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 231 - Inferno Prologue

Colossus poses as his own ghost to help his sister

Uncanny X-Men #231

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

The decision by the X-Men to pretend to be dead is not without its costs - and not all members have to pay the same amount. Colossus has always been the most family minded of the team, devoted to his sister Illyana, but is now forced to hide from her at a time when she most needs help. To add to his woes he's been almost stuck in his armoured form for a long time now, finding it nearly impossible to change to his human form, and so he's become trapped in a hulking metal form that overheats in the Australian desert and is too crude and clumsy around the home. And he's haunted by nightmares about Illyana being prepared for a gruesome fate. Eventually Storm and the other X-Men agree to let him go and see her and Gateway teleports him to Limbo.

The cover is maintained through the coincidence of Colossus arriving partway through his sister casting a necromancy spell to bring help and so throughout the issue Colossus pretends to be his own spirit summoned up by his sister, helped by his now being invulnerable to magic which appears to her to be a further sign that this is his ghost. She needs help as demons posing as characters from a novel (which I have never heard of let alone read) have invaded the mansion and captured the rest of the New Mutants. Colossus finds himself back in his happy teenage home only it's much changed by the demons and he has to overcome them to free the New Mutants.

Despite the contortions to maintain the illusion of being dead, this is otherwise a straightforward issue of sibling duty as Colossus nobly rushes to his sister's side, also helping to fight off the growing rebellion by S'ym. The end of the issue sees the two have a heart to heart and Colossus tells her that as long as a person exists in the hearts of memories of those dear to them they can never truly be dead. In the process, as Illyana notes, he has helped to save her from herself. However after she's gone S'ym re-emerges and swears to win the war.

This is an important and necessary character piece as the narrative moves ever closer to Inferno. Though it's pencilled by Rick Leonardi who is becoming the regular fill-in artist on the book it feels substantial rather than filler grabbed in a hurry. However once again the issue's placing is awkward. We have still to see the X-Men operating in action under their new status quo and instead have been through multiple character pieces. This story might have been better off held back a few issues to allow the X-Men to go into action first.

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.