Castle Takes Knight in Knights of X #3

The Knights discover the location of the Siege Perilous, but Ⅰ of the Ⅹ must die to reach it in Knights of X #3, written by Tini Howard, drawn by Bob Quinn, colored by Erick Arciniega, and lettered by Ariana Maher.

Nola Pfau: Karen! It appears we have a much stronger connection this time around. Something to do with a dawn? Hm. I wonder if Dawn of X is anything to work with here…

Karen Charm: Well, Nola, we’re actually well past the Dawn and are ruminating on the Destiny of X. Which means that things are very heavy and portentous right now. Let’s see what Saturnyne has to say, I feel like she usually has good news.

Humdrums and Dragons

Karen: The issue opens with Saturnyne and Roma hanging out in the upside hedonists’ paradise of Roma Regina. It’s time for Shogo’s lessons, but the dragon childe is hiding from his slutty aunts. I can’t imagine why, they’re only trying to tell him that one of his beloved friends is going to die and he has to watch it happen. Wait, what are they supposed to be teaching this toddler, anyway??

Nola: “La vida es dolor,” I imagine. Honestly I really kind of like what’s being built with this scene, the way that stories themselves have power in Otherworld. It’s the kind of metatextual work that always hooks me, especially given that the book is playing so much with Arthuriana at the same time. It does raise the question of whether the events that we witness this issue are real or whether they’re a story being told to Shogo in order to influence him in the creation of a new story, to which I imagine the answer is a bit of a nod and a wink.

Karen: Oh wow, that’s really fascinating, I hadn’t considered that but you just may be on to something. Howard has played with this kind of device before in Excalibur, when we got a whole issue taking place in one of Jamie Braddock’s pocket realities. The scene that Saturnyne and Roma show to Shogo isn’t precisely where we left off last issue, either. The last we saw the half of the Knights in Crooked Market, a bound Jim Jaspers was being presented to them as bait by the Sentinel-sized Furies. Here, however, we see the team still searching for Jaspers, and he doesn’t come into play until later. I had been scratching my head, trying to no-prize the discrepancy, but I was always confident you’d be able to do me one better.

If we needed another hint, the Market shoppers Rachel saves are calling her “Askani” again because of another story. The way she reacts, you’d think she hadn’t just heard a Fury call her this a few minutes ago…

We get to see some really badass action from Meggan in this scene, in any event. I’m a fan of that lady so thoroughly wrecking a giant killer robot was satisfying! I also appreciate how Gambit and Kylun seem to be close buddies.

Nola: I agree! I deeply, deeply adore Meggan, and I love seeing her as a prominent hero once again. Bob Quinn’s art really does both her and the entire Knights of X cast a lot of justice. His work just has this…energy that I really love, and his visual storytelling is top-notch.

One of the things I really loved about Tini’s Excalibur run was the way each arc really felt like casting a spell, especially in the build toward X of Swords. This absolutely feels like the next evolution of that, it builds on what’s come prior in interesting ways. It’s there in the scene Rictor and Shatterstar have with Death, too, as Betsy’s group ventures through Sevalith to find him. Speaking of which…

Night Sluts (They’re Called Vampires)

Karen: We learn that at some point between issues the Sevalithi decided they liked being called vampires as much as they love drinking mutant blood. I want to see Emplate hanging out here with them. Betsy’s (I think we’re not calling her Captain Britain anymore?) half of the team is sneaking around in the shadows, mind-controlling the vampire guards long enough for Rictor and Shatterstar to eliminate them. Bob Quinn and Erick Arciniega make Sevalith look extremely cool. Black obsidian walls slashed with glowing red light. It’s a nicely paced sequence here, slow and still except for a lightning-quick strike from the Knights and then it’s back to stealth.

It’s good they’re being quiet, because Arthur and his forces are not too far away. They get intel that the Knights are split right now and vulnerable to attack. They rush off in the direction of the half that’s furthest away, making things a lot easier for Betsy and crew as they confront Death.

Nola: Both your points about Sevalithi and Betsy are also an evolution, I think—names, and the choosing of them, are also a kind of story, as you and I both well know. This is a thread that carries from Excalibur as well; in the first issue, even, Betsy explicitly rejects the name Psylocke during the hubbub about Mutant Names, and when asked what she wants to be called, she says “Betsy.” The same is true for •┤Ȧ├• as well. Names have always had power in magic and stories both, and the idea that the Sevalithi would adopt ‘vampire’ makes sense, because of what that word evokes for the world of humans (and mutants) and what power that evocation gives them in Otherworld, a world explicitly of story.

I think the other layer here too is the shifted cultural context of the UK as an entity in the world view; Britain’s role as a colonizing nation is better understood on a wider level by western (read: white) cultures today than it was in the past, because the proliferation of information presented by the modern age of the internet has provided more access to a proper understanding of that history as recounted by the survivors of said colonialism. Within the story, Britain and the UK have rejected Betsy, and without, it’s hard to justify a hero in fiction willingly associating themselves with the empire in that fashion. As such, while she still wears the colors of patriotism (within the UK and the USA anyway), Betsy’s uniform was already less overtly referential to the Union Jack in Excalibur, and it’s even less so here, opting for big blocky chunks of color instead of the striped lines that flag is known for. Additionally, while the name ‘Captain Britain’ is referenced in regard to the Corps, Betsy’s not using it here. It feels like a deliberate distancing, in as much as I don’t think modern Marvel comics would let her reject the UK in the way that Steve Rogers once rejected the American government in comics of old. Whether or not that’s successful and enough for readers whose cultures were victims of that empire isn’t for me to say.

Karen: Absolutely. All this talk about power and story and nations makes me think about Absolon Mercator, the reality warper whose absence has made him the most conspicuous of the omega-level mutants. He’s eluded naming and definition for so long, barring entry to his realm which feels thematically relevant for someone who has such control over reality. It also makes sense that he is who now holds the Siege Perilous, a magical artifact that can do much the same with those who pass through it. At last, we learn the story of Mr. M when Rictor presents •┤Ȧ├•’s grimoire (translated by Cypher but not decoded) to Death. It was •┤Ȧ├• himself who entrusted Mr. M with the Siege to protect it until the day his mutant coven came calling. That day seems at hand, but I wonder… something about Mercator’s request to be left alone makes me think he’s not going to be so welcoming of the Knights. Does giving up the Siege mean the end of his rule of the Otherworld Kingdom?

We’ve talked about Mr. M in this column before, but I admit I haven’t yet read District X. Do you have any idea of how this squares with his appearance in that title? I want to feel some extra significance here but I just don’t have the context. All I know is that he looks a lot like Professor X to me, enough so that I did a little double-take at this page.

Nola: He looks SO much like Xavier that now I need Bob Quinn to draw Xavier so that I have a frame by which to understand the differences in his particular artistic style. I also find “Mr. M” kind of hilarious, in that he looks like Xavier, but M of course is the letter associated with Magneto, so “Mr. M” feels kind of like a knowing joke that sits between the two?

I’ll confess that I don’t know much about him. I know that he was prominent just prior to House of M (making the Mr. M thing even funnier), but I haven’t actually read District X, just the Austen and Claremont stuff from around that time. I know he’s kind of a general “absolute power corrupts absolutely” allegory in that story, but not much beyond that, except that his wish for isolation is in keeping with how his story there played out.

I don’t necessarily think giving up the Siege means that he loses his kingdom, though. I think that’s his until he doesn’t want it, as the reward for keeping the Siege safe. I do find it delightful that the story of how it left Wilhelmina’s hands is just •┤Ȧ├• going “I took it.” I also think you’re right that Mercator isn’t going to like the Knights paying him a visit, especially with Mordred in tow.

At any rate, both •┤Ȧ├•’s grimoire and the framing story of this issue have now demanded a Death in exchange for the continuance of the quest, so shall we talk about that?

For Whom The Belle Tolls

Karen: Rictor and Shatterstar definitely want to talk about it. Rictor is ready to offer himself as tribute to repay everything •┤Ȧ├• has done for him. Howard has done a good job of teasing death for almost every character throughout the issue without making it too overt or silly. This scene between the embattled lovers is particularly heartwrenching, thanks in no small part to Quinn’s visual acting. The panel where ‘Star cradles Ric’s worried head really gets me in the feels.

Rictor’s arc from the beginning has seen him pulled out of the jaws of death and given new purpose and identity. Though he seems to return to where he started, he insists that he’s making the choice from a position of possibilities, rather than the lack of them. Knowing what we know of his character, it’s hard to know whether to trust this assertion and Shatterstar reflects our doubt. As the one who loves this man completely, Shatterstar is supportive and understanding but is also firm in his denial. However noble the reason, Shatterstar rejects Rictor’s offer of sacrifice.

The discussion is put on hold when Betsy and Rachel’s telepathic link reconnects, and the whole team is to reunite at the Market.

Nola: There’s really something in this issue about the way characters are absolutely willing to lay it on the line for one another. It’s Rictor knowing that a sacrifice is ready, it’s the way they can’t leave when a Fury shows up to Jasper’s intended execution, it’s in the way Gambit closes out this issue. I really appreciate the statement behind it all that it’s more than just “good guys fighting bad guys,” it’s people willing to die in the fight for freedom from tyranny, over and over. When Mordred insists they go after the Siege as soon as they learn of its whereabouts, Betsy corners him and reminds him that she’s here to save mutant lives, full stop. That’s the thing that matters, not the MacGuffin of the moment, whether that MacGuffin is a grimoire or an Arthurian brooch.

Karen: Yes! I really loved how much leadership Betsy is showing here. She’s truly worthy of her captain appellation, keeping focused on the core mission and managing an honestly stuffed roster. Gambit is also shown in a very heroic light here, as well, the issue’s resolution aside. He’s taken his role as a friend and protector of the Crooked Market patrons quite seriously, and he refuses to let them down in any way. Gambit has had a somewhat uneasy fit amongst both Excalibur and the Knights of X, and this is finally a niche suited to him. Kind of stacks the deck against him, narratively, huh?

Nola: Oh, definitely. He really plays into it with aplomb though. There’s a kind of daring that he’s always had as a character, a willingness to gamble and take risks, and that’s on full display here. As he and Meggan are in the midst of freeing and rescuing Jim Jaspers, none other than Merlyn himself bears down on their position. It’s a very brief encounter, but significant! Gambit shoos Meggan and Jim away and jumps in to fight Merlyn using a charged tarot card from the deck he stole from the Starlight Citadel way back in Excalibur #11. Merlyn commands him to die (Power Word Kill is a 9th-level Wizard spell) and Gambit retorts with an iconic “I BEEN DEATH!” before, well…dying, it looks like.

It’s a really charged (heh) scene for a few reasons. There’s an entire issue’s worth of foreshadowing that someone is going to die of course, but what’s interesting here too is the invocation of the Death card on top of everything, because of course that’s the card he used. Like Rictor talked about earlier in the issue, it’s a card that symbolizes change in tarot, and given the confluence of that, the way that death in Otherworld changes mutants (whether or not this one actually happened, that’s still an influence upon the story told here), and the presence of the Siege Perilous in this arc, I think it’s setting up a big status quo shift for Gambit, something to give him some direction outside of being a Wife Guy. It’s not that Wife Guy doesn’t suit him, of course, it’s just that he’s not exactly been in a great place since Rogue stepped over to the main X-Men roster.

Karen: Gambit is one of the least remembered Death horsemen, at least from my perspective. It’s like I forgot that happened with as much frequency as I’m reminded of it, which is a shame because the black skin and white hair were certainly something. •┤Ȧ├•’s closing data page is quite sweet, and maybe offers some insight as to why he always chooses heroes for this dirty job. I do quite like the X-Men trope of Death always being someone you care about, since that’s how death is. It strikes at those closest to you, it can feel like a betrayal, it catches you when you’re least expecting it.

The only other thing I’ll say about Gambit’s death is that Quinn’s final image has strong Adam Kubert energy –– particularly those fingers –– and it’s an influence I hadn’t noticed before now but that makes perfect sense. Kubert might actually be my favorite Gambit artist now that I think about it, so it’s a favorable comparison for sure. This splash page is superimposed by ripples of the scrying pool back on Roma Regina, further lending credence to your theory that this is a tailored vision for young Shogo and potentially not the actual events unfolding.

Nola: Quinn’s art is phenomenal. I enjoyed To on Excalibur, but I think I said before how his faces all felt a little soft to me? There was none of that sharpness, or strength of features that I associate with these characters. On the other hand, panels like Rachel’s face when talking about Jim, right before she’s called Askani? That likeness, the expressiveness of it is incredible. I really, really dug this issue. There are so many layers of storytelling present here, so many models of meaning displayed for the concepts it discusses. The entire team is killing it (heh) every issue

Karen: I continue to enjoy this series, and as much is packed in each issue, I continue to be impatient for the next one. By all accounts, Mercator is next and my anticipation is extremely high. I’m left with the question, however, that if Gambit isn’t really dead (he does have a super hot outfit for the Gala after all…), will someone else need to be sacrificed to get the Siege Perilous? The quest continues.

X-Traneous Thoughts

Shogo is shrinking! Are we going to get Lockheed II?
Harold, they’re lesbians.
Whereas last issue Gambit was my comic-relief MVP, this issue it’s Shatterstar. His line about Betsy’s accent and the look on his face as Rictor hands him a druid staff were both priceless.
Mordred’s mutant power is being a $#!*head and I love that for him.
In Earth X, Cyclops insisted his students call him “Mr. S.” Neither here nor there, I just think it’s neat.
One thing that I’m really enjoying about the current Betsy design is the way the hooded look is reminiscent of her “Mutant Batman” days in the Outback.