One of the marvels of the story that Remender is telling is that he really manages not to rush it. Rather than Kang's Chronos Corps simply attacking Eimin and magically finding a way to bring back the Earth, Remender forces them to do it the hard way. They have to locate all the surviving members of the Unity Squad and send back their minds, a la "Days of Future Present," to the current present in order to correct the mistakes that they made. Clearly, it'll be several issues before Remender wraps up this story, allowing the reader to just take a breath and enjoy the ride to the end.
Of course, we have a few hurdles in front of us. First, Eimin is holding Sunfire and Wolverine hostage. (Moreover, she has them perpetually ablaze for their crimes against mutants. Remender makes you wonder if they'll be in any condition to help the Chronos Corps, with Eimin letting us know that they stopped screaming years ago, hinting at the horror that they've experienced.) Second, Magneto released Wasp to use her as bait so that Cyclops and Storm could lead a team to Alex's HQ and discover why he destroyed the tachyon dam. Finally, Alex refuses to leave Planet X without his daughter, so he's not exactly on board with the plan to send back only the Unity Squad's consciouses.
Remender "resolves" these problems brilliantly, since they really only cause more problems. Thor takes the Chronos Corps on a frontal assault on Eimin to free Sunfire and Wolverine. Although I'm really excited about the grudge match between Eimin and Thor, the Corps no longer have the advantage of surprise. Magneto seems poised to kill Havoc, but Remender hints that both Cyclops and Storm harbor some suspicions about Eimin and Planet X, raising the possibility that they'll believe Alex if he gets a chance to tell them the truth. (Lest we think that they don't have reason to be suspicious, Eimin informs Banshee and Daken that she wants them to kill the X-Men and blame their deaths on Kang to rally Planet X against him.) Finally, I loved Kang grabbing Alex's daughter and disappearing into the time stream. Remender actually does leave open the possibility that Katie will survive into the present, promising a substantial change in Alex and Janet's status quo. (I'd imagine a present Alex could consult with his brother on the parenting skills needed to raise a child from an alternate future.)
I really can't believe how nuanced of a story Remender is telling. He somehow makes you still question the outcome, as if it's possible that the heroes will fail and not be able to resurrect the Earth. It also has Alex step into the role that his brother has so long played. You have to wonder if Alex won't understand Scott more after this experience. I can't think of Alex ever having more personal stakes connected to his leadership than he does here, and Remender really does an amazing job conveying those emotions to the reader. Again, I just really have no idea where Alex is going to be, mentally, at the end of this story, another sign that Remender is doing a phenomenal job of keeping us guessing even when we know the broad outlines of what the final resolution will be.
**** (four of five stars)
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