The Uncanny X-Men #157
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeUncanny X-Men #157 is the capstone of the four-part 'Deathbird Saga' (issues #154–157) written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum, a storyline that formally introduced the Brood as a recurring X-Men threat and set the table for the celebrated Brood Saga that followed in issues #162–167. The issue delivers a consequential bittersweet ending: Earth is saved when the Starjammer deflects the Shi'ar fleet's first shot, but Professor X collapses into a Brood-induced coma after sensing an alien presence within his own mind — a dangling plot thread that Claremont would pay off with devastating effect across the next dozen issues. As a showcase for Kitty Pryde, the story is a landmark moment in her early development, placing her and Nightcrawler at the dramatic center of the climax as she disguises herself as the recently deceased Dark Phoenix to bluff the Shi'ar bridge crew — a clever, character-driven gambit that underscores Claremont's investment in the team's youngest member.
In "Hide-'N'-Seek!", the X-Men and Starjammers race against time to repair their ship and warn Chancellor Araki that Lilandra has been rescued—before he orders the destruction of Earth. But with Araki already dead and a traitor among them, Kitty takes a dangerous gamble, impersonating Dark Phoenix to throw off Samedar’s plans. Written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Dave Cockrum with inks by Bob Wiacek, this pivotal issue blends high-stakes urgency with a chilling game of deception, all under the striking cover by Cockrum and Wiacek.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was written by Chris Claremont and penciled by Dave Cockrum during Cockrum's second, shorter run on the title (1981–1983), inked by Bob Wiacek with colors by Don Warfield and lettering by Janice Chiang, under editor Louise Jones (Simonson) with Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief. Cockrum himself noted in 2006 that his pencils for this period were done in loose blue, which he described as 'shakedowns,' with everything fully rendered in the underlying art before the inker finished the pages. The issue went on sale February 9, 1982, and carried a May 1982 cover date — part of an extraordinarily prolific stretch for Claremont that in the same year also produced the Wolverine limited series with Frank Miller and the landmark graphic novel 'God Loves, Man Kills.'
Trivia · 8 facts
- Title and position: 'Hide-'N'-Seek!' Part 4 of 4; concludes the Deathbird Saga (Uncanny X-Men #154–157) and serves as direct prologue to the Brood Saga (Uncanny X-Men #162–167).
- Creative team: Written by Chris Claremont, penciled by Dave Cockrum (loose blue pencils finished by inker), inked by Bob Wiacek, colored by Don Warfield, lettered by Janice Chiang, edited by Louise Jones.
- Kitty Pryde (Sprite) disguises herself as Dark Phoenix using the Shi'ar clothing generator to bluff the flagship bridge crew, buying time for Gladiator and Oracle to switch sides — one of the earliest extended spotlights on her resourcefulness as a solo operator.
- Professor Xavier collapses into a Brood-induced coma when he probes an alien anomaly within his own mind during a telepathic reach across half a star system; this coma persists through issue #161 and is later revealed to be caused by a Brood queen embryo implanted in him.
- Chancellor Araki is shot and killed by the traitorous Admiral Samedar, a secret ally of Deathbird, removing a key Shi'ar political figure; Araki later resurfaces in Avengers #363 and New X-Men #133 under the designation 'Araki 6,' implying a consciousness-cloning program.
- Deathbird brokers a deal with the Brood, offering the X-Men as hosts in exchange for continued support of her coup — the arrangement that drives the entire Brood Saga and leads directly to the X-Men being implanted with Brood embryos.
- The Shi'ar flagship captain is named K'rk, an acknowledged Star Trek homage by Claremont and Cockrum.
- The issue has been reprinted in: X-Men Classic #61 (July 1991), Essential X-Men Vol. 3 (1998, black and white), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 7 (2011), The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 3 (2016), and various international editions including French and Brazilian printings.
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Reprinted in Spécial Strange #43 (1986), Superaventuras Marvel #62 (1987), Die Gruppe X #11 (1988), L'Uomo Ragno #43 (1990), X-Men Classic #61 (1991), X-Men Saga #25 (1996), Essential X-Men #3 (1998), Essential X-Men #3 [Second Edition] (2010), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #7 (2011), Marvel Gold. La Imposible Patrulla-X #3 (2012), The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #3 (2016), X-Men: Starjammers by Dave Cockrum #[nn] (2019), X-Men Epic Collection #9 (2023), Cosmic X-Men Omnibus #[nn] (2025), De X-Mannen #22, La Patrulla-X #15, Les mystérieux X-Men #63
Key issues in The Uncanny X-Men
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