THE HUNGER

MUTANT X #13 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week we get more Bloodstorm.  Apparently there were demands?  Okay, I’ve been reading the letters columns, so I actually know first hand that, yes, there were demands.  People were really obsessed with the most straightforward concept in the series, I guess.  Well, let’s see where this all leads in “The Hunger!”

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #13 is actually not cover dated, which is a first for the series.  It looks like that was just an across the board thing for the Marvel line that month.  Were there a date printed on the cover, it would be October 1999.  It was written by Ben Raab, with pencils by Mike Miller, and inks by Saleem Crawford.  This marks the second time that we’ve gotten an issue of the series written by someone other than Howard Mackie, and the first time it’s been in the main sequence of the book.

Several years in the past of the main series, Kitty Pryde writes a note to Colossus, narrating as she prepares to face down and potentially slay Storm, recently turned vampire by Dracula.  Meanwhile, in a castle far away, Storm grapples with a hunger for blood.  She stumbles upon Forge, whom she does not yet know, tied up to be used as feast for the vampires.  Storm longs for death, but Forge tells her there may be other options.  Kitty tracks storm to the castle, while Storm and Forge escape, evading Dracula’s goons.  Kitty arrives and slays said goons, before setting her sights on Storm.  They battle and Kitty gains the upper hand, but is unable to deliver the killing blow, giving Storm the chance to feed on her.  Back at the X-Mansion, Colossus and Nightcrawler discuss the disappearance of Storm and Kitty, who have now been gone for five months.  Colossus reveals an engagement ring he intended for Kitty, before admitting that she is truly gone.

Admittedly, it’s a little tricky to piece together this issue’s relevance within the narrative.  It’s touted as the origin of Bloodstorm, but it doesn’t really feel that way, since she’s already a vampire at the start, and all the end really does is confirm that she’s a vampire, which we already knew from the start and the fact that she’s a vampire in the current time period of the book.  Exactly what this is the origin of is kind of iffy at best, and the ending is just…odd.  Like, I guess Storm is turning Kitty into a vampire too?  Obviously she’s not killing her, since we’ve seen Kitty in the present day.  But also, we know from seeing Kitty in the present day that she’s at the very least had her head messed with a bit.  So, nothing presented here is surprising or new, or anything we didn’t already know.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I gotta be honest, I just really didn’t care for this one.  The fascination with Bloodstorm continues to perplex me, and this story does nothing to combat that.  Kitty the Vampire Slayer thing is cool enough, and clearly they were getting some Buffy inspiration there(which is fitting, what with Buffy being Kitty inspired and all) but it also leaves me with a lot of questions.  Why is Kitty the one hunting Storm down, and not *any* other member of the team.  Why doesn’t she take Colossus, a guy who would be pretty handy in a fight against a vampire, with her?  And why do none of the other X-Men try to find her in the ensuing five months?  As the first issue post-Goblin Queen wrap-up, this is a very weak installment.  Hopefully, next issue will be a bit better.

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

ONCE UPON A TIME…

MUTANT X #12 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week, a year’s worth of storytelling comes to a head, as Havok faces down his wife, the Goblin Queen, and the status quo takes a shift in “Once upon a time…”

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #12 is a special double-sized issue, cover dated September of 1990.  It was written by Howard Mackie, with pencils by Cary Nord, and inks by Andrew Pepoy.

The Watcher Uatu presents the reader with the backstory of the Goblin Entity and how it came to be entangled with Madelyne Pryor. After devouring some of the most powerful forces in the cosmos (including the Phoenix Force and Galactus), the Entity is imprisoned by the Fifth Host of the Celestials, only to be set free when Maddie bargained for Scotty’s life years prior. In the present day Maddie is consumed further by the Entity, taking on outwardly demonic traits. As the X-Men rally for the oncoming battle, Victor von Doom arrives at the UN to offer his services leading the forces going into the war to end all wars. Alex, Brute, and the X-Men depart for battle in the Blackbird, and Scotty stays behind with Elektra. Before departing, Alex kisses Elektra goodbye (officially making the subtext proper text), and Scotty telepathically imparts a piece of knowledge in Alex’s mind, before finally calling him “Dad”. Doom and his army arrive in New York, and are joined by Alex, Magneto, and the Sub Mariner. Their combined forces engage Bloodstorm, Ice-Man, and Fallen. Alex is able to break through to Bloodstorm and Ice-Man, freeing them finally of Maddie’s control. Fallen is well and truly revealed to be acting entirely of his own free will, and attacks the others. Alex recalls his death once more, in the darkness, but is pulled back by Scotty, or at least the portion of him that Scotty put in Alex’s head earlier. Together, they encounter Maddie and the Goblin Entity. A fearless Scotty faces down the Entity, and sends it away. Alex awakens again, with the real Scotty beside him. Maddie has gone away but promised to return some day, and the Goblin Queen’s forces disappeared. Scotty appears to have forgotten the whole ordeal. The assembled heroes pledge to rebuild, but first Alex decides to tell the others where he really comes from. In an epilogue, we’re treated to scenes from this universe’s alternate history (drawn by some classic Marvel talent to boot), as Alex narrates, discussing how to rebuild the Six.

There’s been a lot of lead up to this issue.  I mean, I guess, really, the whole thing has been lead up to this issue, since the original plan for the run was just for it to be a 12-issue mini-series.  It’s initial success turned in into an ongoing, and some of the plans changed.  This issue is the first to really reflect both of those points.  I wraps up the loose threads up to this point, but doesn’t *quite* put a bow on it at the end, so that there’s enough room to tell more stories.  And now, the whole team knows Alex’s secret, the four not evil members have re-united, and we can go back to some more world building and character development beyond just “on the run from Madelyn in between bouts of fighting Madelyn.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This issue is one of the ones I had as a kid, picked up at a drugstore while on a trip with one of my aunts.  It’s also one that I remembered decently enough, though largely I remember the beginning and end.  The actual resolution didn’t stick with me quite as much originally.  I was pretty excited for this one going in, and…well, it wasn’t quite what I expected, but I also did still quite like the pay off.  And now, I get to read all the post-Madelyne stuff, which actually really excites me.

Anyway, I’m going to be taking a week off to catch my breath, and then I’ll be back here for year 2 of Mutant X!

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

AND A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM

MUTANT X #11 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week, don’t tell Scotty, because Scotty doesn’t know…or something like that.

THE ISSUE ITSELF

At the X-mansion, Scotty sits at the top of the stairs listening to Havok and the X-Men discussing what to do about Madelyn. His thoughts go out to her, and she hears him. In Madelyn’s mind, she faces down a personification of the Goblin Queen, before the two merge into one entity. Back at the mansion, Ororo has come for Scotty. The X-Men are unsuccessful in fighting her off, and Ororo brings Scotty back to the castle. Locked away, Scotty lashes out with his powers. He is visited by Brute, who is freed from Madelyn’s control by Scotty’s abilities. Brute breaks Scotty out, facing down against his old teammates. Scotty briefly frees Ice-Man and Bloodstorm from Madelyn’s control, but is unable to reach Fallen, who nearly kills him. Madelyn intervenes, seemingly holding back her Goblin side, and she sends Scotty and Brute away, back to the mansion.

After being a supporting player for several issues, Scotty gets to be the main focus this issue, and it works well. The stakes feel pretty real, and it’s nice to see the Six back to themselves, even briefly. Brute’s return is especially nice, because he remains one of my favorites. Madelyn being more than just the big bad for a change is also refreshing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is the last issue before the big wrap-up of what was supposed to end the original run, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. We’ve seen a fair bit of filler recently, and this one *could* have been that, but it wasn’t. I particularly liked the ending being just a nice, hopeful note, rather than a cliffhanger. I’m actually pretty excited for the next chapter, though.

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

THE X-MEN COMETH!

MUTANT X #10 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week, the X-Men’s alternate universe counterparts make their long-awaited debut in “The X-Men Cometh!”

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #10 is cover dated July of 1999 and has story and art by Howard Mackie, Carey Nord, and Andrew Pepoy.

When last we left the displaced Alex Summers, Magneto had just arrived and interrupted a battle between the Resistance and Madelyn’s forces.  Magneto asks for an explanation of what has happened to the Earth while he and the X-Men have been in space, and looks for a solution to set things right.  Madelyn tells Magneto that the only solution is to do what Alex has been incapable of doing: killing her.  She then has her Sentinels attack the Resistance, and it is only with Magento’s assistance that she and her Sentinels are repelled.  Following the battle, Magneto collapses, and it is revealed that his feats of magnetism were an illusion, supplied by a nearby Polaris.  Magneto was wounded in space and has not fully recovered.  Polaris and Havok converse, with Alex internalizing his thoughts of his own Polaris, as this one reacts with bewilderment at his interest.  A short distance away, Madelyn tortures the Five for retreating from the battle, before revealing that Reed Richards has built her an army of upgraded Sentinels.  These Sentinels are sent to attack Havok, Polaris, and Magneto, who are saved by the arrival of Nightcrawler, Quicksilver, Rogue, and Mystique.  With the rest of the X-Men present, Havok, Polaris, and Magneto retreat, as Madelyn plans for conquest.

This issue is touted as the long-awaited arrival of the X-Men, which isn’t inaccurate, but it’s also not *quite* as advertised.  The cover shows the whole line-up, but we spend the bulk of the issue with just Magneto and Polaris.  The other four are really just a cameo appearance at the end.  It’s still pretty cool to get some small hints about what they’ve been up to all this time, though, and the scenes with Alex and Lorna provide some intriguing emotional drama, as he struggles to deal with his feelings towards her.  After Magneto’s arrival last issue, though, I was expecting a bit more momentum than we ultimately got.  This winds up as another vaguely on the run sort of issue.  It’s definitely building to something, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is another case of a cover showing promise that the contents don’t *quite* deliver.  Unlike the last issue, however, I don’t feel like what we got was totally lacking in weight; it’s just a different story than expected.  While it’s smaller in focus, I do like the decision to spend more time with Magneto and Lorna, and the bit with her compensating for his lack of power is actually pretty clever.  Overall, not what I was expecting, but I didn’t dislike it.

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

THE UNCANNY

MUTANT X #9 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

Hot on the tail of the first annual, Havok goes underground!

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #9 is cover dated June of 1999, and has Howard Mackie as writer, Mike Miller on pencils, and Andrew Pepoy on inks.

In light of the annual’s events, Havok is on the run.  He calls Elektra (still at the X-Mansion with Scotty) and lets her know that he was unable to take down Madelyn.  Elektra and Scotty are attacked by Sentinels at the mansion, at the same time that Havok is chased down by Sentinels in New York.  Havok flees, falling underground, where he’s greeted by Ben Grimm, Mole Man, Callisto, and the Morlocks.  Ben tells Havok of the Morlocks’ plan to launch a resistance, and asks Alex to join in.  Alex declines, citing his need to rescue Scotty.  Ben accompanies him to the surface, but they are attacked by the Five and a squadron of Sentinels.  Callisto reveals herself to be a traitor, having sold out the Morlocks’ location to Madelyn.  As the battle escalates, both sides are interrupted by the arrival of a new player: Magneto!

After the last couple of issues, this one kind of feels like filler.  There’s very little actual advancement of the plot, and most of the character direction is just recapping prior story beats.  Though the issue touts guest stars on the cover, most of them are little more than bit players, with only Alex and Ben getting any real focus.  In particular, Mole Man and Callisto seem rather unexplored in this universe, and their underground movement has a lot of untapped potential.  The mind controlled Six are also not given much to do this time around, mostly just acting as Maddie’s muscle.  At the end of the issue, not much ground has been gained by either side, but the arrival of Magneto does at least give the story some momentum.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I liked the last largely filler issue, this one didn’t do much for me.  The cover showed a lot of promise; I’m a sucker for a cool Giganto shot.  But the actual events in the issue are kind of without any weight.  Havok fighting the rest of the Six has become a little bit repetitive at this point.  Thankfully, the arrival of Magneto and the rest of the X-Men should give the story some cool new cameos at the very least.

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

A WORLD GONE MAD

MUTANT X ’99 ANNUAL (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

In the book’s first annual, Madelyn continues to vie for power, as Havok tries to put together his own group of Allies to put a stop to her machinations.

THE ISSUE ITSELF

The Mutant X ’99 Annual is cover dated May of 1999, and has a story by Jay Faerber, pencils by Paschalis Ferry, and inks by Andrew Pepoy and Paschalis Ferry. This marks the first, and as far as I know only, time that Howard Mackie isn’t writer for this book. Presumably, he wasn’t up for two issues in the same month and handed this one off.

Nick Fury and SHIELD arrive in a swamp town in Florida, having been officially reinstated by the Madelyn-controlled US government. Sentinels run rampant in New York, searching for Mutants. Havok is pulled out of the Hudson and awakens in the remains of Avengers Mansion, where he is looked after by Stingray and Yellowjacket, the team’s only surviving members. They lament that Bruce Banner has finally cured himself of the Hulk, and call for backup in the form of a super gamma powered Doc Samson. They capture Brute, who reveals to them that Madelyn and her mind-controlled heroes are working with SHIELD to find the Nexus. In Washington DC, a Sentinel attack on an innocent mutant is thwarted by Vendetta and Firestar. They decide to work together, and Vendetta pays President Kelly a visit, revealing he knows Kelly is under the Goblin Queen’s control. Back at the Swamp, Madelyn is confronted by Doctor Strange, who does battle with the Six. When Bloodstorm attempts to suck his blood, Strange reveals himself to be Man-Thing. Havok and the Avengers arrive to assist, and Havok is forced to destroy the Nexus to keep Madelyn from getting its power. Havok christens the new team “the Defenders” and departs. At a bar two nights later, a TV broadcast reveals that President Kelly has stepped down, and has named Reed Richards as his successor.

This story takes sort of a hard veer left with the narrative. We last saw Alex, in civilian clothes, flung out a window by Maddie, but this issue picks up with him in full uniform, having been pulled out of the river by Stingray. There are blanks that you can fill in without too much trouble, but it still has the “did I miss an issue?” feel that’s happened a few times in the last batch of issues. The guest stars this issue are an interesting bunch. I really dug the Man-Thing reveal on Strange, especially with his ties to the Nexus, and I was also quite intrigued by Firestar and Vendetta, though they’re not really explored too much.  We don’t even find out who Vendetta’s main universe counterpart is.  Firestar’s affectionate references to him as “Vee” gave me Justice/Vance Astrovik vibes, but that’s probably just my love of the Busiek/Perez Avengers coloring my opinion.  As per usual, there’s a contingent that thinks he’s Deadpool, which is fair too, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t dislike this issue, but it also was very out of nowhere.  Not having the regular writer involved probably contributes to that, and its definitely a self-contained sort of thing that’s going on.  I do like the continued focus on odd-ball characters, especially as we go deeper into the lore of the alternate universe.

This issue was the one and only issue from the run that wasn’t in the huge batch I bought from Cosmic Comix.  Instead, it was purchased for me as a birthday present by Max, who was unable to live in a world where I didn’t have the full run, and quickly sought to fix the problem.

THE REIGN OF THE QUEEN

MUTANT X #8 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week, as the Goblin Queen advances her plans for domination, Havok goes back to a place he once called home!

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #6 is cover dated May of 1999, and has Howard Mackie as writer, Cary Nord and Yancey Labat on pencils, and Andrew Pepoy and Scott Elmer on inks.

Vice President Robert Kelly works late at the White House when it is attacked by an unseen force. Madelyn Pryor enters his office and informs him that she has killed the President, and that Kelly is in charge, and the Six will now be his cabinet. Meanwhile, Alex, Scotty, and Elektra arrive at the X-Mansion, which is vacant apart from Cerebro, a Technarchy-based living version of the X-Men’s mutant finding super computer, who has been left in charge of the grounds while the X-Men aid the Shi’ar in space. Alex asks Cerebro for assistance finding Maddie and the others, and locates them attacking Larry Trask in his secret Sentinel base. Alex realizes Maddie is raising an army, and he’ll need to rally his own forces. He asks Elektra to keep Scotty safe. The Six and their Sentinels lay siege on New York, and Alex returns in search of Maddie. He’s found by The Fallen, who brings Alex to her. She wants Scotty back, but Alex refuses, so she flings him from a tall building.

This issue is a lot of set-up, but it’s got some nice little touches that really work in its favor. As the Six make grand sweeping plans and changes, she get some nice smaller moments with Havok’s story. The Warlock-esque Cerebro is a really fun twist, like a more benign precursor to Danger. Elektra also gets some decent focus, solidifying her own odd relationship with Alex, as she starts to realize that there’s something different about him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Though it may be largely filler, this issue is honestly one of my favorites thus far. I loved the Cerebro angle, and I’m actually enjoying the sequences with Elektra, which is a rarity for me.

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

THE SEASON OF THE WITCH

MUTANT X #7 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week, it’s the last temptation of Orro and Bob, and also Havok and Elektra go road tripping in “The Season of the Witch”.

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #7 is cover dated April of 1999, with Howard Mackie as the writer, Cary Nord as the penciller, and Andrew Pepoy as the inker.

Demons attack Bloodstorm’s abode, so she sends Forge and Kitty off to safety as she faces them down. She calls down a storm upon them, before being defeated by an unseen foe. Ice-Man arrives at the remains of Ororo’s castle, and pulls her from the wreckage. Ororo and Bob discuss the unseen foe, when Ororo is drawn into the shadows and returns eager for Bob to join whatever she encountered. Bob flees but is caught by this unseen force. Halfway across the country, Havok, Elektra, and Scotty take a break in their road-trip to get something to eat at a diner. Scotty asks to leave suddenly, so they move on their way. Alex and Elektra discuss why they’re on the road-trip, and Alex recalls Brute’s execution and the trauma that followed, when they are ambushed by the staff of the diner, now mindless slaves, with Brute accompanying them. Brute tries to get Alex and Scotty to come back to see “her” with him, but Alex and Elektra fight off Brute and the mindless staff. In an unknown location, Ice-Man, in control of his powers again, joins the unseen figure, Madelyn, who invites him to join her, as the Five stand together, and declare they will be the Six once more.

Admittedly, this issue is a touch confusing. Last issue ended with everyone at the courthouse and Brute asking for the death penalty. This one throws us into the thick of things, with Brute having already been executed, Alex and Scotty seemingly on the run, and the rest of the team fractured. Why exactly Bloodstorm is evacuating her castle and why Ice-Man came to check in on her are both left a little vague. I honestly thought I’d missed an issue at first, and had to verify I hadn’t. Also, I realize I’ve gotten this far and not addressed Elektra being Scotty’s nanny. It’s a testament to the in-house love of the Daredevil cast that in an X-series, Matt, Elektra, and Bullseye have all gotten notable (if perhaps random and forced) roles. If nothing else, this issue finally gives Ice-Man something to do, which is a definite plus, since he’d been the least utilized at this point in the series. Unfortunately, Warren is back to being a non-entity again this issue. But, we’re definitely moving the plot forward.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is honestly one of my least favorite issues thus far. It’s not bad, but it was definitely confusing, even to someone who knows where everything is headed. Still, it does point things in a pretty good direction.

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

THE TRIAL OF THE BRUTE

MUTANT X #6 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week, Hank McCoy stands trial for a crime he didn’t commit, but even he doesn’t believe it!

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #6 has a cover date if March 1999, and has story and art by Howard Mackie, Cary Nord, and Andrew Pepoy.

Henry McCoy, aka the Brute, stands on trial, accused of murdering Man-Spider and Norman Osborne. Though Brute doesn’t recall the murders and is confused about his motives, Maddie says he did it, and he believes her, or is at least inclined to. Brute’s attorney Matt Murdock calls for a recess. While Havok is interviewed by Gwen Stacy about Brute’s trial and the risk of rising tensions between humans and mutants, Scotty has a vision of Hank in trouble. Meanwhile, Maddie and Fallen visit Brute in his cell, and strong arm him into keeping up the charade that he is the killer. Back in court, Matt calls a surprise witness: Man-Spider! The one killed last issue was in actuality a clone. While court is in session, the guards are attacked by a group of ninjas. A mysterious figure outside the courthouse is revealed to be Bullseye, who is here to kill Hank. A battle breaks out in the courtroom, but is interrupted when Brute steps out, his intellect seemingly restored. With his restored intelligence, Hank pleaded guilty for the murders, and requests the death penalty for his crimes.

After a fairly packed issue last time, this one retreads a little bit. We get more of Brute being confused and Maddie and Fallen being evil, solidifying that new status quo a bit more. We also get both Matt Murdock and Bullseye in the same story, even if they don’t interact or anything. Alex is officially past trusting Maddie at this point, setting up where things are going with the story. We also get a rollback on killing off Man-Spider with the clone reveal, which is on one hand a bit of a cop out, but on the other a rather brilliant parody of exactly how things go for Spidey. We also see the rumblings of Human-Mutant relations falling apart again, showing just how fragile that whole thing really is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Brute continues to be my favorite cast member at this point, and while not a ton happens in this one, I do like his scenes a lot. Alex is also getting the hang of things a bit more here, which makes for more interesting storytelling.

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

GOBLINS IN THE NIGHT

MUTANT X #5 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week, The Six teams up with Spider-Man Man-Spider, and things don’t go so well for….like any body involved, really, in “Goblins in the Night.”

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #5 is cover dated February of 1999, and has story and dialogue by Howard Mackie, pencils by Tom Raney, inks by Andrew Pepoy, colors by Gina Going, and letters by Chris Eliopoulos.

The story begins with the Six in the midst of battling Norman Osborne’s army of minions. Havok, still trying to get a grip on things, refers to them as “demons”, but Maddie takes umbrage with this, insisting they are little more than clones. Eager to end the fight, Maddie takes the Fallen to confront Osborne directly. A distrusting Havok asks Brute to go along to keep an eye on the other two. As Maddie and Osborne battle, Man-Spider arrives to intervene. Maddie is insistent on killing Osborne, but Man-Spider objects. Maddie and the Fallen turn on Man-Spider, and Maddie murders Osborne and Man-Spider just as Brute arrives. Fallen threatens to hurt Brute’s family and friends if Brute tells anyone what happened, sending Brute into a rage. When the rest of the team arrives, Maddie pins the murders on Brute, who, fearful for those he cares for, is unable to offer evidence to the contrary. Alex tries to reason with Brute, but is interrupted by the others, who subdue Hank and turn him in to the authorities.

A lot of stuff happens in this issue, especially in terms of moving the on-going plot forward. After a few issues of filling in the universe, this one seems more set on actually playing within what’s there. It’s also a rather Alex-light story, which is an interesting change. He gets a rather recap-heavy internal narration at the beginning, sends Brute on his way, and then is absent for quite a bit of the issue. There’s a lot of really good stuff with Brute, who remains the most interesting of the Six, as he struggles with his moral compass relative to his reduced intellect. Maddie also falls deeper into the dark side, and we *finally* get some characterization for the Fallen. Boy is *he* not a nice guy. In some ways, Warren’s devotion to Maddie does seem a little sudden, but it’s refreshing compared to the absolutely no characterization he had previously. The sudden demise of Man-Spider after placing him front and center on the cover also is a neat subversion, following up on the trend set by Wolverine of displacing the heavy hitters in this universe.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I said last issue that I was iffy on the Goblin Queen stuff, but it honestly picks up really well this time around. It’s clearer what direction they’re heading with her, and Fallen gets to start his own arc, which I’ve been patiently waiting to see kick into action. There’s a lot less Havok, though, which I’m always a little down on, but at least we get some good Brute coverage

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.