Previously On X-Men: ‘Cloak Or Dagger’ Still The Surprise Success of “Age of Revelation”

It’s all “Age of Revelation” in this week’s X-books, including a couple great looking books, one confusing mess, and one outright terrible book.

Cloak or Dagger #2 – Book of the Week

By Justina Ireland & Lorenzo Tammeta

As Fenris’ attacks worsen, Cloak and Dagger are forced to risk their family to stop them.

• As far as I can tell, Locust is an original character; at the very least, he’s not meant to be the “Age of Revelation” version of the Silver Age villain.
• How are Fenris floating/flying throughout this issue? That’s never really been in their power set (they blast stuff when they touch each other).

• Why does the X-virus immediately make its humans-turned-mutants immediately anti-human? Seems like you should be the same person, but with powers now, and “confusion” or “fear” would be your primary feelings, not violent pro-mutant sentiment.

Still one of the better “Age of Revelation” books. Pretty straightforward — Ireland has constructed the story smartly to take advantage of the three issue length, with the setup in issue #1 and the events that will inevitably force the upending of that setup happening in issue #2 — but the art and the dynamic between Cloak and Dagger makes it entertaining.

Expatriate X-Men #2

By Eve L. Ewing & Franscesco Mortarino

The X-Men run into trouble while refueling as they debate their next move regarding Lyrebird.

• Colossus makes his “Age of Revelation” debut in this issue. In true “dystopian future” tradition, one arm is now a crude cybernetic, and he has some kind of damage/scar tissue on his left side.
• Though they haven’t yet met in the present, the intervening 10 years have drawn Bronze and Colossus close enough that she refers to him as “Uncle.”

• Both Bronze & Colossus believe Kitty is dead; readers of Book of Revelation know that she’s alive but stuck in a phased state by Revelation.
• Blob is working as the cook aboard the ship; he was the Green Lagoon bartender during the Krakoa Era.
• The market the X-Men visit is called Presque Isle Market; a Presque-isle is a peninsula that is almost an island.
• Lyrebird & Mettle have apparently hooked up between issues (or were in a secret relationship of some sort prior to his rescue somehow).
• Lyrebird has fire powers now, which everyone rightly clocks as deeply suspicious.
• Shinobi Shaw was a semi-regular in Psylocke’s recent solo series; he was less villainous there, but running an extortion gang certainly fits his general profile.
• A footnote establishes that this issue takes place after Undeadpool #3, even though the second issue of that book is out this same week, which seems like a weird bit of scheduling (maybe don’t have them releasing in the same week when one issue is explicitly set after the others subsequent issue).
• The fact that the flotilla is built on top of 3K submarines is…weird. Like, 3K isn’t exactly known for submarine tech (or really any tech). And given their most prominent role in this event previously (being blamed for the X-virus) involved them not actually doing the thing everyone thought they did, it’s hard not to wonder if these really ARE 3K ships.

This is a mess. As usual, Ewing’s character work is fine, but there’s entirely too much plot happening for a three issue miniseries. Melée and Lyrebird are an item now, she wants to stop him from going to Darkchild, then she wants to send him, Lyrebird has fire powers, I have no idea how Ms. Marvel ended up in the water and suddenly able to see the 3K subs; it’s all too much incident, and the art isn’t doing enough to help keep it all straight.

Undeadpool #2

By Tim Seeley & Carlos Magno

Deadpool burns through his sanity battling a TO-ravaged Cable.

• I’m a sucker for EM Gist, but that’s a fun cover.
• The Cable logo on that cover is from the start of his 90s solo series.
• Deadpool’s narration notes how he becomes a Jason Vorhees/Michael Myers type when he doesn’t eat enough, making the “Deadpool as a slasher” subtext text.
• Blind Al was a long-standing support character in Deadpool’s first ongoing series, the first issue of which being her first appearance.
• The Omega Kids from Omega Kids get name-checked, which along with the ongoing connection to Expatriate X-Men, makes this one of the books most integrated with the larger “Age of Revelation” event.
• Similarly, Cable’s condition here — trapped thinking it’s basically around the time of his first appearance, as he’s preparing to take over the New Mutants and forge them into X-Force — really only makes sense if you’ve been reading Seeley’s X-Men: Age of Revelation Infinity comic, which concluded the three part Cable story with Revelation forcing Cable into this mental state.

• That said, Cable periodically shifts into Warlock-speak (inserting “self” into his dialogue) with the virus manifesting like Warlock’s shapeshifting abilities, and that’s not really how Cable’s techno-organic virus works (when it overwhelms him, it’s usually silver, not black-and-gold); it’s not quite the same thing as Warlock.
• Mr. Tolliver was Deadpool’s employer when he first appeared. Initially positioned as an arms dealer, he was eventually revealed to be Cable’s time-traveling adult son, as referenced here.
• Bird-Brain is a genetically-modified bird man who joined the New Mutants circa “Fall of the Mutants.” Notably for this event, it was during the New Mutants’ efforts to save Bird-Brain and his fellow animal mutates from the Animator that Doug Ramsey was killed.
• By the end of the issue, with Cable mucked up by Revelation and Deadpool having won over Fearless, the roles have reversed to where Cable is basically now Undeadpool from the first issue.

This is a much more straightforward Deadpool story, as we’re back to chatty referential narration which largely undercuts the horror vibes of Magno’s art (though his rendering of the raging techno-organic virus is good, and adds a bit of the horror back into the mix).

X-Men: Age of Revelation #4

By Tim Seeley & Phillip Sevy

During a mission to free Fabian Cortez, Illyana is killed and ends up in Limo.

• The bulk of this comic is a dramatization of the plot point established in Age of Revelation #0 that Illyana died freeing Fabian Cortez from SHIELD custody. As it goes down, it’s certainly nothing that really seems worth dramatizing. She gets shot by Nick Fury, which is about the blandest possible death.
• From there, the idea seems to be that in death, Illyana’s soul becomes the custody of Belasco, her former teacher/tormentor and ruler of Limbo — who is restored to the throne of Limbo. Which doesn’t really make sense, because Illyana isn’t even the ruler of Limbo anymore – Madelyne Pryor is.
• In addition to Belasco, S’ym is back as well. S’ym was Belasco’s right hand man, essentially, during the original Storm & Illyana miniseries that documented her hellish upbringing in Limbo, and later served/tried to overthrow Illyana after she deposed Belasco (S’ym is also responsible for turning Madelyne Pryor into the Goblin Queen).
• The sequence of Darkchild on her hands and knees, scantily clad, with her butt in the air (repurposed for the “cover” of the issue), begging (textually, at least, for food from S’ym), has been (aptly) interpreted by many as a very thinly-veiled rape fantasy. Coming on the heels of the Illyana post-death sequence, in which she is drawn in her underwear after having her Soulsword (a symbol for phallic power) stripped from her while demons talk about how little and soft and tasty she looks, it’s not a good look for the issue, which is basically creating the implications of sexual violence on Illyana/Darkchild while also portraying that threat in a titillating way to the reader.
• All of that aside (which, to be fair, is a lot), the whole thing also smacks of lazy storytelling – we’ve been down this road again and again with Illyana, and the last several years of her stories, including Vita Ayala’s New Mutants during the Krakoa Era and the ended right as “Age of Revelation” started solo book from Ashley Allen, were all about moving her past her role as ruler of Limbo and the whole Belasco/S’ym/abusive upbringing backstory, which has been explored to death. Going back to that well here is the easiest and most unnecessary of plot points to regurgitate.
• That said, Seeley has removed himself from social media amidst death threats from people upset with the depiction of Illyana in this issue, and, come on. That is simply not right. I’m no fan of this issue but that is not the appropriate response to its many problems.

Simply put, nothing about this issue, from its telling of a story that doesn’t really need to be told to the way its imagery and dialogue suggests sexual violence while presenting that suggestion in a titillating way to the way the whole thing is a retread of overly-trod ground the character has largely moved past to the extremely inappropriate actions of some of its critics to the creators involved, is good.

X-Vengers #2

By Jason Loo & Sergio Dávila

The Avengers team-up with Revelation and his Seraphim to repel a rogue techno-organic virus threatening the Revelation territories.

• The best part of this issue is the New Mutants reunion it contains; it’s made pretty clear in this issue that this entire series exists just as an excuse for such a reunion, as a means for at least some of the characters who knew Doug Ramsey best to reflect on what he’s become.
• Especially given that, I have to assume Roberto is being Revelation-controlled at this point; he is one of the last characters I’d expect to be so unquestioningly-in-the-tank for Revelation, especially when Dani and Sam are more cautious in their embrace of their old teammate’s approach to things.
• The downside is that the book has very little interest in any of its actual Avengers characters, who are basically just background players.
• It’s also good to see Revelation actively in the field repelling a threat to his people (helping sell the idea of why he’s beloved by at least some within his domain); it’s something we never saw much from Apocalypse during “Age of Apocalypse”, and it’s one of the few spots where this event is doing something different AND better.

• Sam Wilson is, of course, the former Falcon and Captain America. Unless things have REALLY gone off the rails, it seems deeply unlikely Dani is wrong and he sanctioned this particular attack on Revelation.

The New Mutants reunion carries this, but everything else is superfluous, which doesn’t help the feeling that this series on the whole is largely superfluous.