Madelyne Pryor: Red Queen Appreciation 2018

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Uncanny X-Men #176 Dec 1983
"Decisions"
Scott and Maddie are flying to a remote island in the South Pacific for their honeymoon

when a storm catches them and disables the engine.

In Japan, Wolverine sneaks into Mariko's chambers.
He's come to return the honor blade, which was delivered to him 2 days after he last returned it.
We find out that Mastermind forced Mariko to call off the wedding,
and that while under his control Mariko also involved the clan in criminal pursuits again.
She loves Logan, but won't allow Wolverine to be with her until she has expunged the stain upon her clan's honor.

In the South Pacific, Scott is working on the engine. He loses his balance while leaning over for a kiss,
and a large shark leaps at him. He stuns it with an eye-blast. Unnoticed by either he or Maddie,
the stunned shark becomes something else's meal before it can recover - something with long powerful tentacles!

Washington D.C. Henry Gyrich has arrived to a briefing that has already started - a briefing on mutants!
Frank Lowell of the CIA is discussing Magneto's most recent threat, a threat that was never followed through on for unknown reasons.
Following him is Valerie Cooper. She presents evidence that mutants are no longer primarily a U.S. phenomena,
but now a broadly global one - the U.S. must take steps to defend itself against foreign spies and assassins possessing mutant powers!
Gyrich objects - he thinks to do so would be to prove Magneto right.
But Dr. Cooper thinks mutants present a 'clear and present danger', and must be dealt with.

The South Pacific. The main part of the Storm is starting to move over them as they try the engine, but it catches fire and Scott has Maddie turn it off.

They get back to work, neither noticing the sinister tentacle reaching out of the water!

The Alley. Caliban returns to his chambers to discover Masque, Callisto, and Sunder there.
He orders them out but Callisto is concerned because she hasn't seen him much.
They accuse him of mooning over Kitty, and he admits to being sad because she promised to stay with him if he helped the X-Men, but she didn't.
Callisto tells him she means to see Kitty keep her promise!

The South Pacific. Scott finally has the engines working, and Maddie is pulling in the sea-anchor when she's grabbed by a monstrous tentacle!
Scott jumps in after her, and blasts the squid, freeing Maddie. It grabs him, but he gives it an eyeful. However, he's lost his glasses.
Getting to the surface, Maddie steers him towards the ship with her voice, but it grabs him again.
Getting his bearings from the direction its pulling him, he lets the squid have it full power.
They get back onto the plane, and after a few moments of panic, the second engine finally catches and they're off.

Scott decides he's not interested in going off to fight a war with his father as a member of the Starjammers.

Story by Chris Claremont. Art by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Wiacek.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Uncanny X-Men #239 Dec 1988
Inferno: Prologue - "Vanities!"
In Manhattan the Empire State building starts to grow, demons possess many technical things like elevators and telephones.

In a secret hideout, Mr. Sinister thinks about the X-Men as Malice rushes in.
She tried to separate from Polaris’s body and discovered that they are permanently bonded.
Sinister says, that this was the reason why he ordered her to possess Lorna Dane.
He knew that the woman’s hidden hate, combined with the interaction of the unique energy matrices, would lead to such a result.
Malice is very angered, but Sinister convinces her, that this is for the better,
for now she is the only unique and irreplaceable member of the Marauders.

In Australia, Dazzler uses a day off to do the single thing she loves most – singing.
She and Longshot enter a bar and Alison is allowed to sing with the band.
The audience loves her.

Havok thinks about how much rejoining the X-Men changed his life, not only did he have to fight the woman he loves,
he also had to use his powers to kill, even if it were only Brood. Madelyne comforts him.

Storm researches some video footage, and discovers the interview with X-Factor's Cyclops and Marvel Girl.
She is shocked to see her best friend alive. Immediately she tells Wolverine, who said he already knew;
twice he caught her scent. He did not say anything, because he did not trust his senses.
He thought he was going mad to smell the woman he loved.

In an underground cave Psylocke fights Rogue and Colossus in a training session.
At first she does good, distracting them with her telepathy, but with teamwork she is defeated.
Rogue holds her and Psylocke asks her to let her go, yet Rogue refuses with a "Make me".
Psylocke gives Rogue a mind-blast and knocks her out.
Rogue gets up, again the eye colour change from green to blue occurs, while Rogue is out of the picture Carol has taken over again.
Psylocke decides to take a bath in an underground lake.
Now that their tempers have cooled down, she and Carol talk it through.
Carol touches Betsy with her bare hand and is able to hold Rogue’s absorption powers in check.

Slowly Madelyne and Alex seem to fall in love.

They both lost the loves of their lives and now are all they have left.

They spend a night together.

Later Madelyne calls N'astirh and makes a bargain. Madelyne wants the Marauders found
(who nearly killed her and stole the baby), but most of all she wants her son.

Story by Chris Claremont. Art by Marc Silvestri and Dan Green.

[Bl00dwerK]

Loved Inferno. Probably my 2nd favorite crossover after the Mutant Massacre.