Under the leadership of the fanatical Fabian Cortez, the Acolytes
launch a series of deadly attacks on humans. Then, Magneto returns to reclaim
control over the Acolytes and offers his fellow mutants a sanctuary on a
satellite orbiting the Earth. There’s just one catch – those who do not join
him are free to die alongside the humans Magneto despises. The X-Men, along
with splinter teams X-Factor and X-Force, must stop their powerful adversaries in
a fight to the finish.
X-Men: Fatal Attractions collects
Uncanny X-Men #298-305, 315, Annual #17,
X-Factor #87-92, X-Men Unlimited #1-2, X-Force
#25, X-Men #25, Wolverine #75 and Excalibur
#71. It is written by Fabian Nicieza and Scott Lobdell, with art by Andy and
Adam Kubert, Greg Capullo, Jeo Quesada, Ken Lashley and John Romita, Jr.
Unlike previous X-Men crossovers, Fatal
Attractions is relatively short and it features a succinct narrative aimed
at celebrating the X-Men’s then-30th anniversary. Story-wise, it serves
as a loose sequel to the events of MutantGenesis and X-Cutioner’s Song. It
follows the aftermath of the virus Stryfe unleashed upon mutants, leading to
the death of Colossus’ little sister Illyana. During this time, the Acolytes
make their reappearance and Magneto returns after having seemingly being killed
by Fabian Cortez. Magneto’s presence is felt early on, but once he makes his
official appearance in this collection it becomes quite clear that he is more
powerful and more unhinged than ever before. This ultimately leads to one of
the most shocking moments in X-Men history – spoilers – Magneto rips the
adamantium out of Wolverine’s body and then Professor Xavier lobotomizes
Magneto to ensure he can never harm another living soul again. This turn of
events shattered the status quo and would have severe repercussions for all
characters involved.
While Fatal Attractions itself
spans a mere six issues, this deluxe hardcover collects an impressive array of
issues that build-up to the shocking events of the crossover. These issues,
particularly the ones of Uncanny X-Men,
involve the games played by the young and villainous Upstarts. We see their
attempts at impressing the Gamesmaster in order to win their wicked contest for
world domination. Consequently, it is Fabian Cortez who has leveraged his “murder”
of Magneto and control of the Acolytes in order to gain an advantage over his
competitors. The concept and execution of the Upstarts is quite fascinating and
works effectively. Unfortunately, this plotline is sidelined the moment Fatal Attractions kicks in. Quite a few
issues of X-Factor are collected here
as well, though they don’t offer the same punch or context as the ones from Uncanny do. In fact, they feel quite out
of place.
Fatal Attractions is
impressive in its ability to deal with complex philosophies and difficult
subjects, all while developing its characters with a surprisingly degree of
care. The most important figures in this collection are Professor Xavier,
Magneto, Colossus, Jean Grey and Jubilee. They are the emotional touchstones
that help us navigate through the events leading up to and through the
crossover.
Once again, we see Professor Xavier and Magneto debating the viability
of Xavier’s dream. After all that has happened to him and to his fellow
mutants, Magneto is convinced that Xavier is delusional and that peaceful
coexistence will never happen. This, of course, isn’t an entirely new viewpoint
for Magneto. The difference comes with Xavier’s approach to dealing with
Magneto. For years, he’s attempted to see the good in his friend and has tried
to rehabilitate him. This time around, passivity isn’t going to cut it. This
time, Magneto needs to be stopped at all costs. What’s great about what Nicieza
and Lobdell do is that they embrace the moral grey area between Xavier and
Magneto’s ideals rather than outright paint either character as being “right.”
Colossus is given incredible prominence in the stories collected here,
which is great considering how often he gets ignored by most writers. He blames
Xavier for taking him away from his simple life, selling him on a dream and
then having that dream amount to nothing but the deaths of everyone he holds
dear. His presence is a visceral reminder of the failures the X-Men have faced
throughout their existence. On top of that, his defection from the X-Men to
join Magneto’s Acolytes was yet another twist that illustrated how far Nicieza
and Lobdell were willing to go in order to shake up the status quo.
Amongst the darkness and moral ambiguity of Fatal Attractions, there were two beacons of hope in the form of
Jean Grey and Jubilee. While Xavier contemplates and ultimately settles on
using drastic measures to bring down his rival, Jean Grey does not waver from
the moral highground. We see her, rather importantly, questioning Xavier’s
actions and motives. She is a counterpoint to Colossus and even to Xavier in
that she is the physical representation of Xavier’s dream. She’s kind,
intelligent and has a strength of character that is unmatched in this
particular collection of stories. With Jubilee, Nicieza and Lobdell explore her
innocence slowly being chipped away (not that she was ever all that naïve to
begin with). It is through Jubilee that we feel Illyana’s death and experience
grief. It is also through her that we may see a better future. Two of the best
moments from this collection feature her prominently. Notably, Uncanny X-Men #303 features a
grief-stricken Jubilee consoled by Jean Grey and Wolverine #75 sees the titular hero saying goodbye to Jubilee in
order to seek out answers to the questions he has after the loss of his
adamantium.
After the lackluster and convoluted crossover X-Cutioner’s Song, Fatal
Attractions served as a reminder that storytelling could be done in an
evocative and thoughtful way during the notoriously “extreme” ‘90s. Nicieza and
Lobdell effectively deal with themes of life, death, pacifism, extremism and
everything in between all while crafting a twist-filled epic that celebrated
the X-Men’s monumental 30 year anniversary. While there are a whole host of
characters to keep up with and a fair amount of dangling plot threads, Fatal Attractions is a more intimate and
accessible crossover than those that preceded it. It’s a must-read for any fan
of the X-Men and is quite possibly one of the most important events in the
history of the X-Men.
RATING: B+
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