X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #4: "Verdigris"

[alliterator]

"I strive for both authenticity and evolution at the same time when I do character-work, because I'm someone who's been profoundly impacted by serialized storytelling and falling in love with fictional characters. I, like many enthusiastic cape comics readers, have a sense for when changes that feel inauthentic, un-researched, or done simply for shock value. But for the same reason–this is exactly why I love finding ways to surprise and delight fans of a character. Making a complex character like Emma Frost resonate with both long-time and brand-new readers is like completing the most difficult obstacle course. It's exhilarating! And it always feels like I'm simply sharing with readers what I love about a character, too—but doing so along with sharing what only I can see in the far distance."
-- Leah Williams

Comments

[akodo_rokku]

"Trial of Magneto" is such a terrible title for this series that is ENTIRELY about weird shit going on with Wanda. Maybe they just didn't want to give away the actual plot?

[starwolf_oakley]

DC hid the title for "Emperor Joker" in all the previews. So it isn't unheard of.

[cyberghostface]

Reminds me of how Sinister War was sold as a conflict between Doc Ock and the Vulture’s teams which stopped being a plot point after the first issue.

[alliterator]

I mean, they hid the fact that Wanda had been murdered until the very end of the Hellfire Gala. It's entirely reasonable to think that they didn't want to spoil anything other than "Magneto is blamed for her death" and that's it.

[cainofdreaming]

Maybe the trademark for the original was about to be up?

[deh_tommy]

[lordultimus]

Ugggggghhhhhhhhh...

[jgraygaming]

Oh look! Wanda, who joined the Avengers as a way to atone for the wrongs she committed while being Magneto’s lackey, is once again made the baddie. All because some telepaths (who should be experts at mental health) thought shoving a decades worth of trauma into her head with no prep or consent (in the middle of a volatile situation no less) was the right move. And she gets blamed for it. Again.

[alliterator]

I mean, she isn't the bad guy in this book. This book is specifically about Wanda has to reconcile with what she did and move past it.

Also, Wanda didn't really join the Avengers to atone. That was never really a thing.

[leahandillyana]

The thing is the monsters were not attacking beacuse of Wanda, they are linked to the Death of Doctor Strange event and make an appearance in White Fox one-shot, probably also other issues.

[alliterator]

Actually, the monsters were there because of Wanda. As soon as Wanda accepted what she did and reconciled her selves, she was able to disintegrate them with a touch. I don't even think this is taking place at the same time as Death of Doctor Strange.

[tinygaylaura]

I love the cast, I love the writer, I loved the premise...

And yet this series has really been kind of a letdown beyond the first two issues :(

[blues32]

So...what was the point of this? She dies, comes back, and is forced to relive what she's done and accept something she already accepted before. This book just ran around in a circle. And WHO ACTUALLY KILLED HER?

[alliterator]

It's about her moving past what she did and accepting that she did it. She has never really accepted it -- she has felt guilty, tried to make it right, but to actually accept it and move on without excuse? Not until right now.

"And WHO ACTUALLY KILLED HER?"

We're going to learn in the next issue. This isn't the final issue, you know that, right?

[shakalooloo]

This feels inauthentic, un-researched, or done simply for shock value.

:P

That, and stretched out over far too many issues. This could have been a one-shot Red Witch Redemption and I'd be happy. This seems to have been going on forever, and yet I know it's only been a couple of months!

[gnarll]

Un-researched, yes. Perfect term I think.

[alliterator]

"This feels inauthentic, un-researched, or done simply for shock value."

I disagree. This feels very authentic to Wanda's character and also not done for shock value, but rather to repair her character so she can be viable in the future.

"This seems to have been going on forever, and yet I know it's only been a couple of months!"

Blame delays due to COVID impacted shipping.

[onsokumaru]

Remender that Prodigy's plot was ruined for that.

[deh_tommy]

Is that a typo or a Freudian slip?

[thezmage]

I'll admit I only skimmed this, but it sure comes across a whole lot like "fuck you, you asshole, forgive yourself," which is a bit of a mixed message if you ask me.

Especially coming from people on the island that treats her as a devil figure

[alliterator]

"I'll admit I only skimmed this, but it sure comes across a whole lot like "fuck you, you asshole, forgive yourself," which is a bit of a mixed message if you ask me."

I mean, she's telling herself this, so yeah, she's being a jerk to herself while also saying how she has to get over what she did/will do.

How the people treat her doesn't matter, it only matters that she stop feeling badly for herself.

[tinygaylaura]

They treat her like that because she caused a fuck ton of their people to suffer a fate worse than death

And caused many of them to suffer A Fate Which Is Death because they died as a result of having their powers suddenly taken away while they were in a situation where they would need them to survive

Yeah she was out of her mind when she did it but guess what, people who have been hurt or killed by someone don't owe the one who did it forgiveness just because they felt bad about it later

[gnarll]

"I have lived my whole life defending you, mom! My. Whole. Life."

Dude. You grew up with a perfectly good, accepting mother and father. Wanda is a woman you met for the first time as an adult. You've only known her for a fraction of your life.

(Also, she is a reality warper with mental issues who insists she is your mother. As a reality warper yourself, whom I think spent some time worrying that your then boyfriends was a daydream of yours, your level of acceptance of that should make some alarm bells go off.)

After talking about authentic and inauthentic character work, that level of not bothering with the history of the characters... dear god.

Maybe Jim Shooters lack of social skills had its good sides. I can imagine someone who tried this during his tenure being verbally flagellated.

[tinygaylaura]

No he'd just screech at them that they can't have gay people in the story because he was a repulsive bigot

[icon_uk]

Wanda being her own Maiden/Mother/Crone triumverate is and interesting way to go, I have to say.

And if this manages to restore her as being a mutant again (because sod that nonsensical retcon) and rehabilitate her reputation so that she's not the default Krakoan bogeyman, then so much the better.

Though if I had to pick a character to give another confusing wrinkle to the self image of, I'm not sure Wanda would have been high on my list.

[lordy_co]

Maybe an impopular opinion but I'd rather not have Wanda as a mutant. The nature of her powers will always make it hard to know what comes from mutation and what comes from magic, and she's already been established to have strong links to the Earth's magic and all that. I'm all for her and Pietro being treated as Magneto's children, but I don't really see the need for them to be tied to the wider X-Universe.