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Cover: Terry Austin

The Uncanny X-Men #143

Name: The Uncanny X-Men #143
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Mar 1981 · Marvel · 0.50 USD

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“Demon”

★ 1st appearance — Lee Forrester

About this Issue

Uncanny X-Men #143 closes the curtain on the Claremont–Byrne–Austin collaboration that began in X-Men #108 — a run that transformed the title into one of Marvel's most culturally significant franchises. The issue delivers Kitty Pryde's first true solo showcase, functioning as her baptism of fire and cementing her as a character capable of carrying a story entirely on her own. Structurally, it is also the first of Claremont's several Alien-influenced X-Men stories, demonstrating how the team absorbed cinematic horror conventions into superhero storytelling. On the character side, it introduces Captain Lee Forrester, whose relationships with both Cyclops and Magneto would quietly thread through X-Men continuity for years.

In "Demon," Kitty Pryde finds herself alone at the Xavier Institute on Christmas Eve, facing a terrifying N'garai demon with no teammates in sight. Written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, with art by Byrne and inks by Terry Austin, this gripping issue showcases the young mutant’s courage under pressure. The cover, also by Terry Austin, captures the tension of the moment with stark, haunting detail.

writer Chris Claremont · writer, artist John Byrne · inker Terry Austin · colorist Glynis Wein · letterer Tom Orzechowski · cover Terry Austin

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $7

CGC 9.8 · 487 in census $130

CGC 9.6 · 631 in census $60*

CGC 9.4 · 465 in census $43

CGC 9.2 · 215 in census $33

CGC 9.0 · 149 in census $27*

CGC 8.5 · 137 in census $22*

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CGC 8.0 · 63 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 52 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 45 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 24 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 17 in census $20

CGC 5.5 · 9 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 · 2 in census $20*

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CGC 9.8 ▾ $125–$660 2 listings

CGC 9.8 $124.99 CGC 9.8 · Signed $660

CGC 9.6 $130 1 listing CGC 9.4 $45 1 listing CGC 9.2 $49.99 1 listing CGC 8.5 $42.5 1 listing CGC $49.99 1 listing Raw — NM+ $30 1 listing

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Raw — FN+ $14.88 1 listing Raw — FN $24.95 1 listing Raw — FINE $14.99 1 listing

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VF $8 Newsstand $24 Uncanny X Men #143b KEY Marvel Comic Bronze Age March 1981 $31.99

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History

Chris Claremont and John Byrne co-plotted the issue as a deliberate homage to Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien, with Byrne later recalling that he believed his visual reworking of the premise was subtle enough to escape notice — until Claremont's script pushed it even closer to the source. Byrne joked he waited for lawsuits that never arrived. The issue's letters page, edited under Louise Jones (Simonson), carries a farewell tribute to Byrne and Austin written by Claremont, marking a graceful public send-off to the trio's 36-issue partnership. A letter from then-unknown future writer Kurt Busiek also appears on that page, making the issue a small time capsule of the era's fan culture.

Trivia · 8 facts

Final issue of the Chris Claremont / John Byrne / Terry Austin creative run, which began in X-Men #108 and spanned 36 issues.
First appearance of Captain Aleytys 'Lee' Forrester, a Florida-based fishing trawler captain who becomes a love interest for Cyclops and later Magneto.
First appearance (and death) of a named individual N'Garai demon — the N'Garai race itself first appeared earlier in X-Men #96 (1975), predating the Alien film.
Story titled 'Demon!' is explicitly structured as a homage to Ridley Scott's Alien (1979); Kitty defeats the demon by luring it in front of the X-Men's Blackbird jet and firing the afterburners, mirroring Ellen Ripley's climactic method.
Kitty Pryde (going by the codename Sprite) carries the issue almost entirely alone — her first extended solo spotlight since joining the team in issue #139.
The X-Men's Danger Room and the Blackbird jet are both destroyed during the issue's events, a consequence referenced in subsequent issues.
Letters column ('X-Mail') features a letter of comment from the young Kurt Busiek, years before his professional comics career.
Widely reprinted in: X-Men Classic #47 (1990), Essential X-Men Vol. 2 (1997, black and white), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 6 (2008), the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 2 (2014), X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 7: The Fate of the Phoenix (2021), and the Marvel Holiday Special 2004.