A double blast from the past in this week’s Uncanny X-Men #3 plus a big new revelation about an X-Man’s allegiance and the mystery villains in Cullen Bunn’s first arc.
Terrigen Mists are creeping across the planet making mutants sick, infertile and dead. Magneto recruited a ruthless squadron of mutants to investigate a corporation profiting from the crisis. The Dark Riders are back and killing mutant healers. Bunn revealed a new Hellfire Club is waiting in the wings but are they pulling the strings of two rogue X-Men?
The hunt for answers and to protect the healers leads to the return of two X-Men of the recent and distant past. We knew Fantomex was joining the cast of the series but not in the way you might have expected.
Before we continue here’s a SPOILER ALERT!
If you have not read Uncanny X-Men #3 stop reading now.
Seriously.
OK.
Here it comes.
Mutants are paying the Someday Corporation to store them in frozen animation until a vaccine from the Terrigen Cloud (aka M-Pox) can be discovered. Magneto’s squad intercepted a truckload of mutants headed for storage while Mystique was working undercover in a Someday lab. Upon detection Mystique escaped with the help of soldiers dressed in the classic uniforms of Hellfire Club guards.
Magneto and Psylocke failed to save Elixir from the Dark Riders and in this issue they head for Seattle where we find Christopher Muse aka Triage healing mutants suffering from M-Pox. Triage was one of the new mutants discovered by Cyclops, Emma, Magic and Magneto during the previous Uncanny run by Brian Michael Bendis. Triage agrees to go with his former mentor.
Psylocke peered into the minds of three attacking Dark Riders before Magneto struck back. Betsy learns the fanatic group of Inhumans and mutants are using the “blood hunt” of healers because of their believe in “survival of the fittest” and to prove themselves to “unseen masters.”
Monet flies to Tibet for a face we’ve never haven’t and a mutant we haven’t seen in a long time: Shen Xorn. The old mutant is living in seclusion, already knew of the danger but refuses to flee with M. Xorn has one of the most complicated histories. During the Grant Morrison New X-Men era, Xorn was a mutant in an iron mask with a “star for a brain” who joined the Xavier School but was revealed to be Magneto (back in his full on evil mode) who infiltrated the school, recruiting students to his cause. In the finale of the run, Magneto killed Jean Grey but was killed off only to return later. In a later retconn following Morrison’s exit, it was revealed Kuan-Yin Xorn under John Sublime’s influence was posing as Magneto and his twin brother Shen was introduced.
If Magneto and Xorn ever do meet it will be interesting to see their reactions to each other and how much of the past canon will be brought up.
Back to the Someday Corporation and Hellfire Club mystery:
Fantomex entered the drama by invading a Someday storage facility with the same old school Hellfire Club uniformed soldiers backing him up who were seen with Mystique. Fantomex discovers a massive amount of tubes with mutants in stasis at the facility then reports to Mystique asking for an audience with their “masters.”
Are Mystique and Fantomex willingly working for the same “masters” as the Dark Riders?
Could the “masters” be the new Hellfire Club Bunn will introduce in future issues? Who’s running the new club? Emma Frost is MIA so could be back as the White Queen?
By Editor