{"id":8292,"date":"2022-09-22T22:24:38","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T21:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=8292"},"modified":"2022-09-22T22:24:38","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T21:24:38","slug":"legion-of-x-5-annotations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=8292","title":{"rendered":"Legion of X #5 annotations"},"content":{"rendered":"

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>LEGION OF X #5<\/strong>
\n“A Canticle for Liebenden”<\/strong>
\nWriter: Si Spurrier<\/strong>
\nArtist: Jan Bazaldua<\/strong>
\nColourist: Federico Blee<\/strong>
\nLetterer: Clayton Cowles<\/strong>
\nDesign: Toom Muller with Jay Bowen<\/strong>
\nEditor: Sarah Brunstad<\/strong><\/p>\n

COVER \/ PAGE 1.<\/strong> Legion, Banshee, Pixie, Nightcrawler, Juggernaut and for some reason Storm, standing around.<\/p>\n

PAGE 2.<\/strong>\u00a0Data page. Obviously, this is Professor X writing about his son Legion (David Haller). By likening Legion to something that he “crafted”, Professor X could just be referring to his status as Legion’s biological father – but it’s more likely a reference to the data pages in\u00a0Powers of X<\/em> #6 which indicate that Moira MacTaggert deliberately identified genetic partners for herself and Professor X to produce powerful reality-altering mutants. The obvious implication was that this was the genesis of Proteus and Legion. (Professor X’s continuing discomfort with Legion’s power and lack of controllability should probably also be seen in this light.)<\/p>\n

PAGE 3.<\/strong> Recap and credits.<\/p>\n

“A Canticle for Liebenden.”<\/strong> The title is probably a reference to Walter Miller\u2019s novel\u00a0A Canticle for Leibowitz<\/em> (1959), about a monastic order preserving knowledge in the centuries after a nuclear war, until humanity is ready for it again. Liebenden<\/em> means lovers or loving. A canticle is a kind of hymn. If this sounds familiar, the same book was referenced in passing in\u00a0Immortal X-Men<\/em> #3, though that’s probably just a coincidence.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

PAGES 4-6.<\/strong>\u00a0Legion runs wild, and is subdued by Blindfold.<\/em><\/p>\n

Switch possessed Legion near the end of the previous issue.<\/p>\n

“Is that a giant floating eye being ridden by a baby’s body?”<\/strong> The little body perched on top of Ora Serrata’s eye has always been there, going back to issue #1, but our attention has never been drawn to it before, and in fact the vast majority of panels either obscure it, keep it out of shot, or de-emphasise it – it’s only really prominent in her reveal in issue #1. This issue marks a major departure in the way Ora Serrata is presented, as her plans are exposed and she’s made to appear more vulnerable.<\/p>\n

The Qortex Complex<\/strong>, home of Legion’s other personalities, was previously mentioned in issue #1, and ultimately comes from\u00a0X-Men Legacy<\/em> vol 2 #2-3.<\/p>\n

Blindfold<\/strong>‘s astral form is able to punch Switch out of Legion’s body and send him back to his own.<\/p>\n

PAGES 6-8.<\/strong> Nightcrawler confronts Ora Serrata, and she goes on a rampage.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Named for a worm.”<\/strong> This is one of the first things that Zsen said about Nightcrawler when they met in issue #1, but Ora didn’t start banging on about it until she became defensive.<\/p>\n

“I gave Zsen specific instructions! Tumult was not to be spoken to until I was present.”<\/strong> In issue #3, and that’s not exactly what she said. “Find him and nothing more. Do not engage him. Do not listen to the lies of a trickster! Find him – and contact me. I will acquaint him with Arakkii law.”<\/p>\n

“In the Circle Perilous, you claimed nobody knew the god’s name…”<\/strong> In issue #1. “There was one, a god of mischief. We don’t know it’s name. It caused chaos, then fled before we could summon it. An insult to our ways. We believe it ran to Krakoa.”<\/p>\n

“You told me that in times of civil unrest, all Arakkii defer to the Chair of Law.”<\/strong> Earlier in issue #1. “Six hundred years ago, in the eversiege of Amenth, a wave of civil disorder crippled our unity. Those beset by anarchy cannot wage war. At such times, all Arakkii defer to the Chair of Law.”<\/p>\n

“You could not give it the faith it needed – only disdain…”<\/strong> In issue #1, Ora Serrata is openly contemptuous of all the gods that have manifested to the Arakkii.<\/p>\n

“I am formally arresting you…”<\/strong> Does Nightcrawler actually have authority to arrest one of the Great Ring? Bear in mind that the portal to the Altar is on Arakko, not Krakoa.<\/p>\n

PAGES 9-10.<\/strong>\u00a0The Legion catch up with Tumult and Switch.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I will bring offerings unto myself.”<\/strong> Last issue, Nightcrawler was persuading Tumult that “Perhaps it is time that we tried to believe in ourselves.”<\/p>\n

No-Place.\u00a0<\/strong>Obviously, Tumult has stopped shielding the location from Warlock. That implies that this isn’t a “tumour”-style No-Place of the sort that was established in\u00a0House of X<\/em>, but just a part of Krakoa that’s been magically shielded from monitoring.<\/p>\n

PAGES 11-15.<\/strong>\u00a0Ora Serrata is defeated.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nightcrawler<\/strong>‘s initial reaction to the threat of annihilation is to babble on about the Spark. Part of his original rationale for the Spark was that the removal of the threat of mortality provided the opportunity for new levels of creative risk-taking. Legion has to shut him down and argue that this is rose-tinted nonsense. That said, it’s not obvious\u00a0why<\/em> the destruction of the Altar would prevent the people inside from being resurrected – but the mechanics of resurrection are what they are.<\/p>\n

“To paraphrase a clever dead bloke…”<\/strong> Nietzsche, obviously.<\/p>\n

“To appreciate my gifts, the boy needs crises.”<\/strong> Mother Righteous made an offer to Legion in issue #2 to give him power in exchange for his “thanks”. He hadn’t decided at the end of the issue whether to take the offer. Presumably, what she means here is that she wants Legion to experience some crises so that he’ll be motivated to take the deal.<\/p>\n

“There’s a few of me older cards in play.”<\/strong>\u00a0As confirmed later on, Mother Righteous means Tumult, who was created as part of her deal with Ora Serrata.<\/p>\n

PAGE 16.<\/strong> Data page (of sorts) – a handwritten letter from Zsen to Nightcrawler. Her tour of Arakko was last issue.<\/p>\n

PAGES 17-19.<\/strong>\u00a0Tumult and Switch are dealt with in the arena.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tumult has permanently switched bodies with the irredeemable Switch, leaving him to be torn apart in the arena. This is an oddly brutal punishment, since Switch presumably can’t be resurrected while his body remains alive. Storm and Zsen both seem pretty relaxed about that.<\/p>\n

Ora<\/b> Serrata\u00a0<\/strong>appears to be able to make and revoke laws, not just supervise them. That invites the question of what the rest of the Great Ring are for. But maybe the revocation of the Godlaw is something that she previously ran past them.<\/p>\n

Uqesh<\/strong> is her predecessor in the Seat of Law, whom she kept around to summon gods with, as explained in issue #1.<\/p>\n

Zsen<\/strong> was expressly offered freedom from her vow of service if she fulfilled her mission.<\/p>\n

PAGES 20-21.<\/strong> Montage with Zsen’s letter to Kurt.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zsen signs up for a mercenary battalion (presumably in space) and leaves Kurt with a “painting with truth” that she’s created. We don’t see it, but we’re given the distinct impression that it shows Kurt something alarming.<\/p>\n

PAGE 22.<\/strong>\u00a0Ora Serrata and Mother Righteous.<\/em><\/p>\n

As already noted, “thanks” is what Mother Righteous wanted from Legion too. Mother Righteous insists that she honoured the deal in both letter and spirit, and that it’s not her fault that Ora Serrata was too arrogant to be able to use the magic effectively.<\/p>\n

PAGE 23.<\/strong>\u00a0Mother Righteous and Banshee.<\/em><\/p>\n

Spirit of Variance<\/strong>. This description of Banshee’s Ghost Rider component is new. Apparently, it’s a mutant Spirit of Vengeance kicked out of the clan. It and Banshee are similarly in Righteous’s thrall.<\/p>\n

PAGE 24.<\/strong>\u00a0Uranos attacks.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is a lead-in to\u00a0A.X.E.: Judgment Day<\/em>, trailing the crossover next month.<\/p>\n

PAGE 25.<\/strong> Trailers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition. LEGION OF X #5 “A Canticle for Liebenden” Writer: Si Spurrier Artist: Jan Bazaldua Colourist: Federico Blee Letterer: Clayton Cowles Design: Toom Muller with Jay Bowen Editor: Sarah Brunstad COVER \/ PAGE 1. Legion, Banshee, Pixie, Nightcrawler, Juggernaut and for some […]<\/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":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-annotations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8292","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=8292"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8294,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8292\/revisions\/8294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}