"Phalanx Covenant" was a crossover storyline that ran through Marvel Comics' X-Men family of books in September and October 1994.[1] One of its unique aspects was that the X-Men themselves only played a minor role in the story.
Plot
The X-Men are attacked by mutant-hating humans who have used a virus derived from Warlock to turn into techno-organic beings themselves. With these powers, the Phalanx are able to change their shape and assimilate organic matter. The Phalanx are also a hive mind and they are programmed to destroy all mutants.
The Phalanx Covenant was told in three separate storylines:
Generation Next: With the X-Men gone, Banshee, Emma Frost, Jubilee, and Sabretooth have to save the next generation of mutants from Phalanx agents led by Harvest. This storyline also planted the seeds for Marvel's next mutant title, Generation X.
Life Signs: X-Factor, Excalibur, and X-Force discover that the Phalanx are losing their hive-mind programming and becoming more independent. The rogue Phalanx Douglock takes Forge, Wolfsbane and Cannonball on a mission to prevent the Phalanx Shinar from contacting the alien Phalanx.
Final Sanction: Cable, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Phoenix reunite to rescue the X-Men by infiltrating the main base of the Phalanx.
The comics were collected into the Origin of Generation Xtrade paperback, published in 1996. A second printing was published on June 1, 2001 (ISBN0-7851-0216-7).
