(CW: References to Suicide, discussions further down)
There is a thread dedicated to the X-men books since the status quo changed under Jonathan Hickman, but I feel like X-Men #7, which came out this week, is truly worth highlighting. Going to talk spoilers, and these details will probably reveal some key things about this awesome series that started with House of X and Powers of X last year.
Okay, here goes.
A little background: Mutants in the Marvel universe have had a rough go of it. A very rough go of it. It's been a common observation that groups like the Avengers and Fantastic 4 are not that far off from the X-men, but mutantkind faces incredible persecution from all sides that non-mutants don't have to deal with. Death robots created by the government, anti-mutant cults, religious extremists, everything. At this point, there have been multiple global near-extinction events that have hit the X-men. Genosha, where 16 million mutants were wiped out. M-Day, where Scarlet Witch depowered most of the remaining million. The terrigen mist clouds, lethal to mutants, that ravaged the globe and killed many more.
So, understandably, the mutants hit a breaking point. Long story short, they have accomplished two very important things, each that feeds into the other.
They have united.
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On the island of Krakoa, a mutant state has formed, where all mutants are welcome. Xavier, Magneto, Apocalypse, Sinister, thousands more. Working towards a common cause.
Secondly, all mutants are immortal.
Sort of. They can be killed, but through a combination of Cerebro, Mr. Sinister, reality warping mutants, healing mutants, and a mutant named Goldballs, they can be truly and genuinely resurrected. Not just clones.
Now you're caught up. Which brings us to X-Men #7. Krakoa, the mutant state, resurrection...New status quo means new moral quandaries. And this issue tackles a bunch of them.
The issue begins with a woman waking up in her bed on Krakoa, and finding family and friends waiting for her.
This is Melody Guthrie. Her ability was the power to create energy to let her fly, but she was one of the mutants who lost her powers on M-day, leaving her effectively human. This is the first mention of 'The Crucible', and we don't know any details at this point. The scene shifts, and we see Cyclops and Wolverine (in a bathrobe) drinking coffee in their matching recliners in their shared home on the moon, looking up at Earth through a massive window. They shoot the shit for a while, and Scott mentions that the Crucible is today. Wolverine says he isn't going, and sensing Scott has doubts about the ritual, explains that he doesn't love the choice but he isn't the guy to talk to about moral quandaries. He recommends that Scott go talk to a priest, and so... Scott tracks down Nightcrawler.
They talk briefly about a strange structure that Krakoa (the island) has created that no one can access except for Kurt, before the subject of the Crucible is again brought up.
This is the setup for the rest of the issue Scott and Kurt and talking at length about how the nature of resurrection (And the fact that they can resurrect people to be healthier, younger, without traumatic memories if they choose...) is forcing them to ask questions that they now have to grapple with. Such as, if a mutant can choose to have their resurrection make them younger, why not...better? Why not with different powers? More powers? A more 'ideal' body?
As this is happening, we witness a former(?) villain named Exodus, telling the tale of the 'pretender', Scarlet Witch, and how she ripped the gifts from mutant kind. He's preaching this parable to a group of mutant children around a campfire. It's -very- culty.
He asks the children if they know what the Crucible is. One of them responds: "I think it's where a broken mutant has to die so they can be an unbroken mutant."
We eventually return to Kurt and Scott, who are talking about how Kurt's religion reconciles with this new status quo. As they talk, we see Melody Guthrie, now wearing a crown of flowers, entering into some kind of arena. At the same time, Kurt and Scott join the massive crown of onlookers in the stands around the arena. She steels herself, and we see what the crucible truly is:
It's Apocalypse, and a big fucking sword.
Essentially, the Crucible is the rite for depowered mutants to prove that they want to be a part of the new mutant society. There are a lot of different ways to read into this, and if you haven't read the issue I recommend checking it out to get the full context. I don't think that the issue is attempting to come up with a genuine answer to the questions they raise, because as Melody battles Apocalypse, Scott and Kurt do not suddenly have any revelations or become at peace with the idea of the Crucible. Additionally, they talk about the fact that mutants are now writing desires for their resurrections into their wills:
Apocalypse gives Melody a chance to surrender, be healed and remain a human, but she does not take it.
The issue cuts to a very different ceremony. Melody Guthrie emerges from the resurrection pod, and is welcomed back by a sea of mutants. Xavier, Storm, Magneto, Apocalypse.. She stands, and thanks Apocalypse. He tells her "What victory there is is yours and yours alone."
There's a lot of stuff in this issue that I'm still trying to think through. The Crucible concept is wild, and in a world where they cannot restore mutant powers unless they are fully reborn (and they will not bring them back unless they are dead) I imagine that there are more peaceful ways to manage the process. But the entire series up to this point has been about instilling a sense of pride and glory into mutantkind, and there have been multiple points in the myriad series where the mutants reveal that they are well and truly not fucking around. It's not about living together and hoping for the best, it's about living together and fighting for the best. Xavier's new vision is still coexistence, but no longer being shy about it.
The art is great, I had like 15 lines from the issue that were all contenders for the title, and it was really hard to narrow down which panels to include. I probably didn't narrow it down enough. Nightcrawler along with Apocalypse, Emma Frost, Kate Pryde and a few others have really thrived with Hickman's new status quo. This has been maybe my favorite run of Marvel comics in..a very long time, if not ever.
Lastly...
Cyclops was right.
There is a thread dedicated to the X-men books since the status quo changed under Jonathan Hickman, but I feel like X-Men #7, which came out this week, is truly worth highlighting. Going to talk spoilers, and these details will probably reveal some key things about this awesome series that started with House of X and Powers of X last year.
Okay, here goes.
A little background: Mutants in the Marvel universe have had a rough go of it. A very rough go of it. It's been a common observation that groups like the Avengers and Fantastic 4 are not that far off from the X-men, but mutantkind faces incredible persecution from all sides that non-mutants don't have to deal with. Death robots created by the government, anti-mutant cults, religious extremists, everything. At this point, there have been multiple global near-extinction events that have hit the X-men. Genosha, where 16 million mutants were wiped out. M-Day, where Scarlet Witch depowered most of the remaining million. The terrigen mist clouds, lethal to mutants, that ravaged the globe and killed many more.
So, understandably, the mutants hit a breaking point. Long story short, they have accomplished two very important things, each that feeds into the other.
They have united.
On the island of Krakoa, a mutant state has formed, where all mutants are welcome. Xavier, Magneto, Apocalypse, Sinister, thousands more. Working towards a common cause.
Secondly, all mutants are immortal.
Sort of. They can be killed, but through a combination of Cerebro, Mr. Sinister, reality warping mutants, healing mutants, and a mutant named Goldballs, they can be truly and genuinely resurrected. Not just clones.
Now you're caught up. Which brings us to X-Men #7. Krakoa, the mutant state, resurrection...New status quo means new moral quandaries. And this issue tackles a bunch of them.
The issue begins with a woman waking up in her bed on Krakoa, and finding family and friends waiting for her.
This is Melody Guthrie. Her ability was the power to create energy to let her fly, but she was one of the mutants who lost her powers on M-day, leaving her effectively human. This is the first mention of 'The Crucible', and we don't know any details at this point. The scene shifts, and we see Cyclops and Wolverine (in a bathrobe) drinking coffee in their matching recliners in their shared home on the moon, looking up at Earth through a massive window. They shoot the shit for a while, and Scott mentions that the Crucible is today. Wolverine says he isn't going, and sensing Scott has doubts about the ritual, explains that he doesn't love the choice but he isn't the guy to talk to about moral quandaries. He recommends that Scott go talk to a priest, and so... Scott tracks down Nightcrawler.
They talk briefly about a strange structure that Krakoa (the island) has created that no one can access except for Kurt, before the subject of the Crucible is again brought up.
This is the setup for the rest of the issue Scott and Kurt and talking at length about how the nature of resurrection (And the fact that they can resurrect people to be healthier, younger, without traumatic memories if they choose...) is forcing them to ask questions that they now have to grapple with. Such as, if a mutant can choose to have their resurrection make them younger, why not...better? Why not with different powers? More powers? A more 'ideal' body?
As this is happening, we witness a former(?) villain named Exodus, telling the tale of the 'pretender', Scarlet Witch, and how she ripped the gifts from mutant kind. He's preaching this parable to a group of mutant children around a campfire. It's -very- culty.
He asks the children if they know what the Crucible is. One of them responds: "I think it's where a broken mutant has to die so they can be an unbroken mutant."
We eventually return to Kurt and Scott, who are talking about how Kurt's religion reconciles with this new status quo. As they talk, we see Melody Guthrie, now wearing a crown of flowers, entering into some kind of arena. At the same time, Kurt and Scott join the massive crown of onlookers in the stands around the arena. She steels herself, and we see what the crucible truly is:
It's Apocalypse, and a big fucking sword.
Essentially, the Crucible is the rite for depowered mutants to prove that they want to be a part of the new mutant society. There are a lot of different ways to read into this, and if you haven't read the issue I recommend checking it out to get the full context. I don't think that the issue is attempting to come up with a genuine answer to the questions they raise, because as Melody battles Apocalypse, Scott and Kurt do not suddenly have any revelations or become at peace with the idea of the Crucible. Additionally, they talk about the fact that mutants are now writing desires for their resurrections into their wills:
Apocalypse gives Melody a chance to surrender, be healed and remain a human, but she does not take it.
The issue cuts to a very different ceremony. Melody Guthrie emerges from the resurrection pod, and is welcomed back by a sea of mutants. Xavier, Storm, Magneto, Apocalypse.. She stands, and thanks Apocalypse. He tells her "What victory there is is yours and yours alone."
There's a lot of stuff in this issue that I'm still trying to think through. The Crucible concept is wild, and in a world where they cannot restore mutant powers unless they are fully reborn (and they will not bring them back unless they are dead) I imagine that there are more peaceful ways to manage the process. But the entire series up to this point has been about instilling a sense of pride and glory into mutantkind, and there have been multiple points in the myriad series where the mutants reveal that they are well and truly not fucking around. It's not about living together and hoping for the best, it's about living together and fighting for the best. Xavier's new vision is still coexistence, but no longer being shy about it.
The art is great, I had like 15 lines from the issue that were all contenders for the title, and it was really hard to narrow down which panels to include. I probably didn't narrow it down enough. Nightcrawler along with Apocalypse, Emma Frost, Kate Pryde and a few others have really thrived with Hickman's new status quo. This has been maybe my favorite run of Marvel comics in..a very long time, if not ever.
Lastly...
Cyclops was right.
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