Warning: Comprises spoilers for Darkish X-Males #2!!
The X-Males are not any strangers to going through off in opposition to weapons of mass destruction, geared toward mutantkind. They’ve confronted, and survived, waves of Sentinels, cosmic beings, lethal pathogens, and extra. Now, as with the Fall of X in full impact, former villain Madelyne Pryor could maintain one more key to the potential destruction of mutantkind.
Darkish X-Males #2 –by Steve Foxe, Jonas Scharf, and Frank Martin – finds Madelyne Pryor and her lately assembled crew looking for surviving mutants after Orchis’ assault on the Hellfire Gala.
Madelyne is utilizing the “Mercy Crown”, solid in Limbo from outdated magics, to trace mutants.The machine – based mostly in sorcery fairly than psychic potential – wields the facility to “not simply save mutantkind, but additionally to snuff it out.”
When Madelyne introduces the Mercy Crown, Gambit questions whether or not Xavier is conscious of its existence. That notion is dismissed instantly, together with Madelyne assuring Remy that her Mercy Crown is much extra highly effective than Cerebro. It doesn’t require psychic potential to function, nor does it observe the minds of mutants in any approach. As an alternative, it “traffics in souls.” Madelyne is ready to really feel each remaining mutant on a degree Charles, and Cerebro, might by no means attain. The implications are monumental. Hiding a soul from the Mercy Crown can be far harder, probably inconceivable, in comparison with shielding in opposition to Cerebro’s psychic monitoring.
Because the Mercy Crowd works by way of magic, fairly than mutant potential, it could possibly’t be interfered with or disrupted the identical approach. With out apparent measures to cease it, each mutant on the planet is on the board for the Mercy Crown. Though Madelyne Pryor is seemingly placing her effort into saving the mutants nonetheless remaining on Earth, she’s hardly at all times been an ally. She has tried to deliver Hell to Earth, fairly actually, greater than as soon as. Since her creation as Jean Gray’s clone, she has scraped for her place in existence, and on a number of events been at odds with the X-Males she now seeks to recreate.
Having already misplaced Archangel on the debut mission of her crew, and saving Alex solely by way of use of her magic, few would willingly comply with entrust one thing as highly effective because the Mercy Crown to Madelyne. Furthermore, she will not be the one Madelyne Pryor on the planet. Orchis has secured an alternate model of Pryor, consumed solely by the Goblin Queen persona. Orchis is monitoring each transfer of the Darkish X-Males, because of info fed by way of Wolverine’s clone. It might solely be a matter of time earlier than they use their Goblin Queen to grab management of the Mercy Crown, with a purpose to destroy what’s left of the X-Males and mutantkind.
Darkish X-Males #2 is obtainable now from Marvel Comics!