X-Men Blue #12

TOIL AND TROUBLE pt III

Arthur Adams Cover

Written by Cullen Bunn
Penciled by Douglas Franchin
Cover by Arthur Adams
Published Sep 27 2017

   The issue starts with a flashback. Bloodstorm reflects upon the time she fed on the blood of Charles Xavier. Today though, she finds herself pulled into a different dimension thanks to the Goblin Queen. With promises to free her from her torment, she looks upon a trapped group of X-Men along with Hank McCoy doing the queen's mystic dirty work.

More bad news for Maddy...

   As different versions of her are slowly being interdimensionally pulled together, the trapped others beg for Hank to stop but he tells them it's too late. Meanwhile in Colorado, the Blob comes to life. Not knowing where he is or how he got there, he's perfectly content to attack the X-Men. Suddenly he begins to melt - evidence of another secondary mutation.. 

Aw dang, that's gross...

   Back at the mansion, the Goblin Queen continues her assimilation when the room explodes and in come Jean and Scott. This time they’ve brought help as the Raksha gives them a hand while Madelyn Pryor creeps Jean out with another milfy crack at her old future...past boyfriend. In Colorado, Angel and James helplessly watch the Blob suffer when they suddenly remember something Miss Sinister mentioned. Mothervine. There’s some connection between James and these other-world former X-Men affiliated mutants. They gotta tell the others before she makes it over to them too, and time is of the essence.

Look. It's been a lovely party but we should be going...

   Finally back at Madripoor, Jean, Scott and the Raksha continue fighting. The Goblin Queen projects more hallucinations in their minds when Beast is forced to attack them. Finally Bloodstorm is able to break his concentration, telling him to betray Madelyn Pryor first. He does so, casting a quick spell. It’s enough to stall the spell bringing all her incarnations together, and as they all turn their powers on her, Bloodstorm is spared. With the magic stopped, Beast feels shame but is quickly forgiven by his teammates and returns to his human form. The Raksha politely decline Magneto’s offer to join the X-Men, but someone who does not is Bloodstorm. With that, and with James and Angel probably no doubt running to warn them to set up the next issue, this story arc is concluded.

All in one page: 1. Beast sucks. 2. Raksha don't wanna be X-Men. 3. Bloodstorm does. The end.

   Another stunning chapter in the lives of the new old children of the atom, and yet another one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Obviously we’re gonna be treated to a bunch of older characters and enemies of not just the house of X, but also all across the Marvel universe in the months to come. And that’s cool with me. Madelyn Pryor is a classic from the Chris Claremont era and Cullen Bunn has done his creations proud. Where we go from here is anybody’s guess but I’m excited. I give this one a 9/10.

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