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Uncanny X-Men (1963) #239-243
X-Men: Inferno Omnibus
The entire incendiary epic in one red-hot hardcover! When mad geneticist Mister Sinister and the demonic N'astirh set their respective master plans in motion, an Inferno engulfs the Marvel Universe! The flames are fanned as Sinister's Marauders attack the X-Men, while a demonic horde preys upon the helpless, horrified populace of New York - and Illyana Rasputin battles for her soul! But it is Cyclops' estranged wife Madelyne Pryor, now the Goblin Queen, who might turn the Earth into a hellish wasteland! The X-Men, X-Factor and New Mutants face their most harrowing ordeal - and the fires are fought by Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Avengers and more! Collecting X-FACTOR (1986) #33-40, X-TERMINATORS #1-4, UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #239-243, NEW MUTANTS (1983) #71-73, POWER PACK (1984) #40 and #42-44, AVENGERS (1963) #298-300, FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #322-324, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #311-313, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1976) #146-148, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #47-48, DAREDEVIL (1964) #262-263 and #265, EXCALIBUR (1988) #6-7, MUTANT MISADVENTURES OF CLOAK AND DAGGER #4, and material from X-FACTOR ANNUAL #4.
1240 pages, Hardcover
Published March 23, 2021
6 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Louise Simonson
964 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 22, 2023
Continuing my Claremont marathon past Mutant Massacre and Fall of the Mutants -- this is the strongest of the big late-eighties crossover events for me. Unlike in a lot of the previous volumes, Louise Simonson's New Mutants holds its own here, not devolving into wretched Bird Brain/Gosamyr style diversions. The New Mutants/X-Terminators storyline is the weaker of the two big ones here, but worthwhile for the climax in New Mutants #73, which is probably Simonson's strongest single issue yet. The other storyline, which bounces back and forth between X-Men and X-Factor, is pretty seamless and emotionally resonant. Claremont is at his finest here, and Simonson on X-Factor really carries the necessary weight as well. I have to confess though I didn't read every single one of the tie-ins. It's nice that they're all included but I just don't care about 1980s Avengers and I have a VERY long to-read list.
November 26, 2023
Aptly named “Inferno” for the epic whirlwind of climaxes for story lines that have been simmering in the background for years at this point. Inferno has cemented Madelyne Pryor as one of my favorite X-characters, and a lot of other characters get amazing development as well (Cyclops, Magik, Mister Sinister). All the artists seem to be on top of their game as well. Truly one of the best crossover events of all time.
September 27, 2025
(Zero spoiler review)
One of the first and one of the absolute best events ever conceived and a credit to the veritable who's who of luminaries who worked on it. Claremont, Silvestri, Simonson... Only deprived of 5 stars by the thoroughly unnecessary and rather disappointing X-Terminator's issues, but you can skim or skip as needed. The storytelling, the art, the inks, the colours... This is what comic book storytelling used to be. It only makes it all the sadder to know what the X line would turn into in the decades to come. 4/5
OmniBen.
One of the first and one of the absolute best events ever conceived and a credit to the veritable who's who of luminaries who worked on it. Claremont, Silvestri, Simonson... Only deprived of 5 stars by the thoroughly unnecessary and rather disappointing X-Terminator's issues, but you can skim or skip as needed. The storytelling, the art, the inks, the colours... This is what comic book storytelling used to be. It only makes it all the sadder to know what the X line would turn into in the decades to come. 4/5
OmniBen.
January 11, 2024
Hay historias que están hechas para determinados momentos de nuestra vida. Los libros de nuestra infancia, los que marcaron nuestra adolescencia, la primera novela con la que lloramos o el primer cuento con el que nos estremecemos. Y luego hay historias que están ahí, para siempre, y que son como una vuelta a casa. Y para mí, Inferno es uno de estos lugares. ¿Por qué? Pues... a saber. Leí algunos números de Inferno allá por el 88/89 (cuando se publicó en España por Forum), no todos, porque me enganché tarde a la serie, allá por la mitad, y recuerdo que aparecí en uno de los números de X-Terminadores, con unos personajes que ni conocía, pero con una historia que me dejó bastante enganchado, así que al mes siguiente volví a la papelería y cogí el siguiente, y así me hice más o menos con casi toda la segunda mitad de Inferno. Con el paso de los años y el coleccionable de la Patrulla-X conseguí todos los números de X-Men y X-Factor relacionados con la saga, pero la parte de X-Terminadores y Nuevos Mutantes se había quedado fuera... Así que cuando hace poco vi que había salido un Omnibus, pues nada, después de un par de vueltas lo compré y lo he devorado. Y me ha parecido tan buena como siempre.
Para cuando se publicó Inferno, había bastante jaleo acumulado en los X-Men, especialmente con las figuras de Jean Grey y Madelyne Pryor. Es decir, Chris Claremont y John Byrne habían convertido a Jean Grey en Fénix, y luego la editorial les había obligado a matarla (en una de las mejores historias que se ha escrito nunca, todo sea dicho). Posteriormente, Claremont había creado a Madelyne Pryor, una mujer que era virtualmente idéntica a Jean Grey y de la que Cíclope se terminó enamorando y con la que se casó y fue padre, pero de nuevo en un giro editorial, Marvel decidió resucitar a Jean Grey, manteniendo que Jean nunca había sido Fénix sino que había permanecido en éxtasis todo ese tiempo, y Fénix, una entidad independiente, la había sustituido. Eso daba al traste con los planes que Claremont pudiera tener para Madelyne Pryor, pero a la vez, generaba una tensión más que interesante. Cíclope había abandonado a sus compañeros y a su mujer cuando Jean Grey había vuelto a la vida, y los miembros originales de la Patrulla-X se habían unido formando Factor-X. Inferno sería el lugar donde estos argumentos colisionarían y se desarrollarían, pero la figura de Jean Grey/Fénix/Madelyne Pryor no sería la única protagonista de Inferno. Illyana Rasputin, la hermana de Coloso, había sido un personaje que, quizá siguiendo la estela de la propia Jean Grey, se había ido convirtiendo cada vez más en una criatura malvada. Siendo una niña, Illyana había sido raptada y llevada al Limbo por el demonio Belasco, que la educó como su aprendiz, enseñándole la magia oscura; Illyana volvió al mundo convertida en una adolescente y se unió a los Nuevos Mutantes como Magik, habiendo sustituido a Belasco como reina del Limbo y de todos sus demonios. Y poco a poco, Illyana se había ido convirtiendo cada vez más en una demoniaca Niña Oscura. A través del demoniaco N'Astirh, ambas historias se entrelazarán, ya que el demonio manipulará a Madelyne Pryor para convertirla en su Reina Duende, y a Illyana para transformarla definitivamente en la Niña Oscura y volcar el Limbo sobre la Tierra. Y así tenemos la historia: millares de demonios volcándose sobre una Manhattan enloquecida y en la que las papeleras se comen a la gente, y cuatro grupo de mutantes intentando solucionar la papeleta, o al menos parte de ella. Sí, cuatro, porque además de en Patrulla-X, Factor-X y Nuevos Mutantes, la historia principal se desarrolló en una cuarta serie, X-Terminadores, protagonizada por los chavales que Factor-X había salvado de los enemigos de los mutantes, y que se convertían así en el punto de equilibrio, en una especia de Nuevos Mutantes de Factor-X.
Con todo esto sobre la mesa, Inferno es una maravillosa historia de estilo clásico, de cuando los cómics contaban muchas cosas en pocas páginas, un trabajo genial de Chris Claremont (Patrulla-X) y Louise Simonson (en las otras tres colecciones), y con dibujos de John Bogdanove (X-Terminadores), Walter Simonson (Factor-X), Brett Blevins (Nuevos Mutantes) y un maravilloso, impresionante y magistral Marc Silvestri en Patrulla-X.
Y no me queda mucho más que decir, es maravillosa.
Para cuando se publicó Inferno, había bastante jaleo acumulado en los X-Men, especialmente con las figuras de Jean Grey y Madelyne Pryor. Es decir, Chris Claremont y John Byrne habían convertido a Jean Grey en Fénix, y luego la editorial les había obligado a matarla (en una de las mejores historias que se ha escrito nunca, todo sea dicho). Posteriormente, Claremont había creado a Madelyne Pryor, una mujer que era virtualmente idéntica a Jean Grey y de la que Cíclope se terminó enamorando y con la que se casó y fue padre, pero de nuevo en un giro editorial, Marvel decidió resucitar a Jean Grey, manteniendo que Jean nunca había sido Fénix sino que había permanecido en éxtasis todo ese tiempo, y Fénix, una entidad independiente, la había sustituido. Eso daba al traste con los planes que Claremont pudiera tener para Madelyne Pryor, pero a la vez, generaba una tensión más que interesante. Cíclope había abandonado a sus compañeros y a su mujer cuando Jean Grey había vuelto a la vida, y los miembros originales de la Patrulla-X se habían unido formando Factor-X. Inferno sería el lugar donde estos argumentos colisionarían y se desarrollarían, pero la figura de Jean Grey/Fénix/Madelyne Pryor no sería la única protagonista de Inferno. Illyana Rasputin, la hermana de Coloso, había sido un personaje que, quizá siguiendo la estela de la propia Jean Grey, se había ido convirtiendo cada vez más en una criatura malvada. Siendo una niña, Illyana había sido raptada y llevada al Limbo por el demonio Belasco, que la educó como su aprendiz, enseñándole la magia oscura; Illyana volvió al mundo convertida en una adolescente y se unió a los Nuevos Mutantes como Magik, habiendo sustituido a Belasco como reina del Limbo y de todos sus demonios. Y poco a poco, Illyana se había ido convirtiendo cada vez más en una demoniaca Niña Oscura. A través del demoniaco N'Astirh, ambas historias se entrelazarán, ya que el demonio manipulará a Madelyne Pryor para convertirla en su Reina Duende, y a Illyana para transformarla definitivamente en la Niña Oscura y volcar el Limbo sobre la Tierra. Y así tenemos la historia: millares de demonios volcándose sobre una Manhattan enloquecida y en la que las papeleras se comen a la gente, y cuatro grupo de mutantes intentando solucionar la papeleta, o al menos parte de ella. Sí, cuatro, porque además de en Patrulla-X, Factor-X y Nuevos Mutantes, la historia principal se desarrolló en una cuarta serie, X-Terminadores, protagonizada por los chavales que Factor-X había salvado de los enemigos de los mutantes, y que se convertían así en el punto de equilibrio, en una especia de Nuevos Mutantes de Factor-X.
Con todo esto sobre la mesa, Inferno es una maravillosa historia de estilo clásico, de cuando los cómics contaban muchas cosas en pocas páginas, un trabajo genial de Chris Claremont (Patrulla-X) y Louise Simonson (en las otras tres colecciones), y con dibujos de John Bogdanove (X-Terminadores), Walter Simonson (Factor-X), Brett Blevins (Nuevos Mutantes) y un maravilloso, impresionante y magistral Marc Silvestri en Patrulla-X.
Y no me queda mucho más que decir, es maravillosa.
Want to read
May 30, 2024Culpo a X-Men 97.
April 24, 2025
I remember really enjoying Inferno when it originally came out. Mr. Sinister and the Goblin Queen totally won me over -- I just dug the grittiness of it all. It took me about a month to chip away at reading the whole thing, squeezing it in between work, workouts, and TV downtime. Revisiting it in omnibus form brought all that twisted, chaotic energy back in full force.
The Inferno Omnibus pulls together the full event, including issues from Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, and a handful of tie-ins that show just how much the Marvel Universe got swept up in the madness. You've got Madelyne Pryor going full Goblin Queen, New York City turning into a demonic carnival, and Sinister playing puppet master from the shadows. Meanwhile, Illyana’s battling to hold on to her soul, the Marauders are back for more blood, and Cyclops is stuck in a mess that only gets worse the deeper he goes.
The writing’s driven by Claremont and the Simonsons, and you can feel the tension building across the titles. Claremont leans into psychological spirals and big emotional turns, while Louise Simonson keeps X-Factor sharp and centered around identity and legacy. There's a lot going on -- betrayals, transformations, horror, and heartbreak -- but somehow it all holds together.
The art bounces between styles, but it fits the fractured tone. Marc Silvestri’s work on Uncanny really shines, sharp and intense, especially during Madelyne’s descent. Walt Simonson brings that big, mythic energy to X-Factor. Bret Blevins draws some wild, surreal scenes for New Mutants, full of warped proportions and emotion. It’s inconsistent across the omnibus, but the chaos sort of works in its favor.
Inferno’s one of those stories that goes full tilt -- emotionally and visually. It’s messy, but on purpose. And in that mess, you get some of the most memorable moments in late '80s X-Men.
The Inferno Omnibus pulls together the full event, including issues from Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, and a handful of tie-ins that show just how much the Marvel Universe got swept up in the madness. You've got Madelyne Pryor going full Goblin Queen, New York City turning into a demonic carnival, and Sinister playing puppet master from the shadows. Meanwhile, Illyana’s battling to hold on to her soul, the Marauders are back for more blood, and Cyclops is stuck in a mess that only gets worse the deeper he goes.
The writing’s driven by Claremont and the Simonsons, and you can feel the tension building across the titles. Claremont leans into psychological spirals and big emotional turns, while Louise Simonson keeps X-Factor sharp and centered around identity and legacy. There's a lot going on -- betrayals, transformations, horror, and heartbreak -- but somehow it all holds together.
The art bounces between styles, but it fits the fractured tone. Marc Silvestri’s work on Uncanny really shines, sharp and intense, especially during Madelyne’s descent. Walt Simonson brings that big, mythic energy to X-Factor. Bret Blevins draws some wild, surreal scenes for New Mutants, full of warped proportions and emotion. It’s inconsistent across the omnibus, but the chaos sort of works in its favor.
Inferno’s one of those stories that goes full tilt -- emotionally and visually. It’s messy, but on purpose. And in that mess, you get some of the most memorable moments in late '80s X-Men.
May 8, 2023
Marvel’s Inferno crossover is a gripping read and classic tale. Having the related comic issues from various Marvel titles in one omnibus is fantastic, and this is a highly recommended arc.
My favorite part of this collection is the Madelyne Pryor storyline, which itself extends to before the actual Inferno crossover begins. Watching her choose agency, albeit it ultimately bringing about a destiny manipulated by forces greater than herself, is fascinating.
I loved the city coming alive throughout the different comics, in spite of the dark way in which it did so. For me, this worked best in both the Power Pack issues as well as the X-Terminators (though I’m never really sure what age group audience Power Pack is aimed at). The slightly cartoon-ish feel of the X-Terminators worked well with the animated city as well as with the humor in Taki’s important involvement in the story’s action. It lightened the story a bit in a good way.
The New Mutants storyline is powerful and dark, though confusing if you don’t have a good grasp on Illyana Rasputin’s backstory- I recommend an internet or podcast refresher if you really want to dive into this tale.
The New Mutants combining with the X-Terminators really helped the storylines come together and for me, the issue of this culmination was the most exciting action/fight part of the comics.
The layout of the omnibus was both helpful and not helpful, as it grouped certain comics together and therefore wasn’t entirely chronological. Lists are available on the internet to follow the different titles, but the flipping back and forth if you follow those can get confusing.
An excellent convergence of X-adjacent titles.
My favorite part of this collection is the Madelyne Pryor storyline, which itself extends to before the actual Inferno crossover begins. Watching her choose agency, albeit it ultimately bringing about a destiny manipulated by forces greater than herself, is fascinating.
I loved the city coming alive throughout the different comics, in spite of the dark way in which it did so. For me, this worked best in both the Power Pack issues as well as the X-Terminators (though I’m never really sure what age group audience Power Pack is aimed at). The slightly cartoon-ish feel of the X-Terminators worked well with the animated city as well as with the humor in Taki’s important involvement in the story’s action. It lightened the story a bit in a good way.
The New Mutants storyline is powerful and dark, though confusing if you don’t have a good grasp on Illyana Rasputin’s backstory- I recommend an internet or podcast refresher if you really want to dive into this tale.
The New Mutants combining with the X-Terminators really helped the storylines come together and for me, the issue of this culmination was the most exciting action/fight part of the comics.
The layout of the omnibus was both helpful and not helpful, as it grouped certain comics together and therefore wasn’t entirely chronological. Lists are available on the internet to follow the different titles, but the flipping back and forth if you follow those can get confusing.
An excellent convergence of X-adjacent titles.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2024
This giant crossover event from the X-Men side of the House of Marvel was a real pleasure to jump back into after 30+ years. It was one of the first major crossover events I remember reading back in the day and back then I hadn’t read the New Mutants title or really any of the side stories.
The main storyline written mostly by Louise Simonson and Chris Claremont is a tour de force. They explore the mutant characters with heart, depth, and a bit of humor. The strongest bits here are the X-Men and X-Factor books but the New Mutants story isn’t bad either with real depth to the story arch of Illyana Rasputin (Magik) which has a satisfying end here. The story covers a lot ground introducing a number of villains but cleaning up the back story of characters like Madeline Pryor and Cyclops that turned into a freak show hot mess in the first several years of X-Factor. Mr. Sinister comes across as a great major villain in the end.
Also the art by Marc Silvestri in X-Men, Walter Simonson in X-Fadtor, and Todd McFarlane in Amazing Spider-Man is some of the best Marvel produced in the eighties.
Add to this some really strong side stories with Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Power Pack.
There was some trash here too. The art in the New Mutants book was’t great, and the stories in X-Terminators by Louise Simonson and Excalibur by Chris Claremont really missed the mark. On top of that the side stories in Avengers and Fantastic Four were just plain awful with the exception of the Jarvis issue.
All of that said, this was a really fun book with some real depth.
The main storyline written mostly by Louise Simonson and Chris Claremont is a tour de force. They explore the mutant characters with heart, depth, and a bit of humor. The strongest bits here are the X-Men and X-Factor books but the New Mutants story isn’t bad either with real depth to the story arch of Illyana Rasputin (Magik) which has a satisfying end here. The story covers a lot ground introducing a number of villains but cleaning up the back story of characters like Madeline Pryor and Cyclops that turned into a freak show hot mess in the first several years of X-Factor. Mr. Sinister comes across as a great major villain in the end.
Also the art by Marc Silvestri in X-Men, Walter Simonson in X-Fadtor, and Todd McFarlane in Amazing Spider-Man is some of the best Marvel produced in the eighties.
Add to this some really strong side stories with Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Power Pack.
There was some trash here too. The art in the New Mutants book was’t great, and the stories in X-Terminators by Louise Simonson and Excalibur by Chris Claremont really missed the mark. On top of that the side stories in Avengers and Fantastic Four were just plain awful with the exception of the Jarvis issue.
All of that said, this was a really fun book with some real depth.
March 31, 2023
I decided to buy this in a fit of nostalgia. I was a huge a X-Man fan as a youngster and the issues in this collection came out a few years after I'd stopped reading comics regularly.
While the Chris Claremont Uncanny X-Men issues lived up to my memories the majority of the X-books in this collection are written by Louise Simonson and are pretty weak. Overall the Inferno story is somewhat underwhelming.
Ironically, the best books here are some of the non-X-Men Inferno tie-in stories. There's a fun Avengers one-off starring their butler Jarvis, the included Spider-man stories aren't bad and the three Daredevil issues by Ann Nocenti with art by John Romita Jr. (with a vibe the carries on from Frank Miller's classic run) are probably the best of the bunch .
While the Chris Claremont Uncanny X-Men issues lived up to my memories the majority of the X-books in this collection are written by Louise Simonson and are pretty weak. Overall the Inferno story is somewhat underwhelming.
Ironically, the best books here are some of the non-X-Men Inferno tie-in stories. There's a fun Avengers one-off starring their butler Jarvis, the included Spider-man stories aren't bad and the three Daredevil issues by Ann Nocenti with art by John Romita Jr. (with a vibe the carries on from Frank Miller's classic run) are probably the best of the bunch .
November 30, 2025
I'm happy to report that favorite X-Men crossover from childhood still holds up. Inferno is so, so, so good. I love how interconnected X-Men and X-Factor are throughout the crossover. The New Mutants issues are great too. Gorgeous art by Silvestri, Simonson and Blevins. Fantastic writing by Claremont and Simonson.
December 22, 2022
Yearly reread of the undisputed classic crossover
March 28, 2024
Amazing end to Claremont’s first era of X-men. The culmination of a 15+ year run! Amazing stuff. A must-read.
February 17, 2025
4 stars for X-Men Stories, 3 stars for spin-offs
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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