Written by: Mike CareyMindscape Art by: John Romita Jr.& Klaus Janson
Reality Art: Scott Eaton & John Dell
Colors: Christina Strain and Frank D’Armata
Company: Marvel
Okay, let’s the get the obvious questions out of the way first:
Q: Legacy? Huh? A: Well, remember – Xavier got shot in the head at the end of X-Men 207. According to no less an authority than Cyclops himself, “There are no X-Men”.
Q: What in the heck are “mindscape” and “reality” art? A: Flashbacks, baby – nuthin’ but flashbacks.
Well, okay – there’s a lot more than flashbacks here. But honestly, these are some truly cool flashbacks: Mike Carey sets out filling in some of the most vital missing and “behind the scenes” moments in X-Men history:
- Xavier meeting with Moira to discuss the idea of gathering a group of young mutants in his “school”
- Xavier’s first talk with the original X-Men (personally, I’m very amused comparing the dialogue here versus what we would have seen from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in September 1963 — I’m guessing this issue had a lot less exclamations of “Golly!”)
- Xavier and Moira talking about the Danger Room (including several revealing glimpses from Moira into Xavier’s psychology; but please don’t ask me to explain why this respected non-superhuman scientist is wearing a full-body spandex costume)
- Xavier informing Cyclops that he’s taking a leave from the X-Men, and that Scott is now in charge (which includes one of the most outstanding dialogues about Xavier’s power that I’ve ever seen in an X-book)
All in all, this is some truly outstanding material here: it performs the difficult trick of filling in plenty of past material that we’ve never seen, as well as giving us new insights into characters that we have, literally, known for decades. That ain’t easy.
The rest of the storyline concerns Exodus and the remaining Acolytes, who were able to escape (with Xavier’s body, no less) after the battle in X-Men 207. (How? Time-twisting – duh. Seems kinda obvious now, doesn’t it?) This is, by and large, expository dialogue that catches us up to the present time, and lets us know why Exodus is attempting to pull this off in the first place, in a completely realistic and believeable manner.
Plus, even the expository dialogue throws in a few new insights: can you imagine being the world’s strongest telepath, not yet in control of your powers, while surrounded by the mayhem, death, and suffering of the Korean War?
And, of course, there’s the last page reveal. I like to think of myself as jaded and cynical, but I will fully admit: I never saw this one coming. Enjoy.
Rating: 9 out of 10
