Somehow I almost missed the release of this one, it was only having browsed through the Marvel new releases that I noticed issue five was out. I could've sworn the fourth only released the other week! I wrote a little review on that issue and mentioned how much fun it was becoming, that it had picked up a little from its slow narrative and felt like it was finally starting to go somewhere with some structure. The introduction of a strange elite that had a fascination with death, and how Psylocke had attempted to infiltrate his home knowing that he was expecting her and had been leaving a message stating he wanted to 'talk'. This strange character's home was riddled with all kinds of experiments that combined animals with machines. And a desperate attempt to create and expand upon the idea of evolution. That's often a theme within the realm of mutants, where they're rarely seen as people, and more as freaks of nature. Though this series has been taking a glimpse at the elites wanting to find ways of obtaining the mutants powers, creating drugs that give them temporary mutant abilities. Current experiments having failed drastically as people were killed as a result of taking them. I made a few guesses as to where this narrative was going, though it isn't yet clear. Last issue saw Psylocke falling into the trap at the estate, becoming imprisoned and held hostage.
The taxonomist's mansion is a museum riddled with oddities. Many of which turned into weapons for the owner's personal amusement and gain. While I had assumed previously that his intentions were to extract abilities and create a stronger connection with life and evolution, it seemed as if Psylocke was destined to become another strange exhibit within his personal museum. A rare artifact to be displayed and controlled, a mutant. One of the rarer finds given her previous interactions within the X-Men. Though no longer employed here and with fewer people likely to know she had gone missing. Albeit the few friends she does have that tend to aid her. This issue starting off with a little body horror that showed Psylocke instead placed on display, with large needles pinning her to a board. I quite liked this concept, it was closer to something more horror related, something that starts off with madness at its core. After all, to pin someone to a display board because of their differences as a manner of placing them on exhibition is insanity itself. Especially with speaking butterflies speaking on how beautiful her displays are. It felt like something you'd find in a thriller or horror film, a twisted scientist with insane and highly unethical practices. So deeply engaged within their work that the realisation of how dark it all is is no longer present.
I found the taxonomist's backstory to be quite interesting as he reveals that his fascinations with mutants came with being locked away in the mansion as a child. Born with a genetic mutation that usually results in death within children, having survived he was not allowed much exposure to the outside world under the assumption that he would be too weak to survive it all. Growing a fascination in the mutated side of the world as a result, discovering he wasn't really alone in the world and there were others like him out there. Thus inevitably leading him to mutants and various forms of genetic deformities within the natural world. In his older years, he's fully aware of how horrific life can be, and how fragile it is. His fascination growing into the realm of wanting to preserve the natural world's oddities. Creating a record of the things that once existed in their special manners. This was an interesting villain to see, not the usual type of evil, but more a strange victim of life that had grown into an unhealthy obsession with things similar to him, having some empathy towards it all which in a way had become a lack of empathy. Seeing the living as something to preserve even if it means removing the life from the living. The concept that something is still preserved even in death. The statement that Psylocke would soon suffer the same fate has her desperate to escape, but this pushes the issue into a bit more of a personal spin.
Psylocke begins to announce her disdain for how her life has been orchestrated. The struggles to be normal and the hate for being considered a weapon, an object to be used and told how to act. Wishing for true freedom over her life finally. Acknowledging she's a member of the X-Men and coming to terms with how her life has been. I didn't quite enjoy this part of the issue, it felt a bit forced to give the issue a bit more emotion to it, it was more dialogue thrown at the reader more than something part of the story and its ongoign events. All of this taking place as Psylocke does break free and begins to try to escape, fighting against the monstrosities of the mansion. Naturally, our villain loving every aspect of this, witnessing Psylocke's abilities in real time, seeing her as a piece of functioning art that needs to be preserved. Even in her desperate attempts to escape, she's still seen as an item, and not remotely a threat. Though I did enjoy the art here, this run so far has been great at showing action sequences, the various poses that Psylocke gets into during her fights, a wide range of acrobatics that show her in constant motion throughout the space. Still very much portrayed as a weapon. It's only when Psylocke beings to destroy his creations that he begins to show some emotion, pained by their destruction.
It's only when Psylocke injects her emotions into his mind that he realises his destructive and horrific nature. With all of her emotions felt, he truly realises what it's like to be human. Though Psylocke doesn't leave without making it very clear that she would've loved to have killed him within an instant. A pretty good issue, one that felt like it was full of body horror and unsettling concepts. And an ending that jumps into the realm of potential paranormal encounters. More curiosities to come!