STORY: "Maximum Security: Cry Justice, Cry Vengeance!" (23 pages)  A D'Bari survivor tries to take revenge on Phoenix for the destruction of his planet.

What you need to know:
This is a crossover with Maximum Security, a miniseries which was done basically as a device to have a line-wide crossover.  The high concept is that the alien races have decided that humanity is too dangerous, so they've put up a great bit shield around the solar system and designated Earth as a penal colony.  There are two types of Maximum Security crossover - some just happen to involve alien villains dumped on earth as part of the story, and others play into the wider plot.  Although the X-Men did play a major part in the storyline, that was over in X-Men.  This is in the first category.

A surviving D'Bari - the planet that Dark Phoenix wiped out - turns up on Earth as one of the exiled alien criminals.  He teams up with a bunch of expelled Imperial Guardsmen to try and kill Phoenix.  These are the Guardsmen who were kicked out of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard back in the 1980s, for treason.  Unfortunately, various later stories had shown them to be reinstated, which Claremont either didn't know or chose to ignore.  Anyhow, as of this issue, Hussar, Warstar and Neutron (formerly Quasar) are all off the team again.

Post-battle, Phoenix angsts about her relationship to Dark Phoenix and her accountability for its actions.  Rather awkwardly, she ends up concluding that "Phoenix was meant to represent the fire and passion that creates life" and that she's using the name "in order to set things right." 

The supporting cast of Black Panther turn up, and drag Storm away to guest star in that title.  This is basically a device to give a plug to a critically acclaimed but low-selling title.  The story in question is Black Panther #25-27, and doesn't have any impact here.

The X-Men talk about their visions of Cyclops, in a plug for X-Men: The Search for Cyclops.

In a subplot, Professor X discusses the wider crossover with Lilandra Neramani.  Professor X returns to Earth as part of the crossover, and resumes his position as team leader before next issue.  Lilandra takes the opportunity to plug X-Men vol 2 #107, the other Maximum Security crossover.

Corsair is bitter over Cyclops' death, and rather bizarrely blames Professor X.

Comments:
Salvador Larroca arrives as the new "regular" artist, just in time for Claremont to be on his way out of the door.  He followed Claremont to X-Treme X-Men, the new spin-off title that was created for them.  When he gets his layouts under control, Larroca produces crisp, attractive superhero art.  This is one of his better issues.

This is a rare example of the X-Men participating in a line-wide crossover.  Despite the X-books crossing over with one another incessantly throughout the eighties and nineties, they ignored most line-wide crossovers during the same period.  (Technically, the exception was "Acts of Vengeance" - but Uncanny X-Men's crossover was in name only.)

Fortunately, the X-Men do have an existing connection with space, through Phoenix, and Claremont plays off that for this obligatory crossover.  It's not entirely successful - it comes off as if it's searching for excuses to continue using the Phoenix name.  After all, given the way the rest of the universe seems to feel about Phoenix, it's not unlike waving a swastika around and claiming that it doesn't symbolise Nazis because it used to mean something else.  Still, at least they had a stab at explaining it.

Read the original review.

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Cable (next in Cable #85-86), Storm (next in Black Panther #25-27) and Phoenix III
The Beast (next in Wolverine 2000, then behind the scenes in Hellcat #2, then in Hellcat #3)
Gambit (last in Gambit #22; next in Gambit #23, then in Maximum Security #3)
Rogue (next in X-Men vol 2 #107, then in X-Men Unlimited #29, then in Maximum Security #3)

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
Professor X (between Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet and Bishop: The Last X-Man #15)
Lee Forrester (no further appearances)
Gladiator II (between Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet and Maximum Security #3)
Lilandra Neramani (between Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet and Avengers vol 3 #35)
The Starjammers: Corsair (last in flashback in Deadpool #43; next in issue #391), Ch'od, Hepzibah and Raza (the latter three last in Galactus the Devourer #6 and next in the third story in X-Men Unlimited #32)
Members of Cadre K

VILLAINS
Star Hammer (real name unrevealed; first and only appearance)
Hussar, Neutron and Warstar (all last in Inhumans vol 4 #4; no further appearances for all)
Webwing (real name unrevealed; first and only appearance)
Mandroid mercenaries

GUEST APPEARANCES
Everett Ross and Queen Divine Justice (both between pages of Black Panther #25)

OTHER CHARACTERS
The pilot (no further appearances)

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