Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely
Buddha
There is nothing so common to the human experience as fear. The fear of what could be, might be…what if.
What if it all goes wrong?
What if the plans go awry?
What if I fail?
What if I’ve already failed?
X-Men fans are no strangers to fear. The entire line is in flux, with new creative teams announced, and long-running series barreling (with varying degrees of success) to their collective endpoints.
Here, in Resurrection of Magneto, Al Ewing writes a coda for the two characters who’ve been nurtured, quite arguably, better than any other character during the Krakoan era (save Apocalypse, who, unsurprisingly, Al has also added lore and depth to.)
But even his normally excellent work isn’t safe from fear.
Quite literally in Resurrection of Magneto #3: The Magic Queen of the Skies and the Master of Magnetism, covered by the emotions and feelings death brings, face off against an eternal bastion of beguilement, the Shadow King — the master of making fears manifest, seeking yet another avatar, another victim.
And, metaphorically, for the readers: fear for the fate of the characters on page, fear for the fate of characters and characterizations so many came to adore.
Fear of what’s next, fear that what we’ve seen will be no longer be.
Yet for all these ruminations, fear does not rule Resurrection of Magneto #3. Ewing, as he does better than almost anyone else, forces our heroes to use their powers as an allegory for the only way to quell fear.
Acceptance.
As such, let’s allow worry of tomorrow to slide to the side and focus on what is today.
Because what is, is — quite frankly —beautiful.
People are afraid because they have never owned up to themselves
Herman Hesse
We begin the story with, as villains are wont to do, a taunt: the mask of Annihilation (uh, annihilated by Storm during the waning days of X-Men Red), reappears in the afterlife, provocatively teasing Storm, asking if she really thinks her trials are over.
Of course not. As she says, she is “never done.”
It’s unclear if this is really Annihilation — or Bete Noir, or The Adversary, or The First Fallen, or Goblin Force, whose faces are all included in the splash page and all fill a role of foil for Storm. The implication is that they are simply different faces of the same evil — very possible, given their natures, desires, and effects.
Also possible, and I’d argue more likely based on the interactions with Magneto: this is all Shadow King, rummaging through Storm’s mind to find the adversaries she finds most upsetting, hoping to crush her spirit and soul. Yes, they all could be faces of the same evil, and in many ways they are — metaphorically.
But literally, this is all Shadow King. Probably.
In his First Fallen form, he traps Storm in the visage many remember her in: an old uniform, big hair, encased in silver. “Perfect” maybe, but…unmoving, unmovable. Unable to fail because she’s not allowed to move.
The glorious image of her breaking free of the reins of stagnation should resonate deeply for comic fans about to embark on another dose of nostalgia: Storm — the character and the characterization — must be allow to grow, even if growth might mean failure.
For even failure is a form of freedom, and does she — we — not deserve to live free of stagnation and outmoded expectations?
Ahem.
Next, a visage of Annihilation takes command, asking, quite pertinently for a woman who is always in command: is Storm addicted to responsibility?
Can the world go on without her?
Does she even want a world that doesn’t require her?
The Shadow King, of course, wants a fight. He wants her to strike him. He wants to trigger her, goad her into a battle, alone.
And Ororo, of course, is tempted. She does see herself as central. She does want to heal, to protect, to take the burden on her shoulders so no one else must bear it.
But as the Regent of Arrakko, she remembers to heed the lesson she’s taught so many others:
You are never alone.
We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays
Persius
Magneto, too, is tempted by the Shadow King, though in a more subtle manner. Rather than initiate a metaphorical fight, Shadow King appears as the two men Magneto loves most: first as Charles, then as Magneto himself, in iconic red and purple garb, trying to reignite the rage and hatred that drove Max to shame.
Most, if not all, of the Shadow King’s dialogue to Max directly quotes Magneto himself. “Beware of good men,” the same warning he gave Storm as he was dying; defending the characterization of the Brotherhood’s “evil” roots (quite convincingly — “libel of the oppressor” is an absolutely brilliant phrasing); emerging as a mutant supremacist, wishing damnation and oppression against those he’s oppressed.
In lesser comics, the next beat would be obvious. In a lesser comic, Magneto would reject these words, promising to be a better man in spite of what he was.
But Al Ewing does not write lesser comics.
Magneto does not run from who he is. As his eyes were opened in the last issue, he accepts his rage, just as he accepts the lives he’s saved — both as the central cause and effect of his being. He literally and figuratively sees himself, all of himself, and in acknowledging and accepting what he has been, he’s grown into someone greater.
Someone worthy of returning to the living.
The Resurrection of Magneto, then, is less about Magneto returning from death, and more about him returning from the guilt and self hatred that plagued him from the first issue of X-Men Red. Magneto has forgiven himself, and in that forgiveness, he’s found a reason to live.
And no sooner does he accept this than he’s prodded to give up what he’s just accepted.
I’d rather give my life than be afraid to give it
Lyndon B. Johnson
And so, as Magneto forgives himself and Ororo allows herself the freedom to ask for assistance, the two join hands yet again to stave off an eternal evil.
It’s not clear how much magnetism and weather manipulation would take you in the next world, where weather patterns and magnetic fields don’t exist.
But strength of will does.
Thus, their pairing is illustrated as an electrical force, but that illustration is simply a manifestation of their collective wills. And with their wills rejuvenated and joined, the brightness of joy and hope casts out the Shadow and it’s King.
God, this is all so, so good.
Everything in Resurrection of Magneto #3 is drawn so, so well. Beautifully structured faces. Beautifully weathered. Horrific, and familiar, yet…sexy. The colors maybe don’t do these illustrations justice — yes, everything has to be covered in dark, but some of the colors feel unnecessarily muted, like the brightness is a 60% when maybe it should be 85%. Still, everything presented fits and works. Luciano Vecchio, David Curiel, and Jesus Alburtov — collect your flowers. You’ve all earned them, three times over.
The beautiful flash of faith almost take Storm out, and thus Magneto gives of himself in the same way Storm did for him, to keep him alive after fighting off Uranos’ monsters.
The circle is again complete. Storm is alive, and so is Magneto.
My God have mercy on anyone who stands in their way.
(Or, you know, not. The Fascists have it coming. Screw ‘em.)
Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within
James Baldwin
We have one more issue of Resurrection left, capping off what’s been a highlight – if not the highlight – of the past few years of X-comics. I many not be happy that we’re at the end, but like the Arakki, I do not fear a life that ends. Thus I’ll be looking forward the coda of this glorious tale, full of hope, not fear, of what the future will bring.
I don’t think Max or Ororo would have it any other way.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- The cover of the next issue looks to bring back magneto’s big M uniform…a uniform I’m 99% sure is in the new cartoon. Nostalgia and synergy will be the death of us all.
- With Blue Marvel and Taaia on the last page, the protagonists of Ewing’s last few series are all on the same page. We seem to be missing a guardian of the galaxy and an Asgardian, but maybe Nova (or Rocket) will show up. For what it’s worth, it would not surprise me at all to see Loki make a cameo.
- Remember that Storm’s faux-hawk is a subjectively better look than a bald mohawk, but her textured hair is objectively better than the straightened hair all too many creators give her.
A proud New Orleanian living in the District of Columbia, Jude Jones is a professional thinker, amateur photographer, burgeoning runner and lover of Black culture, love and life. Magneto and Cyclops (and Killmonger) were right.
Find more of Jude’s writing here.
