The Uncanny X-Men #240
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeUncanny X-Men #240 is the formal opening chapter of 'Inferno,' the 1989 Marvel crossover that resolved years of tangled continuity around Madelyne Pryor — and it delivers one of Chris Claremont's most dramatically charged single-issue moments: Madelyne's debut as the Goblin Queen, the persona she adopts here for the first time in print. The issue also stages a pivotal early meeting between Madelyne and Mister Sinister, whose cryptic claim of paternity over her reframes every story thread that had been building since the Mutant Massacre. As the anchor chapter of what scholars of the medium recognize as the first X-book crossover in which the plot genuinely continued month-to-month across multiple titles, it marks a structural turning point in how Marvel managed its interconnected superhero universe.
"Inferno, Part the First: Strike the Match" kicks off a major X-Men event with a gripping blend of personal stakes and escalating chaos. As Maddie and Havok share a quiet moment, their world erupts when N’astirh arrives at Mr. Sinister’s orphanage seeking Nathan Christopher, while New York begins to fall under demonic influence. Chris Claremont’s sharp storytelling, brought to life by Marc Silvestri’s dynamic art and Dan Green’s bold inks, sets the stage for a brutal clash as the X-Men descend into the Morlock tunnels to confront the Marauders—paying back the bloodshed of the Mutant Massacre. The cover by Silvestri and Green captures the rising tension with a striking, foreboding image.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Written by Chris Claremont with pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, and lettering by Tom Orzechowski, the issue was edited by Bob Harras under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco — the core creative team that had been steering the Outback-era X-Men through their most tonally dark period. It was released on newsstands September 20, 1988 with a January 1989 cover date, placing it at issue seven within the full Inferno reading order that also encompassed X-Terminators, New Mutants, and X-Factor. The issue bears the internal story title 'Strike the Match: Inferno Part the First,' and the cover composition — a tight, vertically-oriented design by Silvestri and Green — was deliberately echoed across the next two issues of Uncanny to give the arc a visual trilogy feel.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Madelyne Pryor in her Goblin Queen identity: both the Marvel Database (Fandom) and multiple collector databases confirm this is her debut in that role.
- First appearance of M-Squad (Drs. Martin, Milan, Snodgrass, and Shiner): the group of Ghostbusters-inspired paranormal scientists whose names were drawn from science fiction writers — including George R.R. Martin — who had contributed to the Wild Cards anthology series alongside Claremont. They debut here investigating strange disturbances at the Empire State Building and are apparently consumed by a demonically animated elevator.
- Opening chapter of the Inferno crossover as numbered in the Uncanny X-Men books: Inferno was the first X-titles event in which narrative actually continued from one book to another from month to month, rather than running as parallel self-contained stories.
- Madelyne transforms Jean Grey's parents, John and Elaine Grey, into demons at Bard College — a transformation that persists throughout the Inferno storyline.
- Mister Sinister appears at his Nebraska orphanage and reveals himself to Madelyne, telling her she may call him 'father' — a disclosure that retroactively recontextualizes Madelyne's entire history as a clone of Jean Grey engineered by Sinister.
- The X-Men, guided by N'astirh's manipulation of their computer systems, assault the Marauders in the Morlock tunnels — a revenge bout payback for the Mutant Massacre — while Polaris, still possessed by Malice, intervenes on the Marauders' side.
- Creators: Writer Chris Claremont, Penciler Marc Silvestri, Inker Dan Green, Colorist Glynis Oliver, Letterer Tom Orzechowski, Editor Bob Harras.
- The issue has been reprinted numerous times, including in X-Men: Inferno (1996), X-Men: Inferno (2009), X-Men Milestones: Inferno (2019), the X-Men Inferno Omnibus (2021), and internationally in French, Italian, Swedish, and Dutch editions.
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Reprinted in Spécial Strange #68 (1990), Marvels universum #8/1991 (1991), Gli Incredibili X-Men #37 (1993), Planète Comics #4 (1996), X-Men: Inferno #[nn] (1996), X-Men: Inferno #[nn] (2009), X-Men: Inferno #1 (2016), X-Men Milestones: Inferno #[nn] (2019), X-Men - La Collection Mutante #10 (2021), X-Men: Inferno Omnibus #[nn] (2021), Phoenix Omnibus #2 (2023), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #16 (2024), X-Factor: The Original X-Men Omnibus #2 (2025), De X-Mannen #85
Key issues in The Uncanny X-Men
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