The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1

History

The miniseries launched in May 1994 (cover date), with an on-sale date of March 1, 1994, directly following the wedding of Scott Summers and Jean Grey in X-Men vol. 2 #30. Scott Lobdell, at the time Marvel's primary steward of the X-Men family of titles, wrote the series and is credited as the architect chiefly responsible for codifying the Cable/Askani mythology; notably, researchers have observed that he had already seeded his intent by writing Rachel Summers out of Excalibur #75 with the Mother Askani transformation already planned. The series was drawn by Gene Ha — his first work for Marvel — inked by Al Vey, colored by Kevin Somers, and lettered by Starkings/Comicraft, with Bob Harras as editor and Tom DeFalco as editor-in-chief. Each issue was produced on glossy paper with a cardstock cover, a premium format that reflected Marvel's mid-1990s practice of releasing select miniseries as higher-priced specialty items.

Trivia · 10 facts

• First appearance of Ch'Vayre, a Prelate of Apocalypse described in-story as being over two thousand years old, who serves as the primary antagonist of the miniseries.
• Written by Scott Lobdell with art by Gene Ha (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Kevin Somers (colors), and Richard Starkings/Comicraft (letters); edited by Bob Harras under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco.
• Issue #1 carries a cover date of May 1994 and an on-sale release date of March 1, 1994; it is titled 'Wish You Were Here!'
• The story picks up immediately after the wedding of Cyclops and Jean Grey in X-Men vol. 2 #30 (March 1994), framing the series as their interrupted honeymoon.
• Establishes that Rachel Summers — transported to a future ruled by Apocalypse — has taken on the identity of Mother Askani and leads the Clan Askani resistance; also reveals she is over 100 years old by this point in the timeline and has been separated from the Phoenix Force for 80 years.
• The issue sets in motion the miniseries' central plot: Scott and Jean are deposited into cloned bodies with limited access to their mutant powers, tasked with protecting the infant Nathan Christopher Summers from Apocalypse's forces.
• This issue is the opening chapter of a miniseries that — across all four issues — provided the first comprehensive in-canon explanation of the Cable/Stryfe clone situation, clarifying that the Askani cloned Nathan as insurance, and that Apocalypse abducted the clone (who would become Stryfe), believing him to be the original.
• The story was reprinted in the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix TPB (Marvel, 1996), again in a 2014 omnibus collecting the miniseries alongside Askani'son #1–4, X-Men: Phoenix #1–3, X-Men: Books of Askani, and material from Marvel Valentine Special, and once more in a 2018 paperback paired with The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix.
• Elements of the miniseries were adapted for the X-Men '97 animated series episode 'Days of Past Future,' bringing the Askani future setting to a new audience.
• This issue represents Gene Ha's debut work for Marvel Comics.

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