"Dream's End" (X-Men crossover)
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Dream's End is a 2000–2001 X-Men storyline. It solves the long-running plot thread of the Legacy Virus (begun in 1993), and ends with the deaths of two characters from the X-Men supporting cast: scientist Moira MacTaggert and politician Robert Kelly.
Lead-in[edit]
Former X-Men writer Chris Claremont returns to the franchise in 2000, during the Revolution X-Men revamp, taking the mantle of the main titles, Uncanny X-Men and X-Men. During this phase, longtime enemy Mystique is reintroduced, along with a new Brotherhood of Mutants.[1] Another returning face is senator Robert Kelly, who runs a presidential campaign to the office of President of United States.[2][3]
Former X-Men members, founder Professor Charles Xavier and Bishop return to the team during the Maximum Security crossover (2000).[4]
In the epilogue to X-Cutioner's Song, scientist Gordon Lefferts, associate of Mister Sinister, opens up a seemingly empty canister from the future. Sinister curses Stryfe, as Gordon begins to cough strangely... This was the doing of Stryfe, the villainous clone of Cable, who lets loose a futuristic virus in modern times.[5] The plague begins to infect mutants and is dubbed Legacy Virus. One of the few infected humans is geneticist Moira MacTaggart,[6] who has made strides in finding a cure for the disease.
Summary[edit]
Part 1: The Past is But Prologue![edit]
In front of the Lincoln Memorial, senator Robert Kelly makes a rallying speech about mutants to a crowd of voters. His speech is watched and commented on by Magneto (in Genosha), Moira MacTaggert (in Muir Island, Scottish Coast), X-Force (in San Francisco), Generation X (in Massachusetts Academy), X-Men (Salem Center) and Mystique (in Glasgow).
On a cruise ship off the coast of Scotland, Sabertooth and Toad invade a private party of human dignataries of the Hellfire Club. Lord Imperial Gordon Phillips orders their expulsion, but Sabertooth kisses Gordon's "wife", who reveals herself as Mystique. She explains that the cruise ship was chosen as test subjects to a strain of the Legacy Virus that targets only humans. They kill Gordon Phillips, also a mutant, and make their way to Muir Island by helicopter.
Meanwhile, in Salem Center, some X-Men engage in a Danger Room section against sentinels. After the training section, Professor Charles Xavier comment that he needs Bishop skills as a detective, since Mystique is still on the loose and all clues point that she will target Kelly next. To anticipate her movements, Cable has infiltrated Kelly's campaign staff. At the same time, Wolverine finds Rogue, in the woods near the institute, and offers to help her meditate to control her powers.
On Muir Island, Mystique arrives in helicopter, shifted as Moira MacTaggert, and meets Rahne Sinclair. Rahne scents enemies inside the helicopter and is ambushed by Toad and Sabertooth. She bites Sabertooth's arm and flees back into the Muir Island Compound to alert the X-Men.
Back at the X-Mansion, Rogue loses control of her powers and charges an optic blast against him. She is subdued by Bishop and taken to the infirmary. Rogue tells them that, in her mind, she thought she heard her mother's voice, and locates its origin: Muir Island. Xavier tries to telephatically contact Moira, unsuccessfully. He then decides to send Rogue, Bishop and Wolverine to Muir, while Cable returns to Kelly's campaign in Boston, with Gambit and Beast on the stakeout. Blob invades the place, and Muir Island explodes as Rogue, Bishop and Wolverine approach it.[7]
Part 2: Life decisions[edit]
In a flashback sequence, a still teenage Rogue is shown fleeing from other teenagers who are chasing her in cars and bikes. She bumps against Cable's chest and passes out. Cable rescues her by destroying the pursuers's vehicles, then bodyslides back to his own time.
In the present, Cable faces off part of the new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Post, Blob and Avalanche), to protect Robert Kelly. Cable telephatically summons Gambit and Beast, who were waiting outside, to join the fight. Post approaches Kelly to shoot him, but Colossus (hidden behind an image inducer) deflects the bullets.
Cable defeats Blob by shoving him telephatically, and notices a shambling figure approaching him: it is Pyro, another Brotherhood member, who warns Cable about Mastermind (Martinique Jason). Cable throws his Psimitar to subdue her. After she is down, her illusion is undone: Post is actually very close to Kelly, and intends to kill him. However, Pyro uses his flame powers against Post, killing him to save Kelly, while the Legacy Virus in his body reaches its final stage. With his dying breath, Pyro begs Kelly to stop the incoming war between humans and mutants.[8]
Part 3[edit]
In the destroyed remains of Muir Island's laboratory, Sabertooth threatens Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane), trapped under debrii. Suddenly, Bishop appears and shoots an energy blast to cast the villain away from Rahne. Bishop lifts a beam to release the girl, and she escapes to the surface. Bishop knocks Sabertooth down and later leaves the lab. Outside, Bishop meets senator Robert Kelly and both discuss about human-mutant relation. Wolverine jumps at Robert Kelly, but is stopped by Bishop. Wolverine reveals that this "Kelly" was Mystique, but Bishop knew it already, and hoped to persuade her through words.
Meanwhile, Rahne sees a defeated Toad and meets Rogue. Behind them, Mystique shoots Rahne with Forge's power dampener gun, and suppresses her mutation. Logan and Bishop find Moira in her own lab under some debrii, mortally wounded. Moira begs that she cannot die in the lab, since she has finally found the cure for the Legacy Virus, after Mystique manipulated the viral agent to affect only humans.
Back to Rogue and Mystique, the villainess explains that she used a "stabilizing agent" Moira developed but discarded. They exchange blows until Rogue disarms her mother. Mystique feigns surrender and stabs Rogue in the abdomen. Bishop and Wolverine, Moira in his arms, surround Mystique, who holds Rahne at knifepoint and aims the power dampener gun at Wolverine, while gloating that she has killed Rogue. Out of the blue, Mystique feels blades perforating her, turns around and realizes it is Rogue who did it.[9]
Part 4: The Future is Now![edit]
Rogue, Bishop and Wolverine commandeer an X-Men jet, carrying a dying Moira MacTaggert, Rahne and a downed Mystique. The airship is racing against time to bring Moira to the X-Men, and has to face a storm in the way. Rogue and Rahne trey to keep Moira awake, as Wolverine tries to kill Mystique, who is lying on a slab.
Beast, Nightcrawler and Colossus returns to the X-Men to celebrate saving Kelly's life, although Colossus is not a celebratory mood. Meanwhile, Cable meets with Kelly on Sharon Kelly's grave, and shares with him his life story and worries about his role and the role of the X-Men in shaping a future for both humankind and mutantkind.
Meanwhile, Moira senses that her time is almost up, and Rogue tells her she can absorb her knowledge of the Legacy Virus cure. Moira refuses, due to the risks involved, and feels she needs to contat Charles Xavier. Across the Atlantic Ocean, Xavier talk to Colossus in the institute's stables, and hears Moira's psychic cry.
Xavier uses Cerebro to send an astral body to meet Moira on the aircraft, but the contact is interrupted due to Moira'a weakened state. Jean helps her mentor Xavier reach Moira's mind to establish a transference of her knowledge. Xavier's astral form embraces Moira's, intent on dying with her. Jean summons Cable to pull them apart. Moira lets him go on with his life, and departs to the afterlife.
Back in the material plane, senator Kelly call for a press conference to assuage any fears – during which Cable leaves Kelly unprotected and sends an astral projection to help Jean in the psychic plane. After saying goodbye to Moira, Xavier's astral form senses stray thoughts floating near Kelly, and Cable rushes back to his physical body to check on Kelly. But it is too late: a lonely human shoots at him, calling him a traitor. With his dying words, Kelly tells Cable that humanity might yet surprise him.[10]
Aftermath[edit]
With Moira's research notes, Hank McCoy, the Beast, develops a definitive cure for the Legacy Virus. However, just as the patient zero who disseminated the virus died, the cure must be applied to a mutant, who also needs to die. Russian mutant Colossus decides to sacrifice himself and injects the cure on his blood stream to activate it.[11]
Hospitalized from injuries done by Rogue, Mystique is visited by Gambit and Storm and she reveals to them the reason for her latest actions: her late lover, Irene Adler (Destiny) wrote a series of diaries with her visions of the future. According to Destiny, a great tragedy would happen, and a "world of only mutants" could help prevent it.[12] Afterwards, Storm decides to leave the X-Men to look for the diaries, and is joined by Rogue, Sage, Thunderbird, Psylocke, Bishop and Beast.[13]
Rahne Sinclair stays depowered for quite a while, until she returns to the X-Mansion and begins a relationship with then student Elixir. Due to his biokinectic powers, he manages to restore her lupine powers.[14]
In Cable's solo series at the time, the student who shot Robert Kelly was apprehended and arrested. He was later found dead in his cell, with a message scribbled on the wall, indicating that Cable manipulated his mind to kill Kelly.[15] His death was blamed on Cable as part of a defamation campaign against him by the Dark Sisterhood, a congregation of only female mutants led by the Dark Mother, a long-lived precognitive mutant.[16]
After Moira's death, Sean Cassidy (Banshee) turns to drinking. Some time later, he founds the militarized mutant force known as X-Corps. Some of their ranks are former Brotherhood members: Blob, Avalanche, forcefully brainwashed by an imprisoned Martinique Jason.[17]
References[edit]
- ↑ X-Men (1991) #104, 105, 106. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ X-Men (1991) #102, 104. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ X-Men Forever (2001) #1. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Bishop: The Last X-Man #15; X-Men Unlimited #29. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ X-Force (1991) #18. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ X-Men Prime one-shot (1995). Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #388. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Cable (1993) #87. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Bishop: The Last X-Man #16. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ X-Men (1991) #108. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #390. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #389. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ X-Men (1991) #109. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ New Mutants 2nd series (2003) #9-10. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Cable (1993) #92. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Cable (1993) #92-93. Marvel Comics.
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #401-406. Marvel Comics.
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