We’re a little behind but a few important events have happened since we last met!
In X-Force #37, we finally meet the head of Xeno, the Man with the Peacock Tattoo, from Benjamin Percy, Robert Gill, Guru-eFx, and Joe Caramagna!
Meanwhile, “Inferno II Electric Boogaloo” ends in Dark Web Finale #1 from Zeb Wells, Adam Kubert, Francesco Mortarino, Scott Hanna, Frank Martin, Guru-eFx and Joe Caramagna!
The Big Reveal! (X-Force #37)
Tony: Hey Matt! Matt! Matt! Guess what? Long form storytelling wins in this issue. And just like any years-long storyline, the reveal is ultimately a bit unsatisfying!
So Beast’s smug plan is thwarted, and he’s just handed Xeno a Krakoan egg, the secret to resurrection. As such Peacock Tattoo reveals his history to the young mutant that helped him crack the mysteries of the egg (I’m sorry). And… well, what did you think?
Matt: I think 37 issues is way too long for this reveal to work as a shock twist, especially juxtaposed with the much more interesting four Sinisters reveal played out over a shorter time and proved more impactful. We’re a couple weeks out from the twist, so I’m going to spoil it here.
The Man With the Peacock Tattoo is a clone of the Genoshan Genegineer. Not the Genegineer reborn. Not the son of the Genegineer. A heretofore unknown clone. While I feel like this is thematically suited to what we’ve been reading in X-Force from the beginning (this Genegineer being a science experiment gone awry, as well as a mistreated result of human experimentation), a thematic thing doesn’t make the reveal a shocking one. Maybe if it didn’t feel like this was something being built up as something which would take readers’ breath away. That could also be blamed on marketing, I suppose…
I wish I had the time to go back and reread this run and see if the seeds were planted anywhere (hey, look, another Krakoa pun!).
Tony: I agree with that. I haven’t read X-Force as religiously as I have other series in the line, but I think I’ve read every appearance of Peacock Tattoo except the recent Ms. Marvel miniseries. While logically the Genegineer makes sense, there are several others that would make way more sense — Cameron Hodge, or a returned Bolivar Trask, for example. A clone that we didn’t know about jumps the shark a bit, especially since there’s a few leaps of logic in this story to get him to the point that he can be Peacock Tattoo.
I’m genuinely glad that Percy got to tell his entire story, but you’re exactly right in how it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as it could have been, especially in comparison to other stories in the line. That said, it could lead to some interesting things. Genosha has more or less been a dropped plotline since Empyre X-Men, so this could lead into some interesting plot threads there among others. But it’s pretty bland otherwise.
Matt: It seems like it’s Genosha’s time to shine again, as it is popping up in this month’s issue of Marauders as well.
Aside from the lackluster reveal, there were a lot of positives in this issue. The thing that grabbed me most was Domino regaining her memories from the past, and her learning that Colossus went against her wish to keep them. With Piotr returning to this book soon, I think a reckoning on that is at hand. And with the mystery of the Man With the Peacock Tattoo resolved, Mikhail is probably next up.
Tony: I forgot about the Domino thing, I was so focused on Peacock Tattoo! That is going to be a lot of fun to see develop from here, especially with Piotr on the council now!
Everybody Limbo! (Dark Web Finale #1)
Tony: I’m a Ben Reilly fan, and just like you’re mad about Peacock Tattoo’s true identity, I’m mad about Ben Reilly’s fate. So, Ben goes full evil, Spidey and the X-Men (including honorary member Maddy Pryor) team-up to stop him and chaos ensues from there.
“Dark Web” has been a straight up popcorn-style action story. There’s a few speeches, some funny one-liners (thank you, Forge) and a few fist pumping moments. But it could have been elevated. It could have shown an ending that’s all about identity and brotherhood and finding resolution. That’s what Jean and Maddy did. That could have foreshadowed the resolution for Peter and Ben. Instead, it gets left hanging and unresolved.
Matt: I can’t argue with anything you say here. Even as someone with minimal-to-no attachment to Ben Reilly, I feel like the ending of this story just punts his resolution downfield. What was supposed to be one of, if not the, central character arc of this event is just something for which we have to “wait and see”, as he is bound to escape from Limbo eventually.
Tony: And the thing that kills me is that Jean and Maddy are RIGHT THERE. How did this story not end with Jean offering to serve as a conduit between these two brothers? I genuinely thought that was the whole purpose of the X-Men being involved in the end. Something along those lines will still be how it’s resolved but it really could (and should) have happened here. I mean, the first Timeless one-shot hinted that Ben would end up the Spider-Man of Hollywood. That seems like a way more interesting status quo than “penance in Limbo.”
Matt: And it’s not like he’s penitent. He still feels like he did no wrong. I don’t know exactly what the point of keeping him in Limbo is, aside from setting up that eventual escape story. You’re stranding him in the X-books where he has no arc.
Dark Web Finale was a fun, pretty piece of fluff. It committed one of the cardinal sins of an event comic: it felt like it was simply setting up another event. On top of the Ben stuff, we walk out with Limbo now a political power on Earth. Neat idea? Absolutely. But it feels more like set-up for something in X-Men or part of the upcoming “Fall of X” than a story beat for this crossover.
Tony: In our team Slack, that was the one thing I pointed out that felt cool. You say that feels like set-up for “Fall of X”, but who knows? It may be, it may not. At least with Havok still in X-Men for a few months at least, and the Limbo Embassy sharing a zip code with the Treehouse, we’ll probably see it pop up there.
As for Ben Reilly? We’ll see. And Hallow’s Eve and Rek-Rap are apparently still out there, which is cool for the former (Janine finally is an actual character!), but WTF for the latter.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- Absolutely love that everyone is ignoring Beast in X-Force. Hate that it’s the only consequence of basically becoming Dark Beast, but hilarious that’s how we’re spinning wheels until Wolverine punches him in the face later this month.
- It shows how desensitized Marvel New York is to have that horrifying Limbo Embassy now as part of the skyline, and yet NO ONE NOTICES.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
