The Uncanny X-Men #221
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeUncanny X-Men #221 delivers the first full, unobscured appearance of Mister Sinister — one of the most consequential villains in X-Men history — nearly a year after he was cryptically name-dropped as the architect of the Mutant Massacre. By placing Sinister on the opening splash page commanding the Marauders and physically dominating Sabretooth, writer Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri instantly established him as a threat of a different order, one whose mysterious obsession with Madelyne Pryor would fuel the landmark 'Inferno' crossover two years later. The issue simultaneously advances three interlocking X-Men mega-narratives — the aftermath of Mutant Massacre, the build toward 'Fall of the Mutants,' and the seeds of 'Inferno' — making it a rare single issue that functions as a hinge point for an entire era of storytelling. Its character work, particularly the Danger Room confrontation between Dazzler and Rogue over their shared violent past, also exemplifies Claremont's signature approach of grounding superhero action in genuinely personal conflict.
In "Death by Drowning!", Rogue and Dazzler clash in a charged confrontation as the Marauders close in on Madelyne Pryor, forcing the X-Men into a desperate rescue mission in San Francisco. Chris Claremont’s tense storytelling, brought to life by Marc Silvestri’s dynamic art and Dan Green’s sharp inks, captures the stakes as the team races to protect Madelyne—only to face a shocking twist when a mind-controlled Marauder with magnetic powers suddenly appears. Cover by Marc Silvestri and Dan Green.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 18 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.8 ▾ $200–$450 3 listings
CGC 9.6 ▾ $78.01–$300 15 listings
CGC 9.4 ▾ $80–$285 5 listings
CGC 9 ▾ $64.99–$85 3 listings
CGC 8.5 ▾ $43–$75 4 listings
CGC 8 ▾ $50–$70 2 listings
CGC 7.5 ▾ $45–$47.99 2 listings
CGC 7 ▾ $45–$60 2 listings
CGC ▾ $60–$210 4 listings
Raw — NM ▾ $40–$71 4 listings
Raw — NM- ▾ $39.99–$50 6 listings
Raw — VF/NM ▾ $39–$55 2 listings
Raw — VF+ ▾ $31.91–$64.95 3 listings
Raw — VF ▾ $34.94–$89.96 10 listings
Raw — FN ▾ $35–$151 3 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $25–$200 31 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was written by Chris Claremont, penciled by Marc Silvestri, inked by Dan Green, colored by Glynis Oliver, and lettered by Tom Orzechowski, under editor Ann Nocenti with Jim Shooter serving as editor-in-chief. Sinister had been seeded across two issues of the 1986 'Mutant Massacre' crossover — first mentioned by name in #212 and glimpsed only as a generic silhouette in a telepathic scan in #213 — making #221 the payoff of a deliberately slow-burn buildup. Silvestri is credited with designing Sinister's distinctive visual look, a flamboyant, ribbon-adorned figure that felt unlike any prior Marvel villain design. The issue was published with both a direct-edition and newsstand edition; a second printing distributed by So Much Fun Inc. was later produced to meet demand, identifiable by the addition of 'Classic' after the title logo on the cover.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First full appearance of Mister Sinister (Dr. Nathaniel Essex), the leader of the Marauders — his visual design was created by penciler Marc Silvestri.
- Story title is 'Death by Drowning!' — Part 1 of 2; Part 2 concludes in Uncanny X-Men #222 ('Heartbreak!'), which features the second Wolverine vs. Sabretooth confrontation in the comics.
- Sinister had previously appeared only as a name-drop in Uncanny X-Men #212 (Dec. 1986) and as a shadowy silhouette glimpsed in Psylocke's telepathic scan of Sabretooth's mind in Uncanny X-Men #213.
- Creative team: Writer Chris Claremont; Pencils Marc Silvestri; Inks Dan Green; Colors Glynis Oliver; Letters Tom Orzechowski; Editor Ann Nocenti; Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter.
- Polaris, possessed by the psychic entity Malice, appears here as an active Marauder, using her magnetic powers to hurl Rogue and Madelyne Pryor into San Francisco Bay — a key plot point in the 'Death by Drowning' arc.
- The issue reintroduces Madelyne Pryor-Summers as a regular cast member after nearly twenty issues of absence; Sinister's campaign to erase all records of her identity is a direct setup for the 'Inferno' storyline (1989).
- A Danger Room subplot explores the unresolved tension between Dazzler and Rogue, rooted in their earlier clashes in the pages of Dazzler's solo series (notably issues #24 and #28).
Cast · 23 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in The Uncanny X-Men [So Much Fun] #221 (1987), Spécial Strange #62 (1989), Gli Incredibili X-Men #27 (1992), Sabretooth Classic #14 (1995), X-Men Firsts #1 (1996), X-Men : l'intégrale #1987 (II) (2010), X-Men: Fall of the Mutants #[nn] (2011), X-Men: Fall of the Mutants #1 (2013), True Believers: X-Men - Mister Sinister #1 (2020), X-Men: Fall of the Mutants Omnibus #[nn] (2021), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #15 (2022), Phoenix Omnibus #2 (2023), De X-Mannen #71, La Patrulla-X #71, Projekt X #30, Ryhmä-X #10/1988, X-Men #11/1990
Key issues in The Uncanny X-Men
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.