311: X-MenV3 # 12 - 19, XM Legacy # 242 - 258 (Pre-Schism)
- Jul 24
- 11 min read
What’s Covered?
Synopsis
Writer - Christopher Yost
Pencils - Paco Medina, Dalibor Talajic
X-Men: Giant-Size #1
The Neo attack the X-Men in the present day, but the issue quickly jumps backward to show the original five X-Men fighting Magneto and encountering the Sentinels for the first time. During that early adventure, the X-Men also briefly cross paths with a mysterious group known as the Evolutionaries. Nobody fully understands what these things are, but they clearly have a long-standing interest in mutantkind. When the Evolutionaries return in the present, they slaughter every Neo on the planet without breaking a sweat. They claim that the only way to protect mutants is to wipe out every competing species, including humanity, which is a pretty damn extreme version of mutant advocacy.
At first I was like "wow, The Neo? We're really going here?" Then they all died and I was like "Oh, a plot device. That's ok." Better than my beloved Externals.
X-Men Vol. 3 #12
The Evolutionaries originally considered Magneto to be the natural leader of mutantkind, which honestly makes a lot of sense from their twisted perspective. In the present, Cyclops orders the X-Men to stand down while he tries to reason with them. The Evolutionaries respond by blaming Scott for every mutant tragedy they can think of, including Genosha, M-Day, and the Legacy Virus. They decide that Cyclops has failed his species and must be executed. Emma immediately breaks Scott’s order, commands the X-Men to protect him, and has Pixie teleport him away before the Evolutionaries can finish the job.
I don't think she's admitted it, but Emma totally loves him. I'm DYING to see where the hell this all goes once Jean comes back to life. Also, Yost is getting me interested in these Evolutionaries. Ok, you have my attention...
X-Men Vol. 3 #13
It turns out that the Evolutionaries come from a species that existed before Homo sapiens and was rescued from extinction by the Eternals. Their rescuers charged them with protecting the process of evolution, although somewhere along the way they clearly became genocidal maniacs. In the past, Magneto agrees that he should lead mutantkind, but he believes mutants must be prepared before he can openly take control. He decides that he needs a telepath capable of operating Cerebro and discovers a young Emma Frost being held prisoner. Back in the present, Toad, Masque, Dragoness, and several other villainous mutants attack the X-Men because they want answers about what the hell is happening.
X-Men Vol. 3 #14-15
The younger mutants, led by Surge, successfully defeat Toad and his crew while the larger battle with the Evolutionaries continues. We learn that Cyclops once promised the Evolutionaries that he would help mutants develop to the point where they could protect themselves. After witnessing the Legacy Virus, Genosha, M-Day, and countless other atrocities, the Evolutionaries believe Scott either lied or completely failed. They once again ask Magneto to lead mutantkind, but this time Magneto defers to Cyclops and stands beside him in battle. Cyclops uses a weapon originally designed by Beast and rebuilt by Madison Jeffries to kill nearly all the Evolutionaries, leaving one survivor who vows to return and murder Scott.
I like the basic idea here because Cyclops is essentially put on trial for every horrible thing that has happened to mutants under his watch. It is not exactly fair, but Scott responding by using a giant mutant-killing weapon against the Evolutionaries probably does not help his case.
I'll also add that I'm pretty impressed by Magneto here. If you think about it, this jives with his stated goals. He wants to further mutantkind and bring them together. Scott is able to unite all of the mutants and militarize them. It does kind of make sense that he would be like "You know what, man, you did it. I'm in!" It's pretty cool to see him continue to be tested and continue to play along. I wonder how long it will last!
Uncanny X-Men Annual Vol. 2 #3: Escape from the Negative Zone
Writer - James Asmus
Pencils - Nick Bradshaw
Cyclops, Hope, Doctor Nemesis, and Namor become trapped inside the Negative Zone, where Blastaar captures Scott and holds him hostage. Captain America enters the dimension to help rescue him, adding another major personality to an already volatile group. The bigger problem is Namor, who begins losing his mind because he has been separated from water for too long. He becomes so unstable that he punches Hope hard enough to cause internal bleeding, which is a pretty serious escalation even by Namor standards. Doctor Nemesis eventually figures out how to send everyone home, and once Namor gets wet again, he returns to normal as though he did not just nearly murder the mutant messiah.
This is a fun little adventure, but Namor hitting Hope that hard feels like something that should have created a much bigger problem afterward. You would think Cyclops might have a few follow-up questions.
X-Men Vol. 3 #16-19: Betrayal in the Bermuda Triangle
Writer - Victor Gischler
Pencils - Jorge Molina, Mirco Pierfederici
X-Men Vol. 3 #16
Reed Richards, Sue Storm, and Doctor Doom arrive looking for the X-Men after discovering a buoy containing a recorded message from Lee Forrester. According to the recording, Lee is stranded in another dimension and desperately needs help. Cyclops, Emma, Wolverine, Magneto, and Pixie join Reed, Sue, and Doom on a rescue mission into the unknown. They find dinosaurs, green aliens, and a giant bug-like spaceship, so this mission becomes weird almost immediately. Instead of finding Lee, they discover a group of humans who claim they sent the distress signal three years earlier.
Ugh, I thought we were done with this Victor Gischler guy. Enough already!
X-Men Vol. 3 #17
The rescue team gets into a fight with the locals while attempting to figure out who sent the message and why they were brought there. Tensions between the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Doom make the situation even harder to control. The group eventually discovers that Doctor Doom has betrayed them. Shocking news, I know.
X-Men Vol. 3 #18-19
Doom’s betrayal turns out to be part of an even larger double-cross. He eventually turns against the forces he appeared to be helping and rejoins the heroes against their common enemy. The X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Doom combine their abilities to survive the dimension and defeat the real threat. Basically, Doom double-crosses the double-cross, which is the most Doctor Doom thing imaginable.
This is one of those stories where the setting and guest stars are probably more interesting than the actual mystery. Still, seeing Magneto, Doctor Doom, Cyclops, and Reed Richards all trying to occupy the same adventure is worth something.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #242-243: Fables of the Reconstruction
Writer - Mike Carey
Pencils - Paul Davidson
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #242
Hellion is having a rough time adjusting to his new robotic hands, and his anger is only getting worse. Cyclops sends several mutants to San Francisco to help rebuild the city after all the destruction it has suffered. Colossus personally vouches for Hope, allowing her to join Psylocke, Hellion, Rogue, Danger, Magneto, Karima, and the others on the mission. The rebuilding effort gives Hope another opportunity to work beside established X-Men while proving that she belongs. Unfortunately, Karima’s technology suddenly malfunctions, causing her to attack Hope, Hellion, and a random young girl.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #243
Most of the issue flashes back through the fight against Karima as the mutants desperately try to shut her down without killing her. Hellion’s new hands give him incredible power, but his rage makes him almost as dangerous as Karima. After the immediate threat is contained, Julian crosses the line and attempts to kill her anyway. Cyclops tries to determine whether Hellion feels any remorse, but Julian clearly does not. Scott places him on probation, leaving us to wonder whether Hellion is simply traumatized or beginning to turn into a legitimate villain.
Hellion has every reason to be furious, but trying to execute Karima after the fight is over is a pretty massive red flag. Cyclops putting him on probation feels surprisingly gentle considering what just happened.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #244: Blindfold Sees All
Writer - Mike Carey
Pencils - Harvey Tolibao
Blindfold has another prophetic dream and becomes convinced that something terrible is about to happen. She begins interviewing possible suspects, including Gambit, but ends up speaking with the version of Remy that once served Apocalypse as Death. Blindfold also talks to Hellion, although she ultimately decides that Julian is not the monster she is searching for. She checks on Legion and discovers that Dr. Nemesis is systematically eliminating David’s unwanted personalities with the help of new technology. Meanwhile, Rogue finds an interdimensional squid monster attacking missing mutants, absorbs the powers of Armor and Surge, and completely destroys it.
Blindfold wandering around and quietly investigating everyone is actually pretty entertaining. The issue makes Hellion look suspicious after the previous story, only to reveal that the real threat is a random nightmare squid from another dimension.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #249: Magneto’s Story
Writer - Mike Carey
Pencils - Rafa Sandoval
Magneto shares a story from World War II with Rogue, giving her another glimpse into the experiences that shaped his entire life. He then tells Rogue that she should choose Gambit because he knows she has already made that decision in her heart. Naturally, Rogue responds by showing up in Magneto’s bed and agreeing to sleep with him for one night. Meanwhile, Frenzy decides that she liked the heroic person she became during the Age of X and wants to become that person in the real world. Legion and Doctor Nemesis also discover that several of David’s personalities are rebelling against his new control technology under the leadership of a personality called Styx.
This is a very strange collection of developments. Magneto tells Rogue to choose Gambit, Rogue immediately sleeps with Magneto, Frenzy decides to become a hero, and Legion’s personalities launch a rebellion. Busy night.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #250-253: Lost Legions
Writer - Mike Carey
Pencils - Khoi Pham, Steve Kurth
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #250
Six of Legion’s personalities have escaped into the physical world, forcing Rogue, Professor Xavier, Legion, Magneto, Frenzy, and Gambit to hunt them down. Before the mission begins, Rogue has one final conversation with the lingering psychic ghost of Rachel Summers. The team first tracks a personality called Time-Sink, who proceeds to kick their asses for a while with his ability to manipulate time. Xavier eventually creates a psychic blind spot around Rogue, allowing her to approach Time-Sink without being noticed and steal his powers. Legion then reabsorbs the defeated personality, while Rachel reveals that she, Havok, and Polaris are trapped somewhere inside the Shi’ar Empire.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #251
The team heads to London and encounters Chain, another Legion personality with an extremely cool and dangerous power. Chain can create copies of himself by touching other people, and each copy can generate its own unique weapon. Magneto gets shot with a bow and arrow during the fight, which is not exactly the dignified return to action he probably imagined. He also admits that Cyclops sent him along with orders to kill Legion if the escaped personalities cannot be brought under control. Susan in Sunshine manipulates Gambit and Frenzy’s emotions until they start making out, while Legion manages to reabsorb one personality before learning that Styx has kidnapped Xavier.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #252
The team spends the entire issue hunting for Styx and trying to recover Professor Xavier. Styx remains several steps ahead of them, making it clear that he is far more calculating than the other escaped personalities. By the end, he appears to surrender himself voluntarily. It all feels suspiciously easy, and of course it is.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #253
It turns out that Legion used Chain’s powers to create a duplicate of himself and disguise the copy as Rogue. While Rogue steals Styx’s abilities, the real Legion sneaks close enough to reabsorb him. Unfortunately, Rogue becomes tangled in the process and is briefly dragged inside Legion’s mind with Styx. She ends up accessing all of Legion’s powers at once, which could have gone horribly wrong but somehow does not. Rogue uses that incredible connection to locate Rachel, finally giving the team a way to begin searching for the missing space-bound X-Men.
This is a really fun Legion arc because every personality brings a completely different threat. Chain is probably the standout, but Magneto quietly carrying orders to kill David gives every encounter an additional layer of tension.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #254-258: Five Miles South of the Universe
Writer - Mike Carey
Pencils - Steve Kurth, Khoi Pham
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #254
Rogue teleports across space alone and arrives among a rogue band of Shi’ar while searching for Rachel, Havok, and Polaris. Meanwhile, Magneto, Frenzy, and Gambit stumble into an insect-pod race where the competitors are slaughtering Shi’ar soldiers. Magneto immediately intervenes, because apparently even an alien death race cannot stop him from making an entrance. The team soon finds itself caught between the Shi’ar and the insectoid Grad Nan Holt.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #255
Rogue challenges the pirate leader to a one-on-one fight, hoping to earn information and control of the situation. Magneto focuses on finding and rescuing Polaris, clearly desperate to save his daughter. When they finally locate Polaris, Havok, and Korvus, the missing heroes appear to have been brainwashed by the Grad Nan Holt. Instead of getting a happy reunion, Magneto and the others are immediately forced to fight the people they came to rescue.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #256
The Grad Nan Holt are not actually controlling the missing X-Men by choice. One of their own slaves, a powerful telepath named Friendless, has been manipulating both sides and intends to destroy the Shi’ar and the Grad Nan Holt together. Rachel confronts Friendless in a psychic battle and appears to defeat him. Rogue absorbs the abilities of a scientist, allowing her and Frenzy to exploit a vulnerable point and launch themselves toward the station’s control room. Unfortunately, Friendless may still be alive and appears to reach the controls before they do.
X-Men: Legacy Vol. 1 #257-258
Everything goes completely insane as the station begins falling toward a collapsing star and the conflict between the Shi’ar and Grad Nan Holt reaches its breaking point. Friendless continues his psychic assault while the X-Men scramble to save their missing teammates and everyone else trapped aboard the station. Rogue ultimately steps up, accesses the powers needed to create a black hole, and uses it to move the entire station back toward Earth. It is an absolutely ridiculous solution, but at this point Rogue has become powerful and skilled enough that I am willing to go with it. The X-Men survive, the station is saved, and Friendless is probably still alive somewhere because apparently psychic alien bugs are difficult to kill.
The arc gives Rogue another massive heroic victory and finally brings Havok, Polaris, and Rachel back into the larger X-Men world. It gets a little hard to follow near the end, but Rogue creating a black hole and dragging an entire space station home is a pretty badass way to finish.
My Connections and Creators
Boring or Great?
Let's just say I lumped these all together for a reason. They were average at best.
The Evolutionaries were kind of cool, but the rest of that arc was slow. The Negative Zone was DUMB. The Bermuda Triangle & Blindfold story reminded me of when Claremont would get lazy. Lest Legions wasn't terrible, but not great either. I'm not a fan of Rachel or Havok, so yea...
There ARE two things though that captured my attention. First is Hellion. I grew quite attached to him during Academy X, so I'm enjoying seeing him potentially break bad. Second is Frenzy. Age of X took this character who was always overlooked and put her front and center, and now she's getting a bit of an arc. Call me intrigued. (Also, I recall her being a primary-ish character during Krakoa and wondering when and how she became relavent.)
Thoughts on Art
In First to Last, Paco Medina brings his usual expressive faces and exaggerated action, which works well whenever the Evolutionaries start tearing through entire groups of opponents. Dalibor Talajic gives the flashback material a rougher and slightly more grounded look, helping the past and present feel visually distinct.
In the Bermuda Triangle arc, Jorge Molina gives the opening chapters a polished superhero look, with clean characters and plenty of personality during the team interactions. Mirco Pierfederici’s later issues feel rougher and more alien, which fits once the betrayals start piling up and the story becomes more chaotic.
In Fables of the Reconstruction, Paul Davidson does a good job showing Hellion’s anger through his expressions and body language, especially when the robotic hands begin feeling more like weapons than replacements. The action is easy to follow, although some of the quieter character moments work better than the larger fight scenes.
Larger Impacts & Things to keep an eye on
Will Legion stay under control?
Are Frenzy and Gambit going to hook up again?
Will Frenzy and Cyclops have any future interaction?
Is this the start of Karima going bad?
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