A strategic stop in Madripoor turns into an international incident as Mystique prepares her endgame against SHIELD. But what is the mother of mutant terrorism after in Lowtown? And what have her enemies sent to deal with her? Mystique #3 is written and illustrated by Declan Shalvey, colored by Matt Hollingsworth and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Nothing says Christmas like a spy shapeshifter one-woman army hellbent on causing chaos, right? As I tell my [redacted] at Christmas every year, you could choose to be Santa Claus, you could choose to be Rudolph, you could choose to bring some modicum of Christmas cheer. Yet here you are, miserable as ever, flipping over the Monopoly board yet again. And what is Mystique if not the hellbent, win-at-all costs Auntie/Mother/Father of the X-Men? I canât think of anyone who represents the bubbling of tensions and resentments around a Christmas dinner table better than Raven Darkhölme. And that, I promise, is the end of my incredibly tenuous attempt at connecting Mystique #3 to Christmas.
Iâve enjoyed Mystique quite a bit so far. As I outlined in the ComicsXF From the Ashes ranking, this book is slick; itâs simple but effective, with a clear identity. Declan Shalvey has a clear and coherent vision for the story â two former titans of the spy world trying to reclaim what theyâve lost in an action-packed thriller. Itâs seen Raven come across former friends and foes alike, and piss off everyone in the process. Sheâs back, more or less, to where she was pre-Krakoa (except, famously, having her wife back) â cross that one off your From the Ashes bingo card â but this is a reversion I donât mind at all. Sheâs lost some of the melodrama Kieron Gillen wrote her with (who doesnât?), but sheâs just as complicated and devious as ever.
Issue #3 is something of a side mission to the overarching Mystique vs. Fury plot, and holds the Destiny reveal in reserve for future issues. With that narrative tension bubbling beneath the surface seemingly unbeknownst to our titular character, the plot focuses on Mystiqueâs extraction of Fabian Cortez while Fury and Maria Hill put the pieces of their op in place. This works not only from a plot progression perspective but gives the reader a fun experience with lone rogue Mystique before her wifeâs return inevitably flips the script entirely.
The thrust of the issue is that both Mystique and the Sentinels from Alex Paknadel and Justin Masonâs Sentinels series are hunting Cortez, whoâs hiding out in Madripoor healing the sick (yes, you heard that right). Ravenâs motivations arenât entirely clear, but she describes him as her âkey to the door.â Naturally, sheâs rather disappointed to hear that Magnetoâs most zealous Acolyte is attempting to atone for his life of shitheaddery, and seems unaware of the extent of his newfound healing abilities. Sheâs seemingly there for his power augmentation, although not quite at the moment he powers up who he thinks is Magneto, which gives Mystique unwanted mastery over magnetism. She defeats the Sentinels, packs Cortez up in the boot of her car and flees the scene. As the issue closes, Raven laments being too old for this shit, before menacingly telling Cortez sheâll need his gifts âOne More Time.â Whether this will be in service of her deteriorating condition or to help her wife, who also appears to be struggling, is a mystery for another day.
I continue to enjoy the way Shalvey writes and draws Mystique. The way he depicts her moving through shadows, chatting away to herself as she slinks through the night practically on autopilot, is delightful. But itâs not just there for entertainment value. As is wholly appropriate with this character, thereâs an element of facade to it, too. Wounded and weakened, but entirely focused on the mission, Mystiqueâs mutant gift allows her to present as the ideal version of herself at any one time, and itâs telling that in this issue she switches to Beast for elements of the stealth mission, Magneto to intimidate and Colossus to display strength. Thereâs of course tactical reasons for all of these, especially Magneto, but it does hint at some self-doubt and an underlying melancholy beneath the surface of her cold, steely gaze.
The Magneto vs. Sentinels fight gives us the type of big superhero fight thatâs largely been absent from this series. While there is a narratively convenient reason for Mystique to possess mastery over magnetism, itâs a little out of step with the more lowkey storytelling style that Iâve been enjoying from this series. Iâd take Mystique slyly shooting someone in the back over going full-on EMP blast any day, but maybe thatâs just me.
The Sentinels act primarily as fodder in this scene, but having seen the heavy toll it takes on a couple of them in Sentinels already, this is to be expected. However, I think the dual scenes would have dovetailed together better if Iâd read this issue first, as the cause-and-effect element would have been clearer. The crossover works OK, but it was a slight missed opportunity. The reason I view this Magneto scene partially favorably, though, is because itâs inconvenient for Mystique, and exposes some of her weaknesses in interesting ways.
Her decision not to kill Voivod, the Sentinel lying prostrate on the floor, was evidence of a little sentimentality creeping in. It doesnât quite chime with the Mystique of the first two issues, which again suggests she has come through this mission changed in some way. The problem I have is that the mission doesnât feel that consequential, which is an effect of the way the issue is structured. It reaches its crescendo from a momentum point of view around the halfway mark, then peters out a little bit as Mystique flees. The cutaway to Fury and Hill surveying Raven is narratively important, but it means we jump from Mystique walking away from battle to getting out of her car exhausted. I canât help but feel that a scene of her driving away, struggling with the aftereffects of Cortezâs power-up would have had more impact.
The issueâs closing scene, however, really encapsulates whatâs great about this series and the character generally. Despite her self-doubts, her fierce reputation and appearance of strength is sometimes enough to get the job done. As the realization dawns on Cortez that his captor is not his precious Lord Magneto but Mystique, the way Shalvey uses alternating horizontal panels to contrast his reaction to both, emphasizing the sheer terror she causes, is brilliant. The panel, which is drawn from Cortezâs point of view, shows Mystique staring uncaringly down at him, ready to unleash whatever violence will achieve her goal. Itâs absolutely chilling. The way the last two panels narrow as they descend and Mystique prepares to bring the pain leaves everybody in no doubt whatsoever: Mystique does not â under any circumstances â fuck around.
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Jake Murray spends far too much time wondering if the New Mutants are OK. When he's not doing that, he can be found talking and writing about comics with anyone who will listen.
