UNCANNY X-MEN vol 6 #16
“The Dark Artery, conclusion: The Voice of Darkness”
Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: David Marquez & Luciano Vecchio
Colour artist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Tom Brevoort

THE X-MEN

This is mostly an Outliers story, but Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Jubilee are there to fight alongside them. Gambit’s Eye of Agamotto teleportation doesn’t work in the Penumbra.

Wolverine has met Henrietta before, and she knows him as “James”. He seems to like her. It’s not clear whether they only met before she arrived at Haven (which could be shoehorned into his continuity without too much trouble) or whether the idea is that he’s also been aware of Haven for ages (there’s nothing in this or the previous issue to directly contradict that)

Deathdream. He tries to put a stop to the fight in Penumbra by declaring himself Shuvahrak’s successor and apparently offering to take over the role. He’s much more authoritative than usual in this form; presumably Shuvahrak has some influence on him once he starts to accept the role. He also glows with power – maybe because he’s in a location that powers him up, or maybe just because he’s accepting the role. Jubilee takes him to be trying to save his friends by claiming the throne of Penumbra.

Having been rescued from the Penumbra, he says that he finally understands that Haven is “X”, referring to Henrietta’s use of X as an underground code for safety back in her day. In earlier chapters, Deathdream seemed largely unbothered at the thought of being summoned by Shuvahrak (though he’s generally rather distant about everything); the idea here seems to be that his teammates’ determination to stop him wandering into this awful job has given him an appreciation of the X-family.

Calico. She reminds us that her mother claimed that mutants “were made from goblins who live underground, having sex with witches” – she did indeed say something about mutants being goblins back in issue #2. Calico feels that Penumbra basically vindicates her mother – apparently, she sees the Penumbra inhabitants as goblins and assumes the mutants to be their offspring.

Shuvahrak claims to have selected the Outliers as possible replacements on the grounds that they “may touch death”. Calico qualifies because she “brought a dead animal back to life”. More on that below. This alleged link to death might explain why Wolverine claimed in issue #2 that the Outliers all smelled “like decay”.

When Jitter compares Shuvahrak to a dragon, Calico decides to invoke “Saint George of Cappadocia” – the patron saint of England, though the British tend not to mention the “Cappadocia” bit. He is, of course, famous for dragon-slaying.

Ransom. Shuvahrak claims that the moon symbol on Ransom’s chest is an image of the “Ransoming Moon”, the source of light in the Penumbra. What that implies is unclear.

Jitter. Shuvahrak describes her powers as allowing her to “borrow the gifts of the long since departed”, which is apparently her link to the dead. Whether her powers always work like that isn’t clear.

GUEST CAST

The Man-Thing. Henrietta regards him as a friend and, somehow, knows to call him Ted – though she doesn’t seem to realise that it’s his real name. She says that he just showed up, as if he knew that he was needed; his powers turn out to be key to defeating Shuvahrak.

Henrietta has heard that the Man-Thing is supposed to be in the Nexus of All Realities and therefore seems to be in two places at once, but isn’t able to comment. The issue ends with a panel of the Man-Thing apparently returning to his swamp (under an X symbol formed by two branches crossing in front of the sun).

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

Ember. Ember refused to enter the Artery back in issue #13, but ultimately does come to Calico’s aid when she calls for help.

We learned in issue #14 that the real Ember had died in the fire that destroyed her family home (first seen in issue #3) and that Calico didn’t know what the current Ember is. If Shuvahrak is to be believed, this is the real Ember, somehow resurrected by Calico’s powers. However, while Shuvahrak says that Calico brought Ember “back to life”, Deathdream was very clear in issue #14 that Ember isn’t alive. Perhaps Calico reanimated Ember in some way, but it isn’t literally fully alive.

Henrietta Benjamin. She’s still writing her diary in the present day. Apparently she hasn’t spent too much time around modern mutants, as her instinct is still to use the obsolete term “mutate” from her youth.

Once free of Shuhvahrak’s influence, she says that she wants to remain in Haven with those she loved. She claims that when she referred to wanting to leave, in issue #14, that was Shuvahrak speaking through her. Certainly, her speech in that issue makes a lot more sense coming from Shuvahrak.

In the flashback scene, we learn that she married George, the driver who got shot in the flashbacks.

Michael, Witchfire and the third unknown. There are the people who greeted Henrietta at Haven in last issue’s flashback. Michael seems to be aware of Penumbra.

Marcus St Juniors, Alice St Juniors and Chelsea St Juniors all appear briefly at the end. The Wolfpack Sentinel from the last issue turns out to have been rebooted to “Good Boy Mode” and now just wants to be a family pet. Although since this is apparently literally a mode that it has, maybe it’s not as trustworthy as all that.

Mackenzie Deneer. This is the mother whose daughter was saved by Nightcrawler in issue #6, who showed up in issue #10 being overly effusive in her praise for Kurt, and who appeared again in issue #12 trying to persuade the mayor to “do something about the mutants”. She shows up here to deliver a heartfelt pro-mutant speech at a press conference, accompanied as usual by her two children, Lena Deneer and the one who still doesn’t have a name.

Mikki Sappora. “Mayor Mikki”, as she apparently likes to call herself, has been persuaded by Mackenzie’s account, and by the incident at the mall in issues #9-10, to embrace mutants. She declares New Orleans “the country’s first mutant friendship city”. What that actually means in practice isn’t spelled out, but she claims that mutants are welcome and “safe” in New Orleans. She has already lined up a “Friendship Festival” for the end of the month. The aide who unveils the Friendship Festival banner is probably the same one from issue #10, who was named there as Lisley.

VILLAINS

Shuvahrak. We were told last issue that the Penumbra was created by a mutant called Greta whose daughter had committed suicide after bullying from her (Greta’s) husband. Although nobody ever says so in terms, Deathdream and Jubilee both clearly assume that Shuvahrak is Greta. Deathdream refers to Shuvahrak as the creator of Penumbra, while Jubilee appeals to her maternal senses with apparent success.

Somewhere along the line, Shuvahrak has become a monstrous giant. She has no mouth or eyes. She cannot speak in the normal sense, and instead just hijacks characters to speak through them. Gambit considers her “like a god”, at least in comparison to the normal villains that the X-Men face. Henrietta seems to think that Shuvahrak’s efforts to free herself are going to get everyone killed. When attacked directly, Shuvahrak does fight back, swatting Rogue aside.

For unclear reasons, Shuvahrak is afraid of Ember. That in turn makes her vulnerable to the Man-Thing (on the usual principle that anything that knows fear burns at the Man-Thing’s touch).

The inhabitants of Penumbra. When asked whether the Penumbra residents are dead or alive, Deathdream simply replies “yes”. Despite being ordinary humans in life, they’re remarkably strong and robust in this form. Ransom claims they can “take a hell of a beating”, so it’s not just weight of numbers. Gambit claims to have had “nightmares about them since I was 10”, but doesn’t know exactly what they are either. Jubilee (and Deathdream) seem to assume that Shuvahrak has set these people on the X-Men to try and force one of the Outliers to take the guardian role.

While the X-Men feel quite strongly about saving the Outliers from Shuvahrak’s call, and Henrietta regards Penumbra as a sad place, nobody seems at all interested in freeing Shuvahrak’s imprisoned souls or finding some other way of letting her go free.

Jacob Miller. As it turns out, Henrietta really was offering him the chance to go free in last issue’s flashback. He did try to return with a dozen agents the next day (as he threatened), but Haven was concealed beneath an obsidian slab and Miller was treated as insane.