X-amining What If? #87

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"Cat and Mouse"

July 1996

In a Nutshell

Jubilee must survive against an escaped Sabretooth

Plot: Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning

Script: Dan Abnett
Pencils/Inks: Frank Teran
Inkers: Dan Green & Tim Townsend
Letters: Steve Dutro
Colors: Christie Scheele

Editor: Kelly Corvese
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

Plot

In the tunnels beneath the X-Mansion, Jubilee discovers that Bishop has been killed by Sabretooth, who escaped his cell when Beast accidentally overloaded the mansion's power core. She runs back to the mansion, past the unconscious forms of Iceman and Emma Frost, only to find Sabretooth attacking Beast. He manages to fight Sabretooth off long enough to tell Jubilee to reboot the power core. Jubilee succeeds in doing this as Sabretooth finishes off Beast. She then blasts him with fireworks, allowing her to run elsewhere into the mansion. Drawing Sabretooth into the Danger Room, she attacks him with simulacrums of Hellfire mercenaries and Brood drones, then lures him into piercing one of the mansion's power conduits, frying him with dangerous amounts of energy, before managing to engage the room's laser grid defenses to keep him safely locked away. 

X-amining What If? #77

"One Dream"
September 1995

In a Nutshell
Legion kills Magneto in the past, leading to a world where Xavier dies battling Apocalypse & mutants become more feared & hated than ever.

Story: Benny Powell
Dialogue: Warren Ellis
Penciler: Hector Gomez
Inkers: John Livesay & Mike Halblieb
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colors: Sam Parsons
Editor: Marcus McLaurin
Chief: Carl Potts

Plot
Legion goes back in time and kills Magneto as a young man, just after he escapes from Auschwitz. In the future, mutants are beloved celebrities, the X-Men, under the auspices of Forge, the most famous mutants of all and lacking purpose; they are currently preparing for a public appearance involving a mock battle with the old Hellfire Club. Meanwhile, at the New York headquarters of the Hellfire Club International, the wealthiest & most ambitious mutants are attacked by mutants loyal to Apocalypse, in the name of Apocalypse's "survival of the fittest" code. In the wake of the attack, a distraught Xavier visits a retired Scott & Jean in Alaska, asking them to return for a mission, but they refuse. Later, as the X-Men are about to begin their performance in Washington DC, Apocalypse attacks. Seeing the fight on TV, Scott & Jean go back into action, with Jean using her Phoenix powers to teleport them to DC. After Apocalypse kills Xavier, in the face of his unrelenting attack, Jean uses the Phoenix Force to destroy him and his followers along with hundreds of thousands of bystanders. In the wake of Apocalypse's attacks, mutants have become hated & feared, creating an ominous feeling as Scott & Jean re-open Xavier's school to further his dream of co-existence and Apocalypse's forces regroup to continue his mission.

X-amining What If? #60

"What If Scott Summers and Jean Grey Had Married Earlier?" / "What If Scott Summers and Jean Grey had Never Fallen in Love at All?" / "What If Phoenix Had Fallen for Wolverine?"
April 1994

In a Nutshell
Three stories examine alternate outcomes to the Cyclops & Jean Grey romance

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Ron Randall
Inks: Art Nichols
Letterer: Bob Sharen
Colorist: Janice Chiang
Editor: Rob Tokar
Caterer-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
As the guest arrive for the wedding of Cyclops & Jean Grey, the Watcher observes a reality in which the couple decide to get married much earlier, at the same time Beast leaves the X-Men for the Brand Corporation. This prompts the rest of the X-Men to go out on their own as well, to better spread Professor Xavier's views on human/mutant relations. However, whenever Xavier senses the awakening of Krakoa, he decides to accompany his still raw-team of new X-Men, leading him to be captured along with the rest of the mutants. While the Avengers & Sunfire eventually defeat Krakoa, it's too late to prevent the deaths of Xavier and the new X-Men.