X-Men Legacy #260 The X-Men are divided. Magneto chooses Cyclops. Gambit chooses Wolverine. If Rogue survives her mission to save a lost young mutant, who will she follow. This is Mike Carey’s final X-Men issue after five and a half years of epic storytelling.
Justice League #4 Darkseid revealed. Cyborg is born. Aquaman attacks. DC’s big guns are meeting for the first time. Can they stop fighting each other in time to face the real enemy behind the conspiracy.
Batman #4 Batman digs deeper into the Court of Owls and discovers its dark ties to his own family. Scott Snyder keeps delivering intense action and a brutal secret history of Gotham City and the Wayne family that may trap the bat.
Birds of Prey #4 courtesy DC Comics
Birds of Prey #4 Batgirl joins DC’s female crime fighting force. Three bombs in the brains of three passengers on three trains. The Birds of Prey only know two names of the living bombs. How will they prevent the disaster. DC promises this issue will rewrite the rules for the team.
Mike Carey’s final X-Men: Legacy arc begins. X-Fans already know which side of Schism Rogue chooses but this issue explores how she reaches her decision. Issue 259 arrived in stores yesterday and Carey filled it will several exciting and moving moments.
One surprise in this issue was the appearance of Northstar as X-men gathered around Rogue in an experiment after her embrace of Magneto revealed a big new mystery. In the Regenesis books so far we haven’t seen Jean Paul listed on Cyclops or Wolverine’s team. In my earlier post I made the case for Northstar’s official return back to the X-Men now that Alpha Flight has been cancelled.
While I’m at it – if Archie Comics is bold enough to have a gay wedding for Kevin Keller how about more screen time for Jean Paul? Gay or straight, Northstar is a powerful character, an asset for any X-team.
It’s the end of an era for one of my favorite writers on the X-Men creative team. X-Men Legacy #259 arrives Wednesday, November 30th. This issue marks the final X-Men arc of Mike Carey after 5 and a half years.
Mike took over X-Men #108 and took riders on a thrilling ride with the most unlikely but unforgettable team in mutant history. Cyclops gave Rogue the authority to form her own field team…he didn’t agree with her choices. Rogue’s lineup eventually was Iceman, Cannonball, Mystique, Cable, Lady Mastermind, Cable and Karima Shapandar – a human transformed into an Omega Sentinel.
Carey’s first arc was Supernovas. Rogue’s team encountered brand new enemies, The Children of the Vault, a race that wanted to wipe out humanity and mutants. After years of whining about Gambit and the curse of her power, Rogue was finally written as bold, brash and fun. It was Rogue’s improvisation in battles that inspired Cyclops to make her a team leader.
X-Men #192 Courtesy Marvel.com
Carey created more inspired new villains for Rogue’s field team. Pandemic infected Rogue with a bizarre virus that raised her power to deadly levels. Billions of alien psyches invaded her mind as she battled the alien Hecatomb. Some of Rogue’s teammates eventually showed their true colors. Lady Mastermind and Mystique were working for Mister Sinister’s revamped Marauders in Blinded by the Light.
Endangered Species is one of Mike Carey’s most crucial contributions to X-Men history. After the events of House of M and Decimation, millions of mutants lost their powers. The mutant race was on the verge of extinction. Beast was obsessed with finding a cure. Hank reached out to some of the most brilliant scientists on earth including some of Marvel’s most notorious villians.
Messiah Complex was the epic storyline that meant new hope to save the mutant race. During the search to find and save the mutant miracle baby, Rogue had a climatic showdown with her Mystique, her foster mother.
X-Men became X-Men Legacy. Mike made Professor X and Rogue the stars of the book. When Cyclops reunited the X-Men in San Francisco and then moved them to their island base, Utopia, he recruited Rogue to be the mentor to the young mutants in training. In the Second Coming event, the mutant child from Messiah Complex returned a young woman. Cyclops chose Rogue to be the protector of Hope.
Age of X is one of Mike Carey’s pivotal arcs that will have an impact on the X-Men for a long time. Rogue became torn between her feelings for Magneto and Gambit. Age of X marked the transformation of Frenzy/Joanna Cargill, a former villain and longtime back burner character. The experience of being a hero and the wife of Cyclops in the Age of X made Frenzy want to change her ways. Joanna is now part of Wolverine’s post-Schism team.
Mike Carey’s portrayal of Rogue is the best since Chris Claremont first brought her on the team. You could sense his love for the character in every issue. Legacy was a good choice to add to Mike’s X-Men given the legacy he is leaving behind.
Mike Carey is the author of supernatural novels starring Felix Castor. His ongoing series Unwritten is published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. Carey told Comics Newsarama he is leaving X-Men Legacy to work on new novels and screenplays.
