New X-Men #122-132

New X-Men #122-132

Originally released in 2002

Written by Grant Morrison

Art by Frank Quitely (#122, 126, 128), Ethan Van Sciver (#123), Igor Kordey (#124-5, 129-130), John Paul Leon (#127, 131), and Phil Jimenez (#132)

When I last left off with New X-Men, I figured that Cassandra Nova switching bodies with Charles Xavier would cause problems for the team further down the line.  As it turns out, "further down the line" meant the very next issue - Cassandra used Xavier's powers to influence Lilandra that a "psychic plague" had taken hold of mutantkind, and they need to be wiped out for the good of the universe.  The Shi'ar Imperial Guard treat Lilandra's word as law, and the moment that anyone speaks out against these orders or points out that Lilandra normally wouldn't do this, Cassandra just says "oh no, your trusted advisor has caught the psychic plague as well" and orders them to be killed.

One member of the Imperial Guard knows the truth of what happened and escapes to Earth in order to warn them, but unfortunately, the only species that he encounters upon landing are cows, who can't exactly spread the word. (I thought that Smasher, the member in question, was dead at this point, though he recovers and stops a battle between the X-Men and the Imperial Guard)

Throughout this time, Cassandra (in Xavier's body) is in some kind of blob creature that allows her to move around, while being completely and totally naked for some reason.  It takes a bit of the drama out of the scenes when Xavier's nude body is being paraded around and making increasingly erratic demands.

In addition to the Shi'ar attack, the X-Men are also dealing with a bad outbreak of the flu, which also turns out to be Cassandra's doing.  Microscopic Sentinels are wreaking havoc on the immune systems of the X-Men in what seems to be Cassandra's back-up plan.  As if this somehow wasn't enough, Cassandra also booby-trapped her own body so that, when Xavier's consciousness was put inside of it, it's hit with Alzheimer's, along with various other diseases that effect the mind and body, leaving him unable to do anything as his mind is slowly being wiped away.

To try and stop those problems, Cyclops goes to track down Xorn, a powerful mutant healer, only for both of them to be captured by the Shi'ar Empire.  The two of them manage to free themselves as Cassandra heads back to Earth to finish off Xavier once and for all, wipe out mutantkind, and punish the Imperial Guard for defying her orders after Smasher (who's different from Izzy Kane from Hickman's run) is found and reveals the truth.

Thanks to some quick thinking by Jean and Emma, Cassandra is neutralized while Xavier is back in his original body - in addition, with Xorn healing Xavier, Xavier's spine is repaired and he can now walk again. (we'll see how long that lasts - it doesn't tend to stick)

However, in saving the day, Jean demonstrated a much higher level of psychic power than what Xavier thought was possible of her, and he's concerned that the Phoenix Force has returned to her.  His suspicions are quickly confirmed.

The series has an ever-shifting line-up of artists, with some being better than others.  Around the point that Igor Kordey was handling the art (issue 129), some of it seemed off.  Some characters looked fine, by there's a point where it looks like Jean aged fifty years over the course of a single page.

Emma gets even worse treatment.  During the reveal that she's giving Scott therapy, it seems like the intent is for her to look seductive, but instead, she looks unpleasant.

Over the course of this issue and the next few after it, Emma Frost puts the "rapist" in "therapist", having psychic therapy with Cyclops that veers so obviously into adultery that even Scott questions it.  Bizarrely, Scott ultimately seems to go along with it by issue 131, which seems incredibly out-of-character given how he's normally so loyal to Jean.

Meanwhile, Jean and Xavier are working with a newly-introduced mutant called Fantomex, who is a mystery wrapped in an enigma covered in a balaclava. (I'm not sure if I've used that description for him already)  He's a notorious international thief who's come to Xavier seeking sanctuary, and after taking them to his home where his blind mother lives, he informs them about Weapon XII.

As it turns out, the X in Wolverine's Weapon X program is the Roman numeral for 10, and there have been plenty of attempts at making living weapons before and since.  Weapon XII is a being that can forcefully control everyone that he touches, whether they're human or animal, and he's designed to wage war on mutantkind.  However, Fantomex is inherently untrustworthy, with seemingly everything connected to him being an elaborate lie.

Issue 132 feels like a late tribute to the victims of 9/11, as the X-Men return to the destroyed remnants of Genosha.  Magneto apparently died in the attack, and it's revealed that his last moments were spent recording what he could about the victims so they could be remembered going forward.

It's sort of a touching moment, though it indicates that there's a growing cult of personality surrounding Magneto after his supposed death. (unsurprisingly, he's not actually dead, though from what I've read, Grant Morrison's treatment of the character is unpleasant and largely ignored - it strips away most of his noble qualities and turns him into a psychotic terrorist who herds New York citizens into concentration camps)  The end result is that a massive statue of Magneto is built on Genosha's ruins, which feels more than a little ominous.

These issues are well-written, though my issues with the art in some of them, and Cyclops's infidelity storyline, remain by the end.  Also, some of the plot points don't go anywhere; during Cassandra Nova's attack on the X-Men, Beast randomly declares that he's gay.

Emma Frost later says that she's read his mind and he's never been attracted to men, so he admits that he made it up in an attempt at challenging perceptions.  It's handled in such a weird way; I'm not sure if Morrison had intended to go in that direction only to get cold feet, or if editorial had stepped in, or if Morrison couldn't figure out what to do with that plot.

Most of these issues are fine, though, and the focus on the larger student body helps this story to stand out from other X-Men runs, even if I'm increasingly concerned that many of these mutants are going to die like cannon fodder later on. (there are lots of mutants, but only a small handful of them, like Angel Salvadore, Beak, or the Stepford Cuckoos have names or codenames)  My only problem with the story is that Cyclops doesn't feel like himself - I could chalk it up to "Emma is manipulating his mind to make him fall in love with her", but he's known for having strong psychic defenses so I'm not sure what the explanation could be.