The core members of the X-Men “died” during the Fall of the Mutants (except for Kitty and Nightcrawler, who went on to establish the new Excalibur team), so this is kind of a soft reboot for the Uncanny series. It’s actually a very organic way to launch the new, European team.
But this book doesn’t start with them.
Instead, it starts with a bank robbery in Singapore by the red-masked leader of a team of well-armed, half-machine lunatics who kill everyone in sight and then kidnap the daughter of the bank manager. The robbers call themselves Reavers. The red-masked one is Skullbuster, sleeveless black leather vest is Pretty Boy, and the guy with tank-treads for feet is Bonebreaker. The others are anonymous and presumably disposable.
They are able to teleport in and out of the bank via an old Aborigine named Gateway.
All of these guys will be around for a while, all first appearances.
And guess what? After being killed and resurrected, the X-Men went to Australia to establish a secret base of operations…So they’re in the neighborhood…Might as well fight.
Dazzler makes a rookie mistake but Longshot puts his (ahem) best foot forward.
The Reavers are all mechanically enhanced.
Two of the members, Murray Reese and Wade Cole, were cut up by Wolverine in the classic X-Men #133. So this must have been triggering for them…
…Anyway, big battle. Claremont loves to write big gang fights, and he does it well.
Gateway enables the Reavers to escape. Gateway doesn’t teleport himself, though, So he’ll be around.
The X-Men decide to keep the Reavers’ base for themselves, and establish their new hideout.
They debate what to do about the Reavers.
Then Roma, the godesslike woman who resurrected them, gives them access to a portal called the Siege Perilous.
They can use as kind of a phantom zone to throw criminals in rather than kill them or turn them over to the authorities (which would compromise their secret existence). So that ends the kill-Reavers-or-don’t debate.
They also can use it as a teleportation device to go anywhere they are needed (why not use Gateway for that?).
The stage is set!
Also: First appearance of Jessan Hoan, aka Madripoor criminal Tiger Tyger.
