Written by Matt Fraction
Penciled by Terry Dodson
Inked by Rachel Dodson
Colored by Justin Ponsor
Lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Dated August 2010
Cover by Adi Granov
Second Coming, Part Ten of Fourteen
I had originally own this issue and then sold it to Lonestar Comics. While listening to Uncanny X-Cast 89, where Rob and Brian review this issue.
http://www.uncannyxcast.com/main/2010/6/23/episode-89-the-pasta-crumb-incident.html
Brian comments on a double page spread that is a clear homage to Uncanny X-Men 141,with the giant wall of slain or captured X-Men. The podcast covers Second Coming, Chapters 8 – 11. The review for 525 starts at 1:12:14 and ends at 1:15:21.
So I quickly checked to make sure I owned the issue, and sadly, I didn’t so I quickly went to my online list of comics I’m hoping to sell to Lonestar Comics and it wasn’t on that list. Luckily, Hastings had a copy of it and now I own this again.
Previously, and this is nearly a solid page of a recap but I feel like it is pretty necessary as this is part ten of fourteen. Hope and Cable are back from the future. Bastion has been prepared for this day and has started an all out war on the X-Men. The teleporters have been taken out as has the X-Jets. Utopia and the surrounding area of San Francisco, are stuck in a pink bubble. A team of X-Men are locating the energy source of the bubble and it turns out it is a portal to a possible future – of course. Nimrods come out and the X-Men win this battle but some take severe injury. Cyclops sends X-Force, Cable and Doug into the future to stop the onslaught of Nimrods. Cable has given Hope a final goodbye.
Onto the issue!
Issue opens with Hope yelling at Cyclops as he just sent her father off to die in a suicide mission. The worst thing about this is that, mentally, poor Scott is having to quietly deal with the fact that he sent his son, Cable, on a suicide mission. As she is yelling at him, her eyes start to glow red, so this may be the first sign that Hope’s mutant power is power mimicry.
There is an ad for the Honda Insight, so go out and buy one of those!
The Dome. San Francisco, CA. The Fantastic Four arrive and I do enjoy seeing the Dodsons take on Marvel’s First Family. Referring to the art, as much as I enjoy the Dodsons on art – and I do – but the trade for this crossover must read like it is all over the place with how every three issues, the art is more in a clean cartoony style. The other artists have a more . . . realistic, isn’t the right word but it works for this point.
Speaking of my history with Second Coming, this storyline came out while Kitty was stuck in the space bullet so I got this due to Magik having various appearances in the story, which was great to see her having a larger role in a major crossover. Of course, she spent most of her time as a prisoner in Limbo – so my issues are scattered.
I own Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10 and the Second Coming Prepare (two New Mutants issues, all three Uncanny X-Men issues, one X-Force issue, no X-Men Legacy issues – X-Factor was barely involved in this crossover). I don’t own the Blind Science one shot but do own all three issues of Hellbound, that deals with Magik’s capture and eventful escape. Of the bookend issues of the crossover, I only own the first issue of it. Now that I have it written out, that isn’t to bad – I guess it goes to show that it starts off very strong and I missed out on the last four issues.
The Fantastic Four meet up with Thor, Iron Man and Bucky Cap. Iron Man isn’t sure what the Dome is made out of. Doctor Nemesis arrives with his fellow X-Club, minus his trademark hat and mask – which I miss. Nemesis doesn’t hide the fact that there is a genocide occurring inside of the dome. Bucky Cap addresses the situation and takes charge. He sends the brains, and I like how he makes a point of calling them Doctors Nemesis and Richards and has to address Stark separately. That guy needs to get his doctorate. For Thing and Thor, he tells them to keep hitting the dome, to see if it does have a weakness.
Utopia. Cyclops is hooked up to Cerebro and Emma is helping him get the message out. He reports that there are five more Nimrods to deal with, one is bad enough but five is high stakes. Cyclops ends with stating that they are on their home turf, so they have to start fighting like it. Which really, how smart was it to set the entire mutant race (or the bulk of it) in one specific and very public place.
Chinatown. Storm and Surge are trying to save civilians. Storm can’t make it rain inside of the dome but she does have her lightening powers. Psylocke and Fantomex are inside a building. Fantomex takes the time to make the famous Watchmen quote “I’m not trapped in here with you, you’re trapped in here with me” which maybe appears elsewhere before Alan Moore wrote it. Fantomex comments on it being a stupid movie – for some reason. Namor is holding his own against several Nimrods but requests help as five more just arrived.
In the Future. X-Force plus Doug and Cable – see a future that is overrun with Sentinels. Doug notices something to his right.
If finally dawns on Archangel that this future, the mutant race is nothing more than an ugly nightmare. How great is it to see a massive wall homage of Uncanny X-Men 141’s cover?
Marvel Database is under the impression that Magik is the one that is below Havok, middle of Beast and Cable and above Professor Xavier. Which is enough for me to seek this issue out. If not, Second Coming would have ended with Chapter Seven.
Archangel is starting to lose his mind and Wolverine tries to keep him calm. X23 is motivated by seeing that she is dead in this future and decides that everyone must die.
There is an ad for Ultimate X, which I own the first issue.
I like how Doug got an X-Force black and gray costume, that’s a nice touch.
Wolverine thinks that, since they are all dead, the future fools wouldn’t know how to fight them. X-Force makes short work of the first wave of robots that are manned by humans. Doug comments that all of the heavy duty machines are being sent to the present, so that’s why they shouldn’t have to worry about heavy artillery.
Cable wants everyone to commit to killing everyone that they come across until they are done with the situation.
Present Day. Xavier, someone remembered to dust him off, confronts Cyclops – he never wanted Scott to have to deal with stuff like this. Xavier wants to help and Cyclops tells him to work with Legion, his son. Which is pretty rich Scott telling Xavier to spend time with his son as he is off sending his own son off to die.
Cyclops sends Rogue off to work with Hope, as Rogue was one of the first people to meet Hope. In fact, Mystique forced a baby Hope’s head against Rogue’s sleeping lips and this cured Rogue of having all of the memories of The Children – the characters from Mike Carey’s opening storyline of his X-MEN run (that became Legacy). Supernovas, was the name of the storyline. Rogue crosses her heart, which is under her very open shirt with the zipper nearly down all the way down. Oh Rogue, get it together! Also, why so many Xs on her shirt?
Outside of the Dome. Thor and Thing are giving the dome all that they have. Reed tells them to stop, it has only gone down by 15 percent. Iron Man states that they are one day away from getting inside. Doctor Nemesis states that everyone inside will be dead within hours which is how we end the issue.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 