In this review of What If…? Uncanny X-Men #1, Uatu the Watcher takes us to a different world in which Cyclops stayed with Madelyne Pryor and their son, Nathan, to dooming consequences.
WHAT IF…? UNCANNY X-MEN #1
Written by: Gerry Duggan
Art by: Jan Bazaldua
Main Cover by: Lucas Werneck
Variant Covers: Mark Buckingham, Germán Peralta, Mahmud Asrar, Stefano Caselli, Michele Bandini
Page Count: 29 Pages
Release Date: Jun 3, 2026
This review contains spoilers
In the alternate universe of What If…? Uncanny X-Men #1, Madelyne Pryor is saved by X-Factor at the end of the Inferno storyline. Scott decides to stay with her and their unborn child–instead of the original storyline where he abandoned them for the returning Jean Grey–because he knows the pain of growing up fatherless. Jean visits Mr. Sinister–Madelyne’s creator–and uses her telepathy to remove all knowledge of Madelyne and the birth of Nathan Summers from his mind. Eventually, she leaves Earth.
Cyclops and Madelyne attempt to give Nathan a normal childhood. However, one day he discovers he has powers, alongside uncovering the truth about his parents’ involvement in the X-Men. Nathan resolves to become a superhero, going by the name Cable.
The Summers form their own superhero group and become widely popular among humans due to their lighthearted family dynamics. Eventually, they rejoin the X-Men.
Mr. Sinister ends up regaining his memories and plots revenge. He believes Madelyne wiped his memories, and consequently slaughters many residents of the X-Mansion, alongside Cyclops and Pryor.
Cable returns from a mission and witnesses the aftermath. He saves Cyclops but cannot save Maddie. The father-son duo form X-Force alongside Colossus, Wolverine, & Domino, taking a much darker philosophy compared to the regular X-Men. They take their revenge against Sinister and his forces, brutally killing them.
Their missions continue on, eventually facing the Arakkii. During the war, Cable gets killed and Cyclops feels failure. In dread, Scott lasers Sobunar, whose death releases the ocean his body held and globally ruins sea levels. Human governments launch nuclear warheads onto the battlefield and start conflict with the Arakkii, eventually creating an uninhabitable Earth.
Analysis
The contrast in the newspaper is really well done. The Daily Bugle is portraying the Summers as heroes while it’s juxtaposed next to a picture of Spider-Man and the iconic “Spider-Menace” headline. It’s an interesting and rare twist to show a group of mutants so loved as the Summers here, while a non-mutant hero like Spider-Man is being hated. It makes the emotional impact of Maddie’s death harder, since they were riding a high.
The X-Mansion’s genocide panels are haunting, nearly on the level of the introduction to God Loves, Man Kills. Due to that, I don’t like Wolverine’s smile drawn in the X-Factor’s revenge scenes. It suits the idea of X-Force willingly embracing a darker philosophy under Cyclops’ guidance, but I can’t imagine Logan sporting a smile after a mutant genocide, even if it’s to achieve revenge.
On the topic of characters, it’s interesting to note that Jean inadvertently caused Maddie’s death and the Earth’s ruin, which is a common theme for her character. But she’s not here to experience it or express her feelings on it. It’s a missed opportunity for me, as it’s one of the more interesting storylines in this issue, but it’s implied as being saved for a future book.
In contrast, Maddie is simply a plot anchor and barely her own character. Hollow is the word I’d use to describe her presence, as despite her being a mainstay in the premise, it barely features her or dives into her and Scott’s complexities. If we didn’t get to see more of Cyclops and Pryor actually being together–the hook for the plot–I’d rather have seen more Jean.
Outside of the X-Mansion raid, none of these plot points really packed an emotional punch. There’s a rush towards a depressing climax while brushing the surface of popular X-Men storylines–such as X-Force, X of Swords, and Krakoa–without proper build up. And then we reach the end in what feels like a blink. I didn’t walk away from the book feeling like I’ll hold onto anything I read, it was mostly a blur.
Final Thoughts
What If…? Uncanny X-Men #1 has a very intriguing premise for long-time X-Men fans, but doesn’t properly capture it. Its main benefit was setting up a future Phoenix book, but it comes at a cost as the issue could have desperately used her within the story.
