STORY: "In Sin Air" (23 pages)  Scott and Jean's plane is boarded by AIM, who are trying to steal an alien held prisoner in the cargo hold.

What you need to know:
Well, it's more filler, isn't it?  Quite a few minor points worth noting, though, since Seagle was planning ahead.

Jean kicks off the issue by telepathically searching for Professor X, still missing after Operation: Zero Tolerance.  She can't find him because of "static on the psi-plane" which is impairing her, and she "had to conceal herself as a bird" to search at all, whatever that's meant to mean.  Birds are a recurring motif in the Seagle stories, but we'll come back to that.  The static on the psi-plane might be intended as foreshadowing for the Psi-War, a storyline which was upcoming over in X-Men vol 2, or it might just be something to do wiht the entity in the hold.

AIM aren't regular X-Men characters, and they're really just here to provide a story.  Basically, their gimmick is that they're extremist meritocrats who believe that the world should be ruled by the best scientists (ie, them).  The agents who turn up in this story name themselves after famous historical scientists - Kepler, Planck and Copernicus.

We're not told too much about the entity in the box, other than that it was hijacked from another dimension against its will by a group of generic villains (one of whom is named as Dr Sibelius), and that AIM would like to get hold of it.  The entity seems to have some kind of psychic powers.  Ultimately, it ends up staying in its box to avoid destroying the aircraft, and then gets handed over to the Canadian government's Department H - major villains in Seagle's Alpha Flight series, which was running at the same time.  Possibly Seagle was setting up a storyline for that book, but it never turned up before that series was cancelled.

Archangel finally shows up at the X-Men Mansion, having travelled straight home with Psylocke after issue #350.  This may well be an attempt to cover for a glaring continuity error - namely, why Archangel and Psylocke weren't among the X-Men who teleported in from the Antarctic in X-Men vol 2 #71 - but it creates some tension between him and the rest of the team and gives Marrow an excuse to sympathise with a fellow outsider.  In the process, that sets up some stories for the Joe Kelly run on X-Men vol 2.

Maggott turns up to establish that he's living in the mansion now, although no particular reason is given.  We'll worry more about him when we get on to X-Men vol 2, where most of his stories turn up.

The X-Men get a letter from the Department of Education.  This is the first mention of a storyline that hovers around in the background for a few issues before being aborted without explanation.

Cannonball gets a letter from Meltdown - his nominal girlfriend from X-Force - inviting him to the Colossal Man Gathering in Texas (an allusion to the Burning Man festival).  He duly goes over to meet her in X-Force #75, leading to their official break-up.

The cover says that this issue features "possibly the most artists ever on one title."  It's not, but it does just beat the previous record for Uncanny X-Men, which was held by issue #273.

Comments:
Well, it's a fill-in.  A vaguely rousing tale of an abused entity which chooses not to lash out at mankind, and some subplots being shuffled into place.  Nothing terribly interesting in its own right, and it definitely shows its roots as a time-marking exercise until the proper storyline begins (along with the full-time arrival of penciller Chris Bachalo) in issue #353.

The art is a bizarre mixture of pencillers and inkers whose styles clash horribly at times.  Some of the artists went on to more prominent things later on. Terry and Rachel Dodson moved on to Generation X, Harley Quinn and Trouble among others.  JH Williams III and Mick Gray worked with Alan Moore on Promethea.  And John Cassaday developed a growing reputation before finally landing up with Warren Ellis on Planetary.  As for the other three pencillers, Cully Hamner is a perfectly good artist who has never found a niche, Tommy Lee Edwards goes for a rather scratchy approach which doesn't suit the material, and Darryl Banks (not a name that means much to me) is rather below par.

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Wolverine (next in Elektra vol 1 #10, then in Amazing Spider-Man #429, then in X-Men Unlimited vol 1 #17, then in Kitty Pryde, Agent of SHIELD #1-3, then in Wolverine '97, then in X-Men vol 2 #71-72, then in Elektra vol 1 #14, then in Wolverine vol 2 #119-122, then in Maverick #4)
Archangel (last in issue #350; leaves the X-Men after this story and appears next in X-Men Unlimited #17)
Cannonball II (last in X-Men vol 2 #71; next in X-Men vol 2 #72, then in X-Force #75-76)
Joseph (between X-Men vol 2 #70 and #72)
Rogue (last in X-Men vol 2 #71)
The Beast (last in X-Men vol 2 #71; next in Amazing Spider-Man #429, then in X-Men vol 2 #72, then in Avengers vol 3 #1-4, then in X-Men vol 2 #73-76, then in flashback in issue #356, then in Excalibur #121, then in issue #356)

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
Cyclops and Phoenix III
Staci Miller and Chris Miller (both next in issue #356)
Marrow (between X-Men vol 2 #71 and the second story in X-Men Unlimited #18)
Maggott, Eeny and Meany (all between X-Men vol 2 #71 and issue #354)

VILLAINS
AIM (continuity unknown)
Department H and Epsilon Flight (both between Alpha Flight vol 2 #7-8)

Last updated: 4 March 2006

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