In the past, I have often broken from the rants to discuss some of the unsung characters in the X-Universe. I have looked at characters like the original New Mutants in a series done earlier. With the New X-Rising up and running, I'd like to return to this series and look at a few characters that we have seen in the pages of the Uncanny X-Men. This time, I'd like to focus on a certain period of the X-Men. It started towards the end of the Claremont era. Now, CC did stay on for a bit after this, going all the way to 1991, but seeing as how this is/was one of my favorite story lines CC produced, I wanted to take a look back at one of his genesis moments.

First, let me set the stage...

The Australian X-Men were falling apart. Wolverine was off doing his own thing more often than he was with the team. Inferno had only recently been dealt with. Havok was growing darker and darker. Members were struggling to cope with their family members that thought they were dead. Things came to a head when Dazzler was forced to send Rogue into a crystal known as the Siege Perilous in order to destroy the Mastermold/Nimrod. The crystal, given to the X-Men by Roma after their apparent deaths in Dallas, gave the X-Men a chance to start fresh with new lives. At first, no one seemed interested in the crystal but Dazzler. However, Rogue would only be the first to fall. Shortly thereafter, Longshot left the team to find himself. Wolverine was gone. Then Nanny came and took Storm away, reducing her to childhood, and leaving the beaten X-Men to believe that Havok had killed her. Now down to four members...Colossus, Psylocke, Dazzler, and Havok, the X-Men would fight Zala Dane. After a battle in the Savage Land, Psylocke helped "lead" the team into the Siege Perilous rather than face certain death at the hands of the Reavers.

And thus, we have the re-birth of sorts for the X-Men. We will start by looking at Wolverine. Logan, after a leave of absence, returned to the Outback only to be captured by Pierce and his band of cyborgs. The Reavers had it in for Wolvie. Macon, Cole, and Reece were all former members of the Hellfire Club Troops that had been cut apart by Logan. Lady Deathstrike had a personal vendetta with the X-Man. Pierce and the rest of the Reavers all hated Wolverine and the X-Men in general. Thinking that Logan knew where the X-Men were hidden, Pierce went as far as crucifying Logan to a giant X. Logan would have met his fate had it not been for one young girl who had been hiding in the shadows of the Reaver's old base. Since hiding in Gateway's portal after the four female X-Men took a night off, Jubilation Lee saved Logan and helped nurse him back to health. After escaping the Reavers, Logan and Jubilee began a quest that would define their relationship as well as introduce a "New and Improved" X-Man.

Meanwhile, a now teenaged Storm was busy on her own adventures, escaping from Nanny and returning to her life of crime. While her powers were all but nonexistent, Storm managed to attract the attention of the Shadow King. As if things weren't bad enough for Storm, she broke into the Shadow King's mansion where he and his hounds were waiting. Fate intervened in the form of another thief. The first time I saw Gambit, I thought he was a rip-off on Longshot. That opinion quickly changed when Gambit started appearing more and more in the X-books. With Gambit's help, Storm escaped the clutches of the Shadow King....for now.

Returning to Wolverine and Jubilee, we found the two members knee deep in trouble with the Mandarin and his new Lady. After genetic engineering (that we would later learn produced two versions of the X-Man), Elizabeth Braddock was no longer the proper, British lady. She was now the Lady Mandarin and she had it in for Logan. The first of the Siege Perilous crew to return...Betsy was bad to the bone. Killing hand assassins and nearly ending Logan's life, she later escaped her programming and joined Jubilee and Wolverine. Now that we had three X-Men, readers were certain the new team would come about, but CC had a few more twists to throw at us. In fact, we would not see Logan joining back up with the new X-Men until forced into battle with Cameron Hodge in Genosha.

With A team of three X-Men running around, Claremont decided that another interesting twist would be to slowly introduce the other X-Men while bringing back some old favorites. In fact, another group formed in New York. After appearing in New York, Colossus...now American...had all but forgotten his life as an X-Man. He focused on his art while rooming with some Ex-Genoshians-in-hiding. Even a meeting with Hank McCoy did little to jar his memories. More interested in a beautiful women that haunted his visions, Peter found he was in danger from the Morlocks. He would be aided by Banshee and Forge, who had teamed up to find the missing X-Men. Banshee had left Muir Island in the care of Lorna Dane and Moira after being shot by the Reavers. Determined to find the missing X-Men, Sean teamed up with Forge. With more help from Jean Grey, the trio faced their fears when Masque manipulated their bodies in the sewers of New York. Jean was left with squid arms, Banshee without a mouth, and Forge was left alone to help Peter and Callisto (who had been made pretty by Masque). Forge was able to genetically rearrange their DNA to return Jean and Banshee back to normal, but Colossus left without his memories of being an X-Man. Returning to the destroyed mansion, Forge and Banshee would meet up with the New Mutants new leader...Cable. They would soon be joined by Storm and Gambit.

However, there are still three X-Men unaccounted for. While the new core team was already in the works, there were a few other X-Men that were dealing with the affects of the Siege Perilous. First off, we have Dazzler. Alison Blaire washed up on the beach where her friend and former bodyguard Guido (Strong Guy) found her. Dazzler went through some hard times after a stalker kidnapped her. Upon her escape, Dazzler did not rejoin the X-Men, but would later meet back up with her former beau, Longshot. Guido would later be seen on Muir Island where he would help the new team before they were kidnapped by the Shi'ar. Most people know that he would become one of the Shadow King's slaves along with Colossus, Polaris, Rogue, Siryn, Madrox, Moira and more.

Meanwhile, Rogue finally makes a comeback back in Australia with full memory of herself before the Siege Perilous. After escaping the Reavers, she would travel to the Savage Land where she and Magneto would start their relationship. With the separation of Ms. Marvel, Rogue began a long quest that would see her split with Magneto, become one of the Shadow King's minions, and eventually rejoin the X-Men.

This brings us back to the new team of X-Men under CC. Forge, Banshee, Storm and Gambit would make their way to the destroyed mansion. Teaming up with the New Mutants; Storm, Rictor, Warlock, Wolfsbane, and Boom Boom would all be attacked by a group of Genoshian Magistrates lead by none other than Havok. Having returned from the Siege Perilous, Alex Summers had no memory of his life as an X-Man. Instead, he believed he was one of the Magistrates and his orders from Cameron Hodge were to take out the X-Men.

And thus, we have the first story featuring the new X-Men. Although their team was a brief one, these seven X-Men would all find themselves in Genosha trying to survive the mad Hodge during the X-Tinction Agenda. Wolverine, Psylocke, Jubilee, Forge, Storm, Gambit, and Banshee would work as a team for a brief period, traveling to space to save Professor X and facing down the Shadow King on Muir Island. Although their tenure together was brief as far as teams go, this seven-member team was one of Claremont's best.

The Siege Perilous story line was one of the most creative ways to bring about a new team. It would pave the way for the death of Warlock, the Blue and Gold teams, a new X-Factor, a Skrull story, and of course, the return of Professor Xavier. When one looks at how well CC brought all the elements together to produce this story, it is no wonder that some people have been awaiting his return. And now, as CC begins a new era in the X history, it is important to look back at some of his past greatness. Ironically, CC begins his new reign the way he left his old run...with two teams. Time will tell if he can cure what is wrong with the X-Books and bring back the glory that he left behind. For more on the "After the Siege" story...check out the X-Tinction Agenda, The Muir Island Saga, and the Savage Land plot (For Rogue and Magneto). All of these story lines were great reads.