The Uncanny X-Men #189
Uncanny X-Men #189 is the pivotal issue in which Selene formally joins the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle as its new Black Queen, a role that would define her as one of the X-Men's most enduring recurring antagonists across years of subsequent stories. The issue is equally notable for marking the first time Rachel Summers constructs her own superhero costume, a character milestone in her still-early integration into the main X-Men cast. On a broader narrative level, the final panels — in which dock worker Jaime Rodriguez is attacked and his enchanted amulet stolen — serve as the direct trigger for the two-part Kulan Gath saga in issues #190–191, one of Claremont and Romita Jr.'s most adventurous self-contained story arcs. The issue also exemplifies Chris Claremont's distinctive approach of spotlighting secondary and crossover characters (here, Magma from New Mutants) in place of the core team lineup, demonstrating the unusual breadth and ambition of his stewardship of the X-franchise.
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The issue was written by Chris Claremont and penciled by regular series artist John Romita Jr., with guest inks by Steve Leialoha, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by Tom Orzechowski, and editing by Ann Nocenti under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. It went on sale October 9, 1984, carrying a January 1985 cover date and a $0.60 cover price. The story required Claremont to bridge two of his ongoing franchise threads — Selene's introduction from New Mutants and Rachel Summers' recent arrival in the main title — while simultaneously seeding the Kulan Gath subplot that would pay off immediately in the following two issues.
Trivia · 9 facts
- Story title: 'Two Girls Out to Have Fun!' — Written by Chris Claremont, penciled by John Romita Jr., inked (guest) by Steve Leialoha, colored by Glynis Wein, lettered by Tom Orzechowski, edited by Ann Nocenti; released October 9, 1984 with a January 1985 cover date.
- Selene is formally inducted into the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle as the new Black Queen in this issue, the role she would occupy as a primary X-Men antagonist for years to come.
- Selene's induction is sponsored by Friedrich von Roehm, her quasi-lycanthropic worshipper, who presents her to Black King Sebastian Shaw in the club's secret catacombs.
- This is the first issue in which Rachel Summers creates and wears her own costume, a noted character milestone described in the Marvel Database as 'Rachel makes her first costume!'
- The issue crossovers the X-Men and New Mutants books by starring Magma (Amara Aquilla) as Rachel's companion and co-protagonist — an early and notable example of Claremont weaving his two titles together at the character level.
- Tessa (later revealed as Sage, an undercover Xavier spy) silently observes Rachel's striking resemblance to Jean Grey when Selene presents Rachel as a captive to Shaw, an early seed of a long-running subplot.
- The closing pages introduce dock worker Jaime Rodriguez and his cursed amulet containing Kulan Gath; Rodriguez is stabbed by a mugger who takes the amulet, releasing Gath — the inciting event for the two-part story in Uncanny X-Men #190–191. Due to Dr. Strange's time-reversal spell at the end of that arc, these final panels technically take place in an alternate timeline.
- Storm's departure from the team — stripped of her powers by a government neutralizer — is depicted in this issue as she boards a ship bound for Africa, a status quo change that ran through roughly issues #192–198.
- The issue has been collected in Marvel Masterworks Vol. 11 (2019) and the Epic Collection: The Gift Vol. 12 (2016/2024), both of which collect Uncanny X-Men #189–193/198 respectively.
Cast · 22 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
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Storm leaves the team for awhile. Rachel and Magma invade the Hellfire Club to go after Selene, the new Black Queen.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).