It’s post-Schism, post Avengers vs. X-Men, and now it’s time for Wolverine and Cyclops to have it out one more time in AvX Consequences #2.
Where once it was Professor X vs. Magneto as the two tentpoles of mutant philosophy, it’s now Logan and Scott Summers who have taken their places, and they’re not really on the sides you might’ve thought they would be back in the day. Xavier’s first student is now the ‘whatever means necessary’ guy, whereas the hardline killer is now the teacher and peacemaker. Xavier is dead by Scott’s hand, and Magneto is still at large – and that’s why Logan has come to see Scott in prison. He doesn’t want to talk to him – he just wants to kill him. And it turns out that’s what Scott wants, too.
The entire issue is a verbal sparring match between the two. Logan angrily taking Scott to task for killing Xavier, Scott lamenting it but saying he did what he had to do, then quietly throwing Logan’s indignation back in his face by reminding him that he was planning to kill Hope Summers, the one who managed to take control of the Phoenix by the end and set it back on its merry way.
“There are people who get to judge me, Logan. I don’t think you’re among them,” he says. Frustrating enough, and then, he adds something that drives Logan into a rage enough to murder. Intentionally. And it’s only the realization of that last part that saves Scott’s life – a life Scott doesn’t want saved. He’s looking to martyr himself, he’s expecting to die in prison and he’d rather Logan do it because he’ll be quick about it. He even taunts Logan that the same brats who wear ‘Magneto Was Right’ t-shirts will be at Logan’s school wearing ‘Cyclops Was Right’ logos in a couple of years. A solid kick in the gut to the man with all the righteous outrage.
Kieron Gillen writes a good story. His final Uncanny X-Men this week gave me chills, and this showed us that even in remorseful defeat, Scott Summers still has a casual confidence about him that borders on smugness. The art from Steve Kurth is decent – exceptionally detailed at some points, a little misshapen at others, but strong enough that it helps bring Gillen’s story home.
The interactions between heroes are so much more interesting than the big events these days, and important little character pieces like this are what carry us through when we get bogged down by hazy plotting. Guys like Gillen can help us make sense of it all.
