Sunday, April 21, 2013

Uncanny X-Periment # 162: Legacy

X-Men: Legacy # 219 – 225



Charles and Juggernaut meet up in a bar, where they have a rather tense one-on-one.   What comes out of the discussion is that Cain, when he stops moving, becomes a weaker person.  And he hates that.  Just like how he hates Charles, and wants to kill him.  Charles understands and gives him a parting gift: a box.  Cain then kills Charles, kills the X-Men, hangs out with some sleazy ladies, robs a bank, and then opens the box.  Inside the box, he sees himself.  Looking up, he sees Charles.  He realizes that it was all in his own mind and they have now come to an understanding.


Gambit is then recruited by Charles to go with him to Australia to find Rogue.  Rogue, meanwhile, ends up meeting with Danger when in the old abandoned town the X-Men used to live.  They are then confronted by some Shi’ar scavengers, who fire at Danger.  Danger takes Rogue’s words (about gaining control of her powers) and proceeds to project several different Rogue flashpoints all around them.  Professor X and Gambit have to wade through with the Shi’ar scavengers while Rogue has to face all of these important stages in her life – and contend with Ms. Marvel and Mystique in her mind.   Eventually, Charles reaches Danger and explains that he was afraid that she would have killed the X-Men if he released.  However, he releases her now.  The Shi’ar make a grab for her, but Rogue gets in their way.  Once she is dispatched, though, Danger steps up and sends the Shi’ar running back into space.  Professor X reveals that Rogue’s power can be fixed and that she has been building walls in her mind ever since her power first manifested.  Xavier removes those walls and then heads out.  Rogue kisses Gambit, revealing that she is in fact, in charge of her power.


Professor X returns to the Acolytes base and has it out with Exodus.  He proves to Exodus that now, with Mutantkind at its weakness, is the wrong time to be waging a Mutant civil war. The point is proven strongly enough that Exodus agrees to shut the Acolytes down.   Charles gets a nice moment with Amelia, making amends for the past.


Just as Exodus and Xavier part ways, Norman Osborn shows up with a business proposition . . .


When “X-Men: Legacy” took over and it was revealed to focus on Xavier, I was very pleased.   I assumed that with his new lease on life, this would be the opportunity to right all the wrongs he’s done.  We’d see Cassandra Nova, Legion, Onslaught, Darwin . . . all of these characters that are very ingrained and tied in with his character.  Unfortunately, that didn’t really work out.   He did manage to patch things up with Scott, somewhat.  He was able to cure Rogue.  He even confronted the Juggernaut and destroyed the Acolytes.  But for someone who was wishing that this would be “the redemption of Professor X,” I was sadly mistaken.

That being said, there some good parts of this overall title.  The use of flashbacks, the use of history and continuity, all worked in this title’s favor, including in this final batch.

The issue with Cain was a little disappointing.  I had hoped for a better outcome; one that would have had Cain back on his redemptive path.   His heroic role in Uncanny X-Men was the best thing to come out of Chuck Austen’s run.  Now seeing that reversed, well, it’s not what I was hoping for.


The Rogue/Danger issues dragged on too long.  I also felt like the Shi’ar were completely unnecessary.  I wish Danger’s story was completely separate, as opposed to being wrapped up with Rogues.  But it wasn’t that bad for what we had; the flashbacks and backstory were all very much appreciated. 


The final issue places Charles in an interesting position.  He’s definitely not the leader of the X-Men anymore, nor of even all Mutantkind.  This is Charles as an ambassador, a teacher, and a mentor.  This is him teaching a lesson and seeing the education in action.  

This is what Charles is and always has been.  A Professor.


And I think we can walk away from this with that.

No comments: