Uncanny X-Men 243 - Inferno

There's a sinister presence in both Jean's mind and the mansion.

Uncanny X-Men #243

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Guest Inker: Hilary Barta
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

In the aftermath of the Inferno Jean suddenly cries out in pain and erects a force globe. To help her Psylocke takes Cyclops, Wolverine and Storm into her mind where they find Jean's memories interspersed with Phoenix's and Madelyne's with Mr Sinister steadily destroying Phoenix's memories. It becomes clear that Jean and Madelyne's essences are merging but Mr Sinister will destroy them if not stopped. The Madelyne portion initially refuses to help, preferring to see them destroyed but after appeals by Wolverine and Storm and the appearance of Mr Sinister a united Jean erupts with power and expels Sinister from her mind. Jean discovered Sinister was coming from Professor Xavier's mansion and so most of the two teams head there in two groups, one flying and the other through the Morlock tunnel link, whilst the Beast and Longshot take Jean's parents and Nathan Christopher Charles to the surface of Ship for safety. There Longshot and the Beast argue over who should go to join the others. The group heading through the tunnel encounter the Marauder Blockbuster, still transformed into a demonic form and not reverted despite the end of the Limbo magic. Most are overwhelmed but Havok blasts him down and admits he's changed to now do what is necessary with his power. In the mansion's hanger Sabretooth attacks Psylocke and Rogue but the former mind blasts him down. The others find the mansion ransacked and are attacked by Malice/Polaris who is quickly taken down but proclaims that the two have merged into a gestalt and will be killed before being separated. Storm threatens her/them unless she/they talk when suddenly a huge explosion destroys the mansion. Mr Sinister appears and pulls Jean from the rubble then orders Malice/Polaris to kill the unconscious rest only for Longshot to arrive to defend them.

This is the issue that proclaims itself to be both "The 25th Anniversary Issue of the Uncanny X-Men and 150th Issue of the New X-Men". Although slightly late for the former it does nevertheless bring a lot of elements from the past. With the presence of Polaris all seven of the Silver Age X-Men are now present (and even Professor Xavier gets a cameo in the form of a shard of Jean's memory). There's a flashback to the most famous story in the book's history, the Dark Phoenix Saga, as well as a call-back to one of the most memorable from more recent times, the battle between Psylocke and Sabretooth. And there's a return to where it all began at the X-Men's mansion. We even get to see all of the different costumes the various versions of Jean have worn over the years. But this is no wallowing in nostalgia with continued clear signs of how the X-Men have been permanently changed by the magic of Inferno such that even their psychic forms are different. Havok has come to terms with using his power to kill when necessary. Storm is ruthless with Malice/Polaris, willing to risk killing her to obtain information. Psylocke quickly takes down Sabretooth showing how far she has come since their earlier conflict. Longshot realises what he became under the influence of the magic and worries he is still a "nastyman" who could betray his teammates. And the changes are not confined to the X-Men with Jean also transformed.

By effectively merging the memories of Jean, Jean-Phoenix and Madelyne the resulting composite is able to fully take the place of the Jean who was killed off over a hundred issues ago and easily interact with characters who don't know they were two different people. This seemingly includes the X-Men who still haven't been told how Jean was found alive and that the woman they saw die was the Phoenix force impersonating her. Along with the restoration of her telepathic powers it's a step towards fixing some of the remaining confusion caused by the requirements first to kill her off and then to bring her back that have caused so many of the problems that this whole crossover has sought to resolve. Jean is now vengeful, fully understanding Madelyne's pain and anger at being an artificial lifeform created, used and discarded by Sinister, and is determined to stop him for good. Cyclops is shocked by the implications but the X-Men do not dispute Jean's assertion that this is true to Xavier's dream that led him to found the school in the first place.

The ruthless destructive nature can be found on both sides with the mansion completely destroyed by Sinister. It's not the first time the mansion has been destroyed and won't be the last but it reflects the way that throughout much of Chris Claremont's run this has been a series about change and moving forwards, not resting on its laurels in a perpetual status quo. But it also avoids predictability by showing that not all the changes of Inferno are permanent with Longshot's fears seemingly groundless when the cliffhanger shows him standing up to Mr Sinister and Malice/Polaris in defence of his teammates.

Mr Sinister has been a presence at the edge of the X-Men's life for some time now, with the character first mentioned during the Mutant Massacre two years earlier and then first appearing in issue #221 but only fully confronting the team for the first time in this issue. It's been a steady build-up that has kept the character as a mysterious force to be reckoned with but also gives this anniversary issue another sense of moving forwards rather than back by using a significant villain for effectively the first time. The casual way in which he uses and discards others and even calmly tells Malice/Polaris this when she is trying to assert herself all add to the menace.

This presents itself as a double anniversary issue and does a lot to live up to that without becoming the sort of inconsequential wallowing in nostalgia and reunions that some anniversary issues have been. Instead it takes many elements from the series's past and fuses them together to push things on and show this is a book clearly going forwards not back.

Uncanny X-Men 242 - Inferno

The X-Men and X-Factor meet each other for the first time.

Uncanny X-Men #242

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

In Central Park the X-Men have found X-Factor and Madelyne Pryor, who is now in her civilian clothes and playing the meek manner wife. The teams are suspicious of each other, with X-Factor assuming the X-Men are dead and finding them much changed and darker, whilst the X-Men still believe X-Factor to be mutant buster bounty hunters. Several of the X-Men have become more extreme with Dazzler even more of a vain flirt, Longshot incredibly boastful, Wolverine even more ruthless and Havok ever more angry. N'astirh appears and threatens Madelyne at precisely the point when Jean is under attack by the demons who were her parents, forcing Cyclops to choose which woman to save - and he saves Jean. N'astirh takes Madelyne and Nathan Christopher away on a demonic coach with Havok grabbing onto the rear. At the Empire State Building Havok re-declares his loyalty to Madelyne who, now in the Goblin Queen costume again, proclaims him the "Goblin Prince". As they enter they are seen by Colossus, returning from helping the New Mutants, who cannot get into the building so proceeds to climb it. N'astirh plans to use Madelyne's energies to create a permanent link between Earth and Limbo by sacrificing Nathan Christopher, which his mother agrees to. In the park the battle between the two teams continues to rage until Storm takes Jean aside and the two renew their friendship. N'astirh attacks and both teams united to fight him, with Iceman directing Colossus at the demon who is pained by contact with the Russian's steel form. Combining their knowledge and powers they subject the techno organic demon to extreme cold and heat that causes his circuits to malfunction then Storm destroys him with a lightning bolt. Cyclops is displease with X-Men killing but Storm asserts her right as leader. However Madelyne now grabs Jean...

This is another double-sized issue yet curiously neither this nor the double-sized X-Factor #38 are the final issues of their series's contribution to the crossovers. This would appear to be a later change of plan as neither issues #243/#39 was included on the main advert for the event. Perhaps somebody got confused about anniversaries. As we'll see issue #243 proclaims itself to be both "The 25th Anniversary Issue of the Uncanny X-Men and 150th Issue of the New X-Men". That latter is true providing Giant-Size X-Men #1 is not included in the count which perhaps may be the source of confusion but either issue is a little late for celebrating the 25th anniversary on time which would be either an issue published in June or cover dated September so anywhere between #235 & #238 is the best guess (precise dates of publication for Silver Age comics aren't always clear due to varying sources and practices but for what it's worth in 1993 both the X-Men and Avengers - which originally came out on the same day - made the peak of their 30th anniversary celebrations the September cover dated issues released in July). But also adding to the complications are the succession of villains and key moments to be dealt with.

There's no denying the landmark significance of the issue. The original five X-Men have not appeared altogether in the series since issue #66 some eighteen years earlier. Much has happened since then, including the transformations of both the Beast and Death/Angel, the seeming death and return of Marvel Girl, the marriage and separation of Cyclops and the formation of X-Factor. It is undeniable that they have all changed in that time but they still believe in the original vision of Professor X. But it would be wrong to see them as simply a set of Silver Age characters whose presence allows for a contrast with the-then modern Dark Age successors though the scene where Cyclops and Storm argue about who is living up to the legacy of Professor Xavier's vision is more than just a continuation of their conflict over the leadership of the X-Men or a sign that X-Factor is still believed to be working as mutant bounty hunters despite the cover having been publicly abandoned some time ago.

For the X-Men have become much darker and this is not just the influence of the magic of Limbo. Over time they've become steadily harder and more ruthless with their foes, reflecting a darker world. Not all have changed at the same pace with some having noticeably found themselves disgusted at they've done but this is a team that has come a long way from even the early days of the New X-Men from before Jean was replaced by Phoenix. This is shown most dramatically in the way that Psylocke forces her way into Jean's mind without the latter's consent or when Storm calmly asserts that N'astirh needed to be destroyed and she had every right to make that decision.

Killing off N'astirh is a shocking moment even though he was only created for this storyline. Of the two feuding demons in Limbo he is by far the stronger creation and it would have been better to take advantage of Inferno to replace the far too comical S'ym with a far more dangerous threat should the realm be returned to. But the more immediate needs of this strand of the crossover is to remove the villains in succession and show the darkness of the modern X-Men so the more immediate needs take priority over the long-term needs. And removing N'astirh allows for a much greater focus on Madelyne in issues to come.

A large chunk of the extended issue is taken up with the fight between the two teams which even in 1988 had become a cliche of the genre but here it feels more natural than the average superhero fight over the smallest misunderstanding or disagreement. Instead it's a clear sign of the two very different paths the different team members have been on which makes it easy for Madelyne to manipulate them into reacting this way. This meeting has been a very long time coming because of editorial mandates to keep the two teams apart and an immediate team-up was never going to be credible. Old attitudes are brought to the forefront with many little moments between characters such as Death/Angel renewing his hostility towards Wolverine after the latter kisses Jean showing how suspicions remain. Both teams have gone through some unusual developments that add to the suspicions with the X-Men's official death and X-Factor's bounty hunter period both referenced. All this combines to make the lengthy fight a more realistic outcome.

This meeting of the two teams was a long time coming, frankly far longer than it needed to be, and so it deserves to be the main focus for a key issue of the crossover. It's a strong piece that really gets into the different characters and how they've all changed in different directions since the old days, thus giving us not a piece of nostalgia but a strong step forward.

Uncanny X-Men 241 - Inferno

The X-Men delve further into the darkness whilst Madelyne learns she's a gene substitute and a Jean substitute.

Uncanny X-Men #240

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Taskmaster: Tom DeFalco

The X-Men find themselves battling the Marauders in the streets of New York as animated objects and demons ravage the city. Most of the X-Men are affected by the magic in the atmosphere becoming or more brutal or vainer. Only Colossus seems immune and he learns from the demons of his sister's overthrowal in Limbo so sets off to help her. In Nebraska Mr Sinister tells Madelyne how she is in fact a clone of Jean Grey created by him after he failed to reach the real one. However she didn't come to life until the Phoenix force came to her at the moment Phoenix died on the Moon. He then gave her fake memories and manipulated her into meeting and ultimately marrying Scott Summers (Cyclops) then later stole her child for his own ends. However Madelyne proves more powerful than either Mr Sinister or N'astirh expected. The demon returns her child to her.

This is one of the single most important issues of the whole series. So let's get the X-Men side of the story out of the way first. There's a clear sign that the magic is twisting them with the artwork drawing them in darker forms - Wolverine almost looks like a demon in some panels - as they become ever more brutal. Although it's not shown on panel the implication is that they killed all the Marauders bar Malice/Polaris though given some of that team have survived a previous death it would seem they're actually clones created by Mr Sinister. Havok no longer has any inhibitions about using his plasma blasts in a way that could kill whilst Dazzler is becoming ever more boastful and vain. Even Storm is seeming to relish in it all. Colossus finds he is protected because of his steel form and realises the only way to help is to try to fight the demons at the source. This is a very dark step for the team as a whole.

But it's the revelations that this issue is most remembered for. As with many of the far reaching retcons in the series how one reacts to them is often tempered by the order in which they found things out. Practically the first ever X-Men issue I read (Uncanny X-Men Annual #17) stated that Madelyne was a clone of Jean Grey and I first read Inferno before the earlier years so I've always read Madelyne with the full knowledge that she was a clone rather than wondering if it was all just one of life's coincidences.

Madelyne Pryor's entire existence has been a by-product of interference by higher powers. No not Mr Sinister but Marvel. Two different orders from on high interfered with long-term plans for the series and forced changes. Originally Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix wasn't going to die in the Dark Phoenix Saga but be depowered completely. She and Scott would then be married and retired off, showing there was life after the X-Men. But first came an editorial order that Phoenix had to be properly punished because of the crime of genocide and so she was killed off. Some thirty issues later Scott encountered Madelyne Pryor, who looked just like Jean and suffered amnesia from a aeroplane crash at the same time as Phoenix's death but it seemed to be a coincidence. After a whirlwind romance the two married, Scott left the X-Men, they had a child and moved out west.

And then came the order to create X-Factor.

X-Factor saw the original X-Men reunited as a team and involved a lot of heavy lifting to get all five back together again. Controversially Phoenix was retconned into a separate entity who had impersonated Jean with the original found in suspended animation. And Scott rapidly abandoned Madelyne and their baby son to re-join his old team mates including his old girlfriend. His wife and child became surplus to requirements and a way had to be found to sweep them away. This was not helped by the different books taking different approaches.

(If some of this sounds a bit familiar it's because there are some obvious echoes of the Spider-Man Clone Saga including of some of the proposals for resolution. It took a long time to rebuild Scott Summers as a character after the way he rapidly abandoned his marriage and this may have been the precedent that prevented the Spider-Man writers from going down the route of divorce when they decided to end Peter Parker's marriage and try to restore something similar to the old relationship dynamic. Both characters had a happily ever after ending lined up for them to be living out west with their wife and child. Neither got very far down that route before editorial demands to restore the originals pulled them back. And some of the proposals for what to do to Mary Jane that made it into either Spider-Man 101 Ways to End the Clone Saga or the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon sound similar to the revelation here.)

Making Madelyne a clone with Mr Sinister manipulating things is a laudable attempt to try to recover Scott's character by reinforcing the idea that Jean was always the one for him and this carried over into both her duplicates. But it's not a perfect solution and still doesn't easily absolve him of desertion. Nor does it explain why Madelyne's similarity to Jean has not been explored properly. Steps have been taken by both Mr Sinister and the editors to avoid Jean and Madelyne actually meeting but there were other ways that the similarities could have been explored, especially before Jean's resurrection when many including Scott wondered if she was somehow Jean. Could neither Professor X nor Wolverine recognise a clone? Were there no detectives and/or scientists who could investigate fingerprints, blood types, DNA and so forth? The answer of course is that when those stories were written Madelyne was not intended to be a genetic duplicate of Jean but the retcon doesn't address this.

And whilst this revelation may be doing something to restore Scott the way it is delivered absolutely destroys Madelyne as a character. It's potentially possible to have both an original and a clone of the same person as characters although it does pose questions over who has prior rights. But here it reduces Madelyne to a mere tool of others, used for little more than breeding and now twisted by abandonment and demons into becoming a sinister force of her own. Notably both Mr Sinister and N'astirh soon discover that she is far more powerful than they suspected and potentially out of their control. Turning Madelyne into one of the main villains of the story offers strong potential for the crossover itself but it's difficult to see what can be done with her afterwards.

Issues with big retcons often have a lot of text and convoluted explanations as key developments have to be navigated around, sometimes including stories that aren't relevant to the current one. Here Mr Sinister's revelations all feel pretty relevant to the current situation as he first proves how Madelyne is a clone through having a key shared childhood memory before recounting her development, the encounter with the Phoenix and his manipulations to first get her together with Scott and then keep her from meeting Jean, helped by the use of the Marauders elsewhere in the issue. It serves to weave his role into events clearly and answers everything that can be reasonably addressed her.

The climax as Madelyne declares her determination to destroy is the capper for a highly memorable issue that has a lot of info dumping to impart but also moving the situation forward as almost every character is warped by the events around them into something much darker, building up strong tension for the next phase.

Uncanny X-Men 240 - Inferno

The X-Men seek revenge on the Marauders whilst Madelyne Pryor plans a longer revenge on Jean Grey.

Uncanny X-Men #240

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Madelyne and Alex go on a dinner date in New York seemingly oblivious to the odd things happening around them and endure a group of paranormal investigators who soon disappear. Back in the Outback the other X-Men relax when the computers locate the Marauders and they set off for revenge for the Mutant Massacre of the Morlocks. The battle is swift with the Marauders fleeing and the X-Men discovering something has happened to New York/ Meanwhile Madelyne visits the grave of Jean Grey and rants about her rival coming back from the dead before turning Jean's parents into goblins and meeting with N'astirh who takes her to the orphanage where they have a lead on her son. There she has memory flashes of being in a cocoon and finds her name on the side of one. She wants answers and the man who can give them appears - Mr Sinister who declares she can call him "Father".

The X-Men side of this issue is pretty straight forward and gives us a chance to see some of the characters at play. In particular Longshot has failed to understand how Dazzler sees him and starts fooling around with Rogue, oblivious to the anger this is causing. The pursuit of the Marauders has been coming for some time but when it does it's a pretty brutal showdown, reminding us how dark the X-Men are getting. However it feels more like it's marking time and providing an excuse to get the X-Men to New York than the main action.

The main focus of the issue is on Madelyne Pryor, the strange powers she's developing and her relations with various sinister figures. When on her date with Alex her dress changes shape in every single panel without comment whilst she clearly notices changes to the Empire State Building and something happening to the paranormal team (who look a bit like the Ghostbusters) but says nothing. Her anger is all too clear as she rants at what everyone thought was Jean Grey's gravestone, remembering her wedding day and Scott's vows. Her encounter with N'astirh is very different from her previous encounters with demons, now showing her power and making it clear who truly has the upper hand in the partnership. There's been a mystery about the character going back half a dozen years and it looks like answers are coming.

It's surprising that the main series is still building things up when Inferno is exploding elsewhere but this is something of a consequence of the X-Men's detachment from the rest of the Marvel universe and being based far from New York. But this issue shows a final step to the action whilst also offering resolution of one of the longest mysteries in the title's history to this time.

Uncanny X-Men 239 - Inferno

Mr Sinister reflects on the X-Men and what his plans might have come to.

Uncanny X-Men #239

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Bouncer: Tom DeFalco

In New York the Empire State Building is growing in size and one of its lifts consumes a family of tourists. Meanwhile Mr Sinister reflects on the X-Men and how he expected to one day confront them but now they are (presumed) dead. After calming down Malice who is unhappy with being permanently in the body of Polaris (Lorna Dane) Mr Sinister reflects on several of the X-Men individuality as, unbeknownst to him, they enjoy some relaxation time in Australia. Dazzler goes singing in a pub. Havok is coming to terms with the violent streak he has adopted including killed some of the Brood. Storm discovers that Jean Grey is alive and confronts Wolverine about his not telling her. Psylocke, Colossus and Rogue are training exercising with the latter temporarily taken over by Carol Danvers's psyche. And Madelyne is intriguing. She shows the ability to read Havok's thoughts and seduces him. Elsewhere Mr Sinister comments on how he had great plans for her then turns his attention to her son, Nathan Christopher Charles Summers. Madelyne and N'astirh communicate further.

This is a classic character piece between events that also serves to really introduce Mr Sinister after only one previous appearance. The character has been given a modified colour scheme with the green removed and instead his armour is now bluey-purple with red trimmings that will remain his default look for many years give or take some variation in just how blue or purple. It is a great improvement. His goals of replacing humans with mutants are straightforward but his plans remain a mystery since many of them were based around the X-Men. Otherwise he shows his power in calmly dealing with an angry Malice before continuing to reflect, not realising N'astirh is also watching.

With the X-Men relaxing one of the two big moments involves Storm discovering that Jean Grey is alive. This brings up yet another problem from the initial X-Factor set-up. Despite that title now having been around for three years the two teams have never actually met. They missed each other in the tunnels in the Mutant Massacre and then had separate contributions to both the Fall of the Mutants and the Evolutionary War. But X-Factor have not been some hidden organisation and during their mutant busters cover days their alternative disguises as the X-Terminators did not evade coverage either. It is astonishing that the X-Men have not previously seen any footage and realised who she is.

The main focus in Australia is on Madelyne as she seduces her brother-in-law, demonstrates telepathy, briefly has a flaming bird effect around her and communicates with N'astirh to arrange revenge on the Marauders and find her son. Successive issues have built up Madelyne towards this moment and there's a real sense of tragedy to her descent that makes her actions more credible.

This issue is a classic prologue character re-establishing piece and it does it well along with reintroducing Mr Sinister and making him seem a credible threat. Now the pieces are all in place for the conflagration ahead.

Uncanny X-Men 238 - Inferno Prologue

Fire erupts inside Madelyne amidst a showdown with the Genoshan magistrates.

Uncanny X-Men #238

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story concludes with this issue but we continue to see the dark side of the Genoshan miracle. Wolverine and Carol Danvers explore a camp where the mutates live and show Philip Moreau a side to his country that he just never thought about. Once again the parallels to real life leap out, in this case with the Bantustans where the South African state tried to put the black population away in little statelets, out of sight and out of the concern of the white population. It has been a fast journey into reality for Philip and it seems there is no chance to put it all right with his fiancée Jennifer having already started the transformation into an obedient slave mutate though at this point she still retains her memories and ability to reason. Philip also tries reason but faces officials who take the attitude that argument is pointless because it validates a question over whether what they do is right or not.

The X-Men attack and ultimately liberate their comrades, with Wipeout forced to restore Wolverine and Rogue's powers, but other than Philip there is no great enlightenment and no liberation. Wolverine wants to wipe out the state's leadership but Philip argues that in time the people can be made to see the wrong of their society and set it right. It's the classic revolution versus reform argument and it is highly depressing that there seem no prospect of the mutates themselves ever rising up and winning their freedom but instead their fate will be determined by the decisions of the current ruling race. It's a problem that the long term needs of the series to have Genosha as a place to return to clash with the needs of the story to bring liberation but ultimately it is the series that has to win out with the X-Men limited to threatening the Genoshan leadership with a destructive alternative future if they do not listen to Philip's mutant rights movement. This remains a bleak vision at a time when it could not have been foreseen that apartheid would fall in just the next few years.

Madelyne Pryor gets a lot of development in this issue as we see a telepath's experience of her mind. At first we see Madelyne as a little girl picking flowers when she's attacked by the Genengineer and the Magistrates who fire on her only for her to rise again in flames and bring destruction down upon the capital city. In the ruins the Genengineer is now wearing the costume of Mr Sinister and attacked by Madelyne in a costume vaguely reminiscent of the Black Queen's as she warns that lighting a match may ignite "an inferno". It's quite a striking piece in setting out the threat to come. It's also interesting for the way some of the imagery is lifted from the famous "Daisy" election advert from the 1964 US Presidential election which began with a shot of another girl with flowers before a nuclear explosion. Back in reality Madelyne claims ignorance of what happened even though the psionic explosion killed all those examining her and offers rational debate and support but there are hints this is a front. Later she confronts the Genengineer in person and implies she can bring destruction down upon him even as he prepares to shoot her. At the end it's almost sinister as she answers a question about a baby's whereabouts with "Not to worry. That's all been taken care of." This story has also seen Havok expressing ever more concern for his sister-in-law and the way they embrace at the end is highly suggestive. Although she's been on the side-lines for most of the previous chapters this story arc has shown strong signs of Madelyne's descent into something quite dark and truly sewn the seeds for what is to come.

Although the ending is stilted by the inability to bring down the whole regime, in spite of Wolverine's wishes, and the need to give a lot of focus on Madelyne's descent for future tales, all in all this has been a good story that hasn't run for more issues than it can sustain. Instead it's built up the situation steadily over each chapter and this conclusion resolves all the key strands satisfactorily.

Uncanny X-Men 236 - Inferno Prologue

Rogue and Wolverine find themselves imprisoned without their powers.

Uncanny X-Men #236

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Petra Scotese
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Bob Harras
Magistrate: Tom DeFalco

This second part of the Genosha story builds on the first by giving us a good look at the island's society and the bigoted hypocrisy upon which it rests. This is shown most vividly with the Moreaus. The father is the "Genengineer" - the geneticist responsible for changing mutants to alter their powers and make them into docile slaves of the regime. The son Philip initially just accepts the way things are as shown by the way he casually orders around their gardener mutate as though he's a trained dog. But then Philip discovers that his fiancée Jennifer has been found to be a latent mutant and is horrified as his father calmly reminds him what the law is and how Jennifer is being changed to become a mere rock and metal worker. The scene as Philip jogs through his respectable middle class neighbourhood only to see a squad of magistrates arrest Jennifer's parents (for trying to conceal her mutation) is a vivid example of how his world comes crashing down upon contact with the truth of the matter. Elsewhere we see the capital city of Hammer Bay, one of the most advanced modern cities in the world - but as Dr Moreau flies through it discussing the situation with captured mutants the truth of the foundations is felt.

A darker image is presented when Psylocke scans the magistrates captured in Sydney and experiences directly how mutants are captured, tortured, genetically engineered and used as mere slaves. It is a chilling vision of a society where mutants are not merely feared and hated but are actively repressed and controlled. This is no potential future to be averted, this is a present day reality. In the space of just a couple of issues a truly terrifying concept has been introduced to the series, drawing on real life parallels from the time.

The rest of the issue focuses upon the other captives who perplex the Genoshan authorities by their invisibility to all electronic equipment making it very hard to examine them. Madelyne is being examined with the demon N'astirh appears on the screen trying to communicate with her - and somehow the whole complex suffers a power cut as the screen explodes. Rogue and Wolverine have been captured and a mutate appropriate named Wipeout cancels their powers. As a result Wolverine's body starts suffering heavily without his healing factor to keep it in check. Meanwhile Rogue finds she can now be touched - and is assaulted by the guards (though the script takes steps to make clear she is not raped). Retreating into herself she finds her psyche contains traces of everyone she's used her power on over the years - and the traces want revenge. Salvation comes in the surprising form of Ms. Marvel who exists as a full personality and offers help by taking control of Rogue's body as the only way to survive since she has FBI training and knows Wolverine of old. And so she and Wolverine set out to escape.

This issue has generated controversy because of misunderstanding over just what happens to Rogue at the hands of the guards and in part that's because the clarifying text is in a later scene so it's easy to see how the panels can be misunderstood out of context. But otherwise it's a strong issue that continues to build the world around it through the characters involved, showing the horrific nature of the regime and how anyone, no matter how important their family, can be taken if they turn out to be a mutant.

Uncanny X-Men 234 - Inferno Prologue

Wolverine and Madelyne both face inner struggles.

Uncanny X-Men #234

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The cover for this issue is easily the best yet seen in this run, really selling the idea of Wolverine struggling with a Brood egg hatching inside him. It portends to the showdown in this issue. The bulk of it wraps up the Brood storyline as the X-Men continue their battle through the streets of Denver including a battle in a diner where the patrons discuss who to help (whilst two keep kissing, oblivious to everything going on around them). But in the process it's becoming ever clearer how dark the X-Men are getting with several willing to kill the humans hosting the Brood. Colossus calmly breaks the neck of one whilst Storm incinerates another with lightning. Even Havok finds it is becoming easier to casually blast away his opponents but privately doesn't like how things are developing. Curiously it's Wolverine who shows the most hesitation at the end as he confronts Harry Palmer in human form and things how Palmer is operating a facade even to himself but ultimately reasons that the real Palmer is long dead.

The climax of the battle comes at the amphitheatre where the Revd William Conover is giving a sermon to a huge audience but it feels like its been built up too much. Wolverine stumbles in fighting the effects of the Brood egg planted within him and Conover shows him compassion, believing him to have taken drugs, then realises the true horror. He believes his prayers help cure Wolverine and the narrative leaves it unclear as to whether it was just the healing factor alone which expelled the egg or if Wolverine was helped by the therapeutic effect of Conover's words. Conover subsequently gives an pro mutant interview to the media and appears to be the first prominent religious or political leader to take such a stance, suggesting potential development in later issues. There's also a strong hint that his wife has been impregnated with a Brood egg.

The Madelyne Pryor subplot continues as her dream sees her wandering out into the desert where heat melts her features back before she falls in water and comes to a paradise island where S'ym offers her the chance to exorcise her torments and she accepts as it is only a dream - or so she thinks. This plot has been building things carefully and is highly intriguing but it must be said that a lot of the visual impact is let down by the very odd appearance of S'ym. He looks almost comical and is let down by the strange waistcoat he wears. The character's appearance is a parody of Cerebus the Aardvark (and his name taken from Cerebus's creator David Sim) but as someone who has never encountered Cerebus outside of looking up S'ym's origins the effect is lost on me. And a straight character parodying what was original a comedic strip is a rather risky approach. It is a pity that the opportunity was not taken to use the techno-organic virus to give the character a more serious look. What's also a little unsatisfactory about this whole sequence is the presence of Gateway seemingly inside Madelyne's dreams. It's not clear if this is the real Gateway or a projection of her mind or indeed what the aboriginal mutant's true aims are.

Overall this has been an okay story but it feels like it's one issue too long and has been dragged out purely because of the temporary switch to fortnightly publication. It's had some great moments and an especially intriguing subplot but it's also had some extremely protracted chase and action sequences that could have been better condensed. Sometimes less is more.

Uncanny X-Men 233 - Inferno Prologue

The X-Men battle the Brood whilst Madelyne Pryor gets deconstructed...

Uncanny X-Men #233

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editors: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

With this issue the series underwent a temporary increase in the schedule, now having two issues a month for three months. (Just to be confusing it's called "twice a month" and "bi-weekly" in different places even though those terms aren't strictly synonymous. And "bi-weekly" is a term that often confuses - why has the term "fortnight" never taken off in the US?)

This is a middle chapter of an ongoing saga and mainly focused on the battle between the X-Men and the Brood possessed mutants. The battle is fierce and fast with Rogue soon taken over when she absorbs the psyche of Temptress and in turn possesses Psylocke then the two subdue Wolverine who is soon infected with a Brood egg. Meanwhile Havok spends the issue worrying about using his powers at full force on human beings, having no prior experience of the Brood and thus little understanding of what their possession does to their hosts. When he sees the consequences he is horrified.

Being a mainly battle issue there aren't too many developments here and there's only a couple of subplots advanced in this issue. One sees preparations for a giant sermon by an evangelist in the mountains with the reverend privately reflecting positively about mutants and wishing he had the power to heal. The other is a strange dream sequence as Madelyne Pryor fantasises about being able to fly and her life with Cyclops (Scott Summers) as though they were made for each other only to face first the destruction of their home and then the appearance of a strange featureless form who Scott leaves her for. Things get more surreal as Scott takes everything from Madelyne including her hair and features and puts them on the featureless form making her into Jean Grey before departing, leaving Madelyne as an abandoned nothing in some nowhere. It's quite a strange depiction of her feelings about Scott, Jean and herself.

When Marvel increased the frequency of a series to fortnightly in this era it often resulted in multi-part sagas that sometimes ran on for more issues than they were fully warranted. This issue feels somewhat slightly as though it's one of the earliest examples of having too many issues being put out. It's not bad per se but the battle feels extended more than it needs to be and so not much else happens in the main plot. Still the surreal sequence with Madelyne Pryor does a lot to maintain the interest momentum.

Uncanny X-Men 232 - Inferno Prologue

"You didn't come here to talk to me about button mushrooms and birds."

Uncanny X-Men #232

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editors: Ann Nocenti & Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

After several issues of character developments we finally get to see the X-Men go into action as they track down a man with a Brood implanted in him in Denver. But the issue isn't told from the X-Men's point of view but rather from the host's.

And so we see Harry Palmer (I've never seen The Ipcress File so can't comment on any similarities, deliberate or otherwise) first encounter the Brood when a giant shark lands near his campsite and creatures from it consume his companions as he flees in terror. Now he works as an urban paramedic without consciously realising that he is secretly implanting things into mutant patients as he responds. This includes one called "Robert Delgado", a sign of a Doctor Who fan on the creative team. Then Palmer finds himself pursued through the city by the X-Men until Wolverine makes a shocking discovery.

Also making a shocking discovery is Madelyne Pryor back in the Australian outback. Watching news from around the globe she sees coverage of Cyclops and Marvel Girl. She reacts as though it's the first time she's ever seen images of the latter, which is a little hard to believe, and then comes to the realisation that Jean was the only woman for Scott and he was only ever a Jean substitute. The realisation causes her to smash the screen in anger.

This issue also sees the debut of a new costume for Psylocke as she adopts an armoured suit to better protect her in combat. It rapidly proves handy when Palmer throws Colossus at her. The chase is strong and tense with all members of the team given their own strong moments in a stunning climax leading to an excellent cliffhanger.

The Brood are a race that's often difficult to handle but this issue finds the right balance by focusing on the hidden horror nature of them, making for a strong and tense situation. This is the launch back into action that the X-Men have been waiting a good while for and it doesn't fail to impress.

Uncanny X-Men 230 - Inferno Prologue

The X-Men bring Christmas cheer to the Reavers' victims.

Uncanny X-Men #230

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Joe Rubinstein
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It's a Christmas issue - but at a very odd time of year. This issue is cover dated June but for historic reasons Marvel's cover dates were now four months ahead of when they went on sale and so a Christmas issue should have an April cover date (as X-Factor #27 does). Nor is there any sign of it being "Christmas in July" as celebrated in some southern hemisphere countries to have additional celebrations in winter. Rather this seems to be a victim of scheduling problems with issue #228's fill-in partially to blame but also it's a consequence of having a crossover using a season pun in the title (a pun that doesn't work in countries where autumn is not known as "fall") and then only one month to get at least two issues' worth through.

The issue is taken up with the X-Men exploring their new home and coming to terms with their new status quo. Some adapt rather better than others.  The opening splash page shows Storm flying once more, her powers restored and in a new costume. Meanwhile Dazzler is hating the lack of facilities and the loneliness, a reminder of how of all the X-Men she is the one who has had the greatest life. Elsewhere Longshot finds his psychometric powers overwhelmed when he discovers the vault containing the Reavers' loot. Madelyne is adapting to the base's surveillance systems and hoping to find her missing son whatever it takes. And Gateway continues to sit on top of a great rock a mystery to us all.

This is a mostly character driven issue that packs in a lot such as the X-Men training or Storm using her powers to literally wash out all the dirt in their home. The discovery of the loot re-establishes one of Longshot's more neglected powers as well as leading to debate about what to do with it, highlighting the continued ethical divide within the team. The solution is to return everything they can locate the owners for, combining the powers and skills of Longshot, Psylocke, Madelyne and Gateway. This results in a Christmas sequence as they travel the world to return everything they can to the rightful owners. The issue concludes with a Christmas celebration including Rogue gifting a recorder to Gateway who proves responsive even though he continues to not say a word.

The timing of the issue is unfortunate but it serves to give the team the chance to settle in to their new home and establish further the relationship with the outside world. There are lots of nice little moments that help to fill out the whole cast and show their differing reactions to everything around them with Dazzler especially benefitting from the focus. And the ongoing plot threads are not forgotten either as we are reminded of Madelyne's determination to find her son no matter the cost.

Uncanny X-Men 229 - Inferno Prologue

And so the X-Men enter an all new era starting with... a battle in the Australian outback.

Uncanny X-Men #229

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

After last issue's interruption we now come to one of the most significant issues of Uncanny X-Men as it establishes the "Outback Era". One of the features of Chris Claremont's writing of the series has been the way things have rarely stood still with a constant sense of flux and turmoil providing a strong backdrop to character development. Now we have things turned on their head as the apparent death of the X-Men at the end of Fall of the Mutants becomes the basis for a fixed line-up in a highly unusual setting.

The issue is taken up with conflict with the Reavers, a group of cyborg criminals who launch raids around the world teleporting from an abandoned town in the Australian outback. We see first one such raid on a bank in Singapore as they capture both the contents of a bank vault and one of the bankers and then conflict in Australia as the X-Men attack and take over the town. It's surprising how all of this takes place in a single issue but it works to quickly get the new status quo set-up. Less convincing is the way the mysterious entity Roma arrives to introduce the "Siege Perilous", a jewel that can grow to become a magical gateway that individuals pass through to be judged and reborn. At this stage it primarily serves as a way for most of the Reavers to be dispatched instead of being killed by Wolverine. More intriguingly Roma explains how the X-Men are now invisible to all scanning devices save their own.

With the help of the mysterious aboriginal mutant Gateway, who can teleport them to and from wherever they wish to go, the X-Men are now set up for the next year and a half. Under the cover of being believed dead and invisible to sensors they are able to operate in secret and continue to carry out Xavier's dream seemingly safe from the menaces that have threatened them. The setting also locks in a pretty consistent cast of Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Psylocke, Dazzler, Longshot and Havok with only Madelyne Pryor and Gateway as their regular supporting cast. As a result there's the opportunity to do some unusual things with the characters without the turmoil of new arrivals and departures or overspill effects from adventures of other occupants of the mansion. We'll see in later issues just how effective this is and there's also the problem of three of the Reavers who escape but for now this is a quick strong start for what is one of the most unusual periods of the team's history.

If there's a problem with the issue it's the way Roma just turns up at the end of the issue to provide an alternative resolution to what to do with the captured Reavers when Wolverine suggests killing them is the only way to preserve the X-Men's secrecy. It feels all too convenient a solution rather than having the X-Men figure out something themselves even though Roma's presence allows the completion of the set-up. But all in all this is a strong real start for the X-Men in this overall look.

Essential X-Men volume 11 - creator labels

Once more there's a volume with a lot of creators so here's the separate labels post.

Essential X-Men volume 9

Essential X-Men volume 9 comprises Uncanny X-Men #244 to #264 & Annual #13 (excluding the Saga of the Serpent Crown chapter that has nothing to do with the X-Men). Bonus material includes Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries for Jubilee, Master Mold and Zaladane. All the regular issues are written by Chris Claremont though the annual lead story is by Terry Austin and a back-up by Sally Pashkow (or not - see below). The art is mainly by Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee with individual issues by Rob Liefeld, Rick Leonardi, Kieron Dwyer, Bill Jaaska and Mike Collins. The annual is drawn by Mike Vosburg and Jim Fern.

This volume covers one of the bleakest periods in the series so far. The early issues see the continuation of the "Outback era" as the team continued to operate out of an abandoned Australian desert town and teleport around the world. The most notable long term impact of these early adventures comes in the very first issue where the female members of the team go on a trip to a shopping centre where they battle the M-Squad, a rather lame set of mutant hunters who are a blatant parody of the Ghostbusters, before returning home with an unknown follower, the rich girl turned orphaned "mall rat" Jubilee. At first it seems she will be taking on the innocent youngster role that's been absent ever since Kitty Pryde was injured out of the series but initially she instead operates in secret without the other X-Men knowing and subsequent events mean that we don't get to see her in the traditional little sister role just yet. Meanwhile the male members go out on the town only to run into a rather ineffective bunch of alien invaders called the Conquest. It seems as though this will be a period of light-hearted tales but things will soon change.

The annual is unusual as the only X-Men issue during his entire run that doesn't have Chris Claremont's name on it. But is he completely absent? The back-up story is credited to Sally Pashkow, a name that hasn't appeared anywhere else in comics. Opinion on the net says that this is a pseudonym for Chris Claremont though everything seems to be pointing to each other, and its inclusion in the X-Men by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee Volume 1 Omnibus may be more down to a sequential run than anything else. (As a result I've included a separate label to cover all possibilities.) But regardless of whether this is Claremont or a one-off writer in his style the result is a character piece as Jubilee finds herself in the outback town and hides herself away with the aid of Gateway, then starts observing the X-Men from afar and borrowing some clothes. It mainly serves to build up the new character. The lead story is part of the "Atlantis Attacks" crossover that ran through all the Marvel annuals in 1989 and it resorts very much to formula as a villain, in this case Mr. Jip from Terry Austin's work on Cloak and Dagger, recruits the heroes to find an object of power of unclear importance. The team is split in three and sent to different locations to tackle the problem, here complicated by the Serpent Society. And it's an effective failure as at the end the main villains from the crossover get their hands on the powerful objects. Overall this annual is rather peripheral to the whole "Atlantis Attacks" saga, achieving nothing that couldn't have happened without the X-Men's presence. It's a surprise that Claremont doesn't write the story, perhaps deciding to opt out of taking part in the mess, but the result is the one X-Men story in a very long time by another writer. And it almost seems to be saying that anyone who thinks Claremont has outstayed his welcome should think again as it's very dire in its handling of the characters, with some especial silliness when Dazzler and the Serpent Society's Diamondback temporarily switch bodies. This is easily forgettable.

The tension ups when Nimrod and the remains of Master Mold merge, creating one of the deadliest anti-mutant machines yet. The battle is fierce, with Senator Kelly's wife killed thus increasing the senator's hatred of mutants. Victory only comes when Dazzle deploys the Siege Perilous crystal to send Master Mold to either happiness or recreation, but Rogue is also lost in the process. Rogue has recently been portrayed with a split personality as Carol Danvers comes to the fore more frequently, generating some tensions as each takes control of the body in succession, but the battle terminates any resolution to this dilemma. This starts a steady break-up of the team with Longshot soon dropping aside to go and seek his own identity and history. It's a sign of both his insignificance to the run and the bigger events around him that this departure is almost shoehorned into wider events but he isn't really missed. Then the remains of the team, with Wolverine temporarily away, face the first of two fierce attacks on their doorstep in rapid succession. Nanny, the robotic "egg with a voice", attacks and in battle Havok's energy blast destroys Nanny's vessel with Storm onboard. And unlike most such comic explosions, the body is seen and confirmed afterwards. An interlude comes as the dwindling team respond to a distress call from the Savage Land where they face Zaladane and the Mutates, with the return of Polaris who now seems to have been freed from the control of Malice. Zaladane claims to be Polaris's sister but this plot element isn't really cleared up in time before the last of the X-Men are teleported home to Australia where Donald Pierce and the Reavers are waiting for them.

The series has been building up to this moment with a number of hints and visions that this will be the last stand of the X-Men with no way out. Instead the four - Psylocke, Dazzler, Colossus and Havok - take the one escape route to hand, by going through the Siege Perilous to begin new lives elsewhere. As they admit it is running away from the situation and to add to the indignity this ending is revealed in a flashback shown to the returning Wolverine by Gateway. Wolverine is left as the last of the X-Men and put up for crucifixion by the Reavers but escapes with the help of both Jubilee and Lady Deathstrike's sense of nobility. And so a whole era of the X-Men comes to an end not in glory but in defeat and running away.

But this isn't the end of the series at all. The X-Men have generated many ex-members, allies and influences over the years and the next dozen issues focus on a number of these characters but without assembling a new team. Issue #253 sets up the situation, with its cover reused for the volume as a whole. Initially the main focuses are on Wolverine and Jubilee as they head off into the Far East, the mutants based around Muir Island, with Banshee and Forge really coming to the fore, and a mysterious young girl found in Illinois who resembles a young Storm. Elsewhere various of the X-Men who went through the Siege Perilous come to terms with their new lives, suffering amnesia of their past lives but finding their past can't completely escape them. Unfortunately there is limited unification between the various story strands with the result that the focus jumps around between them and plots can take an age to conclude.

During this phase comes the second big crossover on this volume's watch, "Acts of Vengeance", which, for a change, comes out of the Avengers titles after three years of X-Men derived events. But were it not for the triangles in the top right hand corner of issues #256 through to #258 then one could be forgiven for not realising this is even part of the storyline. It may feature foes the X-Men haven't faced before in the form of the Mandarin and the Hand but there's no co-ordinated attack on our heroes or any reference to the Mandarin's role as one of the Prime Movers supposedly co-ordinating the entire thing - indeed the Mandarin portrayed here is the more sophisticated crime lord that had been developed over the years rather than the traditional ranting supervillain shown in the main portion of the event. This detachment may be of necessity as current events mean the X-Men are presumed dead, impossible to detect with electronic equipment and now lost and scattered by the Siege Perilous, which doesn't really lend itself to enemies launching attacks upon them. Instead we get the basic crossover theme of a villain from another series tied into some very traditional themes for the series of strong women being twisted into ever more powerful agents of enemies and ninjas, plus Wolverine's connections in the Far East from his own solo title.

The most notable event here by far is the transformation of Psylocke from a Caucasian telepath in armour worried about her physical weakness into an east Asian ninja woman. Exactly how her ethnicity is changed is rather brushed over but the whole thing now feels extremely uncomfortable. If an east Asian ninja woman X-Man was needed, it would have been easy to create a new character who could easily be added to the team. But instead an existing character has such a fundamental part of her altered to fulfil the role, as though the genuine article wouldn't do. The story touches upon aspects of culture conflict between the Far East and the West, most notably showcasing the clash with Jubilee, the daughter of Chinese immigrants to the United States, who proves a highly Americanised tourist who dislikes what she sees. Then she is captured and forced into a traditional serving girl role as a small part of the Mandarin's goal of revitalising the traditional Chinese kingdom. Overall his portrayal is a strong step away from the traditional Fu Manchu role he's sometimes given and Psylocke's transformation does fit into some of the themes but that doesn't redeem the effect even if her new look as a replacement Elektra is wildly popular. The sequence in which her mind is steadily twisted by a quest through distorted memories in order to obtain the Mandarin's ten rings is also a good idea in theory but let down by much of her background not having been previously explored outside the Captain Britain comics in the UK and so the whole things can be confusing at times. All in all the transformation was a mistake that chased a trend and it's amazing that it was allowed to stay permanently, no doubt because of the popularity of the new look.

Whilst Wolverine, Psylocke and Jubilee make their way onwards to Madripoor with the complication of Wolverine being haunted by images of Nick Fury and Carol Danvers that he thinks are real, other X-Men are coming to terms with their new lives. Dazzler finds herself a singer in Hollywood and her movie is finally released, but former producer Eric Beale stalks her. Colossus becomes an artist and a maintenance man in an apartment block but soon gets entangled with both the Genoshan Magistrates and then the survivors of the Morlocks. The child Storm is being pursued by the Shadow King who frames her for murder, resulting in her going on the run.

Forge and Banshee are built up in a way that suggests they will be the next members to join or return to the team, but it's unfortunate that Banshee's recovery of his powers goes unexplained at first and it's only after a further injury that we see the Morlock healer restore him. Meanwhile Polaris finds her magnetic powers gone but in place of them her body is growing in size and she now has super strength but this goes unexplained. The three of them become part of an ad hoc grouping based on Muir Island along with Moira MacTaggart, Legion, Amanda Sefton, Sunder and other hangers on not seen in a long while, facing off a brutal attack by the Reavers that sees them bailed out by Freedom Force with casualties all around including Destiny. The ad hoc team also wears a uniform, hinting that it could become a new new X-Men but it doesn't take off as such, not least because of one of Legion's dark personas taking over. Magneto is given the image on the volume's spine, taken from the cover, but only appears briefly as he resigns as headmaster of the school and drifts off to his old ways. It's a slightly awkward scene that appears to be trying to rationalise the increased use of the character as a more traditional villain elsewhere, most notably in the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover.

The only convergence of the various plotlines comes at the end of the volume as Forge and Banshee encounter the amnesiac Colossus under the name of "Peter Nicholas" and battle first the Morlocks and then the Genosha Magistrates with the help of Marvel Girl from X-Factor. Along with some individual comments over the issues it seems as though the various mutant teams are being drawn together to be treated as parts of a single whole once more but there's a central element missing. Wolverine is at least stepping up to a Professor Xavier role when he utilises Harry Malone's Harriers to test Psylocke and Jubilee in the absence of a Danger Room. But overall the series is still in scattered pieces.

The art is often strong and it's easy to see how Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee gained such a following. However the writing on the series is in heavy decline. The series has shifted from a long-term careful build-up of plots to an almost random chucking anything against the wall to see what sticks and letting storylines drag on for much longer than they can sustain. The idea of splitting up the team and exploring individual members and the supporting cast is not a bad idea per se but it's very poorly executed and the resulting issues just don't work well. The worst idea to get through is the race transformation of Psylocke but overall this is an exceptionally poor volume for the series.

Essential X-Men volume 8

Essential X-Men volume 8 consists of Uncanny X-Men #229 to #243 & Annual #12 plus X-Factor #36 to #39. Bonus material includes adverts for "Inferno" plus the cover of the trade paperback which combines elements from the covers of issues #240 & #242. All the Uncanny X-Men issues, including the annual, are written by Chris Claremont and all the X-Factor issues by Louise Simonson. The Uncanny X-Men issues are drawn by Marc Silvestri and Rick Leonardi with the annual by Arthur Adams and the X-Factor issues by Walter Simonson.

This is an unusual volume in that everything in it was released in a single calendar year, 1988 (though due to cover dates being four months ahead and the newstands being slower than the direct market there are listings out there that place "Inferno" in 1989). This year saw the series go twice monthly in the early summer months, participate in an crossover even larger than any that had come before and also saw the annual take part in the first ever line-wide annual crossover. That's a lot in a short time (and a large assault on reader's wallets - the start of the year also saw the price rise by 25% for not just this book but all of the mutant titles and for that matter four other series that also took part in "Inferno") so it comes as a surprise that this is also an era that set out a very distinct status quo for the team, setting them apart from much of the wider Marvel universe.

That status quo is established at the outset of the volume. Following the X-Men's seeming death at the end of the previous volume they wind in up in an abandoned town in the Australian outback where they battle the Reavers and defeat them. Then they take over the town and the advanced systems beneath it. The mysterious Roma casts a spell that will make them invisible to any electronic scanning device bar their own, whilst the mysterious Aboriginal mutant dubbed Gateway will teleport them to places all over the world. And so the scene is set for the outback era of the series in which the team operate as secretly as possible, seeking to uphold and implement Xavier's dream.

This is quite a bold change from before, with several clear effects. The membership of the team is absolutely consistent throughout the entirety of the volume, comprising Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Psylocke, Dazzler, Longshot and Havok. The supporting cast of Madelyne Pryor and Gateway are consistent too at least until the final storyline in the volume. As a result, there's clear character development that isn't messed around or interrupted by membership turnover. However, the set-up does come with some potential loopholes. Though it's not acknowledged here, this volume coincides with the period when Wolverine received his own solo series and it's none too clear how he's simultaneously hiding in Australia invisible to all electronic sensors whilst also operating out of Madripoor. There are a lot of times when the X-Men's involvement has to be hidden and Psylocke resorts to using her powers to alter memories with little regard for the ethics of such actions. And Gateway feels all too convenient a plot device, somehow always knowing when his powers are needed despite never saying a word. On the other hand the electronic invisibility is handled well and sometimes it proves a disadvantage, such as when Rogue and Wolverine try to infiltrate a prison on Genosha in disguise but find their absence from the monitor screens gives them away. Being dead to the world means they cannot contact their families and this leads to Colossus having to pretend he is merely his own spirit conjured up to help his sister Illyana when he goes to see if she is okay and finds her in battle with the witch Baba Yaga in the realm of Limbo. It's a heart wrenching moment to see how cut off the siblings are. By contrast Madelyne has been deserted by her husband and continues to search for her son discretely.

The stories range from a light-hearted Christmas issue (originally on sale in, erm, February) through to the darkness of the Genosha storyline, followed by the "Inferno" crossover. In general the world the X-Men inhabit feels ever darker than before and they find themselves reacting accordingly, finding themselves becoming ever more ruthless and increasingly willing to kill opponents. There's another storyline with the Brood who have possessed a group of mutants in Denver and this story sees the darkness increasing as both Wolverine and Havok find themselves having to kill the aliens.

Some lighter moments come in the annual, which is part of "The Evolutionary War" crossover. Here the X-Men and the High Evolutionary tangle with the alien Terminus in the wasteland that was once the Savage Land and meet with the remains of the tribespeople. It's a so-so story that undoes the needless destruction of the Savage Land, though this didn't take place in Uncanny X-Men at all, but it's utterly unclear just how this ties in with the Evolutionary's masterplan and this frankly could have been a standalone annual with a guest star for all the difference that it makes. A back-up story is more fun as it sees Mojo seek to find television stars to replace the X-Men now that they're presumed dead. After lengthy auditions that parody the practice of finding suspiciously similar characters and gimmick variations, he finally discovers the X-Babies, very young versions of the team but independent characters rather than simply the originals in a de-aged format. And then audience demand overtakes his plans and hopes. Whilst the idea of junior clones of the X-Men should be a disaster waiting to happen, this story actually holds up quite well and offers a fun take on the concept. It would be completely wrong to have them take over the regular series but they have clear potential for side projects here and there.

The first main epic is a four-part tale that introduces the island nation of Genosha, a society built upon mutant slave labour and the use of genetic engineering to convert mutants and alter their powers so they become near zombie slaves who will serve the needs of the state and the economy. The state employs brutal security forces who go out into the wider world and crack down on Genoshans who have escaped the island, refusing to recognise any other legal rights. It's easy to see the parallels with South Africa, then still under apartheid, even though Genosha proclaims itself to be a country of racial harmony. The Magistrates who go out and kidnap emigrants are clearly inspired by the South African security services of the era. On a more mundane level some of the technology is fantastic such the Magistrates sending their kidnap victims to Genosha via a combination of a teleporter and modem. I wonder just how many science fiction and fantasy writers in the period actually understood the capacity of contemporary modems. The X-Men are drawn in when Madelyne is kidnapped alongside a flying doctor who had escaped from Genosha but is now recaptured. They engage in detective work to discover the distinction and head in on a rescue mission. The story has a strong human element as the son of the genetic engineer discovers that his fiancé, the doctor, is actually a mutant and has been converted by his father. This forces the son to go on a journey of discovery to find out just what his country is really like and then to embark upon a mission to educate his fellow humans, albeit initially from abroad whilst the X-Men only rescue their own and leave, albeit after Wolverine and Rogue have temporarily had their powers cancelled by the mutant Wipeout. This causes Wolverine to nearly succumb to his altered body chemistry whilst on the mental level Rogue must confront the traces of all the personas she has absorbed into her. But with the X-Men only rescuing and not actively seeking regime change the overall message of the story seems to be that a discriminatory regime will only be liberated from within when the "superior" people are enlightened, and there's not much the outside world can do about this. It's a very downbeat and depressing state of affairs that suggests oppressive countries should be left to eventually sort themselves out, even if this was not the actual intention.

The biggest story in the volume is "Inferno" which is steadily built up to in the earlier issues as we see S'ym preparing to retake Limbo whilst Madelyne experiences dreams that convince her ever more that for her husband she was only ever a substitute for Jean Grey and was rapidly cast aside when she was found to be alive. In what she thinks are still her dreams she accepts the temptation of S'ym and chooses to seek vengeance on all those who have made her life what it is. At the same time she and Havok have been drawn to each other and begin an affair in spite of him being her brother in law. But it's here that confusion starts to be sewn when S'ym's role is largely taken over by another demon, N'Astirh, who secretly communicates with Madelyne over subsequent issues. It's not particularly clear in the issues included in this volume just what the relationship between S'ym and N'Astirh actually is, though as the alternative would presumably involve including the three New Mutants issues of Inferno (one of which is double-sized) and the four-part limited series X-Terminators then this was probably an inevitable omission in the collection.

"Inferno" itself is a sprawling saga that sees the long-awaited first meeting of the X-Men and X-Factor. It's trying to cram a lot in and the result is that the actual demon invasion of New York is largely rendered a backdrop in the core issues included here apart from the final confrontation with N'Astirh. The dark magic does, however, bring changes to the various X-Men that extenuate their characters in different directions such as extenuating Dazzler's vanity whilst others become more bloodthirsty in their dealings with both the demons and the Marauders. But the real focus is upon Madelyne Pryor who has become twisted into the "Goblin Queen", seeking revenge on Cyclops, Marvel Girl, the X-Men and Mr Sinister all at once. The story sets out to explain both Madelyne's background and the wider manipulations by Mr Sinister over the years, and then to sort out some of the awkward mess caused by the resurrection of Jean Grey and the creation of X-Factor. Overall it does it well but it succumbs to the mess of a newish villain - this is in fact Mr Sinister's first significant storyline - being revealed as the force behind events and confusion going back many years before their debut. The story is also a homage to the Dark Phoenix Saga as once again a copy of Jean Grey acquires great power and is corrupted beyond redemption. But it feels as though it's more of an X-Factor saga than an X-Men one. Yes they may be the original X-Men and the saga doubles as the twenty-fifth anniversary of the X-Men and the 150th issue of the New X-Men (#243 to be precise), but issue #242 is in fact the first time the original team have all appeared in the title since way back in issue #66. The two teams are very different in their standing and approach and so whatever the merits of the crossover for the mutant books as a whole, it does feel a bit underwhelming for the X-Men specifically.

That's pretty much the pattern for this volume as a whole. There are some strong and original issues but they're let down by an underwhelming execution combined with the team not always winning out or being at the forefront. It's a pity as the overall set-up is certainly quite novel but the full package is less than effective.

Essential X-Men volume 7

Essential X-Men volume 7 comprises Uncanny X-Men #214 to #228, Annuals #10 to #11 and the limited series Fantastic Four Vs the X-Men. Bonus material includes an article from Marvel Age about the "Fall of the Mutants" and a special promotional card for a competition linked to the crossover. Everything is written by Chris Claremont with the regular series drawn mostly by Marc Silvestri with individual issues by Barry Windsor-Smith, Alan Davis, Jackson Guice, Bret Blevins, Kerry Gammill and Rick Leonardi. The annuals are drawn by Arthur Adams and Alan Davis and the limited series by Jon Bogdanove.

This volume covers a somewhat odd period in the X-Men's history as they try to cope with the fallout from the "Mutant Massacre" and really stumble around more than anything else until the next big event, "Fall of the Mutants" (a pun that doesn't translate well). The lack of direction is extenuated by some vague questioning as to what the overall purpose of the team is, but it doesn't really get very far. Significantly, this is the first volume to be completely devoid of any of the original team, leaving the long-term continuity in the hands of Havok and, to a surprising but small degree, Magneto. But the Master of Magnetism makes rather fewer appearances in the regular issues than one would expect. Instead his main contribution comes in the limited series.

The "Vs" limited series was a curious phenomenon in the 1980s whereby characters from two titles would meet for a special story but one told in its own release rather than as a crossover between the two regular titles. It has the advantage of allowing a single writer and artist to handle the project (at least under normal circumstances) but it can also wind up dancing on the periphery of the regular series, trying to adapt to ongoing developments whilst also telling its own story. From the perspective of this volume Fantastic Four Vs the X-Men is fortunate in this regard as it is written by the regular Uncanny X-Men writer and comes at a time when not too much is happening in the main title. However it has to leap through some hoops in order to include She-Hulk amongst the Fantastic Four's line-up, a point commented on in-story. The series seeks to justify its place by resolving the worst of Shadowcat's injuries that have left her trapped in her intangible form and slowly dissipating, but does so amidst a struggle of mind games between Doctor Doom and Reed Richards. This limited series is actually quite a good Fantastic Four tale that delves into one of the biggest question marks surrounding the four's origin and looks at Reed Richards's approach to those around him and Doctor Doom's ultimate goal in their struggle. But amidst all this the X-Men are something of a bolt on to provide recurring conflict. Any group and problem could have served their purpose in the story and it wouldn't have made much difference. Even Shadowcat's recovery is not immediate and as she doesn't return to active duty with the team before the end of the volume it doesn't have much of an impact on the story. The one notable feature is the continuing rehabilitation of Magneto, with the Fantastic Four slowly coming to accept him, but in the battles which break out too easily his magnetic powers prove more dangerous than helpful when he accidentally nearly costs Kitty her last hope. Overall this is good Fantastic Four, and in the very long run a good audition piece for Claremont eventually taking up the main series in the late 1990s, but rather forgettable and inessential X-Men.

The two annuals both feel somewhat superfluous to the main narrative beyond the first one introducing Longshot, previously seen in his own limited series, to the regular series. But it does so in a very awkward way by giving him amnesia and then comes with some awkward continuity as the presence of Shadowcat, Nightcrawler and Colossus implies it takes place before the "Mutant Massacre" in the previous volume yet this doesn't explain why Longshot is then absent for several issues of the regular series and both his amnesia and ongoing culture shock goes against the idea that he has been exploring the world around him. Otherwise the annual sees the X-Men's first encounter with Mono and the wackiness of the "Mojoverse" but it's never been a very good fit with the more gritty style of the X-Men's adventures and just feels like silliness for the sake of it. Amidst this comes a piece of role reversal as the New Mutants temporarily step up to the role of being the senior team, complete with individualised costumes intended for when they graduate. Meanwhile the X-Men are reduced in age in one of the examples of babyfication that was all the rage following the Muppet Babies, becoming cute toddler versions of themselves. Were it not for Longshot and later appearances by Mojo, this annual could be so easily forgotten. The other annual is also trying to incorporate elements from other series into the mainstream Marvel universe with guest appearances by Captain Britain and his girlfriend Meggan, even though neither is essential for the story told. In it the X-Men and guests are captured by Horde, a never before seen alien, and taken to a strange citadel to secure a crystal of incredible power, in one of the most generic plots going. Whilst making their way through the citadel the group gets picked off one by one and offered their hearts' desires by the citadel itself. It's a minor character study that doesn't leave much of an impact beyond the scene where Wolverine is killed by Horde but his whole body regrows itself from a single drop of blood, aided by the power of the crystal. The whole group gets returned home to exactly when they left with memories fading, making the whole thing no more significant than an obscure dream.

Over in the regular issues the team continues to develop. Injuries meant that both Shadowcat and Nightcrawler are off the active roster and stay that way when big changes come though Colossus has returned to the team just in time. He's not quite the same Peter of old as his injuries have left his armoured form as the default norm with a great deal of effort required to turn to his human self. Also rejoining the team is Havok, who finds himself in the curious position of being the earliest member of the X-Men yet is treated by the others as an untested member. Returning to the team after Polaris is possessed by Malice and joins the Marauders, Havok finds himself in the horrific situation of having to either let her go to harm others or else stop her permanently - and winds up releasing a plasma blast though Malice/Polaris manages to block it and escape. Alex is somewhat taken aback by what the X-Men have become, particularly their alliance with Magneto, but doesn't really have the long-term history with the team that allows him to perform the role of keeper of the original aims. Nevertheless he stays around, particularly to help protect his sister-in-law Madelyne Pryor who has had her husband walk out on her, all records of her past erased and who is now being hunted by the Marauders. There are signs of an attraction between them but they're not developed just yet.

The other new addition to the team is also driven to them by the actions of Malice. Since the end of her own series Dazzler has been trying to rebuild her career, starting out as a backing artiste but both her own ambitions and the interference by Malice soon put paid to this. Alison soon accepts the protection of the X-Men and undergoes training to refine and enhance her light powers, putting especial emphasis on being able to use them as a laser, but there's an ongoing tension between her role as an X-Men and her ambitions to be a singing star, making for an especially tense confrontation with one fan, none other than the Juggernaut. Also causing tensions is the presence of her old enemy Rogue, with Alison making it clear she hasn't forgiven the past enmity until another battle with the Marauders where she risks her all to save Rogue from drowning. At this stage Dazzler is still the only member of the team to have had her own series and as well as her past battles with Rogue the series is also echoed by the return of O.Z. and Cerberus in a tale about a mutant drug dealer.

The old ways also come up in another fashion when Storm is kidnapped by the Crimson Commando, Stonewall and Super Sabre, a trio of old heroes fighting against the values of the modern world. They take Storm and another girl and release them to be hunted in the wilderness. Later on they're captured and agree to join Freedom Force, which continues to skate the line between a government sanctioned team of mutants and a group with its own agenda. The hunt also puts both Storm and Wolverine to the test as the former faces up to the fact she may well need to adopt her comrade's ethics of kill or be killed whilst the latter struggles to retain his humanity as he faces confusion all around him. The threat level is also raised by the introduction of the Marauders' master, Mr Sinister, but for now he remains a dark force on the edge of things.

A lengthy storyline sees Storm searching for Forge in the hope that he can restore her powers, helped by Forge's shaman mentor Naze. In the process she also finds it in herself to forgive him but also discovers the presence of a demon known as "the Adversary". Meanwhile Destiny of Freedom Force has a vision of the X-Men all dying in the near future. The storylines merge and climax in the "Fall of the Mutants" issues, #225 to #227. This was an unusual crossover between the three mutant titles as they shared a theme of big status quo changing events, rather than a single storyline running across them all. The X-Men find themselves first battling Freedom Force and then facing the end of the world due to the magic of the Adversary and the past mistakes of Forge. In full view of a camera broadcasting to the world, the X-Men set out to risk their all to build a better world. It's a dark moment for them but a great one for mutantkind, setting up a new position for the future. However we don't get to see that in this volume as the last issue has all the feel of a standby fill-in being pressed into service, hastily turned into a flashback.

Overall this volume isn't a particularly great period for the X-Men. It's a time of stumbling more than anything else, with no great sense of purpose or direction. The newer members of the team help to keep the cast fresh but rarely bring any particularly exciting story elements with them. Overall this volume shows the team going from one big event to the next with not too much of note happening in between.