Thursday, July 26, 2012

X-Men #78

X-Men #78
Writing: Joe Kelly
Art: German Garcia

What Went Down: In New York, people are going insane as the massive psionic event takes place.  Shadow King now has the power to manipulate any mind he wants, and is doing so to create chaos and destruction.  Shadow King explains to the dying Psylocke that he was defeated way back Uncanny #280, but the rise of Onslaught gave him the chance to rise again without Xavier’s noticing.  After tricking Storm into bringing Psylocke, and tricking Psylocke into giving him power, he is prepared to rule the world.  Psylocke’s astral form shatters as Shadow King disappears. 

In another dreamscape, Marrow’s bones return, causing her immense pain.  Shadow King appears in his normal form, offering the three new recruits their hearts’ desires.  Cecilia can be a doctor, Maggott can be a hero who can control his powers, and Marrow can be normal. As this is going on, Psylocke reappears in her shadowy Crimson Dawn form; not even she understands how she survived.  After finding Ainet, Betsy wraps her in the same shadows; apparently these shadows can hide them from the Shadow King. 

As Shadow King messes with the minds of the United Nations, Psylocke and Ainet rescue Storm from her nightmare.  This involves Ainet bolstering Storm’s confidence so she doesn’t blame herself for what’s happened.  Psylocke has also come up with a plan to stop Shadow King.

Later, Psylocke appears to Shadow King.  Shadow King is amused that Betsy is still alive, and offers to make her his queen.  With the villain distracted, Storm and Ainet rescue the new X-Men from the influence they were under.  Marrow wanders off, and saves Cannonball by killing a violent illusion of his father. 

Psylocke sends the other X-Men away as Shadow King reaches out to every mind in the world.  While Shadow King overextends himself, Psylocke is able to attack his “nexus point,” an area that all telepaths must guard because it defines psionic essence.  Psylocke is able to contain the Shadow King, but he warns that if she ever uses her telepathy again, she will release him from this prison. 

Back in the village, the X-Men work to help the dehydrated villagers.  Cannonball thanks Marrow for saving him, and internally she reflects happiness that Sam likes her.  Psylocke explains to Storm that she has lost the use of her telepathy, and Storm reassures her that she will always be part of the X-Men. 

How it Was:  This is a little disappointing after last issue’s set up.  Yes I know I had problems with the set up of the conflict, but the conflict itself is pretty solid—Shadow King has control everyone’s mind and nobody can stop him.  It even works pretty well as an X-Men story since telepathy has pretty much been relegated to the X-Universe.  However problems abound in the fact that the X-Men are supposed to be fighting the Shadow King, and Kelly hasn’t found any creative ways for the team to combat a disembodied psychic entity.  None of the X-Men have anything to do, aside from Psylocke.  Theoretically Storm should have something to do with this story because it’s dealing with her back story, her home, and her main villain, but no; Psylocke does everything, and it’s pretty unsatisfying.

Kelly does get to have some fun here, mostly in the scenes with the villain driving ordinary citizens insane.  These scenes are pretty absurd; it’s more goofy than unsettling, but it adequately sets up the stakes.  It’s also nice to see the recruits coming together a little; I like how Cecilia comes to Marrow’s defense, even though they still “hate” each other.  And I like how Marrow comes to Cannonball’s aid, even if the specifics of how she does it are a little off.  Seeing these bonds just starting to form makes it all the more sad that the direction of the books is going to shift after another issue. 

As for Psylocke herself, well…this is probably the best Psylocke issue I’ve read on this blog, but that really isn’t saying a lot.  The shadowy effect for her does look really cool against the astral plane background, but once again we’re going back to the well of the mysterious Crimson Dawn fixing everything, so I can’t say I’m really interested.  As for her big sacrifice at the end, I can’t say I really care.  Psylocke’s never been a favorite character, and it’s clear she’s only here because the plot needs a teleporter and a telepath.  And while her guilt for causing this big event is nice to see, the end just doesn’t feel very emotional or satisfying.  Maybe it would’ve been more effective if Betsy had been in more than four issues since the Legion Quest story.

It’s too bad this story was so anticlimactic because the art is great, and in theory a lot of the characters should have some interesting reactions to being in Africa.  Instead we get an okay Psylocke story that ends with her finding the Shadow King’s magic defeat button at the end.  This has a lot of holes in it, but at least it doesn’t overstay its welcome like most events today.

C+

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