Comics:Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 169

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"Catacombs"

Gallery

Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 #169
May, 1983

Editor-in-Chief

James Shooter

Cover Artists

Paul Smith, Bob Wiacek

Writers

Chris Claremont

Pencilers

Paul Smith

Inkers

Bob Wiacek

Colourists

Bob Sharen

Letterers

Tom Orzechowski

Editors

Louise Jones

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Uncanny X-Men #168

Uncanny X-Men #170

As for why Angel's here - every princess must have a prince, and, for me, who more fitting... than the most beautiful man in all the world.

-- Callisto

Appearing in "Catacombs"

Featured Characters:

• X-Men
  • Storm
  • Colossus
  • Nightcrawler
  • Ariel (Kitty Pryde)
• Lockheed
• Professor X
  

Supporting Characters:

• Candace Southern
• Angel (Warren Worthington III)
• Amanda Sefton
• Caliban
  

Villains:

• Morlocks - first appearance (other than Caliban)
  • Sunder - first appearance
  • Callisto - first appearance
  • Plague - first appearance
  • Masque - first appearance
    

Other Characters:

• The Hellfire Club
  • Sebastian Shaw
  • Tessa
  • Emma Frost - unconscious
    

Locations:

• New York City
  • The Alley - first appearance
  • Warren's apartment
  • Amanda Sefton's apartment
  • The Hellfire Club building
    

Items:

• Mini-Cerebro
  

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Catacombs"

Candy Southern returns home to the apartment she shares with Warren to discover feathers and blood. She hears someone else inside, and calls Professor X, realizing the police could never arrive in time! Just as Charles answers the phone, her attacker announces himself as... Sunder!

At that instant, in Amanda Sefton's apartment, Kurt and Amanda are sharing a Jacuzzi. The conversation has just turned towards their future^[1], when Kurt receives Professor X's telepathic distress call in his head. He responds instantly, teleporting above the city and then over to outside Warren's apartment. He's there in time to see Angel carried into the subway by persons unknown, and then catch Candy as she is hurled out the window by her assailant! He returns with her to Amanda's apartment - needless to say, this makes quite a splash.

Interlude. The Hellfire Club. Sebastian Shaw responds to an urgent summons from Tessa. Emma Frost had come to see him on urgent business - so dire she wouldn't even tell Tessa, and then apparently collapsed in mid-sentence. Tessa tells Shaw that analysis indicates she's entered a state of catatonic schizophrenia - likely induced by her assailant to keep her from speaking. Shaw muses that Xavier would be capable of such a feat, but its not his style.^[2]

Amanda's apartment. The X-Men have gathered to discuss strategy. Lacking a tracker^[3], Storm asks Professor X if they could borrow Rahne. He refuses her, and tells her the mini-Cerebro keyed to Angel should be sufficient. Amanda and Lockheed are left in the apartment to watch over Candy, and the X-Men head for the subway.

In the subways, the mini-Cerebro reveals Angel is within a Kilometer laterally, but far below them! Storm eventually has Kitty look for a hidden door.^[4] She finds one rapidly, and they make their way down.

Suddenly, they are ambushed by a mass of people! Storm sends Kitty to scout around, and the other X-Men hold their own. Kitty manages to come upon the leaders of the Morlocks, who are watching the battle to get an idea of their strength - comprised of Sunder, Callisto, Masque, and Plague.^[5] Despite being phased, Callisto manages to smell her, and sends Plague after her. Plague passes through her... harmlessly?... Kitty runs. Sunder tries to pursue Kitty through the wall, but Callisto calls him off - if 'a single molecule' of disease remains when Kitty solidifies, it should still finish her.

Back at the main event, the X-Men put their assailants to flight, but they take their unconscious brethren with them, denying the X-Men prisoners to interrogate. The fight over, the X-Men worry over the fate of Kitty, but Angel's life hangs in the balance, and Storm chooses to press on. They descend.

After the X-Men have gone, Kitty returns, Plague's disease already coursing through her. She calls out feebly for her companions before collapsing. Caliban finds her, however, and carries her unconscious form off with him, talking to himself about how they will live happily ever after.

The X-Men at last descend into the Alley, a enormous cavern made as a bomb shelter by the US government in secret, and then abandoned. Suddenly, lights and loudspeakers deafen and blind our heroes. A railroad car rolls up unnoticed, carrying Angel shackled to it and Callisto caressing his hair. She declares she intends to marry him, the 'handsomest man in the world' to be her prince. She starts to clip Angel's pin-feathers, to prevent him from injuring himself flying around in the dark tunnels, and the X-Men try to stop her, only to be overwhelmed by a sea of Morlocks! The fight goes badly for them.

Epilogue: Kitty awakens in a strange bed, dressed in night clothes. Despite feeling sick, she tries to get up. The effort makes her vomit. She finally manages to get to her feet, and then Caliban comes in. She's half-delirious, and collapses as Caliban rushes up to her. Caliban vows to defy even Callisto to save Kitty as he cradles her unconscious form.

Notes

• No special notes.

Trivia

Original Art by Paul Smith.

• The original cover idea (right) was rejected because it wasn't clear enough that Angel was being held in a subway.

• This is the issue in which Kitty Pryde took on the code-name of Ariel
  
  

See Also

• Morlocks

See Also

• Discuss Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 169 on the forums
• Cover gallery for the Uncanny X-Men series

Recommended Reading

• This starts off a two-part story that concludes in Uncanny X-Men 170.
• Caliban first appeared in Uncanny X-Men 148, and is the first Morlock to make an appearance.

Links and References

• None.