Marvel Returns the X-Men and Psylocke to Australia With 'X-Men Outback' in June

BleedingCool: Announced at ComicsPRO by Marvel's David Gabriel is the news that the next Marvel retro series will be X-Men: Outback, returning to the time after the Fall Of The Mutants when the X-Men hid in the Australian outback and discovered the teleporting Aboriginal mutant, Gateway. And Steve Orlando and Stephen Segovia will be returning the mutants down under.

David Gabriel says, "Steve gave me some notes this morning to tell you what's happening in this book. You are going to see the first time that Sabertooth appeared in the Australian outback. You're gonna discover a secret branch of the Rasputin family bloodline. You're gonna meet the new character, the God Of The Rivers. And he's going to be introducing the all-new Australian version of the Morlocks, and he's also bringing the first appearance of a new character, Cliffhanger."

The X-Men Outback period ran from 1988 to 1990 in Uncanny X-Men during Chris Claremont's long run as writer. The X-Men had appeared to sacrifice themselves and die while battling the demonic entity known as the Adversary in Dallas. The world believed the team was gone forever. In reality, the goddess Roma resurrected them and magically transported the survivors to a remote, abandoned mining town in the Australian Outback. This gave the team a fresh start: they were presumed dead, allowing them to operate in secrecy without the constant scrutiny or attacks that came with their old Westchester mansion base. The X-Men took over the high-tech headquarters of the Reavers, a gang of vicious, cybernetically enhanced mercenaries and thieves who were originally tied to the Hellfire Club. The town, called Cooterman's Creek, looked like a dusty ghost town on the surface but hid advanced computer systems and defenses. Roma's magic made the base invisible to machines, spells, and detection, giving the team true anonymity. The team included Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Psyclocke, Colossus, Havok, Dazzler, Longshot, and saw Gateway and Jubillee join the team. It lasted only about 20-plus issues, but it introduced lasting concepts like Genosha and showcased a more mature, world-weary X-Men.