Date With a Devil - Review New Mutants #37

This series just gets better and better every issue!  These last few issues since ReGenesis have been just amazing just amazing, total throwbacks to the feel of the original series from the 80’s.  There’s lots of campy humor, character development and quirky mutant “surrogate family” fun all around.  To be honest I wasn’t sure that I like this line-up of the mutants when it first rolled out after Schism (after all there’s no Cannonball.  No Boom Boom.  No Wolfsbane!  And they threw Doug Ramsey in and left him there to do nothing) but they have really made the most of this “light” team and even threw in X-man as a brand new member (which they haven’t done with New Mutants (Vol. 1) #87 when they added new member Cable to the roster).  Nate Grey fits right into the crew seamlessly with the other returning classic characters as we see Magma fulfill her deal with Mephisto and go on a date with the devil himself.

First of all, I am glad they didn’t drag the “date with a devil” angle out forever.  I really thought that it was going to be some weirdness where they were in some crazy perilous situation and he popped up saying “OK time for our date”, whisking her away to some perilous solo adventure.  Oh no!  This is a completely different Mephisto, complete with nerdy glassed and loose fitting shirt and tie, and (if anything he’s said is real and true) this is my favorite version of him ever!  Secondly, WOW!  If he’s being real then he really pulled out all the stops for Amara.  The fact that the date was IN Hell itself was a pretty good jumping off point but then add in the erupting volcanos,  bright red corvette, and the band and serving staff of the damned and who could even resist?  Magma, that’s who.  Never one to be easily impressed she instantly asked “What do you want from me?  You’re the devil so you must want something to leave me and my friends alone.”  Surprisingly enough, he SEEMS to not want anything.  He even made it sound real.  According to the devil, conning people out of their souls is easy and boring after millennia of doing it and every once in a while he wants to go out and actually have some “normal” fun with a girl like everyone else (although I think Northstar may have other ideas heh).  

Well once she saw he wasn’t in it for her immortal soul; she then also wasn’t falling for his games anymore.  She quickly asserted control of the date and took them out of hell to a local diner.  From here on, it got even funnier!  Just the fact that a red skinned man can sit in a diner and have it not be completely out of the ordinary showed just how far the (Marvel) society has come.  Back in the 80’s, that still would have incited a riot if Nightcrawler sat out if the open like that.  Instead it was Magma getting the evil glares for her failed attempt at working in the same diner.  A brief explanation about the “diversification of Hell” and an ironic saucy sauce joke later, and this date ended up being an actual smashing success.  And of course, what first date would be complete without the awkward and hesitant kiss at the end of the night.  For most of the issue I thought there was going to be some kind of twist coming at the end, but this kiss and Mephisto’s sheepish reaction to it made the whole thing seem real to me.  With the epilogue of him throwing rocks at her windows to ask to call on her again made this one of the best date issues I’ve ever read.  Here’s hoping they go out again!

                Of course no date is complete without the girl’s family diligently sitting home waiting and worrying about her.  Between Dani being half interested sister and half disapproving mother and Bobby being half jealous boyfriend and half over protective father, we have the entire family gauntlet right here in our very own dysfunctional mutant clan.  I even thought that the touch of Warlock’s techtag bracelet for her was a nice touch…if it had last for longer than one block of the car ride.  One thing that I’m not really onboard with is Bobby’s intense and (in my opinion) sudden crush on Amara.  These two have known each other for years (and yeah he’s flirted but it was always in fun), but now he’s completely head over heels in love with her (and not her with him).  Also it hadn’t occurred to me until this issue that X-man joining the team is a lot like a younger Cable re-joining since they are genetic duplicates (or alternate reality counterpart or whatever) and I am glad to see him practicing his newly reduced power successfully.  Other non-date related fun:  Warlock still has his hidden hellhound hiding in a closet, thanks to Lil Loki over in Journey into Mystery.  Dani’s trying to go visit Illyana on Utopia, but unfortunately she busy being sucked underground in Uncanny X-men.  And Doug trying to track down Dr. Strange (you know, just in case).  Al while Bobby mopes in a corner.  Classic New Mutants angst and character building.  Keep it coming guys!!

The Blink storyline went on a little too long for my liking (especially since she didn’t even stay with the team) but this standalone issue more than made up for it.  It could have easily been another Hell adventure of the team, but that’s been done more times than I can count at this point so I am glad they went with this instead, and I LOVE this version of Mephisto.  His character is always handled so differently by the various writers that have gotten their hands on him, but I am really hoping that we see more of this version in the future…you know, on their next date.

Something Sinister This Way Comes - Review Uncanny X-men #2

     And the fun keep coming!  This new volume is already becoming everything that the mutant superhero team should be!  For too long I watched this book decline, odd stories, pointless team-ups and then the final straw was when they took the "flagship" status away from this book and gave it to Astonishing X-men.  From there it was a slow decline into Dark X-men nonesense, silly mutant "plagues" (that don't hold a candle to the Legacy Virus), just pointless story after pointless story as they tried to be the "mutants in the global view" book.  Well that's over with!  I don't really know what the plan is for Astonishing but this Uncanny X-men 2.0 seems to be where the mutant action is and is going to stay.  With Cyclops' new mission of proactive action to make the X-men more of a peacekeeping force, like the mutant Avengers, I think we can expect to see more of the mainstream stories occurring here (such as the teased Phoenix story) rather then getting limited and one-shot to handle major events and changes.

     So on to the new Extinction team.  WOW.  That all I can say is WOW.  First of all I am shocked that Namor is actually staying on the team.  When his book got cancelled and then I heard about Schism, I assumed his tenure with the X-men was done and I wasn't too broken up about it either.  But the longer he is there the more he feels like he belongs with the team.  His connection to Emma Frost seemed really out of left field at first but the writers have really taken the time to develop this relationship into something that might really happen and I am sure there are already people that would prefer Emma with him instead of Scott.  It's also really interesting to see Scott and Ororo on the same squad again after so long.  I went back into my old back issues and realized that Scott and Ororo haven't been on the same squad since Uncanny X-men #201.  After that he left to form X-Factor with the other originals, and when he came back they split the team into Blue and Gold squads, and from there they jsut never really made it back onto the same regular squad again.  So it will be nice to see her playing Jiminy Cricket to his Pinocchio.  And it comes as no surprise to me at all that having Hope and Magik on a regualr X-men team is amazing!  Illyana has always been such an amazing (and favorite of mine0 character but I almost felt that they always had her too bogged down in her demonic fate to explore her truly.  And in New Mutants most recent volume, she was soulless for much of that time so it was more Darkchild then Magik.  Now we get to see her really come into her own and for once we get to see her watching out for her big brother instead of the other way around.  Oh and where the hell is Emma's arm??? Has anyone been watching it??

     And how about Sinister?  This megalomaniac has come a long way since being Mr. Sinister leader of the Marauders and ordering the death of the Morlocks.  This issue explained to us exactly what he was doing in the closing chapter of the previous Uncanny X-men volume.  This new 'Sinister System" is leaps and bounds more creative and innovative then that Miss Sinister debacle.  It is also worth mentioning that Scott thinks nothing of killing these Sinisters (even when he thought that there was one lead one).  Back during Inferno, Cyclops was heartbroken when he thought he destroyed Essex with his optic blasts and he readiness to do it as many times as needed in this case is a sure showing of how far he has fallen in his moral standing.  Uh, and did everyone else see how Jugger-lossus just squeezed his head like a grape?!  YIKES!

     As I've stated in previous blogs and reviews, I wasn't really sold on splitting the X-men into two separate camps at first but after two months of this new title and the new Wolverine & the X-men I think that this new status quo could be an even better set up then the legendary Gold/Blue split.  I am still curious as to where Professor X is going to end up because he was clear that he's not staying at the school but he also hasn't been shown any sort of role yet in the new Uncanny situation either so only time will tell.  I look more and more forward to these main book every single month, thank god they are finally pulling X-men out of the rut they've been in these last few years.  I can't wait to see what the creative team has in store for us in the coming issues...is that a Celestial thumb I see baring down on Cyclops in the "Next Issue" spot...?

The X-tinction Team - Review Uncanny X-men #1

Uncanny X-men Reborn!  As ReGenesis chugs along, knocking out one hit after another, I find myself losing all my reservations about this reboot!  Just like Wolverine & the X-men set up Wolverine’s entire side, this issue gave us the low down on all the mutants who sided with Cyclops to stay on Utopia.  First and foremost, the new team is amazing!  Hope deserves to be on a regular team (in addition to, not instead of, her own) and after 40 years of being around, in one form or another, Magik finally made her way to an actual X-men team!  But one thing at a time please…lets go through this one piece at a time.

Like I said, the team is amazing!  Cyclops, White Queen (that’s right people, the White Queen, not Emma Frost), Magneto, Namor, Colossus and Magik, Storm, Danger and Hope Summers rounding out the mix.  Definitely one of the more powerful line-ups that the X-men have seen in years (not counting the periods where every mutant everywhere was considered an X-man) and there isn’t even anyone (technically) boosting a Phoenix effect.  I love the new dynamic between Colossus and Magik, with her being the moral grounding and him being the borderline out of control powerhouse (as opposed to how its typically the other way around), and it’s nice to see her finally graduate to X-man status since she (and maybe Doug and Warlock) are the only New Mutants left that haven’t gained that status.  I look forward to seeing how Peter struggles with the influence of Cyttorak and the power of the Juggernaut in the coming issues.  I kinda thought that Namor was going to leave the team after his own series was cancelled but I find I am liking him more and more every issues and I think when the tension between him and Emma boils over it will be spectacular!  Danger is Danger, what.  Storm is still with us but she’s in a very precarious position now.  She doesn’t agree with Cyclops’ methods or direction, but she doesn’t want to abandon the team or the remaining young mutants so she stays…but for how long?  And lastly, Hope Summers.  Future Phoenix.  ‘Nuff said!

Scenery-wise, nothing special.  Still on Utopia, the floating mutant nation built on top of the underwater Atlantean nation.  We hear Scott talk about how the team needs to take a more global stance in mutant affairs and “superheroing” but it appears like all this globalizing will be happening from the same floating rock we’ve been living on.  Point to Wolverine for getting a souped school campus while Cyclops stays on his floating rock in the bay.  We did get a better team breakdown for Cyclops’ mutants then the school staff though.  I look forward to seeing Dazzler’s team (YAY Boom Boom’s back!!!) hit the streets and keep San Francisco safe while Generation Hope (with new addition Pixie) works as a rescue squad for new or troubled mutants.

And Sinister.  Heeeeee’s baaaaaaccck!  I have loved Mr. Sinister ever since I first read him in the X-cutioner’s Song crossover back in 1992 and made it a point to get all his previous appearances before that because he was just that cool.  Equal parts deceptive and truthfully, conniving and honest.  Always looking to further his own genetic cause, not purposely to hurt other but not really giving them a thought either way.  What could he possibly want with the Dreaming Celestial (and didn’t that massive robot have enough when Magneto broke in to help restore his powers)?  This time however, he didn’t even seem to be really attacking them with malicious intent; instead he seemed more to be just pushing them along a path that he sees for them.  In the past he’s been seen wielding powerful energy blast and body altering abilities, so why the need to publically antagonize them with a floating Celestial head made in his own image?  Almost as if he were taunting them for some other purpose…

I honestly can’t wait for this series to get going.  In this first issue alone he got to the see the new Extinction team in action, Colossus struggle with and transform into the Juggernaut, Magneto and Namor working for the greater good, and glimpses of the other squads in their various functions.  This had everything you need to get a new series off the ground, even if it didn’t have 50 years of history behind it.  Kudos to Gillen and Pacheco!  Can’t wait until next issue!

Is the Way Mutant Powers Manifest Reactionary?

Ever notice that some powers manifest in just the exact right way to save or fix a situation?  Even though mutant powers are something that they are born with, they always seem to have just the right manifestation to save the day.   

Take Cannonball for example.  What if he never got trapped in that mine shaft?  In that exact moment he need a cannonball or a wrecking ball or something destructive with forward momentum to save his own life so he became a human cannonball.  However we've now seen in later year that that's not the extent of his power...what if he was in a collapsing building and had tons of debris falling on top of him? Would his power have activated then in the effect of a forcefield (which we now know he can do)?  Or what if Sam Guthrie wasn't the good upstanding person he is and instead got into a drunken fight with someone much larger then him?  Could his power have first manifested in blast field powered punch to save himself in the fight?  These are all powers that he is now shown to have so I would think his powers could easily have activated in those ways first under the right conditions.  Maybe he could only cannonball at first because that's the form his power first catalyzed in so he got stuck (much like mental blocks self-imposed by Rogue's powers and maybe Cyclops' but I don't know that we are sure about that yet).

Another good example may be Karma and her twin brother.  We never saw much of Tran but Shan has often been noted for having such a very specific telepathic ability.  Well when it first manifested it was in a situation where she needed to control somebody to save her brother...so that's how her power manifested.  And since we are talking about psionic twins, its not such a stretch to think they had some link that caused his powers to react the same as her at that moment.  Even with Jean Grey, her abilities first manifested to connect to her dying friend's mind and from then on her telepathic powers always seemed to have a very empathic feel to them, unlike Psylocke's colder more clinical seeming TP powers.  Other psychics who maybe had no traumatic or specific event happen, such as Professor X, seem to have more general and well rounded powers with less specific features to them.

Even Dazzler to some extent shows evidence of this reactionary power pattern.  One could argue that BECAUSE her powers need sound to create light, shes automatically a good singer (much like Banshee's exceptional hearing), but what if its the other way around?   She grew up always being a good singer and wanting to perform so her powers kicked in while singing onstage at a high school dance the lights on her so she started glowing and then she needed to blind the audience to protect herself.  What if she was just born to convert energy from one form to another but based on the situation when it kicked it, her body adapted to the sound = light combo.  

This of course don't necessarily work in all cases.  Some mutants have powers that they are just born with no matter what (for example claws, wings, or blue skin), but I think some mutants aren't born with a specific powers, just the potential for a type of ability.  With this in mind, who knows if Illyana's life might have gone differently if her teleportation potential had activated somewhere where the link to Limbo was less potent?  Maybe she wouldn't have been connected to stepping disc and she would have opened a different type of portal like Ariel or Blink.  

Illyria vs Magik

In years past a match up like this would not have been necessarily possible, but thanks to the new trend of continuing TV shows in comic book form, we can do anything now!

VS

Illyana Rasputin "Magik"

For the sake of this mash-up I am going to use each of their best forms.  For Illyria, I am using the version of her just after she took over Fred's body but before she went nuclear with power.  For Magik, I am using her current form since its the one with the most mastery and control of her powers.

Illyria

Powers/Advantages

1) Strength - In this form, Illyria is supremely strong.  She \is shown to be strong enough to take on two vampires at once or fight a fire breathing dragon alone and unarmed.
2) Invulnerable - She is also incredibly durable.  While at full power she is able to withstand swords, axes, and dragon breath as well as take blows (if they land) with offense rather then injury.  Her skin, which in most areas is more like armor, is also capable of regeneration and healing itself.
3) Time Distortion - While it may appear that she vanishes from sight and reappears elsewhere, she actually is able to manipulate time in a controlled area.  She has been shown to slow down time for other while she moves past normally but one can guess that she could also speed up time for an intended target.
4) Speed - Having nothing to do with her time abilities, Illyria is also a very quick and agile opponent.  While not fast enough to move as a blur, enemies (and Spike) have been hard pressed to land even a single blow on her.
5) Empathy - She is able to sense the emotions of those around her. 
6) Fighting Skills - According to Spike, who sparred with her to gauge her abilities, she fighting style is a mixture between Tae Kwon Do and Brazilian Ninjitsu

Weaknesses

Illyria doesn't have any real weaknesses in this form.  She is very prone to disorientation due to the stark newness of her surroundings, and it is also possible that her empathic abilities are slightyl overwhelmed by all the raw human emotion around her.  She also has trouble dealing with the emotional remains of Fred within her.

Magik

Power/Advantages

1) Teleportation - Her primary mutant power is her ability to conjure "stepping discs" into the demonic realm of Limbo and then from there she can summon another disc to anywhere in space or time she chooses.
2) Soul Sword - This blade is fashioned from a piece of Illyana's own soul.  It can not hurt normal people or objects but will disrupt or cancel out magical beings, constructs, or spells. 
3) Soul Armor - Whenever she summons her Soul Sword she is also covered by an enchanted armor made of the same material as the sword.  This armor is shown to be able to resist mighty blows and also grants her a measure of super human strength.
4) Magical Prowess - During her time in Limbo Illyana was an apprentice to both Belasco and Storm.  From Storm, she learned all about white magic and its healing effects, but by Belasco she was tutored in the Black Arts.  She uses a combination of these teachings to create many magical effects including: 

• Summoning lesser demons
• Blasts of magical energy
• Necromancy
• Astral Projection
• Possession
• Scrying (using her enchanted mirror)
• Generation and manipulation of eldritch fire
• Magical Force Fields
• Casting magical spells from arcane lore

5) Fight Skills - During the years in Limbo, there was a period where she was taught how to survive on the harsh Limbo terrain by Cat, an alternate version of Kitty Pryde twisted by Belasco's magic.

Weaknesses

Illyana's main weakness is that the majority of her magical abilities are restricted to only when she is in Limbo..  Outside of Limbo she is limited to just the use of her stepping discs and her Soul Sword.  Also, her Soul Armor must by summoned like her Sword so, if caught unaware without it on, she can be injured the same as any normal human.

Fight!

Let's just assume that this battle start in our dimension, the first thing that Illyana would do is try to get Illyria into Limbo so she can access the full array of her sorceress powers.  In years past this would never happen but now that she has fully mastered her stepping disc power there is a much better chance of success.  Now with Illyria's time distortion abilities this is still much easier said then done but between dodging stepping discs and swings from the Soul Sword (which I believe would cause incredible damage to Illyria who is chock full of magical energy) I think that eventually Illyria would misstep and find herself within the demonic realm of Limbo.  As long as they remain on Earth this batlte would pretty much be a game of cat and mouse between the two "women" and if god forbid Illyria caught Magik, she would brutalize her (although the second Illyria took her hands off of her, Illyana would teleport away).

Once the battle made its way to Limbo though the odds change considerably.  First, Illyana would summon the strongest demons under her command to restrain the she-god, which Illyria would promptly tear to shred.  This would give Illyana the moment reprieve she needed to build some of her own mystical energy and unleash an arcane blast of fury at Illyria that would her down for a few moments.  These precious moments would give Illyana the needed seconds to stab her with the Soul Sword.  Short of decapitation, it is doubtful that this would kill Illyria still and coupled with her rapid healing skin she'd be back up on her feet soon enough.  

This battle will predominantly be determined by not just Illyana's ability to stay out of Illyria's reach but also her ability to get Illyria to Limbo.  As long as she is on Earth, she can avoid and dodge Illyria all she wants but she can't do any real damage except, again, to cut Illyria's head off with her Sword which I doubt Illyria's time powers will allow while still on Earth.  In Limbo, Illyana's power greatly increases and she gains the ability to properly damage Illyria with her magic but even still she has to contend with Illyria's constant regeneration.

In the end, I think that Illyria would win in this battle just based on shear endurance.  Even with all of the arcane might at her disposal, eventually Illyana's magical resources would be tapped out and Illyria's "armor" would continue to repair itself throughout the battle.  There is also the chance that Illyana could get killing head shot on Illyria but I really think that would be a slim chance.

Does Magneto's Powers Work on ALL Forms of Metal?

So we obviously know that his powers work on all the normal earth metals like iron, steel, bronze, etc.  And we know that he can manipulate his powers to create gravity fields around non-ferrous objects.  What about the fictional Marvel metals?  Some of them have special properties that could easily lend them to magnetic immunity.

Well we know from the classic X-men (Vol. 2) #25 that it works on adamantium, and I am pretty sure that it works fine on omnium since it is a ferrous alloy.

We also know that it works on that freaky Breakworld metal that Kitty Pryde was trapped in.

But does it work on Uru?  Yeah Magneto can't lift Thor's hammer, but can he grab in magnetically in midair?

What about Vibranium?  With its quasi-mystical properties, does it maybe have a some sort of immunity?

How about Magik and Pixie's Soul weapons and Magik's resultant armor?  Technically they are made of pieces from the girls souls, not metal from a hot forge so theres a very good chance that the magnetic fields don't apply to them.

There are probably instances of Uru and Vibranium being used against Magneto back in his old villain days and I will do some research into it, but I would really like to see the Limbo twins take on the Master of Magnetism if for no other reason then to see his face when his powers fail him against to little girls.  Until of course he finds the nearest most iron-filled boulder and sends it flying into them...