The Uncanny X-Men #191
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeUncanny X-Men #191 (March 1985) earns its key-issue status primarily as the first appearance of Nimrod — an advanced, nearly indestructible Sentinel prototype from the 'Days of Future Past' alternate timeline (Earth-811) who followed Rachel Summers into the present and became one of the X-Men's most persistent technological antagonists, eventually merging with Master Mold through the Siege Perilous to become Bastion. Beyond that debut, the issue closes the two-part 'Raiders of the Lost Temple' arc, a sword-and-sorcery alternate-reality story that Claremont used to showcase the X-Men's moral complexity — heroes die, former villains like Selene fight alongside protagonists, and the entire event is retroactively erased by time-travel — a structural gambit that later influenced similar universe-wide reset storytelling. The story also marks a quiet but consequential first meeting between Magik (Illyana Rasputin) and Doctor Strange, a relationship Claremont seeded for long-term payoff. As a single issue it distills much of what made mid-1980s Uncanny X-Men compelling: a massive cast crossing the X-Men, New Mutants, and Avengers, genuine character stakes within a reality that is subsequently reset, and the haunting arrival of a future-threat who remains active on-panel for years.
In "Raiders of the Lost Temple!", the X-Men face a twisted clash of ancient power and modern danger as Selene and Kulan Gath’s brutal reign begins to unravel—only for the ominous presence of Nimrod to emerge from the shadows and plunge the team into a new era of peril. Written by Chris Claremont and brought to life by Dan Green and John Romita Jr. with vibrant colors by Glynis Wein, this issue blends mythic stakes with a pulse-pounding present-day threat, all wrapped in a striking cover by Romita Jr. and Green.
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The issue is part two of 'Raiders of the Lost Temple,' scripted by Chris Claremont and drawn by John Romita Jr. on breakdowns with Dan Green providing finished art — the standard division of labor on their 1983–1986 run on the title. Ann Nocenti served as editor under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, with colors by Glynis Wein and letters by Tom Orzechowski. Nimrod's conception grew directly out of Claremont's own earlier work: the character is a deliberate evolution of the Sentinel concept first made existentially frightening in the 'Days of Future Past' two-parter (#141–142, 1981), and his arrival in the present is mechanically tied to Rachel Summers having traveled back from that same dystopian timeline. The issue was published in March 1985 at a cover price of $0.60 (a $0.75 Canadian variant also exists), during the commercial peak of the Claremont/Romita Jr. partnership when Uncanny X-Men was among Marvel's best-selling titles.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Nimrod (Earth-811): a highly advanced, self-adapting Sentinel prototype from the 'Days of Future Past' timeline, created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita Jr., debuting March 1985.
- Nimrod arrives in the present as a direct consequence of the Kulan Gath time-reversal spell cast by Magik and Doctor Strange — the altered timeline prevents a mugger from donning Gath's amulet, and Nimrod saves construction worker Jaime Rodriguez's life, setting up his subsequent civilian cover identity.
- The issue is part two of the two-part 'Raiders of the Lost Temple' arc (beginning in #190), in which Kulan Gath — a Hyborian-era sorcerer who originally debuted in Conan the Barbarian comics — transforms Manhattan into a sword-and-sorcery realm; Doctor Strange's final spell resets the timeline, rendering all deaths (including Rogue's and Spider-Man's) retroactively undone.
- Contains the first on-panel meeting between Magik (Illyana Rasputin) and Doctor Strange; Strange declines Professor Xavier's request to train Illyana in sorcery.
- Nimrod would go on to merge with Master Mold through the Siege Perilous and be reborn as Bastion, a major X-Men villain of the 1990s and 2000s; his legacy extends through events including 'Second Coming' and the Krakoan-era 'House of X/Powers of X.'
- The creative team for the issue: writer Chris Claremont, penciler/breakdowns John Romita Jr., inker/finisher Dan Green, colorist Glynis Wein, letterer Tom Orzechowski, editor Ann Nocenti, editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
- Nimrod's name is derived from the biblical figure described in Genesis as 'a mighty hunter before the Lord,' a deliberate thematic choice underscoring his function as the ultimate mutant-hunter.
Cast · 28 characters
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Selene and Kulan are beaten and things stop being so medieval. Nimrod arrives in the present day.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
Key issues in The Uncanny X-Men
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