Ashes to Ashes

• Writer - Louise Simonson
• Penciler - Walt Simonson
• Inker - Al Milgrom
• Lettering - Joe Rosen
• Colorist - Gregory Wright
• Editor - Bob Harras
• Editor in Chief - Tom Defalco

Inferno

Summary

  This issue is part of the Inferno crossover.

  Sinister and Polaris have defeated most of X-Factor and the X-Men (Uncanny X-Men 243), and Sinister has Jean captive. As the fight is renewed, each hero confronts Sinister in turn and is defeated again.

  Scott realizes that Sinister had visited him when he was a child, triggered his optic blast, and put him in a coma. Sinister controlled the orphanage where Scott and Havok were raised, he created Madelyne Pryor as a Jean's clone, later destroyed her and abducted her child. He placed blocks in Scott's mind and gave him his first ruby quartz glasses to control his optic blast.

  Warren defeats Malice/Polaris, while the rest of the heroes free Jean. Havok blasts Scott, recharging him, while accusing him of being Sinister's puppet in order to enrage him and free him from Sinister's mind control. When Sinister tries to capture Jean again, Scott blasts him into little pieces and declares him "gone forever."