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Underground > Comic Books >

New X-Men #153

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I'm Rick Jones, bitch

21:05 / 18.02.04

I've not got the issue but I'm guessing feeder traits were bred into it?

21:52 / 18.02.04

Feeder traits, ""I can't...something just crawled into my face...I can't..eat mind."

Brain eating zombie parasites from last issue. Big Beast's whole purpose was to breach the defenses and let em loose on the telepaths...(locked up in the basement?)

21:54 / 18.02.04

Whoop, yeah, should read more carefully -- the Beast shouts "load feeder traits!" as the pod opens, and the flames are that one X-Man's plasma-spheres. Another point for Marc Silvestri, Confusing Story-teller there, though, I'd say -- I see orange fire, I see people talking like they're being deranged by the infinite, I'm gonna put two and two together...

22:06 / 18.02.04

I also believe that BEAST/CRAWLER body was designed solely to teleport the "FEEDER" into the institute.
based on what I remember of 152 don't the crawlers start out as bug things and then implant themselves into one's consciousness consuming. From then I'm presuming it jumps to a new host via eye contact. that seems very familuar, very much like PROTEUS of the Clairmont era.

Nice parallel to #149 Jean & Wolvie again....

Imaginary Mongoose Solutions

00:07 / 19.02.04

Right. The FeederCrawlerBeast ported in just to make mental contact with a telepath at the institute. Then when the Telepaths were being put in the sheilded bunker, they were all basicly locked in with a mental virus that turned them all into hunfry feeder/zombies. So when they let all the telepaths out of the sheilded bunkers to fight the invasion, they're all already currupted and lost.

That said, I will eat my words about Ernst not being Cassandra. This ish finally clears that up. It also starts to clear up what Hank was figuring out on the wing of the X-Plane. Kick, the X-Sentinels, the World, "toxic levels of agression", Magneto and hell, even Xavier were all part of Sublime's plan.

I wonder if Sublime is what would have been purged by the Phoenix had he not manipulated events to ensure her death.

"Psychic Screamers... Save the Whale."

04:37 / 19.02.04

I don't understand the line TroyJ15 put up about "not counting out Xorn yet...".... How is Xorn involved in this at all?

11:46 / 19.02.04

I read somewhere that Apocalypse was gonna make a return (along with Mr. Sinister which already happened) in Weapon X. I find it interesting now since Sublime is currently featured in the Defection story line and most signs here point to Beast/Sublime being ESN...

So many questions.

14:02 / 19.02.04

Esme, Sophie, Phoebe, Celeste, any guesses as to the last one?

Imaginary Mongoose Solutions

14:25 / 19.02.04

Over in Weapon X John Sublime has been claiming ties to the Weapon X/ecchs programme. And apparently the upcoming storyarc features Wolverine and Fantomex vs. Weapon X/ecchs.

I'm still kind of amused by how much of the Reload stuff seems to be directed at people who liked the X-Men "before they got weird"/were Morrisoned and yet is built around his throwaway ideas and concepts.

I never thought I'd live to see the day when the ads would actually promote guest shots by Beak. No matter how much Beak rules.

And as for Morrison not being able to wrap up a lot of his loose ends int his arc, I'd say he's a little under halfway there. We've seen the beginings of an explination of Sublime's plans and motivations, we've got Ernst confirmed as a young re-educated Cassandra Xavier... There's not that much else to cover.

Matthew Fluxington

15:16 / 19.02.04

The fifth one is Chloe. They already established that in Planet X.

15:36 / 19.02.04

I'm going to have to give this one another read, but it felt very disjointed and not-very-good to me. Rover's demise upon seeing his bestest friend in the world in the arms of a woman was pretty cool, though. He dies of a broken heart.

And I think The Invisibles, even in its weakest moments, was more coherent than this issue. This issue (and the last 4 issues or so, with some exceptions) seems to feature the thing about Morrison's writing that some critics always mention - lots of cool ideas but they're sort of thrown all over the page like a Jackson Pollock painting, resulting in a potentially confusing story with no flow.

I agree that it seems like a hell of a lot would need to wrapped up next issue for this to be coherent and feel like a full story.

16:03 / 19.02.04

Having reread the ish, the Beast's line to Apollyon about his allies is quite crucial in the whole wrap-up thing. He says he picked his allies carefully. Some were messengers of a new day to come (Weapon Plus/U-Men), some were hosts to primordial powers beyond comprehension (Magneto) and others were blind predators, stillborn in the sewers of a nightmare (Cassandra Nova). Matthew touched upon the implications of allies earlier, but that line really spells out the connection angle, and suggests they were the Three Horsemen to Dark Phoenix's Fourth.

Matthew Fluxington

16:43 / 19.02.04

Is there really THAT much that needs to be sorted out in the next issue? All we need is:

1) The defeat of Sublime/Beast, which will likely come when Jean gets over her amnesia.

2) The revelation of Sublime/Beast's identity, and some details about the specifics of his plan.

3) What's up with the Cuckoos?

And we already know that at the end, Scott and Emma decide to reopen the school. There will probably be an epilogue in the last few pages set in the present covering all of this.

17:28 / 19.02.04

Anyone think that "eat mind" was Xavier communicating into the future during the mindswap in E is for Extintion?

Imaginary Mongoose Solutions

18:18 / 19.02.04

Some were messengers of a new day to come...

Am I the only person who thought "Xavier" at that line?

Matthew Fluxington

18:28 / 19.02.04

I don't know. Judging by other things he says in the rant, Sublime/Beast seems to really hate Xavier and his people. I think that comment was just meant to cover John Sublime, and that's that.

18:29 / 19.02.04

I never thought I'd live to see the day when the ads would actually promote guest shots by Beak. No matter how much Beak rules.

... and that was about the time that a weird little mutant chicken-boy danced awkwardly into the comic book scene and stole America's heart.

18:32 / 19.02.04

Are people really enjoying this story? It seems like people aren't talking so much about whether they liked it or not and more about trying to figure out the many mysteries in the story. Just curious, I'm not trying to be or sound obnoxious. Cause I feel this story, esp. this issue, isn't a very well-written or well-constructed story so far. But like I said, I'm gonna re-read this new issue and hope the final issue ties it all up.

I feel Morrison's writing started to go a bit wonky with Planet X. Parts of 150 seemed sort of mediocre to me, too, in terms of pacing, dialogue, etc. -- it seems like Morrison is capable of so much more and usually delivers a much higher-quality story.

02:42 / 20.02.04

I think post-Imperial the frustration of working w/ Marvel at the time began infiltrating Grant's writing. There's a kind of directionlessness that's hard to put a finger on, but much of it feels listless to me.

I think a lot of folks are a bit mum on this last story arc as it kind of speaks for itself, for better or worse. Much like The Invisibles (though less so) this final storyline, rather than giving resolutions or satisfaction, makes me feel alright with a lack of answers by being imaginitive and etching all kinds of ideas and possibilities into the head.

I like it. But then I think Wolverine's intense homoerotic tight-jeaned asscheeks are fuckin' awesome. I feel that, truly, is the issue at stake. Ass-cheeks, I mean.

As for the mysteries, I think Flux is right - he's answered what he has to, I think, minus the points listed above. I'll be perfectly satisfied if they don't mention En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse at all in reference to the Beast at this point. It seems pretty implicit. Unless it's the Shadow King. Or Onslaught again. Or the ghost of Colossus. Or Proteus. Or...

02:59 / 20.02.04

Are people really enjoying this story?

i, for one, am totally fucking loving it. it makes me giddy like a schoolgirl.

04:06 / 20.02.04

Yeah, poor old Henry - no one took him seriously when he said he was gay, so he's been driven to this instead. Still, at least he's lost the glasses.
Anyway, I've just finished reading this, thought it was beautifully done, best NXM since Cyclops got drunk with Wolverine that time.

04:17 / 20.02.04

I've been enjoying it up to #153, where enjoyment turned to "What the hell?" Part 3 here seems like a spastic mess, with Grant starting up a dozen different threads that will need to be resolved in the space of his final issue, not to mention a return to the present timeline and an establishment of the running game there (unless he just plans on pants-ing the next team and running away laughing.)

What the hell was with that giant crawler that teleported into the x-men's hideout and burst both its' lungs in the process? Why am I having trouble believing the Pheonix, the most powerful psychic force in the universe this side of John Edwards, is having trouble recalling its' perma-hosts' memories? Why am I scared that this line is going to go to shit again after Grant leaves?
I did love the scene with Tom and Rover. Even Sentinels have feelings! "He brought me food when I was a baby", though? That's logistically interesting...

The 'White-Hot room'. Heh.

Regrettable Juvenilia

09:23 / 20.02.04

My feelings on 'Here Comes Tomorrow' is that taken on its own merits, it's really, really enjoyable - probably the best 'arc' of NXM since 'Riot At Xavier's' - but that worries about the extent to which the last two years of plot will make any sense after it's finished are marring my enjoyment somewhat (then again, there were a few plotholes in 'Riot' too).

Wolverine's landing on the ship looked pretty rub, but the dialogue almost made up for it - Tito is a Wolverine fanboy, nice. What DEFINITELY made up for it, however, was that double page with the Beasts's armada and the demonic flying crawlers. Tito looking out at the impossible odds, those dark clouds, and then "That ain't the sun... Make yer peace with God, people" - oh fuck yes. Best cinematic/season finale moment in NXM so far - gives me chills.

Also, reading this issue I was reminded that Morrison said early on that this comic would be "about death". It really is, innit?

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

11:16 / 20.02.04

Yep. Feel free to put me squarely in the "It Rarely Gets Better Than This" Camp. Here Comes Tomorrow is knocking my shit around in the best possible way. I've long been very into Silvestri's art in this run and I've also been very impressed, as you can see up-thread, with Grant's incredible knack for humanizing the freakish, surely a lynchpin of the X-Men mythos. And I've really liked pretty much all the mutants and their completely bizarre futuro powers.

Now. The feeder traits. Anyone else get a distinct Weapon XII vibe from the whole situation? Only you look into his eyes as opposed to touching him? Lots of echoes of the chunnel in that whole sequence.

But the bleeding statue eyes? Just plain weird.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

12:00 / 20.02.04

I liked this well enough, but I couldn't help feeling that the art could have better illustrated key plot points.

Don't get me wrong, I like the art - it's well suited to the story - but I felt like I had to struggle to understand what was happening sometimes. Judging by comments on here as well, other people are struggling to grasp what's supposed to be going on.

I just mean, I would have liked to see more emphasis on the panel "we were sooooo hungry" (tiny one, bottom right) so it's more obvious what has happened, rather than on the big beast crawler going "hhhhhhauuuuu". It's just a really little panel.

And the section with Tom and EVA seemed terrible the first time I read it. It just seemed to skip ahead time, saved my life, wha?

I'm not a terrible fan of the big splashs and minute, almost weak, storytelling, I guess. I'm still enjoying it, its not a major problem. Sometimes the big splash works (see, the flying crawlers), others not so well. I kind of wish he could Silvestri could concentrate a little more on making sure what's happening is totally obvious.

Other than that, big budget cinematic apocalypse ahoy!

Matthew Fluxington

13:26 / 20.02.04

Tito looking out at the impossible odds, those dark clouds, and then "That ain't the sun... Make yer peace with God, people" - oh fuck yes. Best cinematic/season finale moment in NXM so far - gives me chills.

Yeah, I totally agree. I'm willing to forgive some of Silvestri's more obnoxious drawings and occasionally weak storytelling because of pages like that, and the opening sequence. I don't think any of the other NXM artists would have nailed those images nearly as well as Marc, so I'm grateful. There's a sense of creepiness and dread in a lot of Marc's pages, which is perfectly suited to what Grant is writing here.

13:48 / 20.02.04

Mike-O,

My Xorn comment is stemmed from the letter page actually, not the actual story itself. Read the inquiry about Xorn on the letter's page (is anyone else happy as me that they are back) and the editor's response to it. Not to mention Magneto cracking up and talking to the mask at the end of Planet X. What was that all about? I'm starting to think that Xorn lives!

Anyway, few people can draw a clear story for Grant Morrrison --- I can tell your right now, Chris Bachalo, Marc Silvestri and Igor Kordey are not among them. God, I miss Quietly! I had to read Assualt on Weapon Plus twice to understand it fully and Here Comes Tommorow too. silvestri was a mistake to put on this particular storyline, but Marvel just had to do the Jim Lee/BatMan thing.

I was doubting Morrison's writing skills after Planet X but I'm seeing things coming together. I've enjoyed his NXM run thus far but how much of it I enjoyed will be based purely on issue 154 and how it ties together. Easily this has been the best run since Claremont and Byrne's days!

Can anyone answer my question about Genosha and 9/11, I'm very curious what grants response was?

Imaginary Mongoose Solutions

14:11 / 20.02.04

"Are people really enjoying this story?"

It's the best fucking X-Thing ever.

14:27 / 20.02.04

Troy - I think you've misinterpreted that reply on the letter's page. The dimwit who wrote in hadn't worked out that NXM127 was just part of Magneto's ruse - and none of the events after 'Xorn' leaves the other X-Men happened. Although that doesn't mean something else was going on with Xorn in Planet X.

Re. the Beastcrawler - I don't see why it's so difficult to grasp, given the Beast's earlier comments about him being created for strenth not survival/longevity, that his only function is to breach the defence shield and infect the telepaths.

Re. Martha - I read the comment about her deluxe alzheimer's as this is one of her abilities rather than her suffering from the disease. I wonder what Cassandra's abilities are now?

16:31 / 20.02.04

I don't think Alzheimer's disease would qualify as a special power for Martha. And Cassandra compares it to her being stuck in an alien body without available spareparts, which is clearly a liability instead of an asset.

And Xorn will return. Oh, yes, he will...

I also don't see as plausible for Beast to be En Sabah Nur. He refers to mutants as a threat, if left unchecked. And ESN IS a mutant, after all, unless Morrison gave him a different interpretation, as Flux mentioned at some point.

SUBLIME is Richard Dawkin's SELFISH GENE, who became a MEME and contaminated Beast at some point, after using and replicating through Cassandra, the U-Men, Martha, Quentin Quire, Weapon Plus and Magneto. And Beast somehow predicted this, as he says to Cyclops in issue 134 (the prologue to Riot): "I'm in the way to APOCALYPTICAL MINDLOSS"...
(thanks to CPedro in this one)

16:38 / 20.02.04

Matthew, you're wrong about Chloe, I'm sure.

I'm pegging MILLIONS!!! on the remaining Cuckoo being named Daphne now. Kudos to Ganesh on that score.

'Like that time when we fell down the stairs'? We being Charles, Cassandra and mum?

I'm enjoying the fuck out of this. Silvestri's glossy luridity only enhances the effect. Anyone see the little baby crawlers in their matrix pods? Well cool.

16:44 / 20.02.04

Quoting The Falcon: 'Like that time when we fell down the stairs'? We being Charles, Cassandra and mum?

Wait, wait, WAIT! Where does that quote comes from? 153? (I will only have it next week) And what's the context? This may prove to be VERY relevant.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

16:46 / 20.02.04

Falcon; I think you mean WAY cool.

16:50 / 20.02.04

Wait, wait, WAIT! Where does that quote comes from? 153? (I will only have it next week) And what's the context? This may prove to be VERY relevant.

it's telepathically broadcast by some random X-Men telepath after she's infested with feeders.

17:21 / 20.02.04

I was wondering how Beast was "infected" by Sublime.
Then I thought in the reference to the "Blind Predators" in 153.
Could Sublime infect Beast's mind with the Telepatic attack from Cassandra Nova?

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