Appearing in "Binary Star!"
Uncanny X-Men #164
Featured Characters:
- X-Men
- Binary (Carol Danvers) (First appearance as Binary)
- Lilandra Neramani
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Brood
- Great Mother
- T'Crilēē
- Brood fleet (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Moira MacTaggert (Mentioned)
- Belasco (Mentioned)
- Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) (Mentioned)
- Gott (God) (Invoked)
Races and Species:
- Mutants
- Human-Kree Hybrids
- Brood
- Shi'ar
- Starsharks
- Acanti
- Kree (Referenced)
- Demons (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Sleazeworld
- Milky Way
- Limbo (Referenced)
- Heaven (Invoked)
Items:
- Cyclops' Visor, version 2
- X-Uniforms
- Wolverine's Suit
- Binary Suit
- Adamantium (from Wolverine's claws)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Binary Star!"
Uncanny X-Men #164
The X-Men and Lilandra, aboard the Z'Reee Shar, have come under fire from Brood warcraft while fleeing Sleazeworld. Still within the star's gravity well, they can't jump to warp space yet, but the Brood are mysteriously firing warning shots rather than going for a kill. Unbeknownst to most of the X-Men (except Wolverine), they host Brood Queen embryos, and the "Mother-of-us-all" will not see them killed.
Wolverine, Carol, and Colossus head to the weapons, minimal though they are, but Colossus's firing is ineffective because he is yet unwilling to take a life. Cyclops and Storm also participate in their own distinctive way, neither willing to actually kill, although Storm loses control of her lightning bolts and destroys a ship instead of disabling it!
Suddenly the ship's rear shields buckle and the ship takes a hit, knocking out the warp drive! Not being able to repair from inside, someone will have to go E.V.A.(Extra-Vehicular Activity) to fix it. After a brief discussion, Kitty takes it upon herself to go out and fix it. She phases into a spacesuit and through the hull. The Brood tries to blast Kitty, but she phases, and they miss. As she gets to work, the Brood realize that they must have crippled the engine, and press their attack. Inside, Storm is catatonic from having killed, and Carol has another weird sensation pass over her - and wonders what the Brood did to her in the lab. Outside, Kitty gets hit by some stray shrapnel, taking a minor wound, but refusing to go inside before she's done. Suddenly, Carol transforms into something much more than human, and blasts all the surrounding Brood ships! At that moment, Kitty finishes her repairs, and tells Lilandra to throw them into warp, but doesn't respond to urgent subsequent radio calls...
X-Mansion, Earth. Professor X is preparing dinner, and Illyana comes at his telepathic call. Illyana asks Professor X some pointed questions - why does she sometimes hear him perfectly clearly when he's not nearby, and how did she learn to speak English so fast, and he reveals his telepathy to her. It is also revealed the Illyana can do "things" too, although she doesn't reveal what, and that Professor X cannot read her thoughts. Professor X gives up - his drive is broken by the apparent death of his X-Men and he merely wants to be left alone.
Back aboard the Z'Reee Shar, Carol Danvers, manifesting unknown energies, goes out to retrieve the wounded Kitty. Back inside, we discover that the warp drive has again died, and that the matter anti-matter drive has shut down as well, cutting off life-support systems. Their only hope is to restart the drive, and Carol instinctively knows that she has sufficient power available to do so. She succeeds but also discovers there is a limit to her new powers.
Later, after everyone has had a chance to rest, Carol and Colossus work on repairing the hull. Colossus invites Carol to join the X-Men, but she declines - she's always wanted to explore space, and joining the X-Men would tie her to Earth. Instead, she wants to stay out among the stars. Inside, Kurt checks on Kitty, and then goes to talk to Cyclops. Kurt is confused by Kitty's fast recovery - she suffered a serious wound and enough radiation to kill her 10 times over, but now she seems perfectly recovered. Wolverine wanders by in a snit, berates Cyclops again for not helping him kill the queen, and is otherwise rather moody and agitated. He storms off again.
Storm is in the shuttle hangar bay, trying to find her internal harmony. She starts to fly, but with a cry suddenly plummets to the floor. Cyclops rushes in, and convinces Ororo to confide in him. Storm confesses her disorientation and her loss of... soul. Suddenly a thought strikes her, and probing, she senses life within her! She probes deeper, and cries out "No!", hopping into a shuttle and leaving the ship without explaining anything to Cyclops.
Cyclops finally forces Wolverine to tell them the truth, and he does, including his confession that he thought about killing all of them but couldn't bring himself to do it. Carol, with a cry of rage, activates her Binary powers and blasts off into space - neglecting, however, to open the hatch. The rest of the X-Men are suddenly forced to deal with explosive decompression!