Writer Rick Remender
Artist John Cassaday
Colorist Laura Martin
Letterer Chris Eliopoulos
I like the idea of just lifting the creative team behind the hit Astonishing X-Men opening run and just switching out the writer. One would think Marvel would be bringing the art team to more titles.
I own this for the Kitty Pryde page later in the issue. Before that moment, this happened :
Wolverine is back from Tibet, where he tried to meditate. It didn’t work. He’s still missing Xavier. Human / Mutant relations couldn’t be worst.
Last issue, Avalanche went insane and destroyed a portion of Manhattan. Then he killed himself. The Uncanny Avengers are helping police and fire crews with the survivors. Spider-Man is there as he is everywhere. Wolverine sniffs and he can’t find anymore people under the debris.
Wolverine tells Captain America that Avalanche was no longer a villain, this doesn’t add up. Thor has decided he will no longer stand silent in regards to the human / mutant war.
Cap tells Wolverine that Havok will lead this, Unity Squad. A man hugs Havok for saving his life.
There is a double page ad for Amazing Spider-Man 700.
There is a man giving a press conference. Whoever watches it, sees their ideal type of leader. All he wants the humans to do is kill mutants. So they start doing it. The man works for Red Skull, and his name is Honest John.
Rogue is being held prisoner. She wonders where Wanda is. I sort of like how Remender recalls their relationship. Rouge knows Wanda is a complete nut job but she’s her boyfriend’s daughter, so she has to look out for her. A mutant turtle (but not a ninja) and a lady made of water arrive to talk to Rogue. The mutant turtle, Mzee, offers Rogue a sandwich made up of butter of peanuts and crushed fruit preserves. I sort of adore this guy, already. The water lady is Avalanche’s daughter.
Somehow, Rogue drinking from a glass and spitting it on someone is enough to count as ‘touching’ as this is what she does to the water lady, absorbing her powers. Apparently Gambit and her play bondage drinking games. Those two are kinky!
Rogue realizes that they don’t need her, they just want the Witch.
Red Skull wakes up Wanda, calling her – Jew, gypsy and a mutant, yet so beautiful. It doesn’t get more back handed than that. Red Skull has half of Xavier’s brain, thus he has telepathic powers – I’m not sure if that’s how mutant powers work but I guess it does as I just read that is how it works. Red Skull refers to Rogue as Wanda’s father’s whore. That’s pretty harsh! Red Skull also mentions how he knew Magneto has a young boy but couldn’t do anything about it as he had to be the best Nazi that he could be.
Red Skull walks Wanda around his School for Gifted Humans – everyone had schools in 2013. We get a nifty one page origin recap for Red Skull. Pretty handy for newer fans as I believe Red Skull hadn’t been seen in a while. Essentially, Red Skull wants Wanda to pick up where she left off before and be like Michael Phelps and finish a race off.
Poor Wanda, first she undoes the mutant race before Quicksilver told her to do it, now the Red Skull wants her to do it and later, the Apocalypse Twins will want her to do it as well. Talk about destroying a character.
Avalanche’s daughter’s hero name is, Dancing Water. Red Skull is informed that Rogue is on the run and he has to go deal with that. Once he is gone, Rogue appears behind Wanda, ready to kill her. She heard everything. She has a little of Wanda’s powers now.
Wanda knocks a hole in the ground, Rogue falls down it. Wanda follows. Then they see it.
Xavier’s dead body . . . minus one brain. Rogue has a quick flashback to Xavier being kind to her, from Uncanny X-Men 171 (the non-Paul Smith drawn issue of the run). Nice to see Kitty, drawn by Cassaday again.
Xavier never looked so young before!
Rogue decides to kill Red Skull as the issue ends with him entering the room. Behind him is his S-Men!
I’ve looked into Mzee’s history.
http://comicbookdb.com/character_chron.php?ID=69449
He only has ten appearances, most of them in Uncanny Avengers – 1, 2, 3, 4, 23, 24 and 25 where he dies. He also appears in Captain America (2013) 23 and Magneto 9 & 10. I don’t recall him in issue four but that’s on me.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 