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Underground > Comic Books >

New X-Men #137

  
  

Page: 12(3)45

 
 
ciarconn
23:32 / 20.02.03
I think Emma is invulnerable to telepathy in her diamond form.
 
 
Ganesh
23:38 / 20.02.03
If Sophie really is dead, couldn't Xorn have a crack at bringing her back to life? Or would that unbalance the cosmic Zen blah blah fishcakes?
 
 
Eskay Uno
01:52 / 21.02.03
Emma's look is very Jean-ish, innit? Hair n' wardrobe fer sure. She pretty much saved the day, too - with her pep talk to the Cuckoos and rescuing Scott. The rest of the staff are lame compared to her.

Seems like it's all over, but with one more chapter yet to come I think the real crap has yet to hit the windmill.
 
 
Quireboy
06:31 / 21.02.03
Well we still don't know who's produced kick - and we know that Beast is wrong about Jumbo's death. The humans who attacked Carnation sprayed something down his throat - why should we not assume this wasn't kick?
 
 
sleazenation
07:41 / 21.02.03
I think it highly unlikely that some pissed up humans knew that there were any harmful side effects to kick - besides whouldn't spraying your victim with kick be kinda counter productive - like giveing a man you intend to mug some speed first.
 
 
yawn - thing's buddy
08:05 / 21.02.03
emma/tatoo/scott/hand/head/fuck/wow!

but.............

dunno.

just

but.
 
 
Quireboy
11:49 / 21.02.03
Sleazenation - that depends. Kick may have been produced as a toxin and the power boosting effect been an unexpected side-effect.

Regardless, Henry's assessment of Jumbo's death does not match what the reader knows, which is surely intentional.

When the drug was first introduced I speculated it could have been created by the Weapon Plus programme as an excuse for a mutant crackdown - we'll just have to wait and see who created it. Human or mutant the implications are huge either way.
 
 
Persephone
12:13 / 21.02.03
I dunno, Quireboy... I'm looking at that panel, and it looks to me like the guy's got the heel of his hand under Jumbo's teeth & possibly his thumb in Jumbo's mouth. So he can't be spraying anything. I suppose he could be shoving the inhaler itself into Jumbo's mouth; but I don't see an inhaler anywhere & later Henry says they found an inhaler on Jumbo's body, not in it. Anyway I read in these panels that the guy punches Jumbo, who right at that moment turns to plastic (due to the Kick); and then the gang runs away, grossed out.

It also seems to me that, in general, the storytelling's pretty straightforward in this arc. For example, Quentin's motivation is just what we saw in #134 --post-traumatic stress at having found out he was adopted, plus this bad drug.
 
 
Quireboy
12:18 / 21.02.03
Mmm - I don't remember it like that but maybe I should have another look at the issue before making any further comment!

So, do you think the Cuckoos will permanently lose their powers, split into four telepaths, become 'four-in-one' or absorb Sophie's psi-powers between them? I suspect there'll at least be a period of adjustment if they do retain their telepathy.
 
 
Persephone
12:21 / 21.02.03
Very upset about Sophie, I am.

I don't know if the Cuckoos have *any* telepathic powers alone --e.g., as when Esme went AWOL in Imperial. I'm sort of afraid that Xavier's will have humans at the school, after all --i.e., the four remaining Cuckoos.
 
 
Ganesh
12:23 / 21.02.03
Perhaps Jumbo's (presumably forced/automatic) sudden skin plasticisation is what killed him? Morrison may be drawing parallels with ecstasy's dehydrating effect: if Kick produces a five-fold increase in one's mutant powers, chances are there's a certain amount of (heat?) energy to be dispersed; if one's skin is unable to 'breathe' (shades of 'Goldfinger') and thus release the newly-generated energy, the build-up might conceivably have caused Jumbo to cook within his own skin...
 
 
FinderWolf
13:01 / 21.02.03
another tidbit: QQ sees through Wolvie's bad boy/violent/dangerous psychopath "image" but at the end, and uses his real self against him with the telepathy/loop memory thing. At the story's end, it is QQ's image as the bad boy/violent/dangerous anarchist that is similarly shattered.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
14:32 / 21.02.03
I want to thank Persephone for pointing out what to me is painfully obvious - that the writing in this story, and in NXM in general, is very straightfoward. It's not simplistic, but it certainly is simple. I think a lot of you are speculating wildly and very far off the mark.

This is quite a lot like what I was seeing in the Sopranos forum over on Television Without Pity while season 4 was unfolding, there were swarms of people who had these far-fetched ridiculous ideas of what was happening or where the story was headed, and of course all of them were way off because David Chase et al were far better writers than they were, quite a bit more sophisticated and down-to-earth. I think this is exactly the same here - Grant's stories are not needlessly complicated in New X-Men. They are constructed to be rather straightfoward and mainstream entertainment, not the garbled mess that was the Invisibles. There's plenty to be read into the stories, they have a lot of depth and intentional allegory, but they are definitely meant to be easily enjoyed at face value.

I think some of you are so caught up in your own interpretations of what it all means that you're trying to force everything in the series to fit into the scheme you've figured out for yourselves.

Anyway, if you go back and check #134, Persephone is absolutely correct about Jumbo's death. There is no spraying. The human gang hassles Jumbo, get freaked out by his out-of-control mutation, and Jumbo dies on the street from the Kick overdose.
 
 
Quireboy
14:43 / 21.02.03
You're right about the storytelling - Sophie and Dummy's deaths were clearly hinted at, and the pattern of telepathic conflict are straightforward. And Quentin's stripping away of Worlverine's self-image presumably foreshadows the Assault on Weapon Plus arc.

But there's plenty of allegory and imagery in there that deserves in-depth analysis and speculation - from the mythic references to Grant's take on the war against terror, etc.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
14:44 / 21.02.03
Oh, yes, definitely. I think you're completely right-on with most of the War On Terror stuff, it's not really that sort of thing that's sticking in my craw.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
14:50 / 21.02.03
I don't think Beast *is* meant to be wrong about Jumbo's death, although that's how I initially interpreted that scene too. I wish he was, though - his 'revelation' of the cause of death was predictable, a trite plot device and heavy-handed sermonizing - "Humans aren't to blame for everything" - ah, do you see? It's something of a get-out clause, because the issue of how mutants should respond if one of their number is killed by humans isn't really addressed.

Something else that confuses me greatly - the protestors who are presumably other students but aren't part of the Omega Gang. They're there with these placards as if they're at a demo, and almost look as if they have nothing to do with the Omega Gang, but then we see them fighting what I assume are humans - at the same time, Herman's petrol bombs are pretty indiscriminately aimed at them, too. Are we meant to assume that Quire is controlling/'influencing' them? Or did they hear his incitement to riot, think "yeah!", quickly knock up some placards, wave them around for a bit and then turn violent? That's just ridiculous. It's like Morrison's based his idea of how protests work on an ITV News bulletin about an anti-capitalist demo...

Quite a lot more to say about this issue, but essentially while I liked it a lot in terms of story and character, the misgivings I had about issue #134 and #135 continue - I suppose you could call 'em political misgivings, but it's a little more complicated than that. More to come. I did like Space Cadet Summers being a bad-ass, and the Quire/Xavier confrontation, though, and I agree that the Buffy parallel is clearer than ever. And I think the best thing about this issue is the way it wraps up the riot with one more issue to go - the aftermath is always the most interesting part.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:06 / 21.02.03
I'm not really sure about all those other rioters, but I'm not too concerned about it either.

At first I had misgivings about how Quire was being portrayed, but now I'm right with Grant, I think he's got it right on. I think Quire should be a pathetic, confused kid with ego problems, trying to impress people with a poorly-thought-out agenda. He's just a pretentious kid with delusions of grandeur. It's not an uncommon thing. He's more of a neo-nazi than a real political thinker, obviously.
 
 
The Falcon
16:09 / 21.02.03
Beast is lying, obviously.

Invisibles a 'garbled mess' WAOOOWW!! Just kidding.

I don't think Fantomex was particularly 'straightforward', though.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
16:20 / 21.02.03
I don't think Fantomex was particularly 'straightforward', though.

Heh. And that's part of why those were the three most boring issues of the run, I think...
 
 
Mr Tricks
17:34 / 21.02.03
On resurecting Sophie:

Do you think that may play into Jeans arrivial? What with the Phoenix being a life from death sort of force. Her "devine" intervention could further complicate the Emma-Scott-Jean situation if after such a resurection Emma's prize student suddenly wind up worshiping Jean for saving one of their lives... Something Emma has often failed to do.
 
 
Quimper
18:02 / 21.02.03
It's my understanding that the other rioters were under the influence of Quentin. Otherwise, why else would so much attention have been put on his "subtle" telepathic talents that will people into doing things. I'm sure mutant teens do not take much cajolling into attacking humans.

Wolverine's inadequacy is most definitely the setup for The World, The Devil and The Flesh. Two people calling him James had to spark something. I'm glad GM showed that Logan did NOT blow off both Cassandra's and Fantomex's comments. It's almost as if "James" has been a trigger word for Logan's subconcious in GM's treatment...more on that later.

There's one thing that confounds me about Beast's revelation about Jumbo Carnation. Don't people who OD usually feel sick and start to die immediately upon ingesting the drug? He was walking around fine before the gang attacked him. What? Was it some kind of delayed overdose? Or does the fatal side effect of Kick happen when a mutant uses his or her power?

Emma was definitely trying to inspire the Cuckoos into doing something. Morrison has made it clear over and over that telepathy and self-confidence go hand in hand: Cassandra's mocking of Charles's handicap in her initial attack; Cassandra's attack on Beast; Jean's belief that she can do the impossible. The Cuckoos were the only ones who could bruise Quentin's ego because his crush on Sophie was apparent. They beat him with one word...EWW.

This issue reminded me a lot of the Invisibles invisible alphabet. It's like "James" to Logan and "Eww" to Quentin touch upon the idea of the power of certain words on people. "Tripleyoo."

Xavier's confrontation with Quentin. Putting his tape back on and pretending to be tied up? Why? Dramatic effect? Was he showing Quentin that even bound and gagged, he is still immensely powerful. Was he trying to reach him not as a man, but as a mutant? I guess Xavier is still gung-ho on "mutant justice." Plus, it was just a cool image.

The Cuckoos "in vs. out" comment made me react out loud, something I never do reading a comic book. It kinda solidifies the "whose the best telepath" heirarchy throughout the series. The Cuckoos just moved up the winding way, and then OD'd on drugs! Classic.
 
 
Aertho
19:22 / 21.02.03
It's my understanding that the other rioters were under the influence of Quentin.

me too

Wolverine's inadequacy is most definitely the setup for The World, The Devil and The Flesh.

What? World, Devil, Flesh? Is this a Wolverine series thing?

Or does the fatal side effect of Kick happen when a mutant uses his or her power?

I assume that the answer is yes. Jumbo probably activated his power to defend himself and died under the stress. The Cuckoos extended themselves in their mutant abilities and one died.


I guess Xavier is still gung-ho on "mutant justice."

Oh yeah. Xavier's a bit like Buffy too in that he's got an incredible superiority complex.

The Cuckoos "in vs. out" comment made me react out loud, something I never do reading a comic book. It kinda solidifies the "whose the best telepath" heirarchy throughout the series.

The In Versus Out "thing" basically sums up EVERY conflict ever wrought. "Out" Xavier wages a slow war with the "In" humans. I think the Stepfords were created simply for that confrontation. Here they represent the ultimate "In", a group of the completely same with the inherent power to create those "Out".

With all the discussion concerning the Weapon 12 and X sigil being similar in the mindreading for columbine thread, I'm afraid of what kind of powers will rise up on the "Out" side of Xavier's "In".
 
 
Quimper
20:23 / 21.02.03
With all the discussion concerning the Weapon 12 and X sigil being similar in the mindreading for columbine thread, I'm afraid of what kind of powers will rise up on the "Out" side of Xavier's "In".

For those of you who haven't been to "columbine," Chesed is talking about Weapon XII's viral mind mirroring Xavier's viral X-Corp logo/sigil.

Opposites. In vs. Out. But what is the opposite of a virus? Aren't viruses unstoppable and have to always just run their courses?
 
 
Aertho
23:46 / 21.02.03
HAHAHA! But what is the opposite of a virus? Aren't viruses unstoppable and have to always just run their courses?

I asked myself this... what's the opposite of an organism that invades other organisms and recreates/replicates itself over and over, destroying the existence of the other original organism?

This is fucking hilarious.

Evolution. Mutation.
 
 
Raw Norton
14:32 / 22.02.03
So this issue finally answered the question that's been driving me up the walls: is Quentin Quire wearing makeup?

I'd always figured that the dark rings under his eyes may in fact be an unhealthy sign of his Kick use, but the last frame of the penultimate page settles it: a purple-black tear is streaming from QQ's eye, an entirely different color from the blood that drips from his hands.

Don't dismiss it as trivial. This is just another example of detail contributing to the larger themes in NXM. Here the mascara plays into the whole "innocence v experience" thing. The Omega Gang dons makeup, silly shirts and tatoos; like most punks, these youths are at least as concerned with style as substance.

"I just wanted to be famous or something."
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
14:47 / 22.02.03
I think he's just making a selfconcious effort to be gender-bending.
 
 
Imaginary Mongoose Solutions
16:12 / 22.02.03
"I'm glad GM showed that Logan did NOT blow off both Cassandra's and Fantomex's comments. It's almost as if "James" has been a trigger word for Logan's subconcious in GM's treatment...more on that later."

Mark Millar does something similar in Unltimat War #4 too. "James" is used as a weapon aganst Logan by Captain America.

And for whomever asked, "The World, The Devil, and the Flesh: The Assault on Weapon Plus" looks like it may or may not be the last arc of Morrison's run. Apparently it's Cyclops, Wolverine and Fantomex vs Everything...
 
 
Raw Norton
16:38 / 22.02.03
Since a lot of us on this forum are uncultured heathens, I just wanted to point out that "the world, the devil and the flesh" comes from _The Book of Common Prayer_.

"Good Lord, deliver us. From fornication, and all other dreadful sin; and from all the deceipts of the world, the flesh, and the devil."
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
20:46 / 22.02.03
I'd like to note that "The World, The Devil, and the Flesh" is not the final storyarc. That story is coming this summer, and Grant's on til at very least the middle of 2004.

Religious reference or not, I can't say that I like the title at all.
 
 
Imaginary Mongoose Solutions
02:18 / 23.02.03
I think it's a great title. Especially taking in Fantomex's refrences to The World back in his 3-issue arc. Of course it also resonates like names of Tarot cards to me, too. But I'm hung up on Tarot, so hey.

And I'm glad it's not the last arc as previously reported.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
04:59 / 23.02.03
I'm glad some of you are looking foward to it, because the prospect of having to sit through some more issues with Fantomex doesn't sound appealing to me at all. That character bores the fuck out of me.
 
 
Quireboy
15:00 / 23.02.03
Having re-read NXM134, Persephone was right about the attack on Jumbo. And I agree about the Buffy comparison and Beast being the Giles of the Institute.

Now to move on and develop some of the themes raised in this thread...

Firstly, STRUCTURE:

On the Mindreading for Columbine thread we've been examining how every pivitol plot twist in NXM centres around a telepathic conflict; Cassandra's first contact with Xavier, Cassandra vs the X-Men then taking over Xavier's mind, the Psychic Rescue, Jean and Emma's defeat of Cassandra, etc.

By now more parallels have become obvious:

1. Male authority is thrown into chaos by women.

Cassandra destroys Magneto then subverts Xavier's dream while the Cuckoos' destroy Quentin's agenda. Jean lets Fantomex escape. In the Phoenix arc, Jean may destroy or remake Xavier's dream.

Notice how the male characters try to impose new orders while the female characters challenge them.

2. The similarities between each arc.

In E is for Extinction, Magneto's base is destroyed and with it an alternative to Xavier's dream. Emma emerges from the ruins in diamond form carrying the body of one of her pupils - Teenage Negasonic Warhead. Having taken control of the school, Cassandra strips away Beast's urbane self-image.

In Riot at Xavier's, the Professor's Institute is vandalised and his dream left a burnt out husk. Having trapped Xavier, Quentin strips away Wolverine's tough self-image. Emma emerges from the ruins in diamond form carrying the body of one of her star pupils - Sophie.

In both cases, the aggressor is an insanely powerful telepath who uses drugs and the technology of one of the X-Men's former arch-enemies to enhance their power. Cassandra uses the Sentinels and injects herself with viral nano-sentinels to infect the X-Men. Quentin adapts a blueprint of Magneto's telepathy-proof helmet and uses kick to boost his telepathy. Both Quentin and Cassandra trap Xavier's mind. Cassandra traps the Prof in her own brain, while Quentin traps him in the anti-telepathy helmet. (In contrast, in Imperial Jean stores the Professor's mind in her own.)

Nova and Quire are also 'abandoned' children - one left clinging to a sewer wall after being pronounced dead after a miscarriage, the other given up for adoption. Their aggression comes partly from feeling rejected. Cassandra's hatred of Xavier is sibling rivalry, while Quention's anger is in part Oedipal - he wants to usurp the Professor and rejects his position as the self-appointed father of mutantkind.

3. Similarities between the student teams:

We've noticed parallels between the Omega Gang, the Special Class and the original five X-Men, and can now pursue this further:

The original students: Jean, Hank, Scott, Bobby and Warren - united by Xavier's dream.

The Omega Gang: Quire, Redneck, Radian, Gob Herman and Tattoo - united by kick/Quire's telepathy

The Special Class: Beak, Angel, Martha, Ernst, Dummy and Basilsk - united by 'No Girl'/Xorn's teaching

The Stepford Cuckoos: Sophie, Esme and their sisters - united by their hive mind/Emma's inspiration

One of the Cuckoos is now presumed dead, as is Dummy. Given that Glob is on fire it's possible he'll die. It could be argued that at the end of NXM 137 the Cuckoos take on the same role as Jean when she decides to save the X-Men in the shuttle just before she first becomes Phoenix.

Secondly, TELEPATHY - perspective and illusion:

Something we've explored on the Mindreading thread. As I said earlier, it's ironic that after stripping away the self-image of Slick and Wolverine that Quentin is defeated when the Cuckoos strip away his own self-image.

But compare Quire's Omega strength telepathy with Jean's. He start's seeing through everyone's self-image - it's a narrowly focused power. Meanwhile, Jean - with Omega level telepthy and telekenisis - tells Xavier in NXM128 that she's "seeing more of everything" - her perspective of the world is widening. Perhaps Jean's manifestation of the Phoenix force can be understood as her tapping into the collective unconsciousness. So while she sees through Fantomex's illusions and is beginning to recognise that Xavier's dream may be flawed, she does not react as crudely as Quire who lacks her perspective.

Thirdly, XAVIER'S DREAM - philosophy or brand:

I've already mentioned how Xavier's dream is unravelling and how Riot sets up a comparions between Quentin's agenda and 'new X-Men' and Xavier's dream and the Institute. Both Charles and Quentin end up looking pompous and ridiculous at the end of NXM137, while their philisophies are in tatters.

At the end of the book, Emma tells Quentin that he didn't think through his plan at all - take over the school and then what, she asks the rioters.

You might just as well ask the same of Xavier, he clearly didn't think through the implications of taking in so many students ... open up the school (to more mutants or humans) and then what?

In NXM, the X-Men are obsessed by their media profile - Jean holding a press conference, she and Xavier giving lectures and doing promotional tours around the world; Hank and Charles on the cover of magazines. They also have new uniforms and have opened franchises around the world.

To me, Xavier's dream is less of a philosophy and more of a brand - his utopian vision of mutants and humans living in harmony as superficial as as Benneton or Diesel advert; it's a lifestyle aspiration.

Pursuing this analogy, the Institute is more like the McDonalds University - read Fast Food Nation for more details - than an Ivy League college. Its graduates end up running X-Men franchises - the X-Corporation - around the world and wear the corporate X logo. The Institute is about conforming to and living Xavier's dream - so it hardly seems like coincidence that the Omega Gang are parodies of anti-capitalists. Then again, the Omega Gang can also be seen as the "new Coke" - public reaction to them is hostile, so they'll have to be withdrawn while Xavier's rethinks his coporate strategy.

Regarding the comparison between Weapon XII's viral mind and Xavier's telepathy - this can be seen as a confrontation between two competing brands - one that relies on viral marketting the other on aspirational lifestyles.

Finally, THE WAR AGAINST TERROR and the NRA comparisons:

I'll take this up again in the Mindreading for Columbine thread. Basically, I have drawn a comparison between Xavier's new direction and the Bush administration - and how this more aggressive foreign policy is violently refelected amongst the disaffected youth.

On a slightly different slant, if Xavier chooses to allow Quentin and his gang to remain at the school he risks being seen as the mutant Arafat by the US media rather than the mutant Gandhi.

You could say that the destruction of Genosha has left mutantkind in a similar position to the Palestinians. It's not going to help Xavier's cause if the world sees photos of Glob Herman transformed into a suicide bomber chasing after a bus of innocent humans.
 
 
Our Lady of The Two Towers
15:10 / 23.02.03
Same here, an intensely boring character. As was Quentin in the end. I was very disappointed by how this turned out, as though Grant was struggling to find a happy medium between the X-Men slapping people and Xavier arguing with Quentin.

I had hoped that Quentin had more of a plan and a philosophy than what he had in the end and, after next issue, we will have wasted some five issues on it. His empty-headed anarchism wouldn't have irritated me so much if he'd been dealt with in a two issue story as it is 'Riot at Xaviers' is shaping up to fit into year two's general ambience of "huh, so what?" I suspect that next issue will involve someone, possibly Beast, chasing to catch Glob before he explodes while Emma and Xavier argue over who gets to spank Quentin and what form it will take.

It was a bit of a mess. And there seemed to be other students that started rioting too. Was this Quentin's telepathy? Not explained. I did like the way the X-Men reacted, and fanboys please not that Cyclops Optic Blasts are supposed to be a physical pulverising force, not a disintegrating laser, so it was nice to see them used as such. I wanted more fighting but it makes sense that the students are crap fighters compared to the X-Men who have saved the universe now and again.

The whole Cuckoo's using Kick thing. Seems rather gratuitous as a way to kill a 'beloved character'. It would have been nice to at least see them using Cerebra first and finding that insufficient and having to use the Kick on top, especially as we don't know for sure what level of physic ability the girls posess beyond some kind of group intelligence thing.

I think, in the end, that Grant had too much story and not enough space, so that he couldn't give each point the space it needed. Therefore, in the end it appears disjointed and not making sense. Still, after next month we'll be in to year three where things will hopefully pick up a bit.
 
 
Quireboy
15:29 / 23.02.03
Quentin and his gang may have seemed like stereotypes but it's a stereotype based on fact unfortunately.

Anyone who went on the anti-war march in London last weekend - or any other anti-establishment demo in living memory - would have come across very similar 'gangs'. There were a group of lads with the obligatory distressed clothing, piercings and tattoos behind me on the route from Bedford Square smoking pot and goading the police in a predictable fashion - "What do you think about this. Oh he doesn't have an opinion! The state doesn't let him have an opinion!" And I vividly remember a crusty vegan anarchist from my days in Leeds who used to wear a "Why March When You Can Riot' T-shirt.

I don't think Morrison's taking the piss out of direct action, etc; just certain types of superficial activists.

Following on from my last post...

On the parallels between NXM and the Invisibles. Jean and Emma's defeat of Cassandra was really reminiscent of Ragged Robin and Lord Fanny's defeat of Quimper. While Weapon XII's viral mind recalled Quimper's plan to take control of Robin with a spore of his self.
 
 
Our Lady of The Two Towers
16:00 / 23.02.03
A good thing that I forgot earlier. Grant's handling of the drug part of the plot has been consistently good... drugs don't make you an arsehole, you do that all by yourself.
 
  

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