Broken Frontier

The Inhuman royal family and the United States Government have a run in on Genosha. Some die, some live and, though he is no longer fast, Quicksilver escapes.

Son of M goes out with a bang as General Lazer of O*N*E (Office of National Emergency) and King Black Bolt’s royal family meet on Genosha, both groups vying for the Terrigen Mists Quicksilver stole and to give mutants back their powers. Though some of the ex-mutants remaining on the island in the wake of M-Day have already learned the drastic results of using the mists to regain their mutations, nothing that has happened to them compares to what happens to Unus the Untouchable in this issue. After a short battle and one moment that will surely have dire consequences throughout the world, we get to see the fate of Quicksilver, his daughter, Luna, and his father, Magneto. In addition, we are left wondering what will come of these unbelievable events, for surely there will be repercussions…

From his ability to take a second stringer like Bishop and flesh him out into the hard edged police officer he should be in the ill-fated and under-appreciated District X, to his somber, dramatic turn on Son of M, David Hine has consistently pleased. Though I was one of the many who derided M-Day for what it did to several of my favorite mutants, Quicksilver included, Hine has made me a believer. The desperation and sadness engulfing Pietro Maximoff since the loss of his powers is more devastating than I thought possible. He was once a one trick pony: an arrogant jerk whose position on the side of the angels was always in question; now, as evidenced in the first issue, he will do something as drastic as committing suicide at Spider-Man’s mocking suggestion.

Hine can see inside the heads of the people who populate his stories, and he helps his readers do the same. The Quicksilver he has built-up from the ashes of M-Day is one to be reckoned with. Gone is the flat, pomposity of the super fast son of Magneto; in its place is a complex character who is part hero, part villain, easy to hate, easy to love, hard to understand, hard not to understand, but always fun to read. In short, Quicksilver hasn’t been treated this well since Peter David originally wrote him into X-Factor in the early 90s.

The same could be said about Roy Allen Martinez’s artistic take on the character. His simple, thin lines work together in every aspect creating images that are deceptively complex. Martinez’s work is clear, solid, and dramatic. It is as if he is showing his readers the seriousness of the situation Quicksilver has placed himself in by giving as much detail to the crease of a pair of jeans as he does to the expressions on faces—everything matters. Pantazis’ coloring over this cinematic art serves to emphasize the darkness of the tale, without giving it an unneeded, over the top, superhero flare. Instead of heavy shadows and thick lines, the reader is blessed with a gray tone to everything, giving the book a somber feel akin to hearing about the death of a distant, hardly seen, though well loved, relative.

It has been awhile since the events of a miniseries have seriously affected Earth-616. Son of M is different. The tragedy, power, and drama of this tale leave the reader with an understanding that what has happened is important and the repercussions will be felt for years to come.