Writer Dennis Hopeless
Art Javier Garron
Color Art Chris Sotomayor
Letters VC’s Joe Sabino
Another terrific Secret Wars 2015 miniseries, comes to an end.
Inferno. The Outer Boroughs. Darkchild is eating hot dogs, watching her demons wreck havoc. She’s pretty bored. N’astirh arrives with news.
I adore how much Darkchild isn’t dismayed that N’astirh is holding his head in his hands. He tells her that her brother is the one that beheaded him, and that he has her soulsword. The only news that fazes her is that Madelyn Pryor has tamed Bamfy, the deformed Nightcrawler.
Darkchild does like knowing that all of her enemies are united and down in the sewers.
The Sewers Beneath NYC. Sinister is trying to get people pumped. He has been stuck, for five years, in the sewers and he will not let Darkchild stop him from enjoying the surface. Sinister has faith in his clone army but Scott Summers points out how she defeated the vast number of X-Men, in minutes. Sinister wants to use Colossus and the soulsword, against Darkchild – the combination is most likely, Illyana’s only weakness.
While Sinister goes on, Madelyn relives her origins. Sinister and the X-Men will fight off the demons, as Colossus finds and fights his sister. Madelyn, not listening to any of this, charges at Sinister. She controls the Boom Boom Goblin hybrids and they start attacking Sinister. One of them attacks Havok.
With Sinister out of commission, Colossus and Domino reach out to Tabitha. Bamfy starts to take out the rest of the hybrids.
A giant battle occurs – X-Men v Demons v Goblins v Hybrids. It is chaos. Scott looks up, as things are about to get worst.
Darkchild has arrived to the battle. She has brought along another army of demons.
Colossus starts slashing away at demons, trying to lead Domino and Meltdown to safety.
Colossus is about to come out of the sewer, and his sister brings him up, the rest of the way. Darkchild really enjoys mocking her brother. He has committed to the fact that she is pure evil.
I really like the color contrast between the Rasputin siblings, Sotomayor does a great job here and with the entire issue.
Colossus finally gets enough courage to try to fight slash save his sister. He had to get angry enough but he is ready to attack her with her own sword. She plays a sinfully delightful mind trick on him, making him see her as the sweet snowflake that she use to be.
As Charlton Heston taught us, so many years ago – on Space Ghost Coast to Coast – thou shall not hesitate! As Colossus didn’t see that episode, Episode 53 – Dam – so he gets his chest ripped apart.
Domino isn’t going to just stand by and watch this happen.
Darkchild uses black magic, so she can make Colossus bleed. As he has never bled before, in his armor form – he rightfully freaks out.
Darkchild trips over some rumble and has fallen before her brother. He goes in for the killer strike, but she plays another mind trick on him.
Domino shouts to man up and slay the demon spawn.
Pretty great that Colossus even tries to go through with it, I’m sure it would be a moment that haunts him.
Darkchild parries and is straight prepared to murder her older brother.
Garron has really brought it this issue. Look at Colossus’ innards! This issue is pretty intense.
Domino is tired of watching her boyfriend get completely outmatched. Her guns have no effect on Darkchild. Domino gets to close and Darkchild is about to add two more dead X-Men, to her already impressive resume.
This is all the motivation Colossus needed and he cuts Darkchild straight down the middle!
Instead of seeing some innocent form, of Illyana, all that is on the ground is an empty husk. Now that Colossus’ burden of his sister, has been lifted, he shifts back to boyfriend mode with Domino. I really like these two together.
Tabitha breaks up the genuinely nice moment. Tabitha informs the couple that most of the X-Men are dead and the sewers are being overrun with demons.
Colossus hears a voice in his head, telling him that he may be able to teleport with the soulsword – which actually works. The trio are going to hop regions as they are okay with letting this region burn. Which goes back to my theory about living in a world that knows about alternate universes. If you have any slight thought that the world you live in, isn’t the real world – the stakes are always low. Especially if you can hop to other universes.
Later. Madelyn and her son, Nathan, arrive at Darkchild’s dead body. Darkchld had so much power, that hours later, she is still bleeding power. Nathan wonders where it is going. Madelyn steps into the flames and comes out, looking even better!
Shame this won’t go anywhere, except that I do believe she did appear in Secret Wars 2015 6, but in a more traditional Goblin Queen outfit.
This series ended as dark as it could have had.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 