Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 263

Uncanny X-Men #263
Previous Issue	Uncanny X-Men #262
Next Issue	Uncanny X-Men #264
Art by: Bill Jaaska and Josef Rubinstein
Release Date	May 1, 1990
Cover Date	July, 1990
Issue Details
Editor-in-Chief	Tom DeFalco

1. "The Lower Depths"
Appearances · Synopsis
Writer(s)	Chris Claremont
Penciler(s)	Bill Jaaska
Inker(s)	Josef Rubinstein
Colorist(s)	Glynis Oliver
Letterer(s)	Tom Orzechowski
Editor(s)	Bob Harras

 This time, this outfit, I kept my word. I didn't break faith. Alive and safe and whole... I brought my people home! 

—Forge

Appearing in "The Lower Depths"

Featured Characters:

• Peter Nicholas
• Muir Island X-Men
  • Forge (Main story and flashback)
  • Banshee (Sean Cassidy)
  • Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) (Leaves)

Supporting Characters:

• Callisto
• Val Cooper
• KGB
  • Col. Alexei Vazhin
• Major Debra Levin (First appearance)

Antagonists:

• Morlocks
  • Masque
  • Storm (Bliss)
  • Bouncer (Behind the scenes)
  • Masque's "X-Men" & "New Mutants"
    • Angel (Death)
    • Nightcrawler
    • Wolverine
    • Cyclops
    • Storm
    • Havok
    • Shadowcat
    • Professor X

Other Characters:

• X-Men (Referenced)
• Marauders (Mentioned)
• X-Factor (Mentioned)
  • Angel (Warren Worthington III) (Only in flashback)
  • Scott Summers (Mentioned)
• Reavers (Mentioned)
• Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) (Only in flashback)
• Mr. Sinister (Mentioned)
• Billy and unnamed soldiers
• Nick Fury (Mentioned)
• Mutant Liberation Front (Mentioned)
• Apocalypse (Mentioned)
• Magneto (Magnus) (Mentioned)
• Avengers (Mentioned)
• Freedom Force (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

• Humans
• Mutants
• Cyborgs

Locations:

• Earth
  • North America
    • United States of America
      • New York State
        • New York City
          • Manhattan
            • The Alley
            • SoHo
      • Washington, D.C.
        • White House (Mentioned)
      • Guam (Mentioned)
  • Asia (Only in flashback)
    • Southeast Asia (Only in flashback)
      • Vietnam (Only in flashback)
        • Central Highlands (Only in flashback)
    • Beirut (Mentioned)
  • Muir Island (Mentioned)
  • Genosha (Mentioned)

Items:

• Forge's "Pathfinder"
• X-Uniforms

Events:

• Mutant Massacre (Referenced)
• Acts of Vengeance (Referenced)

Synopsis for "The Lower Depths"

Forge and the transformed Jean Grey and Banshee are still in the Morlock Tunnels. Thanks to Forge’s devices, they learn that Peter Nicholas and Callisto have been abducted by Masque and are to be hunted. They decide to help. All the while, Forge has flashbacks to his last mission in Vietnam. Peter makes Callisto see that her exterior doesn’t have to decide who she is as a person, moments before they are attacked. As Masque stabs Peter, he automatically turns into Colossus again. Together with Forge, Jean and Banshee make a run for it, but are almost taken over by Masque, until Colossus stops him. They bluff that they are going to kill him so convincingly that Masque lets them go. Outside the Tunnels, Forge restores Banshee and Jean to their true forms, thanks to the cell samples he took earlier. Later, he says good-bye to the friends he lost in the war, happy that this time he managed to get his friends out. In Washington, Val Cooper has a clandestine meeting with Soviet spy Alexei Vazhin, who is worried about new mutant factions and especially one he cannot yet name.

Notes

• Forge also uses his expertise in cellular-level genetic transformation in X-Men Annual #14, also published in July 1990.

See Also

• 7 image(s) from Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 263
• 3 reprint(s) of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 263

Links and References

• Official Marvel Index to the X-Men (Vol. 2) #5 - See for further referencing