FIRST STORY: "A Bluer Slice of Heaven" (45 pages)  The X-Men investigate Jonathan Chambers, a writer who has set up a hostel for Legacy Virus sufferers.  Chambers is himself a mutant who draws his power from the pain of the Legacy Virus victims.

What you need to know:
Since this is an Annual by the regular writer, ongoing storylines are advanced.  Psylocke has another discussion with the other X-Men about her identity.  Jean Grey does some telepathic probing and confirms that Psylocke (and by extension, presumably Revanche as well) is now an inseparable mixture of both Betsy Braddock and Kwannon.  The big idea is that Psylocke's identity has been compromised to such a degree that the revelation could drive her mad.

Revanche reveals that she's contracted the Legacy Virus.  The end of her storyline is on the horizon!

Also, she's now going on missions unrelated to her own storyline.  However, she's apparently a hanger-on and not an official member of the X-Men.

The theme for the 1993 Annuals was new characters.  This resulted in a deluge of new characters, almost none of whom have been seen since.  The high point was the creation of the third Captain Marvel, who actually went on to have his own series.  After him, it's a big step down to X-Treme.  Jonathan Chambers, however, is one of the characters who was introduced with much fanfare in this Annual, and, save for one brief cameo in X-Men Unlimited, never seen again. 

Well, not unless you count his starring role as a villain in X-Men: Time Gliders #1-4, a miniseries given away with Hardee's Kids Meals in 1995.  But for what it's worth, the story involves Empyrean trying to steal a time machine so that he can go back in time, spread the Legacy Virus at an earlier date, and create more victims that he can feed off.  It all goes horribly wrong, and he ends up lost in the prehistoric era.  Strictly speaking, there's no obvious reason why this strange little series can't be canon, but I take promotional freebie books with a pinch of salt.

By the way, the promotional material for this annual named Chambers as "Empyrean."  In fact, he doesn't use that name anywhere in the issue.  "Empyrean" is the name of his institution.  It means "the highest heaven."

Avalanche and the Crimson Commando turn up for the first time since Freedom Force were decimated in X-Factor Annual #6.  They were the two who escaped back to America in that story.  The Commando is now a cyborg, which is apparently the result of some fairly drastic measures to save his life after the injuries he suffered.

The two of them are back working for the government in this story, specifically the largely-forgotten Project Wideawake (the Sentinel project).  However, on arriving at Empyrean, and being reunited with Pyro and the Blob, they decide to stay.

The Toad's incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants turns up at Empyrean, because Pyro has contracted the Legacy Virus.  We're told that Pyro and the Blob were held prisoner in Iraq after the Freedom Force debacle, and that the Toad bartered them out.  The Brotherhood never turns up again after this story, so they must have disbanded at some point.  Pyro's Legacy Virus infection crops up repeatedly over the following years - the poor guy seemed to keep dying of it and being brought back.

Fans of extremely minor villains will wish to note that Aminedi - an obscure Iraqi supervillain - is reported to have contracted the Legacy Virus.  Presumably he died, although I suppose it's possible that he clung on long enough to benefit from the cure.

Comments:
This one's actually not bad.  Chambers is a fairly interesting character - he's clearly exploiting the Legacy Virus sufferers to some extent by using them to power himself up.  But he's genuinely relieving their pain, he's treating them properly, and while he comes across as a bit disingenuous, it's possible that he really has no bad intentions whatsoever.  He may just be a superpowered neutral running a private hospital.  His motives might be no more sinister than using his powers to make a quick buck.  He's quite an intriguing figure, and it's a bit of a shame we never really got back to him.

The art, by a relatively inexperienced Aron Wiesenfeld and three drastically different inkers, leaves a lot to be desired.  It's readable, but it's not pleasant, and it's certainly far from good.  It's full of that awful oversized crosshatching that was so popular in the early nineties, which is meant to indicate light and shade, but just looks like clutter.

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey (all last in Excalibur vol 1 #71), Gambit and Rogue (the latter two last in Wolverine vol 2 #75; all five next in Avengers vol 1 #368, then in X-Men vol 2 #26)
The Beast (last in Wolverine vol 2 #75; next in the second story)
Psylocke (last in Wolverine vol 2 #75; next in X-Men vol 2 #27)

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
The Banshee and Moira MacTaggert (both between X-Men vol 2 #25 and Uncanny X-Men #308)
Jubilee (last behind the scenes in Excalibur vol 1 #74; next in Uncanny X-Men #308)
Revanche (between X-Men vol 2 #25-26)

VILLAINS
Jonathan Chambers (first appearance; chronologically last in X-Men Unlimited vol 1 #2; no further appearances)
Avalanche (next in X-Factor vol 1 #108) and the Crimson Commando (next in X-Factor vol 1 #102; both last in the second story in X-Factor Annual #6)
The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants V: The Blob (next in X-Factor vol 1 #107), Pyro (next in Uncanny X-Men #338), the Toad (next in Generation X #18) and Phantazia (no further appearances; all four last in Sleepwalker #17; the group dissolves after this story)
Project Wideawake agents (Cleary named)
Aminedi (behind the scenes; last in the second story in X-Factor Annual #6; reported to have died; no further appearances)

OTHER CHARACTERS
Dr Josef Kleinbaumm (first and only appearance)
Dr Nancy Alter (first and only appearance)

SECOND STORY: "Beast Foot Forward" (10 pages)  The Beast and Trish Tilby intervene when aggrieved mutant Malvin Umbridge goes on a rampage, blaming his corrupt doctor for his condition.

What you need to know:
Throwaway back-up strip.  Nothing of significance.

Comments:
This features early art by Ian Churchill, who went on to have a brief run as the regular penciller on Uncanny X-Men.  At this point he was evidently still experimenting with his style, because it looks like nothing else I've ever seen from him.  It's cartoony and exaggerated.  And dreadful.

FEATURE CHARACTER
The Beast (last in the first story; next in Avengers vol 1 #368, then in X-Men vol 2 #26)

SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Trish Tilby (between X-Force vol 1 #24 and Avengers vol 1 #368)

VILLAINS
Malvin Umbridge (first and only appearance)
Dr Cahill (first and only appearance)

Revised: 16 May 2005

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