Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Andy Kubert
What Went Down: Magneto starts this issue by visiting Charles Xavier’s grave. He talks to his dead friend about how Xavier influenced him and might be disappointed by how the world turned out. Bishop shows up complaining about how unsecure the area is. Magneto senses some enemies teleporting around them and tells Bishop to fire over his shoulder. The Infinites are being brought in by old sixties villain the Vanisher. Magneto and Bishop easily defeat the Infinites, but Apocalypse shows up to ambush them.
After losing the fight, Magneto threatens to detonate the charges in Bishop’s gun. Apocalypse gets him to relent by threatening the safety of Magneto’s youngest son Charles. Down in the sewer, Vanisher ambushes Charles’ caretaker robot, Nanny. Nanny’s defenses make short work of the villain. The rest of the X-Men return to the mansion and find signs of the battle with the Infinites. They find Vanisher’s body and recognize the burns on him as belonging to Nanny’s weapons. Quicksilver runs off because he knows someone who can help them find Magneto and Bishop; before leaving, he tells Iceman to get Rogue’s team, and Dazzler and Exodus to find his brother Charles.
Angel is in his home contemplating the capture of Scarlett and Karma, and how all his plans are falling apart. He is ambushed by Quicksilver, who demands to know where Bishop and his father are. Angel explains that the Madri are holding Bishop while Magneto is being held by Apocalypse; this forces Quicksilver to decide which mutant to rescue.
In Quebec, the Madri are using the Shadow Thief, this universe’s version of the Shadow King, on Bishop. The Shadow Thief sees memories of the regular Marvel Universe and recognizes Xavier from his past. Then something causes Shadow King to be expunged from Bishop’s mind. Abyss appears and announces that he’s there to protect the Age of Apocalypse. Quicksilver returns to the mansion and tells Storm and Banshee that they are going after Bishop.
How It Was: Well, this is a lot better. The events of the issue have effects on the larger narrative, there is finally a serious threat to the heroes, and for the first time in Amazing there is finally some suspense over what is going to happen. The action is all pretty good; we get the Infinite fodder battle to make Magneto and Bishop look good, followed by Apocalypse decimating them and demonstrating how powerful he really is. I like that Apocalypse exploits Magneto’s love for his child and his uncertainty to gain the upper hand. Also, my favorite scene in this series is probably Nanny pulling all of her guns on Vanisher, even if it is predictable.
Once again Iceman, Exodus, and Dazzler are pushed off to the side; it’s really disappointing that these characters don’t really get any sort of development over the course of these four issues. Quicksilver’s reaction to having his life fall apart is compelling, but none of the other characters have anything to contribute to the story. On the other hand, the art is still fantastic, especially the sequence where the Shadow King enters Bishop’s mind. Ultimately, this is a step in the right direction; it’s too bad that the actual X-Men couldn’t get more of a spotlight in their own book.
B
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