The X-Men #108
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe X-Men #108 marks the beginning of one of the most consequential creative partnerships in superhero comics history: penciller John Byrne joining writer Chris Claremont and inker Terry Austin on the title, a collaboration that would produce the Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. Beyond the personnel change, the issue delivers the climax of the M'Kraan Crystal arc — Jean Grey as Phoenix channeling the combined life-force of the X-Men and Starjammers to repair a neutron galaxy and prevent universal annihilation — an operatic narrative gesture that established the cosmic scale Claremont/Byrne would return to again and again. It also discloses one of the title's most enduring soap-opera secrets: Phoenix's psychic scan reveals that Corsair, leader of the Starjammers, is Christopher Summers — the long-lost father of Cyclops — though Cyclops himself never wakes to learn the truth. The issue functions simultaneously as a triumphant conclusion to the Shi'ar space epic and as the opening chapter of the defining era of the All-New X-Men.
In "Armageddon Now!", the X-Men and the Starjammers race against time to reach the M'Kraan Crystal, facing the Crystal Guardians in a high-stakes clash that pushes them to their limits. With Jean Grey’s power surging as the Phoenix, the fate of the universe hangs in the balance—while a shocking revelation about Cyclops’ past reshapes everything. Written by Chris Claremont and brought to life by John Byrne’s dynamic art, with Terry Austin’s inks, Andy Yanchus’s colors, and Orz and Wohl’s lettering, this 1977 classic features a cover by Dave Cockrum.
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Issue #108 was the first X-Men that Byrne drew, landing him in an unenviable position: stepping in to replace Dave Cockrum, the artist who had co-designed virtually the entire All-New All-Different roster. In recognition of that debt, the final page of the issue carries a heartfelt dedication to Cockrum — to which Cockrum himself appended the wry postscript 'I'm not dead.' The letters column is equally notable: Byrne, already a rising Bronze Age star, published a letter in his own first issue expressing genuine anxiety about following a beloved predecessor, a candid moment of public humility that editors at Marvel clearly found worth preserving. The issue was edited by Archie Goodwin, with coloring by Andy Yanchus and lettering by Tom Orzechowski and Denise Wohl; the cover was painted by Cockrum, providing visual continuity with the arc he had helmed.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First issue pencilled by John Byrne and inked by Terry Austin on the X-Men title (December 1977); Byrne's run continued uninterrupted through issue #143.
- First appearances of Jahf and Modt, the successive Guardians of the M'Kraan Crystal; their names are a playful homage to the classic newspaper comic strip Mutt and Jeff.
- Corsair (Christopher Summers) is revealed by Phoenix's psychic scan to be the biological father of Cyclops (Scott Summers) and Havok — though Cyclops himself remains unconscious and does not learn the truth in this issue.
- Phoenix, drawing on the combined life-force of the X-Men and Starjammers, enters the neutron galaxy at the heart of the M'Kraan Crystal and repairs its failing energy lattice, preventing the destruction of the universe.
- Emperor D'Ken is driven permanently insane by contact with the Crystal; Lilandra is established as the new ruler of the Shi'ar Empire but is stranded on Earth when the stargate burns out.
- The issue features cameo appearances by President Jimmy Carter, the Avengers (Captain America, Beast, Wasp, Yellowjacket/Hank Pym, Black Panther), and the Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch, the Thing), all helplessly monitoring the reality-threatening crisis from Earth.
- The cover is by Dave Cockrum — his visual farewell to the arc he built — while the interior story is the first by the incoming Byrne/Austin team; the letters page contains a published letter from Byrne himself expressing his nervousness at replacing Cockrum.
- The issue has been reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 2 (2004), the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1 (2006, multiple printings), the X-Men Epic Collection: Second Genesis (2017), the X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga Omnibus, and the Phoenix Omnibus Vol. 1 (2021).
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Reprinted in Spécial Strange #17 (1979), Atlantic special #6/1981 (1981), Atlantic Spesial [Atlantic Special] #6/1981 (1981), Die Gruppe X #3 (1985), Classic X-Men #15 (1987), The Official Marvel Index to the X-Men #5 (1988), El Asombroso Hombre Araña Presenta #63 (1989), Marvel Masterworks #12 (1990), The Very Best of the X-Men #[nn] (1994), X-Men Classic #4 (1996), Essential X-Men #1 (1996), X-Men : l'intégrale #1977-1978 (2002), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #2 (2004), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men - Barnes & Noble Edition #2 (2004), The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #1 (2006), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #2 (2009), Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades #[nn] (2010), X-Men Forever Giant-Size #1 (2010), Marvel Gold. La Imposible Patrulla-X #1 (2011), X-Men Epic Collection #5 (2017), X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga Omnibus #[nn] (2018), X-Men: Children of the Atom #[6] (2019), X-Men: Starjammers by Dave Cockrum #[nn] (2019), Phoenix Omnibus #1 (2021) + 4 more
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