Immortal X-Men #12 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
IMMORTAL X-MEN #12
“Part 12: The Idiot”
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Lucas Werneck
Colourist: David Curiel
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Design: Tom Muller & Jay Bowen
Editor: Jordan D White
COVER / PAGE 1: Colossus fights Kate – not a scene which happens in the issue, though there is conflict between the two.
PAGE 2. Data page: the opening of Scrivener’s latest chapter.
This, of course, is Colossus’s spotlight issue, and so we come to the status quo that this book inherited from X-Force. Colossus is currently under the control of Scrivener, a Russian reality warper who can apparently control people by writing them into his stories. How this works has been somewhat inconsistent between different books, but we’ll come back to that shortly.
The author identifies himself simply as “a scrivener” and gives his name in Russian at the end of the issue (as he often did in X-Force data pages). There is a passing mention later on that Piotr is ultimately under the control of his brother Mikhail Rasputin, which again is the established set-up from X-Force. X-Force also clearly establishes that Scrivener is himself a prisoner of Mikhail, which is why he describes himself as “in a Russian cell”.
Other books have suggested that Colossus is not aware of what he’s doing when Scrivener is controlling him. In X-Force #40, he’s taken to an alternate future and Scrivener loses track of him. Colossus claims to be confused, as if “I just woke up”, but also seems to remember how he got there. Earlier issues of X-Force have suggested that Scrivener’s powers are limited by what he can rationalise to himself as being “in character” for Colossus, so perhaps Colossus just experiences everything as decisions that he actually made. On the other hand, in New Mutants #28, Colossus tells Magik that “There are gaps in my memory. Missing time, coming to in strange places…”
In the narration in this issue – which of course is Scrivener’s narration, not Colossus’s – Piotr unambiguously is aware of what is happening, and is fighting against it, albeit to minimal effect. These aren’t outright in contradiction – perhaps he’s only aware of what’s happening when he’s being directly influenced, and Scrivener’s powers prevent him from remembering during the periods when he might be able to act on it.
But there is another possibility, which is that the narration we get in this issue is fundamentally the story that Scrivener wants to tell, and not merely the result of Colossus fighting back against him – in other words, that it’s the enslaved Scrivener himself who’s trying his best to drop hints for the X-Men whenever he gets the chance, passing it off as dramatic irony. After all, Scrivener – who is meant to be in charge – spends most of this issue telling us quite directly about how important it is that his efforts should be stopped, presumably with just enough plausible deniability to avoid getting beaten up by Mikhail.
Then again, perhaps Scrivener is simply pushing up against the limits of what he can rationalise Colossus doing. Or perhaps it’s all of these things.
Returning to the plot: Mother Righteous gave Sebastian Shaw a list of motions to try and get through the Quiet Council at the end of the previous issue. This is Shaw enlisting Colossus to help with that.
PAGES 3-4. Selene is introduced as a candidate for the Quiet Council.
Colossus’s proxy votes. Storm appointed him as her proxy last issue. Nightcrawler appointed Storm as his proxy in X-Men: Before the Fall – Sons of X #1 (and then left Krakoa).
Selene previously applied to join the Quiet Council in issue #1, and took very badly to being rejected. She was previously the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, alongside Shaw. What’s less clear, at this stage, is why Mother Righteous wants Selene on the Quiet Council – but presumably it figures into a wider objective of destabilising Krakoa.
Kate starts the scene remarkably complacent, despite her and Colossus being the only two actual heroes left with votes on the Council. Once she realises that Colossus is no longer reliable, she starts panicking pretty quickly, realising that she doesn’t have the ability to veto anything without him.
PAGE 5. Recap and credits. Note that Mr Sinister’s seat is shown as a blank with a “?” beneath it – Selene hasn’t been voted on yet.
“The Idiot” is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, originally published in 1868-9. The title is ironic – the title character, Prince Lev Nikolayevitch Myshkin, is so straightforward and decent that other characters assume him to be a fool, but they’re wrong.
PAGE 6. Selene continues her speech.
Selene was killed by Hope and Exodus in issue #2. She refers to being shot by Hope but, strictly, she was resurrected and then immediately killed again by Exodus. Long before Krakoa, however, Selene was established as one of the Externals, who were immortal even without Krakoan resurrection. On top of that, Selene is a magic-user (as is Mother Righteous, which might be significant in its own right). At any rate, her ability to return from the dead under her own power is not particularly surprising.
Note that Scrivener doesn’t know who Shaw is working for, nor does he find out here. Apparently he (or Mikhail) really did just value the extra vote that he gets from his deal with Shaw.
Lady Bathory. Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (1560-1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer. There are Hungarian folk stories about her bathing in the blood of her victims, and she’s sometimes cited as an inspiration for Dracula.
PAGES 7-8. Destiny accuses Shaw of working for Orchis, but Rasputin vindicates him.
“Rachel and Jean aren’t exactly unbiased against me, for entirely understandable reasons.” In Jean’s case, presumably because of his involvement in the Dark Phoenix Saga; Rachel’s grudge against him is presumably linked to that, though she also tried to kill Selene in Uncanny X-Men #207.
Selene is presumably being sarcastic when she says that she would never “vouch for [his] good character” – i.e., because even if he’s telling the truth about Orchis, he certainly doesn’t have a good character.
Destiny‘s prediction is, for once, apparently wrong – Shaw has no relationship with Orchis. Moreover, Destiny apparently failed to predict that this scene would unfold in this way, even a minute or so before it happened. This is very unusual for her in this series, and she ascribes it later to her still adjusting to the massive alterations to the timeline that flowed from Sins of Sinister.
However… it’s possible that Destiny’s prediction is basically right (or will be soon) and that Shaw doesn’t know it yet. Shaw is working for Mother Righteous, not Orchis – but over in X-Men #23 this week, Righteous seems to be launching a takeover of Orchis too. At any rate, all Rasputin’s mind scan strictly proves is that Shaw does not know that Righteous is connected with Orchis.
PAGE 9. Colossus and Kate argue.
“I became liaison to X-Force…” In X-Force #39.
“Iceland could be dead thanks to you, Destiny.” In issue #6. She concealed the fact that the proposed attack on the Progenitor could result in a devastating explosion.
“Kate – you are now closer to Emma than to me.” As delivered, this is intended to imply that she has turned into an antihero over in Marauders. It could also be read as a whinge about Colossus’ ex-love having a closer bond with a former villain. Or it could be another example of Scrivener trying his best to say as many things as possible that are literally true.
PAGE 10. The non-voting members wait.
“I kept my vigil in a cave for nearly a millennia.” Exodus is referring to his time in suspended animation after his origin story Black Knight: Exodus. As Hope rightly points out, this isn’t a “vigil” at all.
(Also, it ought to say “millennium”, but let’s assume Exodus is trying to be fancy.)
PAGE 11. Mother Righteous makes Rasputin attack Hope.
She’s trying to make sure the vote isn’t interrupted. Her dialogue is just “Thank you Mother Righteous” written backwards. Rasputin’s previous gratitude to her gives Righteous a hold over her.
The significance of the burning feather isn’t immediately obvious, unless it’s just a token sacrifice – though burning feathers do have something of a phoenix symbolism to them.
PAGES 12-15. Exodus saves the day.
Professor X is desperate to stick to principles even in the face of obvious national disaster – not something that’s obviously troubled him throughout the Krakoan era. But then the Sins of Sinister crossover has genuinely shaken him, and he may also be right that direct intervention here would be a governmental collapse that was equally serious in its way.
Exodus, unusually, is the most sensible and pragmatic of the bunch – he actually stops, thinks about it, and comes up with the best solution. Note that he doesn’t race to Hope’s defence, despite her directly calling for him to do so. That’s out of character for most of this series and suggests that his relationship with her has changed after she turned on him following Sins of Sinister. (He does, however, go to get Hope to safety once the more pressing problem has been addressed.)
“Kitty would have understood. Do you?” He’s implying, again, that Kate had a clearer moral vision before Marauders.
PAGES 16-20. Mother Righteous makes Mystique kill Destiny.
Mystique received the recording from Mother Righteous last issue; it’s the one that Sins of Sinister Destiny made for Mr Sinister in Immoral X-Men #3. Mystique thanked Righteous for it, which is why Righteous is able to take control of her here.
Destiny’s explanation of her unstable grasp of the future basically helps to explain why she’s suddenly being outwitted – there’s a window of opportunity for other characters to outmanoeuvre her. (Which is terribly handy for the plot, but then precognition is one of those powers that always has to be sidelined somewhere.)
“I haven’t fallen into a vision-coma again.” As she did at the end of issue #2.
“You would have burned this island for me.” Until Destiny actually returned, we had a lot of material throughout the Krakoan era about Destiny telling Mystique to burn the island to the ground.
“Our love is immortal. We are not.” Mystique’s comment has a wider significance given the title of the book. Either Mystique is saying that resurrection is no longer available to them (but of course they’ll use it momentarily) or her view is that resurrection is merely a temporary thing, and its availability will pass.
PAGE 21. Destiny is resurrected.
As Shaw points out, a precedent has been set – by well-meaning Storm last issue – that resurrected members of the Quiet Council should remain in place for appearances sake, but not vote. With hindsight, this is going incredibly well.
PAGES 22-23. The Council vote to publicise the Sins of Sinister timeline.
The four votes in favour are from Shaw, Selene, Colossus and Nightcrawler (via Colossus’ proxy). Storm, Mystique and Kate vote against. Oddly, Destiny is present for this vote, but not the other resurrected Council members.
Raskolnikov. Rodion Raskolnikov is the main character of Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” (1866).
PAGE 24. Data page – Scrivener’s sign off. Note that this page doesn’t even have the usual small print (which helps emphasise that it’s a deliberate, mostly-blank page).
PAGE 25. Trailers.
Rasputin IV making the common mistake that investing millions in Orchis is not the same as working for them.
“Our love is immortal, we are not” I took to mean that they would always love each other but the ‘we’, standing in for their romantic relationship, was ending.
“What’s less clear, at this stage, is why Mother Righteous wants Selene on the Quiet Council”
We were told that it was Mother Righteous who enhanced Selene’s powers in Immortal X-Men 1-2 so she could carry out her scheme. Presumably Selene thanked Mother Righteous, so she is susceptible to Mother Righteous’s control.
Obviously, Shaw didn’t want Rachel or Jean to read his mind because they would have found out Mother Righteous was evil and he was working with her to destabilize Krakoa. Presumably, Mother Righteous told him she had a hold over Raputin.
I can’t believe that the other members of the Council were too stupid to figure out that Shaw wanted Rasputin to be the one to read his mind so she’d keep his secrets hidden. Shaw might as well just have told them “I refuse to have my mind read by anyone who hasn’t thanked Mother Righteous. Not because she’s an evil sorceress I’m working with who can control anyone who thanks her or anything.”
I have to wonder if it’s Mother Righteous who wants the details of the Sins of Sinister timeline released and not just Mikhail. Once the Sins of Sinister timeline becomes known, and that it was Mother Righteous who “saved” the universe, how many people across the planet will thank Mother Righteous?
I took “our love is immortal, we are not” to mean that Mystique was destined to die in every timeline Destiny could see.
In terms of inconsistencies with the Scrivener: Percy should have outlined how it all worked and an editor should have communicated this to the other writers. Apparently, that’s not what happened. These continuity gaffes keep happening, and I think the editors are falling asleep at the switch.
Heartbreaking ending: to this issue! Colossus finds a way to get a message out… but Storm doesn’t understand (unless she does, but that won’t come into play yet). Otherwise, the SoS future was horrible, and the small chance it will happen due to Sinister’s control might be enough to keep the QC telepaths in line. I don’t 100% buy it, but I understand the need to let Fall of X continue to unroll.
Why does Colossus have Nightcrawler’s proxy for the final vote? Shouldn’t Storm have had it, which would have pulled the vote 4-3 in her favor?
@Rob: Right after the scan of Shaw’s mind, Colossus does a very fast vote to move Nightcrawler’s proxy to him. Shaw and Selene raise hands in background, vote done. It’s a quick moment, but that felt deliberate — things are falling apart fast.
The layered aspects of the mind control and storytelling are all kind of Gillen’s bread and butter, and I’d love it if he just took over the entire Colossus plotline. I’d love to see his full take on the layers of neither Piotr nor Scrivener being in this willingly and both trying to see if they can leave breadcrumbs to out themselves.
One other weird thing about this issue- Destiny knows that the fourth Sinister is a magic user but she doesn’t consider that Rasputin might have lied about what she saw in Shaw’s mind, even though she knows Rasputin is loyal is Mother Righteous. So Destiny hasn’t considered the possibility that Mother Righteous is the fourth Sinister? How stupid is Destiny? She knows that the fourth Sinister uses magic, and then Mother Righteous shows up claiming to have been instrumental in Sinister’s defeat, with a mask over her face where the suite symbol would be and using magic, with a name that’s the opposite of Mister Sinister? And yes, she’s a woman and the other Sinister was men, but Destiny is sleeping with a person who can look either male or female!
It’s kind of funny that the cover is Super Action Combat! (and it is quite the image, it looks great). While the inside is basically meeting minutes.
While I enjoyed the issue, I’m not sure I buy Xavier being so shaken by what happened in SOS. Xavier has been possessed by Sinister before, shortly after Messiah Complex (Gambit too) in X-Men Legacy. Xavier only reacted with anger when Cyclops and Emma thought he couldn’t be trusted.
I think it’s because he saw a part of himself that he recognizes is all too real, and while his actions were taken under the influence of the Sinister gene, he questions whether he might give in to such temptation without the push. Considering actions he has taken on the name of his new dream (Krakoa), such as tampering with the mind of every person on the planet to give his message, it is certainly a very real concern.
I’m hoping part of this with Xavier is that he’s finally starting to slowly admit he’s got his problems. He doesn’t want to own up to it so he yells at Storm when he’s directly confronted. But he’s had enough things go wrong with Moira and Magneto, with eating some humble pie on Legion, and now Sins of Sinister and being pushed into a position where he’s lost a lot of his political power. The Sinister timeline can be upsetting, but he also has a lot of things to think about and now that he’s sidelined, a lot of time to finally think about them.
Thanks for your thorough wtite-up of how the captions might be interpreted. That really added to my (already considerable) enjoyment of this issue.
Selene won’t vouch for Shaw’s good character, at least in part, because she thinks the whole idea of having a “good character” is tacky and naive. She embraces her evil-ness wholeheartedly.
Elizabeth Bathory is also a character in the Marvel Universe. In Dracula Lives #4, she tries to kill Dracula while he is a guest in her castle. In return, Dracula exposes her to the Hungarian authorities, and then when she is imprisoned, he sneaks in and kills her.
“These continuity gaffes keep happening, and I think the editors are falling asleep at the switch.”
The gaffes are unfortunate, but looking at the picture and how much *is* being coordinated well, I’d say the X-office is doing a great job of it overall. E.g. Sins of Sinister, X-Men Red and Sons of X setting up this issue’s situation with Colossus’ three votes, etc. I can’t think of any other family of books at the same level.
@ylu: I’m not saying nothing is being well-coordinated, especially given how big the line is. I still think the inter title coordination has gotten worse recently. I’ve had problems with: how stretched out the Percy titles have been, the continuous stop-start of Duggan us X-Men, the storytelling issues in Marauders and Howard’s titles, the number of stories with abrupt endings, the lack of focus/overstuffed plotting that didn’t all resolve in Legion of X, and the aforementioned continuity gaffes. An editor’s job should involve steering the line, and that includes, for example, having a solid idea of characters’ powers, limitations, and role in the greater plot. I think the line needs tighter coordination.
I remember Kieron Gillen asking for recommended translators of Dostoevsky’s books on Mastodon a little while back, presumably for this issue. Very cool.
@Mike Loughlin
I agree with some of those critiques and others I don’t, but I don’t see how most of them are issues of coordination between titles. For example, Percy’s books being interminably paced has nothing to do with how well they’re communicating with the other writers’ books.
[…] X-MEN #12. (Annotations here.) The Colossus spotlight issue was always going to be interesting, given his weird status quo as the […]
@ylu: I probably wasn’t clear. In my view, an editor should have had Percy wrap up his stories or pace them better. An editor should also make sure new characters being used are not presented in ways that contradict each other across titles. I was listing things that bug me about the current X-books that I see as editorial duties, but my post probably looked like I was presenting a causal link that I didn’t intend.