Uncanny X-Men #448 (2004)

The X-Men meet up with Brian Braddock and Meggan and are taken by Viper, who manages to trap the gang in Murderworld, where she kills Sage.

Shouldn’t that be “blam” not “boom”? Guns usually go blam.

But in issue #449 we get the big reveal: It wasn’t Sage. It was Wolverine, using an image inducer.

OK, nice fake-out.

Anyway, that gets the other X-Men mad so they punch Viper. Etc.

Viper escapes, and at the end Sebastian Shaw proposes to her that they team-up agains the X-Men. She joins, along with Opal Luna from the old Excalibur book.

This story is fine and the art is way above average. Still, I’m not sure why, but I’m just not feeling this new Claremont run on X-Men.