X-Men: Legacy — Five Miles South of the Universe

With this, Mike Carey’s six year, seventy-five issue run on the title comes to a close.  It would’ve been nice to say that things end on a high note, but this volume is more “not bad” than anything else.  As with many of the writer’s stories on the title, this one addresses some plot threads that have been dangling for quite some time.  Specifically:  the fate of Starjammers Havok, Polaris and Rachel Summers.  It’s a story that has some nice twists, decent action, amusing comic relief in the form of the Shi’ar salvagers, and some impressively complex problems that are dealt with through impressively convoluted means.  Part of me can’t help but think that Carey’s run came at the wrong time in the franchise’s life.  Had this been done in the 90’s, I’m sure that it’s tale of Rogue, Magneto, Gambit and company would’ve been remembered quite fondly.  Now, it’s just another decent story in a market that’s filled with them these days.

In retrospect, it does feel that a lot of Carey’s time on the title was spent trying to recall the continuity-heavy, character-driven stories of the day.  He did this best in his first year on the series (which you can find in the collection “Supernovas”) when “X-Men” was still positioned as a core title next to “Uncanny.”  Then, in the wake of “Messiah Complex,” the metamorphosis began.  The name changed to “X-Men:  Legacy” and focused on rebuilding and re-examining Professor X’s role after being ousted from his role as leader and guiding light of the team.  

That was a solid arc which had purpose, direction, and even dovetailed nicely into the “Utopia” crossover where the title could use the exposure to launch its new direction.  Problem is that there really wasn’t one beyond “team book with a focus on Rogue.”  I don’t know if that was a necessity due to the fact that the book kept having its momentum interrupted by crossovers like “Necrosha,” “Second Coming,” and “Age of X,” but the end result is that Carey’s run has a real disjointed feel to it in its second half.  He did get some momentum back with these last couple volumes, but it was all academic at this point.

He does deserve credit for spotlighting lesser-used characters like Hellion, who benefitted the most from such attention as I liked his new “ends justify the means” approach that he got here.  Fittingly, he’s brought back for the final two-parter which serves to bring back a character that I wasn’t too familiar with beforehand, and have little sympathy for now that she’s here.  Though that part of the story is a misfire, Carey does get some good mileage out of Rogue’s decision-making-process regarding who she’ll follow in the Cyclops/Wolverine Schism.

So, like just about everything else he’s written, this volume is one that will go down fine with longtime fans, but those of you with only a casual interest in the characters or the franchise will be better off spending your money on the writer’s excellent “The Unwritten” or his “better than it has any right to be” “Sandman” spin-off “Lucifer.”  His post-”X-Men” plans have yet to be announced, but I’m sure they’ll be worth reading too.

As for the title itself, it changed hands to Christos Gage who knows how to write a solid superhero story.  His fifteen-issue run is set to conclude soon before the title is re-launched as a Legion-centric series.  While Carey did some interesting things with the character here, I really don’t think the market is interested in a solo title starring the character unless it manages to be transcendently good.  I mean, we’re talking about the level of acclaim and buzz that “Uncanny X-Force” had while “The Dark Angel Saga” was running and actually saw sales on the title increase.  Simon Spurrier and Tan Eng Huat have done good stuff in the past, but unless they can unleash something even better than their previous best efforts my initial estimate that their new direction will only last twelve issues still stands.

It may seem like I’m being unnecessarily hard on them, but even if their approach produces good comics it still feels that the kind of continuity-heavy approach this title has trafficked in ran its course back in the 90’s.  Back then, though, Legion didn’t even rate a mini-series or one shot — he’s best remembered for kicking off the “Age of Apocalypse.”  At the end of his Professor X arc, Carey had the character make the case for putting old conflicts to bed in the name of making sure the mutant species had a future.  I could be wrong, but they’re launching a niche superhero title in a market that’s actively hostile to them and these days that’s a recipe for a quick death.