IMO this was necessary to set the stage of Fall of X. In the past this would have been an X-men Prime style issue where we get small windows into everyone, where they are at as previews for the various books but that same approach was baked into a regular issue of an ongoing. It was effective in what it accomplished
On a side note, why is Dr. Stasis openly representing Orchis? He is a Sinister clone and since the general public know about Sins of Sinister, everyone should be weary of what he what he says and distrusting of Orchis
That was an awesome Kitty focused issue! Dunno how Kitty fans feel about her in the Krakoa age but I absolutely love her character now. Such a far cry from the insufferable teen under Claremont's pen.
I just hope there is a valid reason why the CotV are loose now, because last time they said if they wake up it is the end of everything.
Issue was good, very brutal. I'm interested to see where Kate is going (it feels like she isn't officially on the team but just helping out).
I don't disagree that these types of issues are necessary, either in a special issue or baked into regular issues. I just don't think I've enjoyed how he has written this issue and the latest Hellfire issue, as his swapping between different table settings induces narrative whiplash in me. Which is surprising since I enjoyed how he swapped between different table settings in the previous Hellfire gala issue (while still managing to include a Jon Hamm cameo for some reason).
I do agree that the Doctor Stasis angle is weird. His dialogue was weird as well, as the conversation with Cyclops didn't really match with how Doctor Stasis talks in his prior appearances. It is all the more glaring, since we had an entire Stasis-focused issue written by Gillen, to show how Stasis talks.
Oddly, Orchis' most prominent public facing individuals are Doctor Stasis and Feilong, who both don't exactly present outwardly as immediately 'normal human being'. The average joe shmoe would probably think that the both of them are mutants as well, just like Firestar. They probably could have created a Henry Gyrich robot to be the public face.
Ogun ninja Kitty was literally invented by Claremont decades ago(that original mini is incredible!)... although I agree, she was sufferable, often!
This issue didn't really work for me, though. I just don't like Duggan, and gratuitous violence is the thinnest of scaffolds to try to hang a story on.
Last edited by yogaflame; 08-02-2023 at 03:16 PM.
Let the flames destroy all but that which is pure and true!
Was it gratuitous though bc I felt it was warranted here? Krakoa in general has been playing too nice with Orchis with their "Kill No Man" law. Kitty literally just witnessed Jean and Bobby murdered among a bunch of other unnamed mutants and humans. There is just a handful of X-men left out in the world and she was alone on Orchis' turf. I dont think she had a choice but to kill them bc they would have come after her and they had valuable information about her and the gates that could be used against her. The violence was to showcase the trauma that she was going through and she wasnt the fun loving Kitty with the jokes anymore. Things got serious and she had to adjust and play by their rules bc being fair landed them in this position
So as it turns out, I love me some 'doom and gloom' and 'back against the wall' X-men stories. I liked where the hellfire gala left off (how they got there was a bit eh), and this was a really interesting continuation. I could really get behind this as a status quo, with the team slowly rescuing and growing their numbers.
Ninja Kitty is best Kitty, but wow, I was not expecting her to be so brutal. This book did a good job getting me invested!
Emma is the opposite of a devourer
She's A Lifebringer
I'm at a loss as to how Kitty thinks killing all those soldiers will keep the secret that she can use the gates.
I doubt they're going to look at all the bodies mutilated by mass manipulation and say 'Yeah, this has got to be Wolverine'.
When you have Doctor Stasis telling random soldiers they don't have permission to speak with him, I don't get the sense that this organization is gonna do regular headcounts to make sure their grunts are all accounted for.
It is pretty weird though, how Emma has to wear an inhibitor because otherwise it doesn't take Orchis long to detect her, and yet Kitty can just waltz around with her X-gene undetected and use her powers at will. Hopefully they will reveal that she is also an Inhuman hybrid.