Storyline: Divided We Stand part 2 (of 2)
Date: May 21, 2008
Price: $3.99 US
Writer: Mike Carey, C.B. Cebulski, Duane Swierczynski, and Andy Schmidt
Artist: Brandon Peterson, Scott Eaton, David Lafuente and Frazier Irving

Synopsis: Exploring the fallout of Messiah CompleX, the second part of this collection of short stories follows some of our favorite mutants as they make their way in a world without the X-Men. And only those who adapt will survive. Featuring Beast, Dark Beast, Havok, Vulcan and Surge!

Opinion: Whereas the first part of this two part series gave us a bit of a peek into the fallout of Messiah CompleX amongst some of the fresher faces of the X-Men, this book focuses more on some of the more classic characters. It was enjoyable to see what happened to Forge, a sneak peek into Beast’s state of mind and learning about the current situations of Havok, Illyana Rasputin and Surge and Mirage.

Read my full review after the jump.

The book, like part 1, is split up into several smaller stories. Each is poignant in its own right, and serves as an angular introspection into the perspectives of these characters while conveying the true weight of the decision to disband the X-Men. Beast has a somewhat sad and introspective moment within the remains of the X-mansion, salvaging what he can and saying goodbye. We get a peek into what exactly is going on with Magik, who crosses planes to find the X-Mansion has been destroyed. We’re told this is just the beginning of what could be a darker, more evil Illyana Rasputin than we ever knew before.

Then we come to Forge, where we see what exactly happened between Bishop and He during Messiah Complex, and we learn Forge isn’t completely done for - if not completely losing it. It was interesting to see the effect of being ambushed on a genius like Forge, it’s no surprise that we might be seeing a more reclusive - and dangerous? - character from now on. It was kind of a bummer to see such a classic character without any friends or support of any kind in this story. Maybe it was intentional, though. Just seems like an old hat team member like this shouldn’t be so much on the fringe.

The bit with Surge and Mirage wasn’t very interesting to me, just typical teenage self-doubt. But Havok’s part - that was interesting. We see a man internalize the current events and process those thoughts into motivation for action. I’d like to see where this goes.

Overall some good tidbits about what’s going on in the lives of our favorite mutants - good read if you’re into the X-Men.

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