The Uncanny X-Men #298

Name: The Uncanny X-Men #298
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Mar 1993 · Marvel · 1.25 USD; 1.60 CAD; 0.85 GBP

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“...For the Children!”

★ 1st appearance — Harlan Kleinstock★ 1st appearance — Sven Kleinstock★ 1st appearance — Eric Kleinstock

About this Issue

Uncanny X-Men #298 marks the first full appearance of three mutant characters who would remain fixtures of the Acolytes roster for years: Carmella Unuscione, whose psionic exoskeleton makes her one of the group's most visually distinctive members, and the Kleinstock Brothers (Eric, Harlan, and Sven) — plasma-blasting Swiss triplets who debuted and immediately suffered their first casualty in the same issue. The issue also formally names and establishes Joanna Cargill under her civilian identity for the first time, while simultaneously revealing her as the former mercenary Frenzy — bridging the earliest Apocalypse-era X-Factor stories to the Acolytes mythology. Set during the in-continuity window when Magneto was believed dead, writer Scott Lobdell uses the Acolytes' fanatical, leaderless extremism to pose a pointed moral question about symbolism and ideology, a theme Grant Morrison later revisited in New X-Men. It also quietly serves as a narrative on-ramp to the Fatal Attractions event by re-energizing the Acolytes as a credible threat.

In "…For the Children!", the X-Men face a brutal dilemma when they must choose between stopping the Acolytes and rescuing a bus full of mutant children caught in a dangerous situation. Written by Scott Lobdell and illustrated by Brandon Peterson, with inks by Al Milgrom and colors by Marie Javins, this 1993 issue delivers high-stakes tension and emotional weight, all framed by Peterson and Milgrom’s dynamic cover.

writer Scott Lobdell · artist Brandon Peterson · inker A. Milgrom · colorist Marie Javins · letterer Chris Eliopoulos · cover Brandon Peterson, Al Milgrom

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History

The issue was written by Scott Lobdell and penciled by Brandon Peterson — the same creative pairing that had been steering Uncanny X-Men through the post-X-Cutioner's Song period — with inks by Al Milgrom, colors by Marie Javins, and letters by Chris Eliopoulos, under editor Bob Harras and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. Peterson, who was still relatively early in his professional career, got his major-league break on Uncanny X-Men before later returning to Marvel on titles such as Astonishing X-Men and Ultimate X-Men. The issue sits in an editorially transitional stretch between the Blue/Gold team split era and the ramp-up toward Fatal Attractions, functioning as a self-contained chapter designed to re-introduce the Acolytes with a freshly expanded and lethal lineup.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Carmella Unuscione, a mutant who generates a morphing psionoplasmic exoskeleton; she is strongly implied (but never officially confirmed in-story) to be the daughter of classic X-villain Unus the Untouchable.
First appearance of the Kleinstock Brothers (Eric, Harlan, and Sven) — Swiss mutant triplets and Acolytes who can discharge explosive plasma; Eric Kleinstock is shot and killed by Tom Corsi in the same issue, making it both his first and only appearance.
First appearance of Joanna Cargill under the 'Cargill' identity, with her real name revealed; Jean Grey recognizes her as the mercenary 'Frenzy,' formerly a member of Apocalypse's Alliance of Evil in the early X-Factor comics.
Sharon Friedlander, a longtime supporting character and former nurse at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, is killed by the Acolytes in this issue — though her death is not explicitly confirmed until a subsequent issue.
The issue marks the Acolytes' first return since their debut appearance, now operating under Fabian Cortez and acting in Magneto's name during a story arc set while Magneto was presumed dead.
The story's title is 'For the Children!' — a grim irony given that the Acolytes' mission centers on kidnapping a mutant child from a school bus, and that the child turns out to have Down syndrome, prompting the Acolytes to reject him as 'unfit.'
Bishop's struggle with his place among the X-Men is a key subplot: he offers his resignation to Professor Xavier at the issue's opening, and Xavier refuses with characteristic bluntness — an early beat in Bishop's ongoing integration arc.
The issue is collected in X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 22: Legacies (2023), which gathers Uncanny X-Men #297–300, Uncanny X-Men Annual #17, X-Men #17–23, Stryfe's Strike File, and X-Men Unlimited #1.