X-Men #82

X-Men #82

Writing: Joe Kelly

Art: Adam Kubert

What Went Down:  Gambit and Colossus are both plummeting from a mountaintop after Gambit impulsively jumped on Peter’s shoulders in an attempt to lighten the mood.  Storm and Rogue save them, and fortunately the fall has led them right to the place they were hoping to get to.  It’s a temple made of ice. 

Inside the temple, one of the monks of the order alerts Renee Majcomb that there are intruders.  Elsewhere, Gambit brushes off Rogue’s attempts to get close to him.  Colossus finds it appalling, not knowing that Gambit is possessed by an evil being.  Gambit blows the door to an area and finds the frozen corpses of the majority of the monks.  An observer watches the X-Men and analyzes them. 

The X-Men come to a liquid mirror that appears to be some kind of portal.  Since Xavier’s signal is coming from it, they enter it.  The world inside distorts their senses and skews reality.  Rogue has an easier time with it because she is used to the confusion of having multiple personalities in her head.  Outside Renee asks a mystery figure if the trap is working; the mystery person thinks that they have the wrong people.  A robot that looks like Cerebro from issue #81 observes the mirror. 

Inside the mirror the X-Men experience a variety of abstract tortures, but when Rogue and Gambit reach for each other, they begin to turn back to normal.  They realize that extreme emotions are the key to escaping the mirror.  Storm thinks of her love for the X-Men, Colossus the death of his sister, Rogue thinks of Gambit, and Gambit thinks about the mist thing that possessed him. 

After breaking out, the X-Men are confronted by Renee and Nina, the girl from Onslaught: Epilogue that Professor X met.  They apologize for mistaking the X-Men for enemies and learn that they are being chased by Cerebro, who thinks Nina is Xavier. 

How It Was:  This issue: the X-Men get their own young and adorably cute sidekick.  What, you’re not excited?  Anyways Nina the Mannite turns up after her appearance in Onslaught: Epilogue.  Don’t worry, she’s not staying permanently, but it’s still enough to cast a pall over this story.  Nobody could possibly care whether or not this tiny plot device got ripped apart by a Cerebro robot, which is a real failing in this entire story.

Despite that rather sobering intro, this issue is actually really fun.  The opening is worth a small smile as Gambit tries too hard to fit back in with X-Men and the ice temple is really nicely rendered by Adam Kubert.  The best part of the book is when the team is attacked in the mirror by Nina.  The shift in art style and coloring does a perfect job of capturing the shift in reality that consumes the X-Men; it’s a great example of storytelling through visuals as the team’s perceptions are completely upended.  Yes it’s hokey that they break free by feeling emotions, but it’s worth it for the line, “And then the whole world stopped making fish.”  Some really creative imagery here.

It’s a neat issue if you ignore the fact that the plot doesn’t really advance all that much.  The characters are still shining as always in Kelly’s book, except for Colossus who is suffering from a case of nothing to do.  One of the better parts of this event.

For Everyone