The graphic novel follows Neesha Sparks and Gabby Graciana on their respected first days of school at Durham Western High School, probably named after a racist.
Neesha is black, lesbian, activist, costume designer, and has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. Formerly from New York.
Gabby is a bisexual, Puerto Rican -Mexican surfer, who has PTSD, and incredible shoulders. Formerly from Florida.
Both of them find themselves in North Carolina, Ric Flair country, even though I’ve met several people from North Carolina, and none of them have known who Ric Flair is.
They find each other, and find a way to navigate through the junior year of high school.
This is one of those graphic novels you read, then reread, then think about for a full week, and then feel compelled to tell other people about it.
I love the characters so much, I love the art, and the lettering makes it so easy to read.
Neesha is a defender of all, especially of herself and her friends. She immediately starts the book off confronting her principal about his misconceptions of her disability.
Gabby has a mysterious past that once we find out what happened one stormy night, we completely get her on a different level.
These ladies really enjoy manga, especially Super Navigator Nozomi by Hiromu Takeuchi. Don’t worry dear reader, we are treated to pages of Super Navigator Nozomi that may or may not tie into what the ladies are experiencing in their current lives. There are seven volumes of Super Navigator Nozomi, that they are determined to seek out all seven volumes.
Neesha’s parents are divorced, she is currently living with her mother, Holly, and her father still lives in New York City.
Gabby’s father is a widower, and she lives with him, and her two younger brothers, Ian and Alexander, who are not twins.
I adore seeing how Gabby softens Neesha, who didn’t want any new friends, but gets a great one in Gabby.
I really appreciate how supportive their families are with their daughters, and their friends.
At first, I didn’t like Gabby’s father, Gabriel, who came off extremely intense, but then we get more of an understanding of why that is.
We learn about Neesha and Gabby’s romantic pasts. Gabby starts the novel with her boyfriend, Josh, who is a jerk. She’s dated a Caridad, who kissed Gabby, then broke up with her over text a week later.
Neesha has dated Star, who introduced her to anime and manga, and then dated another gal who . . . didn’t have great intentions.
How they receive the seventh volume, had my eyes start tearing up. Such a lovely moment.
There is also a second volume coming out in November, that you have to read!
Midnight X-Men 2 AIPT guessed we might get Kitty Pryde in issue one, so I’m very excited about issue two.
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Midnight Spider-Man 2 sounds very interesting as well.
Predator vs Punisher 1 sounds like fun.
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I still find it odd they placed Midnight in front of those titles to keep them together, yet, for this Incursions event, they go with the character names first. But also, I’m on board for X-Men Incursions. Days of Future Past Kate Pryde vs House of M, yes please! I’m going to get the regular cover.
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DNX 4, I want the Vicentini cover, as Magik is more featured on that one.
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DNX 5, we’re double shipping DNX now?! We must be making room for whatever kicks off 2027. I want the Camuncoli cover, as it has Magik’s head on it.
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Jean Grey 1, she’s back, and joining Cyclops’ Alaska X-Men, so I should get this as I’m sure Magik will appear.
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X-Men 41, Magik is back to being on the covers, and November is already starting to feel pricy. I’m going to want the regular cover as Magik is more of a focus on that one.
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X-Orcists 1, with both Ashley Allen and German Peralta?! And Magik and Madelyne Pryor?! I’m getting that Russell Dauterman cover, for sure. I would want more covers of this, but I need to limit myself.
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Tomb of Apocalypse 4, I saw Calico and Ember were going to be in issue one, and now I’m having regrets not preordering this series.
Generation X-23 10, it is the story’s finale, but is it the series finale?!
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X-Men United 9, I guess it wasn’t the Shadow King after all (Solicitations can be so silly sometimes). Hopefully Kitty is on one of the five variant covers.
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Uncanny X-Men 38, we’re back to both Graymalkin Prison, and failed Wolverine experiments.
Uncanny X-Men 39, and we’re double shipping!
Gambit Wanted 5, the final issue, and we get a cover with Jean, Logan, Scott, and Lil Ro.
Gambit Gone 3, still a weird miniseries concept for me, but if you like Gambit, this has two of them for you.
Wolverine 29, I wonder who the “friend” is?
Wolverine Paradise 2, odd to me they didn’t put Dazzler’s name in the title here.
Punisher Showdowns : Wolverine 1, another event where they put the title first, and character second. Why is Incursions different? This is the only issue of the event I was interested in.
Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane 1, with Ashley Allen AND Phil Noto?! If I was ever going to buy a Spider-Man title, this would be it.
Spider-Woman 1, getting a new ongoing to celebrate her 50th anniversary, I like that.
Amazing Spider-Man 1004, has Logan on the cover, that’s pretty cool.
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Black Cat 16, I had completely forgot to anticipate this Black Cat / X-Men crossover! Felicia and Emma Frost are a fun combination. I wonder if Kitty would be in this?
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Iron Man 11, Carmen Carnero drawing Reed and Sue fighting Iron Man? That sounds fantastic.
Captain America 17, we have a young clone of Doctor Doom, named Vic, running around? Okay, Armageddon.
Marvel Meow / Strange Scales 1, printing for the first time, Marvel Meow Infinity Comics 19 – 24, and Strange Scales 1. Fandom has the characters appearances for Meow, but not for Strange Scales. From the descriptions, I don’t think Lockheed appeared in Scales. There is a new story too, so I’ll check to see if Lockheed shows up for this. Maybe we’re getting closer to Lovable Lockheed seeing print?
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Jeff the Land Shark Superstar 5, final issue, and Magikhot is on the main cover, so I’m sold.
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Godzilla Conquers the Multiverse 5, final issue! I wonder if there will be a fourth miniseries? States the X-Men appear, and Magik has appeared before, so I should just preorder it.
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Alien vs X-Men 3, the Chris Claremont back up has both Kitty Pryde and Rachel Summers! They are the truest of friends! Hopefully they appear on one of the two variant covers.
Marvel is revisiting Secret Wars (the Jonathan Hickman one) with telling how some realities clashed with each other, and Alex Paknadel and Jim Towe are bringing us Days of Future Past versus House of M, and we know for sure DoFP Kate Pryde is involved, and I can only hope we get HoM Teacher Kitty Pryde, fresh off of her Giant Size House of M appearance (from last year).
I’m surprised it isn’t Incursions : X-Men, so that all of the one shots will be listed with each other in the future, but I’m not a marketing person.
Other titles will be : Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men ’92, and Avengers.
I’ll be curious about X-Men 92, pending on what reality they are going up against. Pryde of the X-Men, perhaps?
I suppose that is true for any of these one shots, it’ll all depend on which realities are involved.
Issue opens with Jeff versus Street Sharks, which is very fun.
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We are treated to a great team shot of the Jeff Coast Avengers with Magikhot.
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I can only hope the JCA attack with honor.
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I love so much that we are treated to Jeff figuring out who at least half the Amalgam characters are. He knows who Magik is, but not necessarily who Longshot is.
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This is a very cute comic.
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Jeff destroyed the set, so now everyone has to stop acting.
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Mojo shows up to yell at Jeff, as Mojo is a jerk.
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Magikhot, Jeff, and the rest of the Jeff Coast Avengers are banished to the green room, which is a fancy breakroom.
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Like Kate Bishop, Kate-Locke (a combination with Psylocke), can understand Jeff, so now she’s deputy leader.
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So cute how Magikhot doesn’t want any part of this nonsense.
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Kate-Locke finally gets around to naming everyone for Jeff’s sake. We are also introduced to Wolvie-Kawaii. Who is also super cute.
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Aw, Wolvie-Kawaii is sad that his entire team was scrapped.
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Jeff is immediately taking by Wolvie-Kawaii, and truly, who isn’t?! And now the team has a new mission, keep the little guy super safe.
Issue ends with Spiral picking up Ken, Jeff’s other cute friend who is a squid or octopus. One of those. Maybe. He’s a Septapus.
Variant Cover Alexander Lozano, as soon as I saw that plush Lockheed, I had to have this 80s Magik variant cover.
This was such a great comic!
It looks gorgeous too, Daniel, Morales, and Hesli really brought it this issue.
I really appreciate that we got to see how Magik interacts with this 70s Beast, as I don’t feel like they have too much character history together. She hung out with Teen Beast during Brian Michael Bendis’ All New X-Men / Uncanny X-Men tenure. Nothing else really comes to mind.
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I really love Magik bringing Magneto to a temple in Merle, Alaska. That was very kind of her.
Maybe a reference to Kitty Pryde would have been too much to ask for?
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Magik is such a great character, that we can establish where everyone is with her portals, Such a clever use of her power, and we get a quick glimpse of how she interacts with her team, as she’s looking for 70s Beast.
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70s Beast is still unraveling his interaction with Krakoa Beast, the Chairman of 3K. He’s not used to seeing a personification of his inner darkness, so who else to ask but Magik, who has her own personal Darkchild.
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Is this Magik learning about Krakoa Beast’s involvement in 3K?
No, Cyclops must have told them when he updated them on the Age of Revelation.
But always good to reestablish plot points.
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Age of Revelation Darkchild did look cool, and I love that her and Juggernaut are Best Friends Forever.
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Apparently, Cyclops has kept the Krakoa Beast a secret, and only Beast, Animalia, and now Magik know who they are truly up against.
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70s Beast is so vulnerable here.
And I just love the softness of the colors here.
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Magik tells 70s Beast that seeing her darkness personified is a gift.
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It is interesting how living in a comic book universe, that one is treated to seeing what their worst selves look like. That must be such a trippy experience.
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Magik must give the best hugs. The absolute rarest of gifts is a hug from Magik.
The panel of her saying she’s a big softy, and just thinks spikes and swords are cool is a panel that will live on forever. It is a shame she’s not seen saying it inside the panel, but might as well include the hug and the quote when reposting it.
There, I did it for you. You are so welcome.
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Issue ends with an explosion at The Factory.
This probably is my favorite issue of this series thus far. It is so great!
“X-Men are pushed to their limits as their past comes back to haunt them.”
Storm says the Previously On the X-Men.
Sunspot was added to the opening credits.
X-Men vs X-Factor instead of vs Magneto.
Aw, Cable and his uncle Havok are working together. But do they know that?
Cable sums it up, Gambit has to die.
Beast, Rogue, and Nightcrawler found Apocalypse’s ship, Ship, on the ocean’s floor.
If the X-Men destroy Apocalypse, might suffer Celestial wrath.
Rogue goes into the chamber for the knowledge, and starts losing her skin. It is pretty intense.
Gambit is sleeping, they could have at least put a blanket on him.
Val Cooper confronts Xavier through a video call.
Val Cooper thinks she can take down the X-Men.
Alex warns Val that this would be declaring war on Xavier, but I’m pretty sure they’ve been at a cold war this entire season.
X-Men know they are up against both X-Factor and X-Force.
There’s definitely tension between Bishop and Polaris.
Rogue asks a Celestial for help. I thought she was a speck on my phone.
Oh Rogue, trying to punch a Celestial.
I really don’t want to lose Rogue for Gambit.
Rogue is going to get a power up. I can only imagine this costume will be an action figure or a Funko eventually.
Aw, Rogue and Kurt get a great hug.
Strong Guy gets a moment in the battle.
Siryn?! Was she always there?!
Cable gets confronted by Scott and Jean.
Logan vs Psylocke AND Archangel.
Actually Morph and Logan. Morph morphed into Doctor Octopus.
Psylocke can’t scramble Logan’s brain, as it is already scrambled.
Blue Jet vs Red Jet. Havok being weird against Jubilee. I guess he’s trying to be friendly. Jubilee shows off some impressive moves.
Doesn’t Bishop only absorb energy attacks? And Sebastian Shaw absorbs physical attacks?
Gambit is up. He fights Multiple Man.
Gambit is at 86% from beig taken over by Apocalypse.
Cable takes Cyclops’ visor, and for once, Scott remembers to simply close his eyes. He’s learning.
Cable has made his way to Polaris, Bishop, and Gambit.
Did Cable actually kill Gambit, or is Xavier playing games?
I love how silent this scene is, no music.
Gambit woke up.
Gambit has become Apocalypse, and all of the mutants are present for it. Where is Rogue?
Apocalypse body, but Gambit’s grey head, and jacket. Expect this to be a two pack with New Rogue.
Instead of a bo staff, but he has a red energy sycthe.
He has Apocalypse’s voice too.
Is Jean getting the Phoenix? Oh, Apocalypse took over everyone, except Xavier.
They clearly were not trained to RESIST.
Rogue is here, ya’ll!
Light Rogue vs Dark Gambit.
Did Rogue simply take the Death Seed?!
That was very fast.
Rogue gave Cable the Death Seed.
Rogue’s head band looks like the Wonder Woman WW.
Rogue and Gambit kiss!
Unfortuantely, a kiss goodbye.
Rogue lost her power upgrade.
Rogue and Beast making intense eye contact from a distance.
No! I was worried Kurt was going to sacrifice himself for Rogue. I rather still lose Gambit.
Get Beak, Nature Girl, Wing, Jubilee, and Sunspot.
Xavier teaching Quentin Quire, Artie, the gal from Marvels, maybe Oya? Bishop and Polaris are having a cute picnic. Right next to the outdoor lesson, that’s awkward.
Colossus is painting Illyana and himself.
Rogue got a new casual outfit, and she’s with Gambit.
Kurt does have faith.
Credits.
Post credit scene! Still have four minutes left.
Are we about to get the Mystique is Val Cooper reveal?
What?! President Kelly lost the election to Crayton Creed. This can’t be good.
Val Cooper is reading a Mystique file, and then is confronted by . . . Val Cooper?!
Mystique IS determined to attack the United States!
I say, indeed!
I’m already looking forward to a more grounded season three.
Such a great episode!
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No Kitty Pryde, dang.
No more Nightcrawler, and now Mystique is even more motivated to attack Xavier.
Wild Ride, Part One, guest starring Gabriel, Devil-Hunter
Gabriel is very Nick Fury coded.
I don’t love him explaining what Rogue means to Rogue. Okay guy.
Did he deserve to be bitten by Gambit? Yes.
Once Gambit bit Gabriel, he got a vision of Gambit slaying everybody, with Rogue being the last to fall.
Haven House, Louisiana. Calico is both sleeping, and crying. Becca is still sleep walking.
Monet and Quicksilver finally make it to the St. Juniors house. Which the X-Men really need to repair.
I like Monet and Jubilee chatting, even if it is about Monet mistaking the St. Juniors as the X-Men’s housekeepers.
I love so much Quicksilver helping Becca back to her bed. That’s one way to make me really like Quicksilver. Unfortunately, Becca wakes up, and immediately tells him he isn’t even a mutant. She probably didn’t want to be carried by him either.
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Monet wants to see The New New Mutants in action. Even Ember got a new suit! I love this so much!!
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Calico falls of Ember, and Quicksilver catches her. She continues to be upset with him, but really, she’s upset that she’s never going to see Gambit again. Quicksilver will never be Gambit. Which I’m pretty sure Quicksilver does not want to be Gambit either.
We cut back to Gabriel and a giant lesser demon who is a giant fly.
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Quicksilver way oversteps, and makes a negative comment about Gambit. Calico was not far enough away, and she has Ember use his Rabies attack. Quicksilver is immediately defeated by Ember, and Monet has to get involved before Ember kills Quicksilver.
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This is all very intense. Calico and Ember could have killed Quicksilver, and Calico may still do it. All she wanted to be was sad for a minute, which she’s used to. Oh Becca, you break my heart. At least we saw in Unbreakable X-Men, that Rogue and Gambit do adopt her as their daughter, so we know the weight of their love.
The lesser demon’s name is Thenasseil, the Tormentor of Thieves. As Rogue has to fight him away from Gambit, or Wyvern now.
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Haven’s Non-Mutant Cemetery. Becca is having a cry, as Ember is nearby. Becca keeps breaking my heart with her quoting her horrible mother’s words. If she ever got outside, she’ll end up hurting people. She was the worst.
Deathdream has to put Sabretooth’s spirt away, as we see Feral, and two others I don’t recognize. A blonde male with a head sock, and an Iceman faced guy.
Logan finds Kurt in a chapel, as he’s prayer for his brother-in-law, Gambit.
Issue ends with Gabriel telling Rogue and Wyvern that they have to leave, and meet their next character in this RPG.
Odd the Next Issue box is still referring to them as The Outliers, and Gail Simone called them that on BluSky recently. Outlier is definitely more marketable for this grouping of characters.
Penultimate episode. We only got nine episodes this season.
Did Gambit kill Apocalypse or did Apocalypse take over Gambit’s body?
I need to get the Psylocke Funko Pop that was announced recently. I’m good on Sabretooth, Bishop, and Archangel.
Will Magik be a Horsewoman?
Rogue looked so nice at the gala.
Aw, she’s all by herself.
Gambit is there!
Kissing!
Dancing!
So cute they are holding their hands.
Rogue wakes up from this nightmare, as she’s being plagued. Odd she’ll see Gambit in his current phase.
X-Men are playing poker, in their Quitely suits. This is very Star Trek : The Next Generation. Except Xavier is there.
Beast playing The Dead Man’s Hand. Aces and Eights.
A whole team wrote this episode, including Beau DeMayo.
A jet with jammers is coming to the island.
Can’t Rogue fly up there?
Cable!
Jubilee too.
I would buy a Forge Funko Pop, odd he wasn’t one of the four.
They brought Apocalypse’s skeleton! In a tube.
“There’s been a murder.”
Jubilee gives Rogue Gambit’s Queen of Hearts card.
Ship confirmed Apocalypse is dead, and Gambit is uncontrollable.
Psylocke with her British accent.
Aw, Nightcrawler believes in Gambit’s soul still being there.
Xavier wants to confirm this is a rescue mission.
I love Rogue and Kurt spending time together. They are so close.
Rogue’s daddy spent so much time with Rogue.
Rogue can hug Kurt because everyone is decked out in full costumes.
They did make a Xavier Quitely suited Funko Pop, I saw it at Walmart.
Xavier used Cerebro to locate Gambit in New Orleans, and then Gambit found him.
“Gambit’s gone home” with a very dramatic close up on Rogue. Is Rogue his home?
The Tees Guild!
Belladonna, and a classic Parent Trap, er, trap.
Gambit’s Death persona, is just him with white hair, and covered in gray hues. He also has a fun echo voice.
Are all of his cards the Death card?
Wha?! Gambit just transformed the Tees Guild!
Is that glass Candra?
I like Jubilee checking in on Rogue.
Are we going to get X-Factor teaming up with X-Force and the X-Men?
Aw, Jean and Scott checking in with Cable.
Cable didn’t get to kill Apocalypse.
Cyclops is tired of all of this time nonsense.
Is X-Factor using Mech-Sentinels? Are Sentinels not already mechs? Maybe they are piloted by people like the O*N*E* Sentinels?
Gambit and his goons found them!
Rogue is surprised to see them, but Cyclops wants to skip the shock and awe.
Jean saved Sunspot, but I’m sure he would have figured out he could fly eventually.
Rogue attempts to talk to Gambit.
That’s right, Gambit died thinking Rogue chose Magneto over him.
Rogue can’t absorb Death Gambit!
No! Did Gambit give Rogue a Death Seed?
I love so much Nightcrawler coming to Rogue’s defense.
We don’t get nearly enough of Gambit and Kurt together.
Psylocke using her butterfly effect, Evil Jeff of Comic Book Queers is going to love that.
X-Force’s ship crashed, but did it crash safely?
Morph, Logan, Storm, and Forge stayed behind, because of all of the students. Storm is trusting the students with Colossus as they roll out. We didn’t see Colossus.
Oh no, Kurt was taken over! But not Rogue.
Rogue and Gambit are going to have drinks with their dinner.
Gambit isn’t wasting this second chance at life.
We see Apocalypse make Candra, who immediately betrayed Apocalypse.
Gambit wants Rogue to be X-ternal, so they can finally get married.
Rogue got dressed up, in her gala red dress. Or a blacker red version of it.
They are the Assassins Guild. I really need to pick up my Assassins Creed III playthrough.
Candra came in hot, but then was surprised by New Gambit.
Whoa, Gambit just killed Candra!
Rogue does NOT find this at all romantic.
Can Rogue say, no, if she wanted to? Or is the implication it is Gambit or Death? Or Death Gambit.
X-Jet, Storm got both X-Men and X-Force. This should be cute as we see Assassins Guild hold their own against the X-Men.
Oh, that’s right, they have Nightcrawler, thus, a chance.
No! Gambit forced Rogue to wear Candra’s pendant.
Xavier took down Gambit, and now they are fighting within Gambit’s mind. So, maybe Xavier has a chance?
Xavier was in space during Genosha. That’s why he wasn’t there, Gambit.
Giant Xavier turned into his Anti-Shadow King armor. Still doesn’t stand a chance against Gambit. Wait, he is winning now, and old Gambit is returning. We found his soul.
Psylocke has a psi-knife to Cyclops’ neck.
X-Force is going to kill Gambit while he’s knocked out. Not knowing about Xavier’s attempt.
Wait, so Death was Apocalypse in Gambit’s body. Xavier is holding Good Gambit.
Jean should probably jump into this battle.
Apocalypse is taking over Xavier too.
Apocalypse re-absorbed Gambit!
Is the power of love saving him?! It is! Rogue is here! Rogue saved Gambit’s soul!
Rogue’s love for Gambit killed mental-Apocalypse.
Gambit is back to his pink fleshy self.
Xavier tells the X-Men to retreat, and Cable hesitates to kill Gambit.
What is the final episode going to be? Maybe set up for Season Three? We know we’re getting Seasons Three and Four, and we don’t have to wait two years between seasons, which is outstanding.
We have five minutes left.
Beast confirms Gambit should be okay, but his brain scan shows Apocalypse is still in there.
Rogue won’t lose Gambit again.
Archangel called Rogue Cable’s honeypot. Gross.
Jubilee went back to the X-Men.
X-Factor!
Val Cooper!
X-Factor and X-Force are teaming up to storm the castle! Which I can only imagine is the Genosha X-Men base.
No post credit scene.
Such a great episode! Definitely top three of this season. 2, 6, and 7.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 