308: XM Legacy # 238 - 241 & X-Men V3 # 7 - 11 (Collision & To Serve and Protect)
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
What’s Covered?
XM Legacy # 238 - 241 & X-Men V3 # 7 - 11
Synopsis
XM Legacy # 238 - 241: Collision
Writer - Mike Carey
Pencils - Clay Mann, Tom Raney (241)
Cyclops sends Rogue to India with Indra and a few other students to investigate what is going on with Indra’s brother, who may be seriously ill. Rogue would rather stay behind with Hope and Julian, especially since Julian is still struggling with the loss of his hands. Instead, she ends up pulled into Indra’s family drama, where Indra is being forced to marry someone in place of his comatose brother. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman named Luz arrives in Mumbai from what seems to be another reality, and Magneto immediately wants answers.
It turns out Luz is connected to the Children of the Vault, which is never good news for anyone. The mystery shifts from family obligation to full-on sci-fi weirdness pretty quickly, as Rogue and the others realize this is bigger than Indra’s arranged marriage. The Children of the Vault are operating with their usual mix of arrogance, advanced technology, and total disregard for regular human or mutant life. Suddenly, Mumbai is not just the backdrop for Indra’s personal crisis, but the entry point for a much stranger threat.
The Children of the Vault need both Magneto and Luz to power a device that will energize their city, which exists in the void between realities. Rogue, naturally, is marked for death, because these people do not do anything halfway. The emotional twist is that Luz has switched places with Indra’s fiancée, making the marriage plot even messier than it already was. Indra’s attempt to do the right thing for his family now has cosmic consequences attached to it.
Magneto responds in classic Magneto fashion by bringing the city down. The X-Men and students manage to beat the Children of the Vault, then send them out into space, which is a pretty satisfying solution to a group this obnoxiously dangerous. Indra’s story gets wrapped into a larger battle about identity, duty, and whether anyone gets to decide your future for you. Rogue holds the team together, Magneto reminds everyone why he is terrifying, and the Children of the Vault once again prove that they are a great concept whenever Marvel wants to get weird.
The arc works because it starts with something grounded, Indra being trapped by family expectations, then escalates into interdimensional mutant science nonsense. Rogue’s role as mentor continues to be one of the strongest parts of this era of Legacy, especially when she is dealing with students who are still figuring out who they are. Magneto also gets to be useful without becoming cuddly, which is always the sweet spot for him.
X-Men Vol 3 # 7 - 11: To Serve & Protect
Writer - Victor Gischler
Pencils - Chris Bachalo
Cyclops is meeting with a PR firm because apparently saving the world every other week is not enough if the world still thinks you are terrifying. The goal is to make people love the X-Men, or at least stop screaming every time they show up. While Scott works on the image problem, Storm leads a smaller team into the sewers and finds a bunch of gator folk lurking below. It is exactly the kind of weird problem that only the X-Men could turn into both a rescue mission and a branding opportunity.
Spider-Man enters the story with a warning that the Lizard’s influence has been affecting people and causing them to mutate into lizard creatures. The team discovers that someone is luring nerdy kids and continuing Dr. Connors’ research, which is both creepy and oddly specific. The setup feels like classic Spider-Man body-horror madness dropped straight into an X-Men team book. It also gives Storm’s squad a mystery that is much grosser than Cyclops’ public relations meeting.
The culprit turns out to be Dark Beast, because of course the gross science experiment is Dark Beast. Things go downhill fast when almost everyone except Spider-Man and Emma gets turned into lizards. That leaves a pretty hilarious and desperate situation where the two least reptilian people in the room have to save the day. Emma manages to undo the transformation, proving once again that she is often the most useful person in the room and absolutely knows it.
The arc is goofy, strange, and very much a “Spider-Man guest-stars in an X-Men book” kind of story. The PR angle is funny because Cyclops really is trying to sell the X-Men as beloved heroes while the rest of the team is fighting sewer lizards. Dark Beast being behind everything makes the story nastier, but the tone still stays more fun than grim. It is not the most important X-Men story of the era, but it is a solid little monster romp with some good team dynamics.
In # 11, Jubilee is still struggling with her new life as a vampire, and the X-Men are trying to figure out what that means for her future. While she deals with anger, fear, and the constant feeling that everyone is watching her like she might snap, Professor Xavier tells her a story from his youth. During his time in Africa, Xavier once encountered a benevolent vampire who challenged his assumptions about what a vampire could be. It is meant to give Jubilee some hope that becoming a vampire does not automatically make her a monster.
The issue works best as a quieter character piece after all the chaos of Curse of the Mutants. Jubilee has been through a lot, and this gives the story a chance to sit with the emotional cost instead of rushing her into the next fight. Xavier’s story is a little convenient, but it serves the larger point well enough. Jubilee needs to believe she can still have a future, even if that future now comes with blood cravings and everyone being extremely nervous around her.
My Connections and Creators
Boring or Great?
Absolutely Terrible. Giving this 1/10
Thoughts on Art
Hate me all you want, but this Chris Bachalo art is garbage. It takes me out of the comics because I can't stop focusing on how bad the characters look. I will give him a little credit that his exaggerated figures and busy layouts make the lizard transformations feel gross and energetic, while still keeping the story playful enough that it never becomes too dark...but boy his depictions of the team is hard to stomach.
Clay Mann’s art is clean, expressive, and especially strong when the story is focused on character tension instead of sci-fi chaos. The Children of the Vault material gives him room to play with bigger visuals, while Tom Raney’s contribution helps carry the final issue’s larger action beats.
Al Barrionuevo gives XMV3 # 11 a more grounded, reflective look that fits the quieter tone. The art does a nice job contrasting Jubilee’s present-day anxiety with Xavier’s older story, making the issue feel like a breather without becoming visually dull.
Larger Impacts & Things to keep an eye on
The only point worth keeping an eye on is how long it takes for Victor Gischler to get off this X-Men run. (He's done here and not getting a retrospective from me.)
Also, when is Rogue going to stop showing too much cleavage. Enough already, she's classier than Emma.