X-Men #19 - "Out of the Vault"

[laughing_tree]

I’ve always told the Marvel guys that I want the books to be a mashup of a regular comic and a Marvel handbook. -- Jonathan Hickman

Comments

[tinygaylaura]

Can't blame him for being smitten

[deh_tommy]

Cripes, even when they’re thinking privately to themselves they can’t help but put humans down and circlejerk over how magnificent and morally superior mutants are. I kind of get what this dude is going for, but (a)you two don’t have to fear death, (b)she literally died for you, and (c)#@*% off with that “when I was “”posing”” as a HUMAN, my HUMAN father said useless HUMAN words, he was wrong as typical of HUMANS” #@*%$#*!. Given how their superhero aliases are now their “real” names as per Krakoa’s culture, wouldn’t that be kind of offensive to call her Laura?

On a slightly unrelated note, what did Xavier do to her with that mind beam thing?

[silverhammerman]

The mind beam is Xavier copying over the backup of Wolverine's mind into her new body.

I was thinking much the same about Synch's narration, though I guess charitably his worldview could be taken as less a result of Krakoa and more of him living on the run for decades in the Vault. Only talking to the two other mutants you're with as everyone else tries to kill you for decades will probably skew things a bit. Plus the whole sentiment of living for someone could be read as how he copes with being one who lived, when Wolverine was willing to die for him with no hope of resurrection as the same person.

[lencannon]

They are human words. What use is dying for someone who lives forever? Immortality is a new paradigm and requires a new philosophical structure, new modes of understanding your interactions with the world.

[jlbarnett]

funny thing though, about the immortality talk, are they planning to live forever? Cause didn't the futures shown not have all the modern X-men still around? Are they planning on never dying, or just never being killed

[lencannon]

The futures they saw are futures where Krakoa never happened. The existing Marvel timeline that leads to Moira, Charles, and Magneto creating Krakoa is likely their last chance at avoiding those.

[tinygaylaura]

The futures shown were dystopias where things went wrong

Provided nothing goes wrong yes, mutantkind is indeed going to live forever

[silverhammerman]

Plus, as the above pages show, the whole premise is still pretty flawed. The Laura that Synch knew and grew old-ish with in the Vault is gone, she's dead dead, gone forever because she wasn't backed up (unless we get some kind of twist that she survived in the Vault, which is conceivable). This new Wolverine is reset to before they went in, whether she can be considered the same person is kind of up in the air. The whole mutant immortality thing rests not only on some pretty shaky philosophical grounds, but also depends heavily on the system never failing or having the kind of gaps which we've already seen it show.

[tinygaylaura]

Maybe if humanity could go a whole entire year without attempting to commit genocide against mutantkind or oppressing, persecuting, enslaving or generally committing horrific hate crimes against them them for being born then mutantkind might think a bit more kindly of humanity

As it is I really don't have any problem with mutantkind wanting to talk shit about a species that once barbecued an entire bus full of tiny mutant children in a terrorist attack

[lordultimus]

I highly doubt Synch's father killed any children.

[tinygaylaura]

Not every white person is a racist but I don't begrudge black people who go "Ugh, fucking white people" sometimes

I know not every straight person is a homophobe but I have days where I think "God straight people piss me off" and I know lots and lots of gay, lesbian and bi people who also have days like that

A minority that has lived through years and years of hatred and oppression does not owe its oppressors civility or politeness and they are allowed to think negatively of said oppressors as a whole when they feel like it.

[nyadnar17]

I love it. Love love love it.

Mutant Hoteps is the greatest thing ever. If we are gonna have a line dedicated to being a minority subgroup lets go all out. The good, the bad, and everything else.

[deh_tommy]

Apologies for my ignorance, but what is a hotep?

[super_fly]

https://www.theroot.com/hotep-explained-1790854506

Pro-black, anti-progress, anti-women, anti-lgbt

One of the illogical conspiracy theories the article doesn't mention is white people having been invented in a lab as a joke

Fun people to be around, as you can surely imagine

[zachbeacon]

It's weird seeing Synch with hair.

[tinygaylaura]

It is good to see Synch again though

I hated how he was killed off in Generation X

[zachbeacon]

What is it with Gen X guys getting killed off panel or in flashback anyway?

It happened to Synch. It happened to Skin.

I honestly can't remember if Mondo was supposed to be alive after the imposter retcon.

How was Banshee killed again?

Still amazed Chamber survived all the writer abuse after the series ended.

Though, if you want to talk writer abuse, the guys have nothing on Juibilee.

[scorntx]

Banshee got hit by two planes at once.

Technically, Monet also sort-of died, but Strong Guy killed Tier to become King of Hell to save her.

[tinygaylaura]

And poor Chamber got killed off in that crappy Uncanny X-men book from before the HOX/POX reboot

[silverhammerman]

Synch looks optimistic at the end, but I wonder if this romance is going to be shown as doomed. Way back in HoX/Pox we saw that Moira II couldn't love the man she'd grown old with as Moira I because she already knew him too well. She was incapable of looking at him and loving him because she had decades of baggage about the person who he would eventually be.

Honestly the whole thing calls back to the themes and conflicts of HoX/PoX, with immortality/"immortality" and threats to mutantkind, even the silly timeline infographics, in a way that I find very refreshing. If there were more of this to be had I'd be willing to go monthly for some of the X-series again.

[nyadnar17]

I really wished they explored concepts like this more. There's a ton of "non-standard" relationships that are only possible because of mutant powers and I feel there's a lot of story potential there.

Like how would dating the Cuckoos work? They are a hive mind and yet also individuals, I would love to see an author explore that.

[silverhammerman]

Kid Cable is dating at least one of the Cuckoos, I think Esme, over in his ongoing, though I don't know if that book has done much with the strange dynamics that would create.

The weird relationship dynamics are definitely something which I think has some legs, and I'm surprised it hasn't been explored more in the current books.

[gnarll]

This really ought to make a big change in Synchs personality. And given his powers, after that much time to practice he should also be an A-liner now.

[silverhammerman]

He is in the roster for Duggan's upcoming X-Men book (with Wolverine on the team as well, so there could be some relationship drama), so that might actually end up being the case!

[tinygaylaura]

I didn't know he was in Duggan's X-men book

That's fantastic that we're goin to be seeing him there. I hope his character arc isn't only about trying to get back together with Laura though