X-Men: Red #2 Review/Spoilers

[Wolverine12]

Solid 2nd issue, so many feats in this issue! Cable going nuts with the T.K., Mags ending a progenitor with a snap of his fingers, and Storm just owning Vulcan. I think this was the best book this week by quite a large margin. I will say I hope Manifold isn't gone for good, I really like him.

[MkDiz]

One I thing I didnt like is the bit about Cable.

When did Cable need the virus to "stabilize" him and his powers? he lost the virus several times in the past and he was shown to have perfect control of his powers. Hell he even covered the entire world with his TK and TP while doing things like controlling the white blood cells of all people with aids in africa, stopping all crimes, stopping all natural disasters, reconstructing everything he and silver surfer destroyed in their fight down to the atomic level etc. So even though it was implied that he will become too powerful for his body to handle he was still shown to be extremely skilled with his TK that its basically a pseudo reality warping/matter manipulation, hes not just thrashing things around. He was losing control of his powers without his TO in Cable and X force but that was because of his brain tumor, not the lack of virus.

Plus, the virus being a "stabilizing" force to his powers (which doesnt need stabilization in the first place since he can control it) doesn't make sense since one of the challenges Cable faced was that the TO virus was CAUSING his powers to become more unstable, not the other way around. Like one of the biggest problems in his childhood was that the TO makes him unstable but now it apparently makes him more stable? seems like a soft retcon
argues.jpg

Anyway, I'm extremely salty since I've been waiting years to see Cable use his powers again but then I got this lol

[mugen]

There's nothing about Brand's behavior that is contradicted by that image. When mutants were a manageable minority focused exclusively on Terran politics, they were a useful asset. Now that there are millions of them (and the majority of those millions are violent seekers of combat) who are forcing their way into galactic politics, they're a liability to her interests that need to be controlled.

Brand isn't a schemer, she's a troubleshooter. Ya'll are forgetting she let Colossus be tortured into near insanity for ten years, and was also willing to let Breakworld neuter the X-gene because it was easier than going to war. She does not give a **** about mutants.

on the image of magneto and abigail of consequence avx, hope summer has already reactivated gene x thanks to the phenix millions of mutants have already appeared all over the earth at this time.
The arakki may be violent (not all of them as seen in issue 2) and numerous, but they've been on arrako for a year and they haven't hurt anyone and aren't a problem they're trying just to live in peace after years of war.

abigail was present when arrako and krakoa voted not to go to war with orchis so worrying about mutants doesn't make sense, there is no justification for her allying with orchis to help them exterminate them when they have done nothing wrong abigail better worry orchis that he doesn't fight his way into galactic politics, nazis 2.0 adept at mutant genocide are a bigger handicap and problem for his interests, just like stellaris who is already on the galactic council, who sells mercenaries to destabilize the galaxy and who wants to kill xandra.

For colossus I remember I reread astonishing x men a few days ago, abigail keeping colosuss prisoner because the alien ord from planet breakworld told her that the mutants were going to attack her planet and destroy it. to know which mutant would destroy the planet, abigail thought the mutants were the bad guys she wanted to prevent a war that's why she was ready to neutralize gene x but she didn't and returned colossus to the x-men that's the only thing reprehensible it is done against mutants.

Eventually Abigail discovered that it was colossus who was to destroy the planet, the breakworld declared war on earth if they didn't deliver colossus. abigail is on the side of the mutants and has teamed up with the x-men to save the earth thanks to kitty.

after that abigail has often been with the mutants in all the runs, for example with the members of the sword she even risked her life by preventing an attack from an anti-mutan scientist hiding in space who after having hacked hank's data was using dead mutant bodies as weapons against the x men, after all the years spent working with them you can't say that she doesn't care about mutants she has said several times that she has been protecting mutants for a long time in secret.

now she doesn't care about mutants only since al ewing decided so in sword... to see where it leads after several issues but for the moment I'm not a fan of the characterization of abigail, fortunately the rest of the series is cool.

[Jackraow21]

One I thing I didnt like is the bit about Cable.

When did Cable need the virus to "stabilize" him and his powers? he lost the virus several times in the past and he was shown to have perfect control of his powers. Hell he even covered the entire world with his TK and TP while doing things like controlling the white blood cells of all people with aids in africa, stopping all crimes, stopping all natural disasters, reconstructing everything he and silver surfer destroyed in their fight down to the atomic level etc. So even though it was implied that he will become too powerful for his body to handle he was still shown to be extremely skilled with his TK that its basically a pseudo reality warping/matter manipulation, hes not just thrashing things around. He was losing control of his powers without his TO in Cable and X force but that was because of his brain tumor, not the lack of virus.

Plus, the virus being a "stabilizing" force to his powers (which doesnt need stabilization in the first place since he can control it) doesn't make sense since one of the challenges Cable faced was that the TO virus was CAUSING his powers to become more unstable, not the other way around. Like one of the biggest problems in his childhood was that the TO makes him unstable but now it apparently makes him more stable? seems like a soft retcon
argues.jpg

Anyway, I'm extremely salty since I've been waiting years to see Cable use his powers again but then I got this lol

It’s actually a fairly recent development. You’re correct, in that he did not need the virus to stabilize his powers in the past, as evidenced during the two or three times where he lost the virus. He never used to go immediately out of control power-wise without it. However, it has been established that full use of his powers will burn out his body and can cause his mind to deteriorate as well (this is why he had Deadpool lobotomize him in Cable/Deadpool, for example, to save his life). So I think this is Ewing taking that fact — that Nathan’s full powers over time are detrimental to his physiology — and extrapolating it further.

Perhaps this new change is a result of whatever has caused his virus to mutate (hence why his arm now looks different and more Phalanx like)? It’s really not clear at this stage, but I hope we get a deeper explanation because it is a change from what’s been established in the past.

But it doesn’t mean Cable cannot use his powers at all. He used them in issue #1 to put down Vulcan, remember? So with the virus keeping his powers in check and his powers keeping the virus in check, he still has access to his TP/TK. He just cannot go all out with them and has to use them more surgically, as he did with his uncle when he used his TK to cut off his carotid artery and render him unconscious. I thought that was cool actually. And honestly nerfed Cable who has limited TP/TK is the best Cable IMO, because he’s not uber powerful and thus still has to rely on his skills/training and weaponry. I’d like to see him start using the psimitar again. Or his sword, The Light of Galador. Either one.

[jwatson]

It’s actually a fairly recent development. You’re correct, in that he did not need the virus to stabilize his powers in the past, as evidenced during the two or three times where he lost the virus. He never used to go immediately out of control power-wise without it. However, it has been established that full use of his powers will burn out his body and can cause his mind to deteriorate as well (this is why he had Deadpool lobotomize him in Cable/Deadpool, for example, to save his life). So I think this is Ewing taking that fact — that Nathan’s full powers over time are detrimental to his physiology — and extrapolating it further.

Perhaps this new change is a result of whatever has caused his virus to mutate (hence why his arm now looks different and more Phalanx like)? It’s really not clear at this stage, but I hope we get a deeper explanation because it is a change from what’s been established in the past.

But it doesn’t mean Cable cannot use his powers at all. He used them in issue #1 to put down Vulcan, remember? So with the virus keeping his powers in check and his powers keeping the virus in check, he still has access to his TP/TK. He just cannot go all out with them and has to use them more surgically, as he did with his uncle when he used his TK to cut off his carotid artery and render him unconscious. I thought that was cool actually. And honestly nerfed Cable who has limited TP/TK is the best Cable IMO, because he’s not uber powerful and thus still has to rely on his skills/training and weaponry. I’d like to see him start using the psimitar again. Or his sword, The Light of Galador. Either one.

I loved the TK artery shutdown too, it was such a fine tune use of TK.

it could also come from the resurrections too. Instead of the virus being something cable was infected with this time it's something he was "born" and aged with so maybe we will get a flashback to perhaps that process and maybe see adjustments made. I mean they did mention how Proteus accidentally gave Laura an adamantium skeleton because he thought all wolverines had it. Also it seems like since they were born with it adamantium poisioning isn't as big of a deal and i've been wondering for a bit now if wolverine healing factor is stronger or if he still has to fight adamantium poisoning.

But then i want Cable, Laura and Wolverine to get mysterium upgrades, replacing the metal that was used to violate them with mutant metal from the white hot room could be a deep story.

[BobbysWorld]

Random thought, but I really want to know more about how Lodus Logos' metal-creating powers work. Is he capable of making any metal, including adamantium, vibranium and even mysterium? Because I've been thinking for awhile that its too bad I'm pretty sure he and his power hadn't been created/defined as of Planet-Size X-Men.....because if he had been, instead of having Magneto fly in a bunch of iron from the asteroid belt to make a new core for Mars, Lodus Logos could have theoretically just created the metal they needed and then had Magneto, Hope and Vulcan put it into place and heat it up the way they did in Planet-Size X-Men.

I'm just saying......a planet whose core is made up of adamantium or vibranium or mysterium? You could easily come up with a lot of unique properties for that planet to have.

[The92Ghost]

Negative.

Is he not the trained veteran that Storm is?

Sure.

Is he less powerful than Storm?

Whole other kettle of fish.

I humbly disagree. The way Storm beaten Vulcan in XMR #2 was quite logical and it made sense.

On this occasion she beat his ***, but if he is fully focused, she surely might lose.

Vulcan is confirmed to be one of the most Powerful Energy Manipulators in The Entire Galaxy. Do not forget he slaughtered Banshee, Corsair and half of the Imperial Guard single handed. You should not take Gabriel lightly.

You forget that Storm is a powerful energy manipulator too. Probably the only other Energy Manipulator that could match Vulcan when she is serious and doesn't hold back. However, I do agree with you. Gabriel shouldn't be taken lightly, and the writer agrees obviously with his statement that this was just Vulcan's shell, which refers to many things. Furthermore, they will have a rematch and I believe this is when we will see both their full potential reach maximum and probably a draw or something.

Vulcan will be a growing threat the closer he comes to being his true self. Tarn is screwed.

Speaking of screwed, now taking bets on Roberto's next rebirth once Gabriel realizes he's been sleeping with his wife!

Tarn is far from screwed... You have no idea how dangerous and powerful Tarn is. Gabriel is coming back to Krakoa in a coffin trust me.

[Rift]

Also note that Vulcan is hasn't been mentally well for a while, and he flew into a rage. Meanwhile, one of Storm's key traits is that she can stay calm and collected under pressure. She knew how to handle the situation, but Vulcan made a split decision based on anger, while he was already coming apart at the seams.

[Wolverine12]

Regarding Storm vs Vulcan. In an all out fight I don't know if Storm is going to survive the atomic level blasts that Vulcan can hand out



At the same time she obviously has the power to take him out. I'd buy a crucible ticket to see that fight.

[Habis]

Tarn is far from screwed... You have no idea how dangerous and powerful Tarn is. Gabriel is coming back to Krakoa in a coffin trust me.

Does Brand know of any technology able to shield Vulcan from Tarn powers? If so, Vulcan can win; if not, it's a matter of who can use their power first, like a Far West movie cowboy duel... and I an giving Tarn the advantage there...

[Rev9]

Does Brand know of any technology able to shield Vulcan from Tarn powers? If so, Vulcan can win; if not, it's a matter of who can use their power first, like a Far West movie cowboy duel... and I an giving Tarn the advantage there...

I think Brand is playing both against each other in the end putting both to good use.Look at it this way she may claim if Tarn beats Vulcan then by right of Arrako and precedents set by Storm, Tarn will be on the brotherhood ,putting a mutant who may acquiesce to bide time but will never stop undermining Storm. While Vulcan may be humiliated and also swear to wreck any and all plans of Storm (even if seconded by Tarn) This means Brand is extremely machiavellian,but then I ain't the writer but it smells to me like this may be what she is counting on.

[Rev9]

I humbly disagree. The way Storm beaten Vulcan in XMR #2 was quite logical and it made sense.



You forget that Storm is a powerful energy manipulator too. Probably the only other Energy Manipulator that could match Vulcan when she is serious and doesn't hold back. However, I do agree with you. Gabriel shouldn't be taken lightly, and the writer agrees obviously with his statement that this was just Vulcan's shell, which refers to many things. Furthermore, they will have a rematch and I believe this is when we will see both their full potential reach maximum and probably a draw or something.



Tarn is far from screwed... You have no idea how dangerous and powerful Tarn is. Gabriel is coming back to Krakoa in a coffin trust me.

My main question is ok she is an energy manipulator, but he is the omega of energy manipulation in particular iirc, so he should stomp her in that regard no energy discharge by her should phase him. Anyway writers have their own omega battle rules I guess

[ExodusCloak]

My main question is ok she is an energy manipulator, but he is the omega of energy manipulation in particular iirc, so he should stomp her in that regard no energy discharge by her should phase him. Anyway writers have their own omega battle rules I guess

He is untalented and untrained. Which is how he lost. He is like Iceman with a mind of a 13 year old

[Rosa Snarks]

My main question is ok she is an energy manipulator, but he is the omega of energy manipulation in particular iirc, so he should stomp her in that regard no energy discharge by her should phase him. Anyway writers have their own omega battle rules I guess

Storm literally explained on panel that between the two of them it was a battle of willpower. Besides, I don't think a prolonged fight between the two would've done the planet any favors lmao

[king of hybrids]

I hope Manifold returns, he’s too cool to rejoin the Avengers during Aaron’s run.

Eh, while I dislike Aaron’s run, Ewing has been making snide little digs at the Avengers for yesrs

Edit:
The self-proclaimed goddess and 1/12th of the oligarchic dictatorship of Krakoa bitching about Thrones got tiring very quickly.