Dead X-Men #4 - Review/Spoilers

I loved this series and this was a beautiful conclusion.

We open with the preview pages, where the previous issue left off, in Moira's fifth life with CyberMoira attacking AU Betsy's X-Men and our team of X-Men. Dazzler gets CyMoira in a chokehold and calls out to Rachel to bring them back. Cool splash/montage page of different moments in Moira's multiple lives as the team is pulled back in by Rachel.

Rachel and CyMoira have a psychic chat. By now Rachel knows of Xavier's plan to kill young Moira so she's done wasting time on CyMoira. Rachel throws her and the team back to Moira Engine Life 2.4, the one from issue 1 with Brand's team and Smasher, son of Sam and Izzy. The war between Brand's people and Orbis Stellaris is still raging.

As soon as they land CyMoira and the X-Men fight, Dazzler taking a deathly blow while trying to protect Prodigy from Cy's crazy, razor sharp weapon. It's horrible and there's little chance Ali will survive.

When last we saw Orbis he was in the process of collecting as much mysterium as he could to ascend to Dominionhood. He spots Prodigy and uses his energy like tentacles to reach for the M'kraan crystal shard in Prodigy's chest. The X-Men are fighting CyMoira while this is happening - we get a great panel of Frenzy punching the crap out of Cy. Orbis also snatches the mysterium in her weapon and now she can no longer jump timelines. She mentions how Xavier always sends his "whelps" to beat on the elderly, her first Magneto and now her. Sam gets a great line: "Keep Magneto's name out of yer mouth. He's a hero - you're a monster!" I loved it.

CyMoira starts charging up the Xorn head of her weapon and is about to fire black hole energy at Jubilee, Cannonball, and Frenzy when the Starjammer ship up above, in a heated battle with Orbis' fleet, calls out saying they could use a Hail Mary.

Suddenly Dazzler opens her eyes!

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A reference to Dazzler's immortality! Very cool.

Prodigy is being lifted closer to Orbis until Orbis pulls the shard of the M'kraan shard out of his chest. As it leaves David's chest the shard speaks to him saying every fragment of the crystal is the totality of the crystal. David falls, Frenzy catches him, and David is smiling because of the message the crystal spoke to him. He believes everything will be okay. He asks Rachel to bring them back and off they go.

Orbis, with this last piece that he needed, begins to ascend to Dominionhood only to find there's a Dominion already there blocking him. We of course know it's Enigma, haha. This reality's X-Men finally take out CyMoira, thank goodness.
The X-Men return to Atlantic Krakoa in the WHR and there's a hurricane blowing. It's Rachel's doing cause she's pissed off. This is where this issue links up with Rise of the Powers of X #3. Rachel tells the X-Men what Xavier has been up to and his plan to kill child Moira and sacrifice Krakoa. We get a gorgeous page of each of the Dead X-Men plus Rachel speaking about why Krakoa is so important to them and all of mutantkind. I won't go into detail but they each have something lovely to say.

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Rachel then patches through to Xavier as he's about to kill child Moira, making him listen to what she and the Dead X-Men have to say. The issue ends here and as we know from Rise Xavier changes his mind about killing the child because of this team's efforts.

Easily the best issue of a meandering series. Foxe originally described it as a love letter to krakoa, and by the end I was sold on this team. The Dazzler's immortal thread even got resolved (though I wished they showed her to be the team powerhouse, which she clearly was. That lady can let loose!).

[QUOTE=MythicalChicken;6785370]Easily the best issue of a meandering series. Foxe originally described it as a love letter to krakoa, and by the end I was sold on this team. The Dazzler's immortal thread even got resolved (though I wished they showed her to be the team powerhouse, which she clearly was. That lady can let loose!).[/QUOTE]

Yeah this was a beautiful issue. The focus was really on the team and very little of the AU's. Their combined speech was lovely.

Love Rachel getting respect in regards to being so knowledgeable about the M'Kraan Crystal and the White Hot Room as she should. It was nice seeing past versions of the characters, including Rachel's first Phoenix costume.

I'm interested in what she said about the plan being to manifest the Phoenix on a scale never attempted and how they need Jean to make it work.

Also interesting choice of words when she mentioned the impressions Prodigy got from the crystal as kindling. We know Jean will be burning on a funeral pyre in Forever #2.

I wonder if it's setup that Rachel knew Xavier was going to kill her then? If that's part of the Phoenix manifest stuff

Ultimately this story was a fun side quest! Sad this group of characters likely won’t be on a team together again so they’ll never really be able to build unique dynamics and lasting relationships that other writers can draw upon.

I seriously hope that Foxe gets more X-books after Heir of Apocalypse, he had done a great job with this and his Unlimited stuff.

Well, at least they didn't sabotage Rahne's relationship with Moira. So a bullet dodged there

[QUOTE=Kingdom X;6785502]Ultimately this story was a fun side quest! Sad this group of characters likely won’t be on a team together again so they’ll never really be able to build unique dynamics and lasting relationships that other writers can draw upon.[/QUOTE]

[B]BLESS [/B]the future writer who mines THIS continuity-connection.

Honestly, Ewing, Foxe and Orlando have been continuity KINGS. Who shall rise up to carry the torch???

Steve Foxe deserves more X-Books.

This wasn't a perfect series and it didn't always seem to have a clear purpose, but it was still fun and had some good character moments and I would've loved to have had this be an ongoing team.

This was the best issue of the series. I don't love side quest like this but Foxe is a great writer. But only gripe/confusion is they never appear in Rise to stop Xavier... so... what?

[QUOTE=NewMutant;6785681]This was the best issue of the series. I don't love side quest like this but Foxe is a great writer. But only gripe/confusion is they never appear in Rise to stop Xavier... so... what?[/QUOTE]

We don't see them in Rise #3 but the conversation takes place.

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And we know from this issue the other way is using the Phoenix. Xavier killed Rachel so she could provide the kindling to help reignite Jean/Phoenix or to do a circuit with Jean (and maybe Hope) and/or all mutants? I hope Xavier has a plan (albeit a convoluted one ). I hate how they keep making him a villain.

Man.. I teared up a bit reading this, specially on the part where they started describing what Krakoa means to each and all of them </3
Beautiful issue, and good ending to this side story, which really captured the beauty of the Krakoan era

Wish for Foxe to return for an X-Book in the new era, soon ! It's a crime we haven't heard of him having an upcoming book yet ! (afaik)

I know that everything Moira-related, multiple timelines-wise, is a giant mess if you think about it for too much, but I really wonder if this Stellaris' attempt to Dominion-hood is just a reenactment of his original attempt, or if this WAS his original attempt (which came to be because of the Dead-X interference)

Ahhh, head hurts already :p