Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Art: R. B. Silva, Adriano Di Benedetto, Marte Garcia, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Tom Muller

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 14th, 2019

As Xavier sows the seeds of the past, the X-Men’s future blossoms into trouble for all mutantdom in this week’s all-new POWERS OF X # 2 by Jonathan Hickman. Let’s jump in and see how he continues to reshape the X-Men’s past, present, and future for years to come!

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

After last week’s big reveal in HOUSE OF X #2, this reviewer went into POWERS OF X #2 expecting more answers and more guidance. However, this issue still felt unclear, especially in the far future (X 1000). Don’t get me wrong; the Year 1 and Year 10 X-Men storylines seem very straightforward, easy to understand, and rather direct. However, once readers approach Year 100 and Year 1000, this reviewer becomes lost in the direction, explanation, and justification.

All this reviewer can do is speculate because Jonathan Hickman isn’t revealing any direct answers. That said, patience is required with Hickman’s writing. To new Hickman fans or even X-Men fans wanting immediate answers, you will not receive them right now. However, all questions will be answered with time. This is difficult in an age of instant reward and gratification. So again, this reviewer is not penalizing Hickman on the confusion just yet simply because I’ve read enough from him to know mysteries will be revealed, puzzle pieces will fall into place, and clarity is on the horizon (see AVENGERS, FANTASTIC FOUR, FF, and SECRET WARS).

THEORY

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is why comics are so amazing; for the speculation, theories, and discussion. Therefore, let’s chat. So, where does this reviewer see both HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X going right now? Glad you asked! Here is what this Hickman fan feels is happening right now and the direction the story is going in my humble opinion.

After the last issue of HOUSE OF X, readers saw multiple lives of Moira MacTaggert. If you notice, at the end of Life 10, it says “House Of X” begins for her at age 52. Now, my theory is that Year 1, Year 10, Year 100, and Year 1000, are all actually happening in Life 10 and every new relaunch will happen in Life 11. Periodically, he’s been intertwining moments from Life 11 (not listed in her timelines because it didn’t happen yet) that look similar to Life 10 and this reviewer will explain why at the end of my theory. But, why would Hickman intertwine the two lives? Well, Hickman’s reboot can’t have the entire Marvel Universe start at Year 1 nor can we already have a future 1000 years from now laid out. And thus, Hickman has actually made the story even more confusing because it’s told out of order BUT appears to be told sequentially due to the years stated on each page. Readers, this is why (especially POWERS OF X) seems so confusing.

Some may argue that Moira and Charles couldn’t see 100, or even 1000 years into the future. Moira’s ability to retain all knowledge to use in the next life wouldn’t exist because she wouldn’t have been alive 100 or even 1000 years in the future. However, after this current issue of POWERS OF X, this reviewer feels more confident in his theory. Why? Well, the discussion was of the creation of Nimbus, which Hickman stated was created to mirror the Kree Intelligence with 100 minds of scientists, scholars, and artists. Due to Moira’s ability, she was already revered by many, which was stated in past issues.

Therefore, Moira’s mind was somehow downloaded into this “Nimbus” and thus became apart of the Worldmind in the future. This could be what readers are seeing in the POWERS OF X series. Meaning, Moira “technically” never died in her Life 10 and lived on for over 1000 years until the Phalanx, which is a techno-organic race set to consume all life and resources in the universe, devoured our existence. Point is; Moira volunteered to be apart of this Supreme Intelligence, or better yet the Orchid Program described in this issue, in order to survive long enough to witness these future outcomes. Why? Well, by putting her mind in stasis and reaching the future, she would see how all of mutant-kind would unfold and who the big players were in their destruction opening up multiple possibilities that never existed to her before. Moira’s mutant ability was stuck to the confines of her life span and her mind… well not anymore!

One of the big surprises of this issue was seeing Apocalypse working side-by-side with mutants like Magneto and Wolverine (we assume it was them). However, this actually makes sense. At the beginning of this issue, Moira and Charles point out that their goal was to have all mutants work together in order to do something they’ve never been able to do before. Let me tell you; working side-by-side with Apocalypse, as well as Sinister in prior issues, would truly be joining mutants together. Remember, Charles said this issue that “… we have a plan that’s ambitious and long-term…”. So, Charles, Magneto, and Moira MacTaggert find a way to unite all mutants, place her mind on a drive, break into this Facility in the future, and upload her mind drive into Nimbus, who this reviewer believes also becomes Nimrod.

Thus, Moira gains knowledge of the future outcomes, key players, and joined access to other minds involved within the intelligence. To land the plane, Life 11 will center around the X-Men working hand-in-hand with Moira to save mutant-kind with the knowledge she gained from her prior life’s, as well as now future knowledge AND other human intellects after connecting to the Worldmind (Life 10). Additionally, the fascinating thought is that Nimrod has always had Moira’s mind embed within it all these years, which is just nuts to think about!

Lastly, if readers take the time to notice the reading order, you’ll see different colors on three titles; HOUSE OF X #2, HOUSE OF X #5, and POWERS OF X #6. There is no pattern to the colors. For example, a pattern would be every other line is red or black. Those three issues are colored a special shade of red for a reason and it’s deliberate. This reviewers theory is that those three issues are Moira’s Life 11 (where our series will come from in October) and the other issues colored black are from her 10th life, which is the color of her 10th life on the map from HOUSE OF X #2. Yes, the red color is similar to the color of her 7th life BUT my theory is that those three issues are the 11th life of Moira MacTaggert and the new direction for the relaunch wrapping up where my theory began.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This issue, as well as this series, does exactly what all great comics do; it makes readers ponder, speculate, discuss, and inspire. Hickman may oddly configure plots out of order or wait to release key events later in his comics, but this reviewer promises clarity will happen as the story progresses. Jonathan Hickman continues his influentially intriguing story throughout this issue and leaves this reviewer wanting more. Charles said it best “… we have a plan that’s ambitious and long-term…”. Readers, Hickman has a plan that’s ALSO ambitious and long-term. Thus, we all just need to be patient. Sure, this reviewer wishes that we saw more of the actual X-Men teams. However, if I’m correct, we will see all of our fan favorites once October arrives and the multiple titles spring out of this series. Just hang in there people and enjoy the ride! But overall, this was another great issue by the brilliant Jonathan Hickman.