STORY: "Nightlines" (22 pages)  Professor X and the Beast appear on a chat show with Graydon Creed, leader of the hate group The Friends of Humanity, and Senator Robert Kelly. Lots of other stuff happens while they're on the air - see below...

What you need to know:
Magneto has survived his apparent death in X-Men vol 2 #3 - not exactly a surprise, but it does complicate matters enormously for Fabian Cortez, whose entire scheme hinges on setting himself up with the Acolytes as Magneto's heir. It seems that the Acolytes who were with him in that story have survived as well, but frankly it's rather vague.

Graydon Creed makes his debut appearance, as leader of the Friends of Humanity.

The Gamesmaster announces that "the mutant Fitzroy has been molding for membership" will be the final addition to the Upstarts. This sounds promising, but be warned - when she finally shows up she's an awful, awful character.

Illyana Rasputin - now living with the X-Men following X-Men vol 2 #19 - has a cough. There was a time when characters would just have a cough, but this being the early nineties, it's obviously a plot point.

Bishop recognises one of the waitresses in Harry's Hideaway (yes, it's back in business already). This plot was thoroughly ignored for several years and finally tied up years later in a breathtaking chronological pretzel of retroactive writing. Apparently she's Fatale (a character who wouldn't be created for another three years), who's working for the Dark Beast (another character who wouldn't be created for another three years), and she's keeping an eye on Bishop because the Dark Beast has somehow twigged that Bishop is the same character he met in his own world (the Age of Apocalypse, which wouldn't be invented for - you guessed it - another three years).

Jean is contacted telepathically by Senator Kelly's aide. This character is later revealed to be Noah DuBois, an agent of the interdimensional organisation Landau, Luckman and Lake. He's not usually telepathic (so presumably he's using some kind of technology) and it's not at all clear why he's hanging around with Kelly, but honest - that's him, and this is his first appearance. He goes on to be a much more important character in Deadpool.
 

Comments:
Mainly a set-up issue, with a slender story about Xavier's TV appearance serving largely as an excuse for loads of subplots. Since most of these didn't go anywhere - or at least, not in any way Scott Lobdell could have intended at the time this story was written - it's a rather missable issue. Perhaps the most important thing here is the introduction of Graydon Creed, although Creed is one of those villains who never really worked. Although we're asked to buy Creed as a credible and persuasive politician, he doesn't come across that way. He starts off alright, but degenerates into a total fool as the story goes on. Letting the other participants in the debate pretty much humiliate Creed may be satisfying for this issue, but in retrospect the character needed to be far more in control - and therefore credible - in his inroductory story. He never really recovered.
 

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Professor X, Storm, Archangel and Bishop
Jean Grey, Colossus, Cyclops, Iceman and Wolverine (behind the scenes; all last in X-Men vol 2 #19)
The Beast (last in X-Men vol 2 #19; next in X-Men vol 2 #20-23, then in the Infinity Crusade crossover, then in X-Men vol 2 #24, then in issue #304)

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
Forge (last in issue #290)
Robert Kelly (next in ...)
Illyana Rasputin (last in X-Men vol 2 #19; next in the second story in issue #300)
Charlotte Jones (next in issue #322)

VILLAINS
The Acolytes: Anne Marie, Harry Delgado and Chrome (all last in X-Men vol 2 #3)
The Gamesmaster (last in issue #283)
The Upstarts: Shinobi Shaw (between issue #283 and X-Men vol 2 #21), Graydon Creed (first appearance; chronologically last in flashback in X-Men Forever #2), Trevor Fitzroy (last in the second story in Uncanny X-Men Annual #17; the latter two both next in issue #301) and Fabian Cortez
Fatale (first appearance; next in X-Factor #112)

GUEST APPEARANCES
Henry Peter Gyrich (...)
Noah DuBois (first appearance; unnamed; appears in this story as Kelly's aide; next in issue #322)

OTHER CHARACTER
Elton Cayer (a TV host; first and only appearance)

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