X-Cutioner's Song Part 12 (The Finale): X-Force #18

         What is up nerds? I did not realize it until I sat down to write this, but our time with X-Cutioner’s Song is coming to an end. Todays issue, X-Force #18, is the finale of the main story, and our issue for next time, Uncanny X-Men #297, is the epilogue that wraps a few dangling plot threads up as well as setting the stage for the Legacy Virus arc. But enough of that, we pick up our story on the lunar surface with the classic X-Force creative team, Fabian Nicieza on words, Greg Capullo on pencils, Harry Candelario on inks, Chris Eliopoulos on letters, and Marie Javins on color. Cable in all his beefy glory enters into the final show down with Stryfe guns drawn and quips ready. Stryfe of course, is gloating in his typically over the top manner, declaiming “time is up and down and inside out and mine to control! Which all means that if anyone’s borrowed time is up… it is yours!” He continues by asking if Scott and Jean deserve to be forgiven for their trespasses and Cable, finally, says he has no idea what Stryfe is talking about, because once again, we have no idea of the two’s parentage at this point in the comics. Stryfe calls Cable a scientific abomination and implies that he is a clone, which is interesting considering the earlier speculation around Xavier’s shooter. Cable does not take this jab lying down and fires on his doppelganger who discards his helmet and attacks as well. Back at the moon base, the Dark Riders just barely manage to escape from Psylocke, Storm and Wolverine, who turn to track Apocalypse. But as Psylocke scans for him with her mind she reveals that Apocalypse lost his battle with the Dark Riders that we saw last time and is dying. When Psylocke shares this information with the rest of the X-Men, Archangel splits off from the group to track the man who had transformed him and “make his dying moments as miserable as I possibly can.” Iceman expresses concern about the path of brutality his friend is following but is held back by Bishop highlighting the new X-Mans edgier role on the team.  

We then move back to the lunar surface as we rejoin the clash of the clones with Cable getting his clock cleaned as Stryfe pontificates on what set the two apart. Stryfe’s assertion that Cable is driven by failure and desolation is an interesting one as that is Cable ultimate fear. He came to the past from the future in an attempt to train mutant kind to avert the Age of Apocalypse that was to come, but at the same time that is the same ultimate motivation of most of the X-Men, and Cable is ultimately successful in averting the future he fears. But as Stryfe continues to monologue Cable hulks up and manages to gain the upper hand. But as Cable is hit with a blast of energy more of his anatomy is revealed as metallic due to the techno organic virus and Stryfe asks him “how can you pretend to be a man?” Highlighting the question of clone versus original embodied in their mothers Madelyne Pryor and Jean Grey, that the story just ignores. Moving back to Archangel, we see Apocalypse dragging his shattered form along the ground, looking to die on his own terms as the result of his battle with the Dark Riders, looking to die as he lived, looking to die as a survivor. Archangel confronts his broken nemesis, saying “you are not strong, Apocalypse. You are not fit.” Archangel says that his foe is not fit and in Apocalypses world, he deserves to die but as Apocalypse begs for a quick death Archangel refuses to give it to him. Rejecting the darkness and modifications that Apocalypse forced on him during the Louise Simonson run of X-Factor. As Warren walks away Apocalypse begs for death saying “I deserve to die as I lived! A man of strength –of courage –of power –not like this. Not alone –enfeebled –as others fight around me. This is not the way to die.” This is the synthesis of Apocalypse’s thematic arc where his survival of the fittest mantra is shown to be cruel and misguided, and Warren is choosing to embrace kindness and mercy in the face of that. It is odd that this storyline is being worked in as a B plot in Cable and Stryfes larger story, but it does mirror the A plot as Cable (and Warren) is accepting and willing to work with the situation he finds himself forced into while Stryfe (and Apocalypse) pushes it away and forces everything around him into a framework that he thinks he controls. Back on the lunar surface, as Stryfe becomes more and more focused on Cable his psychic focus that was keeping Jean and Scott becomes weaker and weaker until they manage to break through. They manage to escape when Stryfe eats a plasma blast despite being injured forcing his way into the psychic dome where the battle is taking place. Havok, Cyclops and Phoenix manage to stop Havok for a moment and Jean begs him “we can work to heal your wounds, whatever they are –lets work them out together!” Presented with a united family front Stryfe wonders if they are right but “if I trust you –you’ll just betray me again!  I want to believe you. I do. But how can I? Why am I suffering this way? I’m not the guilty one! You are! All of you are! I leave you what you left me –a legacy of hatred! A legacy of decay! A loss of hope –a loss of life –a pox on all of mutant kind” (foreshadowing the epilogue of this very issue)! As Stryfe unloads this banger of a monologue he unleashes the full might of his psychic powers shaking the ground and destroying the tower protecting them forcing Jean to shield her allies with her powers. As the psychic storm rages with Stryfe in its eye, Cable desperately formulates a plan, messing with some tech in his arm he throws Cyclops a button telling him to hit it when Cable gives the signal. Cable having realized that he has to put an end to this and prepares to sacrifice himself, tackling Stryfe and activating the self-destruct sequence in his mechanical arm. As the self-destruct hits zero and Cable begins to explode, Cyclops activates the button Cable gave him, sucking the explosion and the two men in it away to who knows where in a time vortex. The ensuing energy tears down the tower that Stryfe had been utilizing for the finale and their psychic death screams echo across the lunar surface as the X-Men take stock of what just happened. And as the dust settles, the event that began with Cable being framed as a murderer ends with him sacrificing himself to save the X-Men. In a brief epilogue we see Mr. Sinister having one of his minions open the canister of genetic material he received from Stryfe for delivering Scott and Jean to him. But all that emerges is a puff of smoke, and what we will come to know as the Legacy Virus. We will focus on that more next time, but the pandemic it causes will be key to our next few events.

                Boy howdy was that a way to end the core of our event. I will save a lot of the overall analysis for next time as we come to grips with the aftermath of X-Cutioner’s Song, but this is kind of a weird one. I have already talked about the Apocalypse and Warren of it all, so I will focus on Stryfe and Cable. And what a mixed bag the conclusion between these two is, it is an appropriately dramatic end to the event, good monologues and one last desperate struggle between villain and hero, but we still don’t really know what is going on between the two, Stryfe’s motive is left as subtext. We have heavy implication of the ties between Cable and Stryfe but to the average reader Stryfe is just a lunatic with some thinly disguised issues with his parents. I am also not sure how I feel about the MLF ultimately being pushed to the side for a blood feud with Cable when I think they were raising some very real and interesting points about the mutant metaphor that will continue to be pushed to the side through the rest of the decade. It’s also just a very Cable-centric way of handling things but he is the poster boy for nineties X-men. But regardless of all these issues (heh), the parts that needed to hit, hit. The dialogue and art all contributed to an appropriately dramatic finale, but I will lay out my thoughts on the full event next time when I have had some time to sit with them. 7.5/10