UNCANNY X-Men - General Discussion

{Spoiler warning - click me to read!}The issue opens at the Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters. She-Hulk is there in her capacity as a lawyer for the reading of Xavier's last will and testament. Iceman is expressing upset that the X-Men never really take the time to mourn their losses and takes off on an iceslide, She-Hulk inquires about the location of Scott Summers. Beast reveals he knows where Scott is. The gathered X-Men speculate as to the contents of the will and Wolverine reveals he signed the school back over to Xavier when he wasn't sure how things were going to go. Storm reveals to She-Hulk that Cyclops killed Xavier while under the influence of the Phoenix. The X-Men speculate that Xavier may have left the school to Scott. She-Hulk says they need to gather the required X-Men for the reading and then deal with what's really in the will instead of speculating. Iceman returns and leaves with Storm, Wolverine and Beast to get Cyclops.

Cut to Newberry, South Carolina. A man, Mathew Malloy, is standing in a deserted wasteland apparently of his own making. An unmanned drone arrives to facilitate holographic communication between him and Maria Hill, in command of S.H.I.E.L.D. She questions him and asks if the is responsible for what happened, does he have 'powers'. He doesn't know. She upsets him, he releases a burst of energy, and the probe is destroyed.

Cut to the New Xavier School, where the blackbird carrying Beast, Storm, Iceman and Wolverine is arriving. Wolverine stays on board while the others talk with Scott. There is friction and mistrust. Scott says he'll make his won way to the school, which he also assumes has been left to him. He has Illyana transport him, herself, Emma, Kitty and Dazzler to the School in Westchester.

She-Hulk begins the reading and shocks everyone with the revelation that Xavier had at some point apparently married Raven Darkhome aka Mystique. There is a Shiar holographic device that when activated reveals a hologram of Xavier, who announces that there was a mutant whose very existence was a threat to the peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans, that that threat continues, and what they need to know to deal with it will reveal his greatest secret.

{Spoiler warning - click me to read!}The story picks up from last issues, with Xavier's holographic recording recounting his story. He asks that judgement of him be reserved until it is heard in it's entirety. His story begins in the early days of the school's founding, with him having just finished a working model of Cerebro. One day while the original X-Men were out on a mission he detected a mutant power signature unlike any he had felt before. He was filled with both awe and fear, and knew he had to make contact before Magneto did.

Xavier arrives at the source to find eight year old Mathew Malloy. he is playing outside a damaged house with no living thoughts inside. Xavier tries to question and telepathically probe the boy, which results in a release of power that nearly kills Xavier. Xavier uses his own powers to keep responding authorities away, but is unable to enter the boy's mind, and every attempt to use his powers to subdue the child causes Mathew's powers to erupt destructively.

Back in the present, Scott needs a break so they all take one. Scott talks with Storm about keeping Mystique out of the school if it has been left to her in the will. Kitty and Nightcrawler share a reunion and a hug. Beast talk with Dazzler about her drastic new look. She says she will kill Mystique with her bare hands for what she did to her.

The reading resumes, and the playing of the recording. In the past, Xavier is clearly overwhelmed with fear of a nightmare scenario involving young Mathew. His powers raging out of control, falling under the sway of Magneto, becoming a mass murderer, destroying any hope of peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants. Xavier admits he contemplated trying to kill young Mathew. Instead he tried to communicate with him, in the telepathic guise of being another kid named 'Charlie'. Mathew's powers flare up and he admits to 'Charlie' he can't control them and fears he may have killed his parents.

With Mathew's guard down, Xavier was able to put up mental barriers to keep him from accessing his powers. He also erased Mathew's knowledge of what happened with his parents and arranged for him to be raised in an orphanage. Xavier explains his reasoning in detail, but Cyclops labels him a hypocrite. He then proceeds to verbally rip into Xavier until Iceman suggests that maybe Scott should just kill Xavier again. Cyclops responds by using his optic blast to blow Bobby clean into the yard outside.

Rachel telepathically restrains Scott and Kitty tells him he is embarrassing himself. Bobby tells him to cut out the act just to make himself feel better over Xavier's death, that Scott will abide by Xavier's last wishes, and that if he uses his powers on Bobby again, Bobby will freeze Scott's colon. Coming from Bobby, there's almost a natural instinct to find some humor in the comment, but considering what Bobby says in a subsequent issue it's quite clearly a very real death threat.

Back to the reading and Xavier...He keeps tabs on Mathew with Cerebro, and visits him once a year as Charlie, growing older as the boy does. During one visit, Mathew sees though Xavier's illusion, remembers killing his parents and asks Xavier to take away his powers. Xavier cannot, but does put stronger mental blocks in place. He then asks Scott and Logan in the preset to put aside there differences, and together with their strongest telepath(Rachel), see that the blocks on Mathew still are strong and holding. Storm says she hopes Mathew is easy to find as on the last page we see adult Mathew floating in a wasteland of his own making, lightening crackling and striking around.

{Spoiler warning - click me to read!}
The story starts aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. Maria Hill, in command, talks about a nightmare scenario. Of a discussion between Nick Fury and Tony Stark last year after a major attack by someone who is...classified. Of someone who wakes up with the power of a God, unleashes it and thousands die. She asks for the Avengers, but the ones capable of dealing with that type of threat are off planet. Someone asks what about the Fantastic Four, she says don't ask. She orders the evacuation of the entire state of South Carolina.

Cut to the Jean Grey School. Scott doesn't want to go on Xavier's last mission. He calls Xavier a hypocrite, Storm calls Scott a hypocrite. Everyone is insisting Scott go. Finally, Scott is persuaded; and he, Wolverine and Rachel leave in the Blackbird. Firestar says she feels bad for Scott, that he is clearly still in shock and hurting over what he did to Xavier. Iceman goes off. He tells her not to make him sympathize with Scott or make him feel bad for Scott. Kitty says Bobby can empathize and still-Bobby cuts her off. Bobby says not to do what they always do, pretend the bad things didn't happen. That Scott ruined them, that the school will never be the same, they will never be the same. Nightcrawler says maybe everything happens for a reason and what happens next may be their finest-Bobby cuts him off, too. Bobby says forget Scott being in shock, he feels like he has been in shock the whole time and is just now coming out of it.

That maybe it was seeing the hologram of Xavier, but he's angry, angry that Scott Summers murdered the man who gave Bobby the life he's led, gave Bobby's entire life purpose, that he is angry and getting angrier by the second. Illyana asks what would he have them do? Bobby says he thinks maybe it would be best if Scott were to die in battle, that he knows feeling that is wrong, but that it's honest. Nightcrawler asks "if that doesn't happen". Bobby takes off on an iceslide, with the others looking after him.

Cut back to Mathew in South Carolina, he is using his powers to reanimate the skeletons of people that he killed, he freaks himself out and stops. Aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D carrier, Bennet du Paris aka Exodus is heading S.H.I.E.L.D's psi divison and using someone codenamed Headlok to
help him engage Mathew psychically. Bennet confirms the man is a mutant and knew Charles Xavier before being overwhelmed, along with Headlok, by Mathew. Now that she knows it's a mutant threat with ties to Xavier, Maria says get her the X-Men.

Back at Cyclop's school, the students are in a training simulation to combat the Avengers. Christopher wants to know why they are training to fight the Avengers. That if the Avengers are the good guys what does that make them. Debate ensues over whether the group of X-Men-in-training are enemies of the Avengers, or if that just applies to Cyclops, and just what is Scott's intention for the team he's training.

Back at the school, Beast locates Mathew just as S.H.I.E.L.D locates the X-Men. Beast says Mathew's mutant signature is more powerful than any mutant they have ever faced. That this may be the mission they don't come back from.