x-men: messiah complex, pt. I

Mutantkind nears extinction. On M-Day Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, used her reality-warping mutant powers to obliterate the X-gene that distinguishes mutants from humans. In that instant, nearly all mutants lost their powers. Once a race of millions, they now number a few hundred. There have been no new mutant manifestations since M-Day and with each death, the future of mutantkind dims. The X-Men, a band of mutants previously charged to protect a world that hates and fears them, now fight only for survival.

But while there's life, there's hope.
- X-Men: Messiah CompleX

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Professor Xavier and Beast were having a discussion on the near-extinction of mutantkind when Cerebra detected a mutant manifestation. The first after M-Day. And apparently, it was so powerful that it fried the system. The Professor immediately called on Cyclops and Emma Frost to put together a field team to investigate. Joining them are Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Angel.

On board the Blackbird, they move to Cooperstown, Alaska at top speed only to find it ravaged in flames. The team went to work, rescuing and helping out the civilians all the while wondering what happened - whether this accident was the baby's reaction to the onset of mutation. Wolverine disagreed claiming that this was no accident. His theory was proven as they saw the dead bodies of the mutant-hating Purifiers and those of Blockbuster and Prism, both of which are members of Mr. Sinister's team, the Marauders. It was clearly a war that the X-Men missed.

A lady appeared carrying a burnt child pleading for help. Emma used her powers to calm her down, and subsequently dig into her mind to know what happened.

The Purifiers attacked the town slaughtering every child in the hopes of killing the supposed mutant Antichrist. Soon the Marauders (with Gambit as their field leader) appeared to confront the Purifiers in their effort to claim the baby for Mr. Sinister. The groups clashed as they try to outrace each other towards the hospital.

Back to the present, the X-Men went to the hospital to see if they can find out who took the baby. They concluded that the baby was taken alive, meaning that the hope for mutantkind might be in the hands of Mr. Sinister.

As they left the town, Predator X, the beast created by the Purifiers' deceased leader William Stryker to kill any being possessing the X-gene, arrived, as it has also picked up on the baby's birth.

*******

After ten years, Messiah CompleX is the first X-men-related crossover released by Marvel. The story has been greatly established from the previous arcs of the four titles (Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, New X-Men and X-Factor) resulting into a very smooth transition to this introductory one-shot. Although a bit short, chapter one is successful enough in teasing the readers what's in store.

Personally, I'm just thrilled to see Angel back in action. Drools.