Uncanny X-Men 340-349

Uncanny X-Men 340-349, Marvel Comics, Jan-Nov 1997

Uncanny X-Men #340, Jan 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend. Relativity, script by Scott Lobdell, art by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend; Iceman’s father is beaten badly for his son’s interference in Graydon’s presidential campaign. Continued in X-Factor (Marvel, 1986 series) #130. Statement of ownership–average print run 550,044; average paid circulation 455,570. Promo for the Top Cow/Marvel crossovers.

Uncanny X-Men #341, Feb 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend. When Strikes A Gladiator!, script by Scott Lobdell, art by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend; Cannonball and Gladiator go toe-to-toe; Gladiator transports the X-Men out to save the Shi’ar Empire.

Uncanny X-Men #342, Cover A, Mar 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend. …Did I Miss Something?, script by Scott Lobdell, art by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend; Galdiator has teleported half of the X-Men (as well as intrepid news reporter Trish Tilby) onto an out of control Shi’ar starship hurtling toward a stargate; Beast gets the ship under control but finds there is an asteroid field between themselves and their destination; Joseph uses his powers to get the ship through safely; On the other side of the gate, they find a busy Shi’ar spaceport completely desolate aside for one badly wounded survivor–Deathbird; Meanwhile, back on Earth, Cannonball has to explain to the rest of his comrades how he lost the X-Men. Ghost Rider 3-page promo, script by Polly Watson, art by Pop Mhan.

Uncanny X-Men #343, April 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend. Where No X-Man Has Gone Before!, script by Scott Lobdell, pencils by Joe Madureira, inks by Tim Townsend; Deathbird explains to the X-Men that the Phalanx have decimated the Shi’ar empire; After a brief battle with the assimilating aliens, Deathbird transports the team to where that can do the most good; Meanwhile, back on Earth, Bastion captures Jubilee.

Uncanny X-Men #344, May 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend. Casualties of War, script by Scott Lobdell, pencils by Melvin Rubi, inks by Joe Weems, Scott Hanna, Marlo Alquiza, Harry Candelario, Tim Townsend; The X-Men try to save the Shi’ar homeworld from the Phalanx; Kelly and Gyrich realize what a monster Operation Zero Tolerance has become.

Uncanny X-Men #345, Jun 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira and Mark Morales. Moving On, script by Scott Lobdell and Ben Raab, pencils by Joe Madureira and Melvin Rubi, inks by Tim Townsend, Juan Vlasco, and Harry Candelario; The mysterious Maggott saves a nun who once assisted Joseph; With the Shi’ar empire saved from the Phalanx, Lilandra sends Deathbird to accompany the X-Men back to Earth; On the way, however, their ship gets caught in the wake of a large spaceship that crashes into the stargate they had planned on entering.

Uncanny X-Men #346, Aug 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend. The Story Of The Year!, script by Scott Lobdell, pencils by Joe Madureira and Humberto Ramos, inks by Tim Townsend; Spidey takes a pic of Gyrich for the Bugle and decides to follow him as Jameson is hot for a story on Operation Zero Tolerance; The car is attacked by Marrow and Callisto who are angry about the same operation; Spidey tries to protect Gyrich from his foes until his two bodyguards turn into Prime Sentinels and start trying to kill everyone involved; It is Gyrich himself, angry at not being told about the Sentinels, who takes them down and allows Spidey and the two Morlocks to go free; Bastion tries to throw Jameson off of his trail by giving him dirt on the X-Men (but JJJ ain’t buying it).

Uncanny X-Men #347, Sep 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend. Big Night, script by Scott Lobdell, pencils by Joe Madureira, inks by Tim Townsend, Al Milgrom, and Eric Cannon; The X-Men have just crashed through a stargate and are surprised to discover that they are back on Earth, but deep in the bowels of an underground cave; Once they gather themselves together (they were separated when they landed) they discover that Gambit has been captured by a pair of bounty hunters who know an awful lot about his past; They are also missing Deathbird and Bishop; Before they can figure out what is going on, however, they are confronted by Magneto’s Nanny robot who is terribly happy to see Joseph.

Uncanny X-Men #348, Oct 1997: Cover by Joe Madureira. Because, I Said So, script by Scott Lobdell, pencils by Joe Madureira and Andy Smith, inks by Tim Townsend, Jon Holdredge, and Al Vey; Deep in the bowels of Magneto’s old Antarctic base, Nanny has stripped the X-Men of their powers and locked them up; Only Beast and Trish remain free; She lavishes special attention on Joseph whom she believes to be Magneto; On Nanny’s monitors, however, Joseph learns of the attacks Operation Zero Tolerance has made against mutants and he struggles to free himself; The only upside to the situation being, with her absorption powers negated, Rogue finally gets to be “intimate” with Gambit.

Uncanny X-Men #349, Nov 1997: Cover by Jeff Matsuda. The Crawl, script by Scott Lobdell, art by Chris Bachalo; In New York, Psylocke and Archangel meet and battle Maggott; In an underground Arctic volcano, Joseph breaks free from Nanny’s captivity and attempts to rescue his fellow X-Men; He begins to sound very Magneto like as he gives in to his frustration and anger; Nanny catches up to the powerless X-Men and enters battle mode; It is everyday human Trish Tilby who turns the tide and takes Nanny out; Finally willing to atone for his mysterious past crimes, Gambit turns himself over to bounty hunters Spat and Grovel to be taken for judgment