ASTONISHING X-MEN #4: Holocaust!

The X-Men aim to shut Holocaust down once and for all

Originally Published June 1995

We begin with our favourite Mutant Cutie, the shrinking violet known as Blink.

More of a Shrinking Magenta if you ask me

The Man in the Glass Bodysuit initially praises Blink for being a strong survivor what with her spatial-displacementy powers that she can use in a variety of ways, but laments the fact that he'll have to kill her nonetheless.

'Caust taunts her that he killed her father figure Victor slowly and painfully, but Blink has a few tricks up her gloves-that-she-wears-instead-of-sleeves.

It's a tense confrontation that ends when Blink shows surprising strength and resourcefulness by using her powers to dump Holocaust into the body-dissolving goo he uses to create Infinites, a la Christopher Lloyd in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Holy smokes, I can't believe Blink -- whimpering little Blink -- killed the big scary bad guy and avenged her mentor in decisive fashion on page 6! What a shocking and feel-good moment!

Despite this, the X-Men still have their hands full by taking on the remaining horde of Infinites. Even Morph is starting to think it may be time to get serious.

Back in Manhattan, Apocalypse brags to the captive Magneto about how much winning he's doing, with having overrun the X-Men's base, interrogated Bishop, and undermining the human council in Eurasia. The Master of Magnetism is defiant but from where I'm sitting things simply don't look great for the cause.

 

After the X-Men free some captive humans, Morph finds Blink just in time for Holocaust to re-appear from within the vat of goo!

Holocaust corners the two X-People, but is taken aback when some kind of magnetic attack damages Holocaust's brain or something -- I don't know, magnets are magic, how do they even work?

How? How you ask? You want to know how that happened? What's going on? What's the deal? You're curious what it means? You're intrigued? You're seeking enlightenment? You'd like context? You'd like clarity? You need guidance? You require an explanation? You want someone to walk you through it? You're scared? You're confused? You're a little upset? You're sleepy? You're hungry? You're hungry and sleepy? You're not following? It's not obvious? You're lost? You're gooped? You're gagged? You're farfoofled? You think it's balderdash? You think it makes no sense? You think it's cheating? You feel like that guy who didn't understand Glass Onion?

Well, what if I told you Morph isn't really Morph at all here?

When you Morph into Morph, that's Moreph

That's right, Rogue has absorbed a small part of the Real Morph's powers and identitah to trick Holocaust -- whom she apparently knew was alive and would be resuming his attack soon -- in order to use her other powers to smash him good (in this universe, Rogue has some of Magneto's magnetic abilities, not Carol Danvers' flying brick powers.)

The Real Morph™ drops in for good measure.

And just like that, the fight is on.

Well, first a little dramatic posing, then it's on.

Holocaust whams Rogue across the room...

And the team springs into action. Morph uses his powers to give a pep talk from a particularly motivational voice.

The Fearless Leadress gets back into the fray and dukes it out with her Swarovski-like foe.

Holocaust lures Rogue to a teleportation platform that will take them both into the heart of Apocalypse's stronghold in Manhattan. But at the last second...

That's right, Iceman has arrived from New York just in time to save Rogue from making the tactical mistake of following her rage to Apocalypse's doorstep. Also with him is Victor Creed, who is not dead!

Knowing it's the climax of the issue, the X-Men strike a pose and promise to see us next time in X-Men Omega!

Further Thoughts:

As venerated as the Age of Apocalypse is by fans in my age group -- and deservedly so because it was an ambitious and sprawling yarn -- it's still just comics. Some action beats happen just because they look cool, some fights don't necessarily tactically make sense, etc, etc. And honestly? There's nothing wrong with that. 

A big part of superhero comics is the search for coolness and the AOA is built on that: the heroes are all cool, angry versions of their normal selves, with cool new costumes, attitudes and manifestations of their powers. It's not just a dystopian alternate reality, it's a World of Badass.

Blink rises to prominence here. In every interpretation of the X-Men, there's a young female ingenue who the audience comes to love: Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, Armor. Blink fits the bill, and in the world of AOA acquits herself nicely by going toe-to-toe with Apocalypse's son, motivated by her anger at losing her surrogate father (who, again, just randomly turns up not dead at the end) and getting a hope spot where it appears she has killed the bad guy. She's awesome, we love her, and we love Astonishing X-Men. 

It's a great group of characters, honestly. Their relationships feel lived-in, they largely have backstories that inform their role in the AOA plotline, Rogue makes for a good leader, Morph is delightful comic relief. It's good comics.