The Uncanny X-Men #209
The X-Men and the Hellfire Club stand, facing Nimrod, who hovers over them. Elsewhere, Rachel senses Nimrod, but runs away, figuring the X-Men don't want her around. Rogue comes bursting out of the ground, where she stole Colossus's powers last issue, stunning Harry Leland, who was increasing Colossus's mass. Storm sends Kitty into the ground after Colossus. Some Hellfire goons fire at Storm from behind, but Callisto tackles her out of the way. Wolverine and Nightcrawler teleport in. Wolverine asks the goons if they want to party, but they toss aside their weapons and flee.
Rogue battles with Sebastian Shaw, avoiding hitting him and powering him up. She instead chucks him at Nimrod who hits Shaw with an energy field ("reversed gravimetric polarity") that blasts him straight up, headed for space. Selene, finding that her powers can't affect him, attacks Nimrod by flinging rocks at him, but he easily destroys them. Storm instructs Callisto and Caliban to find Rachel and keep her safe, no matter what happens. Rogue flies interference with Nimrod. (Rogue thinks, "When we first tusseled -- long before ah joined the X-Men -- Shaw near punched my ticket." This story has never been told. I believe it must be a reference to stories Chris Claremont had planned for Ms. Marvel.)
Storm tells Leland, who has recovered, that they must team up against Nimrod. Von Roehm attacks Storm, but Wolverine knocks him away. Before he can attack again, Nimrod disintegrates him. The weather turns nasty and Rogue wonders if it's Storm's doing. (That's the end of Von Roehm. He didn't last long or do much. Once again we see the possibility that Storm has unconscious access to her powers.)
Kitty finally gets ahold of Colossus, noting that he's turned back to metal. That leaves Rogue without his powers and Nimrod quickly takes her out by generating a "Shockweb." Rachel wonders if she should help, but hears music. When she goes to investigate, she finds a strange structure, and a woman welcomes her to the "Body Shoppe." Rachel says there was just a stage there, and the woman says that it's magic. Rachel sees herself as a normal girl, and the woman says it's what she could have been and could still be if she likes.
At the park Storm instructs Leland to drag Nimrod to the ground, but Nimrod strikes out with a blast. Selene defends him, and Storm tells him not to let up. Meanwhile, the police notice the fireworks that the battle is sending up. Nightcrawler says that he will teleport a piece of him away, the way Rogue did in their previous battle, using his powers. Storm tells him no, saying that Nimrod will be prepared this time. Nightcrawler teleports to Nimrod, but Nimrod creates a field that causes Nightcrawler to vanish with a terrible scream, and Storm wonders if he is dead.
At the Body Shoppe, Rachel is being shown a variety of faces. She wonders if she can be changed so that no-one will recognize her. Leland almost has Nimrod to the ground, but suffers a heart attack. Suddenly Colossus's hand comes out of the ground, grabbing Nimrod's leg. He holds Nimrod, and Kitty phases through him, disrupting his circuitry -- only possible because she phased through Colossus, taking Nimrod by surprise. Colossus slams Nimrod into the ground again and again, inflcting grievious damage. Storm has Selene hold him in place with cables and whatnot from underground. She then tells Leland to make one last effort, bringing Shaw back down with his powers. He does so and Shaw lands right on Nimrod, creating a huge explosion and reducing Nimrod to a pile of broken parts and circuitry. The effort has killed Leland, however. Wolverine prepares to finish what's left, but Nimrod teleports away. Tessa offers the X-Men safe passage for the time being, as they all make their escape together. Rachel meanwhile has abandoned her old life and given herself over to the strange woman, who reveals herself as Spiral. The end!
Overview: A great battle issue, with everyone being useful and using creative means to win. Von Roehm and Harry Leland both die, Nighcrawler is injured in a way he doesn't recover from from for many years, and Rachel leaves. Rachel was to be in the Phoenix mini-series, by Chris Claremont and Rick Leonardi. There are some images that have popped up on the internet, all done except for the coloring, so it must have been very close to completion. I think Nimrod was to have found the Fury and merged with it following this issue and once that was canned, the Phoenix mini-series had to be reconsidered, leading to a slightly-different-than-planned Excalibur, where she makes her next appearance. Her time on Mojoworld is never really explored, and she doesn't even remember it, herself, as her memories become scrambled during her time there. Nimrod doesn't appear again for quite some time (the 240's), merging with Master Mold's remains, in a story that mimicks the original Fury storyline.
Rogue battles with Sebastian Shaw, avoiding hitting him and powering him up. She instead chucks him at Nimrod who hits Shaw with an energy field ("reversed gravimetric polarity") that blasts him straight up, headed for space. Selene, finding that her powers can't affect him, attacks Nimrod by flinging rocks at him, but he easily destroys them. Storm instructs Callisto and Caliban to find Rachel and keep her safe, no matter what happens. Rogue flies interference with Nimrod. (Rogue thinks, "When we first tusseled -- long before ah joined the X-Men -- Shaw near punched my ticket." This story has never been told. I believe it must be a reference to stories Chris Claremont had planned for Ms. Marvel.)
Storm tells Leland, who has recovered, that they must team up against Nimrod. Von Roehm attacks Storm, but Wolverine knocks him away. Before he can attack again, Nimrod disintegrates him. The weather turns nasty and Rogue wonders if it's Storm's doing. (That's the end of Von Roehm. He didn't last long or do much. Once again we see the possibility that Storm has unconscious access to her powers.)
Kitty finally gets ahold of Colossus, noting that he's turned back to metal. That leaves Rogue without his powers and Nimrod quickly takes her out by generating a "Shockweb." Rachel wonders if she should help, but hears music. When she goes to investigate, she finds a strange structure, and a woman welcomes her to the "Body Shoppe." Rachel says there was just a stage there, and the woman says that it's magic. Rachel sees herself as a normal girl, and the woman says it's what she could have been and could still be if she likes.
At the park Storm instructs Leland to drag Nimrod to the ground, but Nimrod strikes out with a blast. Selene defends him, and Storm tells him not to let up. Meanwhile, the police notice the fireworks that the battle is sending up. Nightcrawler says that he will teleport a piece of him away, the way Rogue did in their previous battle, using his powers. Storm tells him no, saying that Nimrod will be prepared this time. Nightcrawler teleports to Nimrod, but Nimrod creates a field that causes Nightcrawler to vanish with a terrible scream, and Storm wonders if he is dead.
At the Body Shoppe, Rachel is being shown a variety of faces. She wonders if she can be changed so that no-one will recognize her. Leland almost has Nimrod to the ground, but suffers a heart attack. Suddenly Colossus's hand comes out of the ground, grabbing Nimrod's leg. He holds Nimrod, and Kitty phases through him, disrupting his circuitry -- only possible because she phased through Colossus, taking Nimrod by surprise. Colossus slams Nimrod into the ground again and again, inflcting grievious damage. Storm has Selene hold him in place with cables and whatnot from underground. She then tells Leland to make one last effort, bringing Shaw back down with his powers. He does so and Shaw lands right on Nimrod, creating a huge explosion and reducing Nimrod to a pile of broken parts and circuitry. The effort has killed Leland, however. Wolverine prepares to finish what's left, but Nimrod teleports away. Tessa offers the X-Men safe passage for the time being, as they all make their escape together. Rachel meanwhile has abandoned her old life and given herself over to the strange woman, who reveals herself as Spiral. The end!
Overview: A great battle issue, with everyone being useful and using creative means to win. Von Roehm and Harry Leland both die, Nighcrawler is injured in a way he doesn't recover from from for many years, and Rachel leaves. Rachel was to be in the Phoenix mini-series, by Chris Claremont and Rick Leonardi. There are some images that have popped up on the internet, all done except for the coloring, so it must have been very close to completion. I think Nimrod was to have found the Fury and merged with it following this issue and once that was canned, the Phoenix mini-series had to be reconsidered, leading to a slightly-different-than-planned Excalibur, where she makes her next appearance. Her time on Mojoworld is never really explored, and she doesn't even remember it, herself, as her memories become scrambled during her time there. Nimrod doesn't appear again for quite some time (the 240's), merging with Master Mold's remains, in a story that mimicks the original Fury storyline.