{"id":4987,"date":"2020-02-22T21:04:42","date_gmt":"2020-02-22T21:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=4987"},"modified":"2020-02-22T21:04:42","modified_gmt":"2020-02-22T21:04:42","slug":"the-complete-moira-part-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=4987","title":{"rendered":"The Complete Moira, Part 8"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to the final part of our Moira MacTaggert read-through. For the previous chapters see here: Part 1<\/a>, Part 2<\/a>, Part 3<\/a>, Part 4<\/a>, Part 5<\/a>, Part 6<\/a> and Part 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we left off, Excalibur <\/em>had just been cancelled, leaving Moira without a regular title to appear in. But she’s still around, still hunting for the Legacy Virus, and still supposedly in declining health. The final years of Moira’s (original) published life turn out to be big on pointless cameos and appearances where she does little more than explain the plot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

X-Men Unlimited<\/a><\/em> vol 1 #21<\/a><\/strong> by Todd DeZago, Andy Smith & Andrew Hennessy (“Devil’s Haircut”, December 1998).<\/strong> Strong Guy phones Muir Isle to ask Wolfsbane and Madrox for help with a possible alien invasion. Moira is there, and she’s back to working on the Legacy Virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gambit<\/a><\/em> vol 3 #2<\/a> by Fabian Nicieza, Steve Skroce & Rob Hunter (“Stormbringers”, March 1999).<\/strong> Gambit visits Muir Isle so that Moira can run some tests on him. Excalibur have now left, and Moira is working full time on the cure (pretty much alone). Naturally, Gambit tries to steal some files, and sets off a ridiculously elaborate failsafe mechanism that he manages to stop before it wipes all her data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Magneto Rex<\/a><\/em> #1<\/a> by Joe Pruett, Brandon Peterson & Matt Banning (“Ascendance”, May 1999).<\/strong> Moira appears briefly in some vox pops about Magneto’s seizure of Genosha. She says she’s lucky to have escaped alive from her previous encounters with Magneto, and that “dark times are coming, mark my words”. I suppose with hindsight you can read Moira as already knowing that the new mutant nation of Genosha will get swiftly wiped out by Sentinels. At the time, this read a little weirdly, since Moira normally tries to defuse anti-mutant sentiment in her TV interviews, rather than tell people that they’re right to worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gambit Annual ’99<\/a> <\/em>by Fabian Nicieza, Walter McDaniel et al (“With or Without You”, 1999).<\/strong> Moira plays the generic scientist role. She runs some tests on Gambit, which lead to us all learning more about Mary Purcell, the spirit who was living inside his body at the time. Mary is purged, and Moira verifies that Gambit is okay now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warlock<\/em> vol 5 #7 by Louise Simonson, Pascual Ferry et al (“Meanwhile”, April 2000).<\/strong> As far as I can tell, this isn’t even listed on Marvel’s website, let alone available on Marvel Unlimited. But it’s just more of generic scientist Moira, as Warlock brings his new friends Lock and Psi to Muir Isle, where they meet Moira and Wolfsbane. As you probably guessed, Moira helps to advance the plot by running some tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Uncanny X-Men<\/a><\/em> vol 1 #375<\/a> by Alan Davis, Adam Kubert & Batt (“I am Not Now, Nor Have I Ever Been”) \/ X-Men<\/a><\/em> vol 2 #95<\/a> by Alan Davis, Tom Raney & Scott Hanna (“Do Unto Others”) \/ X-Men Unlimited<\/a><\/em> vol 1 #25<\/a> by Joe Pruett, Brett Booth & Sal Regla (“In Remembrance”, all December 1999).<\/strong> These are all issues from the storyline where Wolverine is replaced by a Skrull impostor. Once again, Moira is simply the generic scientist who shows up to advance the plot. After “Wolverine” is killed, Moira comes to the X-Men Mansion to help in the autopsy, which exposes him as a Skrull. She also helps to treat Marrow and Mikhail Rasputin, and then she hangs around for a bit in order to explain the plot, and then get word that the real Wolverine has shown up alive, albeit as a Horseman of Apocalypse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncanny X-Men<\/a><\/em> vol 1 #376<\/a> by Alan Davis, Terry Kavanagh, Roger Cruz et al (“Filling in the Blanks”, January 2000) \/ X-Men<\/a><\/em> vol 2 #96<\/a> by Alan Davis & Mark Farmer (“The Gathering”, January 2000) \/ Wolverine<\/a><\/em> vol 2 #146-147<\/a> by Fabian Nicieza, Erik Larsen, Mike Miller, Roger Cruz et al (“Through a Dark Tunnel” \/ “Into the Light”, January & February 2000).<\/strong> Four issues from the crossover “Apocalypse: The Twelve.” Once again, Moira is just there to be the generic support scientist – though she does get to shoot at Horseman Wolverine, and she helps Psylocke to use Cerebro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly a year passes before Moira’s next (and final) storyline. Powers of X <\/em>#6 has a diary entry, which must go here, in which she decides to remove herself from the world, and forms a plan with Charles Xavier to fake her death using a “Shi’ar golem”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Uncanny X-Men<\/a><\/em> vol 1 #388<\/a> by Chris Claremont, Salvador Larroca et al (“Dream’s End, part 1”, December 2000).<\/strong> On Muir Isle, Moira and some generic scientists watch Robert Kelly’s presidential campaign on the news. She isn’t impressed. Meanwhile, Mystique successfully tests a version of the Legacy Virus, supposedly created by her, which only affects normal humans. Mystique and Sabretooth show up on Muir Isle, only to be instantly recognised by Wolfsbane. At the same time, over in the X-Men Mansion, Rogue (whose powers are acting weirdly at this point) also detects Mystique and Sabretooth arriving on the island. Professor X is for some reason unable to reach Moira telepathically, so he sends Rogue, Wolverine and Bishop to help. They arrive just in time to see the Research Centre explode. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part 2 of the crossover takes place in Cable<\/em> vol 1 #87, but it involves a different plot thread, and Moira doesn’t appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bishop: The Last X-Man<\/a><\/em> #16<\/a> by Scott Lobdell, Joe Pruett, Thomas Derenick et al (“Dream’s End, part 3”, December 2000). <\/strong> Bishop, Rogue, Wolverine and Wolfsbane enter the wreckage of the Research Centre, and try to rescue Moira. Moira is badly injured from the explosion, but she tells them that she has finally figured out the cure to the Legacy Virus – inspired by Mystique’s own recent experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

X-Men<\/em> vol 2 #108 by Chris Claremont, Leinil Francis Yu, Brett Booth et al (“Dream’s End, part 4”, January 2001).<\/strong> In a gloriously nonsensical piece of plotting, the X-Men decide to fly the dying Moira all the way back to the X-Men Mansion on the other side of the Atlantic – rather than, say, taking her to the local hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moira tells them that her insight into the Legacy Virus cure must not be lost. Rogue offers to use her memory absorption powers, but Moira claims that those powers are too unstable to be a reliable way of preserving the information. (As I’ve mentioned, there was indeed a storyline at this point about Rogue’s powers acting erratically.) So Professor X and Jean Grey travel to the jet in astral form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where we get the scene that calls for some real explanation from Hickman: Jean watches as the astral forms of Xavier and Moira “become one” (in a panel which also mentions that they were lovers, and draws the “becoming one” as, well, exactly what you’re thinking). As they, er, “become one”, the information about the cure passes between them. Charles is too in love to break the contact and is at risk of dying with Moira, so Jean calls in Cable, and together they help keep Charles back. As her spirit seemingly departs for the afterlife, Moira tells Charles that she has known joy with him and is not afraid because the beauty and peace that awaits; she loves him, and wishes him well “until we meet again”. There’s a slightly extended version of this scene in a flashback in X-Men: Legacy<\/em> vol 1 #216<\/strong>, and a single panel flashback of Rahne holding Moira’s body in New Mutants<\/em> vol 2 #11<\/strong>, but neither of them add anything important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So… that’s quite the ruse, if we’re to take it at face value. The obvious problems here are that two high-level telepaths, who presumably aren’t in on the scheme, are watching it all happen; and Uncanny X-Men<\/strong><\/em> #389<\/strong> (which has scenes of Moira’s funeral) has Xavier spending most of an issue reminiscing to himself<\/em> about her death and their past relationship. This is all quite tricky to explain away. And this Shi’ar golem must apparently have a convincing astral form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand… Charles Xavier is certainly not above faking his own death, let alone Moira’s. And “Dream’s End” is an incoherent mess to start with. Most obviously, it asks us to believe that Mystique has suddenly become a world-class medical researcher capable of modifying a virus in ways that even Moira hadn’t thought of. And then she blows up Muir Isle for… well, for no terribly clear reason explained within the story itself. I suppose the original idea was to stop Moira from curing the anti-human version of the Legacy Virus, but it’s all very hazy. Hickman ties Mystique quite closely to Moira, so some of the dodgy plotting in “Dream’s End” can be explained if Mystique is in on the scheme too. But you’ve still got the grandiose astral-projection death scene to explain away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there ended the story of Moira MacTaggert, until House of X <\/em>came along to reveal that she wasn’t dead after all. Or… oh, hold on…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

X-Men: Deadly Genesis<\/a><\/em> #1<\/a> by Ed Brubaker, Trevor Hairsine & Kris Justice (“Deadly Genesis”, January 2006).<\/strong> Moira appears extensively in video diaries and flashbacks in this series. But she also seemingly appears in issue #1 as a ghost, leading Sean to the room where her records of the lost X-Men team are hidden. Following the Hickman retcons, it’s conceivable that this might in fact be the real Moira after all, though why she’d do it in that way is unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl<\/a><\/em> #2-3 and #5<\/a> by Peter Milligan, Nick Dragotta & Mike Allred (April, May & July 2006).<\/strong> Moira is among the characters seen in the afterlife in this miniseries. She’s running a book group along with Gwen Stacy and Mockingbird. They’re reading James Joyce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chaos War: X-Men<\/a><\/em> #1-2<\/a> by Louise Simonson, Chris Claremont & Doug Braithwaite (February & March 2011).<\/strong> This two-issue miniseries was a tie-in to the “Chaos War” event, in which various characters temporarily returned from the dead thanks to disruption in the afterlife. In particular, a makeshift X-Men team appears, consisting of the original Thunderbird, Banshee, two Madrox duplicates, two of the Stepford Cuckoos, and Moira herself – who proceeds to turn into Destiny over the course of the story. Oh, and the story also claims that Muir Isle is a mystically <\/em>significant place, because it’s a nexus of ley lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So even though Moira never died after all, she still shows up as a ghost in a few issues. Oops. But she’s far from the first character where this has happened, and the Official Handbook<\/em> even has a standing explanation to the effect that confusing and misleading things appear in the afterlife – in other words, it seems to be just generally accepted that this stuff can be ignored with impunity. So her posthumous appearances… didn’t happen. Or rather, they aren\u2019t really her. In Chaos War<\/em>, the weird mutation into Destiny gives us a hook to hang that on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, where does all this leave us? Hickman’s retcon doesn’t fit seamlessly with Moira’s history, but the contradictions are far fewer than you might expect. That’s partly because even though Moira was a regular fixture in the X-books for a long time, relatively few stories were actually focussed on her. Much of the time, she’s doing plot mechanics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are maybe three main areas where Hickman’s retcon causes problems that really do call for explanation. One is how on earth she faked her death, how the “golem” thing squares with what we see in “Dream’s End”, and why so many high-end telepaths seem to be taken in by it. But we can be fairly confident that Hickman will<\/em> get to that in due course, or at least give the benefit of the doubt on that one. Number two is the storyline about her being the sole human infected by the Legacy Virus. The retcon explains why she was the only infected human – she’s actually a mutant after all – but that really doesn’t explain the conversations she has on the topic with Professor X. Number three is Moira’s apparent lack of interest in the techno organic characters that have crossed her path, despite her retconned knowledge of their potential significance. – that’s easier to explain but still something of a tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, as we’ve seen, there are plenty of places where Moira’s history didn’t make all that much sense to begin with, and where Hickman’s retcon either dovetails nicely with the original, or provides potential explanations that plug existing plotholes. And while there are undoubtedly issues that call for further explanation, the biggest problems affect stories that were unsatisfactory in the first place. It’s not a huge problem if the eventual explanation winds up heavily retconning them – and it most likely will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for Moira’s persona, though, it fits decently well with Hickman. There are broadly three main readings of Moira – not that they’re mutually exclusive. In one, she’s a generic scientific genius and medical adviser. In the second, she’s Xavier’s human ally, superhero sceptic, and voice of reason, devoted to her daughter Rahne if sadly forever being occupied with more pressing matters. In the third, she’s actively steering the X-Men, particularly when Charles isn’t there to do it, or isn’t going in the desired direction; her focus on the bigger picture eclipses her interest in Rahne; and she has a recurring theme of survivor guilt, intended to reference Proteus and the victims of the Legacy Virus, but also well suited to the idea that she’s survived multiple previous timelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, there’s nothing in the earlier issues that positively points towards Hickman’s retcon. That goes without saying. It’s a bravura rewrite which imposes a new reading on earlier stories, which the original creators – in particular, Moira’s creator – plainly didn’t intend. You may have an issue with that, and fair enough. But I’m persuaded that Hickman’s retcon is broadly consistent with the spirit of the established character, particularly the third of the readings above. It’s not the only reading of Moira, but it’s certainly a thread that’s there to be found in her stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the final part of our Moira MacTaggert read-through. For the previous chapters see here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7. When we left off, Excalibur had just been cancelled, leaving Moira without a regular title to appear in. But she’s still around, still hunting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moira"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4987"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5143,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4987\/revisions\/5143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}