Now ten issues deep into the series, Messiah Complex remains on top as the number 1 story arc in comicdom these days.
What makes this series stand out from the rest is the amazing plot, something that was missing from Civil War, World War Hulk, Sinestro Corps, Return of Ra’s Al Ghul and Infinite Crisis (or whatever Crisis). There are so many twists and miss directs that you really can’t miss a week. I honestly haven’t felt this excited about a comic series since Identity Crisis. The X-Men seem to be fighting against overwhelming odds: the end of the mutant race after House of M, attack from Sinister’s Mauraders, the Purifiers, and of course Predator X.
After the events in chapter 5, X-Men 205, we learned that Cable was the one in possession of the mysterious baby, the first mutant birth since the House of M, who could be key to the future or end of the mutant race. Cable reprogrammed the Sentinals “protecting” the X-Men to kill them. Ever since, the X-Men have been on a mad hunt to find the rogue mutant. They’ve unleashed the X-Force, lead by Wolverine, to save the baby and kill Cable.
But in Chapter 9 of Messiah Complex we learned the truth; Lucas Bishop was the one behind the recent sentinal attacks on the X-Men mansion. He’s got one idea in mind, kill the baby. Too bad in Chapter 10 Bishop hesitates to pull the trigger and Mr. Sinister’s Mauraders show up to capture the mutant baby.
The turns don’t end there. X-Men has always been a story about alternate futures and the possibility of what could be versus what will be. Now we see that Bishop and Cable, two characters from the future both have a very different idea of what will happen to the future of the mutant race if this baby is allowed to live. Bishop obviously thinks that for mutants to survive this baby must die. While Cable believes the baby is the key to the safety of the mutant population.
Cable does the unthinkable, well unthinkable for him. He reaches out to the one person who has been ostracized by the X-Men, their found Professor Charles Xavier. This is great. Because that means at some point Cyclops and Professor X will come to blows. Professor X has asked Cyclops repeatedly if he could help the team, to which Cyclops adamantly refused his help.
Plus it looks like we’re also about to learn a new part of Bishop’s origin, as Layla and Madrox speak to child Bishop in the Chapter 11.
Chapter 11 of Messiah Complex continues in X-Factor 27. If you pick up one comic next week, make sure it’s that one. Later Bub!
I haven’t read X-Men in years. I didn’t even realize Bishop went bald. I guess mutey life has him all stressed out.
I stopped in a comic/toy store over the holidays looking for gifts and was tempted to pick up some comics. I’ll probably just check oout some graphic novels, I doubt I’d be able to keep up a weekly schedule of picking up comics from the comic store anyway.