For The Love of Comics

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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.

Technorati Tags: Comics, Marvel, X-Men, Messiah Complex, Cyclops, Cable, Messiah Baby, Bishop, X-Force, Rogue, Jean Grey, Layla Miller, Wolverine, Professor X

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I’ve decided to give the last two chapters of Messiah Complex their own posts, just because I can. I’m power-mad like that. I also don’t want my apathy for New X-Men to taint the final chapter.

As always, spoilers are quite possible, venturing into the range of probable, so spoiler-phobes who have yet to read New X-Men 46 should go read their comics before they read this post. I’m not hunting down the links to all the write-ups leading to this one, but the one before this is right here, and it has links to the ones before it. Right then, on with the show.

Right away, we find out both how and why Mystique took out Sinister - which is actually kinda genius - and why Mystique and Gambit have allied themselves with the Marauders. Something, especially Gambit’s remark that he is finally free of Sinister, makes me think that there is more to Gambit’s motives than saving Rogue, but he’s still redeemed a bit, at least in my eyes. Mystique is still crazy, though.

Sinister appears to be dead, as does Lady Mastermind, but we all know that Sinister will be back, possibly as soon as the climax next week. Mastermind, not so much.

The majority of this issue is one big battle, which is nice after all the talk and build-up. I also enjoyed the way that, every time the Marauders thought that they were being hardcore and were about to get some momentum, a member of X-Force took it just a little farther and was even more ruthless, shocking the hell out of the Marauders. I think I’m going to have to check out X-Force, it could be good. Or it could be totally ridiculous and seem like something Rob Liefeld would put out, but I’ll at least give it a chance.

Back to the comic, Cyclops shows up with the rest of the cavalry right when… it doesn’t seem like they were really needed. But they want to beat up Bishop, so I won’t complain.

Cable and Professor X show up as Gambit keeps Mystique from sacrificing the baby to save Rogue. Something tells me that Mystique misunderstood Destiny’s prophecy or vision or whatever. The baby probably does some kind of unconscious healing/resurrection thing and brings Rogue back, because X-Men thrives on that cliche crap. Professor X takes the baby and Gambit and Mystique stay with Rogue.

Back at the mansion, Predator X doesn’t eat any of the New X-Men, much to my disappointment. Prodigy thinks it’s because they fought back and Predator X is after weaker prey, but you and I both know that Predator X doesn’t like the taste of lame and went downstairs because even when injured, Nightcrawler is much cooler and thus tastier than the New X On The Block.

Pixie, because she’s a moron, teleports everyone to Alaska because X-23 hurt Predator X before and she surely doesn’t have anything better to do than bail them out again. I mean, it’s not like she’s trying to save the mutant race or anything, right?

The first thing that Predator X does is chomp down on a Marauder, because even nameless Marauder chicks that I’ve probably never heard of aren’t nearly as lame as New X-Men.

Professor X gives the baby to Cable who is about to jump into the future right when Bishop (whom I’d actually forgotten was there - I think he only shows up in one other panel all issue) shows up to kill the baby and Predator X shows up to eat the baby because even nameless babies aren’t nearly as lame…you get the idea.

To Be Concluded in X-Men 207!

THE BABY’S FATE DECIDED.
CABLE VS. BISHOP VS. PREDATOR X
THE END OF THE X-MEN

BE THERE!!!!

Technorati Tags: Comics, Marvel, X-Men, Messiah Complex, Messiah Baby, Predator X, New X-Men, Cable, Bishop, Sinister, Mystique, Gambit

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Okay, I think 3 chapters is enough for a post, don’t you? No? Too bad, I don’t have anything else to write about!

Much like the last time I posted a Messiah Complex recap and not the first, I’m going to try and keep the spoilers to a minimum since these issues have only been out for three weeks at most. That said, I’m sure there will be minor spoilers and vague allusions to major spoilers since I just can’t help myself, so read at your own risk, or read along with the comics and consider this a comic book version of a commentary track.

Okay, let’s see, where were we? Layla and the Madrox dupe have been “captured” and are currently being processed for admittance into the mutant prison camp, we still have no idea what’s going on with the other dupe in the other alternate timeline, Caliban’s dead, X-23 had her revenge on Lady Deathstrike and maybe killed her, Rahne found out that her abusive adoptive father, Rev. Craig, has joined with the Reavers, and Cable has escaped with the baby and one of the Blackbirds. I think that catches us up.

I’m struck by the similarity of the future detention camp to what I assume Hitler’s death camps were like in the past and what Guantanamo Bay is probably like now, with the hate and the need to look upon the prisoners as less than human. I know I should probably be feeling something from this, but I’m really not feeling much. Whether that’s a failing on the part of the storytellers or on the part of my sense of compassion, I don’t know.

What DID effect me, somehow, is how upset Warpath is by Caliban’s death. People treating each-other like something they stepped in, I’m apparently okay with - anguish over a friend’s death? I’m a marshmallow. Who knew?

It may have been a bit forced, but I kinda loved Cyclops’ demand to treat Caliban’s body with respect because “He died an X-Man”. The fact that it seemed a bit forced actually helped it in my mind. I’m left with a sense that he’s stepping out of his comfort zone, trying to be more of a hard-ass because he recognizes that the situation requires a hard-ass. Alot of the slightly off moments for these characters leaves me with a sense that they want to break down, but know they can’t. Anyone that is pushed - either by themselves or others - beyond their limits is going to seem a bit off. It’s a subtle bit of characterization, but it really works for me.

On another note, am I the only one getting a bit of a Lone Wolf and Cub vibe from Cable and the baby? I wonder if that’s what the Cable series is going to be like, since the preview images that I’ve seen still show him with the baby. Now that I think of it, those preview images kind of ruin a bit of the dramatic tension of this crossover, but I’m too into it to notice.

Okay, that’s enough images for a bit.

Also, I do love Cyclops’ flashback to when Cable was a baby, before he had to send him to the future. It shows, like I mentioned before, that this is not easy for Scott, that he’s not taking any of this lightly, least of all sending a team to possibly kill him. And, by showing how hard it is for Scott, it also illustrates just how high the stakes are. Have I mentioned how much I love the writing on this?

And, as ambivalent as I am towards the New X-Men, it is nice that they’re playing such a vital role. Who knows, I may actually like them by the end of this crossover. If they survive.

I’m not clear on why Cable was looking for a time machine from Forge - the only thing I can really think of is that one of the alternate futures is his and the baby plays a vital role.

And… a nice dual reveal of Madrox and Layla’s tattoos and the apparent X-traitor close out this chapter. That last sentence may have spoiled you, but if you care that much you’ve hopefully read X-Men 206 by now. Still, I won’t post that last page, no matter how cool it looks. Here’s a hint, it’s not Professor X. Yet.

Ok, now that we know who the traitor is, we find out fairly quickly WHY the traitor is…traitoring and why Layla and Jamie are in this time line, even though no-one in the present knows anything. Which kinda gives it away… Screw it, I’m about to spoil this twist, so stop reading if you want to avoid it, okay? Okay.

The traitor is Bishop. He shot Forge and Cable, both of whom are unconscious, and he’s about to shoot the baby when the Marauders show up, kick his butt, and take the baby.

Well, Gambit takes the baby, and I’m starting to think that maybe he’s not really against the X-men now that I’ve paid attention. I went back and looked at a few things, and there may be more going on there than what meets the eye. Way back when Sunfire and Gambit attacked Providence, before Cable “died”, he noted that Gambit’s accent seemed overly forced. Could it be that he was trying to tip Cable off that something was up without coming out and saying that something was up? I mean, the one-minute to dawn thing now seems like a rather clear allusion to Messiah Complex. Also, when they were fighting Cannonball and Iceman, he attacked Cannonball right when what’s-his-face was about to shoot him. Could it be he was attacking so that Cannonball wouldn’t be shot? And right now, he could have killed Bishop, but he didn’t - might this have been on purpose, too? I think Gambit may be more on the up and up than we think. Also, after all time that Bishop was thinking that Gambit was the X-traitor, how gratifying do you think it is for Gambit that Bishop is now a traitor?

Also, I don’t remember if I mentioned this theory before, but I think that the baby is Layla Miller. This would give one explanation on why she “knows stuff”.

Bishop does do a nice last-minute spin job on the events when the X-Posse shows up, though.

I sympathize with Warpath and his desire to protect Hepzibah (what is she, anyway, a squirrel?), but he definitely needed to be put in his place, both by Logan and Squirrel Girl.

The baby flickering in and out just reinforces my Layla theory, by the way. She can turn her mutant signal scan thingamabob on and off, which is what I think the baby is doing unconsciously. Just say I’m correct now, it’ll save us all time.

And Cable calls in Professor X, proving me sorta right about why they kept showing him getting more and more alienated.

Ok, I was wrong - we don’t find out Bishop’s “why” until the next chapter, in X-Factor 27. I could edit that out and make myself look less like a moron, but it’s better that you find this out about me now rather than later on when you’ve started thinking I actually have a brain.

Anyway, it basically boils down to this: In Bishop’s future, the baby slaughtered millions of humans, thus starting a war that the mutants lost. Bishops parents were killed in the war and Bishop was put in one of the mutant concentration camps. Kiddie Bishop expresses his wish to Madrox and Layla that he could go back and kill the baby because, while he may never have been born, he wouldn’t have to see his family die.

Right after this, Layla blows up the Madrox clone so that Madrox prime will know what happened. I’m not sure if Layla survived and was stranded or died in the explosion. Holy crap, wait… I just noticed that Layla calls herself Layla Madrox - is she the future bebbe of Madrox and whichever of his teammates are pregnant?!?! Could that still mean that she’s the messiah baby? Have either of the X-Factor women been to Alaska recently? Would it be a big deal for them to have gone and come back without anyone noticing? I really need to read some back issues now.

Edit: In the comments, AJ just reminded me of Layla’s claims that she would one day marry Jamie. This would explain the “Layla Madrox” thing and debunk my theory about her being his daughter.

But I still think she’s the Messiah Baby, at least partially because I don’t have any better candidates.

Ok, back to this for now - the Cuckoos trace Gambit, maybe because he accidentally on purpose broadcast himself to them? Cyclops sends Bishop and X-Force after them before Madrox wakes up -with his “M” tattoo - and explains everything, at which point Cyclops and his crew race after them.

Cable explains himself to Professor X - his explanation amounts to “half my old team has joined the Marauders, how do I know who I can trust?”. My theory is that the other dupe is in his future, in which the baby did something to save the world or that her death sparked something terrible. Regardless, Cable and Professor X are on their way to Muir Island, too, where there would appear to be an impending Battle Royale.

Cool twist with Mystique and Gambit - could it be that they’re both secretly X-men moles?

Predator X is at the mansion and eating dead mutants, OMGWTFMUTIEBBQ!

X-Force gets to Muir Island first and the battle begins!

Sorry, I’m trying not to spoil the VERY end of this issue, at least.

In the words of the X-Teaser…

NEXT WEEK:

FINAL SHOWDOWN.

PREDATOR X FEASTS

SINISTER’S FATE REVEALED.

And I wanna know who Layla’s mom is and whether or not she really is the messiah bebbe!!

tag: Marvel, Messiah Complex, Layla Miller, Madrox, Bishop, Cable, Cyclops, Gambit, Messiah Baby

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