X-men Messiah Complex - The Final Chapter
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Okay, here it is final chapter of the best crossover this year! Let’s get this party start - errr…. ended!
Fair warning - I’m not even trying to avoid spoilers since they’ve already been posted all over the internet. If you haven’t read the issue yet and hate spoilers, go read the comic and then come back and join the fun.
We start where we left off - Bishop vs. Cable vs Predator X, because time travelers from the future taste better than… never mind, I ran that joke into the ground last issue. At least, I think that’s what’s going on in these first panels. The artwork makes it kinda hard to tell what’s up, but that’s my informed guess.
Judging from the images, it looks to me like Bishop shoots at Cable, Cable dodges, Bishop shoots at Predator X, and Predator X eats Bishop, which can’t be right. Again, this art leaves alot to be desired.
Meanwhile, Cyclops figures out that the Marauders have been specifically training for the X-Men so he sends the X-Kids into the battle as an “x” factor (see what I did there?) that the Marauders aren’t prepared for.
Logan and the rest of X-Force break off to find Predator X and discover that its supa-dupa healing factor won’t let them fatally wound it.
Meanwhile, Cyclops finds Cable and demands that Cable hand over the baby. Cable tries to explain that he needs to get the baby out of there, but Professor X tells him to give the child to Scott.
This exchange actually has two points that I love.
First, I can’t remember another time that Cable has called Scott “Dad”. The fact that he does now somehow conveys his depth of feeling to me, how deeply he needs Scott to be on his side in this.
Second, although he doesn’t actually speak the words for another few pages, the Professor shows that he finally realizes that the team now belongs to Cyclops. His insistence that Scott decide what path the X-Men and mutant-kind will follow signifies a passing of the torch that was needed in this issue.
Rogue wakes up and finds out just what Mystique has been up to all this time. Fed up and believing that she is still infected with Strain 88 (I missed those issues and had to have this explained to me, by the way), she attempts to use the “death touch” on Mystique. At this point, we find out that the baby’s touch has wiped out all of the previous powers and personalities that Rogue had absorbed, including Strain 88, and all she did was partially absorb Mystique. Rogue is horrified that in her attempt to rid the world of her foster mother, she has doomed herself to be constantly stuck with Raven in her head. Rogue decides she needs some time to come to terms with it being just her and Mystique in her head and asks Gambit to not follow her. I must have missed something important in my years away from the books of “X”, because I thought that powers and personalities absorbed by Rogue eventually dissipated. Regardless, a shapeshifting Rogue could be a pretty good assassin. They would never know she was there until she was siphoning off their energy and she’d leave no trace. I doubt she’ll be an assassin, but expect Rogue to show up again - in one guise or another - soon.
A comment that Jason left on my penultimate MC write-up speculated that if Layla IS the baby, it’s possible that Rogue picked up her ability to “know stuff” and will be the next “Destiny”. That’s totally possible, but I hope he’s wrong. Do we really need a second coming of a useless, obscure character? I think not.
We see Bishop in the foreground while X-Force is battling Predator X, so we know that he’s still alive. Maybe it was just Bishop’s arm that Predator X ate. Even so, wouldn’t he have died from blood loss and/or shock by now?
The New X-Men prove that they’re good for something other than cannon fodder and kick the crap out of the Marauders. Too bad their series was cancelled.
While Professor X is handing the baby over to Cyclops, we clearly see that she has red hair and green eyes. In the same comment that referenced Layla Miller Jason speculates that this, combined with Scott’s flashbacks to sending baby Cable to the future and Jean Grey’s last death, as a sign that the baby is either a resurrected Jean Grey or As’kani sent back to save Nathan again. In a comment on the same post, AJ states his belief that “it seems pretty obvious” from that same close-up that the baby is Jean reborn. My interpretation is a bit different. I took the flashbacks 
as Scott learning that sometimes you have to let go in order to move forward and realizing that this is exactly what he needs to do now. As for the red hair and green eyes, I agree that you usually aren’t shown something for no reason, so the red hair and green eyes likely indicated something, but I’m hoping that it’s not Jean Grey again. You may have noticed that I’m a little fed up with resurrections and retcons and things of that nature, and Jean Grey is the most resurrected character in comics.
In a truly awesome yet totally disgusting show of ingenuity, Wolverine allows Predator X to swallow him whole so that he can dig his way back out and kill the beast-monster-thing.
As mentioned earlier, Cyclops accepts that he can’t control the future and has to let go in order to move forward, so he gives the baby back to Cable and tells him to keep her safe.
So we’ve had a passing of the torch, an acceptance of the need to move on and move forward, so you know what needs to happen, right? Somebody needs to die and, if you’ve been reading the internet at all, you know who it is.
As Cable fades away to… wherever he’s going, Bishop picks up his gun and starts firing at where Cable used to be. The bullets go right into Professor X’s head and Cyclops blasts Bishop through a wall.
Realizing that Professor X, the “dreamer” is dead, Cyclops decides that the dream is over and there are no X-Men anymore, which sounds similar to the recent storylines in Ultimate X-Men.
But note the difference between these two panels:
The professor’s body has disappeared!!
And remember, Bishop absorbs energy!!
So shed no tears, my friends - I’m sure they’ll both be back!
To support my hypothesis, here are the teasers for the new direction of the X-Books:
Uncanny X-Men #495
In the wake of Messiah Complex, the X-Men have disbanded. What’s next for our wayward mutants? Find out in two weeks!
X-Force #1
The X-men may be finished, but X-Force isn’t. Wolverine and his black ops team go to tie up the loose end of the mutant hating religious group, the Purifiers. Don’t miss this book!
X-Factor #28
After his return from the future, Madrox has only two goals in life: rescuing Layla and preventing the horrors he witnessed from ever happening. But to do so, can he stop his team from falling apart?
Cable #1
The battle may be over but the war has only begun for this soldier. the time-jumping quest of Cable and the baby continues in March!
Interviews have indicated that Bishop will be the main villain of this book’s initial arc.
X-Men Legacy #208
What becomes of the world’s most powerful telepath after his mind has been shattered by a bullet? Find out here!!
It doesn’t mention this here, but CBR’s interview with Mike Carey says that the one main character in this book will be Prof. X and will feature him exploring the past of the X-Men in a quest to figure out what comes next.
Young X-Men #1
With the Xavier Institute destroyed, class is over for the student body. Until, that is, Cyclops taps them to hunt and eliminate the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Don’t miss it when it comes out in April!
Soooo…. my thoughts. Honestly, the art in this issue was pretty weak, but I don’t think that can entirely be blamed on penciler Chris Bacchalo - the dark dark DARK inks and coloring had alot to do with my inability to make out what was going on.
To contrast the weak art, though, the writing on this issue was excellent and spot-on. This was easily the best crossover finale in my recent memory. There was absolutely no letdown, the storyline was tied up very well, and you’re left with a very real sense that these characters have been on a journey and are not the same as they were before this began. This may be a credit to all of the X-Writers rather than Mike Carey specifically, because this entire crossover was excellent. At the beginning of this - very long - post, I jokingly called this the best crossover of 2008, but this could easily be the best crossover of almost any year. It was better than Countdown, better than Civil War, better than Back in Black or One More Day, better than World War Hulk or Amazon’s Attack. The only thing it wasn’t better than, arguably, was Sinestro Corps, but it came damn close.
Needless to say, I am once again a diehard X-Fan. Strong work, Marvel.
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Comments
Storm’s been getting alot of attention - she and Black Panther were married last year, it was a big deal. And this past summer she and Black Panther filled in for Reed and Sue Richards on the Fantastic Four.
And yes, this is looking like an excellent time to jump back into the X-men; they’re the best they’ve been in a long time.
I’m surprised that no one’s thought of this yet… but I think the baby is Rachel Summers. Here are my reasons:
1. When Rachel originally came back from the future during Inferno, she had the black tattoos on her face, indicating that she had committed a major crime as a mutant.
2. The Phoenix powers could easily kill thousands of people, leading to the war which brought about mutant camps in Bishop’s future.
3. Scott let the baby have his locket with the picture of him and Jean, so that she would know who her parents were.
4. Scott wouldn’t be reluctant to let Nathan take the baby into the future because he knows that Cable will take care of his little sister.
5. The Phoenix is an entity of death and rebirth, which would allow the baby to bring Rogue back.
Of course, if the baby is Rachel, then that would mean that Jean is alive, most likely powerless and amnesiac, living in Alaska…
Rachel Summers had crossed my mind, but that last part ruled it out for me.
Of course, I didn’t realize that Phoenix: Endsong is canon. Since realizing that it is canon, it seems very plausible that Jean would reappear in Alaska when she was last seen near the North Pole, so it’s entirely possible that the baby is either Jean or Rachel. I kinda hope that it’s neither, though. I won’t be necessarily upset, but it would be nice to see them not rely on past gimmicks, you know?
As much as I don’t like the idea of bringing Jean back yet again, we have to accept that it’s going to happen eventually. Seeing as how Jean and Scott are Rachel’s parents, and Rachel hasn’t been born yet into this timeline, Jean will have to come back to give birth at some point.
Another thing to remember is that since Sinister was involved, the likelihood of the baby having some connection to the Summers is extremely high. That dude has always had a thing for Scott and Jean’s family, and I don’t think Messiah Complex is an exception.
While I agree that it most likely will happen, it doesn’t have to happen. It’s always been stated that Rachel is from an alternate timeline that no longer exists, much like Nate “X Man” Summers, Sugarman, and Dark Beast. Granted, timelines have shifted to allow for Cable and Bishop to be from two different timelines than they were originally, but that doesn’t mean that this timeline has to match the one that Rachel is from. That said, Jean will almost certainly be back at some point.
Your Sinister point is a good one, but Sinister is also obsessed with mutants in general. It’s no surprise that he would be very interested in the first mutant born since the Decimation, Summers-related or not.
just read this episode, and i loved it 2 alot alot alot !!!
only shame of the drawings in the beginning i was checkn it the same as you, ( is bishop dead or what?) i couldnt tell of the pictures.
and i really loved that dialoge where cable called cyclops dad, as a last resort as “dad dont do it”
and demnnn my thought of jean grey bein the baby…. this part really gives me the idea that she is!
i dont think rachel is the baby cause this time she was trapped in a psycic with psylocke or kitty pryde(donnow wich of the 2. and while they where findin a exit all alternate Psylocke/kitty realities where there. and for rachel she only saw herself of diffrent times, conclusion bout that was that there is only 1 rachel in all the realities. or somethin like that.
and im very happy that Roque woke up, and what will she do with all of her mistique mind in her, mayb she went away to order out all the destiny info in her mind.
and will Bishop have a place among the x-men after he shot xavier 
or did his future changed as soon as cable went to the future, cause if so Layla would c the future changing while she’s there…. demnn cant wait for all this!!!!!
MC was soooo frkn gooodd, but we still got the question “who’s the freakn baby?”
and if its jean, marvel better keep her young for a view years, cause i dont wanna c a all grown-up jean.
Best crossover this year?
Wow. I guess I was reading different books because this was yawner. Cable should have had the balls to shot his dad in the head… now that would have been entertaining.
[...] Go and check them out on his blog here: http://www.fortheloveofcomics.com/2008/01/24/x-men-messiah-complex-the-final-chapter/ [...]
Ouch… harsh. Why would he have shot his dad in the head?
Two points, just to be fair. First, do you even like X-men? Second, the year is young and could easily do better than last year as far as crossovers.
W00t, name dropped after only a week of hanging around? I rule.
Anywho, what a great crossover. I don’t have much to say about the final issue, but I do have to point out that the March and April solicitations for Cable #2 and X-Men: Legacy two-oh-something show that Bishop is hunting Cable through time, and Professor X is in a coma, being cared for by…Magneto! dun dun dun.
This should be fun.
This is a merit-based system, not a seniority based one; good, interesting ideas will always get name dropped!
And yeah, the impression I get is that Xavier will basically be a psychic entity for awhile while his body is in that coma state and that Bishop is going to be the main villain of Cable for awhile. Worth checking out, at least.
I used to like the X-Men and do enjoy Astonishing X-Men but I really do think that the X-Men fad has run its course and needs to die off for a while. Not one point in Messiah Craplex was new or original, everything was old recycled stories.
Give me something new, please. Astonishing X-Men may hark back to the classic times of the team and elements of character development that far surpass the current books and THEY give me something new and orginal with a whole other world wanting to destory earth and only the X-Men can stop it. Now that is an X-Men story. That is the X-Men done right.
What have the X-Men done during Messiah Craplex other than woo, bitch, fight and kill for themselves or another fricken mutant?
I am tired of the X-Men waving the mutant flag around. Get over yourselves and join the rest of the Marvel Universe and start being heroes, saving EVERYONE including mutants, aliens and whatever else needs help.
There. That is my two bits on the X-Men. Their time is done in my books. Pack them away until Emo comes back with a vengence and then maybe you can get interest. If Messiah Craplex generated interest, I am betting dollars to Simpson’s donuts that all sales will fall short and low afterwards ’cause its going to be the same old Emo crap. Wait… no ’cause now they are going in a Kill or Be Killed era so maybe they last another 5 months with that.
You know what your problem is, Robert? You hold back too much. =op
Seriously, though, I think alot of my enjoyment of the series stemmed from the fact that I spent so much time away from them and thus this did feel like something different and definitely does not suffer in comparison to the crap I read back in the 90’s, when almost everything kinda sucked.
I do disagree with you about X-Men in space being the X-Men done right, because it feels very wrong to me, no matter how much I like Whedon. X-Men in space feels alot like Batman in space to me, it’s just not their element.
The only downside to the Baby being Rachael is that Rachael is still alive in space Starjammin’ it up, fighting her Uncle. Why would she need resurrection when she’s still alive?
Yah I need to keep it in more. 
Well for me, Whedon’s X-Men in space works because it is a new yet similar X-Men in space feel. The X-Men heritage/history has a huge tie with space given the Shi’Ar, The Brood, Starjammers, The whole Phoenix stories. Whedon keeps with the classic and puts the X-Men into space and again fighting for the earth, even if they were lured into it by the threat against another of their own.
I guess what really gets me is that the X-Men characters have gotten stale, I mean if they weren’t then the Messiah Craplex would not have happened - even Marvel knows this and made a “big event” to generate interest.
I look at Astonishing X-Men and think that should have been the big event, sure it didn’t tie in every single mutant since the dawn of Stan Lee/Claremont days but it still reigns as a huge event with an outcome directed at the earth itself. The conclusion to Astonishing shows a huge gala of mutants involved to reach its conclusion. I really do see Astonishing as more classic X-Men and enjoyable than MC.
I mean really it was yet another of Marvel’s big ploy’s for generating interest than a good story. I look back through the issues and everything was about the bloody X-Men, sure there was this huge slaughter of a small town but do they even go back their, make any other efforts to care? No, they single it all out to focus on the main most important issue - the new mutant baby and keeping everything in the X-Men universe. Only X-baddies against X-Men. X-Men against X-Men. In the end, the founder of the X-Men dies… again.
Astonishing has SWORD, aliens, Peter comes back, between the main story they get attacked by former mutants and their own danger room. Sorry that is some original storytelling and I am huge Brubaker & Carey fan but it doesn’t hold up.
Anyways, its all for not when I read this on the X-Men wikipedia (to get spellings right this morning)…
“The current team will disband in the aftermath of Messiah CompleX, but will reform in Uncanny X-Men #500.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men
So fear not, the X-Men shall return regardless of MC. Too fricken bad, I really wanted to see the mutant just be apart of the rest of the Marvel U other than Wolverine (yes I know Colossus will be apart of The Last Defenders for its short run but come on).
Well, yeah, I never expected the X-Men to be over. All I expected from it was a battle over the first mutant born after the “Decimation” and I got that. Like I said before, I went in with very low expectations and I think that helped alot in my perception of the storyline.
I get how space travel figures into X-Men history, but it’s still my least favorite aspect of their mythology.
And I see your points about what you didn’t like, but I think alot of those are reasons I did like about it. I’m a bit burnt out on company-wide events, so it was nice to see a self-contained crossover. The X-Men have always had their own agenda, separate from the rest of the Marvel U. I realize that it’s part of what you dislike about them, but anything else would be a bit inconsistent.
I haven’t read comic books in ages. X-men were won of my favorite. I have most of the comics when Bishop first arrived on the scene. Nice blog!
Bishop had balls and one of the best mutants to follow through when others would pussy out. For that and plotline alone, Bishop rawked!
Couldn’t care less about young punk Bishop but I had to smile when I saw him take shots to try and kill this other plot device. Kudos!
Kudos on the article CrackerBob, I haven’t been able to vent like this about X-Men for yrs outside the endless coffee’s w/ William S.
Its therapeutic. Maybe one day I will enjoy the X-Men again.. likely well and far after Ellis wretches up his shit run on Astonishing.
Dude, Robert, you wouldn’t happen to be a fan of Iron Man, would you?
I’m kinda getting sick of Warren Ellis. On one hand, I’m curious to see what he does, because he occasionally writes some awesome shit. On the other hand, I… I don’t know, maybe I’m scared that I’ll love it and he’ll take forever to finish it?
Regardless, it always intrigues me to have my viewpoint challenged, forcing me to really evaluate the hows and why’s.
That last part of the comment was referring to the discussion on whether or not the X-men suck and/or are played out.
I think my stance right now is “A bit, yes, but I still enjoyed Messiah Complex and you just can’t steal that away from me, Robert McScrooge!”
[...] X-Men #209 (Marvel) - Mutants fight mutants. Cable pussy’s out. Bishop steps up and shows he has a pair. Gambit becomes good again. Rogue lives. Mutants die. Xavier is dead (for now). X-Men disband only to reform in Uncanny X-Men #500 (see X-Men on Wikipedia for that answer). End of lame storyline. End of buying anymore X-Titles. If you really want to know more about how I feel, check out the comments in this article on For The Love of Comics website (good blog!) here: http://www.fortheloveofcomics.com/2008/01/24/x-men-messiah-complex-the-final-chapter/#comments [...]
[...] X-Men #209 (Marvel) - Mutants fight mutants. Cable pussy’s out. Bishop steps up and shows he has a pair. Gambit becomes good again. Rogue lives. Mutants die. Xavier is dead (for now). X-Men disband only to reform in Uncanny X-Men #500 (see X-Men on Wikipedia for that answer). End of lame storyline. End of buying anymore X-Titles. If you really want to know more about how I feel, check out the comments in this article on For The Love of Comics website (good blog!) here: http://www.fortheloveofcomics.com/2008/01/24/x-men-messiah-complex-the-final-chapter/#comments [...]
If it hasn’t happened in twenty years, I’m not sure that it ever will.
But then, I recently enjoyed an issue of Superman, so all bets are off these days.
This is an awesome site and I’m glad I stumbled into it. Let me share some feedback on what I agree is arguably the best comics crossover in recent times (next to Sinestro Corps, naturally):
Regarding the Mutant Messiah speculation. Red hair? Green Eyes? I think the Mutant Messiah isn’t Jean or Rachel Grey at all. It’s obviously Mary Jane Watson-formerly-Parker. It’s the deal she made with Mephisto. Understandably, she wanted out of the (currently) dismal One More Day and Spider-man story arcs, so she agreed to the altering of reality if, in exchange, she could be part of the more astonishing stories of the X-books. Then maybe later on, there would be a tie-in with the Spidey books that will reveal Spidey is a mutant after all! Retcon sweetness! I would explain further, but I’ll just leave it at “It’s magic”.
Kidding aside, I am on the same page with you on your review, particularly the “passing of the torch” scene. It’s a memorable moment between three mutants, each representing their own era, and each connected to one another as a father and son. Nicely, nicely done.
I’m also loving the “hard ass” changes they are making to Cyclops. His character and leadership growth is reflecting the changes that need to be made in the mutant world after Decimation and Civil War.
So now, I find myself looking forward to getting this arc on trade paperback, finding out the repercussions of Cable vs. Bishop, the fate of Layla Miller, and exactly how Cyclop’s vision o the X-men will be like. It’s a good day to be a mutant fan.
Incidentally, what’s to become of my favorite non-mutant x-man-wannabe, Deadpool (since Cable & Deadpool is ending with a bang)? He’d be great with X-Force or Mighty Avengers, I’d wager. 
Hey Ken, thanks for stopping by!
I like your Mary Jane theory - it’s so crazy, it just might work!
Obviously, I agree with your views on Messiah Complex. My understanding is that the whole Bishop/Cable/Baby thing is going to play out in Cable’s new ongoing series. I’m very curious about what happens to Layla and Madrox’s other dupe that was sent into the OTHER timeline that was never explored in MC. I can only assume that will be picked up in one of the X-Books. One thing that I know factors into Cyclops’ new vision is X-Force and a more ruthless approach to the X-Men’s enemies. It will be interesting to see how that conflict between his views and his friends’ more pacifist views plays out.
Finally, as I mentioned a few posts ago, the team from Wolverine Origins is going to also be working on a new solo ongoing for Deadpool, coming out sometime this summer.
Again, from reading these comments I realize Im largly alone on this, but I really hope the baby isnt Jean Grey. I just think thats one character that has been resurrected enough times to stay dead for a while longer. We all know she’ll be back eventually so Id rather just have her not be the key to this particular arc. Was it Emma Frost that in an issue a while back “Why does everything have to revolve around that bloody bird?!”…may have been Psylocke not sure…
Also, Im really interested in how Bishop is going to be dealt with if he survived that optic blast. In the end what he was attempting to do was save lives. So are they going to imprision him? Send him back to his future perhaps? Should be interesting.
Looking at this from a outside comics (for lack of a better term) perspective I have to say the villifing of Bishop one of the few major (I do realize the numbers have been rising in recent years–which is great) minority characters in comic books is really disconcerting for me. It kinda sucked to see him on the government’s side in Civil War, but this was even worse. It wouldve also been an interesting break from form for Marvel to see the baby in this series be a minority. Perhaps to balance the loss of a great minority character (Bishop).
But whats done is done and it was a great read and Im excited about where the books are going…most notably X-Factor. Cant wait to see how the rescuing Layla thing turns out. Outside of what seems to be going on w/ the Monet, Madrox, Siryn love-triangle this series hasnt missed since its inception.
Anyway…there’s two more cents.
Hi again, Ronnie. As you’ll notice after looking around a bit - which I hope you do - you’ll find that I’m pretty strongly against bringing Phoenix back and that retcons and resurrections in general are a pet peeve of mine.
I get what you’re saying about Bishop. I tend to think it’s a non-issue considering the focus that has been put on other quality minority characters like Black Panther, Storm, and T’Challa, and there’s also the fact that I never considered Bishop a very major or even very good character in the first place, but I can still kinda understand where you’re coming from. Out of all the characters in X-Men, out of all the time-traveling characters even, why did the villain have to be Bishop? But then, I’d probably be even more annoyed if they singled him out as someone who you cannot do certain things with just because he’s a minority.
Anyway, he’ll be back - the initial arc, at least, of Cable deals with his conflict with Bishop.
um, i just found this blog and i think your doing a great job with the summary of all the comics, BUT I have to say, chris bachalo is the only reason I buy x-men and I only buy the books when he is the artist so I was a little hurt when you kind of implied that his art sucks. 
Dude, I didn’t imply that the art sucked, I flat out SAID it sucked! But I also said that it could just as easily be the art or the coloring that was the problem instead of the pencils.
Regardless, the end product on this issue, in respect to visuals, blew. I’m sorry that you’re so close to the art team that this hurts your feelings, but I speak only the truth, as far as I see it. For what it’s worth, I can’t stand Frank Quitely’s balloon animal art, either.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Check back often, I may have something nice to say about Bacchalo next time.
haha. dont worry i wont take it personal. But yeah, I’m just on bachalo mode right now because theres some marvel masterpiece set of cards where all these artists are coming out with sketch cards and I’m obsessed with bachalo’s set. Then I tried to buy some and they were 200 dollars a pop, so I think ill just look at them on my computer. haha.
OH and I forgot to say before that I think that the baby is totally Rachel Summers because I was just looking at some of the past x-men issues and she is wearing a locket just like the one cyclops gave….so I’m thinking its her…
Yeah, can’t say that I follow anyone that closely.
And you may be right about Rachel, but I really really hope you’re not.
I haven’t read comic books in years, but grew up on the X-Men. This seems like a good time to jump back on. Say, is Storm still around? She was always my favorite X-Man.