December Marvel Solicitation

UNCANNY X-MEN #481
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by BILLY TAN

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SHI'AR EMPIRE

The Shi'Ar Empire is crumbling at the hands of Vulcan! The X-Men, with Professor X captured, search for the one group of heroes that can save them and all of the Shi'Ar...the Starjammers! Part 7 (of 12)!

32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

Uncanny X-Men 481 is due out on December 6, 2006.

Brubaker's Take on The Phoenix

Ed Brubaker posted the following on CBR about his take on the Phoenix (a cosmic entity vs fragments of Jean Grey):

Honestly, that's the only version of Phoenix that makes sense to me, either, that it's this force that's been around forever that occasionally takes people over. It being Jean is confusing, but if it's left vague enough, we can all be happy.

Will an X-Man Die in Uncanny?

The current issue of Wizard Magazine features an interview with Ed Brubaker, where he hints that a character might be killed...

WIZARD: Will all the X-men make it back alive?

Bru: Some will not be back. [And] the ones that make it back will make it back alive, but not unchanged.

WIZARD: Who will die?

Bru: Who's your favorite? That one. Actually, one of my all-time favorite characters in the X-books will not see the end of this storyline.

Ed has said that Rachel is one of his favorites, so there's some concern it could be her.

However, X-editor Mike Marts had also hinted at character deaths in X-Talk with Marts from May 9, 2006:

Mike Marts -- I'll do you one better Trevor. Out of these sixteen characters atleast one of them will die, two of them will get married, two characters will quit one team to join another, and one of them will be the unnamed Uncanny member.

The sixteen characters are:

Corsair, Cyclops, Darwin, Deathbird, Gambit, Havok, Hepzibah, Lilandra,
Petra, Polaris, Pyro, Cecilia Reyes, Sunspot, Sway, Vulcan & Warpath

"All you Rachel fans will love next issue" - Ed Brubaker

Ed Brubaker posted the following on CBR hyping Uncanny X-Men 479:

All you Rachel fans will love next issue, which is Billy's finest art to date on the book, by a mile, honestly. There's a double-page spread of his hanging on my wall right now that's so good it's not funny.

Rachel Summers Cameo in Phoenix: Warsong 1

Rachel appears in a one panel flashback in Phoenix: Warsong 1, which mainly focuses on Emma Frost & the Stepford Cuckoos, and has little to do with Jean or the Phoenix.