X-Men Comics Geek: Way of X issue #2 by Simon Spurrier

When I read about how this ongoing X-Men title was arguably one of the best the roster has to offer so far, I didn't have an idea at first that it's also written by the same author for Vertigo's The Dreaming whose volumes and more recent issues I'm currently reading. What are the pleasant odds?

The first issue of Way Of X, admittedly, baffled as much as it excited me. Certain pages at least acted as textual entries to explain some of the jargon I'm unfamiliar with due to my five-year hiatus from superhero comics in general. For this next issue, I am a hundred percent sold, and that probably has a lot to do with the appearance of David Charles Haller, otherwise known as the 'world-breaking' mutant Legion.

Before I became a fan of his version in FX's Legion played by Dan Stevens, the only other comic book story I've read of this character was during Legion Quest written by Mark Waid, Fabian Nicieza, and Scott Lobdell. Even then I wasn't provided enough insight about his deal, seeing as that story arc was Cherik angst fodder 80% of the time. And now that I know more about David Haller--or at least the TV adaptation which I also know cherry-picked most of his qualities from the source material--I was therefore very happy to see comic-book Legion interact with Nightcrawler in the first few pages.

I also want to mention that perhaps I've been too quick to dismiss the formidability of the anti-mutant human faction of this story, seeing as they were responsible for abducting David and experimenting on his brain matter, which was quite literally at that. There was a lot going on for this installment and yet author Spurrier worked a way to balance each aspect particularly characters who were involved in most of the sequences of the narrative. This does not surprise me at all, because I've seen how capable he was when it came to wielding exposition and character interactions using an ensemble cast in The Dreaming. I can compare what he's done for that Vertigo title with this one.

Even though the focus never shifted away from the conflict concerning Orchis (defined as "an organization dedicated to a response to a "doomsday" scenario involved an extinction-level population of Homo superior"), there were a handful of scenes back in Krakoa that delighted me. I'm talking about Dazzler as a lounge singer and former Acolyte Fabian Cortez acting so downtrodden while Doctor Nemesis tried to push him some psychedelic drugs (which are, again, growing in his goddamn head. That's certainly some choice) up until he realized he was dealing with a quasi-religious bigot. With just limited strokes, Spurrier was able to establish a light-hearted break from the inevitable confrontation about the role David played in Orchis's research about how to defeat the mutants of Krakoa.

(I'd be remiss if I also don't give a special shout-out to the recently resurrected 'Lost' from the Crucible who apparently isn't only elastic but can compel anyone near vicinity to hurl puke, something the sweetheart is trying to work on. Hopefully she gets a bigger contribution later on.)

The climactic moments happened later on after David convinced Nightcrawler to help him out for an old-fashioned 'quid pro quo' situation just after the clinically deranged telepath went inside the latter's mind to retrieve an 'infected gold coin'. This could only mean that something has been tampering with Nightcrawler through the astral plane, and that might have something to do with the nightmares that plagued many of the mutants in Krakoa--including Charles Xavier. Could it be the Patchwork Man? Most likely, Even Pixie saw a vision briefly after she got resurrected last issue. And before I could dwell on what the fuck is up with David adopting a Scottish accent, he gets dramatic in a way that made me want to hug his FX version. These pages also had Doctor Nemesis explaining what was happening inside David's crowded mind.

Only one thing left to do to solve this crisis and prevent Orchis from further using the telepath as their guinea pig (and to fix the damage that happened to his legion of super-powered personas), and that is by killing David Haller. Well, why not? But then we remember collectively that this is now a world in which mutants can be reborn again. Are we really ready for a new Legion to emerge? As a favor to return a favor, Nightcrawler decided that he should be the one to kill David. As a fervent Catholic, this was quite a big deal to Kurt. To reconcile with the merciful act he must do to the other man, he offered his insight concerning how David has never been able to make peace being called 'Legion'.

"Did you know a Nightcrawler is a type of worm? It's blue, and it's disgusting. Not a clever insult, but one I heard many times as a child. So I took it, and I made it mine. You are not your flaws, David Haller. And if destroying a lump of empty meat will you start afresh? To rule yourself? Perhaps there are sins worth sinning."

And so David Haller died and woke up in Krakoa, because what Nightcrawler did was sort of like a Crucible sans the theater of a gladiatorial combat, like the one we witnessed between Magneto and Lost. Absent-Father Charles was less than welcoming about it, while Erik saw it as an opportunity to recruit another Omega-level mutant into whatever the fuck weekly revolution he's holding. Never change, Mags.