What’s Covered?
X-Treme X-Men # 5 - 9
Roster Watch
Synopsis
X-Treme X-Men # 5
Writer - Chris Claremont
Pencils - Salvador Larocca
Sage shows the team pieces of Destiny’s predictions through VR
Thunderbird gets pissed saying they could have prevented the Genoshan massacre
I took this as the obligatory "someone reading this will be thinking that so why don't we have Thunderbird say it." Sage's response was that the diaries are too complex and she didn't have the whole picture.
Rogue accuses Storm of knowing Charles would out himself, and claims that’s the real reason this team went off the grid
She’s pissed, saying that if they can’t trust X, why should they trust Storm (and Sage)
Claremont doubling down on Storm shitting all over Professor X! Also pretty cool that Rogue, the next most senior member of the team, questioning Storm. Storm is clearly the leader, but it actually helps her seem more competent by addressing alternative viewpoints.
Sage discovers that Rogue is being hunted for killing a criminal (Viceroy)
Bishop shows up with the local cops claiming to be part of the Feds
Remember, Bishop is a cop now!
Rogue is very eager and jumpy to help Gambit
Rogue and Bishop stupidly arguing because Rogue doesn’t like badges. How dumb.
Storm arguing against Gambit, but Rogue reminds her that she’s both a thief and a killer too.
Very weird that Storm would be anti-Gambit when she was the first to meet him and spent time as a thief alongside him!
Gambit and the Triad are after the Viceroy’s secret children (heirs)
Rogue finds Gambit but the Triad leader (Father Gow) negates their power and tries to kill them.
The grandfather dies and his grandson, the Red Lotus, sets out to kill them
R and G captured
X-Treme X-Men # 6
Writer - Chris Claremont
Pencils - Salvador Larocca
Bishop involved in autopsy of Viceroy
All the team wear sunglasses which transmit data to Sage
Ok, so the sunglasses are explained.
XM go to help the Viceroy’s adult children at the beach
Sharks attack
Neal shoots one with his finger guns
Storm zaps the brother's (Davis) heart back.
Storm and Neal going on dates with the Siblings
Heather Cameron (Lifeguard) and her brother Davis Cameron
Rogue and Gambit still held by the Examiner
Both injected with acupuncture needles
Red Lotus disapproves of the torture
Rogue escapes, then they both escape
Sebastian Shaw and Lady Mastermind attack Sage
X-Treme X-Men # 7
Writer - Chris Claremont
Pencils - Salvador Larocca
Assassins attack the siblings
Heather is a mutant. Can turn into gold metal?
Neal and Storm fight the assasins
There is a full blown gang war in Sydney
Tessa’s backstory revealed
She was a secret student of Xavier’s. A spy
Lady Mastermind is trying to brainwash her
Rogue and Gambit ambushes by Shaw.
Rogue is brainwashed
Red Lotus saves Gambit by jumping out a window
Shaw behind the gang war, trying to become Viceroy himself
X-Treme X-Men # 8
Writer - Chris Claremont
Pencils - Salvador Larocca
Wordless ‘Nuff Said” issue
Shaw beats up Red Lotus
Rogue attacks storm, Thunderbird, and the siblings
Lifeguard, sprouts wings to save others
Bishop and Teri Baltimore round up criminals
Thunderbird takes out Lady Mastermind, freeing Rogue
X-Treme X-Men # 9
Writer - Chris Claremont
Pencils - Salvador Larocca
Sage still catatonic
Jean and Storm have a cute mental conversation. Jean teases her about having a BF
Lifeguard enters Sages mind
Battle with Lady Mastermind
It turns out that Sage was using lifeguard for her powers so together they beat Lady mastermind sending her into catatonic shock. Sage is now freed.
Gambit and Red Lotus expose the Examiner to the Triad.
My Connections and Creators
I'll start by saying that the story is slightly better. I did a lot of complaining in the last one about being bored and the series being uninspiring, but I'm certainly getting more intrigued. One reason is due to Sage. She's a pretty compelling character. She's got the cockiness of Emma Frost, confidence of Storm, and the intrigue of...someone intriguing. Another reason why my interest is peaked is because of this new character Lifeguard. She has a really interesting power set and if you've been following me from the beginning, you know I'm a sucker for new characters.
One interesting narrative device is the "Nuff said" issue where there is an entire issue without words. While this doesn't come close to the brilliant use of this trick in New X-Men, it's light years better than Uncanny. I was talking in my New X-Men kickoff about how this era is trying to do more visual storytelling, and I get the impression this was part of a mandate to push the universe this way, however I can imagine Claremont squirming.
Characters
Storm
Storm is still a Professor X hater.
It's been a while since we've seen Storm in a relationship, however this Davis Cameron dude doesn't seem regal enough for her.
Still besties with Jean.
Sage
Backstory comes out, which is another way to demonstrate how shitty Professor Xavier is.
Becoming a clear second in command when characters like Rogue and Gambit were literally headlining Claremont comics a few months ago is a big statement.
Rogue
I'm a little disappointed that she's taking a step back in regards to leadership
It looks like her period of being "all powerful" due to never forgetting powers is a dynamic we'll keep seeing. I wonder how long it will last.
Gambit
Gambit is still annoying and overrated in my book.
Bishop
He's still a cop, you idiot!
Thunderbird
They are trying to make him a bit of the team's moral compass, but I'm just not that into the character. (Looks like he drops off after XTXM # 19, so I guess Claremont will be giving up on him soon as well.
Lifeguard
New character, super close to her brother, dating Thunderbird.