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"The Extremists, Part 3"
by Ed Brubaker and Salvador Larocca
Synopsis and Review by Jacob: Thanks!
Synopsis: In midtown Manhattan, rescue workers and reporters swarm the subway terminal trying to get info on the attack of the train’s passengers. Reporter Ann Standish talks of a rumor of mutant terrorism, just before a horribly disfigured human runs out, begging for help. The camera captures the image before police push them back. At the Baxter Building, the Thing talks to Storm about what he saw on the news, as Storm uses a 3D map of New York to try to calculate what route the Morlocks took from the attack, and possibly where they’re hiding. Elsewhere in the building, Warpath and Hepzibah explain to the Human Torch that the mob scene of authorities at the subway prevented them from following the trail further, as they cannot enter the limelight that the Fantastic Four thrive in. The conversation ends when Caliban accidentally breaks Torch’s X-Box 360 controller in half. Storm enters, preparing her team to leave, when Torch brings their attention to a news report of an internet video released by the Morlocks, confirming that the attacks were indeed orchestrated by mutants.
In White River Junction, Vermont, Nightcrawler and Professor X enter a cemetery where a townsman had seen Magneto earlier. He had been visiting the grave of Percival Fellows, a lowly henchman of Magneto’s who had never made the Brotherhood, but had lost his powers on M-Day and subsequently been killed.
Masque’s online message was that mutants aren’t defeated because of M-Day and that they haven’t forgotten that each one of them is a weapon. Skids chastises Masque for his speech and accuses him as interpreting the prophesy specifically for his desire for revenge. Skids reminds him that she was there when they got their orders, but Masque responds that “she” put him in charge, and accuses her of treason. Outside the door of their hideout gathers a number of O*N*E soldiers, preparing to attack. Masque moves to attack Skids right as the O*N*E breaks in. In the Blackbird, Xavier picks up some scattered thoughts, but cannot follow on them when they are distracted my Masque’s message, which convinces him that they need to find Magneto before the Morlocks do.
On the street beneath the Morlocks’ hideout, Warpath catches the scent of cordite, gunpowder and the after burn of electricity, saying that if the Morlocks had been there, they’re probably dead now. Instead, they find the O*N*E officers laid out, making Warpath comment on how bad the situation has become. As Storm mulls over the situation, Caliban finds something, which Warpath reveals to be the unconscious form of Skids. They are suddenly interrupted by a O*N*E sentinel who attack Storm when she tries to alleviate the situation. Hepzibah goes after Storm while Warpath attacks the Sentinel, but the whole scene suddenly stops when Skids reveals that she is an agent of SHIELD, and that this is her investigation.
Review: And we’re over the hump of “The Extremists”. We still have no clue as to what Masque’s plan actually is, mainly because everything he’s done this issue is against that plan. The X-Men are no closer to the Morlocks then they were last issue, with the exception that they now have Skids with them. At least she knows the plan, as long as Masque doesn’t get too far off of it.
The revelation that Skids is an agent of SHIELD wipes away my comments on her acting out of character in this story. What makes it even more curious is the line where she says that the Morlocks received orders from an unidentified woman, who put Masque in charge. Who is this person pulling the strings? Is it Skids’ SHIELD superiors, or a figure that SHIELD wants to keep an eye on? I’m not going to speculate on this person, because I hate having to type a review two issues down saying how wrong I was.
What I liked most about this issue, though, was that Brubaker finally gave mutants a reason to be feared again. When M-Day struck, anti-mutant hysteria hit a new high, even though nothing whatsoever had been done to warrant it. If nothing else, you’d think mutants would have lashed out at humans, but that wasn’t even brushed upon. It felt very backwards. But with Masque’s attack and subsequent internet message (sticking with the horrifying practice of terrorists broadcasting similar messages), it allows the mutant-hating practices to become justified, story wise. The O*N*E sentinel attacking? Makes sense now. I always questioned why anti-mutant soldiers would be stationed at the Institute. Surely they have some kind of screening process, right?
Larroca’s art is amazing as always. His Human Torch looked a little off – striking a strange resemblance to New Mutants-era Cannonball – but the others all looked fantastic. A good middle issue to keep the tension going. I’m looking forward to the X-Men/Morlocks confrontation and seeing how Magneto ties into all of this. It’s strange to be enjoying Uncanny this much after it being such a mediocre title for so long.
by Mike Carey & Mike Perkins
Synopsis: Dark Beast mocks Beast for digging at the Neverland mass grave, which Beast responds in anger. Dark Beast stops him and tells him that he’s there to help, since mutant extinction is not a pleasant thought to him either. Beast refuses, but again Dark Beast mocks him, saying that his scruples will cause his failure and walks away. Beast moves back into the facility, frustrated at his lack of direction, when Dark Beast reappears and presents him with a disk of personnel records for the facility. Beast again refuses his offer, but Dark Beast tells him that he will be doing his own research, and that they can either work together to get somewhere, or walk down the same empty paths separate. Beast, knowing that he will regret it, finally agrees to work with Dark Beast.
Review: Now this is interesting. The character of Dark Beast has long been neglected in the X-World, pretty much since the aftermath of Onslaught (or his brief usage in Chris Claremont’s second Excalibur). He’s always been an interesting character, but unfortunately used only as a Beast that kills. With this, he might get some characterization that puts him on a new level, and makes him a character that festers in the shadows of the X-World – kind of like Sinister. Not always the enemy, but definitely worth looking at when he appears. Of course, I might be completely wrong and this falls flat, but at least for the first time since this thing launched, I’m interested in where Endangered Species is going. After all, to my knowledge, this will be the first interaction between the two since Dark Beast kidnapped his counterpart and chained him behind a brick wall.