A few important events have happened since we last met! Welcome to X-Chat #8!
In X-Men #18, the Brood invade and have captured Corsair, but King Broo is nowhere to be found, from Gerry Duggan, Stefano Caselli, Federico Blee and Clayton Cowles!
The Beast Protocol begins in Wolverine #30 from Benjamin Percy, Juan Jose Ryp, Frank Martin, andĀ Corey Petit!
And in X-Force #38, Xeno’s engame arrives in the form of the Omni-Mutant by Benjamin Percy, Robert Gill, , Guru-eFX, and Joe Caramagna!
Itās A Trap! (X-Men #18)
Tony Thorley: So one of my favorite set-ups from the Hickman volume of X-Men was, without a doubt, Broo becoming the King of the Brood. Iām so glad to finally get a follow-up, and Iām really glad that follow-up is āItās not as simple as that.ā
Matt Lazorwitz: I think we all knew it wasnāt going to be as simple as that, and boy is it ever not. We have two very distinct plotlines here. One with most of our X-Men trying to save Corsair, while Forge and Penance (a welcome new addition to the book) go through a portal to Knowhere. Did I miss something, or is that last bit something completely new?Ā
Tony: Yeah, I donāt think that latter plotline hasnāt even been hinted at in this book. Bare minimum it made for some truly gorgeous pages from Stefano Caselli and Federico Blee (hi, new art team!). Thereās not much to that plotline until the last page though.
X-Men #18 does do a lot as far as giving the series an overarching theme. While Iām liking this cast significantly more than the Year One cast, the more episodic arcs have made for a much more disjointed story. At least this arc is a follow-up from something earlier in the Krakoa era.
Matt: Overall, I enjoyed this issue. I think I said it when we were talking about Dark Web: X-Men, but I am all about Summers family messiness, and so here we have everyone going to rescue a Brood infected Corsair, which gives us some great action scenes and Scott, as always, being right on the edge of losing his dad. Itās one of those times I wish one of the O5 would reference the fact that they have memories from when they were time displaced in the Bendis era, since Scott has more memories of his father, but I think everyone does their best not to reference that era.Ā
Iām also glad weāre getting some follow up on Synchās aging when using his powers for long range synchs. That was something that was mentioned and then just sort of dropped. Although, you know what? Iād like a little more on how that all worked. He synched with Jean when she was there, but then she went out of range, so does that require more effort? Because if it does, wouldnāt it have been a lot easier to just long range synch with, say, Elixir, and just heal Corsair, rather than having to use the telekinesis for all that time? Or am I overthinking something that is there for narrative reasons?
Tony: Thatās a fantastic question. I donāt think youāre overthinking it, but I wonder if itās just a matter of Duggan having not thought of that yet? I like seeing the evolution of Synchās powers coming with a consequence, and Iām glad itās finally getting followed up on. Iām starting to wonder if heās getting too much plot though. I mean, thereās the growth of his powers, his relationship with Laura, the aging dilemmaā¦ Thereās so much happening to Ev that itās almost too much, especially for a team book.
Matt: It definitely makes me sure that he is going to stay on the team after the next Gala. At this point, he is as central to this book as Scott and Jean.
Tony: Last thing I have to say is how good is Caselli and Blee as a team. Really the only downside of them joining this book is that they may not return to X-Men Red after “Sins of Sinister” is all over. They did fabulous things all throughout this issue, whether itās the journey through the event horizon or the Corsair surgery or Iceman and Firestar just blasting Brood, they brought their A-game.
Matt: The Corsair surgery, or rather, the distended stomach with the Brood preparing to tear its way through it, will be in my nightmares for years to come. Thanks a whole lot, talented art team. Iāll be forwarding my therapist bills on to Marvel.
That Blue @$$#*(% (Wolverine #30)
Tony: Look, I know this storyline isnāt over, but that has to be one of the most satisfying issues of Ben Percyās Wolverine to date. This issue is the culmination of three years of X-Force and two and a half years of Wolverine, and I really enjoyed it, especially counter to our frustrations with X-Force #37.
Matt: Yeah, Hank McCoy finally got what was coming to him. But only after he sunk to new lows. Up to a certain point, nearly everything Hank has done, as crappy as it has been, could be justified. But his prison experimentation was a bridge too far, and this issue, where he attempts to kill an innocent child to hide his secret, he burned that bridge behind him.
And while it was viscerally satisfying, I have a bad feeling like this was playing right into Hankās hands. For someone who likes to keep his own hands clean of field ops, him assassinating Jeff Bannister himself seems too easy. Especially based around that stinger scene.
Tony: Yeah, that thought crossed my mind too. The thought āsomethingās off hereā occurred in those last few pages several times. I really hope Percy isnāt going for an outside influence thing, because that thought crossed my mind too. I want this entirely to be the result of Hank continuously having shitty ethics (even dating back to experimenting on himself in Amazing Adventures), and not something like āLady Mastermind has been manipulating his mind.ā (Outlandish suspect only chosen for illustrative purposes.)
Plot-wise, this is straightforward. Logan is pissed. This leads him and Sage to try to find out as much as possible about what Hankās doing, while dealing with just about every damn obstacle they can. Finally Logan catches up to him and guts him. Overall, itās a solid espionage action thriller.
Matt: Oh, Iām pretty sure this is just Hankās shitty ethics and his tremendous hubris. I think he built that backup Hank (which I feel like must be some kind of violation of the laws of Krakoa), and did this whole thing so Logan could kill him and he can now operate under the radar.
Just how straightforward it all is makes me more sure this is part of Beastās plan. This is a guy who has been all about wheels within wheels within tires within some other round thing since the dawn of this era. No way is he just going to shoot a guy with a sniper rifle.
Tony: Or maybe itās not so he can operate under the radar. Maybe itās so he can avoid being backed up to a previous version or remove him from the resurrection queue, or even immediately arrest him upon resurrection. So immediately upon death, heās back, and they canāt force him to the bottom of the queue, or make alterations or anything like that.
Matt: Oh, yeah, that definitely crossed my mind. The idea of Hank being backed up to a time before he went pure bastard is one that is often bandied about in fandom to redeem him, so I canāt imagine the idea hasnāt crossed Hankās own mind.
This leaves me with the question what other black book genetic work has Beast been up to. I think that is going to be a big part of the rest of this arc.
Tony: And the next few X-Force issues. Speaking ofā¦
An Ignominious End (X-Force #38)
Tony: I donāt get to use big words like that often, but I canāt think of one better here. After last issueās stumble, this issue of X-Force is all about plot resolution, just like Wolverine #30. I think the only downside to this issue providing at least partial resolution to the Xeno plot is that weāre not going to get the Genosha story that we were hopeful about.
Domino, Deadpool and Omega Red invade Peacock Tattooās base in Genosha. They fight the Omnimutant and the day is saved because Peacock Tattoo tries to dissect the young mutant that he tried to kidnap and turn against Krakoa. Naturally, that turns young Max against his new father.
Matt: It definitely wraps up the Peacock Tattoo arc, thatās for sure. Hate to be that guy. This is definitely a better issue than last, but thatās partially because this doesnāt play into the expectations game. Looking back on that previous issue with a cooler head, the reveal isnāt a bad one, itās just one that hadnāt earned 37 issues of build up. Here, though, we get the end of a villain that is worth the wait. His death, like that of the original genetic engineer, Dr. Moreau of HG Wells fame, is at the hands of his own creations. And good for them!
Tony: Yeah, that was a very cathartic page, just like the Beast one. Also, some good catharsis for Domino, whose trauma at the hands of Xeno has been confronted. Is it resolved? Doesnāt seem like it by a long shot, but she definitely seems to be in a better place. With Colossus joining the team next issue, it seems to me weāre going to see a segue into that plot, then probably a resolution of the Mikhail Rasputin plot.
Wheels within wheels, like you said. Itās a pretty straightforward issue. Omega Red gets used as a data uploader to Krakoa, Wade isnāt unbearable and Sage gets a huge list of Xeno operatives. Of course, Beast is plotting how to use it for ill, so Iām guessing this issue is set before the current Wolverine arc?
Matt: Seems that way to me too.
I have one possible complaint, but I really need to see how the next couple issues pan out before I get too much on my high horse about it. The end of the issue, with Domino holding young Max, gives the vibe that part of her catharsis is taking in this other victim of the Xeno. Dan (Grote, our fellow CXG staffer and my podcasting partner over at WMQ&A) and I were talking about this issue, and that note just seemed a little too much of a trope for either of us. I donāt like the idea that Domino is going to settle down and be a mom to a kid and that will help āfix her.ā As Jay & Miles say on their show, Domino is mutantdom’s best wine mom, but that doesn’t make her a mom-mom.Ā
Tony: That’s a good point. I’m pretty sure Max still has parents back on Krakoa but even if he doesn’t, Dom is a poor fit. It’s like what you said before about Synch ā too much plot for one character, especially here, where the cast is getting shaken up next issue.Ā
But like you said, we’ll see.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- For everyone whoās hated Beast over the course of the Krakoa era, how satisfying was the page of Logan gutting him? I mean, seriously.
- Iām hoping the title of this issue of Wolverine was an intentional reference to the truly insane 1974 werewolf movie, The Beast Must Die. Check it out if you havenāt seen it.Ā
- Seriously, Weapon Omega or Weapon X-Force would have been such a better name than “Omni-mutant”.
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. Heās also very humble.
