Mutant Empire: Book 1 - Siege, Part II

Coverage continues on the first installment of Christopher Golden's Mutant Empire trilogy! Join Chapman as they cover chapters 3-6, in which this story enters both the forests of Colorado & the galaxies beyond the Milky Way. 

Who will venture forth to stop Corsair execution? Who will face off against Magneto & his Acolytes? And what is the subtext of all this? Find out now!

Transcript

Introduction

Chapman 0:26

Hello, and welcome to SubteXtMen, a podcast focusing on Marvel's merry mutants and their adventures in the literary world. I'm your host, Chapman Blake, and today we continue our coverage of X-Men Mutant Empire: Book 1 - Siege.

Chapter 3

Chapman 0:41

We open chapter 3 with Scott in the Danger Room, finishing up that aforementioned solo session. The sequence is written a little confusing, but just imagine him back flipping and shooting lasers and dodging lasers. That's pretty much the gist. However, soon, Jean calls him and lets him know that Raza is awake. Storm, Scott, and Gene soon join Raza in the infirmary, where he immediately attempts to rally the X-Men and return to space at once. Storm takes a moment to let him know that the Starjammer is being repaired by Archangel, Bishop, and Iceman. An interesting crew, given that Kurt, the traditional mechanic, is off in Excalibur. To which Raza responds, snarling at Jean and Ororo, saying, "Why didst thou not simply say that?" I guess he only respects the skunk women who are regular crew mates with him, and not the powerhouses in front of him.

Chapman 1:33

He then informs the trio of X-Men how the Star jammers were captured, following the events of the Operation Galactic Storm, which for those of you who don't know, it's a large, space, mostly Avengers-centric event in the 90s, obviously riffing off of Operation Desert Storm, though I say that lightly, the parallels between the two events are few and far between, other than intergalactic war and geopolitics as a general theme. But the overview is that a war between the Kree and the Shi'ar broke out. Shi'ar scientists use Kree artifacts to create the quote Negabomb. It is then revealed towards the end that all of this was engineered behind the scenes by the Kree Supreme Intelligence, who then detonates the Negabomb on its own population in order to evolve the Kree past their current stagnation. This leaves the Kree capital Hala devastated, billions are killed, and the Shi'ar annex the Kree's territories. The Skrulls are also involved behind the scenes, and the Avengers are there, unsuccessfully attempting to stop all this.

Chapman 2:39

Raza now reveals that Deathbird has been placed as the viceroy of Hala and its rebuilding, which of course is terrible. The Star jammers were soon contacted by their friend Candide, a native to the home world of Hala, as she had been captured and put up for execution by Deathbird. Corsair and his team rallied and attempted a two-pronged plan, where Corsair and Hepziba attempted diplomacy with Deathbird, while Raza and Ch'od attempted to break Candide out stealthily. The plan failed, and only the latter team was able to escape. Raza does realize in hindsight that negotiations with Deathbird were set up rather easily for it to not be a trap. But, quote, " Perhaps we did not care. That's the Starjammer's way. Do it, because it must needs be done, and damn the consequences." And that's praxis, baby. He then looks over at his still unconscious teammate, Ch'od, saying, "He shall recover? Thank Kythri." I never read them with any sort of homoerotic brothers in arms subtext, but I can see it, and that'd be a cute couple.

Chapman 3:49

Throughout this section with Raza, we have moments where his sort of nebulous backstory has kind of been filled in a little incorrectly by Golden. He's thanking Shi'ar gods, he's referring to himself in various passages as Shi'ar, which makes sense given that his race has actually never been described, it's just been subjugated by the Shi'ar. So it's definitely an easy detail to overlook. The only things we do know about Raza at this point in canon is that his family has died, that he is one of the last of his kind, essentially all of the little details one needs to shift him into the Inigo Montoya role of the Starjammers. The team as a whole is pulled very much from that high fantasy era, which is obviously what the Princess Bride is pulling from itself.

Chapman 4:32

From there, however, Raza then makes it known that he intends to use some stargate coordinates that Lilandra gave to them when she was a Starjammer. This then launches the three X-Men present, Ororo, Scott, and Jean, into a discussion about the ethics of the use of stargates, as apparently they risk the destabilizing of a star when used, and could therefore result in billions of lives being lost. This is the only time I can remember stargates and X-Men Space Travel being linked. I believe they're more present in the Avengers comics, and somehow it's typically circumvented, but Christopher Golden decides to insert a little discussion here about the ethics of them, like I said, at which point we get a crazy argument from Jean, where she says, "Maybe I'm not being objective here, Ororo. And you do have a point. The Star Kate is dangerous. But if we're not willing to risk everything for two lives, how can we claim to care about the billions? I don't know about y'all, but that makes no sense to me. What do you mean if we can't put two lives in front of the billions of others we don't care about those billions? I'm not sure what she's going with here, but Raza then reassures them that, "Using the stargate is not a choice to be made lightly. However, the statistics on its potential destabilization factor are extraordinary, moving into tangible danger levels only when it is used too often and with too little lag time in between its passages."

Chapman 6:02

Charles bursts into the conversation with news from the aforementioned Lilandra, as he did attempt to call her and solve this through diplomatic means. However, but continuity-wise, we're rapidly approaching the breakup of Lilandra and Charles. It occurs mostly in X-Men Unlimited #3, which is the pajama clad trip to the Shi'ar's takeover ceremony of the Kree home world Hala, and we see that with the update that Charles provides, saying, quote, "Lilandra and I have not been communicating very often, or very well for some time. While I am still the royal consort, her entire being has been consumed by the demands of the Empire. Unfortunately, it seems she was not able to speak freely. She did tell me that she was sending an envoy to Hala to witness the executions, and that they would not take place until that envoy arrived. It is clearly her way of stalling. Only because I know her so intimately was I able to see the pain which this situation has brought to her." That last line of Cope especially reminds me how childish their relationship is at this point in continuity, how much posturing, I should say, is fronting the entirety of the relationship rather than actual communication. And so the fact that he has to make up this entire secondary subtext for himself in this moment, it's very fitting to me. It's almost as if he can't manipulate her mind across that level of space, so therefore he's just gonna manipulate how the conversation went in his own head. Uh how very Charles of him.

Chapman 7:31

Ch'od then awakens, and alongside Raza, they all gather together with the X-Men for the book and decide on a plan for the two different events occurring. Everyone is brought up to speed on the kidnapping of half of the Starjammers as well as Magneto's attack on the Colorado base. And in a reflection of last episode, three members of the original five show off their neuroses in record timing. We see, quote, "Scott had an obligation to the X-Men and to Professor Xavier, an obligation that had become over the years the definition of his life and identity." "Beautiful," Iceman said, his sarcasm unwelcome. "Just what every household needs, the mutant equivalent of a mechanical dog catcher." Which is, of course, in reference to the Sentinels. And finally, quote, "I don't see what the big deal is, Charles, Archangel said calmly. If someone has taken Wideawake from the government, we'll just shoot out there and take it back. We'll be back in time for dinner." We of course see Scott taking his leadership as his sole obligation, we see Bobby being unable to take a very grave situation seriously, and we see Warren underestimating the situation and offloading some of that cognitive ability onto the others.

Chapman 8:38

Warren is immediately challenged on this, however, as we see Bishop say, quote, "You don't see what the big deal is, Worthington? Haven't any of you paid attention to what I've told you of the future? The world that I lived in before I traveled back in time and ended up with you? Are you all deaf? Once the Sentinels are unleashed upon mutantkind, it's the beginning of the end.' He stopped, fuming a bit, and glared around at the others, several of whom would not meet his gaze. Cyclops did not turn away. Fascinated by what he observed was not anger, but fear in Bishop's eyes." Bishop's hackles are of course up in this situation, as the Sentinels are the thing that destroyed his future, that branded his face, that drove his position as an XSE officer.

Chapman 9:20

And with this reminder of the grave threat that the Sentinels pose, we then divide the team into two halves to take on the two threats. Scott and Storm are the respective leaders of the strike teams, and membership does take a little bit of time to hash out. Beast wants to attempt diplomacy in Colorado. Wolverine takes that as a time to crack a joke about Gambit's diplomacy skills, to which he replies, "I can't help it if I'm too charming for my own good, me." And of course, all hell breaks loose from there, but after some shuffling, we eventually land on the rosters of Storm, Iceman, Beast, Wolverine, and Bishop to Colorado, while Cyclops, Gambit, Rogue, Archangel, and Gene head to Hala.

Chapman 9:58

Iceman was attempting to get to the Hala mission, but Warren offered some push back, saying that he was the one who would be best suited to back up Gene and Scott. As this is the mid-90s, during this exchange, Scott thinks to himself that, quote, "Bobby had always been considered one of the less powerful X-Men, and he often worried that Iceman wanted so badly to prove himself that it might one day get him killed." It will one day get him blown up, but that is when we will discover that his powers are much more powerful than anyone ever really imagined.

Chapman 10:27

As the Hala team makes their way to the Starjammer, we get an exchange between Ch'od, Raza, Rogue, Jean, and Warren that illustrates the Starjammer's usual dynamic. "You people have done an excellent job. She's as ready to fly as the day I first laid eyes on her." "She was a vital monstrosity when I first laid eyes upon her. Still, I suppose she shall suffice for the nonce. At least to get in. It may be that we shall all die trying to leave Hala, if we don't survive in that long." Rogue and Jean then chime in with, "You always this glum, fella?" "In fact, compared to his usual demeanor, I'd say Raza was almost effusive today." "If I was a little less friendly, I'm sure Raza would not be quite so angry, but I cannot help myself. It's my true nature." To which Warren replies, "That's what I keep trying to tell them." I love this little crossing of dynamics, this exchanging of roles.

Chapman 11:22

And just before the crew departs, Charles grabs Scott for a side conversation: "I know how you get in times of personal crisis. Often you try to deal with such things yourself. And I know you'll be tempted to cut the others, particularly Jean and Warren, out of the picture. To keep pain to yourself. But you need them, Scott, and not merely as backup." His advice may not be incorrect, especially for Scott, but there are still eras of codependency being fostered here. Specifically to handle his emotions, he's being sent to Jean, he's being sent to Warren. He's being sent to the two that are in charge of care and management, whether that be emotionally or physically. And we see Scott use his own form of cyclical logic to try to push back against that, with quote, "It's just that, well, I already feel as if I'm endangering all of their lives for my own reasons. It's not-' He stops, hoping Xavier wasn't too frustrated with him." And after giving that lovely parental advice, Charlie Francis sends the teams off in their various spaceships, either the Starjammer or the Blackbird. The two ships ascending is the picture illustrated by Ron Lim for Chapter 3.

Chapter 4

Chapman 12:30

Chapter 4 opens with a devastating overview of the remnants of Hala, and specifically the capital Kree- Lar, in the wake of Operation Galactic Storm, as well as the quote-unquote leadership that we see under Viceroy Deathbird. Quote, "The Supreme Intelligence conducted a terrible experiment with its own people, manipulating their war with the Shi'ar so their most hated enemy would use the dreaded Negabomb against them. More than 29 billion Kree lost their lives, and many of those who lived under went startling, often terrifying, sometimes fatal, mutations, exactly as the Supreme Intelligence had planned. Only the capital city, Kree -Lar, had been rebuilt to any semblance of its former glory, and then only to trumpet the superiority of their savage new viceroy, Deathbird, of the Shi'ar royal house of Neramani. The gleaming spires of the new capital building stretched higher than anything else still standing on Hala. It was a beautiful sight, but one hard to appreciate in light of the poverty, disease, and squalor outside the gates. In time, many had begun to overlook the betrayal of the supreme intelligence, to ignore the proof that the Shi'ar had been manipulated. None of that mattered, when they lived as serfs on a world controlled by a tyrant."

Chapman 13:44

We're then ushered into the perspective of Christopher Summers, aka Corsair, as he stands chained to the wall in Deathbird's torture chambers. Alongside Corsair, we, of course, have Hepziba, and in this moment we get the quote, "Most human males would shrink in horror at the sight of her, but Corsair could only see her beauty and grace." If any of you have seen Hepziba on the comic panels, I'm not really sure where this is coming from. I'm not sure why. Two books in a row now I'm having to defend, furries, I guess, from the authors, but the anthropomorphic people you keep choosing to depict as not that hot are actually kind of hot. They're very Lola Bunny-esque. So not sure where all these strays are coming from.

Chapman 14:24

Alongside our space pirate couple is also Candide, the half-Kree, half-Shi'ar rebel that the Starjammers were attempting to rescue. Rather than traditional means, a device has been strapped to Candide in order to torture her, and we learn that, quote, "Inside her mind, she was experiencing the worst physical and emotional torture that her own mind could conceive of. The thing tapped into both her imagination and her pain receptors to create false events and mingle them with actual pain." So we're getting fucked with it. And this is, of course, one of those situations where someone is being tortured not to get information from that specific target, but to get information from their companions. Candide then passes out, and Corsair and Hepziba take the moment to verbally taunt their captor. She retaliates by slashing Hepziba across the face, which is the moment we get depicted, once again by Rom Lim for chapter 4. Deathbird retires to her chambers, realizing that she won't be getting any more information from this particular torture session. And in her absence, Candide awakens and reveals that she is indeed connected with the Kree Rebellion, despite what Corsair and Hepziba believed.

Chapman 15:27

And we get one final thought from Corsair, with regards to Candide in particular, thinking, quote, "It occurred to him that, in most cases he'd seen, half-breeds were generally more attractive than either of their parents' races. A message of harmony, he might have thought, if he wasn't so cynical." Here we get what I would like to describe as a more boomer-y interpretation of Corsair, especially when you look at how old he would be in terms of his introduction in comics. There's some thoughts there with regards to how that applies, sure, to aliens with his standard life, but also in the real world that gets a little sticky, and it's not necessarily endorsed whole cloth here, it is very specifically from one character, but definitely makes me rethink his uh his suave nature a little bit. If you pair this with his response to Deathbird's strike on Hepziba by calling her a "paranoid bitch", you can start to see some of the more negative traits of his age bracket shining through.

Chapman 16:23

In the previous chapter, Lilandra mentioned that an envoy was en route to Hala in order to stall the execution, and here we learn of their arrival as well as their membership. The team, that is made up of Imperial Guard members, is of course led by none other than Gladiator. He's joined by Oracle, Starbolt, Titan, and Warstar. And little fun fact for those who may not know, but the Imperial Guard are a parody of DC's Legion of Superheroes, with Gladiator acting as Superboy rather than, what some people believe, Superman.

Chapman 16:52

Beginning in this sequence and playing out through the entire book, we get a glimpse at Gladiator that is more developed than any that I've pretty much ever seen, including in the solo Imperial Guard series of the 90s, but paints him in a light that is complicated yet extremely frustrating in a way that I really adore. Right off the bat we learn that, quote, "His race were singularly powerful amongst their galactic neighbors, but he had been raised a loyal soldier to the Shi'ar Empire, just as all of his people had. Everything that defined him was wrapped up in his position, which at one time had seemed unattainable for a being not Shi'ar by birth, and yet, despite the odds, he had become praetor of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard." This element of biological determinism within alien races in general in fiction, but especially in this particular case, where they are designated as more powerful, designated as someone who could potentially subvert the system, I think is a really interesting way of aligning him with characters that represent minority groups succumbing to fascism as a way of protection and as a way of claiming identity in a system that is otherwise hostile to them. I think primarily of Captain Holt in Brooklyn 99 and his overall storyline of wanting to obtain a position of power, realizing that position, and understanding the accompanying disappointments that occur when you realize the position does not negate the persecution one can find themselves under because of their status, because of their minority status in particular. However, he doesn't simply struggle with this openly, like some of those characters. It's much more of an internal battle that we see described in the novel extremely well.

Chapman 18:31

We get the quote: "It was a testament to his loyalty to the throne, and his objectivity, that Gladiator had maintained his position throughout the despotic rule of D'ken Neramani, the tyranny of Deathbird, and the relative peace and prosperity of Lilandra. He was not dedicated to a single ruler, but to the empire itself. It was his life and his blood." So at this point he is actively admitting to himself that he did participate in despotic ruling, in atrocious acts of war crimes. But then he brushes that under the rug for himself by obfuscating the position, by obfuscating the, dare I say, spinelessness, of succumbing simply to the leadership in charge without your own moral compass, all under the auspices of, I am in a position, I am working for institution, therefore I must be neutral upon my own opinions. And a lot of that stems from the fact that the institution he is trying to uphold doesn't necessarily serve the people. It serves the structure and the order, and mainly it serves itself. So you're able to start to see the actions he takes on for these different rulers as working for the same general direction, which is to project power, to project control, to maintain authority, rather than to serve the people, to expand the empire in a positive way, to leave a legacy that is uh impacting on the people positives rather than negatives.

Chapman 19:53

He then pivots with a quote, "Or so he told himself. There were times, however, in moments of what he would call weakness, that he would admit in his private thoughts that Lilandra was the best and rightful Majestrix of the Empire. At certain moments, it was difficult to remain impartial." Almost as if he's fighting his own conscious, but willingly putting that aside in order to maintain comfort within his position, cognitive comfort or physical comfort. He then thinks, quote, "He was happy that, though she clearly had reservations about the sentence, Lilandra was not going to challenge Deathbird. It would be unwise, and the eyes of many unjust." Here I really question the use of the eyes of many, because the eyes of many for Gladiator in this moment are the ruling class, the statutes of law, the keepers of that law, the enforcers of that law. When in reality, if you pull the galactic majority, especially the galactic majority under Shi'ar rule, and ask them about their s opinions on leaving a entire stronghold or an entire planet in this case under the rule of Deathbird, especially after her past crimes, your quote, many is gonna start to look a lot different, and that opinion is gonna shift pretty swiftly. But that's not who he is serving in this moment. That's not his primary objective.

Chapman 21:06

We get a sequence between Gladiator and Deathbird in her aerie. I love that she has a pun for her royal chambers. And after some subtle barbs back and forth, some flexing of power between Gladiator and Deathbird, we get this incredible monologue. "Don't you think I know what is going on here? My sister has a soft spot for pirates, particularly Corsair. After all, it was they who came to aid her when she was an excommunicant from the Empire. She thinks she will discover a way to stop their deaths without the Empire seeing her actions as weakness. It's not going to happen, Gladiator. They are going to die. And I order you stay, watch, and report back to the Majestrix all you have seen. These are criminals, likely involved with a planned rebellion in which the Cree hope to have their revenge on the Shi'ar Empire. I do the Majestrix a great service in their execution, as I'm sure you will soon see. Dismissed." You may think to yourself, why does Chapman's interpretation of Deathbird have a lisp? And the answer is twofold. A. Romans kind of did, and B, they probably have beaks instead of lips. So why

Chapman 22:13

not?

Chapman 22:13

The story then shifts to the Starjammer's flight on the way to Hala, where Gambit and Raza have gotten into a bit of a scuffle. Raza is attempting to defend the honor of the Starjammers because Gambit has said, quote, "The Starjammer 's been pirates from the beginning. Sellin' to de highest bidder. Maybe you backed up de X-Men a couple of times, but don't you try to claim you always on de right side." In this particular instance, Gambit is referencing the fact that the Star jammers were actually the ones who delivered the Negabomb to the Supreme Intelligence who then set it off. They did not know what the cargo was intended for, they just knew it was a some type of weapon or some type of important object, and in doing so were unwitting participants in a genocide of a large portion of the Kree race.

Chapman 22:57

Gambit begins to charge up a paperback that he was holding, and just before they come to full-on blows, Scott rushes in to separate the two. He fully deadlifts Gambit to his feet, which I did not have on my bingo card, and we get the following exchange between the two X-Men. "Scott caught Gambit giving him a sidelong glance that spoke of wounded pride and eventual payback. He moved close, so that only the Cajun would hear, and said, 'I'm a rational man, Remy, but trust me, it's a mistake you don't want to make.' Gambit smiled disarmingly, showing off the charm that was just another weapon in his arsenal. 'You know I'm de president of de Cyclops fan club. I just don't like getting my toes stepped down on, me. You understand, eh?" Rogue, who has stepped in to help out, releases Raza, and the cyborg ends the exchange by exclaiming, "Thou art a man of honor, Cyclops. Thy father, scoundrel though he may be, is also honorable. Mine loyalty is to him. Thou wouldest be wise to ensure that those whom thou doth lead are equally loyal."

Chapman 23:58

Scott reflects on the moment, thinking how, quote, "Gambit had always been a bit of a problem, a lifelong loner thrust into a team situation." Coming into X-Men well after Gambit had been established as a team member, as a love interest for Rogue, I always found his earlier interpretations as a loner to be a bit comical. If you look at his actual history, other than some tense scenes of brooding, he shows up as a partner to Storm, he's very quickly thrust into a pseudo-relationship with Rogue, he is frequently hounded by his loyalty and engagement with the Thieves Guild, as well as his ex-wife. So all in all, reading Early Gambit definitely feels like a ' he doth protest too much' situation with regards to his loner status, with regards to his attempts at being a lone wolf.

Chapman 24:45

But Warren interrupts Scott's brooding with the arrival of the approaching stargate. The Hala Strike Force straps in, Ch'od begins to pilot their way through the stargate, and in doing so, make sure that he engages their cloaking device. However, upon arriving on the Hala side of this hyper jump, or stargate jump to say, the awaiting Shi'ar Armada immediately fires upon the Starjammer. And that is where we end chapter

Chapter 5

Chapman 25:11

4. We open chapter 5 with the beast piloting the Colorado team to the Project Wide Awake facility. As he reflects on the scenic rural views, he, of all people, begins to reflect on intersectionality and specifically passing privilege, and how it is affected by environment. Quote, he would not have been able to walk a block in the Midwest without being the object of fear, revulsion, and hatred. The same might be true of New York or LA, he realized, but somehow it seemed worse when the magnificence of nature surrounded him. Perhaps because in the city there were so many other eccentric and frightful things happening at all times. While in the country, he could almost understand the feelings of so-called normal people towards mutants. Almost. My instincts were to initially kick my feet out of this, especially given the speaker, given the topic. But upon reflection, especially with my own experience growing up with extended family in Kentucky, and regularly going back there for holidays, I began to think about my own experience with alienation in terms of rural areas and the way the environment has an impact on this. Although the way that Hank frames it here is very much a a view that is buffeted by internalized mutophobia in this case because of the specifics, especially because of the ways his mutation works, but also the broader subtext, obviously, could extend to much more options of the mutant metaphor. Myself, uh experiencing it from the queer perspective, but also those same dynamics are playing out from a racial lens in terms of things like Sundown Towns, and the inability to hide that difference on a physical level, and using Hank, someone who grew up in rural Illinois, and had the complete polar opposite of that experience, to foreground that, to showcase it, albeit coming to a false conclusion with that. Hank's musings are then interrupted by a call from Charles, upon which he thinks to himself, quote, they had known one another for a long time, and Hank had learned to read Charles fairly well. Which, when juxtaposed against Scott's relationship to Charles, especially at the end of chapter three when he's leaving, and that sort of perpetual fear that he's the one who's pissed off Xavier, it really shows the the difference in in the handling of that relationship, and especially on Charles' part. And as someone who reads Scott with that autistic subtext, I think there are definitely ways that you can read that misunderstanding, that inability to fully trust one's instincts in that moment as a sort of autistic struggle versus Hank's more potentially allistic casualty with which he approaches understanding Xavier and getting in the same headspace as him. You could even take that further if you would like to headcanon Hank himself with a version of autism as well, where his symptom profile does not necessarily have as much of that social component. Their two-way call is quickly turned into a three-way call, however, as Val is put on the line to update them on her discussions with specifically the president and the director of Project Wideawake. Charles asks about who that director is, because she has yet to give him a name, and we get a fairly ominous quote about government conspiracy from Val in particular, where she says, quote, There are some things that just aren't worth the price that is put on them. This is one of those things. Believe me when I say you don't need to know. It isn't important who the figurehead is, only the arms and weapons are your concerns. Do you truly fear for your mortality, Val? Hank asked before he could stop himself. There was a time when I first gained high-level clearance that I basked in the glory of secrets, and thought how silly and paranoid people were about the government. I've grown up a lot since then. And while their call quickly ends, Iceman enters the cockpit, having overheard the tail end, and says to Hank, quote, in his best surfer speak, Dude, that Cooper Babe is such a downer, man. What's got the Prof and Val so spooked? Another hot take moment for the fandom. I don't know if you all always read it out as Professor when it's abbreviated as P-R-O-F, or if you think some of the X-Men are running around calling Charles Prof. I think in this moment in particular, it fits for Bobby. But if you have not realized at this point, Christopher Golden is writing Bobby in his best, I promise I'm straight, I promise, I swear, and it's a lot of fun. While they do discuss Val Cooper, the conversation pivots to Henry Peter Gyrich, who they know is also involved in the assignment. And Hank describes him with the quote, a flawless exemplar of our tax dollars, toiling vigorously. And they both laughed. As little as he would have liked to admit it, Hank knew that there had always been people like Gyrich in government, and there likely always would. A lot of the credit that you may have given Hank for his earlier musings starts to kind of go out the window here as we get his conservative side stepping in with the, well, someone's always going to take advantage of the system, so it doesn't surprise me too much that there's crooked politicians. Not to mention the dark logical side of Hank that looks at the landscape of capitalism and thinks to himself, Well, it does make sense to extract as much wealth as you can, as that is how success is measured. Bobby then pivots the topic of conversation to Warren, and Hank reflects internally on the subject matter, thinking, quote, Both he and Bobby had built reputations as wise guys over the years, like the abbot and Costello of the mutant set. They were constantly on. But there was never a need for that when it was just the two of them. There had been a time where it would have been the three of them, including Warren Worthington, now called Archangel. It was just the angel way back when. And maybe they were the three stooges instead of a vaudeville duo. But things had changed. The angel's mind had changed with his body, putting a distance between him and his old friends that was only now beginning to dissipate. As he sat there, in comfortable silence with Bobby, Hank felt that distance from Warren acutely. As I hinted at earlier, Warren will show some more of that growth later on in this book with other members of the original five. But it did have me reflecting on the status of this trio in particular, Bobby, Warren, and Hank, and talk about an X-Men throuple that's not the main one. But it did have me reflecting on how much this trio actually has healed as a unit, especially in comparison to their time. First with Bobby and Warren as a duo and the champions, and then the three of them staking out on their own with the new defenders taking on a whole other team. Granted, that did end tragically with all the team members dying, save for that trio. So maybe that put a downer on the trio to begin with before the whole Archangel transformation. Who's to say? But it all really comes to a head in the following passage. It's never gonna get any better, is it, Hank? Bobby said suddenly, without looking away from the sky outside the window. What isn't? Hank asked. But he thought he knew already. All of it, Bobby answered. His tone filled it with an uncharacteristic gravity and maturity, as well as a resignation that surprised Hank. I mean, I know we're not fighting for the here and now, that we're fighting for the future, for our children. But that's part of it too. I mean, God, other than Scott and Jean, none of us can sustain a a relationship for more than a year. So chances are most of us aren't likely to have children to begin with. Hank didn't know what to say. And so he said nothing. Bobby was right, but there was so much more to it than his frustration would allow him to consider. We didn't ask to encounter one catastrophe after another, to be the focus of the world's malice and repugnance, and the attacks of mutants with perverted priorities. You can say that again. It keeps getting worse though, Hank. That's what I'm saying. In the old days it all seemed like this big adventure. Huck Finn meets James Bond or something. But people have died, Hank. Thunderbird. Doug Ramsey, Candy Southern, Illyana. The whole Phoenix thing is part of it, and everything that's happened too well, to Warren. But I have this fear that he'll never be the same. That all the days we have behind us, as original X-Men, as members of the Defenders and the Champions, even just as friends, period. That everything we built in those days is just crumbling down around us. Warren is just part of it. Oh sweet Bobby Boy, that is the life of a syndicated comics character. It won't ever get better. Things will just keep getting different, and that's life, too. Not to become a philosopher on you. One of the appeals of comics is seeing characters get dragged through the mud over and over and always having a new generation to expose that to, in a way that also shows that you can win, especially in a comic like X-Men if you band together. It's the beauty of it. Hank does try to course-correct Bobby in the situation back into his role, saying, You recognize that your notoriety as a jovial, light-hearted fellow is in jeopardy here, I trust. And though Bobby does freeze his feet, he offers a few more words of encouragement, saying, In some ways, we are fighting a war on many fronts. Tragically, in war, there is no time for luxury. Simultaneously, we are fortunate to have Charles Xavier to offer us such a distinct focus, an objective which is not merely valorous, but essential for the entire world. And we have one another, not just you and I, but all of the X-Men, and our extended family. I love you too, Furball, Bobby said with a chuckle. And after a few more words between the pair, they, quote, fall back into a reflective silence, the blue sky whipping by and sun shining warm on their faces. The focus of the story shifts to the back half of the plane, where Bishop, Storm, and Wolverine prepare for the upcoming battle. We step into the mind of Ororo, where she thinks to herself, quote, Ororo Monroe was a young woman. She had to remind herself of this from time to time, because she thought of herself as having lived so long, done so much. Then again, perhaps the woman she was today had been created by the many other lives she had led within her current lifespan. The characterization of Ororo as mature for her age, I think does stem in part from characterization, does stem in part from character history, I should say. And I think Golden is a good job of emphasizing those in this moment, especially, when talking about her as, quote, an old soul, but also reflecting on her time in Cairo, reflecting on her loss of her parents, obviously, but then her eventual walkabout as well. It's a moment that we see later in the scene not overshadowing the rest of her character work, which is a fine line to walk with this character in particular. I think some of that starts to get a little bit trickier in Universe when you start to look at the role that Charles is thrusting her into, especially at such an early age. He brings her in to function as that gene role, and she very quickly balks that off and shows that even though she does have the people skills to manage that leadership role, her primary focus is going to be a leader overall. Wolverine finishes up a conversation with Bishop, saying to her, I thought I was the life of the party, Roro. But Bishop's got me beat. No contest. And she thinks about how, quote, of the second generation of X-Men, only she and Logan remained. She cared deeply for them all, but there was a bond between herself and Logan that she would never have imagined when she first arrived at Xavier's mansion. He had been more feral then, an angry man, looking for a fight, and never happier than when he found one. These days, Wolverine was as dangerous as ever. He'd become a bit wiser himself. Golden really clues into their key relationship in the X-Men, especially at this time. I'm reminded, even though I'm not still a fan necessarily, of Meredith Gray and Alex Karev from Grey's Anatomy, in terms of the staying power of a relationship, especially between unexpected friends. Although I don't know if they ever hooked up in that show. I can't remember. And once again we're getting a focus on that moment where Logan switches gears from that rough and tumble fighter to that more romantic, more Shogun-influenced direction of the character. She wonders, quote, how old was he? She couldn't even begin to guess, but if she had to, she probably would have started with a century and worked her way up. So Golden and Storm are both not that far off, in terms of his actual revelation that we'll get in the origin series, which I thought was funny. And she also thinks about how, quote, Weapon X was responsible for giving him claws that popped out from between his knuckles on instinct or command. I'm not sure if this is them not knowing in character before Fatal Attractions where those are coming from, if they're bone, or if this was written before Golden had realized or had seen that Fatal Attractions reveal, but either way, a fun little relic of prehistory. She continues on, thinking how, quote, in his ears he'd learned offer respect due to ability rather than age, and so he was more of a brother than a father figure. They'd loved and lost and stood by each other, though he projected the image of a loner, needing no one, and having a true distaste for being needed by anyone, that couldn't be further from the truth. His love for and loyalty to his friends was as fierce and unbending as his will. So overall, really nailing that deep friendship, but also not taking away the possibility for that romantic element that I know some people really ship hard. I don't necessarily see it as much, but I do appreciate especially the friends with benefits or slightly more place that they end up in a lot. And we actually get some of that deeper care here, where Logan checks in about her claustrophobia in a very subtle and caring way. She thinks how, quote, the others all knew about Storm's claustrophobia and assumed she was dealing with it, which she was. Logan was the only one who could tell when it was getting to her. We're not getting the overdramatic Storm is actively rehashing her claustrophobia in the midst of a situation where it's not even that pressing, but we do get a showcase of that friendship and that deep connection between the two, which I really love. She thinks how, quote, she was reminded of a time they'd been together in Manhattan. Even in the melting pot, they had made the oddest of couples. She with her milk chocolate skin and silver white hair, and he, more than half a foot shorter and very Caucasian. She was young, slender, and stylish, while he was obviously older, with a mess of black hair and mutton chop sideburns, in a leather jacket, jeans, and pointed toe cowboy boots. If anyone in that restaurant had been able to simply look in their eyes, however, they would have seen the most important similarity. These were dangerous people. Storm wondered when that had happened to her, when she had become one of the dangerous people. She didn't wonder why, though. While I obviously don't love the particular choice of how to juxtapose Storm's skin opposite Logan's, I do appreciate the acknowledgement and the juxtaposition opposite Beast's interpretation of intersectionality, and the ways that the city offers a refuge to some of that. I'm not sure if they are referencing a particular time to Manhattan. I think I remember a date between or a dinner date between the two of them at some point in the comics, but if you remember the exact potential moment that Golden is referencing here, shout out in the comments. And I also do love that uh the very and very Caucasian is italicized, just for that emphasis. As the pair's conversation shifts to the upcoming mission and what they could be facing off, as well as what their companions could be facing off against in Hala, Wolverine does light up a cigar in the Blackbird, which feels like a crazy thing to do in my opinion. This is a closed environment. That's nuts, man. I know characters point that out at different times in the series, but every time it happens, I'm just I'm astounded. Especially on a plane that is no doubt having multiple tanks of oxygen and reserve for various flights and such to space. Just a truly bonkers idea there. Storm mentions that she's concerned about him, to which Wolverine replies, him and us both. Guys wired to blow Storm. We gotta watch out that doesn't happen. Or at least that nobody gets caught in the shrapnel. Their points are incredibly valid here, but I also feel it's hard to get to know Bishop at this time in the line, both as characters and readers, because so much of his personality is subsumed by PTSD, which is also valid because look at where he came from. On top of that, he's immediately pulled into the witness storyline, so his focal energies are put there rather than on anything personal for him. And then he is shuffled throughout timelines and storylines and Deathbird rendezvous for all the 90s. Which is a really shame because I feel that of all the characters in the X-Men universe, I think that putting him in sort of a mentor or even brother-sibling relationship with Sync of all characters would be a really fascinating term for him. To take Bishop, who is this sort of black sheep, especially post-Messiah Complex and all of that, is this very convoluted character in the X-Men universe, and pair him with someone who is essentially the goodest boy, who is is has such a pure heart and such a hopeful outlook on life despite all of the tragic stuff he's been through, despite his dying for so long. That connection has the potential to even both of them out personality-wise, to soften Bishop up a bit and to give Everett more of an edge. But it also gives an opportunity for a writer of color, specifically a black writer, to come in and showcase a friendship that has the ability to show that intersectionality with two characters that have spent so long in the trenches without anyone really having their back consistently. Obviously, they have their own strong friendships. Gambit and Bishop will eventually uh become quite a sort of buddy cop duo in the late 90s, and obviously Synch has a best friend in Skin, but having an outlet for the two of them to connect as black men, I think, would be a great way to showcase those characters opening up more in a space where they feel safe to. And in someone where they know will understand the intricacies of navigating the X-Men as a black man.

Chapman 43:33

Hank parks the blackbird in a nearby clearing, small ways away from the actual facility, and the team crosses through a forest. We see that, quote, as soon as his feet touched Earth, Bobby iced up, and Storm couldn't help noticing how his once smooth ice form had changed, gaining jagged edges and sharp icicles that represented his hair. There'd been a time when those changes would have looked foolish on Bobby Drake, but inside the shell of his humor and boyish charm, even Iceman had hardened. Somewhat over the years. This transformation from smoothed 80s-era Bobby in early X-Factor into the more jagged 90s Bobby comes a little bit after Fetal Attractions in terms of continuity, so we're mixing things a bit if we're getting into the weeds and the specifics. But I also feel that some of this initial transformation comes after Bobby is initially struck with the curse from Loki. Like I said, in that initial X-Factor volume, that's when his powers really start to kick in for the first time, and he starts to see the extent to which he can push himself. And while Emma will obviously have the more famous iteration of exposing that in the body swap issues in Uncanny X-Men #314, but I think having it kick in here is perfectly valid to showcase his active struggle there. It's also nice that we see Storm recognizing this in Bobby, because their relationship isn't necessarily one that is that close. Therefore, we're able to see how Storm really is an observant leader, one who is focusing on the strengths of her team, one who is actively monitoring the situation, even if she doesn't know the personal ins and outs. She still is kept abreft of updates. They march on through the woods to the Operation Wide Awake facility, contemplating who could potentially be their upcoming villains. Iceman asks, Mutant Liberation Front, you think? There are too many candidates to contemplate, the beast answered. We haven't been confronted by Sinister for some time. It might well be him or any number of others. I love a little bit of fan service, a little bit of lore drop there, and do not get me started about my unironic love of forearm, so love me some mutant liberation front. But before they can enter the facility, the team stumbles upon Colonel Tomko and a large number of soldiers, as well as tanks, all preparing to face off against the unknown mutant threat within Operation Wide Awake. Given that they expected their enemy to come from that facility, they are shocked, to say the least, when a large number of mutants comes from the woods beside them. Tensions immediately arise, and before Storm can attempt diplomacy, we learn that, quote, without a word, Bishop slung the plasma rifle off his shoulder and ratcheted back the safety. It was the kind of reaction Storm had both dreaded and expected. She orders him to shoulder his weapon, and he, quote, tries to stare her down, but she knew he would capitulate. He'd been a soldier and a lawman in his future, so authority meant something to him. Add to the fact that in his lifetime the X-Men had been nothing more or less than wondrous legends, and she knew his loyalty was unquestionable. His ability to remain calm, on the other hand, was unpredictable. So, like I said, truly just a man who is a bundle of PTSD. He is always on a knife's edge, he's ready to spring at a moment's notice, reasonably so, in this situation. Earlier in the plane, Storm remarks about how the Sentinels would have the same effect to Bishop as the word Nazi would to modern X-Men or her team. But in this moment we also get the other dynamics from Bishop that he has, which is Future Cop and Storm's pseudo-romantic, submissive throughout the 90s, other than, like I said, the witness debacle. Those are the primary plot points for Bishop, so Golden is really keying into those. The soldiers draw their weapons on the X-Men, and Tomko announces for the X-Men to throw down their weapons and surrender. Before Storm can reply, Wolverine under his breath says, Seem a little anxious to shoot a couple mutants, don't they? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bishop begin to bring his plasma rifle around to firing position. This vignette of the five members of the Colorado strike team of X-Men, surrounded by a large group of faceless soldiers, is both the ending of the chapter and the picture that Leonardi draws for chapter 5. Chapter

Chapter 6

Chapman 47:49

6, our final chapter for today's episode, takes us inside that facility where Magneto awaits Milan's completion of the hacking of Sentinels. Erik once again ponders the importance of not only his allies but his enemies understanding the implications and the mechanations of his goals, thinking, quote, Xavier would see the light at last. That was important to Magneto. This line of thinking leads to the obligatory flashback to young Charles and Magneto as they debate the importance of morality and the future of mutanthood before taking their official first steps. And in this interpretation, we see Magneto say, quote, It's so obvious, Charles. You see it around you every day, in every newspaper, in every city. It's something I learned in Vor that you have yet to accept. Human society needs someone to hate. There must be a bottom rung on the latter. Right now, mutants are it, and I don't see anyone else climbing up after us. Therefore, as long as human society exists in its current form, humans will hate and fear mutants. In Magneto's thinking here, I'm reminded of the concept of capitalist realism, which is the idea that capitalism and the forces that uphold capitalism desire and work towards making it difficult to imagine a world without capitalism, to imagine a future in which capitalism does not exist, therefore making it harder to uproot capitalism, entrenching it in the mind of the common man, and allowing it to ideologically cement itself going forward. If you cannot imagine a world without something, you do not imagine a world without something. In that same way, I look at how Magneto views this need for a scapegoat, this need for someone to hate, as looking at how the dominant models of society are working right now, and seeing that a competition-based society is the only way forward, as opposed to reimagining what society could look like without those forces of competition, truly driving so much of what society's plans are, what our goals are, how we take care of each other. Charles counters this by saying, quote, There are certainly humans who need to hate, but I do not believe that is true of humanity as a whole. Humans and mutants can live in peace, Magnus. I will never believe otherwise, never. He is pushing back in that same way, but his inability to direct where that key flaw in logic is, I think, is what loses Magneto in the long run. And if you factor in that Charles' power set is to get in the minds of others, he has the opportunity to truly understand so many perspectives, to be able to to empathize and to find ways to get his point across to these different perspectives, but he doesn't treat them as valid, per se. He doesn't treat them as necessary, I guess, and he chooses his own very specific tactics to push that forward. The focal character shifts to Amelia Vogue as she approaches Magneto's chambers and Milan's hacking station. And we get the quote here: Amelia Vogue wondered, not for the first time, how she had ended up an acolyte of Magneto, when she had turned down a similar role in the life of Charles Xavier. Perhaps, though, the answer lay in the manner in which she had phrased the question. As an acolyte, Magneto was her lord and master. Xavier had been her lover. When he began to build the foundations for the X-Men, their relationship became, well, competition was the only word she could think of. I think Golden's choice to portray the refusal of Xavier's invitation as less of a denial of the call, and more so as feeling a betrayal from Xavier to have thrust this idea of a new life as a role of matron to the X-Men, mother to a group of teens that he is now adopting out of the blue. It makes sense that she would feel that betrayal, to feel this life shift that he has brought upon her as a betrayal of their relationship rather than a refusal for this noble calling. And also informs that role that he keeps thrusting upon Jean or on Ororo as the matron, as the mother of the group, because he clearly sees himself as not fit for it and needing to fill it in some degree. I also think it's nice to emphasize the types of roles that she is not only viewing the leaders as, but that then she fulfills. For Xavier, she becomes this Den mother, like I said, she becomes this matron. For Erik, she becomes this lieutenant, this trusted advisor, this tactician. And while she does oversee, as we'll see later in the book, the tactical, the uh defensive modes, especially in battle and in combat, given her power set, that is not her primary focus. Again, we're seeing a pattern that Charles is one to expect that role from women, and Erik is one to allow that role to occur, if it's your strong suit. I think of Katu in this case, in terms of acolytes who are more focused on the actual preservation of the acolytes themselves, of the morale of that more caring role. She goes on to think, quote, Xavier would gather his X-Men, like-minded individuals, or young people whose opinions were not yet fully formed, whom he could then sculpt to his needs. Which is the read of the century, especially when you factor in the Deadly Genesis team and the fact that he produced them as a set of weapons off of Mirror Island for his own use. But she also reflects on her status in the larger mutant role, thinking how, quote, years later, she'd realized it was too late to make a choice. She was afraid again. But this time, there seemed only one way to survive, and that was to fight back against the swelling tide of human loathing. Mutants had to prevail. Magneto was the living essence of that conviction, and therefore, vote had thrown in with him. I'm learning more about vote from this chapter than I do from 90% of her comics' appearances. Her mind is on display here in a way that I think fully encompasses the humanity that she has behind the c*nty haircut and teleportation powers that she deploys. She goes on thinking, quote, she still had a soft spot in her heart for Charles Xavier. That modicum of good feeling did not, however, extend to the X-Men. They were hopeless fools, all seduced by romanticism and wallowing in ignorance. The more informed even keel reads that she was getting on Xavier here start to get overshadowed by, I think, some some deep resented hurt from that initial betrayal from Charles. The X-Men were the the person that Charles betrayed her with in this case. And the more personal side of that resentment starts to show through in that assessment of the X-Men. Knowing Charles' power set, knowing the position of power that he's putting them into, recognizing that they are vulnerable. I would hope that she would recognize them as victims in that scenario then, and instead it is truly that personal taking over. Once she has informed Magneto of the X-Men's arrival and the soon-to-be battle occurring outside, he says to her, quote, While most of the acolytes will see your orders as a direct communication of my villain, that is a lesson Unusc ione may need to be taught. I would vouch my back during battle. Ever a convenient time to be rid of competition. Folks, I can't see the page anymore. The foreshadow is is too dark here. I haven't read the other two books, and yet I think you can see where this is going. Even if he doesn't actually suspect Carmela of betraying Amelia any time soon, this is such a Machiavellian way of maintaining your power over lieutenants to pit them against each other, to to weaken them with infighting rather than have them work together to overthrow you. But as I said, I'm sure this is foreshadowing an event that unfortunately we do not get in this book in particular. But fingers crossed, soon. The earlier moment of Magneto ignoring his potential attraction to Amelia is mirrored here as she thinks to herself that, quote, she knew she held a place in his life as a confidant. But she hoped there was no romantic interest involved. She had already once given her heart to a man incapable of accepting the responsibility. She'd be damned if she'd do it again. I don't know if she can sing, but she should take her story to Nashville. I want Reba McIntyre voicing Amelia Vote in X-Men 97 from now on. This is classic country heartbreak here, folks. At that moment, Milan completes his hacking of the initial security on the Sentinels, and Magneto begins to take over to program the Sentinels to his will, and so that they may accept him as the giver of commands. The machine takes some biometrics from him in the form of blood, which pricks his finger and causes him some discomfort. And we get this moment where, quote, Milan's exhaustion and satisfaction were evident in his features, though obscured by the visor he wore and the tattoo on his face. My lord, you are in pain, Milan said, and Magneto almost laughed at the simple childlike wonder in the man. Though it was possible devout piety and childlike wonder were too often confused. This is a moment where I felt that Milan was getting a little too close to Toad Light, his sycophant nature, the childlike wonder that they're saying. It's butting up against classic Mortimer Toynbee territory in a way that I want him to steer clear of because I like Milan being a his own weird little guy. It's also nice that we get confirmation that the markings on his face are indeed tattoos. I have no idea what culture those would be from, maybe they're just cybernetic, but regardless, I'm loving the extra Milan time. We get a small note where Magneto mentions that at this point Sebastian Shaw is dead. So this falls some time in between his false death by the upstarts and Shinobi. But as the X-Men prepare to battle outside with the army and the acolytes prepare inside, we shift from Colorado all the way across the country to Washington, DC. Once again, Valerie Cooper makes her way through government halls until she arrives at the office of Henry Peter Gyrich. On the way, she thinks to herself, quote, It was to her greatest pleasure that she had known far too much hate in her life. Most people, she imagined, knew too little love. That was par for the course. Hate was completely different. It was a disease, an infectious one at that. Still, she lived in Washington, so the choice was between hatred and self-loathing. Val Cooper thought she was pretty decent, overall, so she chose hatred. While yes, she is complicit in a larger empire. That monologue, folks, internally, pretty cun. She's got great moments in X Factor, she obviously has some complex moments during the 198 era, but this version of Val Cooper, she's the badass. And upon entering Gyrich's office, the claws in both directions are immediately out. He launches at her saying, Cooper, I've got a major crisis on my hands, and I wonder if you can shed some light on it for me. I want to know what the X-Men are doing, traipsing all over the Colorado site. Somehow I expect you'll have an answer for me. She replies, Let me tell you something, you sanctimonious bigot. Unlike you, I follow orders. The secretary instructed me to call Charles Xavier. I have done that. No more, no less. Simply because you cannot even conceive of following instructions is no reason to believe those around you share your faults. Did you inform the X-Men of the situation in Colorado? No. Then we can only assume, as I have long believed, that Professor Xavier is directly tied to the X-Men. Val tries to deflect from this by throwing Charles's connection to Hank and Hank's connection to the X-Men under the bus. But Gyrich isn't phased, saying, If you didn't call them, and Xavier didn't call them, then it must be the X-Men themselves who have taken over this facility. I have every reason to think that's the case, and unless you can tell me a different story, we both know how the Secretary will feel. This is Gyrich. Get me Colonel Tomko. Move an inch toward that phone, and you're done in DC, Cooper. Hello, Colonel. Under my authority, you are hereby ordered to place the X-Men in custody. Should they resist, you will instruct your men to shoot, to kill. If you fail, it'll only prove that Wide Awake is a necessity that must be put into active use. One way or the other, it's a win-win for me, Val, which means you lose. This battle of political giants is depicted by Leonardi in the opening chapter art. In the window between Gyrich and Cooper, the Washington U Monument stands extremely phallically over this hypothetical dick measuring contest.

Closing Statements

Chapman 1:00:47

And that concludes today's episode of the Subtext Men podcast. We're four more chapters in. You can expect about three more episodes before we get to our book club. And the situations in the woods of Colorado and the space above the planet of Hala continue to get worse and worse for our X-Men. Make sure you tune in next week to figure out what happens and for more subtextual analysis. If you didn't catch it this past Friday, I made an appearance on the Solving for X-Men podcast, where I went over episode 9 of the Wolverine and the X-Men series with the guys over there. It is an absolute blast. It's the episode where the series really kicks off, and it was one of my favorites from childhood, if you remember from episode 0. So it was wonderful getting to revisit that one, getting to dive back in, and even getting to cover some new comics like we did. Other than that, things are chugging along here, so keep an eye out for another episode next week. Thank you for listening to another episode of the SubteXtMen Podcast. I'm your host and producer, Chapman Blake, with graphic design by Seth Christian Martel. You can connect with the podcast on social media at SubteXtMen Pod. Don't forget to rate and review wherever you're listening. If you'd like to read along with the show, be sure to utilize your local library, book exchange, or used goods store first and foremost. We'll see you next time on

Closing Theme

Chapman 1:02:12

SubteXtMen!