Children of the Vault #2: Review and Spoilers

[Malachi]

Issue 2, here we go.

We start with the material covered by the preview. Mr Hammer, also known as Martillo-131, is standing guard and studying some people in a club dancing. Poor Martillo doesn't dance and he wants to join them. Seems like Dance isn't needed for a perfect race. A little commentary here and showing us how flawed the Children are.

Bishop and Cable attack him and he gets a big hammer-hit on Lucas. Cable manages to block his attack and Lucas knocks him over with an energy blast from behind, coupled with an uppercut from Cable. Martillo is down but not out so Bishop restrains him so Cable can use his big gun and shoot him.

We then a couple of pages showing us the Children in action. We get mostly Atmo-82 who has some sort of molecular manipulation with focus on reality altering since he also manages to grow a living plant out of an Avengers Zombie. We get to see the Message work it's way on the people that are saved, or you can consider it ground zero for the implementation of the virus.


Data page about what the children has been up to since last time.

Cable in the meantime is busy invading Martillos mindscape to sniff out some juicy thougts and secrets. This use of telepathy in a war setting seems ideally suited for Cable, poor Martillo. They discuss the Message and play some mindgames, pardon the pun.

Bishop is busy sneaking in the the abandoned mansion in westchester. It seems the vegetation has reclaimed it quickly, one would suspect some powers at work here like Plantman. Bishop manages to sneak in by some crafty use of his powers. He absorbs the energy fields being direted at him by the surveilance system. By some combination of absorbing and reflecting he manages to fool the systems and sneaks into one of Cable's weapons cache's hidden bellow the baseball field.

At the UN they are discussing the children and the message seems to be doing it's work quickly as Mexico and it's leader is already happy to don’t' have to shoulder the responsibility for the future anymore.

At the Vault we get some philosophical exposition about the 2 main ideological factors. The new way with Serafina who wants to govern humanity as it's heroes and the traditionalists with the Captáin who wants to wipe them out and start again. Serfaina is winning atm but the Captáin is waiting for the tides to turn.

Data page with more info about how the different children have responded to mutants fall and the new future it represents.

Cable pummels Martillo and he gives up that the Message will change humans to become more like the children, with an estimated 99% not surving the process. Cable then in a display of superiority smashes Martillos guardians by growing in size. Lastly he smashes Martillo after saying the badass reply to Martillo's "We are the future": "Yeah? Well, I'm from the future. And Buddy I never saw you anywhere in it". It's completly moot considering the laws of different futures that marvel uses, but it's bad ass nonetheless.


So with Martillos secrets revealed Cable nukes him and he and Bishop armors up with ammo belts, pouches and big guns galore. Both a parody and a homage to their 90's past.

Review: Well I enjoyed this issue, a solid effort. Not as good as the first issue but close enough.

The children are written well but they are a problematic bunch. Their identity is not unique enough so their limitations make them unique. In that they where preparing only for mutants so they are ill equipped to face any future outside the very narrow parameters this threat brings. As it is now it's hard to buy them as a big threat simply because even though their sophistication they appear as nothing else then a garden variaty threat for say the Avengers. Morrison did it in JLA's first arc and that was soon 30 years ago I think. That says it all for me.

This is not a critique agains Camp or Carey. It's just that to sell this sort of threat, to really ramp them up, you must give us concepts/ideas/threats that are new and deeply versed in sci-fi ideas(Hickman) and metaphysical ideas that Gaiman and Morrison does so well. To give us something new and strange, something hard to defend against becasuse they are fighting in a different way. The message is this threat, or the attempt at least. It still feel a bit antiquated though.

This issue is a tour de force for Cable. Badass Cable who gets to talk big and act big. I see this as a Cable story with Bishop along for the ride.

Bishop has a big scene with the infiltration of the manison and his use of power. I like the thought behind it but I felt the scale was to large. The more I think about it the more it seems to much. A to vast expansion of what Bishop can do. Can he absorb sun beams? It's energy directed at him. Radiowaves... the list goes on.

Art was strong, very strong. Suited for the story but nothing you will drool on. It just lacks that little something to elevate it above very strong.

I give it an 8/10. 11/10 in the big guns category.

[Nicoclaws]

Poor Martillio he just wanted to dance...

I'm not a fan of the way the Children powers are depicted in the little panels. Like just generic energyrays form palms of the hand.

[Master of Sound]

A bit disappointing not to read a word about Luz. Hope there will a change on that. Also seems Cadena was only a cameo in #1 and now not there at all.

But I love the idea of Martillo getting some focus.

[Malachi]

A bit disappointing not to read a word about Luz. Hope there will a change on that. Also seems Cadena was only a cameo in #1 and now not there at all.

But I love the idea of Martillo getting some focus.

Luz is mentioned on the first data page. They were branded a dangerous radical for wanting to interbreed with humans.
Cadena is also briefly mentioned at the same page, but in past tense. Basically for being a failed hero after the last skirmish.

[Malachi]

Poor Martillio he just wanted to dance...

I'm not a fan of the way the Children powers are depicted in the little panels. Like just generic energyrays form palms of the hand.

Yeah beyond the panels with Atmo and his reality manipulation powers it was punches and energy blasts. So nothing new.

[JB]

This title is solidly my #1 of the minis. This was a home run issue for me. The use of Cable and Bishop's powers was very creative and I like this interesting look into Bishop's abilities. It was so cool to see him skirt the Orchis surveillance at the mansion the way he did. Cable's conversation with Martillo was intense especially with how things were unfolding in his mind. Great moments for both of them.

I've always liked the Children but I'm really interested in them now and I'd throw my money at Marvel if they made an ongoing out of this. Camp's data pages describing the ideological evolution of them was to me a very unique way to world-build. Extra points for stating that Luz has been branded a rebel for her advocation of interbreeding with Homo sapiens. And although I don't at all agree with Capitan's stance, I still love him.

Camp mentioned again on twitter that issue #3's data pages will be dedicated to Bishop and Cable and #4's will turn back to the Children.

Bravo.

[Technopriest]

I agree with the OP, against my better judgement I read issue number 2, and although I find Cable and Bishop to be written exceptionally well, I don't find Camp's version of the CotV to be unique or interesting. To me this type of story was better when Morrison did it in the 90s in JLA, and the Children were more intriguing when written by Carey. Basically the Children have devolved into generic villains to me with a world domination/extermination plan for reasons, but in and out of themselves the Sci Fi ideas are not pushed nearly enough for my tastes. It really feels like a Cable/Bishop mini for the sake of them having a mini, and the CotV seems like an afterthought because they needed to do something with them. The threat also seems so disconnected from what is going on in other titles that really feels like it would have been better to deal with them at a later date

[Grunty]

The "turn everyone into us, even if 99% of humanity will die" plan sounds eeriely similar to what many major mutant villains would come up with regulary or wish of doing.

The children are written well but they are a problematic bunch. Their identity is not unique enough so their limitations make them unique. In that they where preparing only for mutants so they are ill equipped to face any future outside the very narrow parameters this threat brings. As it is now it's hard to buy them as a big threat simply because even though their sophistication they appear as nothing else then a garden variaty threat for say the Avengers. Morrison did it in JLA's first arc and that was soon 30 years ago I think. That says it all for me.

It arguably also doesn't help that they gave them a "this is how they beat everyone over night" vision scene a few months ago, since that can only harm their credibility. As weird as it might sound.

Basicly their big moment to re-establish their credibility happend in a purely potential scenario rather than in continuity, since it could never be allowed to happen that way. Infact the very potential scenario was presented in a moment where they were easily tricked and locked away by the heros.
Which means any of their in continuity actions can only ever underdeliver compared to what they should be capable of by previous implication, making them a less competent looking danger compared to say a team of mid range villains who at least get to regulary get close to winning against the established heros.

And all of that when their entire concept is based around the idea of them as a collective group hyper evolving themself over hundreds of years in a time accelerated secret location, yet they will always get beaten or tricked by a group of random natural born mutants.

So they were set up too high and will only fall from there, while others who have been introduced with less hype and placed lower on a "power level" will prevail and re-occure simply by being perhaps more interesting to write, better established in the Marvel Universe at large, or have a lower drop in their credibility when they get defeated.

[Alex.]

I wonder where Aguja is.

I agree with the OP, against my better judgement I read issue number 2, and although I find Cable and Bishop to be written exceptionally well, I don't find Camp's version of the CotV to be unique or interesting. To me this type of story was better when Morrison did it in the 90s in JLA, and the Children were more intriguing when written by Carey. Basically the Children have devolved into generic villains to me with a world domination/extermination plan for reasons, but in and out of themselves the Sci Fi ideas are not pushed nearly enough for my tastes. It really feels like a Cable/Bishop mini for the sake of them having a mini, and the CotV seems like an afterthought because they needed to do something with them. The threat also seems so disconnected from what is going on in other titles that really feels like it would have been better to deal with them at a later date

This is something that has been bothering me lately, that I don't see any reason for most antagonists to be doing what they are doing. CotV, Shaw, Mother Right.

At first the Children were against mutants. Now they're against humanity for some reason, but they kind of want to keep some of them around. Again, for reasons. And I'm pretty sure that a few developed countries would be mad if all of a sudden the non-developed ones started getting their shit together, specially through a non-capitalist way. But going back to the issue, if they think the Earth is "small", why do they want it? I really need a better view into their motivation, otherwise they're just there...

[Cyclone_Ablaze]

This was Good.

But, I really LOVE the New Addition to Bishops Powers. If, they keep that up I can see Bishop creating Powerful Force Fields and being able to turn himself invisible.

WOW, Cable is a Powerful Telepath. LOL

[Technopriest]

I wonder where Aguja is.



This is something that has been bothering me lately, that I don't see any reason for most antagonists to be doing what they are doing. CotV, Shaw, Mother Right.

At first the Children were against mutants. Now they're against humanity for some reason, but they kind of want to keep some of them around. Again, for reasons. And I'm pretty sure that a few developed countries would be mad if all of a sudden the non-developed ones started getting their shit together, specially through a non-capitalist way. But going back to the issue, if they think the Earth is "small", why do they want it? I really need a better view into their motivation, otherwise they're just there...

Originally their motivation to be against mutants made sense, they saw them as their natural competition for dominion over the Earth since they considered baseline humans to be too low the evolutionary ladder to be a concern (of course that would ignore the other evolved groups that inhabit the planet that you would have to contend with like the Atlanteans, the Lemurians, the Inhumans, the Eternals, etc). Now they want to force evolve humans even though that will kill 99% of them because reasons, even though they were never a concern for them before. It just feel like they wanted the Children to be the antagonists even though there wasn't a good enough reason for them to be in this mini. As I said it would just have been better to have Cable and Bishop to deal with a specific threat brought in by Orchis, Orbis Stellaris, or something more connected to the overall theme of FoX, and save the Children as the next big threat for later.

[Jackraow21]

This title is solidly my #1 of the minis. This was a home run issue for me. The use of Cable and Bishop's powers was very creative and I like this interesting look into Bishop's abilities. It was so cool to see him skirt the Orchis surveillance at the mansion the way he did. Cable's conversation with Martillo was intense especially with how things were unfolding in his mind. Great moments for both of them.

I've always liked the Children but I'm really interested in them now and I'd throw my money at Marvel if they made an ongoing out of this. Camp's data pages describing the ideological evolution of them was to me a very unique way to world-build. Extra points for stating that Luz has been branded a rebel for her advocation of interbreeding with Homo sapiens. And although I don't at all agree with Capitan's stance, I still love him.

Camp mentioned again on twitter that issue #3's data pages will be dedicated to Bishop and Cable and #4's will turn back to the Children.

Bravo.

Agree with everything you said here. Cable as the "telepathic soldier-messiah" is just awesome here. And Bish was badass too! So f'ing good...

Originally their motivation to be against mutants made sense, they saw them as their natural competition for dominion over the Earth since they considered baseline humans to be too low the evolutionary ladder to be a concern (of course that would ignore the other evolved groups that inhabit the planet that you would have to contend with like the Atlanteans, the Lemurians, the Inhumans, the Eternals, etc). Now they want to force evolve humans even though that will kill 99% of them because reasons, even though they were never a concern for them before. It just feel like they wanted the Children to be the antagonists even though there wasn't a good enough reason for them to be in this mini. As I said it would just have been better to have Cable and Bishop to deal with a specific threat brought in by Orchis, Orbis Stellaris, or something more connected to the overall theme of FoX, and save the Children as the next big threat for later.

You do realize that A) wanting dominion over the Earth and B) killing 99% of baseline humans while converting the other 1% do seem pretty well aligned in terms of goals/motivation, right? Seems nitpicky, but you have a right to your opinion obviously. *shrugs*

[Technopriest]

Agree with everything you said here. Cable as the "telepathic soldier-messiah" is just awesome here. And Bish was badass too! So f'ing good...



You do realize that A) wanting dominion over the Earth and B) killing 99% of baseline humans while converting the other 1% do seem pretty well aligned in terms of goals/motivation, right? Seems nitpicky, but you have a right to your opinion obviously. *shrugs*

No, because they have other ways to achieve dominion and they have never been interested in the rest of humanity, so even then trying to bring 1% of the population is counterintuitive to their purposes, especially since the conflict seems to be leading to other members of the Children to not follow the directive of those in charge. Is not a matter of them wanting to evolve some humans, is that they see themselves as completely beyond humanity as to this plan not to work, and that's not even considering the other super evolved groups on Marvel Earth they would still have to contend with. And yes, it is my opinion, same as yours and I understand that you will be more inclined to like it because it puts your boy Nathan front and center, and I even gave camp his due since I do like his Cable and Bishop but I am not feeling this conflict. As I said, I feel we would have been better served by just having Cable and Bishop deal with Orchis or Stellaris or something more connected to the overall narrative, and not push the Children to the fore front for now. As I said we are going to have different reactions to this because Cable is the protagonist here and you like that and I completely get it, but I didn't feel this issue. I feel we jump from an interesting sci Fi premise in issue number 1 to generic villain plot in number 2. I still hope we get a proper X-Force title out of FoX and not that monstrosity that Percy is writing though.

[Frobisher]

Still frustrated at characters talking about self-replicating ideas/thought viruses and thinking “memes… they’re called memes”.

[davetvs]

Honestly this is the best Cable (other than under Ewing) or Bishop have been written in a while. It's a fun ride of a story so far.