The Muir Island Saga reunited the X-Men after years of division, and it also created several lasting changes for the team.
Currently, almost all of mutantkind is united on the island-nation of Krakoa. In the years before “Dawn of X,” the X-Men occasionally found themselves fairly divided. Even so, the events of the “Muir Island Saga” brought the X-Men together in a way that made them bigger than they’d been in years.
The “Muir Island Saga” took place in the pages of 1991’s Uncanny X-Men #278-280 and X-Factor #69-70, crafted by a large number of creators, including Chris Claremont, Paul Smith, Jim Lee, Fabian Nicieza, Andy Kubert, Whilce Portacio, Steven Butler, Peter David and Kirk Jarvinen. Before this storyline, the X-Men had recently reformed under the leadership of Professor X, returning him to Earth from Shi’ar space. Meanwhile, the original five X-Men were on their own path running X-Factor. Additionally, Muir Island was filled with several mutants, including Polaris, Strong Guy and Multiple Man. Long before the Krakoan age redefined her role, Moira MacTaggert ran the island and conducted mutant research.
Recently, however, the Shadow King was attempting to break free from the astral plane by using his power to negatively influence everyone on Muir Island. Rogue made her way from the Savage Land to Muir Island where she found everyone under the Shadow King’s influence. The X-Men were also drawn to the island after Rogue herself was possessed by the Shadow King. The Children of the Atom were defeated by the mutants on Muir Island before the Shadow King possessed them as well. Only Professor X remained, running for his life from Colossus.
Fortunately, Xavier managed to free Colossus and Stevie Hunter from the Shadow King. At the same time, Forge gradually freed a few of his fellow X-Men from the Shadow King, since he was never possessed in the first place. Seeing how the Shadow King was extending his influence beyond Muir Island, Xavier called in X-Factor for help.
Once they arrived on Muir Island, X-Factor went to battle against their fellow mutants, while Xavier fought the Shadow King. When the Shadow King’s host body was destroyed by a newly arrived Mystique, he decided to possess Xavier’s son, Legion, instead.
In a climactic battle, Professor X fought the Shadow King on the astral plane. Xavier received the assistance of several members of the X-Men and X-Factor alike. Simultaneously, the X-Men and X-Factor fought off all of the possessed mutants. The day was won, but at a great price. Xavier lost the use of his legs once again from the psychic backlash, and Legion went into a catatonic state.
While these consequences were rather substantial, they weren’t the only ramifications of the “Muir Island Saga.” In the epilogue to the event, X-Factor disbanded and its members rejoined the X-Men. This created the largest X-Men roster up until that point. The X-Men became such a large team that they had to split into two sub-groups: the Blue team and the Gold team. Increasing the X-Men’s roster was a massive change, making Marvel’s mutants stronger than ever.
More importantly, the original five rejoined the X-Men for the first time in years. Cyclops had left the X-Men after losing leadership to Storm in Uncanny X-Men #201 by Claremont and Rick Leonardi. Jean Grey hadn’t technically been on the X-Men since the Phoenix Force placed her in a cocoon at the bottom of the sea and replaced her in Uncanny X-Men #101. Angel, Beast and Iceman helped the team infrequently, but they hadn’t truly been X-Men since the new members joined in Giant-Size X-Men #1, by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. Now, the original five X-Men had rejoined the team and reunited with Professor X. Moreover, they added to the existing roster, creating an all-star lineup of X-Men.
Meanwhile, Muir Island’s mutants all disbanded, since the island was virtually destroyed. In the place of the Muir Island X-Men, however, a new X-Factor was born. Strong Guy, Polaris and Multiple Man all joined this new X-Factor, with Havok and Wolfsbane joining soon afterwards. This change might be the biggest thing to come out of the “Muir Island Saga,” since the new X-Factor became the most recognizable version of the team. Overall, the “Muir Island Saga” made some dramatic changes to the X-Men landscape that lasted for years to come.
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