New York: The X-Men face the Marauders in a twisted, gothic version of Manhattan, complete with demon cars and bats flying in the sky. As they fight, a mailbox begins eating a man's hand and a fire hydrant beats the Hell out of a dog. Colossus is shocked to see Riptide, for he killed the Marauder in Uncanny 211. Their fight is interrupted by demon police riding giant beasts. The Marauders take out the police, but the X-Men fight back, taking down Vertigo and Scalphunter. As Psylocke attempts to disable the Marauders' minds, she feels the cries of the children (see NM 72). The Marauders attempt to defeat the stunned telepath, but the other X-Men come to her rescue. In the distance, demons plot to feast off the victors of the fight. Dazzler cautions Havok about using killing blasts, but thinks that he's just showing off. Havok, however, is more than willing to kill the Marauders.

Nebraska: In an attempt to prove he is telling the truth, Sinister asks the Goblin Queen to tell him something from her memory. She recounts the story of Annie Richardson, but Sinister ends up finishing the story for her. He explains that it is one of Jean Grey's memories. N'astirh watches, the demon is glad that Sinister is driving the Goblin Queen to the brink of insanity.

Manhattan: Wolverine rips open the mailbox just as it swallows the man. Havok blasts the demon object and the people nearby cheer the destruction. Colossus feels that all that is happening is insane, but Storm says its just New York.

Sinister tells of how he was going to kill Dr. and Mrs. Grey then take Jean into his orphanage, but Xavier got to them first. Since that failed, he cloned Jean. Madelyne stayed comatose until her cocoon burst in a fiery blaze.

Manhattan: Robot-like soldiers attack from above. Colossus grabs one of them; he recognizes the creature as a Limbo trooper so he questions the demon. From the trooper, Colossus learns that S'ym and N'astirh have taken over Limbo and that they're invading Earth. He also finds out that their base is the Empire State Building. The creature transforms and Colossus smashes him. Storm and Wolverine are twisted into evil versions of themselves. Colossus wishes to give in and join them, but he knows he mustn't. He abandons his team to stop the demons and to find out what has happened to his sister.

Sinister explains how he found out that Madelyne's awakening coincided with Phoenix's death on the moon. He also says that he brought Scott and Madelyne together to get Nathan. However, with Jean Grey's return, Sinister feared that the template would realize that Madelyne was but a copy. So he decided to remove Madelyne from the picture to cover his tracks.

Manhattan: Longshot swings away from the group, sensing the evil. N'astirh grabs him and states that he will put Longshot's noble soul out of its misery. His teeth sink into Longshot's arm.

The X-Men are now sadistic killers. All of the Marauders except for Malice have fallen. Storm feels the victory empty but takes solace in the fact that there will be others to fight. N'astirh throws Longshot down. The demon says he has feasted on Longshot's soul and that he will do the same to the others, especially Madelyne. Havok blasts and the demon teleports away. Havok tell Wolverine to track the creature, but Logan says that they have company.

Sinister ponders the fact that Madelyne has shown up at his base, invisible to his sensors and with demons as companions. On top of that, her newfound powers are additionally troubling. Still, he plans to take her apart and find out the cause of it all. However, the Goblin Queen's demon pets attack him. Madelyne taxes her powers and manages to destroy her shackles. The two face off, both boasting more power than they have shown thus far. However, a now red N'astirh interrupts, bearing the infant Nathan. Sinister protests, but the Goblin Queen turns to him and says that the inferno will consume the world he wanted to conquer.

Review: Wow. It doesn't seem like much happened in this issue when you know the X-Men history, but a lot of big things did occur. The truth of Madelyne's origins was finally revealed here. Yes, by now it's a well-known fact that she is a clone made by Sinister, but this is when the facts were laid bare. One has to wonder if Madelyne's memory of Annie Richardson came from the Phoenix or if it was part of Sinister's cloning.

The X-Men: that was one Hell of a descent into darkness. I guess the demons can gnaw on their souls without touching them. Although it does make sense that it was brought on by their own actions. And it was rather well done with the slow progression. Starting with Dazzler reprimanding Havok for using killing blasts, but being more concerned with his "showing off." And what's more, Havok wanting to kill the Marauders. Quite a change from his guilt trip back in Uncanny 239 about killing Dive Bomber. From there, the people on the street's reaction to the destruction and Storm accepting all the bizarre occurrences as normal. Colossus is the one voice of reason; no wonder he leaves the group when the others succumb to the evil that is infesting the city.

Great artwork. Shots that I particularly liked: the reintroduction of the Goblin Queen/Sinister face-off, the two page spread of the X-Men vs. The Marauders, Sinister leaning on one elbow explaining to Madelyne about her memory, and the Goblin Queen standing with her demons after she broke the chains. I also love how the X-Men look after the darkness takes them. Wolverine with fangs, the ladies with spiked hair, and that tattered look to their uniforms. I don't know, maybe it's the novelty of it, but it's nice.

On a final note, the fire hydrant beating up the dog; it's the little jokes like that that makes Claremont my favorite X-Men writer.