SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for "X-Men '92" #5, on sale now.
Since it jumped from a digital-first "Secret Wars" limited series to a traditional print ongoing series, Marvel's "X-Men '92" has brought back a number of aspects of the X-Mythos that haven't been seen in 25 years. The team's gone up against Omega Red, the kids of Generation X are back in school, and everyone's dressed in their brightly-colored '90s suits. But there's one set of characters that have been absent from not only "X-Men '92," but all of Marvel Comics for the past 18 years. That all changes on the last page of "X-Men '92" #5.
"X-Men '92" #5, written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims with art by Cory Hamscher, takes a breather from the main storyline and instead follows what happened with Cyclops and Jean Grey when they retired from the team following the initial limited series. The issue opens with the two of them enjoying their time off in Alaska, until -- as always happens when these two lovebirds try to get away -- they were pulled into a deadly adventure. The story pulls from a number of '90s storylines to retell Cable's origin story for the '92niverse, but that's not the big surprise. No, the big surprise comes on the last page when Cyclops and Jean Grey's tether to the far-flung future is cut and they wake up -- in the year 2099.
Cyclops and Jean Grey find themselves surrounded by the members of X-Men 2099, who starred in their own comic series from 1993 to 1996. Pictured in the page are Skullfire, Metalhead, Bloodhawk, Krystaline and Meanstreak. These characters haven't been seen since 1998's "2099: Manifest Destiny" OGN. Whenever this storyline picks back up, it will be the first time the X-Men of 2099 have played a role in a storyline in almost two decades.
"X-Men '92" #6, which picks back up with the rest of the '92 X-Men team, arrives on August 31.