It’s in these issues that the Inferno event kicks into high gear–during the X-Men vs. Mr. Sinister “cloning” story, where Sinister has duplicated several characters–and we learn Scott Summers’ wife, Madelyne, is a dupe of Jean Grey. Madelyne Pryor, under evil influence, is dressed in black and completely off the rails, seducing Havok and watching the Empire State Building start to “grow.”
That has to a penis metaphor, no? Especially when this happens next:
There’s definitely some implied butt sex in that panel.
The manifestation of inorganic matter in NY City will be a thread that will carry Inferno across a bunch of unlikely books, like Daredevil, that usually don’t cross-over with mutant events.
Maddie then leaves her date with Havok to go to…
…Bard College! It’s because Jean’s grave is there, and so are her parents, and Maddie demon-izes them…
Also, N’astirh shows Madelyne that the reason he’s taking babies is to do a kind of pod-people thing, growing clones, and we learn that Madelyne herself is a “primary replicant” and Mister Sinister is her daddy.
Back in Australia, Dazzler seems to think she’s dating Longshot, but he’s flirting with Rogue.
And he refuses to be limited to one gal.
Meanwhile, the X-Men track down the Marauders.
Remember them from Fall of the Mutants? Just another Claremont dangling plot!
Even ones that were killed are back alive, presumably replicated, and we get a big fight scene, which includes Polaris throwing Colossus (using her magnetism powers) in a reverse fastball-special.
(Remember, she’s possessed by Malice.) And Longshot fights Riptide.
But the X-Men beat them…
…After a fight that spans two issues.
This battle is in New York City, so the X-Men also experience the “living city” event.
Wolverine fights a mailbox.
A fire hydrant gets revenge on a peeing dog.
During the X-Men’s adventures, Sinister does the classic “evil monologue” while holding Madelyne captive, telling her that he expected her to manifest Jean Grey’s mental skills, but apparently his cloning process was imperfect. Then, he thought maybe he could get her to manifest Phoenix powers. But, when Jean Grey returned to life from the bottom of the Hudson Bay (in Fantastic Four #286), Sinister became worried that the real Jean’s psychic powers would “find” Madelyne. And they kinda seem to….
Not wanting to be discovered as having created a Jean Grey dupe, that was when Sinister sent the Marauders to the hospital to kill Madelyne. So that attack finally makes sense.
Madelyne breaks free from Sinister’s custody, and, holding her baby, threatens to burn the world down—killing all mutants and ruining Sinister’s goal to have mutants take over the Earth.