The Uncanny X-Men #166
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeUncanny X-Men #166 is the first appearance of Lockheed, the small purple dragon-like alien who would become Kitty Pryde's inseparable companion across decades of X-Men and Excalibur stories, making it one of the most enduring character introductions of the Claremont era. The issue also serves as the climax of the sprawling Brood Saga — a multi-issue space-opera that pushed the X-Men into genuinely existential horror, raising the stakes of the title far beyond conventional superheroics. As a double-sized finale, it resolves multiple dangling threads simultaneously: the Acanti soul, the Brood embryos implanted in the X-Men, and Binary's furious new identity — all while seeding the revelation that Professor Xavier himself is infected, carrying the story directly into the next arc. Collector and critical consensus treat it as one of the key turning points in Claremont's sixteen-year run, marking both the fullest expression of his cosmic ambitions and the moment a tiny dragon quietly stole the book.
In "Live Free or Die!", the X-Men battle a terrifying infection spreading across a world overrun by the Brood, fighting to reclaim their minds and stop the Brood Queen’s reign. Written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Paul Smith, with inks by Bob Wiacek and colors by Glynis Wein, this pivotal 1983 issue sees the team confronting both alien invasion and their own unraveling as the Brood’s influence takes hold. The cover by Paul Smith captures the intensity of the struggle, a striking image of the X-Men in the thick of a desperate fight.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Written by Chris Claremont with pencils by Paul Smith, inks by Bob Wiacek, colors by Glynis Wein, and lettering by Tom Orzechowski, the issue was published cover-dated February 1983, edited by Louise Jones under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. Paul Smith had only just taken over regular art duties from Dave Cockrum — whose final issue on the title was the preceding #164 — and #166 was his first major showcase at double-size, a format that reportedly allowed him to pour exceptional detail into the alien landscape of Madrizar. According to collector commentary drawn from an account attributed to Cockrum, the editorial transition came about partly because Claremont and editor Louise Jones encouraged Cockrum toward other projects, with Smith eventually agreeing to come aboard on the condition that he would later be permitted to move to Doctor Strange. Lockheed himself originated from an offhand doodle Smith had sketched of a small dragon; Claremont saw it and immediately worked the creature into the script, echoing the dragon character Kitty had already named in her fairy tale back in issue #153 — itself named after the Lockheed Corporation that built the team's SR-71 Blackbird jet.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Lockheed — the purple, fire-breathing alien dragon of the Flock race — who saves Kitty Pryde from a Brood attack and secretly departs with the X-Men; created by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith.
- Published cover-dated February 1983 as a double-sized issue (approximately 48 pages) by Marvel Comics; written by Claremont, penciled by Paul Smith, inked by Bob Wiacek.
- Serves as the climactic chapter of the Brood Saga (spanning roughly Uncanny X-Men #154–167), resolving the Acanti soul storyline and the Brood embryo threat facing the entire X-Men roster.
- Cyclops is revealed to be the X-Man whose Brood embryo has progressed farthest, causing him to betray the team to the Brood Queen; Wolverine ultimately uses Scott's out-of-control optic blast to free himself.
- Binary (Carol Danvers) uses her cosmic energy powers to liberate the trapped Acanti prophet-singer soul, which in turn purges the X-Men of their Brood embryos and crystallizes the Brood Queen.
- The issue ends with Wolverine deducing that the Brood Queen's warning about 'another embryo that will doom your world' points directly to Professor Xavier — a hook that drives the immediately following storyline in #167.
- Lockheed's name, given by Kitty, is a callback to the fictional dragon from her bedtime fairy tale in issue #153, which was itself named after the Lockheed Corporation — builder of the X-Men's SR-71 Blackbird jet.
- The entire Brood Saga including this issue is reprinted in Marvel's X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 9: The Brood Saga (2023), collecting Uncanny X-Men #154–167, X-Men Annual #6, and Special Edition X-Men #1.
Cast · 14 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in X-Men, Les étranges #8 (1986), Marvels universum #8/1987 (1987), Die Gruppe X #12 (1988), Superaventuras Marvel #71 (1988), The Comic Book in America: An Illustrated History #[nn] (1989), Gli Incredibili X-Men #2 (1990), X-Men Classic #70 (1992), Essential X-Men #4 (2001), X-Men : l'intégrale #1983 (2005), Essential X-Men #4 [Second Edition] (2006), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #8 (2012), Marvel Gold. La Imposible Patrulla-X #4 (2015), 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 #29, La Patrulla-X #21, X-Men [Χ-Μεν] #67
Key issues in The Uncanny X-Men
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