Appearing in "One Step Back--Two Steps Forward"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Guido Carosella (controlled by the Shadow King)- Muir Island X-Men
- Legion (possessed by the Shadow King)
- Moira MacTaggert (controlled by the Shadow King)
- Multiple Man (controlled by the Shadow King)
- Polaris
- Siryn (controlled by the Shadow King)
- Mystique (Flashback and main story)
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Alexei Vazhin
- X-Factor (Flashback and main story)
Adversaries:
- Shadow King (Apparent Death) (Flashback and main story)
Other Characters:
- Jacob Reisz (Corpse) (Only in flashback)
Locations:
- Marvel Universe
- Astral Plane
- United Kingdom
- Muir Island, Scotland (Flashback and main story)
Items:
- Adamantium
- Cyclops' Visor
- Psi-suits
- Plasma cannon
Vehicles:
- S.H.I.E.L.D. scout-craft
Synopsis for "One Step Back--Two Steps Forward"
Following the explosion that destroyed much of Muir Island, Professor X and two SHIELD agents go ashore and find X-Factor and the X-Men alive but captives of the Shadow King. He has taken the professor’s son Legion as his new host and boasts that he will kill them all. One of the agents opens fire, but the King deflects the blast, killing both agents. Aboard a helicopter nearby, Col. Alexei Vazhin orders preparations for a nuclear strike in case the professor fails to stop the villain. The King is about to kill Professor X when Storm wounds him, forcing him to release the captive heroes and retreat. He flees to Polaris, his psychic nexus with the Astral Plane, and sends the X-Men still under his control to kill the professor. X-Factor and the X-Men split up with one group guarding Professor X’s body while he launches a telepathically assault and the other group going to sever the nexus. The professor attacks the King on the Astral Plane, and the King retaliates by causing his body to convulse, breaking his legs. Inside the island’s research facility, Beast, Iceman, and the freed X-Men intercept the X-Men under the King’s control. To help Professor X, Marvel Girl telepathically takes Archangel, Colossus, Cyclops, and Storm to join him on the Astral Plane. Meanwhile, Forge injects Moira with his neurosynaptic buffer, restoring her free will. The freed X-Men defeat all the controlled X-Men but Psylocke. Forge blasts her with his scrambler gun and uses her psychic knife on Polaris, severing the nexus. Legion falls unconscious as, on the Astral Plane, the Shadow King is destroyed. X-Factor and the X-Men tend to their wounded, but Professor X’s back is broken, once again rendering him unable to walk.
Notes
- This issue is part four of the five-part "Muir Island Saga" crossover with X-Factor. The story continues from X-Factor #69 and concludes in X-Factor #70.
- This issue is reprinted in:
- X-Men by Chris Claremont & Jim Lee Omnibus vol. 2 hardcover (2011);
- Essential X-Factor vol. 5 trade paperback (2012);
- Essential X-Men vol. 11 trade paperback (2013);
- X-Men Epic Collection vol. 19: Mutant Genesis trade paperback (2017);
- X-Men: Legion - Shadow King Rising trade paperback (2018).
Trivia
- The Shadow King survives his apparent destruction in this story and returns in X-Men Vol 2 #76.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Uncanny X-Men at Wikipedia.org
- Uncanny X-Men at Marvel Subscriptions
- Uncanny X-Men series index at Comicbookdb.com
- Uncanny X-Men series index at Uncanny X-Men.net
- Uncanny X-Men series index at the Grand Comics Database Project
- Uncanny X-Men at the Complete Marvel Reading Order
- The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators - accessed on 11/24/2009
- The Official Marvel Index to the X-Men Vol 2 #5 - See for further referencing