BARBELITH underground
 

Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.


New X-Men loose ends........

 
  

Page: 1(2)3

 
 
The Falcon
12:13 / 19.08.03
I think U-Man armour has nano-sentinels; they've been involved with everything else.
 
 
Quireboy
15:11 / 19.08.03
Nah, I don't think it's Sublime. If he's still alive - and I doubt it - he's probably just hardwired up to some internet connection. But I think it more likely that he's just become an icon now only kept 'alive' by his followers. He's just the ghost in the U-man machine.

Presumably we'll see Esme's mysterious associate. Xorn or Jean could pretty much be responsible for an apocalyptic event that would finish off the X-Men. I can't help wondering about those Cyclops/Nightcrawlers - the product of genetic engineering - perhaps by Esme's boss.

I'm sure Morrison was planning to finish as he has from the start. Picking up on the story coming full circle from the genocide of nearanderthal man to that of humanity - Cassandra, just like her namesake in Greek mythology, was proved right but no X-Men - especially Xavier - really heeded her warning.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:38 / 19.08.03
Yeah, that she was named Cassandra seems to be a freaking big hint to me.

What else could she be right about?
 
 
Quimper
16:23 / 19.08.03
Let's use occam's razor on this one. This is the X-Men after all...

Esme's mystery partner is Xavier or Magneto.

Option #1 - Xavier: We haven't heard from Cassie Nova in a while, have we? Think about how Imperial happened. It ended with Xavier regaining control of his body after being split into the minds of every mutant on earth.

Phoenix then "disinfected" Charles by pulling the Immundrai out of Xavier's body before Emma sucked it into the simple body of Stuff.

Is it possible that Nova is STILL inside Charles, or at least a piece of her? One theme in NXM is the convergence of opposites. It holds true for Xavier becoming a changed person after the death of Magneto. It holds true for Scott sleeping with Emma. It holds true for Fantomex (the grand trickster) meeting Jean Grey (truth incarnate). Maybe Charles is changed more than we think b/c of his encounter with Nova.

Think about it. When was the last time a bit of evil got sucked into Charley and he went bad? Onslaught. Who remembers this line from Imperial...
"I've forgotten what it was like to overcome the monster Onslaught."

Then, there's Bishops accusations to Xavier in 'Murder' about him being possessed.

Xavier could have screwed with Sage's perception, implicating Xorn.

The martyrdom of Magneto could be a foreshadowing of the martyrdom of Charles Xavier, with Xorn ready to become the new Prof. X.

I still do not think that the 'enemy within' comment by QQ meant Esme. I think we have yet to see what he was really talking about.

Think about the womb imagery at the last page of Imperial, with Xavier emerging from the womb-like Cerebra (female/mother) naked. Obviously, a new Xavier was born at that moment. We are not dealing with 'Professor X' anymore, but with Charles Xavier. Professor X was a response to Magneto's threat. That identity was shed when 'he' outed himself. Just as Scott has been trying to shed his 'Cyclops' persona, Xavier has shed his good-guy role as Professor X.

Think about what Xavier said to Jean/Phoenix in the Exorcist scene of the Weapon 12 story arc. "If I go any further, my thoughts will be turned to ash." To _which jean responds, "only the ones you don't need in the light." Are Charles' thoughts that tainted that he would burn completely in the flame of the Phoenix?

I've said it since Year One. All of this is leading to Phoenix vs. Xavier. I feel it.

And maybe No-Girl is that disembodied Cassie floating around. 'Purely conceptual'. Her identity was the opposite of Xavier and nothing more. Opposite is a concept.


Option #2 - Magneto: C'mon. Can the X-Men really exist without Magneto? Do we really think our Lord and Master died off-panel?

It's safe to assume that Magneto is still alive and that "Ambient Magnetic Fields" was a ruse.

It's all about illusion, misdirection.

Did he know he'd be more powerful as a martyr? Was Quentin blatantly wearing the answers on his chest during the beginning of "Riot?" Did HIS fake death force Xavier to change the course of mutant affairs?

Who else can manipulate an empty taxi cab to pick Esme up from school?

Who else could erase Sage's computer mind? A magnet is the best way to erase a hard drive or a floppy disk.

It's obvious that the machinations behind "Riot" and "Murder" were towards the goal of eliminating X-associated telepaths. Why? Because they could detect him? Because telepaths are the only form of mutant more powerful than the Master of Magnetism?

"The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world he doesn't exist" --Verbal Kint, The Usual Suspects
 
 
Our Lady of The Two Towers
16:28 / 19.08.03
The only thing is that in both cases you're suggesting storylines that have happened millions of times before in the last forty years. Underwhelmed as I am by the current storyline I will acknowledge that Grant does seem to be gesturing vaguely in the area of new ideas, even if he seems to have retreated from the change of emphasis we were promised in his first year.
 
 
FinderWolf
16:34 / 19.08.03
I think in Rich Johnston's recent column they said Silvestri's NXM arc features an adult Beak (yes!!!) and the kid from SENTINEL with his big ol' metallic Sentinel buddy. Very cool use of the characters, it sounds like - especially clever to use the kid and his robot (the SENTINEL series is kinda fun, too - seems more geared towards a younger audience).
 
 
petar_g
23:52 / 19.08.03

I've read about Beak and Wolverine being definites in Silvestri's arc, but nothing about the kid from Sentinel. Given that Grant finished #152 as far back as a year ago (according to his website), and that Sentinel wasn't out then, I'd strongly suggest the kid won't appear.

As for my John Sublime theory, thanks to those of you who read it and found it possible. Did anyone have any more connections to add to it? I believe I only listed four or five.

Petar
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
02:17 / 20.08.03
Xorn ready to become the new Prof. X.

Repeat after me: This isn't going to happen.

The Magneto thing seems technically plausible, but it'd be too easy. It is more powerful for Magneto to die the way that he did.
 
 
diz
03:17 / 20.08.03
Are Charles' thoughts that tainted that he would burn completely in the flame of the Phoenix?

it's the Phoenix. relative to her purifying flame, everyone is that tainted.

C'mon. Can the X-Men really exist without Magneto?

yes. absolutely. i think it's more to the point to say that it is absolutely necessary for the X-Men to exist without Magneto. Magneto has been done to death. everything about NXM was about the X-Men moving beyond the Xavier/Magneto opposition and moving from being a story about tolerance vs intolerance and towards a story about change. if Magneto comes back, it will completely undo everything good about NXM.
 
 
petar_g
13:17 / 24.08.03
X-Bump!
 
 
petar_g
05:51 / 27.08.03
Thinking about Esme's accomplice, I'm assuming it was the person whose arm we saw aiming at Sage in #140?

The arm didn't look very thick/strong, and was seemingly attached to a small-ish body. Three suggestions, based on size:

1. John Sublime (though one would think he would be stronger built.........)

2. Quentin Quire (the small, scrawny-ish arm)

3. Stuff (remember him? Esme's ex-boyfriend.......?)

That last one REALLY has me thinking, now............

Petar
 
 
Krug
07:31 / 27.08.03
Dizfactor: Yes.
 
 
Quimper
13:57 / 27.08.03
If we are really supposed to expect the return of an old villian, one we'd never expect...I'll have to make a guess that it's The Adversary.

Roma once described him to Forge as a part of nature. She said he could only be contained, and never destroyed. If he is part of nature, but its adversary at the same time, could he be considered a threat to all intelligent life? The Adversary being a part/enemy of nature reminds me of the Xavier/Cassandra dynamic. Also, back before Fall of the Mutants, he was The Trickster. Misdirection. Illusion. An analogy for Fantomex. The dreaded opposite of the Phoenix.

It's either that or En Sabah Nur.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
14:12 / 27.08.03
I'm 100% convinced that Morrison isn't going to make the 'big bad' a character from the Marvel Universe who hasn't been mentioned in his run on NXM so far.

The En Sabah Scott theory seemed really plausible to me when I re-read issue #142 and noticed how the stripper asks him if it's nice to "call the shots" for once, and also talks about how he knows how to "murder a nice romantic mood". Do you see? But this could be classic misdirection. Then I noticed that in #127, Xorn talks about the "new world", which is how Esme describes what's coming in #141. But I don't know... Esme was leaving the mansion to meet somebody, so surely she can't have been going to meet Xorn (leaving aside how weird it would be for Xorn to orchestrate events in this fashion). I'm going for the theory that in 'Planet X', someone else's machinations will push Xorn over the edge, inspiring him to try to "fix" the "broken" world we live in by essentially destroying it...
 
 
Quimper
15:23 / 27.08.03
There's a lot of "people ascending into a new, greater context" going on in this book. Just noticed it now.

Fantomex - broke out of The World into the world.

Magneto - ascended into immortality, into the far reaches of space.

Quentin Quire - seemingly ascended into a higher plane of existence/awareness

Xorn - released from Room X into the world; knew what was going on with Quentin

Weapon XV - broke out of The World, into the world, then into space.

Just pontificating. I draw no conclusions..
 
 
Quimper
18:07 / 28.08.03
Who were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse last time we checked? I know Deathbird was one and I think Ahab/Rory Campbell was another.
 
 
petar_g
09:18 / 02.09.03
From this week's "Lying the Gutters":

========
Marvel are expecting big things from "New X-Men" 146. They are currently looking into ways they can tell the retailers why they should be upping their orders, without giving it away to the fans. It's the beginning of the "Planet X" storyline. But it will have major implications for sales.

What? You want to know what's in it? But that would be a spoiler wouldn't it?

No, no. We don't do spoilers. You might want to run to pick it up though...

Marvel have pushed back the release of issue 147 by a week, giving retailers enough time to increase their orders after they've seen 146. This looks like it could be a big deal, folks. On the kind of level of the Death Of Jean Grey...

Oh you haven't read that issue yet either? Sorry... maybe she doesn't die. I dunno.
===========

Petar
 
 
I'm Rick Jones, bitch
10:10 / 02.09.03
Dammit petar, give a bother some spoiler space next time, hmmmm?
 
 
petar_g
13:40 / 02.09.03
I gladly would've given spoiler space, if there was anything to spoil. Or were you not aware that #146 of New X-Men was coming out in the near future? Forgive me if I sound sarcastic, but I fail to see how anything reprinted above could in any way be construed as a spoiler. Or perhaps, you were just being sarcastic yourself, and it's been lost on me, which is also possible

Regards,

Petar
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:23 / 02.09.03
Yeah, there definitely was no need for Petar to put a spoiler warning.

Now I'm really super-psyched for this. I'm glad that I saw it. I was just thinking about NXM last night, and lamenting the fact that the past few issues have almost completely wrecked my excitement for the comic. This builds it right back up.
 
 
biollante
21:48 / 02.09.03
There is a website that has a review of sorts for New 145. It contains a medium level spoiler that foreshadows whats coming up next.

I think people will be excited about Planet X and definitely will be speculating as to who the threat really is.
 
 
Mike-O
23:20 / 02.09.03
And that website would be....? Jesus, man... don't do that shit. It's a fucking tease. A TEASE I TELL U!!!
 
 
I'm Rick Jones, bitch
07:34 / 03.09.03
Oh come on, if THE DEATH OF JEAN GREY NUDGE NUDGE HINT HINT but uh maybe not I'm not sure isn't even the tiniest bit spoilerific then I'll boil my head*

*NO PROMISES
 
 
petar_g
13:48 / 03.09.03
To quote from the paragraph itself (with some necessary emphasis):

"This looks like it could be a big deal, folks. On the kind of level of the Death Of Jean Grey... Oh you haven't read THAT issue yet EITHER? Sorry... maybe she doesn't die. I dunno."

It's referring to the older X-Men issue in which Jean Grey 'died'. NOT what's coming in #146. It's just implying that what DOES happen in the upcoming issue could perhaps be one par with something of that (Jean Grey dying years ago) magnitude.

No spoilers anywhere, except for Rich sarcastically implying he'd spoiled #137 (or whatever number it was) from years ago.

Hope that finally helps. Now, no more crying, ok?

Petar
 
 
Mike-O
14:14 / 03.09.03
Petar G is a smooth one, folks.... Hahahaha.....
 
 
Quireboy
15:10 / 03.09.03
Planet X is meant to resolve the Phoenix storyline.

In her vision of the X-Men defeated - the Phoenix suggested that she was the last hope .. although of whom she did not say.

The Shi'ar's warning suggested that she was going to disinfect the toxic levels of aggression exhibited by mutantkind.

If you take both these comments to suggest that Phoenix is somehow going to counter any threat posed by the new assertive mutant rights agenda - perhaps halting the mutant birth rate, saving humanity from extinction - then perhaps rather than teasing us with the suggestion that Phoenix will go bad again, Morrison has been leading up to her destruction. Maybe Esme's ally decides to take Jean out realising that she's the only possible obstacle to mutant global domination.

Just guessing.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:50 / 03.09.03
Please note that Xorn is not among the X-Men in the wreckage during Jean's premonition back in "New Worlds."

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

I happen to know that the big thing in the issue that comes out tomorrow is that someone at Xavier's is a plant, placed there by the Weapon Plus program. Someone at Xavier's has been working with the enemy all along.

Now, let's face it, it's probably Xorn. No one can read Xorn's mind. He's got "secrets." No one really knows much about him, and for some reason, no one ever asks. He shows much more interest in teaching the students than anyone else, and has taken the initiative to closely mentor a group of dysfunctional kids. The same kids who were involved in the conspiracy against Emma. Who shot Emma? Angel. Who saw Xorn kill the U-Men? Angel. Hmmm.

The problem with this is that the way the Xorn came to be involved with the school at all is somewhat accidental. The X-Men went to China to deal with the U-Men, and they stumbled upon him. Scott invited him to come to teach at the school, which is somewhat illogical. Later, they recruit him to deal with Cassandra. Though it is very likely that Weapon Plus may have had something to do with Xorn, it seems rather unlikely that he's working for them. I sincerely doubt that Xorn is a villain. But there may be a reason for him to exist, and a reason for him to be where he is that he doesn't know about.

So what do the U-Men have to do with all of this? Surely the U-Men and John Sublime have something to do with this - it's been hinted that they something to do with Cassandra. Why did Xorn kill those U-Men? What was he afraid that the other X-Men would find? And could it be that the U-Men had another reason for stalking Xorn?

It seems that Xorn is the guy who is going to bring all of the loose threads of Grant's story together. I can't wait to see how this all works out.
 
 
Quimper
16:28 / 03.09.03
So I am assuming that Xorn did murder Quentin.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
16:42 / 03.09.03
Me too. I've been saying that ever since that issue came out.

I mean, Xorn snuffs out Q's life just as he mutters "what if the real enemy was inside all along." That's sooooooo foreshadowing!
 
 
Mr Tricks
17:08 / 03.09.03
So would that make Xorn weapon XI?

the only one NOT accounted for Between Wolverine (X), Phantomex (XIII), The Brain Guy (XII), and the New one (XV)?

Is that right?

does that mean Weapon XIV is also missing?
 
 
Quimper
17:16 / 03.09.03
Well, let's assume we are right and that Xorn is working against the X-Men. I think the return of the mystery baddie might then be John Sublime. It is very possible for Xorn to have healed Mr. Sublime after his fall. Xorn had been going on solo missions after that arc. When the U-Men were in the woods stalking the Special Class, they consulted that Sublime website. Their dialouge sounded as if Sublime was alive, but we all chalked it up to references to Sublime's 'virtual' presence rather than 'actual' presence. Perhaps Xorn healed his back and wings as well. That'd be cool.

Just a thought.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
17:40 / 03.09.03
I really doubt that Xorn is/was working with the U-Men - he seems to have a genuine and honest dislike for them. It's also unlikely that he healed Sublime - he was in Tibet, right? That's too much of a stretch. If Sublime is alive and well, it's because of the fact that he owned a pharmeceutical company and had his body healed/altered by his scientists.
 
 
diz
18:04 / 03.09.03
well, the Weapon Plus program seems really compatible with Sublime's philosophy - using mutant genetics and nanotech to pull Homo Sapiens up by its bootstraps until it has a fighting chance against Homo Superior....

SPOILERS
























































what if the plant is not Xorn? i agree he makes the most sense, though i think the fact that he fried that group of U-Men sort of speaks against him working together with Sublime in some way...

just for shits and giggles, though: who else could it be?

what about Scott? he has been acting very strangely in this arc, and seems to have some kind of connection with Weapon XV....
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
18:18 / 03.09.03
Can we cool it with the huge spoiler space? Simply writing "Spoilers" will suffice, I promise you. Tom Coates hates it, and I agree with him.

Yeah, it could be Scott. But Scott probably doesn't know it.

Or it may still be the Scott/En Sabah Nur thing.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
18:22 / 03.09.03
Hey, maybe Emma is the plant. And she decided that she liked the X-Men and loved Scott too much to betray them, and tried to back out. And that's why they had her assassinated.

Also: surely Kick has something to do with all of this.
 
  

Page: 1(2)3

 
  
Add Your Reply