x-men: messiah complex, pt. II

Hope arrived in the form of a new mutant birth, the first since M-Day. Alerted by Cerebra, the X-Men raced to the scene of the birth, Cooperstown, Alaska, only to find the town ravaged.

The armies of the mutant-hating Purifiers had reached the town first and slaughtered every child in the vicinity, in hopes of killing the baby, which they view as the mutant Antichrist. The battle escalated when the Marauders, henchmen of Mr. Sinister, arrived to claim the baby as their own. It is unclear what happened next but the X-Men discovered evidence that the baby was taken alive, which means the future of mutantkind may now be in the hands of one of their deadliest foes - Mr. Sinister.
- Chapter One, X-Men: Messiah CompleX

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Tagged by the media as "a biblical punishment with no discernible motive", the destruction in Cooperstown, Alaska coverage is being surveyed by Cyclops and Emma Frost in the X-Mansion when Xavier entered the room to question Cyclops' decision to send out a field team. The two figureheads had a heated argument claiming leadership and responsibility. In the end, Cyclops stood his ground and commanded Xavier to let him lead his people and that the latter should just work with Beast on fixing Cerebra.

Meanwhile, Angel is doing retcon for the field team when he was spotted by the Acolyte Gargouille. A fight soon ensued between the X-Men (Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Angel and Colossus) and the Acolytes (Gargouille, Projector, Neophyte and Vindaloo) in the streets. The X-Men won and Wolverine began to question the beaten-up villains on Exodus' location.

Back in the mansion, Emma Frost welcomes Multiple Man and Rictor who came in at the request of Cyclops. Surprisingly, Layla Miller tagged along as she knew that Jamie's going to need her with him soon. With the recent events, Cyclops sent out Rictor to infiltrate the Purifiers while Multiple Man and Layla were asked to see Forge in Dallas, Texas.

Somewhere in Canada, Predator X moves at top speed having enough energy after feasting on the two dead mutants in Alaska. Its target is yet to be determined.

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Finally, Cyclops steps up to claim his rightful position in the X-Men. Hah! That should teach Xavier a thing or two. Their discussion was long overdue. And I love seeing Emma seemingly quite torn between stopping the argument and/or siding with her boyfriend to take down Xavier.

I love the fight between the X-Men and the Acolytes even if they are like D-rated villains. It shows how team strategy and coordination pays off in battle (even if Wolverine alone could take all four of them. Not that I'm a big Logan fan.).

Much as it is a wildcard in Messiah CompleX, Predator X is still pretty much a filler for me. The story could go on without it. Although it would be interesting if he feeds on Xavier. That would definitely rock my world.