House of x [4] : It will be done [spoilers]

[loke13]

One thing this issue brought to light that I found interesting is the fact that mutants were in dire straights post decimation with only 198 mutants left but somehow managed to set off the population criteria of Orchis shortly after. Even if Hope re-powered all the mutants after AvX (she didn't) that still wouldn't put them anywhere near their pre-Genosha Massacre numbers. So why Exactly did mutant kind suddenly shoot up in population? Maybe something to do with Krakoa?

[jamesslow]

You'll go nuts if you think about it logically. To hold something the size of the Mother mold, that control collar had to have been huge. Wolverine's claws are only seventeen inches long and their penetrating power ends at his knuckles and his reach ends with his stubby arms. If he slashed the side of a house, would the house suddenly slide apart in two pieces? No. Wolverine's claws make no sense.

I have thought about the entire suicide mission logically and I have gone nuts.

You're right of course, Wolvie's claws could not have sliced through the control collar arm in time. And as someone said above, the one remaining arm should have snapped by itself already, if they needed four to hold Mother Mold in position. Also this: since The Forge is in orbit around the sun, disengaging the control collars would not throw MM into the sun at all. Aaaand why did Kurt not teleport into the room with the release? Yes, it's also the vacuum of space, but he can survive that for the few seconds it would take to throw the handle. Um, didn't Scott have line of sight? He could have easily shot through the window to break the last support arm.

Not a whinger -- loving this series -- gotta suspend disbelief, including that one of the hardest X teams could have been slaughtered by a handful of men with guns and a bomb cobbled from an ammo clip! (Note that the onboard Omega Sentinel did not even lift a finger. Yes, she shot nanites at Scott, but that could equally have been done by Dr Gregor. In fact Karima used a gentle, non-lethal means to immobilise Cyke, when Dr Gregor, who had an AIM point-to-point translocator, could have easily put a fatal shot in his back without any speechifying.)

[jamesslow]

Yikes. You think Karima might have been that recipient?

Likely.

Or, consider:

Capture2.jpg

the sound made by MM upon waking up, and:

Capture3.jpg

the sound made by SS upon going down -- were those nanites imprinted with MM's sentience??

I'm joking --I think-- just amused that they both emitted exactly the same grunt.

[Frobisher]

Judging from the ending of this issue, Creepy Xavier looks like he’s done sitting on Bench and is going to press the attack hard.

Bench sounds like the best mutant yet.

[Armageddon]

Think you gotta deal with this one, broski. it’s legit 616.

Again. Put that money up. $50 its not

[RamaBird]

Wasn't 616, the 5th life of Moira? Thats when they reveal the "lost decade" took place. The lost decade being the Phoenix 5. Anyway, I doubt Dawn of X will be 616 as we know it either. Seems the Dawn of X timeline will leave out what Hickman doesn't like (aka the "lost decade").

Also, will Xavier go batshit next issues, team up with Sinister and have a "No More Humans" moment?

[RD155]

Wasn't 616, the 5th life of Moira? Thats when they reveal the "lost decade" took place. The lost decade being the Phoenix 5. Anyway, I doubt Dawn of X will be 616 as we know it either. Seems the Dawn of X timeline will leave out what Hickman doesn't like (aka the "lost decade").

Also, will Xavier go batshit next issues, team up with Sinister and have a "No More Humans" moment?

I think that was timeline 4 that had the Phoenix 5. Originally I was assuming that it was 616 because it seemed the closest and was the only timeline that the school for the gifted was mentioned. However as the series has gone on further I don’t think there is one set 616 line. Our “616” that we’ve grown up reading seems to me at least, to be bits and pieces from every Moira timeline.

[MarvelMaster616]

This was a powerful issue. Definitely one of the most intense thus far. It showed the X-Men at their most basic, fighting for survival and taking down Sentinels. It was a beautiful moment and it came at a high cost. But given how many of these characters have been solicited for future series, I doubt their "deaths" will stick. Given all the themes of resurrection surrounding Moira, I think they'll be back soon enough. And how they come back will be what sets things up for Dawn of X.

[ExodusCloak]

One thing this issue brought to light that I found interesting is the fact that mutants were in dire straights post decimation with only 198 mutants left but somehow managed to set off the population criteria of Orchis shortly after. Even if Hope re-powered all the mutants after AvX (she didn't) that still wouldn't put them anywhere near their pre-Genosha Massacre numbers. So why Exactly did mutant kind suddenly shoot up in population? Maybe something to do with Krakoa?

Hope broke Wandas spell
The T mist offed some more.
Mothervine restored a bunch
The anti mutant vaccine was undone

[RD155]

That’s the thing I find pretty amazing about what Hickman did with this issue. We all know these deaths aren’t going to stick and yet it was still a pretty emotionally charged powerful issue. I felt more for this mission with the “fake deaths” that will overturned over the supposed “ real” ones from past X-men stories. There just seemed like there was such an insanely high level of desperation for the X-men in this issue.

[RamaBird]

That’s the thing I find pretty amazing about what Hickman did with this issue. We all know these deaths aren’t going to stick and yet it was still a pretty emotionally charged powerful issue. I felt more for this mission with the “fake deaths” that will overturned over the supposed “ real” ones from past X-men stories. There just seemed like there was such an insanely high level of desperation for the X-men in this issue.

Agreed. Although the deaths of Archangel and Husk really did suck in a bad way. Did they even get more than two lines in both issues? Still not sure why they were there.

The Logan, Kurt, Scott, Jean, Monet, and Raven deaths were really great though.

[RD155]

Agreed. Although the deaths of Archangel and Husk really did suck in a bad way. Did they even get more than two lines in both issues? Still not sure why they were there.

The Logan, Kurt, Scott, Jean, Monet, and Raven deaths were really great though.

Lol I’m not an Archangel fan so it didn’t bother me lol. I do agree that it was pretty weird to have them there though. Hickman could have excluded them and avoided some angry fans and the rest of the deaths would have still worked just as well.

[Thievery]

I thought that this was very enjoyable issue. It really did a great job of showing the X-Men fighting togather as a family. The interactions were great, particularly Logan and Kurt, and Monet and Jean.

Archangel is my absolute favorite X-Man, but it really didn't bother me the way he was killed off panel. It just made the X-Men's battle to finish their mission feel more desperate. Maybe if I thought that this was Warren's last appearance I would be more disappointed with his easy death.

There were only a couple of things that bothered me.

First would be the X-Men that were selected for this mission. I know that having mutants like Magneto, Polaris, Magik or Storm would have made the battle to easy for the X-Men to win, so they didn't go that way to reinforce the idea that the X-Men were on a suicide mission. It's just that those characters were so obvious choices for this job that it really pulled me away from the story and think about it while reading it. It really effected my ability to suspend disbelief.

Secondly, why did Xavier wait until after the X-Men had reached Mother Mold to establish his giant telepathic connection. If having that telepathic connection was that important, then surely Xavier would have had it togather and running before the X-Men left for the sun. It seems stupid to me not to have something that vital unready before you start your mission. Or was there an explanation given and I missed it ?

[hawkeyefan]

Well, sometimes people doing dangerous things just die. They don’t get to have some final heroic act or deliver some meaningful speech before passing on. Sometimes, something explodes and then people are dead.

I think there was a lot being done in this issue to try and establish the stakes. I think that the danger level is far higher than what is typically seen in superhero stories. No one’s invincible despite whatever powers they may have, and anyone could be killed at any moment.

Having Husk and Archangel die right off the bat establishes the tone that carries throughout the issue. It enhances the tension. And it likely gives us a sense of the danger moving forward. Or it sets that up so that it can then be subverted in some way, if that’s the way things go.

Also, I kind of like the progression from PoX 3 to this issue. A suicide mission where everyone dies featuring future characters which although well crafted can only evoke so much emotion since we barely knew them. Then this issue where the same thing happens but with characters we know and care about....and it seems to have a lot more emotional weight.

That first scene with Xavier and the pods really looms over the story, though, and kind of spins everything in a new but unknown light.

[HomoSuperior]

The deaths themselves were so very bleak. I have given up speculating to some extent whether this means they will be brought back in pods, or if they already were.... [T]here is bound to be a twist in it that makes it feel fresh.

I’m now wondering if there will be resurrections at all. Seems like bringing the team back from the dead, pods or otherwise, undermines the creation myth. Perhaps it will happen but not by Xavier’s hand or with his blessing. Imagine being one of the students trapped in Xavier’s cycle of death/rebirth? Road to hell and all that...

The real puzzle is Marvel Girl. Her inability to do the many things we have seen her do in the past suggest that the link back home is so much more important than it seems. Which I guess is me speculating despite myself.

Indeed. Seems there are signs in each issue that we shouldn’t become too invested just yet. Perhaps Marvel Girl was this issue’s 4th wall mechanism.

There is no way ‘I got turned around’ is an excuse. Leaving me wondering who Mystique is working for, or if she is working for herself, playing both sides against the middle.

Seems there is a lot of duplicity happening. This mission somewhat parallels the most recent POX in which the mission was a distraction for a heist... complete with a run-in with Karima. Maybe there is collusion of a higher order going on and some of the team were unaware of the players. Marvel Girl was unable to communicate Mystique’s status. Mystique has never been motivated by altruistic values. It’s usually payday or payback. Perhaps she was attempting to acquire the station’s data or technology. Also, Karima’s attack on Cyclops was non-lethal and, as others point out, she was oddly passive for most of the events.

Mother Mold was crazy as a box of frogs. Bringing her online was a wonderfully twisted moment of grief.

That dying manifesto was worth noting. Machines are their own tribe now and they will kill everyone. Perhaps that is a sign the mission was NOT a success. Mother Mold’s head may have flown into the sun but where did that sentience go? Orchis is still in orbit w/a tribe of Sentinels out there on Mercury. Maybe that’s the sleight of hand here — this issue was the Sentinel tribe’s creation myth, not Krakoa’s.