1) [XM #3] Did Magneto and his Acolytes survive the destruction of Asteroid M?
Mystery: After the formation of the new Blue and Gold strike teams, the X-Men found themselves battling Magneto again, who now had formed a group of followers called the Acolytes. Magneto opened up his orbital sanctuary known as Asteroid M as a haven for mutants, and even used Moira MacTaggert to brainwash a group of X-Men to join him on Asteroid M. The remaining X-Men saved their teammates, but were too late to stop the Russians from unleashing a plasma cannon blast on the facility. As Asteroid M began to crash to Earth, the Acolytes refused to leave the station as they didn’t want to abandon the weakened Magneto, who had been betrayed by one of their own, Fabian Cortez.
Resolution: The remains of Asteroid M were eventually found and examined by Henry Gyrich and Forge in Kuwait in Uncanny X-Men #299. While the three Acolytes did perish in the crash, Magneto seemed to survive thanks to the powers of Chrome, who had encased them all in protective armor. However, only Magneto’s was open and empty, the Acolytes had died in theirs. The traitor, Fabian, later formed his own group of Acolytes using Magneto’s apparent death as a martyr to gain more members. After a while, though, the well and alive Magneto made his presence known when he brought his new home, Avalon, to Earth during the Fatal Attractions crossover.
2) [XM #5] What was the significance of the "Project Xavier" file?
Mystery: The X-Men received word of problems involving both the Hellfire Club and the Hand. With both teams out on missions, Xavier opened up a file privately in his office entitled “Project Xavier 1964, classified.” Forge interrupted him, however, and the file’s contents remained unknown.
Resolution: As revealed in X-Men (2nd series) #12-13, the file was sent to Xavier by Carter Ryking, also known as Hazard. Carter’s father was Alexander Ryking, who worked alongside Brian Xavier and Kurt Marko at the Alamogordo Nuclear Research Facility in 1964, though according to the file it was actually a front for a mutant research station. Also a mutant, Carter was permanently sedated and hospitalized due to his uncontrollable powers. However, learning of his father’s passing he went out of control, escaping and sending the file to Charles Xavier for him to uncover the truth about their father’s work. Hazard then kidnapped Xavier and took him to Alamogordo to learn more about their pasts, but found nothing and Hazard’s out of control powers destroyed the complex. However, in X-Men Forever #4, the time traveling Juggernaut and Mystique discovered that the facility was actually run by the Black Womb Project, which was observing mutant babies, some of whom had genetic templates that were flawed, with Toad being one of those babies.
3) [XM #5-7] Who is Maverick and when did Wolverine work with him and Sabretooth in the C.I.A.?
Mystery: Wolverine was defeated and captured by ninjas of the Hand, who awakened Wolverine’s old enemy, Omega Red, under the orders of Matsu‘o Tsurayaba. The group needed Wolverine to uncover his lost memories of the C-Synthesizer, which Omega Red needs to survive his own deadly powers. During the process in which the Hand was trying to access Wolverine’s buried memories, Logan experienced a flashback to the time when he, Sabretooth, and Maverick were on a mission to retrieve the C-Synthesizer for the C.I.A as a group known as Team X. The X-Men and Maverick eventually freed Wolverine, who then uncovered the Synthesizer and gave it to Maverick.
Resolution: Much of Maverick’s back story would later be revealed in various issues of Wolverine (2nd series) and his own solo series. It was established that Maverick was born in Germany as Christopher Nord and after a life of betrayal by those he loved, became a covert operative for Germany. His work caught the attention of the C.I.A., who enlisted him in their Team X program in the 1960s, where he changed his name to David North. It was there that he met Sabretooth and Wolverine, and the team disbanded in 1970s, when they were captured and tested as part of the Weapon X program.
4) [XM #6] What was Sabretooth’s past relationship with Gambit?
Mystery: When the X-Men tried to save Wolverine from the Hand, the group was defeated by Omega Red and imprisoned, Gambit among them. The Hand called in Sabretooth to hunt down Wolverine, who was rescued by Maverick in the meantime. Upon arriving at the headquarters, Sabretooth recognized Gambit and made comments about him working for the good guys now, or apparently conning them. He then scratched Gambit, saying his blood tasted spicier. Sabretooth then left to find Wolverine and Maverick, and his past with Gambit was never explained.
Resolution: Gambit and Sabretooth’s past would later be addressed, though, when Sabretooth was a “houseguest” at the Xavier Institute so that the professor could attempt to cure him of his sociopath tendencies. Apparently, Gambit and Sabretooth had met several times before. In X-Men (2nd series) #33 Rogue confronted Creed on comments he made to her about Gambit and Paris. Creed then revealed that in the past, he was sent to Paris to steal an object called the Cheating Star from a woman named Genevieve. However, Gambit intervened and saved Genevieve, starting a passionate love affair with her for days. In the end, however, Gambit revealed it was all a ruse so he could steal the Cheating Star himself, leaving Genevieve heartbroken. Sabretooth, however, kidnapped Gambit’s brother and Genevieve in exchange for the jewel. Gambit gave up the Cheating Star, but Creed dropped both Henri and Genevieve off a building. Only able to save one, Gambit saved Henri, and Genevieve perished.
More revelations, however, came in Uncanny X-Men #350, when Gambit was put on trial by the disguised Magneto, who revealed that Gambit was hired by Sinister to assemble the original Marauders, among them Sabretooth, and lead them into the Morlock sewers, where they murdered dozens of Morlocks, as seen in the Mutant Massacre crossover.
5) [XM #7] What happened to the C-Synthesizer that Wolverine gave to Maverick?
Mystery: After defeating Omega Red and the Hand, Wolverine recovered the C-Synthesizer that the group was looking for. He handed the device over to Maverick, asking him to hide it for him.
Resolution: The Synthesizer’s whereabouts would remain a mystery for years. Eventually, Wolverine needed the Synthesizer in order to take down his son, Daken. In Wolverine: Origins #6-10, Wolverine found Maverick and discovered that after being de-powered, Maverick gave the C-Synthesizer to the Black Widow in exchange for safe passage to America. The Widow then placed the Synthesizer in a safety deposit box in Brussels.
6) [XM #8-9] How did the Thieves Guild receive their powers?
Mystery: Gambit was sought out by his ex-wife, Bella Donna Boudreaux of the Assassin’s Guild. The X-Men headed to New Orleans to help the Assassin’s and Thieves Guild battle the alien Brood, and allied themselves with the Ghost Rider in doing so. However, during the visit to New Orleans it was noted that many Thieves Guild members had superhuman powers, though it was clear that they weren’t mutant in nature. At the end of the adventure, the origins of the powers were left unknown.
Resolution: Later on, in Gambit (1st series) #1-4, Gambit was called back to New Orleans, where he learned Bella Donna survived the adventure against the Brood, but was in a coma. In order to save here, Gambit needed the Elixir of Life, which was in possession of the External known as Candra, an old associate of Gambit. Gambit traveled to Paris to meet with Candra, who refused to give Gambit the Elixir unless he made a deal with her. Turned out, that Candra was the one who had granted the Guild members their powers in exchange for their services.
7) [XM #10-11] Maverick referred to a woman named Isabel during battle. Who is she?
Mystery: Sent by his employer, Major Barrington, Maverick made his way to an island to retrieve Dr. Alexander Ryking as Barrington wished to see him about the Project Xavier files that mysteriously made their way to Professor Xavier. However, Barrington did not comply with the meeting, so Maverick was sent in. Maverick battled against Warhawk, who came to Ryking for help, and during the battle Maverick made mention of an Isabel. In the end, Warhawk and Ryking were killed.
Resolution: It would later be revealed in the Maverick solo series that Isabel was Maverick’s weapons supplier, whom he contacted before missions to prepare himself with whatever gadgets that he needed.
8) [XM #11] Are Longshot and Dazzler the parents of Shatterstar?
Mystery: Longshot was hunted down by Spiral and the chase eventually led them to Dazzler and Lila Cheney. In the end, the group was stuck in Mojoworld, but Dazzler was able to contact the X-Men to aid the Rebellion against Mojo. The X-Men arrived and helped the other mutants aid the Rebellion against Mojo, and in the end he was killed and replaced by a friendlier successor. Before parting, Xavier sensed that Dazzler was pregnant with Longshot’s child, and Longshot suggested naming the baby, Shatterstar. However, Shatterstar was the name of the X-Force member who fled the Mojoverse of the future in search of help.
Resolution: While there was much speculation that Shatterstar could have been the future child of Dazzler and Longshot, there was no solid proof that the child conceived at that time was Shatterstar. A couple of pieces of proof point against this, first being the fact that Shatterstar originated from 100 years in the Mojoverse’s future and claimed to have no parents, instead having been genetically engineered into the soldier he was. Also, in X-Men (2nd series) #47, Dazzler returns to the X-Men taking care of the X-Babies, and Jean Grey sensed that Dazzler unfortunately no longer carried a child in her. Since no reference to one was ever made in the future, it was insinuated that she miscarried. Due to this, it is impossible for the child that was conceived at that time to be Shatterstar, though this does not preclude any future possibilities.
Non-canonically, Fabian Nicieza, who wrote most of Shatterstar's early appearances, had stated that the reference to Shatterstar in X-Men (2nd series) #11 was a throwaway line and was not cleared with anybody working on X-Force.
9) [XM #15] Was Stryfe raised by Apocalypse?
Mystery: During the X-Cutioner’s Song crossover, the villain known only as Stryfe struck the X-Men hard by first crippling Xavier with a deadly techno-organic virus, framing Cable for it, and then kidnapping Cyclops and Jean Grey. While imprisoned, the couple was fed baby food by Stryfe, who scolded them and told them that if he understood how to raise a child, so should they. Next, Stryfe claimed to have been raised by Apocalypse.
Resolution: In the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix limited series, the minds of Cyclops and Phoenix were pulled 2000 years into the future where they met the Askani and were given custody of the infant Nathan Summers, who they were asked to raise. The couple complied and spent years in this timeline raising Nathan. Meanwhile, Apocalypse was raising Nathan’s clone, Stryfe, and used his technology to speed up the development of Stryfe’s powers in order to make him a suitable host body, though Apocalypse wasn’t a good father and even tortured Stryfe. Obviously, though, Stryfe never became Apocalypse’s new host, as he escaped to the past to seek revenge.
10) [XM #23] Is there a ‘Third Summers Brother’?
Mystery: Perhaps the most infamous dangler of them all, this started when Cyclops was confronted by Sinister, who was posing as a neighbor of Cyclops’ grandparents. There, the two discussed the recent fiasco with Stryfe and the Legacy Virus, and during the conversation Sinister mentioned that he cared about Cyclops and his brothers. Cyclops asked Sinister why he said brothers, but Sinister quickly changed the subject, and Cyclops found himself battling the Dark Riders.
Resolution: The ‘Third Summers Brother’ mystery was a long debated one, with many hints strewn about. Originally, some hints pointed at the missing brother being the mysterious Adam-X, who was of Shi’ar descent and seemed to have a relationship to Sinister and the Summers Clan. When it was confirmed that Adam X as the son of Emperor D’Ken, it was speculated that D’Ken raped Cyclops’ captive mother and this was the child that resulted. However, this was never fully confirmed.
Another theory was that Gambit was the missing brother, because of his red eye color somewhat resembling Cyclops’ eyes. Additionally, he had a connection to Mr. Sinister as well. In X-Men: The End, the Gambit of that reality was revealed to have been a creation of Sinister’s genes and Summers’ genes. However, this was merely an alternate future, serving as no proof for the same having happened in the main Marvel Universe.
The mystery finally came to an end in X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1-6 with the emergence of Vulcan. It was revealed that when Christopher and Katherine Summers were kidnapped by the Shi’ar, Katherine was already pregnant. When she was murdered, the child was saved due to Shi’ar technology and raised as a slave. Eventually he escaped and made his way to Earth and was trained by Moira MacTaggert. When Xavier believed Vulcan dead after a mission gone awry, he erased the memory of Vulcan from Cyclops.
However, despite Vulcan being a Summers brother, this doesn’t preclude Adam X from still being related to Cyclops and Havok, or the Summers clan being relegated to only three siblings.
11) [XM Ann. #2] What became of Pyro and his Legacy Virus infection?
Mystery: The X-Men found the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants IV residing on an island owned by a mutant named Empyrean, who had the powers to absorb the agony of others. It was there that the team learned that Pyro had contracted the Legacy Virus and came for relief from him pain. In the end, the not so good Empyrean stole a time traveling device and accidentally wound up in the pre-historic ages, effectively ending Pyro’s treatment there.
Resolution: Unfortunately, Pyro would never find a cure for his condition as he perished before the Legacy Virus cure would be found. He made sporadic appearances after his infection, which caused his powers to go out of control, as seen in Uncanny X-Men #338 and Uncanny X-Men #351. In the end, Pyro sacrificed his life to save Senator Kelly during the Dream’s End crossover. Empyrean and his clinic have never been mentioned again.
12) [XM #39] Who were the two people watching Cyclops and Jean in the hospital?
Mystery: When Scott’s grandfather went missing after flying his plane, Cyclops and Jean traveled to Alaska to find him. Luckily, Scott’s grandfather was found by the mysterious Adam X. Adam kept Philip Summers alive in time for rescue helicopters to find him. Philip was taken to the hospital where Adam later visited him, and even encountered Jean. After Adam left, it was revealed that Scott and Jean were being monitored by a mysterious figure (observer 1). Interestingly enough, this figure was being monitored himself, by another figure (observer 2).
Resolution: From the little of the costume seen, it was clear that the second observer was Mr. Sinister. His intentions remain unclear, but since it involves the Summers family the reasons can be inferred. Also at the time Adam X was hinted at being the missing “third Summers Brother,” so this may have been another tease. The first observer would be later revealed in Captain Marvel (2nd series)2-3 as the Shi’ar agent Davan Shakkari, in his guise as Erik the Red. It was in this encounter with Erik the Red that Adam X learned about most of his past as the child of the former Shi’ar Emperor D’Ken, though the mother’s identity was not confirmed.
13) [XM #45] What was the connection between Sinister and Gambit and how did Sinister help Gambit in “his time of need?”
Mystery: Gambit was confronted by Sinister in an abandoned theater in Seattle, which was a source of pain for Gambit in regards to his past. Sinister spoke to Gambit about how he could not pretend to be a true X-Man and hinted at their own past together, particularly a time when Sinister helped Gambit when he most needed it.
Resolution: In Gambit (3rd series) #14, it was revealed that long before he joined the X-Men, Gambit’s powers were going out of control. He was approached by Sinister, who removed some of his gray matter to make his powers manageable. Gambit was in debt to Sinister and worked for him, including finding the Marauders. In the end, Gambit was relieved of services and was given a vial that contained his brain matter, as seen in Uncanny X-Men #350. In Gambit (3rd series) #12-17 Gambit traveled back to the past in a time machine with his companion, Courier, where they helped the Thieves Guild obtain information about Apocalypse from Sinister for Candra. However, they were trapped in the past, but the Sinister of 1891 put the gray matter back into Gambit’s head, giving him the power to kinetically travel back to the future. Eventually though, Gambit’s increased powers burned themselves out.
14) [XM #46] What happened to the missing government scientists and how was Onslaught involved?
Mystery: Senator Kelly led a group of operatives into a farm complex that was more than it seemed. In truth, the complex was housing fifteen scientists who were busy trying to augment Sentinels. However, thirty-seven minutes earlier the entire complex shut down and the scientists were missing. After Kelly’s group arrived, the power returned, and the computer monitors were filled with one word: Onslaught.
Resolution: In Uncanny X-Men #333, Phoenix and Gambit secretly attended a meeting between many world leaders regarding the mutant crisis and Operation: Zero Tolerance, an initiative to end the global mutant threat. Zero Tolerance’s enigmatic leader, Bastion, revealed that the missing scientists were all found, though none of them had any memory of working on the Sentinel project and had no memory of the last six months, including the time that they were missing. It would later be revealed during the Onslaught crossover that Onslaught planned on using Sentinels to take over New York City.
15) [XM #46] How did Magneto arrive amnesiac in South America, and how was he de-aged?
Mystery: A man looking just like a young Magneto found himself contemplating his past in a tomato field in South America. He had vague memories of being different and living among the stars. Also, he remembered a violent crashing towards Earth, and being with a man of metal. However, he had no clue who he was or what he was doing in South America.
Resolution: Joseph, as this amnesiac stranger would later be called, joined the X-Men eventually under the belief that he was an amnesiac and de-aged Magneto. However, in X-Men (2nd series) #72-73 it became clear that Joseph was not Magneto at all, and he left the team with the mutant known as Sabra to figure out the truth. During the Magneto War crossover, Joseph discovered that he was an exact genetic clone of Magneto, created by a woman named Astra, who sought revenge against Magneto for a past offense. To give him more raw power, she made the clone younger than Magneto and sent him after Magneto, while attending to other matters herself. However, what he lacked in power, the original Magneto made up with skill, and he managed to injure the clone during their battle. Afterwards, he went into hiding, deciding to let the world think his clone was him. The clone crashed in South America where the battle had ended up in, but awoke amnesiac because of his head wound.
16) [XM #58] Why was Gambit visiting the Morlocks' shrine on the anniversary of their slaughter?
Mystery: On the anniversary of The Mutant Massacre, Storm, former leader of the Morlocks, visited a shrine in the Morlock Tunnels, where hundreds of candles were lit in memory of the deceased. However, Storm was surprised that Gambit was there as well, though he wasn’t even an X-Man at the time of the incident or involved. No explanation was given as to why Gambit attended.
Resolution: It would later be revealed in Uncanny X-Men #350 that Gambit actually was involved in The Mutant Massacre. In truth, he was the one hired by Sinister to recruit the members of the Marauders, the group that slaughtered the Morlocks. Even though Gambit had no idea what Sinister was using them for, he was the one who led the Marauders into the Morlock Sewers and felt responsible for what happened afterwards. He was horrified to discover that they had come to murder the innocent mutants, and before he ran away, Gambit was able to save one Morlock child, Sarah, who would grow up to become Marrow.
17) [XM #67-69] Who, or rather what, is Bastion?
Mystery: During the Operation: Zero Tolerance crossover, Professor X was held captive by the program’s leader, Bastion. There, Xavier accused Bastion of literally not being a human being. Later on, Bastion explained his motives to Iceman, citing that he wished to serve humanity. He also mentioned to have been judged by a woman god who transformed him into a man, for him to learn what it meant to be human. However, these vague details where left just like that – unexplained.
Resolution: Bastion’s true origin was a left over plotline that had happened almost over one hundred issues earlier in Uncanny X-Men. As explained in Cable/Machine Man Annual ‘98 and Machine Man/Bastion Annual ‘98, Bastion was in truth the former X-Men villains, Master Mold and Nimrod combined. Back in the Australian days, some of the X-Men had passed through the Siege Perilous, along with Master Mold and Nimrod. While the X-Men were eventually reborn and returned to the world, Master Mold and Nimrod were missing. It turned out they had merged into one being, and arrived amnesiac on this world as the being now called Bastion. He was found by a woman who took him into her residence in Connecticut to recuperate. Upon seeing how much pain the world was suffering because of mutants, and because of his hidden programming, he once again chose a life of trying to eliminate mutants.
18) [XM #73] What happened to the missing Xavier at the Operation: Zero Tolerance base?
Mystery: After Operation: Zero Tolerance, Senator Kelly began to make amends for what he viewed as a mistake. Part of this included releasing Charles Xavier from O:ZT custody. However, when Kelly and his men opened Xavier’s cell, they found it empty, with no trace of Xavier.
Resolution: The fate of Xavier was explained in The Hunt for Xavier crossover. After O:ZT came to an end, Xavier was retrieved by the newly reformed Brotherhood of Mutants, who were on the run from the sentient and somewhat deranged Cerebro. They needed his help and training to survive.
19) [XM #75] Where did Pilgrimm escape to after the Ru’tai were defeated, and what happened to the Ru’tai mongrel taken by Black Air?
Mystery: When the X-Men defeated the Ru’tai in the N’garai realm, they escaped through a portal with the survivors. The portal transported all of them to Las Vegas, where the police took charge of the survivors to get them back home. However, one of the survivors was actually the Ru’tai known as Pilgrimm in disguise as a human. He told an officer he was a student who had come to learn. Meanwhile, a lost mongrel Ru’tai was captured by Black Air and taken to unknown whereabouts.
Resolution: A few years later in the X-Men: Black Sun limited series this plot would be resolved. When the N’garai made a deal with Belasco so they could take back their realm, Pilgrimm allied himself with the X-Men, who were being hunted down by the N’garai for Belasco’s spell. When the N’garai emerged, the mongrel Ru’tai captured by Black Air escaped through a cairn. In the end, Belasco and the N’garai were defeated.
20) [XM #81] Who was the green ghost and what was her relationship to Gambit?
Mystery: After being reunited with the X-Men, Gambit spent some time with Rogue to settle their problems. The two were attacked by an insane woman named Kali, but defeated her in the end. Rogue confessed that she still loved Gambit, but Gambit refused to say that he loved Rogue, forcing her to run away from him. Gambit watched her leave with sorrow, and then was confronted by a green ghost-like woman who emerged from inside of him, telling Remy that if he ever told Rogue he loved her that she would kill her.
Resolution: In Gambit Annual ‘99, it was revealed that when Gambit was abandoned in Antarctica he went back into Magneto’s base and happened upon a green energy being in a containment tube. In order to survive in the arctic region, Gambit freed the being and merged with it. It was only later that he realized that it was a sentient being, in fact a girl whose physical body had been destroyed upon her manifesting her mutant powers. This girl took a shining to Remy and she was bent on creating a new form of life by killing herself and Gambit, creating a new amalgam individual in their place. Before she could carry out her plan, though, the Beast was able to separate the two, and the green ghost girl apparently died.
21) [XM #98] What happened to Apocalypse and the Living Monolith after their defeat?
Mystery: After Apocalypse merged with Cyclops in Apocalypse: The Twelve, the merged being put the heroes through various fake alternate realities, but in the end they persevered and destroyed the illusions. Before Cable could kill Apocalypse, though, he, still merged with Cyclops, and the Living Monolith escaped to whereabouts unknown.
Resolution: Both, Apocalypse and the Monolith, would be missing for quite some time. While the Living Monolith has yet to resurface, Apocalypse was later seen in X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1-4 still merged with Cyclops, though his hold on him weakened to the point where Cyclops was an amnesiac man lost in the Middle East with vague memories of Apocalypse’s past. In the end, Cable and Phoenix separate and disrupted Apocalypse’s essence, thus freeing Cyclops.
22) [XM #102] Why did Sage leave Sebastian Shaw and what “earlier affiliation” did she return to?
Mystery: When Senator Kelly visited the grave of his deceased wife, he was approached by Sebastian Shaw’s aid, Tessa, who was trying to stop Kelly from running for President using the mutant issue as his platform. However, Tessa revealed that she was no longer working for Sebastian Shaw and that she had returned to an earlier affiliation of hers. However, Tessa offered no details on her defection from Shaw or where she was working now.
Resolution: It would be revealed just the next issue that Tessa was working for the X-Men. However, how they were an earlier affiliation for her was unknown until much later. In X-Treme X-Men #3 it was revealed that Tessa was recruited by Charles Xavier around the time the original X-Men formed, but Xavier saw more potential in Tessa being a spy than an X-Man, and had her infiltrate the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. For some reason, communications between the two became null, but in X-Treme X-Men #41, Tessa was kidnapped by the nefarious Elias Bogan, who held her for ransom. Shaw refused to pay the ransom, leaving Tessa to die. Storm, however, came and saved Tessa, though why she saved her or how she knew she was in danger remains a mystery, especially as Xavier was not on Earth and could not have confirmed Tessa’s status as a spy.
23) [XM #106] Why did Mystique and Toad’s physical appearance look suddenly different?
Mystery: Mystique had began to put together secret plans to assassinate Senator Kelly who was running for President using the mutant issue as his campaign platform. Mystique gathered together a new Brotherhood of Mutants and began to train them. Toad wanted to be on this team, and sported a totally different look. He looked less deformed and was much more attractive compared to his prior appearance. He even demonstrated new powers in the form of a venom sting from his tongue, and when he used it on Mystique she reverted an also never before seen “true form”, which was now covered in ridges.
Resolution: Mystique and Toad clearly were redesigned to look like their movie counterparts, as the first X-Men movie was released in theaters that year. However, since Mystique and Toad’s change was so drastic, it begged the question – what happened? Answers came in X-Men Forever #6. In that mini-series Toad and Mystique, alongside an assortment of other X-characters, were taken by the being known as Prosh, who sent them all to various points in the past to understand a threat coming in the future. Along the way Toad was injured and Prosh used his technology to heal him, also fixing Toad’s damaged DNA and unlocking his true potential. When one of the machines broke, Mystique went to fix a coil and was affected as well, growing the ridges on her.
24) [NXM #118] Did Cyclops sleep with Emma Frost in Hong Kong?
Mystery: After an adventure with Emma Frost in Hong Kong, which ended with Emma approaching Cyclops with some drinks in his bedroom, Cyclops continued to act cold to Jean and their marital problems continued. Worried, Jean bluntly asked Cyclops if he slept with Emma in Hong Kong. Cryptically and coldly, Scott replied that he didn’t. Emma kept him up all night. Scott’s confusing words left Jean wondering what truly happened.
Resolution: It became clear to the other X-Men as well that Emma was attracted to Scott and causing friction, but all of this came to fruition in New X-Men #139. There, Jean caught Scott and Emma in the beginning of a psionic love affair. Freaking out, Jean attacked Emma, but an angry Cyclops demanded that Jean read his mind and see for herself what happened in Hong Kong, as nothing physically had happened between them. Still, for a telepath, events on the astral plane might be as real.
25) [NXM #118, 154] Why did the Stepford Cuckoos look like Emma Frost, and what was their relation as students at Xavier’s and agents of Weapon Plus?
Mystery: When the Xavier Institute opened its doors as a full fledged school to the public, among their students were five young girls called the Stepford Cuckoos who all looked alike and shared a telepathic hive mind. However, aside from looking like each other, they also bared a striking resemblance to Emma Frost. While the X-Men didn’t really mind much, readers easily caught on to this and speculated what this was about. Much later, 150 years in the future to be exact, the three surviving Cuckoos found themselves in a dire situation. Activating a self destruction code, they revealed themselves to be Units 1, 3, and 4 of Weapon XIV.
Resolution: Fans have always speculated on the Cuckoos origins and from the beginning the majority had decided that they were clones. However, the why’s and how’s were never deduced. In Phoenix: Warsong #1-5 the truth was finally revealed. John Sublime of the Weapon Plus program stole into Xavier’s mansion at a time in which Emma Frost was in a coma. He harvested her eggs and used them to create Weapon XIV – a whole army of Emma clones. There were not just five Stepford Cuckoos, there were hundreds unreleased still at the facility known as The World. Special mental blocks and psionic dampeners prevented the X-Men from questioning the identity of the students.
26) [NXM #128, 133] What were the cryptic words that Phoenix said to Xavier, and were they from the future?
Mystery: While in the X-Corporation office in Paris, Xavier tested Phoenix on her growing telekinesis, scared that she was reaching Phoenix-level power levels. He was correct, and the Phoenix conversed with Xavier, but used its powers to take Xavier’s consciousness to a ruined city. There, Phoenix spoke vaguely of being the last hope, and Xavier wondered if this was a hint of the future. Later on, after an attempted assassination attempt on Xavier by a deranged Lilandra, Charles spoke with a group of Shi’ar, who informed him that the Phoenix had hatched and disinfection would come.
Resolution: In New X-Men (1st series) #147-149 Professor X was captured by the newly formed Brotherhood and imprisoned in a tank that dampened his powers. He was unable to stop “Xorneto’s” rampage through New York, when he was suddenly contacted by Phoenix and had the same conversation with her about the future. Apparently the ruined city in the vision was the damaged New York.
Shortly thereafter, Phoenix was killed, only to be reborn 150 years in the future. There she discovered what she had to do to prevent the mess that ruined the future after her death. With her god-like powers, Jean took the creature known as Sublime, a microscopic organism with the power to manipulate and possess others, and disinfected him from the planet, as he was the source of all the problems that plagued the current time stream. She then reached back through time and correct the course of the timeline.
27) [NXM #132] Is Magneto really Polaris’ father?
Mystery: Phoenix and Professor X began a world tour of the various X-Corporation branches. On their tour they also stopped in Genosha to view the destruction, where they were met with various members of the X-Corporation and X-Treme X-Men. The group actually found a survivor, Unus the Untouchable, who was rambling about a green haired woman leading ghosts. The X-Men only knew of one green-haired woman - Polaris. They found her naked and exposed to the harsh radiation around her. Nearby they found a black box containing Magneto’s last words, and in a passionate fury Polaris used her powers to amplify his voice, calling out to her “daddy.”
Resolution: After this incident Polaris seemed to take some time to recuperate, but came to the mansion in Uncanny X-Men #418, thought it was clear she was a changed woman and slightly mentally imbalanced. When it became clear that Polaris was a hazard to be let freely in the mansion she was restrained. Xavier telepathically entered Lorna’s mind to see what caused her violent behavior, and saw the destruction of Genosha first hand from her. He also learned that Polaris had been investigating her true heritage before the Sentinel attack, and that blood tests had confirmed Magneto to be her biological father. Even worse, she also found hints that pointed to him having killed her biological mother, for so far unknown reasons.
28) [NXM #133] What information could Fantomex provide to Wolverine about his past?
Mystery: In Afghanistan, Wolverine attacked a camp of mercenaries to save the young girl known as Dust. However, he found his targets already defeated and was confronted by the mysterious Fantomex, who wondered how much Wolverine would pay to learn about his past with the Weapon Plus program. He even called Wolverine by his real name, James. Fantomex then left, revealing no more.
Resolution: Later on in New X-Men (1st series) #142-145 the answers would be revealed. Fantomex would take Wolverine and Cyclops to a Weapon Plus facility known as The World. The group quickly realized that the true Weapon Plus central quarters were actually in space. There, Wolverine discovered some computer files pertaining to his past.
29) [XM #162] Who impersonated Magneto in his assault on New York, and what did Shen Xorn mean by his statement that the villain was still in the X-Men’s midst?
Mystery: After finding and bringing Shen Xorn to the Xavier Institute, the strange man revealed to Havok and Emma Frost that it was not Magneto who had been posing as his brother, Kuan-Yin Xorn, and who went on a rampage in Manhattan. Instead, Shen Xorn claimed some other person to be responsible, someone he could still sense in Xavier’s mansion. However, he wasn’t quite sure who it was, only that it was someone who was rather hateful and about to turn others against the X-Men as well.
Resolution: After this story arc Shen Xorn chose to leave the Institute, only to be later de-powered during M-Day as revealed in New Avengers #18-20. In that same arc, Xorn’s consciousness took over a mass of wild mutant energy jettisoned into space and used it to track down Magneto. He confronted Magneto and revealed that Kuan-Yin had set up a plan to impersonate Magneto and use his name and legacy to launch an attack on human kind. While Shen Xorn’s words to Havok and Emma implied that the true villain was someone else, as writer Chuck Austen later admitted non-canonically he wanted to involve Cassandra Nova in this, this idea seemed to have been scrapped in favor of making both Xorn brothers the culprits. It could be that Shen Xorn was playing the identity of the villain well and was making ironic and vague hints towards Emma and Havok, him actually referring to himself.
30) [XM #163] Where was the missing Aurora?
Mystery: When the Brotherhood attacked the Xavier Institute, Sabretooth was among their number, recently departed from the Weapon X program. Sabretooth battled Northstar and made a joke to the man that his sister fought better than him. Enraged, Northstar demanded to know where his missing sister was, but ended up knocking Sabretooth unconscious. When Sabretooth awoke, he battled Wolverine and then disappeared.
Resolution: Sabretooth and Aurora were comrades in the Weapon X program, during the time when Northstar didn’t know where she was. When they program fell apart she disappeared to places unknown. It was later revealed in X-Men (2nd series) #189 that Aurora fled to western Canada, though what happened after she disappeared from Weapon X and her return was unknown. She was found by The Children and temporarily brainwashed, though finally ended up reunited with Northstar.
31) [XM #164] What happened to Juggernaut, Nocturne and the Brotherhood after being sucked into Shen Xorn’s head?
Mystery: When the new Brotherhood attacked the mansion, Juggernaut was a mole for the X-Men, and Nocturne joined out of a misunderstanding. Later on Juggernaut and Nocturne aided the X-Men in battling the Brotherhood, but victory came at a price. Shen Xorn realized the only way to end this battle was to open his helmet, and the black hole that was his head sucked in the Brotherhood, Juggernaut, and Nocturne, leaving their fate unknown.
Resolution: It would later be revealed in Uncanny X-Men #460-461 that Xorn’s black hole sent the group to Mojoverse, where Exodus bought the Brotherhood's freedom by "selling" Juggernaut and Nocturne as slaves to Mojo. Later, Nocturne possessed Spiral and used her to teleport herself and Juggernaut home.
32) [XM #170] What did Polaris see in space that freaked her out?
Mystery: The X-Men journeyed to space to defeat an army of Golgotha creatures that were making their way to Earth. While in space, Polaris was briefly. separated from the others. When she others found her, she seemed disturbed about something she had seen and babbled about it looking right back at her. Afterwards, though, she claimed that she couldn’t remember what had happened.
Resolution: Later on after being de-powered, Lorna left the Xavier Institute bent on finding this creature that she saw in space, claiming that it was coming to Earth. In X-Men (2nd series) #180-181 she did indeed encounter this creature, which was a small green goop called Daap. Polaris could seemingly understand Daap’s weird language, and was convinced it could restore her powers, which in a way was true, as it kidnapped Lorna and apparently took her to Apocalypse who re-powered her