Peter Piper: Magnificent Milligan's Magical X-Men - From Beginning To Bitter End [Archive] - Page 2

Azure

06-15-2009, 05:45 AM

X-Men #176
“Wild Kingdom Part 3: The Apes Of Wrath”

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/5/5c/Black_Panther_Vol_4_8.jpg

Featuring: Havok, Rogue, Polaris, Emma Frost, Gambit, Wolverine and Iceman.
Also: Storm.

Black Panther is being hypnotised by a pair of talking monkeys as the issue starts. I wonder if this idea came from Milligan or Hudlin? No matter, because Larocca is having great fun with BP’s facial expressions. The monkeys are stopped from brainwashing BP by his Dora Milajae bodyguard people, who BP then sexually discriminates. “What are you WOMEN doing here?” he demands, because he can’t believe they managed to escape his harem because women are inferior. There’s a fight scene between BP’s troops and the monkeys, hooray, while Storm wanders through the building looking for BP. When she does finally find him, he’s being ‘attended to’ by his ‘bodyguards’, and she storms out (ha! puns are my forte) from the room in a stormy mood (double ha!).

In a fine, fine scene, the monkeys return to their master – The Red Ghost – and discuss dialectal materialism. The Red Ghost is keen on creating a country which will be run by communist monkeys (you mean Cuba? Zing!) while the monkeys lament the way that Western politics is seeping into the Eastern Bloc. Over at the old factory, however, Dr Paine is having less fun with his monkeys, as he curses them for not stopping BP and his bald whores. He smacks one of them around until it starts bleeding, but the monkey still manages to out-argue the mad scientist.

BP has caught up with Storm, and they walk through the plains together. He tries to explain himself, but sounds just like Hugh Grant, all stammers and stutters and incomplete sentences. Storm walks all over him, basically, until a mutated creature leaps out of the wilderness at them. They start fighting, and BP makes a crack about the X-Men being obsessed with publicity, which… that makes absolutely no sense, has he no idea that the central pillar of the X-Franchise is that mutants NEVER get good PR? Anyway, back to the monkeys. Dr Paine has chained up his insubordinate baboon, which upsets The Red Ghosts’ monkeys to no end. Paine leads them on a tour of the factory, and demands a renegotiation of his fee. Red Ghost tells him that there will be no fee – capitalism is bad – and that “In the new Socialist Simian Republic of Niganda, there will be no money”. Milligan is having fun with this, you can tell. They enter the main room, and Red Ghost admires his merchandise – the X-Men, all unconscious and being held in separate coffin-like chambers. He plans to turn the X-Men into subservient slaves, you see. Paine opens up Polaris’ coffin and starts drawing all over her face, for no apparent reason. He’s so evil!

Emma finally brings herself to care about the team and patches herself in to Storm’s mind. She orders Storm to go to the factory to save the X-Men, but BP then orders Storm to ignore Emma’s orders. Storm weighs up her options, and decides that Emma is a smarter leader than BP – she’ll go to the factory. BP gets in a hissy fit and tells her that he won’t come and help her, if she goes to save her friends. What the hell is wrong with him? He insults them again, which pisses Storm off even more. She flies away, leaving him on his own.

Dr Paine has released the X-Men. Now he knows that he’s not getting paid, he wants them to fight The Red Ghost, who is a “filthy communist”. Wolverine tells Paine to back off, but Paine then shows them his blackmail – Polaris is being held in a cage from the ceiling, being drip fed “mutated snake venom.” If they try to free her, she dies. If they don’t aid Paine, she dies. Wolverine, having taken over from Havok, agrees to Paine’s terms. The Red Ghost, who has predicted that Paine will betray him, asks his monkeys to go make an inventory of everything in the building. They run off, and the first place they end up is the room with the Baboon prisoner. He asks them to free him, as he has a plan to overrun the humans and take over in the name of monkey.

The X-Men debate their next move, and Iceman is bizarrely the voice of reason. He says that they have to go along with Paine, for Lorna’s sake. Storm walks in, and Paine watches her on his CCTV system. There’s a fourth monkey say on his should, who is called ‘Cuddle-face’. I expect his appreciation thread to be created within the hour, people! “We like Storm, don’t we?” asks Paine. “Any port in a storm any port in a storm,” replies Cuddle-face. The baboon, we find out, has been making plans ever since he was first given the ability to think and talk like a human, and he intends to release a virus through Africa, which will kill all the humans.

Black Panther enters the factory too, being unable to resist Storm. Paine watches BP walking through the building, and Cuddle-face gets in a bit of a panic. Unfazed, Paine presses the big red button, and a door opens up near BP. The King of Wakanda goes “Huh?”

Azure

06-15-2009, 05:47 AM

Black Panther #9:
“Wild Kingdom Part 4: Jungle Boogie”

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/2/25/Bpv49.jpg

The X-Men make a hash of fighting The Red Ghost and Wolverine walks off on his own, encountering BP fighting a Gargoyle Thing. He runs in to help but makes a hash of it, so BP fixes the situation. The X-Men finally capture The Red Ghost and take him to Paine, but make a hash of handing him over. Rogue gets frozen into a giant block of ice and Gambit saves her, and then Paine prepares to activate Polaris’ venom death trap thingy. Red Ghost tried to deactivate it as the X-Men make a hash of taking out Paine, but luckily the Black Panther arrives just in time to fix the situation. Paine is about to kill everyone, but Black Panther fixes the Paine situation, and just as Polaris is about to die, the Black Panther comes along to fix the situation and free her. Paine is still attacking everyone, though, until the Red Ghost, who DOESN'T HAVE SUPER-STRENGTH, grabs Paine and RIPS OUT HIS HEART FROM THE BACK. Ghost walks off, casually. BP cleverly mocks the X-Men, and Rogue has a crush on him. So does Storm. The monkeys have the canister of virus, finally, and throw it off the side of the building. Storm grabs it before it smashes, and Iceman freezes all the monkeys into blocks of ice. The X-Men thank BP for saving them, and Storm kisses him because she loves him. Cuddle-face swears revenge.

Next: Decimation: The Day After!

timbox

06-15-2009, 05:48 AM

I can't believe we went from Foxx to this.

Azure

06-15-2009, 05:54 AM

I can't believe we went from Foxx to this.

Agreed. Why hire Peter Milligan to write the X-Men, if you don't want the stories to be interesting and weird? Editorial have some explaining to do.

timbox

06-15-2009, 05:55 AM

Agreed. Why hire Peter Milligan to write the X-Men, if you don't want the stories to be interesting and weird?

I doubt he liked this arc any more than we do. I wonder if there are any interviews with him during this time period.

AcesX1X

06-15-2009, 06:35 AM

would i be missing any x-men story if i skipped over this crossover.

timbox

06-15-2009, 06:53 AM

would i be missing any x-men story if i skipped over this crossover.

This story features the X-Men, yes.

Azure

06-16-2009, 02:30 PM

Peter Milligan has replaced Matt Fraction as Marvel's Official Writer of Thor One-Shots. He will probably be made the new writer of the ongoing series once the current writer naffs off.

Bump.

psycwave

06-16-2009, 02:32 PM

Er...umm....I liked the talking monkey's at least.

Azure

06-16-2009, 02:35 PM

would i be missing any x-men story if i skipped over this crossover.

I heartily recommend skipping over this crossover.

Er...umm....I liked the talking monkey's at least.

What did you think of Mr Cuddle-Face? I think he'd make a cracking addition to the New X-Men.

Prodigy55

06-16-2009, 02:37 PM

My eyes glazed over when reading this. All I remember was that there were monkeys. And apparently fire-breathing monsters!

psycwave

06-16-2009, 02:39 PM

What did you think of Mr Cuddle-Face? I think he'd make a cracking addition to the New X-Men.

Cuddle Face was darling. I approve of him joing the NXM. Or perhaps he could go to the Initiative and get training from Gorilla girl.

Mitsaso

06-16-2009, 03:20 PM

I doubt he liked this arc any more than we do. I wonder if there are any interviews with him during this time period.

I actually met him briefly in a mini comic-con in Athens during his tenure with the X-Men. I made him autograph all my X-Statix and Human Target trades along with a couple of X-Men issues.

He showed me an issue of "What Lorna Saw" and said it wasn't his. I actually had to point his name on the cover to make him go "Ooooooh!" :confused:

darknessatnoon

06-16-2009, 03:26 PM

UGH,

WHY ARE YOU RECAPPING THIS CROSSOVER?! Loathsome. Black Panther is an infection. He ruins anything x-related that he touches.

tornshattered

06-24-2009, 04:52 PM

He showed me an issue of "What Lorna Saw" and said it wasn't his. I actually had to point his name on the cover to make him go "Ooooooh!" :confused:

WHAT??? Strange...

UGH,

WHY ARE YOU RECAPPING THIS CROSSOVER?! Loathsome. Black Panther is an infection. He ruins anything x-related that he touches.

So very true... It was his fault that Forge died !!!

Azure

06-24-2009, 05:00 PM

I actually met him briefly in a mini comic-con in Athens during his tenure with the X-Men. I made him autograph all my X-Statix and Human Target trades along with a couple of X-Men issues.

He showed me an issue of "What Lorna Saw" and said it wasn't his. I actually had to point his name on the cover to make him go "Ooooooh!" :confused:

Why wouldn't he want to claim responsibility for "What Lorna Saw"? Those are two of my favourite issues!

UGH,

WHY ARE YOU RECAPPING THIS CROSSOVER?! Loathsome. Black Panther is an infection. He ruins anything x-related that he touches.

I didn't believe you! I went against your better judgement and bought the trade, just so I could get the complete run, and now I utterly regret my decision.
I won't ignore your advice ever again.

Azure

07-06-2009, 02:46 AM

X-MEN #177
“House Arrest Part 1: Losing It”

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/8/83/X-Men_Vol_2_177.jpg

Featuring: Havok, Rogue, Polaris, Emma Frost, Gambit, Wolverine and Iceman.
And: Cyclops, Colossus, Beast, Hellion, Rockslide, Bling!, and The Leper Queen

Background: After M-Day hit the X-Men, millions of mutants lost their powers overnight. Among them was Iceman. The Sapien League, an anti-mutant hate group led by a woman who calls herself ‘The Leper Queen’, decided to use the moment to attack the Xavier Institute, and intercept any mutants seeking sanctuary within the building. In the midst of everything else, four sentinels suddenly arrived on the grounds of the institute.

We begin with Polaris staring into a mirror, looking at her reflection. She’s lost her powers, but she isn’t telling anyone. Iceman, who actually has lost his powers, shows up and calls her downstairs. Something’s going on, and a madcap group of X-Men have shown up to deal with it – Beast, Gambit, Rogue, Rockslide, Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus, Havok and Hellion. Scott wants the group to remain in a defensive position, but Wolverine doesn’t take orders so he charges off. The sentinels shout at them to stay back, while Alex and Scott debate tactics – Alex is all in favour of running away.

The sentinels react to the attack by firing smoke bombs at the X-Men, and trying to catch Wolverine/Beast in nets. The X-Men shrug it off and start attacking, and Beast goes ‘grrrr’ before he gets smacked aside by a robot arm and knocked to the ground. Polaris is frozen, not knowing what to do. Rogue is the most effective, blasting away at a sentinel head, while Gambit tries to wake up Beast. Havok asks Polaris to stop the metal machines, not knowing that she’s depowered, and after a second she runs off into battle. She asks herself why she’s hiding her loss – “because they’re all I’ve got, and I’m so scared of losing them?”

Havok and Cyclops fight together while Emma – safely tucked away in Cerebro – picks up some psychic residue inside the machines. The sentinels again ask the X-Men to stand down, but Rogue and Wolverine aren’t interested. “Are we all gonna die?” asks Hellion, before he is swatted out of the air by one of the sentinels. Iceman runs after Polaris and they face down a sentinel together. Iceman’s belief is that even though he’s not a mutant anymore, that doesn’t make him any less of an X-Man. He then proves himself a rubbish X-Man by shouting at a sentinel until it shoots at him.

In the woods outside the mansion, two men talk to each other. They are members of the Sapien League, waiting to see if the sentinels are here to help kill off the X-Men, or not. They talk about their companion, cast in shadow, in hushed tones. Apparently nobody hates mutants like she does – she killed four in cold blood, all at once, no mercy. They’re obviously terrified of what they’ve got themselves into, but ‘The Leper Queen’ hears nothing of the conversation, because she’s staring intently at the school. Waiting.

Iceman wants to know why Lorna isn’t fighting, and she tries to make up some excuses to cover her tracks. He demands that she start fighting, and at that very moment Wolverine sinks his claws into the head of one of the robots. He is rewarded with a blast of electricity, which flies through him and into the body of one of the other sentinels – the one Iceman and Polaris were being terrorised by. It crashes to the ground, and Iceman thanks Polaris for using her powers. Emma, meanwhile, has made a discovery.

It has to wait though, as the battle is still going on. Beast, hellion, and Gambit are out, and Rogue asks Scott for orders. Rockslide proudly declares that he “dented” one of them. The remaining members of the team group together, and Emma contacts Scott – she thinks that the sentinels might be human. Havok suddenly realises that Polaris is missing, and it turns out that she’s remained with the sentinels. She’s trying to put herself in immediate danger, in the hopes that the fear will kick-start her powers again. No such luck, though, as the sentinel picks her up and dumps her in the forest. As she gets up, she’s greeted by a familiar voice. “That was pretty dumb, y’know”, says Val Cooper.

To Be Continued!

Thoughts:

I really liked this issue. It may be patently obvious what the sentinels are there for, but that’s not the story Milligan is telling. Instead, he makes this pretty much an issue pointed around Polaris, as she tries to understand how she’s lost her powers and what this means for her. The muted tones that the colourists use on her are a nice touch, to show how she is but a pale imitation of her former self. As she goes through the issue, I found her to be a strong protagonist, and for the first time she seems like she’s starting to regain a little bit of her sanity, after spending so much of this run being a basket-case.

We also got nice character-beats for Cyclops and Havok, as they try to sort out the teams and argue over the best ways to organise the fight. Once again Havok is overruled by a senior X-Man, and we can see that it’s really starting to get to him. His bickering with Iceman is cut down this issue, which is nice because it was starting to get a bit repetitive. Rogue and Gambit barely qualify in the issue, and the latter is knocked out off-panel. Considering this is tying-in to House of M, it’s good to see Milligan bringing in X-Men from all over the board: New X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, Uncanny X-Men… the only team missing are Claremont’s squad. This is probably because they’re too strong – Storm could wipe out four sentinels in a matter of seconds – so it isn’t too much of an issue.

The writing is strong as ever, with each character given some great dialogue to play around with. As mentioned before, Polaris is the best character of the issue, although the discussion which leads to the ‘reveal’ of The Leper Queen is suitably chilling. The main fight is fun enough, but a little silly in the way it treats the team, and the cliffhanger isn’t particularly good. However, it’s a good issue, kicking off the final stages of Milligan’s run in a fun, witty fashion.

Plus Beast went “grrrrr” and Hellion got swatted! Good times.

timbox

07-06-2009, 04:40 AM

Azure

07-06-2009, 05:26 AM

Finally, the Leper Queen. Decimation was the best thing to happen in a long time. The stories that took place immediately following House of M were all wonderfully chaotic. Reading this issue along with New X-Men #20 makes for a delightfully good time.

I think that the issue which comes in the 'decimation' tpb, where the X-Men realise what's happening with M-Day, is probably one of Chris Claremont's last good stories. Decimation was a great way to shock the X-Books back into... something, and gave them forward momentum not seen since Grant Morrison left the series.

The Leper Queen doesn't get much to do here, but she definitely makes an impact. I think it's a tiny bit of a shame that she's being drawn by Salvador Larocca - he doesn't really pull off how creepy and scary she's meant to be.

New X-Men had one brilliant issue regarding M-Day, and then spent the next three issues larking about in a 'danger cave'. This is much better. Even better than this story, however, would be X-Factor's opening issue.

Pixie_Solanas

07-06-2009, 08:49 AM

If memory serves, Larocca gave Leper Queen a most firm, round apple of an ass.

Azure

07-06-2009, 09:14 AM

If memory serves, Larocca gave Leper Queen a most firm, round apple of an ass.

She was stood in the bushes, her arse and boots are obscured during the issue.

Pixie_Solanas

07-06-2009, 09:43 AM

She was stood in the bushes, her arse and boots are obscured during the issue.

I must have been thinking of Daap. :confused:

timbox

07-06-2009, 09:57 AM

If memory serves, Larocca gave Leper Queen a most firm, round apple of an ass.

Best I could find:

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/8134/321039-152009-leper-queen_super.jpg

Azure

07-06-2009, 10:01 AM

Best I could find:

That was a hot scene.

jarrod

07-06-2009, 10:10 AM

I enjoyed powerless Crazy Lorna running in front of the Sentinels. Also, Val Cooper automatically makes any book better.

Pixie_Solanas

07-06-2009, 10:34 AM

I liked Leper Queen with a full head o' hair.

psycwave

07-06-2009, 10:37 AM

Iceman was so annoying this issue. But it was a fun annoying.

Azure

07-20-2009, 04:37 AM

X-MEN #178
“House Arrest Part 2: The Transmogrification of Robert Drake”

http://www.thecomicfanatic.com/solicit%20images/xmen178col.jpg

Featuring: Havok, Rogue, Polaris, Emma Frost, Gambit, Wolverine and Iceman.
And: Cyclops, Val Cooper, Rockslide, Beast, The Leper Queen, Dr Foster, and Gazer.

Havok thinks that Polaris might be dead, and starts to run off into the heart of the battle in search of her. Cyclops tries to restrain his brother, ordering him to stop, but for the first time Alex Summers asserts his own authority, punches Cyclops, and runs off. He gets blown up shortly afterwards and knocked to the ground, but at least he finally tried to do something. Character development! Emma continues to tell Cyclops that there are people inside the sentinels, but he doesn’t believe her. He tells her, as a fact, that there are no people inside the sentinels.

The people inside the sentinels are discussing the X-Men – why won’t they stop fighting. Briggs can’t understand, while Lexington is more sympathetic to the mutants. In the woods nearby, Val Cooper makes it clear that she is in charge of everything, as she talks with Polaris. Lorna still hasn’t accepted that her powers have gone, and requests that Val keeps it secret. Bless. Cyclops checks up on Havok, who gives him the order to go look for Lorna. Cyclops complies, and asks Emma to locate her – Emma thinks she’s done so, as there is a “faint mutant resonance” in the woods. Is Lorna still powered? Iceman is in the woods too…

Val announces her presence to the X-Men, and tells them to stop fighting already. Rogue crosses her arms and pouts. Meanwhile, Dr Foster (from Chuck Austen’s run, I think) is exploring some ruins in Egypt, when he falls through the floor and stumbles upon something – someone. Iceman is caught by Val’s guards, who think that he might be a member of the Sapien League. As the guard tries to call it in, Iceman lamps him and legs it. This issue is utterly chaotic. Val tells her guards to come out of the sentinels and reveal themselves. Lexington, who is quickly gaining a reputation as ‘the nice one’, offers his hand to Cyclops. Cyclops doesn’t accept it. He tells Val that the X-Men don’t need any help, and that if they ever will then they won’t hesitate to call her. That’s when Val drops her ‘bombshell’. The sentinels are here to stay.

The Leper Queen declares her plans to the rest of her Sapien League, and looks up to the sky to check that there’s still plenty of light left in the day. Brilliantly, she looks straight up to Gazer’s satellite, and we transition to him. The poor space-watching Gazer has lost his powers, which means that he’s slowly succumbing to radiation poisoning. He’s already started hallucinating, as evidenced by his conversation with a dead body. Gazer refuses to leave the station, despite this, because he’s still waiting on whatever it was that Lorna saw in space that astounded her so. Looking through the telescope, he suddenly sees something.

Back on Earth (ruddy hell, this is hard to keep track of) Cyclops and Havok are showing Val a hard time, as is their wont. Briggs reveals himself to be a blatant mutant-hater, which makes his appointment here a touch bizarre. Rogue also stands up to Val, her arms still crossed. She’s not going to accept this. Luckily for Val, this is the moment when The Sapien League elect to start their attack, and they fire mortars at the X-Men. Val orders her men back into the sentinels. They’re going to prove their worth.

Iceman is caught for the second time, but this time it’s by The Sapien League. He tries to talk his way out of it – as ever – but then he comes face to face with The Leper Queen. She forces him down on his knees and announces his execution. She hits him with the butt of her gun and prepares to shoot him in the head, but Emma Frost has caught on to what LQ’s trying to do. Emma starts searching through Bobby’s mind, looking for something, as Bobby struggles to escape his captive. As The Leper Queen starts pulling the trigger, her gun arm freezes over, forcing her to drop the gun. Cyclops, Rogue, and Havok run over to the scene, and find Iceman. He’s regained his powers! “Why’re you lookin’ at me like that?” he asks.

To Be Continued!

Thoughts:

Another really enjoyable issue, here, which throws in absolutely everything possible in order to completely confuse the reader. There are elements of story here which have no bearing on current events, and yet they fit in brilliantly with the rest of the story. Gazer’s fate, in particular, is sad and yet wonderfully told. His situation is almost unbearably bleak, and yet Milligan has him conversing with a dead human torso. It’s these moments of bizarre humour and weirdness which have started to properly characterise Milligan’s run with the X-Men, and we see further moments like this throughout the issue.

The Leper Queen shows herself to be completely without mercy, and Milligan holds her back for most of the issue, in order to maximise the effect when she finally snaps into action and tries to execute Iceman. Her cold, methodical actions immediately make her out into one of the more chilling X-Men villains of recent years, and yet Milligan constantly turns to her goons in order to mock them. This issue, they talk about how they think mutants steal babies for experiments. One of them seems to think that his niece was stolen by mutants – a throwaway line, but it gives him a level of characterisation that pushes him above a simple thug. Characterisation, people!

And speaking of, Milligan here turns his focus to Iceman and Havok, after focusing on Polaris last issue. Iceman is lost and alone in the woods without his powers, and he’s all over the place when he’s caught first by Val’s men, and then by The Sapien League. He doesn’t show loyalty to the X-Men – he shows loyalty to himself. It’s interesting to see how he’s reacting to his circumstances: he’s basically out for himself, at this point in time. Havok, meanwhile, is finally stepping up to his role as leader of an X-Men group, FINALLY. It’s good to see him be more assertive, and Rogue also gets a few moments to show her leadership potential. Finally, what’s going on with Dr Foster? It’s the only scene which seems rushed and poorly-written, but it must be leading somewhere. So much is going on in this issue, and almost all of it is good fun. A great issue.

timbox

07-20-2009, 05:01 AM

Azure

07-20-2009, 05:55 AM

Going back through Milligan’s run, it’s interesting to see all of the little plot pieces that Carey picked up and expanded on.

While this issue was great, it was also a significant let down. Being teased with Iceman’s death was a cruel joke, Milligan. It is obvious that the Leper Queen isn’t messing around and has no problem executing Iceman right here; the anticipation was ridiculous. Instead, we go in a whole different direction. Was Decimation a joke? Will powers be returning to all the victims? What is so special about Iceman to save his life and return his powers?

What did Gazer see?!

You get the impression that Milligan didn't care much for the whole concept of Decimation, don't you? I have no idea what's going to happen with Iceman (because it's IN THE FUTURE), but there'd better be a good explanation for it! It is a massive shame that The Leper Queen thus far hasn't been able to kill anyone at all, when she's such a scary-seeming character. I hope she kills someone soon. I do like the idea of playing around with Decimation - people don't really know what's happening with it yet, so it's best to mess with the readers early on, before things get more defined and set in place.

It's interesting that Mike Carey took on subtle hints from Milligan's run - Rogue's push into the spotlight, new characteristics emerging within Mystique, as well as other plotlines - and ran with them; whereas Ed Brubaker essentially ignored Polaris and Havok's character development. But of course, that is all IN THE FUTURE, so I don't know how I know that.

MuhollandDriver

07-20-2009, 10:19 AM

Azure

07-20-2009, 05:31 PM

Claremont's issue in the Decimation collection was actually quite good, despite a little purple prose here and there. The scene between Cyclops and Storm was quite good. Despite everything, he writes Storm quite well to this day.

He hit about 50 different character beats in that one issue, and barely any of them were strange and off-placed. That comic was a good way to preview Decimation. Of course, it helped that Peter Milligan was throwing golden ideas like The Leper Queen his way.

Azure

08-03-2009, 04:24 AM

X-MEN #179
“House Arrest Part 3: Togetherness”

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/x-men/179-1.jpg

Featuring: Havok, Rogue, Polaris, Emma Frost, Gambit, Wolverine and Iceman.
And: Outlaw, Peepers, The Leper Queen, Cyclops, Dr Foster, Val Cooper, Pulse, Mystique, and Rockslide.

Everyone’s favourite mismatched buddy duo Peepers and Outlaw are bickering in the woods, unsure if they wander into the middle of what sounds like a big fight in order to seek sanctuary at the institute. They hear a noise, that turns out to be The Leper Queen. Her arm is still frozen from Emma’s Iceman-based attack last issue, but that doesn’t stop her from attempting to murder Peepers as soon as she sees his deformed little face. Outlaw doesn’t put up much of a fight either, but The Leper Queen is disorientated and staggers away from the two injured mutants instead of finishing the job.

Meanwhile – Iceman’s regained his powers somehow, although he looks a bit of a mess, and he has no control over himself whatsoever. Not much change from usual, then. He asks where Polaris is, and we cut to her. She’s still attempting to force her powers back by putting herself into trouble, and Wolverine saves her from some Sapien League tanks. Cyclops blows one of them up, shouting ‘this ends now’ and personally setting up the big push Whedon will give the character towards the end of Astonishing X-Men. There’s a really awkward page where it’s hard to tell what’s going on, as Polaris sees Iceman has his powers back before a stealth sentinel appears from nowhere and tells the Sapien Leaguers to stand down. They don’t, so Briggs kills them because he’s a massive dick. He then uses the sentinel to kick Scott.

In Akkaba, Dr Foster starts investigating the tomb he fell into. He sees some strange material laid on a tomb, and a body somewhere inside. As an Englishman, he is mortified by his impertinence, and wonders if it isn’t too late to make a hasty retreat…

Cyclops is back on his feet, and running alongside Val Cooper on the way to the institute. Scott’s still upset by the loss of personal freedom which the sentinels represent, while Val tries to encourage the idea of mutant/government symbiosis. The battle is all-but-over now, and Cyclops watches Government helicopters circle overhead, and worries about where this is all going. Meanwhile, The Leper Queen is stood in the bushes, watching coldly. She picks up her mask, having failed in her first attempt to kill some mutants.

Two sophisticated art-thieves are in the act of stealing some paintings when one suggests to the other that it’s time to get married. He takes off his mask and reveals himself to be a character called ‘Pulse’, with eyes that glow yellow. His companion is Mystique, and it turns out that the bride she has in mind for him is Rogue. Her last attempt to free Rogue of Gambit didn’t turn out too well, so now she’s going to be more blunt about her ambitions. They’re going to the Institute.

Gambit and Rogue are in the medical bay at this point in time, things having cycled back to the status quo yet again, as Rogue wishes she could touch Gambit and Gambit says something completely stupid. The other people in the room are worried about the sentinels, especially Peepers and Outlaw. ‘When did the X-Men need help from giant robots?’ she asks. In another part of the med bay, Emma explains how she fixed Iceman. It turns out that he was so scared of losing his powers that he formed a mental block on them, and lost them anyway – just not permanently. Polaris is isolated, and stands away from Iceman and next to Havok instead, while this is going on. Lorna asks if Emma can fix all the mutants who lost their powers, but Frost continues to be fantastic while Milligan writes her and tells Polaris off for not listening properly. Iceman is the only one who can get his powers back.

Lorna, upset, finally decides to reveal that she’s lost her powers as a result of M-Day, and all the X-Men had already guessed (apart from Havok and Iceman of course, who are awful people). Dani Moonstar left when she lost her powers, Lorna knows that she’ll have to do the same, and she starts to leave. Incidentally, she’s decided to go in search of the thing she (and Gazer) saw in space, in hopes that it’ll give her some reaffirmation. Bobby wants to talk her out of leaving, but Alex pushes him out the way. If Lorna’s leaving, he announces, then he is too.

Next: What Lorna Saw!

Thoughts:

Not up to the same level as the last two issues were, Milligan still continues to introduce new plot threads even as he gets further into the murky world of the X-Men. It’s now even more clear what’s happening with Dr Foster, as we get a shadowy look at who is in the tomb. In Egypt. Underground. Surrounded by futuristic material. If you haven’t guessed by now who’s in there, you need to kick yourself a little. That story looks promising, wherever it may be taking us, as does the introduction of Pulse. He seems more than a little quirky – this is Peter Milligan writing, so that shouldn’t really be much of a surprise – and it’ll be interesting to see where Milligan is going with this. Gambit and Rogue seem to have devolved their relationship once more, so splitting them back up would be quite difficult at this point.

The Leper Queen doesn’t get much to do, which is a shame, and her inability to finish off Outlaw and Peepers is really disappointing, and takes away quite a bit of her edge. The last images we see of her, as she glares at Cyclops and then picks up her mask, are well conveyed by Larocca, but she needs to prove herself now before she can be once again seen as a proper threat. And, speaking of Larocca, he does another decent job here, although he seems to be rushing just a little. There are a few pages which are hard to decipher just from the words alone, with the ‘stealth sentinel’ scene springing immediately to mind here.

Milligan seems comfortable with all his characters, and although this issue doesn’t really go anywhere, it does a good job of setting up the final year of stories that he’s got planned. I really want Havok and Iceman to die, though. Perhaps The Leper Queen could kill them? Please?

Azure

08-03-2009, 03:55 PM

Hello Peter Milligan fans!

coveredinbees

08-03-2009, 03:58 PM

Lorna, upset, finally decides to reveal that she’s lost her powers as a result of M-Day, and all the X-Men had already guessed (apart from Havok and Iceman of course, who are awful people). Dani Moonstar left when she lost her powers, Lorna knows that she’ll have to do the same, and she starts to leave. Incidentally, she’s decided to go in search of the thing she (and Gazer) saw in space, in hopes that it’ll give her some reaffirmation. Bobby wants to talk her out of leaving, but Alex pushes him out the way. If Lorna’s leaving, he announces, then he is too.
Lorna losing her powers was an awful thing, but I really liked that scene.

Azure

08-03-2009, 04:42 PM

Lorna losing her powers was an awful thing, but I really liked that scene.

I'm starting to really like Polaris, now. Milligan has been pretty good for clearing up her character after she got completely buggered up by Chuck Austen. She seems pretty self-aware (for a crazy person), although I'm secretly hoping that she goes off on another crazy rampage again sometime soon, though. I wonder if she will....?

The events of X-Men 180 are IN THE FUTURE. Who can tell what might happen in that issue?!?

goRimbaud!

08-18-2009, 01:03 PM

Hello Peter Milligan fans!

Hey, if you can look my other post, you can easily understand ı'm the biggest Milligan fan ever. Please watch me and help me about Milligan's fame :smile: His X-Men is underrated like other Milligan books. Its have some special scenes, very special. And Milligan's Emma is the BEST.

Azure

08-24-2009, 09:24 AM

X-MEN #180
"What Lorna Saw Part 1: Sign Of The Times"

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0512/09/xmen180.jpg

Featuring Polaris, Havok, Emma Frost, Iceman
And Cyclops, Gazer, and The Leper Queen.

Previously: Polaris is crazy! She saw something in space! What was it? Is it alive? Is it sinister? Is it going to repower all the mutants on Earth?? Also, she’s leaving the X-Men forever and Havok’s going with her.

Cyclops tries to order Havok not to go, because he’s a big cuddly teddy bear of repression who doesn’t want his baby brother to ever leave him. He appeals to Havok’s one weakness – his devotion to the students – in order to make Havok stay. Oh, wait, no, Havok doesn’t give a damn about the students. Nice one, Scott. Despite Surge and Elixir’s look of complete apathy towards the situation, Havok decides that he’s still better off leaving with Polaris. Iceman walks out the institute next, carrying an adorable little wheely suitcase. Scott tries to talk him out of leaving too, but Iceman’s mind is made up. Until, that is, Emma tells him that his personal safety might be at risk. Putting himself before Polaris, Iceman agrees to stay.

Three weeks later, Polaris and Havok are on a beach in Costa Rica. They’re going through possible cover identities for themselves, and Lorna is working on a ridiculously convoluted one about pre-op Zoroastrian transsexuals (I miss you, Peter Milligan). Havok can’t keep up, so asks for something simpler. Lorna suggests that she pretend to be his nurse. “You like nurses, right?” She’s enjoying herself, now that she’s no longer with the X-Men. Havok is not. He misses Cyclops. He wants to go home. He doesn’t know what they’re in Costa Rica for. Polaris doesn’t know either, but she says she’ll know when she sees it.

Up in the lower atmosphere of Earth, Gazer’s space station is in the midst of a solar storm. He’s in a mess, dying of radiation poisoning and living off frozen coffee and nicotine strips. Oh, and he’s still being mocked by a dead human torso. He’s absolutely glued to his telescope, though, as he intently watches whatever it was he saw in space last issue.

Polaris and Havok have met a nice old couple who don’t really tolerate mutants. They have a nice dinner, and then the next day Lorna does some meditating while hungover. Havok isn’t happy about having to hide his mutant powers, but then some random thugs turn up and start attacking the nice old racist couple. The thugs are looking for Havok and Polaris, but the couple pretend to know nothing. Polaris suggests that they just walk away and let the old couple die, but Havok naturally throws scorn upon the idea, before going over to the thugs and unleashing his powers on them. He blasts one and then melts a knife into the hand of another, and then blows up the last thug’s gun. No hassle. That night, they drive off, and the old couple see them off. Polaris is embarrassed by her ‘run away’ idea, and agrees to go home. Just before Havok can reply, though, a shooting star flashes by. COULD IT BE?

Gazer looks at the torso sadly, because it’s stopped speaking to him and the thing in space has vanished. Poor Gazer.

The thugs turn out to be minions of The Leper Queen, who is kneeling at a gravestone. It turns out to be the grave of her daughter, who died when she was two. “Killed by mutants”. The Leper Queen says she’ll be on her way to Costa Rica as soon as possible.

Havok and Polaris search the forest for where the thing crashed into Earth. They walk around, debating what it might be, until suddenly Polaris stumbles upon it.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/8134/321001-132507-daap_large.jpg (http://www.comicvine.com/132507-daap/105-321001/)

coveredinbees

08-24-2009, 03:00 PM

Azure

08-24-2009, 03:12 PM

Poor Gazer, indeed. These issues only get better and better. Havoc is a bad guy. Do you think the green guy/Leper Queen will kill him?

The Leper Queen's story was interesting, I'm glad she killed that guy.

What's your favorite part of this issue, Azure?

I think it's very likely that The Leper Queen will kill Havok in the next few issues. I'm reasonably certain that

Apocalypse!!

is going to appear in the next arc, so maybe Havok will die and then be resurrected? Who knows. It'd be good to see The Queen finally kill some people, because so far she's been too busy mourning/being defeated by Emma Frost to murder anything.

My favourite part of the issue was whenever Guest Artist Roger Cruz needed to draw someone being angry or mental, and his depiction of their crazy eyes. Especially Cyclops shouting at the start of the issue, and Polaris being excited at the end. Also, I like how he fleshed out The Leper Queen's character without any obvious dialogue during her graveyard scene.

Which parts did you relish most, coveredinbees?

Prodigy55

08-24-2009, 03:29 PM

That cover is spectacular.

coveredinbees

08-24-2009, 03:30 PM

I think it's very likely that The Leper Queen will kill Havok in the next few issues. I'm reasonably certain that

Apocalypse!!

is going to appear in the next arc, so maybe Havok will die and then be resurrected? Who knows. It'd be good to see The Queen finally kill some people, because so far she's been too busy mourning/being defeated by Emma Frost to murder anything.

My favourite part of the issue was whenever Guest Artist Roger Cruz needed to draw someone being angry or mental, and his depiction of their crazy eyes. Especially Cyclops shouting at the start of the issue, and Polaris being excited at the end. Also, I like how he fleshed out The Leper Queen's character without any obvious dialogue during her graveyard scene.

Which parts did you relish most, coveredinbees?
His faces are pretty great. http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/5794/faces.jpg

I enjoyed these panels the most:
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/8328/perverte.jpg

Azure

08-24-2009, 04:14 PM

His faces are pretty great. http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/5794/faces.jpg

This is how Emma should always look. I miss Emma being written by brilliant writers. Warren Ellis is ruining her :frown:

tornshattered

08-26-2009, 12:45 PM

lockerogue

08-26-2009, 12:51 PM

The cover of this issue is one of my all time favorites. Azure, I doubt he will appear.. I think that Doop will be tied to some space adventure... They'll probobly have to go and save Skrull world.. I mean, somebody's got to help those helpless poor little aliens... Also, I don't think Ellis has ever written Emma.

Ellis wrote Emma in Generation X. He's the one that started having her say that "darling" crap. He is also currently writing her in Astonishing.

tornshattered

08-26-2009, 12:56 PM

Ellis wrote Emma in Generation X. He's the one that started having her say that "darling" crap. He is also currently writing her in Astonishing.

Excuse me, but Astonishing is being written by Joss Whedon.. Maybe in a few years he will take over the title but I doubt that...

soul_eater

08-26-2009, 12:58 PM

Excuse me, but Astonishing is being written by Joss Whedon.. Maybe in a few years he will take over the title but I doubt that...

No. Ellis is currently writing Astonishing, Whedon left after giant size, don't know why

tornshattered

08-26-2009, 01:10 PM

No. Ellis is currently writing Astonishing, Whedon left after giant size, don't know why

Man, I was just pretending that it's 2006 and that Whedon is still writing X-Men, and everything.. Don't be for a, lack of better term, 'buzzkill'.

soul_eater

08-26-2009, 01:23 PM

Man, I was just pretending that it's 2006 and that Whedon is still writing X-Men, and everything.. Don't be for a, lack of better term, 'buzzkill'.

Sorry, I want him back too. But you can't live in a dream!

Azure

08-26-2009, 01:26 PM

I don't know what any of you people are talking about, including myself. I'm looking forward to the green alien joining the X-Men next issue, though!

tornshattered

08-26-2009, 01:27 PM

Sorry, I want him back too. But you can't live in a dream!

Oh yes you can.. Try it.. Its FUN!!! Okay LOL sorry.. Couldn't resist. I hope Milligan comes back when Fraction's been burned at the stake.

Slung

08-26-2009, 01:29 PM

Sorry, I want him back too. But you can't live in a dream!

I don't know what you are talking about...the year 2006 and Whedon is writing Astonishing. Please get with the program. Ellis hasn't written an X-Book since GenX, X-Man, and X-Force.

I believe the green alien will repower Lorna - hopefully she will return to the X-Men with a renewed sense of purpose and become its leader.

tornshattered

08-26-2009, 01:48 PM

I don't know what you are talking about...the year 2006 and Whedon is writing Astonishing. Please get with the program. Ellis hasn't written an X-Book since GenX, X-Man, and X-Force.

I believe the green alien will repower Lorna - hopefully she will return to the X-Men with a renewed sense of purpose and become its leader.

Maybe it will possess her? I cal already imagine that green sludge going straight into her body.

Azure

09-07-2009, 03:17 AM

X-MEN #181
“What Lorna Saw Part 2: The Leper Queen”

http://www.marvelcomics.pl/stuff/covers/x-men/x-men_181.jpg

Featuring Polaris, Havok, Iceman, Rogue, Gambit.
And Apocalypse, Dr Foster, Gazer, Daap, The Leper Queen, Mystique, Pulse, Cyclops, and Bling!

Apocalypse is back! He was the one Dr Foster found in that ancient tomb, and now he’s awake and back and alive. After spending a moment trying to comprehend Foster’s terrified babble about cricket, Pocs dismisses the Doctor and starts outlining his own plans for mutantkind. M-Day has created a massive loss of mutant energy on Earth, and Pocs feels that he can be of some use. He teleports out, with the Doctor, and we can only guess as to what his plans might be. In space, Gazer has given up, and he dons a spacesuit and floats out into space, choosing to die in relative peace instead of “choking to death on my irradiated vomit”.

But let’s focus on what’s important here. Polaris is batshit insane. Driven mad by Morrison, made catty and weird by Austen, there had only been a few moments in recent years where she had been a character, as opposed to a Nurse Annie-aiding plot device. Milligan put her in a can’t-win love triangle with Iceman and Havok, and then took away her powers. And y’know, at least it gave her some kind of direction as a character. She was still weird, but at least she was quieter about it. We started off with Havok and Emma Frost as the main characters, and then Rogue and Gambit took the spotlight, so now as we approach the final story Polaris gets some attention. And suitably, her mental condition is worn out entirely by the arrival of a green glob-creature from outer space whom she has fallen in love with. Whatever works for you, love.

In this issue she spends her time trying to persuade Havok that the green gloop alien is actually called Daap (well, in fairness he believes this fairly readily, it’s the rest of her claims which he finds dubious) and that Daap is going to restore her alien powers because he’s her new BFF. Havok is panicked by this new love-rival, and tries to get Lorna to leave. Roger Cruz is on top form here, because his strongest artistic quality is drawing crazy people, and all Lorna does in this issue is act crazy. Daap talks to her in a series of squeaking noises, and she believes she can translate what it is saying. It starts attacking Havok with energy blasts, and she believes that the blasts are coming from her, because she’s a mutant again. A giant Sphinx with Apocalypse’s face appears next to them, and she barely bats an eyelid.

This issue, just in case you were wondering, perfectly reflects Polaris’ mindset because it too is completely batshit insane. Barely a thing happens here which isn’t completely weird and on analysis would suggest that Peter Milligan might be a strange man with interesting dreams. However, the mad ideas have all been built up so careful and quietly over the past few issues that the issue somehow makes complete sense. Almost. The pacing is fantastic, cutting between three or four different places without feeling like certain plots aren’t getting the attention they deserve. The X-Men, Leper Queen, Apocalypse and Polaris all get their turn, and the art for each section is generally rather good, despite the absence of Salvador Larocca.

The Leper Queen is also in Costa Rica now, wandering the forests with a minion as she searches for the mutant-alien-crazy trio. We get a bit more of her backstory now, as she tells the story of how her little girl died. It turns out that her girl was a mutant with pyrokinetic tendencies, who inadvertently set the family house on fire and died in the process. The Leper Queen remembers the story clearly, as she broke back into her own house to try and save her daughter, to no avail. She shows him her burnt face, and then returns the mask to her face. It’s a very well written, sympathetic scene, which then twists away from the reader as The Leper Queen kills her minion, in order to keep her life uncluttered with loose ends. She stabs him, and walks off, unbothered by what she’s done.

Alex tries to pull Lorna away from the alien, but she knees him in the stomach and runs back to her beloved. She thinks Alex is being very unreasonable – just like his brother. Of course, Havok immediately denies any comparison to his older brother, but is blasted away again by Daap. We get many close-ups on Daap’s face and adorable little smile during this issue, which is a fun throwaway. Havok continues with his reasoning, undaunted, and tries to appeal to her sense – probably a bad idea, Alex. “You probably don’t need me,” he says. “You don’t need Bobby. You don’t need your mutant powers…”

Daap attacks again, blatantly, and knocks Alex out. Lorna catches him this time, and tells him off. This is getting to be quite a difficult decision for her she doesn’t want to choose between her boyfriend (Daap) and her friend (Havok).

At the institute, Mystique has returned! Because of M-Day, she thinks it’s time she rejoined her friends within the X-Men, and she’s brought a friend with her: the shy, awkward mutant thief called ‘Pulse’. He’s sophisticated and talented, and Mystique simply can’t think of anyone better suited to be Rogue’s husband. Obviously Gambit isn’t too happy about this – or Rogue, for that matter – but Scott reminds them that Mystique was voted into the X-Men, and the team need all the allies they can get at the moment. Iceman looks completely messed up, by the way.

Daap asks Polaris for a lapdance, and while she’s distracted The Leper Queen makes her move, and attacks Lorna with a knife. She screams for help, and Havok runs back to the scene… and kills Daap. Daap explodes all over the place, and the goo transforms into a series of tentacles and stuff and lifts Polaris and The Leper Queen into the air, before carrying the women off into the air. “What have I done?” Havok asks himself, before walking off. The Leper Queen’s locket, which carries a picture of her little girl, lies open on the ground as he leaves. What the hell just happened?

Next: Blood Of Apocalypse!

coveredinbees

09-07-2009, 04:03 AM

This is the best Lorna story I have ever read.
My favorite part: http://i26.tinypic.com/315ldm1.jpg

Azure

09-07-2009, 04:13 AM

This is the best Lorna story I have ever read.
My favorite part: http://i26.tinypic.com/315ldm1.jpg

I like when she says something like "Oh Daap, you know I'm smitten with you, but you have to stop attacking my friends". This is such a great story, the dialogue is amazing.

Dr-Strange

09-07-2009, 05:42 AM

Damn Milligan made me drop X-men (except Madrox/X-Factor).

He had such a good team to work with as well but he made a right arse of it.

Nathan

09-07-2009, 11:24 AM

Damn Milligan made me drop X-men (except Madrox/X-Factor).

He had such a good team to work with as well but he made a right arse of it.
i agree he had an excellent team and he wrote each one of them as whiney bitchs

Azure

09-07-2009, 11:49 AM

I disagree with both of the statements directly above me, but at the same time I would like to reaffirm my commitment to what coveredinbees has previously said. Also, I am a sentient bundle of words. Whoa!

Dr-Strange

09-07-2009, 12:05 PM

Golgotha was Ok, Except the end few issues.

Larroca was too good for that book.

Carey's run has been great, after seeing some previews around the time of Messiah Complex I bought all the trades and caught up... but my comics from Milligan's tenure are locked away in my filing cabinet where they can't hurt anyone.

And I'm not being snob, I'm one of the few people who enjoyed Austen on that book, the 12 issues (i think) he did after Morrison were refreshing and felt more in the spirit of the team.

Azure

09-08-2009, 05:29 AM

Home made ectoplasm

09-08-2009, 05:48 AM

This is the best Lorna story I have ever read.
My favorite part: http://i26.tinypic.com/315ldm1.jpg

I think this is meta-commentry from Milligan

In this panel Polaris stands in for Polaris fans, "Green One" stands in for Polaris.

Dr-Strange

09-08-2009, 07:10 AM

It's not snobbish to dislike Peter Milligan's run on X-Men. It's madness. Crazy crazy madness. I think you're trolling me. I simply cannot comprehend your opinion :smile:

I WISH I was trolling you!

But foolishly I did buy every issue of Milligans run... up until BOA which I foolishly bought as a trade...

Azure

09-08-2009, 07:21 AM

I WISH I was trolling you!

But foolishly I did buy every issue of Milligans run... up until BOA which I foolishly bought as a trade...

Did you at least like his versions of Emma Frost, Polaris, Rogue and Mystique?

Nathan

09-08-2009, 12:44 PM

Did you at least like his versions of Emma Frost, Polaris, Rogue and Mystique?

NO they were the worst, Gambit & Iceman were raped as charracters too ,Milligan was great on X-static and is doing good on Batman but he couldnt write X-Men for shit

Prodigy55

09-08-2009, 12:45 PM

Milligan wrote the definitive Polaris.

Azure

09-08-2009, 01:04 PM

Milligan wrote the definitive Polaris.

And the definitive Emma Frost, you're right. This makes me feel even more certain that we're being trolled right now.

tornshattered

09-08-2009, 03:10 PM

Milligan wrote the definitive Polaris.

And the definitive Emma Frost, you're right. This makes me feel even more certain that we're being trolled right now.

My first non-Whedon xmen issue was Milligan's Bizarre Love Triangle. I fell.in love with polaris due to Milligan's writing(i hadn't heard about the character before). He even wrote a likable Emma Frost. Whom I really hate.

ssy the aural oracle

09-08-2009, 04:57 PM

it's weird how i can spend years in a kind of vortex where with the exception of the guys at my local shop, The Time Capsule, i rarely ever find myself exposed to opinions or criticism on the comic books i like, when all of the sudden i join these forums, coincidentally come across a thread based on the Milligan run which i'd just recently re-read... and find myself absolutely freaking flabbergasted!!!!

can't believe some of the negative opinions on this stuff- especially the cast being out of characterization! tracing some of these characters back across the years and through the present day and considering the bazillion writers that have handled (and abused) them- and i'm especially talking Havok and Polaris, the two characters marginalized to the fringes of the x-franchise over the years- it's hard to imagine finding a run like Milligan's (or Austen's for that matter) which tries to shake them up and make them interesting for a change.

if anything i agree with the general feedback about 'Blood of Apocalypse', but for a very specific reason- i think Milligan was way better at weird character driven stories like 'Golgatha' and 'Bizarre Love Triangle' where he could utilize his past experience on books like Shade rather than trying to do the action extravaganza summer crossover blockbuster garbage that has brought the post Messiah Complex x-world to the fragmented, 50-million-books-a-month-with-nothing- really-happening-except-lame-Acts-of-Vengence-ripoffs-like-the-Dark-Avengers-crap-where-they-screw-up-the-new-status-quo-they-only-put-in-place-like-a-year-ago place it is today.

and i'm sorry, but Whedon may have made some interesting and addictive television, but 'Astonishing' was a million times lamer than the Milligan or Austen tenures- hell i think i'd rather re-read -choke!- a Lobdell or Nicieza early nineties issue (maybe one of the JRJR ones from the early 300s)...

of course when we start seeing Mickey Mouse go 'snikt' and calling people bub, we'll all be looking back at the things we were less fond of and get nostalgic...

Filthy Mutie

09-08-2009, 05:36 PM

Me, 2006: I can't believe this book is happening. It's such garbage.

Me, 2009: I can't believe this book happened. It's so effing bizarre.

Dr-Strange

09-08-2009, 07:10 PM

Did you at least like his versions of Emma Frost, Polaris, Rogue and Mystique?

Emma was very good, I'll admit that.

Polaris... I liked her better in Austen's brief stint on the book, I know she is supposed to be a bit 'crazy' but I prefer her as a stronger character.

Rogue, not at all, I like Rogue a lot and her relationship with Gambit took centre stage, not that I dislike them together but I didn't like the direction.

Mystique, worked well for me.

I think my favourite thing Milligan did was make Wolverine less selfassured and worried about his age.

Iceman... I can't remember that much about him, I think I didn't mind him during the M-day stuff.

Gambit, I like Gambit, but don't think Milligan had a grip on the character and he didn't work for me.

I've never liked Havok so I won't comment on him... though I did enjoy him looking like a dick in front of Captain America...'Pleasure working with you, sir' or something like that.

OK... you have inspired me to dig them out and reread them when I get a chance, I don't think I've read them for a very long time so my comments might be unnecessarily harsh.

Category1Games

09-08-2009, 08:50 PM

So I remember reading all of this when it came out but still being confused to this day.

Did they ever reveal what Lorna saw?

Did they ever reveal if Gambit and Mystique got it on?

Did the story of Mystique's friend ever go anywhere?

Did the story of where this fake Doop even came from or what he was?

Did they ever explain why he used basically Doop which was a government project in the first place, just seamed like a cop out to me?

coveredinbees

09-08-2009, 08:59 PM

jarrod

09-08-2009, 09:06 PM

Daap is Doop's straight cousin.

Azure

09-21-2009, 11:56 AM

X-MEN #182
“The Blood Of Apocalypse Part 1: The Messiah”

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0602/02/xmen182c.jpg

Featuring Rogue, Gambit, Havok, Iceman.
And Gazer, Ozymandias, Apocalypse, Dr Foster, Sunfire, Pulse, Mystique, and Cyclops.

The Blood of Apocalypse kicks off Peter Milligan’s final arc with the X-Men, and it starts slowly and deliberately, choosing to methodically move all the different characters into place instead of jumping straight into action. We begin with a quick study of Gazer, who was last seen floating around in space in the hope that he’d die with dignity. He’s waxing poetic about the nature of death, planning how he’ll talk to God, before he is absorbed by a bright green light.

Apocalypse has returned, along with his giant Sphinx o’Doom and Ozymandias the Scribe, although his horsemen have yet to appear. Ozymandias decides to be a voice of reason and asks Apocalypse why he doesn’t simply kill all the humans so that the mutants can live in peace. Calm, delightful, three-generations-left-until-extinction peace. Apocalypse isn’t paying attention to his servant though, as he has other things on his mind. It turns out that the green light was sent by Apocalypse to collect Gazer from space, and Apocalypse has no desire whatsoever to explain to us how he did that. He does, however, want Gazer to fight Dr Foster to the death, so that the winner can become transformed into the horseman War. This, you may realise, was a plot idea later stolen by The Dark Knight. “These Egyptian Battles-Axes are excellent for smiting, master,” Ozymandias suggests.

Apocalypse agrees, and leaves, uninterested in how the fight will play out. He has a second horseman already out in the field – Pestilence has broken into a modern laboratory and killed everyone in there. Pestilence collects together all the different viruses contained in the building and ingests them, as part of Apocalypse’s ‘Plan B’. Plan A, meanwhile, is going slowly, as neither Gazer nor Dr Foster were designed to be killing machines. They engage in a boring fight scene, which is likely Milligan’s way of parodying the over-the-top Apocalypse fights seen previously – Wolverine Vs Sabretooth, for example. Eventually Dr Foster grows some balls and knocks Gazer to the ground. He raises his axe, ready to make the killing-blow, when Ozymandias intervenes and stabs the doctor through the heart, using a dagger.

Dr Foster dies, and Ozymandias reveals to Gazer that he is tired of being a servant to someone as ludicrous as Apocalypse. He wants to take power for himself, but to do that he will need to make a series of careful deals and plans with other people – the mutant formerly known as Gazer and soon to be known as War will be a valuable ally for the stone scribe. Ozymandias goes to visit his master, who is sat in a Throne Of Contemplation. It doesn’t look very comfortable. Apocalypse has set his mind on who his third horseman shall be, and teleports himself away. As he leaves, he comments on how loyal Ozymandias is, thus showing that he is an incredibly deluded old mutant, because Ozymandias has barely ever been loyal to Poccy. In fact, Ozymandias is betraying him even as they speak. I wonder if that’s what irony means.

A fair while ago Rogue cut off Sunfire’s legs and stole his powers, leaving the poor guy bedridden and undignified. We come back to him now, as he demands that the hospital staff are either to kill him or leave him a sword so he can do it himself. There’s no halfway mark for Sunfire. The only mutant more interested in honour than Sunfire promptly teleports in, and tells the hospital staff to get the naff out of the room. Apocalypse throws everyone out of the room apart from Sunfire, whom he wants to turn into his third horseman. He refers to himself as a mutant messiah, as we start to see how deluded the Egyptian has become. He wants to fix and recreate Sunfire, who isn’t sure about making a deal with this man. “What do you want in return?” he asks, and by way of reply we get an increasingly disturbing smile from Apocalypse. I don’t know if this panel is meant to imply a sexual favour, but that’s what springs to mind.

We finally get to the X-Men, as Rogue gets to know new recruit Pulse. Pulse turns out to be extremely self-effacing and the polar opposite of Gambit The Cocky Cajun. He doesn’t want to force anything on Rogue (although he definitely wouldn’t mind a bit of sex). He has a hand on her leg, and when she realises that nothing bad is happening to him, she asks him to explain what exactly his powers are. We skip to the next page, as Gambit and Mystique do some sparring at the gym. Mystique explains that Pulse can disable mutant powers by creating a ‘pulse’ with his eyes, which is why he can touch Rogue and they’d make a great couple and you should let Rogue just be happy for once and stop ruining her life Gambit you really should. She says.

Apocalypse bleats on about his genius, and how he is the new Messiah, to Gazer, who is in the midst of being tortured/turned into War. Poor Gazer.

And hey, Havok’s back at the institute, and he’s very reluctant to tell Cyclops and Rogue about what happened in Costa Rica. He’s become very paranoid after meeting Daap, and doesn’t know what to do next. He only came back to the Insitute in the first place because he’s lost and confused, and Polaris has gone missing. Iceman interrogates him, and Havok admits that he thinks Polaris might be dead. This isn’t a very good scene, in honesty, and Havok comes off really badly as a result. Everything he says sounds stupid and emotionless, and he’s just really awful. You could argue that this is simply a case of wonderful characterisation from Milligan, but the previous issues had suggested that Havok was starting to come into himself more and stop being such an idiot. Of course, it could also be argued that Havok doesn’t belong with the X-Men, as evidenced by his awkwardness here and his happiness when he was alone with Polaris. Comic-book psychology is a difficult subject, and I’m not good at it. Make up your own minds about it.

Cyclops obviously doesn’t have much interest in Lorna’s wellbeing though, because he is distracted from the conversation by the appearance of a giant floating Sphinx above the Xavier Institute. Good to see where your priorities lie, Cyke…

To Be Continued!

lockerogue

09-21-2009, 11:58 AM

The end of Milligan's run is near.

jarrod

09-21-2009, 12:00 PM

The end of Milligan's run is near.
:(

I think I'm going to do a re-read soon. Get ready for Shan and Skids next ish!

Azure

09-21-2009, 12:05 PM

The end of Milligan's run is near.

:(

:(

I think I'm going to do a re-read soon. Get ready for Shan and Skids next ish!

You mean you haven't been reading along with my thread?

:(

jarrod

09-21-2009, 12:11 PM

:(

You mean you haven't been reading along with my thread?

:(
lol. I re-read it back when the thread started.

Just finished re-reads of Carey's X-Men and C+C NXM. I think I'll go Milligan next and top it off with some X-Treme. <3 <3

Azure

09-21-2009, 01:18 PM

Quoted on this new page because I want more attention:

X-MEN #182
“The Blood Of Apocalypse Part 1: The Messiah”

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0602/02/xmen182c.jpg

Featuring Rogue, Gambit, Havok, Iceman.
And Gazer, Ozymandias, Apocalypse, Dr Foster, Sunfire, Pulse, Mystique, and Cyclops.

The Blood of Apocalypse kicks off Peter Milligan’s final arc with the X-Men, and it starts slowly and deliberately, choosing to methodically move all the different characters into place instead of jumping straight into action. We begin with a quick study of Gazer, who was last seen floating around in space in the hope that he’d die with dignity. He’s waxing poetic about the nature of death, planning how he’ll talk to God, before he is absorbed by a bright green light.

Apocalypse has returned, along with his giant Sphinx o’Doom and Ozymandias the Scribe, although his horsemen have yet to appear. Ozymandias decides to be a voice of reason and asks Apocalypse why he doesn’t simply kill all the humans so that the mutants can live in peace. Calm, delightful, three-generations-left-until-extinction peace. Apocalypse isn’t paying attention to his servant though, as he has other things on his mind. It turns out that the green light was sent by Apocalypse to collect Gazer from space, and Apocalypse has no desire whatsoever to explain to us how he did that. He does, however, want Gazer to fight Dr Foster to the death, so that the winner can become transformed into the horseman War. This, you may realise, was a plot idea later stolen by The Dark Knight. “These Egyptian Battles-Axes are excellent for smiting, master,” Ozymandias suggests.

Apocalypse agrees, and leaves, uninterested in how the fight will play out. He has a second horseman already out in the field – Pestilence has broken into a modern laboratory and killed everyone in there. Pestilence collects together all the different viruses contained in the building and ingests them, as part of Apocalypse’s ‘Plan B’. Plan A, meanwhile, is going slowly, as neither Gazer nor Dr Foster were designed to be killing machines. They engage in a boring fight scene, which is likely Milligan’s way of parodying the over-the-top Apocalypse fights seen previously – Wolverine Vs Sabretooth, for example. Eventually Dr Foster grows some balls and knocks Gazer to the ground. He raises his axe, ready to make the killing-blow, when Ozymandias intervenes and stabs the doctor through the heart, using a dagger.

Dr Foster dies, and Ozymandias reveals to Gazer that he is tired of being a servant to someone as ludicrous as Apocalypse. He wants to take power for himself, but to do that he will need to make a series of careful deals and plans with other people – the mutant formerly known as Gazer and soon to be known as War will be a valuable ally for the stone scribe. Ozymandias goes to visit his master, who is sat in a Throne Of Contemplation. It doesn’t look very comfortable. Apocalypse has set his mind on who his third horseman shall be, and teleports himself away. As he leaves, he comments on how loyal Ozymandias is, thus showing that he is an incredibly deluded old mutant, because Ozymandias has barely ever been loyal to Poccy. In fact, Ozymandias is betraying him even as they speak. I wonder if that’s what irony means.

A fair while ago Rogue cut off Sunfire’s legs and stole his powers, leaving the poor guy bedridden and undignified. We come back to him now, as he demands that the hospital staff are either to kill him or leave him a sword so he can do it himself. There’s no halfway mark for Sunfire. The only mutant more interested in honour than Sunfire promptly teleports in, and tells the hospital staff to get the naff out of the room. Apocalypse throws everyone out of the room apart from Sunfire, whom he wants to turn into his third horseman. He refers to himself as a mutant messiah, as we start to see how deluded the Egyptian has become. He wants to fix and recreate Sunfire, who isn’t sure about making a deal with this man. “What do you want in return?” he asks, and by way of reply we get an increasingly disturbing smile from Apocalypse. I don’t know if this panel is meant to imply a sexual favour, but that’s what springs to mind.

We finally get to the X-Men, as Rogue gets to know new recruit Pulse. Pulse turns out to be extremely self-effacing and the polar opposite of Gambit The Cocky Cajun. He doesn’t want to force anything on Rogue (although he definitely wouldn’t mind a bit of sex). He has a hand on her leg, and when she realises that nothing bad is happening to him, she asks him to explain what exactly his powers are. We skip to the next page, as Gambit and Mystique do some sparring at the gym. Mystique explains that Pulse can disable mutant powers by creating a ‘pulse’ with his eyes, which is why he can touch Rogue and they’d make a great couple and you should let Rogue just be happy for once and stop ruining her life Gambit you really should. She says.

Apocalypse bleats on about his genius, and how he is the new Messiah, to Gazer, who is in the midst of being tortured/turned into War. Poor Gazer.

And hey, Havok’s back at the institute, and he’s very reluctant to tell Cyclops and Rogue about what happened in Costa Rica. He’s become very paranoid after meeting Daap, and doesn’t know what to do next. He only came back to the Insitute in the first place because he’s lost and confused, and Polaris has gone missing. Iceman interrogates him, and Havok admits that he thinks Polaris might be dead. This isn’t a very good scene, in honesty, and Havok comes off really badly as a result. Everything he says sounds stupid and emotionless, and he’s just really awful. You could argue that this is simply a case of wonderful characterisation from Milligan, but the previous issues had suggested that Havok was starting to come into himself more and stop being such an idiot. Of course, it could also be argued that Havok doesn’t belong with the X-Men, as evidenced by his awkwardness here and his happiness when he was alone with Polaris. Comic-book psychology is a difficult subject, and I’m not good at it. Make up your own minds about it.

Cyclops obviously doesn’t have much interest in Lorna’s wellbeing though, because he is distracted from the conversation by the appearance of a giant floating Sphinx above the Xavier Institute. Good to see where your priorities lie, Cyke…

To Be Continued!

jarrod

09-21-2009, 01:25 PM

Milligan writes the definitive Apocalypse. I'd like to see him given the chance to tackle other Egyptian mutants like the Livining Monolith, Amahl Farouk or Blink.

I wonder when we'll see Phantom Torso return? He should join S.W.O.R.D.

coveredinbees

09-21-2009, 02:59 PM

He does, however, want Gazer to fight Dr Foster to the death, so that the winner can become transformed into the horseman War. This, you may realise, was a plot idea later stolen by The Dark Knight. “These Egyptian Battles-Axes are excellent for smiting, master,” Ozymandias suggests.

I didn't get this. Isn't Dr. Foster a human? Why would Apocalypse want him to be war?

lol. I re-read it back when the thread started.

Just finished re-reads of Carey's X-Men and C+C NXM. I think I'll go Milligan next and top it off with some X-Treme. <3 <3
The whole run or just the latest Azure issues? Why don't you do the next X-Treme, please, btw?

I wonder when we'll see Phantom Torso return? He should join S.W.O.R.D.
Agent Brand would have an interesting time convincing him to speak again.

Apocalypse throws everyone out of the room apart from Sunfire, whom he wants to turn into his third horseman. He refers to himself as a mutant messiah, as we start to see how deluded the Egyptian has become.

I thought he had a pretty good plan, actually.

Good recap, Azure. Like all of them, I enjoyed this arc quite a bit.

I was thinking recently, that Milligan did a fantastic job with crazy Polaris, and I wonder how he would've done House of M and the other crazy Scarlet Witch stories.

Azure

09-21-2009, 03:12 PM

I didn't get this. Isn't Dr. Foster a human? Why would Apocalypse want him to be war?

I believe that Apocalypse hasn't been able to sleep for long enough, so he's bemused and struggling to make sense of anything he sees. He's gone a bit delusional, basically. Dr Foster would have made an amazing War.

The whole run or just the latest Azure issues? Why don't you do the next X-Treme, please, btw?

Me? I don't think I have permission. Jarrod should definitely recap Prisoner of Fire, though.

I was thinking recently, that Milligan did a fantastic job with crazy Polaris, and I wonder how he would've done House of M and the other crazy Scarlet Witch stories.

That's an interesting idea. Clint Barton would still have died, hopefully.
But instead of flying into a nonexistent ship and blowing up (or whatever), perhaps he would've been eaten by Daap.

jarrod

09-21-2009, 03:15 PM

I committed to co-author the Mekanix recap with my future husband flanny. I'm not sure we'll ever get there though, where did XXMFTB peter out?

coveredinbees

09-21-2009, 03:20 PM

I believe that Apocalypse hasn't been able to sleep for long enough, so he's bemused and struggling to make sense of anything he sees. He's gone a bit delusional, basically. Dr Foster would have made an amazing War.

Me? I don't think I have permission. Jarrod should definitely recap Prisoner of Fire, though.
That's an interesting idea. Clint Barton would still have died, hopefully.
But instead of flying into a nonexistent ship and blowing up (or whatever), perhaps he would've been eaten by Daap.
I hope he gets revived somehow. Maybe whatever brings Kitty's dad back will help him out, too.
He may have even stayed dead! At least HoM would have been a little funny under Milligan.

I committed to co-author the Mekanix recap with my future husband flanny. I'm not sure we'll ever get there though, where did
XXMFTB peter out?
14. This and 15 I like the least I think.

Azure

09-21-2009, 03:33 PM

......Suddenly some questions are required. Wasn't Dr Foster the archaelogist from Chuck Austen's run? Wasn't he beheaded during 'The Draco' while having dinner with Azrael and all the others? Who created him?

MartinRedmond

09-21-2009, 03:43 PM

I wonder when we'll see Phantom Torso return? He should join S.W.O.R.D.

fyi, Phantom Torso isn't a character. It's a radiation measurement tool that mimicks a human torso and organs:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast04may_1.htm

Not that I'd mind if a Phantom Torso replaced X23, Deadpool or Cycklops.

coveredinbees

09-21-2009, 03:51 PM

Azure

09-21-2009, 03:59 PM

That was Dr. Foster's good friend Professor Dibble.

Those two have a tragic story. It's really sad that they're both dead. Is it too late to pester Craig Kyle?

alf_to_the_rescue

09-21-2009, 04:19 PM

Those two have a tragic story. It's really sad that they're both dead. Is it too late to pester Craig Kyle?

It's never too late to pester. The New X-Men fans do it constantly.

coveredinbees

09-22-2009, 05:22 PM

Those two have a tragic story. It's really sad that they're both dead. Is it too late to pester Craig Kyle?
Someone valued so by Apocalypse must be worth at least 30 mutant souls.

Azure

10-08-2009, 09:16 AM

X-MEN #183
“The Blood Of Apocalypse Part 2: The Hunger”

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/x-men/183-1.jpg

Starring: Havok, Gambit, Rogue, Emma Frost.
And: Apocalypse, Cyclops, Val Cooper, Colossus, Scalphunter, Karma, Arclight, Skids, Famine, Ozymandias, Feverpitch, Peepers, War, Beast.

So, right, Apocalypse is like this massively evil mutant, who is famous for being evil and interested in genetics and generally being a bit self-important. Well, now he thinks he’s the Messiah sent to save the world from M-Day, and as he stands on his giant Apocalypse-faced Sphinx, he proclaims as much to the X-Men. Cyclops responds positively to the idea, and goes off to get support from all the other X-Men. Havok disagrees and thinks that Apocalypse is being a big jerk, so he decides to usher all the mutants who are stood gawping at the Egyptian back inside. Val Cooper tries to get involved with her sentinels, but is ignored by an impatient Cyclops. Gambit also likes what Apocalypse is saying, but Rogue tells him about one of Destiny’s little proverbs, and they follow Havok’s sheep inside.

Skids and Karma and Erg and Mammomax and Scalphunter and several other slightly worthless mutants refuse to go inside, because they think the giant blue man calling himself Jesus might actually be right. Karma is especially convinced that Apocalypse has the right idea, but I don’t know why she thinks this. Before Havok can start crying at being bossed around by yet another alpha-female, someone bursts out of the Sphinx’s eye and lets out a blinding flash of energy. That’s enough for Val Cooper, who merrily presses the panic button and sends the Sentinels off to go kill the shiny thing.

All the mutants, however, have collapsed, eaten up by a sudden terrible hunger. The shiny thing is actually Sunfire, transformed back into a whole person, given his powers back, and sucking the life out of everyone. Apocalypse is pleased with his plans, and goes to check on how Ozymandias is getting on with the blood supply. Because, y’know, Apocalpyse now has a blood supply. He’s treating the blood somehow, adding in pine needles and lavender to create a radiant aroma that relaxes the body and mind when dissolved into bathwater. Or, maybe he’s doing something else to it. He’s probably doing something else.

Cannonball and Rogue go after Sunfire, who is busy knocking fighter jets out of the air, and we find out that the hunger Famine causes is so bad that Gambit has started talking in French again. Emma is not in diamond form, which seems foolish of her, and she also looks a bit like a man as she explains how Sunfire’s light is affecting people’s retinas and this in turn affects their brain and that’s why they feel hungry. Makes sense now. Apocalypse wants people to drink the therapeutic healing blood, and Skids is first up to take a swig – but Karma has a sudden, unmotivated change of heart and pushes her away from the stuff. Impatient to get to the delicious blood, Peepers shoots her. The sentinel pilots are hungry too, so they leave their robots to grab some blood too.

Apocalypse releases War – Gazer – who looks silly but enthusiastic as he rides a flying horse and brandishes a mace. Apocalypse and War both attack the one sentinel still piloted by someone, and take it down, before killing all the other pilots as they wander about looking for blood. The crowd start chanting Apocalypse’s name religiously, and Val Cooper keeps shouting things angrily at people. She wants Cyclops to help the sentinels - forgetting that Cyclops hates the sentinels. So that’s all going well.

Ozymandias thinks that they should release Pestilence now, while the mutants are dazed, and kill off all the other humans so that mutantkind can be dominant. That’s not Apocalypse’s plan at all though – he’s planning on wiping out all but ten percent of humanity, so that humans and mutants will have equal numbers once more. And then, he’s going to make them fight each other. The intruder alarms go off, but he isn’t too worried. Apparently he’s been expecting someone to come to him, presumably either Cable, Cyclops, of Jean (it’s almost always one of those three). No, though, because it turns out to be Gambit who needs a quick word. Shocker!

Gambit doesn’t know why he’s come to Apocalypse, but Apocalypse says that he knows exactly what’s going on. He shows off his fancy French-speaking skills for one whole sentence, and then goes back to conversing with the Cajun in English. His belief is that Gambit is bored of trying to solve things ‘the X-Man’ way, and wants to try a new way instead. He’s been feeling relegated and ignored, and wants to prove himself. Gambit, too self-absorbed to disagree, nods his head and accepts a glass of blood cordial from his new master. He takes a swig.

To Be Continued!

The Back-Up: Each issue of this event has a back-up section. The first one focused on Sunfire breaking free from Apocalypse’s prison and going to try and rescue Gazer, and this one follows up on that rescue attempt. Sunfire enters the room where Gazer is being brainwashed and transformed into War, and begins freeing the guy from all the machinery. As soon as Gazer is free, however, he turns on Sunfire and knocks him to the ground. It’s too late, Gazer now believes that he is War.

Worth a try, I suppose. Later, as Sunfire hangs upside down over a molten pit of something nasty, Apocalypse takes the time to mock him a little. In his last thought before the brainwashing begins, Sunfire accepts what is about to happen to him, and waits for the pain to start.

Azure

10-08-2009, 10:31 AM

WTF is this, Jarrod? Don't you have anything to say? Dude, WTF, Jarrod?

jarrod

10-08-2009, 10:44 AM

I like Karma, she was obviously filling in for Lorna as the brains this ish.

I wish Skids was in her yellow tube dress, do you think she was already working undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D?

Sunfire's power upgrade is interesting. I still think he'd have made a good Reaver though.

How many languages does Apocalypse speak? More than Xavier? More than Lockheed?

I miss Phantom Torso already.

coveredinbees

10-10-2009, 10:31 PM

How many languages does Apocalypse speak? More than Xavier? More than Lockheed?

I miss Phantom Torso already.
More than Sage.
I hope he gets a Draw me an X someday.

Azure

11-16-2009, 04:55 AM

X-MEN #184
The Blood Of Apocalypse Part Three: “War – What Is It Good For?”

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/x-men/184-1.jpg

Starring Rogue, Havok, Mystique, Pulse, Iceman, Gambit.
And Apocalypse, Ozymandias, Sunfire, Beast, Cyclops, Val Cooper, Colossus, Scalphunter, Skis, and Feverpitch.

Whoa, I’m sorry it’s been so long since we hit this issue, but my laptop was unfortunately swallowed by tunnelling worms, and had to be disinfected by geneticists. All is well now, so let’s kick straight into Rogue – the only X-Man still fighting – who is in the air with Famine. She’s struggling until Cyclops and Beast fly in and fire a missile at Famine, which even the bloodthirsty Rogue thinks is a little bit of overkill. She carries the unconscious Famine into the plane and unmasks him – it’s Sunfire! Which, we already knew, but at least now the X-Men aren’t so far behind the readers. Rogue worries that the time she cut off his legs and left him for dead might have affected his decision to join Apocalypse, and Beast grimly agrees that Rogue has utterly failed. Ozymandias tells Apocalypse that Famine has been captured, but the big man doesn’t care. He’s too busy experimenting on Gambit and ‘rearranging’ his ‘internal affairs’.

Ozymandias and Apocalypse decide to go for a lovely stroll around the eye sockets of the Apocco-Sphinx, and have a natter about Famine. As he’s been captured, they should probably build a new one and send it after the X-Men, suggests Ozymandias to his master, but Apocalypse changes his mind and decides that he wants Sunfire back. Big man tells Ozy to get back in the lab and make some more of the blood potion which they’ve been feeding to the 198, but Ozy refuses. He wants to continue gossiping, because he’s scared of the X-Men and doesn’t want to lose to them. Apocalypse, again, refuses, and Ozy accuses him of enjoying his status as a Messiah. He’s far too keen to milk up the mutants’ applause and give big speeches, and is reluctant to go ahead with his grand plan because they won’t like him anymore. Ozy, impressively, gets in the big man’s face and accuses him of being a coward. Apocalypse reacts by punching Ozymandias’ face into a wall.

Ozy runs off in a huff, angry at being treated like this, and decides that it’s time to call in a favour. He goes to War – Gazer – and asks for his help in overruling Apocalypse. War decides that the favour he owes Ozy isn’t worth betraying the big man, and Ozy is sent scampering away yet again.

Back on the ground, Mystique explains how Pulse’s powers work – he nullifies a mutant’s powers whenever he stands near one. This is why he will be essential when fighting Apocalypse, and also when it comes to making sweet love to Rogue. Rogue gets annoyed at the thought, and asks if Pulse can really do this. Pulse looks away, because he doesn’t know for sure. He’s scared of Apocalypse, and doesn’t really want to take part in the whole ‘being a superhero’ thing, because it looks dangerous. Havok respects his honesty, while Rogue is inwardly turned on and outwardly furious with the thief. Val Cooper sticks her head in at this point, and says that new sentinels are going to be dispatched – ones called ‘Crazy Horse’ and ‘Monster’. Better prepare yourselves!

Emma and Beast inspect Sunfire to see if they can save him from Apocalypse, while Havok decides to infiltrate the Sphinx with the rest of his team – although Wolverine is with the Avengers, and Gambit is missing, and Emma is busy – so that’s going to go really well. Luckily for him, Colossus has found an intruder and brought him into the base: Ozymandias. Cyclops interrogates the rock-scribe and finds that Ozy wants to help the X-Men overthrow Apocalypse. He’s willing to show them a secret passageway into the big man’s lair. As he tells them this, War has already gone to Apocalypse to tell his master that Ozymandias has gone rogue. It’s all happening, it really is. It’s kinda boring, but at least it’s happening.

Havok’s team leave for the Sphinx, and Cyclops, Colossus, Beast and Psylocke’s bottom watch them go. Colossus wonders if this is a trap, and Cyclops tells him blankly that it has to be. So why is he sending his only brother into it? What a mysterious and odd leader Cyclops is. The team enter the tunnel through what looks suspiciously like the Sphinx’s sphincter, and find themselves deep inside the base. For some reason, they’ve brought Bling! along with them. Again, the mysteries of leadership. The team bicker a little bit, and Iceman mentions THE CELESTIALS. I wonder if that means they’re going to be important later?

In his throneroom, Apocalypse has a natter with Pestilence. The big man can’t understand why he’s so reluctant to kill off the majority of the world’s population, but before he can reach some sort of epiphany the X-Men turn up. Havok gets a cool moment when he preps the team to fight, but Apocalypse surprises them by revealing that he’s got Skis, Feverpitch, and Scalphunter on his side, ready to fight the rest of the X-Men. They all drank the blood, so they’re now evil. Skids looks especially insane, which is glorious. Ozymandias warns the X-Men to stop talking and get to fighting, because Apocalypse surely has some sort of trick up his sleeve.

Apocalypse, laughing, announces that his trick is already here. It’s Gambit – or as he’s now known…

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4e/GambitDeath.png

The Back-Up: In the back-up this week, we see Gambit put on an odd pair of trousers and prepare himself for Apocalypse’s surgery. He refuses to have any anaesthetic while he’s operated on, and explains his reasons for doing this. Basically, he thinks Apocalypse is right, and believes that it’s only by working together that the mutants can reverse M-Day. But as Apocalypse is a bad guy, Gambit is going to undergo this procedure in order to be ready for the eventuality that the big man might turn on them all. He seems to have forgotten that Apocalypse, as part of his transformation, brainwashes his horsemen, so really this is a bit of a massive mistake on Remy’s part. What an idiot. Apocalypse walks away, smiling at Gambit’s idiocy. I mean, really! What an idiot.

To Be Continued!

Nicoclaws

11-16-2009, 05:16 AM

How many languages does Apocalypse speak? More than Xavier? More than Lockheed?

What was the french words Apo used, please ?
I wish I read those issues...

Azure

11-16-2009, 10:16 AM

I miss Phantom Torso already.

More than Sage.
I hope he gets a Draw me an X someday.

Maybe he'll appear in SWORD?

What was the french words Apo used, please ?
I wish I read those issues...

Vous avez essaye la voie ancienne

Havok83

11-16-2009, 11:49 AM

This was one of the most lackluster runs in the history of the X-men bc NOTHING happened. Characters were just plain boring and lacked any substance

Pixie_Solanas

11-16-2009, 11:51 AM

This was one of the most lackluster runs in the history of the X-men bc NOTHING happened. Characters were just plain boring and lacked any substance

I hope you're being facetious, because that post was chock-full of just wrong. Now if you're referring to the Apocalypse arc by itself and not the Milligan run in general, i'd listen to your objections. If it's the whole run, nuh-uh.

See below img for scientific rejection of your hypothesis:

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/f/fd/Foxx1.jpg

Havok83

11-16-2009, 11:53 AM

I hope you're being facetious, because that post was chock-full of just wrong. Now if you're referring to the Apocalypse arc by itself and not the Milligan run in general, i'd listen to your objections. If it's the whole run, nuh-uh.

See below img for scientific rejection of your hypothesis:

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/f/fd/Foxx1.jpg
I cant even remember her name bc she was that forgettable, just like the rest of his run

Pixie_Solanas

11-16-2009, 11:55 AM

I cant even remember her name bc she was that forgettable, just like the rest of his run

FOXX may have been the greatest x-character introduced in the last decade.

jarrod

11-16-2009, 11:55 AM

Maybe he'll appear in SWORD?
MUST HAPPEN! Where's that Sanders guy?

Faded

11-16-2009, 12:44 PM

Milligan wrote the definitive Polaris.

Agreed so much.

And also one of the most fun Emma Frost's after Morrison.

Havok83

11-16-2009, 03:06 PM

What was definitive about his Polaris. She was extremely[ boring. he hyped up and build up a mystery surrounding her and what she saw and it amounted to nothing but Daap. WTF?

I'll agree on his Emma. She was good

FOXX may have been the greatest x-character introduced in the last decade.
I kept thinking Fixx but knew that wasnt right bc she was an X-factor character..lol

Pixie_Solanas

11-16-2009, 03:09 PM

What was definitive about his Polaris. She was extremely[ boring. he hyped up and build up a mystery surrounding her and what she saw and it amounted to nothing but Daap. WTF?

I'll agree on his Emma. She was good

I kept thinking Fixx but knew that wasnt right bc she was an X-factor character..lol

She manhandled Remy's cajun pepper in the shower.

Aguja

11-17-2009, 02:36 AM

Fixx was amazing, Foxx was trash and should have DIAF slowly and painfully.

Milligan's Polaris was okay. At least he was working through her insanity slowly unlike Brubaker who just white washed it and stuck her back with Alex ugh!

jarrod

11-17-2009, 09:16 AM

What was definitive about his Polaris. She was extremely[ boring. he hyped up and build up a mystery surrounding her and what she saw and it amounted to nothing but Daap. WTF?
Milligan's Po was a self-described intellectual. <3

Pixie_Solanas

11-17-2009, 09:23 AM

Daap is the alpha and omega. Milligan weaved a Campbell-esque mythology out of that little fat fucker.

Seres

11-17-2009, 09:33 AM

Polaris was transcendent when Milligan wrote her. Emma and Rogue were great, too. Milligan should be given more X-Men work -- something substantial, like Astonishing.

Seres

11-17-2009, 09:52 AM

Completely incomprehensible summary, btw.

coveredinbees

11-19-2009, 08:59 AM

Wonderful work, Azure.
Milligan's X-Men was so not boring. my very favorite part this issue was Famine geting shot with a missile.

Azure

12-07-2009, 05:35 AM

X-MEN #185
“The Blood Of Apocalypse Part Four: Love And Death”

http://pnmedia.gamespy.com/planetxmen.gamespy.com/images/comics/XMen-185.jpg

Starring: Rogue, Havok, Iceman, Mystique, Pulse, Gambit, Emma Frost
And: Apocalypse, Ozymandias, War, Pestilence, Cyclops, Colossus, Rockslide, Sunfire, and Val Cooper

Now this is more like it. After some slow, somewhat plodding issues, we finally start to branch out into a proper coherent storyline. We start back in the Apoccosphinx, as Rogue reacts to Gambit’s transformation in… well, in her own special way. First she tries to deny it, then when Apocalypse interrupts her she blasts him with fire and tells him to wait until he’s spoken to. Gambit/Death ‘whapps’ her in the face and then prepares to crush her face beneath his boot, until Iceman intervenes and teams up with Havok to launch an attack against Death and Apocalypse. Rogue still can’t believe what she’s seeing, even as Iceman is getting beaten up by it. Apocalypse, meanwhile, doesn’t bother to attack the X-Men, instead preferring to crow about how stupid they are. Ironic.

A stray blast from Havok interrupts Apocalypse’s fun, as it smashes open the glass contained filled with ‘blood’ antidote, flooding the chamber and blowing out one side of the Sphinx’s face. Down on the ground, Cyclops watches the Sphinx’s face blow open and is about to head on up to help his brother but is then distracted by the reappearance of War, who smashes into the Institute with the goal of finding Sunfire/Famine and returning him to Apocalypse. The first person War finds, however, is Rockslide, who charges in and gets soundly throttled for his efforts. His attempts to save the day aren’t all in vain, however – the sound of his rocky head being smashed into a wall is heard by Emma Frost, who heads into battle (after first making sure that the X-Men will have her back, of course. She’s not foolish).

In the Sphinx Head, Apocalypse and Pestilence are covered in blood and decide that a retreat is in order. Pestilence flees while Apocalypse prepares to send the Sphinx into transit – where it can repair itself. His idea is ruined by Havok, who shoots Apocalypse in the back and blows Death across the room in the process. I’m starting to kinda like Havok, this is unnerving. Rogue pleads one more time with Death to come to his senses and be Remy again, appealing to his feelings for her. He loves her, surely? He responds by asking Apocalypse for a definition of what love means, and Apocalypse replies “An emotional response with some limited evolutionary benefit.” Hee! Death then demonstrates his new power on Rogue – he can hurl poison gas clouds at people. Obviously Mystique then decides to finally intervene, by punching Death in the jaw and knocking him out. She and Pulse help Rogue up, and Pulse wonders if they could possibly retreat for a little bit.

Meanwhile, Emma is in a standoff with War, who is only one wall away from Sunfire. Emma tries to attack him with a psychic overdose, but War proves immune and shoots an energy beam at her, throwing her across the ground. As she lies on the floor, cornered, War prepares to kill her UNTIL CYCLOPS TOTALLY SHOOTS HIM IN THE BACK. Oh, brothers Summers, you’re so alike. “Get away from my girlfriend,” Cyclops states simply. War gets up again, though, unharmed, and willing to fight all three of the mutants in order to retrieve Sunfire. Sunfire, though, has woken up, and he hurls all his power at War, knocking the creature over once more. Apocalypse has lost a horseman, and War takes this news badly, running off in tears. Well, he flies through the roof anyway. Sunfire thanks Frost before collapsing in her arms. Cyclops asks her how Sunfire is doing, and she tells him that Sunfire is weak from fighting Apocalypse’s brainwashing. He may well die!

Iceman creates an ice-slide retreat for the X-Men, and Havok invites Ozymandias to come with them. Ozy decides to remain in the ship, however, and to hide away for the time being. Rogue is still in disbelief at Gambit’s transformation, and doesn’t like the idea of leaving him all alone in the Sphinx. Iceman, somehow, is the voice of reason and tells her that they’ll find a way to save Gambit. That’s bad characterisation, Peter Milligan!

The X-Men have done enough damage to Apocalypse’s blood that the big guy has to change his plans. He sends Death back for some more reprogramming, and flies the Sphinx over to the UN building in Manhattan. Plan B involves taking control of the podium and sending out a message to the leaders of the world. Because the X-Men have ruined his plan to poison 90% of humanity, Apocalypse will murder all life on Earth unless the humans cull 90% themselves. Then once humans and mutants are on an equal footing once more, the two species can fight each other for supremacy. Nice plan, Apocalypse! Absolutely mental, I love it. Meanwhile, Val Cooper takes Cyclops and Havok to New Mexico to see the Government’s secret weapon for stopping Apocalypse: two absolutely giant sentinels, called “crazy train” and “war machine”.

Finally, we see Apocalypse’s secret secret weapon for stopping the X-Men: Pestilence turns out to be Polaris!

To Be Continued!

The Back-up:

Immediately following on from that cliffhanger, we see Daap reform and escape from Apocalypse’s teleport beam, while Polaris and The Leper Queen are both caught. Polaris wakes up in the transformation machine, having been chosen by Apocalypse to become her new horseman. She fights him all the way, and shows him complete disdain. The best bit is what Apocalypse asks “Are you happy with the way you are, Lorna?” and she replies – with arched eyebrow “ecstatic.” Although there is another great moment when she asks what happened to The Leper Queen. Apparently Apocalypse already interviewed her – boy, would I like to have seen that conversation – but she was so deranged that even Apocalypse was scared to turn her into a horseman. The backup ends with Apocalypse beginning the transformation process, calling Polaris “perfect” as she starts to cry.

Pixie_Solanas

12-07-2009, 12:09 PM

LUV @ Rogue's facial expression on that cover. BITE THE PILLOW!

Azure

12-21-2009, 06:22 AM

X-MEN #186
“The Blood Of Apocalypse Part Five: The Battle Of The East River”

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/x-men/186-1.jpg

Starring: Wolverine, Havok, Iceman, Rogue, Mystique, Pulse, Emma Frost
And Pestilence, Apocalypse, The New Avengers, Death, War, Val Cooper, Rockslide, Sunfire, Bling!, Cyclops, Ozymandias

Absolutely massive issue. This is going to require a lot of run-on sentences! We start the final part of the “Blood Of Apocalypse” arc (although next issue serves as an epilogue) with the man himself, sat in the Sphinx with his three remaining horsemen: Polaris is Pestilence, Gazer is War, and Gambit is Death. Apocalypse gets the readers up to speed on his motivations, and we see his honour system. The reason why he doesn’t kill everyone is because he wants people to be worthy of being ruled by someone as Messianic as Apocalypse, and the only people who are worthy are the ones who fight him – the X-Men. Or, as we see next in a very stylish splash page from Larocca, the New Avengers, who have launched an attack on the Sphinx (oh, Luke Cage. How worthless you be). They’re failing miserably. Death has been looking for Ozymandias, who is in hiding somewhere on the ship, and Death’s failure to find Ozy is punished with a bloody nose.

At the mansion, Rockslide and Bling! are interrupted from watching the news by Sunfire, who has woken up from his coma and wants to know where Apocalypse is. He flies off, yet another loose end to throw into the mix. The two sentinels from last issue are unleashed too, piloted by Skylark and War Machine, I think. Havok commands the battlefield as Captain America, two sentinels, some avengers, and the X-Men all attack the Sphinx at once, and finally shows up good to his potential. Sure, his orders almost kill the New Avengers almost immediately after he gives them, but at least he’s trying. The Sphinx, in spite of Havok’s new ‘leadership’, is crippled by the assault, and crashes into the sea. The Avengers are stuck inside, and the sentinels plummet underwater with the impact. The X-Men, it seems, are the only team left to finish off the surprisingly weak Apocalypse. Cyclops has joined Havok’s team for this mission, obviously, as he will never let that one time Apocalypse possessed him go.

Iceman attacks Apocalypse and is knocked backwards, while Death gets a cheap shot in on Havok. In revenge, Rogue and Mystique have a super family team-up where they simultaneously kick Gambit in the head. Rogue feels a bit of regret, but Mystique is absolutely having the time of her life, and boots Gambit again. “Pok!” Cyclops and Havok concentrate their attack on Apocalypse, who isn’t too worried. He orders Pestilence to go kill everyone with her plagues, but Iceman takes her out. Two horsemen left… War suddenly reappears, ready to kill all the X-Men in the name of his master, but is promptly stabbed through the heart by Ozymandias, and dies. One horseman left…

Apocalypse gets very angry at this, which leaves him open for attack from the Summers Brothers and Rogue. He pushes back against them, and is about to launch some killing blows when he doubles up, weak – Pulse is here! Hey, everyone, it’s Pulse! Pulse weakens Apocalypse, which means that when Sunfire turns up and annihilates the cockpit with flames, the big man has nothing left. He, as messiahs always should, pegs it out of there and tries to escape like a big blue wuss. Sunfire grabs Gambit and flies off. No horsemen left! Cyclops, Rogue, and Havok run after Apocalypse, whose new plan is “blow up the infernal machine, and blow up the galaxy”. He’s using a guide-book to instruct him on how to do this, which is a hilarious thing I only just noticed. Havok stops him by… blowing up the infernal machine (maybe it was fingerprint-encoded?) and leaves Apocalypse stranded. He puts up one last shield, before jumping into the void caused by the infernal machine’s destruction. Havok almost follows him, but the machine spews fire and Apocalypse is gone forever.

The two sentinel pilots resurface in one piece, and the New Avengers congratulate Havok on a battle well fought. Rogue is comforted by Pulse. Wolverine, meanwhile, is the only one who has remembered that Pestilence is still unconscious on the floor, and he rips open her armour. It’s Polaris!! Oh wait, we already knew that. She’s covered in STDs, but Havok gives her CPR anyway.

A short while later, we move back to the mansion. Presumably the giant Sphinx has sunk without a trace, because the X-Men are resting up without a care in the world. Pulse and Rogue are walking around the mansion grounds, Pulse trying to comfort the southern minx by holding her hand. Awww, I hope this love story continues and isn’t promptly ignored by the next writer! Polaris is lying in the infirmary, and Emma makes her first appearance of the issue. She appears to have somehow fixed Polaris even though Lorna has about twenty different lethal viruses in her body (maybe Larocca doesn’t like drawing Beast?). Havok sneezes, as he’s picked up a cold from giving Lorna life-saving CPR. Emma gives him a vial of suspicious red liquid to drink, and after downing it Havok feels much better. “What was that?” he asks. “Don’t ask”, replies Emma.

Riddles Of The Sphinx

Apocalypse floats through the infernal machine, into a rip in the galaxy, where he floats endlessly. He gloats a lot, which seems an odd move, but whatever. A voice speaks to him, and shows him flashes from his life. Apocalypse struggles against the mysterious voices who are guiding him, but all is in vain. From nowhere, the Celestials appear before Apocalypse and offer him a new contract. He feels like he is about to finally drain away and die, until new life floods through him. The last message of the Celestials appears as Apocalypse’s eyes snap back open, even as he floats from the cosmos.

“We cannot let you die, Apocalypse. Not yet. It is time, Apocalypse. It is time…”

Next: Epilogue!

psycwave

12-21-2009, 06:46 AM

Gazer!!! How I miss thee. <3 R.I.P.

Azure

12-21-2009, 09:44 AM

Gazer!!! How I miss thee. <3 R.I.P.

Do you think he could come back during Necrosha? Would he be Gazer again, or War? And what role does Phantom Torso still have to play?

Pixie_Solanas

12-21-2009, 09:51 AM

Do you think he could come back during Necrosha? Would he be Gazer again, or War? And what role does Phantom Torso still have to play?

I hope Gazer can rest in peace. Necrosha is so beneath such a many-layered character.

MartinRedmond

12-21-2009, 09:56 AM

If Milligan comes back, I'd rather it be anything other than Astonishing, I find that team a little plain. X-Statix 2 would be the best. btw I'm glad Bling! and Onyxx are still being used. And I love Gambit's make over.

Washout

12-21-2009, 09:57 AM

I wonder what Milligan's book would have been like if he had chosen his own cast as opposed to just accepting Austen's cast.

MartinRedmond

12-21-2009, 09:59 AM

Maybe he chose to stick with that team on purpose? Because usually new writer means instant team overhaul. Isn't he one of the few who kept the same cast?

Whoawhoawhoa and check this out:

NATION X #4 (of 4)
Written by PETER MILLIGAN, ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA, JOE CARAMAGNA & IVAN BRANDONPenciled by MIKE ALLRED, NIKO HENRICHON, HARVEY TALIBAO & RAEL LYRA
Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
All the pieces fall into place as this final issue concludes with a bang! Namor has never taken orders from anyone before, so why does he take them from Cyclops? Where does Emma get all those Jimmy Choo's? And when a mystery strikes Utopia, who does Cyclops send to solve it? DOOP!
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Pixie_Solanas

12-21-2009, 10:08 AM

Azure

12-21-2009, 10:13 AM

Focus, Torpor! They're bringing back X-Statix!

Pixie_Solanas

12-21-2009, 10:16 AM

Focus, Torpor! They're bringing back X-Statix!

You're right, footwear derailed me from the glorious news! Milligan/Allred/Doop - the holy trinity!

Azure

01-04-2010, 04:51 AM

X-MEN #187
“The Blood Of Apocalypse Epilogue: THE FUTURE”

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/x-men/187-1.jpg

Starring: Havok, Emma Frost, Polaris, Bling!, Iceman, Rogue, Mystique, Pulse
And Gambit, Sunfire, Beast.

Interesting roster of characters, eh? Practically the only people to appear in this issue are the characters whom Peter Milligan was in charge of during his oh-so-brief tenure as writer of “X-Men”. It’s an issue which cleans up several members of the cast and returns them to the ever-circular world of mainstream comics, free of brainwashing and craziness, and ready to be used by new writers. The incoming writer, Mike Carey, would go on to use three members of the team as part of his roster (and has later incorporated Gambit and Bling!, also), whilst Ed Brubaker took two. Emma Frost continued on as the A-listiest female in the X-Men, whilst Sunfire played a decent role in Messiah Complex. The only character to vanish was Pulse, and he is dearly missed. At the start of his run, Milligan was given several boring and broken characters – Emma and Wolverine were the only two who were usable – and had to fix Rogue/Gambit’s relationship, which for years had been dragging down both characters; Polaris’ mental issues, which had been written erratically by Chuck Austen; and Havok and Iceman’s odd rivalry for Polaris’s heart. By the end of his run, all of the above had been fixed. If certain writers aim to reinvent and dismantle the X-Men, perhaps the greatest thing about Peter Milligan’s run was that it sought to reinvent and reassemble core X-Men characters.

We start with Sunfire and Gambit in Japan, where both are struggling with overcoming Apocalypse’s brainwashing. Sunfire is a lot freer from his programming, and has brought Gambit here in order to burn some sense back into the demented Cajun. The two scuffle for a little while, discussing their sense of duty and loyalty to Apocalypse. Gambit is defiant that he will stand by the blue Egyptian, but Sunfire grabs him and envelops them both in a ball of blazing fire. Literally, he is willing to burn out Apocalypse’s poisionous programming.

At the mansion, Polaris has been experiencing waking nightmares. Like the other two, she is still haunted by Apocalypse, and unconsciously breaks out of her cell by breaking a hole through the (metal) roof. I put the metal part in brackets in case you were thinking she made the hole by bashing her head repeatedly against the ceiling. Havok and Emma follow the trail, before Polaris blows up the floor of the school canteen and collapses back into unconsciousness. Iceman finds her and tries to find a sign of life behind her eyes. There’s nothing. Emma finds them both and takes Polaris’ body back to the medical bay. The rest of the team look on, and Iceman thanks Havok for saving Lorna with CPR, all that time back in the Sphinx. Rivalry subsiding?

Rogue has been coping with the loss of Gambit by getting closer to Pulse. Despite Mystique, the two of them have been hitting it off, as Pulse turns out to be really quite the charmer. Speaking of Mystique, though, she walks in and gloats about how handsome Pulse is, and then asks him if he’s asked Rogue to marry him yet. Awkward, he walks off, whilst Mystique says that his voice is like “having warm sherry poured down your ear-holes”. Rogue groans.

Back in the medical bay, Emma explains Polaris to Havok and Iceman (finally!) She may not be a mutant anymore, but Apocalypse has hardwired in a renewed power set into her DNA. At that, Gambit and Sunfire walk in, serene. They’ve come to collect Polaris. Iceman and Havok are obviously not too keen at the thought of this, but Sunfire and Gambit are adamant that they will not be stopped… that is, ah, until Iceman freezes both of them into a giant block of ice. Havok gloats, which proves to be short-lived as Sunfire explodes with fire and releases the pair. A fight ensues, and Rogue goes straight after Gambit. He fires gas and knocks out Havok and Bling!, leaving Rogue at his mercy. As Gambit goes in for a killing blow, however, Pulse intervenes and depowers the Cajun. Pulse urges Rogue to fight back against her possessed former boyfriend and, finally, Rogue stands up for herself.

However, Sunfire reaches the sick bay and pushes Beast to one side, ready to grab Lorna and take her back with him. Presumably his plan will be to set her on fire, too, because that worked so well on Gambit. BUT THEN, oh Polaris fans, comes that scene what you all admire so much. Lorna wakes up of her own accord and knocks him down.. “Sunfire,” she announces. “I do not belong to you. We can fight all day, Sunfire, but I still won’t belong to anyone – but myself. And it’s been some time since I’ve been able to say that.”

Thus humiliated, Sunfire runs off, grabbing Gambit (who is being pummelled by Rogue) on the way. My favourite scene then happens, as Havok cries “Hank! Stop them!” to Beast, who responds by being immediately pushed out the way as Sunfire and Gambit escape. Nice one, Beast!

Later, Val Cooper assures Havok that a new team of sentinels are on the way, bigger and stronger than the last set. He grimaces, and returns to the remains of his team. As he returns, he finds out that Polaris has decided to leave, and this time she knows where she’s going – she’s going to find Apocalypse. He says that he’ll go with her, but she turns him down. This time, she’s going on her own. Iceman and Havok watch her go.

Rogue thanks Pulse for saving her life, and for giving her the impetus to fight back against Gambit. Pulse says that perhaps he did it for his own benefit as much as hers. With Gambit out of the picture, maybe now Rogue will consider going on a date with him? No, as it turns out. Rogue storms off, not ready yet for a love-life, and Mystique congratulates Pulse on his tact. He tells her to go metamorphose herself.

Finally, we return to the Japanese temple. Gambit announces that he is finally free of everyone – Apocalypse, the X-Men, he is back on his own terms again. He and Sunfire wonder at what their future will hold.

And, they are immediately answered. Mr Sinister has come to offer them a deal.

Azure

01-04-2010, 04:52 AM

.........The End!

Mitsaso

01-04-2010, 05:13 AM

Thank you, Azure, for putting the spotlight again on this glorious run <3

It shall be dearly missed.

MartinRedmond

01-04-2010, 11:55 AM

This ended on a sour note for me, I didn't like this issue much. Emma being a doctor was a big part of it. Marvel can make amends with me for this by hiring Milligan for a second run.

Fionnuala

01-04-2010, 01:20 PM

I loved X-Force/Statix, but this run sucked so bad it took the shine off Bizarre Love Triangle the song. And I love that song. Maybe Milligan really didn't appreciate the constraints he would be under when he signed up, or it was all part of some long, existential joke on the X-office for canceling his title.

Pixie_Solanas

01-04-2010, 01:31 PM

Milligan's run lamentably ended right where an insipid "Masked Marvel" featurette began. Ignominious.

Faded

01-04-2010, 01:43 PM

I wish Milligan would have wrote New X-Men next. I really enjoyed the kids (and Mystique/Foxx) the most in Bizarre Love Triangle, plus he wrote a good Emma.

Perfect!

MartinRedmond

01-04-2010, 01:44 PM

Milligan's run lamentably ended right where an insipid "Masked Marvel" featurette began. Ignominious.

AHAH yeah, that didn't help, except like drive the final nail in.

rilokyle

01-04-2010, 04:17 PM

I really did love what Milligan did for Havok and Polaris post Chuck Austen. He was by no means an extraordinary X-Men writer. His stories weren't perfect, but his characterization was really strong. I like to think that his run was more about focusing on the characters rather than the plots. Apocalypse coming to town wasn't exactly epic, but looking back on Milligan's run, I find myself appreciating the character development. His Emma was sooo sarcastic and witty. Any scene with her and Alex was gold. I loved her! Lorna was written really well too. I loved how she was always off in her own world half the time, spacing out and saying weird shit. I loved how we saw her cope with the loss of her powers- her denial of it even happening. Kinda like having a hysterical pregnancy, Lorna made herself believe she still had her powers and still could somehow get those powers back. And being the Havok/Polaris shipper I am, I of course loved how Alex kept trying to get her back. When he gave her CPR post-Pestlience, it was such a defining moment for him and spoke volumes of his love for her.

Issue #180 ("What Lorna Saw") is by far my favorite of this run. I thought part 2 was a little rushed and the plot got too ridiculous with Daap, but part 1 was absolutely perfect. Milligan wrote Alex and Lorna so so well. I re-read this one a lot cause I enjoy it so much! Also, what a gorgeous cover! And the interior art was excellent as well.