FIRST STORY: "Shattershot, part 1: The Slaves of Destiny" (36 pages)  Arize flees to Earth to avoid capture by Mojo.  The X-Men rescue him from Mojo's pursuers, and take him in.

What you need to know:
This is the first part of a crossover running through the 1992 X-annuals.  The remaining chapters appear in Uncanny X-Men Annual #16, X-Factor Annual #7 and X-Force Annual #1.

There's a war in the Mojoverse again - presumably the same one that Longshot and Dazzler were involved with in X-Men vol 2 #7.  (Doesn't the Mojoverse spend an awful lot of its time in a state of civil war, for a universe whose defining characteristics are meant to be TV and film?)

Arize - the renegade scientist who created Longshot - flees to Earth in order to avoid capture by Mojo.  However, he doesn't have the proper equipment for the interdimensional journey, so his mind is damaged.

Longshot's ally Quark is captured and brainwashed by Mojo.

The X-Men take in Arize.  He turns up next in Uncanny X-Men Annual #16 as the storyline continues with the Gold team.

Bizarre trivia: The Beast speaks Pushti.

Comments:
Writer Fabian Nicieza has nominated the "Shattershot" crossover as the one comic he would "buy back all the copies of, given the chance."  Good choice.  "Shattershot" is an absolute mess - a couple of fight scenes with the X-Men, and then it goes completely off the rails in the latter half, before jumping into an alternate future for its last chapter (and never actually resolving the plot).

Technically the issue has art by Jim Lee, but only in the form of layout pencils.  Given that most of the work bears far more resemblance to the style of the finishing pencillers (particularly in the cases of Brian Stelfreeze and Mark Texeira), I suspect Lee's layouts must have been fairly sketchy.  To be fair, the issue doesn't look too bad, considering the number of artists involved.  It's actually a good list of artists, but the practicalities of last minute jam issues never result in great work.

One for completists only.

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Professor X (last in Wolverine vol 2 #58; next in Uncanny X-Men #287, then in Uncanny X-Men Annual #16, then in X-Factor #78, then in X-Men vol 2 #8)
Psylocke, Rogue (both last in X-Men vol 2 #7), the Beast (last in Wolverine vol 2 #53) and Gambit (last in Wolverine vol 2 #60; all next in X-Men vol 2 #8)
Cyclops (last in Wolverine vol 2 #65; next in Uncanny X-Men #288, then in X-Factor #78, then in X-Men vol 2 #8)
Forge (last in Wolverine vol 2 #51; next in Uncanny X-Men #287, then in X-Men vol 2 #8)
Wolverine (last in Wolverine vol 2 #59; next in the second story)

GUEST STAR
Arize (last in flashback in Longshot #6; next in Uncanny X-Men Annual #16)

VILLAINS
Mojo (last in Wolverine vol 2 #53; next in X-Factor Annual #7)
Major Domo (last in X-Men vol 2 #6; next in X-Factor Annual #7)
Quark (last in Longshot #6; next in Marvel Fanfare vol 2 #4)
Gog III and Gog N'Magog (both between Longshot #5 and  X-Men vol 2 #46)
Mojo II - The Sequel (first appearance; a "flawed" clone of Mojo; next in Uncanny X-Men Annual #16)

SECOND STORY: "X-Men Villains Gallery" (5 pages)  In the Danger Room, Wolverine shows Jubilee the X-Men's top ten villains.

What you need to know:
It's one of those annoying lists masquerading as a story, which Marvel annuals tended to contain around this time.  In keeping with editorial priorities of the day, the top ten villains are: Mojo (10), the Reavers (9), the Sentinels (8), the Brood (7), the Upstarts (6), Omega Red (5), Apocalypse (4), Mr Sinister (3), and Magneto (2). 

The number one slot is reserved for the concept of hate.  That's the bit where you're meant to nod sagely and go "Aaaahhh."

Comments:
Worthless, obviously.  It's not even pretty.

FEATURE CHARACTER
Wolverine (last in the first story; next in X-Men vol 2 #8)

SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Jubilee (last in Wolverine vol 2 #59; next in X-Men vol 2 #8)

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