Team X 2000 #1

Team X 2000 #1

Writing: Sean Ruffner and A. Smithee

Art: Kevin Lau

 
What Went Down:  Deathbird opens describing a vivid dream to Bishop where she is fighting Shi’ar vermin, then biting the head off of a bird.  Bishop attempts to interpret the dream while the two play chess; Deathbird cannot get over some of the rules of the game.  It is implied that the two have had relations with each other, though Bishop insists it was a mistake.  Their ship comes across an uncharted jump-gate, and then they are attacked by an Ursaa ship (the guys from Uncanny #358).  Bishop decides to chance going in the gate.

Upon exiting the jump-gate, the ship comes out in orbit around Earth, but the planet is surrounded by Shi’ar warships for some reason.  On Earth, it is revealed that Alanna Nermani, the daughter of Lilandra, is the ruler of a war-torn future version of Earth. Archangel, Sauron, Dazzler, and Vulture are all servants of Alanna.  The queen is alerted to the discovery of Bishop’s ship.

Taken aboard one of the warships, Bishop and Deathbird encounter some Shi’ar soldiers.  Deathbird attacks them, but she is shot by a stun blast; Bishop decides not to intercede, allowing himself to be taken prisoner.  Shi’ar scientists confirm to Alanna that Deathbird is the genuine article, so Alanna orders her released.  Deathbird learns that the year is 2018, and the Shi’ar have conquered Earth.  Meanwhile Bishop is stuck in a prison cell with a depowered Cain Marko, normally the Juggernaut. Cain isn’t sure whether Bishop is real, but explains some of the history of the planet.

Bishop is escorted to a healing pool where Deathbird is already bathing.  Bishop doesn’t trust Alanna, but Deathbird insists it is all right.  Alanna goes to a truth-seer, who informs her that Deathbird will be the key to her triumph or defeat.

The next day Alanna takes Deathbird and Bishop on a tour of New York to discuss restoring Deathbird’s name and royal title to her.  The people of New York are being starved by the Shi’ar for not turning in the rebels.  A disguised Longshot confirms Bishop’s identity and calls Cable.  Alanna is confronted by some starving peasants and demonstrates that she has psychic powers, due to the fact that her father was Charles Xavier.

The rebels of this world, the Morlocks, attack so they can liberate Bishop.  The group consists of  Cable, Longshot, Falcon, and Vertigo-the present day Jubilee. Vertigo is almost killed by Sauron, but Falcon sacrifices himself to save her, while Longshot is captured due to Deathbird’s interference.

Back at the Morlock base, Bishop is introduced to their leader, an eyepatch wearing Wolverine.  Dr. Doom is also a member of the rebellion. Wolverine explains that the Avengers, X-Men, Lilandra, and Professor X were all killed by Alanna, who studied the history of her aunt Deathbird.  This allowed her to take over the planet.  Beast, Doom, and Hank Pym planned on seeding the past with time gates to bring help from the past, but their plan was foiled by soldiers before they could finish; Bishop’s gate was a freak accident.

The Morlocks use Vulture to infiltrate the Shi’ar celebration for Deathbird.  When offered her birthright, Deathbird refuses saying that the title means nothing to her.  While Bishop takes on Sauron, Deathbird and Alanna fight as well.  Bishop sets off the explosives after the control is damaged, and uses Sauron to survive as they both absorb the energy from the explosion.  Alanna’s telepathic powers allow her to anticipate Deathbird’s moves, but Deathbird is able to defeat Alanna using a pressure point that Bishop taught her off-panel.  Deathbird shows mercy on Alanna and kisses Bishop.

With Alanna defeated, the Morlocks send Bishop and Deathbird back to their own time.  Doom leaves the base, telling Cable that next time they may not be on the same side. 

How It Was:  This is actually a fun little diversion for X-fans.  Regular readers will know that I’m a sucker for alternate reality/future stories, and for such a brief one, this does deliver some neat alternate moments.  I especially like the all too short visit with crazy Cain Marko, and the little touches like Falcon’s importance in the resistance, or Wolverine and Sauron’s rivalry.  Some aspects never get the room to pay off: Dr. Doom is introduced as an unknown quantity, but never affects the resolution one way or the other.  Also Jubilee has been renamed Vertigo for no particular reason, and I can’t tell if the team of rebels is supposed to be called the Morlocks or Team X because the script uses both.

I am wholly unfamiliar with the writers of this story, but I’m happy that they continue the solid relationship established between Deathbird and Bishop.  The romantic tension mixed with utter contempt and unpredictable motivations makes for great reading.  What I really like is that while Uncanny #358 focused mostly on Bishop’s history and perspective, Team X is much more about Deathbird.  From her cryptic dreams to confronting her relationship with her identity and family, it’s nice to see the character struggle with these conflicting aspects.  Although the reader can probably assume that Deathbird will side with Bishop, it’s still interesting to see how it all plays out.

The plot mechanics are a little frustrating.  The Morlocks’ plan to use time traveling gates to bring heroes from the past makes no sense; why not use them to travel back and change the future?  Plus I really don’t understand why they needed other heroes to implement their straightforward plan at the end.  It feels like the plot itself could’ve been resolved without Bishop or Deathbird; somebody else would’ve just had to kill Alanna.  Still, the fighting is solid and there are some hastily constructed, but solid character interaction.

The art style is manga, but for some reason it doesn’t bother as much as the style normally does.  Sure it does slip into ridiculousness with the scantily clad Shi’ar servants, and Jubilee’s redesign is super-cyberpunk anime influenced, but the action is clear, the expressions are never distorted or exaggerated, and just about all the characters are on model.  To tell you the truth, I like Lau’s work slightly more than I like Joe Madureira’s.

This is a little story that continues to build on the relationship between Bishop and Deathbird.  I like where it takes the characters, and I like the time travel gimmick because it doesn’t overstay its welcome.  Bishop traveling through time works a lot better with the character’s roots than Bishop in space.  This is definitely a peek if you can find it for cheap.

B+