Years ago Apocalypse conquered America and ever since, this world and time has gone mad. Mutants rose to rule and humans are the underclass, only a few humans were able to escape to Europe and Asia, the rest remained trapped and here they get used in the work camps or breeding pens. While in Booth Bay Harbor in Maine slim hope remains for the thousands of travelers that have made their way here. They hope that the Human High Council in Eurasia has figured out a way to save them and take them away from this hell that they are forced to call home. A little boy named Jeremy Graves walks with his family. A mysterious stranger in a black robe asks his daddy if they expect to be rescued, but the father tries not to say too much - in this day and age one can not be too careful whom you speak to, because Apocalypse has ears and eyes everywhere. Though the little boy Jeremy is willing to talk and tells the stranger everything she wants to know. She promises to the boy that they will all make it to Eurasia safely and then she walks away to return to her group.
She is haunted by the look of innocence in the boy’s eyes and she wonders, why if birth and death do not distinguish from mutant and human, why should she. When she gets closer to the group she came from though she whispers a prayer of forgiveness because of her blasphemous thoughts. She lifts the hood of her robe, revealing a pale blue face framed by white hair. Sister Carlysle is from a group called the Brotherhood, the strong arm of the Madri who are also serving Apocalypse. Sister Carlysle reports to Cardinal Madri what she has found, about how the humans have hope in escaping to Eurasia. The Madri comments to Sister Carlyle that the Homo Superiors will always crush the hope of the puny flatscans. He tells her that they had best deal with the latest affront to Apocalypse’s plans and crush the human’s hopes and let them fall into the “Abyss” where they belong.
At the former Xavier Estate in what remains of Westchester County, New York, Bishop stands on the grounds of the estate. He is wondering to himself, about why for the last twenty years he has wondered this land only to end up here and why does he feel like he has come full circle? Also why does he recognize these X-Men and why does he know that these X-Men are not like any X-Men he has seen before. Pondering these questions, Bishop walks onto another part of the estate where Quicksilver’s team of the X-Men is training against a holo-construct that Dazzler has created, a Sentinel.
The X-Men are on their third practice with the Sentinel, trying to make themselves become faster at planting a device in the Sentinel to make it think that the X-Men are ally mutants, so as to not allow the Sentinels to attack them. Exodus opens a hole in the robot and Quicksilver races in to plant the device. After finishing the exercise Quicksilver asks the guardian robot of young Charles Lehnsherr named Nanny to evaluate their performance. It tells him that he was too slow, and if they expect to beat the Sentinels he will have to be seventy-two meters closer to the Sentinel when Exodus opens the area to the Sentinels Terminal Core. As Dazzler lights up a cigarette and Nanny chides her for doing so, Dazzler comments on how if Quicksilver will be that close to the Sentinels he might be in mortal danger. Quicksilver agrees, but it is too late for a change of plans, and as Exodus removes the cigarette from Dazzler’s mouth, commenting on how it makes her breath smell like garbage, everyone discusses the irony of fighting the Sentinels. When both them and the robots (sent by Eurasia’s Human Council) are both trying to help the humans.
Dazzler, disgusted by Exodus’ actions, tells him that he will not find out about her breath tonight. Banshee frustrated, talks about how times like these makes him miss his retirement from the X-Men, and makes him wonder why he came back. With that said, Iceman notices that the Sentinel is still active, but before anyone has time to respond Magneto comes in and destroys the machine and chides the team for not noticing the opponent that was not yet totally defeated. As Magneto wonders what they are, if they are not fools for keeping going with their fight, Bishop talks for the firs time in days and he tells Magneto that they are “dreamers”. Dazzler apologizes for the trick with the Sentinel, explaining that Magneto had ordered her to keep the hologram active, as he wants the X-Men to be on their toes.
Holding little Charles, the son of Rogue and Magneto, Bishop continues about how they must keep preparing for what is to come. Iceman, fed up, asks Bishop how he can just show up, dangle some carrots in their faces and expect them to just feel better because he says so. Magneto interrupts Iceman’s arguing and tells Iceman that Bishop is not to blame. Even Magneto himself can sense that something is driving Bishop to warn them and he believes Bishop when he says that he does not know why he is being driven. Dazzler, lighting another cigarette with Exodus’ chiding stare still on her, asks Magneto why they keep fighting, because their fighting will be pointless if everyone else succeeds? Magneto states that until Destiny confirms Bishop’s story and they can be certain of there being a better world than this one, they will keep fighting the good fight and never try to give up. Magneto, getting straight to the point, tells the team that Nanny has downloaded all their bio-signatures into a disk to be planted into one of the Sentinels when they arrive to escort the humans from Maine to Eurasia. Iceman, floating in the air, tells the team to prepare themselves because since Rogue’s team took their only shuttle he will have to use his Moisture Molecular Inversion to transport the team to Maine. Banshee, who is the second in command of the team, tells Iceman that his Inversion trick taxes them too much so they need to think of another option. He suggests that those able to fly carry the others ones, but Magneto says that would leave the team exhausted as well. Instead Magneto informs Exodus of his, as of yet dormant power to transport, and that if he only thinks of transporting the team to Maine he will be able to. After the team is transported away, Magneto comments to Bishop that the reason he has tried for so long to keep Exodus from discovering his true potential is that he thinks Exodus could be easily corrupted.
The team materializes in Maine and relieved they are still in one piece, the X-Men set out to the camp to try to mingle themselves with the humans there. Later that evening Jeremy Graves runs through the camp playing a game of tag with other kids in their group. Jeremy, laughing and having fun, accidentally runs right into Quicksilver, who tells him to be more careful where he is running and walks off. As Quicksilver meets the rest of his team, he wonders about what it would be like to have a son of his own. He thinks of Bishop and what he has told them, and he becomes grateful that he has not been unfortunate enough to bring a child into this God forsaken world. The others brief him on what they have heard about how the groups of humans are extremely hopeful of being rescued. Banshee, looking off in the distance, tells the team that if Storm is not successful none of the humans will have a chance to be saved.
Meanwhile Storm is flying near the border defense shields off the coast of Newfoundland where the Sentinels are planning to break through. She is flying very low to avoid being spotted from the base, and creates a lighting storm scrambling the stations sensors to hide the Sentinels approach. Inside the watchtower the soldiers guarding the facility call from communication system to communication system trying to see if anyone has visual of any approaching enemy. One group says they only see clouds - too late though they realize the clouds are actually Sentinels and they destroy the watchtower and everyone in it before they can alert any reinforcements. Outside, Storm watches the massive army of Sentinels fly over her and thanks God that she is hidden from their detection devices by her electro-magnetic storm.
Back on the coastline the humans await their rescuers and pray. Jeremy Graves hears the coming thunder of noise and getting excited he decides to run up the hill to get a better view. Jeremy gets out of his parents‘ sight though and suddenly black tentacles come out of one of the bushes and swallow him into darkness.
Upon the Sentinels‘ arrival, the crowd is unsure what to make of the huge robots. Not knowing that the Sentinels have been sent to help by Eurasia’s Human High Council, they panic and run away thinking they are being attacked. The Sentinels scan the presence of mutants, and soon become aware of the forms of Jean Grey and Weapon X, two allies of the Human Council. However checking their databanks, the robot find that the two mutants are currently in England, so they can’t be here too. Turns out that Jean and Logan are actually light-constructs that Dazzler has created to fool the Sentinels, giving Exodus enough time to blast open one of the Sentinels and Quicksilver time to plant the disk with the over ride virus in it‘s system. At the same time, Iceman has corralled the humans within his ice wall, and tells the team that Storm has signaled him and told him that a massive transport behind the Sentinels is on the way to help in the rescue efforts.
With the virus active, the Sentinels state that the registered mutant signatures have been classified as allies and the X-Men breath a sigh of relief. Iceman begins to take down the ice wall he has formed, when the Sentinels begin talking about enemy mutant activity being spotted and one of the Sentinels fires a laser blast at Iceman, totally obliterating his ice form. The rest of the X-Men stand in shock watching as one of their teammates is blown apart. Exodus reminds the team though that Iceman has the ability to pull himself back together again. As their shock transfers over to confusion because they wonder why they planted the disk and it did not work. Quicksilver tells the team that the program did work and Banshee worries out loud that if the disk worked then who are the mutants the Sentinels mentioned as safe-scanned?
Appearing out of no where in front of the team the Brotherhood comes into view and Brother Jeffries tells the X-Men that he cyberscrambled the data on the disk, so that the Sentinels now consider the Brotherhood as allies and the X-Men as enemies. Arclight, the Brotherhood’s leader requests that the X-Men surrender or suffer “extreme prejudice”!
Next issue: Amazing X-Men #2: Sacrificial Lambs
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Quicksilver orders Exodus to attack the Brotherhood, but Box and Copycat try to get themselves lost in the crowd of people. Quicksilver though chases after them only to be startled by Copycat taking on the form of his long dead sister Scarlet Witch. Dazzler comes to the rescue, but Box directs one of the Sentinels at the two X-Men and the two Brotherhood members get away. Even though Exodus comes to aid his lover, things are looking not too well, until Storm appears and saves them by scrambling the robots sensors. Meanwhile Iceman has reformed himself and taken out three other members of the Brotherhood while Banshee has gone after the escaping Cardinal Madri. Banshee finds the Madri at the Brotherhood’s ship, killed by Apocalypse’s newest Horseman Abyss, because the Brotherhood failed and failure means death. Abyss shows Banshee that he has little Jeremy Graves hostage and announces to kill him if the son of Magneto doesn’t come to him. Banshee does as told and sends Quicksilver to the ship, though Storm, having realized that she is falling in love with Pietro, comes along. Surprisingly Quicksilver is able to defeat Abyss by wrapping him up in his own coils causing him to get sucked into his own inner endless void. The couple walks the boy to his parents and hear the good news from Dazzler of the Sentinels reprogramming by Banshee and that the evacuation is now fully underway. At the same time in Apocalypse’s palace in New York City, Rex interrogates Karma. From spying on the secret meeting of Gambit and the Angel, Sebastian Shaw already learned of Magneto hiding in the mansion in Westchester, but they hope that Karma can tell them of any defense mechanisms. She refuses to talk, so they threaten to unleash the Shadow King on her. Apocalypse puts the torture to an end, announcing it is time to see if Magneto is fit enough to survive!
Full Synopsis:
Little Jeremy Graves sits with his back against the wall of the Brotherhoods transport ship, the Ark, scared, frightened, and alone or so he thinks. In the shadows lurks Abyss watching Jeremy and drawing strength from Jeremy’s fears. Jeremy cries, “please somebody help me!” as black tentacles wrap around Jeremy’s body. Abyss taunts Jeremy asking him to keep his hope that the X-Men will save him because his empty hope is what feeds Abyss. Jeremy tries to struggle and Abyss makes fun of him telling him how him and his family thought they would be saved and taken to Eurasia, but really humans are just like cattle. Abyss taunts Jeremy by telling him that even in Eurasia he will not be safe because eventually Apocalypse will conquer the other continents of the world too.
On the shores of Maine at the site of the evacuation, Cardinal Madri taunts the X-Men, telling them that they thought the Sentinels would be their salvation but the Brotherhood has reprogrammed them and now the Sentinels will be the destruction of the “traitors” of their race, the X-Men. Banshee asks Exodus to take the Brotherhood out. Remembering what the Madri did to him before Magneto was able to rescue him, Exodus says it will be a pleasure and starts blasting. As Exodus fires at the Brotherhood, the Cardinal commands Brother Madison and Sister Vanessa to continue their mission and that he hopes Apocalypse blesses them.
Dazzler worriedly tells Quicksilver that if the Brotherhood controls the Sentinels then there is no way they can stop the Sentinels from trying to kill the them all. Quicksilver, while running to stop the two mutants from escaping, tells Dazzler to remember his father’s words; to give up hope is to give up life. As Quicksilver reaches the two Brotherhood members who are trying to get lost in the crowd of humans, he is shocked when he pulls the hood off the woman’s head. Underneath is his sister the Scarlet Witch, who had supposedly died years ago. The Scarlet Witch begs Quicksilver not to hurt her as Madison sneaks behind Quicksilver and shocks him, knocking him to the ground. Madison congratulates Vanessa on her shapeshifting ploy. Dazzler, posturing like she is shooting a gun, shoots a laser blast from her finger that destroys the knife that the “Scarlet Witch“ is fixing to drive into Quicksilver’s heart. Dazzler next commands Vanessa that she transform back into her original form and not to ever impersonate such a good woman like the Scarlet Witch again. Copycat does as she is told, but only to distract Dazzler long enough for Box to modify the Sentinels to attack Dazzler, which they do and that gives the two mutants enough cover to escape and go on with their mission.
One of the Sentinels blasts Dazzler off her feet and her and Quicksilver lying helplessly on the ground are easy pickings for the Sentinels next killing blow. Exodus flies in and despite Quicksilver’s commands to chase after the two escaping mutants, he stays by Dazzler’s side telling them that he must protect them first. As Exodus holds Dazzler in his arms, Quicksilver orders him that if he is going to fight the Sentinels to only use defense attacks and not to destroy them. The Sentinel has the three mutants in his vision and is aiming to kill them when suddenly all the Sentinels seem to start malfunctioning. Storm floats from high in the air commanding an electric cascading lightning strike, which temporarily scrambles the Sentinels’ sensors, giving the X-Men a respite from their battle. As Exodus helps Dazzler to her feet and Quicksilver stumbles to his, Storm wonders aloud what had happened to the Sentinels to cause them to turn against the X-Men? Quicksilver informs her of the Brotherhoods tampering with the Sentinels‘ programming and at the same time Iceman returns to the team. Iceman has reformed himself and tells the team that Spyne, Yeti, and Arclight are not a problem anymore but that the Cardinal Madri got away and Banshee is chasing him as they speak.
Banshee soars above the treetops chasing the Madri back to the Ark that brought the Brotherhood to Maine. He remembers the time a while back when Magneto approached him and asked him to come out of retirement and help the team again, that they were losing and the X-Men needed all the help they could get. Banshee remembers about how he could never say No to Magneto. Suddenly though, his mind is forced to come back to the present because he sees the dead Cardinal hanging upside down spread eagle across the entrance to the Ark. Banshee ponders who would or could have done this. All of a sudden Abyss appears hanging upside down in front of the dead body. Guessing Banshee’s questions, he tells that the Madri had failed Apocalypse as the humans still can get transported to Eurasia and that the price of failure is death. Banshee asks him who he is and Abyss tells him that he is Apocalypse’s newest Horseman “Abyss”! Abyss then grabs Banshee and pulls him closer to his chest and reveals that he has little Jeremy trapped inside his body. Banshee, wide eyed, tells Abyss to let the boy go and take him instead, but Abyss informs Banshee that it is not him he wants but Magneto’s son Quicksilver. Abyss lets Banshee go and he orders him to find Quicksilver and tell him if he does not come, the kid will die.
Banshee flies back to the evacuation site and notices that Abyss has sent a calling card before him in the form of a psionic tremor that has left all the humans on the ground and reeling in pain. Banshee informs Quicksilver that it is Abyss who is causing this pain and that he wants to see Quicksilver or he will kill his young hostage. Quicksilver asks where Abyss is and Banshee informs him of the direction. Storm offers to go with Quicksilver but he tries to reject her offer. Storm reminds Quicksilver that Magneto always tells them to never face an enemy alone, and he needs somebody with a clear head to back him as he always gets very emotional when children are involved. Quicksilver watches her fly off to save the boy, and after Exodus informs him that because of Storm’s electromagnetic storm and Banshee’s harmonic waves they will be able to reprogram the Sentinels according to their purpose, Quicksilver too rushes to the forest where the Ark is hidden.
Seconds later and miles away Quicksilver runs past Storm and she thinks to herself that she is falling in love with him and how ironic it is that she has these feelings right before, what she calls, the end of the world. When they arrive at the entrance to the Ark, Quicksilver says to her that they will not go inside to what they know is a trap. Though when Storm sees Jeremy in the doorway being dragged away by Abyss, and he cries for them to help, she flies down the corridor after him. Quicksilver follows her and thinks to himself that actually she came along to prevent him from doing something foolish and now she foolishly runs off. Pietro admires Ororo’s lack of reserve and her passion, and thinks he held back for too long. In the ship, Quicksilver finds Storm at the end of the long and winding stairway. She is holding the boy and she tells him that she is fine but the boy is in a catatonic state. As Quicksilver wonders where Abyss is and why he would let the little boy go so easily, black tentacles slither up Quicksilver’s legs.
As Quicksilver races to loosen the tentacles around his foot, Abyss asks if he has ever thrown his gum away after it has lost its flavor? That, Abyss informs Quicksilver, is why he let Jeremy go - because the boy had lost his flavor. Abyss rambles on to the two X-Men about how he earned the right to be called one of Apocalypse’s Horsemen by working his butt off. Storm tries to attack Abyss but finds out that it is useless and tells Quicksilver that there is no substance to Abyss. Taken offense to her words, Abyss tells her that he does have substance and with a smile he reaches out to try to attack her and the boy she is still holding. Quicksilver races in and punches Abyss telling him to let them go, which he does. Quicksilver tries to talk to Abyss, to reason with him and tell him how wrong his ideals are, and that humans and mutants should live together peacefully. Abyss laughs at Quicksilver’s absurd comments, so Quicksilver sees no other choice, and he racingly wraps Abyss in his own coils. Abyss screams in agony as he gets sucked into his own inner endless dimensional void and completely disappears, but also another noise is heard, the tears of joy from a boy that Ororo and Pietro had been willing to sacrifice everything for.
Quicksilver and Storm take their time walking Jeremy back to the evacuation point. On the way Storm discusses about how Quicksilver was able to destroy Abyss and Quicksilver tells her that he had just got lucky. He tells her that he just won by letting his emotions get the better of him. As they reach the site and Jeremy runs to his parents, Storm holds Quicksilver’s hand and tells him that there might be hope for him yet. As they watch Jeremy’s reunion with his family Quicksilver tells her that maybe there is hope for them all.
A light projection form of Dazzler appears to welcome the two X-Men back and inform them that they were able to reprogram the Sentinels. She tells them the way they were able to accomplish this was that the Sentinels primary objection was to save human life, but their second was to destroy mutants. So in the end the primary goal outweighed the second, so they actually asked if the X-Men would help them to calm the crowds and make the evacuation more efficient. As Dazzler’s projection fades Storm and Quicksilver look caringly into each other’s eyes and they talk about how that if robots can see the light that maybe one-day flesh and blood could also.
Meanwhile in what used to be New York City, and now is where the palace of Apocalypse stands, Rex, one of Apocalypse’s henchmen, is interrogating Karma. They have recently captured her after learning that Gambit came to the Angel looking for Magneto, proving that the Angel knows where Magneto and his X-Men are hiding. Sebastian Shaw and Apocalypse stand together near where Rex is holding Karma in a restraint device, and Shaw informs Rex that he overheard the Angel telling Gambit where Magneto was hiding. He also informs Karma that he knows that she enters people’s minds to gather information on secrets to protect the Angel’s establishment. Rex tells Karma that they already know where Magneto is hiding, in Xavier’s old mansion, and that he just wants to know if Magneto has any defenses they should know about. He next threatens her that if she does not talk that he will let the Shadow King loose in her mind, and he will get the answers they need, but he will leave her mind an empty husk. As Karma begs for him not to release the Shadow King, Apocalypse ends Rex’s little game, as he calls it, and tells him that it is time to bury Xavier’s dream and to see who is truly “fit to survive”!
Next issue:
Amazing X-Men #3:Parents of the Atoms
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Magneto’s cape flows beside the grave marker of his friend Charles Xavier. The epitaph on the marker reads “Any dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for.” Magneto talks to the grave wondering how Xavier would feel if he knew that his dream would come at so high of a price. Magneto stands above the grave marker in full battle armor and wonders out loud how one man’s life, namely Charles Xavier’s, can mean so much that it could change the world, from one with freedom, to one ruled by a tyrant. Magneto also tells the grave of how it is ironic that he may have to sacrifice everything he loves for Xavier’s dream to be fulfilled.
With that said Bishop calls out to Magneto and as he turns he notices Bishop holding a gun towards him. Bishop informs Magneto that now is not the time for reminiscing because there was a security breach of the mansion’s defensive shields and they have been scanned. Apparently they are about to be attacked. Magneto chides Bishop telling him that he has allowed Bishop to carry his gun not to point it at him but to protect himself. To make a point Magneto uses his powers to destroy Bishop’s gun, to Bishop’s surprise, and then he uses his powers to rebuild the gun. Magneto places his helmet on his head and commands Bishop to fire over his left shoulder, which Bishop does. Magneto explains that he had felt a disturbance in the electromagnetic field around them even before the Infinites, whom one of them Bishop just shot, had fully completed their transport in. Magneto warns Bishop that the final battle has now begun and that this is just the first wave of the Empire’s assault. With that said the Vanisher appears and taunts Magneto, as Magneto proclaims of the length of time that it has been since the Vanisher has been seen, telling Magneto not to give himself so much credit. Vanisher, smiling tells Magneto that they will not battle today because he was just used to teleport the Infinites in and he has something else to do. Before he vanishes though he tells Magneto that the next time they see each other it will be in “hell”.
Bishop calls the Vanisher a coward and Magneto tells Bishop that the Vanisher could not stomach what will happen next. Bishop asks what that will be? Magneto answers the question with action as he rips the gene-spliced Infinites apart. Bishop wonders why these Infinites were not even as tough as the Infinites he had encountered in Seattle when the X-Men first met Bishop. “Do not be fooled”, Magneto tells Bishop, “He is here, waiting here to strike ...”. Like he suspected, Apocalypse appears out of nowhere and knocks Bishop and Magneto to the ground with a plasma explosion. Apocalypse holds Magneto’s unconscious body by the hair, as Bishop watches in horror saying to himself how he can not fail again like he did before. He fires a blast at Apocalypse knocking him away from Magneto. Apocalypse congratulates Bishop on a blow well struck and not only deduces correctly Bishop’s mutant powers, but also recognizes him as the stranger that his troops must have faced earlier. Apocalypse wonders aloud why Bishop is so important to Magneto and why the X-Men are protecting him. While Apocalypse taunts, Bishop crawls slowly to reach his gun but Apocalypse stops him and pounds him into the ground calling Bishop a fool for needing a crutch. In the meantime Magneto has come around and tells Apocalypse that with his dying breath he will curse Apocalypse. Magneto grabs the gun Bishop was reaching for and programs it to self-destruct, which Magneto hopes will be a large enough explosion to kill Apocalypse even though it will cost his own life too. Apocalypse taunts Magneto that the Vanisher is currently capturing little Charles and if he is dead then nobody will be there to protect his son. While talking Apocalypse grows taller and taller and taller. Magneto’s eye’s widen in shock and fear as he drops the gun and causes it not to explode, because he realizes he can not leave his son alone. Apocalypse throws Magneto into the ground and congratulates himself on capturing Magneto, Bishop, and he says in a blink of an eye, Magneto’s youngest son.
Nanny wheels through the labyrinth of tunnels underneath Westchester County carrying the baby in a protective bubble. Listening to the commotion above settle, she knows that Magneto and Bishop have lost and tells Charles that she is sorry. As she talks about needing to find an “egress” in order to protect Charles, the Vanisher appears telling Nanny to hand over Charles. Placing her charge in jeopardy is not within her parameters but protecting him is, she tells the villain, and several plasma guns emerge from her robotic back, ready to fire.
Later in the day, Quicksilver’s team arrives by way of the Brotherhood’s Ark that they had taken from them. They have returned from the successful evacuation of thousands of humans to Eurasia. Quicksilver runs across the estate looking for his baby brother, father, Nanny and Bishop but finds them all missing. Storm and Banshee have searched other parts of the grounds but too saw no sign of them. Dazzler’s light projection appears in front of the three X-Men, telling them to come to the graveyard and fast. When they arrive they see Exodus standing in a crater holding Magneto’s helmet. Very somberly looking, he points to the signs of battle. The dead Infinites show that Magneto and Bishop did defend themselves, but somebody far more powerful must have beaten them. That someone, must have captured or killed Magneto and Bishop. As Exodus begins to mourn, Quicksilver comforts him by telling him that he knows what Magneto means to him and Magneto is still alive. With that said Iceman interrupts Quicksilver by throwing the Vanisher in front of him. Iceman, who had been checking the tunnels for any sign of anyone, has found the Vanisher dead and shot full of laser blasts. Quicksilver surmises that only Nanny’s defensive weapons could have caused such burns. So he sends Dazzler and Exodus into the tunnels to find Nanny and Charles. As he runs off, Quicksilver commands Iceman to find Rogue and tell her Magneto is missing and for Banshee and Storm to wait there for the other teams‘ imminent arrivals. They ask him where he is going and Pietro tells them that he wants to talk to the one man who has all the answers to everything.
In what was once called Manhattan, Angel gets no more joy from flying through the skies like he used to. He thinks how that only yesterday Scarlett was arrested and now Karma’s missing, apparently captured by Apocalypse’s henchmen. Angel knows that since Karma was captured, Apocalypse probably knows about all of the Angel’s secrets. He also now realizes that soon there will come a time he must make a decision about what side he will stand on. The Angel lands in his apartment and begins to wash his hands. When Quicksilver rushes in and knocks the Angel down, as he begins to pull a gun out of his holster on his side. Quickly dissecting the gun, Quicksilver demands from the Angel to tell him where his father and Bishop were taken. Angel then informs Quicksilver that Apocalypse himself captured the two heroes. Magneto was taken to the heart of Apocalypse’s citadel while Bishop was taken to the Tabernacle of the Madri in Quebec. Quicksilver gets angry, why had the attack occurred now he wonders? Angel explains that Apocalypse was aware of the X-Men trying to perform some desperate move. As Quicksilver ponders who is more important to the dream, Magneto or Bishop, the Angel tries to help by advising that Pietro should go after who is more important for whatever the X-Men are planning.
In Quebec, the Madri Priests who keep chanting “May the fittest survive” torture Bishop. One of them, with a hood covering his face, opens a vial that contains the Shadow King and the King possesses the body of Bishop. In Bishop’s mind, the Shadow King sees images of the astral battle between the Shadow King and Xavier in Israel (Uncanny X-Men #117), Professor Xavier’s death (X-Men (2nd series) #41), the forming of Xavier’s original five mutants, Apocalypse and a younger Bishop side by side with Xavier. The Shadow King wonders how Bishop as a younger man than he is now can stand next to a Professor Xavier that is older than when he died decades ago. He only comes up with one possible solution – Bishop must come from another reality. To confirm his theory, the Shadow King decides to examine deeper but Bishop’s mind is able to reject him and the King’s essence is expunged from Bishop.
The Madri Priests are stunned to see the Shadow King fail and they say they have never seen a person with the ability to reject the Shadow King before. With Bishop unconscious and the Madri huddling over him they do not see Abyss sneak from behind and kill some of the Madri. Abyss talks to anyone that can hear him and tells them that Bishop is the most dangerous mutant they have met. Bishop knows something they don’t and he has got Magneto’s X-Men performing some special missions to achieve something they have no idea of, but whatever it is – it surely will change things for the worse for Apocalypse and that is just something Abyss will not allow to happen.
Back at Xavier’s estate, Quicksilver returns two hours after he had left them the first time and he hopes his stepmother Rogue has showed up, so he does not have to go through on the decision he has made. Yet Rogue’s team is still away, and Exodus and Dazzler are still looking for Nanny and little Charles. Only Storm and Banshee await him. Pietro fills them in that Magneto and Bishop have been brought to different locations and since Bishop is crucial to Magneto’s plan, they will go to Quebec to rescue him, even if it means leaving his father to Apocalypse. Shocked, Banshee starts to object but Quicksilver interrupts and tells them to prepare for their mission. Somewhat later, the three X-Men load the Ark with supplies they might need. Storm reminds Quicksilver that only yesterday he endangered their mission because of one child, and now he is unable to show the same feelings when it comes to his own family. Pietro tells her that he will not allow himself those thoughts, and that his mind is made up. So Quicksilver, Banshee, and Storm head off to save a man they barely know, to fight for the dream of a man neither of them ever met.
Last issue:
Amazing X-Men #4:Dare To Tread On Consecrated Ground
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Yeah I have thought about it.. but I tried to be more specific and stick to the particular comic story itself instead of just discussing the comics generally.
I remember one who asked for this but I forgot who he/she was...
So I think this would be a good idea like posting the summary of a particular X-Men Comics issue.
Oh, i hope this won't be merged with the existing 'Comics Thread'.
I like this being a different topic and/or thread.
Amazing X-Men #4:Dare To Tread On Consecrated Ground
In what used to be Quebec, the Madri Priests are holding a ceremony for the death of Bishop. The Madri Priests are chanting a song of cleansing for Bishop. They tell him that his words of another reality where Apocalypse does not rule is poison and he must die so that his poisonous words do not affect anyone else. One of the priests takes a knife and slices part of Bishop’s arm allowing his blood to trickle into a mug. The Madri Priests take turn sipping from the cup. And they tell Bishop, who is hanging upside down in restraints, that although the Shadow King was expelled from his body, he still was able to glimpse part of the other reality and they will not allow it, so the “gene-traitor Bishop must die”! The Madri also say that the blood, which they are sipping from, was once tainted but now by virtue of their whispered song it is pure and clean. One of the Madri begins to pour what is left of the blood from the cup onto Bishop’s head.
Storm has different plans though and before the blood reaches Bishop’s skin the Madri are surprised to see it freeze in mid air and they wonder where the cold air is coming from. Looking up, they see Storm just in time to be blown back by a hurricane she creates, giving her enough time to try less flamboyant methods. Bishop is surprised to see Storm pull lockpicks from her side, as she notices his surprise, she asks Bishop if the Storm from his timeline ever forgot the training she was given in Cairo as an orphan. After those words, she is able to pick the lock on his chains and frees Bishop. Bishop tells her that there is not much of a difference between her and the Storm from his reality. Leaning on Storm for support, he asks her if she came alone. Storm replies that she did not, but Banshee and Quicksilver are occupied somewhere else, and if those two fail Bishop and her will probably die as well.
Elsewhere in the sanctum in Quebec two hooded figures walk up to one of the Madri who is guarding a door with Apocalypse’s picture on it. The solo Madri asks the two if something is wrong because it is not time for the changing of the guards yet. As the word “wrong” is about to come from the Madri’s mouth he collapses, taken out by a hypersonic signal. The two hooded figures are Quicksilver and Banshee in disguise. Quicksilver comments on the job well done, but Banshee replies “Tell that to the hundred or so dogs and cats for ten miles around that would like to take a bite out of me right now”. Banshee bends down and picks up the guard‘s keys. They only have little time to save themselves, Storm, and Bishop. They open the door but to the surprise of the two mutants, who thought the person behind the door would fight them, the person begs them to kill him. Leaning against a pillar, drooling from the insanity that has taken over him and playing with a ball and blocks, the one, true Jamie Madrox is relieved that help has finally arrived to save him from Apocalypse. Banshee, shocked and sad for Jamie, tells Quicksilver of how he had heard that Sinister and the Beast had mutated Jamie’s body to exceed his normal duping abilities but he had never thought they would leave Jamie helpless and crippled like this. Looking with sadness at Jamie, Banshee wonders aloud to Quicksilver if either of them have the power now to kill Jamie like they were going to do before.
Back at the remains of the Xavier estate in Westchester County, Blink teleports her team back to the grounds of the estate. As soon as they hit the ground, Rogue orders Sabretooth to sniff around and find out what has happened to her son and husband. Sabretooth smells the air and notices the sent of both Magneto and Apocalypse and he tells Rogue that the scents are cold so the fight has been over for quite some time. As Sabretooth sniffs the air again he can smell the presence of Shadowcat, Colossus, and a kid as well. Rogue, hoping it is Charles, speaks his name, but Colossus tells her “no” that it is his long lost sister Illyana. Colossus then informs the team of how great a price they had to pay for saving her in the sacrificing of all the Generation Next team. Blink, with her hands to her mouth in shock, blames herself for not being with the younger students. Morph tries to comfort her, telling her that the X-Men needed her with them and they still do. Rogue reaches out to comfort Shadowcat but she just shrugs her off and tells her that there is no use crying over the dead when they still need to worry about the living that need to be saved. Rogue asks if Shadowcat has seen Charles or Quicksilver, but Kate replies that the base was empty when they showed up, but Quicksilver left a note saying that Exodus and Dazzler went to the sewers to find Charles, and the rest of the team went to Quebec to save Bishop. With that said Rogue commands Sabretooth to follow her and they head to the Morlock tunnels to find any sign of Charles or the two X-Men.
As Sabretooth opens the hatch to the sewers Rogue asks him to try to pick up anybody’s scent. He informs her that he does not need to, because someone is heading towards them. As another doorway opens in front of them they can see Dazzler lighting the way but she notices no one has Charles, though the X-Men have found somebody else - Gambit, Lila Cheney, and Jubilee are with them. Exodus informs Rogue that they could not find the baby but the X-Ternals know where he is. As Rogue punches Gambit through the sewer walls and into the air she asks him where her son Charles is. Gambit lies on the ground not moving, and tells her that he had Charles but for Charles’ own safety he had to let him go! Rogue flies to punch Gambit, but before she does, she asks him who took her baby and where he was taken to, threatening that if he is lying or his explanations are not good enough she will kill him.
Back in Quebec, Storm and Bishop fight off the Madri but get cornered. In the enclosed environment Storm’s abilities are hampered and Bishop is getting tired. Storm wonders aloud what is taking Quicksilver and Banshee so long. Elsewhere in the tabernacle, Jamie begs the two X-Men to kill him quickly. He tells the two that they have no choice because if they kill him, his dupes will be left just empty soulless shells. Leaning over Madrox and holding his own head Quicksilver wonders how they can justify killing Madrox when he is just as much a victim in all this as they are. Banshee tries to reason with Quicksilver by telling him that one life being sacrificed to kill all of Madrox’s dupes might be worth it.
Abyss appears, squeezing himself between the bricks of the wall. He asks the two X-Men if they feel like they are sinking deeper into their own Abyss because of the moral dilemma they now face. Quicksilver grabs Jamie and pulls him behind him in order to protect him from Abyss‘ tendrils. Quicksilver tells Abyss that he has defeated the mad man once and he can do it again if he needs to. Abyss informs the two that Bishop and Quicksilver’s love Storm are about to die. Surprised that Abyss knows of his feelings for Ororo, Quicksilver asks him how he knows that they are in danger. Abyss explains that he knows everything that is in the deepest darkest part of everyone’s minds. For example, he tells Quicksilver, that he knows what is in Banshee’s mind; that Banshee is afraid of dying, living, and everything in between. In his own defense Banshee tells Abyss to show him a man without fear and that he would call that man a fool. Abyss informs the two that Bishop and Storm are about five minutes from dying and in Vegas odds that means they are dead.
Banshee flies behind Abyss and tries to hurt him by sending sonic shocks to his body. Banshee, extremely ticked off, tells Abyss that the “coward” will stop Abyss. As Banshee flies from every angle hitting Abyss with sonic waves he tells Abyss that he would sacrifice himself to save this world because he hates what it has become and he longs to see it become a better place for everyone to live. Quicksilver begs Banshee not to sacrifice himself as the X-Men and most importantly Quicksilver need him. Banshee orders Quicksilver to take Madrox and leave. “Blah, Blah, Blah!” Abyss says to Banshee, “ya gonna talk me to death, or what?“, he taunts. Banshee tells the villain that if he was not alive it would at least improve the world a little. So as he flies into Abyss’ open cavity in his chest he lets out a scream that even Quicksilver has never heard, loud enough and long enough, to rip Abyss apart from the inside out.
Banshee was right to tell Quicksilver to run because the resulting shockwave would have killed him as well, if Quicksilver was not the fastest man alive. Although the resulting shockwave knocks half of the tabernacle down and Quicksilver is able to save himself and Madrox it still can not save him from the heartache of losing a man that had been like a brother to him. Quicksilver lays Jamie on the ground and he tells Jamie that he will go back in to try to save Storm and Bishop and he will not kill him. Jamie whispers “no”; that he knows Quicksilver is to good of a person to take his life. Then, as Storm and Bishop are shown fighting for their lives, Jamie asks if Quicksilver loves Storm and if he needs Bishop. Quicksilver answers him yes to both questions. Jamie explains that he has the ability to turn off the dupes but it will take so much of his energy he will probably die. Quicksilver begs Jamie to not sacrifice himself like Banshee, as he can not lose another good man.
Meanwhile, Bishop and Storm are fighting the dupes and about to be defeated. Suddenly the Madri all stop and their eyes seem so lifeless like their bodies have become just empty shells. Storm and Bishop wonder what has happened. Outside, Quicksilver screams for Jamie too not die, but it is too late, another life is lost in the fight against Apocalypse. Minutes later, Storm and Bishop appear from the building and Storm thanks the bright lady that Quicksilver is still alive. She asks where Banshee is and Quicksilver hugs her saying how Banshee had sacrificed himself to save all of them. Bishop asks who the person dead on the ground is and Quicksilver explains to them that he is Jamie Madrox another hero who sacrificed himself to save them all. Quicksilver and the other two begin walking towards the Ark so they can go to where the other X-Men are. While they walk Quicksilver talks of how he is tired of seeing death and he swears he will make the Earth a better place where people do not have to suffer.
At the Xavier estate Rogue stands over Gambit as he rubs his sore jaw. She asks him why he would allow Guido to take Charles away from him. Remy informs Rogue that Guido was the only one who could save Charles from the mess they were in at the time. Exodus and Dazzler hold Rogue back and Dazzler tries to reason with Rogue that at least they know Charles is alive and they can try to save him. Rogue, unable to control her emotions, cries into her hands saying how Apocalypse has stolen her husband and now her son and she does not know what to do.
Right then, Nightcrawler teleports in with Destiny and he tells her that they will do what Magneto would want them to do. Colossus somberly says that it seems that oddly all of Magneto’s plans are turning out to be working and Nightcrawler asks where Bishop is. Iceman notices the Ark coming towards the estate and he tells Nightcrawler to cross what few fingers he has and hope that the answer is about to arrive. When the Ark reaches the land the three mutants walk out of the ship. Rogue tells Quicksilver that they have not gotten his father or brother back yet and Quicksilver tells her that they soon will. Sabretooth states that everyone but Gambit has done their job, no big surprise to him he says, but he asks what they should do next. Quicksilver tells him that they have to retrieve the piece of the M’Kraan crystal, and save his father and his brother. Very dramatically Quicksilver states that after they do all that, they do what they have always done - they will sacrifice all to make sure that this will be the day Apocalypse falls.
Rachel Summers has been lost in the timestream (Excalibur #75); she reappears in a rift in the desert 2000 years later. Scarab flyers arrive to close the rift and neutralize the chronal anomaly, assuming her to be hostile. Half-aware, Rachel kills them all, utilizing the Phoenix Force.
At his citadel, Apocalpyse has been in seclusion for a year, preparing a new host body, leaving Diamanda Nero in charge. She kills the last of the Xavier Collective, a rebel group. She has the mutant ability to absorb the powers of anyone she kills, and adds her victim‘s impenetrable exoskeleton to her already vast array of powers.
Ch’vayre and Luminesca are brother and sister, and inform her of the chronal anomaly. Apocalypse is annoyed that his mutants have gone soft. He has designed three new weapons to destroy the weak, and Nero completie them while he bonds to his next body.
Meanwhile, Rachel learns that mutants rule this world, and power corrupts, so humans are now a mistreated underclass. She joins a human clan and helps a young Blaquesmith with a crooked cyborg merchant. She nearly loses it and kills him, but then uses her telepathy to disappear into the crowd. Blaquesmith follows, able to see through her power.
Diogenes meditates in Antarctica, where the Savage Land once was, and is interrupted to attend a psi-conference of the Order of Witnesses. They send him and his squire Squy¹rr to investigate the return of the Phoenix.
Rachel, alias “Alyzr’n Summerset”, infiltrates Apocalypse‘s stronghold during the festival of his rebirth. She runs into Luminesca, drunk, and watches Ch’vayre kill a beast for sport. She is invited to join the siblings but moves on, and Nero notices something odd about her.
Diogenes shows up and warns her not to try to kill Apocalypse, but she ignores him and makes her way to the his chamber, only to find the sarcophagi empty. Nero appears, saying Apocalypse's true location is always secret, and poisons her. She unleashes the Phoenix Force to save her life, and crawls for days through pipes until she exits the citadel. Diogenes is there to meet her.
Summary by: Robert Diehl
Next: Contagion (Askani Rising - part 2)
Attachment: phoenix2.jpg
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Two years have passed. Nero has tested a new deadly mutant: Plague, who unleashes a virus. She celebrates the carnage.
Hellhole is the power plant for Crestcoast: it taps geothermal energy. The workers there are slaves, including Blaquesmith. In the last months, Rachel has established the Askani (= outsiders) as a resistance cell : Hark (a beast-like mutant), Qua (a liquid Atlantean), Lexii (a clone warrior), and Ozana (a rare Gibson-9 warbot) .They sneak into Hellhole but are discovered and battle with the plant’s overseers. Ozana is disabled, but Blaquesmith can fix her, so the Askani take him along, disabling the plant as they escape.
At the citadel, Nero is mad about the Askani. Luminesca is rebellious but Ch'vayre is scared of Nero.
Elsewhere the Witnesses observe. Mui predicts Rachel will die bringing down Apocalypse.
The Askani see that Nero has unleashed Plague on Blaquesmith¹s adopted colony. Believing herself immune in liquid state, Qua investigates and is killed among the people living there.
Nero sends Ch¹vayre and Luminesca to attack the Askani, but it’s a set-up. Nero wanted the siblings to keep the Askani busy long enough for Plague to kill everyone in the area. Ch’vayre and Luminesca team up with Rachel to fight Plague; Luminesca fails to change the chemical structure of the toxic gas and is killed. Rachel has to unleash the Phoenix Force, even if it alerts Apocalypse. She purges the disease from Plague, but dies from the virus, and is reborn, phoenix-like. They send Ch¹vayre back to Nero with a warning.
Meanwhile Nero captures Chang and Squy¹rr to interrogate them.
Next issue: Sacrifice (Askani Rising - conclusion)
Attachment: phoenix3.jpg
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To get information on the Askani and the Order of Witnesses, Nero tortures Chang and Squy'rr; the boy breaks, and she hangs him in a bazaar for the Askani to find. Rachel comforts him with a beautiful mental image of Muir Island as he dies.
She gets Blaquesmith to repair an airship and takes her group to the Witnesses‘ biosphere in the old Savage Land in Antarctica. Too late : Nero has already been there and killed them all except Diogenes Chang, whom she left tied up to a wall. The Infinites attack, and Rachel sends Ozana and Lexii off with Blaquesmith, who finds children including Sanctity hiding in the complex.
Nero ambushes Hark with lightning, killing him; Rachel fights her, realizing that the villainess can use only one of her stolen powers at a time. Nero impales her with two molten spikes; Rachel nearly blacks out, and remembers being in the time stream (Excalibur #75). She realizes all of this is by design. As she dies of the molten metal in her veins, she separates the Phoenix Force from her and gives it to Nero. Diamanda is now even able to overthrow Apocalypse, but then the Force starts to take her over. She asks Rachel (freed of the molten metal in the instant the Force left her) to remove the Force from her, and she does, sending it to soar through the cosmos again.
Upon leaving, it also takes all of Nero¹s mutant powers away, so, angry, she activates one of Apocalypse¹s machines to destroy them both, but Blaquesmith gets inside and sabotages it. Rachel leaves Nero alive and gives her some rations and a survival gear.
Back at the Askani camp, Rachel decides that she has to leave and spend some time alone. Her followers start calling her Mother Askani, and she looks forward to the future, knowing that one day she will bring her brother Cable to this future, so that he can fight and defeat Apocalypse.
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