Fighting Brood swarms is not the direst circumstance this team has faced, yet it has proven to be an existential challenge to the group’s very purpose in X-Men #21. What does it truly mean to leave human thinking behind in favor of mutant problem-solving? This is a question central to Gerry Duggan, Stefano Caselli, Federico Blee, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Jordan D. White’s work in this issue, and it seems to be a question they will return to again after “Lord of the Brood, Part Three.”
The “Lord of the Brood” arc has certainly made it clear that some of the X-Men are perfectly fine with the eradication of the titular parasitic species. Cyclops and Iceman in particular have taken multiple opportunities to voice their discomfort over the fact that the insectoid race has not yet been exterminated. Some of these comments are clearly meant to leave the reader intentionally disquieted, and issue #21 brings the opposing argument to life, challenging the idea that there is no value in the Brood’s continued existence.
As the final “Lord of the Brood” installment, the plot of this issue is mainly concerned with bringing the arc’s three storylines back into a whole while it concludes. Picking up right where we left them in X-Men #20, Jean, Magik, and Broo’s confrontation with Nightmare forms the A-Plot, Scott’s squad’s rescue mission is the B-Plot, and Forge & Monet’s inter-universal team-up rounds out the C-Plot. Jean makes quick work of Nightmare, and Magik is able to quickly reunite all three groups aboard the recovered Knowhere which results in one of the issue’s best set pieces: a very public argument between Jean and Cyclops.
The ideological divide is clear: Scott sees the Brood as an infestation to be wiped away entirely, but Jean believes the inherent value of being alive includes even the Brood. Duggan’s writing ensures that the reader can see the emotion motivating them both: Jean is protective of her former student as well as reticent about her involvement in another genocide. Meanwhile, Scott is driven both by the immediate anger over nearly losing his father’s life and the premeditated calculations that are exposed via the Krakoan War Council Minutes. Dismissive of her allegations, Scott finds Jean using her powers to whip off his visor, hold back his eye beams, and dare him with the words, “look at me, Scott, … I want to see your face. Say what you’re thinking so we all can hear.”
Credit: Marvel Comics
This argument is deliciously dramatic, and it speaks to the core tension of human versus mutant thinking. While Bishop’s Brood Eradication plan is rooted in the ethically questionable usage of mutant powers and Krakoan technology, Jean considers this attempted genocide to still be human thinking: the view that the only way to end the threat of the Brood is to eliminate their race reeks of the darkest human philosophical frameworks, even if it were executed with Krakoan tech. Ironically, Jean’s solution is quite human as well, by simply leaving Broo with his legion of docile Brood in Knowhere. It’s clear that this storyline as well as the theme of human/mutant thought at the center of it will both surely return.
Caselli and Blee’s artistic contributions to the issue shine when bringing the argument between Scott and Jean to life. Just as well, they bring a tender sorrow to another essential part of the issue. Midway through the issue, Cyclops’ portion of the team dedicated to rescuing Corsair and other extraterrestrial refugees from the Brood discovers that all of the refugees have been impregnated by the Brood. Tearfully, Synch is able to recall Polaris’ abilities and purge the entire spacecraft, and in the aftermath, Talon comforts him. The empathy that both heroes still have after fighting for millennia is a beautiful contrast to villains of this era like Moira X.
Although its satisfying to see the disconnect between Scott and Jean not be fully resolved by the issue’s end, the majority of the cast suddenly leaving before the story is complete is a bit jarring. Of course, most of the squad leaves for the long-awaited crossover climax to the X-Men and Captain Marvel’s Brood arcs. Still, where the rest of the issue hums, the abrupt exit feels a bit off-pace.
Thoughtful, dramatic, and an all-around great issue for fans of Jean Grey, X-Men #21 is a satisfying wrap on “Lord of the Brood.” The promise of a return to the problem of the Brood and the themes that such a conflict carries with it is enticing, and Nightmare as an ongoing failed nemesis of Jean Grey is hilarious. What remains to be seen is if Jean and Scott can solidify their beliefs about what the team should be before the X-Men are dealt a mysterious blow in the kickoff of Fall of X.
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