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In which there are a lot of explosions in X-Force; Great Britain-616 is to intelligence as Canada-616 is to military; Alastair Stuart used to be fun; Emma Frost is here to stomp on your dreams; Chamber joins the X-Men; and the Generation X kids graduate themselves.
X-PLAINED:
- Revolution (again)
- Counter-X (again)
- X-Force #114-115
- Generation X #75
- Yet another origin of humanity and/or life on Earth (again)
- The World Engine
- Accurate representation of CD-Rs
- Genetech
- A swimsuit interlude
- Agent Corben
- Alastair Stuart (more) (again)
- A kidnapping
- A really amazingly terrible plan
- A particularly large explosion
- The remaining 14 issues of X-Force vol. 1
- An interlude at Applebee’s
- Bad times at the New Xavier School
- A murder (more) (again)
- Intersectional superheroism
- An additional bonus murder
- An invitation
- Many goodbyes
- What happens next to the Generation X kids
NEXT EPISODE: The end of Revolution
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The opening to the final X-Force issue makes complete sense if you just assume they’re all Hamlet-ing at the moment.
Also, while there is a more clear through line between New Mutants and X-Force, it is notable that X-Force as a title ALSO doesn’t end so much as transforms into X-Statix. Like, it might be the only book I can think of that’s really a mid point (albeit the biggest) between two other series.
Oh, Gen X. Those characters deserved better than the stories they got.
I’ve brought up to friends that Carrie Coon is basically perfect casting for Emma because her Gilded Age character is VERY Emma. This exchange:
Character (angry at Coon): you’re ruthless like me. But I’m ruthless in business. Not with the people I love.
Carrie Coon: I’m ruthless FOR the people I love
Like…that line might sum up Emma perfectly.
Hmmm yes, I agree that the X-Force just feels like the end of another arc rather than an
Being an old fogey the “infinite nested boxes of conspiracy theory within conspiracy theory” approach to plotlines have never appealed to me, I find them annoying in TV shows (Looking at you Abrams) as I do occasionally like SOME resolution to a plotline. This series of stories didn’t do much to endear the concept to me either, alas. Still less the whole Romany Wisdom is eeeevil and Alastair Stewart is a dick. It’s like X-whimsy came to X-Force to die.
Generation X definitely had a more conclusive ending.
I think I’d always assumed the kids knew what Emma had done to Adrienne. They must have wondered where she went at some point, no?
I’d love to know the criteria which led to Chamber, and seemingly ONLY Chamber, be invited to join the X-Men, rather than, say, Monet or Paige (Paige actively turning DOWN an invitation would have been an even more impressive indication of growth, I feel).
Chamber IS powerful, but does he have that much more control over, or skill with, his always nebulous powers than he did when he started all those issues ago? Or, given the way he self destructs his nascent relationship just last issue, the emotional maturity to be on the X-Men? (Though in fairness, that tendency might be a positive for a soap opera series like X-Men). He still has a great visual, but beyond that… not sure why him. (The fact I honestly couldn’t remember him being a member of the X-Men either, so I might be suffering from
Given I always wanted at least one of the New Mutants to choose a regular civilian life (rather than heroing) after learning to control their powers, it would seem churlish to deny the Gen X kids the same option, so it’s nice to see it reflected here, even if a couple of them have very sad fates upcoming.