ISSUE SUMMARIES
XTREME XMEN #4
Story Title: Dreamtime
Serenade
Staff: Chris
Claremont (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), (uninked), Liquid! (colors),
Tom Orzechowski (letters), Frank Dunkerley and Andrew Lis (assistant editor),
Matt Hicks and mark Powers (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Bill Jemas
(president)
Brief Description:
From one of Gateway’s dreamtime visions, the X-Treme X-Men learn that Bishop is
a descendant of Gateway. Also they see a vision of the future involving a
„needle“, a special elevator that transports cargo from earth’s surface into
the orbit. They look at a diary page, which pictures Gambit crucified with six
pieces of jewelry and something growing out of his chest. Later the X-Men break
into Destiny’s house only to find a crate with goodies prepared for them. One
box looks like holding a diary, but it has been stolen by Vargas. At the same
time Gambit breaks into Vargas‘ castle, but is captured and defeated. Yet he
charms his way out of the situation and is allowed to leave, on the way out he
steals a big diamond, which Vargas notices, but pretends not to. Later Gambit
checks on the X-Treme team and finding them to be alright, leaves before being
spotted.
Full Synopsis:
Gambit invades Vargas’ home in Spain in search of loot. He disperses the twins
with ease thanks to his agility and his mutant powers, but when Vargas shows
up, Remy recognises he is out of his league.
At the same time, the X-Men are
enjoying an evening by the beach, sitting around a campfire. Rogue plays a
blues on her guitar. Neal thinks that cheering isn’t right with their teammate
having being murdered, but the other tell him that they are celebrating her
life and the times they shared with her. Bishop stands a little bit apart, taking
in the landscape. In his future timeline he never knew such sights and smells,
which reminds hi that in his future the X-Men were legends. Yet side by side
with them, they don’t seem like these iconic heroes, instead they are real
people with feelings and emotions like everybody else. Suddenly he is
transported to “dreamtime”, another plane of existence, accesible by the mutant
shaman Gateway.
He isn’t the only one. Psylocke’s
ghost is present in dreamtime too, as guest of Gateway, to help explain things
to Bishop. They find themselves on Ayers Rock, and Bishop recognizes the place
from the tales that his mother told him when he was growing up. Images appear
that revealed Bishop as Gateway’s grandson (or great-grandson as revealed by
Chris Claremont in his online forum boards at X-Fan). Psylocke aks Bishop to
look in the opposite direction, and they see the future all the way to the end
of time. Looking to the left, Bishop sees many alternate versions of himself.
Recognizing a pattern (behind - past, ahead - future, side - alternate
possibilites) Bishop expects more alternate realities when he turns to the
right, yet finds something deifferent : a huge tower reachinfg dor the stars,
in not one, but all different worlds. Psylocke continues her tour, reminding
Bishop of endless night where the X-Men wondered about their purpose she points
to the ground, where the start of an answer might be found. They are standing
on the page of huge open book. It shows a picture of Gambit, crucified to a
globe. Six jewels hold him in place, four on the wrists and ankles, one at the
throat and one plucked in his heart. A tree branches out from the chest wound
and heads into space. Bishop and Psylocke agree that this has to be one of
Destiny‘s visions, and Betsy elaborates that the scope of Destiny’s prophecies
is even broader than Storm and the X-Men suspect, yet there is a chance that
the X-Treme team might shape the future. Bishop asks how, but Psylocke has no
answer, it’s Bishop who is a policeman and detective, so it’s his job to figure
out, and unfortunately her time is up anyway. She prepares to leave for the
afterlife, but right as she wants to give Bishop one last message for Neal, a
glowing portal opens behind her and a skulled figure pulls her through.
Bishop demands answers from
Gateway, but he is as mute as ever. The rest of the X-Men show up with Rogue
now manifesting Gateway’s powers, after having touched him in the Australian
days (Uncanny X-Men #269). She now looks partially like the aborigine, having
dark skin (coloring error, the issue shows her pale) and dreadlocks. Apparently
being near Bishop when he was pulled into the dreamtime activated Rogue’s
manifestation, and she took the rest of the team with her. Sage takes a look
around and recognizes the tower as a “needle“, a giant elevator to move cargo
from earth’s surface into the geosynchronous orbit, which is about 22.000
miles. The team gets back to reality and they discuss what they saw. Bishop had
no knowledge about being related to Gateway, and now wishes he had listened
when his father wanted to teach him the “songlines“, the great mysteries and
ancestral stories of his people, that were passed down from one generation to
the next.
Back to the castle, where Gambit
and Vargas face each other. Remy checks his options, and instead of fighting he
decides to make a run for the door, but Vargas is faster and captures him. Held
up against a wall, Gambit offers a game, high card wins. Vargas starts and
pulls an ace. Remy then suggests two out of three, and alters the rules once
more into three out of five, when Vargas pulls again an ace. After Vargas’s
third ace he asks to expands the game to seven rounds and Vargas starts
laughing. He likes Gambit’s style, despite the facts that he is losing game
after game and against an unbeatable opponent, Gambit shows no fear.
The X-Treme X-Men head for
Destiny’s house in spain, which was the reason for the whole trip there. Storm
has troubles picking the locks and Bishop gives her a bit of preaching, that it
is illegal and he, as a cop, shouldn’t allow this. While waiting, Bishop gives
Neal a training session, he has Neal burn a hole through a puck made of steel
and Thunderbird easily complies; yet when having to do the same with an
adamantium puck he fails. This is meant to show how far he has progressed, but
also that he has still a long way to go in the use of his ability. There is
also a sublime moment between Tessa and Rogue. When Rogue flies them to the
house, she tells Sage of her worries concerning her powers and asks her if she
could help her control them, as she does with the rest of them. Finally Ororo
has managed to open the door and they enter the house. Bishop immediately takes
to the kitchen, and starts preparing a meal for all, while the others check out
a crate addressed to them, containing all sorts of goodies: new clothes, fake
identities, and destiny’s will, which leaves Rogue a the sole heiress, and
gives the team the economic comfort to roam the world for the diaries.
Inside the Castle, Vargas and the
twins have taken Gambit to another room. The cajun makes another smart remark,
that alsthough being not as superior as Vargas, he could make the lady (Thaiis)
smile. Vargas states that he should kill Gambit right here and now, but won’t,
while he uncovers a statue (or is it the body ?) of Psylocke. Gambit states
that she laughed to waltz, that she kissed even batter than she fought, which
are all things that Vargas will now never experience since he killed her.
Vargas says that he thought Gambit came to steal Destiny’s diary from his
possession (it shows the same page from the dreamtime vision), but Remy
explains that he is no longer with the X-Men, he is a thief and tehy are
heroes. Vargas thenlets him go, while leaving Gambit thinks how lucky he was to
have talked his way out of this situation. He heads to Destiny’s house, takes a
look at the X-Treme team through the windoiws and leaves before being spotted.
In his bag he carries the big diamond, that was earlier seen in vargas‘ castle.
Inside the house, Ororo has put on
a revealing dress, that Destiny had prepared for her, she looks excellent in
it, but is a little bit uncomfortable with the males staring. In the bottom of
the crate, Rogue spots a wooden book-shaped package, sealed with destiny’s
insignia. When the team opens it, instead of finding one of the diaries, they
discover it’s empty, except for a single rose, that Thunderbird immediately
recognises as the one he put in Psylocke’s casket and the team in unison agree
that the book was snatched by Vargas.
Back at his castle, Vargas sits
and reads the diary, he knows that Gambit stole the diamond, but also where it
will lead him ...
Characters:
Bishop, Rogue, Sage, Storm, Thunderbird III (all X-Treme X-Men)
Psylocke’s spirit / ghost
Gambit, former X-Man
Gateway (X-Men ally)
Vargas
Thais and Thaiis, Vargas’ servants
Notes:
Of the six gems on Gambit’s body in Destiny’s sketch, two can be identified as
the big diamond Gambit stole from Vargas and the cameo Crystal that Storm
wear’s on her costume (see X-Treme X-Men #1), the other four stones, actually
two twin sets, are yet unknown.
When Lucas Bishop was mentioned in
#1, it seemed like a fake ID, but Psylocke calling Bishop that name, kind of
establishes it as his real name.
Vargas must have broken twice into
Destiny’s house; before issue #1 to gain the book, and between #3 and 4 to
place the rose.
Issue Summary written by:
Manolis Vamvounis and Peter Luzifer, uncannyxmen.net
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