First Story:
The mysterious, feral man, known simply as Wolverine, closes the door to the Danger Room. With a vile smirk on his face, he locks the room shut and then turns to his companions in the room. Wolverine, wearing a pink, unbuttoned shirt, spreads his arms out as he walks over towards his fellow new X-Men: Thunderbird, Storm, Colossus, Sunfire and Nightcrawler. Sunfire alone wears his uniform; as Nightcrawler continues to wear his circus outfit and the other three simply wear civilian clothing.
Wolverine tells the group that it is their first day as new X-Men, so he is going to show them how this works. Colossus interrupts and joyfully turns to his companions. He is still amazed on how an hour ago he spoke not even a word of English, but now he knows and understands every word of the language. Storm turns to her new friend and tells him that the Professor is indeed a powerful man. Annoyed, Sunfire tells the pain that he would gladly forget the English language if it meant not having to listen to them prattle any longer.
Sunfire continues to be rude and tells the group that he only joined the X-Men to be with the most powerful and righteous, who would do great deeds for the world. Sunfire then looks at Nightcrawler confused, and then looks back at Thunderbird, Storm and Colossus. He shoots a dirty look at the nervous Nightcrawler and asks if they were not to be wearing uniforms. The little German man is still in his circus outfit.
Calling Sunfire “sunflower,” Wolverine tells him that he is wrong on everything he just said. Angry, Sunfire corrects Wolverine’s assumption of his name, though the naïve Colossus is more concerned on costumes, as he did not realize he was getting one. Storm, levelheaded, asks Wolverine what he means by Sunfire being wrong. Wolverine, listening only to Storm, tells her that Sunfire was wrong about them being a team. They are not one. A team has something that binds them all together. The Fantastic Four all received their powers together. The Avengers are all big-shot A-listers and they even have a god on their team. Thor is Norse, but he is a still a god. Those teams have been together for years, but they have not.
They are not a team. Nightcrawler, sitting on top of a box, points out that Banshee is not present. Wolverine tells the group that Banshee is not part of this. He is tight with the Professor. He then corrects “Creepy Crawler” and tells him that they are not one man short. They are one man too many. Wolverine pops his claws and tells the team that the Professor knows that at least one of them won’t make it as an X-Man. Storm casts Wolverine a dirty look, as the menacing mutant announces that finding out who will fail will bring them together. One of them is walking out of this room dead.
Angered and acting impulsively, Colossus armors up and tells Wolverine that he is being obscene, for there is a woman present. Annoyed at Colossus, who stands in front of her to protect her, Storm tells him that she does not need his protection. Wolverine also adds that no one said Storm was the weak link. His money is on Nightcrawler. Kurt, who was nervous before thanks to Sunfire, becomes even more so and now scared for his life. Figuring Wolverine out, Thunderbird comments that the white man never changes, for they always promise glory and then turn their backs. Sunfire, who seems to have no problem with this challenge, tells Wolverine that, if the Professor wants one of them dead, then he shall cast his vote.
Sunfire unleashes a massive fireball at Wolverine to kill him. Colossus, however, jumps in the way and blocks the attack. Storm calls forth the elements, as she knows that the Danger Room is too small to contain the fire, so she decides that she will. After calling a massive gust of wind to slam back Sunfire, Storm finds that she is unable to control her weather for long, as the lightning she summons strikes her. Storm then realizes that she has never summoned the elements in a closes space and now it is all closing in.
Wolverine smalls at the downfall of Sunfire and wonders who will go next. Suddenly, Thunderbird slams into Wolverine’s back and tells him that, if he wants death, he will receive it. Thunderbird then slams his elbow powerfully into Wolverine’s back. Nightcrawler, who is now disenfranchised by Xavier’s dream, is in disbelief that the nice man who saved him would bring them to a place where they must kill the weak to earn their place. He did not escape a mob to die there. Nightcrawler then teleports behind Storm and grabs her. He tells the goddess to forgive him and then wraps his arm around her neck.
Below, Thunderbird rams his mighty fist into Wolverine’s gut and asks him if he is too scared for a real fight. Why doesn’t the animal show his claws again? Wolverine, who recovers, simply says “lightning” and asks Thunderbird to do the math. He then kicks the other man in the gut, which sends Thunderbird reeling back into Colossus, who serves as a conduit for Storm’s lightning.
At that moment, the Banshee enters and uses his mighty sonic powers to defeat all the X-Men. Horrified, he asks them if they are all mad. The Professor “heard” them all from across town and, if only he could see them now, he would be horrified as well. Confused, Nightcrawler asks if the Professor had not ordered this. Of course not, says Wolverine, as he picks up his shirt from the ground and puts it back on. The Professor is a decent man, which is why Wolverine waited till now to spring his game. On the ground, Sunfire asks Wolverine why he would do such a thing.
Wolverine tells Sunfire that they are not a team. Angered, Colossus wonders why Wolverine would turn them against each other to prove his point. Playing with his toothpick, Wolverine explains that a team knows each other’s powers, weak spots, and tempers not from files, but from real life experience. When they are in the heat of battle, they will learn more about who has their backs. Personally, says Wolverine, as he walks out of the Danger Room, his money is on Thunderbird to outlast the rest of them. He hasn’t been hit that hard since he fought the Hulk.
"So, anybody want a beer?"
Second Story:
This story is a reprint of X-Men (1st series) #9, in which the X-Men fight the Avengers as Xavier confronts Lucifer.
Third Story:
This story is a reprint of Fantastic Four (1st series) #28, in which the Puppet Master uses his powers to force the X-Men in battle against the Fantastic Four.
Fourth Story:
This is a one-page excerpt taken from X-Men (1st series) #27, and depicts Beast and Iceman trying to recruit Spider-Man for the team.
Fifth Story:
This story is a reprint of X-Men (1st series) #35, in which the X-Men search for the missing Banshee and Professor X, captives of Factor Three, but get into a misunderstanding and fight with Spider-Man instead.
