285: X-Men Legacy # 208 - 213, Uncanny X-Men # 495 - 499 (Divided We Stand)

Matt Campbell
17 hours ago
7 min read

What’s Covered?

X-Men Legacy # 208 - 213, X-Men: Divided We Stand: # 1 - 2, Uncanny X-Men # 495 - 499.

Roster Watch

Synopsis

X-Men: Divided We Stand # 1 - 2

Creatives: Mike Carey, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Skottie Young, Matt Fraction Brandon Peterson, Sana Takeda, Skottie Young, David LaFuente, Jamie McKelvie

Following the cataclysmic events of Messiah Complex, the X‑Men have disbanded and the mutants who once trained, fought and lived within their ranks now must redefine themselves. X-Men: Divided We Stand is essentially checking in with these disparate mutants. To be honest, all it did was make me mad about Cyclops' decision!

Sam Guthrie (Cannonball) returns to his Kentucky hometown with his sister Paige, but instead of solace he seeks conflict — a bar fight with local antagonists becomes his attempt to keep the fighting edge he fears he’ll lose now that the team is gone.
Nezhno (Gentle) Abidemi goes home to Wakanda alongside Ororo Munroe (Storm), hoping to find acceptance and peace — but even his royal greeting hides a cold unease, as his mixed heritage and mutation cause Wakandans to view him as an outsider.
Anole (Victor Borkowski) is assigned to check his old mentor Northstar, but what Anole reveals is that though his family may accept him, he no longer feels he belongs. He resents having been molded by the X‑Men then discarded by them.
Julian Keller (Hellion) wakes from his coma to learn the school is shuttered and the X‑Team disbanded. Angry and abandoned, he seeks out Magneto to join — but Magneto refuses, calling out Julian’s pain and desperation more than his anger.
Meanwhile, a compelling side tale: Nightcrawler finds Scalphunter hiding as a short‑order cook. Instead of executing justice, Kurt offers forgiveness and helps him seek faith — turning a killing mission into an act of redemption.
Hank McCoy (Beast) returns to the ruins of Xavier’s Institute and carries out a solemn ritual: burning the extensive mutant student files, clearing out Sentinel tech remnants, scattering ashes in a farewell to a place that defined his life. The institute is gone, and so the role he once held is gone too.
Illyana Rasputin (Magik) is living in Limbo as half‑demon. She tries to return to her former friends and family ( Piotr “Colossus” Rasputin and Kitty Pryde) but on finding the mansion destroyed, she rejects the world of the X‑Men and vows vengeance, ready to consume the souls of enemies to reclaim her body.
Alex “Havok” Summers and his crew are held captive by his brother Gabriel “Vulcan” Summers, who taunts him with the collapse of the mutant world, the dissolution of the X‑Men, and all the promises broken in the wake of Messiah Complex.
Forge, wounded and obsessed after his encounter with Bishop, is attacked again: a one‑armed Bishop steals Forge’s time‑machine plans in a direct blow to his identity as the technologist who defends mutantkind.
Surge (Noriko “Nori” Ashida) seeks advice from her mentor Dani Moonstar but receives poor guidance — Nori’s unresolved pain and fear about her mutant life deepen rather than dissipate.

X-Men: Legacy vol. 1 # 208 - 214

Writer - Mike Carey

Pencils - Scot Eaton, Ken Lashley, Greg Land, Brandon Peterson, Billy Tan, John Romita Jr.

This is the start of a brand new era. The X-Men Volume 2 line, which I typically call "Adjectiveless" X-Men is now retired, replaced by the moniker "X-Men: Legacy." For some reason they kept the numbering and this begins with # 208. I've heard that this run is really good and focuses almost exclusively on Rogue, but these first 7 issues are all about Charles Xavier.

In the aftermath of the Messiah Complex event, where Professor Charles Xavier was gravely wounded, this issue opens with Xavier’s body in the hands of Exodus (along with allies Vought, Cargill and Karima), who teleport him away and begin to attempt repairs on his damaged mind and brain.

Exodus proceeds to immerse Xavier within his own memories, essentially reliving the professor’s life and struggles as part of an attempt at healing — but also raising uncomfortable questions. Moira McTaggart doubts whether Xavier is training an army rather than healing, and even Scott Summers (Cyclops) accuses him of over‑using his powers, possibly altering the man he is meant to be.

Exodus, unable to achieve proper progress, seeks out Magneto for help. The issue ends with the ominous possibility that Xavier may have died (or been killed) in his own mind, and the healing may take a direction neither he nor his friends expected.

Xavier’s physical body remains inert, but inside his head the healing process begins in earnest: Magneto and Karima enter his cerebral space to try to awaken him. We see cracks in trust: Omega Sentinel watches Magneto’s interaction with Xavier, while outside factions begin to fracture.

Tensions boil over — a clash erupts between Frenzy and Karima, symbolizing how old mutant rivalries and ideological conflicts persist even in this moment of crisis. Xavier regains consciousness, only to find that his mind has become a battleground. Magneto issues a telling reflection: “I think we cancelled each other out for a long time and then finally we became irrelevant. The future walked around us.”

Exodus, enraged at Magneto’s help and believing he is responsible for damaging Xavier, resolves to kill him — but Xavier drags Exodus into the psychic plane, defeats him, and is offered leadership of the Acolytes. Xavier declines, declaring that the man who made all the mistakes is dead; henceforth he will be a better man.

This issue begins the arc of “Sins of the Father”. Xavier discovers that his father, Brian Xavier, had historic partnerships with both Mr. Sinister and Destiny — a dark past that implicates Xavier’s genetic legacy more than he knew. Meanwhile, Sebastian Shaw survives a device attack (killing two people in the process), and his associate Roberto is furious. The stage is set: Xavier is about to walk through his genetic inheritance, and the villains who sought to shape him from birth (Sinister among them) are revealed to have deeper plans.

The investigation deepens: assassins are targeting Xavier, the Hellfire Club, and other mutants linked to Xavier’s past. One key rescue: Gambit intervenes to save Xavier from an assassination attempt. Meanwhile, Xavier’s effort to rebuild his memories and confront his father’s legacy intensifies. The plot thickens: Sinister’s interest in Xavier stems from Xavier’s genetic ties and the potential of his mind.

In Part 2 of “Sins of the Father”, Xavier delves further into his father’s history and the chain of tragic deaths tied to Brian Xavier. Xavier uses other people’s minds to rebuild his memories, but in doing so he is beset by echoes of the past. The Hellfire Club looms large once more.

Xavier finds himself trapped within his own mind, under assault by Mr Sinister’s psychic manifestation. Sinister taunts him: “You were alternatively absent and overbearing, neglectful and tyrannical…” He points out that Xavier could never decide whether to be Brian Xavier or Kurt Marko — so he became both. Meanwhile, on the “outside”, Gambit and Shaw are fighting assassins tied to the list of children Sinister targeted. The Cronus device becomes relevant—Shaw protects himself with the device his father created. Xavier fights in his mind to expel Sinister.

In the epilogue of this arc, Sinister’s decades‑long plan comes to head. Xavier must uncover the secrets of the plot against his mind before he loses it permanently. Gambit and Shaw join forces to destroy Sinister’s machinations. In the final pages: a female version of Sinister — Miss Sinister — is revealed, setting a new threat on the horizon.

Uncanny X-Men # 495 - 499: Divided We Stand

Writer - Ed Brubaker

Pencils - Mike Choi

This is the beginning of the end for Ed Brubaker's run on Uncanny, which officially ends after Manifest Destiny (the next big X-Men arc.)

In the wake of Messiah Complex the mutant world is fractured: the X‑Men are officially disbanded, their home decimated, and their purpose in question. Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Emma Frost try to carve a path forward by withdrawing to the wilds of the Savage Land, a short break from the rubble of their old lives and a search for purpose amidst chaos. At the same time, Warren Worthington III (Angel), Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) and Piotr “Colossus” Rasputin travel abroad (including to Russia) to reconnect, mourn losses (Piotr reflects on his longing for Kitty), and test their relevance in a world that no longer trusts mutants the way it once did.

On the ground in San Francisco, a bizarre phenomenon unfolds: the city is plunged into a full‑on 1960s‑style hippie‑paradise, complete with VW bugs, flower‑power slogans and time‑warp vibes. Cyclops and Emma find themselves navigating this surreal scene as they pursue Angel, who has been swept into the illusion. Meanwhile in Russia, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Wolverine are captured and interrogated by Russian operatives curious why the X‑Gene persists for some mutants post‑Decimation. The threads converge when the puppeteer behind the illusion—introduced as “the Goddess”—is revealed to be Martinique Wyngarde, a powerful telepath‑illusionist (also known as Mastermind III). She manipulates entire masses, warps reality, and unleashes old foes (such as Omega Red) in the Russian subplot. Ultimately, Emma confronts Martinique in the psychic realm, breaks the spell over the city, frees the manipulated mutants and residents, and Scott begins the work of re‑forming the X‑Men in San Francisco under a new vision.

My Connections and Creators

Boring or Great?

Honestly, I really didn't enjoy these reads. It reminded me of when the X-Men disbanded under Claremont, which was another time I just didn't like. In this case, all of the disparate X-Men are miserable.

While X-Men Legacy's Xavier arc is one of the better ones, I just never get too invested in Charles Xavier stories. And don't get me started on the Uncanny arc. It seems like all of this is just wasting time until we get to something better. Luckily, I'm near the end of Secret Invasion and that certainly is better. Well, the larger arc. Not necessarily the X-Men part.

Thoughts on Art

For the Divided We Stand two issue miniseries, the anthology format yields a mix of art styles: the grittier realism of Peterson/Takeda contrasts with the more stylised Young/McKelvie work. The visuals reflect the tone shifts — Sam’s hometown fight has a grounded, harsh feeling; Illyana’s Limbo scenes become surreal and hellish. Overall the art complements the emotional tone of dislocation and identity crisis.

In Legacy, the varied art styles keep the tone shifting fluidly between psychic interior landscapes and hard‑edged Hellfire Club intrigue. Eaton’s work anchors most issues with solid clarity, while Land’s work in #210 gives the past‑flashback sequences grandeur. The mind‑battle sequences (especially #213) are visually inventive, reflecting the chaos of Xavier’s internal struggle.