Life Signs, Part 1:
Part 5 of "The Phalanx Covenant"
Date: Sep-94
Feature Characters: Havok, Polaris, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Forge
Regular Characters:
Guest Stars: X-Men Prof. Charles Xavier, Jean Grey, Beast, Cyclops, Rogue; X-Force's Cannonball, Shatterstar, Boomer, Thunderbird, Rictor; Excalibur's Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Britannic, Meggan, Day Tripper, Douglock; Dr. Moira MacTaggert
Villains: the Phalanx, Shinar, Stephen Lang, Cameron Hodge; Zero
Other Characters: Guiseppe Russo
Credits:
Writers: J.M. De Matteis, Todd DeZago (plot); Todd DeZago (script)
Pencils: Jan Duursema, Roger Cruz
Inks: Al Milgrom
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colors: Glynis Oliver
Cover: Steve Lightle
Editor: Kelly Corvese
Group Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
Synopsis by Niki. Thanks!:
The team, using Polaris' magnetic powers to beat gravity (under orders from Xavier himself), travels to the Mont Saint Francis, an abandoned monastery once occupied by Magneto's Acolytes. Once they land, they are attacked by the combined forces of Excalibur (who fled Muir Island following an earlier attack by the Phalanx) and X-Force (apparently summoned the way X-Factor was - by Charles' telepathy) who don't appear to trust them for some unknown reason. This ensues into a brawl between the three teams until Prof. X confirms X-Factor's "authenticity". He leads the teams inside the monastery where they are briefed about the coming threat to the world: the Phalanx. He tells them that the reason for the confusion earlier was because the Phalanx can actually shape their form to look like anyone. He asked Polaris to use her powers to transport them instead of an aircraft because the Phalanx are techno-organic and they can assimilate themselves into any sort of technological material. In the middle of the briefing, Wolfsbane, upon hearing that her old friend Doug is somehow back, decided to come to his prison cell where he voluntarily decided to be kept. He is guarded by Meggan, who lets Rahne in. Doug was actually a Phalanx who somehow resembles Cypher. However, before the two can renew old acquaintances (despite "Douglock's" cryptic retaliation), they are interrupted by Cannonball, who is also awed at the sight of an old friend. Forge, who was asked by Xavier to look at Douglock and see "how he works" and "what he is" arrives, but his power seems to cause a rift - a feedback lashes out at Forge and so Prof. X leaves the room. Cannonball, in his hot-headedness and arrogance, demands answers from Douglock, who assimilates the entire room into himself to provide visual aids about the Phalanx. Meanwhile, inside the Phalanx core collective, the core consciousness that is Steven Lang is furious at why one Phalanx, Shinar, has thoughts that are blocked to him, not knowing that Shinar has plans of his own - to create a beacon of assimilated humans that could reach to their deep-space collective and bring them here to aid them in the takeover of the planet. Back at Mont St. Francis, Douglock takes hold of Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Forge and teleports away. Prof. X and the X-Teams fails to stop him. NOTE: a pin-up of Alex, Forge, Cannonball, Shadowcat, Boomer, and Nightcrawler follows.