Uncanny X-Men #241 (February 1989)

The Christmas season may be here, and with it comes chills. I'm talking about cold weather, snow, ice, and winds that make it feel even colder than it actually is.

In 1989, the heroes of the Marvel Universe, mainly the X-Men and their related teams, didn't have to worry about the cold. Instead, they had to beat the heat. A heat unlike one they've never undergone before. I'm talking the heat...of the Inferno. 

Inferno was a crossover that encompassed many of the company's superhero titles at the time. The main story was of an invasion of New York City by demons, which many superheroes had to deal with. We've seen Spider-Man and his supporting cast deal with the Inferno before. One of the events of the story was X-Men ally's Madelyne Pryor being corrupted into the Goblin Queen, which we're going to look at some of here. This is Uncanny X-Men #241!

The cover is a Marc Silvestri and Dan Green piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts the Goblin Queen front and center holding out her arms and cape with a pair of demons flanking her. In front is her cohort N'astirh holding her son Christopher. This cover really shows that this is going to be the Goblin Queen's coming out party. 

"Inferno, Part the Second: Fan the Flames!"
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editors: Bob Harras, Mark Gruenwald
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with Madelyne Pryor confronting a certain superpowered genetics-obsessed mad scientist under an orphanage in Nebraska.

"Where's my money, Sinister?!"

Sinister claims that he was the man who gave the redheaded firebrand life. Maddy thinks that's garbage, as she knows he's the man who sent the Marauders to kill her. She sends her demon guard dogs to tear Sinister a new one...quite literally.

However, Sinister easily bats them away, and locks Maddie in some chains.

"It's a Claremont comic, so I figured I'd be in chains at some point..."

Maddy calls for her demonic companion N'astirh to help her, but he's decided to make like King Arthur facing the Rabbit of Caerbannog.

So, yeah. The Goblin Queen is seemingly screwed. Wait, this book is called "The Uncanny X-Men", right? I mean, it's not called "The Wacky Misadventures of the Goblyn Queen". Although that would make a hilarious mini-series. So, what're the titular Merry Mutants up to? Well, brawling with the Marauders in the streets of New York City. 

This all started with an argument over which pinball table was better.

At the same time, thanks to a demonic invasion of the city, it's becoming more twisted and monsterous, with objects coming to life and attacking people. 

"Man, the Postal Service has really gotten hardcore."

The battle is interrupted by some cops. who've taken on a new look.

"Call us pigs again! We dare ya!"

A Malice-possessed Polaris destroys their demon cars and rains shrapnel down on the X-Men. Vertigo adds to the assault with her powers. However, a lucky throw from X-Men member Longshot is able to take down Vertigo. Rogue takes down Scalphunter with a car. Psylocke tries to use her psychic powers to take down the rest of the Marauders, but her powers are overwhelmed by the panicked thoughts of NYC's citizenry. The fight continues on.

Back in Nebraska, A shackled Maddy insists that she is a regular person, but Sinister tells her she has no past, because she never existed before. Maddy tells him about when she witnessed the death of her friend Annie Richardson after being hit by a car. Her powers manifested, allowing her to hear her friend's final thoughts. Sinister points out that that memory is not hers, but one of Jean Grey's memories. It as how Jean's powers manifested, not Maddy's. Sinister finds it fascinating how she was able to inherit that. N'astirh watches this, thinking that the time is right at last to make his own move. He just needs to do one thing...

Back in NYC, Wolverine tries to rescue a man from being eaten by a living mailbox, but the man now has a new job as a postage stamp.

"Man, that song was not meant to be literal!"

Havok angrily blasts the mailbox, which makes some nearby people cheer.

Colossus notes that it's like madness has reigned, with the returned Marauders, and all this demonic stuff. Storm just simply tells him that this is life in New York City. Heh.

Back to Nebraska! Sinister reveals the actual origin of miss Madelyne Pryor. She's basically a clone of Jean Grey, created by Sinister himself so he could have a "Jean Grey" of his own. She never manifested any powers of her own, until one day...

Yeah, the dialogue implies that her powers manifested when the Phoenix first showed up. Back to NYC! The X-Men and Marauders get attacked by what look like armored men in jetpacks. The X-Men captures one and Colossus interrogates him. The Russian powerhouse recognized those men. They're actually demons from Limbo...that his little sister Illyana rules. The demon tells him that she's not the boss anymore. Another demon named S'ym rules Limbo now, with the help of N'astirh. Their big plan is to make a spell that will turn Earth into a second Limbo. Think like Walt Disney World to Disneyland. Only the magic isn't meant to be happy.

They plan to deploy the spell at the Empire State Building. Colossus destroys the demon, which gets him cheered by Storm. Colossus notes the X-Men are seemingly getting more bloodthirsty, presumably due to the effects of the Inferno. He decides to head out alone to help his sister. 

In Sinister's lab, he reveals why he created Madelyne. Basically, he created her for one specific purpose: to be a broodmare. He theorized their child would help create the ultimate mutant. After all, he believed if Jean could resonate with the Phoenix Force, so could Maddy, being her "twin" and all. But then Jean ended up coming back, and that threatened to throw a heck of a monkey wrench in Sinister's plans. That's why he sent the Marauders to take her out. She taunts him that his Marauders obviously botched the job. Whoops. 

In NYC, Longshot is attacked by demons. Back on the ground, the X-Men cheer the death of the Marauders.

"Man, this is more fun than that cocaine bender we went on!"

Sinister is hoping to take Madelyne apart to see how she's changed. After all, since she was created, she's had some adventures with the X-Men, seemingly "died", and is now consorting with demons. Madelyne frees herself as she has her demons ambush Sinister. N'astirh gives Maddie her little son Christopher. The story ends with her vowing to make the world into ashes in an Inferno that will consume everyone...

I personally enjoyed this comic. I do feel that the X-Men did fall to the corruption a bit quickly, though. However, there was a nice balance of exposition and action. I did like that Claremont managed to fit some moments of dark humor with the man and the mailbox. And there was also a fire hydrant beating up a dog. The 80s were a time when the X-Men's mythos were beginning to get more convoluted, and Inferno was definitely one of the signs of it, with the revelation of Maddy Pryor's origins. And it would only get more crazy over the years.

Marc Silvestri's art in this comic is interesting to look at. It's very...angular, with lots of sharp lines and few curves. But in a way, I think it fits the story. We're seeing a city that his literally looking more hellish, and his art shows that. One detail I liked that as the X-Men grew more bloodthirsty and corrupted by the demonic influence in the city, their costumes changed. Psylocke's face was more shadowed, the hair of Rogue and Storm grew wilder and the costumes looked more frayed. Wolverine's fangs became more prominent. Not to mention he draws a great evil smile on Maddie.

If you want to read this for yourself, I do recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback X-Men: Inferno Vol. 2. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time and have a very Happy Holidays!