Daken: Dark Wolverine #9 & X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1

Daken: Dark Wolverine #9:

Summary: This is the final issue of the Daken/X-23 x-over, as well as the last issue of Daken written by character creator Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu(NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!). X-23 and Daken manage to fight their way through the monstrosities Malcolm Colcord has placed in their path, and continue on his trail, killing anything in their way. As for Colcord, he's trying to escape the facility since he had rigged a bomb to blow up, destroying all traces of his work. Unfortunately for Colcord, Daken and X-23 catch up to him and know all about his bomb. Daken demands to be taken to the bomb, which Colcord, with no real choice, does. The trio arrive at the bomb with 2 minutes to spare, and Colcord tells Daken and X-23 how to disarm the device. Daken and X-23 are in no hurry to disarm the bomb though, since they were content in the knowledge that they'd survive the blast thanks to their healing factors. The two discuss their differences, with Daken wondering why X-23 cares about others and doesn't act as the killer she was created to be, and X-23 wonders why Daken wouldn't allow himself to care about others. Ultimately, the bomb explodes just as Tyger and Gambit arrive on the scene. Daken and X-23 heal up(as planned), and with Colcord(apparently) blown up, X-23 and Gambit decide to leave Madripoor, bidding Daken an uneasy farewell. This issue ends with Daken revealing that Colcord had survived the explosion since Colcord had been injecting himself with healing factor serums. However, Colcord's healing is nowhere near as pure or strong as Daken's and X-23's, meaning he was still terribly deformed and handcuffed to a radiator in an apartment Daken had rented for him. With X-23 out of the country and the traitorous Colcord his prisoner, Daken happily walks through the streets of Madripoor, proud of all he accomplished.

Thoughts: This comic was ALL about action, as you can probably see from the scan I posted. It basically dealt with Daken and X-23 slicing and dicing various obstacles that got in their way. I enjoyed Daken and X-23's little conversation and was fine with their truce, even though it's obvious the two still don't(and probably never will) trust each other. The ending, with Daken walking through the streets of Madripoor triumphantly was a very nice way for Way to end his multi-year run with the Daken character. There's no way Rob Williams(the incoming writer for this series) is going to be able to match the amazing work Liu and Way put into Daken, but here's hoping he can at least come close.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.There was a lot of this in this issue!


X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1(of 4):

Summary: This issue gets started with the X-Men revealing that some unknown(and never revealed) threat was on it's way to Crazy Mutie Island(Utopia). All of Lord Summers brain trust, seem to think that whatever was coming to Crazy Mutie Island was unstoppable, and that their only chances were to either order a mass evacuation(which would probably fail since the unknown threat was so near) or attempt a last stand, which would only delay the inevitable deaths of the inhabitants of Crazy Mutie Island. As for Lord Summers, he's staring out the window, puzzling over what move he should make. Prof. Xavier approaches Lord Summers and the two reminisce about their long past from back before everything went upside-down and Lord Summers, known adulterer and bastard, became the King of Mutantkind. In the end, Prof. X offers Lord Summers a vote of confidence and tells him that he was proud of him and that he'd always be there for him.

Thoughts: I REALLY enjoyed this issue a lot! I have NO idea what Schism is, what it's about, etc, but Paul Jenkins did something that I would have thought was impossible... He got me interested in an X-Men storyline! Jenkins did a magnificent job giving us a look back at the Lord Summers/Xavier relationship, back before Lord Summers became a monumental jackass. As a matter of fact, this was actually the first time since Grant Morrison's New X-Men run that I actually found myself not hating Lord Summers! So kudos to Jenkins for reminding me of what I used to love so much about the X-Men, even if it's only for one issue.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.Ahhhh the good old days...