Writer Frank Barbiere
Artist Marco Checchetto
Color Artist Andres Mossa
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Art Jeff Dekal
Before Time Runs Out, Part One
I’ve wanted this issue ever since Barbiere was interviewed by Comic Book Resources’ Dave Richards.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=57797
Which it wasn’t really the interview but the preview art by Checchetto :
I’m pretty much coming into this cold, so let’s hope this recap page is informative. In the future, Cannonball and Smasher have a baby. Smasher’s real name is, Izzy. In the past, Smasher tells Captain America that she is falling in love with a teammate, who is Cannonball. I believe that was during Infinity.
The Present. Avengers Tower. Smasher narrates the opening of the issue. Her full name is Izzy Kane. Smasher, typically, is a member of the Shi’Ar Imperial Guard. She has done a pregnancy test and it has come back . . . positive! The Imperial Guard shows up at this point and tells her that she needs to come home.
The Guthrie Farm. Cumberland County, Kentucky. Bobby and Sam have gone home, well, Sam’s home. Melody, one of Sam’s many siblings, wants to meet Izzy. Sam references how it has been a long time since he has met someone special. I guess he has had Dani Moonstar and Lila Cheny as love interests. Melody references how she has mutant powers, so that’s another Guthrie child, making four total – if I’m counting right.
Izzy holo-calls Sam and informs him that she is leaving the planet on short notice. By the time she starts talking, she is done.
On the ship, Smasher tells her mentor (or a guy named, Mentor) that she is ready to leave the planet behind. Once they come out of hyperdrive, the doctors want to inspect her new ‘seed’ as it should be a source of power for the Shi’ar.
Kentucky. Ma Guthrie tells Sam about how she met his father. They met at a fair, as they were from different counties, they had a nice time but went their separate ways. Afterwards, he went to every farm until he found her again. Oh the days before Facebook! She tells him to go after Smasher.
Avengers Tower. Manifold, who I believe was an Avenger during Infinity, tells Sam that the Avengers can’t help him. Bobby wants to help his oldest friend but they don’t know anyone with a spaceship. Sam actually knows someone with a spaceship, so there is still hope.
The New Xavier School. Sam (and Bobby’s) friend is of course . . . Magik! I wish Checchetto got to draw a proper page of Magik, instead we get this double page splash (which looks cool) that we only see the back of her head (twice) and see her from behind in the bottom left corner of the page.
I really like the idea of Magik staying in touch with Cannonball, well, I imagine it is Sam who keeps in touch with everybody he has ever worked with.
So Sam knows Illyana and she knows Young Scott Summers, who is a current member of the Starjammers, so it is their ship that Sam and Bobby are going to tag along on. The Starjammers’ ship should be able to catch up to the Shi’ar ship as they head to their homeworld, Chandilar.
Magik references that young Scott appriciates the chance to see his old All New X-Men teammates but it would have been nice to see a glimpse of the entire cast but I get that Barbiere doesn’t want to get too involved with the X-Men’s current storylines.
Sunspot references what Kitty Pryde knows, nothing good ever comes to the X-Men when they leave the planet. Sam tells Bobby that he isn’t coming with him. Bobby doesn’t fight him, as he has a company to run. He recently bought AIM, so that’s the company I believe.
One of the Starjammers says, “Let’s go catch that Shi’ar bird!” which I like the reminder that the Shi’ar evolve from birds. Sam calls both Illyana and Sunspot his best friends and the page ends with Sunspot calling him, Tiger.
Shi’ar ship. Mentor keeps calling her baby, a seed. I would have corrected him so that he stop calling it that. At least call it an egg or something. Also, it is a cold expression that I get keeps the fetus as a detached thing. I only imagine that Smasher gives birth and the child is enlisted into the Smasher Corp (if that is what it is called).
Mentor’s poor choice of words keeps getting worst as he refers to the fetus as, Spawn of their Guardians.
Corsair is right, their ship caught up to Smasher’s, rather quickly. Scott has become quite the space pirate. Cannonball is an honorary pirate now. The Shi’ar crew freaks out as they are yanked out of hyperspace (so the medical exam hasn’t occurred yet). Smasher isn’t quite happy with Cannonball being there.
Corsair makes a reference to the Guardians with the Galaxy with a Rocket mention. Sam goes for a hug but is shot down. He wants to confess his love to her, but the Shi’ar crew come back to their senses and go on the attack. Corsair tries to calm the situation down.
Once Mentor knows that Cannonball is Smasher’s partner, he puts him down from the force field. Izzy talks to Sam, recognizing that it is a sweet gesture coming all the way out there to space, just for her.
I really love X-Nerd Wil Moss giving us a note to check out Uncanny X-Men 341, the issue that Cannonball went toe-to-toe with Gladiator, it is also a Christmas issue.
Sam finally gets to tell Izzy that he loves her and Corsair has such a great reaction, pumping his fist to the sky.
They are all in rogue space, so they get attacked by a third party. Cannonball tells the crews that he will take care of this as it is his fault, the Starjammers were only doing him a favor. Smasher is coming along, as she wants to show the universe how great of a couple they are. Corsair wants them to hurry, as he doesn’t want his ship attacked next.
Smasher tries to tell Cannonball their big news but they have to shake off the alien ship, which isn’t a ship – it is a giant alien! Cannonball gets tangled up and is about to be eaten when Smasher does her thing and frees him. She states that she love Sam too.
They straight up explode the alien!
Back on the ship, Sam tries to assure her that he is ready for whatever comes next. With that, she tells him that she is pregnant. He is super excited but is now worried that she should have stayed on the ship.
Corsair is told to get off Mentor’s ship. Once they leave, Mentor turns to Cannonball and tells him he is worthy and that he is Shi’ar now.
Issue ends with them on Chandilar, Months Later. Sam Guthrie is a proud parent of a baby boy.
Next issue, Sunspot vs AIM, which I doubt I will buy.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 