Then there is also the super rare variant that I will never own as it is usually priced in the thousands
Archives
All posts by John Klein III
Written by Chris Yost
Penciled by Harvey Tolibao
Inked by Sandu Florea
Colored by Jay David Ramos
Lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover Dated July 2010
Cover by Marko Djurdjevic
The solicit for this miniseries was not promoted as Magik stuck in Limbo and needs rescuing. So I didn’t get the series pulled for me until issue two. Issue one was impossible to find anywhere, for me.
I’m just reviewing this issue as I got it for Father’s Day.
This miniseries takes place during the events of New Mutants Volume Three Issue 12, part three of Second Coming. The storyline that brought Hope and Cable back to the present day.
Magik is only on the first two pages, setting up the miniseries.
New York. Yesterday.
One of the cool things the villains did in this crossover was that they made a huge attack on all of the teleporters.
Magik was about to teleport the team away. Once her stepping disc opens up, demons grab her and pull her in.
Colossus freaks out!
Utopia. Now.
Colossus tells Cyclops that he is going after his sister. He will not lose her and poor dead Nightcrawler, on the same day.
Cyclops tells him that he can’t spare him. Hope is what matters now. I simply love Colossus throwing Cyclops against the window, cracking it. Colossus is leaving.
Scott tells him that he isn’t going but he is sending an away team to rescue Illyana.
The Infirmary.
Cannonball is gathering a team. He must have gone to Cyclops first. During New Mutants, Karma lost her leg on Sam’s watch. He isn’t going to leave Magik behind.
Pixie is on the team, as she can get them to Limbo. She doesn’t want to, as Magik took a piece of her soul. She makes a mistake of calling her a monster. Colossus almost kills her!
Anole is on the team to try to convince Pixie to go. He isn’t sure if Magik should be saved. Last time he was in Limbo, he lost his arm. So he now has a massive arm.
Dazzler is on the team. She’s cool about it.
Northstar is on the team. I like how these two are X-Men, you tell them they are on a mission, they are on a mission.
Trance is going, but she isn’t bringing her body. Her name is Hope, that isn’t good.
Gambit is the big name on this team. This is right after he was an Horseman of Apocalypse, as we are going to see in this story.
Anole convinces Pixie to go on the mission.
The Hangar. Cannonball goes over the best case scenario. Northstar wants to go over the worst but Cannonball doesn’t think that will be necessary.
Of course, in an incredible double splash page, it is the worst case. Pixie has instant regret.
The team starts fighting off a horde of demons.
Gambit disappears and we see his eyes as his Horseman persona is coming out.
Issue ends with who I thought was Blackheath, but the Internet has told me it is N’astirh. Whoever that is.
There is a bonus back up of the origin of Magik’s soulsword – from the excellent fourth issue of Magik’s miniseries from the 80s.
Taken from the first issue of Wolverine First Class, and minus the silly Wolverine part!
Actually, now that I’m looking at the cover proper, it looks like it is inspired by that cover but it isn’t exactly the edit job I thought it was!
So I don’t know where that image for the shirt comes from! It seems so familiar though
Cover Artist Olivier Coipel
Cover Dated November 2008
To promote X-Infernus, Marvel released this one shot, collecting –
X-Men Divided We Stand 2
I want this so much!
Marvel Chess Collection did a proper Marvel Heroes collection for their first set. Then came Wave Two, which included the X-Men. I read somewhere, that Wave Three is going to be Spider-Man and his Friends and Foes. So that means no Kitty Pryde and Lockheed like I was hoping. I do like how Magik was included. These cost $25 so it might be a while before I own one. Plus, they are not sold in stores, so I will probably not be buying it anytime soon.
Dying Inside
Writer CB Cebulski
Artist David Aja
Colorist Frank D’Armata
Letterer Dave Sharpe
Cover Dated June 2006
Before Magik came back, this was basically the type of story us fans had to hope for.
This story takes place soon after Colossus returned from the dead, and before Magik did. He is visiting both of grave statues that the X-Men created.
I really love Aja’s art style and D’Armata’s coloring gives it a nice painted style.
Cebulski, I feel, is a super fan who got to write his favorite characters.
The flashback sequence is from right after the Mutant Massacre. Magik wants to try to save the dead Morlocks.
There are two little continuity mishaps that took me out of the story for a page. With only eleven pages, I had to bounce back quickly. Colossus reverts back to his flesh form, but after the story, he was stuck in his steel form. The other, Illyana mentions how calm Kitty is being, but how could she be calm as she is stuck in her phasing ability, and may never become solid again.
Magik realizes she can travel back in time to save the Morlocks.
Colossus makes comments about how final death is. Even though the two Rasputin siblings know people who have died and returned from death.
Magik sees one of the Morlocks getting brutally murdered. She realizes that death should be final.
Magik came back, has her brother promise to always be there for her. Issue ends with him at her statue, asking for forgiveness – as even in death, he has left her alone.
How to be an Artist
Writer Neil Kleid
Artist Mike Oeming
Colorist Pete Pantazis
Letterer Dave Sharpe
Colossus is in an art class that is having a gallery showing that evening. He can’t be inspired to paint anything.
Issue starts with a quote by Matisse, Creativity takes courage.
A classmate offers the advice to look back on his life for some pain and torment, as that is where the best inspiration comes from.
Which gives us our story as Colossus reviews his life and questions if he is an artist or warrior.
I like how Oeming, like most artists, has Colossus’ art being simple. He is not meant to be an uncanny artist, it is a hobby he enjoys but he couldn’t make a living doing it.
Colossus thinks back to Serbia, how the harsh winters would cover the beauty of Mother Russia. We get Oeming drawing a young Illyana, when she was happy.
I like the excellent observation that his torment didn’t start until he came to America.
How awesome is that drawing of Lockheed?
If you were going to paint an image of your (kid) sister, would you draw her with big ol’ boobs?
We also get recreations of Uncanny X-Men 137’s cover and Colossus’ sweet death.
There are a lot of preliminary drawings of Kitty, which I like, and it makes sense as they are together again.
Now that I think if it, every time we saw Kitty and Colossus together – outside of Astonishing X-Men – must have been between Danger and Torn, as Torn leads directly into Unstoppable. Kitty doesn’t return from that story, so that must be the timeline. That is a lot of appearances squeezed between those stories.
Cyclops, Wolverine and Kitty are at the gallery with Colossus, as the story ends. They like his painting – a warrior standing by a tree with no fight nor purpose.
I want this so much! Look how great Lockheed is too! Apparently these have been available since June 1, 2016 but I can’t find them at Target, Hastings or Wal-Mart. I keep looking, apparently she goes for $20 so I’m saving up.
I don’t quite understand why there is a Magneto / Onslaught helmet packaged with her.
Writer Danny Fingeroth
Penciler Ron Lim
Inker Keith Williams
Colorist Tom Vincent
Letterer Gary Fields
Cover Dated Mid November 1989
Splintered From Inferno
There is something about this issue that makes it feel epic and important.
Issue opens with how this a quick recap of how we came here, a full two pages will fully explain it but we get a crash course right off the bat. The X-Men and X-Factor were able to defeat N’astirh but S’ym was waiting close by and absorbed all of N’astirh’s power. Combined with the help of the Goblin Queen, they were able to overpower the mutants, killing most of them.
Wolverine tried to save Jean but Madelyn kills her and S’ym turns Wolverine into their demon pet.
In classic What If fashion, a bunch of dark shit happens in this issue but nothing as truly horrible and tragic as what happens next. Madelyn puts poor sweet baby Nathaniel on a slab and S’ym sacrifices the baby! Which, I’m sure I read as a young boy and just flipped the page to the story but as an adult and father of an almost three year old, that nonsense takes me out of a story and I have to just sit there thinking about that act. With his death, S’ym and Madelyn have permanently left a giant portal open between Limbo and Earth, so they are all powerful.
Uatu the Watcher sets up the question, What If The X-Men had Lost Inferno?
Demon Wolverine is standing on the cart that has Alicia Masters (who I’m pretty sure should be secretly Lyja the Skrull IF she’s dating Johnny Storm – which she is) in it and a few others. These humans are going to be feed to some demons. We see Diamon Hellstrom and Alpha Flight’s Shaman are on their way to a meeting.
Before we get into the crux of the story, Uatu the Watcher tells us what happened in the original timeline and uses the next page to set up what was different.
Magik had originally opened a portal from Limbo to Earth and demons started flooding out of t. Rachel Summers and Excalibur came across the pond to help but Rachel was turned into a mannequin. Doctor Strange was trying to reclaim his body from Dormammu (that we covered already earlier this month) and Spider-Man helped fight some inanimate objects turned demonic.
In this timeline, Magik put all of her dark magic into sealing the portal, ending it by throwing her soulsword through the closing portal. S’ym grabbed the soulsword, opened a small portal and came back to Earth.
S’ym and the Goblin Queen are a couple, at least in the early days. S’ym straight up gives Demon Wolverine a baby to eat and he totally enjoys it.
Meanwhile, in the Federal Reserve Bank (that is abandoned now that gold isn’t respected anymore) the humans are trying to come up with a rebellion.
The mages are using a cloaking spell to keep the demons away. They are – Doctor Strange, Margai Szardos, Jennifer Kale, Doctor Druid, Hellstrom, Dakimh, Baron Mordo and Shaman. I’m not sure who Dakimh is but I recognize everyone else. Who knew his whole name was – Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo? Baron, of course, is his sweet title.
The human characters, or the non-demonic heroes are – Spider-Man, She-Hulk, Human Torch, Thor, The Captain (America) and Shadowcat! It is an odd group of characters. She-Hulk wants to punch someone, she’s not one for hiding.
Demons Hulk & Wolverine kill Doctor Druid and Jennifer Kale, in the first wave. Next, Demon Hulk kills Shaman as the heroes try to fight back. Demon Hulk kills his cousin, She-Hulk, as Demon Wolverine kills the Captain.
Human Torch is holding his own, while Spider-Man gets clawed from behind. The mages try to work on an escape plan but S’ym arrives and shuts most of the mages down. Thor gets into the fight.
Thor sacrifices himself as Doctor Strange, Shadowcat, Human Torch and Baron Mordo escape.
The four heroes make it to the Daily Bugle, an odd choice now that Spider-Man is dead.
Meanwhile over at the Baxter Building, Demon Doctor Doom and Demon Reed Richards are working for S’ym and Madelyn. The two geniuses are working on a way for the two superpowers to take over the multiverse. Which is an awesome motivation that I’m surprise isn’t always brought up in the What If issues.
An hour later. Strange detects a great power and leaves, while not telling Mordo which causes resentment in the lesser magician. The power source is Rachel, still in that wedding dress and still smiling.
Rachel shakes off the effects and together with Doctor Strange kill some demons and teleport away.
Kitty and Rachel are reunited, like the great friends that they are. Mordo is acting like a jilted lover towards Strange. Strange reveals that his fear is that the Living Tribunal is going to take notice of Earth and the unbalance scales of mysticalism and wipe the Earth clean and start over. If these heroes can stop the demons on their own, life as they know it can continue – instead of a completely fresh start.
Strange wants to use Rachel’s connection to the Phoenix Force to bring the cosmic entity to Earth to balance the scales – without wiping out everyone in the process.
Kitty is the one to bring up that the purge of demons means that everyone who has been taken over the demons will be dead. But those characters are so far removed from who they were, they are essentially other people now, wearing their friends’ old faces and clothes. Kitty, of course, is against genocide – for several reasons.
Once again – S’ym, Madelyn and Demon Wolverine – come crashing into the building. Baron Mordo is a traitor and revealed their location – surely that will backfire on him later. Human Torch tries to fight everyone back but Mordo strikes him down.
Human Torch tries to go super nova, or as close to as possible but not to burst Strange’s force field that is keeping him, Kitty and Rachel safe. Poor Kitty feels pretty useless in this fight, all she can do is watch.
Rachel gets the Phoenix Force’s attention. S’ym is able to strike at Strange, so Strange goes off to fight S’ym.
Madelyn Pryor and Rachel start fighting over the Phoenix Force, as neither has a full connection to it. Demon Wolverine tries to murder Strange, from behind! Kitty tackles her old mentor.
Look at that truly horrific panel at the top! Demon Wolverine straight kills Kitty! Mordo tries to kill S’ym.
Mordo tries to kill Strange next and is able to pick up Magik’s soulsword to claim complete victory. With the death Kitty, Demon Wolverine sort of comes to his senses. He kills Mordo, the same way he killed Spider-Man, claws to the back.
With Mordo’s dying breath, he burns Demon Wolverine down to his adamantium skeleton. Poor Rachel has to keep note of the room around her and is shock to see her dear friend Kitty’s dead body. Madelyn tries to take advantage of the shock.
Madelyn is taken out by the adamantium skeleton’s final action. Rachel calls out to the Phoenix Force. The Phoenix Force confronts the Living Tribunal and all of the demons are purged.
Issue ends with Alicia Masters delivering her son, Jonathan Storm, with the aid of Doctor Strange and Rachel Summers. So everything should work out, most What Ifs don’t try to end on such an upswing.
What Now?~ letters from – Tod Preece of Austin, TX / Craig Lloyd of Canada / Dom Beaudoin of Montreal Quebec, Canada / Joe Decker of Lynn, IN / Robert Kowaiski of Detroit, MI / Jon Trouten of Harmony, MN / Hurricane Heeran of Van Nuys, CA / Shane Hutchison of Dickinson, TX / Rudy Mangual of Gardena, CA / David Moran of Elk Grove, CA / Jeff Lewonczyk of Newington, CT.
Next issue, What If Wolverine was an Agent of SHIELD? I don’t own it so it won’t be for us.
. . .
With this, we end Doctor Strange Month!
Writer Chris Claremont
Guest Pencilers Stephen Platt and Angel Unzueta
Guest Inkers Matt Banning / Jaime Mendoza / Harry Candelario Rob Hunter / Jason Martin
Colors Wayne Robinson
Letters RS/ComiCraft/Emerson Miranda
Cover Dated September 1998
I wonder if something happened between issues 127 & 128, like did Claremont change his mind and was going to do more than four issues but decided to only do four? It feels like two issues were skipped, at least one for sure.
This issue starts with Wolverine, Shadowcat and Sabretooth already being taken prisoner by the combined forces of the Hand and Hydra. Last issue ended with them about to make their attack, knowing it was a trap. So we are definitely skipping scenes, and we are not given a flashback sequence so time is being saved here.
Hydra wants to just kill the three intruders but typical Hand wants to brainwash them. Since the Hand is more involved in this mission, Hydra allows them to attempt to corrupt their souls.
The Hand leader, Matsuo Tsurayaba – who has Logan’s very distinct hair style, points out to Hydra Commander how the Hand is more committed, manpower wise, to this operation. I’m not sure how Kitty can be phased and unconscious. Since Claremont is writing this that means Kitty’s natural state is to be phased so that’s probably the rationale. Most other writers either don’t know that part of her history or just have her being in a traditional state of being. The Hand plans on corrupting their souls and turning them into Hand agents.
We see Kitty’s mindscape first. This isn’t a bad outfit for her, except that besides the mask, it is essentially just a black unitard. Kitty sees Logan and slits his throat, killing him (somehow).
There is an ad for Wesley Snipes’ first Blade film, the anti-Howard the Duck. Such a good film.
Now that Kitty is a killer, she shreds the one outfit into a new more appropriate one. But shouldn’t it be red, or would it look too much like Elektra’s? So instead, it is purple so it looks too much like Psylocke’s. It could have stayed blue but still revealing and at least be in her color scheme, or black & yellow.
Dream Kitty has adamantium claws too but Sabretooth really has those and still didn’t kill Wolverine.
Hand and Hydra leaders are still bickering over the right course of action. Hydra didn’t want to be part of this and this is exactly why.
Bullpen Bulletins. On Sale July 29 –
Amazing Spider-Man 439
Avengers 8
Conan : The Return of Styrm 1 of 3
Marvel 4
Nighthawk 1 of 3
Quicksilver 11
Silver Surfer 143
Spider-Man The Manga 19
Squadron Supreme : New World Order 1
X-Force 81
We catch up to what Hydra is planning. Just good old fashion brainwashing as they have – Viper, Tyger Tiger and Jessica Drew – all still in green. So Tyger and Drew were taken after issue 125 and Viper after 126. Viper and Drew are former agents of Hydra, so their brain patterns are already on file.
Thanks to editor Mark Powers, we learn that Tyger has extensive modification, as seen in Uncanny X-Men 229, Page 13, at the hands of Marauder, Pretty Boy. I own issues 225 – 227 and then 230, so I’ll have to take his word for it. I like having the page marked, that’s pretty handy.
Wolverine’s mindscape, is back to the days of the All New All Different X-Men, this is post Krakoa as Beast, Angel and Iceman are still around. They turn on Wolverine and he has to fight for his life.
There is an ad for the upcoming X-Men 35th Anniversary –
This was in 1998, my first San Diego Comic Con and I was obsessed with these images. The printed ad includes Mutant X, which I was also nuts for. I had asked the Marvel guy (I wish I knew his name) but he said I couldn’t have them. If I was older, I would have offered to buy them, but I approached it like I was doing him a favor for not having to pack the big posters away. I was 16 so I wasn’t thinking in a way to outsmart a grown adult. My last SDCC was in 2004, when Spider-Man 2 was coming out. I still remember seeing that footage of Doc Ock waking up and the arms going on a murder spree, I was so hyped for the film after that. Still the best Spider-Man film, for my money though the costumes have gotten so much bigger since they moved to the white eyes for Spider-Man’s mask.
Jean is about to kill Logan when Sabretooth interrupts the sequence.
Meanwhile, Kitty saves Viper. Kitty is in yet another outfit, she’s getting as good as Jan van Dyne. Kitty isn’t holding anything back in this fight against Hydra.
Wolverine wakes up and Sabretooth agrees to save Kitty and Viper but not after they fight about it.
Kitty is in super killer mode, though she hasn’t killed any of these drones yet. Viper knocks Kitty out, before Kitty can kill anyone.
Once Logan and Sabretooth are done fighting, though it mostly looks like odd hugging, but they’re just going through the paces. Sabretooth is taken out by Tyger Tiger
Tyger is about to kill Sabretooth, somehow, when Kitty phases Sabretooth at the last moment. Viper wants to kill Sabretooth for starting this entire adventure. Kitty phases the boyz out of there and Viper swears vengeance.
Issue ends with Kitty and Logan recapping the adventure. They are wanted fugitives on Madripoor, and Logan & Viper are still married.
I believe that this whole time, Viper is being mind controlled by Ogun, but we’ll get to that in a later issue.
Cutting Edge, letters from Michael Boyce of East Cleveland, OH / Wonda Rackard / Brian Campos of Ontario, Toronto, Canada / Wayne Chilcott of London, England / Hannah Page of Jackson, MS.
Next issue promises Wolverine against Wendigo, which I do own and will eventually review.
. . .
Happy eighth wedding anniversary to my wife and best friend! Thanks for the continued best years of me life.
. . .
Also, this is Post 1,250!!!
Writer Kieron Gillen
Artist Billy Tan
Colorist Andres Mossa
Letterer Rob Steen
Cover Dated December 2011
Cover by Chris Bachalo and Tim Townsend
The issue that directly follows the end of Schism. Who goes with Cyclops? Who went with Wolverine?
At this point, I was already super turn as the covers of the next issues were already being teased. I already knew that Kitty and Lockheed were joining Wolverine at the Jean Grey School in the pages of Wolverine and the X-Men. I also knew that Magik was joining Cyclops’ team in Uncanny X-Men.
It was all just a fancy way of bringing back the Gold Team / Blue Team that people just love to reference of the 90s.
Besides Kitty, I don’t believe there are that many others who have switched sides. Which is pretty impressive after three years.
Nick Bradshaw did the covers for the Gold Side and Dale Keown did the Blue Side. Shame those are all variant covers.
This is also known as the Caveman issue as that’s how the story is told. There is the conversations and then we see people as cavemen, to show how primal the story is, perhaps?
Cavepeople : Cyclops and Wolverine are circling each other around a fire.
Utopia, island home of the X-Men. Wolverine goes to Iceman first. Bobby is honored by that.
Next, Psylocke and Wolverine have a mental conversation, as they practice fight. She will remain with him in X-Force but isn’t following him to the East Coast. Which must be awkward, but I have no clue where X-Force met up at. I want to say they met in a secret cave base.
Cyclops enters the room and offers Psylocke to lead his Security Team. She starts talking about being a spy for him, he doesn’t understand why she is talking about that. She is meant to be the first line of defense, not really a secret mission. Of course, we know that her thought process is that she’s going to end up telling Wolverine some hot Utopian gossip.
It is important to remember that, at this time, Colossus has the power of the Juggernaut, on top of his power. It is driving him a tad mad. He doesn’t feel like he should be around children.
Colossus will stay on Utopia, where his sister is still being held as a prisoner / on probation.
I like how Gillen sets up the Kitty / Iceman relationship. Jason Aaron must have asked him to subtly hint at that.
Kitty is heading to the school to be the Headmistress. I also like how we don’t have to see the scene of Wolverine asking her to join him.
Beast, maybe at Agent Brand’s apartment?, gets an email. While Brand is telling him to come back to bed, she wants more loving. I really miss Brand.
Beast makes two calls. First to Wolverine accepting a position and the second to Cyclops which is essentially him continually what he has been doing to Scott for the past four years – just being a jerk.
Beast finally makes it back to Brand. He updates her about his new position. She asks if this means he isn’t going to whine about Cyclops, as much. He tells her that it will probably be the opposite. I imagine listening to complaints about Cyclops, gets old real fast.
Magneto and Rogue. There is no question, Magneto is staying on Utopia as Rogue debated going to the school, but that is where she is going.
I really like the trust Gillen has with Tan to . . . actually, is it Steen’s decision? There are two silent panels, after Rogue asks if Magneto will consider leaving Utopia, where the two of them just burst out in laughter. There are no ha ha has or heh heh hehs or even a good ol’ fashion har har har. I like that we don’t have to see the laughter, they are clearly laughing. Plus, do we really want to see how Magneto’s laugh looks like? I bet its more of a, ho ho ho, situation.
Wolverine, being the busy guy that he is, has made a lunch appointment with Havok and Polaris, who just got back (along with Rachel) from space where Ed Brubaker left them. The two of them don’t really want to pick a side, they just got back. Wolverine tips them to X-Factor Investigations, which is Madrox’s team. Which seems super awkward, to suggest they go join a third person’s group. Just because Havok and Polaris have X-Factor experience but no real detective experience.
Cut to Generation Hope. Hope doesn’t want to lose Oya. Oya had to kill people to protect Utopia. She’s the entire reason Wolverine wants to make students and not soldiers.
Transonic puts a gun to Hope’s head. Hope begins telling her about her father, Cable – not caring about the gun, at all.
Afterwards, Hope accepts the decision to lose Oya.
Outside, Husk is ending a conversation with her brother, Cannonball. Both of them are going to the school. Her powers are flaky and he still hasn’t come around after the events of Fall and Rise of the New Mutants.
Dani Moonstar walks up to Sam as Husk walks away. She is about to sit down where Husk was sitting but Sam stops her. Husk is losing control over her powers and is literally leaving flakes where ever she goes or sits.
Sam tells Dani that both Guthries are heading out East (not an expression) and this surprises Dani. Dani doesn’t want to go back to school, there are a bunch of butts that still need to be kicked. She kisses him and walks off.
Cyclops is trying to recruit Dazzler. Dazzler makes a great point about how she doesn’t really feel like a solider but she doesn’t really feel like a teacher either. Which is a great point of how silly this is. Are those really the only options for X-Men, in this scenario. They could just go off on their own and be completely forgotten about in a year. Soldiers or Teachers? Frontlines or a Classroom? It just begs for a third choice.
What Cyclops would like, as Dazzler is still planning to live in San Francisco, is to have a team that just protects their adopted home. So his plan is to lead the Global Team. Have Psylocke protect the island nation and have Dazzler on shore, protecting the city proper. Dazzler’s team will be more street and with a younger stand, Dazzler and the X-Kids, a title I would have considered buying over X-Treme X-Men Volume Two.
Cyclops really should have came up with a better name than the one he did. He’s not the most creative fella.
Meanwhile, in an awkward scene, a bunch of students are talking. Seems like they are divided, to go off and learn or to stay and live. Sure they have to get in fights from time to time but really, is Cyclops going to make any of them main team members? No, they will be off with Dazzler trying to be stars. Might as well stay.
If it was up to me, I would be patiently waiting to see which X-Men made up the staff and then make my decision. I would be a total fanboy student.
The two squads are lead by Prodigy and Hellion. Prodigy is for staying with Utopia, along with Pixie, Surge, Armor, Crosta, Primal and Zero. Pixie will later go to the School. Hellion has behind him – Anole, Mercury, Dust, Rockslide, Blindfold, Bling!, Match, Graymalkin, Trance, Indra and Glob Herman. I know Glob goes to the school and eventually heads to the Hellfire Academy. I’m pretty sure all of them eventually make it to be background characters of the Jean Grey School. (thanks to UncannyXMen.net for knowing which students are which – I know a few of them but I’m never a hundred percent sure. Mostly, I recognize their faces but I’m suppose to really remember Indra?)
Hellion makes a great point, by lifting a bat with his metal hands (he lost his real ones during Second Coming, the same event where Karma lost her leg. He wouldn’t have lost his hands if he was at a school. Prodigy counters that argument with, even if you are at a school, the world won’t let you just learn.
Then we get a fun two page spread of various characters expressing where they are going. I’ve included the second one for obvious reasons.
Namor is staying
Rachel is going, as she just came back from space and didn’t even know they left the school. Which is very amazing and telling of how long they were just left in space for. Shame Nightcrawler was too popular to stay in space as he would still be alive right now.
Danger is staying, her job is to look over the prisoners of the X-Brig, so she has to stay where the prisoners are. Plus, she was a prisoner of the Xavier School for decades, why would she even want to go back there?
Quentin Quire wants to stay but is being carted off to the school. Where Marvel will keep trying to make him happen but he will never be streets ahead.
Doctor Nemesis is staying and he’s not sure why he’s even being asked as he’s busy. I love his “science stalks the night” oh if only he wasn’t given over to Cable and the X-Force after AvX.
X23 states, is there any other choice? She ends up going to the Avengers Academy (everyone was starting schools back then, the Fantastic Four even had the Future Foundation).
Magik makes an appearance! She’s staying but because she’s a prisoner. But even if she wasn’t, she would probably still stay.
Martha Johannson continues to be voiceless. It isn’t easy being a brain in a box.
The Cuckoos were split, or at least, Phoebe and Irma were. Celeste has to make the deciding vote. It was probably Irma who wanted to go, as she’s always trying to break away. Also, Celeste was the known Cuckoo at this time, so it makes sense to have her be the face of the group.
Frenzy is leaving as she can’t have a relationship with Cyclops as Emma is still around, so she heads East. This was Post-Age of X.
Gambit has gotten into all the trouble he could on the West Coast, so he’s willing to go to the East Coast now. Which is silly as he was based on the East Coast for years, and barely has gotten comfortable in San Francisco. Unless he heard that Rogue was leaving and Magneto wasn’t, so he might as well stay wherever Rogue is.
Avalanche, poor Avalanche, decides to stay as his bar is in San Francisco. If only he left, he would not have been around to have Red Skull take out his brain and use his body to commit murders and mass destruction.
Toad really wants to leave, Wolverine doesn’t want him. Toad is even willing to be a janitor, which gives Wolverine pause. Oh Toad, if only you had a third choice as well.
Scott comes to Storm and she quickly tells him to not embarrass himself. Storm’s upset over Cyclops’ decision to have X-Force be a hit squad. I’m sure she didn’t give Wolverine any grief about this once she came around to joining the school.
Cyclops tells her that he needs her. Storm corrects him, that he only wants her power.
Poor Scott has to make an awesome but insulting observation. He’s align himself with Magneto, Namor, Danger, Doctor Nemesis, Emma, even Colossus and his sister – not the traditional good guy faces people assoriate the X-Men with. In fact, almost all of them are known for being villains. Colossus is heading that way and Magik was always on that fun line of being a bad girl surrounded by good teenagers.
He wants, no needs Storm to be on his side to balance that. There is an awesome image from Gillen’s first issue of Uncanny X-Men Volume Two, where Storm asks who hasn’t been known to be a villain. Cyclops raises his hands and Storm asks if he should be. Emma states that Scott is working on his villain turn. At the time, it was awesome but now I feel like Marvel has been trying to cast him in the role for a while.
I forgot that Hope raises her hand as well, so cute!
I also like how casual the others are about not having their hands raised. There is no shame in that room. Nor should there be.
I can completely understand Cyclops’ side of the issue. Especially after he mentions who Wolverine was able to get on his side – Beast, Kitty and Iceman. I mean, Beast and Iceman are pretty lousy but Kitty is pretty much a steal for whichever side. Since, when Kitty joins Cyclops’ side, that smirk on his face, so awesome.
Cyclops tells Storm that Wolverine doesn’t need her, Cyclops needs her. Such a real and honest moment.
Cyclops finally gets around to talking to Emma. Emma is insulted that he just took for granted that she was going to join him. She loves teaching, she would be a perfect fit over at the new school. Cyclops tries to tell her that they teach at the island. Emma corrects him that they mostly train here.
Cyclops gets a whiff of Emma maybe leaving him and the island and starts preparing to grovel. She can tell that’s where he is heading and tells him to stop.
Emma, for some fans out there I suppose, reveals that Warren is gone and so Utopia needs some funding. She sold most of her holdings, so she can fund their efforts for quite some time. She just hopes that they don’t crash too many X-Jets. Some fans worry about where all the money comes from. I mean, after the X-Mansion was destroyed the third time, how rich could Xavier really be after those rebuilds?
Scott owes Emna many back rubs.
So the sides are shown as the cavefolk.
I sort of wish that the two sides were switched so it was Wolverine’s side coming toward us, the reader.
So the two sides are –
Cyclops’ Side
Colossus / Hope Summers / Madison Jeffries / Namor / Dazzler / Magik / Storm / Domino / Magma / Emma Frost / Warpath / Sunspot / Magneto / Dr. Nemesis / X-Man / Psylocke / Cypher / Dani Moonstar
Wolverine’s Side
Gambit / Toad / Iceman / Cannonball / Kitty Pryde / Chamber / Beast / Husk / Rachel Summers / Dust
Not sure how they picked the order to list them.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 