Writer Simon Spurrier
Penciler Tan Eng Huat
Inker Craig Yeung
Colorist Jose Villarrubia
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
David and Ruth are on their third date. He has taken her to a diner. For once, she is out of her X-Men uniform. She is wearing a pretty cool brown jacket.
Ruth asks if he has any other Ms in mind, as he already has done – mysterious midnight meeting, movie and milkshakes.
Ruth also is still speaking in that broken speech pattern, as her powers are still broken.
They rehash the Evil Yellow Xavier personality that lives in David’s mindscape.
They kiss and David has found another M, the moon. I like how throughout the rest of the issue, Ruth keeps ending sentences with m- but gets cut off.
David asks if she is okay on the moon. She is as long as he doesn’t forget her oxygen, build a clock tower, turn blue or become naked. All references to Doctor Manhattan and Laurie in the Watchmen, issue nine – one of the better stand alone issues of that series.
David has no idea what she is talking about. She tells him it is from a comic book. Also interplanetary teleportation and how he has so much power he forgets how to be human. She draws a happy face on the moon to finish the homage.
There is an ad for Iron Man Rise of Technovore, which I haven’t seen. Imagined if Marvel could do more pure adaptions instead of these anime inspired true stories. Instead they do these, they don’t sell and so they don’t make any other DVDs. This one has Black Widow, War Machine, Hawkeye and Punisher.
David explains the motivations of Aakus the Aetheric, the villain of the issue, or would be villain.
Apparently, he reads a bunch of books and believes what he reads. So he reads about the mutant threat and goes off murdering mutants. First, no named mutants.
Secondly, Cyclops’ team, including Tempus, Emma, Triage, Magneto and Magik, hence me buying this issue.
Then nameless mutants again.
Ruth wants David to get the X-Men from the Jean Grey School.
David then tells her how hours have already pass and tells her how the X-Men have already failed. The X-Men shown are – Chamber, Storm, Beast, Wolverine, Pixie, Frenzy, Iceman and Armor.
They fail miserably. Ruth sees them all die. She is torn over this. David tries to sooth her by telling her it was only a story. The Yellow Xavier lets him see the future, so he already dealt with the problem.
An ad for Iron Man 3, so great.
Ruth is upset that he tricked her. Made her experience her teachers and friends’ deaths.
David then shows her what really happened. They have their date. While Aarkus is formulating his plan, David forces him to sleep. Forever.
Ruth doesn’t want him to do this course of action. In Watchmen fashion, he tells her he did it five hours ago.
Aarkus is essentially in a coma, and David drops him and Ruth back at the school.
David can’t live his father’s dream as the X-Men do, all passive and reactionary. No, he will be progressive and aggressive.
Issue ends with David and a few more m-words, madness, mutantkind and finally, monster.
Don’t worry about Aarkus, he wakes up and delivers some space justice in later issues.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 