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X-Men Battle of the Atom part 5 (Wolverine and the X-Men # 36)

By Mark Rodriguez

While I've been enjoying this story, many have started to complain that it is moving along too slowly and not much is going on. I do admit, it's basically been about 4 issues of the X-Men arguing among themselves whether or not the Classic X-Men should be sent back to their own timeline or not, without really getting anywhere. I think this issue does bring in some action and advances a plot a little bit.


This issue opens up with Classic Scott snapping out of being frozen by XornJean's mental powers. Modern Cyclops tells him that Xorn is actually future Jean Grey, the Classic Jean Grey all grown up since she never returned to her own timeline. While it looks like Emma, Classic Jean, the Cuckoos and XornJean are just standing there, they are actually having a psychic battle in their minds. Emma's powers aren't what they used to be, so she's using the Cuckoo's powers as a battery to keep her in the fight. Classic Scott wants to help, but Modern Scott tells him they have their own fight to tend to.


Wolverine and the rest of Storm's group as well the Future X-Men stand ready, giving both Cyclops a chance to talk it out. Modern Cyclops and Wolverine argue, and Cyclops mentioned that maybe he should go back and bring a younger Wolverine to see how much he's changed now. Classic Scott blasts Wolverine and tells him to stop calling them children since they're the original X-Men. Storm asks them not to start a fight and Modern Cyclops reminds her that her group came to attack first. Classic Scott yells out that if they really don't want to start a fight, then they should call off Xorn.

The psychic women face each other, and Emma's team is looking bad as some of them are bleeding from the mouth or nose. Celeste is the first to fall, and Xorn taunts her. As they battle in their mind, Emma yells to Future Jean 'WHY DON'T YOU EVER STAY DEAD???' Xorn says that Scott will never love Emma as long as a version of her exists. She says she won't want to know what happens to him if the Classic Jean stays as well as what happens to her. Xorn fires a powerful blast in the psychic plane, and in the real world, Emma and the Cuckoos collapse in defeat. Now it's up to the two Jeans. Young Jean asks her future self what happened to her to make her such a bitch, and Future Jeans says she'll never have to know. Classic Jean starts getting a nosebleed.

Kitty and Rachel talk to Future Kitty, surprised she's allowing this to continue. She says they haven't seen the future they have, and the older Jean just wants to smack some sense into her younger self. Classic Scott tries to blast Xorn, but she seems unaffected. Future Iceman attacks Classic Scott and a fight breaks out between the X-Men, between arguing and actual combat. Modern Beast is horrified that all of this his fault and he never should have brought the Classic X-Men into the present.


The two Cyclops stand together, the younger one reminding his future self that even though they're a team now, he'll still try to prevent the older version to grow up to what he's become now. The two Jeans continue to fight it out in their minds, and Xorn is showing signs of bleeding through her eyes.

At the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, Classic Iceman continues to watch over Jubilee's adopted kid as Classic Beast suspects the Future X-Men and searches through the history of the X-Men's adventures to find out if they really are who they say they are. Just then Magik arrives and is ready to teleport Beast and Iceman to the future with her. Beast asks if more time travel is really the answer. Magik says she also suspects the Future X-Men, and she's already seen them in action and think there's a darkness they're hiding. Beast and Iceman decide to join her and they all go to the future together.

Back at Utopia, Wolverine and Modern Iceman try to hold back the Future Iceman, while the Modern Iceman wonders what the hell happened to him to turn him into such a monster. The two Jeans continue to mind-fight, and Classic Jean says she won't be bullied, even by herself. Xorn drops to her feet in defeat. Jean wants to know what is so horrible in the future that she came back in time to beat up her teenage self. Despite the warnings of her future self, Young Jean reads her future self's mind... and is absolutely horrified by what she sees.


Deadpool suddenly yells out for everyone to stop all the fighting. He mentions how horrible the future is, being so grim that even he's not laughing anymore. He pulls a gun on himself ready to kill himself since his healing factor isn't what it used to be. He wants to be buried in chimichangas. Jean suddenly levitates the gun out of Deadpool's hand and says that noone will be dying today. She tells Young Scott that they have to go. Classic Cyclops thinks maybe Jean is being controlled, but she says he should trust her... it's time to go home.


As the Classic Cyclops, Jean and Angel start to head off, Modern Cyclops and Magneto discuss their decision. Magneto says the kids never belonged here and Modern Cyclops says at least he got to say goodbye this time. Wolverine thanks Future Deadpool for the speech, and he says it's no sweat. Though he admits to himself that it was all a lie.

Elsewhere, Magik arrives into the future the Future X-Men came from, bringing Classic Iceman and Beast with her. They are surprised to see the future isn't as nightmarish as they were told. Sentinels show up and identify them as temporal anomalies. They then kindly offer to escort them to the office to check in. Just then someone tells the Sentinels to stand down and that they will handle this. It is... the X-Men from the Future. Another set of X-Men from the future!


My Opinions-

Things get more interesting, and confusing as now we're gonna have yet another set of Future X-Men. We have Colossus, a Wizard IceMan and what looks like someone wearing a variation of Iron Man's armor. Just what is going on here?

Deadpool had some good scenes here, asking Goldballs for his autograph and telling everyone to bury him in chimichangas when he was about to shoot himself. When Jean pulls the gun out of his hand, he was disappointed cause it would have been a great death scene.

And as for Xorn... people complained how she was so powerful she had to wear a mask to contain her powers and yet she lost to her younger self who should still be green in comparison.... but I get the feeling she purposely jobbed to Young Jean... After Teen Jean saw her horrible fate, she completely changed her tune and wants everyone to go back home as soon as possible.... With the future not looking as horrible as foretold, it could be something fake XornJean conjured up.

We'll see what happens next issue. 

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