Author: Robert Diehl (rfdiehl@yahoo.com)
Created:
Updated: Version 2.1, last modified June 9, 2001
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Issue: X-Men: Search for Cyclops 1 Date: Oct-00 Story: Lost (23 pages) Feature Characters: Cyclops (here called ¡uÁ”i), Phoenix, Cable Regular Characters: Blaquesmith Guest Stars: Rogue, Colossus (both in flashback) Villains: En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse), Deathbird, Caliban, Ahab (all in flashback); Anais, Ozymandias, Gauntlet Other Characters: Achmed, Sallah Credits: Writer: Joseph Harris Pencils: Tom Raney Inks: Scott Hanna Letters: Jon Babcock Colors: J.C. Editor: Mark Powers Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: In 330 BC, Alexander the Great invades Egypt, and the Nile runs red with blood, as the natives rebel against Persia. En Sabah Nur calls them fools, fighting one conqueror with the aid of another, not fit to rule themselves. He himself fights simply to fight. Scott wakes: it was a recurring nightmare. He is without memory, power, or visor and has joined the crew of a sailing ship manned by swarthy men, one of whom threatens him for disturbing his sleep. In a boat nearby, someone observes. In the Danger Room, Jean replays Scott's disappearance (X-Men II:97), sacrificing himself to prevent Apocalypse from taking over Nate Grey's body. In his safe house, Nathan punches a holographic reconstruction of Apocalypse, saying it should have been him and not Scott. Scott's ship docks at El Jadida, Morocco. His friend Achmed has named him ¡uÁ”i, which means "Slim." In the bazaar, a monkey jumps on him, and then he sees a beautiful woman. In a mirror, he sees himself with blue lips, and he freaks. The woman, Anais, says she knows what he is and offers to take him to safety. Instead, he runs back to the ship. Gauntlet is on the mast and shoots at him. He climbs up to keep his crewmates from harm and swings a boom to dump Gauntlet in the water. He always knew he was a marked man, and he feels something dangerous inside him. In his chambers below the sand, Ozymandias knows Apocalypse will rise again, and he chooses whom to send to find him. Issue: X-Men: Search for Cyclops 2 Date: Nov-00 Story: Hunted (23 pages) Feature Characters: Cyclops, Phoenix, Cable Regular Characters: Blaquesmith Guest Stars: Villains: En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse, in flashback); Anais, Ozymandias Other Characters: Mamud, Hakim Credits: Writer: Joseph Harris Pencils: Tom Raney Inks: Scott Hanna Letters: Jon Babcock Colors: J.C. Asst. Editor: Peter Franco Editor: Mark Powers Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Ancient Egypt: a mob hunts for En Sabah Nur. Scott wakes from the nightmare. He and Anais are stopped by guards at the Libyan border; they had hitched a ride on a truck to Egypt. Anais says Scott is ill, and she offers her body if the guards let them through. Then she transforms into her feline form and attacks them. Blaquesmith notes that Nathan's circumstances have changed, now that he has joined the X-Men. He has modified his psimitar, and Nathan takes it to the X- mansion to work out in the Danger Room against Apocalypse. Jean manipulates the program to show Scott and Apocalypse merged and asks Nathan if he could still kill him. She says he's dead, since their psychic rapport is inactive, and Nathan should stop obsessing. Ozymandias appears, offering to take them to see what really happened to Scott. They follow through his portal, and he says Apocalypse is gestating inside Scott, and they are one, yet still battling one another. He sent Anais to find him, but she never came back; he suspects her motives. Now he wants Jean and Nathan to find him. Scott is confused, seeing the present guards as his ancient persecutors. His eyes blast for a moment; he decides to keep following Anais, because the evil inside him is growing, and he fears he likes it. Issue: X-Men: Search for Cyclops 3 Date: Feb-01 Story: Am I Evil? (24 pages) Feature Characters: Cyclops, Phoenix, Cable Regular Characters: Guest Stars: Villains: En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse, in flashback); Anais, Ozymandias, Caliban (Pestilence), Gauntlet Other Characters: Bibi, Abdul Credits: Writer: Joseph Harris Pencils: Tom Raney Inks: Scott Hanna Letters: Jon Babcock Colors: J.C. Asst. Editor: Peter Franco Editor: Mark Powers Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Scott dreams of himself and Apocalypse merged, about to be reborn. He wakes, still with Anais on their way to Akkaba, eyes bandaged. She wants him to let Apocalypse come out, but she won't tell him the whole story. They are in Farafirah, which is under quarantine with a sudden, unidentifiable plague. Someone crawls through the sewers, spreading the epidemic as he goes. Jean is there, with Nathan screening infection out of the air around them. He points out they don't know if they'll find Scott or Apocalypse as the dominant personality. They find the room he was staying in, and then Jean senses him telepathically for a moment. Scott is pulled through a manhole by Caliban, now Apocalypse's Horseman Pestilence, who smells two scents on him. Jean and Nathan track him, and Gauntlet follows them. Anais gets there, as well, saying she wants to guard Apocalypse's rebirth, but Jean confronts her. Caliban saves Nathan from Gauntlet's blast, but the sewer tunnel collapses. Scott continues to transform, his eyes becoming a visor-shaped mass of energy. He releases Caliban from service, and Nathan realizes he's going to Akkaba. Issue: X-Men: Search for Cyclops 4 Date: Mar-01 Story: Found! (24 pages) Feature Characters: Cyclops, Phoenix, Cable Regular Characters: Blaquesmith Guest Stars: Villains: Apocalypse, Anais, Ozymandias Other Characters: Credits: Writer: Joseph Harris Pencils: Tom Raney Inks: Scott Hanna Letters: Jon Babcock Colors: J.C. Asst. Editor: Peter Franco Editor: Mark Powers Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Note: this occurs before UXM 391. Scott (Cypocalypse? Apocalops?) crawls through the desert sands toward Akkaba, while battling Apocalypse within him. Tracking him, Nathan urges caution, but Jean is anxious to find her husband. Anais urges Scott to give in to the dark side, after a lifetime of repressing his mutant power. He refuses, so she offers to take Apocalypse into herself. He rejects that, as well, so she attacks him. Nathan arrives and attacks her, while Jean reasserts her psychic rapport with Scott. Apocalypse asserts himself and makes Scott blast her. Anais confuses Nathan with hints about Gauntlet and escapes. In New York, Blaquesmith deletes files including those on Gauntlet. He sent him to kill Scott, to prevent the return of Apocalypse. Nathan challenges Apocalypse and gets slammed. Scott tells Nathan to kill him quickly, but he hesitates and Apocalypse reasserts himself. Jean takes control of his mind, considers destroying the mind she loved, but then splits Apocalypse from Scott. Nathan impales his psychic form with his psimitar, dispelling him. He takes the visor from his neck and returns it to his father. Anais warns Nathan that what Apocalypse touches, he changes. Ozymandias observes and concurs. Issue: Magik 1 Date: Dec-00 Story: The Crossing Guard (22 pages) Feature Characters: Magik (Amanda Sefton) Regular Characters: Phil Nugent, Vitchen Guest Stars: Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) Villains: Nightmare, Dormammu and Mindless Ones Other Characters: Credits: Writer: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning Pencils & Inks: Liam McCormack-Sharp Letters: Sharpefont & PT Colors: Kevin Somers Editor: Mike Marts Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras Synopsis: In the realm of Nightmare, where evil dreams spawn, Nightmare himself has a nightmare. He shrugs it off, but then he is attacked in his own bedchamber. A demon teleports to New York, and Amanda is there to confront it. With stepping disk and Soulsword, she is the guardian of Limbo, and though the battle is fierce, she kills the thing and leaves no evidence behind. She goes to a run-down hotel on Fourth Ave., where Nugent is creating a database of arcane lore. Next she visits Kurt. He's now a postulant priest. She spends most of her time stopping demons from crossing to Earth. Suddenly she is summoned back to Limbo, and Kurt is drawn in with her. Vitchen alerts them that the Great Wall is under attack from the Splintered Realms. They join the melee, swords swinging, and eventually turn back the hordes from Nightmare's realm. Dormammu is at the gate, begging audience. Issue: Magik 2 Date: Jan-01 Story: A Gathering of Foes (22 pages) Feature Characters: Magik Regular Characters: Vitchen, Phil Nugent Guest Stars: Nightcrawler Villains: Dormammu and Mindless Ones, Mephisto; Duke Bleys (S'ym) Other Characters: Gleeg Credits: Writer: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning Pencils & Inks: Liam McCormack-Sharp Letters: Sharpefont & PT Colors: Kevin Somers Asst. Editor: Mike Raicht Editor: Mike Marts Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Gleeg was captain in the Silurian Guard and saw Nightmare's fortress overrun. He himself was killed, and now Dormammu releases him. He suggests an alliance with Magik against this new, powerful foe. Amanda consults with her advisors and sends a scouting party. Dormammu leads them to the next endangered realm: Muspelheim. It is all burnt out, and not even the Norse god Surtur has survived. A storm breaks, like shards of living darkness, slicing their forces to bits. Dormammu and Amanda join forces to port them all back to Limbo. Amanda contacts Nugent, who calculates that Hades will be the next target. While she goes to warn Mephisto, Kurt and Vitchen share some grog and reminisce about Belasco and S'ym. Mephisto at first attacks her, but she holds the Soulsword to his throat and makes him listen. Issue: Magik 3 Date: Feb-01 Story: The Fall of Hades (22 pages) Feature Characters: Magik Regular Characters: Guest Stars: Nightcrawler Villains: Dormammu, Mephisto, Phemous and Huscarls, D'Spayre, Siffror the Lifeless, Malevolence, Umar, Skarabrous the Stalker, Molgotha, Viliven, Brutus Klor, Pluto; Duke Bleys (S'ym) Other Characters: Credits: Writer: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning Pencils & Inks: Liam McCormack-Sharp Letters: Sharpefont & PT Colors: Kevin Somers Asst. Editor: Mike Raicht Editor: Mike Marts Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Mephisto's citadel is under attack, and the tempest of black shards destroys everything in its path. Even with Amanda's aid, there's no choice but retreat, and the bastion collapses. Amanda calls a convocation of all the lords of the netherworlds, who assemble with all their daemonic retinues. She warns them: unite or perish, and when Pluto weighs in on her side, it is decided. After 47 thousand years of warfare, the dark realms reunite with a mystical chant. Kurt notices Bleys speaking into a device and realizes he's a spy. He confronts him and gets knocked down. Bleys shows himself to be S'ym, who manipulated Amanda into uniting the realms as a single target. Issue: Magik 4 Date: Mar-01 Story: Bound for Destruction (22 pages) Feature Characters: Magik Regular Characters: Vitchen, Phil Nugent Guest Stars: Nightcrawler Villains: Dormammu and Mindless Ones, Mephisto, Pluto; S'ym Other Characters: Credits: Writer: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning Pencils & Inks: Liam McCormack-Sharp Letters: Sharpefont & PT Colors: Kevin Somers Asst. Editor: Mike Raicht Editor: Mike Marts Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Amanda goes to the Horn of Harrowing and calls for the last stand, a billion demons against their nameless adversary. The battle is fierce, and Amanda calls on the dark lords to unite their magicks with hers to find their enemy's true nature. She realizes it's all her fault, and she teleports Kurt to New York, where he sees Nugent and realizes it's the machine, the repository of arcane knowledge, which had evolved unexpectedly. Kurt destroys it with a sword blade; Amanda slashes with the Soulsword at its avatar in Limbo, and the battle is won. (So Kurt has to tell his bishop he helped rescue the demonic realms?) Issue: X-Men Forever 1 Date: Jan-01 Story: The Destiny Pact (23 pages) Feature Characters: Phoenix, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Cable, Iceman Regular Characters: Guest Stars: Prosh, Sen. Robert Kelly; universal forces: Eon, the Watchers, Death, the In-Betweener, Lord Chaos, Master Order, the Living Tribunal, the Ethicals, Oblivion, Infinity, Eternity Villains: a Celestial, Mystique (as Mr. Adler), Ruckus, Juggernaut, Toad, Graydon Creed; Ruckus Other Characters: Holt, Parsons, William and Maddy Drake Credits: Writer: Fabian Nicieza Pencils: Kevin Maguire Inks: Andrew Pepoy Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Saida! Colors: Paul Mounts Asst. Editor: Pete Franco, Lara Castle Editor: Mark Powers, Ralph Macchio Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Note: this occurs before X-Men II:106. Background: Ship was a Celestial spacecraft crashed in ancient Egypt by Rama Tut (a.k.a. Kang, Immortus; Rise of Apocalypse 1-4) and commandeered by Apocalypse (X-Factor 46, X-Force 37). Damaged and abandoned, X- Factor made it their headquarters (X-Factor 25). It upended and became a skyscraper in Manhattan (X-Factor 51), housed the New Mutants for awhile (New Mutants 76), then partly self-destructed in space (X-Factor 66). In the future, it became Cable's mentor Professor (X-Force 20), given to him by his time-traveling self (Cable 25), and becoming incorporated into his T-O virus (Askani'son 1), then into his space station Graymalkin (X- Force 8), later commandeered by Magneto, who made it into Avalon, but Cable rescued Professor (X-Force 25), who was attacked by a Phalanx, became Prosh, and returned to outer space (X-Force 39), because its frequencies caused Cable's T-O to go out of control. Or something like that. Prosh is in space, under attack, systems compromised. He had gone exploring inside the bloodstream of a Celestial, and he barely escapes to warn earth of what he has learned. The X-Men monitor Senator Kelly, who is leading in the presidential race and is suddenly a convert to Xavier's dream. Jean senses anger in the crowd and has Kurt quickly port in and out, capturing Ruckus. Remy stuffs a charged card in his mouth to silence him, while Kelly's staff tries to figure out what just happened. Nathan's T-O has gone haywire: Prosh has returned, and it contacts Jean, asking to meet her at Bard College's chapel, where a tombstone with her name once stood (UXM 139, 175, 240). He has generated a human form: that of a manifestation of Death who tried to help the Phoenix force (Classic X-Men 43). He wants Jean to remember those memories and help save the universe. Prosh as Destiny meets Mystique, now Kelly's aide, Mr. Adler. He notes she's working for Kelly while sending Ruckus to kill him. He wants her help, and she is intrigued. Prosh as the White Queen in Bobby's body (UXM 314) goes to Long Island to recruit Bobby: he needs to use all his power for this one. Prosh as Kurt Marko pretends to be Juggernaut's lawyer and talks to him in prison (Avengers III:25). He refuses to help, so Prosh mesmerizes him. Prosh as the Stranger goes to San Francisco to recruit Toad, who says he's on Ridlin now, trying to control his shifting personality and biology. Prosh reveals himself, and Toad readily agrees to help. Prosh collects his unusual team on a mountaintop and explains: eons ago, the Celestials seeded Earth, from which sprung Eternals, Deviants, and humans. The Kree later created the Inhumans, and mutants evolved naturally, first from humans, and now as Mannites and Neo. Mutants have often disturbed various parallel timelines, and the embodiments of universal forces are concerned. They see that mutants will soon replace them and remake the universe. Jean as Phoenix has touched these fundamental forces; Bobby represents untapped mutant potential; Mystique the fear of humans for mutants; Toad the manipulation of mutants by humans; Juggernaut the human jealousy of mutants. (They don't particularly like these designations, but?) Prosh channels their psychic forms to their own pasts, where they can unlock secrets that can save the universe. They find themselves scattered, on the day Graydon Creed was assassinated (X-Factor 130). Issue: X-Men Forever 2 Date: Feb-01 Story: Choices Once Made (23 pages) Feature Characters: Phoenix, Iceman, Cannonball, Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops Regular Characters: Guest Stars: Prosh, Dr. Moira MacTaggert, Carol Danvers; Freedom Force: Forge, Mystique, Pyro, Blob, Avalanche, Destiny (Irene Adler) Villains: Graydon Creed, Juggernaut, Toad; Legion, Rogue, the Phoenix force Other Characters: William Drake Credits: Writer: Fabian Nicieza Pencils: Kevin Maguire Inks: Andrew Pepoy Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Saida! Colors: Paul Mounts Asst. Editor: Pete Franco, Brian Smith Editor: Mark Powers, Ralph Macchio Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Mystique remembers being Leni Zauber (Sabretooth LS 3) and having a son, Graydon Creed, whom she gave up for adoption. Years later she assassinated him (X-Factor 130), and Prosh has sent her back to that event. Jean calls Bobby at his Dad's house, then contacts Sam, who is undercover as Creed's bodyguard. Prosh tells her she's not supposed to change history but to learn from it. Then he says Mystique's past self planned to kill Graydon (including a cloaking device to hide the gun and a fake message from the "real" killer, X-Factor 130), but her future self is the one that did/is doing the deed. Mystique, with a tear in her eye, chooses to flip the switch to arm the gun again. Time warp again: Jean and Bobby are in their X-Factor uniforms (X-Factor 43-50), Juggernaut in Crossmore Prison (before Thor 411), Toad working at a burger joint, and Mystique on Muir, looking at Destiny's corpse (UXM 255). She goes to the seaside to get away from everyone, and Legion goes and asks her to kill him. In Destiny's mind he had seen forewarnings of his part in the AOA (X- Men II:41) and couldn't deal with it, so he killed her. Mystique points two handguns at his temples and asks him why he doesn't just suicide; he says Destiny told him it would be Mystique's choice. Mystique realizes she can't change destiny and lowers her weapons. Time warp again: Mystique is in the Pentagon, Jean in a cocoon in Jamaica Bay (FF 286), Bobby in college, Toad in a chicken joint, and Juggernaut in a block of concrete after losing to Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man 229). Prosh tells Bobby and Toad they have to stop Mystique from accessing secret files. He tells Bobby to go take a shower, then takes control of his mind so he can use his powers fully. Danvers, Ororo, and Logan had just erased the X-Men's FBI files and fought Rogue (UXM 158). Mystique impersonates Nick Fury and copies files revealing anti-mutant conspiracies in the government. Toad hops onto the hood of her car; she knocks over a fire hydrant; Bobby emerges from the rushing water; Mystique hides in the crowd, refusing to trust Prosh further. She goes home; Destiny knows she's from the future and sends Rogue to her room. She has set up the computer to let future Mystique read the disk, but then erase it so past Mystique can't. The embrace as lovers, and Destiny apologizes for what she has done. Mystique reads about the government's Black Womb research project into mutations: Dr. Nathan Milbury, Xavier, Fred Duncan, Kurt Marko. Time warp again: the Phoenix is on the moon. Issue: X-Men Forever 3 Date: Mar-01 Story: All of God's Creatures (23 pages) Feature Characters: Phoenix, Iceman, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Beast, Angel, Prof. X, Storm Regular Characters: Guest Stars: Prosh, an avatar of Death, Theresa Roarke (Rourke?), Lilandra; universal forces: Graviton, Maelstrom, the Stranger, Thanos, Adam Warlock, Loki, Dormammu Villains: Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy; the Phoenix force; Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: Mystique, Destiny, Blob, Pyro, Avalanche; Sen. Robert Kelly; Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Toad; Hydra Other Characters: John and Elaine Grey Credits: Writer: Fabian Nicieza Pencils: Kevin Maguire Inks: Andrew Pepoy Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Saida! Colors: Paul Mounts Asst. Editor: Pete Franco, Brian Smith Editor: Mark Powers, Ralph Macchio Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Jean piloted a space shuttle through radiation, saving her team but sacrificing her own life (UXM 101). The Phoenix force substituted itself for her (Classic X-Men 8), and later allowed herself to be killed on the moon (UXM 137). She had a chat with Death (Classic X-Men 43), and Jean has another now, but it's the same one. Since the dawn of time he has been building a skyscraper, with room for every civilization's idea of the afterlife. The Phoenix force witnessed her massacre of D'Bari (UXM 135) and fainted with guilt, then the future Jean Grey's mind arrived. Concurrently, Mystique is forming her Brotherhood, Toad is running an amusement park (after Marvel 2-in-1 68), Juggernaut is in Cassidy Keep (before UXM 101), and Bobby is at Jean's funeral (UXM 138). Death tells Jean the Phoenix force chose her as a means to involve herself in making history, and that Jean chose the Phoenix, too, to save her friends but also out of hunger for infinite power. She challenged the fabric of reality and scared the forces behind the universe. Now that she knows her choice could lead to cataclysmic advancement of the human species, she must choose. Time warp again: Toad in jail after impersonating the Stranger (Avengers 137- 138); Bobby with Warren at UCLA before they formed the Champions; Mystique impersonating Duncan and talking to Kelly; Juggernaut with Black Tom; Jean in the shuttle, dying of radiation poisoning. Prosh wants her to face her choice again, knowing that Entropy, Oblivion, Death, and Life don't care about any particular universe, but only worry that humankind will evolve and replace them. Time warp again: to the early days of the X- Men. Juggernaut is in jail after the X-Men defeated him (UXM 13). Mystique has killed for the first time, and Destiny comforts her. Toad is with Magneto, having been taken by the Stranger as specimens for study. Realizations: Toad that his attempts to woo the Scarlet Witch were foolish; Bobby that he looked dumb as a snowman; Jean that Xavier is burdened with responsibility. She snoops in his computer files and sees that she and Bobby have unlimited potential, so Xavier knew what might happen. Time warp again: Mystique a captive of Hydra; Jean a freshman in high school; Bobby uncontrollably chilly; Juggernaut buried under the Cyttorak temple; Toad on the day Magneto rescued and recruited him. Note: I just realized Nicieza has put notes on the back cover, so I've been wasting my time looking them up. And I was so proud I remembered the Death construction worker in Classic X-Men! Issue: X-Men Forever 4 Date: Apr-01 Story: The Age of Innocence (23 pages) Feature Characters: Phoenix, Iceman; Charles Xavier Regular Characters: Guest Stars: Prosh Villains: Juggernaut, Mystique, Toad; Magneto, Astra, Hydra; Dr. Kurt Marko, Dr. Alexander Ryking, Destiny, Amanda Mueller (the Black Womb), Mr. Sinister, Externals, Kree, Skrulls, Cotati, Badoon, Celestials, Eternals, Deviants, Sentinels Other Characters: Credits: Writer: Fabian Nicieza Pencils: Kevin Maguire Inks: Andrew Pepoy Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Saida! Colors: Paul Mounts Asst. Editor: Pete Franco, Brian Smith Editor: Mark Powers, Ralph Macchio Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Magneto has put Toad into his first costume and treats him as a lackey. Juggernaut is digging his way to the surface. They both have time to regret their whole useless lives. Magneto squabbles with Astra (UXM 386), who has been stocking extra-terrestrial equipment and scouting mutants for him. Jean and Bobby are young and worried that after the next time jump they won't be born yet. Mystique has escaped from Hydra. Jean prompts Prosh to link them all together, explaining he has carefully selected the time jumps to help them see things more clearly. Time warp again: Juggernaut is a bully; his father has taken him on a business trip to separate him from Charles. He finds himself in Ryking's lab, full of tanks containing mutant babies including Toad. A guard catches him, then reveals herself as Mystique; she was investigating Destiny's involvement there. Ryking and Destiny explain to Kurt Marko that these tanks are the rejects, who could be fixed, but Amanda (Gambit 21) wants to see what happens if they develop on their own. They were taken from parents around the world, for the study of their genetics, and Destiny is there as archivist. Time warp again: all five see events before they were born. The A-bomb, mutations caused by radiation, Sinister, Externals, Kree and Skrull and Celestials seeding earth, dinosaurs, and the formation of the universe itself. Mystique finds herself naked in the desert in the rain, her skin mottled scaly. Toad warns her to look out: they are in the future, under attack by a Sentinel, which blasts both of them. Bobby bursts the Sentinel apart, using his powers in new ways that he doesn't understand. Another Sentinel corners him. Issue: X-Men Forever 5 Date: May-01 Story: Iceman ? Present and Accounted For (23 pages) Feature Characters: Phoenix, Iceman Regular Characters: Guest Stars: Prosh, Rachel Summers, future Katherine Pryde, future Wolverine (in flashback) Villains: Juggernaut, Mystique, Toad; Sentinels, the Stranger Other Characters: Ty Credits: Writer: Fabian Nicieza Pencils: Kevin Maguire Inks: Andrew Pepoy Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Saida! Colors: Paul Mounts Asst. Editor: Pete Franco, Brian Smith Editor: Mark Powers, Ralph Macchio Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Bobby has had pain, fear, and guilt in his life, but now, in his own future, he knows he is about to die and can't stop it. Sentinels blast and kill him. An exploding arrow hits one and blows its head off: Marko has arrived, no longer Juggernaut but well equipped (including Klaw's sonic horn and Citizen V's flier), in the year 2014. Mystique and Toad have been killed. Two of the Sentinels are fractured to bits, and a mist solidifies: Bobby is alive and finally in full control of his powers. They enter the Black Womb facility; Marko says Mueller ran it and kept herself alive by dissecting mutants. Jean has found herself in Rachel's body, in prison in Manhattan; this is a similar but alternate timeline to the Days of Future Past (UXM 141-142). Bobby finds her and gets confused; Marko thinks Prosh has put them through all this just to show them mutants are doomed. Time warp again: they reassemble before Prosh, 27 seconds after they left. They want answers, but he says they should have figured it out for themselves, and they have all failed. Jean realizes the threat Prosh wanted to warn them about is himself; the Celestials are using him as their "harbinger of annihilation." Jean splits Prosh apart, but he just creates many robot forms, and a melee breaks out. Toad has wandered off, recognizes the ship, and gets attacked. Prosh hints that the five of them need to combine to win; Jean has Bobby freeze the ship; he has realized his power makes him part of everything, and all are impressed. Toad runs back with a warning but gets zapped. The Stranger has been behind it all. Issue: X-Men Forever 6 Date: Jun-01 Story: Tomorrow Begins Today (38 pages) Feature Characters: Phoenix, Iceman; Cyclops, Beast (in flashback) Regular Characters: Guest Stars: Prosh, Eternity; Order, Chaos, Celestials, Galactus (in flashback) Villains: Juggernaut, Mystique, Toad; the Stranger; the Phoenix force Other Characters: Ms. Yama Credits: Writer: Fabian Nicieza Pencils: Kevin Maguire Inks: Andrew Pepoy Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Saida! Colors: Paul Mounts Asst. Editor: Pete Franco, Brian Smith Editor: Mark Powers, Ralph Macchio Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: All attack the Stranger, to no effect. Toad is near death. Bobby realizes he must be the key, since the Stranger attacked him first. Jean has Bobby freeze the Stranger and Juggernaut punch him to bits, but he's incorporeal. He says they are dust, refusing to admit they're the hurricane: Jean the touchstone, Juggernaut the impediment, Mystique the manipulator, Toad the manipulated, Bobby the potentiality. The full spectrum of mutant experience. He shows Juggernaut more reality than he can stand, and says when he saw the Phoenix force in Jean he decided to usurp the fundamental forces of the universe. He tells her not to fear the resurrection force, and she touches the Phoenix. She sees the entire evolution of humankind until they become Eternity, and she realizes to control human evolution is to control eternity. Bobby has taken Mystique and Toad into Prosh (nee Ship) to the med lab. He has to unfreeze it all (see last iss.), and Prosh comes online. He offers not only to heal Toad but also to reverse the genetic tampering done to him, to fulfill his potential so he can help defeat the Stranger. He has Bobby thaw other parts. Jean is shocked that one race, hers, can become Eternity. Eternity appears and agrees it is amusing. He has frozen time so the fundamental forces can discuss things with Jean. The Phoenix force guarantees rebirth, and just as Galactus was the sole survivor of the Big Bang, so mankind as Eternity may survive the end. The Stranger wants to speed up human evolution and leave himself as the sole survivor of a new universe. Jean takes this explanation as permission to defeat the Stranger. A cellular reconstruction conduit breaks and sparks; Mystique must reconnect it to save Toad. She debates with herself but then does it; he emerges with enhanced powers, but her body is now more fragmented (cf. the X-Men movie). They rendezvous with the others. The Stranger has got himself back together and attacks Jean, till she points out he needs her. Bobby thaws more of Prosh, while Toad purges its systems of the Stranger's virus. Jean wakes Juggernaut so he can punch the Stranger and free her. Bobby turns the Stranger's eye beams into ice and then freezes him in place, while the rest escape so Prosh can collapse upon itself and the Stranger, exiling them both from the universe. The resultant vacuum causes a whirlwind, and they hang onto each other (Toad with his prehensile tongue). Bobby reappears and tosses a snowball onto Mystique's head. The villains and heroes consider fighting each other, but they're stranded on a mountaintop, so they don't bother. A week later in Westchester, Bobby says he understands now: your powers don't increase; you just change your perception of them. A week later in Seagate Prison, Juggernaut gets free by volunteering to be a bounty hunter for the government. A week later in Manhattan, Toad lashes out at a crowd that mocks him and considers his future. A week later in DC, Mystique still feels shattered and sees that Kelly is expected to win the presidential election. The Stranger doesn't regret his gambit as he sits in exile aboard Prosh.
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This site is not affiliated with Marvel Entertainment Group, who are the TM and copyright holders of the 'X-Men' and associated characters. Any references made on this site to said property constitutes fair use.