By Manolis Vamvounis, webmaster

Words: Chris Claremont

Pencils: Salvador Larroca

Colors: Liquid!

Bishop gets pulled in dreamtime by Gateway, Gambit invades Vargas’ fortress and the X-men locate Destiny’s home.

There are two stories running in parallel in this issue, one involving gambit and the other bishop and the x-men.

This issue marks Gambit’s return to the x-books after a long absence. He has invaded Vargas’ home in Spain in search of loot. He disperses the twins with ease, but when Vargas shows up, Remy recognises he is out of his league. Chris Claremont knows how to write Gambit, and the character shines here. Gambit is always the womanizer and a suave devil. He isn’t the type to go down with a fight, when he can use his wit and charm to sly out of the dangerous situation. Vargas and him have a talk that feels like a game of cat and mouse, and Vargas is overwhelming in his presence. The scenes that take place in the castle are a sight to behold, as Larroca has filled them with a lot of background detail: armours, paintings, vitros, staircases... it all helps convey the musty atmosphere of these classic castles.

One thing i have to note is the first page, it was what i call the “money shot”, something Chris and Salvador have been using throughout this series. The first page is a powerful splash panel that grabs the reader’s attention, in classic Marvel style! The action is already afoot when the reader gets in the issue, and he can catch up to what went off-panel through the captions...

While all this is taking place, the xmen are enjoying an evening by the beach, but Bishop sits apart from them when he is suddenly transported to “dreamtime”, another plane of existence, accesible by the mutant shaman Gateway, (a supporting character from the x-men’s original stay in Australia), who now makes a return appearance. He isn’t the only one. Psylocke is present in dreamtime, a guest of gateway, to help explain things to Bishop. She is apparently taking some time off before going to the afterlife. Suspension of disbelief kicking in, i accepted this as logical, if only because this isn’t the first time something like that has happenned in a marvel comic, and we have come to accept it as canon. It still feels uneasy, when a character is dead, she’s dad, she doesn’t start strolling around giving guided tours of the future!

The issue is as much about Bishop as it is about gambit. We learn a lot of things about his thoughts and his past, although several of the new facts could contradict past stories. Bishop is revealed to be named Lucas Bishop and he is Gateway’s grandson (or great-grandson as revealed by Chris Claremont in his online forum boards at X-Fan). I don’t understand why these two disparate characters should be connected like this, since they share nothing in common except their skin color. I’m sure Chris will delve more in this in the future or at least I hope he will. As for the name revelation, bishop already had an id in previous issues, with the Lucas name, but i had assumed it was a fake. That shows how much i know, i guess...

Psylocke also shows him some pieces of his future, which serves to pique my curiosity: a sketch from destiny’s diaries showing Gambit crucified with diamonds, and a very familiar looking diamond (the one he steals from Vargas this issue) plucked in his heart, with a tree branching out from the wound and heading into space. [EDIT] thanks to Peter Luzifer for pointing out something about the image: there are six jewels in the sketch, and apart from the diamond pucked in remy's heart we also recognise Storm's ruby on his throat. Claremont is weaving a subplot and he is being real subtle about it. [/EDIT] He also sees a building in various realities that also heads deep into space from earth, and sage recognises as a, elevator to move cargo into orbit. The two visions seem to be connected and this is surely fodder for future stories, showing that Chris has a grander scheme in mind for this series than the search for the diaries.

But wait, did i say Tessa? What is she doing there? She and the rest of the x-team show up, seconds too late to catch psylocke who makes an emergency departure for the afterlife. Rogue is now manifesting Gateway’s powers, after having touched him in the Australian days. She now apparently also takes up the features of those she has absorbed. Chris had established that in the x-men issue when her powers went haywire, and she had turned into wolverine, but we hadn’t seen it mentioned again. Gateway is the orchestrator of this manifestation as he wanted the rest of the xmen to see what bishop saw, but really all he does this issue is sit and grin at them, nothing new considering the character’s history.

After getting back to reality, the x-men finally head for Destiny’s house in spain, which was the reason for the whole trip there. This part of the issue carried the most inconsistencies. Storm picks the lock and Bishop gives her a bit of preaching, that it is illegal and he, as a cop, shouldn’t allow this. Since when does bishop go by this kind of cop psychology? Sure he is a “cop from the future”, but i always viewed him as an “enforcer”, more like a soldier, that is. When they get in the house, bishop “immediately” takes to the kitchen, and starts preparing a meal for all. If the house is locked and bolted for oh-so-many years, how come inside it’s spiffy clean and full of supplies? Stretching my suspension of disbelief again.

Inside the house the x-men find a crate addressed to them, containing all sorts of goodies: new clothes, fake identities, and destiny’s will, which leaves Rogue a the sole heiress, and gives the team the economic comfort to roam the world for the diaries (by the way how exactly is the legal parts expressed? Rogue doesn’t even have a name, how will she be recognised s who it says in the papers?). In the bottom of the crate, Rogue spots a wooden book-shaped package, sealed with destiny’s insignia. When the team opens it, instead of finding one of the diaries, the discover it’s empty, except for a single rose, that thunderbird immediately recognises as the one he put in psylocke’s casket and the team in unison agree that the book was snatched by Vargas. This is what i call stretching too far. How could Neal recognise this particular rose from any other in existence? How could Vargas steal the rose from inside the coffin, if it was under Brian Braddock’s supervision? And why would he wait until the x-men arrived in spain to steal the book, if he already knew where it was, in his own country to boot! Too many gripes for a single scene that sticks out from an otherwise excellent issue.

Both Chris and Salvador Larroca shine in this issue. It is the best so far in the series, as the creative team has finally gotten the hang and feel of the new book. Chris is still wordy as trademarked, but this ime it diesn’t bother me, the dialogue doesn’t feel forced, there is good character introduction and i can feel that he genuinely LOVES these characters and working on this book. Bishop and neal (or is that Lucas and Neal) have developed a nice relatin, with bishop helping him discover his true potential, acting as a guiding figure to the “rookie” as he tentatively calls him. There is also a sublime moment between Sage and Rogue. When rogue flies them to the house, she tells Sage of her worries concerning her powers and asks her if she could help her control them, as she does with the rest of them. During the whole time, Sage doesn’t say one word, and i felt that she knows more than she lets on, and there is something she knows about rogue’s powers she can’t bring herself to reveal. After the last issue the team is cut down to five members plus Gambit, the unofficial x-man, and that is very helpful, since the first issues were too cluttered with characters and action and we barely saw any interaction. Now as the x-men gather round to see storm’s new fashion, they seem like a close-knit family...

Writing: 7.5

Art: 9

Colors: 8.5

Overall: 8.5 : highly recommended

Manolis Vamvounis