#x-comics

In the storyline, Wolverine has been up against a former Nazi official turned cyborg bad guy Nikolaus Geist. At the end of the storyline (Wolverine vol 2 #23), it seems that Geist has escaped. Until Magneto shows up to pursue his hobby: killing Nazis.

Maybe it’s a bit wrong to call killing Nazis a hobby as it’s more about justice and revenge for Magneto. But it’s something that Magneto falls back to several times that seems to give him a sense of satisfaction. Nazi hunter was his job turned passion after leaving Israel (Classic X-Men #19). He also tried to kill the Red Skull because he was a Nazi (the excellent Captain America #367), plus a few other examples that I can’t remember off the top of my head. Feel free to add those examples if you know them.

It’s a bit annoying that writer John Byrne got some of the backstory wrong. Magda did survive the camps but maybe Max didn’t want to get into it with a lowly Nazi that he was about to kill.

Just so we’re clear: I actually like Ironheart, I think Riri WIlliams is super cool and I’m of the opinion that Marvel has thoroughly screwed her over. She had a book she probably needed to keep momentum going cancelled before release because the Ironheart TV show was delayed for years, and has only really shown up in other people’s books as a secondary or tertiary character since as a result. This is more of that, even if Eve Ewing will obviously treat her better than most other authors would.

The implementation of the crossover is fine, as far as “everyone in Chicago will inevitably meet” goes, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that Exceptional has I believe one other issue to go before being interrupted by Age of Revelation, meaning this and the next issue are all we have for this arc. And it’s… a fine arc.

It follows very naturally from the fight with Mr. Sinister, as Kitty starts to go on again about how being a child soldier is not based or something. Bobby continues his “will-he-or-won’t-he-be-interesting” little scheme and I don’t quite know what the point of him being here is, and Emma continues to be her realistic, pragmatic, if overall hopeful self that balances Kitty’s cynicism and trauma-response-laden personality. The kids are alright, but that’s not enough for Kitty; she needs the kids to be safe. 

Speaking of, the kids are more than alright, I think; if this book was allowed to survive for a little longer, I think I could get used to this status quo of theirs. Walking around Chicago and getting involved with crimes while dealing with high school drama feels natural, and by now, their voices have been figured out. You can copy and paste this version of the trio in a story and have them act this way forever, I think. They’ve finally grown into their own characters after their introduction and first boss fight, so to speak.

As for the mentors, Kitty is doing some relationship talk with her maybe-girlfriend, and no one else really has anything going on. Apparently a lot of people actually like Kitty’s girlfriend, but again, the proud tradition of bland human romances in X-Men and all that.

The Magik solo reaches the conclusion to its first arc, and I personally think it was pretty good, even if I don’t like some pacing decisions on it.

I don’t know if it’s just me but I definitely felt like we skipped an issue, as far as how this all panned out. The story beats for this book all work, I think– but they left me with a feeling that this was supposed to be issue #6, and not #5. 

The actual end of the conflict with Liminal felt like it had little to no time to breathe, and there was almost zero escalation to the actual moment of his arrival. I actually completely forgot this was supposed to be the last seal broken, and maybe that’s because… all the seals broke in almost the exact same way, and it didn’t feel like the characters were approaching this one particularly differently. It felt like they had no relationship to the villains that really mattered up until the last moment, and when Liminal, the ostensible final boss of the whole thing started talking, I… kinda expected more, I guess. 

But I do think that’s less important than the things this story does well. That is to say, the real point of this story is to have Magik and Darkchylde facing each other in what I can only describe as the Kingdom Hearts 2 Darkness Beach. 

And I’ve decided I do not mind most of the rest of the book, because they really nail this. I have been waiting for this god damn moment for years. The final synthesis of the Magik character’s thesis: is Magik inherently evil, and just denying it? Is she Darkchylde, and just pushing the inevitable? Is she more than the sum of every bad day in her life, and if so, then what is Darkchylde?

Comic books are no stranger to “the hero fights a monstrous version of themself in a metaphorical battle for control over their worst impulses”, and X-Men, specifically, is very commonly associated with this. Every single one of these characters has gone evil at some point, and most of them have had full conversations with their evil sides. Magik, however, always has something else going on with her. I’m sure I’m forgetting some comics released 20 years ago, but Illyana usually has some separation between her and Darkchylde’s actions–

She sometimes is just acting out prophecy, sometimes she’s got no soul, sometimes it’s not “really” her, sometimes she’s being manipulated, but in general, it is reasonable to assume that Magik’s actual conflict is not going berserk with Limbo-based demonic power, instead of actually having the “Is Jean Grey The Dark Phoenix?” conversation so many other characters get to have. So to see this finally taking place was very good, and I do think this presented its arguments for the Magik character well enough that it fits with the bigger truths about her we see in other publications.

The decision to use Darkchylde less as every bad impulse in Illyana’s mind and more as a defense mechanism; a way to make herself bigger to face the world that she doesn’t enjoy tapping into, was probably the best choice they could have picked. It is far too late to disassociate these “two” characters from each other, but more than that, it also provides a lens into Magik’s internal world that other books sometimes don’t have the chance to look through. Illyana is always portrayed as maybe the strongest person in any room she’s in, forged by fire, tempered by trauma, kept together by sheer force of will and occasionally spite, and it’s very easy to write her this way.

But it’s a lot harder to show pathos with a character that has mostly already ended her character arc in the 80s. Almost every Magik-centered story ever since the original Inferno has had to add caveats and sometimes gimmicks to what she’s going through, or just picks something she’s already done and does it again with another artist. But for the first time we’re actually asking ourselves, does Magik even need Darkchylde to tempt her? Isn’t it better to just stop fighting and be real about what this is?

And the book says, yes! It is! This story is done and we should have done this before! 

It’s a great moment, beautifully rendered by Germán Peralta and Arthur Hesli– who killed it this issue, especially with that last beautiful panel. Also shout-outs to Ariana Maher's excellent lettering, with the synthesis of Magik and Darkchylde having both of their speech bubble styles harmonized and integrated. It's the kind of thing you love to see letterers doing.

It’s the culmination of a story I thought the character wasn’t designed around ending, and hopefully it sticks around for longer than her previous attempt at catharsis during the Krakoa Era– something I’m kinda guessing we’re going to do away with, considering what the next arc is bringing. 

It’s just a bit of a shame that Cal and Liminal’s story had to basically fizzle out half-told in order for Magik to get this amazing moment. I don’t know what I was supposed to feel when the whole thing was resolved so fast, but it wasn’t very satisfying. Especially not for a villain who had previously held himself together in conversation, and I feel had a lot to give as a final fight. Oh well, it’s comics, it happens.

I have decided I don’t have a strong opinion about Dani’s final words to Magik in this, because they’re kinda in the same dimension as Cal’s ultimate fate. I think I’ll have to come back to this later when Dani reenters the narrative at some point. Either way, I do have an opinion about the end with Scott consoling Magik in the Alaska base.

Scott and Magik have been a really interesting pair to watch. Scott likes orbiting people like Illyana; immensely powerful, damaged people with the devil in them, but who desperately need someone to see them for the person they want to be instead. Basically all of his more intimate and important relationships follow this pattern, and Magik is no exception. It’s no wonder they’ve been so good together.

So to see him actually put that into words, and show his appreciation to her outside of the context of a mission, or even just him being polite– to see Scott actually try his best to make her feel well, not just useful or strong enough but well, is a sight to behold. I really enjoy Scott’s characterization as someone who just wants everyone around him to be as content as he remembers being in better times, and who has no barriers in front of his feelings when that’s the case.

I really wish this was X-Men, is what I’m trying to say here.