POWERS OF X [04] : Something Sinister (SPOILERS)

[TOTALITY]

The editors said Kitty wears that old rag because she is the quintessential X-Man and therefore wears the quintessential X-Man uniform. Also that it’s “character growth” that she used to hate the costume but now embraces it. Obviously, both are BS reasons. So is Hickman’s “mutants don’t wear human clothes/they have a full closet of costumes”. All nonsense answers to hide laziness that make Dawn of X look aesthetically identical to the hell we’ve been reading for the last decade when it really shouldn’t.

It easily could be that, but I really hope that some of these creators will really embrace that rationale as Hickman described it and not just as an excuse to be lazy. I would love to see a more fashion-forward era, and anything to consciously get away from human culture. Inspire me, basically!

The attention Hickman showed to the idea of clothing in this issue (as opposed to just an interview) suggests that he at least *thinks* it’s important to him, even if it hasn’t manifested in a satisfying way yet. Just like he outsourced graphic design to Muller, it would be awesome if they could just get some of the best costume designers out there (even people from outside comics??) to just keep supplying them with designs. Will never happen, but I can dream!

[JKtheMac]

“X^3 is life 6, when Moira tried to work with machines” has been said so many times around here that I’m surprised this is the time it suddenly inspired so much brainstorming, but I guess that comes from how impossible it is to keep up with everything that goes into these huge HOX/POX threads, lol

Well precisely. I have been banging on about that theory for weeks now with very little traction. I think I first posited that 6 was the all-in Trask life on the day HoX 2 came out, and have been expressing that it was compatible with the far future for at least a couple of weeks. I guess sometimes theories need to gain momentum.

[jebsib]

Was it ever explained in-story (by Gillen I guess) why Sinister became so flamboyant all of a sudden after 25 years?

[Grimsmack]

My main problem with polygamy is that it seems like an unfair practice. in the grand scheme of things men might be excused for it and it be all "omg this is so awesome." But if it's the flip and it's a woman with a bunch of men then all of a sudden there is something negative about it or her specifically. So the act of it isn't really a big deal imo as long as all involved know but that is quite the can of worms that would be open because for whatever reason it seems more okay for men to have multiple female partners but females don't get to enjoy the same freedoms without there being some scarlet letter or the men being seen as weak minded and getting played.

Polyandry does exist - one woman with multiple male partners (in an agreed upon arrangement, oftentimes brothers). It's not very common, but there are cultures that do practice polyandry.

The male:female sex ratio is roughly 1:1. People assume that polygamy is favorable for the guy, but the question is which guy? Sure the top dog gets his choice of women, but the remaining men must squabble for the leftovers. The harem may be unfortunate, but the remaining women have a better selection of men to choose from (all but the top dog). So which sex benefits more from polygamy?

For the record, I'm not contradicting anything you write above, just commenting on the topic =)

[Grimsmack]

"Years ago, a deceased redheaded pretender made a pact with the devil. When she passed on, most believed any secrets she had went with her to the grave. Won't everyone be surprised when they find out not only is this not true, but she left behind a whole lot more than secrets."

You could read the 'not only is this not true' part as referring to her not actually being dead. That's how I take it anyway given Secret #5.

If Madelyn never died--or if she's been resurrected--then technically Scott and Jean are still involved in an 'affair,' since he never divorced Madelyn.

You've also got Sinister Secret #9, which makes reference to a 'non-couple couple' that's been apart for a long time, with fireworks expected to ensue when they meet up again and the word...Inferno.

I'm definitely thinking all signs point to Madelyne!

Is the redhead Raven and the devil Azazel? Mystique (a pretender/shapeshifter) was recently sucked out to space...

[TOTALITY]

Is the redhead Raven and the devil Azazel? Mystique (a pretender/shapeshifter) was recently sucked out to space...

100% Madelyne Pryor, a redhead whose origin is tied to Sinister, who was a constant source of mystery, and who died after aligning with demon rulers of a hell dimension, in an event referenced by name on the next page of Sinister gossip.

[Kitty&Piotr<3]

Was it ever explained in-story (by Gillen I guess) why Sinister became so flamboyant all of a sudden after 25 years?

Gillen had a cool idea and it was more interesting than what was there.

[Devaishwarya]

Strangely enough...the annotations at the edges of the gossip pages say "lies".

[hawkeyefan]

I thought this issue was solid. Definitely not my favorite of the event, but that’s all right. I feel like we needed a breather after last week. I definitely dug the Krakoa stuff and seeing Cypher playing such a prominent role. Tying krakoa to Limbo and the more demonic enemies the X-Men have faced in the past seems like a clever idea.

I liked the Sinister stuff. I’m not as familiar with the Gillen run as I should be, but I did like his take on Sinister. I agree with those who’ve said They like this kind of bizarre and flamboyant take on the character. It was a bit over the top, yes, but this is also the first meeting between Xavier/Magneto and Sinister...they aren’t friends or enemies at this point. And while clearly Essex has his issues, the Plan is all Xavier seems to care about, and he’s willing to work with Sinister to achieve his goals.

He’s a mad scientist....why does anyone mind him being mad?

Well precisely. I have been banging on about that theory for weeks now with very little traction. I think I first posited that 6 was the all-in Trask life on the day HoX 2 came out, and have been expressing that it was compatible with the far future for at least a couple of weeks. I guess sometimes theories need to gain momentum.

I think a bit of evidence in favor of this idea is that in the X3 era, both Nimrod and preserved Cylobel still exist. It can’t be the future of Life 9 because we saw that life end. But, if the attack on Mother Mold in Life 10 was the success that we were led to believe, then Nimrod wouldn’t come into existence in the future of Life 10. So that leaves the only possibility to be a previous life of Moira’s, and Life 6 is the only one where we have no details, and no indication of when it ends.

So, it would seem that it must be Life 6...unless something happens in the present era to undo or otherwise explain away how the attack on Mother Mold didn’t achieve what they hoped.

If the theory is correct, then the question is what do we (or perhaps more accurately, what does Moira) learn from it? And, to me at least, how do you justify pulling the same narrative trick twice?

[Jness]

If Xavier does not have a Sinister red diamond on his forehead I will eat my copies of HOX/POX. We never see his forehead the entire time he is on Krakoa.

I get the feeling that in year 1000 we are witnessing the Phalanx creating the techno-organic virus. The Librarian says the Phalanx cannot absorb organic life, but the whole point of the TO virus is to convert and absorb organic material. And it is not like Hickman reconned that fact, Cypher infects a few plants on Krakoa and turns them into machines.

And speaking of the infected plants, I wonder what is up with that? Is all of Krakoa infected now, or is this the origin of the No-Place? And why did Cypher do that? It seems super shady and makes me wonder if he is either knowingly or unknowingly an agent of the Phalanx.

I wondered whether Krakoa (or the two pieces of it) *were* Phalanx, and all Doug did was disrupt the illusion that Krakoa is organic. But that’s just me.

[jamesslow]

Hickman would be a man of his word even if X^3 is showing us the future. That’s still not time travel, just a flash forward. The only theories that would make Hickman a liar, I think, are the ones along the lines of “life 10 still isn’t 616, that will be life 11”.. because then pretty much the whole story will have taken place in an alternate reality. Or if characters were traveling between the different POX timelines, maybe that’s what it would take to be more of a time travel story.

(1) time travel through sending consciousness backward, as happened in DOFP, is still time travel;
(2) LIFE I M has nothing to do with X Men; LIFE II M dies on a plane; LIFE III M finds The Cure... how are these not alternate realities?

(A) Hickman lied, which is fair play for a writer of scifi/fantasy; or
(B) the 9 lives are all a simulation in:

Capture2.jpg

I didn't make this up -- right there on the 1st page of POX#1... for more info:

Capture.jpg

[JKtheMac]

I think a bit of evidence in favor of this idea is that in the X3 era, both Nimrod and preserved Cylobel still exist. It can’t be the future of Life 9 because we saw that life end.

Indeed. But the logic flows from the idea that universes are not spawned by the lives of Moira which is still a theory not fact. Some would suggest it could be life 9. I believe that they don’t spawn, or at least that if they do we won’t see them in this story.

But, if the attack on Mother Mold in Life 10 was the success that we were led to believe, then Nimrod wouldn’t come into existence in the future of Life 10. So that leaves the only possibility to be a previous life of Moira’s, and Life 6 is the only one where we have no details, and no indication of when it ends.

That seems unlikely. Pretty sure Nimrod needs to be guarded against still. We may even have seen hints that the project got preserved somehow, even as the giant head perished it seemed pretty sure of it’s Promethean claims. How long is “enough time” to produce nano-Sentinels when under extreme time pressure?

So, it would seem that it must be Life 6...unless something happens in the present era to undo or otherwise explain away how the attack on Mother Mold didn’t achieve what they hoped.

I would modify that ‘must’ to ‘would most likely’.

If the theory is correct, then the question is what do we (or perhaps more accurately, what does Moira) learn from it? And, to me at least, how do you justify pulling the same narrative trick twice?

If Moira’s death resets the universe there is a possibility that she learned that even if she transfers her consciousness into a machine and finally has that consciousness absorbed by the Phalanx and thereby transcends death and reaches as far as it is possible for her to reach into the future, the universe still gets reset. In other words, she learns that AI is not an escape from her perpetual recurrence and less selfishly she will be responsible for stalling the universe unless she can escape her predicament.

[H-E-D]

I think Hickman's "not alternate reality" comment meant that the X-Men were not going to be traveling between Universes.

It'd be very strange to reveal that all that work establishing Moira's powers was actually a lie.

[JKtheMac]

(2) LIFE I M has nothing to do with X Men; LIFE II M dies on a plane; LIFE III M finds The Cure... how are these not alternate realities?

Because, if she resets reality each time, all of her lives exist in a single universe/reality.

In this I don’t think Hickman was lying, just being very literal.

[jamesslow]

I think Hickman's "not alternate reality" comment meant that the X-Men were not going to be traveling between Universes.

It'd be very strange to reveal that all that work establishing Moira's powers was actually a lie.

I'd argue that Moira's "power", being rebirth with knowledge of all her past lives, is simply the same power we all have restarting a video game after our character dies, unharmed and a better player.