issue summaries

Uncanny X-Men 188 Legacy of the Lost Writer: Chris Claremont Penciler: John Romita, Jr Inker: Dan Green Colorist: Glynis Wein Letterer: Tom Orzechowski Editor: Ann Nocenti Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter Date: December 1984

Continuing from the previous issue, at Forge's headquarters, Shadowbeings engulf Storm, Colossus, Rogue and Forge. Forge is able to free himself with Ororo's help and goes for help. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler teleports his friend, Amanda Sefton, off an passenger airlines where she's a flight attendant, to the Blackbird, He explains that he need her witchcraft abilities to help the others. Kurt and Amanda are able to free Colossus. Professor Xavier sends Illyana to help. She teleports in and uses her Soulsword to free Rogue and Storm. Amanda and Illyana aren't able to seal the Shadowgate, and Amanda thinks another witch must be countering her spells. Ororo suspects one of the Wraiths she fought in the previous issue maybe the causing the problem, so Kurt and Forge teleport to the roof to find and eliminate it.

With the threat over, the team regroups. Peter checks on Illyana, and is learn about the magick she learned in Limbo. Storm find Forge and Naze, and demands that Forge not try to find the X-Men and that Forge tells the people he works for in the federal government to do the same.

In the Bermuda triangle, a man is spotted in the water by a fishing boat being attacked by sharks. A woman on board, Lee Forester, fires some shots to get rid of the sharks, and the man is pulled on board. It's Magneto!

The X-Men have returned home to the X-mansion. It's night, but Ororo is outside swimming in the pool while Kurt watches on from the diving board. She gets out of the water, and Kurt asks if it's true that her powers are gone. Ororo replies that Xavier has run tests to confirm it, and she'll survive. Kurt tells her that Professor Xavier has asked all of the X-Men to attend a meeting. Without her powers, Ororo doesn't feel she still belongs, but agrees to go as a favor to Kurt.

Some time later, Rachel sits on the stairs in her pajamas and a robe, outside of Xavier's study where the X-Men are meeting. Illyana and Roberto da Costa (the New Mutant Sunspot) come down the stairs. Ray gives them update that they called Wolverine and Kitty in Japan, but they refused to come home. (see the events of Kitty Pryde & Wolverine) Whatever it is that's going on, it's not good.

Xavier comes out and yells at them all to go to bed. Illyana and Roberto go upstairs, telling Rachel that the Professor means business when he uses that tone of voice. But Ray wants to know what's going on and she's able to shield herself from his psi-scans, but couldn't hide all three of them.

Inside of Xavier's study, the X-Men are discussing what happened to Storm. Kurt is angry that it was the government who attacked Ororo, but Xavier insists it was just a tragic accident. Peter thinks there is a greater chance now that the Mutant Control Act will be passed. Kurt tells them that he hoped to make a difference by joining the X-Men, but things have only gotten worse and they are being hunted by the people they are sworn to protect. He doesn't see the point of continuing on.

Xavier asks him if he would prefer follow Magneto and conquer humanity. But Kurt doesn't care. The school serves the purpose of teaching young mutants, but everything else should be left to the Avengers or Fantastic Four. After everything they've gone through, they've earned the right to be selfish. Banshee and Storm have been mamed, and Thunderbird and Jean Grey have been killed.

The words Jean Grey killed echo over and over again in Rachel's head as she telepathically eavesdrops from outside on the stairs. She screams "No!" and rushes into Xavier's study. Blasting everyone with psi-bolt's as powerful as Xavier's, she demands that Kurt admit that he was lying. In a grief-stricken rage, she nearly kills him.

Xavier grabs hold of Rachel and convinces her to get a hold of herself. She lets Kurt go and he drops to the floor. Rachel says Kurt has to be lying., since she heard her mom's voice. (Rachel called Scott in Uncanny X-Men 185, but heard Madelyne, not Jean). Ororo, Rogue and Peter check on Kurt, who's dazed.

Rachel says it's impossible that Jean Grey is dead, since she's her mother. Getting down on the floor next to Kurt, she apologizing for hurting him, because he's her favorite "fuzzy elf" who used to read her bedtime stories and take her to the circus. But now none of that will happen.

She insists that the X-Men can't give up. She opens up her mind to them and shows them all the future she grew up in.

Earth-811 (Days of Future Past): Kurt and Amanda are killed with a 14 year old Illyana outside the school, and moments later the mansion is besieged by artillery. Inside, Professor Xavier tries to reach the commander telepathically to surrender and stop the slaughter. Rachel rushes to him. Xavier tells her to go back to the Danger Room where she'll be safe, but she won't go without him. Just then, Xavier is blasted in the chest. Rachel remained by Xavier's body until soldiers found her in the remains of the mansion - the only survivor.

She explains to them that she was captured, and neutralizers were used to prevent her from using her powers. She was first sent to prison where she was tortured and eventually ended up in the South Bronx Containment Facility. Knowing that all that had happened to mutants was a result of the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly, she exchanged the psyche of the adult Kate Pryde with her younger self to try to prevent the assassination (see the events of Uncanny X-Men 141-142). When Kate returned, Rachel was the only X-Man left.

The X-Men are all left pondering how Rachel's future affects them. Peter contemplates his future with Kitty, Kurt is convinced Rachel has proven his point that it's useless to continue on fighting for a world who want to slaughter them, and Rogue is horrified that her foster mother, Mystique, who assassinated Kelly, was the cause of that. Xavier is devastated to hear of all of his hopes and dreams being destroyed and glad that in Rachel's future he died before seeing it happen.

Rachel continues with her story, explaining that eventually it was just her. With nothing else to loose, she decided to travel back in time physically this time, to try to prevent her future from happening. But this isn't her past. In her timeline, Illyana never was taken to Limbo, Storm didn't cut her hair or loose her powers, and her mom... her voice trails off. Even though a lot is different here, she feels in some ways it's worse than her past.

She tells them that even in her future, the X-Men didn't loose hope. Professor Xavier's dream of a world where humans and mutants lived in peace never died. She tells Kurt to give up on that dream, because all of their sacrifices will have been for nothing. Ororo repeats the classic line, "with great power comes great responsibility". Kurt offers his hand to Xavier and agrees to carry on fighting for his dream.

Xavier, Peter, Ororo and Rogue group hug Kurt and Xavier thanks him.

Elsewhere, several men are unloading crates of fish. One of the crates bursts open and one of the men, Jaime Rodriguez find a necklace inside of one them.