Saturday, July 13, 2013

Legion Lost Part I: "Charles Xavier *ARE* You The Father? "

Nothing good ever came out of Muir Island.

It's not the fault of the island itself, it's a perfectly decent piece of chilly rock. Mostly, it's Moira McTaggert's fault. After she opened up her mutant research facility there, things took a turn for the worse.  Whether it was Moira's own son Proteus going mad... and deciding to mind and body control his mom while inhabiting the body of his father...


"You're mine, body and soul. Accept that... reality, Moira. You won't like the alternative."


... And let's not forget the Charles Xavier had most of Moira's pupils killed in a desperate attempt to free his X-men from Krakoa...  Needless to say, Muir didn't exactly have a stellar track record when it came to aiding ailing mutants. Knowing this, one would think Israeli ambassador Gabrielle Haller would think twice before sending her severly autistic mutant son David to the Scottish research center. But no, in fact, when she made her first appearance back in New Mutants # 1, Gaby seemed far more occupied with dropping this behind the scenes bombshell...


"Charles Xavier... is the boy's father."

Yeah, but don't tell him that. Just move the boy to Muir for treatment and hope for the best...

And everything seemed fine, until the troubled lad caused all sorts of problems... Especially for cop Tom Corsi and nurse Sharon Friedlander, both former Caucasians who found themselves transformed into Native Americans in the wake of getting possessed by the Demon Bear. They went to Muir to recover and regroup, but didn't exactly get too much downtime.


 "It's an astral form... like the one Professor Xavier manifests! This kid must be a telepath, too!"

He was, and then some... this spectral astral image from Gabrielle's son was so intense, that he put both Tom and Sharon into a mental coma. Distraught, Gabrielle urged Moira to do the obvious but rather unwanted thing: call in Charles to help out.

Arriving with the New Mutants in tow, Charles was totally unaware David's mother was his former girlfriend... In fact, this was the first time readers realised the professor wasn't hallucinating when he fought alongside Magneto to save former nazi deathcamp survivor Gaby from Baron Strucker back in Uncanny X-men # 161.


"Then, I'll have to use all my feminine wiles... to attract its attention"

Yes, the young Gaby from Charles' fever dream turned out to be Gabrielle Haller, a prominent Israeli politician currently working as an ambassador. But the care for her son David had taken its toll on her, which became painfully apparent when Charles and Gabrielle met after so many years...


"It's been so long. You're as lovely as ever."

Gaby is right, Charles *is* a silver-tongued devil. After all, she looks extremely worn down, what, with her chain smoking, prematurely graying hair. The stress from having both a demanding job and a troubled son clearly took its toll.

Speaking of a troubled son, let's check how David's doing...


"Why did you wait so long to call me?! Gaby, I could have helped the boy as I did you!"

So that's why, without further ado, Charles decided to enter David's mind... Unfortunately, he found a bit more inside than he had bargained for. 


  "The thoughts directing David's actions seem somehow alien...
as if there's a portion of his mind that isn't him."


Something inside David that might not be him? Sounds like a proper reason for Charles to go inside the boy's mind. But because he was still suffering from serious injuries received after a near fatal mugging over in Uncanny X-men, Xavier wasn't exactly at his best. That's why he needed a bit of time to collect himself before dealing with David head on... And that left a window of opportunity for Charles and Gabrielle to catch up...


"A telepath can play god. You've no idea how tempting that is. I can change thoughts, twist memories, destroy a personality... erase it utterly...and recreate it any way I choose"

In these quiet moments together, Charles confesses his long hidden guilt about the way things went between him and Gabrielle. After all, she was his patient and after he brought her out of her catatonic state with his mental powers, they became lovers... ignoring the fact he might have subconsciously used his telepathy to influence or even seduce her. But Gaby, chainsmoking Gaby, would hear nothing of this...Even though it seemed clear she wasn't telling Xavier the whole truth about David...

Meanwhile, in the closing pages of New Mutants # 26, Moira McTaggert was finally having a long overdue heart to heart with her adoptive daughter Rahne 'Wolfsbane' Sinclair when they discovered an unexpected visitor...



Ending an issue with a big BWHOOM! of an explosion only raises interest in the sequel, so check back next time for, spoiler alert, Legion Lost Part II: Charles Xavier You *ARE* The Father!" 

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