Duggan knocked it out of the park with this issue for me. It nicely sets up various elements while establishing the rapidly declining situation for the X-Men and mutantkind.
Then there's Kitty.
We open with what has become something of a Krakoan era staple, a bench scene. Kitty is talking to her rabbi in Central Park and this takes place just after Xavier's announcement of Krakoa to the world and right after Kitty broke her nose against the gate. The rabbi, Susan, ultimately asks her if she still believes in God and Kitty says she does after hesitating. Susan says that God has a plan and maybe her inability to access the gates makes Kitty special. The creative team does a good job going from this sunny sky scene to a much darker vibe as Kitty now approaches the Xavier school in Westchester. She's in her Hellfire Gala outfit.
This is happening shortly after the tragedy of the Gala and the false flag attack in D.C. As Kitty moves through the dark mansion we learn that an Interpol arrest warrant was being issued for her and all QC. That's when we see her pull out swords and a note from beneath the floorboards per the preview pages. The note from Ogun saying she will always be Shadowkat.
We get the other preview pages of Stasis updating the nation via news cameras and smartphones. He introduces Firestar as someone who didn't believe in Xavier's "cult" and has her demonstrate that the gates are now offline. Mutants are being deported to Arakko while others are receiving gene therapies to integrate them back into human society. Captain Krakoa is still on the loose, Stasis tells the nation. We see Stark Sentinels standing outside of the White House and defense systems being placed on the moon to "protect" earth from Arakko. They've also created Stark War Machines which patrol Phobos and gather information on Arakko.
The Orchis prison on Randall's Island is called the Henry Gyrich Center for Behavioral Studies. This is where Cyclops is being held. Stasis enters his cell and taunts him over his broken back and paralysis. He wants Cyclops to endorse the "official story" of the Mutant Massacre at the Gala. "So... what do you say?" asks Stasis.
It's a twisted and effective scene as Stasis moves in close, telling Cyclops the X-Men are no more, the gate transit system is shot, medicated humans have a kill switch in them, etc. He says it's only a matter of time before all remaining "muties" are captured.
Cut to Synch, Talon, Rasputin, and Ms Marvel in a safe house down in the Morlock tunnels. Synch asks Rasputin and Kamala to surveil the Orchis prison as they recently stepped up their defenses, making him think they're starting to guard some high-level targets. Kitty phases in through a wall and she's now in her new ninja gear. She says she's back to rest for a little bit then she's going back out. Synch follows her through a wall and they speak privately as he stitches up a fresh wound across her shoulder blade. She's being very hard on herself and is despondent.
They need her because she gathers and shares the most accurate information about Orchis, their strengths, weaknesses, etc.
The problems continue to pile up for the mutants and as the reader you can feel the weight of despair further crushing them with the next bit of information. Arakko is already in a raging civil war and many of the Arakkii view their cousins from earth as weak, offering them no help. People are dying and many hide in Port Prometheus. We see Woofer hiding with other earthers when he spots Kitty emerging from a gate, an example her current sloppiness. He excitedly runs over and asks how she was able to use the gate and she throws him up against a wall and tells him to compose himself, phasing one of her swords into his chest to quiet him. This is a great scene to show us how much Kitty has changed in such a short amount of time. She tells him things are going to stay rough for mutants for a while and that there is no help coming at this time. She repeats what Jean told Firestar at the Gala, that every mutant still standing is an X-Man now. She gives him a notebook and tasks him with taking a census, getting the names and powers of every mutant there. She says she was hoping to find Sunfire, Polaris, and Forge as the team needs big guns right now. Woofer proudly accepts the mission as Kitty leaves.
We learn next that Forge is in a distant world somewhere, confirming how scattered mutants are. His first thought when he realizes the gate he came through no longer works is "Oh @#$%, the Vault!" Sure enough we see the Children stepping out of the pods Forge trapped them in, Perro saying they're going to kill all the X-Men.
I won't go into detail about the next scene but it's a sweet moment where Emma, disguised as Hazel Kendal, escorts Kamala home after the Gala. We learn that Emma is wearing an inhibitor ring and she turns it off momentarily to wipe the minds of Kamala's family so that they think Kamala is returning from school in D.C. As she leaves, Emma tells Kamala to forget she's a mutant and to stay away from the X-Men during these difficult times.
Back to the present, the X-Men are meeting at the rendezvous point Kitty mentioned earlier. Emma lightly calls out Kamala for not listening to her about staying away from the X-Men and Kamala says she stands with them and is doing what is right. Emma understands and tells her to be careful. Captain America, Deadpool and Kwannon from the Unity Squad meet with them as well as Tony Stark. Cap asks Synch how they can help and Ev says they're making progress on the laced drugs and thinks he has a way to penetrate Orchis. These meetings are quick and take place in different parts of the sewer system each time.
As everyone leaves Emma confronts Kitty, asking her to tell her what happened to her after she fell through the gate right after the gala. Kitty barely says anything and Emma grabs her shoulders, wanting to know what the Orchis soldiers did to her that has caused her transformation.
Friends, we're shown what happened in Jerusalem when Kitty was surrounded by the soldiers. At first I dreaded what I was about to read, not sure if I was ready to see Kitty get hurt. My gut tightened (the hairs on my arms are standing straight up as I type this) as one of the soldiers, confused by Kitty falling out of the gate, radioed Central Column, asking them to confirm if the gates are closed. Kitty listens as Central confirms that yes, they are completely shut down. She realizes immediately that her ability to move through the gate is a precious and huge tactical advantage.
"It was a secret worth killing to protect."
We get about eight pages of Kitty killing the soldiers in shockingly brutal and quick ways. She doesn't hold back and neither does Duggan and the art team. She lets her training take over, she channels Logan, she thinks of Bobby, Jean and everyone that was killed at the Gala. When there is only one soldier left...
Back in the present, Kitty tells Emma that nothing happened. Kitty starts to leave and Emma says they should coordinate their efforts with Synch and Talon, asking Kitty where she's off to now. As she phases down through a puddle Kitty says she's going to kill Firestar.
I had been feeling a bit lukewarm about this title over the past few months but in my opinion this is the stuff Duggan has been waiting to write and it shows. He delivered in spades. This was fun, startling, hopeful, heavy, and shocking. Kitty's transformation and what she had to do will be talked about for weeks. She'll never be the same so say goodbye to the Red Queen. Frankly, I've been waiting for someone to say the "kill no man" law would be suspended and I feel like it's about time the X-Men start hitting back hard. Gloves are off, true believers.