The Starjammers have brought Gambit and his crew to the location of the M'Kraan crystal. It's up to Guido, Jubilee, and Sunspot to hold off D'Ken's guards while Deathbird, Gambit, and Lila steal a bit of the crystal. Instead, they end up going inside it, and both Deathbird and Lila are hit by a beam that freezes them in place, right beside D'Ken. A short silly looking alien with purple skin introduces himself as Jahf. He's the guardian of the crystal and being so allows him to see all versions of reality.
He explains that because Professor X died, Jean Grey was never taken over by the Phoenix and therefore never repaired the crystal, so not only is the main timeline erased, but it's slowly but surely collapsing all other realities. So Gambit has to take a piece of the crystal so they can go back and prevent Charles from being killed, but in order to take it he has to leave something behind.
What is he going to leave behind? His love for Rogue, of course. Which is I guess why they have been harping on that over and over again in this reality, but it's also so incredibly cheesy that I still don't care. And I love Gambit and Rogue together, so you know they are doing something wrong here.
Gambit takes the piece of the crystal and asks Lila to teleport them back to earth, but their mission comes at the price of Sunspot's life. Every time the crystal "blinked" another reality out of existence, he was absorbing tons of solar energy, and he's now so full that he essentially explodes. What a way to go out.
I like how this one ties into the Phoenix Saga and manages to explain what's going on with the crystal quite nicely, but it loses me on its melodrama moment. Also isn't it just a tad convenient that the crystal can freeze people so Lila doesn't have to hear Gambit say how much he still loves Rogue?
I... actually didn't pick up that he gave the crystal his love for Rogue. Completely slipped me by. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't mind that, though, because this isn't the timeline for them. She's already moved on, and it was time for him to let go. It does lessen the sacrifice a bit that he already has someone else to fall into the arms of, but I'm fine with it.
I did like that this explains the broader cosmic consequences of the time shift, which gives this seeming side story a lot of weight and actual stakes. The writing is still clumsy (and Jubilee still annoying), and Salvador Larroca's art is no better than Tony Daniel's, but at least there's something better to hold my interest this time around.
It doesn't bother me that he has to give up his love for her, it bothers me that I had to read issue upon issue upon issue about how he totally wasn't over her just for this moment to make sense.
DeleteOkay, yeah, I can see how that annoyingly repetitive buildup would make this an unsatisfying conclusion. :)
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