It’s time to break the team’s brains in Hellions #10, from Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, David Curiel, and Ariana Maher.
Liz Large: Are you excited to see our team face the scariest villain of all– an escape room run by a man who looks like a Chucky doll?
Austin Gorton: Jiminy Cricket, how is it that Arcade manages to be both so extremely creepy & laugh-out-loud hilarious at the same time? Why did it take him this long to figure out the scariest traps are the ones we set for ourselves? And how many teeth is Mister Sinister going to have left when all this is over and done? I think it’s time we dive in and find out some answers. Confirm?
Confirmed!
LL: We open on Arcade and Sinister, who’s straight up not having a good time right now. Not only does Arcade have him restrained, but he’s also doing a step-by-step narration of everything happening in a manner that’s less than flattering to the rabbit-eyed, greasy-haired Sinister. Honestly, watching these two interact is great–I don’t care about what happens to either of them, as long as it’s being written by Zeb Wells.
AG: Agreed! Watching these two lunatics banter back-and-forth is simply delightful, and Wells’ is careful to make them distinctive in their lunacy, with Sinister maintaining his sort of “genteel-yet-demonic fashionista” bit in the face of Arcade’s barely-keeping-it-together psychotic glee at having the upper hand. In the course of their showdown, we learn that Arcade has pressed Mastermind into his service by holding his daughter hostage (one of them, at least) and that he’s taken steps to ensure what he’s seeing & doing is real and not being manipulated by Mastermind, which is, quite frankly, rather smart of him. Meanwhile, the Hellions are locked in traps generated by a weird combo of Mastermind illusions and Arcade’s more crude robotics, all so Arcade can get Sinister to make him clones to play with. And this is all pre-credits! Any big takeaways from all this (entertainly-delivered) exposition for you?
LL: This version of Murderworld is really interesting to me. In the past, Arcade’s been known for incredibly realistic robots, and an almost danger-room level of set design– different levels, creatures, and all sorts of effects. This time, he’s spent the effort to get around Mastermind’s powers, and (as we see mentioned later) he has a whole staff working for him, but the robots he has look like the most generic “robot” image he found on google. It’s an interesting change, for sure, and one that Arcade himself doesn’t seem 100% sold on. I’m also torn, since having the team bounce around in a pinball machine does sound like fun. [Ed. note: Sadly it seems like X-Men Pinball machines are sold out.]
AG: I mean, the classics are the classics for a reason, but that said, I do really like this twist on Murderworld and Arcade’s general MO. Torture as a plot device in comics is passe, at best, but it works much better with a character like Arcade who can’t really succeed in murdering many superheroes in his Murderworld, by dint of narrative conventions. But using Murderworld to torment his victims, especially in this manner, where it’s more about getting into their heads & torturing them with a falsified version of their idyllic dream life, presents the best of both worlds: it provides a vehicle for characterization AND allows Arcade to remain a credible threat.
It Continues To Get Weird
LL: We get a look in on the different rooms where each team member is being manipulated, each with a title describing the emotion Mastermind is manipulating. Psylocke is in a room of “compassion”, which looks like a beautiful waterfront home. She’s spending time with her daughter and making her a meal– but an ominous doppelganger looms in the background. Greycrow is in a room of “absolution”, which appears as a warzone where he’s just killed a bunch of people. His comrades congratulate him, and thank him for saving their lives. Empath, the horrible monster he is, is in a room of “satisfaction”. He looks like a child here, and he shoves food into his face while his mother reminds him that the dentist had found cavities. Empath says that he forced the dentist to drill out his own eyes, and shouts at her while she asks him to behave in front of their company– a collection of everyone Empath has hurt, present so he can gloat. It’s pretty awful, and I say that having just seen Greycrow think he’s responsible for a bunch of deaths. Is anyone else doing any better?
AG: Well, there’s Wild Child (“aggression”), who gets to be the Alpha Male and chases off both Wolverine & Sabretooth. Then there’s Nanny and the Orphan Maker, in the “protection” room, where Nanny is surrounded by mutant orphans clamoring for her, while a jealous Orphan Maker finds himself attended to by not one, but two Nannys, and it is rather delightful. And finally, in perhaps the saddest manipulation of all, Havok (“passion”) finds himself in the arms of a perfectly normal Madelyne Pryor, just as we see via Arcade’s feed that things are about to get a little R-rated between him and the crude robot posing as Madelyne. [Ed. note: real Inferno energy] So not really better, per se, but it is all enough to convince Sinister to build Arcade his clone farm. However, mere acquiescence isn’t enough for Arcade, so he proceeds to physically torture Sinister via *shudder* dental work.
LL: Dental work is a great euphemistic description of what’s happening here, and that’s all I’ll say about it. There’s one other little moment that I found interesting, and that’s the interaction between Arcade and his assistant. Last issue, I assumed this was a woman that Arcade had dressed up to look like Miss Locke, the former assistant he claimed to have murdered back during Avengers Arena. But now, it appears that this is some sort of robot created to replace Miss Locke, even if her programming isn’t quite at the level of replicating her behavior. Arcade doesn’t seem to be dealing with it well, even for him. It’s just another indication that this plan has too many moving parts and won’t go well.
The Carrot And The Stick
AG: While Arcade sets about “fishing for chiclets”, the “nice” versions of the Hellions’ respective illusions come crashing down around them: Psylocke realizes her daughter doesn’t know her own name, shortly before she’s attacked by a Mojo-ized version of herself [Ed. note: or perhaps Betsy Braddock?]. She telepathically calls out to Greycrow, who suddenly sees the enemy combatants he “heroically” killed as a group of Morlocks. This prompts Arcade to give Mastermind permission to switch from the “carrot” illusions to the “stick” illusions. Before digging into those, let’s take a moment to appreciate the quiet way Psylocke became the emotional center of this issue. Which did you find more affecting: the way Stephen Segovia drew the sad look on Psylocke’s daughter’s face when she realized she didn’t know her own name, or the way Psylocke instinctively reached out to Greycrow for help?
LL: The sequence of events here was perfectly devastating. She’s the one who questions her daughter first– there’s no obvious false moment, but Psylocke still knows to suspect it. It’s possible that Psylocke may have had some resistance to the illusions, but to me it read as her being unable to just accept a peaceful, beautiful life because she knows better. You can tell by her face how much it hurts her to disturb the illusion, though. She starts asking the “child” questions about where she is, but she doesn’t attempt to attack or anything, even knowing that this is all fake. It’s not until she’s in active danger that she does anything– and it’s a real testament to the bond she has with Greycrow that she’s able to break through the illusions to reach him. I love this moment, even in it’s sadness.
AG: It’s a testament to how good this series is, that even amongst all the wild illusions & cackling villainy, it finds space for something as quiet yet moving as that. Less touching is when the illusions fully flip to the “stick” setting, and Empath finds himself tormented by “retaliation”, as all his victims turn on him when his power shuts off, Wild Child is beaten by Wolverine & Sabretooth in “submission”, Havok finds himself suffering “humiliation” at the hands of a dominant Goblin Queen [Ed. note: which honestly looks like he is having a great time], Psylocke is hunted by her dark doppelganger in “rejection” while Greycrow suffers “retribution” at the hands of vampiric Morlocks, and Nanny & the Orphan Maker deal with “separation” from their newfound charges/extra Nannys. As the issue heads towards its conclusion, what did you think of these “flips” of the earlier, more idyllic illusions?
LL: I think the creepy children engulfing Nanny and Orphan Maker is definitely my least favorite, for starters! I think some of the punishments being chosen show the person’s state of mind more than others, Greycrow is being mauled by the Morlocks, and it almost seems like a punishment he would have chosen for himself (mirroring the incident that got him assigned to the team). Meanwhile, Empath is nowhere near self-aware enough to even think he’d need a punishment, so this has to come as a total shock to him. Havok is going through his Goblin Queen experience for the second time in this run, so hopefully he’s got some coping mechanisms on tap that will help him get through this. What do you think?
AG: The extent to which Maddie was the focal point of both Havok’s fantasies seems significant. Obviously, given the role she played in the series’ inaugural arc, it’s just good writing to call her back here – she is fresh in readers’ minds, as is the dynamic between her and Havok. But given the way that first story ended, in terms of Maddie’s fate, hopefully Wells is keeping her in the minds of readers for a reason. This could, of course, just be wishful thinking, but perhaps there’s more left to Maddie’s story (the actual Madelyne, not just the illusory one featured here). At any rate, yes, it seems like Havok should be an old hat at dealing with Goblin Queen domination at this point (and perhaps this “stick” illusion isn’t as bad for him as Mastermind thinks…).
LL: If the next issue starts with Havok just enjoying himself, I think it would be great. If he’s having a terrible time, that would also be pretty great. This book can go in either direction at any time, and I will have no complaints.
AG: Agreed! This series continues to be masterful at pivoting between tones: this issue is one of its most horrific yet, but also, one of the funniest. And the next issue promises more of the same as Arcade, having thoroughly broken Sinister and seemingly bent him to his will, ends things for now as he manically declares “Let’s play.”
X-Traneous Thoughts
- Krakoan reads “ESCAPE OR DIE”
- Arcade holding Mastermind’s daughter hostage in order to force Mastermind’s cooperation is an old play for him – he pulled a similar move with the X-Men’s friends, allies, and loved ones in an effort to force a B-team of retired X-Men to rescue Miss Locke from Dr. Doom back in Uncanny X-Men #146. He’s even made it an official part of his operation, per the mid-issue data page/memorandum detailing the “Loyalty Program”.
- Which is literally Arcade holding a family member of each employee hostage in order to ensure loyalty. And no, you cannot negotiate to have the hostage be a family member you love less.
- Speaking of Mastermind’s daughter, he technically has three: a Lady Mastermind, a Mastermind and Pixie. However, there seems to be a disconnect between the script and the art in this issue (or, a possible clue to a hidden Mastermind illusion), as Arcade references Martinique Jason, the Lady Mastermind he partnered with in the Wolverine/Gambit: Victims miniseries once upon a time, but the art depicts the Regan Wyngarde Lady Mastermind who, amongst other things, briefly joined the X-Men during Mike Carey’s run, circa “Supernovas” and was recently rescued in Giant Size X-Men: Nightcrawler (and if you’re wondering why there’s two different Lady Masterminds, it is apparently the result of a mix-up between Joe Casey & Chris Claremont, who both had plans to use the existing Lady Mastermind/Martinique Jason at the same time, so Claremont just went ahead and did his planned story with a new & different Lady Mastermind).
- When they said “Nanny is more Nanny” I never dreamed that we would get so many Nannys.
- Cannot believe Romulus is in an issue of comics in 2021
Liz Large is a copywriter with a lot of opinions on mutants.
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him on Twitter @AustinGorton
