The Uncanny X-Men #167

History

This issue is the sixth and final chapter of the Brood Saga, scripted by Chris Claremont with pencils by Paul Smith (who had taken over from Dave Cockrum beginning with #165) and inks by Bob Wiacek; the editorial team listed is Louise Jones (later Louise Simonson) and Danny Fingeroth, with Jim Shooter as Editor-in-Chief. According to a Brian Cronin account cited by the fan-review site Off the Wahl, Claremont's use of the Fantastic Four in the issue's subplot — with Lilandra confronting Reed Richards over sparing Galactus — was not coordinated in advance with Byrne, who then picked up the thread and turned it into the extended 'Trial of Reed Richards' storyline culminating in Fantastic Four #262. The issue carries a cover date of March 1983 but an on-sale date of December 1982, typical of the era's lead time.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Story title: 'The Goldilocks Syndrome! (or: Who's Been Sleeping in My Head?)' — Part 6 of 6 of the Brood Saga (Uncanny X-Men #161–167).
• Credits: Written by Chris Claremont, penciled by Paul Smith, inked by Bob Wiacek, lettered by Tom Orzechowski, colored by Glynis Wein (Oliver) and Andy Yanchus, edited by Louise Jones and Danny Fingeroth.
• First in-continuity meeting of the X-Men and the New Mutants (Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Karma, Mirage/Psyche, Sunspot), who had been operating from Xavier's School during the X-Men's absence in space.
• Professor X's original body, overtaken by a Brood Queen embryo, is destroyed; Lilandra's Shi'ar technology transplants his consciousness into a younger cloned body — a body whose legs are physically undamaged, though psychosomatic pain initially prevents him from walking unassisted.
• Kitty Pryde (Sprite) is reassigned by Xavier from the X-Men to the New Mutants at the issue's close, much to her surprise and dismay, directly setting up the 'Professor X Is a Jerk!' storyline in New Mutants #4.
• A Shi'ar subplot features Lilandra delivering a holographic warning to Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four that they will be held accountable under Shi'ar law for Reed's earlier decision to spare Galactus — an unplanned cross-title seed that Byrne developed into the 'Trial of Reed Richards' arc in Fantastic Four.
• The issue was reprinted in X-Men Classic #71 and has been collected in the New Mutants Epic Collection Vol. 1: Renewal (2017), Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 3 (2016), New Mutants Omnibus Vol. 1 (2020), and Uncanny X-Men Epic Collection: The Brood Saga (2023).
• Published in at least five distinct printings: Direct Edition, Newsstand Edition, Canadian Edition (75¢ cover price), Mark Jeweler Insert variant, and Lakeside Tattooz Insert variant.

Cast · 40 characters

Full credits

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