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Quote1 The only "jokes" in this room are your friends. And by the time we're through with them and you-- the new X-Men are gonna wish they'd never been born! Quote2
The Entity's Construct Of Angel

Appearing in "Dark Shroud of the Past!"

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Synopsis for "Dark Shroud of the Past!"

Professor X placates Firelord by explaining the true facts concerning Erik the Red. Xavier explains that the X-Men have pursued him to another galaxy. Then the Professor reels from another mental attack, similar to those he had when Lilandra was approaching Earth. As he collapses, Xavier's mind returns to a moment long ago when a similar attack brought Moira MacTaggert to his side...

The X-Mansion, shortly after the new team has been assembled: Xavier calls to Moira, asking for her help; she gives him a sedative to help him sleep. Meanwhile down below, the newly formed X-Men are in a training session in the Danger Room. In the scenario, Colossus shoves Wolverine out of the way of danger, irking the feral mutant. He almost attacks Peter, but Cyclops and the others break up the fight. Wolverine does not appreciate being ordered around and reminds Cyclops that he holds him personally responsible for Thunderbird's death.

Cyclops tries to smooth things over and stresses the importance of teamwork and training. Just then, they are suddenly interrupted by the original X-Men: Marvel Girl, Angel, Iceman and the Beast. They mock the new team for not having what it takes and pick a fight. Right off the bat, the new team notices some differences between this group of attackers and the former X-Men they met previously: all are wearing their original costumes and the Beast is not covered in blue fur, as he was when they met him last.

Storm battles Marvel Girl, Wolverine tackles Iceman, Nightcrawler and Colossus take on the Beast, and Cyclops and Banshee square off against the Angel. Each of the original X-Men seem to be immune to the new team’s powers. Angel grabs Cyclops from behind and lifts his visor, forcing the full fury of his optic blast upon his teammates. Before any serious harm can happen, Professor X crawls into the room and uses his mental powers to dispel the original X-Men. Afterwards, he tells his new students that they were only fighting mental constructs of the original team. When they ask who was responsible for the attack, they get the answer by way of a direct assault from Professor X… or rather his unleashed dark side. The evil Xavier, otherwise known as “the Entity”, unleashes his full mental powers on the X-Men. He is soon defeated, however, when the real Professor summons constructs of the original team to beat the evil entity into submission, thereby ending the threat. With the battle over, Xavier remarks that he must always keep his darker emotions in check, lest he harm those he cares about the most.

Xavier regains consciousness and notices that Firelord is gone. His thoughts then turn to his students who are in a galaxy far, far away and hopes that they survive the experience...

Notes

  • The story for this issue is largely a flashback. It begins and ends with a short "wraparound" prologue/epilogue that takes place chronologically directly after last issue's story. But the bulk of the story - Xavier's dream recollection - is a flashback to events sometime earlier. Certain references in the story (Moira's presence at the school, mention of Thunderbird's death) place it sometime shortly after the events of #96 and before Amazing Spider-Man #161 (when Nightcrawler meets Spidey for the first time).
  • The Entity could be considered a precursor to the being known as Onslaught, the combination of both Charles Xavier and Magneto's dark sides.
  • Professor X is the only X-Man to appear in both reality and his own dream. All the other X-Men are already halfway across the universe, and thus only appear in Xavier's dream.
  • The reference to the X-Men "meeting" the Beast previously is not technically correct. The Beast communicated with the Professor, Cyclops and the new team members via a viewscreen but did not actually meet the team members or even get proper introductions.
  • references: X-Men #105, X-Men #96, X-Men #95, and X-Men #94 (x2)
  • X-Men Forever (volume 01) occurs prior to this issue.

Trivia

  • This issue was published posthumously after artist Bob Brown's death. The flashback portion of the story was a fill-in prepared by Brown and writer Bill Mantlo a few years earlier in case of deadline troubles, as explained by a note from Chris Claremont on the letters page.

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