Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 #158: ""The Life That Late I Led..."
In this issue Carol Danvers finally leaves her past as Carol Danvers and Ms. Marvel behind her.
On an island that is now the temporary headquarters of the X-Men, the morning starts with a fight exercise between Carol Danvers and three Starjammers. They are space-pirates, but since they work with Cyclops' father, they are friends to the X-Men. Even without superpowers Danvers holds her own. Against three aliens at the same time. That is really impressive. A - N.A.S.A physicist is also there, evaluating Danvers, and he is impressed by her responses. Apparently, Danvers' physical reaction are above average for a human. Still, in the end all three of them attack her at the same time and pin her to the ground. I have to say that this is impressive. She may not have super powers, but she seems to have kept something of her super powered self as she is not just a regular human as she was in the previous issues after she lost her powers.
We also find out that Kitty Pryde is in love with Peter Rasputin (also known as Colossus).
Back with Carol Danvers, the doctor's verdict is in. Danvers may not have superpowers, but her genetic change cannot be undone, she is still a "perfect physical specimen of humanity." Which probably means that she has Kree D.N.A. and losing her powers doesn't affect that. It still gives her a certain edge, so she's not just a regular human, even though she never was a regular human.
One of the Starjammers says that this explains Danvers' performance in the fight, which was much more than human. Danvers says it doesn't feel "superior." She says she could handle losing her powers, but that it is the way that she lost them that hurts even after all these months. Suddenly, Moira shows up and adds that it would have hurt no matter what. She's right, a loss is a loss, no matter what. And a loss of powers is something to mourn about. From reading too many fantasy books it sounds like losing a limb to me. Still, Chris Claremont made sure that Danvers doesn't remain completely ordinary which is really cool.
The issue switches to Charles Xavier who is unconscious. It seems he was injured mentally during the battle to free Lilandra, the empress of the Shi'ar Empire and the woman that he loves. The oracle enters his mind and see a struggle, between Xavier and the some force. She tries to take that force, but it almost kills her, and the X-Men severe the connection between the Oracle and Xavier. The Oracle explains that Xavier is fighting against himself and no one can help him.
The bad news keep coming when Pryde tells everyone that the X-Men are on TV. With footage of their last battle with Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Senator Robert Kelly tells people on TV that they are criminals and a possible threat to the world that need to be investigated. The X-Men worked with the government in their early days, so the government must have some data on them, which now must be erased. Pryde suggests that the Starjammers form a virus that will eased all information about them from federal services the moment it is inserted into one of their computers.
Apparently, it's Carol Danvers' plan that the X-Men are using to get into the Pentagon. She is wearing her U.S. air force colonel uniform which I have no idea where she got and Wolverine is wearing his Captain in the Canadian Armed Forces. Danvers was never a colonel and Wolverine asks Danvers about it. She says that the wings and all the medals were earned and that she was temporarily upgraded to a colonel on a few missions. That is new cool information about her past. They'll need her rank to get to the Prime Data Bank which is heavily guarded.
As they walk through the Pentagon, Rogue and Danvers literally bump into each other. They are polite before they notice who the other person is, and then recognition strikes. Rogue seems scared, while Danvers is furious as hell. Understandably so.
For the first time we get a look at the night in which Rogue attacked Danvers and accidently permanently stole her powers as well as memories. Now we learn that the experience has been hard on Rogue as well, and she attacks Danvers.
Wolverine steps in to attack Rogue, but she stops him with ease. I guess that with the Ms. Marvel powers that are now permanently hers. She also kisses him to absorb his powers as well, because why not be a fun evil person, even though today it totally wouldn't pass as something playful.
Storm blasts her off from Wolverine, but Rogue is ready for a fight with them. Storm's powers alert security, and Danvers takes their weapon and shoots Rogue. Which is totally useless. Danvers thinks that it's because of her Ms. Marvel's power, but I don't think she was bulletproof. That part probably comes from Wolverine.
That still leaves powered Storm. She uses her powers to neutralize Rogue and tells Danvers to get over her hate and get the mission done, as Storm has to get Wolverine to safety.
The security wants all mutants found, but Carol Danvers is not a mutant. But she is full of guilt about how the situation has turned out. She feels bad about the loss of her powers and the fact that she will never be able to make Rogue pay for that. While she's deep in thought, we see that Mystique in her human form as Raven Darkholme is also there. Apparently, Darkholme has an important job at the Pentagon and no one knows that she is Mystique as well. Someone should have guessed that Mystique is always close to Rogue.
Storm fears that the Brotherhood is working with the government. While she thinks about it and tries to get out, Rogue attacks her. She calls for Nightcrawler, who shows up and fights Rogue. Wolverine wakes up and also joins the fight. Rogue absorbs Storm's powers and losses control. However, despite her losing those powers quickly, the X-Men still have a hard time stopping her.
Danvers was so proud of herself for entering the main computer room. She feels like after everything that has happened to her, at least she is still a spy. However, Mystique transforms herself into Nick Fury, a person that Mystique knows Danvers won't suspect. She walks into the main computer room and shoots Danvers. She is actually disappointed by how easy it was to eliminate Danvers after all this time. Though we still don't know why she hates her so much.
However, Mystique's joy is short lived. Carol Danvers may not be Ms. Marvel anymore, but she is still a Kree. She apparently, managed to dodge the bullet and she just pretended to be injured fatally, instead of lightly. When Mystique tries to confirm the kill, Danvers attacks her. She is shocked to see Mystique transform before her eyes. Danvers is shocked to see this and that give Mystique an opening to hit her. However, Danvers quickly realizes that the person she is up against only looks like Storm and doesn't have her powers. Carol Danvers still have superb military training and she takes out Mystique. She realizes that it is Mystique beforehand, and that Mystique sent Rogue after her, so now she wants to take Mystique's life as a punishment for her lost. Pretty harsh considering that Mystique is unconscious.
Back with the X-Men, Storm defeats Rogue. However, she knows that her victory will be short and that they are too tired to continue fighting the security and maybe the rest of the Brotherhood so she suggests that they flee and abandon their mission.
However, Danvers did succeed in her mission. She had Mystique arrested. She didn't kill her. She is the better person, even though she knows that Mystique will escape and she will have to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder. Apparently there is death between them. But Danvers doesn't even remember what happened and why is that. But, Danvers is a survivor, she will carry on. And most importantly she carries on her mission.
She also decides to erase her past. She goes on the computer and sees the files on Carol Danvers and Ms. Marvel. She feels like they mean nothing to her. These two personas had hopes and dreams and lives, but they died. So she decides to put the past behind her and delete them. She finally accepts her situation. No more brooding. She has a present and a future and she will focus on them from now on. She is reborn, like an infant, she will start over. The past is dead.
Later we see her outside. She is worried about the X-Men. She feels like they will be portrayed as the villains as they are not sanctioned by the government like the Avengers. Even though I have no idea why that is. The X-Men await her and she informs them that her mission was successful.
Carol Danvers at last puts her past as Ms. Marvel and probably Carol Danvers behind her. She chooses to start her life anew. She doesn't know where this journey will take her, but she feels like she is in for a fun ride.
Carol Danvers is reborn in this issue. She is no longer a human security officer or Ms. Marvel. She has superhuman, Kree, abilities. She has accepted the fact that she has no past, but she has a present and a future ahead of her. At the beginning of the issue we see that she is still a bit more than human. She goes on a mission with the X-Men and succeeded against all odds. She faces off against Mystique and wins while keeping her morals, or gaining a new sense of them. She has completed her transformation since losing her powers into a new person.
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