SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers from "Uncanny X-Men" #8, which is on sale now.
"Uncanny X-Men's" "Apocalypse Wars" arc has seen Magneto's team split in half; while Magneto and Psylocke investigate the strange reemergence of a separate, human-looking Warren Worthington and engage in a conflict with Clan Akkaba and Genocide, Monet and Sabretooth have gone underground to the Morlock tunnels at the request of the beleaguered population's leader Callisto. Last month's "Uncanny X-Men" #7 revealed the harrowing state of the Morlocks and teased the return of a seldom seen villain down in the sewers. This week's "Uncanny X-Men" #8 confirms it.
The latest issue from writer Cullen Bunn and artist Ken Lashley sees the definitive return of Emplate, a character originally introduced in 1994's "Generation X" #1. The character has close ties to the "Uncanny" team; he's Monet's brother. The villain's reveal in "Uncanny" #8 includes the fact that Emplate purposefully attacked the Morlock population in the hopes that his sister would come running to their aid.
Since Emplate feeds on mutants and uses their specific genetic material to keep himself anchored in our dimension, the recent decrease in the mutant population has posed a problem for him. This scene ends on a cliffhanger with Emplate asking Monet and Sabretooth to help save him.
It's been over six years since Emplate last appeared in a storyline; that arc occurred in 2009 in "X-Men: Legacy." Prior to that, he served as the primary antagonist of Generation X from his debut in 1994 to his last appearance in that series in 1999. Emplate is also just one mutant member of the St. Croix family; in addition to Emplate and Monet, there are also their younger twin siblings Claudette and Nicole. Those characters have been missing for much of the past 17 years. And then there's Penance (also known as Hollow), which is a guise that Monet herself took on as a result of Emplate's meddling in her initial appearances. Penance mysteriously split into their own separate character when Monet was reverted back to her original self. Whether or not any of these characters will appear in "Uncanny" remains to be seen.
"Uncanny X-Men" #9 hits stores on June 29.