X-Men #40

X-Men #40
Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Andy Kubert

What Went Down: Legion Quest Part 2: This issue starts with an excellent misdirect that involves Xavier sitting in a wheelchair, but revealing that the scene is actually a flashback due to the fact that he can still walk. Xavier and Magneto, going by Magnus, are working together in a hospital in Israel; this is early in their relationship, so neither has revealed his powers to the other. Magneto is working as an orderly; after his conversation with Charles, he goes off to visit one of his newest patients, an amnesiac who happens to be Legion—the main villain of this storyline.

Back in the present, Archangel and Rogue are flying around looking for any sign of the Gold Team; Archangel is very upset because Psylocke was with the group, and he has just started a relationship with her. With Professor X’s help, Archangel is able to find Jean half-buried in the sand. After she regains consciousness, Jean tells the Blue Team what occurred, and tells them that she has no idea what happened to them.

Back in the past, Psylocke, Iceman, Bishop, and Storm are drinking coffee at an Israeli café. We learn that these X-Men have all come down with a case of plot-convenient amnesia; they remember their names and powers, but not who they are or what they need to do.

In an interlude, we find that Sabretooth has been left alone in his cell in the mansion; I wonder how he was being fed. Anyways, he is trying to escape, but he gets shocked by the wires he’s messing with. We also find out that Wolverine has stopped by to keep an eye on the villain.

Back at the hospital in the past, Magneto contemplates the relationship Charles has with his patient Gabrielle Haller. He chalks it up to jealousy over the loss of his own love Magda. While being assisted out of bed, one of Legion’s latent powers activates and allows him to read Magneto’s mind. David sees visions of the Holocaust as well as the death of Magneto’s daughter. Magneto flips out and runs away.

In downtown Israel, Psylocke passes Xavier and recognizes him psychically. Magnus runs up to Xavier and asks for his help with his patient. When both men return to the hospital, they find their patient on fire and having a psychic seizure.

In the here-and-now, the X-Men have contacted Cable and Domino to assist them in finding the time lost Gold Team. The Israeli army is not happy to see Cable because he is wanted in a number of countries, but Cable tries to explain that his clone Stryfe is responsible for all of the crimes. The debate is interrupted by a hologram of Lilandra warning the X-Men about the danger to reality. When asked how Lilandra knows about all of this, we see that she has been visited by not one, but numerous Watchers.

How It Was: This issue breaks the story into three separate threads: the interesting Xavier/Magneto flashbacks, the boring amnesiac Gold Team flashbacks, and the Blue Team standing around in the present with nothing to do. Even though he’s catatonic in regular continuity, it’s really awesome to have Magneto’s presence in the book again, especially with this take on him. His friendship with Charles is really the central theme behind both this story and the next one, and it is portrayed elegantly. This is a treat to see Magneto and Xavier both so optimistic and I also like seeing Magneto on the edge of deciding what kind of person he wants to become.

However, as good as the stuff with Xavier and Magneto is, I really dislike the Gold Team having amnesia. First of all, it slows down the story for two issues and serves as an unnecessary obstacle. Plus, we saw last issue that there were no side effects to time travel when Storm did it with Legion. Sure there is some muttering in the present about how their minds were probably taxed by the effort, but it feels like it only exists so the Blue Team and Cable have something to work on in this story.

As for the Blue Team, well they aren’t going to have a lot to do for the rest of this story. This sounds kind of boring, but really it works as an excuse to have the characters contemplate their own mortality and reflect on the choices they’ve made in their lives. Most of that comes later though; in this issue the goal is really to find Jean and then get Cable into the mix. I feel like the ending with all of the Watchers is kind of neat, although I can understand how a number of fans could see it as contrived; the Watcher is usually stuffed into big storylines to add an extra sense of gravity, but in a story where the world literally ends, I think that it’s appropriate.

The art is really good, again. Andy Kubert has definitely come into his own as an artist on this series. Unfortunately he doesn’t have a lot to draw except for a number of characters standing around and talking. The payoff of Legion’s powers activating is very cool, with Legion rolling around on fire and the flames portraying images of the present in them, but this sequence is seemingly forgotten next issue with no real explanation. Overall a much slower issue than the last one, but it’s great to be reminded of the foundational relationship between Magneto and Professor X that has driven the book for so many years.

B-

Uncanny X-Men #320

Uncanny X-Men #320
Writing: Scott Lobdell and Mark Waid
Art: Roger Cruz

What Went Down: Legion Quest Part 1: Storm opens the issue in the middle of a desert in Israel with wind and lightning whipping all around her. She and the Gold Team (minus Archangel, but plus Psylocke) are confronting Legion, aka David Haller aka Professor X’s son. Legion has found a way to integrate all of his multiple personalities, each with a separate power, making himself very powerful. The story then flashes back to the X-Men’s initial arrival in Israel where Gabrielle Haller meets them at the airport; Gabrielle is Legion’s mother, and Professor Xavier’s former lover.

Gabrielle fills the X-Men in on the situation. Legion has secluded himself behind a black energy dome in the middle of the desert; the threat of Legion is so great that it is has inspired Israelis and Palestinians to join forces to combat this threat.

Inside Israel’s fancy technological command center, Gabrielle debates with some of the officials about nuking the dome. One of the technicians accuses the X-Men of somehow being to blame for this incident on the sheer fact that they are also mutants.

Back in the present, Storm and Legion are locked in battle. Demonstrating his newfound powers, Legion takes Storm and travels back in time to the day her parents were killed. Right as Storm is about to save them, Legion sends them back to the present. The X-Men attack him again, but Legion again brushes them off; during the fight, Bishop is able to absorb some of his energy.

Then the story jumps back to the X-Men’s arrival for a couple of panels. Legion then creates a portal to travel back in time. Somehow Storm figures out that by having Psylocke stab Bishop with her psychic knife, the energy Bishop absorbed will somehow allow the team to follow Legion through time. Jean is able to use her powers to keep from being sucked in, but the rest of the team is lost.

All the way over in the Shi’ar Empire, Empress Lilandra is awoken by the head of her Imperial Guard, Gladiator, slamming through her chamber wall. The assailant turns out to be Jahf, an obscure character who I believe last appeared during the original Phoenix Saga in the seventies. He has traveled to warn Lilandra about the end of existence, which has something to do with the M’Kraan Crystal—the nexus of all realities—that he guards.

How It Was: It’s big event time. Legion Quest is a four part crossover that leads into an even bigger event, the Age of Apocalypse, which lasts for another four months and changes the titles of every X-Book. This is a fun little storyline because from a certain perspective, it’s basically the last X-Men story before the world of the Marvel Universe ends.

My biggest complaint about this issue is that the advertisements in the book ruin the end of the story: Legion tries to kill Magneto in the past, but ends up killing Xavier instead, thus altering the timestream as we know it. I can understand the reasoning behind this move from an editorial standpoint; with the events of this story kicking off the Age of Apocalypse, and the renaming of all of the X-Books, Marvel was probably worried about confusing fans who might not buy the new books during the crossover. Remember, this was before the Internet, so the only way you as a reader knew what was happening was by either reading Wizard Magazine or paying attention to the advertisements in various Marvel comics. At the same time these ads really ruin the tension of the entire story, and the emotional payoff at the end is extremely lessened by the knowledge of the story’s inevitable conclusion. I honestly feel like the advertising in this issue compromises the artistic integrity of the story, but then again, I just ruined it for all of you who haven’t read it, so what do I know?

As for the rest of the story, it’s mostly a lot of exposition and explanation. Gabrielle Haller is brought in to explain how Xavier has a son, since this son hasn’t been seen in almost a decade, and also because she will prove important in later flashback sequences. Legion’s history and powers are kind of explained, although without the gimmick of his split personalities he’s really a generic, all-powerful cosmic bad guy type. And Lilandra and the M’kraan Crystal are introduced into the story for arbitrary reasons; namely, they serve to set up one of the maguffins needed for the Age of Apocalypse storyline down the road.

The sequence that really stands out is when Legion and Storm travel back to the past so he can mess with her. Not only does it demonstrate the villain’s powers, it also sets up the premise for the story, while also showing an interesting side of Storm. It’s very interesting to see the normally peaceful and stoic Storm lose her cool and risk altering the space-time continuum for her own personal feelings. It’s a great human moment for her, although it does set up some contradictions for the next issue.

The art by Roger Cruz is gorgeous; lots of energy crackling and dust being kicked up, which makes sense since it is in a desert. The characters are very expressive, and you can see the fear in the team’s eyes as they fight a hopeless battle. Legion himself really just stands around and throws energy at people, but this works in the first chapters since it sets up the obstacle for the team to overcome. Plus I really like the symbolism in the panels with the portal right behind Legion’s head, making it appear as if it were a halo.

This is a pretty good setup issue for the story. The entire crossover itself kind of drags in the middle, but there is still something to recommend in every issue. As for this one, it does a good job defining the conflict and the threat, but I do wish that Marvel hadn’t made the decision to reveal the end of the story before it even came out.

B+