The White Queen goes down the rabbit hole and through the looking glass into Mister Sinister's BRAIN. His mindscape is a lot more fleshed out than it was in Immortal X-Men but it's just as pathetic and dangerous. She's not alone though - Axo banishes shookness while the Exceptional X-Men experience self actualisation. ♦️💎❤️
"We need you, Emma."
Looks like it's Emma Frost's focus issue, a peek under the hood as she takes Sinister on. I find myself reminded of Claudette Renko and the PR lady from Utopia by way of Sins of Sinister. After his prominence in Krakoa and revelations about his origins, I think he needed a soft reboot of sorts. Otherwise there's just too much history weighing him down, and nobody wants to explain Enigma or Orbis Stellaris (except me ofc.) Sinister finding out he's not a real boy and that his entire existence has been working for someone else should destroy his sense of self. Maybe it did, honestly it's hard to tell how closely we're hewing to continuity. The easy explanation is that he formatted his personality core, as we saw him do in Immortal X-Men. That he's up to his old tricks is not a surprise in the slightest, though him being just as good a telepath as Emma is.
Then again, it wouldn't be very interesting if she could just thrash him, and I don't give a shit about power scaling. Not even a little bit. Check out that outfit though FR. Even Sinisterized Emma looks fantastic, and a lot of credit should go to Carmen Corner who realises a diverse range of body types and styles. Emma's dry wit about sacrificing herself is touching, but it doesn't fool anyone. She made the same decision Kate has - to be there for the kids - even as she admits a part of Kate will never fully trust her. It seems like she's okay with that and we get a slight timeline fudge to center Kate's integrity in Emma's face turn. That really works for me; the two women orbiting each other as foils who really don't seem to have a lot in common and have been enemies, yet chose this very important undertaking.
The kids coming into their own and choosing to act heroically, to back each other up, strengthens and validates those choices. Axo especially steps up and into the love, with an explicit appreciation for the friends who came to rescue him. Now that he's free to act he can stand up to Sinister too, sharing the risk with Emma to win where she couldn't or shouldn't alone. Bronze and Melee trying to keep him out of the action just hits the spot thematically, as the students get a taste of what it's like to be responsible for someone else's safety - that their teachers have good reason to worry about them. After all, this issue is where the team comes into its own and defeat Sinister by pooling their strengths. The flipside of that is accepting the risk, and Alejandro isn't leaving Emma behind.
For all that Bronze and Melee have recognisable, archetypal physical powers, Axo does not. It's why Sinister kidnapped him in the first place, to steal his vibes and connection to emotion. The primal self, like the bit of Sinister Emma has ended up trapped with. Unsurprisingly he's a nasty little shit, though he doesn't seem to recognise Emma as an enemy. I guess their psyched are merged or Emma is trapped in his? Last issue wasn't entirely clear on the cause of Emma's collapse and that's a good thing, I think. We've had Sophie lose her telepathy recently, for example, so the mystery works to raise the stakes instead of just being irritating.
Axo's optimism is refreshing as he willingly goes into Sinister's brain to help her, and he's spot on about the vibes with his Bela Lugosi Dracula look. Sinister's childish irreverence can be disarming, and it's easy to forget that attitude applies to literally everything. He's capable of anything because he doesn't have ethics or sentiment holding him back, plus the overgrown child shamelessly believes everyone exists for his amusement. Every day is his birthday and you're a present.
The Sabertooth dogs are not a huge threat but they don't need to be. This isn't about them taking focus off the kids crossing the threshold, it's a victory lap and a flex. Slow or not, ten issues deep and the students are established as functional characters - 3 dimensional members of a team who could cross over or take part in an event. They're believable X-Men with visually distinct designs, powers and personalities. Compare any of them to The Outliers, for example - not even close. Ewing deserves applause for that alone, and they're in excellent hands going into the third arc and Hellfire Vigil.
Averting and lampshading the fine line of technobabble here is clever. Nope, sorry, can't measure the psychic nonsense that's happening but here's more doggos to play with. Gotta have faith and that manifests differently for everyone. Bobby's levity reminds me that he's the odd one out in this group, that he arrived to spy on Kitty for Rogue and never left. I'd like to see some introspection from him and hopefully weighing in on the 'normal' crisis. The youngest member of the O5 has a lot of potential in that conversation as the perennial outsider and late bloomer. Kate's hypervigilance is a sign of discomfort which probably means she's growing. The kids exercising their right to choose echoes her mission statement and signifies forward motion for everyone. She's going to have to choose how to answer Nina's question when this is done and I do look forward to her answer, though I wonder if she will. It's not a priority right now, though.
It's here that Axo really finds his voice and uses his powers offensively. How does this commanding voice work? No idea, but it's super cool. Poor kid has spent days strapped to a table while Sinister figures out how his powers operate, so it makes sense that he'd have a greater understanding of them. Overriding someone's will is not something he'd normally do, but abominations make safe targets. There's a lot of sacrificial hero syndrome going on here, something that only works in small doses (looking at you, Uncanny.)
The difference is sincerity, which Exceptional X-Men has in abundance. The two most aloof characters, who are so very different people, are the best choices for requesting support and affirming it. Emma and Alejandro both find it much easier to be there for other people than to be vulnerable themselves, so when the walls come down it's potent. The shift from their self-protective banter to direct, earnest statements tugs a heartstring or two without being saccharine. It's a wonderful dynamic and I hope we see more of it.
Sinister wicked witch'ing after they fuck him up is an interesting choice. It's foolish to pretend he's beaten forever so lean into it and have it both ways. The team gets the W, but they also get the perfect object lesson in why this creature is such a nightmare. Was this the real Sinister? Is there even a real Sinister or is it all just yellow goop? Impossible to tell, but now they know the kind of things they need to be ready for.
As a multi issue fight with Sinister it invites comparison to the 3K vs X-Men mayhem happening in adjectiveless X-Men. Two fronts is much easier to keep track of than four and everyone in the room has motivations and objectives as opposed to formless brawling with foes we don't care about. 3K just ... stop fighting to chat and yap at the X-Men, while their bosses are casually chatting a world away and it just drains the tension - or rather, it fails to establish any. Sinister's banter is a weapon and a trick, adding pressure to our heroes through psychological aggression. The entire Sinister fight varies the pace and tension organically, with new combatants entering at multiple points and protagonists stress/focus shifting back and forth. Once Emma collapsed it opened a new front and plunged everyone into the realm of unknown. The lulls in kinetic action are purposeful, paying off character beats setup through the run with interest. Obviously they're different books etc etc but Ewing and Carnero's craft is at the top of the game. This is good comic books.
Lockheed, or a clone of Lockheed, is a fascinating choice to end on. Obviously Kate has a long relationship with him, but WTF would Sinister clone him? It's not like they have a method of telling either way. Do you take him with? Leave him, kill him? I have no idea.
I must say, Ewing pulled off an incredibly deft second arc that moved the characters a lot further than expected. I did not expect the 'we're X-Men' beat yet it's entirely believable and earned. Well played. Hitting that on issue #10 of a monthly book is unfortunately necessary, as the book could have ended right here. Thankfully that's not the case but I respect the execution and hope we get ten more. Next issue Ironheart is showing up! It's a book by Eve Ewing set in Chicago so maybe I should have seen it coming. I can't wait to find out where we go from here. 💓
something about how their writing never seems to sync up. like how they’ll have good character moments separately, but as soon as theyre within distance of eachother it all gets tossed out the window.
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