Welcome back to Mutantversity, a class offered at the Krakoan Akademos Habitat. This isn’t a place to find big reviews of X-books, (that’s what our Review section is for!) but it’s a great way to keep up with one of the most complicated superhero series around. We’ll learn, we’ll laugh, and we’ll carry whatever swords we got into outer space. But most of all, we’re going to dive into the deep end as we try to parse all the secrets of this new era of “X-Men” comics. As your designated X-Pert, I will do my best to help you work through everything Marvel’s Merry Mutants have to offer!
Here’s how it’s going to go. First we’re going to recap the last month of the ongoing superhero soap opera that is “X-Men,” focusing on the titles that are really driving the story. Think of it as your monthly headlines into all things “X-Men.” Next, I’ll tell you which X-books I looked at this month, and whether I thought they were worth reading. Finally, we’re going to award our very special Monthly Mutantversity Medals of Merit to close out these issues of “X-Men.” Stick with me true believers, and maybe we’ll survive this experience!
S.W.O.R.D. Online
I’m not sure when exactly Abigail Brand was confirmed to be a mutant, but that’s what she is. She’s also something of a maverick and a vigilante. Even though the governments of Earth seem less than inclined to back the Sentient Worlds Observation and Response Division, Brand is gonna do what superheroes do. She decides to keep fighting for what she believes in despite everyone telling her not to. And because of her mission and mutant heritage, Krakoa is backing her. S.W.O.R.D. is once again protecting the galaxy.
And now it’s got a brand new hierarchy and color coded Star Trek-inspired uniforms. What’s impressive is how well suited each mutant is for their job aboard the spaceship. Take Wiz Kid for example. Though a powerful technopath, he’s been relegated to the margins for years. Now he’s got a job worthy of his mutant gifts, and a snazzy flying wheelchair which objectively rules. Or Frenzy! Despite her codename, which refers to her fighting style and superpowers, Joanna Cargill is shrewd, ruthless, and empathic. She’s exactly the kind of badass you want for a space diplomat, especially knowing that negotiations are often gonna lead to daring escapes.
There are also a lot of telepaths working in tandem, and stranger powers than that being combined to form what Jonathan Hickman called “the human machine” in his “S.H.I.E.L.D.” series. These power combos look difficult to pull off, but offer the mutant heroes a chance to transcend the limitations put on them by you know, the laws of the universe.
Which is exactly what they do. By combining their teleportation powers, they manage to pierce the White Hot Room. This cosmic locale is “nexus between all Phoenix hosts and [their] eternal flame.” It’s not a well understood place, and the fact that S.W.O.R.D. is invading it, indicates that they have a long plan. They even steal something- perhaps an artifact connected to the M’Kraan crystal or a piece of the Phoenix itself. We aren’t made privy to the master plan, but if it involves a heist this high stakes, the endgame is going to be insane.
Where is Betsy Braddock?
‘X of Swords’ ended with a big unresolved problem. Betsy Braddock was erm, magically transformed into glass, shattered, put back together, and now seems to be some kind of magical multiversal window? It’s the kind of plot that Marvel books love to introduce and then forget about, so imagine my thrill and surprise when “Excalibur” jumped right in!
At first they were mourning, and different mutants felt really differently. Rogue is really broken up about it and is feeling abrasive. Rachel is just as sad, but she doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve like that; she seemed more stoic. At some point Gambit learned about emotional intelligence, so he made himself available to his loved ones as a supportive shoulder to cry on. And blessedly, my favorite X romance came back to the forefront as Blob got to mourn the death of Psylocke. The two of them shared a really profound love connection!
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But then the X-Factor investigation comes back inconclusive. All the ways to verify whether someone is dead- such as a body- are not really present. This situation is weird! And that’s what is important. So Excalibur decides to collaborate with their Otherworld allies to figure out what the deal is. What is Betsy’s status? If you are a re-assembled stained glass window, are you technically alive or technically dead? And how can you be made into a person again?
Even Newer Mutants
This column is mostly meant to cover events within the story of “X-Men” rather than what’s happening behind the scenes in our world. But this is something worth mentioning: Ed Brisson is no longer the writer of “New Mutants.” Now, Vita Ayala is writing the series. I want to make it clear that I like Brisson, but this series always felt a little odd for him and for the rest of the X-Line. It probably doesn’t help that the Head of X himself, Jonathan Hickman, has such an obvious affection for the “New Mutants” characters. It seems like he micromanaged them a bit, kept track of where they were in the overall story. That might have been a challenge. But Ayala immediately comes in with a clarity of vision, and strong relationships with the other X-creators.
And what is that vision? Well historically, mutants have taken education very seriously. “New Mutants” is now focusing on Krakoan education. The classic New Mutants team- Karma, Magik, Mirage, Wolfsbane, and Warlock, plus their old pal Warpath- are the teachers. And there are plenty of students, from Surge and Anole to Gabby and Fauna. In the Reign of X, it seems power combos are more than something you look to do in an MMORPG, they are a way of life. Mutants are talking about combining their powers in a spiritual and sometimes even romantic way. Xavier’s school was all about mastering your own power. The Krakoa school is all about collaborating and becoming strong as a community.
On top of that, evil lurks. We’ve seen a bunch of villains struggle to adjust to a peaceful island life, but there are a few stragglers we haven’t checked in with yet. One such ne’er-do-well: Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King. And it turns out he is on the island. What he’s up to? Unclear. But it seems shady. He’s meeting with mutant children in shadowy secret. I’m sure that’s gonna lead to a cool sword fight. Most things do on Krakoa.
Rock the Vote
At the end of “X of Swords,” Scott and Jean officially got the X-Men back together for the first time since mutants moved to Krakoa. Crazy, right? And not only that, Magneto and the quiet council disavowed the team. They said the X-Men brand was too strong, and that the world would assume that the X-Men represented all mutants. And Scott was like, “So?” The implication being that Scott quietly thinks that the Quiet Council is a bunch of assholes and that he’s a nice and cool guy, so obviously he’d rather the heroic X-Men represent the mutant nation.
But Scott and Jean’s conflict with the Council goes even deeper. Through dealing with the mutants of Arakko, it’s become very clear that Magneto thinks the Quiet Council should immortally rule for time immemorial. That’s government leadership. Scott and Jean aren’t gonna run the X-Men like that though. They are holding elections. Get voted by your fellow mutant, get a place on the premiere mutant superhero team.
More than anything though, it serves as a strong statement of what a superhero is and what they are for in a society. The Quiet Council leads. They come into a tough situation with no right answer, and they come up with the most intelligent compromise. Sometimes they do their best to support a side when there are irreconcilable differences. But the X-Men don’t lead, they serve. They help. When someone is desperate, the X-Men will swing in and save the day. Xavier and Magneto view service as something you inflict on someone, telling them what to do to free them of the burden of responsibility. Scott and Jean’s X-Men are looking to be more like a welfare support network.
This month’s Books:
“X-Factor” #5 – Pulling off such a warm character piece that’s also a wordy existential screed is a hard ask. This issue was pretty good!
“Hellions” #7 – I cannot overstate what a pleasant surprise this book has turned out to be. Characters I’ve never thought twice about are now serious favorites of mine.
“S.W.O.R.D.” #1 – Oh snap, this is arguably the strongest #1 issue since “House of X” #1.
“Marauders” #16 – …But this might be my favorite issue overall. Just wow.
“New Mutants” #14 – The first real reboot of the Krakoa era is also the first real mutant academy series. Wildly ambitious, it is another strong start.
“X-Force” #15 – Some good ideas make a good foundation for an otherwise crummy issue.
“Excalibur” #16 – A grounded story that focuses on characters in mourning, and one of the best issues of this series yet!
“Wolverine” #8 – Some good dialogue and forward momentum results in a pretty OK issue.
“X-Men” #16 – A pretty good issue gets this series back on track, but a promise of things to come is much more exciting!
“Juggernaut” #4 – One of my favorite anti-villains continues his bizarre tour through the Marvel universe. I’m still into this series, but it doesn’t feel essential.
The Mutantversity Monthly Medals of Merit:
The Cable’s Pouch of X-Treme Grittiness Award
Given to a mutant for demonstrating badassitude and commitment to the 90s aesthetic
Gabby Kinney
Whether you call her Scout or you correctly call her Honey Badger, Gabby is a delightful badass. She can pop claws and snikt with the best of them, but she’s a smiling warrior. The badass archetype is usually grizzled, grumpy, maybe with a heart of gold. When Gabby menaced Omega Red with her family, she was formidable, dangerous, and delightful. We could use a lot more Gabby in our comic pages, and a lot more characters like her.
Merriest Mutant Award
Given to a mutant who found a rare moment of happiness
Emma Frost
Look, even when she’s on the side of the angels, Emma Frost is kind of a Bad Girl. She likes drinking, and mocking fools. She likes to bang hot guys (and probably gals). But more than anything, she loves to crush her enemies. And historically, there is no enemy that brings her more pleasure than Sebastian Shaw. She’s crushed him a lot of times in the past. But this might take the prize. She defaced his house, destroyed his property, tortured him, crippled him, and fed his eye to an outer space dragon. And then she confined him to a wheelchair and mind controlled him, because Emma likes to be in charge. There may be more wholesome ways to find happiness, but in terms of sheer quantity, Emma seems like the happiest mutant on the island this month.
“Professor Xavier is a Jerk” Award
Given to a mutant who acted like a real jerk
Magneto
Talk about saying the quiet part out loud. First Magneto was going on about how the X-Men were a threat- I know! Imagine Magneto, the Master of Magnetism, having problems with the X-Men. But in his last few appearances, it became clear that Mags loves his situation for questionable reasons. As in, dictator for eternal life reasons. The Quiet Council arguably was a temporary measure, but now we know that Magneto is planning on ruling mutants forever. It’s messed up, totally in character, and a really alarming red flag for the future of Krakoa.
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Fastball Special Award
Given to a duo who exhibited great friendship, collaboration, and teamwork
Cyclops and Marvel Girl
I wouldn’t go so far to call Scott and Jean couple goals, but when they make it work, they really make it work! Not only do they seem to be excellent romantic partners and adequate co-parents, their superhero partnership is productive and pure. The two of them are bringing the X-Men back! At all costs. Jean gave up her seat of power. Because these two share lots, but fundamentally what connects them is their values. The way they have been confidently backing each other and navigating Krakoan politics should stand as an aspiration to mutants everywhere!
Let’s Talk About X Baby Award
Given to the sweetest, sexiest, bestest romantic couple
Rictor and Apocalypse
These guys moved from my problematic faves to my star crossed problematic faves. We only saw Rictor this month, but the yearning he put into his pining was something incredible. He misses his big blue daddy as a mentor, a leader, but also… it seems really personal! Rictor misses the Big A something fierce, and he seems ready to throw down for no reason other than love. That’s sweet! In a weird way.
MVX: Most Valuable X-Man
Given to an X-Man who embodied the values of the team and showed all around X-cellence
Frenzy
We’ve seen scant signs of Joanna Cargill on Krakoa, but now she has a role. And it is even cooler than I could have imagined! Frenzy is an interesting character because despite being a powerful, capable person, she genuinely craves leadership. She’s followed Magneto and other charismatic mutant extremists. She also fell in love with and followed Cyclops. This never made her seem lesser. I’ve always found Frenzy to be really relatable: she just is looking for a worthwhile mission or someone worth following. I think that’s cool! You can still celebrate entrepreneurship without crapping on people who are just looking for a worthwhile company job, you know? Frenzy is the revolutionary version of that.
But her new job is crazy cool. It’s a role that has only ever been occupied by one other person- former X-Men ally Carol Danvers. Frenzy is operating as Earth’s Ambassador Extraordinary, the first line of diplomacy to outer space. Not exactly an intuitive role for someone named Frenzy, right? But that’s the trick of it- Frenzy can let herself be consumed by bloodlust and kick serious ass. But she only does that on her terms, when she wants it. Is she intense? Unbelievably so! But intense focus and confidence are great traits in a diplomat. Frenzy finally has a role worthy of her talents, and a place in the story that allows her to be the fascinating, complex character she’s always been. That’s MVX material right there!
