Writer: Scott Lobdell
Art: Brandon Peterson

Colors: Marie Javins

Letters: Chris Eliopoulos

Publisher: Marvel
Price: $1.25
Release Date: 3/1/1993
Reviewer: Soycornholio

The Acolytes Return:

The X-Men Milestones series is an AMAZING way to read key X-Story lines for a fairly reasonable price. It can be hard over the years to keep track of all of the amazing storylines within the X-Universe. My latest trade pick-up was the X-Men Milestones edition that collected the Fatal Attractions storyline. Honestly, I have not read one issue from this collection, therefore, I will be entering this on a clean slate. With that being said, let’s jump into the first issue within the Fatal Attractions storyline: Uncanny X-Men #298 written by Scott Lobdell.

**Spoilers**

Plot:

Immediately following X-Cutioner’s Song, Xavier has sequestered himself within his “ready room” seemingly gathering information from around the world. He is interrupted by Bishop who wants to resign from the X-Men. Something about this request snaps Xavier out of his 73-hour lockdown as he sharply denies Bishop’s resignation and orders Storm to drive the car around. After leaving the X-Mansion with Storm, Xavier receives a psychic alert that brings the X-Men to a Catholic School. Shockingly, they engage in a battle with Magneto’s Acolytes (who have decided to kidnap a boy with Down Syndrome…the ’90s…). The issue ends with Sen. Kelly warning Americans of the mutant menace.

The Damsel in Distress?

The X-Men of this era is arguably one of the best lineups. I have never been a fan of Bishop as a character. He is a creation of the 90’s X-Male template (muscles, time travelers, muscles, and 100% action). As a person who has not really read too many issues with Bishop, I am interested in seeing how he fits into the X-Teams.

One thing I loved about Uncanny X-Men #298, was Jean fully using her powers. Around this time, Jean was the damsel in distress on the animated tv show. Sadly, for many years, this is what many people thought of (and still do in some ways) when they thought of Jean Grey. This issue shows the complete opposite of what was demonstrated in the tv show. In one brilliant scene, we see Jean escaping a psionic hold then slamming one of the Acolytes into another. This is Jean at her best. Slamming people against stuff, training members of the X-Men, and fully using her powers. I love it.

Final Thoughts:

For the beginning of a new story arc, Uncanny X-Men 298 was an alright issue. I have to realize that the X-Men in the ’90s were extremely different than the X-Men in 2021. The word “extreme” is the perfect word to describe the X-Men of the early to mid-’90s. I am still at the beginning of this story arc and still do not know where the pieces will fall. Hopefully, this will be a pretty fascinating storyline. Based upon the first issue, I would skip this issue. It appears as if this was the first steppingstone with no big takeaway other than the Acolytes being back.

6.9/10