Home › The X-Men › #114

Cover: John Byrne & Terry Austin

The X-Men #114

Name: The X-Men #114
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Oct 1978 · Marvel · 0.35 USD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“Desolation”

★ 1st appearance — Nereel

About this Issue

The X-Men #114 carries a deceptively quiet but historically durable distinction: it is the first issue to display the word 'Uncanny' above the X-Men logo on the cover, a branding milestone that would not be cemented in the official indicia title until issue #142. Beyond the cover dress, the issue arrives at a pivotal creative inflection point — the early weeks of the Claremont/Byrne partnership that critics and historians have since called the pinnacle of the entire Claremont era. It introduces Nereel of the Fall People, whose brief encounter with Colossus plants a long-running subplot about an unacknowledged son that Claremont would not pay off until X-Men Annual #12 a decade later. The issue also lays the groundwork for one of the series' most consequential long-form mysteries, as Cyclops begins to surface buried childhood memories that connect him to the Starjammer Corsair — a thread that would not be fully resolved until Uncanny X-Men #154.

In "Desolation," the surviving X-Men—still very much alive—navigate a fractured landscape after a devastating loss, finding temporary refuge with the Fall People in the Savage Land. As tensions rise and hidden threats emerge, Lykos begins to draw on Storm’s power, setting the stage for a transformation that could change everything. Written by John Byrne and Chris Claremont, with art by Byrne and inks by Terry Austin, this 1978 issue delivers a gripping blend of isolation, resilience, and quiet dread, all rendered with the distinctive flair of Byrne’s pencils and Austin’s sharp lines.

writer, artist John Byrne · writer Chris Claremont · inker Terry Austin · colorist Glynis Wein · letterer Gaspar Saladino · letterer Jean Simek · cover John Byrne, Terry Austin

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $25

CGC 9.8 · 115 in census $1,258

CGC 9.6 · 227 in census $498

CGC 9.4 · 290 in census $360

CGC 9.2 · 199 in census $307*

CGC 9.0 · 178 in census $251*

CGC 8.5 · 142 in census $202*

Show all 18 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 106 in census $147

CGC 7.5 · 91 in census $126

CGC 7.0 · 47 in census $113

CGC 6.5 · 47 in census $107*

CGC 6.0 · 34 in census $106*

CGC 5.5 · 29 in census $90*

CGC 5.0 · 16 in census $90*

CGC 4.5 · 8 in census $83*

CGC 4.0 · 8 in census $79*

CGC 3.5 · 9 in census $65*

CGC 3.0 · 3 in census $58*

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $44*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 ▾ $75–$939 4 listings

CGC 9.8 $75 CGC 9.8 $125 CGC 9.8 · Signed $220 CGC 9.8 $939

CGC 9.6 ▾ $225–$350 2 listings

CGC 9.6 $225 CGC 9.6 $350

CGC 9.4 ▾ $41.89–$190 5 listings

CGC 9.4 $41.89 CGC 9.4 $119 CGC 9.4 $149.99 CGC 9.4 $170 CGC 9.4 $190

CGC 8.5 $60 1 listing CGC 8 $80.75 1 listing CGC 7 $71 1 listing CGC $35 1 listing CBCS 8 $235 1 listing Raw — NM $125 1 listing

Raw — VF ▾ $7.99–$78 7 listings

VF · Newsstand $7.99 VF $9.95 VF $45 VF $56 VF $65.99 VF $75 VF $78

Raw — FN ▾ $34.89–$40 3 listings

FN $34.89 FN · Newsstand $37.34 FN $40

Raw — VG+ ▾ $24.03–$26.25 2 listings

VG+ $24.03 VG+ $26.25

Raw — VG ▾ $21–$59.99 6 listings

VG $21 VG $21.13 VG $23 VG $24.95 VG $45 VG $59.99

Raw / ungraded ▾ $9.99–$95 24 listings

Verified matches for The X-Men #114 · eBay asking prices, seen 20 days ago

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 ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

Written by Chris Claremont from a plot co-developed with penciler John Byrne, inked by Terry Austin, colored by Glynis Oliver, and lettered by Jean Simek, the issue was edited by Roger Stern, with Jim Salicrup credited as assistant editor on the letter column. It arrived in October 1978 as part of the Claremont/Byrne team's first full year together, a collaboration that had begun with issue #108 when Byrne replaced Dave Cockrum as penciler and co-plotter. According to editorial commentary from Tom Brevoort, this issue contains an early sign of creative tension between the two collaborators: Byrne drew the Cyclops-at-the-pond scene with one intention for the character's emotional state, and Claremont's finished script steered it in a different direction, planting the seeds of a division that would grow over subsequent years.

Trivia · 8 facts

First issue to display 'The Uncanny X-Men' on the cover, though the title was not officially changed in the indicia until issue #142.
Story titled 'Desolation!', Part 1 of 3; written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, penciled by John Byrne, inked by Terry Austin, colored by Glynis Oliver, lettered by Jean Simek, edited by Roger Stern.
First appearance of Nereel, a Fall People tribeswoman of the Savage Land whose encounter with Colossus results in an unacknowledged son named Peter — a subplot revisited in Classic X-Men #21 and resolved in X-Men Annual #12.
Cyclops, while in the Savage Land, begins to consciously recognize his physical resemblance to the Starjammer called Corsair and experiences fragmentary childhood memories of himself and Alex being pushed from an airplane — an early seeding of the revelation that Corsair is his father.
Features one of the earliest uses of the 'fastball special' — Wolverine launched at a pterodactyl by Colossus — a team move that would become a recurring signature of the two characters' partnership.
Beast's guest stint with the X-Men ends with this issue; he rejoins the Avengers following his role in rescuing Phoenix from Antarctica.
Karl Lykos drains Storm's energy to transform back into Sauron at the issue's close, setting up the multi-part Savage Land story arc through issues #115–116.
Reprinted in numerous collections including the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1 (2006), Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 3, and the X-Men Epic Collection: Proteus.