X-amining Excalibur #19

"Madripoor Knights"
February 1990

In a Nutshell 
Meggan battles Jamie while Kitty ends up back on Earth. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Inkers: Austin & Milgrom
Letterers: Orzechowski & Joyce
Colorist: Brad Vancata
Editor: Terry Kavanaugh
Regulator: Tom DeFalco
Creators: Claremont & Davis

Plot
Captain Britain attacks Jamie, but Jamie easily overpowers him. Nearby, Widget creates a portal, and when Jamie attacks Shadowcat, she dives through it. Meanwhile, the Dirty Angels arrive at Excalibur's train, while Phoenix, still recovering from Jamie's attack, telepathically awakens Meggan. Hoping to surprise Jamie, Phoenix uses her memories of the X-Men and Meggan's metamorphic abilities to enable Meggan to manifest the forms and powers of the X-Men. Elsehwhere, Kitty awakens in a strange bedroom and realizes she's in Jamie's house while Meggan, manifesting Wolverine, stalks Jamie. He sets Captain Britain on Meggan, but she uses Dazzler's powers to knock him out. Back at Jamie's house, Kitty reads through a stack of newspapers and realizes Widget has managed to teleport her to Excalibur's home Earth.

X-amining Uncanny X-Men #252

"Where's Wolverine?!?"
Mid November 1989

In a Nutshell 
Wolverine and Jubilee escape the Reavers. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Guest Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Guest Inker: Kent Williams
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Overlord: Tom DeFalco

Plot
As the Reavers search the town for the missing Wolverine, Jubilee uses the tunnels to evade the villains as she steals food and medicine for the badly injured Wolverine. She returns to her hidden room as Wolverine is hallucinating Carol Danvers and Nick Fury, and, not recognizing Jubilee, he attacks her, even though both Danvers and Fury tell him to stop. Using her fireworks to defend herself, Jubilee knocks him out. Meanwhile, Bonebreaker and Pierce attempt to use the town's computer system to locate Wolverine, while Lady Deathstrike acquires the Honor Sword of Clan Yashida from Wolverine's room. Unable to locate Wolverine on the computers, Pierce turns to a trio of cybernetic dingoes to track him down.

X-amining Uncanny X-Men #237

"Who's Human?"
Early November 1988

In a Nutshell 
Rogue and Wolverine evade Genoshan pursuit. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
As the Genoshans tracks down Wolverine and Rogue's decoy vehicle over the Indian Ocean, discovering it empty, the escaped X-Men enter a bar frequented by Magistrates in order to procure new IDs in order to lay as false a trail as possible. A drunken Phillip Moreau is in the bar as well, and starts a fight that Wolverine escalates, using the commotion to pick Magistrate pockets. Phillip, however, gets knocked unconscious and the Magistrates, angry at the way his father has been harraguing their chief of late, decide to put him on the "mutie train". Overhearing this, Wolverine and Rogue follow, chalking it up to curiousity and a hunch, and they end up sneaking aboard the train. At the Citadel, the Genegineer meets with Jenny Ransome, explaining how her father switched her records and that she will soon undergo the mutate process. He then checks in on Madelyne, who is undergoing a psychic examination prior to that same process.

X-amining Uncanny X-Men #235

"Welcome to Genosha...a Green and Pleasant Land..."
Early October 1988

In a Nutshell 
The X-Men come in contact with the Genoshans, and Wolverine & Rogue are kidnapped. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Inker: P. Craig Russell
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
On the island nation of Genosha, a runaway mutant manages to stash his baby aboard a plan bound for Sydney, drawing off the pursuing magistrates so that the plane takes off without incident, just as the mutant is killed. A few days later, the Press Gang, a group of mutants employed by the Genoshan government, arrive in Sydney, sent to retrieve both the baby and Jenny Ransome, a mutant and nurse who has fled the country. Working with the Service Auxiliary, Jenny and her pilot, Madelyne Pryor, are attacked by the Press Gang. When the Hawkshaw is unable to get a read on Madelyne, both she and Ransome are sent back to Genosha via Pipeline, who is able to digitize and electronically transmit individuals. Later, the X-Men arrive in Sydney, looking for the missing Madelyne. Wolverine and Rogue track the Press Gang to a nearby hospital, where they discover the Press Gang kidnapping the mutant baby. Pipeline teleports in a group of Magistrates who proceed to battle the X-Men. Though the X-Men defeat the Magistrates, the Press Gang is able to escape back to Genosha thanks to Pipeline, with the baby, as well as Wolverine and Rogue.

X-amining Uncanny X-Men #231

"...Dressed for Dinner!"
July 1988

In a Nutshell
Colossus reunites with Illyana and battles Baba Yaga. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Inker: Dan Green
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
In Australia, Colossus, troubled by recent dreams of his sister and his difficulty transforming to flesh, has a heart-to-heart with Storm. That evening, as the X-Men do the dishes, Dazzler suggests letting Colossus contact Illyana. Just then, Gateway appears and beckons Colossus. Following, Gateway opens a portal and Colossus emerges in Limbo, just as Illyana is about to cast a necromancy spell to return him to life. Colossus smashes the demon S'ym, then Illyana, believing him to be the shade of her brother, tells him of how the New Mutants have been captured by a demon posing as Baba Yaga. Unable to teleport them through the demon's protective wards, she turned to Colossus, hoping his iron body would make him less vulnerable than Illyana. She then teleports him to Baba Yaga's location in Limbo, a demonic version of the X-Mansion.

X-amining Uncanny X-Men #228

"Deadly Games!"
April 1988

In a Nutshell 
A pointless fill-in issue. 

Scripter: Chris Claremont
Guest Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Guest Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Bill Wray
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Guest Plotter, Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
At a bar, O.Z. Chase reads a letter from Dazzler, detailing a recent adventure they shared: at the mansion, Dazzler learns that her old friend Chase has been arrested for murder and is believed to be a werewolf. She rushes to Florida to help him, reluctantly accepting help from Wolverine, who joins her. Arriving in Florida, they discover KGB agents are after Chase for information regarding his last job, and Wolverine breaks him out of prison so they can track down his last bounty: a Soviet mutant named Zaitsev, with whom Wolverine has tangled before, and who has set himself up as a drug lord after betraying both America and Russia. At their hotel, Dazzler, Wolverine and Chase are approached by Henry Gyrich, who requests that Zaitsev be taken alive and turned over to him. The trio track Zaitsev to a nearby swamp, and after Zaitsev dispatches the KGB agents, they attack, with Chases's dog Cerberus finishing Zaitsev off, despite Gyrich's orders. In the present, as Chase finishes the letter, a patron at the bar cheers the death of the X-Men, but Chase and Cerberus angrily force everyone to toast the X-Men. Later, in his truck, Chase gives one final, tearful toast to his friend Dazzler. 

X-amining New Mutants #53

"Seduced and Abandoned"
July1987

In a Nutshell
The New Mutants attend a party at the Hellfire Club. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Guest Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Guest Inker: Terry Austin 
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
At the X-Mansion, Doug wakes up from a nightmare in which he became infected by the transmode virus and attacked the New Mutants. The next evening, in Manhattan, a man named Van Ostamgen receives a priceless statute he believes will gain him admittance to the Hellfire Club. At the same time, the New Mutants and Magneto arrive in Central Park, courtesy of Illyana, and heads towards the Hellfire Club, which is holding a gala. Though they are all somewhat apprehensive of making nice with the Hellfire Club and the Hellions, despite Magneto's new alliance, Doug is especially agitated. As they enter the gala, Amara bristles at the presence of Selene, while Doug angrily refuses to dance with Tarot. When Rahne reunites with Catseye, the pair transform into their animal forms and run off. Alerted to the transformation by the activation of her psychic link with Rahne, Dani and John Proudstar attempt to track down their errant teammates.

X-amining New Mutants #52

"Grounded Forever"
June 1987

In a Nutshell
Magneto responds to the New Mutants recent actions.

Presenter: Stan Lee
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Inker: Dan Green
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Petra Scotese
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
Creators: Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod

Plot
In the Danger Room, the New Mutants face off against simulacrums of the Marauders, and are easily defeated, with the entire team killed or wounded in barely five minutes. When Roberto complains that they lost because the session was a high-level scenario designed for the X-Men, Magneto counters that his intention was to show them just how much danger they were in when they left the school against orders during the Morlock Massacre, and proceeds to restrict the New Mutants to the school grounds until they can prove themselves capable of acting maturely. Meanwhile, in Limbo, Illyana, who disappeared in the midst of the Danger Room exercise, continues her fight against S'ym for control of Limbo, eventually returning to Earth, frustrated by her constant struggle to contain her dark side and feeling alone with Kitty and Peter on Muir Isle.

X-amining Uncanny X-Men #212

"The Last Run"
December 1986

In a Nutshell 
Wolverine battles Sabretooth in the Morlock Tunnels. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Guest Artist: Rick Leonardi
Inker: Dan Green
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
In the Morlock Tunnels, Wolverine stalks amongst the dead, seeking a Marauder to bring back to the mansion for questioning. At the school, the X-Men, led by Moira and Sharon Friedlander, work feverishly to save as many of the wounded Morlocks as they can. Storm, checking in on the permanently-phased Kitty and the comatose Nightcrawler, suddenly has a crisis of faith and runs off, out onto the mansion's grounds. Colossus attempts to go after her, but suddenly collapses. Psylocke is able to telepathically determine that he's still alive, while Magneto uses his power to see that Colossus is leaking energy through all the wounds he received from Riptide. In the tunnels, Wolverine once again picks up the scent of X-Factor, and his confusion over the seeming presence of Jean's scent allows his old foe Sabretooth to get the drop on him. Back at the mansion, Magneto is able to repair the damage and return Colossus to consciousness, but he is unexpectedly paralyzed.