The Revolution has been less than impressed with this mini-series. I picked it up hoping it would build off the weak House of M mini-series and make that storyline more interesting. I was so wrong. Son of M is a mini-series that doesn’t know what it is or what it is trying to say. It has no purpose and no direction. Son of M #6 is an appropriately anti-climactic ending to a wandering and pointless mini-series.
Creative Team
Writer: David Hine
Artist: Roy Allan Martinez
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: The issue starts with Luna threatening to take out General Lazer and his O.N.E. soldiers. Lazer tells Luna that her father was only shot with a tranquilizer, but if she attacks then they will shoot Pietro with bullets. Suddenly, Lockjaw appears and starts kicking butt on the soldiers. (Lockjaw looks like an oversized version of the Revolution’s dog here at the Bunker.) Luna tells Lockjaw to teleport them out of there. Lockjaw teleports himself, Luna and Pietro away, but he leaves behind the crystals. Lazer takes the crystals and says their mission goal has been accomplished.
We cut over to the Inhumans brawling with the newly re-powered mutants due to the Terrigen mists. During the brawl, Unus’ loses control of his force shield and it blocks out everything including sound, light and air. Unus dies. (I have a very good friend who is obsessed with heroes with force shield powers because they can’t get hurt. Well, here is a case where that power backfired, huh?) Medusa tells the mutants that this is an example of why the Terrigen mists should never be used on humans. Magneto appears and tells the Inhumans that General Lazer has taken the crystals. Magneto then tells Crystal that Lockjaw teleported Luna and Pietro away from Genosha. Medusa says that since the crystals are no longer in Genosha then they will leave.
Suddenly, General Lazer appears along with his O.N.E. soldiers. Lazer tells the Inhumans that the crystals are in the custody of the Office of National Emergency and that he cannot release them without Presidential Authority. Lazer instructs his soldiers to take the recently re-powered mutants with them to a facility where they can receive proper medical treatment. The re-powered mutants agree to go with Lazer. Lazer then tells the Inhumans that he will contact the President about returning the crystals to them.
One of the O.N.E. soldiers informs Lazer that an F-16 has just taken off with the crystals and is headed back to the US. Lazer then tells the Inhumans that the President considers the crystals a threat to national security. Therefore, they will remain in United States custody. Lazer asks the Inhumans if they will agree to return to Attilan. Medusa then tells Lazer that the Black Bolt will give his response shortly. (Oh snap! You do NOT want that!)
The Black Bolt just stands there motionless. Lazer wonders what he is waiting for. Lazer tells his soldiers that the Black Bolt is a Head of State on foreign soil. There is no way he commits an act of aggression against representatives of the United States. Lazer then sees the Inhumans taking off in their jet. It finally dawns on Lazer what Black Bolt’s answer is going to be. Lazer tells his soldiers to scramble the choppers and evacuate the area. The O.N.E. soldiers hop in their helicopters and take off. We then see Black Bolt whisper one word: War. BOOM! Everything in the area explodes. We see Black Bolt standing in the middle of the wreckage. We then see Magneto crawl out from under some rubble. (Of course. That guy is a freakin’ cockroach. You can’t kill him even when he has no mutant powers.) Magneto stands there among the wreckage.
We shift over to California where Lockjaw and teleported Luna and Pietro. Luna is upset that Lockjaw forgot the crystals. Pietro tells Luna not to worry. That he has some crystals in the house. (Luna is officially a crack addict.) Pietro then whispers to Lockjaw for him to teleport Luna back to Crystal. Lockjaw starts to teleport Luna away as she screams “No! Father don’t! I love you, Daddy!” And with that they are gone. Pietro stand on the beach looking defeated as the sun sets.
We hop over to the Baxter Building where the Inhumans are meeting with the Fantastic Four. Reed tells Medusa that since Black Bolt has officially declared war on the United States that this will be the last time he intercepts an official message for the Inhumans. Reed tells the Inhumans that the re-powered mutants from Genosha have had their new powers fade away and they are no longer mutants. The Terrigen mists’ effects were temporary. Reed tells Medusa that he can’t believe that their two nations could go pot war over so little. Medusa responds that it is not little to them. That this is a cold war and if the crystals are returned then this can all be ended. Medusa tells Reed that she will pray that Reed will follow his heart and the next time they meet it will not be as enemies.
We shift back to Pietro bathing in the Terrigen mists. Pietro travels further into the future than ever. All the way so Pietro can see what he has done. We then see Pietro walking around the city. He thinks that it is amazing how much chaos is on its way. A future that he has seen cannot be changed. He has accepted that. But, the son of Magneto will have his place in this world. He stops next to a guy sitting on the site of the street. Pietro tells the man that he used to be a mutant. Pietro then grabs the man’s face and says “I’m giving you back what you’ve lost. I’m showing you the way.” The man then transforms into one mean looking mutant. Pietro walks away thinking, “If I cannot change the future…then I shall embrace it…” End of issue.
Comments:
The Good: If it wasn’t for Black Bolt and the Inhumans, then this would have been as boring an issue as the previous issues in this mini-series. I dig Lockjaw and I liked seeing him kicking some butt in this issue. I love the Inhumans and am a big Black Bolt fan. It was great to see Black Bolt in action. The scene where he whispers “war” was perfect. That was such a cool scene and very well done.
Roy Allan Martinez’s artwork is great. Martinez’s art has been the only bright spot on this less than impressive mini-series. I would like to see Martinez doing the art for a better storyline.
The Bad: Son of M #6 was anti-climactic. This is of no surprise given how listless this entire mini-series has been. Son of M #6 read like an Inhuman’s mini-series rather than a final issue in a mini-series about Quicksilver. The Inhumans took center stage in Son of M #6 and so did their storyline. This issue was all about the Inhumans. Now, that is why this was by far the best issue of the mini-series. But, this mini-series was supposed to be about Quicksilver, hence the name of the comic book. Quicksilver was in this issue for all of 7 pages. That is too little for the grand finale issue to his mini-series.
I have not been impressed with David Hine’s writing. I have found the dialogue to be stiff and generic. The pacing of Son of M has been slow and plodding. The storyline was like a rudderless ship. It was meandering and had no focus or direction. And not much happened. Pietro now has powers again thanks to the Terrigen mists. And now it appears that he is going to re-power mutants that lost their abilities. Ok, we needed 6 issues to get that little bit of development. The Inhumans were developed more than Quicksilver. The Inhumans’ storyline was more established than Quicksilver’s storyline.
I was hoping that Son of M would help flesh out the storyline from the House of M and build off the foundation of the House of M. Absolutely none of that happened in Son of M. And when we finally had Quicksilver face to face with Magneto it was a short an anti-climactic scene. I was also hoping that Son of M would develop Quicksilver into an interesting character. That I would better understand his sudden character shift with the House of M. Hines failed to make Pietro interesting or a character that I could understand and sympathize with.
Son of M may have seemed like a good idea in theory, but the execution, plotting and delivery of this storyline was a failure. Son of M didn’t make me like House of M anymore than I did before. Son of M didn’t get me interested in Pietro. Son of M didn’t get me more interested in the “de-powered mutants storyline.” But, what the House of M did do was get me interested in the Inhumans and their upcoming mini-series. I don’t know if that was the original purpose of the mini-series.