During the final battle between the Goblin Queen and the X-Men, Madelyne attempts to kill everyone with a final, all-consuming blast, but she manages to catch only herself in the explosion as all the X-Men are able to shield themselves. She is kill by this suicidal act, but not before she and Jean have a come to Phoenix moment, where Jean is able to reclaim the portion of power the Phoenix stole from her back when they first met, kind of like that friend who borrows your copy of Days of Future Past and then returns it to you three years later all beat up and covered with chocolate and booger smears. Madelyneâs death finally reverts New York City to normal, so even though it was N'astirh who originally opened the portal between Limbo and Earth, it must have been Madelyne who was facilitating the invasion after N'astirh was killed by the X-Men. And I suppose Jean becoming whole again means she will have the full use of her powers, including her telepathy which has been missing from her repertoire ever since she was resurrected. This is a pretty satisfying conclusion to the Inferno storyline, other than the fact that Madelyne has been tragically victimized during her entire run as an X-Men character, and the only respite she receives is the finality and peace of death. (X-Factor #38 â Mar 1989)
