The Uncanny X-Men #183

History

Written by Chris Claremont and drawn by John Romita Jr. (pencils) and Dan Green (inks), with colors by Glynis Wein and letters by Tom Orzechowski, the issue landed during a dense post-Secret Wars transition period for the X-Men line. The Colossus–Kitty breakup was reportedly driven in part by Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter's objection to the romantic relationship between the then-14-year-old Kitty and 19-year-old Colossus — making the split as much an editorial directive as a storytelling choice. The issue also marks the formal handover of the editorial chair from Louise Jones (soon to be Louise Simonson), who had edited the book since #137, to Ann Nocenti, who would shepherd the title through the rest of Claremont's most creatively adventurous years.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Story title: 'He'll Never Make Me Cry!' — written by Chris Claremont, penciled by John Romita Jr., inked by Dan Green, colored by Glynis Wein, lettered by Tom Orzechowski; cover date July 1984, released April 1984.
• Selene (Selene Gallio) makes her first Uncanny X-Men appearance in this issue, following her debut in New Mutants #9 (November 1983); she is shown draining the life-force of a man at a rooftop, establishing her as an imminent threat in New York City.
• Colossus confesses to Kitty Pryde that he fell in love with the alien healer Zsaji while on Battleworld during the Secret Wars event, ending their relationship and sending Kitty on a leave of absence from the team (she departs at the start of the issue).
• Wolverine and Nightcrawler take a despondent Colossus to a bar in Manhattan; Colossus accidentally spills his drink on the Juggernaut, triggering a full-scale brawl that destroys the bar — Juggernaut wins, then leaves money to cover the damages.
• Wolverine deliberately does not intervene in the Colossus–Juggernaut fight, allowing Colossus to take the loss as a lesson about loyalty and honor — specifically, Kitty's willingness to sacrifice herself by agreeing to live with the Morlocks to save Peter's life, an act he never acknowledged.
• Mystique (Raven Darkhölme), operating under her cover identity as a DARPA deputy director, appears alongside Val Cooper in a subplot that advances the book's ongoing government-mutant affairs thread.
• This is the first issue edited by Ann Nocenti, replacing Louise Jones (Louise Simonson), who had edited Uncanny X-Men from #137 through #182 before departing to pursue full-time freelance writing.
• The issue directly bridges into the Kitty Pryde & Wolverine limited series and sets up Selene's subsequent appearances in Uncanny X-Men #184 and her eventual induction as the Hellfire Club's Black Queen in Uncanny X-Men #189.

Cast · 19 characters

Full credits

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