Guardians of the Galaxy #24: The Black Vortex Part 2
Summary
Gamora transformed by the Black Vortex turns the tides long enough for Magik to transport them to Spartax’s moon. Once there a rift develops in their ranks about whether or not they should use the Black Vortex of not. While they bicker Present day Beast uses the Vortex on himself and finds universal knowledge. X-23 tries to destroy the Vortex but is flash fried by Beast. Nova then arrives as Gamoroa uses the Vortex to show all the gathered heroes what they could become by accepting the powers of the Vortex.
Legendary Star Lord #9: The Black Vortex Part 3
Summary
Present day Beast and Gamora changed by the Black Vortex have offered the gathered heroes of the All New X-men, Guardians of the Galaxy, Venom and Ms. Marvel the opportunity to be a part of the future by embracing the gifts of the Black Vortex. Storm and most of them refuse but young Angel accepts and is transformed by the Vortex. Young Iceman tries to do the same but is stopped by Drax. Storm grabs the Vortex and attempts to flee. This prompts a battle between the changed and unchanged. On the Flying fortress of Knife Thane, son of Thanos and the Brood emissary grow impatient with Knife’s ability to retrieve the Black Vortex. The battle end as the transformed grab the vortex and take off, right then the flying fortress unleashes a massive blast of energy to kill our gathered heroes.
All New X-men #38- The Black Vortex Part 4
Summary
Gamora, present day Beast and young Angel contemplate changing a primitive species with the Black Vortex to prove to their allies that it can be used as a weapon of good. They are taken down by Thanos and his Kree fleet who grab the Vortex and disappear. On the moon of Spartax our heroes rise from the ashes having been saved by Shadowcat and Magik respectively. The slaughter lords arrive to kill them but Magik manages to evade them with a spell she learned from Dr. Strange, the sorcerer Supreme before Star Lords helps them flee the planet on his ship. On the Kree home world Beat, Angel and Gamoroa go on a rampage to retrieve the Black Vortex. As Star Lord’s ship soars through space Young Cyclops and his dad show up to give them aid.
All New X-men #39-The Black Vortex Part 5
Summary
Laura/X-23 finally awakens after the attack in Part 3. She finds Young Cyclops watching over her. Scott then visits Jean and the two are still drawn to each other as a moth to a flame. On the Flying Fortess Knife tries to convince Thane all will be fine. On Hala the transformed continue their massacre. Our heroes receive the distress call from the planet and split into teams to deal with the threat. The team that returns to the Spartax moon quickly get taken down and taken hostage by the slaughter lords.
What I thought
I was going to skip the Black Vortex but the more I read is the more interested I become especially with Secret Wars on the Horizon and the imminent merger of worlds and the creation of a new universe. The relationship of Star Lord and Shadowcat is working for me far more than the forced debacle which was her shag with Iceman. They are portrayed as conflicted and clearly drawn in two different directions because of duty. The action was also pretty cool; I particularly liked Storm holding her own in a sword fight with Gamora. There was also a good bit of humor especially in part 2 where they brought up the Phoenix Force and Rocket mentions once you get two earth mutants together they always go there. The art was also quite good though not consistent since different creative teams handled each part. The continuation of Thane’s story line from INFINITY was also enjoyable as we saw what he’s been up to since his activation and running off with Ebony Maw. Present day Hank McCoy’s turn to….gain knowledge from the Vortex is totally in character since he’s been fu**ing up space time by bringing the young X-men to the present and he knows time is ending because he’s a member of the Illuminati, the Vortex gives him what he’s been craving….an alternate look at the many problems in his life and a potential way to fix them. I also loved the portrayal of young Cyclops and Young Jean as star crossed destined lovers. No matter how they try to stay apart, like a moth to a flame they get drawn together. It reminds me of Oedipus, by trying to change their destiny all their actions are really just ensuring destiny happens instead. Overall though Black Vortex is a formulaic but very easily accessible read which takes the X-men/Guardians of the Galaxy right into the secret Wars crossover before the marvel universe/multiverse gets a major reboot. It’s fun and for those who enjoyed INFINITY and want to know what the hell happened to Thane this is the only place to get it! We give Black Vortex Part two to five 4/5 stars 