The X-Men #141

History

The issue was produced during the peak collaborative period of the Claremont–Byrne–Austin partnership, which had just concluded the 'Dark Phoenix Saga'; both creators contributed to the plot, with Claremont providing the script and Byrne functioning as co-plotter and penciler, inked by Terry Austin — the same team that had driven the title's rise to the top of Marvel's sales charts. The story's title is widely noted to have been inspired by the Moody Blues album 'Days of Future Passed,' and documentary evidence — including Claremont's phone-conversation notes, a three-page pitch, and a synopsis — survives to show how the concept was developed and sold to editor Louise Jones (credited as Louise Simonson at the time). The issue also marks the last time the indicia carried the plain title 'The X-Men' before the formal change to 'Uncanny X-Men' took effect with issue #142, even though the word 'Uncanny' had appeared on covers since #114.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Rachel Summers (later known as Phoenix, Marvel Girl, and Prestige), the future daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey, who is unnamed in this issue and identified only as the telepath who sends Kate Pryde's consciousness into the past.
• First appearance of Senator Robert Kelly, the anti-mutant politician whose potential assassination serves as the story's pivotal trigger event, and who became a recurring figure in X-Men politics for years.
• First appearances of Destiny (Irene Adler), Avalanche (Dominikos Petrakis), and Pyro (St. John Allerdyce) — three of the four new Brotherhood recruits assembled by Mystique in this issue.
• First team appearance of Mystique's reorganized Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, consisting of Mystique, Destiny, Pyro, Avalanche, and the returning Blob — marking Mystique's first appearance in an X-Men title (she had debuted in Ms. Marvel #16, 1978).
• The creative team is writer/co-plotter Chris Claremont, artist/co-plotter John Byrne, inker Terry Austin, letterer Tom Orzechowski, colorist Glynis Wein, and editor Louise Jones, with Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief.
• This is the last issue published under the indicia title 'The X-Men'; the title officially became 'Uncanny X-Men' beginning with the next issue, though the word 'Uncanny' had appeared on covers since issue #114.
• The issue is also notable as the first time Magneto is referred to by the name 'Magnus' in continuity.
• The story has been reprinted extensively, including in Marvel Masterworks, the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus, multiple X-Men: Days of Future Past trade collections, a 2005 Marvel Legends action-figure pack-in reprint, and a 2023/2024 Marvel Facsimile Edition reproducing the original in its entirety with original ads; the 'Days of Future Past' storyline was adapted as a two-part episode of the 1992 X-Men animated series (with Bishop replacing Kitty Pryde as the time-traveler) and as the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past directed by Bryan Singer.

Cast · 33 characters

Full credits

Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers