Attilan Rising Podcast

The mad prince Maximus is up to some no good in this IvX tie-in story from the creative team of  Charles Soule, Kim Jacinto and Java Tartaglia (with an ultra-cool cover by the great Fraizer Irving).

In the midst of the second superhero civil war, Maximus decided to sew a bot of mayhem by orchestrating a deadly conflict between New Attilan and Tony Stark.  It all culminated sending a legion of his Iron Man battle suits to lay siege to the inhuman city.  Maximus utilized the chaos to break into the prison cells in the bowels of the city and free the Inhuman villains, Lineage and The Unspoken.  Somehow the trio of cads made their way to South Beach Florida so that Maximus might take his time deciding how to use his new pawns so to bring about further chaos.

                                           

At first Max doesn’t find much use for The Unspoken (boring old guy) and Lineage (who has the power to talk to dead boring old guys), but Max decided he wants to have a gang and offers the two the opportunity to go ‘ganging’ with him.

                                                       

                                                       

 Time passes and Max’s boredom doesn’t abate.  He needs a goal, a purpose, something worthy of his attention.  Gaining revenge on his brother for destroying his hands doesn’t interest him, taking over New Attilan feels dull, destroying the world seems to easy.

Then he turns on the television and comes across the news that the X-Men have laid siege to New Attilan.  It’s just what he’s been waiting for and Maximus is elatedly inspired!

                           

The gears of Maximus’s manic genius turn quickly and he devises a plan.  Utilizing, Lineage’s powers, Maximus communes with an ancient Inhuman named Monan who centuries ago had been the assistant of Randac.  From this ancient scientist, Maximus learns of a formula for creating Terrigen.  Of course, Maximus wants this information for himself and himself alone, so he has Lineage wear earphone and sends the Unspoken to wait out on the balcony.

                                                                                     

Then he stabs Monan in the head with a fork, slightly injuring Lineage and freeing Monan forever from imprisonment inside Lineage (hence insure that this information cannot be passed along to lineage or anyone else).

The scene switches to a Shield superman detention facility in rural New Mexico.  It turns out Maximus has kept a small Terrigen Crystal, one of the last in existence.  He offers it to The Unspoken in exchange for breaking into the facility and freeing a particular prisoner.  Maximus promises that, were they to succeed in his plot, The Unspoken will have all of the Terrigen he could ever dream for.

                                 

The nature of The Unspoken’s powers is that he gain any ability he chooses, but requires a constant supply of Terrigen in order to fuel this fleeting power.  The Unspoken possess rather limited sense of imagination and he always chooses to transform himself into again hulking being with incredible super strength.

Empowered, The Unspeakable tears into the prison, tossing guards aside and searching out the individual Maximus is looking for.  Meanwhile, Max makes a quite phone call to Mumbai to recruit the Inhuman villain, Banyan, into his cause.

The Unspoken quickly returns, with Triton in tow.  The hulking Inhuman’s power quickly fades and he reverts to his previous form as a fail old man.
Triton had been arrested and incarcerated after confessing to participating in the events that resulted in the destruction of Stark Tower.  He doesn’t especially want to be freed.  He wishes to serve his time aa a penance for betraying his queen and people.  Maximus convinces him otherwise.

                                    

Maximus’s sinister preening aside, his plan seems rather nobel on the surface,  He will recreate a new supply of Terrigen Crystals and thereby end the terrible war between The Inhumans and The Mutants.  The Inhumans will no longer be reliant on the Terrigen Cloud and The Mutant will be allowed to destroy the cloud and thus save themselves.
Maximus assures Triton that everyone will be so pleased with their having averted the conflict that all past crimes will be forgiven and Triton will be received back into the Royal Family with open arms.  Reluctantly, Triton agrees.
and it is here that this extremely fun issue come to a close with the promise of continuation.

                                                             

What an absolute joy of a read!  With all of the doom and gloom and handwringing thats gone down in IvX thus far, this issue is a much needed injection of levity and good times.  Charles Soule writes the best Maximus perhaps ever… I’d be so down for a Maximus solo series or miniseries.  He captures Maximus dialogue, wit and mercurial temperament just perfectly.  I didn’t want the issue to end.   I could have read about Max’s misadventures in Miami and Las Vegas for hours and never get bored.

Lineage and The Unspoken make for great foils to Max’s precarious flights of fancy… two stooges whom Max insults, uses and manipulates with hilarity (I’d feel bad for the two schlubs if not for the fact that they’re both a pair of crum-bums).   I have great animosity toward The Unspoken for having killed the wonderful Vinatos and thus is gave me a bit of a sadistic thrill to see Max so ruthlessly and un-relentlessly insult him.

My understanding is that Terrigen Crystals much be found and cannot be artificially manufactured.  Yet I might be wrong and, if Maximus can indeed produce a new source of the crystal, it will indeed lead for there to be no reason for the Inhumans and X-Men to be at war.  Very interested to see how it pans out and cannot wait for the next installment to see what happens next.

Kim Jacinto is the ideal illustrator for the issue.  His ability to capture Max’s manic energy is just perfect and his depiction of Max is both attractive and frightening.  And there are a number of panels where the dialogue and art made me laugh out loud.

                                           

Java Tartaglia’s color work compliments the illustration quite well.  His use of blue, orange and green tones to underscore the different settings of Miami, Vegas and now Mexico is understated but really nicely done.  It adds to the cinematic quality of the issue.

Definitely recommended!  Four out of Five Lockjaws!

Kamala takes on the seeded underbelly of the internet in this first issue of a brand new adventure from the creative team of G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa and Ian Herring; with  a nifty cover by Nelson Blake II.

Despite being an Inhuman and an accomplished superhero, Kamala Khan is not all that unlike many kids her age.  Between homework and her various other obligations, she likes to squeeze in marathon campaigns of online gaming… in her case an addictive roleplaying game known as World of Battlecraft.

The game goes pretty well.  They beat the boss character in record time and Kamala’s character even receives a special sword as a prize.  It’s all fun and games until one of the players in her guild (a literal troll) makes a passing comment indicating that they know where she lives.  Suddenly the safe confines of the fantasy game is frightening reality of an online stalker.

This is not something Kamala is going to take sitting down… nor does she need to.  She is after all a superhero.  Unfortunately she’s a superhero who grown accustomed to relying on the assistance of her tech-savvy best friend, Bruno.  Well, Bruno is no long around so Kamala has to go through the tedious process of  reversing the internet provider trace so ascertain the identity of the troll (and fortunately he or she lives in the tristate area).  So, donning her Ms. Marvel costume, Kamala takes to the night to confront the villain.

Yet it appears that this kid is not her stalker, that he too has had his system and privacy infringed upon.  Things have gone from bad to worse.  The stalker, whomever they are possesses formidable computer skills.  They know who she is, knows where she lives, and in all likelihood knows the secret of her being Ms. Marvel.

Kamala is afraid to go home.  Whatever trouble she is in, she cannot bare the thought of it in any way affecting her family.  She decided to hide out in the bodega owned by Bruno’s family; they’ve kept it closed since his moving to Wakanda.  It should be a safe enough place to hide out until she can decide her next move.

Before she can get there, however, Kamala finds herself attacked by mysterious forces.  First a car tries to run her down.  Another car tries to hit her and Kamala embiggons herself to stop it.  When she looks inside to see who is driving this car she finds it empty.  Then a construction crane attacks her.  It too is empty.  It appears as though someone is taking over anything computer-control and using it as weapons against her.

Kamala hotfoots it to the bodega.  But she finds no safety there.  The lights switch on electronically and each of the close circuit monitors flicker on, showing the face of the troll from her online RPG.  In a dizzying and sinister fashion, the monitors repeat over and over again, “hello Kamala Khan.”  And it is with this cliffhanger that the issue ends with he promise of being continued.

The internet can be a pretty scary thing.  Sure it’s cool for finding out information, chatting with friends, and gushing uncontrollably over all things Inhuman… yet often the price of admission is essentially a loss of anonymity.  Privacy has become a grossly diminished resource in the modern world.  The more way post on Facebook, and Instagram, and Tumblr, the less privacy we possess.  Sure we can use screen names and try to obscure our identities, but such things offer simply the illusion of security and not the real thing.  More so than ever before, our lives are becoming open books.  The little pokemon sticker I keep over the outfacing camera on my monitor is mostly just a talisman.  If some ne’er-do-well or government stooge really wanted to find out everything there is to know about me there’s likely little I could do to stop them…

And this is especially true for the younger generation.  My younger cousins, my nieces and nephews, the kids I work with at my practice… just about all of them seem completely unconcerned with privacy in the digital era.  I’m not sure if it’s an issue of a lack of foresight or merely a matter of personal privacy being a fading, bygone idiom.

All this makes secrets particularly dangerous.  Who you have a crush on, whether or not you tried pot, if you once cheated on a math test… it’s all out there like ticking time-bombs in the telecommunication ether.   Kamala has a big secret, a secret identity, and were this secret to be shared it could put her and her family at great peril.

At the same time that our personal lives are becoming more and more digitized, so too are we handing over more control to computers.  Sure it makes things convenient, but once again the price is a relinquishment of our control.  A self-driving car sounds pretty neat, but what if I had enemies?  Might they be able to ‘hack’ into the operating system and send my autonomous uber off into Lake Michigan?  gulp!

The various fears entailed in our increasingly digitized world is aptly represented by the nameless troll who bedevils Kamala.  A very modern villain with a purposefully anachronistic face.  I’m very much looking forward to see where this is going.
The art and colors are, as always, excellent.  Definitely recommended.  Three and a half out of five Lockjaws, and one big Winged Sloth!!!

The Inhumans: By Right of Birth is a Marvel graphic novel written by Ann Nocenti and Lou Mougin, illustrated by Bret Blevins and Richard Howell; inks by Al Williamson and Vince Colette, and colors by Michael Higgins and Richard Howell.  In was first published in 1988 and then reprinted in 2013.
It’s still in print and available at most comic stores as well as amazon.com.

For those of you relatively new to The Inhumans, the characters encountered in the tale may seem quite different to those who currently populate the contemporary Marvel Universe.  Yet the general feel is very much there.  It’s as an essential Inhumans tale as I can think of; and was actually the first Inhumans book I’d read as well as the comic that forever hooked me on these wild and bizarre heroes.

The story takes place shortly after The Inhumans had relocated their home of Attilan from the Himalayan Mountains to the blue area of the moon.  Generations of living in seclusion had left the Inhuman peoples especially vulnerable to the increasing levels of pollution in earth’s atmosphere, a result of the industrialization of the human world.  With the assistance of Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four, the entire city of Attilan was transported to the oxygen rich blue area of the moon.
Having relocated to the moon, the Inhuman of Attilan enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace and security.  They were no longer living in constant fear of being discovered and invaded upon by the human world.  In as such, the populace of Attilan no longer felt as reliant on the Inhuman Royal Family so to offer protection.  And this allowed the Genetic Council to garner a much more significant sway over the governance of Attilan.
The Genetic Council were the keepers of culture and ritual on Attilan.  They controlled the rights of Terrigenesis and enforced a strict policy of eugenics, shaping bloodlines and arranging marriages all in an effort to control Terrigenesis and produce Inhumans who would receive fortunate gifts from the mutagenic properties of the Terrigen Mists.  Their control over the Inhumans of Attilan was total and many felt constrained by the inflexible confines of their culture.  Indeed the beginning of the tale introduces us to an Inhuman youth named Tally who commits suicide because she is so distraught over being forced to marry a fellow Inhuman whom she did not love.

This sense of conflict on Attilan extends to the Royal Family as well.  Karnak argues that the rules the Genetic Council is strangling Attilan with its staunch rules and unflinching demands.  He feels that Attilan must progress beyond the old ways less they all degenerate into inbred, witless drones of culture and tradition.  Gorgon disagrees with Karnak; he demands that the Council is wise, that they have guided the Inhuman peoples well.  The dueling views of Karnak and Gorgon represents the growing divide on Attilan, the schism between those who adhere unwaveringly to the idioms of Attilan’s culture and those who wish to be free of the old ways.

The narrative switches to Queen Medusa, tentative to share some very special news with her husband, Black Bolt.  Akin to Karnak, Medusa also feels conflicted over the stringent traditions of Attilan.  She has spent time in the human world as a member of the Fantastic Four and a part of her still longs for the adventure and freedom of her life before she became a wife and queen.  Yet she has more important matters on her mind…  She recently discovered she is pregnant with Black Bolt’s child.

Black Bolt is initially surprised, even shocked by this revelation, but the initial trepidation quickly gives way to joy on the part of the silent king over the prospect that he and his wife will soon have a child.  Blevins and Howell do a wonderful job depicting Black Bolt’s reactions.  He is unable to speak and hence everything must be relayed by way of body-language and facial expressions.  The artists do fantastic work with it… there’s one panel in particular where the mixed feelings of happiness and anxiety is so evident on Black Bolt’s face.  It’s quite well done.

The next day, The Royal Family presides over a meeting in which the council are called to answer for as rash of suicides among the younger generation of Inhumans.  Medusa steps forward and speaks for her husband, relaying his words as though they were her own.  She talks about how the customs of Attilan has acted to make the Inhuman people strong and resilient… how it has helped them rise up from the servant race the Kree had created them to be and carve out their own destiny.

To further appease the crowd, Medusa announces to the court her news that their king is soon to have an heir.  The court is overjoyed by this news.  The prospect of a royal birth seems to quell their angry feelings and reinvigorate their appreciation of the pomp and circumstance of tradition and the monarchy.

The genetic council, meanwhile, do not share in this celebration.  The council themselves are depicted as doddering old men, feeble and ineffectual.  Their leader, however, The High Chancellor, is shown as sharp, cruel and stern.  He is unwavering in his adherence to the customs of Attilan as well as ambitious to consolidate power and essentially usurp Black Bolt as the supreme authority over Attilan.  He is only identified as The Chancellor throughout the story, but is later given the name Kitang in subsequent appearances.  Kiting seizes on Medusa’s announcement as an opportunity to further cement his power.

Chancellor Kitang states that Medusa’s pregnancy cannot be allowed to come to term.  There is far too much risk.  The destructive nature of Black Bolt’s power, coupled with the madness of his brother, Maximus, could lead the child of Black Bolt to be too great a threat to the safety and wellbeing of Attilan.  Kiting decrees that Medusa’s pregnancy be terminated.

It’s a shocking turn of events.  Medusa is horrified and turns to her husband for help.  And she is left even more aghast by the look of indecision in Black Bolt’s eyes.  He is torn… as much as he loves his wife and desperately wants the child, his duty above all else is to the people of Attilan and Kitang’s ghastly command is not entirely without merit.  Heartbroken and enraged, Medusa refuses the orders of the council.  She declares that if she is not allowed to bare her child on Attilan then she will flee to earth!

Elsewhere, in the bowls of the city, Maximus the Mad has been left to rot in his prison cell.  Word of the scandal that had occurred in the royal court reaches his prison guards and Maximus decides that it has made for an appropriate time to escape.  He picks the lock of his cell and then uses his mental powers to force the guards to tear each other to shreds.

Meanwhile, Medusa’s sister, Crystal, and her husband, Quicksilver, discuss all that has transpired.  Medusa has left her husband and fled to earth accompanied only by her handmaiden and doula, Minxi.  Quicksilver voices disapproval toward Medusa, calling her selfish for forcing her husband to choose between her and his duties as a king.  Crystal is incensed by the remark.  The two had only just had their own child and Crystal knows all too well the anguish her sister is going through.

Crystal makes up her mind… she leaves her daughter in their care of the nanny and goes to Lockjaw, the royal watchdog who has the ability to teleport over vast distances and asks of him that he help her and her sister flee to earth.  After a short debate, Karnak, Gorgon and Triton agree to accompany Crystal.

Medusa and Minxi have made their way to earth and taken refuge in an abandoned farmhouse in the desert outskirts of Las Vegas Nevada.  The baby inside her is growing at a notably fast pace and its jostles and kicks cause her great discomfort.  Minxi tries to ease Medusa’s pain, but there is not much she can do.  This is Minxi’s first appearance and she’s a rather interesting Inhuman.  Her powers enable her to take on the attributes of any animal she comes into contact with.  Minxi is in a romantic relationship with Gorgon, but is also pursued by Karnak.  It’s possible that Minxi is the mother of Gorgon’s younger child, Petras… for some reason she has only made a handful of appearances outside of this story.

After a brief stopover in the unwelcoming streets of Las Vegas, Lockjaw teleports Crystal and the others to a commune outside of the city where a collection of hippies and burnouts have set up a home away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.  The friendly denizens of this commune direct Crystal to the junk yard down the river where her sister is to be found.

Back on Attilan, Maximus is toiling at a means to transport himself to earth.  He plans to go to Medusa and somehow make her his… all part of a bent scheme to hurt his hated brother.  Maximus babbles on to himself, a manic stream of consciousness in which Maximus ruminates over his hatred toward Black Bolt, the unwanted brother whom he feels stole from him his sanity, his parents, his rightful place as king.  The art and writing works wonderfully here in capturing the unhinged energy bubbling out from Maximus.  His darting, squinted eyes and contorted grimaces perfectly mirror the twisted passage of his thoughts.  It’s a wild, disquieting scene.

And very neatly paralleled by conjoined scene showing a mournful and stoic Black Bolt sitting silently atop a stalagmite somewhere in the caverns of the moon.

Meanwhile in Nevada, Crystal and other have reunited with Medusa and Minxi.  Gorgon does his best to offer solace to Medusa, assuring her that Black Bolt loves her with all his heart.  Yet they have more immediate problems to contend with.  The polluted atmosphere of earth will ultimately prove fatal to them and surely cannot be healthy for Medusa’s unborn child.  Crystal decides to do something about it, claiming that she can use her elemental powers to cleanse the air and soil of pollutants.  A lofty undertaking certain not to succeed, but it does provide us a wonderful splash page of Crystal standing atop the home wielding her tremendous elemental powers.

Crystal’s efforts prove temporarily effective and the land around the farmhouse is transformed into a beauteous grove.  Karnak is hopeful that the effect will spread, perhaps all of earth might be healed from the ravages of industrialization.  Gorgon and Minxi are disconcerted by it all, however, seeming to believe that what Crystal has done will upset the natural order of the planet and bring about costly ruin.

Their instincts are correct.  Crystal’s meddling with the environment has stirred to life some unearthly presence, a gnarled personification of nature turned on its head.  Water twists with air and sand and burst aflame.  Some kind of ‘birth’ has occurred and it can only spell disaster for The Inhumans.

On the moon, Black Bolt continues his solitary vigil.  His thoughts turn back to his childhood and the great isolation forced upon him by the awesome responsibilities of his powers.  His voice can bring about utter destruction and he must forever remain silent.  The repetitive mantra of ‘never speak’ reverberates through his head on a constant loop.  In this meditation, Black Bolt’s mind is touched by the psychic consciousness of his unborn son.

Maximus has made his way to Nevada, using his technological ingenuity to track the others whereabouts.  He plans his strategy as he goes along, deciding to use his own madness as a weapon.  His revenge against his brother will be to drive Medusa insane.

As the threats of Maximus and the strange creature born from Crystal’s tinkering loom, the narrative offers a series of brief vignettes for each of The Inhuman Royals.  Triton harbors at the bottom of a lake, curled up in the fetal position while considering his feelings of alienation and sadness.  He yearns for both the company of others as well as solitude and cannot find solace in either.  Elsewhere Karnak prattles on his philosophical ramblings, expounding on the follies on both human and Inhuman.  His garrulous pontifications all clearly attempt to distract him from his heartache over Minxi.   Crystal sits in a bath, ruminating over her guilt over leaving her husband and daughter behind to tend to Medusa.  Gorgon, meanwhile, warms himself next to a fire, sharing the drink and company of hobos and call girls.  Karnak chastises Gorgon for his hedonistic ways, but Gorgon has had enough of Karnak and his words.  He craves simplicity.  Girls make him feel good, Karnak’s rhetoric makes him feel bad.

Finally, Medusa wanders about the farmhouse fretting over an uncertain future and all that she has lost.  She thinks back to her time as the black sheep of the Royal Family, her former role as a villain in the human world and, most importantly, how Black Bolt forgave her ever transgression and accepted her for who she was.  She misses him so desperately and stunned and overjoyed to see him enter the room and call out to her.  But it isn’t Black Bolt, it’s Maximus using his mental powers to trick her.  He reveals himself and tortures her with harsh words and unwanted advances.  Medusa rebuffs him and as a final cruelty Maximus attempts to gaslight her, disappearing into the haze and claiming to be nothing more than a manifestation of Medusa’s guilty consciousness.

The others return to the farmhouse, yet the quiet they bring with them only lasts for a moment.  Unnatural winds hits the house like a gale, evacuating them from, the premises.  Night turns suddenly to day and all of nature turns on its head.  A grotesque monstrosity of sand and bark, fire, flora and bone rises up before them, towering in an elemental maelstrom.  It’s absolute mayhem and with all their powers aside the Inhumans are tossed about by the monster as though they were mere rag dolls.

Somehow Karnak is able to discern the monster’s weakness and he devises a plan of attack, issuing commands to the others.  Minxi distracts the monster while Gorgon slams his hoofed foot into its weakest point.  Now vulnerable, Crystal is able to use her elemental powers to pull the monster apart and it shatters into countless pieces.
The Inhumans have prevailed but the stress of it all has sent Medusa into labor.  The child is coming and the others rush to her aide.  They are each terrified that the child will be born with its father’s sonic powers, that its initial cry will destroy them all.

Minxi assists Medusa in the birth.  The entire scene is interspersed with events occurring elsewhere showing Maximus flying into a manic, hallucinatory rage and accidentally killing the kindly old man he had befriended.  It’s all a truly bizarre intersection of birth, life, murder and death… a jumble of human elements not that different then the composite monstrosity that has attacked the inhumans in the scene beforehand.

Medusa gives birth to a healthy baby boy.  He doesn’t stir nor cry.  He is merely calm and content and gently goes to sleep.  All seems quiet; the danger appears to have passed.  Crystal and Karnak surmise that the monster they dispatched must have been some manifestation of imbalance caused by Crystal’s attempts to alter the earth.  They are only half correct, for the creature has not been destroyed and it is slowly reflecting itself, preparing to attack again.
It singles out Medusa, attacking her when she is alone with her son.  A particularly haunting scene shows the monster taking on the form of animated water, spindling through the air and attempting to drown Medusa in her sleep.

She wakes up, coughing the water from her lungs.  She sees the creature before her and at first she assumes it is but a hallucination, a visage of her guilt and sorrow.    She soon realizes, however, that the creature and the danger it represents are indeed quite real.

The others are alerted by Medusa’s screams.  Whatever weakness the monster once possessed is now gone and the Inhumans are quickly routed by the circling torrent of fire, water and moss.  As an added bonus, The Inhumans all fight in their underwear.  Medusa runs off with her son, but is struck by a branch, forcing her to lose hold of the baby.
Triton is terribly wounded by a lightning bolt of fire.  Lockjaw sees how critically Triton is injured and, not knowing what else to do, teleports them both to Black Bolt on the moon.  Black Bolt takes up his cousin in his arms.  He must wonder what does this all mean?  In any case, the look in his eyes makes it abundantly clear that he knows he must get to earth.

Crystal, Karnak and the others are unable to defeat the creature.  His mother knocked unconscious, the baby is left on his own and he crawls toward the beast.  The two newborns square off against one another.  The monster seems to sense the innocence in the baby whereas the baby sense his own powers.  A crackling psychic energy emits from the child’s mind.  His first cry focuses this power into a singular blast.  An enormous explosion engulfs the creature, tearing it asunder and completing destroying it.

In the aftermath, Medusa wakes up instantly calling for her baby.  Crystal comes quickly and hands Medusa her unharmed child.  None had seen how the child had destroyed the monster, yet Medusa can see something in her sons eyes and can only suspect the power he may possess.

Later, in a final act of malice Maximus returns to bedevil Medusa.  He feigns sympathy and compassion, assuring Medusa that the council will certainly see how pure and innocent the baby is and welcome her back to Attilan with open arms.  All the while believing that the council will sentence the child to death and, by convincing Medusa to return, Maximus may finally have his vengeance. And with that Maximus again disappears.

Outside, Crystal, Karnak and Gorgon ponder all that has transpired.  They are each left feeling quite inhuman.  Their efforts to cure the planet resulted in a monstrosity.  The plant seems to have rejected them and perhaps it is time for them to leave it and humanity behind.  Suddenly, Crystal notices that Lockjaw has returned from the moon.  They each know that Black Bolt has finally found them.

Back in the farmhouse, Black Bolt approaches his wife and newborn son.  The meditation Black Bolt had subjected himself has cleared his mind and set straight his priorities.  He embraces his wife and then takes his son up in his arms.  The pure joy and pride on his face is unmistakable and Medusa dares to hope that she and her husband may once again know happiness.

They all return to Attilan on the moon.  There, the child of Medusa and Black Bolt is presented to the Genetic Council.  Medusa claims the child is innocent and pure, castigating the council for ovations that such purity needed to be snuffed out.  Chancellor Kitang is unmoved.  One life against the traditions, history, and safety of Attilan… innocent or not, it is but ‘a feather to the mountain.’

Kitang orders that the baby be taken into the care of the council so that their doctors and scientists may look him over and ensure he poses no threat to Attilan.  Black Bolt and Medusa have no choice but to comply.
Karnak contemplates aloud to Quicksilver.  The conviction of his condemnation toward the rituals and customs of Attilan has been replaced with uncertainty.  In his view the council is rotten, mired in traditions the meanings for which have long since been lost and forgotten.  All that remains is the cruelty, but perhaps the meaning and purpose remains nonetheless.  Perhaps there is wisdom to it all and there may indeed be reason to fear the son of Black Bolt.  Quicksilver waves the matter off as mere morbidness.

In the end, Medusa and Black Bolt are left to wait in silence, the future of their child and happiness unknown.  All the while Maximus cackles in his cell.  He had gleefully turned himself in now he too waits patiently.  Waits for a nephew who will have his blood and his madness, whom Maximus will use gain his final revenge.  He laughs once more, exclaiming how much he loves a happy ending.

It’s a wild, wild weird read.
The whole tale plays out like some mad Shakespearian fever dream.  The dialogue is steeped with near hysterical melodrama and hyperbole.  The themes are presented with the subtly of a sledgehammer and the narrative takes itself all too seriously.  It’s just nuts… and I love ever single page of it!

It’s impossible for me to truly look at this story without the rose-tinted hue of youthful memory.  I was about twelve or so when I first read the graphic novel.  It was my first exposure to The inhumans and I was entranced from the get-go.  It was like Star Wars and X-Men, Frank Herbert’s Dune and the Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe… all wrapped up into a singular comic with stunning illustrations and weird, wild ideas that just blew my mind.

It was also 1992 and I was a kid being raised by two socially minded lawyers.    Here in the states, The Supreme Court had just adjudicated the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, altering important facets to the original parameters put forth in Roe v. Wade.  The country was once again embroiled in a national debate over abortion, right to life, and a woman’s right to choose.  All this was a really big deal in my household and, while I agreed with my parents and admired their passion, my 12-year-old brain couldn’t quite grasp the entire scope of the matter.

Once again, comics came to the rescue…

By my interpretation, By Right of Birth is very much a pro-choice story.  It turns the matter a bit on its head by framing the villains as advocating for a pregnancy to be aborted and the hero as fighting for the right of her unborn child, and yet, at its heart, it is about a woman’s unmitigated right to make choices about her own body.
A woman’s right of choice, after all, is a bilateral process.  To the same extent that a woman has the right to terminate a pregnancy so too does she has the right to take it to term.   What is imperative is the right to choose and a governing body has no business in the decisions that women make with their families.  And this is ultimately what Medusa and the others are fighting for…

The late 80’s and early 90’s were also times in which the matter of ecological peril was really germinating in the collective consciousness.  Many were coming to more fully realize that mankind could have a lasting detrimental effect on the health of the planet.  In 1989 the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was ratified and it really hammered home just how serious this problem was.
The looming dread of ecological peril is also a central theme in By Right of Birth; and once again the narrative takes on the matter from an interesting and unusual direction.  The monster that was created was a product of Crystal trying to fix the damage done to the environment.  It seemed as though Crystal’s efforts for a ‘quick fix’ brought about more harm than good.
It is not by accident that the narrative depicts the elemental monster as being akin to a newborn.  It ties into the overarching theme of the potential for destructiveness inherent in our prodigy (whether that prodigy be an actual child or the effects brought about rapid industrialization).  It’s similar to Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.  When we play god we gamble with the risk that our creation will end up destroying us.

Attilan and the Genetic Council makes this same gamble with their adherence to eugenics and attempts to control the bloodlines of this citizenship.  They only obtain the illusion of control…  an illusion that helps them push down the crippling fear that their constant tinkering with the Terrigen Mists is very likely to produce an Inhuman who will destroy them all.

Eugenics is a junk science.  It’s a neat matter to explore in the confines of science fiction, but will never work in the real world; and all too often it has been embraced by deplorable, racist causes.

And yet modern medicine stands on the precipice of a new type of eugenics with prenatal genetic screening and the prospect of genetically modified babies.   Advancements to these ends may succeed in ultimately eradicating terrible diseases like Tay–Sachs or Huntington’s chorea, but what if the process is taken further?  Will geneticists attempt to target less concrete afflictions like depression, anxiety, or autism?  Might this inadvertently rob from the future generations many of the qualities that makes humans human?   It’s impossible to say, but nonetheless a terrifying prospect.

All of its melodrama notwithstanding, By Right of Birth chooses not to answer many of the overarching questions that the story posses.  Medusa and Black Bolt’s son is not named and no indication is offer as to whether or not he will grow up to actually pose a threat to Attilan.

Subsequent stories show that the son is named ‘Ahura.’  And while Ahura has indeed been a troubled youngster he has by no means represented the danger that the Genetic Council feared he would.  Like his father, Ahura is an extremely powerful Inhuman, yet what has bedeviled him has not been his power, nor the madness that afflicts his uncle Maximus, rather it is has been the psychological trauma inflicted on him by being separated from his parents.  The sadness and acting out this trauma evoked in Ahura was initially misidentified as a sign of more deeply seated psychopathology.

Fortunately, things eventually worked out for Ahura and he has enjoyed a somewhat more healthy young adulthood.  Interestingly, the hardships that Ahura has endued has had nothing to do with his powers and genetic heritage and everything to do with the fear of what he might have become.

A brave, unflinching and unapologetic tale as well as a wild, hugely enjoyable ride.  Highest possible recommendation for Inhuman fans and fans of the comic book medium in general.  Five out of Five Lockjaws!

The second installment of the ‘World’s Smartest’ story continues here with Lunella getting to meet Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew, Benjamin J. Grimm, the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing.   Guest artist, Ray-Anthony Height, joins writers, Amy Reeder and Brendan Montclare, along with colorist Tamra Bonvillain.

The glory and excitement of being identified as the ‘world’s smartest’ fades for Lunella rather quickly as it becomes evident that being the smartest of the smart brings with it a lot of unwanted attention.   Lunella is approach by The Thing who has recently returned from a long trip in outer space alongside the Guardians of The Galaxy.  He had learned of Lunella new status as the brightest of the bright and, her being a fellow denizen of the Yancy Street neighborhood, The Thing feels obligated to check in on the little squirt and offer her some advice.

Lunella is not especially impressed with the rough-talking Thing.  Sure the guy has helped save the world more times than she can count, yet he proves to be just another grown up talking down to her… and that is just not something Lunella is interested in having any more of.

To make matters worse, Amadeus Cho, the ‘Totally Awesome Hulk,’ shows up asking Lunella to go over some new figures he’s derived from the fabled Banner Box (the assessment measure that identified Lunella as the smartest on earth).  The Thing is none too pleased to see Cho; from his experience, gamma green goonies can only mean trouble.

Cho’s a pretty smart guy himself, but when he’s in his Hulk-form, his surging testosterone levels tends to get the best of his judgement.  Before you know it, it’s clobbering time and a fight breaks out between The Thing and The Hulk right in the middle of the lower east side.  And if Moon Girl doesn’t do something to put  stop to it, all of  Yancy Street could end up pulverized.

Devil Dinosaur enters into the fray.  He’s eager to jump into the fracas with The Thing and The Hulk, but Moon Girl grabs his tail,  She insists they need to contain the fight, not add to it.  Moon Girl devises a plan and, assisted by Devil D, she uses her handmade arsenal of nonlethal weapons to keep the Hulk and Thing’s battle focused and isolated within a single evacuated intersection.  With her skates and spring loaded shoes, Moon Girl is somehow able to keep The Thing and The Hulk so close together that the quickly tire out and collapse.

Later that evening, Lunella sits on the fire escape of her family’s apartment, thinking over the events of the day.  She has been in need of a goal, some purpose unto which to direct her vast intellectual energies.  Preventing super beings from causing destruction had felt quite satisfying and worthwhile.  Perhaps that may be the new aim of her ingenuity.  Before Lunella can give the matter more thought she senses that Devil Dinosaur is in peril.  She leaps down from the fire escape, rushing in the direction of her crimson compadre.

Turning a corner, Lunella discovers that Devil D is not in danger at all; rather he is just playing, wrestling with The Thing.  The Thing takes a break from playing with Devil D top chat with Lunella.  He says that he had no reason to worry about her.  He’d been concerned that her big brains might get her into trouble, but considering she could essentially take out both himself and The Hulk has assuaged his worries.

In the end, The Thing does impart a lesson onto Lunella.  He reminds her that it’s important to have fun, to take time out to just be a kid.  It’s the same lesson that The Thing so often imparted onto his best pal, Reed Richards.  It was often the rich and intriguing irony of those great Fantastic Four tales that a being as monstrous-looking as The Thing was usually the one who taught everyone the importance of being human.

Meanwhile, somewhere quite far from Yancy Street, the nefarious Dr. Doom is wandering through the bowls of some grim and forbidding castle.  Speaking to himself in the this person, Doom laments that the accursed Reed Richards in no longer on earth… that he now requires a new worthy adversary so to prove his intellectual superiority.  He has his computer console analyze web traffic and various databases until an answer is made available.  What he learns causes Doom to do a spit-take with his wine.  He reads that Lunella Lafayette has been identified as the smartest person on earth.  It’s shocking and an effrontery that anyone might consider this youngster Doom’s intellectual superior.  Doom initiates his plans immediately, he will tinker and toil and will not rest until this precocious pipsqueak is put in her place and Doom is once more hailed as the smartest of them all.

Keep note, however that the series has made specific mention to taking place in the current 616 universe.  A universe where Victor Von Doom has apparently cast aside his villainous ways and is attempting to make amends as the new Infamous Iron Man.  If this is the case, then who is this other figure parading around like he is Doom? Is it a malfunctioned Doombot? A version of Doom from an alternate timeline? Or perhaps Doom’s adoptive son, Kristof?  Kristof after all has been known to don his father’s armor and has often seemed eager to follow in his footsteps.  Whatever the case, I’m looking forward to finding out exactly who this Doom is and what he has in store for our heroes.

Ray-Anthony Height does a very fine job filling in for Natacha Bustos.  It’s neat seeing someone else’s take on Lunella and Height does very good work maintaining the visual continuity of the general look of the book, especially in terms of how Devil Dinosaur is illustrated.  I must admit I got a bit lost in the action scene wherein Moon Girl was using her spring shoes to keep The Thing and Hulk corralled.  It didn’t quite click at first and I had to flip the page back a few times before I realized that she was keeping the two bruisers right next two each other, causing them to loose steam before too much damage had been done.  A minor complaint.

Tamar Bonvillain’s colors are, as always, just fantastic.

As a very exciting treat, this issue also included a fan mail page.  I’m all about bringing the letters page back to comics and very much hope the trend continues with MG&DD.

This issues’s letters page has some neat art as well as a very smart note asking for the return of Kid Kree as soon as possible (I concur).  The page even published the barely legible frothings from a certain psychologist by day Inhuman super-fan by night I know (spoilers, it’s me :3).

Highly recommended; Four out of Five Lockjaws!

 

 

The appropriately titled ‘Song of Endings’ arc concludes here with this, the final issue of Uncanny Inhumans before the book becomes fully embroiled in the Inhumans versus X-Men cross-over.  It’s a lovely send off from the creative team of Charles Soule, Adriano Di Benedetto, R.B. Silva, Andrew Crossley and Java Tartaglia.  Full recap and review following the jump.Auran had been a dutiful citizen of old Attilan, an officer in the security forces, and single mother to her twin teenage daughters, Irelle and Treste.  Auran was killed in the line of duty by Maximus who used his mental control over Black Bolt to force the former king to destroy her.  In the wake of this terrible loss, Auran’s grief-stricken daughters chose to stop at nothing in their desperate efforts to somehow bring her back.

The twins had discovered that their fellow Inhuman, Reader, had the ability to bring into reality anything that he reads.  Irelle and Treste spent months compiling a written history of their mother, writing down their own memories along with any and all stories they could find from the people who knew Auran.  They then coerced Reader to read their finished product and it resulted in the re-manifestation of a being resembling their mother.

And yet a person is much more than the mere sum of others recollections and the being whom Reader manifested was incomplete; all of the various secrets left untold and private aspects unknown were represented by literal holes, agonizing voids in this new Auran’s body.

Confused and in great pain, this new Auran lashed out, seeking revenge on the man who had killed her.   The various authors who contributed to the book Irelle and Treste compiled did not fully understand the actual nature of Auran’s particular Inhuman gifts.  They knew her powers had something to do with sound and hearing… and yet the lack of specificity ended up endowing this new Auran with essentially unlimited power over sound, hearing, and voice.  A power she used to take from Black Bolt his hugely destructive voice.  The last issue ended with Black Bolt rushing to cover Auran’s mouth.  She had taken his power, but had not learned to control it.  A mere utterance could now destroy all of midtown Manhattan.

By making a sound Auran could have her revenge, she could possibly end her suffering, but doing so would destroy everything, including her daughters. She chooses to remain quiet, but for how long?  Black Bolt had spent the entirety of his childhood and adolescence mastering the skills and diligence needed to be completely silent; to stifle every cough and repress every urge to speak.  And now Auran is asked to do this with no such training or practice. She will try yet it is clear that her efforts may fail at any moment.One might think that a lifetime of not speaking would leave Black Bolt a laconic sort, a tentative speaker. It’s not the case. Black Bolt issues forth orders with confidence and decisiveness. He has Treste and Irelle stay with their mother, orders the club vacated, commands Frank McGee to use his contacts in the human world to have midtown evacuated, and asks that Flagman assist in ensuring that Auran remain quiet.

It’s wild seeing Black Bolt speak and interesting to see how precise he is with the words he chooses. There is no sense of abstraction in what he says, no use of metaphor or hyperbole. He speaks like someone who knows all too well how powerful words can be.The scene switches to New Attilan where Medusa is attending to the governance of the city. Repairs are still being conducted following the altercation with Tony Stark’s army of Iron Men. Suddenly Black Bolt floats in from above, a rather dramatic entrance neatly illustrated with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

Medusa is quite shocked when Black Bolt speaks with a regular voice.  He efficiently relays what has happened. Medusa quickly guesses what, or rather who, has brought Black Bolt to New Attilan. He is in need of the Inhuman telepath, Sterlion.Back in the Quiet Room, Auran continues to struggle to remain absolutely silent. Flagman has stretched out his ribbon-like appendages so to bind Auran, to keep her mouth closed. It turns out that Flagman is much tougher than I had previously thought him to be.

Auran breaks her concentration and utters a sound, yet Flagman’s ribbons are able to contain it, though just barely and it clearly injury him. He won’t be able to contain such a thing a second time.  It looks as though Auran is going to break again. Her eyes glaze over with an odd glow.  Flagman, Irelle and Treste all prepare for the worst, but it doesn’t occur.

Auran has actually been entranced by the telepathic powers of Sterlion. The scene switches to the psychic plain where Sterlion and Auran can communicate safely with one another.  Within this plain Auran’s appearance is representative of how she feels: an incomplete monster, discrete memories, thoughts and feelings haphazardly cobbled together.  Sterlion uses his powers to ease her pain; he can fix her, mollify the voids and make her feel whole, but there is a crucial decision to be made first.

Sterlion steps out of his psychic rapport with Auran to speak briefly with Black Bolt and Medusa. He states that he will be able to repair Auarn’s incomplete body and mind; she won’t be the same as she was, but she will live.  Furthermore, the matter offers an opportunity.  Auran’s unspecific power over sound offers her temporary control of Black Bolt’s voice.  Sterlion can have her put the voice back into Black Bolt or he can have her destroy it, thus freeing Black Bolt from the overwhelming responsibilities entailed in this power.

It is a difficult decision to make, but one that Black Bolt makes quickly. Possessing this power has kept the Inhumans safe, it is the supreme deterrent that prevents others from taking action against New Attilan.  If word got out that Black Bolt had lost this power then it would only be a matter of time before The Mutants, The US Government, or any of The Inhumans’ enemies would lay siege to New Attilan.Medusa tries to convince him otherwise. The Inhumans had survived for generations before the advent of Black Bolt’s powers, and would surely be able to survive without them.  No one would blame or condemn Black Bolt for relinquishing himself from this awesome responsibility.  Black Bolt disagrees; he would blame himself. He is no longer king but still very much feels it his duty to take every action and make every sacrifice needed to protect his people.  He commands Sterlion to have Auran put the voice back in him. Once more shackling Black Bolt to the solitude of remaining forever quiet.

It makes for an interesting new facet to Black Bolt’s story.  The nature of his powers has always been presented as equal parts curse as well as gift.  Black Bolt was born with these powers, his initial cry as a newborn all but destroyed the birthing center on Old Attilan.  Learning to control and master this power forced him into a life of near absolute seclusion, self-control, and diligence. And he accepted this fate with stoicism.  Offering Black Bolt the opportunity to free himself of this awesome responsibility is an interesting twist.  It reframes the burden of it all as something that Black Bolt has the choice to take on.  And he chooses as one would expect him to; he acts as any king (or former king) would by accepted self-sacrifice so to ensure the wellbeing of his people.

Sterlion does as he is ordered. The voice is returned to Black Bolt and Auran herself is made whole. An epilog shows the new Auran taking a moment to reconnect with her daughters.Treste and Irelle are her daughters, yet they also aren’t. This is a new Auran and one who is not yet sure who she truly is. Auran is invited to come live with Treste, Irelle and Frank, but she declines. She needs to go out and make authentic memories, discover herself as the new being that she has become. She takes her leave but it isn’t a goodbye; it is simply a farewell for now. And it is here the issue ends.

Charles Soule is still writing the three tie-in issues to IvX and co-writing the IvX series in and of itself.  Yet this issue is very much the last purely Inhuman story Soule will tell.  Auran’s saying this is not goodbye but rather farewell feels sort of like Soule himself speaking to all the readers who have joined him for his two-plus year stewardship of the Inhumans.  He’ll be leaving The Inhumans in the spring, handing the reins over to Al Ewing, Saladin Ahmed, and Mathew Rosenbaum.

And yet it clear that it is not ‘goodbye forever,’ but rather ‘farewell for now.’In any case, it is difficult for me to look at the issue and this story-arc on its own, separated from the entirety of Soul’s run on The Inhumans.  It’s a fun story and an interesting dissemblance of the inexact nature of memory and the power of words.  The art seems a bit rushed in places, Silva’s and Di Benedetto’s pencil-work doesn’t always coalesce as well as it should, but the illustration is overall quite good and the colors by Crossley and Tartaglia are just wonderful.

The coloring of Flagman’s various multicolored ribbons is especially impressive (I can only imagine what an arduous affair coloring Flagman must be).At risk of sounding egocentric, this story felt like Soule’s way of saying thanks and farewell to all of us fans who have accompanied him throughout his tenure on The Inhumans.  Who is to say whether or not this is indeed the case?  Regardless, that is how I’ve chosen to interpret it and I greatly appreciate it.Soule was hoisted into writing the Inhumans, stepping in at the last minute after the unexpected parting of ways between Marvel and Matt Fraction.  And he’s done a wonderful job, creating an all new vision of The Inhumans while simultaneously navigating through the seemingly endless barrage of event books and editorial demands.  At a scheduled twenty issues, Uncanny Inhumans has been the longest Inhumans series to date.  The seventeen issues that have come thus far have all been terrific… some better than others, but not a dud in the group.  It is a remarkable achievement and Mr. Soule has my utmost gratitude.And I’m glad that this is not goodbye but rather farewell for now.

Recommended, four out of five Lockjaws.

Mosaic #3 Review

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

Morris Sackett’s wild ride continues in this third issue from the creative team of Geoffrey Thorne, Khary Randolph, Thony Silas and Emilio Lopez.

Morris’ new life as the Inhuman, Mosaic, has come with a lot of surprising revelations.  In this issue, Morris discovers some of the limitations of his powers as well as the sad truth that much of his former life had been built on lies.

While the shadowy Brand Corporation tries to ascertain the status and whereabouts of ‘Pops’ Sachett’s son, Morris himself returns to his swanky midtown apartment only to find Fife crashed out there.  Fife was the young man whom Morris had possessed when he first used his powers.  It seems that this possession entails something of a two-way street and Fife was left with quickly fading memories of who Morris is and his life prior to Terrigenesis.  Furthermore, the fact that Morris had once possessed Fife somehow enables Fife to see him in his ghostly form.

Morris’ girlfriend, Tia, and her personal assistant, Cece, arrive at the apartment to find Fife.  They cannot see Morris and assume that Fifi is a ‘stalkarazzi’ there to pilfer Sacket’s personal items.  Cece is actually a serious badass and beats the crud out of poor Fife with her tablet.  Morris attempts to leap back into Fife’s body so to explain, but discovers that he’s locked out; it would seem that Mosaic can only occupy a given body once and never again.

Morris considers leaping into Tia’s body, but decides it would be too much of an invasion of his girlfriend’s privacy… though he has no such compunction about invading the privacy of her assistant and instead possesses Cece.

Taking in Cece’s memories, Morris discovers the alarming origins of his and Tia’s relationship.  It turns out that Tia was actually hired by Morris’ father to merely pretend to be Morris’ girlfriend.  Morris’ dad felt that it was a necessary move to improve Morris’ Q-ratings among the female demographic.  And it would be mutually beneficial to Tia, whose own career as a pop-star was beginning to falter.

Tia doesn’t love Morris, she never did.  Indeed she’s in a relationship with Cece and she has only pretended to be with Morris for money and to enhance her own career.

It’s devastating for Morris to discover all this… to learn that his relationship with Tia has been a scam orchestrated by his father.  None of these people really care for him, they all just want to use him.   Livid, Morris is intent on finding his father and having it out with him.  Yet his dad is all the way on the other side of town and Morris has no patients for public transportation.  That is when he sees The Amazing Spider-Man swing by.

It’s too good an opportunity to pass up.  Mosaic chases after Spidey, leaping from body to body until he finds a bicycle messenger with a nice set of wheels.  Possessing the bicyclist, Mosaic continues his pursuit until he finally gets in range of Spidey and leaps into his consciousness into the webslinger.  Contact.  And the issue ends with Spider-Man, possessed by Mosaic, clinging to a wall.

Not a whole lot occurs in this issue.  We get a lot of exposition about the nature and limitations of Mosaic’s powers.  Those whose bodies he possesses retain trace residues of Morris’ memory; plus gain the ability to see Mosaic in his spectral form.  Yet he can only possesses a given body once and appears to be locked out once he vacates that body.

We also learn that much of Morris’ former life was a grand illusion predicated by lies and subterfuge.  Tia never loved Morris; she loves Cece.  And Morris’ father is shown as a duplicitous schemer who will go to deplorable lengths to mold his son into a star and cash-cow.  What is made abundantly clear is that Morris’ seemingly perfect celebrity life was little more than an illusion and I have a feeling it won’t be something he especially misses when he finally truly embraces his new life as an Inhuman.
The lack of decent action in the issue is made up for some heart-wrenching moments and terrific art.  It’s especially wild to see Spider-Man illustrated by Randolph, Silas and Lopez… it’s a frame-worthy panel.

I definitely like where Thorne and Randolph are going here.  The deconstruction of celebrity culture is a worthwhile endeavor and the nature of Mosaic’s powers works well with the metaphor.  Although I also feel like this issue should have done more to move the plot forward and what could have been condensed into a third of an issue was drawn out into an entire issue.  Although it could be that I’m just overly eager to see Mosaic interact with the other Inhumans.  We know that some point down the line he throws in with The Inhumans of New Attilan (as evidenced by his appearance in Uncanny Inhumans #11) and I’m very excited to see how this comes about.

Recommended.  Three out of Five Lockjaws

                               

Inhumans versus X-Men #1 Review

Writers, Charles Soule and Jeff Lemire, along with illustrators, Gerry Alaguilan and Lenil Yu, and colorist, David Curiel, brings us this first salvo in this world-shacking conflict between The X-Men and Inhumans.  Tensions between the two groups have been percolating for a long while and it finally boils over in this issue where The X-Men mount a series of intricately orchestrated attacks on their Inhumans foes.

                                 The stakes are clear…  For The Inhumans, the Terrigen Cloud is sacred and the means through which their people, culture, and way of life can be maintained.   For The Mutants, however, the cloud is poisonous and deadly.  For one group to prosper the other must die and all efforts to attain an alternate, mutually beneficial solution have been exhausted.  The time for diplomacy and negotiation has ended and there is no longer any choice but to go to war and The X-Men are going to strike first.The issue begins with The Beast apprising his fellow X-Men of his failed efforts toward ascertaining a cure.  The Beast has spent the last several months on New Attilan, desperately seeking a solution for Terrgen toxicity in Mutants; yet these efforts have proven futile.  The Terrigen in the cloud is rapidly bonding with nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere.  The plant will soon be uninhabitable for Mutant life.

While The Beast has been the voice arguing for a peaceful resolution to this dilemma, his former colleague, Emma Frost, has been his foil… advocating for a full fledged attack.   They need to finish what Cyclops had died starting, they need to destroy the second and final Terrigen Cloud.  Beast disagrees; it’s not that he has compunction over eliminating this sacred element of Inhuman culture, but rather he feels the Inhuman forces will overrun them.  He doesn’t believe the X-Men could defeat The Inhumans in battle and recommends instead that Mutants evacuate the planet.  The leaders of the various X-factions are there and they put the matter to a vote: go to war against The Inhumans or leave earth in search of refuge among the stars.  Beast and Forge both vote to leave; in a surprising out-of-character move, Rogue votes with them.  The others, Magneto, Emma, the younger McCoy, and Storm vote to stay and fight.

Outvoted, the Beast argues that their decision is folly; he feels they have no chance against The Inhumans.  Yet Emma counters; while The Beast has been working diligently in his efforts to find a cure, The X-Men have been devising plans of their own.  An intricate stratagem has been devised, a method for systematically taking out the Inhumans biggest hitters, leaving the rest vulnerable to a frontal assault.  The Beast is upset that the others have gone behind his back.  He attempts to leave, possibly to warn his Inhuman colleagues.  In a shocking twist, Storm blasts Beast in the back with a lighting bolt.  It turns out she has been a part of Emma’s plan all along; indeed she has been integral to its development.

                               As The X-Men see it, The Inhumans’ greatest threats are Black Bolt, Karnak, The RIV, and Lockjaw.  Remove these pieces from the game board and New Attilan will be left vulnerable.

The first of these sneak attacks takes place in The Quiet Room, Black Bolt’s Manhattan social club.  A rather thinly veiled Dazzler has infiltrated club posing as the lounge singer, ‘Lady Shine.’  Flagman informs Black Bolt that an important guest is awaiting him in his private meeting hall.  This guest turns out to be none other than Emma Frost herself.

 She stalls Black Bolt long enough for Dazzler to arrive, who then pulls a gun on hum.  As expected, BB utters a slight sound, firing his sonic powers at Dazzler.  Dazzler’s mutant powers allow her to absorb sound and redirect it back in the form of lasers.  Emma reverts to her crystalline form and karate chops Black Bolt in the neck.  BB has traded punches with The Hulk so Emma’s blow barely hurts him.  It does momentarily stun him, however, giving Dazzler the opportunity to blast him with the laser-based form of his own sonic powers.  It fells the midnight king and just like that The Inhuman’s biggest heavy is taken out.

Elsewhere, at The Tower of Wisdom, Jean Grey has come to visit Karnak.  Fortunately for Jean, Karnak is still under the assumption that there is a truce between The inhumans and X-Men, so he opts not to just jam his two front fingers into her brainpan.

Instead they talk and, in so doing, Jean ensnares Karnak in a telepathic feedback loop.  It’s a trap; a trap Karnak will of course be able to escape, but by then it will be too late…

Meanwhile, The Royal Inhuman Vessel (or RIV) has made its way to Chechnya just ahead of the Terrigen Cloud.  Crystal’s team has identified a sole Mutant among the dilapidated buildings of the waitron city.  Gorgon is sent in to evacuate this Mutant before the Cloud makes landfall.  This mutant, covered in a hood and blanket is discovered by Gorgon and brought aboard the RIV.

There the Mutant reveals himself as Magneto.  Being brought inside the RIV in this fashion has allowed him to traverse the vessel’s external defenses and Magneto uses his magnetic powers to rip the vessel apart, snaring the various Inhumans in twisted tentacles of reformed metal.

Finally, the X-Man illusion-caster, Fantomax has lured Lockjaw away from Kamala Khan and presented the massive pup with full bottle of Clonazepam.  Fantomex expresses some resentment over being the one assigned to take out the dog, but lets face it: a healthy supply of roofies is likely a standard item from his utility belt :3

Back on New Attilan, Queen Medusa has been speaking with three Inhuman youths all preparing to go through the process of Terrigenesis.  The trio will be flown up into the atmosphere and through the Terrigen Cloud, thus triggering their transformation.  Although these youngsters are putting on brave faces, it is clear that they are apprehensive over how and in what ways they will be changed.  Medusa empathizes with them; she too was anxious prior to her own Terrigenesis.  She reiterates what her mother had told her before she went through the change… stating that Terrigenesis doesn’t truly change you, it just brings to the surface who you truly are.

The ceremony is interrupted as they are altered to The X-Men’s attacks on The RIV, The Tower of Wisdom and The Quiet Room.  The children and non-combatants are all ushered to safe-rooms in the bowls of the castle.  Medusa had expected that this attack would come.  Johnny Storm is there with her and she offers him the opportunity to leave.  The Mutants are not Johnny’s enemies, this is not his fight and he should feel no obligation to remain.  Johnny declines; he’s willing to fight at Medusa’s side.

The issue ends with an armada of X-men bearing down on New Attilan…  things are certainly not looking good for the Inhumans.

The X-Men are longtime favorites of mine; yet all things considered I prefer The Inhumans… and it’s rather painful to see them routed in this fashion.  This pain, however, is mitigated by just how well the narrative unfolds.  The various attacks on the Inhumans key players unfold gradually, interspersed with what turns out to be flashbacks of The X-Men debating on whether or not to go to war.  It reminds me of that wonderful, dreadful scene from F.F. Coppola’s ‘The Godfather’ where Michael Calderon’s child is being baptized and the narrative continuously switches to scenes where each of his adversaries are systematically assassinated by his goons.  The Inhumans may be quite powerful, but the X-Men have them outmatched in the crafty/treacherous department.  Round one goes to team X.

I was not a particular fan of how Death of X went down; it was a clunky story that relied on a twist ending over a satisfying revelation.  And I’m happy to report that Soule and Lemire do a significantly better job of writing the two teams in this issue.  The character’s voices are on point and the narrative unfolds in a neat, cinematic fashion.

The X-Men’s sneak attacks are quite ingenious and well thought out.  Emma’s recruiting Dazzler is an especially clever move.  The Dazzler and Black Bolt have shared the page a couple times before (way back during Daz’s solo series), and it is indeed cannon that she can take in and absorb his sonic powers. Furthermore, Emma is smart to take on BB in the heart of Manhattan, where he would be unwilling to really open up with his powers (in that doing so would destroy much of the tristate area).  Although I do hope that Soule and Lemire will eventually remember that BB has other powers beside his sonic abilities.  This is the third time that Backgarr has been nerffed at the very beginning of a fight and I got to say it’s getting rather old.

Magneto’s taking out the RIV is equally cunning, exploiting Crystal’s team’s humanitarian efforts to traverse the vessels’ defenses.  Seeing the RIV ripped apart by Magneto’s powers, however, left my quite worried over the fate of poor Hub (the Inhuman dynamo is powers the craft).  Has Magneto inadvertently killed Hub?  Not only that, but there are plenty of children and families living on The RIV.  What has become of them?  Hopefully time will tell.

Jean’s trap for Karnak was a little less adroit.  I’m not completely familiar with the full extent of teen Jean’s telepathic powers and I have to imagine Karnak would be able to see through her psychic illusions with little difficulty.  Though to be fair, it seems as though Jean and Karnak’s encounter is set to be more fully addressed in an upcoming IvX tie-in issue of Uncanny X-Men so it’s understandable that Soule and Lemire might chose to leave the matter less explored.

As for Lockjaw, he looks like he weighs more than a ton and I’m not sure a single bottle of Klonopin is going to be quite enough the send him to the land of nod.  I wonder if Kamala’s brief appearance in the book is a foreshadowing of her coming to Lockjaw’s rescue.  

The art is beautifully done throughout.  Gerry Alaguilan and Lenil Yu work wonderfully together and the color pallet chosen by David Curiel fits the theme perfectly.  Storm, Magneto, and Medusa are especially well rendered in the art.  Likewise Emma Frost, whose soft, angelic features contort into a gruesome sneer whenever her vitriol toward the Inhumans comes to the surface.

My only complaint would be the incredibly tacky gown Emma wears to The Quiet Room.   I thought she was supposed to have style…  and chilled Rosé after sundown?  tres gauche…

Some quick notes: Medusa’s mother, Ambur, was never queen.  Rhynda was queen and Ambur was a duchess, by way of Medusa’s marriage to Black Bolt.  Also, never give a dog Klonopin (even if it’s a giant Inhuman dog); there are some benzodiazepines cleared for animal usage, but dosages designed for humans can be fatal to animals.     

Once again, it is quite harsh seeing my beloved Inhumans so routed by the X-Men in this issue.  yet it was executed beautifully and I know this is just round one.  If the rest of IvX follows suit in regards to such high quality of art and writing then we are in for a fun ride and an excellent event.
Highly recommended.  Four and a half out of Five Lockjaws