X-amining X-Factor #-1

"A Summers Tale"

July 1997

In a Nutshell

Mister Sinister tests a young Havok, and finds him wanting. 

Writer: Howard Mackie
Penciler: Jeff Matsuda
Inker: Art Thibert
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Kelly Corvese
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

Plot

13 year old Alex Summers is trying to fit into his new adoptive family, with his mother frequently mistaking him for her recently deceased son Todd and his dad urging him to pursue athletics like Todd. Alex's sister Haley convinces Alex to try out for the football team - which his father coaches - and his success at both football and in school attracts the attention of some school bullies. Haley scares them off, but their leader Vince follows Alex home. While lurking outside, he's approached by Mister Sinister, who urges him to take action. Vince and his gang kidnap Alex and Haley, taking them to an abandoned warehouse where they are hunted for sport. Haley and Alex manage to escape, but Vince catches up to them. He shoots Haley in the leg, implies that he killed Todd, and tells Alex he's going to kill the rest of his family. Haley and Todd race home, where Alex uses his powers for the first time to incinerate Vince before he can blow up the house. Having watched from afar, Sinister is pleased with the results, but feels Alex has too little control, so he erases everyone's memories of recent events, promising himself to reunite with Alex should he ever gain control of his powers. 

X-amining X-Man #-1

"Breeding Ground"

July 1997

In a Nutshell

In the Age of Apocalypse, Mister Sinister performs a status check on his pet project, Nate Grey.

Writer: Terry Kavanagh
Penciler: Roger Cruz 
Inker: Bud LaRosa & Wellington Diaz
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Mike Thomas
Editor: Bob Harras

Plot

Safely ensconced in his secret lab inside an abandoned orphanage in Nebraska, Mister Sinister checks on his pet project, the creation of a supremely powerful mutant named Nate Grey. Removing the prepubescent Nate from his nutrient bath, Sinister is pleased with the boy's development. When an incoming call from Beast distracts Sinister, Nate slips away, experiencing psionic echoes of his genetic father's, Scott Summers, experiences as a child in the orphanage. Angry, Sinister gives Nate a glimpse of life outside the orphanage, of Apocalypse's Infinites rounding up humans. Nate instinctively uses his power to try and stop the Infinites psionically, prompting Sinister to trigger a failsafe to cut off Nate's powers. As the young Nate grows angry, Sinister placates him with a teddy bear, then leads him back to his nutrient bath. The experience has made Sinister realize that, when fully grown, the boy will be too powerful, and he must develop a stronger failsafe to keep him in check.

X-amining Uncanny X-Men #-1

"The Boy Who Saw Tomorrow!"

July 1997

In a Nutshell

Rachel Summers tracks Sanctity to the early days of the Sentinels creation.

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Penciler: Bryan Hitch
Inker: Paul Neary
Letters: Richard Starkings
Colors: Steve Buccellato

Editor: Mark Powers
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

Plot

Following her disciple Sanctity into the past, Rachel Summers arrives in South Dakota, near where Bolivar Trask is close to completing the first Master Mold. Bolivar is tending to his son, Larry, a mutant with hidden precognitive abilities. Just then, Sanctity attacks Rachel, and the two argue over the merits of trying to change the past, something with which Rachel is all too familiar. But Rachel quickly realizes she's only fighting a psionic projection of Sanctity. The real Sanctity is confronting Bolivar, revealing herself to him as his daughter, Tanya. She explains how her powers caused her to be lost in time, but that she was saved by Rachel. She wants Bolivar to give up the Sentinel project, but Rachel intervenes, erasing Bolivar's memory of the encounter in an effort to preserve the timeline. The two women return to the future, but Sanctity manages to secretly upload a file on the Twelve into Master Mold's programming before she goes.