Fall of the House of X #2 - Review/Spoilers

[JB]

Finally Orchis takes some big hits!

We open with the preview pages, Stasis, MODOK and their crew in the control room of the Orchis Bloom station. Stasis notes that the mutants have thrown some kind of space junk at the station. He orders MODOK to activate the station's deflector array to keep the incoming object at bay. MODOK says it's not working and the object is still coming. Stasis orders the crew to bring it up on the screen and we see Polaris in all her glory approaching with Knowhere behind her. She makes impact and the Celestial skull starts chewing on the Bloom station. Orchis goons fire at her with no luck, one goon saying she'll have to lower her force-field to get the mutants on board. He tells the others to load the Blightswill rounds. Polaris smirks at this fool as she unleashes the Brood. "To me -- my Brood!" The Brood attack and all hell breaks loose.



Orchis shuttle Delta, a smaller ship, approaches the Bloom. They were on their way to bring some prisoners to the Bloom. They try radioing the mother station but receive no response. One of the Orchis goons aboard ponders if they should turn around but decides they need to join the fight and help the Bloom. He starts to give instructions to the other goons when one of the prisoners laughs. It's Logan, strapped and shackled to what kinda looks like a large board. The goon now ponders if they should air-lock "this runt that Bob found." There's immediate confusion as the only Bob in their crew is even smaller than Logan. A very tall Orchis goon says, "I am also a 'Bob', uh, bub." Logan rolls his eyes and is like I toldja this wouldn't work. The very tall Orchis goon tears off his uniform and it's Colossus! Logan easily breaks out of his faux shackles and they tear into the crew. Nightcrawler bamf's in, grabs one of the soldiers and bamf's him into outer space. Woah.

Back inside the ship Kurt says he'll search for Firestar. As the Delta ship docks to the Bloom it's chaos with fires burning everywhere and Orchis soldiers trying to escape from the Brood. Colossus is like we're deploying Brood? Logan says they're under the control of Broo and that he trusts him. Kurt comments that the Brood are only under control until they're not. Polaris elegantly greets the boys confirming that the Brood were not part of the plans drawn up by the X-Men in the Morlock Tunnels and that she's improvising since the plan got moved up. She also notes that Orchis has **** coffee. She says she's there to kill Stasis and Firestar and asks what they're doing. Kurt bamf's over to her informing her that Firestar is a double agent and that Jean implanted memories into Stasis' head before she died.

Lorna: Ha! That's the most Jean thing I've ever heard. (Nice reference to when Kate said this.)

Lorna says she'll hold off destroying the Bloom until Firestar and any other civilians are off then she'll drop kick it into the sun. She asks who is saving Krakoa and Cyclops. Logan says Kate is going for Scott and before he says who is going for Krakoa Colossus says they're spread too thin. Logan says both Krakoa and Cyclops are in trouble and hell, they're all in trouble.

Emma is in what looks like Times Square, holding two Orchis soldiers on a leashes as they're on all fours. She telepathically greets the others with "Okay, darlings. The beautiful voice in your head is the White Queen." She's giving a situation update saying that now that the Bloom is being uprooted they can discuss reinforcing the world. She confirms Kate is in Paris trying to back up Cyclops, a small group of X-Men are still on the wrecked Bloom station, and in the western United States Krakoa the mutant is on the run, literally. She asks how the rescue of Krakoa is going and Juggernaut, tasked with rescuing him, runs towards an Orchis truck with a captured Krakoa on the back of it. It's flanked by Stark Sentinels but Juggy easily takes them out with his momentum/weight and one of Cable's guns. He frees Krakoa and asks for a lift. Emma is now fighting a Sentinel that has found her. She asks Rogue to assist Juggernaut with his escape.

Rogue and Gambit are flying the X-jet (Blackbird?). Rogue says this is all terrible and that it's going to hell. Gambit says maybe it's time to "pull dat rip cord", referring to Manifold. They fly out of the jet and Rogue tells Emma that they're sending it back to Emma via autopilot and that someone else will have to help Krakoa and Juggernaut because they have a mission. Emma is like wtf, this isn't the time to break ranks, what could be more important? Synch appears using Iceman's powers (so it IS Synch and not Bobby) saying it's ok, if Rogue says something must be done then they're to trust her. Emma is glad to see him as he assists with the Sentinel. He says Stasis is trapped in orbit and that they need to neutralize more high-value targets. He asks where Moira and Dr. Devo are.

Rogue and Gambit arrive at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She tells him how she hid Manifold away and that although she doesn't know exactly why, Destiny made it clear that mutants have no future without him. Gambit is like he's gonna be pissed. Putting him in stasis in a Krakoan no-place is like being deleted from the universe. Gambit jokes that if he's dead then they should reform the Brotherhood of Evil Mu... Rogue shushes him as she wakes Manifold up. Eden wakes up and reads the stars, realizing he's been on ice for a bit. Gambit says a lot's happened since he's been sleeping. Rogue tells Eden that he was a priority target of Orchis and that they hid him away because...

Before she can finish Manifold lashes out at them, yelling that they kidnapped him. He fires at Gambit with his energy (?) then punches Rogue with a energy-charged fist. He says she's an X-Man, supposed to be the best of them. He stands in shock as the punch broke away part of her face revealing Destiny's mask underneath. She says, "sorry, sugah... but the future was unwritten without you, Manifold."



Holy moly my brain short circuited for a moment. I needed a minute to figure out what was happening. Only Manifold experienced that encounter and when he comes to, Rogue and Gambit are still talking to him. Rogue hears jets in the distance, a Sentinel approaching. Manifold smiles and says it's ok, he understands what he must. He says they must go where they are needed and teleports them away a moment before the incoming Sentinel's fist slams down on where they were.

Back on the Bloom Stasis jumps into an escape pod and tells Logan that if he kills him they'll never see Firestar again. Logan tells Emma that rip-off Sinister just left for earth and to get eyes on him as fast as she can. He then gets shot in the back by punk ass MODOK who laughs, compliments them on the Brood move, then escapes. Polaris has Colossus and Nightcrawler in a shield bubble, Nightcrawler asking how they will find Logan in the chaos. Lorna says not to worry because she can feel his adamantium bones. She tells Broo to summon his Brood back to Knowhere which she has placed in a stable orbit. The Bloom is crashing down to Earth so she aims it for the souther ocean. They find Logan and Polaris is carrying them all back down to Earth where they will regroup with the rest of the X-Men. Colossus says he couldn't find Firestar and Logan tells him about Stasis gloating that he still has her but Logan says it could be a lie. She could already be dead. Logan says they'll know the truth once they find Stasis.

At that very moment in Paris, Omega Sentinel is standing behind a kneeling Cyclops. Her arm has transformed into a giant sword. She is his executioner after the "guilty" verdict. She lifts her arm sword in the air and says he doesn't seem scared, that she admires that.

Cyclops: You're right. I'm not afraid -- there's a very special woman who will simply not let you kill me.



We get one of those quote pages. "The mutants took everything from me. Everything. And I've started to wonder what exactly I risked it for?" - Dr. Alia Gregor

Data page: A memo to the Orchis Petals from MODOK. It's his resignation. He basically says he's leaving but should any of them survive the revenge the mutants are currently enacting they shouldn't hesitate to look him up down the line if they need a killing machine. He says in fact he may be enlisting some of them for a future endeavor of his own, sooner than they may think, but he doesn't want to ruin the surprise.

It was fast-paced and things are moving along. Some stuff felt a little clunky at times but it still works for me. I wasn't expecting the Gregor turn so quickly.
Loved seeing Juggernaut being the one to free Krakoa. The Manifold/Lactuca scene was wild and I'm looking forward to finding out where he, Rogue, and Gambit are going. And of course Polaris was magnificent while looking amazing. I especially enjoyed seeing her work alongside the boys as it felt very classic. Two thumbs up.

[Kingdom X]

Thanks for posting! I picked this up for Polaris and was pleasantly surprised by Lactuca/Manifold. Could have left everything else.

I really do not like the way Duggan writes Rogue & Gambit. It’s like we’re back to the mini-series where he was constantly being undermined and insulted (even when Rogue was in the wrong).

I’m a little confused with the timeline regarding Nimrod. So he was stuck in Amber this whole time, but was also able to fight the X-Men in the last issue of the flagship. And we know that issue happened before this because Synch said he would contact Polaris after the encounter (which brings up more questions since Kate seemingly didn’t know where she was in the first FotHoX issue). I don’t see the point of Duggan writing so many books if his own continuity doesn’t click.

It’s interesting that the X-Men are spread so thin because Unlimited and the previous FoX minis have highlighted all of these pockets of mutants fighting against Orchis. I *hope* this series is able to tie them by the end or else it really does seem like many of the Krakoan threads will be wrapping up in a Digital only series instead of the main book.

[OG Storm]

I need more Lactuca, that is all.

[Johnrevenge]

Thanks for posting! I picked this up for Polaris and was pleasantly surprised by Lactuca/Manifold. Could have left everything else.

I really do not like the way Duggan writes Rogue & Gambit. It’s like we’re back to the mini-series where he was constantly being undermined and insulted (even when Rogue was in the wrong).

I’m a little confused with the timeline regarding Nimrod. So he was stuck in Amber this whole time, but was also able to fight the X-Men in the last issue of the flagship. And we know that issue happened before this because Synch said he would contact Polaris after the encounter (which brings up more questions since Kate seemingly didn’t know where she was in the first FotHoX issue). I don’t see the point of Duggan writing so many books if his own continuity doesn’t click.

It’s interesting that the X-Men are spread so thin because Unlimited and the previous FoX minis have highlighted all of these pockets of mutants fighting against Orchis. I *hope* this series is able to tie them by the end or else it really does seem like many of the Krakoan threads will be wrapping up in a Digital only series instead of the main book.

Not surprised by the Rogue/Gambit interaction, as Duggan seems to ship Rogue with Deadpool.

Lactuca is one of the weirdest and most fascinating characters of the Krakoan era. Hope we see more of her in the future.

Regarding the timeline, I think that X-men issue happened before the first issue of Fall of House of X, as they were also talking about starting to rescue cyclops, and contact polaris for the plan (in the end of issue 1 when Kitty tried to find her, she was gone to recruit the Brood).

[CGAR]

Its kind of a bummer that I already want this to be over because I feel like its being rushed and not executed well.

When did Wolverine and Colossus set up that plan to get caught.

And damn they really rushed Lukas I am not feeling his art in this mini.

You can just tell write before FoX they realized their editorial era was ending and they had to make a bunch of things work and thats why everything seems all over the place.

[Ilargi]

I am so sick of duggan writing Rogue and Gambit. I'd rather they be in limbo than see them in his hands again.

[DarkMagnus]

Im not.

Duggan is leaving so that would end. im grateful Rogue is doing something more than being a cameo o variant queen (usually in her Savage Landself)

[lefthanded]

Where did the Manifold events takes place? Last I saw him was in Sword or something.

[JB]

Its kind of a bummer that I already want this to be over because I feel like its being rushed and not executed well.

When did Wolverine and Colossus set up that plan to get caught.

And damn they really rushed Lukas I am not feeling his art in this mini.

Yeah there's a lot of stuff happening very quickly and off-panel. Krakoa getting captured, Juggernaut turbo traveling from the X-Mansion to the west coast. And the impetus in freeing Manifold was a bit wonky, Gambit simply saying maybe it's time to address the secret.

Hopefully X-Men starts to line up with this book. I would be okay with the two books being separate stories but using the same characters makes it dizzying.

[RAWRlrus]

Its kind of a bummer that I already want this to be over because I feel like its being rushed and not executed well.

When did Wolverine and Colossus set up that plan to get caught.

And damn they really rushed Lukas I am not feeling his art in this mini.

You can just tell write before FoX they realized their editorial era was ending and they had to make a bunch of things work and thats why everything seems all over the place.

I think Noto taking over X-Men was last minute change too. Definitely feels like this era/event is being rushed.

I am so sick of duggan writing Rogue and Gambit. I'd rather they be in limbo than see them in his hands again.

Really feels like he struggles with writing relationships because th eothers have been struggles too.

[JB]

Where did the Manifold events takes place? Last I saw him was in Sword or something.

In the Rogue and Gambit mini series last year.

[lefthanded]

In the Rogue and Gambit mini series last year.

Thanks. I kind of miss the days where Editorial puts in a text box saying "See these events over in Rogue and Gambit. Nuff said!"

[lefthanded]

Yeah there's a lot of stuff happening very quickly and off-panel. Krakoa getting captured, Juggernaut turbo traveling from the X-Mansion to the west coast. And the impetus in freeing Manifold was a bit wonky, Gambit simply saying maybe it's time to address the secret.

Hopefully X-Men starts to line up with this book. I would be okay with the two books being separate stories but using the same characters makes it dizzying.

I feel the same way. At least the Manifold stuff was written in Rogue & Gambit mini, like others have pointed out. But everything else causes a lot of whiplash since they happened entirely off panel. The Angelica stuff is something happening completely out of the blue just so Stasis isn't killed in this issue. Stasis holding Angelica hostage could have been better foreshadowed, because prior to this it has just completely been panels of Stasis trusting Angelica.

And, while what the X-men did this issue is satisfying in dismantling parts of Orchis, it makes no sense how Orchis ever had a chance against the X-men. I guess post Hellfire Gala, Orchis got lax and got rid of all their anti-mutant devices except for Stark Sentinels?

Duggan states that Lorna could easily destroy the space station multiple times. Wolverine/Colossus probably could have run roughshod over the station as well, as Orchis conveniently didn't have any Mutant detection devices or power dampeners. Cable's guns and Iceman are apparently all that are needed to at least slow down Stark Sentinels.

It seems like Nimrod sentinels are gonna be the big bads of this event. Hopefully we see a conflict that requires strategy as opposed to the X-men just using their powers in a normal fashion to win.

[Soulsword323]

I understand the criticisms of this, but I loved the Polaris bits. Lorna's always been impulsive, so seeing her deviating from their plan to bring the Brood, really worked for me.

[JB]

I understand the criticisms of this, but I loved the Polaris bits. Lorna's always been impulsive, so seeing her deviating from their plan to bring the Brood, really worked for me.

Her scenes were the highlight for me for sure. I loved how she carried herself and seeing her work with Logan, Kurt, and Piotr.