The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #4

The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #4

Writing: Scott Lobdell

Art: Gene Ha

Note: Story continues in X-Men #35.

What Went Down:  Nathan is at death’s door as the techno-organic virus is breaking down his body completely.  Apparently he has been in remission for a while, but hitting puberty has caused the virus to flare up again.  Turrin and his people are doing everything to help him, but it doesn’t look good for the boy.  Jean thinks she could help him if she could reach him telepathically, but she says there is psi-interference through the coma. 

Over at Apocalypse’s citadel, the villain is preparing to possess Stryfe’s body, in spite of the protests of Ch’Vayre.  We learn that Apocalypse named the boy Stryfe after an enemy who almost defeated him centuries ago.  The irony being that Apocalypse thinks this boy is an abducted Nathan Summers, but really he is the same Stryfe that will grow up to try to kill him in the past yet again. 

As Nathan is dying, he has an out of body experience, and he is visited by the spirit of a young Rachel Summers.  In the physical world, Scott decides to stay with Nathan in lieu of going on another raid to defeat Apocalypse.  He refuses to abandon his son again after doing it once already.  The rebels attack the citadel.  Turrin is taken out by a psi-attack from Ch’Vayre, who proposes an alliance with Redd. 

Rachel explains that the techno-virus is something he has to accept and that he has more power than any other telepath.  She explains that as the Mother Askani, she brought Nate to this time and created a clone as a decoy.  Rachel explains his destiny as Cable, although she tells him he won’t remember any of this.  Just as Nathan dies on the table, Nate fights and comes out of it.  He thanks Slym for not leaving him and tells him they’re needed where Redd is. 

As Apocalypse prepares to take Stryfe’s body, he taunts Xavier and the other villains he outlived.  He is interrupted by a psi-attack from Jean and Ch’Vayre.  The villain knocks them back and goes to complete the ritual.  Since the boy is a clone, he cannot contain Apocalypse’s essence.  Scott and Nathan show up, and the Dayspring family focuses their powers on Apocalypse. 

As they are about to defeat the villain, Scott and Jean begin fading from existence.  Nathan frees Stryfe, preventing Apocalypse from transferring his essence, and Apocalypse “utters his final cry.” Scott and Jean try to say goodbye to Nathan as they fade away.  Rachel appears to Jean and explains that her physical body died minutes ago.  She says she lived a long life and asks Jean to take the name Phoenix in remembrance of all the good the Phoenix force did.  As Scott fades, he tells Nate he’ll never be alone, and he will be a cable that unites the past to the future. 

After the couple fades, Ch’Vayre explains that Apocalypse’s followers will try to avenge him and find his heir, Stryfe.  He says his resources will protect Stryfe and himself, but not Nathan.  Nathan says not to worry about him as he’s going to put back together the dream Apocalypse dismantled.

How It Was: Well it’s the final issue, and we’re finally getting to the meat of the story we’ve been waiting for.  Here’s the final battle with Apocalypse, which turns out to be very underwhelming.  What it amounts to is the Dayspring clan shooting an old man just before he transfers bodies.  It’s disappointing to see Apocalypse die in such an anticlimactic and lackluster way.  Plus I thought Apocalypse ruled Cable’s future when he was an adult as well, but I could be misrembering.  On top of the toothless defeat of one of the X-Men’s greatest enemies, there’s the problem that Scott, Jean, and Ch’Vayre really have no major contribution to the end.  Ch’Vayre especially, as the only new character we’ve really spent time with, feels like his potential has been wasted by having him focus on the unlikable Stryfe. 

Still this issue does have a lot going for it.  The material dealing with Nathan’s near-death is handled wonderfully.  Gene Ha’s art as the virus breaks down the young boy’s body is surreal and haunting.  And the depiction in his mind of Nathan accepting the virus is really well handled.  Having Scott stay in spite of the final battle is a nice touch, even though as I said last issue we haven’t really seen him neglect Nathan yet.  And then there are the inevitable goodbyes that you’ve been expecting since issue one that are all pretty strong.  Yes we all know Nathan isn’t going to die, and Scott and Jean aren’t going to stay in the future.  But the idea of them being separated from their child is wonderfully handled, even if the trauma is forgotten after a month or two in the other x-titles. 

Along with Apocalypse, it’s sad to see there is no comeuppance for Stryfe, since the boy has killed more in the series than anyone else in the entire story.  Obviously he has to grow up to be the regular Marvel Universe villain, but almost getting possessed just doesn’t seem satisfying enough.  There are also some pretty wonky plot devices going on related to Stryfe.  It’s necessary that Lodell establish a purpose for Stryfe’s existence (a decoy for Nathan) as well as show that there is some difference between the two.  So we get Apocalypse crying about how Stryfe isn’t the authentic child, completely stopping the possession process, followed by saying it doesn’t matter, and he’ll possess the boy anyway.  I do love the touch that Stryfe is named after his future self.

What does work is both the low-key and full-on dramatic moments: Rachel and Nathan talking in his mind, Scott saying goodbye, and Rachel saying goodbye to Jean.  It’s nice to go back to a time when the Marvel Universe didn’t automatically associate the Phoenix with destruction, because that’s not its primary function.  Although Rachel’s reasoning for Jean naming herself Phoenix is somewhat off (as a tribute to the Phoenix force and all the good it did) it comes off more as Jean’s tribute to the incredibly complex and difficult life her alternate reality/possibly future daughter had to live.  Even though the action is a little disappointing, and the resolution is rather abrupt, there are some nice character moments hidden in here.  Plus it does finally clear up some of the tangled continuity about Cable, Apocalypse, Stryfe, and Cyclops.

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