Captain America #15: Coates really isn't making it easy for Steve. After the Watchdogs raid last issue, Steve and the Daughters of Liberty are reviewing what they know, and Steve recognizes Alexa Lukin as one of the Power Elite members. Steve asks who the Daughters have tracking Alexa, and the Daughters respond that they have their best agent on it...but they won't tell Steve who it is. Steve then takes Sharon to a separate room, and he's furious at her for keeping secrets. But, she rightly throws that argument right back at him, noting that he's always kept secrets and she's always the one waiting. Steve leaves in a huff to go meet Bernie after she contacts him about a cop who asked for Steve's help before someone killed him. As Steve leaves to take the case, Bernie warns him that New York isn't the same place that it used to be. She isn't just talking about the Kingpin as mayor, but about New York as part of the larger "something ugly" happening in the entire country. When he goes to the address that the dead cop provided to Bernie, Steve discovers that Misty and Spider-Woman already there, fighting Watchdogs. After helping them win the fight, he comments that their friends in the police department would love to get a shot at the Watchdogs, and Misty responds that she doesn't have many friends left in the Department. Steve takes her point later as they review the video that the dead cop left, of a bunch cops entering a warehouse and Scourge killing all of them. Scourge working with the Watchdogs who themselves are working for the Power Elite: Coates is definitely telling a story here. My only complaint is that it's starting to feel like we've taken a lot of turns down alleys and I'm not quite sure how we find the boulevard again. I'm not saying that it's impossible, but we may want to head back that way soon.
Guardians of the Galaxy #10: Cates explains how Kid Magus exists in this reality, and he does a pretty solid job of keeping it entertaining. Kid Magus explains that he was originally entrusted to Gamora but he needed someone to deal with his "darker impulses" better. So, Gamora went to take care of Rocket as he "lay dying in [his] hovel," and the Order of the Healing Truth, a bunch of ex-Universal Church of Truth followers seeking to right the Church's wrongs, took in Magus. Of course, they came to see him as one of those wrong and intended to kill him, resulting in him killing all of them and becoming the monster that they feared that he'd become. He eventually became friends with a group of sandworm-esque monsters who lived near the Order's HQ. (They hilariously act like dogs, with Groot rubbing one's belly as Kid Magus tells his story.) Rocket recruits Magus to freak out the Church long enough for him, Groot, and Moondragon to rescue their friends, and Magus agrees because he's "bored." Although this issue mostly just sets up the slugfest to come, what a slugfest it seems like it's going to be!
Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Allegiance #2: I enjoyed this issue because Leia is forced to confront a lot of uncomfortable truths. First, the team's raid on Mon Cala in the main "Star Wars" series was one of the highlights of that run. But, Sacks reminds us here of the price that the Mon Calan residents paid for their mutiny, as many of the king's advisors loathe Leia for the pain and torture that their families suffered in the mutiny's wake. Moreover, one of the Mon Calans points out that Leia's father (i.e., Darth Vader) is the one who engaged in said torture, something you definitely don't see mentioned often. At some point, you start to side with the angry Mon Calans: Leia really does have some nerve asking for more help from them. But, I'm guessing that Leia will remind them that none of them really has much of a choice if they don't want to live under the First Order's thumb. The Finn and Poe story is a fun distraction, though I'll admit that I find the Rey and Rose story tedious. Sacks portrays Rey as little more than a female Luke Skywalker from the first film, whining about how bored she is, and his Rose is so nervous that I wonder if they don't have anti-anxiety medicine in space.
The Realm #15: This issue is great. It's a wordless romp as Shirtless Bear Fighter -- I mean, Ben -- escapes from the goblins' clutches and tries to escape Johnny's cathedral of evil. He makes it to the exit, even past Johnny (thanks to some well timed grenades), only to utter "Fuck me" -- the issue's only words -- when he realizes that he has to go through the dragon stables. Ha! I'm totally bummed that the guys haven't published another issue in almost six months, but I guess that I'm current at least? Still, we've got a lot of pieces on the board at this point...
X-Men #1: This issue is more Hickmanesque than we've seen so far, but I'm still OK with it.
He begins with Magneto, Polaris, Scott, and Storm striking at Orchis' last outpost on Earth and in so doing freeing a group of mutant children who Orchis was holding in stasis. Scott and Storm's conversation as they make their way through the base is particularly Hickmanesque as he also entirely forgoes any attempt to make it sound conversational. For example, Scott says to Storm: "For years we've endured small wins. We've called incremental change 'progress' when what we've really needed was a giant leap forward. Well, this is it." It's particularly striking that he takes the time to mansplain recent mutant history to her as they fight their way through the base.
At any rate, the team is surprised when they come upon a posthuman girl from the future in one of the stasis tubes. She looks like a photograph negative, with stark black skin and stark white hair. She initially commands Storm not to see her, which fails. She seems to have some sort of powers, but they're not working the way that they presumably would because she emerged before she was "fully cooked." But, she says that "wild gods" are loose in the world, so she says that she had no choice. She disappears, and the team returns with the rescued mutants to Krakoa.
While Dr. Reyes examines the new arrivals, throngs of children greet Magneto, eager to hear his stories. Polaris and Scott share a moment over it, with Scott reminding her how long they've all waited for him to find this sort of redemption. Scott then talks about how scared he was when he had Nathan because he knew that he'd suffer for his heritage. Scott was right, but he says that he's so happy that he held in there because he now has his family. He isn't just speaking idly, either. The resurrection team has brought back Vulcan, and the extended Summers clan -- Scott, Alex, Vulcan, Nathan, Rachel -- as well as Jean and Logan now live on the Moon, since Scott wanted a view. (Heh.) We're treated to these family dynamics because Corsair has come for a visit. Hickman essentially reinvents Vulcan here, as we've only ever seen him as a totally unhinged experiment gone insane. Hickman's Vulcan is all self-conscious teenager, as he has no idea how he's supposed to act in social situations. But, we see flashes of humor from him, like when he's barbecuing steaks with Logan, and I'm excited in particular to watch him develop. We also have Nate calling Jean "Mom" as he asks if he can trade guns with Raza when he learns that Raza's guns have antimatter rounds, and Alex and Scott giving Corsair a Krakoan gate so he can always visit. As Scott said to Polaris, they've all waited a long time for this moment.
But, the main conversation is the one that Scott has with Corsair. Scott is bouncing on his toes throughout this issue, so happy to be in the place that he is. Corsair expresses his concern that this whole endeavor puts a target on them, but Scott convincingly (to me, anyway) argues that history proves that they've always had a target on their backs, so he's decided to focus on what makes him want to live with said target. It's a nice moment. I mean, it's obviously not going to last, but if I'm glad for anything about Hickman's reboot it's getting a happy Scott for, like, the first time ever.
The other main story here is that we're introduced to a new Orchis leader, Director Devo. We learn that he was in transit to the Forge when the X-Men destroyed Mother Mold. He's surprised that Dr. Gregor didn't attend her husband's funeral, but she explains that his legacy is in her work. Plus, she reveals that her work has led her to the point where she believes that she can resurrect him. Dun-dun-DUN! If humans have the same resurrection technology as the mutants, it obviously changes the game significantly, particularly in terms of the mutants' "no killing humans because they can't be resurrected" policy.
Hickman plants some other seeds of future storylines here. One theme throughout the issue is how tired Storm is, though Hickman initially portrays it as exhaustion from working so hard. But, it's possible that something else is afoot. Magneto allegedly took out the Orchis scientists (who turned themselves into apes to fight the X-Men) by asserting his dominance so they turned on each other, but I'm not sure if we're supposed to believe that he didn't kill them. Finally, I feel like Vulcan's return highlights how liberally we're taking the amnesty. After all, I imagine he killed thousands of people when he was the mad Shi'ar Emperor. Won't someone object to his and other mutants' crimes at some point, especially once the kumbaya feelings start to fade?
All in all, it's a solid start to the story that Hickman is actually telling. We'll see how the other series build on this one, but I was glad to see Hickman leaning on the structure that he built in "House of X" and "Powers of X" but also not dwelling on it too much. I think that this reboot has the best chance of sticking if it becomes less about the world-building and more about the stories that Hickman and the other authors want to tell in this world. This issue shows that Hickman believes that, too, so I think that we're in a good place.
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