199200 Marvel Super Heroes - X-Forces - The Watcher's Chronicle [TSR].pdf - 1992 - Komiksarium

INTRODUCTION

I am Uatu, known to denizens of Earth

and the cosmos as a Watcher. My life

has been dedicated to observing the

events unfolding around me without

interfering with the natural course of

fate. One group of interest to me is

the race of humanity called Homo

Sapiens Superior, also known as

mutants.

Mutants have run the gamut from

being superheroes to being one of the

world's greatest problems. Currently,

humans are extremely distrustful of

mutants, and even the heroes

themselves are split as to how to

handle the public's reaction to their

powers and freedom.

In the following pages, you'll find my

Chronicles on the time from the aptly-

named Fall of the Mutants to the

recent Mutant Genesis detailed for

your edification. Learn well the

lessons contained herein as not to

repeat the mistakes of heroes past.

In this section, you'll find a brief

history of the Marvel mutants leading

up to the Fall of the Mutants where a

more detailed history starts. For more

information about this time in the

mutants' lives, see The UNCANNY X-

MEN Special! Campaign Set.

The X-Men were the first organized

group of mutant heroes. They were

brought together by Professor Charles

Xavier under the auspices of

Professor Xavier's Academy for Gifted

Youngsters. Professor X, as he

became known, was a mutant with

telepathic abilities. He gathered

together Cyclops, Marvel Girl, the

Beast, Iceman, and the Angel in order

teach them how to control and use

their mutant powers. The X-Men were

also formed to counter evil mutants

and super-powered villains who

began to menace humanity.

In the early years, the X-Men

witnessed the emergence of many

foes to their cause: Juggernaut, the

Sentinels, Magneto, and the

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, to name

but a few. As time went on, the team

spent more time fighting against these

super-powered foes and less time on

their studies.

While investigating reports of a

mutant on a South Sea island, the

group was kidnapped by Krakoa, the

living island. Krakoa, with its need to

feed upon life energy and mutant

powers, sent Cyclops back to bring

mutants for the island to feed on.

In response to this threat, Prof. X

and Cyclops gathered together a new

team of mutants to rescue the old

team. The new team consisted of

Storm, Thunderbird, Nightcrawler,

Colossus, Sunfire, Banshee, and

Wolverine. They rescued the old X-

Men, and later, all of the older

members left the team save Cyclops.

Sunfire also returned to his native

land rather than join the new team.

With this band of mutants

experienced in the use of their

powers, the team's focus shifted to

primarily a heroic one, dedicated to

protecting humans and mutants from

forces threatening them. Team

members came and went through the

years. As the X-Men changed, so too

changed the world. As time went on,

public opinion of mutants deteriorated.

Eventually, just being a mutant was

cause to be suspect in

the minds of many non-mutants.

During this time, the Morlocks, a

community of mutants living in the

sewers of New York, were discovered

by Mister Sinister. A mysterious man

whose nature and motives are

currently unknown. Sinister sent his

assassins, the Marauders, to murder

the Morlocks. In an ensuing fight,

Colossus, Shadowcat, and

Nightcrawler were severely injured

and replaced on the team by

Longshot, Psylocke, Dazzler, and

Havok. During this assault, the X-

Men's base (Professor Xavier's

Academy for Gifted Youngsters) was

also destroyed. Because of this, the

X-Men became a less structured band

of heroes, moving around more often,

unable to find a safe haven. Then the

Fall of the Mutants came and the

team would never be the same again.

After the collapse of the old X-Men,

Professor X started a new team of

mutants called the New Mutants. The

team was designed to train the youths

in the use of their newfound powers.

This idyllic situation lasted for a while,

but the reality of the world eventually

intruded upon the young pupils. The

first major blow to the team occurred

when Prof. X left the school and

appointed former villain Magneto as

their new headmaster. Magneto tried

to manage the children, but failed

miserably in this role. Magma returned

to her homeland and Karma went to

Madripoor. During the months leading

up to the Fall of the Mutants, the New

Mutants were a very fractured team

with the worse still to come.

The original X-Men, after working for

other teams or alone, came together

under the team name X-Factor. What

prompted the creation of this team

was the "resurrection" of Jean Grey.

After the death of Phoenix, Jean

continued to heal in the energy

cocoon where Phoenix had placed

her. When she was discovered and

reunited with her teammates, they

formed X-Factor.

The name and initial direction of X-

Factor was formulated by a college

friend of Angel, Cameron Hodge.

Unbeknownst to the team, Hodge

hated mutants. He suggested the

team become a civilian group of

mutant hunters. Hodge's stated goal

was to capture and train young

mutants whose powers were just

emerging. Though X-Factor did help

some mutants, the public's fears of

dangerous mutants were fuelled by X-

Factor's actions. Hodge manipulated

X-Factor's publicity to reflect

negatively on mutants and to whip up

anti-mutant hysteria.

There was internal strife in the group

as well. Though Cyclops and Jean

Grey had long been emotionally

involved, Cyclops didn't tell Marvel

Girl he was married until several

weeks after the team was formed. The

Beast reverted to his human form and

later, Angel's wings were amputated

due to serious injuries. At the same

time, Hodge leaked information that

Warren Worthington (Angel) was the

financial backer of X-Factor. The

Angel committed suicide and his

teammates mourned his death. The

Fall of the Mutants had just begun.

HISTORY

In the following pages, the recent

histories of each major heroic mutant

group are presented. This material

was adapted from these Marvel

comics:

UNCANNY X-MEN 225-227

X-FACTOR 24-26

NEW MUTANTS 59-61

Adversary. This world's use as a

prison was ironic for Forge and Storm

because it met the dream they wanted

most; to be alone together.

The Adversary soon took over the

dwelling place of Roma. Roma, the

Omniversal Guardian, was a captive

in her own Starlight Citadel. When

Forge and Storm finally escaped from

their prison, with Storm's powers

rejuvenated, they joined Roma in her

prison.

The X-Men consisted of Psylocke,

Storm, Longshot, Rogue, Havok,

Wolverine, and Madelyne Pryor.

Flying to Dallas to rescue Storm, they

encounter the mutant group known as

Freedom Force.

Originally made up of former mutant

criminals, Freedom Force made a

deal with the United States

government to be their hired guns.

Destiny (a mutant with the power to

see the future) had seen the X-Men's

death in a cataclysm at Eagle Plaza in

Dallas, Texas. Mystique (Rogue's

adoptive mother and head of Freedom

Force) warned Rogue to stay away

from Dallas, but the X-Men choose to

meet their fate.

At Eagle Plaza, Forge's seat of

mystic power, the X-Men were

stopped by the building's defenses.

Freedom Force arrived and the two

teams began to fight in the plaza.

Magik, the New Mutant sorceress,

was contacted by her brother

Colossus after he received a strange

visit from an unidentified apparition in

Scotland. She teleported him to Eagle

Plaza and Colossus' arrival helped the

X-Men battle Freedom Force to a

standstill.

As a result of Adversary's

machinations, time went crazy in

Dallas. Dinosaurs and future men

walked the streets together. Chaos

flourished as did Adversary's desire to

bring about the victory of chaos over

order.

In Dallas, Destiny encountered

Colossus and was shocked to see

him. She claimed that he wasn't

supposed to be there, that he wasn't

in any of the futures she'd seen. Using

her mental powers, Psylocke revealed

the identity of the apparition who had

prompted Colossus to rejoin the team:

Roma. Colossus was Roma's wild

card to use against her enemy. After

these revelations, the X-Men fought

their way to the top of Eagle Plaza to

confront their destiny.

Part of Eagle Plaza blew up, trapping

the X-Men and a reporter in the

building. The reporter had a camera

that transmitted the following events

for the whole world to see. Psylocke

sensed Storm and Forge in Roma's

Citadel high above the Earth. The X-

Men managed to get aboard the

Citadel with the aid of Longshot's luck.

Using metal knives, Wolverine's claws

and Colossus' metal body, the X-Men

were able to injure the Adversary.

Rogue attacked Adversary next and

attempted to absorb Adversary's

power, but only obtained the powers

of Naze, the man Adversary had

taken over. Using Naze's knowledge

and mystic spells, Rogue opened a

dimensional portal to banish the

Adversary from Earth. Adversary was

almost sucked into the trans-

dimensional gate but resisted its pull.

Fall of the Mutants

X-Men

The X-men struggled to keep

Charles Xavier's dream of peace

between Homo sapiens and Homo

sapiens Superior alive. The event

known as the Fall of the Mutants

signaled a change in the mutants'

views of the world. Just before the Fall

of the Mutants, the X-Men were very

fragmented. The team was scattered

across the globe, busy following

separate agendas. This Fall pulled

mutants and humans together to

honor the X-Men's sacrifice.

The Fall of the Mutants began at the

Continental Divide in Yellowstone,

Wyoming. Adversary (aka the

Harbinger of Chaos or the Trickster)

disguised himself as Forge's old

mentor, Naze. He tricked Storm into

stopping Forge from closing an

unnatural hole in reality that the

Adversary needed. After climbing a

mountain to reach Forge, Storm

stabbed him before realizing she'd

been duped by the Adversary.

Together they jumped off of Forge's

mountain and disappeared into a

dazzling display of light.

Expecting to die, Storm and Forge

instead found themselves in a unique

prison. They'd been sent into to a

perfect, uninhabited world by

Because of Adversary's battling and

the power needed to resist the force

of the portal, his power over Storm

and Forge waned and they were

freed. Forge had the magical ability to

shut the gate but he needed nine

souls for the spell to work. The X-Men

willingly gave up their lives so that

Adversary would be imprisoned

forever.

To the benefit of Earth's mutants,

this drama was televised worldwide.

In England, Kitty Pryde lay recovering

from wounds sustained on Muir Island

and she saw the entire X-Men

incident. Believing their teammates

dead, Kitty Pryde and Kurt Wagner

were without a team. Captain Britain

also believed he'd lost his sister,

Psylocke, in Dallas. Thus the "death"

of the X-Men helped shape the group

which became known as Excalibur.

Back in Dallas, the reporter and

Forge were transported back to Earth

after Adversary was defeated. With

his involvement in the death of the X-

Men, Forge was reviled by many, and

Mystique in particular considered him

a murderer, despite the fact that the

X-Men gave themselves willingly to

save the rest of the world.

Roma, stating that Adversary could

not be locked away forever, altered

his imprisonment to hold for mere

centuries. By this action, she restored

the X-Men to life and returned them to

Earth, proclaiming them to be

legends. The X-Men kept their

existence secret for a time, using their

deaths to operate more effectively in

secret.

X-Factor

For X-Factor, the Fall of the Mutants

began when Apocalypse teleported

them to his ship. X-Factor discovered

his plans to cause a war between

mutants and humans; he wanted a

final battle to determine which

"species" would survive. X-Factor

fought the Horsemen of the

Apocalypse, holding their own until

another Horseman, Death, entered

the fray. Death was the Angel,

allegedly dead but now remade by

Apocalypse into a metallic winged

machine of chaos, and he soon

captured his former teammates.

With X-Factor out of the way, the

Four Horsemen were loosed upon

New York City. Caliban, betraying X-

Factor, pledged himself to Apocalypse

if he could gain great powers like

those bestowed upon the Angel.

During this exchange, the Beast and

Iceman managed to free X-Factor.

Beast and Iceman stayed on the ship

to fight Apocalypse while Cyclops and

Jean Grey went out to find and defeat

the Horsemen.

With the help of Power Pack,

Cyclops and Jean successfully

stopped the Horsemen. On board

Apocalypse's ship, the Beast

managed to disable the ship, causing

it to appear above New York and

begin to fall toward the ground. The

ship's descent was stopped by Jean

and Power Pack's Molecula. They

guided the ship to the harbor safely

while the Horsemen returned to the

ship and the battle continued.

During the fight, Death was duped

into believing he had killed Iceman.

Shocked, he broke Apocalypse's

conditioning and turned on the

villain. Joining with X-Factor, they

drove Apocalypse off. Apocalypse

took Caliban with him and left the ship

in trade for the almost powerless

mutant.

New Mutants

For the members of the New

Mutants, the Fall of the Mutants

ended in tragedy. The New Mutants

were captured by Dr. Animus due to

their friendship with one of his

creations—Bird Boy. Commander

Hodge and the Right financed Animus

but grew suspicious of the doctor's

motives. Hodge visited the island

while the New Mutants were captives

and a fight erupted. In the melee,

Doug Ramsey (Cypher) was killed

while protecting Rahne (Wolfsbane)

from a hail of bullets.

Maddened by Doug's death, Magik

further lost control upon hearing of the

X-Men's fate. She blamed Forge for

her brother's and the X-Men's deaths.

Magik and the New Mutants went

after Forge, but encountered Freedom

Force before they reached him.

Destiny had seen this event coming

and was waiting for them.

Magik, after a battle with Freedom

Force, managed to teleport her friends

and Forge to Limbo, where she nearly

killed him in revenge. She stayed her

hand and allowed Forge to live—to

live with what she believed was the

guilt associated with his part in the

death of the X-Men. This bloodthirsty

side of Magik's personality was the

first sign of the Inferno that would

strike the mutant groups next.

199200 Marvel Super Heroes - X-Forces - The Watcher's Chronicle [TSR].pdf

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