Uncanny X-Men #141 (Jan 81): Days of Future PastCreative Team: Chris Claremont, writer/co-plotter; John Byrne, co-plotter/penicler; Terry Austin, inker; Tom Orzechowski, letterer; Glynis Wein, colorist; Louis Jones, editor; Jim Shooter, editor-in-chief
Starting Line Up: (Present) Storm, Angel, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Colossus, Sprite (Future) Magneto, Storm, Colossus, Kate Pryde, Franklin Richards, Rachel
Synopsis: In the year 2013 (keepin in mind mainstream timeline is set in 1980), North America is in ruin. The entire continent is ruled by Sentinels. They have devided people into three classes. "H" for regular humans who are allowed to live as normal as possible a life. "A" for anomolous humans who are forbidden to breed because their children will be mutants. And "M" for mutants who are killed or exploited. Kate Pryde makes her way though a ruined Park Avenue to meet Wolverine. She is attacked by street punks or "Rogues". She has an inhibitor collar to prevent her from using her powers, but holds them off long enough for Wolverine, or Col. Logan of the Canadian Resistance Army, to show up and save her. He doesn't use his claws since he doesn't want anyone knowing he's in town. He tells her London is ready to make a nuclear strike on America soon. He gives her the last component for the "jammer" and tells her he'll be ready to break her out at midnight. Kate returns to the Sentinel camp and crosses by the graves of many dead former X-Men and other various super heroes. She meets up with Magneto in a wheelchair and the remaining X-Men, with the new ones, Frankling Richards (son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four) and his girlfriend Rachel, a redhead telepath/telekinetic (hmm....) Colossus and Kate are married. The "jammer" is completed and it neutralizes their collars so they can use their powers again. Rachel uses hers to swap the minds of Kate with her younger self, Kitty. Back in the present, Kitty interrupts a Danger Room session and is in great danger until the rest of the team saves her. Kitty then has her first Danger Room session, which is to simply walk across the room. She phases through everything and does it easily (none of the other X-Men made it on their first try). She then collapses. She's rushed to the infirmary and wakes up. The adult Kate Pryde's mind is now back in time. She tries to explain the situation to the X-Men. That Sen. Robert Kelly is going to be assassinated and it sets off a chain of events leading to the nuclear devastation of the Earth. The X-Men are skeptical, but decided not to chance it, so they take her to Washington, DC where the assassination will happen, and where Kelly is having a televised debate with Prof. Xavier. On the plane she explains further that anti-mutant hysteria is kicked into overdrive and eventually a radical gets in the White House and created the Mutant Control Act. The Sentinels are reactivated with the mission to protect humanity from the mutant menace. The Sentinels take over America to do it. They start killing off most mutants and any other super powered beings. The reason Kitty was chose to be switched instead of any other X-Men is because she hadn't yet been trained to fight off a telepathic attack. In the future, Wolverine and the X-Men minus Magneto (who stayed behind to cover their tracks) are discovered and attacked by the Sentinels. Franklin is killed. The rest of the team defeat the Sentinels and move on. They plan on assaulting the Sentinels main base, the Baxter Building (former base of the Fantastic Four). In the present, Mystique adresses the New Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, made up of Destiny, a blind precog and the only one Mystique calls friend *cough*lover*cough*, Avalance, who made thigs disintigate, Pyro, who controls flame, and The Blob. Destiny sees an an anamoly in the timestream, but can't identify it. Mystique then rallies her Brotherhood to strike. At the debate on mutant affairs, Kelly talks about the potential dangers of mutants. Xavier spots the X-Men in the crowd and mind scans them to bet the story. He sees Kates mind and is horrified. The Brotherhood breaks onto the scene to assissinate Kelly, but the X-Men are there to stop them.
Yeah, but is it good? You may have heard of this one. This story became so popular, it influenced many other X-Men stories of alternate futures and realities. This timeline will be explored further. Another, the one with Bishop, will come much later. And, of course, the Age of Apocalypse. But here we have a future ruled by Sentinels, activated out of fear of mutants. *This* is the kind of stories the X-Men should be having. My own complaint is that there's too much stuff packed in to one issue. It's a lot to absorb all at once. But this is great, classic stuff.
Significata: Alternate future debuts. Rachel makes her first appearance. An adult Franklin Richards makes his first appearance and is revealed he will be a mutant. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants returns, this time under Mystiques leadership. Mystique is a villain from the Ms. Marvel series (also written by Claremont). Destiny, Pyro, and Avalanche debut and are members of the Brotherhood. The Blob rejoins the Brotherhood (he was on the original, led by Magento). The first mention of the Mutant Control Act (later renamed the Mutant Registration Act). Kitty is still freaked out by Nightcrawler. Series officially changes it's title to "Uncanny X-Men".
