All-New X-Men (1st series) #34

Issue Date: 
January 2015
Story Title: 
untitled
Staff: 

Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Mahmud Asrar (artist), Marte Gracia with Marcelo Maiolo (colorists), VC’s Cory Petit (letterer), Mahmud Asrar & Marte Gracia (cover artists), Xander Jarowey (assistant editor), Mike Marts (editor), Axel Alonso (editor-in-chief), Joe Quesada (chief creative officer), Dan Buckley (publisher), Alan Fine (executive producer)

Brief Description: 

Miles and Jean have met the Ultimate X-Men. When both Jeans try to read each other’s mind, they faint, though later the two of them bond. Marvel Girl uses Cerebro to look for her friends and finds something extraordinary. In Atlanta, Iceman manages to beat the Mole Man’s monster but then his powers fade due to the heat. He is arrested and mocked by the cops, but regains his power thanks to the car’s air-conditioning. At the Weapon X faculty, X-23 and Angel learn the mutant race’s history from Jimmy Hudson and begins to realize they are in another universe. Drugged with a truth serum, Beast tells Dr. Doom everything.

Full Summary: 

Jean and Spider-Man tried to break into the X-mansion, only to find the X-Men living there clandestinely, one of whom is another version of Jean. Miles begins to babble that they have to see this in context. Firestar and Rogue remark this is weird. When Iceman points out that the newcomer looks like Jean, just slightly hotter, both Jeans and Storm glare at him. He admits this was a poor choice of words and suggests they return to the drama.

Jean introduces herself to her ultimate counterpart and both admit this is awkward.

Shapeshifter, Rogue figures. Firestar doubts it.

Both Jeans’ eyes begin to glow as they attempt to telepathically probe each other and suddenly they begin to experience each other’s entire life.

Ultimate Jean sees her counterpart’s life, joining the X-Men, fighting villains like the Vanisher, going to the future with her team, being put on trial by the Shi’ar and more.

Marvel Girl sees her Ultimate counterpart’s life: Also being part of the X-Men, battling her madness, her grief over the loss of Cyclops, fighting Kitty Pryde over the fate of the mutant nation.

Both girls scream and break apart. They babble, then as if on cue both faint.

In Atlanta, Georgia an Iceman suffering from the heat is fleeing for his life from the monster the Mole Man conjured up. He uses what is left of his ice powers in defense. When he sees it’s 114 degrees he complain no wonder his powers don’t work properly. And people live here? On purpose?

He takes moisture from inside the creature and freezes its head in a block of ice. He complains that Jean comes here and gets cool new powers while he gets less powers.

Without air, the monster falls. Several cops train guns at Iceman and order him to freeze. He would if he could, Bobby sighs.

Inside the Weapon X complex, Canada:
Angel and X-23 insist man did not create mutant. He did and he did it right here, Jimmy Hudson replies darkly. Mutants are born not made, Angel points out. What did they think they’d find here? Jimmy asks. Their school, Laura replies. Well, this ain’t no school. She knows what this is, Laura, replies. She was born in a place like this. Born? he asks. She shows her claws. He is the son of Wolverine. She is his clone, she announces. Now Jimmy is taken aback.

Laura points out she thinks they aren’t from this Earth. They need to find the mutant who did this to them and find out if reality has been warped and this is the new normal. Or if they have been put here where they don’t belong.

What if they are stuck here? Angel fears. Laura refuses to entertain the thought. She can’t go through this. He promises they’ll find a way home. Like he found a way back to his own time? she retorts.

Latveria:
In Latveria, Beast explains in detail how he ended up here, thanks to the truth serum Doom doused his food and drink with. Dr. Doom drugged him. A new low for him, Beast sighs. Doom wants to know more about how they are from another time as well.

His older self brought them forward to stop a mutant genocide started by Scott Summers. Did it work? Doom asks. There was no genocide, he is told. So it seems it did.

Doom finds this terribly fascinating. Beast babbles on about how they are lost. And she doesn’t even look at him. Doom doesn’t understand. Beast continues he is absolutely one hundred percent in love with Jean Grey and she barely looks in his direction. And the kick of it is she can read his mind. She knows how he feels. And she does not care!

Doom stands up. This is getting embarrassing. Beast looks up and announces he will not help him. Doom simply tells him he will. He will not! Hank shouts. Doom drugged him to tell the truth, so he knows he tells the truth now. He will die before he helps him! Doom informs him this is not his choice anymore. They found his true purpose now. A help to Doom’s work. What work? Hank asks. What is he going to do?

In Atlanta, Iceman is in a police car and refuses to answer questions. Nevertheless, the cops identify him as Robert Drake, Iceman. He was on the cover of Time magazine, the cop mocks, during the ten minutes the people were fooled by them. Don’t they get it by now? Keep the mutant crap on the down-low. Keep it to themselves. Why do they do this? Do what? Bobby asks. Make a nuisance of themselves, he is told. Should he let a monster attack the city? Bobby points out. Let people get hurt?

Mercilessly, the cop asks if he knows how much it will cost the city to clean this up. Let the cops do their job and stop upsetting everyone with his freakshow.

Well, as long as he doesn’t want to sound racist, Bobby mocks. He isn’t listening, the cop tells his partner. He listens very carefully, Bobby interjects. He appreciates it actually… because the air-conditioning in this car… it really hit the spot.

He ices up and breaks the window. The car crashes into a bus. Fleeing on an iceslide, he assures them he’s going to miss this place almost as much as he’ll miss them.

Westchester:
Marvel Girl awakes sitting in the huge Cerebro chamber. Hello? she calls out. The other Jean joins her. Marvel Girl asks why she is here. Her older self explains they need to find the little mutant that brought her here and her X-Men. She’s been looking online and there have been some weird news stories. She thinks her teammates are here too, scattered about.

They both admit reading each other’s life was upsetting. How could they be the same and so different? Older Jean decides to hug her. She muses she was feeling bad about herself before, now she sees the other Jean being better at being her than she is. Marvel Girl protests. Older Jean reminds her she knows her mistakes. And she knows hers, Marvel Girl points out and asks where the others are. Older Jean explains she thought they needed to do this alone.

The other X-Men sit in the kitchen with Miles and stare at him.

Older Jean asks Marvel Girl to do this, figuring he is stronger and reveals Miles has a crush on her. She knows. She is nervous since mutants are different here. What if she can’t find them? Moments later, she bursts out if she saw that. Is that real?

Characters Involved: 

Angel, Beast, Iceman, Marvel Girl, X-23 (all X-Men)

In the Ultimate Universe:
Blackheath, Firestar, Iceman, Jean Grey, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine II (all X-Men)
Spider-Man II

Dr. Doom
cops

In mindprobe:
Marvel Girl:
Angel, Beast , Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl
Vanisher
Adult Beast and Cyclops
Xorn III
X-23

Ultimate Jean:
Beast, Colossus, Cyclops, Iceman, Kitty Pryde,Professor X, Storm, Wolverine
Psylocke
Phoenix Force
Galactus

Story Notes: 

The telepathic probe is a homage to issue #3

Written By: