Uncanny X-Men #449

Publisher
Marvel
Year
2004
Month
11
LastChanged
1/27/2024 8:17:07 AM
To Slay a Queen

Summary

  Uncanny X-Men #449 is the second half of the Viper/Murderworld mess, and it's junk.

  Having gone to the trouble of bringing in the Murderworld concept last issue, Claremont proceeds to ignore it completely. In fact, he seems entirely unclear whether the story is taking place in Murderworld or in London, or whether Murderworld is London, and in any event, why Viper has nailed a big Arcade sign to the side of the perfectly good London Eye which was there anyway.

  The resolution of the cliffhanger is, as many people correctly guessed, that Wolverine was impersonating Sage with the use of an image inducer. These image inducers are clearly pretty damned impressive these days, since you'd have thought the obvious weight difference would have been apparent when Viper was lugging the unconscious bodies around. Or the size difference. Or the fact that Wolverine's apparently been putting on a squeaky voice for half an issue.

  And there's an utterly hideous sequence of Storm containing a bomb by "generating pressures higher than on the surface of Jupiter." The hell with that. The knack of doing these scenes is to have the characters use their powers in some clever and unexpected way to solve the problem, not to elevate them to God status and declare them the winner.

  Dross, elevated far above its level by some fairly attractive artwork by Olivier Coipel - enough to get it out of the D-ratings, but only barely.

  Rating: C-

Summary

  Sage has a bullet hole in her forehead; Rachel sucker-punches Viper but is quickly defeated by her in hand-to-hand. Viper avoids Lucas's lunge by teleporting away; the X-Men find themselves surrounded by android soldiers, designed by Murderworld to finish the job. Suddenly Sage wakes and flashes her XSE badge, and the soldiers disperse. She pulls the bullet from her head and tells Lucas to think like a detective: it's Logan with an image inducer. He took Sage's place after picking up Viper's scent, knowing she still held a grudge (X-Treme X-Men 17). He still has his healing factor, which counteracted Viper's nanites. This isn't really Murderworld, and the queen is still in danger, but first they have to find Ororo and Kurt.

  They happen to be at a Purity meeting, guest speaker Tremaine (Mekanix LS). Ororo refuses to sneak out and walks with Kurt right through the crowd: "never run from a pack of jackals," and the crowd doesn't know they have no powers.

  Tremaine asserts mutants are a clear and present danger and calls for action. She sees the mutants and tells them they're not welcome; Phil throws a chair at Ororo, but Kurt catches it with his tail and yells at him, making him faint. Ororo says they're all human, flashes her XSE badge and says they've taken on responsibility for everyone.

  Tremaine insists they're monster, but they've made their point and leave. The mob is too scared to shoot at them, since they have friends. Ororo realizes the nanites have worn off and generates lightning and sleet. She was ready to tear out Tremaine's heart (cf. UXM 325); Kurt is glad she didn't.

  Ross is director of Fraser's Bank; Viper enters at night, attacking guards, and points a gun to the back of Ross's head. Ross, plotting to be the next White Queen of the Hellfire Club, calmly makes her an offer.

  The London Eye (note: a large Ferris wheel erected by the Blair government to celebrate the turn of the millennium); it now has Arcade's image mounted on it... Stuart is there with the police, when the X-Men arrive. Logan is annoyed Sage isn't there; she was supposed to figure out the caper. Viper, over a loudspeaker, admits she lied; the hostage isn't the queen but Thurlough, one of her majesty's housemaids. She's captive in the topmost car with two bombs: a conventional one timed to explode at dawn, and a nuke which will blow if anyone tries to rescue her. Kurt prays the rosary.

  Stuart is ready to sacrifice the lady for the good of the city; Ororo refuses and takes the team up to investigate. She works with Rachel, generating a "Jovian pressure field" (i.e., air pressure as strong as on Jupiter), while Rachel uses TK to protect Thurlough. Kurt wonders if this is the best option, or just the most exciting for Ororo. Kurt teleports Thurlough out; Lucas blasts the nuke; it explodes but is crushed by the pressure; Lucas blasts the compressed ball into space; Rachel and Ororo collapse and are caught by Kurt.

  Ambulances tend to the women, while Logan shares beers with the men. Stuart is angry at them playing God, but Logan tells him to blame Viper, who probably would have nuked the city regardless, just for fun. She and Sage are both missing.

  Shaw enters Ross's office, surprised to see Viper with her, but Ross made her an offer she couldn't refuse. They ally and toast the new Hellfire Club. Sage observes them through the window, from a nearby rooftop, her rifle aimed at Shaw.