Merge:Inferno


 * For the member of the Exemplars, see Inferno (Exemplar).

Inferno was the name of a Marvel Comics company-wide crossover that especially ran through the X-Men titles in 1989. Jean Grey's clone, Madelyne Pryor was taken in by the demons S'ym and N'astirh. They planned for a demonic invasion of Earth, beginning with Manhattan. Illyana Rasputin of the New Mutants began to mutate into a demon and N'Astirh tricked her into opening a gateway. The city of Manhattan fell under siege, and the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Power Pack, and Spider-Man had to fight many numerous demons, most importantly Hobgoblin, now possessed by a demon that did not disappear with the others when the crisis was over, and the mutant-hating Boogeyman, transformed into a monster by N'Astirh. Even objects became demonically tainted and people's souls became twisted. Havok, Dazzler, Wolverine, Longshot, Archangel, and Storm all fell to the darkness to some extent. The New Mutants finally convinced Illyana to give up her powers and seal the gate. This got rid of most of the demons, but Madelyne Pryor and her servants remained. Jean Grey used the Phoenix Force to finally defeat her. Weary, Madelyne let herself die and New York returned to "normal". The X-Men then went after Madelyne's creator Mister Sinister who was responsible for the manipulations which led to Madelyne's breakdown (which was also brought upon by her husband Cyclops when he left her and their child when his first love, Jean returned). Cyclops blasted Sinister to bits, though this did not kill him and he returned later, as did Madelyne Pryor years later.

Significant issues

 * New Mutants #71-73
 * Uncanny X-Men #239-243
 * X-Factor #35-39
 * X-Terminators #1-4
 * Excalibur #6-7
 * Avengers #298-300
 * Daredevil #262, 263, 265
 * Power Pack #42-44
 * Cloak and Dagger Vol. 3, #4
 * Fantastic Four #322-324
 * Spectacular Spider-Man #146-148
 * Web of Spider-Man #47-48
 * Amazing Spider-Man #311-313
 * What If (2nd series) #6
 * X-Factor Annual #4 (backup)
 * Damage Control Vol. 1, #4 (frame story only)

Chronologically, this is roughly the order they occur:


 * X-Terminators 1 & 2
 * Avengers #298
 * Power Pack #42
 * The Uncanny X-Men #239
 * The Uncanny X-Men #240
 * X-Factor #35
 * Daredevil #262
 * The New Mutants #71
 * The Amazing Spider-Man #311
 * Avengers #299
 * The Fantastic Four #322
 * Power Pack #43
 * The Spectacular Spider-Man #146
 * The Uncanny X-Men #241
 * X-Factor #36
 * X-Terminators # 3
 * Avengers #300
 * X-Terminators #4 and The New Mutants #72 (highly intertwined)
 * Daredevil #263
 * Web of Spider-Man #47
 * The Amazing Spider-Man #312
 * The Fantastic Four #323
 * The Spectacular Spider-Man #147
 * X-Factor #37
 * Web of Spider-Man #48
 * The Amazing Spider-Man #313
 * The Uncanny X-Men #242
 * The Fantastic Four #324
 * X-Factor #38
 * The New Mutants #73
 * Excalibur #6
 * The Spectacular Spider-Man #148
 * Daredevil #265
 * Excalibur #7
 * Cloak and Dagger Vol. 3, #4
 * Power Pack #44
 * Uncanny X-Men #243
 * X-Factor #39
 * X-Factor Annual #4 (backup story)
 * Damage Control #4

The chronology is imperfect because of the many different points of view (of the same events) presented, so an exact chronology would break individual issues into parts. However, it is more accurate than the chronology given in Wizard in 1992, particularly when it comes to N'Astirh's physical change and the placement of Power Pack #44, which is stated in the issue to occur after Cloak and Dagger #4, but was published a month earlier, and thus appears earlier in Wizard's chronology. When collected into a trade paperback, only the portions from The Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, and The New Mutants were included, and the latter story line was presented separately from the first two. Starting with Excalibur #6, the story moves into aftermath phase, and most of the subsequent issues show the demons leaving New York.

External link

 *  X-Men: Inferno TPB (ISBN 0-7851-0222-1)