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STORY: "Games of Deceit & Death,
part 2 of 3" (22 pages) Cannonball gets
captured by the Kingpin, while the other X-Men and Shang-Chi
talk with Sebastian Shaw.
What you need to know:
Sebastian Shaw is now working out of the Hong Kong branch
of the Hellfire Club. He's focussing on finding a cure
for the Legacy Virus, presumably so that he can sell it for a
fortune. That's why he wants to get the Elixir Vitae off
the Kingpin (who presumably acquired his sample when he seized
control of Fu Manchu's organisation, but it's never really
explained). Nonetheless, he does seem entirely sincere
about trying to find a cure.
Rory Campbell, a supporting character from
Excalibur, turns up to give Shaw illicit copies of
Moira MacTaggart's research into the Legacy Virus. At
this point Moira was infected with the virus, and Rory's
concerned that she'll die without finding a cure. All of
this has nothing much to do with the present storyline, but
does play into Campbell's personal arc in Excalibur.
The idea was that he was the mainstream version of Ahab, a
supervillain from the Days of Future Past storyline, and
despite his good intentions he kept finding himself moving in
that direction.
Comments:
Frankly, a bit of a mess. The art's still lovely,
but the exposition is all over the place. I've re-read
this story several times now, and I still can't find any clear
explanation of why Cannonball goes off on his own, where the
Kingpin got his sample of the Legacy Virus from, what was the
outcome of the X-Men's conversation with Shaw, or why they
don't just attack the guy and try to capture him. The
plot jumps all over the place, and I'm still not entirely sure
I actually understand what the hell's meant to be happening at
times. Campbell's scene gets a lot of prominence even
though it has no bearing on the plot, and Shang-Chi is looking
worryingly superfluous.
FEATURE CHARACTERS
Cyclops, Storm, Cannonball, Phoenix III and Wolverine
GUEST STAR
Shang-Chi
VILLAINS
The Kingpin
Bludgeon II, Fist, Katana and their teammate (no
further appearances for all) and other Si-Fan Ninjas
Sebastian Shaw (last in issue #61)
GUEST APPEARANCE
Rory Campbell (last behind the scenes in Excalibur
vol 1 #107; next in Excalibur vol 1 #111)
Written: 10 September 2005
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