Credits: Written by Fabian Nicieza, pencils by Andy Kubert, inked by Mark Pennington and edited by Bob Harras.
Plot: Reaper, one of the Mutant Liberation Front is about to decapitate Quicksilver and Gambit, monologing extensively. He is soon disarmed by Havok and near lobotomised by Psylocke before Boom Boom has to save Psylocke from Forearm. The three look up and see that Dragoness is being easily handled by Rogue, Storm and Polaris. Slab and Thumbelina try to make a run for it, only to be frozen in place by IceMan and Boom Boom joins Cannonball in facing off against former team-mates Rusty and Skins, for which Boom Boom gets a broken jaw. Rusty and Skids are defeated, but it’s clear they’re still brainwashed. With Strobe (the final holdout) now defeated, the MLF are removed as a threat, hopefully allowing the X-Men to move forward on finding Stryfe.
Elsewhere (specifically Newfoundland, Canada) Bishop, Cable and Wolverine are still running from Department K after their battle in the last issue. Cable recognises how beaten they are and without their consent teleports (or Bodyslides) them to a place he calls Graymalkin.
At the Mansion, while Beast and Doctor MacTaggart despair over the condition of Charles, Colossus is working in the grounds. Strong Guy/Guido Carosella brings a coffee to Colossus, he breaks down the ingredients. It’s a Hawaiian Hazelnut mocha and delights in telling Colossus that there’s a lot of Jack Daniels in there too.
At the as yet unknown base,, Stryfe watches all the various events play out, including Cyclops and Jean Grey in their cell. After a while of theatrical brooding, he asks his computer to synthesize some baby food, which he takes to the cell and force-feeds it to Cyclops, berating him and asking is that how he takes care of a child. As confused as Cyclops is when Stryfe leaves, both Scott and Jean realising their powers are inoperative, Stryfe is as furious and decides it’s time to take this rage out on Apocalypse. At Bani Maza, Stryfe breaks down walls and takes out Foxbat, Tusk, Psynapse, Gauntlet and Hard-Drive, even some of Tusks minions and another of the now defeated Dark Riders, who have been guarding the regenerating Apocalypse. Forced out of this state, the still recovering En Sabah Nur asks who he is facing and Stryfe refers to himself “As you are the devil of yesterday who haunts my tomorrows. I am the demon of tomorrow who has come for cold retribution. I am Stryfe. Remember it, for that is the name of the man who is going to kill you.” as he stands there, holding his cape and waiting to take his long desired revenge.
Notes: This is something of an overlap between the fall of the MLF and Stryfe’s emergent revenge. There’s a removal of the MLF from the board, which was either expected or desired by all involved. We also see how deep Stryfe’s hate goes and it’s all the way back to childhood. It’s clear that he blames Scott and Jean for something, but they don’t know what. Long time readers had a theory and it’s not explicitly confirmed here, but it’s getting to be a little obvious. There’s a lot of posing and fighting here and lots of different characters get a moment to shine, but the MLF stuff feels like it’s just being done to give that part of the story some closure. The stuff at the mansion, including Beast and Moira accepting the possibility that this isn’t going to end well is very affecting. I did enjoy the coffee thing between Colossus and Guido, although it does raise the question, how often is he adding JD to his coffee? This leads into other stories later, but not about a drinking problem. Is he drunk at work often? Or does he not see this as being at work?
The big thing of the story is Stryfe’s weird baby-food thing. The fact that their powers are dampened isn’t a surprise when you consider how powerful they are, or their past success rates. The issue ends with Stryfe taking on Apocalypse and there’s clearly an emotional component going on that is a complete mystery to one of them, setting us up for a hell of a next issue.
Verdict: Writing – 3 out of 5 – Solid, but uninspiring for the majority of the issue, the place where it shines is when Stryfe shows up with his overly spikey armour and dramatic red cloak. I’m hoping that the writer was aiming for a petulant child, who wants you to know why he’s throwing this tantrum, but doesn’t actually want to tell you, because that is Stryfe’s whole vibe in this issue. It lands well and keeps you coming back for each part.
Art: 3 out of 5 – It’s the weakest artistically of the 4 titles involved, but the story telling is good, the colouring is nice and light and everyone is very much on model. That may seem scant praise, but good story-telling and consistency are often missing from comics, so it’s worth pointing out when they get it right.
Overall: 6 out of 10 – A good start to the second half of this story, showing that it’s still got plenty of legs and is enjoyable, without just resorting to nostalgia. I’m enjoying this re-run immensely and can’t wait for part 8.
Next Time: More New Warriors shenanigans
My Marvel Life 