Writing: Scott Lobdell
Art: Joe Madureira
What Went Down: Magneto gathers his X-Men to discuss the intelligence he received from Bishop about their world not being real. Many of the X-Men believe it is a lie, but Magneto is completely convinced. Suddenly a portal opens in the middle of the group and Blink flies out of it, followed by Sunfire, whose powers are out of control. Storm and Magneto help protect the others and get Sunfire’s powers under control, but not before a Prelate, Delgado, starts to climb through Blink’s portal. Blink closes the portal on Delgado, killing him. Sunfire tells the X-Men that they were in such a rush because he and Blink have learned that Apocalypse’s son Holocaust is beginning another series of killings in Chicago.
In Manhattan, Apocalypse’s servant Rex approaches his master’s fortress. He informs Apocalypse that because of Delgado, soon they will know the location of the X-Men. Back at the mansion, Gambit meets up with Rogue to bid her farewell. The former couple is about to kiss, but Blink brings Rogue’s son to her, purposely spoiling the moment. Blink doesn’t trust Gambit for some reason. In the attic of the mansion, Magneto contemplates Xavier’s influences and resolve. Nightcrawler shows up, and their discussion outlines the premises for all of the A of A titles and explains the set up of the entire story for those who might not know.
In the hanger bay, Quicksilver bids his stepmother Rogue goodbye because she is taking a team to Chicago to stop Holocaust. Going with her are Sabretooth, Wildchild, Sunfire, Blink, and Morph; Morph has a great scene where he impersonates Magneto to play a joke on Pietro. After the team leaves, Bishop asks Quicksilver why the team is going off. Quicksilver claims that if the X-Men are real in Bishop’s time line, then he should know the answer.
How It Was: The Uncanny X-Men AOA replacement is as good as anything Lobdell has written up to this point. Not a lot happens this issue except for reiterating the point of the crossover and setting up what all of the individual titles are going to be about, but the story still finds a center in the various relationships. Lobdell demonstrates his amazing handle of these characters and their voices. Whether it is Magneto confiding in Kurt, Blink’s mistrust of Gambit, Morph’s refusal to take anything seriously, or Quicksilver’s awkward/heartfelt good luck to his younger stepmother, all of these characters feel like they’ve existed for years. The dialogue does such a great job of acquainting us with the new status quo, but at the same time we can still see hints of old personalities, roles, and relationships that weren’t allowed to develop under these new circumstances.
The token action scene does feel a little forced; I can understand Blink and Sunfire trying to make a quick escape, but why wait so long to close the portal? And Apocalypse doesn’t get a whole lot to do. But what this story nails on the head is its tone. From Magneto’s conflict over a better world vs. his son to the nonchalance of the X-Men about going on missions where no one is expected to come back, the darkness and hopelessness really raises questions in the reader’s mind about who is going to survive and how this all is going to end. Plus, most of the revamped designs for the characters look really awesome. Standouts include Iceman and Sunfire, but I also love the little details like how Rogue has the same style cape as her husband Magneto or how Sabretooth wears big gloves to cover his claws. Joe Mad really outdoes himself with this one by creating costumes that are visually dynamic, but also help to flesh out the characters and reflect their new histories and personalities.
This is such a solid issue; while it is initially disappointing that the X-Men aren’t immediately taking the fight to Apocalypse, the story in Chicago turns out to be an exciting, memorable experience, even if it doesn’t really affect the grander scheme of things.
B+
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