inferno). Scott and Maddy fight. Storm challenges Scott to a fight for the leadership of the X-Men. Storm out skills Cyke, even though she has no powers. Scott, Maddy, and Nathan leave for Alaska. Also around this time, in New Mutants #35, Magento becomes Headmaster of Xavier's school, in Xavier's absence. |
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| Avengers #263 Jan 1986 Phoenix Rising |
What Lurks Below? Three members of the Enclave (Morlak, Zota, and Shinski) crash their plane in Jamaica Bay (next to JFK). Before the police can investigate, the plane sinks and blows up! We never find out what was in the plane, but some crate sinks to the bottom of the bay, and seems to have bumbed into some sort of pod (I think that's what "woke up" the pod). The Avengers investigate, and take the pod back to their headquarters in NYC. |
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| Fantastic Four #286 Feb 1986 Phoenix Rising |
Like a Phoenix: The Fantastic Four return from a mission in space, and head to the Avenger's mansion (where they've been staying since their HQ (the Baxter Building) was destroyed). Reed Richards can't resist probing the pod, and eventually it hatches. Inside is none other than Jean Grey! Jean learns that the X-Men have been seen cooperating with Magneto (in the first Secret Wars), so she feels that she can't turn to the X-Men for help. Jean, Reed, Susan, and Thor take a trip to Jean's parents' house, where they find they holoempathic matrix crystal, given to the Grey by the Shi'ar, as a way to remember Jean after she "died". She touches the crystal, in order to remember what happened. Way back in issues #100-101, Jean was being killed by solar radiation while piloting a space shuttle back to Earth. The Phoenix entity heard Jean's cries for help, and came to her aid. Phoenix absorbed all of Jean Grey's memories and personality, and became Jean. Jean was placed in that "pod" to heal her injuries. An interesting note: when Phoenix was talking to Jean on the shuttle, she indicated that Phoenix was takind a risk, and seemed to know that she had the potential to become Dark Phoenix. The heroes convince Jean that it was her own "soul" that finally swayed Dark Phoenix to take her own life on the Moon. Finally, Reed calls Warren Worthington (Angel), and tells him that his old teammate is alive. |
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| X-Factor #1 Feb 1986 Phoenix Rising |
Third Genesis: Meanwhile, up in Alaska, Scott and Maddy are fighting, and Scott admits that he's still thinking about Jean. So, when Scott gets a call from Warren saying Jean's alive, he takes right off. (This is the beginning of Scott's incredibly insensitive period.) In NYC, Scott and Jean are reunited - he's a little, she's very excited (of course, she doesn't know anything about Maddy and Nathan). After every catches up with each other (including learning the facts that Jean's telpathic powers have disaappeared, but her telekinetic powers have increased dramatically), Jean wants to start doing something to protect mutants, like the Professor always wanted (the Prof is off with Lilandra, healing from his injuries). Eventually, Warren gets the Beast and Iceman to join the three of them in the stupidest idea I've ever heard! These five mutants (the original X-Men!) form a new group called X-Factor, who (with their public relations rep Cameron Hodge) will offer their services to "take care of" mutant problems. Under this insane guise of pretending to be mutant-hunters (thus actually helping fuel mutant hysteria), they will locate new mutants and help them control their powers. The first case they get is find a young sailor named Rusty, who accidentally burned a women when his power first manifested itself. While trying to save Rusty from government forces, X-Factor actually puts on uniforms (similar to their old X-Men uniforms - didn't anyone notice?!?) and use their mutant powers to rescue him. When X-Factor is in costume, they act as renegade mutants, and eventually pick up the name X-Terminators. Anyway, they do rescue Rusty, and congratulate themselves afterwards on their first mission. The issue ends with a sad shot of Maddy, all alone up in Alaska.... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #202 Feb 1986 |
X-Men ... I've Gone to Kill -- the Beyonder: 2 Having absorbed some residual power of the Phoenix, Rachel goes Beyonder hunting. He gives her the Phoenix power, but creates a bunch of Sentinels and bamfs all the X-Men (except Nightcrawler) to San Francisco. Rachel can either kill the Beyonder or save the X-Men. Guess which she chooses? |
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| Uncanny X-Men #203 Mar 1986 |
Crossroads: 2 Rachel continues her hunt for the Beyonder. She absorbs the essence of the X-Men and goes to the M'Kraan crystal, which contains a force that would destroy the universe if released. Rachel's plan is (get this) to rid the multiverse of the Beyonder, she's going to destroy the universe. Of course, she doesn't. (She does make some of the X-Men mad at her since she didn't ask all of them.) The Beyonder doesn't take back all of the Phoenix force. This leads into Secret Wars 9, which is REALLY dumb. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #204 Apr 1986 |
What Happened to Nightcrawler? 2 Nightcrawler, Murderworld, a beautiful woman, action, adventure. And just a touch of angst. |
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| X-Factor #3 Apr 1986 |
Regression Obsession: I don't have this issue, but a couple of major events happened in it. Hank is reverted to ? Who's handling continuity at Marvel?!?] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #205 May 1986 |
Wounded Wolf: 2 Spiral creates Lady Deathstrike (don't confuse the name with Deathbird). With the help of the Hellfire Cyborgs, the four of them bushwack Wolverine. Fortunately, Katie "Energizer" Power finds him, almost dead. She keeps him alive and moving long enough to heal so he can kick the snot out of them. |
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| X-Factor #5
Jun 1986
The Rise of Apocalypse
|
Tapped Out:
I don't have X-Factor #2-4, so here's a summary. In issues #2-3, Hank is reverted to his human form by Dr. Carl Maddicks (a former
colleague/nemesis at Brand Corp), and X-Factor takes Dr. Maddicks' son Arthur (Artie) in their care after Dr. Maddicks
is killed. (This is the same Dr. Carl Maddicks who tried to steal Hank's work and was later "killed" by a co-conspirator
in Amazing Adventures #11. For a non-mutant, this guy's hard to kill!) Issue #4 involves minor stuff with Artie and Rusty.
A mutant named Michael Nowland is being hunted by the Alliance of Evil (Tower, Frenzy, Stinger, and Timeshadow). Mike's power is to boost up other mutant
powers. He doesn't like being used, so he keeps on taking heroin, which blocks the effect. His ex-wife calls X-Factor and they show up in San Diego to help him.
He doesn't trust any mutants, but eventually agrees he needs help. But, the Alliance shows up with Mike's ex-wife as a captive, and agrees to help them to save her.
The issue closes out when they meet their master, Apocalypse, who wants Mike's power to boost all mutants (so they can fight against mankind).
By the way, X-Factor #5-6 are included in the Rise of Apocalypse TPB. Even though that miniseries is written 10 years later, they included these original appearances of Apoc in the TPB. |
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| X-Factor #6
Jul 1986
The Rise of Apocalypse
|
Apocalypse Now:
Mike loses control of his power, causing a convenient explosion that let's X-Factor find him. In the resulting battle between X-Factor, the Alliance,
and Apocalypse, Mike's ex-wife is killed. Mike's brain overloads trying to hold back his power, and he dies too. Apocalypse escapes, with a cryptic
"thank you" to X-Factor for helping cull out the weak. The Alliance escapes too.
Besides the first appearance of Apocalypse in these issues, a couple of other interesting things occur. X-Factor begins to question if posing as mutant-hunters is really helping with the growing mutant-hysteria (duh!), and Scott and Jean's feelings are starting to come out a bit (although Jean is still completely in the dark about Scott, Maddy, and their baby). Also, during the last battle, Singer's attacks were causing a Phoenix-like effect around Jean's force-field, but only Scott noticed. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #206 Jun 1986 |
Freedom is a Four Letter Word: 2 The X-Men adapt well to San Francisco (where they've been since issue #202). The cops like 'em. Nobody is trying to kill them. Nobody but Freedom Force. A BIG fight results. Guess who wins? Maddy Pryor turns up all by herself in the hospital in critical condition. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #207 Jul 1986 |
Ghosts: 2 Rachel is having problems. Wolverine is still mad at her for acting like a boob during the Secret Wars II. She runs away from the X-Men, and goes Selene hunting. (That Rachel, if there's nothing better to do, she goes to kill the nearest villain.) Wolverine stops her, by sticking his claws into her. (His official reason is that he doesn't want someone with the power of the Phoenix to act like he does.) |
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| >Uncanny X-Men #208 Aug 1986 |
Retribution: 2 Everybody is looking for Rachel. The X-Men. The Hellfire Club. Your basic X-battle starts when Nimrod shows up, and wants to kill everyone in sight. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #209 Sep 1986 |
Salvation: 2 The X-Men and the Hellfire Club decide to join forces to fight the common foe. They win, but at a terrible cost. Nightcrawler tries to teleport Nimrod's arm off, but Nimrod's new countermeasures stop him. Nightcrawler appears to discorporate! Harry Leland has a heart attack and dies. Shaw is knocked senseless. And Nimrod still manages to get away. Rachel, unnoticed in all the chaos, is captured by Spiral, not to be seen again until Excalibur #1. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #210 Oct 1986 Mutant Massacre |
The Morning After: In Los Angeles, a Morlock (Tommy) is fleeing the Marauders. Her companion, a Hellfire thug named Richard, is gunned down, but Tommy escapes back to the NYC. When she gets to the Morlock tunnels, the Marauders (who were tracking her) kill her. Meanwhile, in San Francisco Dazzler (Allison Blaire) is playing in Lila Cheney's band, but she can't use her mutant powers when she's performing anymore ('cause of the mutant hysteria). After a show, she appears to be attacked by someone named Malice (a Maurader with the power to possess people). In New York, the X-Men are all dealing with mutant hysteria in various aspects. |
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| X-Factor #9 Oct 1986 Mutant Massacre |
Spots: I don't have X-Factor #7-8, so here's a summary. Scott actually calls Jean "Maddy" (he still hadn't told Jean about Maddy!).
She figures out he's married, and takes off. Also, there are some minor plots with Glowworm, Bulk, Rusty, and Skids.
X-Factor breaks up an attempt by Freedom Force to arrest Rusty (still wanted for his crime in X-Factor #1). Rusty escapes with his Morlock girlfirend Skids (she's slippery!) down to the Morlock tunnels. When X-Factor returns to their HQ, they find that the young mutant Artie Maddicks (with the power to see events elsewhere and project them for others to see) has fled. He saw his best friend Rusty being pursued by Freedom Force into the tunnels and went to go help. X-Factor puts on the X-Terminator costumes, and heads to the tunnels. Artie runs into Leech (whose mutant power blocks the powers of others), who in turn brings Artie to Caliban (whose mutant power is the ability to detect mutants). Those three huddle together as they hear the sounds of Morlocks being killed! Elsewhere in the tunnels, Freedom Force finds Rusty and Skids, and X-Factor finds all of them. After the requisite battle, Freedome Force flees, but Rusty is severely injured. Angel, Jean, and Skids take Rusty back to HQ, while Scott, Iceman, and Beast continue to look for Artie.... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #211 Nov 1986 Mutant Massacre |
Massacre: We finally get an introduction to some of the Marauders, and they're a batch of serious kilers - Scalphunter, Riptide, Scrambler, Harpoon, Vertigo, and Arclight. They're really doing a number on the Morlocks, slaughtering tons of them! Back at the X-mansion, a dying Morlock shows up and manages to tell the X-Men about the massacre, before it too dies. A new student at the school, Betsy Braddock (Psylocke), a telepath, fills in the details for the X-Men, based on the Morlock's dying memory. All of the X-Men (except Magento) head to the tunnels, and start battling the Marauders right away. Nightcrawler gets hurt right away, and Illyana (Magik) uses one of her teleport discs to take him home. The X-Men rescue Annalee and some of her children (it was the Marauders who killed four of her children in issue #193). Kitty (Shadowcat) takes one of Harpoon's energy spears in the back (trying to protect Rogue) - this causes Kitty to get stuck out of phase. When Colossus hears Kitty's scream, he goes berserk and "kills" his opponent - Riptide. [I think this is the first time Colossus has ever "killed". Like all villains, Riptide miraculously recovers and is seen again in issue #240.] Kitty and Nightcrawler do not recover from their injuries until Excalibur (we see Nightcrawler again in issue #227). |
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| New Mutants #46 Dec 1986 Mutant Massacre |
Bloody Sunday: The last New Mutants issue I summarized was way back in #21. Briefly, here are some highlights of what's happened to them
since then: in #25 we get our first glimpse of Legion (David Haller), the son of Gabrielle and Xavier (although Gabby hasn't told Xavier
that Legion's his son); the New Mutants get tangled up with Magneto and the Beyonder in Secret Wars II; in #35 Magneto becomes Headmaster
of Xavier's school (after Xavier is critically injured and taken away by Lilandra in Uncanny X-Men #200), but in #38
he closes the school and transfer all the students to Emma Frost's Academy (only for a couple issues); in Annual #2, Doug and Warlock merge
for the first time into Douglock.
This issue opens with a major continuity screw-up! In Uncanny X-Men #211, Illyana went with the X-Men to the Morlock tunnels, but teleported home with the wounded after the first fight. In this New Mutants issue, she never went with the X-Men, and only noticed the X-Men returning to the mansion on the security monitors. Illyana fetches Moira from Scotland, mentioning her "black magic". Moira, Magneto, Psylocke, the New Mutants, and the X-Men all treat the wounded Morlocks, but many of them still die. As the younger New Mutants eventually get pushed aside, they take off on a mission of their own, and end up running into Magus, the ruler of the Technarchy, and also Warlock's father. Magus tries to infect the humans with the transmode virus, but they escape. [The next several issues of The New Mutants deal with Magus and also with Limbo, exposing some of Illyana's fears about her dark powers.] |
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| X-Factor #10 Nov 1986 Mutant Massacre |
Falling Angel: It turns out we didn't meet all of the Marauders back in Uncanny X-Men #211. The new ones introduced here are Sabretooth, Blockbuster, and Prism. Also, in the middle of the massacre, Apocalypse saves Plague from Harpoon, and offers to make her Pestilence, the First Horseman of the Apocalypse! Anyway, Cyclops, Beast, and Iceman continue the search for Artie, and are soon joined again by Jean and Angel, returning from HQ. Jean sees Cyclops take a nasty reflected-light blast from Prism, so she smashes Prism [I think she kills him]. Jean takes the wounded back to HQ (again), leaving only Angel to continue looking for Artie. Angel quickly finds him, but then the Marauders find them both! Angel makes sure Artie gets away, but Angel is captured and pinned by his wings to the wall! |
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| Thor #373 Nov 1986 Mutant Massacre |
The Gift of Death: A couple of frogs tell Thor about the massacre in the Morlock tunnels (Thor spent some time as a frog), and Thor goes to investigate. Thor fights a couple Marauders, and finds the dying Angel pinned to the wall. |
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| Power Pack #27 Dec 1986 Mutant Massacre |
Whose Power--?: I've never even heard of this comic before, I guess because it was targeted at very young audiences. The Power Pack seems to be a bunch of kids who have been given different powers (like superheros, as opposed to mutants). One of them is Franklin Richards, whose parents are in the Fantastic Four. Anyway, they receive a distressful projection from their friend Leech, and they go to the Morlock tunnels to investigate. They have a few run-ins with some Marauders, and actually do quite well! They find Leech and Caliban. X-Factor shows up, and sends the Power Pack back home to bed. Beast and Iceman are sent back to HQ with Leech and Caliban, while Jean and Scott continue the search for Artie. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #212 Dec 1986 Mutant Massacre |
The Last Run: Wolverine is the last X-Men left in the tunnels, hunting for a Marauder prisoner. Wolverine smells the scent of a woman knows very well (Jean Grey's), but he doesn't believe it can really be her. He runs into Sabretooth, they fight a little, but Wolverine takes off with Sabretooth's prisoner, the Morlock healer. Sabretooth did finally mention for whom the Marauders were working - Sinister! As Wolverine gets back to the X-mansion (which is 40 miles away!), he feels an energy wave burst through the Morlock tunnels (see Thor #374). While Wolverine is in the tunnel, Storm has a crisis of faith in her ability (and desire) to lead the X-Men (Callisto talks her into sticking with it), and Colossus collapses from wounds he received in the tunnels [from Riptide?]. Magneto uses his power to repair Colossus' body (which is in its armored form). He saves Colossus' life, but something goes wrong - Colossus is stuck in his armored form, and he's paralyzed! [He partially recovers in issue #225.] |
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| Thor #374 Dec 1986 Mutant Massacre |
Fires of the Night: Thor continues to find Marauders, and appears to kill Blockbuster. He rescues Angel (who's in very bad shape) and finds Artie! Thor runs into Scott and Jean, and passes off Angel and Artie to them. While they're heading out of the tunnels, Thor calls down a cleansing fire (an energy pulse) to purge the tunnels of all the dead bodies. |
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| X-Factor #11 Dec 1986 Mutant Massacre |
Redemption: Scott and Jean (with Angel and Artie in tow) catch up with Beast and Iceman (with Leech and Caliban) and barely make into X-Factor's HQ before Thor's energy pulse purges the tunnels. Apocalypse makes an injured soldeier named Lincoln into his second Horseman (War). Scott and Jean take Angel to a hospital, where doctors say his wings must be amputated! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #213 Jan 1987 Mutant Massacre |
Psylocke: Psylocke tries to prove her worth to the X-Men, but everyone keeps snubbing her help. Sabretooth attacks the mansion, and Psylocke fights him for a little while, until Wolverine shows up and takes over. While they're fighting, Psylocke probes Sabretooth's mind. After the X-Men get what they're looking for, Sabretooth escapes. Off in Los Angeles, Alison Blaire gets another vision from Malice (who's taking over her mind), and shows up in a club in her Dazzler outfit. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #214 Feb 1987 |
With Malice Toward All: 2 Dazz is losing control, thanks to Malice's influence. The X-Men go to check up on her, and Malice has a field day, possessing an X-Man, fighting for a while, then swapping. She also manages to do enough property damage as an X-Man to ruin whatever was left of the X-Men's rep. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #215 Mar 1987 |
Old Soldiers: 2 Maddy Pryor has nightmares about the Marauders hunting her down. Longshot's back from wherever he went, and goes with Rogue, Dazzler, and Psylocke to Muir island to get the wounded out of a possible fire zone. Maddy wakes up in San Fran. Wolverine and Storm go to Sarah Grey's house (Jean's sister). It's a mess. Wolverine smells Jean Grey and goes nuts. Storm gets cold-cocked and wakes up in a cell. She was captured by three overage supers (Crimson Commando, Super-Sabre, and Stonewall) from WWII who decided to keep in shape by hunting down criminals. Storm has to get herself and the little slimeball who had already been caught out of the woods before they are caught and killed. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #216 Apr 1987 |
Crucible: 2 Wolverine comes to his senses and goes looking for Storm, who is still on the run. The Blackbird with wounded arrives at Muir Island. Storm, with Wolverine's help, beats the old dudes, and makes them turn themselves in for their crimes. Storm also gives the over-done "X-Men don't kill" speech. |
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| X-Factor #15 Apr 1987 Mutations |
Whose death is it, anyway? I don't have X-Factor #12-14, but a couple interesting things occured: Apocalypse turns someone named Autumn in the third Horseman
(Famine); Scott leaves X-Factor to return to Maddy in Alaska, but she's disappeared, along with all material traces of her; oh, and a
red-headed corpse washes up on the shore.
This issue starts off with Angel in the hospital - the doctors have amputated his wings! (They had turned gangrene.) He wakes up, devastated of course, and Jean can't calm him down. She calls Scott (in Alaska) for help, but he's upset 'cause he thinks Maddy's dead (the police showed him that red-headed corpse). Scott does come to NYC, exactly when Angel flees the hospital and takes off in his plane. Scott, Jean, and Hank watch the plane take off - and then explode! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #217 May 1987 |
Folly's Gambit: 2 Psylocke, Rogue, Longshot, and Dazzler are trained by Banshee to work as a team. Callisto gives Dazz a rough time, so she goes to a nearby town to cool off. She spots Juggernaut, and decides to attack him to prove to the X-Men and Callisto she isn't a wimp. She is stupid for attacking him though. Dazz gives it her best shot, and collapses. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #218 Jun 1987 |
Charge of the Light Brigade: 2 Alex Summers and Lorna Dane wreck their jeep when a minibus driving like a bat outta hell runs them off the road. Dazz wakes up in a cairn (Jugs isn't too swift, and thought she was dead). The X-Men find her, and go to Edinburgh, where Jugs is on a rampage. They defeat Jugs, but it turns out it was all a setup. While Jugs was causing trouble, his partner, Black Tom Cassidy (Banshee's brother) was robbing the bank of Scotland. Alex discovers that the van was fleeing a Brood Starshark. The Brood is back and we're gonna be in trouble (hey na hey na the Brood is back!). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #219 Jul 1987 |
Where Duty Lies: 2 Havok has nightmares about visiting the X-Men. He went to visit them, but his mind is rebelling against the images. Lorna drops him off at the airport. Some of the Marauders attack Lorna all by her lonesome. Alex finds Magneto at the Hellfire club, making arrangements with the White Queen. Alex follows Mags to the Morlock tunnels. Storm has the bright idea that the X-Men should go into hiding and fake their deaths so they'll be left alone. The X-Men debate letting Alex join, and eventually let him in. Lorna trashes the Marauders. Unfortunately, it's not just Lorna, it's Lorna + Malice. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #220 Aug 1987 |
Unfinished Business: 2 Storm decides she'd be a better X-Man if she had her powers back, so she leaves the X-Men in Wolverine's care and goes looking for Forge. At his tower in Dallas she finds all of his equipment left running wild. She finds Naze, who says that Forge has gone nuts, and the Adversary has taken him over. They'll have to find him, and kill him if necessary. Little does she know that it's Naze who is possessed by the Adversary. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #221 Sep 1987 |
Death by Drowning: 2 Mister Sinister beats up the Marauders for not killing Maddy Pryor. Rogue and Dazz have it out in the Danger Room (they still don't like each other since Rogue tried to kill her in Dazz's own comic). The X-Men go to San Fran to rescue Maddy, and get in a fight with the Marauders. Dazz saves Rogue from drowning, and Havok finds out that Polaris is a Marauder now. Storm and Naze continue their "vision quest." |
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| Uncanny X-Men #222 Oct 1987 |
Heartbreak: 2 The fights continue. Maddy is saved, but Havok is forced to fire his plasma beam at Polaris, and even though she blocks it, he has to live with the fact he shot to kill at the woman he loves. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #223 Nov 1987 |
Omens and Portents: 2 Stonewall, Crimson Commando, and Super-Sabre join Freedom Force in return for not going to jail. The X-Men train in Alcatraz (where they're hiding out). Storm has prophetic dreams of Forge and her fighting, and Maddy is talked out of killing herself by Havok. (She doesn't know that Jean's alive, and her son is still missing. Cyke was a real bonehead at that time.) |
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| Uncanny X-Men #224 Dec 1987 |
The Dark Before the Dawn: 2 The X-Men cool out in San Fran for a while. Mystique tells Rogue that Destiny had a vision that the X-Men would die if they went to Dallas. However, they also get a psychic distress call from Storm, originating in Dallas. They, naturally, decide to go to Dallas. Storm confronts Forge, and fatally stabs him. He says he was closing the gate, not opening it. Anyway, Naze/Adversary thanks Storm for her help, and zaps the two of them into oblivion. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #225
Jan 1988
The Fall of the Mutants
|
False Dawn:
Colossus is in Scotland (flown there after the Mutant Massacre in issue #216), and is no longer stuck in his
armored form. However, he apparently doesn't have much control over it, and it pops out while he's talking to some kids, scaring them half to death.
He gets a visit by a girl (a projection of Roma?), who convinces him that the X-Men need him. After she leaves, his sister, Illyana, transports in,
and agrees to take him to the X-Men. Meanwhile, the Adversary has captured Roma and taken over her Starlight Citadel. In Dallas, the X-Men arrive at Eagle Plaza
to find an empty building. Wolverine enters and is cut down by lasers. The team rescue him and are ambushed by Freedom Force outside! A big fight starts,
Colussus teleports in, and then a huge hole in the sky appears over their heads.
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| Uncanny X-Men #226
Feb 1988
The Fall of the Mutants
|
Go Tell the Spartans:
More fighting. Strangest attack on an X-Man I've ever seen: Spiral places Destiny's mask over Dazzler's face and then drives a psychic knive thru it!
Thru the end of the next issue, Dazzler is running around blind with a mask over her face and a knive sticking out of her head. Very bizarre!
The fighting between the mutants takes a back seat when reality starts to get all twisted around Dallas. The X-Men and Freedome Force start helping
out the humans caught in the turmoil, especially two NPR reporters, Neal Conan and Manoli (the former a mutant-sympathizer, the latter
a mutant-hater). Meanwhile, we catch up with Storm and Forge, who have been zapped to an alternate Earth, where they are literally the only two people
on the planet. After spending some time (years?) in this alternate world, Forge and Storm decide that they have to go back and fight the Adversary.
Forge restores Storm's powers (lost way back in issue #185), and the open a gateway home.
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| Uncanny X-Men #227
Mar 1988
The Fall of the Mutants
|
The Belly of the Beast:
The X-Men enter Eagle Plaza, which looks to everyone outside that it crashes down with the X-Men inside. But with Neal Conan's video camera,
the whole world can see that the X-Men are alive inside, and fighting through a reproduction of the Vietnam jungle. They see an image of what
happened to Forge during the Vietnam War, when his powers first manifested. The X-Men attack the Adversary in Roma's Citadel (floating above this jungle).
They're doing a number on him, but realize he can't be beaten physically - he's a magical being. Forge realizes he must cast a spell to counteract the
one he cast in Vietnam that opened a rift between this world and a demon world (I guess this is where the Adversary comes from, though that's not clear).
The spell in Vietnam used the souls of newly slain comrades - now Forge must cast a spell using the freely-given lifeforces of 9 people. The X-Men
(Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Havoc, Psylocke, Dazzler, Longshot, and Maddy) give up their lives, in order for Forge to complete his spell,
lock the Adversary away ("forever"), and save Earth from the reality warp going on. Everyone in the world (including Kitty Pryde) sees the X-Men "die", thanks to Neal Conan's reporting,
and everyone calls Forge a "murderer". (Kitty goes to tell Moira the news, and we get some small good news - Nightcrawler has awakened from the coma he
fell into back in issue #211) Turns out the X-Men didn't really "die", though! Roma saved them (although she says that they
did die, and have been reborn). They can do anything they'd like with their new life. They decide to implement Storm's Plan Omega,
and let the world think they're dead!
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| X-Factor #24 Jan 1988 Mutations The Fall of the Mutants |
Masks: I don't have X-Factor #16-23, but quite a few interesting things occured: X-Factor is attacked by the first three Horsemen, and Hank is infected by
Pestilence (the drugs Hank took to turn him back to human-form (X-Factor #3) interact with the infection, causing his strength
to increase, but at the cost of his diminishing intelligence!); Cameron Hodge (X-Factor's PR man)
turns out to be a traitor - he's been running an anti-mutant group called The Right, and the whole stupid X-Factor concept was his idea
(to increase mutant hysteria); Angel didn't really die when his plane exploded, but Apocalypse rescued him and made him the fourth Horseman (Death).
In this issue, Apocalypse transports X-Factor (Scott, Jean, Hank, Bobby, and Caliban (who's been hanging out with X-Factor)) to his Ship (which floats invisibly over NYC), and gives them the "join me or die" speech. Apocalypse believes in the survival of the fittest, and he plans on basically killing everyone he can so that only the strong survive. Of course, X-Factor rejects him and the fighting begins. After a few minutes, Apoc trots out his trump card - Death, the Fourth Horseman! X-Factor is captured, except for Caliban who offers his services to Apocalypse in exchange for powers like Death's. |
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| X-Factor #25 Feb 1988 Mutations The Fall of the Mutants |
Judgement Day: X-Factor escape, and there are some skirmishes down in NYC (Famine gets transported away by Apocalypse, but Pestilence appears to get killed). When everyone gets back on the Ship, Bobby devises a clever trick for Death/Angel. Bobby makes an ice statue of himself, which Death cuts through with his razor-sharp wings. Warren thinks he's killed Bobby, and repents for becoming Death. Warren (and X-Factor) attack Apocalypse, driving him from his Ship (Apoc flees with War and Caliban). Oh yeah, the Ship is out of control, and going to crash into NYC. However, X-Factor and Power-Pack cause the Ship to land half in the harbor, half on top of X-Factor's HQ! |
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| X-Factor #26 Mar 1988 The Fall of the Mutants |
Casualties: X-Factor works all issue to help NYC recover from the effects of the Horsemen's attacks (last issue) - and to convince everyone that they're good mutants. They succeed, and NYC throws a parade in their honor. Scott and Jean reconcile. (Scott thinks Maddy is dead from issue #14, and doesn't get to see the TV report from Dallas, where she does "die". Either way, he wins, right? Not really - this love traingle comes to a head in Inferno!) Oh yeah, X-Factor gets new uniforms (to celebrate their "rebirth", I guess). |
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| New Mutants #59 Jan 1988 The Fall of the Mutants |
Fang and Claw: Since my last New Mutants summary for issue #46, the team has mostly dealt with Magus and Limbo, including a run-in with
the Prof. Also, Doug gets infected with Warlock's transmode virus and Bird-Brain joins the team.
Most of the New Mutants (Cannonball, Mirage, Wolfsbane, Magik, and Doug) disobey Magneto's grounding of them to help the new team member, Bird-Brain. He's an Ani-Mate (which is different than the Ani-Men seen in Uncanny X-Men #94-95), from a secluded island. He and his fellow Ani-Mates are the genetic experiments of the Animator, your classic mad scientist. He's supposedly working for Cameron Hodge and The Right, but he really just wants to create the strongest animal/man hybrids he can (Bird-Brain was one of his "best"). The New Mutants and some free-thinking Ani-Mates (Bird-Brain's friends) fight the Animator and his fierce, loyal Ani-Mates. In a fairly lame showing, the New Mutants get beaten and end up prisoners of the Animator. |
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| New Mutants #60 Feb 1988 The Fall of the Mutants |
Suspended Ani-mation: The New Mutants escape and "defeat" the bad guys - only to have even badder guys show up! Hodge and The Right (I love their smiley-face battle armor!) show up, and another battle ensues. Sunspot and Warlock managed to track their fellow teammates down, and join the battle just in time. The tide is turning in the good guys' favor, until one horrible twist of fate. The Animator takes a shot at Rahne. Doug sees the Animator, but Rahne doesn't, so he dives in front of the bullet. Doug has no mutant "strength" (his power is Languages) and Doug dies in the battle (no one even noticed until it was over). Obviously, everyone is completely destroyed by Doug's death (apparently, the fans were also extremely upset). Magik even sends the Animator (and several of The Right soldiers) into Limbo to "feed the demons". Cameron Hodge takes off in a plane, but it's grabbed by some Lovecraftian creature from the ocean and explodes. (I guess Cameron Hodge isn't really dead 'cause he shows up in some upcoming X-Factor issues.) |
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| New Mutants #61 Mar 1988 The Fall of the Mutants |
Our Way: Everyone deals with the ramifications of Doug's death. Just about everyone blames themself for it. The only interesting things in this issue (for me) are some more glimpses of Magik's "dark side" and then the New Mutants rebel against Magneto (he's not really a good leader for these children) and don new uniforms (like X-Factor just did). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #228 Apr 1988 |
Deadly Games: 2
O.Z. Chase, a bounty hunter from Dazz's comic, drinks a toast to Dazzler, and has a flashback to a case he, Dazz, Wolverine, and Henry
Gyrich had involving a drug running, mutant, Soviet spy.
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| Uncanny X-Men #229 May 1988 |
Down Under: 2 We meet the Reavers and Gateway for the first time. The X-Men beat up most of the Reavers, kill some, and the rest escape. Roma says their hideout would make a neat base, and the X-dudes agree. She also gives them the Seige Perilous, so they can get rid of their enemies without killing them. It cosmically judges them, and sends them wherever they deserve to go. She also makes the X-Men invisible to magical, technological, and psionic detection, so they are only seen by eyesight. (This plot device is later ignored.) |
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| Uncanny X-Men #230 Jun 1988 |
Twas the Night...: 2 The X-Men explore their hide-out. It's got a great computer system, and a dragon's lair of stolen loot. It overloads Longshot's psychometric powers, and the X-Men decide to return it all to their rightful owners. Did I mention it's Christmas Eve? |
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| Uncanny X-Men #231 Jul 1988 |
...Dressed for Dinner: 2 Peter has nightmares about Illyana. They decide to send him to her, even though it may blow their cover. He appears right before she completes a necromantic spell that would have totally corrupted her. He decides to pretend to be the summoned shade of himself. It seems that Baba Yaga has the New Mutants and is going to eat them. Colossus, being cold iron, has little trouble kicking the snot out of her, and S'ym as well. He goes home. [S'ym is a demon, last seen by the X-Men in Limbo (issue #160). However, S'ym has been appearing in the New Mutants since issue #14 (Apr 1984).] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #232 Aug 1988 X-Men vs. Brood |
Earthfall: This issue starts with a flashback to issue #218, where a Brood-shark crashes in the New Mexican dessert. The Brood infected Harry Palmer, but he never became a full-time Sleazoid. In this issue, he appears human most of the time, but he infects others with Brood eggs whenever he can (he's an EMT, so he and his partner Josey Thomas are able to infect a LOT of people). Somehow, Wolverine had picked up the scent of the Brood (How? He was in Australia!), and the X-Men attack Harry. The X-Men quickly find themselves out-numbered by Harry's Brood! Meanwhile, back at the new X-Men hideout in Australia, Maddy watches TV and sees Scott and Jean! She's fairly freaked out, and when she punches out the TV screen, she's knocked out by some energy surge. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #233 Sep 1988 X-Men vs. Brood |
Dawn of Blood: Oh yeah, all of Harry's Brood are mutants, too, so they have no trouble kicking the X-Men's asses. In fact, the Temptress controls Rogue and Psylocke, making them fight on the Brood's side! They capture Wolverine, but the other X-Men are doing better - Havoc kills Divebomber [this is the first time Havoc has ever killed] and Colossus kills Brickbat. Meanwhile, back in Australia, Maddy is having some kind of vision (guided by Gateway?) where she gets stripped of her individuality, rejected by Scott, and abandoned in the desert. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #234 Sep 1988 X-Men vs. Brood |
Glory Day: The Brood battle continues. Colossus kills Whiphand and Storm kills Blindside. Psylocke breaks her mind-control, and Dazzler blasts Rogue back to her senses. Wolverine has been implanted with an egg (again), but his mutant healing factor saves him (again). The fight now spills over to a nearby religious ceremony (Reverend Bill Conover's Glory Day Crusade), where we see the Reverend "cure" Wolverine of his "demons" (Brood egg), but we also see (or infer) that Josey Thomas plants an egg in the Reverend's wife (Hannah). Havoc kills (again), and Wolverine finally kills Harry, even though he reverted to human form at the end and begged not to be killed (it's a good thing it was Wolverine - anyone else would have let him live). Wrapping up with Maddy's vision-quest, she wanders through the desert, "melting" back into her original appearance. Then she meets S'ym, and he convinces her to drink a potion and pick a fantasy. She picks an "evil" one [this is the birth of the Goblin Queen]. The issue closes with Maddy still laying unconscious in the X-Men's hideout... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #235 Oct 1988 |
Welcome to Genosha: 2 Our first view of Genosha. A green and pleasant land. Unless you're a mutant. Imagine South Africa for mutants, except that mutants are also engineered for the benefit of normals. Maddy was helping Jenny Ransome, a local air-doctor, flying medical help to folks in the Outback. Unfortunately, Jenny is a mutant fleeing Genosha. The Genoshans send out the Press Gang, a group of mutant soldiers working for Genosha. (I never really did understand why they worked for Genosha. They had the same attitudes towards mutants, but are mutants themselves.) Anyway, Wolverine and Rogue are captured and teleported back to Genosha, like Maddy and Jenny were earlier. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #236 Oct 1988 |
Busting Loose: 2 Wolverine and Rogue are captured, and Wipeout (one of the Press Gang) erases their powers. They hint that Rogue was raped, but later say she wasn't. I guess she was just roughed up a lot. The X-Men find out about Genosha. Philip Moreau, son of the Genegineer (head geneticist), learns that his wonderful country has a dirty underside and that his sweetheart (Jenny Ransome) is a mutant and is going to be "processed." Rogue is having problems in her subconscious. The traces of all the folks she ever absorbed are fighting to either control or destroy her mind. Carol Danvers takes charge, to help her and Wolverine out. Using Carol's spy skills, the two of them escape. A demon, N'astirh, calls for Maddy at the X-hideout, but leaves a message. (I kid you not.) Wolverine is dying without his healing factor, since a lot of his bones were replaced by Adamantium, and his white blood cells can't cope on their own. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #237 Nov 1988 |
Who's Human? 2 Rogue and Wolverine get on the Mutant Train, and see Philip Moreau drunkenly attack soldiers, get roughed up, and put on the train as well. Jenny Ransome is forced to undergo the transformation. Maddy is started on the process, and the X-Men finally arrive in Genosha, ready to kick ass and take names. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #238 Nov 1988 |
Gonna Be a Revolution: 2 Maddy totally destroys the brains of the psi's who were going to reprogram her mind. She appears in the brain-tapes as what is later named the Goblin Queen. The Genegineer questions her, but she plays it cool. Wolverine and Rogue hook up with the X-Men, and they all destroy the citadel where mutants are processed. Maddy disappears for a while with a mutant child, and we never see the kid again. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #239 Dec 1988 Inferno |
Vanities: Maddy starts flirting with Alex (who is mad enough at his brother for leaving her that he goes along with it). Storm is using the Reavers' computer system when she sees Scott and Jean Grey on TV. She confronts Wolverine, who admits he suspected she was still alive, but hadn't seen her yet. Elsewhere, some of the X-Men are working out, and Psylocke give Rogue a nasty bump. This causes the Carol Danvers personality to come to the top - the interesting thing is, while Carol is dominant Rogue/Carol touches Psylocke (bare flesh), but does NOT absorb her powers. [Apparently, this has never been followed up on.] |
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| Uncanny X-Men #240 Jan 1989 Inferno |
Strike the Match: Alex and Maddy dance the night away in an otherwise empty Rainbow Room (NYC). Alex doesn't notice that Maddy's outfit keeps changing (including briefly to her Goblin Queen outfit). NYC seems to be mostly deserted right now because (get this) the buildings keep eating people! Gateway transports Alex and Maddy home (Australia), and just when Alex thinks he's going to get lucky (again), Gateway transports Maddy away somewhere else. [I don't get who or what drives Gateway to do what he does.] Maddy shows up at the cemetary at Bard College, apparently where "Jean Grey's" gravesite is. Conveniently, Jean's parents are there, and Maddy turns them into pet demons (this all sounds like a fantasy sequence!). The demon N'astirh shows up and he transports Maddy and her "pets" to an orphanage in Nebraska. There she sees a cocoon (similar to the creche in Genosha in issue #238), with her name on it. Soon, Mr. Sinister shows up, and tells Maddy that he's her father. ["Luke, I'm your father." Sorry, couldn't help it.] Meanwhile, the X-Men use the Reavers' computer again to locate the Marauders, last seen in issue #222. The Marauders are in the Morlock tunnels, empty since the Mutant Massacre, and the X-Men drive them out of the tunnels. Now that the Marauders know the X-Men are alive, they say they'll be better prepared for their next battle. |
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| New Mutants #71 Jan 1989 Inferno |
Limbo: Here's a little background on what's been going on with the New Mutants since my last update for issue #61:
Illyana sees her brother (Colossus) "die" on TV with the X-Men in Dallas (Uncanny X-Men #227); more stuff goes on with
Illyana and Limbo - she tried using her Soulsword against Forge (blaming him for her brother's "death"), but this allowed S'ym to take over Limbo .
In this issue, the New Mutants teleport into Limbo, where they're attacked by a transmode-infected S'ym and other demons. S'ym takes the Soulsword from Illyana (much to her surprise), and Illyana teleports them away - but not to Earth - it's blocked to her now. After the kids teleport to a safer location in Limbo, S'ym gets a visit (vision?) from N'astirh - they're in cahoots. Eventually N'astirh catchses up with the New Mutants in Limbo, and he tells them that S'ym's demon army poised to invade Earth, and he'll help them get home to stop them. He sends Illyana to S'ym - to get her Soulsword back. Once she does that, she transforms into a demon-like creature, but she's able to take the New Mutants home. However, N'astirh prevents her from closing the stepping disk behind her, and he and his demons come pouring through into New York City! |
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| X-Factor #36 Jan 1989 Inferno |
Transformations: Here's a little background on what's been going on with X-Factor since my last update for issue #26:
Hank gets infected by Infectia in #31; when he recovers in #33, he's cured of his Pestilence infection (from #19) but he also reverts back to
his furry-form (reversing the human-form he gained back in #3); in #27 Scott and Jean see Maddy "die" on TV with the X-Men in
Dallas (Uncanny X-Men #227); in #34, Cameron Hodge kills Candy (Angel's girlfriend) after performing experiments on her,
Angel "kills" Hodge in retribution, and Scott finds out that his baby (Nathan) is being held in Nebraska, in the orphanage in
which he grew up; in #35, we find that the orphanage is part of the plans of Nanny, Orphan-Maker, N'astirh, and the Goblin Queen; Nathan was
being held there by Nanny & Orphan-Maker, but N'astirh's demons steal him. Apparently, four different "sides" were vying for mutant babies:
Nanny's side (I still don't know what she wants), Hodge (who was really working for N'astirh in these kidnapping capers), N'astirh (who really
just wanted Nathan?), and Mr. Sinister (who ran the whole orphanage?).
In this issue, X-Factor battles New York City itself (as building and trains come alive and start killing people), and then take on the horde of demons who teleport into the city. Also, Trish (Hank's (former?) girlfriend) has a hard time coming to terms with the Beast's transformation back to his furry form. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #241 Feb 1989 Inferno |
Fan the Flames: In the Nebraska "orphanage", Madelyne is confronted by the facts that her memories are all false - she is a clone of Jean Grey, who "awoke" the day that Jean Grey "died" on the Moon. Mr. Sinister decided to terminate his experiment when he learned of Jean Grey's "resurrection" - he did not want to risk Jean meeting Madelyne! The Marauders were unable to kill Madelyne, and know Mr. Sinister underestimates her, too. Madelyne uses her "power" to break free (we finally get an explanation of where Madelyne got her power in X-Factor #38). At that moment, one a very-different-looking N'astirh delivers Madelyne's baby to her, and she implies she's going to kill it. Back in NYC, the X-Men battle the Marauders, and the X-Men are enjoy the killing! Except for Colossus, who realizes that something is wrong, and leaves the battle to find the source of the enchantment that's corrupted the X-Men. |
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| New Mutants #72 Feb 1989 Inferno |
Demon Reign: Illyana, S'ym, and N'astirh battle for control of Limbo (and of Illyana's soul). The other New Mutants decide to try to close the demon portal over NYC. They join up with the X-Terminators (Boom-Boom, Rictor, Rusty, Skids, and Wiz Kid), who have also been tricked by N'astirh into helping him, and together they successfully close the gate. Meanwhile, S'ym delivers a "fatal" blow to N'astirh, but N'astirh actually gets infected by S'ym's transmode virus and is made stronger than ever. When confronted by the endless evil of this new N'astirh, Illyana makes yet another transformation - this time to a fully-armored silver form. |
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| New Mutants #73 Mar 1989 Inferno |
The Gift: While Illyana and S'ym are fighting, Illyana's brother Colossus show up (remember, everyone still thinks all the X-Men died in Dallas in Uncanny X-Men #227), and he doesn't even recognize her! While Colossus battles S'ym, Illyana takes off to Limbo, followed by the New Mutants who want to save her. In Limbo, Rahne finds the younger-version of Illyana and shows her to the older, silver-armored Illyana. Illyana makes yet another transformation - this time to a being of fire - and wants to kill the younger Illyana who got her into this mess. Instead, Illyana 'ports everyone back to NYC, makes a choice, and throws her Soulsword into the air, creating a whirlwind which sucks all the demons away (presumably back to Limbo). The older Ilyana is now gone, leaving the younger one with the New Mutants. |
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| X-Factor #37 Feb 1989 Inferno |
A Matter of Honor: In NYC, X-Factor is confronted by Madelyne, the Goblin Queen. Once again, remember that X-Factor believed Madelyne died with the X-Men in Dallas in Uncanny X-Men #227. Anyway, Madelyne has baby Nathan and says she'll kill him to hurt Scott. X-Factor battles her to get him back. During the battle, Jean realizes that her parents have been turned into Madelyne's pet demons. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #242 Mar 1989 Inferno |
Burn: The current X-Men team shows up, with no love for "mutant-hunting" X-Factor. Of course, X-Factor can't believe the X-Men are alive, and can't understand why they're acting so funny (they're still acting under some kind of demon influence). Naturally, a big fight ensues between the teams, but eventually they kiss and make up and decide to jointly attack N'astirh (thinking he's the source of all their problems). They decide to use his new techno-organic nature against him, and do succeed in destroying him. Of course, nothing in NYC changes, and they still have Madelyne to worry about. Madelyne convinces Havoc to join her side, and then she captures Jean Grey! |
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| X-Factor #38 Mar 1989 Inferno |
Duet: This is absolutely a must-read issue! Everything is revealed about Madelyne's creation (by Sinister), her awakening (by the Phoenix entity the day Dark Phoenix died on the moon), and her corruption (by N'astirh and S'ym). At the end, Madelyne and Jean are locked together, physically and psychically, and Madelyne decides to let her own life slip away, dragging Jean with her. The Phoenix entity offers to save Jean - all she has to do is accept the part of her back that Phoenix "borrowed" from her (when Phoenix tried to return it to her after the Dark Phoenix's death, Jean rejected it so it ended up in Madelyne). Jean accepts the Phoenix's offer, and everything in NYC is returned to normal. Scott and Jean get baby Nathan Christopher Summer back, but Madelyne is dead. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #243 Apr 1989 Inferno |
Ashes: Jean's psyche is having trouble integrating Phoenix's memories, but she does learn a lot about what happened with Phoenix and Madelyne (stuff we knew, but she didn't). While the X-Men are inside Jean's mind (courtesy of Psylocke), they see her memories being destroyed by Mr. Sinister. Jean kicks him out, and uses Madelyne's memories to identify him. All the X-Men (including X-Factor) go after Sinister, who has set up headquarters in the old X-mansion. The X-Men sneak into the mansion and beat up a few of Sinister's Marauders (including Polaris/Malice). When all the X-Men are finally together in one place, Sinister blasts 'em all unconscious. |
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| X-Factor #39 Apr 1989 Inferno |
Ashes to Ashes: Longshot and Beast show up, and the X-Men begin to strike back. Of course, the tide turns again, and Sinister captures Cyclops, Havoc, and Jean. Scott remembers and learns a few things about what really happened to him as a kid at the "orphanage". Havoc comes up with an interesting plan - he teases Cyclops and then hammers him with his power. This causes Scott to get mad AND increases his power. When Sinister kisses Jean, this finally gets Scott mad enough to blow Sinister away! With everyone free, the X-Men teleport back home, and X-Factor are left ruminating over their present situation and their past mistakes. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #244 May 1989 |
Ladies' Night: 2 We meet Jubilee, who earns money with her fireworks doing shows in the Mall. The Mall cops object, but she escapes. We discover Rogue and Carol Danvers have different decorating tastes, and it's driving her nuts. To let off steam, the X-women go shopping. Remember those scientists who got eaten by the elevator in Inferno? They got better. They're now "the M-Squad" (mutant busters), and the Mall hired them to catch Jubilee. The X-women happen to be at the same Mall. A fight (natch) results, and the X-women leave. Jubilee jumps through Gateway's teleportal at the last second. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #245 Jun 1989 |
Men! 2 Hey, Rob L. drew this! And the people have vaguely human proportions. Anyway, the X-dudes decide it's their turn to party. They hit some Australian bars. Meanwhile, a consortium of alien races decide to invade Earth, and land in Australia. (Sounds suspiciously like a certain DC mini-series, eh?) After some humorous episodes, the X-Men stop them, before they use the Jean-Bomb (which will screw up all the relationships on the planet, down to the subatomic level). Havok shows the aliens what Blasters really are, and the aliens go home. Havok and Wolverine leave for their own mini-series. It's hilarious. (This issue, that is, not the H&W mini, which I haven't read.) |
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| Uncanny X-Men #246 Jul 1989 |
The Day of Other Lights: 2 Dazz plays with the Seige Perilous, which scares her for her trouble. Carol ("possessing" Rogue) visits the Wall in Washington. We meet Sharon Kelly, Senator Kelly's new wife. She was once a servant at the Hellfire club. (Hmm, think Shaw did a little matchmaking, naahhh!) They also discuss a prototype new Sentinel, that can rebuild itself on a molecular level. Hmm, sounds like Nimrod to me. Carol/Rogue and Psylocke discuss the problems of Rogue's psyche. Nimrod (in his "secret" ID) finds a piece of the Master Mold Sentinel, who adapts Nimrod's circuitry into his own. A fight results between Rogue/Carol and Nimrod/MM. Sharon Kelly is mortally wounded in the fight (their limo was at the wrong place at the wrong time). Oh yeah, Wolverine leaves to play around in his solo-title. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #247 Aug 1989 |
The Light That Failed: 2 The X-Men show up, and start beating the snot out of MM/Nimrod. Their invisibility to electronics makes it simple. Sharon Kelly keeps dying, while Senator Kelly begs Psylocke to save her. She can't. (Never mind that Rogue or Storm could have broken off at that point and gotten her to a hospital.) They blow MM/Nimrod to bits. Senator Kelly sees MM reforming, but refuses to warn the X-Men, even when Sharon asks him to. (Boy's got a mad on for Mutants.) MM reforms, and now he can see the X-Men. It seems that by absorbing Nimrod's consciousness, he's alive enough to see them. Nimrod's personality is still in there, and much more human sounding now. Dazz whips out the Seige Plotdevice, and it grows big enough to send the pieces through. Rogue tries to push MM through, but it grabs her and drags her down with it. Nimrod convinces MM that the two of them must have mutated into a higher life form if they can see the X-Men, so he blows himself up, and Rogue falls through the SP. A distraught Senator Kelly gives Shaw the full go-ahead for Project:Nimrod. The Reavers are revealed to be funded by Donald Pierce, who went renegade from the Hellfire Club. And Nanny and the Orphan Maker, two loons from X-factor, decide to 'save' the X-Men. Jubilee wanders around the X-compound. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #248 Sep 1989 |
The Cradle Will Fall: 2 The Reavers decide to go kill the X-Men. They are joined by Lady Deathstrike and the three cyborg Hellfire Goons. Longshot quits the X-Men to start his own series, drawn by Art Adams. What? It's still not out. Gee, too bad. Anyway, Nanny attacks. She captures Storm and is flying off when Havok shoots her ship. It blows up, "killing" Storm. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #249 Oct 1989 |
The Dane Curse: 2 Storm's buried, and Havok's not dealing with it well. Lorna dials the X-mansion, but it gets forwarded to the X-compound. Malice is still inside Lorna, but isn't always in control. Colossus is having mental problems as well. His art shows violent, possibly suicidal, images. Havok traces Lorna's message to Chile, and the remaining X-Men go looking for Polaris. Unfortunately, Savage Land critters also find her. Their leader, Zaladane, gets away with Lorna Dane, and says they're sisters. Havok stows away on board. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #250 Oct 1989 |
The Shattered Star: 2 A Soviet science station in Antarctica is destroyed by Zaladane. Havok blows his cover and gets caught. We meet a new Savage Land mutant, Worm, who can mind-control anyone he covers in this ooze. Zaladane absorbs Polaris' magnetic powers. The X-Men are captured, and Polaris has a prophetic dream that if the X-Men return to their base, they'll die. Polaris discovers she now has super-strength, and we see the first hints of her other mystery power. The X-Men escape. Polaris plans to get the X-Men to stay in the Savage Land so they won't get killed, but Gateway 'ports them all home. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #251 Nov 1989 |
Fever Dream: 2 Wolverine's crucified to a huge X in the X-compound. The Reavers torment him. Jubilee keeps hiding from them. Wolverine has fever dreams showing what happened to the X-Men. Psylocke convinced them all to go through the Seige Perilous seconds before the Reavers arrived. Pierce smashes the SP. (Yeah, RIGHT!) We hear that a global storm front is centered in Cairo, Illinois, and Wolverine has a vision of Storm as a child. Wolverine breaks free, and Jubilee finds him. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #252 Nov 1989 |
Where's Wolverine: 2 Wolverine and Jubilee play hide-and-seek with the Reavers. Wolverine has hallucinations of Nick Fury and Carol Danvers. That's about it. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #253 Nov 1989 |
Storm Warnings: 2 A child-like Storm is found in Cairo, Illinois, by FBI agent Jacob Reisz. Wolverine and Jubilee get away. We learn that Magneto reverts to 'evil' in a conversation between him and Moira. The crew of the boat carrying Polaris go nuts. Banshee saves her. His throat is healed. Finally. (He lost his power back in issue #119). The Brigadier and Amanda Sefton look for Excalibur, who are off on the Cross-Time Caper. Forge has a shamanic vision of Amahl Farouk (last seen possessed by the Shadow King in a flash-back in issue #117). Reisz has a heart attack, and is possessed by the Shadow King. Pierce, still mad that he lost Wolverine, decides to kill Moira, Banshee, and all the mutants there. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #254 Dec 1989 |
All-New, All-Different -- Here We Go Again: 2 Moira runs tests on Polaris to see where her new strength comes from. Banshee meets Amanda and the Brig (whom he knew from long ago), and they're bushwhacked by the Reavers. Amanda teleports them to safety. The X-Men all don MK II uniforms, with body armor and insulation. Masque finds Callisto, and starts 'playing' with her. The Reavers attack. Sunder is hurt, and Legion (the prof's son, with psi powers and multiple personalities) likes the fun. Destiny has a prophecy of her death. Sunder is killed, and Freedom Force and Forge are sent to Muir Island to rescue everyone. Amanda and the Brig are captured by the Reavers. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #255 Dec 1989 |
Crash and Burn: 2 FIGHT! Freedom Force, Reavers, Muir Island Mutants! End result: Destiny killed by Legion; Stonewall killed by Pierce; Skullbuster, blown to bits by Forge's Cable-sized gun. Forge and Banshee decide to look for the X-Men. Storm is hunted by Reisz (Shadow King). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #256 Dec 1989 Mutations |
The Key That Breaks the Locke: This is issue is a little hard to follow (especially since I haven't read the ones immediately preceding it), but it appears that Betsy Braddock (Psylocke) washed up on the shores of Hong Kong after her trip through the Seige Perilous (issue #251). She is captured by The Hand, and presented as a gift to the Mandarin. The Hand brainwashes her into serving as an assassin for the Mandarin (who wouldn't want a telepathic X-Man as an assassin?). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #257 Jan 1990 Mutations |
I Am Lady Mandarin: Wolverine and Jubilee show up in Hong Kong, looking for info on the whereabouts of the other X-Men. It doesn't take long for both of them to be captured by Psylocke and The Hand. Meanwhile, the other X-Men are having some tough times, too. Storm is wanted for murder, and Legion seizes control of Polaris' mind. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #258 Feb 1990 Mutations |
Broken Chains: The Hand puts Wolverine under the same brain-washing they used on Psylocke. It's not nearly as successful, though. Wolverine was already bordering on crazy (he's been imagining that Carol Danvers and Nick Fury have been with him), and when Psylocke merges with Wolverine's mind, the shock knocks her back to her senses. Together (with one HELL of blast from Jubilee), they defeat the Mandarin. However, Wolverine spares Mandarin's life in exchange for Psylocke's, and then these X-Men all leave Hong Kong. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #259 Mar 1990 |
Dream a Little Dream: 2 Philip Moreau and Jenny (from issue #236) are attacked by Magistrates in NYC. Peter shows up in their apartment, butt-naked and with amnesia, and saves them. Fred Stanachek, a minor character from the Dazzler graphic novel, finds the only existing print of Dazzler: The Movie. Dazz herself washes up on the beach near Lila Chaney's house. Guido (soon to become Strong Guy) finds her. Dazz has amnesia too. Forge plugs Legion into Cerebro to find the X-men. Amahl (Shadow King?) finds him instead. Peter is haunted by a beautiful woman he sees on a billboard and then saves her. Fred tries to sell the Dazzler movie to a distributor, and runs into Dazz at a nightclub. Eric Beale (a slime, also from the graphic novel), sees her on TV (sorta, she still is invisible to cameras), and plans to kill her. The Genoshans also want to capture or kill Philip and Jenny. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #260 Apr 1990 |
Star 90: 2 Eric Beale has a case of 'Fatal Attraction' to Dazz. He's armed up like the Punisher, and ready to kill her. He tries a couple of times unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, Colossus saves the mysterious babe from muggers. Dazz gets a makeover while producers look at her movie. Forge and Banshee were about to go Dazz hunting when the plane they didn't take gets blown out of the sky by Fenris. Dazz eventually confronts Beale, who breaks down. Dazz decides to give her life to making people happy, and not by zapping evil mutants. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #261 May 1990 |
Harriers Hunt: 2 Hardcase and the Harriers are hired to kidnap Wolverine, Psylocke, and Jubilee. Forge and Banshee explore the ruined X-mansion. Jean Grey is captured by the Morlocks. The pilot of the plane destroyed by Fenris is convinced by Pierce to become a cyborg reaver, the new Skullbuster. It turns out that Wolverine hired the Harriers to test Psylocke's and Jubilee's teamwork. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #262 Jun 1990 |
Scary Monsters: 2 Forge and Banshee rescue Jean from the Morlocks. Unfortunately, Banshee and Jean then get captured again, leaving Forge to save them. Val Cooper deals with a Genoshan diplomat who wants Jenny and Philip back. Forge has flashbacks to his days in 'Nam, and Colossus is also captured by the Morlocks. Forge then finds Banshee and Jean, both horribly mutated by Masque. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #263 Jul 1990 |
The Lower Depths: 2 Colossus' mysterious woman turns out to be Callisto, given beautiful features by Masque. Val meets with Col Vazhin, whom we've seen a couple of times before. They talk about stories Marvel will never do (mutants becoming tools of the military, and actually using their powers to do things other than robbing banks or fighting each other in stupid crossovers). Meanwhile, Colossus, Jean, Banshee, Forge, and Callisto all break free from Masque, and Forge whips up a plot device to cure everyone. They also decide to let Peter remain happy as an artist, and not drag him back into the life of an X-Man. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #264 Jul 1990 |
Hot Pursuit: 2 Forge is on the run from Genoshan magistrates, and Officer Charlotte Jones gets caught up in it. Vazhin drops hints to Val Cooper about the Shadow King. Beast and Jean consider rejoining the X-Men. The Magistrates attack X-Factor's Ship, but get their butts kicked. However, diplomatic immunity gets them off with a slap on the wrists. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #265 Aug 1990 |
Storm: 2 Storm's been busy as a thief in Cairo, Illinois. Nanny still wants her. The Shadow King wants her. He also mind controls Val Cooper. He also creates "Hounds" who look and act remarkably like the ones used by the Sentinels in Rachel's future. Storm has the luck to break into the house where the Shadow King is staying, but then, he did plan it that way. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #266 Aug 1990 |
Gambit: Out of the Frying Pan: 2 Storm manages to escape an initial encounter with Farouk and his Hounds, and meets Gambit. They escape. Also, Val Cooper is sent by the Shadow King to kill Mystique, who is still grieving over Destiny's death (issue #255). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #267 Sep 1990 |
Nanny: Into the Fire: 2 Storm and Gambit escape the Hounds only to be attacked by Nanny and The Orphan Maker. Fortunately, they escape again, and return to New Orleans to recover. The two of them spend a few months as thieves, robbing from the corrupt and keeping for themselves. Finally, one Mardi Gras, Nanny and the Orphan Maker attack again. Storm and Gambit barely escape, and in the process, Storm recovers the rest of her memory of her life as an X-Man. She's still a kid. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #268 Sep 1990 |
Madripoor Knights: 2 An interesting story, combining a flashback to the 1940's where Captain America, a soviet agent, and a younger Logan save Natasha Romanoff (a.k.a. the Black Widow) from the Hand. In the present, Wolverine, Psylocke, and Jubilee save the Black Widow from the Hand and are unable to prevent an alliance between the Hand and Fenris. This is an all-around excellent issue, IMHO. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #269 Oct 1990 |
Rogue Redux: 2 Where's Rogue? Glad you asked, because this overdue plot is finally finished. After falling though the Seige Plotdevice, Rogue wakes up in the X-compound, with all her memories. Unfortunately she spent a long time in transit, and arrives just to see Mystique's obit on TV. The Reavers are there, but Rogue doesn't have her Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers) powers anymore. Ms Marvel has them. Rogue escapes by absorbing Gateway's powers, and Ms Marvel presumably flies away. Meanwhile, Lila Chaney escapes Shi'ar scumbags. Rogue arrives in the Savage Land, and hangs out there for a long time. Ms Marvel arrives on Muir island, to find out that everyone's under the control of Legion, who is controlled by the Shadow King. They take over Ms Marvel's mind. Ms Marvel finds Rogue, and the two of them fight, since apparently the life force of the Rogue was not enough to keep the two of them alive. The Shadow King wants Ms Marvel alive, since he's got her totally controlled. Magneto breaks up the fight, kills Ms Marvel, and transfers all the divided life force to Rogue. |
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| New Mutants #87 Mar 1990 Cable and the New Mutants |
A Show of Power: Here's a little background on what's been going on with the New Mutants since my last update for issue #73:
the New Mutants find the X-Mansion destroyed after Inferno and end up staying with X-Factor on their Ship;
Illyana (the child) is sent home to Russia; the X-Terminators (Boom-Boom, Rictor, Rusty, and Skids) join the New Mutants
(Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Warlock, and Mirage/Brightwind); a bunch of stuff happens in Asgard (seems like it was a good story!),
but Mirage/Brightwind decides to stay in Asgard;
Rusty and Skids are captured (again) by Freedom Force (see X-Factor #1 for some background).
Move over Freedom Force, there's a new group of evil mutants in town! Led by Stryfe, the Mutant Liberation Force (MLF) is made up of Wildside, Reaper, Forearm, Zero, Tempo, Strobe, and Thumbelina. The MLF blows up some research facilities and demands the release of Rusty and Skids. Meanwhile, a man named Cable (yeah!) is tracking the MLF, but ends up getting paralyzed and captured. Also, the MLF breaks Rusty and Skids out of Freedom Force's hospital/prison. Oh, the New Mutants? Yeah, they're in this issue, but barely. They're coming back to NYC after being in Asgard, and they're all feeling good about themselves. |
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| New Mutants #88 Apr 1990 Cable and the New Mutants |
The Great Escape: I don't know why the MLF didn't finish Cable off after paralyzing him, but they left him and Freedom Force found him. Freedom Force, as a recap, is led by Mystique and includes Crimson Commando, Pyro, Silver Sabre, and the Blob. Cable escapes without too much difficulty, but not before learning that Freedom Force is trying to find the MLF, who's been stealing radioactive material from those research stations they've been attacking. Meanwhile, the New Mutants meet up with X-Factor, who have just returned to NYC. Inside X-Factor's Ship, the New Mutants are just hanging out, up to typical teenage shenanigans - Boom-Boom putting on a revealing outfit and competing for Rictor's attention, Rictor ignoring Boom-Boom (who's "like a sister") and concentrating on Rahne, Sam calling home to his Mom, and Rahne calling "home" to Moira (who's changed drastically and demands that Rahne come back to Muir Island). |
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| New Mutants #89 May 1990 Cable and the New Mutants |
The Gift: Cable's escape leads him to NYC, but he's closely pursued by Freedom Force. On the way home from shopping for a going-away present for Rahna, Boom-Boom, Sam (Cannonball), and Roberto (Sunspot) see Cable getting beat up by Freedom Force. X-Factor told them to stay away from Freedom Force, but these kids just don't listen! They try to help out, but would have gotten their butts kicked if Cable wasn't so good at coordinating their efforts. They decide to take him back to the Ship, where they see that Moira has shown up early to take Rahne home. Cable (who somehow knows her from the past) convinces her that Rahne should stay with him - he needs help to stop terrorists from building a bomb that will destroy the world. She agrees, and everyone's happy - except Rictor, who admits to Warlock that he knows Cable, but Cable doesn't recognize Rictor (I think this is really a Stryfe/Cable confusion, as we learn later that Stryfe killed Rictor's father).. |
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| New Mutants #90 Jun 1990 Cable and the New Mutants |
To Hunt the Hunter: Underneath NYC, in the Moorlock tunnels, Sabretooth is tracking down and killing Moorlocks. He thinks he needs to finish his job from the Mutant Massacre, and in this issue he kills a Morlock named Sampson. Meanwhile, Sabretooth himself is being hunted - by Caliban, who has new strength/powers thanks to his deal with Apocalypse. Meanwhile, Cable and the New Mutants decide to make their new headquarters in the basement of the X-Mansion (the above-ground portions were destroyed in Inferno). Rictor's still having problems with Cable being in charge, but he won't tell his friends what's wrong. We learn, though, that Cable "stole his father". They decide to get right to business and start a workout in the Danger Room, which Rictor and Boom-Boom had never seen before (remember, they only joined the New Mutants back in New Mutants #77). Rictor has a panic attack durign the workout and flees into the Morlock tunnels. Everyone chases after him, but not before he gets sliced open by Sabretooth! |
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| New Mutants #91 Jul 1990 Cable and the New Mutants |
Prey for the Living: Sabretooth and Caliban beat each other up, while Rictor looks on. The New Mutants finally show up and bring the roof down on Caliban. Sabretooth snuck away with Rictor, supposedly to kill him (why not just kill him right away?). Rictor lets loose a tremendous earthquake and forces Sabretooth to back off. The New Mutants track down the quake, but where's Sabretooth? "Right behind you." Before the next fight can even start, though, Masque and some Morlocks show up claiming "rights" to Sabretooth. Then Caliban shows up, though, and he claims Sabretooth. Caliban wins the argument - and then quickly wins the fight! He appears to break Sabretooth's back and kill him! (Sabretooth shows back up in issue #???, though.) Finally, back at the X-Mansion, Rictor decides he had better start training and tries to sneak a session in the Danger Room. He sees Cable going through a helluva workout and decides to give Cable some respect. |
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| New Mutants #92 Aug 1990 |
When the Carnival Comes to Town: For some reason, this issue didn't get included in the Cable and the New Mutants TPB, I guess 'cause it's a lame flashback issue. The plot involves a former trip to a circus which was really run by Skrull slavers. |
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| New Mutants #93 Sep 1990 Cable and the New Mutants |
Madripoor: Cable and the New Mutants are in the Asian city of Madripoor, looking for a contact, when they're ambushed. Their contact (Sunfire - last seen in Uncanny X-Men #181) finally shows up and drives off the baddies. Sunfire calls Cable "Gaijin" and offers condolences to Cable for the loss of his son. (I don't understand that reference, but in ignorance one has to wonder if Rictor's "lost" father is Cable, and Rictor is Cable's son. That's horribly cliché, though.) Sunfire has information that the MLF has a drug called "sleet" that it plans on putting in the drinking water of all major cities (sleet causes you to go murderously insane). Stryfe sends three members of the MLF that we haven't met before (Sumo, Kamikaze, and Dragoness) to Madripoor. The good guys split up, and Sam, Boom-Boom, Warlock, and Sunfire find the MLF hideout and start finding the "new" MLF mutants. They're doing OK (in fact, Sunfire seems a little taken with Dragoness, who has the power of fire like he does), but then Zero transports in with Stryfe and they all get captured. Meanwhile, the other team (Cable, Sunspot, Rictor, and Rahne) spot a mutant moving through an alley (they have portable Cerebro units). They attack him - and it turns out to be Wolverine! |
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| New Mutants #94 Oct 1990 Cable and the New Mutants |
Lethal Weapons: Looks like there's some bad blood between Cable and Wolverine, because they recognize each other and really tear into each other. Rictor drops a water tower on them to make them stop. They agree to put aside their differences (what is their problem?) and stop the MLF. Meanwhile, Dragoness plants a kiss on Sam before leaving their captives to go spread their poison/drug. Boom-Boom is very jealous and kisses Sam herself to show "how a real woman kisses!" They both really enjoy it, but Sam admits he was leading Dragoness on and managed to steal a key off of her while she was kissing him (not bad for a guy suspended in the air with his hands shackled above his head!). The good guys escape and follow the bad guys to the MLF's warehouse, where they're joined by their comrades. A brief fight ensues, but Rictor cuts it short when he blasts Dragoness into the boxes of explosives! The whole place blows up, and no one knows what happens to the MLF. BTW, Stryfe's egomaniacal speeches did give a reason for wanting to destroy the world - same reason as Magneto and others - they must subdue/destroy the humans before the mutants are destroyed by the humans (he cites Genosha as an example). |
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| Fantastic Four Annual #??? 1990 Days of Future Present |
When Franklin Comes Marching Home: Although this Days of Future Present story is sometimes associated with the previous Days of Future Past, they're really independent. Except for the fact that someone comes back from the future to change the "past" (our "present"). Of course, this happens all the time in the X-universe, so it's nothing new. This time, the mutant who comes back is Franklin Richards, the son of Reed and Susan Richards of the Fantastic Four. In this issue, Franklin temporarily traps the Fantastic Four (including his younger self) in their headquarters. Franklin's force field around HQ is penetrated by small flying attack probes sent by Ahab (more on him in New Mutants Annual #16). When the FF destroy the probes, the resulting explosion destroys the force field around their HQ, prompting them to hypothesize on the similar nature of the probes and Franklin's force field. The FF find Franklin (the elder) at the Powers' apartment, and take him away. He sees X-Factor's Ship (which "isn't right"), and disappears. |
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| New Mutants Annual #16 1990 Days of Future Present |
The Once and Future Mutant: Franklin shows up at the X-Mansion (still in rubble from Inferno). Just like he did at FF HQ, Frankling turns this building into the image he remembers from his childhood (a few years still into our "future"). He creates images of himself, Doug/Magis, Rachel, Blue (a female Nightcrawler?), Blaze (a samurai), a red giant (???), and an old Banshee. These simulacrums, naturally, mix it up with the New Mutants and Cable who don't understand what's going on. The New Mutants figure a little of it out (especially Sunspot, who can relate to a boy who's afraid of his powers), but Franklin disappears. The FF show up (they've been tracking Franklin's energy signature), just in time for everyone to be attacked by more of those probes from Fantastic Four Annual #14 and several of Ahab's Hounds. Our heroes learn a little about Ahab from one of the wounded Hounds (before Ahab shows up and kills the Hound!) - Ahab was placed outside Time by the Master Sentinel to prevent mutants from the future from traveling to the past. The Fantastic Four and the New Mutants follow Franklin's energy signature back into NYC, where Franklin is re-living some time spent with Rachel when he was 13. The heroes show up - along with more Hounds and some Sentinels! Franklin (the elder) easily destroys all of the bad guys, but young Franklin sees everything and is understandably very upset by what he sees "himself" doing (why on Earth do the Fantastic Founr take that poor little boy everywhere with them?). Franklin the Elder is distraught over his power, and puts some kind of block in the mind of Frankling the Younger to prevent him using his powers ('cause "that's what Daddy wants"), even though those powers have the potential to prevent some future catastrophe. Franklin the Elder disappears, and Franklin the Younger is left unconscious. |
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| X-Factor Annual #5 1990 Days of Future Present |
Act of Faith: Here's a little background on what's been going on with X-Factor since my last update for issue #39: we learn
the story behind that loon Nanny finally; we meet a mutant named Alchemy; X-Factor and Ship get involved in the Judgement
War with the Celestials (Ship's creators), after which Ship parks itself right in NYC like a skyscraper [sounds like a great story!];
Sabretooth is back killing Morlocks; Caliban's power is growing; Scott proposes to Jean, who says no and leaves (she shows up in UXM #261-263);
Warren has a bit of a breakdown and the Ravens (apparently some kind of vampires) try to recruit him; and on a lighter note,
Bobby starts dating Opal Tanaka.
The events of this issue are inter-mixed with those of New Mutants Annual #16 since Franklin is easily able to jump
back and forth instantly. Franklin sees X-Factor's Ship, decides it "isn't right", and makes it disappear. X-Factor was inside, though, and they
fall to the ground (rescued in time, of course, by Jean and Archangel). Forge and some FF folks show up and they all go tracking Franklin.
Rachel (who was Franklin's girlfriend or wife in the Future) shows up in full Phoenix force (she got the Phoenix power from the Beyonder
back in Uncanny X-Men #202), much to the surprise of Jean! Even though Jean's been back for four years worth of issues, she's never
heard of nor run into Rachel (who's been with Excalibur most of that time). While Jean's freaking out, Rachel is facing off with Franklin
(but she doesn't remember him clearly, like many things about her past (still in out future)). When Franklin leaves, Jean confronts Rachel
and learns that Rachel is her daughter! Jean freaks out (again) 'cause if she has a daughter from the future, does she really have any free will?
Scott shows up, and learns that Rachel is his daughter, too! Scott knew Rachel for a while before she left for Excalibur - how dumb is
he to not have figured it out in all that time? Anyway, Ahab shows up again and tries to reclaim Rachel. She blasts a bunch of the Hounds, freaking Jean out (again), who
remembers the terrible power of the Phoenix. Rachel takes off, but more of our heroes arrive. Archangel is seriously wounded, but the others
find Ahab's portal and blast his machinery, ripping him out of our present. Franklin shows up and is jealous of the love Scott has for his
baby (Nathan), even though "that child...will have more power than all of you". Baby Nathan is next on Franklin's list of things that don't
belong, so Franklin takes him away! Scott cries out and falls to the ground, paralyzed with grief. [Nitpick: why did they change Nathan
Christopher Charles Summers' name to Christopher Nathan all of a sudden? Don't they have editors at Marvel to fix goof-ups like that?!?]
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| Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 1990 Days of Future Present |
You Must Remember This: Rachel is eating in a diner when she sees Franklin outside watching her. She easily recognizes him, even though she didn't seem to recognize him in the issue preceding this one. They have a nice little reunion, say "hi" to their parents, and take off for a bit. Meanwhile, Gambit (yea!) and "Stormy" break into the X-mansion and run into Cable and the new Mutants, who are mighty suspicious (Storm still has the body of a teenager - see Uncanny X-Men #253). Back in NYC, Scott and Susan (Richards) are captured by Ahab, and then turned into Hounds! They help Ahab track down and capture their own children (Franklin, Rachel, and Christopher/Nathan). Just when Ahab thinks he's won, the X-Men, X-Factor, the FF, Forge, Cable, and the New Mutants show up (that's an impressive line-up!). During the ensuing battle, Cable comes face-to-face with Ahab, and for the second time us readers are reminded how similar Cable and Ahab look (the "bionic" eye is reversed though). Could Ahab be Stryfe or some other relation to (or alternate version of) Cable??? Anyway, the climax of the battle comes when Ahab throws a lethal harpoon at Rachel. Jean's motherly instincts may have finally kicked in, 'cause she throws herself in front of the harpoon (she did try TK first, though). She's OK, though, since the harpoon was "tuned" to Rachel only. Ahab admits losing this battle and disappears. Everyone heads back to Four Freedoms Plaza, where Rachel (who's fainted) and young Franklin (who's still in a coma) are getting worse (and Scott and Susan are still Hounds). Storm finally confronts Franklin, "blaming" him for the states of Rachel and his younger self. Turns out, she's right! In the future, Franklin is actually "killed" by a Sentinel's blast (while saving Kate and Rachel). [How does Storm know this??? Sounds like she shared the experience through either Kate or Rachel at some point.] So, Franklin realizes that he's just a shadow, and he's keeping himself alive by feeding off the energies of Rachel and young Franklin. He does the right thing and discorporates, returning all of his enery (and power!) to young Frankin! Rachel uses the Phoenix's power to rebuild the genes of Scott and Susan (like Phoenix apparently once did for Jean's sister Sara). After this, everyone's back to normal, except for Rachel, who's back in her Hound costume with the Hound marks on her face. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #270 Nov 1990 X-tinction Agenda |
First Strike: The X-Men, X-Factor, and the New Mutants are all in the X-Mansion and tempers are running a little hot (the New Mutants think they own the mansion now). Later, outside the mansion, Storm and some of the New Mutants are attacked and captured. Before the others can help out, Storm, Rahne, Rictor, Boom-Boom, and Warlock are teleported away (thanks to a mutant named Pipeline). |
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| New Mutants #95 Nov 1990 X-tinction Agenda |
Shell Game: For some reason, our heroes arrive in Genosha buck-naked! Pipeline's teleportation seemed to handle clothes and equipment fine for the Genoshans who captured them, so this just seems gratuitous (not that I mind, though!). Anyway, Warlock's alien lifeform didn't make the transition very well, and he's hurting. No one gets time to worry about that much, though, since they're all confronted by a monster! It's the head of Cameron Hodge, grafted onto a scorpion-like robot. Cameron Hodge was last seen in X-Factor #34 where Angel "killed" him. I guess you can't keep a good head down, 'cause he's back! Hodge also captured Rictor once long ago, too. A brief fight starts, but Hodge quickly tells Wipeout to remove their mutant powers. And just like that, they're all helpless! The humans are placed in cells, but Warlock escapes while Hodge is arguing with the Genegineer and frees them. The effort is too much for Warlock's injured state, and he can't escape with them. Rahne feels guilty about leaving Warlock behind and goes back to rescue him (alone). She finds Hodge trying to absorb Warlock's alien powers and breaks it up. This causes Warlock to burn up, and he is now effectively dead! Meanwhile, back in the States, the remaining New Mutants along with X-Factor and the X-Men are planning their next moves. |
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| X-Factor #60 Nov 1990 X-tinction Agenda |
Brotherhood: We meet the president of Genosha and she looks like a female version of Ronald Reagan - it's not a pretty sight! Anyway, the remaining X-heroes in the states meet Valerie Cooper who says the USA isn't going to do anything serious about the kidnapping of Storm, etc., nor about the death of Warlock. So, it's up to the X-teams to take care of it themselves. They all take off, but a token shot of Cylcops giving his son a hug goodbye (he is not going to win any father-of-the-year award!). Thanksfully, Bobby's girlfriend Opal Tanaka is there to take care of little Cable - I mean, "Nathan". When the X-troops arrive in Genosha, they're attacked and Scott realizes that his long-lost brother Alex (aka, Havok) is a Genoshan Magistrate! Scott tries to convince Alex that he's really his brother, but he's not buying it (yet). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #271 Dec 1990 X-tinction Agenda |
Flashpoint: Rictor and Boom-Boom have escaped from Hodge's citadel in Hammer Bay (the capital city), but they're being pursued by Magistrates. Suddenly, they're rescued by Wolverine, Jubilee, and Psylocke (who have been hanging out together since issue #257). Wolverine is the natural lead among these mutants and decides he and Psylocke will check out the citadel (looking for Storm and Rahne), while Jubilee babysits the powerless Rictor and Boom-Boom. Meanwhile, Storm never left the Citadel after Warlock freed everyone in New Mutants #95. She attacks the Genegineer, but hodge shows up and captures her. Wolverine and Psylocke's infiltration doesn't go any better - Alex hears that his girlfriend (Tam) is back from her mission, but it's actually Psylocke in disguise. After Psylock takes Alex out (with a psychic knife to the head!), she implies that he must have ended up in Genosha after she sent him through the Siege Perilous in issue #251. No sooner is Alex out of the way then Hodge shows up and trots out his latest victory, Mutate #20 (formerly known as Storm!). |
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| New Mutants #96 Dec 1990 X-tinction Agenda |
United We Stand: Jubilee, Rictor, and Boom-Boom are supposed to be laying low. But, Jubilee decides to steal some hamburgers and gets chased by a couple Magistrates who have a mutant-tracking mutate. They beat up the Magistrates, but the mutate wants to follow them and for some strange reason they let him. They don't seem to learn, and break into an apartment (looking for more food!). Turns out to be a Magistrate's apartment, though. While fighting him, they seem to have time to look at the TV, where Hodge parades out another victory, Mutate #490 (formerly known as Rahne!). The trio resolves to rescue her, the mutate/tracker is moved and offers his help, too. Meanwhile, the rest of the X-troops have arrived in the city and split up. Jean Grey, Cable, Forge, Gambit, and Sunspot plant bombs around the city, until Hodge shows up and has Wipeout wipe out their powers. Jubilee, Rictor, and Boom-Boom get to witness this, including when Hodge trots out Mutate #490 (Rahne) and gloats. Rictor, of course, is totally enraged. |
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| X-Factor #61 Dec 1990 X-tinction Agenda |
Betrayal: Hodge throws Jean Grey in the same cell as Wolverine (who's severely wounded and lost his mutant healing power). She's moved to such an extent (she thinks he's dying) that they kiss passionately (much to the delight of Hodge, the voyeur). All is not lost, though, as the second batallion of X-troops (Cyclops, Cannonball, Banshee, Beast, Archangel, and Iceman) attack the Citadel. Cannonball, Banshee, and Archangel attack Hodge directly, but are quickly captured. Cyclops, Beast, and Iceman don't have much better luck, but Cyclops does manage to run into Alex and finally convinces him that they're brothers. Hodge shows up and captures everyone, but Alex hides his recovered memories. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #272 Jan 1991 X-tinction Agenda |
Capital Crimes: Oh, yeah, this whole Genoshan/kidnapping/mutant-terrorists thing has been getting world-wide media coverage. And, so, the world now knows that the X-Men are, in fact, alive (everyone has thought them to be dead since issue #227!). At this point, every single X-hero (except for Jubilee, Rictor, and Boom-Boom) is Hodge's prisoner (or a mutate). Things look very grim indeed. Hodge rips a hand and a leg off of Forge (who's in a self-imposed coma to prevent the Genoshans from reading his mind) and rips Cable's arm off and plucks out his bionic eye! At this point, Psylocke agrees to Hodge's terms and says she'll become a mutate to stop all the carnage. Hodge isn't done, though! He throws Archangel and Wolverine into a pit together and they duke it out (Archangel can't control his deadly wings). Hodge leaves for some new devious plan, and Gambit picks his locks and frees the others. We get to see Hodge's machinations, as he lures Wipeout to the Genegineer's lab and kills him. Next, he has Alex and then Mutate #490 (Rahne) show up; she claims Alex murdered Wipeout. Meanwhile, back in the city streets, Jubilee, Rictor, and Boom-Boom observer the Genegineer breaking into the Citadel, and decide to follow. Elsewhere in the Citadel, Psylocke escapes from her guards and meets up with the Chief Magistrate who appeared to be helping Mutate #20 (Storm) escape. They all end up running into the other escaping X-troops. Storm lays her hands on Scott, and restores both their powers. Turns out that the Genegineer planted a back-door in Storm's brainwashing (if she touches a mutant, somehow she can restore his/her powers). Storm is fully recoved - her powers, her mind, and her body! (She's not a kid anymore). Hodge shows up again (man, he gets around!) and another battle is about to begin! |
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| New Mutants #97 Jan 1991 X-tinction Agenda |
War: Storm restores Jean's powers, too, but then she's too involved fighting off Hodge to restore any more. The battle is cut short by an explosion in Hodge's lab. Hodge "phases" away and Scott admits that Forge had sent an auto-bomb to target "the technological heart of the citadel". Storm wakes up Forge with a big kiss (Gambit's a little jealous!). Meanwhile, the Genegineer is severely wounded by Forge's blast, and Jubilee, Rictor, and Boom-Boom sneak into Hodge's lab, just before Hodge arrives. After Hodge leaves, our trio makes the Genegineer take them to his lab, where they're briefly attacked by Mutate #490 (Rahne) and then joined by the rest of the X-troops. Storm releases Rahne from her mutate form, but the Genegineer left another time-bomb there, too. In her human form, Rahne can only act and think like a mutate, but in her wolf-girl form, Rahne can think properly and is, in fact, stronger than ever. The mutants split up for some unknown reason. One group is attacked by Hodge (were they bait?) while the other group takes out Hodge's computers (severely limiting his effectiveness). Hodge turns his attack to the team attacking his lab. The mutants are doing OK against him, but it's the Genegineer who deals a near-fatal blow (with a rocket launcher?). Hodge tosses the Genegineer against a wall (killing him) and phases away. Finally, the New Mutants recover the ashes of Warlock and mourn their self-friend. |
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| X-Factor #62 Jan 1991 X-tinction Agenda |
Capital Punishment: Everyone splits up again to look for Hodge (and everyone eventually runs into him!). Scott asks Jean to be careful, and Wolverine berates him for trying to protect Jean when they need her power. Scott and Wolverine actually start to fight until Jean breaks it up! They join the battle (and it's a helluva battle!) at the same time that Alex decides to make his move and help his old friends. Scott and Alex's combined attack blows the top off the citadel and does a fair number on Hodge, too. They keep up the 1-2 punches until Hodge is just a severed head (again), but he just won't shut up. Rahne gets her hands (or claws) on him last and asks Rictor to fulfill his promise of shaking the Citadel down in order to stop Hodge. And he does it! A massive shake brings the whole thing down on top of Hodge's head! (Unfortunately, Hodge had some kind of deal with N'astirh, though, and his head apparently can't be killed.) As a wrap-up, the Chief Magistrate arrests the President as being insane. Alex and Rahne volunteer to stay to make sure the mutates aren't "exploited" (doesn't sound like they're going to free them, though). Finally, back in the States, the remaining New Mutants pour Warlock's ashes on Doug Ramsey's grave. For young kids and a young mutant team, they're mad more than their share of deaths. But, wait! What's that special gleam in Warlock's ashes? Could it be "the promise of something more"? |
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| Uncanny X-Men #273 Feb 1991 Crossroads |
"Too many mutants!" or "Whose house is this, anyway?": This issue starts with Cable challenging Storm for leadership of the X-Men (he'd like to take the fight to their enemies instead of hiding out). Storm begins to question her ability to lead the X-Men. Meanwhile, Banshee puts in a call to Moira, and can't believe how she's changed. (Is she under the control of the Shadow King???) Jean decides to use Cerebro to find Rogue, Longshot, and Dazzler. (Rogue's with Magneto, in the Savage Land. Dazzler was last seen in issue #260, but apparently she's out of the super-hero business. Last I heard, Longshot had quit the X-Men.) But, unbeknownst to Jean, the Shadow King has hacked into Cerebro and he attacks Jean there. Psylocke breaks the connection in time; Jean got off lucky - I think the last person to use Cerebro was Legion (issue #259), and I think he's controlled by the Shadow King now! A little while later, all of the X-Men and Scott and Jean are up in the mansion ruins. The X-Men decide to rally behind Storm as their leader and adopt new uniforms - yellow torsos and boots, blue arms and legs (is this the original X-Men uniform?). So, the official line-up is now Storm, Forge, Wolverine, Jubilee, Gambit, Banshee, and Psylocke. Jean and Scott watch this, and Jean wants to come back to the X-Men (just like in issue #264). Suddenly, a car drives up carrying Lila Cheney (last seen in issue #269), Guido (last seen in issue #259) and 2 others (???). Lila states that Professor Xavier is in trouble and needs their help! Storm agrees to help, and they teleport away. (Who the heck is Lila Cheney??? My only records of her say that Dazz was in her band (issue #210).) |
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| Uncanny X-Men #274 Mar 1991 Crossroads |
Crossroads: BTW, Crossroads was also the title of issue #203. An earthquake rocks Argentina and scientists think it was "not a natural event". Several large towers have popped up across Antartica, and one of these is believed to have destroyed a Soviet science station (see issue #250). Nick Fury and the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage and Logistics Directorate (SHIELD) are sent to investigate. Meanwhile, in the Savage Land, Magneto, Rogue, and Ka-Zar are attacked by Zaladane's mutant troops, including Barbarus, Whiteout, and Amphibious. Rogue is still without real powers (even though Magneto transferred Ms. Marvels power back to Rogue in issue #269, but Magneto is able to handle them, and banishes them into the caverns deep underground. Throughout this issue, Magneto is narrating and we learn that his powers are actually weak, that he feels he's going to betray Rogue and Ka-Zar, and that Zaladane has 6 towers located over magnetic lines which are feeding her power (but her power could destroy the Earth!) Our "heroes" attack Zaladane's fortress and Magneto notices that Zaladane's powers feel like Polaris' (Zaladane stole Polaris' magnetic powers in issue #250). Magneto et al are getting trounced, but thankfully SHIELD shows up and saves them. However, Comrade Colonel Semyanov wants to arrest Magneto (his son was on the Leningrad, destroyed by Magneto in issue #150), but they decide to listen to him and all come up with some plan. Meanwhile, Lila Cheny and the X-Men arrive...somewhere. But it's not where Lila intended - they're now prisoners in Deathbird's imperial palace and she wants them to kill Professor Xavier! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #275 Apr 1991 Crossroads |
The Path Not Taken: This double-sized issue contains two separate story-lines: the Savage Land and the X-Men in Space! To wrap up the Savage Land story, SHIELD, Mags, etc., are on their way to attack Zaladane's fortress (again), when the Russian colonel blows Magneto out of the sky and turns him over to Zaladane. Nick, Rogue, and Ka-Zar break into the fortress and find Zaladane trying to draw Magneto's energies into herself. They start to fight - and Rogue gets all her powers back! The fight doesn't really last long, despite Magneto's serious injuries. Mags doesn't stop with victory, though, and appears to kill Comrade Colonel Semyanov and Zaladane! He takes off then, knowing that he broke Rogue's heart. Meanwhile, up in space, the Starjammers attack the flagship of the Shi'ar Empire, which happens to be carrying Deathbird and the X-Men (Lile Cheney seems to have disappeared somehow). The X-Men are help captive by Deathbird's pet manacle (plant/tentacle things), until Wolverine escapes and attacks Deathbird (she notices that he's not nearly as strong as he used to be; what happened to Wolverine to weaken him such that everyone's noticing???). Deathbid drives a spear through Wolverine's gut and takes off. He makes Jubilee pull it out of him and he takes off after Deathbird, despite the fact that he's almost dead. Just then, the Starjammers and Lilandra arrive, and they all take the fight to the Imperials! The good guys win pretty easily, and then Wolverine shows up with Deathbird a prisoner. While they're enjoying their victory, they get another surprise - Charles Xavier was fighting by Lilandra's side! They arrive at Chandilar (the Shi'ar throneworld) and there's a big party celebrating the overthrowing of Deathbird. Not all the X-Men attend, though. After taking a bath, Psylocke is thinking about how different the Prof is, and then she gets kidnapped! Wolverine is off getting into bar fights, and Jubilee is looking for him. Gambit finds her, though, and they find something else. They come across Xavier torturing Gladiator and Oracle (two Imperial Guards, formerly loyal to Deathbird). Xavier hints at evil plans... |
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| Uncanny X-Men #276 May 1991 Crossroads |
Double Death: Xavier now controls Gladiator and forces him to break Deathbird's wings (why does she have wings???). Gambit can't sit idly by, even though Deathbird did kidnap them and almost kill Wolverine. I had no idea Gambit was this good - as a person or as a fighter. Even Xavier can't mind-control him! During the battle they find Lila Cheney held as a prisoner (they basically forgot about her last issue) and she teleports Deathbird away (she's been working for Deathbird the whole time). Gambit and Jubilee combine their explosive powers and the massive explosion draws the attention of everyone. Wolverine shows up, sniffs around, and then literally rips Xavier to death! Psylocke knocks out Wolverine with her psychic blade, but Lila and Deathbird show back up (with Cable-sized guns!) and teleport the rest of the X-Men away. They arrive onEpsilon Seikosha IX, the homeworld of the P!ndyr, a world destroyed by Xavier (according to Deathbird). The X-Men agree that something's wrong with Xavier and agree to help Deathbird. They launch an attack on the Starjammer cruiser bearing down on their hideout, but just before they attack Deathbird receives a psychic call and has Lila teleport her away. Meanwhile, back on Chandilar, we see the fate of our missing comrades. The Chamberlain is actually called Prime and is a warskrull of the Cadre host, a techno-organic race that can absorb's people's memories/powers into a matrix. "Xavier" was also a member of the host, and he controlled Lilandra. Prime use the matrix to imprint Xavier's memories/powers onto himself, thus to continue the ruse. We learn all this as Jubilee is absorbed into the matrix. We also see Gambit, Psylocke, and Wolverine in the matrix. And...the real Professor Xavier, who hasn't really been seen since issue #200! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #277 Jun 1991 Crossroads |
Free Charley: The X-Men take over the Starjammer's ship and head back to Chandilar, just in time to help out Deathbird and Lila, who are duking it out with Gladiator, Wolverine, and Jubilee (not the real ones, though, these are Cadre warskrulls). It's actually a pretty good battle (for some reason, it's really fun to watch the X-Men battle each other), but it's finally ended when the real Prof breaks free of the machine (we're not shown how) and punches the fake/Cadre Prof a couple of times - and kills him!. (This is so implausible it's just...unbelievable. Oh, the Prof can walk now, too.) In a real rush of an ending, Banshee whines to the Prof that "somethin's terribly wrong with Moira" and the Prof agrees to leave Lilandra and come back to Earth to help out his X-Men and rebuild his school. As a bit of a teaser, the final page shows Colossus stalking Stevie Hunter and admitting that the Shadow King controls him. |
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| X-Factor #65 Apr 1991 Wrath of Apocalypse
(aka, Endgame)
|
Malign Influences: Magneto's assembled a new group of baddies, including Foxbat, Gauntlet, Tusk, Psynapse, Barrage, and Harddrive. Their target is unusual, though. They're not after X-Factor per se, but X-Factor's Ship, which betrayed Apocalypse by teaming up with X-Factor (X-Factor #25). They crash their ship into Ship, and attack. Psynapse's psychic attack on Jean seems to awaken her telepathic powers (she lost them in X-Factor #???). Anyway, while X-Factor is fighting off some of Magneto's henchmen, Harddrive causes some type of techno-organic infection of Ship. |
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| X-Factor #66 May 1991 Wrath of Apocalypse
|
Heroic Effort: The techno-organix virus attacking Ship spreads out into NYC. X-Factor and other superheroes are trying to stop it, to no avail. The police are trying to help too, and Archangel's friend Charlotte Jones (a policewoman) enters Ship to try to help. Meanwhile, X-Factor realize the intruders are after Scott's son Nathan, and they head off to the nursery in Ship. Before they get there, Foxbat runs into someone (Rachel, from the future?) who stops Foxbat and then fights off X-Factor (mistakenly). Foxbat makes off with Nathan in the confusion. X-Factor can't chase either of them, though, because Ship begins a self-destruct sequence. Ship takes off into space, and appears to blow up with X-Factor and Charlotte Jones aboard. Rachel (?) watches from the ground, and commits herself to saving Nathan. |
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| X-Factor #67 Jun 1991 Wrath of Apocalypse
|
Lunar Opposition: We're given a glimpse of the future, when the Askani (Rachel?) comes back in time to save Nathan. Apparently, it's a one-way trip for her, as the time-travel will leave her in an energy-form, without a real body. Back in present day, Ship has been destroyed, but X-Factor was saved inside some force field (a small portion of Ship survives too). X-Factor is joined by some super-heroes called the Inhumans, who apparently live on the moon. Apocalypse has set up his base on the moon and has captured/brainwashed most of the other Inhumans. The heroes attack Apocalypse's citadel (with the diversion of some holograms created by Ship), fighting through the brainwashed Inhumans and holographic Apocalypses. When the burst through into the citadel and face the real Apocalypse, he's literally bigger than ever! |
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| X-Factor #68 Jul 1991 Wrath of Apocalypse
|
Finale: X-Factor gets captured (which was the plan), but the free Inhumans free the captured ones, and they all rescue X-Factor. The Askani shows up too. They rescue Nathan, who reaches out to Jean on the astral plane to save him from Apoc. Jean pulls Scott in, and together they destroy the astral Apoc (freeing Nathan). Back in the real world, Scott is pained by the knowledge that that's the closest his family could ever be, there in that astral plane. He lets loose with a massive optic blast, and "destroys" Apocalypse (he returns in X-Men #14). Their victory is short-lived, though, as Nathan is dying from Apocalypse's techo-organic virus. Ship sacrifices the last remnants of himself to merge with Nathan (is this the voice in Cable's head, later called the Professor?). The Askani (Rachel?) says that she's here to save him, and offers to take him to a place "where he will be cherished". She never explains anything else, so Scott is forced to give up his son to a stranger taking him who-knows-where, with the promise that he'll be saved, but that Scott will never see him again. This is unbelievably painful, right up there with Scott's last loss on the moon. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #278 Jul 1991 |
The Battle of Muir Isle: 2 The Prof steals the Blackbird from the WHO compound where Excalibur was keeping it. Guido, Madrox, Siryn, Rogue, and other miscellaneous mutants enjoy the gladiator games the Shadow King instituted on Muir Island. The X-Men sneak onto the island, where they get dry-gulched by the M.I. Mutants. Meanwhile the Prof sees what a dump the X-mansion is now, and Stevie Hunter meets him there, with a mind-controlled Colossus hot on her tail. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #279 Aug 1991 |
Bad to the Bone: 2 The Prof and Stevie play "Terminator" with Colossus, until the Prof has enough time to undo all the stuff that's been done to his mind. Meanwhile, the X-Men (under the control of the Shadow King) play a nasty game of tag. Forge has a gizmo that will undo the Shadow King's control, but is attacked by Rogue before he can use it on everyone. Meanwhile the Prof stops a mob from killing a child, and realizes that the Shadow King's influence is pretty darn huge. Only one thing to do, have a crossover. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #280 Sep 1991 |
One Step Back -- Two Steps Forward: 2 In X-Factor, that team goes in and frees most of the folks there from the Shadow King's mind control. They managed to blow up most of the island in the process. The Shadow King is still possessing Legion. The X-Men save the Prof from the Shadow King, and then go into the tunnels where Lorna is kept as some sort of nexus connecting the Astral Plane to the real world. The Prof goes to the Astral plane to fight the Shadow King, while half of the group goes to sever the nexus. The Prof's losing, so Jean takes her group into the Astral Plane to help him. The Shadow King manages to use Legion's TK powers to shatter the Prof's spine, so he's back in a wheelchair. The good guys manage to destroy the Shadow King, but at the cost of Legion's mind. |
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| X-Men #1
Oct 1991
Mutant Genesis
|
Rubicon:
Marvel decided to shake things up during 1991! First, back in Aug, they changed
The New Mutants into X-Force. Then, the original X-Men decided to quit X-Factor and become X-Men again.
Since were now too many X-Men for a single team (and for the original Uncanny X-Men comic book),
they split up the "new" X-Men into two teams, each of which was featured in different comic books.
Storm's (Uncanny) X-Men are called the Gold Team, while these X-Men (led by Cyclops) are called the Blue Team.
Here's how the different teams shake out over the next couple of months:
Since these "new" X-Men came from X-Factor, here's an update on what's been going on with them since my last update for issue #68. Issues #69-70 are the Battle for Muir Island crossover (see Uncanny X-Men #278-280). #70 also shows that the Prof is confined to a wheelchair (again), and he, Beast, and Val Cooper decide to reorganize all the X-teams... Several mutants steal a spaceship from Earth and find Magneto on Asteroid M, beseeching him to lead the mutants to freedom. Some "flatscans" try to stop them, but Magento stops all of them from fighting. Magneto then raises the Leningrad from the bottom of the ocean (see Uncanny X-Men #150) to get its nuclear missiles. The X-Men try to stop him. Wolverine actually gets a good swipe in (Magneto later notes how crazy Wolverine is becoming), but Rogue gets shot by military jets come to "help". Magneto blows up a nuke (!) and disappears. Rogue wakes up in a Genoshan hospital, but is assured that Genosha is a "free country" now. But, there are terrorists attacking the city, and the government needs Rogue's help. The X-Men arrive to help and we see the terrorists appear to be Magneto's new Acolytes. One of them is Delgado, a non-mutant soldier who had been trying to catch the mutants at the beginning of the issue; he now has some kind of artificial power and is probably being mind-controlled. |
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| X-Men #2
Nov 1991
Mutant Genesis
|
Firestorm:
Magneto arrives to help out his Acolytes, even though they attacked Genosha of their own accord. Of course, the X-Men try to stop
him but end up all being captured (this is Scott's Blue Team, sans Jubilee (where is she?)). Magneto senses that there's something
wrong with himself and comes back to Earth to capture the Prof and Moira and demands to know what's wrong with him. Moira admits that she
tinkered with his DNA when he was reverted to an infant and placed in her care (in Defenders #16). Mags thinks if she did it to him,
she can do it to the X-Men. So, he forces her to genetically brainwash the X-Men (a weak idea) to follow Magento. The Prof's able
to convey this telepathically to Jean, and the Gold Team starts planning a rescue/attack mission.
|
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| X-Men #3
Dec 1991
Mutant Genesis
|
Fallout:
The Gold Team arrives on Asteroid M and begin to fight the Blue Team. It doesn't last long since the brainwashing can't make the X-Men
do something so against their nature. Magneto collapses in the middle of the fight and Moira tells him that one of his Acolytes
(Fabian Cortez) has been draining his strength. But, Fabian jumps ship at that point, since Russia is firing a plasma cannon
at Asteroid M. When the cannon strikes, the X-Men split but Magneto and his Acolytes choose to stay, even though it looks like they all die
in the explosion (the Acolytes return in Uncanny X-Men #298 and Magento returns in X-Force #24).
[By the way, after a 15 year career at Marvel, this was Chris Claremont's
last issue as the writer and creative force behind the X-Men comics, until he returned in 2000.]
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| X-Men #4
Jan 1992
Mutant Genesis
|
The Resurrection and the Flesh:
A Russian super-mutant named Omega Red is resurrected by Matsuo (from the Hand) and Fenris
(they joined forces back in issue #268, and are apparently competing among the
Upstarts (?) to be the "Upstart Dominant", a prize/title which grants immortality).
Back in the USA, Moira flees the Mansion (distraught over what she did to Magneto, apparently)
and Banshee goes after her. Rogue agrees to a date with Gambit (!) but the rest of the X-Men tag along.
They don't get far, though, since they're ambushed by Omega Red (whom Wolverine calls Arkady).
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| X-Men #5
Feb 1992
Mutant Genesis
|
Blowback:
Wolverine, Beast, Jubilee, Gambit, and Rogue have been captured, and the other X-Men (a few from
both Teams) go after them, attacking the trucks carrying their comrades. The attack is successful,
but somehow Omega Red still gets away with Wolverine. Cut to Berlin, where Fenris and Matsuo
are directing Dr. Cornelius in tests involving Omega Red and Wolverine. They're being watched
by a German mutant known as Maverick who was here 30 years ago with
Creed (before he became Sabretooth) and Wolverine trying to stop Omega Red.
A brief glimpse of the X-Men stateside shows the Gold Team preparing for a meeting with Emma Frost
(leading into Uncanny X-Men #281, even though that issue came out in Oct 1991)
while the Blue Team is coming to rescue Wolverine. Maverick helps Wolverine get away from Omega Red,
but Maverick has some mission of his own - and they may not include Wolvie's best interests!
|
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| X-Men #6
Mar 1992
Mutant Genesis
|
Farther Still:
The X-Men arrive in Berlin and infiltrate the building where Omega Red is. Omega Red's
mutant death factor makes short work of the X-Men - except for Psylocke, who turns on her
comrades at the word of Matsuo (post-hypnotic suggestion from issue #256).
Meanwhile, Logan is almost dead from his beatings and torture - not to mention his "escape",
which involved jumping from a 10th-story window. While recovering, we see flashbacks of the time
Logan was here with Creed and Maverick (aka Sgt. David North) 30 years ago. Creed killed the
double-agent (Janice) they were trying to help escape from the same building. They all jumped
from the same (?) 10th-story window; Maverick's
mutant ability to absorb kinetic impact and Logan and Creed's mutant healing factors saved them. But,
in the fall they lost the device everyone wanted - the Carbonadium Synthesizer. It's the key to
stabilizing the Omega Red's death factor, which has made him a bit of a vampire - he has to feed
on others to live). Back in the present day, Creed/Sabretooth shows up and easily captures Logan and
Maverick (with Psylocke's help).
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| X-Men #7
Apr 1992
Mutant Genesis
|
Inside...Out:
Dr. Cornelius is torturing Wolverine, to get him to remember what he did with the Carbonadium Synthesizer.
Apparently, Weapon X wiped out most of his memories before his transformation. We also learn that
"carbonadium is a cheaper, more malleable version of adamantium", and that Dr. Cornelius was part of
the Weapon X program, too. Meanwhile, it turns out Psylocke was faking obedience to Matsuo and has been
very busy girl! She psychically tricked Omega Red into thinking he was draining her life force and that
he was releasing his death power, and she's also controlling Sabretooth's mind. She then takes out
Omega Red and Andrea Strucker, while Maverick and Sabretooth take out a few guards (interestingly,
Sabretooth doesn't recognize the name "Creed" when Maverick uses it). Matsuo knocks Psylocke out,
which releases Sabretooth from her control. Thankfully, Maverick started to free the X-Men,
who take out Sabretooth and come to rescue Wolverine. The fight starts a fire, and everyone is
forced to flee. Wolverine has one last mission, though, and takes off. The scene cuts to Matsuo
and Dr. Cornelius opening the grave of Janice Hollenbeck (the double-agent Creed killed while
they were making off with the Carbonadium Synthesizer), which is where they figured Logan hit
the "c-synthesizer". Turns out Logan himself was hiding in the coffin (nice trick!), and he
takes out a few goons. Cornelius pulls a gun, but Maverick (hiding in the shadows) shoots him
(dead!) first. Matsuo escapes. Logan gives Maverick the c-synthesizer in exchange for info about Logan's
"former comrade" (?).
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #281 Oct 1991 |
Fresh (Up)Start: 3 Although issue #280 was the first Uncanny X-Men issue after Chris Claremont left, this is the first new storyline introduced after he left, and the real introduction of Storm's Gold Team (see X-Men #1 for details). Trevor Fitroy is competing in the "Upstarts" competition (see notes about Matsuo and Fenris in X-Men #4), which apparently involves seeing who can kill off the most mutants. His mutant power is the ability to absorb the life force from people and use it to open space/time portals. He kills off a bunch of the Reavers, and attacks the Hellfire Club. The X-Men happen to be there, and try to stop him (and his army of Sentinels!). They're not very successful, though, since Jean Grey gets "killed" and Emma Frost is knocked into a coma. Fitzroy takes off with Miss Frost and some Hellions. |
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| Uncanny X-Men #282
Nov 1991
The Coming of Bishop
|
Payback:
The X-Men return from the Hellfire Club with one Sentinel's head and one dead-looking Jean Grey.
The Prof knows she's not dead, though, and then determines that her spirit is not in her body
and must be somewhere else. By examining the Sentinel, they determine that it comes from a base
in the Antarctic, and decide to pursue Fitzroy and the unconscious Emma Frost (Xavier suspects
Jean transferred her psyche into Emma's comatose mind).
Meanwhile, we learn a little bit more about the Upstarts competition in this issue (and the next one), but it's a little confusing (and poorly written). It seems Fitzroy wanted to change the original competition (killing mutants) into a race to kill a founding member of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle. He succeeded when he killed Pierce (one of the Reavers) last issue. He demands that Shinobi Shaw give Shinobi's father's ring to him (Fitzroy), the symbol/prize of the new leader of the Upstarts. Shinobi refuses, so Fitzroy cuts off Shinobi's finger and takes the ring. Back to more interesting matters, the X-Men (including Forge and Xavier!) take the Blackbird (and Jean Grey's body) to Antartica and attack Fitzroy's base. He was in the middle of absorbing the lives of a bunch of people and opening time portals from the future, bringing back other evil mutants. Naturally, a huge battle begins (Fitzroy still has Sentinels, although I never understood where they came from). Fitzroy kills a bunch of Hellions and opens a huge portal, bring back tons of bad guys and three soldiers, including one named Bishop! |
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| Uncanny X-Men #283
Dec 1991
The Coming of Bishop
|
Bishop's Crossing:
Bishop and his fellow soldiers (Malcolm and Randall) capture Fitzroy, but when they
realize they cannot go back through the portal, they decide to just kill everyone. Of course,
the X-Men can't allow this, so they try to stop them. Bishop, as a member of the Xavier School
Enforcers (XSE), grew up worshipping Xavier and the X-Men, but he believes these X-Men to be impostors.
So, we get a huge fight with no winners. Fitrzoy gets captured by Shinobi, the rest of the bad guys
escape, and the XSE guys go after them. On the plus side, they did recover Emma Frost's body,
Jean Grey's psyche was inside, and the Prof is able to restore Jean to her body (Emma's still in a coma,
though).
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| Uncanny X-Men #284
Jan 1992
|
Into the Void: 3
The X-Men (and Sunfire) get sucked through a portal into another dimension.
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| Uncanny X-Men #285
Feb 1992
|
Down the Rabbit Hole: 3
The X-Men and Sunfire show up in another dimension and get involved with a civil war.
Colussus' brother Mikhail Rasputin is introduced.
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| Uncanny X-Men #286
Mar 1992
|
Close Call:
The X-Men, Sunfire, and Mikhail help out in the civil war. Mikhail had been sucked through the same
portal as the X-Men earlier (Colussus had thought him dead); he's a mutant, too, like his siblings.
After the good guys win, the mutants/humans all return to earth.
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| Uncanny X-Men #287
Apr 1992
The Coming of Bishop
|
Bishop to King's Five:
The XSE soldiers are tracking down the homicidal mutants that Fitzroy brought back from
the future (issue #282) when Malcolm and Randall get killed protecting Bishop.
The X-Men arrive to stop the slaughter and capture Bishop. Back at the mansion, the Prof surprises
everyone by announcing that Bishop is joining the X-Men! Besides that straight-forward plot,
there are a couple of "flashbacks" (flashforwards?) to Bishop's past (which is in the future).
In one of them, Bishop, Malcolm, and Randall are chasing Fitzroy through tunnels under NYC.
They end up in the X-Men's mansion where they activate a recording of the death of the X-Men.
Jean Grey reveals that one of the X-Men betrayed them. Bishop then goes to visit the Witness,
who is actually Gambit, the only X-Man to survive the death of the other X-Men. Naturally,
Bishop now suspects Gambit to be the traitor. Can't wait until they meet in this timeline...
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| Uncanny X-Men #288
May 1992
The Coming of Bishop
|
Time and Place:
After some tough Danger Room workouts, the X-Men take Bishop into NYC to get a feel for his new home.
He runs into Styglut, the last of the bad guys Fitzroy brought back from the future, and kills him.
The X-Men give Bishop the "X-Men don't kill" speech. That doesn't work as well as Bishop just
realizing the destruction and civilian casualities caused by their fight. Back at the mansion,
Bishop gives Storm his XSE command insignia, saying that he no longer deserves them, that she is his leader,
and that he has much to learn from her.
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| Uncanny X-Men #289
Jun 1992
|
Knots: 3
There's some stuff going on with Iceman, Opal, Hiro, and Japanese samurai, but it's not as interesting
as the rest of the issue: Forge proposes to Storm!
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #290
Jul 1992
|
Frayed: 3
More stuff with Iceman, his family, Opal, and Hiro. Again, not as good as the rest:
Forge retracts his proposal to Storm saying it would never work,
she's too dedicated to her work, etc. Forge takes off with Mystique. Storm's last line is a tear-jerker:
"I was going to say yes".
There's also some stuff going on Colossus's brother, Mikhail, who's become evil.
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #291
Aug 1992
|
Underbelly: 3
The Morlocks have all gone crazy. They beat up Callisto, but the Healer brings Callisto the the mansion,
where he heals her at the cost of his own life. Callisto reverts to her original looks (scars and all).
Iceman gets beaten up by Callisto and Mikhail Rasputin (who's crazy, too).
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| Uncanny X-Men #292
Sep 1992
|
The Morlocks Take Manhattan: 3
More Morlock madness! The X-Men battle the Morlocks, until the Prof finds the telepathic Morlock
child who's triggering the Morlocks' behavior and stops it. Also, Mikhail (who's still crazy)
uses his vague energy-harnessing mutant power to turn Iceman into ice - permanently!
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| Uncanny X-Men #293
Oct 1992
|
The Last Morlock Story: 3
Mikhail and Callisto return to the Morlock tunnels, where they all appear to kill themselves in
a mass-suicide (it's later revealed (in Cable #15) that Mikhail teleported them to another dimension).
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #294
Nov 1992
X-cutioner's Song
|
Overture:
Scott and Jean are eating lunch in cafe when they get attacked and captured by Caliban, who claims he's now the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse (Death).
Nearby, Beast and Iceman get attacked by two other Horsemen, Famine and War, but fight them off (too late to save Scott and Jean). At the same time,
someone who looks like Cable (but isn't) shoots Professor Xavier while he's giving a mutant-loving speech. X-Force, hiding out in New Mexico,
sees the report on TV and decides to take out Cable! (He was thought to be dead; see my intro to X-Force #16.)
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| X-Factor #84
Nov 1992
X-cutioner's Song
|
Tough Love:
My last full entry for X-Factor was for issue #68.
But in the beginning of the entry for X-Men #1, I summarized the events in
X-Factor #69-70 since they lead up to the new X-Factor and X-Men teams. Here's a little background
on what's been going on with X-Factor since issue #70:
This is the beginning of the new X-Factor. Lorna and Alex get back together. Jamie (Multiple Man)
realizes that his multiples may be real people/individuals, and a bunch of them fight; when only two
are left, both claim to the original; the "fake" Jamie makes a deal with Mr. Sinister and absorbs the
real Jamie; eventually the real Jamie absorbs the fake, and a couple of battles ensue. Quicksilver is
aging rapidly. Some Genoshans (and Sauron, for some reason, who was "killed" in X-Force #7) show in NYC looking for asylum;
one of them is Philip Moreau, son of the Genegineer.
1
X-Factor joins the X-Men at the hospital to check on Xavier. Guido and Rahne go check out the site of the attack looking for clues.
X-Force shows up, too, and Rahne is excited to see her old teammates, esp. Cannonball (whom she thought was dead) and Rictor (whom she kisses passionately,
even though she has a crush on Alex). When Feral doesn't pick up any scents, X-Force tries to leave and Guido tries to stop them. The rest of X-Factor shows
up, too, and a nice fight ensues! Rahne and Feral are really going at it, although Feral is taking a beating. Rictor gets hurt, too, so Sam orders a
withdrawal. As X-Force departs, most of the X-Men show up, offering to help track down X-Force and/or Cable. Back at the hospital, someone (can't see who!)
determines that Xavier wasn't just shot - he was infected with a technovirus. They decide to move him back to the mansion.
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| X-Men #14
Nov 1992
X-cutioner's Song
|
Fingers on the Trigger:
Here's a little background on what's been going on with the X-Men since my last
update for issue #7: Gambit's estranged wife, Bella Donna Boudreaux, shows
up and the X-Men go to New Orleans; Bishop identifies Gambit as the X-Traitor, but no one believes him;
the X-Men battle a Brood-infested Ghost Rider; Mojo kidnaps the X-Men and makes them
fight each other (Dazzler and Longshot are involved, too); Maverick kills Alexander Ryking, and
then his son, Carter Ryking, battles the X-Men for a couple issues.
3
Mr. Sinister gives Scott & Jean to a couple anonymous bad-guys in exchange for some unidentified "genetic matrix"
(foreshadowing what?), and then later shows up at the mansion! Meanwhile, Apocalypse is revived, but claims his
powers are not fully restored. Cable returns to his HQ, Graymalkin, and learns that everyone thinks he shot Xavier.
The X-Men and X-Factor track down X-Force .
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| X-Force #16
Nov 1992
X-cutioner's Song
|
Jacklighting:
Here's some rather lengthy background on what's been going on with X-Force since my last
update, which was actually back when they were called the New Mutants:
X-Force's IPAC crashed in Texas (after fleeing from their last fight with X-Factor in X-Factor #84,
and practically all of the other X-Men show up. Big fight! Shatterstar and Rictor get taken down, and the rest of X-Force
takes off (again). Wolverine tracks them down, and they all end up captured.
Meanwhile, Storm, Beast, Archangel, Iceman, Colossus, and Quicksilver track Caliban down (remember, he captured
Scott and Jean back in Uncanny X-Men #294). Beast is attacked (and emaciated) by Famine, but the rest of the
team takes out Famine. They then find a recording from Mr. Sinister, letting them know that he's behind this. Speaking of Mr. Sinister,
he's back at the X-Mansion. Bishop puts a bullet through (and a huge hole in) Sinister's head, but even that can't stop him. But, he didn't
come to kill the X-Men - he came to warn them who's behind the attempt on Xavier's life! (It seems that Stryfe is interfering with Sinister's own plans...)
Meanwhile, Cable decides it's time to get back in the picture, and he heads out to take care of Stryfe. We also get to see Scott & Jean meet Stryfe.
He even calls them "father" and "mother"!
Deadpool tries to kill Cable; Domino, an old "friend" of Cable's, shows up; Rictor goes back to Genosha to convince Rahne to return; Roberto leaves to run his family business; Cable recruits Thunderbird/Warpath, a former Hellion and a Native American; Feral (a Morlock) breaks in and wants to join the New Mutants; Shatterstar shows up, fleeing Mojo V from the future (he sounds like a real tough guy); Cable decides the New Mutants need a new home, a new mission (fighting for mutant rights), and a new name (X-Force); note that of the former New Mutants, Rahne, Rictor, and Roberto do not join X-Force. (I found it lame that they did almost 1-for-1 replacements between New Mutants and X-Force, especially the Rahne <-> Feral thing. X-Force sets up their new HQ in Larry Trask's old Sentinel base in the Adirondacks (see Uncanny X-Men #57); X-Force starts their new militant mission and attacks the Mutant Liberation Front (MLF) in Antarctica (led by Stryfe, the MLF these days includes Zero, Forearm, Kamikaze, Wildside, Reaper, and Thumbelina); a man named Garrison Kane (from Weapon X) is asked by SHIELD to help capture Cable; Cable's real name is Nathan, he has an adopted son (Tyler, who is supposed to be dead but is really the villain Tolliver), he is developing TK powers, and he can "body-slide" to teleport himself and others out of danger (this is a technological ability, though, not a mutant one); Feral turns out to be really, well, feral; Black Tom and Juggernaut hold hostages in NYC; Black Tom's foster daughter (?) Siryn comes from Ireland to stop, and she joins X-Force (Siryn is another new mutant who's a rip-off of another, in this case her own uncle, Banshee); there's a big in the World Trade Center (Spiderman even gets involved!); Deadpool rescues Black Tom and Juggernaut from the fight with X-Force, and X-Force gets all the blame for the destruction. Stryfe is revealed to look just like Cable; a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants forms (Toad, Blob, Sauron, and Pyro) and attack X-Force, "killing" Sam; a flashback to Cable's past (our future) shows him learning that Sam is to become a "High Lord" and one reason he came back in time was to train him (?); Cable kills Sauron and is able to save Sam's dying body and Morlocks, including one named Thornn (Feral's sister), attack X-Force, too; there's something involving High Lords that I don't understand (Roberto's business partner, Gideon, thought Roberto was going to be an External, but was wrong, and tortures him; Cable tells Sam he's a High Lord (External?) and is immortal); Rictor joins the Canadian government's Dept. K in order to stop Cable (the governments consider him a terrorist, I guess). Tolliver is getting more devious, as he sends Deadpool to break into X-Force's HQ and smack them around, and it's revealed that the Domino with X-Force is an impostor named Copycat; X-Force figures it out but they don't kill her, they seem to take her in; the real Domino is Tolliver's prisoner; Kane put together a new Weapon PRIME to take down Cable (and figure out why he and Stryfe look alike), and they attack X-Force just as they were abandoning their new base (everybody in the world seemed to know they were there!); X-Force defeats Weapon PRIME, but Copycat blows up their base (prematurely) and Tolliver thinks they're all dead; Cable and Copycat aren't really killed, and go after Tolliver, freeing the real Domino in the process; Cable takes out Tolliver and tells Domino to go help X-Force, while he recuperates in the future. X-Force (Cannonball saved them from the blast) thinks Cable is dead, so Rictor rejoins the team; they take a SHIELD vehicle called an IPAC and setup their new HQ at Warpath's Camp Verde Reservation in Arizona or New Mexico (wiped out by the Hellfire Club); they rescue Roberto from Gideon after Sam also agrees to never interfere with the Externals. 1 |
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| Uncanny X-Men #295
Dec 1992
X-cutioner's Song
|
Familiar Refrain:
Storm et al surprise Apocalypse at his "former hideout" (?). Despite Apoc's weakened state, he takes out the X-Men
but then takes off before they wake up. The rest of the X-Men are back in the X-Mansion learning about Stryfe and
trying to figure out a plan. Oh yeah, the X-Men were all feeling like slimeballs for taking out X-Force, realizing
that just maybe they didn't have anything to do with "Cable" attacking Xavier. So, Alex offers Sam an opportunity -
help them track down Stryfe and the MLF. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Bishop (now that's a dangerous duo!)
snuck off to steal info from the Canadian government's Dept K about Cable's known safe houses. The Canucks weren't
in a sharing mood, so Wolvie and Bishop are slugging it out with them when none other than Cable himself shows up!
Cable was there looking for info on Stryfe, but sees the X-Men gunning for him: "It's going to be one of those days."
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| X-Factor #85
Dec 1992
X-cutioner's Song
|
Snikts and Bones:
Cable slugs it out with Wolverine & Bishop throughout the whole issue, finally convincing them at the end
to listen to him about being innocent. Meanwhile, the X-Men finally uncover the MLF hideout
in Dust Bowl, Kansas. (Sam is helping them, as agreed in Uncanny X-Men #295,
but for some idiotic reason Boom-Boom is there, too. Why isn't she locked up in the X-Mansion with the rest
of X-Force? The X-Editors were sleeping again...) During the inevitable fight, Archangel accidently cuts off
Kamikaze's head! We also catch some glimpses of the mind-games Stryfe is playing with Scott and Jean.
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| X-Men #15
Dec 1992
X-cutioner's Song
|
The Camel's Back:
The X-Men-vs-MLF fight continues. For some reason (brainwashing?), Rusty and Skids are with the MLF now;
Skids actually breaks Boom-Boom's jaw! Cable, Wolverine, and Bishop actually have trouble breaking out
of Department K, so Cable uses his bodyslide trick to bring them all to Graymalkin. Then, if the mind-games
with Scott and Jean weren't proof enough, Stryfe proves he really is crazy by going to Apocalypse's base in
Egypt (where he is recuperating) and attacking Apocalypse!
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| X-Force #17
Dec 1992
X-cutioner's Song
|
Sleeping with the Enemy:
Stryfe is kicking some Apocalyptic butt. He stabs Apoc with a strange sword (which Apocalypse claims
he had once used to kill Stryfe, but he may be confusing Stryfe with Cable), and then Apoc falls into
his transporter and disappears (it's just so hard to kill that guy!). Apocalypse shows up
at the X-Mansion, of all places. Archangel is dying for a chance to kill him, but he stops everyone
in their tracks by proposing that they work together to stop Stryfe.
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| Uncanny X-Men #296
Jan 1993
X-cutioner's Song
|
Crescendo:
Scott & Jean try to escape while Stryfe continues to play games with them (I tell you, I was getting
really tired of this inane plot by this point!). We finally catch up with Cable, Wolverine, and Bishop
aboard Graymalkin (which I finally learned is some kind of space station). They're trying to figure out
where Stryfe is hiding, when Wolverine finally realizes he's been receiving psychic hints from Jean,
whose escape route led her and Scott, unprotected, out on the surface of the moon!
Back on planet Earth, Archangel convinces the other X-Men to let Apocalypse cure Xavier (he's still
infected by the techno-organic virus, and it's just about killed him).
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| X-Factor #86
Jan 1993
X-cutioner's Song
|
One of These Days...Pow! Zoom!
The X-Men in Graymalkin update the X-Mansion on Scott & Jean's location but apparently just hang out
for a while before body-sliding to the moon (at first, we're led to believe they're waiting for
Cable to recalibrate his equipment for the moon, then I assume they're waiting to head back from
the X-Mansion, but it's not explained very well; at least their dialog is classic: "I'm bored." "Me too."
"Let's go." "We're gone".) Back on earth, Apocalypse manages to cure Xavier pretty easily (I hope
Hank McCoy was taking notes!).
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| X-Men #16
Jan 1993
X-cutioner's Song
|
Conflicting Cathexes:
Cable, Wolverine, and Bishop arrive on the moon and are confronted by the MLF and Apocalypse's Dark Riders
(who server Stryfe since Stryfe defeated Apoc). They're not doing too well, but thankfully the rest
of the X-Men show with Apocalypse (he offered to drive them!). After the first battle, everyone splits up
to find Stryfe, Scott, and Jean. Apoc sets off on his own and runs into his former Dark Riders, who decide
he's not worthy and must be destroyed (those are Apocalypse's own rules!). Sam's pissed at Cable, who
still won't tell him anything about what's going on. Cable takes Apocalypse's ship and flies Sam, Alex,
and Lorna off to look for Scott & Jean elsewhere on the moon. They find them by some futuristic tower,
which throws up a force-field keeping Sam and Lorna out. Alex gets in (barely) and Cable walks right through.
Stryfe is waiting with Scott & Jean as his prisoners.
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| X-Force #18
Jan 1993
X-cutioner's Song
|
Ghosts in the Machine:
We learn that Stryfe's force-field was designed to allow the Summers DNA to pass through, so that's why
Alex and Cable were able to get through. Cable and Stryfe fight, and Cable is getting his butt kicked.
He decides drastic measures are needed and sets a self-destruct sequence (in his bionic arm?) and gives
Scott some kind of button to push. Scott thinks that pushing the button will kill Cable and is reluctant
to do it. He finally does as Cable pleads with him, just in time to activate some kind of containment
field. Cable self-destructs (?) taking out Stryfe with him, but the blast is contained in the field,
sparing everyone else. Scott finally realizes that Cable is his son Nathan!
On side notes, Archangel tracks down Apocalypse, who's dying from his fight with his former servants.
Of course, we think Archangel is going to finish the job, but he just taunts Apocalypse ("you don't
deserve to survive"). Should have finished him off, though. Also, we get one page of teaser material
with Mr. Sinister. The canister of Summers genetic material he received back in
X-Men #14 turns out to be empty.
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| Uncanny X-Men #297
Feb 1993
|
Up and Around: 3
Post-Stryfe filler. Xavier is briefly able to use his legs after Apocalypse cured him.
He goes roller-blading with Jubilee, before his legs give out on him again.
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| Uncanny X-Men #298
Mar 1993
|
...For the Children! 1, 3
The X-Men get a call for help from old friends (Sharon Friedlander and Tom Corsi) that the Acolytes (working
for Fabian Cortez) are attacking a school. The Acolytes now include Carmella Unuscione,
Joanna Cargill (Frenzy), and Sven, Harlan, and Eric Kleinstock (triplets). Sharon and Eric end up getting
killed in this issue. The Acolytes were trying to kidnap a mutant named Teddy at the school, but give when
they realize he also has Down's Syndrome.
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| Uncanny X-Men #299
Apr 1993
|
Nightlines: 1, 3
Looks like Magneto may have survived the crash of Asteroid M (X-Men #3)!
Not much else in this issue, except the introduction of Graydon Creed as the leader of the anti-
mutant group The Friends of Humanity. At some later point, of course, we learn this Creed is the
father of the other Creed we all love to hate - Sabretooth!
Also, there's some stuff with Fitzroy and the Upstarts, and Illyana starts to come down with the Legacy Virus.
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| Uncanny X-Men #300
May 1993
|
Legacies: 1, 3
The Acolytes capture Moira (Fabian wants to learn her genetic/brainwashing technique).
The X-Men (with Nightcrawler's help!) rescue her, and Neophyte decides to quit the Acolytes.
Also, we learn that Illyana definitely has the Legacy Virus and it's killing her.
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| Uncanny X-Men #301
Jun 1993
|
Dominion: 1, 3
Fitzroy sets off to kill Forge (part of the dumb Upstarts game), coincidentally at the same time that
Storm and Bishop arrive to ask for his help with Illyana. They arrive in time to see Forge's building
blow up.
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| Uncanny X-Men #302
Jul 1993
|
Province: 1, 3
The rest of the X-Men Gold Team arrive in Dallas to help Forge and they stop Fitzroy. They also have
to stop Colossus from killing Fitzroy. He's stuck in armored form again, and he's terribly upset
about his sister (heck, his brother just died recently, too!). Back at the mansion, Kitty Pride
shows up to visit Illyana.
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| Uncanny X-Men #303
Aug 1993
|
Going Through the Motions: 3
Illyana dies from the Legacy Virus.
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| X-Men Unlimited #1
Jun 1993
|
Follow the Leader:
This is a little out-of-sequence, but this new X-Men Unlimited title (released quarterly)
is hard to place amonth the regular monthly titles. These issues were larger than the regular one
and the plots were usually a bit more character-driven, as the authors had the room to step out of
the typical story pace.
Cyclops, Storm, and the Prof were flying the Blackbird back from the Savage Land (Ka-Zar and Shanna had a baby),
when it's brought down (in Antartica) by an EM pulse. The pulse was created by Sienna Blaze,
a new mutant apparently competing in the Upstarts competition. Everyone's badly injured in the crash and a
blizard is raging outside. Scott and Charles have a heart-to-heart. Later, the Prof takes off in an ATV and
finds a citadel out in the snowstorm. Cyclops and Storm set off to find him, but only find Sienna. A weird
battle ensues and the Prof shows back up. Sienna'spower is strange, though,
and possibly one of he most powerful the X-Men have ever encountered. Good thing she's a pretty poor fighter
and decides to teleport away. The "vacuum" left, though, could have taken out the X-Men if they hadn't made it
back to their ship. They're rescued by Bishop and Psylocke and having a final, touching moment together.
Frankly, this is a bad issue. The series does get much better, though! BTW, the
owner of that citadel Xavier found probably saved the Prof's life in that blizzard. You don't need to wait
long to find out who lives there though...
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| X-Men Unlimited #2
Sep 1993
|
Point Blank:
Seven years ago, some German soldies were attacking Magneto at Wundagore Mountain, his one-time home. Two brothers (Ute and Adrian)
stumbled on the grave of Magento's wife Magda and Magneto killed Ute. The rest of the issue is about Adrian seeking revenge on Magneto.
Not really all that interesting of an issue, although Adrian does get some armor that makes him invisible to Magneto (Storm steals the plans for this
armor in Uncanny X-Men #305). We also see Exodus trying to recruit Phantazia from the Brotherhood of Mutants.
This is my first mention of Exodus, but he really makes his first appearance in X-Force #25down below (it's hard to fit these
X-Men Unlimited issues in the right order!).
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| X-Factor #92
Jul 1993
Fatal Attractions
|
The Man Who Wasn't There:
Here's a little background on what's been going on with X-Factor since my last update for
issue #86: X-Factor escorts the X-Patriots back to Genosha. Someone
named Sasha Ryan is the new Genegineer, and she's working with someone else who
wants to get rid of all mutants. We also learn that all the mutates on Genosha are dying
(from the Legacy Virus), but the new Genoshan President released all of them from their
mind control. Oh yeah, Val Cooper is acting oddly since being attacked
by what turns out to be one of the Acolytes.
Just like in Uncanny X-Men #298 in March of this year, the Acolytes are up to wanton destruction and murder, this time at a hospice. Cortez's purpose is really to draw out Magneto's son, Quicksilver. Val takes X-Factor to a sleepy army base (Cape Hayden), where they meet Senator Kelly and learn of his Project Wide-Awake - a new Sentinel program! They're pissed, but Val says "no big deal". They don't have much time to argue, though, as the Acolytes break in and attack. Quicksilver has a long talk with Cortez, who tries to convince him to talk up his father's legacy and join the Acolytes. After the Acolytes take off, we learn Val was being mind-controlled by the Acolytes (since issue #87). X-Factor couldn't be more disgusted with her right now (heck, I've never liked her!). |
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| X-Force #25
Aug 1993
Fatal Attractions
|
Back to Front:
Here's a little background on what's been going on with X-Force since my last update for
issue #18: X-Force begins to set on their own, now that Cable is "dead".
The even get new uniforms! They pick up a transmission that the government has detected
Graymalkin, somehow figure out that it's Cable's, and half of X-Force heads up there to stop SHIELD.
Besides the battle on Graymalkin (which destroys it), X-Force learns that the "Professor"
voice on Gramalkin is the same as the voice of X-Factor's Ship (formerly Apocalypse's Ship).
They saved a lot of weapons from Graymalkin, but the other X-Force members were captured by someone
named Saul (one of the Externals). The rest of X-Force free them, and then rescue
Rusty and Skids who were captured by the Friends of Humanity while being transported for their crimes
(X-Men #15). Domino, Grizzly, and Hammer get Copycat to lead them to X-Force.
Magneto finds Greymalkin (what's left) and decides to make it his new base.
X-Force returns to Camp Verde (with Rusty and Skids), where they're greeted by Cable (actually, he attacks them - I guess that's his form of greeting). He explains that he survived the timestream (X-Force #18) but Stryfe did not, and he also explains that his real name is Nathan Dayspring and he came back from a future run by Apocalypse to train Sam as some kind of savior (talk about a head-trip for Sam!). Sam still doesn't really trust Cable, but he's tired of leading X-Force, so he accepts Cable as their leader again. The reunion is cut short, though, by an attack from Exodus, who wants to take a few of them to "heaven". Sam agrees, and the rest of X-Force follows them - back up to Graymalkin! Of course, Magneto is there and wants Sam and friends to join him. Magneto cures Rusty and Skids of Stryfe's brainwashing and they decide to stay with him. Cable and the rest of X-Force show up. Cable bodyslides X-Force back to their ship and retrieves the "Professor" A.I. Magneto laughs at Cable and rips his metal body to pieces. It seems like that was actually Cable's plan, since he then bodyslides back to X-Force's ship and shows them how brutal Magneto is (hell of a lesson!). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #304
Sep 1993
Fatal Attractions
|
For What I Have Done:
Exodus tells the Acolytes that Magneto is alive, but that Cortez had tried to kill him.
Apparently, Cortez's punishment is to be infected by the Legacy Virus (?).
Back up in space, Magento has renamed Graymalkin as Avalon, and he reminisces about
how he was driven into the anti-human position he's in. (I don't buy the they-forced-me-to-become-evil
part, but this is actually a compelling look into Magneto's psyche.)
Back down on Earth, everyone gathers for Illyana's funeral, only to be interrupted by Magneto!
He offers them a chance to follow his dream, instead of Xavier's. They attack him and are
doing rather well, given that his powers have increased tremendously after his crash on Asteroid M.
But, Colossus stops everything by saying that he wants to go with Magneto! Who can blame him?
In a short time, he lost his brother, his parents, and then his sister. He's a little bitter.
After Colossus ascends into Avalon, Xavier decides to finally stop Magento. The Prof takes over
Magneto's mind/powers and send Magneto and Avalon hurling into the far reaches of space.
[Is this the event that leads to Onslaught???]
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| X-Men #25
Oct 1993
Fatal Attractions
|
Dreams Fade:
Here's a little background on what's been going on with the X-Men since my last update for
issue #16: there's some interesting-sounding stuff going on with
Omega Red and a telepath named the Soul Skinner. The Russians want to use Illyana
against the Soul Skinner, and Colussus is understandably upset by the risk. Colossus was
worried about the wrong family member, because it's his parents that end up getting killed
by the Russians who kidnap Illyana! The Soul Skinner is killed, but Colossus takes
another brutal blow to his fragile psyche. That's small potatoes compared to what happens
in Uncanny X-Men #303, though...
Scott, confused by feelings for Betsy/Psylocke, takes off to see his grandparents in Alaska.
Betsy is revealed to have a double (named Kwannon or Revanche) who arrives and claims to be the
real Betsy. They go to Japan for some craziness with the Upstarts, and end up coming home
with Betsy and Kwannon (their minds were and still are fused, part of the whole
Siege Perilous thing. In Alaska, Scott meets Mr. Sinister who admits he
released Stryfe's Legacy Virus (X-Force #18). They're both attacked by the
Dark Riders; Sinister disappears but Scott fights so well that the Dark Riders say he's "ready"
and disappear.
The governments of Earth enact the "Magento Protocols", and envelope the Earth in an electo-magnetic shield, in attempt to keep Magneto away. Well that just pisses him off and he wipes out the satellites powering the shield and engulfs the Earth in an EM pulse that shuts down all electronic equipment (it's mentioned later that, besides the panic that ensued, this caused thousands of deaths (people in airplanes, hospitals, etc.). Xavier decides that enough's enough, and leads an assault team to take out Magneto (the Prof dons a psionically-powered Shii'ar exoskeleton so he can walk and join the assault!). He's joined by Jean, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, and Quicksilver (Magneto's son). Upon arrival, Colossus helps them out by making them invisible to Avalon's security systems. The X-Men take over the computer system and program it to teleport all of the mutants (save Magneto) to escape pods, and then eject the pods. While that simplifies things immensely, they're still left with Magneto... who finds and attacks them! Jean and the Prof attack him psychically, while the others attack him physically (the psychic attack is a little under-handed: make him remember all the pain in his life!). Magneto, who's in top form, actually extracts all of the adamantium from Wolverine's body! Remember, that stuff was bonded to his bones, and this rape is unbelievably painful (Wolverine is, just as unbelievably, barely alive). Charles makes an even bigger mental attack, and literally takes away Magneto's mind. [This is the event that leads to Onslaught.] They leave Magneto with Colossus, and fly back home. |
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| Wolverine #75
Nov 1993
Fatal Attractions
|
Nightmares Persist:
The flight from Avalon back to Earth is fraught with the peril of Wolverine's injuries,
as well as a too-fast descent into the atmosphere. Jean's job is to hold the ship
together as it starts to break apart, and you can't help but think of Uncanny X-Men issues
#100 & #101 when Jean "transformed" into
the Phoenix. Jean's losing control of the ship at the same time that Wolverine seems
to be losing control of his mind (he can see this because the Prof's in there trying to
keep Wolverine alive). In the end, Wolverine wakes up and saves Jean as she's hanging
on to the plane's open hatch. Wolverine insists, though, that it's Jean who saved him
and brought him back to the land of the living. Back on Earth, Logan wants to prove that
he's still fit to be an X-Men, but one round in the Danger Room makes him realize he
can't cut it right now. Also, he finds out he still has his claws! Turns out that they're
made of bone and so have always been a part of him, even before the adamantium and the whole
Weapon X thing. He has one last heart-to-heart with Jubilee, before disappearing in the middle
of the night on his Harley. [This is truly one of the best single issues in the entire history
of the X-men comics!]
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| Excalibur #71
Nov 1993
Fatal Attractions
|
Crossing Swords:
Scott, Jean, and the Prof pay a visit to Muir Island, where what remains of Excalibur (Rachel/Phoenix,
Kitty, and Nightcrawler) are helping Moira. They propose a crazy plan to restore Colossus to his right
mind. The plan requires Kitty to pretend to want to join Colossus on Avalon, and then the X-teams
will capture him. While waiting Rachel and Jean have a nice talk, and patch up some of the bad blood
between them. Meanwhile, in an inane side-plot, Cable sneaks onto the island in order to destroy Colossus
and any other Acolytes who show up. It's convenient he's there, though, as he bumps into Rachel/Phoenix
and he's freaked out by her (how did he not know about her?). They fight (and talk), and Rachel seems
to go in a trance, calls him Askani'son, and asks for his help (what's that about???).
Meanwhile, Peter fell for Kitty's trick, comes back for her, and gets captured. It will take Kitty a long
time (if ever) to get over the look of betrayal Peter gives her. Anyway, the operation is a success,
Peter's returned to his human form (he's been stuck in armored mode since ???), and his mind is "cured"
(whatever that means when you've lost your entire family and your true-love betrayed you). Still,
he decides to go back to Avalon and maybe direct the Acolytes' efforts in better directions.
Also, Kitty, Rachel, and Kurt decide to move Exclibur from England to Muir Island, to help with
more of Moira's work and to try to solve human/mutant problems instead of just fighting about them.
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #305
Oct 1993
|
The Measure of the Man: 1
Iceman, Bishop, and Rogue go to Opal Tanaka's house, in response to something Cerebro detected.
The X-Men and Opal are attacked, but when hit the attackers just dissolve! When Rogue touches
one, she starts to dissolve too! Bishop saves her by grabbing her, so she absorbs some of his
power. Meanwhile, the Prof and Storm are at some party where they hear about a suit that renders
the wearer invisible to Magneto, so the Prof sends Storm off to steal the plans. She does it,
but she's pissed about it (she used to be a thief when she was a kid).
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #306
Nov 1993
|
Mortal Coils: 1, 3
Warren and Jean sneak off to a mountain retreat, only to be surprised by Warren's dead girlfriend,
Candy Southern (killed by Hodge in X-Factor #34). She's now some kind of techno-organic being,
and asks Jean to read her mind. Jean and Warren see her "death" and revival in some kind of lab.
Of course, good ol' Hodge shows up now, and he's mostly techno-organic now, too (he was beheaded
by Warren at the end of the X-Tinction Agenda (X-Factor #62). Hodge tries
to absorb parts of Candy to build up his own body. Candy would rather die, so she literally
rips herself to pieces, and the shock causes Hodge to explode. She dies in Warren's arms (again).
|
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| Avengers #368
Nov 1993
Bloodties
|
Family Legacy:
Fabian Cortez (formerly Magneto's right-hand man) has kidnapped Luna, the daughter of Quicksilver
and Crystal, which makes her Magneto's granddaughter (Crystal is a member of the Avengers).
He's sitting in Hammer Bay (capital of Genosha), enjoying the mayhem of the mutants and humans
engaged in a bloody civil war. Back in the states, the government decides that the Avengers
should stay out of this conflict (because of Luna?), so they try to tell the Avengers to stay put.
So, they send Nick Fury to tell them the news. Crystal checks on Luna, who's been replaced
by a shape-changing mutate (who blows herself up). That's it - now the Avengers are involved!
But, SHIELD is waiting to stop them. Meanwhile, the Prof and Beast
are asked to officially visit Genosha to try to negotiate some peace, and Charles sends the rest of
the X-Men to go there secretly, too.
|
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| X-Men #26
Nov 1993
Bloodties
|
Civil Disobedience:
Cortez is inciting more violence on Genosha, and now Quicksilver sees that Cortez is holding
his daughter hostage (this was supposed to protect Cortez from Magneto?). Oh, as if the
situation wasn't bad enough, Exodus (up on Avalon) sees what's Cortez is up to and decides
to get involved too. Back in the States, some of the Avengers break free from SHIELD and head
to Genosha. The Prof and Beast show up in Genosha, ditch their U.N. escort, and hook up with
an old friend of Xavier's, Renée Majcomb, a biogeneticist who's leading the "bipartisan rebel
batallion". The other X-Men aren't doing as well, though. Right after landing on Genosha
they run into Cortez's new shock-troops called the Unforgiven. The Avengers aren't doing
much better - they're trying to keep the peace in Hammer Bay when Exodus shows up and burns up
all the humans in the area!
|
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| Avengers West Coast #101
Dec 1993
Bloodties
|
Genosha, Mon Armour:
The Prof, Beast, and U.S. Agent are sneaking around underground, when they come across
a concentration camp for mutates infected with the Legacy Virus. They're immediately
attacked by another of Cortez's new groups of shock-troops, called the Magistrate Elite.
Meanwhile, the other X-Men are fighting Cortez's other new group (the Unforgiven). Just when
they think they've caught Cortez they find out it's a shape-changer.
In Hammer Bay, Crystal and War Machine (from the Avengers) try to stop Exodus (but fail).
Sersi decides to take up the fight (she's an External!).
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #307
Dec 1993
Bloodties
|
Night and Fog:
The Prof, the Beast, and U.S. Agent are fighting the Magistrate Elite and trying to protect
the mutates in the concentration camp. Above ground, Sersi and Exodus are really going at it.
It's a helluva fight - they're tearing up the city even more than it was. Eventually, though,
Exodus wins out, and takes off. Dane (aka, the Black Knight) recognizes Exodus
from somewhere, but we never find out where in this series. Meanwhile, underneath the city,
Quicksilver and Jean Grey are searching for Luna. They come across Crystal and Wanda first,
and then Cortez shows up with Luna. Cortez drops a hint that he's afraid of someone (presumably
Exodus) and that even Magneto wouldn't have recruited this person even he knew the truth (what is
the truth???). Not surprisingly, Exodus shows up...
|
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| Avengers #369
Dec 1993
Bloodties
|
Of Kith and Kin:
Exodus easily takes Luna from Cortez, and then bores us with bad-guy speeches until he finally
gets around to killing Cortez. More bad-guy speeches follow, and then Exodus brings everyone
up to the surface (where the X-Men and the Avengers have been having more battles with humans
and mutants alike). It's another all-out battle on the surface, as everyone tries to stop
Exodus. There's an added pressure, though. Exodus created some type of energy field around
Genosha; it's contracting and it will crush all life on the island. Just as Exodus is about to
kill Luna, Xavier hits him with a massive psychic blast. He shrugs it off pretty easily
(who is this guy?!?), but it was really a distraction. The Black Knight takes him out
with his neural sword. This stops the energy field and stops the fight, but it doesn't stop
Exodus for long. He gets up, hits Quicksilver with one massive blast, and takes off.
Quicksilver survives, but barely.
FYI: the epilogue of the Bloodties TPB mentions that, after these events, the East Coast Avengers decided to disband the West Coast Avengers. Well, this pissed off the West Coast Avengers, so they formed a new group called Force Works (under Iron Man). |
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| X-Men Unlimited #3
Dec 1993
|
The Whispers Scream:
Maverick is tracking down Sabretooth, who's been on a killing spree. He can't stop Creed, so he
goes to the X-Men for help (they've never met before!). A German man named Kurt Geinstach
thinks he's next, so he goes to Garabed Bashur (aka Comcast) for help, but he refuses
to get involved. Sabretooth later comes to Bashur looking for info too (he needs a telepath to help him control
his mind). Bashur tells him he can find a telepath in Japan, although that Maverick and Wolverine might be there too.
Meanwhile, the X-Men split up. Bishop, Rogue, and Gambit head to Germany, but are too late to stop
Sabretooth killing Geinstach. The Beast and Maverick show up in Japan and try to enlist the Silver Samurai's help.
Somehow Sabretooth gets from Germany to Japan in no time, and grabs the Silver Samurai's telepath (Uchio Tanaka
that Bashur told him about. The telepath lets everyone see one of Sabretooth's memories (he's supposed to assassinate some man,
but also kills the wife and kid, too). Sabretooth leaves in search of another, more powerful telepath, and shows up at the
mansion. The prof dives into his head, and we see a scene from Creed's childhood: his father locked him in the basement, threw
in a rabbit, and told him he needs to kill to survive. The Prof decides that he needs to help Sabretooth, and says he'll
be staying at the mansion under house arrest while Charles tries to help him.
Despite the old X-Men-don't-kill aspect of this story (and Beast even pokes fun at that motto!), this is an excellent issue and proves when these expanded X-Men Unlimited issues are a great idea. Believe me, it's hard to feel compassion for a killing-machine like Sabretooth, but they do give you a whole new perspective on him! |
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| X-Men Unlimited #4
Mar 1994
|
Theories of Relativity:
Graydon Creed (Sabretooth's son?) is staying in France and receives some information - Mystique is his mother!
He's upset that his informant finds it funny, and smashes him with a bottle. When the informant whispers the name
of Graydon's brother, he goes crazy and kills the man. In case you can't guess who else is the son of a blue-skinned
mutant, Nightcrawler shows up in the next scene. Forge asked him to meet Rogue at a funeral in Washington, DC, for a man that
Mystique killed. Mystique is posing as the priest, but comes out of character in the middle of the funeral. She set all this
up to deliver a message to Kurt - "meet me at home".
Kurt and Rogue go back to where Mystique took care of Rogue in Mississippi. We get some flashbacks before Graydon Creed shows and tells Kurt that they're brothers and Mystique is their mother. Mystique shows up and tells everyone the real story of Kurt's birth. Graydon's hired guns open fire on everyone and Mystique and Kurt end up hanging on the edge of a cliff. Rogue has to let Graydon to go rescue them, but she still can't save both of them. Mystique makes Rogue's choice for her and lets go, falling into a waterfall. Rogue and Kurt are stunned by Mystique's "sacrifice" (she shows back up in ???). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #308
Jan 1994
|
Mixed Blessings: 1, 3
Scott and Jean get enganged, and a man named Mauro gets in a van marked "Phalanx",
(the first time that word's been used, I believe).
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #309
Feb 1994
|
When The Tigers Come At Night: 1, 3
This seems like a strange one. Charles talks to Magneto in his dreams. We mostly learn
about some of the Prof's feelings and fears, although there's a piece about Amelia Voght,
the nurse he fell in love with after losing the use of legs in Tibet (she's now in the Acolytes!).
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #310
Mar 1994
|
Show Me The Way To Go Home: 1, 3
This is mostly an issue about the relationship between Cable and Cyclops. Cable is suprised to get an
invitation to Scott and Jean's wedding, since he doesn't think of Scott as his father. Scott
reveals how upset he was at having to give up Cable to Askani and not being able to raise him.
Cable reveals that there were two people who did raise him (spoiler: it was actually Scott and Jean
in The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix miniseries). Also, Sabretooth is staying
at the mansion (see X-Men Unlimited #3) and there are some hints about some past
history between him and Gambit (apparently revealed later in issue #350).
Someone named X-Cutioner (?) shows up to kill Emma Frost (who's been at the mansion in a coma
since issue #283). After Cyclops and Cable stop X-Cutioner together, Cable feels some
respect (and other feelings?) for Scott.
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #311
Apr 1994
|
Putting the Cat Out: 1, 3
Sabretooth escapes from his cell in the mansion when the power goes out.
Bishop and Jubilee try to stop him for a while, and finally succeed.
Iceman, who was guarding Emma Frost, is found in a coma when the lights
come back on. Meanwhile, Storm is off in a club with Yukio and they
get attacked by the Phalanx.
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #312
May 1994
|
Romp: 1, 3
Yukio and Ororo fight the Phalanx, in their first full-scale appearance (earlier events in issues
#305-306 are shown to be related to the Phalanx).
The Phalanx are absorbing people willy-nilly, and seem to be able to adapt to (become immune to)
mutant powers. Gambit is on his way to NYC when he sees the fight and joins in. A classic Gambit move:
the Phalanx absorbs his motorcycle and gloats about it; Gambit mentions that it just absorbed
gasoline too, and then he blows it up! Oh, yeah, Gambit and Yukio have crossed paths in the past.
Back at the mansion, Hank revives Bobby, who babbles about Pierce.
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #313
Jun 1994
|
Hands Across the Water: 1, 3
We learn that Emma Frost's mind has transferred to Iceman's body and vice versa. Remember that Jean Grey's
mind was in Emma Frost back in issue #281? There have been more people inside Emma's
body than... Oh, nevermind; back to the action. Gambit, Storm, and Yukio continue to fight the Phalanx,
but now we learn that Steven Lang (a name from the past) is the brains of the Phalanx. He's also created
something called Douglock which is a cross between Doug Ramsey and Warlock, two beloved former
members of the New Mutants. Not surprisingly, Cameron Hodge is there too (see
issue #306).
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #314
Jul 1994
|
Early Frost: 1, 3
Frost is in Iceman's body (I bet Marvel waited years for something to make of the similarity in their
names!) and she's a stronger Iceman than Bobby was! She also doesn't believe that her Hellions are dead
(issue #282). She heads off to the Frost Enterprises building and sees the truth for
herself in her computer. Xavier and the X-Men try to console her. As a side note, Bishop is working out
in the Danger Room and a holographic version of his sister Shard is there too. He carries
a copy of her persona on a disc, and he feels guilty/responsible for her death.
|
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| Uncanny X-Men #315
Aug 1994
|
Peers: 1, 3
Up on Magneto's Avalon, Piotr/Colossus is defending Neophyte, who's being tried for treason
(issue #300). After a trial mostly involving the philosophies and politics
of the Acolytes, Neophyte is eventually exiled. Apparently not a bad issue, but it's definitely
a filler before the big Phalanx Covenant cross-over...
|
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| The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1
May 1994
The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
|
Wish You Were Here:
Scott and Jean are hanked from honeymoon on St. Bart's to find themselves in different bodies in a strange place, in the middle of a battle.
They're rescued by their own daughter, Rachel, and she fills them in. It's 2000 years in the future (roughly the year 4000, I guess), and
Rachel was leading the Clan Askani in a fight against Apocalypse, who had finally succeeded in making mutants the dominant race. Life is
miserable for "flatscans", and even weak mutants are hunted and killed. Apocalypse is unable to keep transferring from body to body, though,
and he's looking for a new vessel that can contain his enormous power. His plan was to take over the body of Nathan, Scott and Maddy's son.
Some time ago, Nathan was infected with the transmode techno-organic virus, and Rachel took him to the future (X-Factor #68).
There, the Askani cared for and protected him. They even made a healthy clone to keep Nathan hidden from Apocalypse. Just before Scott and Jean
got yanked into this timeline, Apocalypse attacked the Askani to get Nathan, but he got the clone instead!
After Rachel explains all this to Scott and Jean, she imbues their new bodies with their old mutant powers (which did not originally get transferred). This takes all of Rachel's strength (the Phoenix force left her recently), and she collapses. The timing is perfect, though, as just then Apocalypse's head warrior, Ch'vayre shows up with baby Nathan. The baby is still so ravaged by the techno-organic virus that Ch'vayre doesn't recognize him for who he is. He holds the baby up to lure Rachel, Scott, and Jean out of hiding. They take the bait, attack (surprising Ch'vayre with their mutant powers), rescue Nathan, and escape! |
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| The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #2
Jun 1994
The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
|
Tenure:
Five years later, Scott and Jean are masquerading as Slym and Redd Dayspring. They don't tell Nate that they are his real parents, for some reason though.
Jean is instructing Nate in how to use his mutant powers to hide the effects of the techno-organic virus (his left arm and right eye look robotic, not human).
They arrive at a new city, and meet up with a half-person/half-machine called Prior Turrin. At first, the issue states that Scott and Jean don't know him,
but then they ask if their cargo arrived. I'm not sure how they would know Turrin (and it's never even explained what the cargo is!), but Turrin is a
powerful man who wants to overthrow Apocalypse, so it's a fortuitous relationship.
The only other thing that happens in this issue is that we get to see the boy (Nate's clone) being raised/trained by Apocalypse. He's called Stryfe, and he's like a spoiled brat, except that when he's mad, he kills people! |
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| The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #3
Jul 1994
The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
|
Through The Years:
Scott and Jean (Slym and Redd) are helping Turrin and his people fight against Apocalypse On one raid, they discover that Apocalypse is still working
on the Legacy Virus, although it kills humans and mutants alike (Apoc's goal is for it to wipe out all humans). Nate follows his parents on this raid,
and when he sees them get ambushed by Ch'vayre and Stryfe, he tries to help but something prevents him (and a voice in his head says to stay). The voice
calls Nate "little brother" and directs him to a computer console where he initiates a self-destruct sequence. Stryfe finds him, though, and they realize
that they're clones. Stryfe attacks Nate, and the voice helps Nate use his power to stop Stryfe. Nate's techno-organic virus starts to run rampant, though,
and his whole body begins to distort and change. He escapes with his parents, just as the whole facility is destroyed (Stryfe brings the Legacy Virus back to
the "normal" X-Men timeline in the X-Cutioner's Song). Nate tells his parents that he was helped by a voice in his head, and her name is Rachel.
We haven't seen or heard about Rachel since the escape from the Askani cloister in issue #1, and now we see that Rachel is in a coma, being kept alive by medical
equipment (I assume she is the "cargo" Jean asked Turrin about last issue). Anyway, Scott realizes that Rachel is still helping them, and he goes to her to thank
her and say that he loves her.
|
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| The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #4
Aug 1994
The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
|
Sacrifice:
Scott and Jean have been in this timeline for about 12 years, and the onset of puberty has caused Nate's techno-organic virus to take over his body. He's nearly
dead, and Scott and Jean are desperate. Rachel reaches out to Nate again, and tells him that his entire incredible mutant ability is going to have to be used
for the rest of his life just for the purpose of keeping the techno-organic virus under control. Nate does this and revives.
Apocalypse tries to transfer his essence to Stryfe's body, but can't because he's a clone, not the original. Scott, Jean, and Nate attack Apocalypse at this moment,
and he's too weak to fight them off. It appears as is, 2000 years from now, Apocalypse is finally destroyed!
After defeating Apocalypse, Scott and Jean's presence in this timeline begins to fade. Jean leaves first, but has a heart-to-heart with Rachel, who's about to die. Rachel wants Jean to carry the Phoenix name, and she agrees. Scott's goodbye is heart-wrenching, but from his perpective and Nate's. This is one of the best storylines or miniseries in the entire X-Men history. The intense parental angst, Nate's internal struggle, and a great story with one of the X-Men's toughest adversaries. It doesn't get better than this! |
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| X-Men Unlimited #5
Jun 1994
|
Hard Promises:
A Shi'ar warrior shows up at the mansion and insists that Charles, Storm, Forge, and Jubilee come with him (no explanation given).
They're taken to a planet named Hala, recently added to the Shi'ar Empire (by force). I guess Charles is expected to take his
place as the Royal Consort. (Frankly, I don't know how Charles (a good guy) can stand the Shi'ar (who are pretty ruthless).)
Jubilee runs into some rebels who are still fighting against Shi'ar control, especially since Lilandra gave control of this planet
to her sister, Deathbird. Jubilee talks the Professor into convincing Lilandra to listen to the rebels' complaints. The talks
start off well, but 2 rebels take off to sabotage everything by blowing up the stargate. The main rebel leader (Malakii)
helps stop them, but when it's over Deathbird insists that he be arrested as a terrorist. Lilandra doesn't stop it, and
her cold-heartedness breaks Charles' heart.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| X-Men Unlimited #9
Sep 1994
|
Primal Scream:
Havoc is kidnapped by two of Magneto's mutates, who are now working for Sauron. The human side of Sauron (Karl Lykos) has been completely
suppressed by his animal side, and he's draining the lifeforce of Savage Land natives like a junkie. Havoc's energy can somehow feed
Sauron indefinitely, so Sauron figures Havoc is the only one who can sustain him. Scott, Jean, and Lorna track Havoc down, but their
first attempt at rescue leaves all of them as Sauron's prisoners. Lorna and Jean break out, free the others and take off. Sauron chases
them, they fight some more, and Sauron gets knocked out. Jean goes into his mind, and watches his human side (Karl) commit psychic
suicide in an attempt to stop Sauron. He doesn't stop Sauron completely, but it does wipe out all of his intelligence, reverting him
to nothing more than a regular pteranodon.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Uncanny X-Men #316
Sep 1994
The Origin of Generation X
(aka, Tales of the Phalanx Covenant)
|
Encounter (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 1: Generation Next, Part 1):
In Monaco, a daughter of a wealthy man is attacked by a member of the Phalanx. He destroys their $2,000,000 limousine
and kills the driver. Even the girl's protector, a former head of MI-6, can't stop the creature. The girl (Monet St. Croix)
hasn't spoken in months, and doesn't even put up a fight as the Phalanx teleports
away with her. Back at the X mansion, Banshee returns from Muir Island (disillusioned with his relationship with Moira) and finds
the Prof has actually gone off to Muir Island. Cyclops & Jean Grey call in after their honeymoon (and after
The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix) with an idea about curing the Leagacy Virus. Banshee tells them the Prof is at Muir Island,
and they're off to find him. The other X-Men at the mansion are acting weird, and Archangel really freaks out that Banshee told
"unauthorized personnel" the location of the Prof. Banshee starts nosing around, and with the help of the mansion's computer,
realized that the only mutants in the mansion are Sabretooth, Juliee, Emma Frost, and himself. That makes Iceman, Storm, Rogue, Gambit,
and Bishop... Phalanx! Banshee lets Sabretooth out of his cell (put he's still restrained). Creed rescues Emma and Jubilee while
Sean investigates some more. He sees that the Phalanx are accessing files on new mutants (Generation Next), and decides to
stop their data-gathering by blowing everything up!
|
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| X-Men #36
Sep 1994
The Origin of Generation X
|
Drop the Leash (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 1: Generation Next, Part 2):
Here's a little background on what's been going on with the X-Men since my last update for issue #26:
Sinister looks for a cure to the Legacy Virus, more stuff with the whole Psylocke/Revanche mess, and Scott and Jean get married!
Banshee, Jubilee, Frost, and Sabretooth start tracking down the new mutants that the Phalanx are looking for. They rescue Everett Thomas (Synch), but they're attacked again later and Sabretooth escapes. Meanwhile, the Phalanx grab Paige Guthrie (Sam's sister). |
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| Uncanny X-Men #317
Oct 1994
The Origin of Generation X
|
Enter Freely and of Your Own Will (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 1: Generation Next, Part 3):
Paige Guthrie has been captured by the Phalanx. She wakes up in a cell with Angelo (Skin, Gregor, Clarice (Blink, and Monet (M).
Paige is infected with the transmode virus (first appeared in New Mutants #46), apparently from being in contact with the Phalanx.
(Why is she the only one infected?) The new mutants are confronted by a Phalanx entity known as Harvest. Clarice starts to use her mutant power on him
(she can disconnect parts of his body from each, sort of a spatial slide), but Gregor stops her. Monet finally speaks up - she's built a weapon from her
techno-organic prison suit, and blasts Gregor (he was a Phalanx!). Monet must have some problems (she hadn't spoken for months up until this), but she seems
incredibly brilliant! They break out of their cell, only to find that they're on a large, military-looking ship in the ocean.
Meanwhile, our erstwhile X-Men (Banshee, Jubilee, Frost, and Thomas) have tracked Paige's telepathic link to San Francisco. Banshee and Frost
break into a SHIELD building to use their sensors. They're caught, but find what they want and knock out the soldiers.
|
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| X-Men #37
Oct 1994
The Origin of Generation X
|
The Currents Shift (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 1: Generation Next, Part 4):
The new mutants fight against the Phalanx, and the X-Men and Sabretooth arrive to save them. After the first big battle, Sabretooth smells something
wrong with Paige, and rips her with his claws. Her skin was infected with the transmode virus - Sabretooth's action saved her like by allowing her to
"shed" her own skin. She gets the nickname Huck because of this mutant ability; it's one of the grossest abilities I've seen - and one of the
most useless! Anyway, the Phalanx named Harvest attacks again and Blink decides that she's the only one who can stop the Phalanx. She uses her incredible
power to keeping "shifting" the Phalanx and the area around him, including herself. She eventually shifts the Phalanx and herself right out of existence.
The X-Men and the new mutants are devasted by her sacrifice.
|
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| X-Factor #106
Sep 1994
The Origin of Generation X
|
Life Signs (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 2: Life Signs, Part 1):
Here's a little background on what's been going on with X-Factor since my last update for issue #92:
Rahne heads to Muir Island but reverts to "mutate" form and returns (to Alex!), Forge takes over from Val as mentor of X-Factor and he appoints
Alex (Havoc) as the team leader, Random attacks Lorna (Polaris), Jamie (Multiple Man) is infected with the Legacy Virus (from a mutate in
issue #91), a terrorist named Haven and her brother Monsoon cause trouble for a few issues, Haven heals Rahne
so Rahne sides with her (Val does too), Haven tries to heal Jamie, but he dies, Monsoon and Val team up to stop Haven from killing off the world,
Alex blames himself for Jamie's death and leaves but gets possessed by Malice, Lorna comes after Alex and ends up fighting Malice, Sinister shows
up to stop Malice (and kills her?), and Jamie returns???
X-Factor and X-Force show up on Mont Saint Francis, a former hideout of Magneto's, now used as a hideout by Xavier, Moira, and X-Calibur. The updates everyone on what's been going on: Muir Island was attacked by Phalanx and they fled to this monastery, meanwhile the Phalanx are tracking down new mutants (see Book 1 of the Phalanx Covenant) and they have also captured the X-Men, he's sent Wolverine and Cable to rescue the X-Men (see Book 3 of the Phalanx Covenant). After the recap, Rahne goes in search of Douglock (see Uncanny X-Men #313), but no one sure what Douglock really is and if they can trust him (he's the same techno-organic race as the Phalanx). It doesn't take long for Douglock to betray everyone though! He kidnaps/absorbs Forge (he claims to need Forge "maker" skills), Rahne (she asks to go with him), and Sam, and goes off to stop something called Babel. |
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| X-Force #38
Sep 1994
The Origin of Generation X
|
The Faith Dancers (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 2: Life Signs, Part 2):
Here's a little background on what's been going on with X-Force since my last update for issue #25:
Cable recovers from Magneto's vicious attack, Roberto becomes the villain Reignfire and leads the new MLF (joined by Dani!),
X-Force and the MLF fight (but no one wins?), Domino joins X-Force, there's an interesting back-story about Theresa (Siryn) and Black Tom,
there's another inane Upstarts plot, we learn that Stryfe killed Rictor's father, there's a fight with Nimrod (which is stopped by X-Force convincing
Nimrod that it's too early in the timeline to start a mutant-human war?), and there's an issue about Sam (Cannonball) and the Externals (I don't
quite understand that relationship).
Douglock brings Forge, Sam, and Rahne to a village in the Italian Alps, where everyone has been converted to Phalanx. Charles makes mental contact with Forge, and they discover what's going on - the Phalanx have created a breeding ground. Later, they discover a tower (Babel) built to communicate across the galaxy to signal the Phalanx's parent race. Douglock disguises Forge, Sam, and Rahne as Phalanx so they can sneak up on the Babel tower (made from humans converted into Phalanx). |
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| X-Calibur #82
Sep 1994
The Origin of Generation X
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The Light of a Tainted Sawn (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 3: Life Signs, Part 3):
Douglock, Forge, Sam, and Rahne are captured by the Phalanx. Douglock pretends to betray them so he'll be left free.
The Phalanx sees through it and adds his body to the Babel tower,
leaving only Forge free since they need his help. Forge is so much in awe of the beauty of their technology that he can't resist!
Just as Douglock, Sam, and Rahne begin to ascend the Babel tower to stop the transmission, the other X-teams attack, too. Doug decides the only
way to stop the transmission is to jam the signal with his body, sacrificing himself. Nightcrawler find Forge, who's been left to tend to the
Phalanx's "nursery". He struggles for a long time before reaching the conclusion that he must destroy the Phalanx. Doug rises from the
remains of the tower.
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| Wolverine #85
Sep 1994
The Origin of Generation X
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Full Shred Thrash (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 3: Final Sanction, Part 1):
Here's a little background on what's been going on with Wolverine since my last update for issue #75:
After Magneto ripped the adamantium from Wolverine's body, he leaves the X-Men and heads back to Canada (to someone named Heather). Deathstrike hears
he's back around and attacks, but stops when she hears he doesn't have the adamantium. Some other baddies name Cylla and Bloodstream
also track him down and attack. He heads to Scotland next, where he's attacked by someone name Cyber (a Wolverine impersonator?). A friend (?)
named Culloden helps Logan get to Muir Island, where Cyber attacks again. I think Logan goes to Japan next (?), followed by another trip to Canada,
where there's more stuff with Heather, Bloodscream, and a Wendigo. (I've never heard of so much craziness in 10 issues!)
After returning from their honeymoon and talking to Banshee, Scott and Jean head to Muir Island. It's overrun by Phalanx, but Wolverine and Cyclops show up to help out (the Prof called them Muir Island before he was driven off). They want to retrieve something from Muir Island before the Phalanx get it, so they mount an assault. Scott and Jean are giddy with being able to work with Cable, whom they've just spent the last 12 years raising (in the future). They get what they need, blow the rest up, and take off in an old (non-technical) airplane piloted by a friend of Wolverine's named Harry. |
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| Cable #16
Oct 1994
The Origin of Generation X
|
The Phalanx Sanction (The Phalanx Covenant, Book 3: Final Sanction, Part 2):
Figuring out the Phalanx citadel is in Tibet, they head there (from Scotland!) and crash the plane into the citadel, jumping out first. BTW, the Phalanx
is mostly run by Dr. Stephen Lang and Cameron Hodge. Lang no realizes that his dream of wiping out mutants is off course, and all of mankind
is in danger. He conspires with Psylocke to betray the Phalanx, and he sets about blowing up the other Phalanx centers around the world. Wolverine lets out the
other X-Men (oh, yeah, they were imprisoned here - this really wasn't explained well), a big fight ensues, and the citadel blows up. Before Hodge
slides off the edge of the mountain, he grabs Lang and they both fall. (Presumably they show up again sometime?) Meanwhile, out it space, a techno-organic
being (Magus?) sense the end of the Phalanx presence on Earth, and decides he should pay a visit (but never does).
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| Generation X #1
Nov 1994
The Origin of Generation X
|
Third Genesis:
The "Gen X" team is living at Emma's old school with Emma and Banshee as their leaders. Oh, and M can fly. That didn't seem to be mentioned before.
(Can Synch also fly? Looked like it right after Blink died.) Jubilee's been tranferred from the X-Men, but can't stop saying
"when I was with the X-Men...", getting on everyone's nerves.
Banshee, Jubilee, and Synch head out to meet "the new kid". After they leave, M spots Gateway, and apparently she has a long history with him. (If she's such a "new" mutant, how did she build up this history with Gateway? And what, exactly, are her powers? She seems to literally know everything!) She guesses that someone's "back", as if she knows what's about to happen. The others are at Logan Airport in Boston to meet their newest recruit, Jonothon Starsmore (Chamber). After getting off the plane, he's attacked by someone named Emplate (think an insane version of Neil Gaiman's Sandman crossed with something from a Lovecraftian nightmare). M has Gateway teleport the rest of the team to help out, and they do quite well against Emplate, especially the new guy. (Emplate can't "read" M like he can everyone else, leading to more mystery surrounding her.) Emplate disappears, but not before threatening that he'll be back. He and his creepy chauffeur (D.O.A.) head off to a lighthouse, where there's supposed to be a woman held prisoner as some sort of "sustenance" for Emplate. However, she has gone, and by coincidence (ha!) Gateway brings a woman named Penance to the mansion. I've never read another issue of Generation X, so here's a little summary of some of their interesting
adventures: that girl Penance has razor-sharp skin and gradually/grudgingly becomes part of the team, they have a medieval adventure thanks to Synch's powers,
"Jono" (Chamber) and Paige begin to flirt; Emplate turns Chamber's ex-girlfriend (Gayle Edgerton) into a monster like him (Chamber crippled
her when his power manifested); it's revealed that Emplate is M's brother (!) and he killed (?) their mother. Even later, it's revealed that M
is not the real Monet St. Croix, but actually her two younger sisters who can merge. And, you guessed it, Penance is the real Monet. I guess that
didn't site well with fans, and I don't blame them - that's lame. Still, I liked what I saw of M and Emplate, and Chamber was also an interesting
character with an amazing power.
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| X-Men Unlimited #7
Dec 1994
|
Memories:
Storm returns to Cairo (with Jean and Gambit) to visit her old mentor, Achmed, before he dies. One of Achmed's new urchins, Jamil, is
anxious to be in charge of the others. Candra (the External) shows up and is trying to persuade him to follow her direction (it's not clear
what her motive is - I don't know why she cares about running the Cairo pickpockets). There are a couple fights between the X-Men and Candra,
but no one realy wins. Eventually, Candra leaves and Jamil chooses to go with her. Storm returns to Achmed, just before he dies.
All in all, I pretty good issue. The stuff with Storm's past and Achmed is good, although I thought setting up Jamil to be a future villian
was melodramatic.
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| X-Men Unlimited #8
Oct 1995
|
First Contact:
A high-school boy named Chris Bradley develops mutant powers (some type of electrical power). He's obviously freaked out about it,
and even his best friend begins to be afraid of him. Jean and Remy show up, talk to the family, and bring him to live at the mansion.
He begins to learn about his power, trains with the X-Men, and becomes friends with Bobby (Iceman). Just when he's starting to feeling
comfortable being a mutant, they find out he has the Legacy Virus. He's sent home to live out his remaining days with his parents.
His (former) best friend is still afraid of him, but the girl he had a crush stands by him. This issue is obviously a setup - introduce
the poor, troubled teen, give him some hope, and then crush that hope. Despite that clichéd plot, if you invest a little empathy
into Chris, it's a good story.
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| X-Men Unlimited #9
Dec 1995
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Horse Latitudes:
Lee Forrester finds a man named Paolo adrift at sea. His ship disappeared a month ago, and she calls in the X-Men (Beast, Psylocke, and Wolverine)
to help figure out what's going on. Seems a little overkill for a missing-ship mystery, but it turns out to be a good thing the X-Men head out with Lee
as Psylocke discovers a real nasty villain called Bloodscream in Paolo's memories. Bloodscream soon attacks, and his "pirates" are hypnotized
sailors, captured from ships gone missing in this area (if you didn't guess, yes, they are in the Bermuda triangle). After the first sea battle,
they chase Bloodscream into some mist, only to discover a floating island hiding inside. Wolverine recognizes it as the sorceror Belasco's
(from Uncanny X-Men #160. Belasco's fortress on the island has changed in ways that bug Wolverine (it's bigger, the wall-
carvings are more ominous, etc,), although I'm not sure that was explained. Belasco does capture them all fairly quickly, and then explains his plans.
He found an "ancient and alien cairn" (Beast recognizes it as a N'Garai cairn, seen in Uncanny X-Men #143?) and Belasco opens it.
Well, a N'Garai demon comes out and attacks everyone. Wolverine kills it (impressive!), but Belasco recovers and open the N'Garai gateway all the way,
and Kierrok himself comes out (last seen in Uncanny X-Men #96?). Lee shoots a crystal that was giving Belasco some of his power,
and the whole island/fortress starts to get sucked into the N'Garai dimension. Bloodscream shows back up at this point He had thought Belasco was going
to "redeem" him, but now realizes that he was just a pawn in Belasco's plans. Bloodscream attacks Belasco, and they're stucked into a vortex (to the
N'Garai dimension?) while the others escape. This was a fun issue - pirates, sorcerors, demons - what's not to like?
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| Askani'son #1
Feb 1996
Askani'son
|
The Shadow Lengthens:
Nathan Dayspring (aka, Cable) is probably around 18 years old and things haven't gotten much better since he and his parents killed Apocalypse
(see The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoneix). Nathan and his friend Tetherblood are captured by the new rulers,
the Canaanites, who aren't much better than Apocalypse. They meet a creature (mutant?) called Blaquesmith,
who seems to know a lot about Nathan. Blaquesmith pulls a glowing ball of energy out of Nathan's body. The ball introduces itself as the Professor,
and says "it's been a long time." (Could this be the spirit of Professor Xavier, somehow embedded inside Nathan???) Blaquesmith then psionically frees Nathan
and Tetherblood from their shackles and tells them to run while he covers for them. (He's apparently killed by the guards, but he's back next issue, so either he
can't be killed or he's good at illusions.) We also catch glimpses of the Askani (who have re-grouped after Apocalypse destroyed their cloister many years ago),
their leader Sanctity (who's insane), and a sister called Aliya who's told to get ready for the arrival of the Askani'son.
We also catch a glimpse of Ch'vayre who's trying (but failing) to teach Stryfe how to be a good leader. Stryfe activates an android called Unit Zero.
Meanwhile, the Canaanite who captured Nathan (Umbridge)
receives instructions from Tribune Haith to find the "messiah" that the Askani are looking for and destroy him and all the Askani. Somehow Umbridge
figures out this must be the boy she arrested (Nathan), but they escape before she can get back to him.
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| Askani'son #2
Mar 1996
Askani'son
|
A Tiny Spark:
Nathan and Tetherblood get into a bar-fight w/ more 'strators. Afterwards, Blaquesmith shows back up. He lectures Nathan, and then literally disappears.
Hw see him, however, on the astral plane having a conversation with Professor, like they're old friends. Meanwhile, everyone decides to converge on the new Askani
hideout in Ebonshire (Nathan, Umbridge, and Stryfe). Nathan and Tetherblood part ways.
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| Askani'son #3
Apr 1996
Askani'son
|
An Ember Glows:
Arriving near Ebonshire, Nathan comes across the wreckage of a ship (carrying Umbridge). Alsmot everyone on board is dead, although it's not clear if they died from
a crash, or from the creepy alien-looking Dregon roaming the ship. Despite the Professor's protestations, Nathan attacks it, and it quickly overpowers him. He's saved
by Aliya (the Askani girl), but she thinks he's one of the pirates from the ship. The rescue the one survivor on the ship (Umbridge!) and head "to safety" On the way,
they're attacked by insectoids called Loci. Nathan is trying hard to impress Aliya, but then he gets stabbed by the creatures, which at least shows him that Aliya
is concerned about him. When they get to the Askani hideout, Aliya takes Nathan to Sanctity, who announces that he is the Askani'son!
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| Askani'son #4
May 1996
Askani'son
|
A Bright and Shining Light:
Sanctity trots Nathan out in front of everyone at Ebonshire, but he can't stand the big to-do, and slinks off. Aliya joins him, and they both admit they don't
like this messiah-angle, and Aliya even says she thinks Sanctity is insane (she's right!). We finally see Umbridge again, who's following Nathan around like a
puppy (Nathan doesn't trust her though - good instincts!). She makes some mental (?) connection to Tribune Haight, who's leading a fleet of ships to attack
the Askani. Tetherblood has snuck on board, posing as a soldier (he heard Tribue Haight talking of Ebonshire before the fleet left). Also flying nearby
is Stryfe's ship. Stryfe is frustrated (he's such a spoiled brat), and he finally kills Ch'vayre. Ch'vayre had been tyring to betray and kill Stryfe for some
time, so it was really fair, but this was a dumb plot line (Unit Zero, however, is much more interesting!). Meanwhile, Blaquesmith shows up in Ebonshire
and reminds Nathan that he's hear to be trained by the Askani. Nate mentions that Sanctity is crazy, and Blaquesmith says that he didn't say that Sanctity would
be his teacher. He realizes that Aliya is supposed to be his teacher, but the moment is broken by the attack of the Canaanite ships. Sanctity turns out to
be pretty powerful, and causes the attacking ships to crash into one another. Haight is upset - Stryfe is impressed! Back on the ground, after surviving
the first attack from the ships, Aliya is intrigued by Nathan, but once again they're interrupted - this time by Umbridge. She's got the drop on them, and
could have killed them (every villain has to gloat first!), but they're saved by Tetherblood. Meanwhile, it looks like Sanctity gets killed by Haight's ship,
but Stryfe (or Zero?) teleported her away. He wants her to join with him. He looks just like the Askani'son, and she agrees. (Does that alliance lead to anything?)
I was fairly disappointed in this miniseries. I've never read any Cable comics except for crossovers, so I was looking forward to learning more about the Professor and Blaquesmith, but beyond showing their first encounters, we don't actually learn anything! Also, this series tried to do too much (Umbridge, Haight, Stryfe, etc.). It would have been much more cohesive with only a single villain to focus on - naturally, it should have been Stryfe! Overall, a big disappointment, especially when compared to the other related miniseries, The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoneix. |
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| Day of Wrath #1
Sep 1996
X-Men vs. Brood
|
Way back in issue #234, Hannah Connover was infected by the Brood. She only now figures out that something's wrong with her, and that when she's been "healing" people, she's actually been infecting them. Nearby, Scott and Jean are vacationing in Sedona, AZ, and Jean senses the Brood in Hannah. The X-Men (Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Bishop, Beast, Iceman, and Cannonball) gather up and track Hannah down. They reach her just as four of the Firstborn reach her (the Firstborn are the Empress's Brood, and they've been sent to kill Hannah because she isn't a pure Brood; oh, they also kill Josey Thomas, too). In the first battle (which is pretty intense), the X-Men kill one of the Firstborn (the rest escape) and they leave with Hannah. Wolverine wants to kill Hannah (of course), but the other X-Men won't allow it (of course). She's the only one they've met who seemed to be able to control the Brood inside her (Cannonball thinks it's a "miracle"). Hannah's Brood shows up (all the people she's "healed"), and try to rescue her. Hannah doesn't want anyone to die for her, so she offers her life to the X-Men. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Day of Wrath #2
Oct 1996
X-Men vs. Brood
|
The Brood inside Hannah appears to take over for a moment (mentally) and she orders her Brood to attack the X-Men so that she can get away. Wolverine takes the fight too seriously, and Jean has to control his mind ("He's been getting more and more feral since losing his adamantium" [issue #???]). After Hannah and her Brood get away, Bishop gets his bigger gun (yea!), and they track Hannah down again. They arrive just as she's being attacked by the Firstborn (again). Jean and Cannonball get Hannah out of there, and then the Firstborn disappear (I didn't know they could do that!). The Firstborn capture Hannah's husband (William), and she goes to free him (in her Brood form). The reverend still loves his Brood wife! The X-Men show up and half the team engages the Firstborn (killing another one) and the other half go to the Connovers. Jean has a plan - Iceman freezes Hannah (with her husband's permission, not hers), and when the Firstborn can't take Hannah's mind, they assume she's died (kind of dumb for super-assassins) and the two remaining Firstborn kill each other. The X-Men take Hannah home and keep her in suspension at the mansion (although they will probably transfer her to Moira's facilities in Scotland), hoping that some day they will be able to figure out how to reverse the Brood infestation. [Do they ever figure it out???] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The Rise of Apocalypse #1
Oct 1996
The Rise of Apocalypse
|
Hammer & Chisel:
5000 years ago, a brutal Egyptian named Baal leads a group called the Sandstormers. After wiping out a village, they find a baby abandoned by the
villagers. They don't realize it, but he's the first true mutant, and they name him En Sabah Nur. He's rejected by the rest of the Sandstormers,
but he's protected by Baal and raised as a son. Baal believes the boy is destined for greatness, and takes him to the place where the current Pharaoh,
Rama-Tut, was found. Speaking of the Pharaoh, his vizier, Logos, brings the Pharaoh news of this strange but powerful boy in the desert,
and the Pharaoh wants the boy brought to him. He sends his general, Ozymandias, out to capture the boy. (Ozymandias was from the ruling family before
Rama-Tut showed up, and would love to get rid of the Pharaoh. His sister, Nephri is to be married to the Pharaoh.) Ozymandias attacks the Sandstormers,
but almost everyone dies when the ground caves in. Coincidently, En Sabah Nur and Baal are directly underneath the battleground, in the secret place where
Rama-Tut was found by Baal. His "vessel" crashed to earth and he was saved by Baal and his people; Rama-Tut later used his advanced weapons to enslave the people
and become the Pharaoh, but the Sandstormers never revealed the location of this vessel to him.
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| The Rise of Apocalypse #2
Nov 1996
The Rise of Apocalypse
|
Blood of the Father:
The underground cavern (where Baal was showing En Sabah Nur the artifacts of Rama-Tut) collapses, and they're both critically injured. En Sabah Nur is able to
recover, though, and he leads Baal looking for a way out. They come across a computer, and Baal tells him more about when Rama-Tut arrived, and how Baal found
something Rama-Tut wanted (the Eye of the Ages) and saw inside in a man powerful enough to defeat Rama-Tut. Of course, that man is En Sabah Nur, and he's the reason
Rama-Tut came here from the future (he wants to shape the fate of En Sabah Nur and make him his heir). Baal's injuries take their toll, and he dies. En Sabah Nur
mourns for the man who was like a father to him (but, after seeing what Baal did at the beginning of the first issue, I can't feel any sympathy). When En Sabah Nur
finally emerges from underground, the vizier Logos is there, waiting for him. He wants to take En Sabah Nur under his protection, so that they can destroy the Pharaoh.
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| The Rise of Apocalypse #3
Dec 1996
The Rise of Apocalypse
|
The Face of the Gods:
Ozymandias realizes that Nur is masquerading as a slave working on the pyramids, but is distracted by a fiery object crashing to earth. For some reason,
it's the Fantastic Four (this is lame). The Pharaoh recognizes them (he's from the future too) and imprisons them. Nur meets Nephri, falls in love,
and they plot to overthrow the Pharaoh. They're caught (along with Logos), and the Pharaoh unmasks Nur (the most visible aspect of his mutation is his face).
Nephri turns from Nur in disgust, and Nur tries to kill the Pharaoh, who shoots him with his secret (the lamely-named ultra-diode ray).
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| The Rise of Apocalypse #4
Jan 1997
The Rise of Apocalypse
|
The First Culling:
The Pharaoh wants Nur back, so Ozymandias uses Nephri as bait. Nur falls for it, and tries to rescue Nephri. In the process, he learns how to
use his mutant power, which give him the ability to change his body (make it bigger, stronger, etc.). Nur rescues Nephri, but she rejects him,
and he promises he will be the Apocalypse. He head toward the Sphinx, to take the Pharaoh's secrets and power, and finds Ozymandias.
Apocalypse binds Ozymandias to him, for all eternity. Meanwhile, the Pharaoh is fighting the Fantastic Four, but loses and takes off in a spaceship bured in the Sphinx
(the Fantastic Four apparently leave in their own time machine). The Egyptians bow down to Apocalypse, but he heads out to the desert. Fifty years later,
he returns to gloat over a dying Nephri, and then assumes his "rightful" place as leader.
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Credits I haven't read all of the issues listed here. Any issues listed in a grey text comes from these other resources:
- Darren Duncan's Chronology (great reference for timelines, issue titles, and many summaries)
- Albert's X-Men Files, Vol. #1-16 (nice summaries of and commentaries on issues #120-280)
- Paul O'Brien's X-Axis (detailed Uncanny/X-Men summaries and commentaries)
- Rajiv Mote's X-Men Continuity Guide (one-line summaries of issues #94-357)
Despite the reputation of the Web as the place to find anything, I've found that sites and documents that I value do occassionally simply disappear! So, for items like the aforementioned texts, I'd recommended keeping a bookmark of the source and a local copy for yourself! Hopefully, you will find this document as valuable, and want to keep a local copy of this, too. :-)