Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Andy Kubert and Ron Garney
What Went Down: Legion Quest Part 4: The book starts out in the middle of a huge battle between Magneto and Legion. The X-Men have just arrived and are wondering how to proceed. Down on the ground, Xavier fills Gabrielle in on the plot of the story and stresses the gravity of this situation. The X-Men contact Charles and ask for his help; Xavier recognizes Storm as the little girl he met in Cairo.
In the present, the universe is being engulfed by a crystal wave that is somehow related to the M’kraan Crystal. Charles and a hologram of Lilandra talk about the situation; Lilandra comforts Xavier and insists that he is not a failure. Gambit and Rogue comfort each other while Archangel flies around and contemplates his relationship with Psylocke. Warren flies to Scott and Jean, and the group waits for the world to end.
In the past, the battle between Magneto and Legion causes Apocalypse to awaken early, as opposed to waiting for his original first appearance in X-Factor. In the air, Legion and Magneto debate whether it is right to condemn someone for something that has not yet occurred. Legion knocks Magneto down, and the X-Men engage him. Iceman freezes every molecule in David’s body, but he is still able to survive. Unleashing a psychic wave, Legion knocks out all of the X-Men.
Then, the moment of truth: as Legion is about to kill Magneto, Xavier jumps in front of Legion’s psychic knife, sacrificing his own life. This of course causes a time paradox, so the X-Men and Legion all disappear. Because he is actually a time anomaly, Bishop doesn’t disappear, but the event does mess with his memories. Magnus cries over his fallen friend.
In the present, we see a number of scenes frozen by the crystal wave. Magneto and Exodus’ court on Avalon is shown and then disappears. Seeing the wave coming, Rogue decides to kiss Gambit since she figures that they are all going to die anyways. Other scenes frozen in crystal include Wolverine stabbing Sabretooth in the head, X-Force looking over Caliban, a ship crashing, Strong Guy of X-Factor having a heart attack, and the Generation X team standing around. Also there is a scene of X-Treme and Eric the Red fighting, but I have no idea what issue that comes from. The issue ends with the X-Men being turned into crystal and Xavier shattering, symbolizing his own death and the death of his dream.
How It Was: Every single page of this issue rocks. The writing is strong, the art is fairly seamless for having two artists on board, and there are a number of great character moments. First off, the fight with Legion and Magneto is a big improvement over the fight in Part 1. Legion demonstrates a number of different powers, making the fight more visually engaging. Plus, if not for the advertisements stating Xavier dies at the end that appear in this issue, there would actually be some tension over who was going to win. My favorite part of the debate is the subversion of Magneto’s core principles. Since Legion is attacking Magneto for something he has yet to do, Magneto questions David’s sense of justice, but we all know that in the future it will be Magneto trying to eliminate humanity for something that they have yet to do. It’s a great use of the traditional nature vs. nurture debate, and it fits perfectly into the themes of this story and the next. Absolute brilliance!
This issue has a bunch of little moments that add great touches of detail to the story. From Xavier recognizing Storm in the past to Apocalypse’s early rise, it is fantastic to see these bits of continuity not forgotten. It’s also great to see some other characters get the spotlight, such as when Iceman uses lethal force against Legion or when Rogue finally kisses Gambit.
And of course there is the final scene: the death of Xavier portrayed absolutely perfectly. From Legion’s horror at the act he’s committed to the tears running down Magneto’s face, it still manages to convey some emotion, despite being completely spoiled. And although it is a little random and contrived, the crystallization effect at the end serves as a perfect visual symbol for how fragile the ides of hope and peace are. My only complaint is that the moment could have carried even more weight if we all didn’t know it was coming, but in an industry where comic orders have to be made months in advance, I guess it can be excused. Still, this is a really great issue that is the perfect example of how to do a character death.
A
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