Dead X-Men #1 - Spoilers/Review

[JB]

What a ride already!

We open with the preview pages, the X-vote team emerging through a portal in NYC near what is a destroyed Treehouse headquarters. They're in the timeline of Moira Engine 3.9. Frenzy notes that it smells like fire and brimstone, the environment looking desolate and destroyed. Prodigy says there's something wrong as he's not picking up anyone, let alone Moira. Suddenly winged demons fly overhead and Magik/Darkchylde arrives, one month after she ascended to Lord of All Hells and razed the planet. Prodigy says Moira not there and he can feel Magik's memory of killing her. Dazzlers calls for them to be pulled out immediately.

Recap/title page reminds us of Moira's mutant power and her lives, Sinister's Moira clones, and the ascension of Essex/Enigma. "Now, in a last-ditch effort to stop the Dominion from ever forming in the first place, Xavier has enlisted the help of the newly elected X-Men members who were recently killed at the Hellfire Gala. The fate of mutantkind rests in their hands.

The team returns to Atlantic Krakoa in the White Hot Room. They're all winded from "jumping" twice in close succession. Cannonball starts to say that he feels discombobulated when Rachel appears before him as a burning bush. Sam says he's a good southern boy and that it ain't right for her to appear in this way. She says she works with what's handy and flames are part of the psychic package. She's gratefully she can even manifest because (we now see her levitating) she's in No-Place X. It's taking all of her focus to communicate at a speed they can comprehend because time operates differently where she is. She says they can't linger in timelines too long and yanking the team in and out is like dancing between seconds for her.

Dazzler makes a comment about how the Gala proved that she's not as immortal as she used to think she was. David says with everything Rachel unlocked in his mind he's getting faster and faster at detecting signs of her (Moira.) It's taking a toll on him. He says they need to find one version of Moira who's not cybernetic and he can lift the info they need from her to get Xavier where he needs to go. Getting Moira's own mental map of her past is the mission.



"... we might be #$@% out of luck." She sends them to timeline Moira Engine 2.4.

I won't get into all the details of the timelines as the story progresses but it's always fun to see how different they are. The X-Men emerge from a portal on earth and immediately struggle to breathe. The portal closes and shortly after a different portal opens and a hand reaches out grabbing Jubilee and teleports the whole team away. A mysterious hooded figure on a nearby rooftop witnessed all of this.

The team are now on a spaceship and thankfully can breathe. Standing in front of them are Abigail Band and her X-Men, Blink (who teleported them to safety), Armor, Random, and Rootfire. Their ship is an Acanti-borne Arakko, known as the final mutant refuge. Brand orders the team to explain themselves (they look like her long-dead allies) and Prodigy falls to his knees in pain. Jubilee explains that he absorbs knowledge and skills from anyone near him but where before he had limits in place "to keep his brain from melting out of his nose", he volunteered to have remove those limits for the mission by Rachel. He now knows (from Brand and the others) that she got her intergalactic war in this timeline, except it was Orbis Stelllaris pulling the strings the whole time. Krakoa, Orchis, most of the Avengers, and like 92% of all life on earth was snuffed out. Arakko was destroyed as well and with a handful of surviving mutants scattered around the galaxy, Brand humbly became their leader.

Armor asks David if he's here to fix all of this but Frenzy says they all should know how paradox works, that they can't reveal their mission and they really shouldn't even be talking. Frenzy asks Brand to take them back to earth when the ship is attacked by the Technarchy. Dazzler's all like great, now we have to deal with the freaking Phalanx. She asks Brand why they're chasing them, what does she have? Brand says on the ship they have the last cache of Mysterium in the universe. Turns out Orbis is on his way too looking for the Mysterium. On his ship he has a fragment of the M'Kraan Crystal.

As Brand's X-Men fight the invading Phalanx Prodigy senses that Moira is suddenly close by and she's still human. They know that has to be their focus, finding her, as Cannonball notes that he doesn't like the odds of Brand's team surviving without their help. Frenzy reminds him that there's nothing they can do to save this timeline because even though the Moira their after is depowered, there's still a Moira clone from Sinister's engine out there that will die and reset everything.

As our team runs towards where Prodigy is sensing Moira to be, this timeline's Starjammers show up - Juggernaut, Sunspot, Mercury, Hepzibah, Warbird (Carol), Smasher (Cannonball's son), with Lockheed as their leader. As the battle rages Prodigy yells out in pain as Moira is getting closer and he starts absorbing her mind. "Never absorbed a mind... like hers before..."

Data page:



Smasher smashes through Orbis' chamber and debris flies everywhere.



I was a little unclear here because at first I thought that was a piece of the MC but perhaps not. The hooded figure from earlier pulls up in her hover-bike thingy and approaches Frenzy and Prodigy. Prodigy has that shard in his chest but he says it doesn't hurt as Frenzy is checking on him. Cannonball spots the figure sneaking up on them and slams into her. It's a wild looking Moira, kinda almost robotic and missing half an arm. Prodigy immediately absorbs everything from her mind saying he got it, a full map of Moira's past, all of it, as Dazzler helps him to his feet. "And not just her tenth life... we can go anywhere. Anywhere. We could stop the Dominion before it's born." They run and jump into a newly opened portal, leaving the timeline.

Moira spots the shard on the ground and says it will do nicely. Brand shoots at her but Moira swings a weapon that sends an energy pulse at Brand, knocking her down. Brand, realizing who it is, asks Moira how she's still alive. Moira said she had to stay alive to build her weapon which looks like a super high tech axe. She says it's made of adamantium, carbonadium, vibranium coating, Xorn's black-hole brain, and now she has the final piece, a shard of mysterium. Looking completely crazy, she says, "Everythin' I need to cut a path back to my very first life, start all over again and make sure Moira always wins."

Final page is a data page, Moira's checklist of ingredients for her weapon and how she got them.

My head is spinning but in a good way. The only part I'm unclear about is if the shard Moira picks up at the end is the one that was in David's chest or if he still has one in his chest. Other than that this was a wild ride and the fight scenes were beautiful. The changing art didn't throw me off at all because it was expected and intentional.
I enjoyed how everyone sounded. Rachel's role is extremely important and Prodigy is the centerpiece that the others have to protect. The Betsy mention was great and Rachel not choosing her because Moira will have defenses against a direct psychic approach was smart. I like alternate timeline stories when the characters are not stuck there for too long so these quick jaunts really work for me.I'm looking forward to the next issue as well as seeing the cast in Rise #2.

[Steroid]

I've got to give credit where credit is due and say I absolutely loved this issue. Prodigy being so important to the mission was great and Frenzy showed that she should definitely be leading a team in the new era. For me personally this was better than both Fall and Rise and I need this team to stay together even after the Krakoa era ends.

[Kingdom X]

Now we know who is on the cover of issue 3! Like you said JB, this was a fun ride. Foxe, has an uncanny *wink* ability to pick up plot threads that we had long thought dropped. I’d BEEN wanted more SWORD and Orbis content, and here it was!

Only complaint is that I think we could have eased it this more with the resurrection of these 5 and them getting their mission assignment. I think we would have a better idea of where they are headspace wise that way. But also that’s partially because I love these characters and wouldn’t mind an issue of them just talking. I also get it’s a very short mini, so we need to get to the big stuff!

[Luckystar.]

I'm confused by Xavier's decision to speak with Moira before her powers manifest in her 10th life. Doesn't she reincarnate with her abilities already developed and a perfect recollection of her previous life in the uterus?

[Grunty]

I'm confused by Xavier's decision to speak with Moira before her powers manifest in her 10th life. Doesn't she reincarnate with her abilities already developed and a perfect recollection of her previous life in the uterus?

To be fair, the story has for a while reached a point where any sense of rules, guidelines and limitation regarding Moira X's powers and the nature of her "universe rebooting", as established or implied by HOX/POX has been thrown out of the window, while characters are getting handed tools and possibilities to likewise just do what ever the plot demands.

But if memory serves me right, the original story told the reader that she was allready completely aware of what and who she was the moment her brain started to function within her mother's womb. So yes. That was original an implication.

[JB]

I'm confused by Xavier's decision to speak with Moira before her powers manifest in her 10th life. Doesn't she reincarnate with her abilities already developed and a perfect recollection of her previous life in the uterus?

I'm a little unclear about that as well. Perhaps they'll go into more detail about that in Rise #2, as well as the resurrection of the team.

[PhoenixStudies]

Where exactly is No-Place and how is it outside of time and space, similar to the White Hot Room?

Loved it when Rachel said that the flames came with her psychic package. Jean and Rachel should always have some psychic flames, imho.

[Luckystar.]

To be fair, the story has for a while reached a point where any sense of rules, guidelines and limitation regarding Moira X's powers and the nature of her "universe rebooting", as established or implied by HOX/POX has been thrown out of the window, while characters are getting handed tools and possibilities to likewise just do what ever the plot demands.

But if memory serves me right, the original story told the reader that she was allready completely aware of what and who she was the moment her brain started to function within her mother's womb. So yes. That was original an implication.

I'm a little unclear about that as well. Perhaps they'll go into more detail about that in Rise #2, as well as the resurrection of the team.

Thanks! For now, I'll assume that, although she retains her memories, her X-gene only fully activates when she turns 13, similar to her first life. In any case, it was a great issue with great pacing. I particularly enjoyed diving right into the action from the beginning while leaving some mysteries to be answered in upcoming issues.

[Braxxer]

have a few conclusions/questions

1. Looks like dead xmne, rise of powers of x and xmen forever tie into each other

2. I wonder if Moria in dead xmen is Hickman’s idea of moira after inferno. He’s never wanted her to be a villain and moira’s plan from dead xmen doesn’t scream bad guy orchis villain so much.

3. I’m really intrigued by Rachel and her role. I’m really curious how she and others found out about white hot room and mutants there

4. Also it seems that the topic of black holes might come back. Maybe Power of X reference?

5. I wonder if Prodigy with mkraan Crystal might lead to somehow affect his powers. The Crystal is nexus of all realities. His powers kinda absorb the knowledge. Is there a chance he absorbs the knowledge from the Crystal and he’ll get information about every reality

6. Don’t really get how moira from the future that doesn’t exist anymore can be able to restart her all lives.

And maybe Xavier won’t talk to her. Maybe he’ll try to block her mind before her powers manifest so she won’t have access to her memories from previous lives

[Malachi]

1. Looks like dead xmne, rise of powers of x and xmen forever tie into each other

They do. Foxe have stated in interviews that he and Gillen has tied them togheter. Or to the point that Gillen has helped Foxe tie Dead X-men into his two mini's.

[Kingdom X]

I'm a little unclear about that as well. Perhaps they'll go into more detail about that in Rise #2, as well as the resurrection of the team.

I got the sense that Xavier was lying in this issue and his real goal is to depower or kill a 12 year old Moira.

[Braxxer]

They do. Foxe have stated in interviews that he and Gillen has tied them togheter. Or to the point that Gillen has helped Foxe tie Dead X-men into his two mini's.

Yeah he mentioned rise of powers of x but xmen forever #2 seems to focus also on dead xmen

[Harasar]

I'm confused by Xavier's decision to speak with Moira before her powers manifest in her 10th life. Doesn't she reincarnate with her abilities already developed and a perfect recollection of her previous life in the uterus?

Moira is reborn with memories of her previous lives, but not her powers. Her powers activates like with majority of mutants during puberty. If she is killed before that moment, she would just die, if after it, she would be reborn again. It was mentioned by Destiny in HoXPoX before killing Moira. Basically when mutant-Moira dies, her power sends her with all of her memories back in time to the uterus, so "having memories of her previous lives right from the birth" is the power of her previous life, not the current one.

[JB]

Where exactly is No-Place and how is it outside of time and space, similar to the White Hot Room?

Loved it when Rachel said that the flames came with her psychic package. Jean and Rachel should always have some psychic flames, imho.

Some RotPoX #1 data pages for ya.
No-Place X - https://thumbs-us-east-1.myalbum.io/...934e641f40.jpg
The Battlefield - https://thumbs-us-east-1.myalbum.io/...c9e09927f2.jpg

So the WHR, No-Place X, and Enigma reside outside of time and space. Destiny said the Dominion can't see her in the WHR so it cannot see Xavier's team in No-Place X either.

Sharing this comment from a friend on another platform because I def agree:
The convo between Rachel and Charles was so good. "I just thought you would have picked Eliza--" "Nope!"
Rachel knew she needed to be objective (so no Betsy) but also fully believes in the team she selected (They're the X-Men!), while Charles just expects her to think like him. But she's a strategist like her dad and thought everything through, and she's Askani and fully in her element.

[Harasar]

And maybe Xavier won’t talk to her. Maybe he’ll try to block her mind before her powers manifest so she won’t have access to her memories from previous lives

Moira's power also block telepathy and precognition. So Xavier's plan is likely to read her full mind while she is powerless and can't block him and can't filter the information she reveal to him. Although, on the other hand, Rachel's words about not sending active telepath like Betsy, because Moira would be prepared for it, breaks this logic. If depowered Moira can block her mind, then not-yet-powered Moira should be able to do it as well.