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X-Men: Inferno #1
X-Men: Inferno, Vol. 1
The X-Men's world goes up in flames as the most incendiary mutant crossover of all begins! X-Factor, the New Mutants, the newly-minted X-Terminators and even Power Pack all feel the heat as the Machiavellian geneticist Mr. Sinister and the demon lord N'astirh set their respective sights on Cyclops' wife, Madelyne Pryor! The New Mutants' Illyana Rasputin may be lord of Limbo, but how long will that uneasy crown last when Limbo's demon hordes invade New York? COLLECTING: POWER PACK (1984) 40, 42-43; X-FACTOR (1986) 33-36; X-TERMINATORS 1-4; UNCANNY X-MEN 239-240; NEW MUTANTS (1983) 71-72
421 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2016
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About the author
Louise Simonson
965 books101 followersLouise Simonson (born Mary Louise Alexander and formerly credited as Louise Jones, when married to artist Jeff Jones) is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman, and Steel. She is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Weezie".
Since 1980 she is married to comic book writer and artist Walter Simonson
Since 1980 she is married to comic book writer and artist Walter Simonson
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 8, 2024
A mega-crossover from the '80's when Marvel knew how to do these properly. Marvel dropped little tidbits for over a year leading up to Inferno. All of the tie-in issues make sense. They all feature characters based in New York. And I didn't have to buy a 9 issue miniseries on top of everything else. It was just, "Demons are coming to NYC, how will our heroes deal with it?" The four Inferno books collect every drop of related material. Everything in this book except the 2 Power Pack issues in the back are great. Those 2 were written by the artist and it shows, so much clunky narration.
August 28, 2024
The first half of a major crossover that encompasses all the X titles plus (ugh) Power Pack and, tangentially, just about every other Marvel book of the era; this was my favorite X-event when I was young, and I can see why. It’s got demons, horror-comedy, melodrama, mistaken identities, clones, more demons, and Mr Sinister. It’s especially influenced by Ghostbusters in the way NYC itself becomes possessed (the steadily growing World Trade Center makes an interestingly phallic backdrop for the demonic battle, and we see elevators, mailboxes, and trains come alive and eat tourists). There are some not-so-subtle themes of dominance and submission throughout, as various villains fight for the souls and bodies of Ilyana and Madelyne Prior; they’re also stealing mutant babies to open a portal to Limbo, so let’s not take it too seriously, okay? Anyway, this is a fun story, or a fun half a story, although I wish we saw a little more X-Men and a little less X-Terminators. Oh, and for the record, the (ugh) Power Pack story in this one is actually pretty good (that hurt to say).
October 2, 2016
The 1980s were filled with great comics stories and events. One comics franchise went from second-tier to dominating the market over the course of the 80s, the Uncanny X-Men. This event, Inferno, is the culmination of the X-Men decade.
This volume follows on the heels of the X-Men: Inferno Prologue giant size "not" Omnibus. It includes Uncanny X-Men 239-240, New Mutants 71-72, X-Factor 33-36, X-Terminators 1-4, and Power Pack 40, and 42-43.
This book is really the final set-up for all out Hell in Manhattan that comes along in volume 2. We get to "meet" the key baddies: N'astirh, S'ym, Nanny, and Mister Sinister plus see Madelyne Pryor become the Goblin Queen. Limbo, the dimension formerly ruled by Illyana Rasputin of the New Mutants, is beginning to overlay onto New York as the demons take control of the dimension and its portals.
Each series touches a portion of the event with some overlap with each other. New Mutants cross over with Power Pack and X-Terminators. The real crossover between titles really doesn't show up until volume 2.
The X-Men and X-Factor issues were excellent and provided equal parts action and plot. The New Mutants issues mostly focused on the descent of Illyana into her demon form and the hopelessness of fighting it. X-Terminators gave the tale of the machinations of N'astirh and his plans for the world. All of these furthered the Inferno plot and kept the event moving.
Only the Power Pack issues feel somewhat out of place. They focus on a peripheral event within the Inferno. Although N'astirh makes a personal appearance, the plot is not essential to the story in the way the others seem to be. I think these issues should have been placed in the "Inferno Crossovers" collection..
Overall, I loved this collection. It has story lines that set the foundation for several of the crossovers that come along in the 1990s. It formally introduces the evil Mister Sinister and what he really is all about. Mutant comics fans, especially X-Men and X-Force, really should take time to flashback to the event that defined the late 1980s.
This volume follows on the heels of the X-Men: Inferno Prologue giant size "not" Omnibus. It includes Uncanny X-Men 239-240, New Mutants 71-72, X-Factor 33-36, X-Terminators 1-4, and Power Pack 40, and 42-43.
This book is really the final set-up for all out Hell in Manhattan that comes along in volume 2. We get to "meet" the key baddies: N'astirh, S'ym, Nanny, and Mister Sinister plus see Madelyne Pryor become the Goblin Queen. Limbo, the dimension formerly ruled by Illyana Rasputin of the New Mutants, is beginning to overlay onto New York as the demons take control of the dimension and its portals.
Each series touches a portion of the event with some overlap with each other. New Mutants cross over with Power Pack and X-Terminators. The real crossover between titles really doesn't show up until volume 2.
The X-Men and X-Factor issues were excellent and provided equal parts action and plot. The New Mutants issues mostly focused on the descent of Illyana into her demon form and the hopelessness of fighting it. X-Terminators gave the tale of the machinations of N'astirh and his plans for the world. All of these furthered the Inferno plot and kept the event moving.
Only the Power Pack issues feel somewhat out of place. They focus on a peripheral event within the Inferno. Although N'astirh makes a personal appearance, the plot is not essential to the story in the way the others seem to be. I think these issues should have been placed in the "Inferno Crossovers" collection..
Overall, I loved this collection. It has story lines that set the foundation for several of the crossovers that come along in the 1990s. It formally introduces the evil Mister Sinister and what he really is all about. Mutant comics fans, especially X-Men and X-Force, really should take time to flashback to the event that defined the late 1980s.
July 2, 2024
There's a lot of mediocre but not terrible story crammed into this volume. Compared to some of the 90s crossovers, it's positively coherent and streamlined, but compared to the crossovers that preceded it, it's a bit messy.
The crux of the story is that New York has been turned into more of a hellscape than usual where inanimate objects come to life and eat people. Most of the scenes are silly, and you can tell that Chris Claremont had just seen Ghostbusters when he wrote this. He even tosses in a parody team of them. Most of the violence is corny and hard to get behind but there is a lovely two page spread at the very beginning of Uncanny X-Men #239 where a family is visiting the Empire State Building and, after some typical family bickering, they are eaten by the elevator, their blood seeps out, and is mopped up by a custodian wearing headphones who appears not to notice the horror that just occurred. Honestly, it's one of the smartest Claremont pages I can remember reading. It's legitimate horror.
Most of this volume focuses on X-Factor, which has been broken up into two teams: X-Factor (the original X-Men) and the X-Terminators (their trainees). X-Factor tries to track down Cyclops's missing son, and runs into Nanny and Orphan Maker, two of the least interesting villains in the X-Men universe. They have the potential to be interesting: a mutant locked in a cybernetic suit of her own making who kidnaps children, and her partner, an armored mutant she kidnapped who now assists her in capturing other children. They were used extensively during the Krakoan era in the 2020s, and they were somehow boring in that series as well.
While X-Factor tries to save babies from Nanny and Orphan Maker, the X-Terminators battle baby-kidnapping demons, and end up teaming up with The New Mutants, who have their own problems with the demons.
Also, the Marauders and Mister Sinister are involved somehow with the babynapping, and helping and hindering Madelyne Pryor from ascending into The Goblin Queen who is kind of sort of maybe responsible for the demon infestation.
While all of the pages and issues seem straight-forward while reading them, I felt like a lot of logic was missing in the connective tissue between the various very similar stories.
I was delighted when X-Men '97 boiled this whole crossover to about three minutes in a larger episode.
If you love big event crossovers, there are definitely worse X-crossovers than this one, but it's also probably the weakest crossover Claremont and Simonson were involved in.
The crux of the story is that New York has been turned into more of a hellscape than usual where inanimate objects come to life and eat people. Most of the scenes are silly, and you can tell that Chris Claremont had just seen Ghostbusters when he wrote this. He even tosses in a parody team of them. Most of the violence is corny and hard to get behind but there is a lovely two page spread at the very beginning of Uncanny X-Men #239 where a family is visiting the Empire State Building and, after some typical family bickering, they are eaten by the elevator, their blood seeps out, and is mopped up by a custodian wearing headphones who appears not to notice the horror that just occurred. Honestly, it's one of the smartest Claremont pages I can remember reading. It's legitimate horror.
Most of this volume focuses on X-Factor, which has been broken up into two teams: X-Factor (the original X-Men) and the X-Terminators (their trainees). X-Factor tries to track down Cyclops's missing son, and runs into Nanny and Orphan Maker, two of the least interesting villains in the X-Men universe. They have the potential to be interesting: a mutant locked in a cybernetic suit of her own making who kidnaps children, and her partner, an armored mutant she kidnapped who now assists her in capturing other children. They were used extensively during the Krakoan era in the 2020s, and they were somehow boring in that series as well.
While X-Factor tries to save babies from Nanny and Orphan Maker, the X-Terminators battle baby-kidnapping demons, and end up teaming up with The New Mutants, who have their own problems with the demons.
Also, the Marauders and Mister Sinister are involved somehow with the babynapping, and helping and hindering Madelyne Pryor from ascending into The Goblin Queen who is kind of sort of maybe responsible for the demon infestation.
While all of the pages and issues seem straight-forward while reading them, I felt like a lot of logic was missing in the connective tissue between the various very similar stories.
I was delighted when X-Men '97 boiled this whole crossover to about three minutes in a larger episode.
If you love big event crossovers, there are definitely worse X-crossovers than this one, but it's also probably the weakest crossover Claremont and Simonson were involved in.
April 17, 2019
Collects Power Pack #40, 42 and 43 (September and December, 1988 and January 1989), X-Factor #33-36 (October 1988 - January 1989), X-terminators #1-4 (October 1988 - January 1989), Uncanny X-Men #239-240 (December 1988 - January 1989) and New Mutants #71-72 (January - February, 1989) as well as some supplementary material.
This is nice. Feels like the storylines, despite running across SO MANY comics, are holding together with a coherence and a driving plot in ways that haven't been seen since Mutant Massacre from almost three years previous. Though each comic has it's own team of people, Claremont was holding all the stories together nice and tightly here and the crossover gels really well (so far) into something epic and compelling. I was beginning to regret trying to finish out the last of the Claremont years, primarily for reasons that have nothing to do with Claremont (but with the scattered directions all the other teams were taking), but this brings me back to why I love his work and is beginning to give some closure to the story of Madelyne Pryor, which was left a mess when they decided to retcon Jean Grey's death a few years earlier.
This is nice. Feels like the storylines, despite running across SO MANY comics, are holding together with a coherence and a driving plot in ways that haven't been seen since Mutant Massacre from almost three years previous. Though each comic has it's own team of people, Claremont was holding all the stories together nice and tightly here and the crossover gels really well (so far) into something epic and compelling. I was beginning to regret trying to finish out the last of the Claremont years, primarily for reasons that have nothing to do with Claremont (but with the scattered directions all the other teams were taking), but this brings me back to why I love his work and is beginning to give some closure to the story of Madelyne Pryor, which was left a mess when they decided to retcon Jean Grey's death a few years earlier.
February 28, 2017
This is an excellent if slightly uneven first half of one of the mega crossover events of the 1980s: Inferno.
This follows the buildup to Inferno, where two demons battle for control of New York City and the fate of several mutants, both heroes and innocent children. Some of the side stories following the X-Terminators and the Power Pack kids feel like unnecessary fluff that detracts from the main story arc. As a completionist, I appreciate their inclusion as they are technically part of the story, but as a (somewhat casual) fan of the X-Men I wanted to focus on the main mutant groups.
The characterization and tone fits right in with the rest of the era's X-Men writing, with Louise Simonson providing most of the text with a bit of Claremont and other writers sprinkled in. The characters all fit in with their established personalities and act accordingly. Some great minor character moments shine through around the edges of the dark and terrifying main plot. Definitely worth a read if you are a comics fan, and particularly if you are an X-Men fan.
This follows the buildup to Inferno, where two demons battle for control of New York City and the fate of several mutants, both heroes and innocent children. Some of the side stories following the X-Terminators and the Power Pack kids feel like unnecessary fluff that detracts from the main story arc. As a completionist, I appreciate their inclusion as they are technically part of the story, but as a (somewhat casual) fan of the X-Men I wanted to focus on the main mutant groups.
The characterization and tone fits right in with the rest of the era's X-Men writing, with Louise Simonson providing most of the text with a bit of Claremont and other writers sprinkled in. The characters all fit in with their established personalities and act accordingly. Some great minor character moments shine through around the edges of the dark and terrifying main plot. Definitely worth a read if you are a comics fan, and particularly if you are an X-Men fan.
March 31, 2019
If I was rating these issues individually, some would be 5s, some would be 4s, some would be 3s, and some would be 2s.
It’s inconsistent.
The best part (which pretty much earned all of the stars) is the battle between Warren Worthington (Archangel) and Cameron Hodge. That’s the only thing cool about the first half.
The second half is a mildly entertaining sequel to the Magick limited series. I was surprised to find the power pack tie ins to be pretty good. Also, Wiz Kid is a pretty cool character that is introduced in the X-Terminators.
Those are the highlights. Everything else is kinda boring filler that takes too long to read. These old X Men arcs are so hit or miss. They alternate so abruptly between awesome and boring. Too cool to quit, too fickle to love. ::shrug::
::sight:: on to part 2 I guess...
It’s inconsistent.
The best part (which pretty much earned all of the stars) is the battle between Warren Worthington (Archangel) and Cameron Hodge. That’s the only thing cool about the first half.
The second half is a mildly entertaining sequel to the Magick limited series. I was surprised to find the power pack tie ins to be pretty good. Also, Wiz Kid is a pretty cool character that is introduced in the X-Terminators.
Those are the highlights. Everything else is kinda boring filler that takes too long to read. These old X Men arcs are so hit or miss. They alternate so abruptly between awesome and boring. Too cool to quit, too fickle to love. ::shrug::
::sight:: on to part 2 I guess...
December 3, 2022
I love the classic ‘80s art and this is a famous arc from the Marvel Mutants I know and love. Unfortunately, there is just SO MUCH writing and over explaining, which was standard back then but comics have come a long way now. So it’s a bit of a slog to read but fun to look at. 3 stars feels about right.
October 6, 2019
I’m genuinely surprised Marvel never attempted to bring back the X-Terminators in some form or another. I guess they probably felt like they were a bit redundant to the New Mutants, but I feel like they’re due for a comeback.
January 30, 2020
Gems include Madelyne seducing Havok, X-Men’s retaliation against Marauders, Magik transforming into Darkchilde, & X-Terminators forming
December 5, 2022
LOTS of background material that I personally don’t think was necessary (or at least the issues that are giving full reprints should be swapped with some of the ones that are just one page recaps).
August 15, 2016
As a kid, I loved Mr. Sinister. Why? Because he looked cool, which was enough to impress me back then. (You could throw a red diamond and a shredded blue cape on a mound of wet fungus and I'd be asking my mom to buy me the matching action figure. What can I say? Kids are dumb.*)
Nowadays, things are different. In my old age I find myself more interested in character and story. As such, I've been looking for a good Mr. Sinister book. I'd thought I was going to get this with X-Men: Mutant Massacre , but the big blue baddie was scarce there. Inferno however, would surely be different! Mr. Sinister is right there on the cover, prominently featured among the villains!
. . . And that's the extent of his involvement for this book. Apparently Marvel couldn't hire him to be more than a cover model.
Okay, that's an exaggeration. He does appear briefly within the pages--just enough to leave me wanting more. I gather the rest of his arc (and Madelyn Pryor's, too) will show up in volume two of Inferno. So I've got that to look forward to.
But, childhood fanboy obsession aside, how was the rest of the book? Not bad. I dig demons, so it was fun to see them at work. N'Astirh, despite not being Mr. Sinister, was pretty cool.
My favorite part, however, was Illyana Rasputin, the Darkchilde. I've always been tangentially aware of Illyana (via comic-adjacent mediums, like trading cards or the 90s X-men cartoon), but I've never read any of her stories nor known much about her. As it turns out, when she enters combat mode she grows horns and a tail and oh my god she forged her sword from a dark piece of her own soul.
Remember how I said I dig demons? I suddenly find myself VERY interested in Illyana. Time to hit up the library for her origin story, methinks.
Still, the Inferno event itself was a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the characters I just didn't much care about--most notably Power Pack. Power Pack is a group of child siblings who keep their powers hidden from their parents, probably so they won't get grounded or upset the tooth fairy or something. But there's a problem:
*Kids are dumb.
No one wants to read about kids with super-powers. And yet, this book starts with two issues of Power Pack, then has the gall to END WITH TWO MORE. (Worse yet, these final two issues are only partially related to the main Inferno storyline--they're only there for people who are really interested in Power Pack, which is no one.)
Overall, I give it a three. Not enough Sinister/Pryor, too much Power Pack. Good amount of Illyana, though.
Nowadays, things are different. In my old age I find myself more interested in character and story. As such, I've been looking for a good Mr. Sinister book. I'd thought I was going to get this with X-Men: Mutant Massacre , but the big blue baddie was scarce there. Inferno however, would surely be different! Mr. Sinister is right there on the cover, prominently featured among the villains!
. . . And that's the extent of his involvement for this book. Apparently Marvel couldn't hire him to be more than a cover model.
Okay, that's an exaggeration. He does appear briefly within the pages--just enough to leave me wanting more. I gather the rest of his arc (and Madelyn Pryor's, too) will show up in volume two of Inferno. So I've got that to look forward to.
But, childhood fanboy obsession aside, how was the rest of the book? Not bad. I dig demons, so it was fun to see them at work. N'Astirh, despite not being Mr. Sinister, was pretty cool.
My favorite part, however, was Illyana Rasputin, the Darkchilde. I've always been tangentially aware of Illyana (via comic-adjacent mediums, like trading cards or the 90s X-men cartoon), but I've never read any of her stories nor known much about her. As it turns out, when she enters combat mode she grows horns and a tail and oh my god she forged her sword from a dark piece of her own soul.
Remember how I said I dig demons? I suddenly find myself VERY interested in Illyana. Time to hit up the library for her origin story, methinks.
Still, the Inferno event itself was a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the characters I just didn't much care about--most notably Power Pack. Power Pack is a group of child siblings who keep their powers hidden from their parents, probably so they won't get grounded or upset the tooth fairy or something. But there's a problem:
*Kids are dumb.
No one wants to read about kids with super-powers. And yet, this book starts with two issues of Power Pack, then has the gall to END WITH TWO MORE. (Worse yet, these final two issues are only partially related to the main Inferno storyline--they're only there for people who are really interested in Power Pack, which is no one.)
Overall, I give it a three. Not enough Sinister/Pryor, too much Power Pack. Good amount of Illyana, though.
August 16, 2016
Bit on the weaker side of an entry. Perhaps a bit too sprawling. Didn't care much for the parts featuring the children of New Mutants, Power Pack or X-terminators. Would have been a better tighter read without those bits. Vol. 2 is a bit of an improvement on this though.
January 9, 2017
There is a tremendous amount of story here told over the course of several X titles. The cast of characters is quite large as well with really just a select few being the true fulcrums of the action. Ilyanna's story was my personal favorite. It's amazing everything that she has been put through.
March 23, 2016
No more X-Men, but a new wave of mutants and some X-Factor members head out to take back the babies with super powers that have been kidnapped by 'goblins'.
January 10, 2017
Too much Power Pack, New Mutants, and X-Terminators and not enough X-Men for me. Vol. 2 should be better.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews