At the end of this story, the X-Men snap out of their brainwashing, no neural inhibitors needed, because apparently using their mutant powers counteracts the genetic modification that was altering their behavior. Somehow. Which means that Magneto’s behavior since he got turned into a baby was actually not altered, and he’s been acting of his own accord this whole time. His turn as the Xavier school’s steward and the New Mutant’s guardian was authentic, as was his slow descent back into the realm of extremist. You know what, after the last couple of stories, I’m beginning to seriously question Moira’s scientific credentials. Did she know this was happening? Well whatever, let’s just finish this story off.
Faced with this revelation, Magneto kind of turns good again, the X-Men escape, and Magneto and the Acolytes (minus Fabian Cortez) stay aboard Asteroid M as the governments of Earth blow it to shit with their super laser. And that’s the end. This three issue jump start to the second X-Men series is kind of a dud. It’s flashy, but there’s very little here in terms of narrative relevance. I suppose it ties a knot on Magneto’s arc that resulted from Xavier trusting him with the school and the leadership of the New Mutants, but clearly Magneto’s not dead here, and the state of things isn’t really any different than before. I dunno. There’s just been so many more imaginative X-Men stories before this.
And unfortunately, this is going to be the last post from me for a while. I’m going to write a review for this reading, which will encapsulate everything I read since my last review, everything since Inferno, but I don’t know how long that’s going to take to write and get posted. After that, I guess we’ll see. I’m still going back and forth on whether to continue making new posts on the X-Men material that follows this. Right at this moment, I think I need a break. I just finished reading Sandman for the first time ever, which of course was excellent, but very dense, and now I’ve started Saga which feels like a dainty breeze in comparison, and I’m just kinda jazzed about reading a bunch of stuff without being concerned about summarizing it. I don’t want to make any decisions right now, so if I see ya, I’ll see ya. And if I don’t, I’ll at least be back to say goodbye. Because I really appreciate those who followed me for all this time. I saw your likes, and I appreciated your comments. Especially the ones that explained the shit I didn’t get or corrected my mistakes. Thanks for taking the time to be here. (X-Men Vol. 2 #3 – Dec 1991)
