by Taylor Anderson
This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!
Charles Xavier has been dead for some time now and while that’s not new ground for a comic book character, it is notable just how long he’s been departed. It was way back in the quaint year of 2012 when Charles was killed by a Phoenix-possessed Scott Summers. Since then, his spirit has been wandering around various spirit realms. Now, however, Charles is back in the world of the living, having possessed the body of Fantomex. While the rebirth of Charles Xavier sounds like a good thing, it’s also important to remember that rarely does someone coming back from the dead a work out for the best.
With his return, Charles quickly sets to righting the wrongs the Shadow King has been committing in London. First, he “gifts” Warren control of the Archangel so he can stop the military from killing all of the mutants in Londan. Then he “gifts” the military ignorance (by wiping their memory) of the events that have taken place over the past seven issues, claiming it will make them happy. Next, Xavier — or X as he likes to be called — explains how robbing Fantomex of his body and leaving his spirit in the Astral Plain was a gift to him. Lastly, he gifts the city of London a release from the Shadow King’s weird zombie magic.
That is a lot of gifting, and while it’s possible Xavier is feeling generous from escaping the Shadow King, something about his gifts feel slightly nefarious. Now there’s nothing to suggest he’s acting malevolently, but something about the fashion of Xavier’s return just doesn’t seem on the up and up. Logan seems to think as much, drawing on his own experiences with death with and rebirth to form his own opinion.
Logan doesn’t rule out that Xavier is truly and fully returned in his full capacity. However, having died before, Logan knows that that coming back from the dead isn’t an easy experience. The “deeper” thing Logan refers to here may not be some sort of evil force possessing Xavier, but it could be something that has fundamentally changed the way Xavier sees and interacts with the world. In either case, its perhaps best to heed Logan’s advice. While the return of a beloved character is always exciting, it’s best to wait and see what they brought back with them before celebrating their return too much.
The conversation doesn’t stop there. What do you wanna talk about from this issue?
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