Madelyne Pryor
Encyclopedia
Madelyne Pryor is a fictional character
in the Marvel Comics
universe
. As the love interest and first wife of X-Men
leader Cyclops
(Scott Summers), she became a long-standing member of the X-Men supporting cast, until a series of traumas — being abandoned by her husband, losing her infant son, and discovering that she was a clone of Jean Grey
— eventually led to her being manipulated into becoming a supervillain
. She and Cyclops are the parents of Nathan Christopher Charles Summers
.
Madelyne's biography has been rendered particularly complicated because of the many retcon
s involved in the publication history of both her character and that of Jean Grey.
pair with artist Paul Smith
for a series of issues that would see the Jean Grey look-alike marry the retired X-Men leader Scott Summers (Cyclops)
.
Madelyne's hairstyle was modeled after the book's editor, Louise Jones
(later Louise Simonson)—a look the character would retain until 1988. Claremont named the character after Steeleye Span
singer Maddy Prior
. Claremont had already created a character named "Maddy Pryor", a little girl that appeared very briefly in Avengers
Annual
#10 (1981). Readers have searched for any in-story connections between the two characters, but there is none. Claremont, nonetheless, years later used the opportunity to indulge in an in-joke
: in Uncanny X-Men #238 (1988), a similar child would appear as Madelyne's mental image
of herself, wearing the same clothes as the little girl from Avengers Annual #10, repeating the girl's same line of dialogue, but also singing "Gone to America," one of Steeleye Span's biggest hits.
According to Claremont, the original link between Madelyne Pryor and Jean Grey was entirely the product of Mastermind
. Seeking revenge against the X-Men after Jean (as Phoenix) had driven him insane, Mastermind used his powers of illusion to convince Scott and the others that Madelyne was Phoenix incarnate—a cosmic threat—in an attempt to have the team kill an innocent. Mastermind's plan failed, and Madelyne and Cyclops were married shortly after the conflict was resolved. Claremont had conceived Madelyne as a device to write Scott Summers out of the X-Men and have him retire "happily ever after" with Madelyne and their child.
The story became more complicated in 1986 when moves by the editors and other writers to reunite the original X-Men, for the new title X-Factor
, resulted in Jean Grey's resurrection and Scott leaving his wife and son. The staffers had created a predicament that deeply compromised the character of Cyclops and left little room for Madelyne, and Cyclops' uncharacteristic (at the time) behavior has been controversial with fans ever since. It was then attempted to address these problems through a retcon
, in the 1989 Inferno
crossover, where Madelyne was not only revealed to be a clone of Jean Grey, created by Mr. Sinister to produce a child with Scott Summers, but corrupted by her anger and demonic influence into the Goblin Queen.
Asked about his intended plans for Madelyne's character, Claremont said:
Then the character was revived in 1995 as a supporting character in the pages of X-Man
, but details are ambiguous due to murky writing and conflicting editor decisions. Whether this was intended to be the true Madelyne or not was further complicated by the character later being supposedly revealed to be a Jean Grey from an alternate reality
. In the years following this conclusion (in 2000) of what has become a false start at reviving the character, Madelyne Pryor would be entirely absent and unreferenced within any X-Men related books, until Chris Claremont included the character in his non-canon
limited-series, X-Men: The End
.
However, since 2000, Marvel's writers and editors have made incredibly ironic twists to the circumstances of both Jean Grey and Cyclops.
In 2008, exactly twenty-five years since the character's debut in Uncanny X-Men
, Madelyne Pryor was supposedly brought back in the flagship X-Men title; even though in interviews over the following months, the book's writer at the time, Matt Fraction
, made contradicting statements as to whether or not it was actually Pryor at all. Not until the following year—twenty years since the Inferno retcons—was the character's identity seemingly confirmed in-story. Afterward, however, Fraction continued to be contradictory in one more interview, by describing her as not being the real Madelyne Pryor; although, what he stated has not been confirmed in the comics, as of yet.
More than a year later, Marvel attempted to conclusively settle in-print (but not in-story) all lingering questions and complications regarding the character; stating as confirmation that the Pryor that appeared in Uncanny X-Men, from 2008 to 2009, was indeed the original from the 1980s stories. (Also stated is that the "Maddy Pryor" child from Avengers Annual #10, and the "alternate Jean Grey" from X-Man #67-70, were both entirely separate characters from Madelyne Pryor.) However, all the 1990s appearances in both the X-Man
and Cable
titles are dismissed and disregarded entirely by Marvel, and they conclude by declaring her "apparently destroyed".
, where the two met during a Summers family reunion and quickly began a relationship. Mystery however surrounded her from the beginning: not only did she bear a striking resemblance to Scott's dead love, Jean Grey
/Phoenix, but was the sole survivor of an airplane crash that occurred the same day Phoenix died on the moon. In addition, Professor X
was unable to scan her mind (which, he noted, was occasionally possible among normal humans). Scott, still recovering from Jean's death, became obsessed with the idea that Madelyne was her reincarnation, eventually confronting her with his suspicions. Madelyne, furious and hurt, punched Scott and seemingly transformed into the Dark Phoenix. This, however, was revealed to be the doing of Mastermind
, who had been manipulating the X-Men for months — as revenge for being driven temporarily insane by Phoenix due to his involvement in her corruption
. After the conflict, Scott finally came to terms with the fact that Jean Grey was dead and that Madelyne was not her, and that he loved her all the same. The two were soon married, and Scott retired from active duty with the X-Men.
and the rest of the X-Men) would have a brief but dramatic encounter with the Norse trickster-god Loki
. Entirely for his own purposes, Loki magically endowed mystical powers on a small group of normal humans, transforming Madelyne into a mystical healer of virtually any injury, illness, or physical defect, and given the name "Anodyne". Among Madelyne's acts of healing was the curing of Scott's childhood head injury, enabling him to control his optic blasts without the use of ruby-quartz lenses. When it was discovered that Loki's intentions were never altruistic, and that his gift was badly flawed - as one of the costs of those powers was the loss of individual creativity and imagination - the assembled heroes turned against him. His plans ruined, Loki spitefully removed all the powers he had granted, and Madelyne and the other beneficiaries of his gifts were reverted back to their original states, as were Scott and anyone else who had been healed by Madelyne.
It was during this adventure that Madelyne's pregnancy was announced.
) alone in the X-Mansion
. When the X-Men did return, the others seemed more interested in the baby than Scott. Sensing a reluctance on Scott's part to retire to family life, a powerless Storm challenged him to a duel for leadership of the team. She won, in effect forcing him out of the X-Men and into accepting his new role as a husband and father.
Although Scott tried to live a normal family life in Alaska, he was not happy. He would often obsessively think of Jean Grey, and of his life with the X-Men. Maddie tried her best to make Scott happy, but her efforts seemed wasted. Finally Scott received a call from his former teammate Angel
that Jean Grey had miraculously been found alive. Without explaining himself, Scott left Madelyne and their son to reunite with his lost love. Furious, Maddie told him that if he were to leave, to not return. Scott left nonetheless and formed X-Factor
with his old friends from the original team of X-Men. Madelyne and young Nathan Christopher were shortly thereafter attacked by Mr. Sinister's Marauders
, and the child was kidnapped and Madelyne hospitalized. A guilt-racked and increasingly unstable Scott returned home to find his house empty, and all records of his family's existence erased.
Alone and on the run, Madelyne called the X-Men for help; they arrived and fought off another attack by the Marauders. Unable to find her son, she stayed with the X-Men as they sacrificed their lives to stop the Adversary
from remaking the world in Fall of the Mutants
. Despite Scott abandoning her, Maddie videotaped a message for him, pleading that he find their child. With the world thinking them dead, Madelyne and the X-Men were resurrected by the Omniversal Guardian Roma
and began a new era working secretly out of an abandoned Reavers
base in Australia
, and Madelyne became the team's technical support. During this time, Madelyne and her brother-in-law, Alex Summers (Havok), were growing closer; both of them were lonely — Alex himself had briefly lost his long-time love Polaris
, whose body had been temporarily taken over by the Marauder Malice
.
's treacherous Limbo
-demon, S'ym
, then invaded Madelyne's mind during her unconscious state, and offered her the power to hurt Scott just as he had hurt her. Helpless and in confusion, she unwittingly accepted the offer; the formerly heroic woman thus began the transformation into the Goblin Queen.
Madelyne kept the existence of the original X-Men as X-Factor — and of the "resurrected" Jean Grey — secret from the others. Later accidentally captured by the Genosha
ns and taken by force to their island-nation, Madelyne was subjected to psychic torture intended to transform her into a docile slave who served the state. Madelyne instinctively lashed out with some powerful subconscious abilities which caused the deaths of her torturers, but the damage was done, as the process deprived her of all motherly instincts. In the recorded images of the psychic probe performed on Madelyne, her appearance reflected her change into the Goblin Queen, while Genosha's Genegineer appeared in Mr. Sinister's outfit. Shortly after being rescued by the X-Men, Madelyne struck an additional bargain with another demon, N'astirh
, to find her missing son; also, she and Alex began an affair. Her latent telekinetic and telepathic powers fully activated, Madelyne completed her transformation into the Goblin Queen, sparking the Inferno
crossover
.
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This crossover retcon
ned a new origin for Madelyne. N'astirh took Madelyne to the orphanage in Nebraska where Scott grew up, which was actually a front for Sinister's genetic laboratory. There, Sinister revealed himself as her "father" and began to tell her all about her creation and purpose. Believing a child of Scott Summers and Jean Grey would be a mutant of great power, Sinister created a clone of Jean specifically to fall in love with Scott and produce a child. The child, it would later be revealed, was Sinister's intended secret weapon against his master Apocalypse
. When the clone hit puberty, however, Sinister was disappointed to see that she did not develop mutant powers. Later, when Phoenix took her own life, a part of the Phoenix Force—rejected by Jean in her cocoon because of the memories it contained of destroying a solar system—entered the clone and gave it life. Sinister named the clone "Madelyne Pryor", created a false background and implanted memories, and sent her to Alaska
where she and Scott Summers met and fell in love. However when Jean Grey returned, Madelyne was no longer needed and now a liability, so Sinister ordered his Marauders to kill her and abduct the child.
Those revelations and that her entire existence was nothing more than a facsimile of her hated rival Jean Grey, destroyed Madelyne's tenuous grip on sanity. N'astirh returned with her son, intending to sacrifice him to open the gates of Limbo
and ensure a permanent demonic presence on Earth. In a last ditch effort to hurt both her husband and her "father", Madelyne was now all too willing to go along with the destruction of her son Nathan Christopher.
Returning to New York City, where Inferno and the demonic invasion was already in full swing, she pitted the X-Men against Scott, Jean and the rest of X-Factor by reverting to her normal appearance and claiming that Scott wanted to take her baby away. Madelyne meanwhile convinced Alex to join her as her "Goblin Prince". She even turned Jean Grey's parents into demons and sent them to attack their own daughter: Jean facing the dilemma of defending herself without harming them.
The X-Men and X-Factor eventually defeated N'astirh, but Madelyne, determined to destroy her rival, encased herself, Jean Grey, and baby Nathan Christopher in a telekinetic bubble. The heroes broke through the bubble and Cyclops rescued his son, but Madelyne committed suicide in an attempt to telepathically take Jean with her. The Phoenix Force appeared to Jean and offered to save her, but in order to survive Jean had to integrate the tainted essence of both the Phoenix and Madelyne, gaining their memories and personalities. The teams then returned to the fresh ruins of the Mansion for a showdown with Mr. Sinister, whom they recognized as the true villain. Sinister revealed a long history of meddling in Scott's life, and Scott, with one powerful optic blast, seemingly destroyed Sinister, leaving only a smoking skeleton.
Scott was reunited with his son Nathan Christopher at the end of Inferno, and Jean, having re-absorbed her stray essence imbued in Madelyne, inherited her maternal feelings for the child and became his proxy mother. They would raise Nathan Christopher until Apocalypse
, seeing the potential threat in the child, infected him with a techno-organic virus. Dying, the child was saved by Askani
and taken 2,000 years into the future to be cured. Around this time, a mysterious new character called Cable
debuted. Cable was eventually established to be Madelyne and Scott's aged son returned from the future.
c to Nate Grey
(X-Man) — the "genetic son" of Scott Summers and Jean Grey from the alternate reality
known as the Age of Apocalypse
— when he came to Earth-616
. Under the tutelage of Selene
, Madelyne eventually served as the Hellfire Club
's Black Rook, had her memories of her previous life restored by Tessa
, and would meet her aged son Cable in an uneasy truce.
It was later revealed that Madelyne was a "psychic construct", unconsciously resurrected by Nate Grey's psionic powers. The two would be companions until, near death, Madelyne went her own way. Cyclops and Cable later encountered her psionic ghost on the astral plane
, apparently stripped of all her powers.
Soon afterwards she once again returned to the living, this time with a new revelation: this Madelyne was actually an impostor, a Jean Grey from another alternate reality. Details are ambiguous however: at one point the impostor implied that she had been impersonating the resurrected Madelyne all along, but at another time she claimed she "replaced ... Maddie several months ago."
" emerged, manipulating occasional X-Men enemy Empath
and a so-called "Hellfire Cult
". When the X-Men locate and enter the Cult's hideout, the Red Queen slips away unseen. Afterward, she takes on the guise of Cyclops' current love, Emma Frost
, and seduces him into a sexual encounter. Later, Cyclops is surprised at the sight of a familiar woman observing him from a distance, but loses her amongst a crowd; Scott tells Emma that the woman he saw was Madelyne. Almost simultaneously, the Red Queen is shown in Madripoor
, recruiting Chimera
into a new group, the "Sisterhood of Mutants
". With Martinique Jason
(recruited before the Cult's exposure) and Chimera accompanying her, the Red Queen recruited Spiral
and Lady Deathstrike
into the Sisterhood as well.
The Red Queen includes a peculiar offer to all the Sisterhood recruits: as a reward for accepting membership, each is promised the resurrection of a deceased person of her choice. Each woman joins the Red Queen for their own individual reasons, though some seem to take her strange promise seriously.
The Red Queen and her Sisterhood approach Martinique's half-sister, Lady Mastermind
, who accepts membership for the chance to bring back their father
. Later, the Red Queen and the Sisterhood perform a procedure involving Revanche
's corpse and a captive Psylocke
. The ritual reconstitutes Psylocke's original body and her mind is transplanted into it. Explaining the procedure's real purpose afterward, the Red Queen reveals her promised resurrections to be untried and uncertain; this causes some of her members to react violently against her, but she convinces them to continue following her. The Sisterhood then commences a surprise raid on the X-Men's base, quickly neutralizing several of the main X-members. Recovering from the initial attacks, the X-Men force the Sisterhood (now including a brainwashed Psylocke) to retreat, but the entire battle is only a distraction, while Madelyne steals a lock of Jean Grey's hair.
Madelyne uses the hair sample to locate Grey's gravesite, and then attempts to repeat the ritual with her corpse. However, Cyclops had arranged for Grey's body to be substituted with someone else's, and it somehow causes Madelyne to either discorporate or become absorbed into the fake; but her ultimate fate is unknown.
. These powers remained latent while she was believed to be a baseline human, but later manifested in ways that Jean's never had. As the Goblin Queen, her mutant powers were exponentially enhanced by demonic eldritch magic to the point where she could warp reality within a localized area.
As Anodyne, Madelyne possessed the ability to wield Asgardian magic that manifested as eldritch flames with the power to heal and cure. Among her beneficial actions were fixing the childhood brain injury that prevented Cyclops from controlling his optic blasts, curing Puck
of his mystically induced dwarfism, unifying Aurora
's multiple personalities, and giving Rogue
the ability to control her mutant power. When transformed into Anodyne, Madelyne also took on the stature of an Asgardian, possibly also gaining the hardier physiology and strength of that race.
After her apparent resurrection by Nate Grey, Madelyne's telepathy was reduced to a lower level, limiting her to reading minds, broadcasting her thoughts, creating illusion
s, changing or erasing memories, and defending herself against other telepaths. Her telekinesis was still considerable, such that Madelyne could lift and manipulate large objects, levitate, fire powerful mental force-blasts, form protective shields, and even rearrange objects on a molecular level. Madelyne also developed powers that Jean never possessed: she was able to teleport
over long distances by psychokinetically
shifting in and out of the astral plane
(and was shown to be able to carry along at least one other person with her when teleporting), and also able to channel psionic energies
from other psionic-powered mutants to boost her own abilities or those of another (usually Nate Grey, and on occasion Cable). Madelyne has also utilized her powers to augment her physical strength and agility, to a level of being lethal in hand-to-hand combat.
The Red Queen apparently possesses telepathy, and has other considerable powers of a mysterious nature, referred to as "magic". Also, the Red Queen is an entity, not corporeal, which is motivating most of her plans and actions. Moreover, she mentions that her previous host had been destroyed and that there were only two beings in existence that could house her disembodied form. Jean Grey was revealed to be one of the two; the other is assumed to have been Madelyne Pryor herself.
(Earth-89112), Madelyne Pryor and S'ym were successful in opening a portal between Limbo
and Earth (having killed baby Nathan Christopher) and demons overran the planet. The X-Men and X-Factor were dead (with the exception of a possessed Wolverine
), and the only resistance left was led by Doctor Strange
, who attempted to summon the Phoenix Force through Rachel Summers
, the reality-hopping daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Madelyne however was successful in quelling the resistance and wresting control of the Phoenix Force from Rachel, but was ultimately betrayed and killed by S'ym, using Wolverine's reanimated adamantium skeleton. Rachel, reassuming the mantle of the Phoenix, used the Force to cleanse the planet of the demon plague.
On Earth-9250, most mutants in the city of Manhattan
are vampire
s ruled by Wolverine. Madelyne was not infected, but became the Goblyn Queen and planned on releasing a demon army to wipe out the vampire mutants and dominate the world. Madelyne made contact with the lord of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu
, who became her ally. However, the vampiric Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) bonded with the Phoenix Force, became Dark Phoenix, and killed Madelyne and Dormammu.
Another reality saw Madelyne Pryor as a member of an "X-Men" team formed by Mr. Sinister alongside Cyclops (Scott Summers), Havok (Alex Summers), and Sabretooth
. However this version of Madelyne had never been awakened by the Phoenix Force, so she was simply a mindless shell inhabited by the psychic entity Malice
. Scott noticed his physical attraction to Madelyne, but could not respond to her advances; when he encountered Professor Xavier's X-Men and their leader Jean Grey, however, much deeper emotions were stirred. Sinister called for their deaths, and under his orders Cyclops and Havok infiltrated Xavier’s X-Men as double agents.
universe, young Scott Summers was abducted into space along with his father Christopher
and mother Kate, leaving his brother Alex to become one of the founders of the X-Men as Havok. As in the main Marvel universe
, Jean Grey died and was replaced by her clone, Madelyne Pryor. This reality's Madelyne fell in love with Alex and had a son, named Scotty, with him. She also made a deal with S'ym and N'astirh and initiated the "Inferno Crisis", unlocking her latent mental abilities. As "Marvel Woman", Madelyne survived the crisis and left with her husband when he formed the splinter group called "The Six". Her evil side resurfaced a number of times, first as the "Goblyn Queen" and later as the "Goblyn Force". When it returned a second time, it merged with the Beyonder
to form a nigh-omnipotent being. Havok supposedly saved Madelyne by placing the "Nexus of Realities" in her body, purging her of the malevolent Goblyn Force and reuniting her with her son Scotty, before Havok returned once more to the void.
title Legacy of Fire, Madelyne Pryor was reinvented as Madelyne Pyre, a powerful sorceress and possessor of the Phoenix Sword, who was training her sister Jena to be her successor.
, Chris Claremont
's limited series about an alternate future. In the story, Madelyne — through circumstances left unexplained — makes a surprise return, implied as being the first time since Inferno, with no references to Nate Grey
whatsoever, although she and Cable
are shown to be already familiar. Mysteriously joined with the X-Men's alien enemies (the Skrull
s and the Shi'ar
), Madelyne affected a disguise to infiltrate the X-Men, planting herself near Cyclops for the rest of the series. No longer insane, but still seeking revenge against her former husband, Madelyne nonetheless wavered and instead took to protecting him, after eavesdropping on Scott expressing remorse for everything that happened to her, and even implying that he genuinely loved her after all. Cyclops later admitted to having recognized her at some point, and an understanding and peace was finally reached between them, for the sake of aiding their son Cable in battle. When Cable's effort leaves him dying, a grief-stricken Madelyne is accepted back with the X-Men again. After Cyclops and Jean Grey are also killed, Madelyne cryptically reveals that, since the very beginning, she was always both Madelyne Pryor and a crucial portion of Jean Grey herself (and even hinted to being the Dark Phoenix), explaining that she was the part of Jean that truly and completely loved Scott, and that was why Jean and Scott's marriage failed. Madelyne then sacrifices herself by turning into energy and fusing with Jean Grey, who is once again resurrected. Jean is able to use her power to its fullest again, which allows her and all the dead X-Men to merge with the Phoenix and transcend to a new level of existence. In the story's final panel, Madelyne's image is present next to Cyclops' among the X-Men who died heroically.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. As the love interest and first wife of X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
leader Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
(Scott Summers), she became a long-standing member of the X-Men supporting cast, until a series of traumas — being abandoned by her husband, losing her infant son, and discovering that she was a clone of Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
— eventually led to her being manipulated into becoming a supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
. She and Cyclops are the parents of Nathan Christopher Charles Summers
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
.
Madelyne's biography has been rendered particularly complicated because of the many retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
s involved in the publication history of both her character and that of Jean Grey.
Publication history
Madelyne Pryor was introduced during the acclaimed 1983 Uncanny X-Men run that saw long-time writer Chris ClaremontChris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
pair with artist Paul Smith
Paul Smith (comics)
Paul Smith is an American comic book artist.-Early life:Smith was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but only lived there three days. His father was a U.S. Naval aviator, and the family moved several times during his childhood...
for a series of issues that would see the Jean Grey look-alike marry the retired X-Men leader Scott Summers (Cyclops)
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
.
Madelyne's hairstyle was modeled after the book's editor, Louise Jones
Louise Simonson
Louise Simonson, born Mary Louise Alexander , is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman: The Man of Steel, and Steel...
(later Louise Simonson)—a look the character would retain until 1988. Claremont named the character after Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
singer Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
. Claremont had already created a character named "Maddy Pryor", a little girl that appeared very briefly in Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
Annual
Annual publication
An annual publication, more often called simply an annual, is a book or a magazine, comic book or comic strip published yearly. For example, a weekly or monthly publication may produce an Annual featuring similar materials to the regular publication....
#10 (1981). Readers have searched for any in-story connections between the two characters, but there is none. Claremont, nonetheless, years later used the opportunity to indulge in an in-joke
In-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
: in Uncanny X-Men #238 (1988), a similar child would appear as Madelyne's mental image
Mental image
A mental image is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of perceiving some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses...
of herself, wearing the same clothes as the little girl from Avengers Annual #10, repeating the girl's same line of dialogue, but also singing "Gone to America," one of Steeleye Span's biggest hits.
According to Claremont, the original link between Madelyne Pryor and Jean Grey was entirely the product of Mastermind
Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde)
Mastermind is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #4 . He was given his "real name", Jason Wyngarde, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne.The original Mastermind was a mutant with the power to...
. Seeking revenge against the X-Men after Jean (as Phoenix) had driven him insane, Mastermind used his powers of illusion to convince Scott and the others that Madelyne was Phoenix incarnate—a cosmic threat—in an attempt to have the team kill an innocent. Mastermind's plan failed, and Madelyne and Cyclops were married shortly after the conflict was resolved. Claremont had conceived Madelyne as a device to write Scott Summers out of the X-Men and have him retire "happily ever after" with Madelyne and their child.
The story became more complicated in 1986 when moves by the editors and other writers to reunite the original X-Men, for the new title X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
, resulted in Jean Grey's resurrection and Scott leaving his wife and son. The staffers had created a predicament that deeply compromised the character of Cyclops and left little room for Madelyne, and Cyclops' uncharacteristic (at the time) behavior has been controversial with fans ever since. It was then attempted to address these problems through a retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
, in the 1989 Inferno
Inferno (Marvel Comics)
Inferno was a Marvel Comics company-wide crossover in 1989 that mainly involved the mutant titles, namely The Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, X-Terminators, Excalibur, and The New Mutants...
crossover, where Madelyne was not only revealed to be a clone of Jean Grey, created by Mr. Sinister to produce a child with Scott Summers, but corrupted by her anger and demonic influence into the Goblin Queen.
Asked about his intended plans for Madelyne's character, Claremont said:
Then the character was revived in 1995 as a supporting character in the pages of X-Man
X-man
X-Man is a fictional character and superhero in the Marvel Universe.X-Man may also refer to:*X-Man , a South Korean game show*Xavier Carter, nicknamed X-Man, American track and field athlete...
, but details are ambiguous due to murky writing and conflicting editor decisions. Whether this was intended to be the true Madelyne or not was further complicated by the character later being supposedly revealed to be a Jean Grey from an alternate reality
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
. In the years following this conclusion (in 2000) of what has become a false start at reviving the character, Madelyne Pryor would be entirely absent and unreferenced within any X-Men related books, until Chris Claremont included the character in his non-canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
limited-series, X-Men: The End
X-Men: The End
X-Men: The End is a 2004-2006 trilogy of miniseries detailing the last days of the X-Men and their adventures in a noncanon future, part of their The End series...
.
However, since 2000, Marvel's writers and editors have made incredibly ironic twists to the circumstances of both Jean Grey and Cyclops.
In 2008, exactly twenty-five years since the character's debut in Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
, Madelyne Pryor was supposedly brought back in the flagship X-Men title; even though in interviews over the following months, the book's writer at the time, Matt Fraction
Matt Fraction
Matt Fritchman, better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of The Invincible Iron Man, The Immortal Iron Fist and Uncanny X-Men for Marvel Comics and Casanova for Image Comics.-Career:Fraction wrote two...
, made contradicting statements as to whether or not it was actually Pryor at all. Not until the following year—twenty years since the Inferno retcons—was the character's identity seemingly confirmed in-story. Afterward, however, Fraction continued to be contradictory in one more interview, by describing her as not being the real Madelyne Pryor; although, what he stated has not been confirmed in the comics, as of yet.
More than a year later, Marvel attempted to conclusively settle in-print (but not in-story) all lingering questions and complications regarding the character; stating as confirmation that the Pryor that appeared in Uncanny X-Men, from 2008 to 2009, was indeed the original from the 1980s stories. (Also stated is that the "Maddy Pryor" child from Avengers Annual #10, and the "alternate Jean Grey" from X-Man #67-70, were both entirely separate characters from Madelyne Pryor.) However, all the 1990s appearances in both the X-Man
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
and Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
titles are dismissed and disregarded entirely by Marvel, and they conclude by declaring her "apparently destroyed".
Fictional character biography
Whirlwind Romance
Madelyne Pryor was an Alaskan charter pilot working for the grandparents of Cyclops (Scott Summers)Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
, where the two met during a Summers family reunion and quickly began a relationship. Mystery however surrounded her from the beginning: not only did she bear a striking resemblance to Scott's dead love, Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
/Phoenix, but was the sole survivor of an airplane crash that occurred the same day Phoenix died on the moon. In addition, Professor X
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
was unable to scan her mind (which, he noted, was occasionally possible among normal humans). Scott, still recovering from Jean's death, became obsessed with the idea that Madelyne was her reincarnation, eventually confronting her with his suspicions. Madelyne, furious and hurt, punched Scott and seemingly transformed into the Dark Phoenix. This, however, was revealed to be the doing of Mastermind
Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde)
Mastermind is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #4 . He was given his "real name", Jason Wyngarde, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne.The original Mastermind was a mutant with the power to...
, who had been manipulating the X-Men for months — as revenge for being driven temporarily insane by Phoenix due to his involvement in her corruption
Dark Phoenix Saga
"The Dark Phoenix Saga" is an extended X-Men storyline in the fictional , focusing on Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force, and ending in Grey's apparent death...
. After the conflict, Scott finally came to terms with the fact that Jean Grey was dead and that Madelyne was not her, and that he loved her all the same. The two were soon married, and Scott retired from active duty with the X-Men.
Anodyne
Giving up the life of an adventurer proved harder for Scott than imagined. Early in Madelyne and Scott's marriage, they (along with Alpha FlightAlpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional superhero team published by Marvel Comics, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 ....
and the rest of the X-Men) would have a brief but dramatic encounter with the Norse trickster-god Loki
Loki (comics)
Loki is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. He is the adoptive brother and archenemy of the superhero Thor. He is based on the being of the same name from Norse mythology...
. Entirely for his own purposes, Loki magically endowed mystical powers on a small group of normal humans, transforming Madelyne into a mystical healer of virtually any injury, illness, or physical defect, and given the name "Anodyne". Among Madelyne's acts of healing was the curing of Scott's childhood head injury, enabling him to control his optic blasts without the use of ruby-quartz lenses. When it was discovered that Loki's intentions were never altruistic, and that his gift was badly flawed - as one of the costs of those powers was the loss of individual creativity and imagination - the assembled heroes turned against him. His plans ruined, Loki spitefully removed all the powers he had granted, and Madelyne and the other beneficiaries of his gifts were reverted back to their original states, as were Scott and anyone else who had been healed by Madelyne.
It was during this adventure that Madelyne's pregnancy was announced.
Abandonment
Madelyne gave birth to a baby boy (Nathan Christopher Charles SummersCable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
) alone in the X-Mansion
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
. When the X-Men did return, the others seemed more interested in the baby than Scott. Sensing a reluctance on Scott's part to retire to family life, a powerless Storm challenged him to a duel for leadership of the team. She won, in effect forcing him out of the X-Men and into accepting his new role as a husband and father.
Although Scott tried to live a normal family life in Alaska, he was not happy. He would often obsessively think of Jean Grey, and of his life with the X-Men. Maddie tried her best to make Scott happy, but her efforts seemed wasted. Finally Scott received a call from his former teammate Angel
Archangel (comics)
Warren Kenneth Worthington III is a fictional character, a comic book antihero in the Marvel Comics universe. Originally known as Angel and later Archangel, Worthington is one of the founding members of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-creator Jack Kirby, he first appeared in...
that Jean Grey had miraculously been found alive. Without explaining himself, Scott left Madelyne and their son to reunite with his lost love. Furious, Maddie told him that if he were to leave, to not return. Scott left nonetheless and formed X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
with his old friends from the original team of X-Men. Madelyne and young Nathan Christopher were shortly thereafter attacked by Mr. Sinister's Marauders
Marauders (comics)
The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr., the team first appear in Uncanny X-Men #210 The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters in comic books published by...
, and the child was kidnapped and Madelyne hospitalized. A guilt-racked and increasingly unstable Scott returned home to find his house empty, and all records of his family's existence erased.
Alone and on the run, Madelyne called the X-Men for help; they arrived and fought off another attack by the Marauders. Unable to find her son, she stayed with the X-Men as they sacrificed their lives to stop the Adversary
Adversary (comics)
The Adversary is a fictional character, a demonic supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:The Adversary first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #187-188 , and was created by Chris Claremont and John Romita, Jr....
from remaking the world in Fall of the Mutants
Fall of the Mutants
"The Fall of the Mutants" was a comic book crossover event by Marvel Comics spanning January to March 1988. It spanned three issues each of The Uncanny X-Men , X-Factor , and The New Mutants ; unlike most crossovers however, the various titles' storylines did not intertwine, but were instead linked...
. Despite Scott abandoning her, Maddie videotaped a message for him, pleading that he find their child. With the world thinking them dead, Madelyne and the X-Men were resurrected by the Omniversal Guardian Roma
Roma (comics)
Roma is a fictional character featured in numerous Marvel Comics titles. She is the daughter of Merlyn. Roma is the Omniversal Guardian, charged with the safety of the Omniverse...
and began a new era working secretly out of an abandoned Reavers
Reavers (comics)
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe the Reavers are a team of criminal cyborgs. The most significant team of Reavers were dedicated to the destruction of the mutant X-Men, and a number of them especially wanted to take revenge on one particular X-Man, Wolverine. The name was originally used by...
base in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Madelyne became the team's technical support. During this time, Madelyne and her brother-in-law, Alex Summers (Havok), were growing closer; both of them were lonely — Alex himself had briefly lost his long-time love Polaris
Polaris (comics)
Polaris is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books. Created by Arnold Drake, Don Heck, Werner Roth and Jim Steranko, Polaris first appeared in The X-Men #49...
, whose body had been temporarily taken over by the Marauder Malice
Malice (comics)
Malice is the name of four separate fictional comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The original Malice was a minion of Killmonger, an enemy of Black Panther. The second was a short-lived Ghost Rider villain...
.
Demonic Corruption
Monitoring news transmissions, Madelyne learned that Jean Grey was alive and with Scott. Seeing the evidence of Scott's betrayal, Madelyne punched the computer monitor's screen, breaking it and causing electrical feedback that rendered her unconscious. Illyana RasputinMagik (comics)
Magik is a Marvel Comics character, associated with the X-Men. She is the younger sister of the Russian X-Man Colossus.-Publication history:...
's treacherous Limbo
Otherplace
Otherplace, is a fictional location in titles published by Marvel Comics. The concept debuted in Uncanny X-Men #160, and was created by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson.-History:...
-demon, S'ym
S'ym
S'ym is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe, a demon of Limbo who served as a frequent enemy and sometimes supporting character in The Uncanny X-Men and The New Mutants...
, then invaded Madelyne's mind during her unconscious state, and offered her the power to hurt Scott just as he had hurt her. Helpless and in confusion, she unwittingly accepted the offer; the formerly heroic woman thus began the transformation into the Goblin Queen.
Madelyne kept the existence of the original X-Men as X-Factor — and of the "resurrected" Jean Grey — secret from the others. Later accidentally captured by the Genosha
Genosha
Genosha is a fictional country that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is an island nation that exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as "Earth 616" in the Marvel Universe. The fictional nation served as an allegory for slavery and later for South...
ns and taken by force to their island-nation, Madelyne was subjected to psychic torture intended to transform her into a docile slave who served the state. Madelyne instinctively lashed out with some powerful subconscious abilities which caused the deaths of her torturers, but the damage was done, as the process deprived her of all motherly instincts. In the recorded images of the psychic probe performed on Madelyne, her appearance reflected her change into the Goblin Queen, while Genosha's Genegineer appeared in Mr. Sinister's outfit. Shortly after being rescued by the X-Men, Madelyne struck an additional bargain with another demon, N'astirh
N'astirh
N'astirh is a fictional character created by Marvel Comics as a demonic inhabitant of Limbo. He first appeared in X-Factor #32 and was created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.-Fictional character biography:...
, to find her missing son; also, she and Alex began an affair. Her latent telekinetic and telepathic powers fully activated, Madelyne completed her transformation into the Goblin Queen, sparking the Inferno
Inferno (Marvel Comics)
Inferno was a Marvel Comics company-wide crossover in 1989 that mainly involved the mutant titles, namely The Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, X-Terminators, Excalibur, and The New Mutants...
crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
.
Inferno
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned a new origin for Madelyne. N'astirh took Madelyne to the orphanage in Nebraska where Scott grew up, which was actually a front for Sinister's genetic laboratory. There, Sinister revealed himself as her "father" and began to tell her all about her creation and purpose. Believing a child of Scott Summers and Jean Grey would be a mutant of great power, Sinister created a clone of Jean specifically to fall in love with Scott and produce a child. The child, it would later be revealed, was Sinister's intended secret weapon against his master Apocalypse
Apocalypse (comics)
Apocalypse is a fictional character who is an ancient mutant that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Factor #5 , created by writer Louise Simonson and designed by artist Walter Simonson...
. When the clone hit puberty, however, Sinister was disappointed to see that she did not develop mutant powers. Later, when Phoenix took her own life, a part of the Phoenix Force—rejected by Jean in her cocoon because of the memories it contained of destroying a solar system—entered the clone and gave it life. Sinister named the clone "Madelyne Pryor", created a false background and implanted memories, and sent her to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
where she and Scott Summers met and fell in love. However when Jean Grey returned, Madelyne was no longer needed and now a liability, so Sinister ordered his Marauders to kill her and abduct the child.
Those revelations and that her entire existence was nothing more than a facsimile of her hated rival Jean Grey, destroyed Madelyne's tenuous grip on sanity. N'astirh returned with her son, intending to sacrifice him to open the gates of Limbo
Otherplace
Otherplace, is a fictional location in titles published by Marvel Comics. The concept debuted in Uncanny X-Men #160, and was created by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson.-History:...
and ensure a permanent demonic presence on Earth. In a last ditch effort to hurt both her husband and her "father", Madelyne was now all too willing to go along with the destruction of her son Nathan Christopher.
Returning to New York City, where Inferno and the demonic invasion was already in full swing, she pitted the X-Men against Scott, Jean and the rest of X-Factor by reverting to her normal appearance and claiming that Scott wanted to take her baby away. Madelyne meanwhile convinced Alex to join her as her "Goblin Prince". She even turned Jean Grey's parents into demons and sent them to attack their own daughter: Jean facing the dilemma of defending herself without harming them.
The X-Men and X-Factor eventually defeated N'astirh, but Madelyne, determined to destroy her rival, encased herself, Jean Grey, and baby Nathan Christopher in a telekinetic bubble. The heroes broke through the bubble and Cyclops rescued his son, but Madelyne committed suicide in an attempt to telepathically take Jean with her. The Phoenix Force appeared to Jean and offered to save her, but in order to survive Jean had to integrate the tainted essence of both the Phoenix and Madelyne, gaining their memories and personalities. The teams then returned to the fresh ruins of the Mansion for a showdown with Mr. Sinister, whom they recognized as the true villain. Sinister revealed a long history of meddling in Scott's life, and Scott, with one powerful optic blast, seemingly destroyed Sinister, leaving only a smoking skeleton.
Scott was reunited with his son Nathan Christopher at the end of Inferno, and Jean, having re-absorbed her stray essence imbued in Madelyne, inherited her maternal feelings for the child and became his proxy mother. They would raise Nathan Christopher until Apocalypse
Apocalypse (comics)
Apocalypse is a fictional character who is an ancient mutant that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Factor #5 , created by writer Louise Simonson and designed by artist Walter Simonson...
, seeing the potential threat in the child, infected him with a techno-organic virus. Dying, the child was saved by Askani
Askani
The Askani are fictional characters, a fictional organization in the Marvel Universe in the future/alternate timeline designated as Earth-4935, also known as Earth Askani...
and taken 2,000 years into the future to be cured. Around this time, a mysterious new character called Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
debuted. Cable was eventually established to be Madelyne and Scott's aged son returned from the future.
Return?
Madelyne mysteriously reappeared many years later as an amnesiaAmnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c to Nate Grey
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
(X-Man) — the "genetic son" of Scott Summers and Jean Grey from the alternate reality
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
known as the Age of Apocalypse
Age of Apocalypse
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
— when he came to Earth-616
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
. Under the tutelage of Selene
Selene (comics)
Selene Gallio is a fictional character, a comic book supervillainess from the Marvel Comics universe. She is a mutant, and an enemy of the X-Men often associated with the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle.-Publication history:...
, Madelyne eventually served as the Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club (comics)
The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics Universe that often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men...
's Black Rook, had her memories of her previous life restored by Tessa
Sage (comics)
Sage, also known as Tessa, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She has most often been associated with the X-Men and the Hellfire Club, whom she spied upon for Professor Charles Xavier....
, and would meet her aged son Cable in an uneasy truce.
It was later revealed that Madelyne was a "psychic construct", unconsciously resurrected by Nate Grey's psionic powers. The two would be companions until, near death, Madelyne went her own way. Cyclops and Cable later encountered her psionic ghost on the astral plane
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
, apparently stripped of all her powers.
Soon afterwards she once again returned to the living, this time with a new revelation: this Madelyne was actually an impostor, a Jean Grey from another alternate reality. Details are ambiguous however: at one point the impostor implied that she had been impersonating the resurrected Madelyne all along, but at another time she claimed she "replaced ... Maddie several months ago."
Red Queen
Recently, a mysterious woman calling herself the "Red QueenRed Queen (comics)
Red Queen, in comics, may refer to:*Marvel Comics characters:**Members of the London branch of the Hellfire Club, where the rank is equivalent to White Queen:***Margali Szardos***Psylocke, in the Days of Future Past timeline...
" emerged, manipulating occasional X-Men enemy Empath
Empath (comics)
Empath , is a fictional mutant in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Empath was created by Chris Claremont and Sal Buscema and first appeared in New Mutants #16-17 as a member of Emma Frost's original Hellions.The character subsequently appears in The Uncanny X-Men #193 , Firestar #2-4...
and a so-called "Hellfire Cult
Hellfire Club (comics)
The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics Universe that often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men...
". When the X-Men locate and enter the Cult's hideout, the Red Queen slips away unseen. Afterward, she takes on the guise of Cyclops' current love, Emma Frost
Emma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
, and seduces him into a sexual encounter. Later, Cyclops is surprised at the sight of a familiar woman observing him from a distance, but loses her amongst a crowd; Scott tells Emma that the woman he saw was Madelyne. Almost simultaneously, the Red Queen is shown in Madripoor
Madripoor
The Principality of Madripoor is a fictional island located in Southeast Asia in the Marvel Comics universe. Based on illustrations, it is in the southern portion of the Strait of Malacca, southwest of Singapore.-Publication history:...
, recruiting Chimera
Chimera (comics)
Chimera is a fictional mutant character in the Marvel Comics Universe. Her first appearance was in Wolverine vol. 2 #97.-Fictional character biography:...
into a new group, the "Sisterhood of Mutants
Brotherhood of Mutants
The Brotherhood of Mutants, originally known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, is a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain team devoted to mutant superiority over normal humans. They are among the chief adversaries of the X-Men...
". With Martinique Jason
Mastermind (Martinique Jason)
Martinique Jason , also known as Mastermind, is a fictional mutant supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Wolverine/Gambit: Victims #1 as a 'dead' woman in an illusion, and in issue #2 as herself. She was created by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale...
(recruited before the Cult's exposure) and Chimera accompanying her, the Red Queen recruited Spiral
Spiral (comics)
Spiral is a fictional character, a supervillainess in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in the Longshot miniseries by Ann Nocenti and Art Adams.-Fictional character biography:...
and Lady Deathstrike
Lady Deathstrike
Lady Deathstrike , occasionally spelled "Deathstryke", is a Marvel Comics supervillain, a foe of the X-Men, especially Wolverine.Her father Lord Dark Wind created the adamantium-bonding process that was forced on Wolverine...
into the Sisterhood as well.
The Red Queen includes a peculiar offer to all the Sisterhood recruits: as a reward for accepting membership, each is promised the resurrection of a deceased person of her choice. Each woman joins the Red Queen for their own individual reasons, though some seem to take her strange promise seriously.
The Red Queen and her Sisterhood approach Martinique's half-sister, Lady Mastermind
Lady Mastermind
Lady Mastermind is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared as Regan Wyngarde in X-Treme X-Men #6 and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Salvador Larroca....
, who accepts membership for the chance to bring back their father
Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde)
Mastermind is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #4 . He was given his "real name", Jason Wyngarde, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne.The original Mastermind was a mutant with the power to...
. Later, the Red Queen and the Sisterhood perform a procedure involving Revanche
Revanche
Revanche was a short-lived Marvel Comics character, associated with the X-Men. She was created by writer Fabian Nicieza and first appeared in X-Men -Fictional character biography:...
's corpse and a captive Psylocke
Psylocke
Psylocke is a fictional character depicted in comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably those comics featuring the superhero team the X-Men. The character has also appeared in licensed adaptations. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, she first appeared in the UK...
. The ritual reconstitutes Psylocke's original body and her mind is transplanted into it. Explaining the procedure's real purpose afterward, the Red Queen reveals her promised resurrections to be untried and uncertain; this causes some of her members to react violently against her, but she convinces them to continue following her. The Sisterhood then commences a surprise raid on the X-Men's base, quickly neutralizing several of the main X-members. Recovering from the initial attacks, the X-Men force the Sisterhood (now including a brainwashed Psylocke) to retreat, but the entire battle is only a distraction, while Madelyne steals a lock of Jean Grey's hair.
Madelyne uses the hair sample to locate Grey's gravesite, and then attempts to repeat the ritual with her corpse. However, Cyclops had arranged for Grey's body to be substituted with someone else's, and it somehow causes Madelyne to either discorporate or become absorbed into the fake; but her ultimate fate is unknown.
Powers and abilities
As a clone of Jean Grey, Madelyne Pryor also possessed mutant abilities of telekinesis and telepathyTelepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
. These powers remained latent while she was believed to be a baseline human, but later manifested in ways that Jean's never had. As the Goblin Queen, her mutant powers were exponentially enhanced by demonic eldritch magic to the point where she could warp reality within a localized area.
As Anodyne, Madelyne possessed the ability to wield Asgardian magic that manifested as eldritch flames with the power to heal and cure. Among her beneficial actions were fixing the childhood brain injury that prevented Cyclops from controlling his optic blasts, curing Puck
Puck (comics)
Puck is the codename of two fictional characters, a father and daughter pair who are both members of Alpha Flight, in the Marvel Comics universe.-Puck :...
of his mystically induced dwarfism, unifying Aurora
Aurora (comics)
Aurora is a fictional character, a Canadian superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. She is the twin sister of Northstar and the former lover of Sasquatch. She has also been in a relationship with Wild Child....
's multiple personalities, and giving Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
the ability to control her mutant power. When transformed into Anodyne, Madelyne also took on the stature of an Asgardian, possibly also gaining the hardier physiology and strength of that race.
After her apparent resurrection by Nate Grey, Madelyne's telepathy was reduced to a lower level, limiting her to reading minds, broadcasting her thoughts, creating illusion
Illusion
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....
s, changing or erasing memories, and defending herself against other telepaths. Her telekinesis was still considerable, such that Madelyne could lift and manipulate large objects, levitate, fire powerful mental force-blasts, form protective shields, and even rearrange objects on a molecular level. Madelyne also developed powers that Jean never possessed: she was able to teleport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
over long distances by psychokinetically
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
shifting in and out of the astral plane
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
(and was shown to be able to carry along at least one other person with her when teleporting), and also able to channel psionic energies
Psionics
Psionics refers to the practice, study, or psychic ability of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena. Examples of this include telepathy, telekinesis, and other workings of the outside world through the psyche.-History and terminology:...
from other psionic-powered mutants to boost her own abilities or those of another (usually Nate Grey, and on occasion Cable). Madelyne has also utilized her powers to augment her physical strength and agility, to a level of being lethal in hand-to-hand combat.
The Red Queen apparently possesses telepathy, and has other considerable powers of a mysterious nature, referred to as "magic". Also, the Red Queen is an entity, not corporeal, which is motivating most of her plans and actions. Moreover, she mentions that her previous host had been destroyed and that there were only two beings in existence that could house her disembodied form. Jean Grey was revealed to be one of the two; the other is assumed to have been Madelyne Pryor herself.
What If...?
In one alternate realityParallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
(Earth-89112), Madelyne Pryor and S'ym were successful in opening a portal between Limbo
Otherplace
Otherplace, is a fictional location in titles published by Marvel Comics. The concept debuted in Uncanny X-Men #160, and was created by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson.-History:...
and Earth (having killed baby Nathan Christopher) and demons overran the planet. The X-Men and X-Factor were dead (with the exception of a possessed Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
), and the only resistance left was led by Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
, who attempted to summon the Phoenix Force through Rachel Summers
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne for Marvel Comics....
, the reality-hopping daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Madelyne however was successful in quelling the resistance and wresting control of the Phoenix Force from Rachel, but was ultimately betrayed and killed by S'ym, using Wolverine's reanimated adamantium skeleton. Rachel, reassuming the mantle of the Phoenix, used the Force to cleanse the planet of the demon plague.
On Earth-9250, most mutants in the city of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
are vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s ruled by Wolverine. Madelyne was not infected, but became the Goblyn Queen and planned on releasing a demon army to wipe out the vampire mutants and dominate the world. Madelyne made contact with the lord of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu
Dormammu
Dormammu is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Strange Tales #126 Dormammu is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Strange Tales #126 Dormammu is a...
, who became her ally. However, the vampiric Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) bonded with the Phoenix Force, became Dark Phoenix, and killed Madelyne and Dormammu.
Another reality saw Madelyne Pryor as a member of an "X-Men" team formed by Mr. Sinister alongside Cyclops (Scott Summers), Havok (Alex Summers), and Sabretooth
Sabretooth (comics)
Sabretooth is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne. The character first appeared in Iron Fist #14...
. However this version of Madelyne had never been awakened by the Phoenix Force, so she was simply a mindless shell inhabited by the psychic entity Malice
Malice (comics)
Malice is the name of four separate fictional comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The original Malice was a minion of Killmonger, an enemy of Black Panther. The second was a short-lived Ghost Rider villain...
. Scott noticed his physical attraction to Madelyne, but could not respond to her advances; when he encountered Professor Xavier's X-Men and their leader Jean Grey, however, much deeper emotions were stirred. Sinister called for their deaths, and under his orders Cyclops and Havok infiltrated Xavier’s X-Men as double agents.
Mutant X
In the alternate reality known as the Mutant XMutant X (comics)
Mutant X was a comic book published by Marvel Comics featuring Havok, a mutant and former member of the X-Men, who was transported into a parallel dimension. It was written by Howard Mackie....
universe, young Scott Summers was abducted into space along with his father Christopher
Corsair (comics)
Corsair is a fictional character, a star-faring hero in the Marvel Comics universe. He leads the space-faring team the Starjammers and was best known as the father of X-Men superheroes Cyclops, Havok, and Vulcan...
and mother Kate, leaving his brother Alex to become one of the founders of the X-Men as Havok. As in the main Marvel universe
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
, Jean Grey died and was replaced by her clone, Madelyne Pryor. This reality's Madelyne fell in love with Alex and had a son, named Scotty, with him. She also made a deal with S'ym and N'astirh and initiated the "Inferno Crisis", unlocking her latent mental abilities. As "Marvel Woman", Madelyne survived the crisis and left with her husband when he formed the splinter group called "The Six". Her evil side resurfaced a number of times, first as the "Goblyn Queen" and later as the "Goblyn Force". When it returned a second time, it merged with the Beyonder
Beyonder
The Beyonder is a fictional character in . Created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, the immensely powerful Beyonder first appeared in Secret Wars vol. 1 #1 as an unseen force. He reappears in Secret Wars II #1 , which was created by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom.-Publication history:The Beyonder was a...
to form a nigh-omnipotent being. Havok supposedly saved Madelyne by placing the "Nexus of Realities" in her body, purging her of the malevolent Goblyn Force and reuniting her with her son Scotty, before Havok returned once more to the void.
Marvel Mangaverse
In the Marvel MangaverseMarvel Mangaverse
The Marvel Mangaverse is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2002, with a sequel "New Mangaverse" released in late 2005 and early 2006....
title Legacy of Fire, Madelyne Pryor was reinvented as Madelyne Pyre, a powerful sorceress and possessor of the Phoenix Sword, who was training her sister Jena to be her successor.
X-Men: The End
Madelyne Pryor appears in an important role late in X-Men: The EndX-Men: The End
X-Men: The End is a 2004-2006 trilogy of miniseries detailing the last days of the X-Men and their adventures in a noncanon future, part of their The End series...
, Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
's limited series about an alternate future. In the story, Madelyne — through circumstances left unexplained — makes a surprise return, implied as being the first time since Inferno, with no references to Nate Grey
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
whatsoever, although she and Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
are shown to be already familiar. Mysteriously joined with the X-Men's alien enemies (the Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
s and the Shi'ar
Shi'ar
The Shi'ar are a fictional species of aliens in the Marvel Comics universe. The Shi'ar Empire also called the Aerie, is a vast collection of alien species, cultures and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Empires, and alongside them, is one of the three main alien empires...
), Madelyne affected a disguise to infiltrate the X-Men, planting herself near Cyclops for the rest of the series. No longer insane, but still seeking revenge against her former husband, Madelyne nonetheless wavered and instead took to protecting him, after eavesdropping on Scott expressing remorse for everything that happened to her, and even implying that he genuinely loved her after all. Cyclops later admitted to having recognized her at some point, and an understanding and peace was finally reached between them, for the sake of aiding their son Cable in battle. When Cable's effort leaves him dying, a grief-stricken Madelyne is accepted back with the X-Men again. After Cyclops and Jean Grey are also killed, Madelyne cryptically reveals that, since the very beginning, she was always both Madelyne Pryor and a crucial portion of Jean Grey herself (and even hinted to being the Dark Phoenix), explaining that she was the part of Jean that truly and completely loved Scott, and that was why Jean and Scott's marriage failed. Madelyne then sacrifices herself by turning into energy and fusing with Jean Grey, who is once again resurrected. Jean is able to use her power to its fullest again, which allows her and all the dead X-Men to merge with the Phoenix and transcend to a new level of existence. In the story's final panel, Madelyne's image is present next to Cyclops' among the X-Men who died heroically.