Mutant X #31

Issue Date: 
May 2001
Story Title: 
You Say You Want A Resolution?
Staff: 

Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Michael Golden (cover), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Gina Going (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Lysa Hawkins (editor), Joe Quesada (editor-in-chief)

Brief Description: 

Deep within the core of the Earth, a mysterious creature begins to awake from it’s long rest. On Earth itself, Captain America gets out of control and increazes in an enormous size and receives an enermous amount of energy. The Professor order Hudson and his Super-Soldiers to destroy Cap but, before they can do that, Cap kills them all! Havok fears and wonders how they could possibly stop Captain America. The Avengers wake up and try to fight Cap, but he finds them traitors and kills them all! Alex tells Wolverine to take Jean and get his family into safety, while he stays behind to stop Cap. They do, and Alex also orders the Six to leave in their plane. Havok and Captain America fight, which concludes in Havok killing Captain America. Havok and the Six return to their castle, only to be ambushed by Dracula, bites Havok’s in the neck. Now that Dracula has fed, the real fun can begin.

Full Summary: 

Deep within the core of the planet known as Earth, there is a being of immense power. Within recent memory, he came from beyond the farthest reaches of the known universe and ignited a secret war. A gathering of Earth’s mightiest heroes and villains, who barely defeated this creature of beyond. Now, the creature sleeps. Trapped within fire, the creature continues his rest.

Meanwhile, near the U.S./Canadian border, a battle begins. Wolverine orders Havok and Jean to get Mariko and his kids out of there, while he handles the Professor and his many Super-Soldiers. Havok doesn’t obey and says that they’ll do this together. Wolverine tells Alex to do it; they can’t far or fast enough. They’ll end this here. The Professor says that Havok is right: they cannot run. But, ending this, they can’t do either.

The Professor asks Logan to come back where he belongs: the Weapon X Program. The Professor promises Logan that, if he comes now, he’ll let his friends and family go. The Professor explains, the moment he and his troops came, the border fell down like dominoes. Even as they speak, missile silos are opening, troops are being scrambled and bombers launched. The Professor asks Logan if he really wants to be the cause of World War IV.

Captain America screams, “No!” and everybody turns their attention to Cap, who starts glowing with energy and increasing size. Cap mumbles that they are enemies of the state and that he must protect, serve and defend! Cap freakishly grows in an enermous size and is out of control! Cap continues his mumbling, saying that he must destroy the enemies of America.

A startled Professor says that he heard the rumors of this, but assumed it was the C.I.A.’s disinformation machine at work. The Americans, before Canada’s forces pilfered their Super-Soldier Program and killed it’s inventor, they experimented on one individual. He turned out to have a latent mutantcy wich turned out to be a disaster. They, and he, couldn’t control it. His powers were supposed to be off all measurable scales! But the Professor thought that he was dead. That it was just a failed experiment. An enlarged Captain America says that he lives, ready to defend their great nation from invasion!

Cap runs towards the Professor, wanting to kill him. The Professor believes Cap to be insane and orders the Super-Soldiers to kill Captain America. Cap fires an energly blast against the Professor and mumbles that there are too many enemies, but he must destroy them all. The Professor gets scared and believes Cap to be insane. He begs the Super-Soldiers, Hudson and Wolverine for help. The Professor wants this creature destroyed before it kills them all! Hudson sends the Super-Soldiers out to do the job. Havok can’t believe what’s happening and asks Wolverine what’s happening to Captain America.

Havok fears, because if Cap was capable of taking down the Six and the Avengers, two of Earth’s greatest super-heroic teams, then he doesn’t want to find out what he can do to them. Wolverine sees this as their perfect chance, letting Cap handle the villains so that they can get his family to safety. The Professor finds himself surrounded by energy and tells Hudson that he can’t stand the pain in his head. The Professor orders Hudson to kill Cap, but then the Professor suddenly vanishes, only his glasses remaining. Havok asks Wolverine if he felt that energy and asks what’s going on. Wolverine doesn’t care and just wants to move.

The Super-Soldiers open fire on Cap, but he makes surrounds himself with a protective force-fields, against which the bullets all are deflected. Cap still mumbles and says that the enemies of the state… all his training says to protect and to destroy! The Soldiers try to outflank Cap and increase their shooting fire. Cap is still unharmed, thanks to his force-field, but then he starts growing again and becomes even larger than before. Cap says that he is the Sentinel of Liberty! He is the living embodiment of the American ideal! Let freedom ring! Cap increases his energy and completly glows. He unleashes the energy and kills all the Super-Soldiers! He is Captain America!

At that same moment, in the Earth’s core, there is a stirring. The mysterious creature trapped in fire slightly opens its eyes.

Meanwhile, Havok stops running, because it doesn’t feel right. Alex feels that something bad is going to happen. Wolverine feels that too, saying that all hell is going to break loose here. Wolverine says that, if he knows the American military, it’s going to be a massive air strike in these parts within the 10 minutes. Wolverine knows that they won’t risk another full-scale Canadian invasion. It’s how they lost Maine. Wolverine tells Alex not to be stupid and move. Havok says that he is going back for the Six and the Avengers. He can’t leave them behind.

Wolverine says that they could be dead by now, for all they know. Alex wants to know that for sure. Wolverine snikts his claws open and threatens Alex that he needs him to get his family into safety. Alex says that Logan’s got Jean for that. They’ll be fine. Havok takes off and Wolverine goes with Jean and his family.

Meanwhile, Captain America says that he knows that they are coming. He looks to the sky and sees helicopters approaching. Cap prepares to blast the helicopters down but, instead, he gets blasted! Iron Giant Man is surprised to see Cap still standing, because that repulsor ray he fired is supposed to be strong enough to take down a mountain.

Iron Giant Man tells Cap to stop this insantiy and get a grip on himself. Cap asks Iron Giant Man if it’s wrong to be a patriot, to love your country? Captain America charges up and slams Iron Giant Man down! Cap continues smashing Iron Giant Man in the face, telling Stark that he could never see the truth. That Stark was always more loyal to his machine than to the flag. A flag stained with the blood belonging ot the patriots before Cap. Cap says that Stark and his kind disguist him. Cap slams so hard that he destroys Iron Giant Man’s mask and makes Stark faint.

Suddenly, Cap gets a blast from Havok, who tells Cap that it’s over. Cap says that it’s far from over; it’s only the beginning. Cap finds Havok to be the worst traitor of them all; he’s not even from this world. Typhoid Mary gets up, telling Cap that they are. Mary and the other Avengers try to blast Captain America down, not allowing to let Cap destroy everything they believe in. Cap tells the Avengers not to tell him about loyalties, adding that the Avengers are traitors too, who are only loyal to the super-heroics. Cap fires his energies and kills the Avengers!

Seeing this, the Six get up and Havok orders Bloodstorm to take the plane and leave. When Bloodstorm asks what Alex is going to do, Havok says that, no matter how much he hates it, he’ll has to kill Captain America. And he’ll have to do that before the world destroys itself. At the same moment, more helicopters arrive and are being commanded by General Ross. Also at that moment, at the Earth’s core, the creature is now fully awake.

Havok uses the full potential of his plasma-blast that surround him completly. Captain America does the same with his powers. Cap and Havok fire at the same time, which causes a huge explosion, laying waste to the area. Jean, however, protects Wolverine and his family with a telekinetic force-field, while Ice-Man protects his teammates with an ice-shield. And still, the battle goes on. Havok can’t believe what he is doing. Alex grows mad, saying that, if Cap destroyed the moon, killed Scotty, the X-Men even, he’ll…! Havok fires a powerful plasma-blast and kills Captain America! Havok can’t believe what he has done. At the Earth’s core, the creature is awake.

Sometime later, Havok has already left the deceased body of Captain America. A person approaches Cap, telling Cap to come to him. The person says that he has so much to learn about this person since it last walked above. So much to learn about Alex Summers, this interdimmensional walker.

Meanwhile, the Six are back at their castle. Alex wants to do something, but doesn’t know where to begin or where to help. This isn’t a normal super-villain threat. Havok orders Bloodstorm to spread the word and find out who of the heroes survived and to make one large group.

Suddenly, Havok is grabbed by the neck and someone bites it! Everyone panics and Bloodstorm can’t believe to see… Dracula! Dracula introduces himself, thanking Bloodstorm for this tasty mutant treat. Dracula says that Havok’s blood is filled with energies he never tasted before. And, now that he has fed, Dracula says, the real fun can begin.

Characters Involved: 

Bloodstorm, Brute, Captain America, Gambit, Havok, Ice-Man (the Six)

Jean Grey

Black Widow, Deathlok, Hawkeye, Iron Giant Man, Typhoid Mary (the Avengers)

Wolverine

Mariko Yashida (Wolverine’s wife)

Marie and Brian (Wolverine’s daughter and son)

The Professor

James Hudson/Guardian (all Alpha Flight)

Super-Soldiers (unnamed)

Dracula

The Beyonder

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross

unnamed human soldiers

Story Notes: 

The story continues in Mutant X Annual 2001 and concludes, along with the series, in Mutant X #32.

Scotty went to live on the moon with the X-Men in their secret hideout in the hope to be safer there in Mutant X #23.

World War I really happened and went from the year 1914-1918.

World War II really happened as well, from the year 1940-1945.

World War III is considered to be the attack of the Goblin Queen, from Mutant X #1-12.

The Secret Wars consisted in the real universe out of gathered heroes and villains, whom the Beyonder wanted to find out the meaning of desire. With the heroes winning, they eventually returned home, as did the villains. [Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12]

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