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Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) #195

on-sale: Apr 9, 1985
Chris Claremont | John Romita Jr.

Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) #195 cover

Story Name:

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…!


Synopsis

Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) #195 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

The four children that compose Power Pack are awoken in their parents’ bed by a thunderous storm, only to discover that their parents have no idea who they are! They insist they have no children, and the kids run to what used to be their rooms, only to find them empty! The couple discuss what to do about this, when the kids vanish under cover of a smoke cloud courtesy of Jack. They knock on their superintendent’s door, only to discover that he has no idea who they are either. They run for it and Katie blasts their way out of the building. The police are soon notified and begin to search for the kids while they hide in an alley, unsure what to do. Cold and scared in the thunderstorm, they suddenly think to materialize their costumes in order to stay warm. They remember that they met someone who could manipulate memories during their recent run-in with the Morlocks (from Power Pack #11-12) and decide that’s as good a place as any to look for answers.

Power Pack head down into the sewers and are immediately captured by a group of Morlocks. Only the youngest sibling, Katie, is able to escape but not before the Morlock called Masque messes with her face, changing her appearance. Katie runs for it and is soon found in the subway by a police officer. Unfortunately, Katie accidentally ends up blasting the cop when he comes near. Meanwhile, at Xavier’s School, Kitty Pryde catches the news report about Katie and recognizes Masque’s handiwork, intuiting what must have happened. Later, Kitty sneaks into the hospital where Katie is being held and phases her down through the floor where Rogue, Rachel, and Wolverine are waiting. Rachel links everyone’s minds so that everyone can see what happened via Katie’s memories. They discover that the Morlocks captured Power Pack just as they had recently, once again trying to force them to be the new kids of the Morlock Annalee, who had recently lost hers.

The X-Men, along with Katie, head down into the Morlock tunnels and quickly discover rooms set up just like the Power kids’. They’re soon found by the Morlocks and discover the other Power siblings have been duped into believing they’re really Annalee’s kids. The X-Men fight back against the Morlocks, until Rogue is grabbed by Leech, resulting in an odd effect. Her power to absorb other’s abilities knocks Leech out as per usual, but his power to negate the powers of those around him also causes Rogue to lose hers! This doesn’t slow her down, and she continues to fight back against the Morlocks in impressive fashion. Meanwhile, Kitty heads after the kids, leaving Wolverine behind to deal with the Morlocks his way. Kitty finds Annalee trying to convince Katie to have her memories changed, and asks her if this is what er actual kids would have wanted. She breaks down and Callisto finally arrives to put a stop to everything. Later, everything with Power Pack is put back to normal and Callisto orders them off limits. The kids, especially Katie, decide to forgive Annalee, realizing she was only trying to deal with the grief of losing her own kids, and promise to visit. Rachel then suddenly receives a mental alert from the mansion, claiming they’re gravely needed! Only, the alert isn’t coming from Professor Xavier, it’s coming from Magneto! To be continued!


Characters
Good (or All)
KPRYDE
RSUMMERS
ROGUE
WOLVERINE
Plus: Callisto, Power Pack.

Enemies
Leech, Masque, Morlocks.

> Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) comic book info and issue index



Excelsioring your collection:
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(The Boy Wonder)

Main/1st Story Full Credits

John Romita Jr.
Dan Green
Glynis Oliver
Bill Sienkiewicz (Cover Penciler)
Dan Green (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski.



Review / Commentaries


Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) #195 Review by (July 2, 2025)

Review: The kid superheroes of Power Pack guest star, following up an adventure in their own comic where they met Kitty and Nightcrawler and encountered the Morlocks. Then, the Morlock Annalee, who had recently lost her own kids (as mentioned in UXM #193) tried to manipulate Power Pack into being her new kids. They were stopped and promised to stay away from them, but this issue involves them rescinding that promise! The kids are captured once again, aside from the youngest Katie, causing the X-Men to head down to the Morlock tunnels to set everything right. Side note: having two prominent characters called Kitty and Katie could get a little awkward. It’s rather sad, as you can understand a grieving mother just wanting to feel like she has children again. Thankfully, we get a happy ending, since the kids are willing to forgive her, emphasizing with her grief, and even promise to visit.

The dialogue does a good job of establishing and familiarizing the kids’ names, powers, and anything else for those not in the know. They were still pretty new characters at this point in time and Marvel was obviously trying to push them a bit. The dialogue is also pretty charming, and the kids feel believable as kids, which not every writer can get the hang of. We also kind of get the answer to a question I’d been vaguely wondering about: what happens when Rogue encounters Leech? She absorbs powers, he nullifies them. So, when he grabs her, he’s knocked out but also Rogue temporarily loses her powers. This is still a little odd, as he nullifies powers just by being near someone, so presumably she shouldn’t have even had her powers when he grabbed her. They blame it on her wonky physiology but it still feels iffy. The issue ends with the X-Men getting a mental summons from Magneto, leading right into Secret Wars II (oh joy). Overall, a pretty charming issue with some nice emotional depth showcasing the up-and-coming kids of Power Pack.

Comments: This issue follows events that occurred in Power Pack #11-12.





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