Which SINISTER Became DOMINION in Immortal X Men #18?

In today's video let's talk about which Sinister became Dominion in Immortal X-Men #18, and how this series finale sets up the next chapter of Fall of X.
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#xmen #marvel #comics

[@danielivanov930]

Some people say that this issue ties into Defenders Beyond #5 with the crown and the dominion which Essex chose to call himself Enigma .

[@thankyoubasedgod4543]

thank you for this comment. i was struggling to come up with why the 5th sinister icon would be a crown for my buddies who thought it was weak imagery. i also saw the crown from defenders referenced all over twitter. now it makes sense! wow. immaculate thread-tying by kieron here

[@ericdabronze151]

Jean Grey getting killed has pretty much became a running joke within the Marvel Universe

[@user-yp2iy2ww5p]

Give a few months and it will show with Jean Grey will Back to life with the Phoenix Force battle in Orchids, alongside with the X-Men. It's a prediction by it might be true.

[@pierre0227]

Well that's what a phoenix does, it dies and raises from the ashes.

[@justinfjay9611]

Stop. Killing. Jean!

[@joeblue9691]

I’m curious to see how Jean and the Phoenix get their lick back from Mother Righteous. When Mastermind messed with Phoenix it gave him what he wanted and more. Jean literally burned through Emma’s memories so something substantial has to happen on panel to MR.

[@bajansamurai]

I was about to say something already happened to her, but then I remembered the one in the White Hot Room is just her remotely piloted homunculus. Guess we have yet to see MR proper catch hands, but I suspect it's not even going to be from Jean, and she may just slink away. If we think about it, she's wronged a good number of characters who prior to what she did to Jean we all thought/hoped they'd get eventual payback on her.

[@LohengrinX14]

the kick to the face was a nice start though

[@doodoo5594]

I think the idea of the original sinister being the dominion is actually perfect, it's the only option that wouldve been satisfying, and it's a pretty good play on the whole "sinister clone" idea. It's one of those plot twists that feels like it should've been obvious given the reveal of the original Nathaniel Essex's backstory, but in a way it wasn't obvious.

[@nailinthefashion]

It was my guess all along, back when the Moira engine was revealed it confirmed it for me. Of course Sinister played himself, because what better pawn to use than clones? This was clearly all leading to some sort of AI battle somehow, so I'm just glad he got to finger some pies. He's such a good peacock to distract. Now, what are the real consequences? The phoenix is much more dire of a situation, along with the Witch's/Witches Road. Hickman is a crazy bitch

[@bajansamurai]

​​@@nailinthefashionI also thought it'd go this way. I even had up an old post based on what the descriptions of the Essex clones were: he sent them out to take different paths toward winning HIM dominion status, and were all flawed intentionally to never succeed getting it for themselves. Sinister: Mutant science Stasis: Human science Stellaris: Alien science Righteous: Sorcery All falling short but either pooling their failures into Nathaniel's win, or any one that "wins" elevates him as the Trickster Titan.

[@nailinthefashion]

​@@bajansamuraiwhich ties into the whole the powers that be vs the natural order of things vibes getting set up with GODS so 😭 I'm so thankful for this era of xmen. This is what I asked for

[@superthorc6894]

Hint about this twist was right there in the first issue of immortal x-men With Sinister and Destiny talk about the music piece of Nimrod in *Enigma* _Variations_

[@flatbushmafia]

This story is getting real deep right here and something has to happen to Sinister because he is just way to mischievous

[@mcpics4448]

It takes Four of a Kind♦️❤️♠️♣️ to Crown this Sinister 👑

[@str8swish538]

Royal Flush takes it all.

[@bill930505]

Remember to keep note that Hope, who, having her Sinister Gene successfully wiped out by Forge, managed to take it out of Irene as she resurrected her the second time in one of the previous Immortal X-Men issues. At the time, post-Sins of Sinister, we didn’t know if Forge completely got rid of that Sinister Gene from Hope until issue #11. The first resurrection in Inferno, the second when Mother Righteous killed her via burning her thanks feather on (aka possessing) Mystique, and the third after stabbing her again in the White Hot Room.

[@bajansamurai]

Accurate to a point: Destiny did not die of her stab wound from Mother Righteous in the White Hot Room. Elixir got to her and healed her. Either way, Sinister revealed to Xavier in the previous issue that his method of possession via the Resurrection process was successfully undone by Forge, and that he's only able to inhabit Xavier alone because of older experiments (Black Womb).

[@user-yp2iy2ww5p]

Anyone who believes Jean Grey's dead for good, Guess what? She's not, I think she will come back to life would have phoenix powers. Mother Righteous may have stabbed Jean Grey and she's bleeding out and maybe the Phoenix too but doesn't mean that both dead. I don't believe they given Jean Grey a 5 comic tie in and then killed her off. I believe she comes back to life in X-Men forever with the power of the Phoenix.

[@nailinthefashion]

Pretty sure there's gonna be some sort of relationship between dominions and the phoenix. Are they like eggs to the phoenix? I can't help but feel as though they, the phoenix, are more powerful than the phalanx-- but what if they're able to cage it, use it like a battery? I can't tell if Hickman likes AI or is trying to use the story to say we should stop while we're ahead haha The phalanx could easily still be benevolent somehow

[@Vincesjones]

cap, phoenix and whr wasn't even above the abbys, let alone house of ideas @@nailinthefashion

[@flyingphoneix]

The Phoenix Force cannot be killed

[@sincerelyst.6043]

It’s getting ridiculous at this point. Jean died more times than anybody in the Krakoan era. Marvel literally killed her at the HF gala, resurrected her in her own series just to kill her off again in immortal X-men. Leave her alone!

[@ozziemsmith]

I agree. This is beyond irritating

[@user-yp2iy2ww5p]

She will come back to life in X-Men forever with the power of the Phoenix. He will make her another pointless death.

[@bill930505]

If the X-Men Forever #1 cover tells us anything, she’ll be revived, but at a personal cost, should the Phoenix Force bleed out, but inside that upcoming issue would defy my expectations.

[@ampocalypsew3883]

She's useless and that's marvels fault

[@DJMcIver]

I think we’re going to see Jean pull herself together in time to realize that she needs to accept she’s actually a god.

[@Peecamarke]

Great Vid Blerd! You’ve been a big help to me all year with following the Xbooks by remembering different Xmen events that have happened but I didn’t read or stuff I didn’t notice in various events

[@1187underground]

So the Dominion is basically Sinister ChatGPT? I definitely did not see that coming. This should be interesting on how they digitize everything or create a new tech-God to battle the Phalanx. I really hope the X-Men do not go back to the status quo and return to the mansion. Like Morrison's run, the series has been virtually brought back to life with Krakoa and there are more stories to tell; also more heroes/villains to bring back and flesh out

[@danerah]

What about the Crown ....does this Enigma tie into Defenders Beyond

[@buildaggedonarmanaziie4462]

This was surprising because I did think that with the other theories that there would be a fifth Sinister or something, but I didn't expect it to be this new A.I form thing that Nathaniel Essex did, I just expected it to be another clone.

[@bajansamurai]

The one thing I wasn't sure about (which is similar to the idea of a 5th clone here) was whether Mother Righteous even counts as the heart clone. I half expected that the lie was that for all her achievements, she'd be a distraction in service of a true Nathaniel Essex heart clone since she's really a clone of Rebecca Essex. Either way, I figured from the information given about his process from the very beginning, that all these clones would fail to get dominion because they're all setting things up for Essex "himself" to win.

[@adesanya13]

After all this is done, I dont want to see Sinister or his clones for another 5 years or more.

[@wrldofgod6321]

Is Nathaniel Essex/Dominion the rogue A.I. that sent Omega Sentinel back into time??

[@Nejourney78]

Thank you very much for all of your Breakdowns Blerd. Have a great new year.

[@taureandoctor9141]

Mind blown what if the phoenix force is a dominion itself through the collective knowledge of its avatars? Just a thought.

[@user-yp2iy2ww5p]

Instead of like saying its dead maybe having some energy being syphoned away. It just seemed dead like a buzzword now. Also makes sense for the phoenix to have Some bit dominion. It's a cosmic entity It's not Like Step your avatar. That means you're dead. No, it's a not how it works, The white, hot room is part of the Phoenix.

[@nailinthefashion]

I wouldn't mind that as an organic version to combat Nathaniel's. We (the phoenix dominion) then assimilate with the phalanx and get to explore a more tech themed rebooted universe. Think a whole world of Warlocks

[@XTheRamdomGuyX]

Isn’t the phoenix by definition, already a dominion..? It’s the collective psyche of everything that’s ever and will ever live isn’t it?

[@bajansamurai]

​@@XTheRamdomGuyXpretty much. They've been spelling it out through Mother Righteous and Sinister's words (the latter to Charles). The Phoenix is outside time and space and the sum total of all psychic power past, present and future. Its avatars never really expend the full capability of the Phoenix through the act of materializing in a reality giving it confines (massive power, but still confined within reality). The way they describe a dominion, even it isn't all-powerful, but to become one protects the person from being consumed by the Phalanx originated dominions.

[@Vincesjones]

Phoenix or whr wasn't even above the abbys let alone land of shouldn't be and couldn't be or the house of ideas

[@eddisongraham9344]

I'm gonna miss the island... I wonder how they are going to handle Arrako

[@arcanepayaso]

Of course there's a King Sinister, a prime. It makes so much sense when you look at the sinister as the Legions in a deck of cards. But you'd think that the "King" would be the one to make it into dominion status 1st. Not a 5th party/ the original recording their actions and Intel. I swear the overall storytelling of Krakoa era has been fantastic, it's the minor details that slip a lot

[@PaulSmith-nb6md]

A King never does his own dirty work

[@keemkeem3820]

The king is the first one to make dominion status

[@nailinthefashion]

Personally I have liked everything since HOXPOX so hahahaha these are my comix. This my era of Xmen. Ever since Young Avengers 2015 I've felt more welcome to really care, and now I've cared more than ever. I can forget Puzzle Quest or Decimation, I can let go of the past, and feel like the future is brighter than ever. Fallen Angels is peak Marvel

[@JohnPoloMedia]

No more mansion. It’s like an 80 year old rich person going back to live in the projects.

[@theonewhoisbetterthanyou3570]

Not even close…tf you on about? Suburban weirdo.

[@bajansamurai]

Nah. I look at it as a home-base for a small segment (a few core teams) while all the hallmarks of the Krakoa era continue to play out with other teams. I see it more as the rich person buying up the projects and renovating all of it. I'd wager in place of heavy Shi'Ar influenced tech, flora-tech may become prominent in the new phase of mansion living.

[@tammydj9941]

Im still thanful for your valiant effort mr. E! Happy holidays!

[@foodybreezy4964]

The plan the original Nathaniel Essex created and how he executed his plan just proves how much intelligence he has and should be put on a level with Mr fantastic and Tony Stark. I mean dude has the entire world played on the palm of his hands for centuries and was able to see the the future entirely without any magic, supernatural powers or advanced futuristic technology, just pure thinking and imagination. I absolutely fall in love with this whole run of of Nathaniel Essex

[@nailinthefashion]

Personally I think he's above them since they aren't willing to sacrifice as much. I think power wise only the phoenix or the spark are able to compete with a dominion so I'm sat waiting for the next issues

[@nellisswanepoel7014]

Seriously sinister just pick a side and stick with it !

[@Nejourney78]

He is basically playing chess against a CPU(AI)

[@jaceb6165]

Man my brain shouldn’t hurt after reading comics 😂😂

[@NavVet30]

I just subscribed after seeing you on the comics' explains channel. You said 40 years of reading, so I had to subscribe. .

[@WileyKeneki]

Blerd, Mystique didn’t kill Essex, she killed the officer that was “guarding” him. They found him “Dead” in his cell.

[@mindbodysaul4382]

This.

[@candacestringer]

I thought Nathaniel Essex was still alive. This is a whole level of crazy.

[@AtmosphereIVXX]

Not gonna lie mother righteous played her cards well. What I really love about this issue is Mother’s power breakdown. King sinister. How the white hot room really functions. How jean functions in the white hot room. Xavier flex. Mutants relationship with white hot room. And if they go back to the mansion I’m retiring xmen books lol

[@bajansamurai]

Lol. No need to retire the x-books because of going back to the mansion. Think about it: the mansion basically only represents a home base for a small segment of mutantdom. It's like taking the X-Men team and basing them in the Tree House in Central Park, and (now) X-Force in the Greenhouse: a few teams and students will be in the mansion again, while the rest of mutants will continue to have presence elsewhere (e.g., Planet Arakko and island Kaorak). The true travesty is only if by taking the handful back to the mansion they completely stop telling stories of others in other locations (even some may continue to work from or periodically visit Krakoa).

[@mauricefloyd1483]

Once a Dominion exists, it always has and will. The original saw this and played the long game in non-linear time. He knew every attempt by one of the cloned avatars, it would bring him closer. When they failed they would reset the universe and start again. However being something not bound by time, he never lost progress. He achieved this without needing to have multiple Titans join up to form the Dominion. He amassed enough power, magic, knowledge and far reaching influence with clones doing the heavy lifting.

[@nailinthefashion]

That's wild. I wish I was Hickman. All this time, and he's a dominion too hahahah planning all this a decade ago and going mad not seeing it drawn yet in favor of lesser books. 10/10

[@user-xw5xo3bv1n]

@@nailinthefashion And then Jean dominated dominion.

[@ugoeze7360]

So is it safe to say that the original recipe Essex is by far the smartest Marvel human ever?

[@SerpentineDeity]

Completely agree. He farmed literal demi gods in their own right, retcon replaced his decades old classic predecessor, tricked a literal seer of time...and came full circle representing the best and worst of humanity. He is now the literal culmination of the super human ultimate being he displayed to his peers. He is the monster Darwin warned him about. In an extreme you can see him as the never give up human spirit that will adapt to destroy it's foes. No exaggeration to say he was playing 5D chess.

[@foodybreezy4964]

And let me add more things, he had seen the future of mankind and the wars that’s coming all without having any sort of supernatural abilities, futuristic tech or magic. He literally was able to see centuries ahead using only his intelligence and imagination and put a goddamn sophisticated plans all by himself and had the entire world play on his palm for centuries. Let me repeat this, all by himself without superpowers or magic or futuristic tech. If that’s not the definition of pure genius then I don’t know what is. OG Nathaniel is highly underrated because of the image Diamond Sinister has created throughout his history.

[@SerpentineDeity]

@@foodybreezy4964 lol good take. It's represented well from how Essex told Mr. Sinister to GTFO. While diamond's life was dictated by Apocalypse, Apocalypse himself is but a chess piece to Essex. Wonder if Marvel is going to keep him running as a new long term main eventer threat or if he'll default to Sinister levels later.

[@bajansamurai]

​@@SerpentineDeityI suspect he'll be relegated (eventually) to conceptual Cosmic entity treatment. He'll basically have a scope so vast that Earth won't even be on his radar often, but every once in a while he'll be the reason behind some event or villain/weirdo that pops up every five to ten years.

[@SerpentineDeity]

Oh no...Shuma Gorath! D=@@bajansamurai

[@mangamegs]

Youre on a roll.

[@armisteadgwathney6152]

OUTSTANDING Review

[@taureandoctor9141]

When I first started hoxpox I thought that sinister was effectively bitched but now I see everyone was playing spades when sinister had a royal flush (see what I did there)😂

[@montmcdonald333]

Jean is the "Kenny" of the XMen

[@MrCanibum2]

Lets Gooooo bro!

[@marcelo335]

9:09 Mystique isn't killing Essex here, she's killing the guard who showed them his dead body, Nathaniel was already dead when they last arrived at that place.

[@jblaze2k1]

I like the touch of a British scientist become AI naming itself after Alan turings enigma device. The precursor to modern computers. The “thinking machine”

[@mjr8888]

Nathaniel has all the intelligence of a man who has focused everyone on technology, one who knows about super human evolution, one about mutation and genetics, and the last about magic. Essex is extremely powerful.

[@foodybreezy4964]

And extremely intelligent

[@user-xw5xo3bv1n]

But can Essex defeat Sussex?

[@charlesadams2780]

I kinda called it, although I was off on my timeline. I was thinking that it was original Nathaniel Essex, but I was holding on to the time as sinister and after his allegiance with apocalypse. I never considered his time beforehand.

[@mb24244]

Im surprised you missed the connection to Defenders: Beyond #5. Nathaniel Essex is the "Enigma" the One Above All was warning about. Im sure you'll tell us you of course already knew that ;) . I find this ending to be very unsatisfactory. There is absolutely no need for comics to make sense, but this actually doesnt make any sense. Essex built an "AI" that he fed his consciousness into in the 19th century, with no internet lol, that somehow gathers information wirelessly from other clones even centuries after. Forget whether theres a microchip in their brains or something, is there a time machine too?? Hard to believe the same house/machine would still be in existence for long. I understand the "outside time and space" thing, but in the first instance information has to be fed into the AI in order to achieve dominion. How would that be possible? At least Mother Righteous' use of magic spells in Sins of Sinister was a partial acknowledgement that technologically this makes no sense. Regarding the X-Men more broadly, I REALLY hope that the end of Krakoan age just means Arakko will be solidified as a mutant homeworld and on Earth mutants will be back to something like the mansion. The whole casual genocide of mutants narrative that Marvel loves to whip out every few years is abhorrent, so perhaps lets leave Arakko as is and lets explore more there. Lastly, im not excited for a Disney X-men movie because i know it will be terrible. But, House of X/Powers of X would make for an amazing 8 Episode show (second season: X of Swords?).

[@devantebaillou6970]

Can you speak on this years timeless issue? Im kinda lost and tbh i need to go over last issue, cuz i think there are some things i haven't seen play out 😅

[@TheOther644]

I had a feeling there might be a 5th Sinister. With the whole card thing on their foreheads it just made sense there'd be a 5th. I was surprised on Mother Righteous's thoughts on magic, she was suppose to be the Sinister that focused on magic. But she doesn't understands it, or know how powerful it is if you take the time to learn it. She admits that she was lazy and thought magic would be a quick thing. She should talk to Selene, Wanda, Doctor Strange and Doom lol As for the Gods believe thing, that was from Dr Nemesis and it was a guess cause he couldn't explain it through science. He wondered if people stopped believing in Thor, would Thor just disappear altogether. It is true with some Gods, that they came to be to do human or whatever's believe. But Gods like Thor exist whether people believe in them or not, hell they don't even need to know their even there to exist. Do we really know for sure it was The Phalanx he was referring to and not the Sentinels/Moira X/Nimrod etc instead? Sorry its been awhile since I've read those early comics so I might be forgetting something. Also Mystique killed the guard not Nathanial, he just up and died say Red - Black over and over.

[@bajansamurai]

We do know he was foreseeing the Phalanx/Technarchy/Dominion, but Machine intelligence like Sentinels and Nimrod were all part of it. Remember he wasn't seeing actual visions, more so he was deducting how human progress would lead to A.I. and eventually a singularity. Basically he saw stages of going from planetary tech to alien tech then to beyond space and time, but that actual day-to-day machine thing plays out in the form of people creating androids and sentinels, connecting AIs, interacting with alien technologies, attracting the Phalanx, being infected with techno-organic viruses, setting up babel spires, hosting a titan, being converted and a dominion rising. He just got there before that could play out.

[@TheOther644]

@@bajansamurai I get that and not what I meant. Ernie said we know its Phalanx but I can't recall were that was 100% conformed. Especially given only one of Moira's timelines had the Phalanx, and that was just a virus she injected into Logan. Those that showed the future showed it was Nimrod and that. We do know Nathanial was talking about machine brain or AI's. And could there be worlds that defeated the mechanical brain. He never mentioned interacting with Aliens, Dominion or any of what you mentioned in IXM 8. He talked about the math used to allow the machine brain and the birth of AI's from it. Nothing in that comic hints to the Phalanx, the Technarchy or the Techno-Organic Virus. And as we saw in IXM 18 the Dominion of a King Sinister was the goal and had nothing to do with the Phalanx. So I'm not 100% sure Ernie is right.

[@bajansamurai]

@@TheOther644 I was compiling from things said in HoX, PoX and Immortal X-Men, 10 lives and deaths, etc. There have been data pages dedicated to explaining how the Phalanx work, and glimpses of the future showing people being integrated with the TO as humanity pledged themselves to the Phalanx. All of that is basically going on the premise that the Phalanx are the looming future threat behind some of what Moira, Omega and Nimrod are working towards, but I'm with you that Essex was not specifically noting and aware of what the Phalanx even are. Also, in the fashion of no future being set in stone, I wouldn't be surprised if the one that showed Moira eventually encountering them is now altered by Nathaniel reaching Dominion. Existing outside time and space and outclassed Technarchy may also mean the "new" future points to him as a self fulfilling prophesy instead of the coming of the Phalanx. He will be the person that sends Omega Sentinel back (or something to that effect) to set things in motion that lead to him achieving dominion. (P.S. when I refer to aliens I just meant in terms of him knowing technology would help them reach to the stars and that that will also guide another technological wave of expansion of the machine intelligences).

[@TheOther644]

@@bajansamurai I don't recall the side pages going into the Phalanx but you could be right. As for Moira's timelines, and yes each one was different. basically erasing that one from existence. I'm starting to remember bits, the only one I recall, and the Phalanx were not the leading factor. Is in one timeline were humans were basically gone, and they were replaced by Post-Humans. A race of human and machine, that was create through Earth bound AI's/Sentinels. I'm not sure if Nimrod was in that one. Post-Humans sought ascension into the galactic dominion through (presumably) being assimilated by the Phalanx. In this timeline Logan and Moira were kept in a Preserve, were Logan killed her to undo this timeline. Another kinda similar looking timeline saw Logan alone in the Preserve when he was attacked by Cyborg Moira who joined the Sentinels. Once he learned the truth of who was behind this he clawed a Krakoa seed Forge planed in him, but she still infected him with a Phalanx virus. But there was 2 other timelines which Moira made it to the future that was ruled by the Sentinels and Nimrod. Either way those timelines are gone, and I get Ernie is down for Phalanx do to what we've both pointed out. That would be cool. But there is just to much evidence that says Nathanial was talking about the Sentinels. The whole King Sinister believes they can't beat the machines, but has reached Dominion. This has nothing to do with the Phalanx, and will be stopped. But that doesn't mean the Technarchy can't became the new future threat. In fact I heard a new Cable run will be about them and him stopping them from a possible future. If there is any connection to this coming story and Moira's what if future we'll have to wait and see.

[@jesusdicent2]

Enigma, is the question

[@SparkyTakedown]

Looks like a whole setup for MCU harmonizing with the comics. Rumor is Sinister will be the big bad on movie screen and he will be 100% in TAS. I just wish Krakoa would stay though ! We never got it onscreen. I don't wanna return to the mansion. But I do like this twist. Didn't see it coming. OG Sinister wins and it is not a recon of his transformation in Advnetires of Cyclops and Phoenix.

[@bajansamurai]

I envisioned that brand synergy with the Krakoa era could have gone like this: *In the MCU, Krakoa is out there opening up portals near where any mutant is manifesting their powers and luring them in with a psychic thrall (or even plant monster abduction). This has been happening for at least a century and Krakoa itself is out of phase with Earth.* Due to the psychic shenanigans, human witnesses only remember their taken mutant as a traditional unsolved missing person's statistic (or runaways, kidnappings, trafficking, etc.) and do not recall a superpower event. It could open to the first class of X-Men (circa 1980) learning of this and going to rescue a new mutant Charles and Jean telepathically witnessed being taken by Krakoa, but fail. They reach out decades later from captivity (held preserved in pods) during the next attempt by Krakoa to abduct a newly manifesting crop of mutants. They telepathically recruit a new squad (Storm, Wolverine, Banshee, Thunderbird, Sunfire, Colossus and Nightcrawler) in modern day (circa 2026?) who go on to liberate all the mutants collected and fed on over the centuries. As such we get mutants preserved in youthful states (or some in their prime) from WWII era, Victorian era, etc. coming back as they free Krakoa itself from the real culprit: the Shadow King or Mr. Sinister (who figured a way to infect Krakoa, modifying its need for life energy to overfeed itself and power the true villain's godhood). That way we get a freed and returned Krakoa as a home island for mutants without the layers of HoX/PoX, and the MCU has to deal with its 'sudden' appearance and the world politics of a nation of powered individuals suddenly being (re)introduced to the planet. Plus, thousands of mutants have to deal with the fact they were abducted back when carrier pigeons or smoke signal communication was a thing, and horses were primary transportation, but now there are trains, planes and automobiles (plus spaceships). It could also immediately set up a sequel where they are at odds with Avengers who are tasked to contain Krakoans, organically giving us a version of AvX as a trilogy cap.

[@Bottera82]

Does this mean that exxes is the crown from those avengers comics with God of stories Loki?? MAYBE

[@user-yp2iy2ww5p]

Seriously, all the talk about the Phoenix dying doesn't mean anything else When it comes back.

[@bajansamurai]

That's the thing, I don't see why anyone freaks about Jean or the Phoenix "dying" in this story because it is literally shown as a temporary setback for them, and the nature of being a Phoenix is death and rebirth. What I thought they were setting up from solicits is a death that finally depowers the Phoenix we associate with going dark, and that through the next 5-10 years of story telling the plan may be to have Jean "create"/become/rebuild a whole new true Phoenix that we can consider an innocent.

[@DaellusKnights]

Ohmywow... I can't believe I ACTUALLY CALLED IT! 😱 A couple of months ago or so I said it was gonna be the ORIGINAL ESSEX! 🤩🤯 I CALLED IT! So... What happens now? Do **I** get to be a Dominion?! 😳 😂😭🤣 HAPPY NEW YEAR Blerd! Thank you for all the wonderful stories! 😻👍

[@armoghetto]

Jean is good at dying

[@Nejourney78]

17:43😂😂😂

[@salishUnibrow]

Blerd, can you talk about the defenders and how Enigma was foreshadowed?

[@salishUnibrow]

???

[@SerpentineDeity]

Wait wait wait! Does this mean OG Essex was never part of Apocalypses harem? If he is completely separate from the classic Diamond Sinister and he was able to achieve all this without the apocalypse amp then hes gone up a rank or two. Or am missing something

[@keemkeem3820]

I believe he had reversed what Apocalypse did to him at some point.

[@gregoryvaldez]

7:41 dominion status

[@miltonbailey4968]

jean is to the X-Men what Kenny is to South Park

[@abb6215]

Wait..So OG Essex turned himself into a A.I…..to absorb all the experiences of the Clone Sinisters…..???? How or when did he absorb them?? Or get the info?? I’m not buying (suspended belief) this is how a dominion is created and the whole time space thing it’s just not making sense to me.

[@fauxmintdissident]

no one Sinister should have all that power.

[@mindbodysaul4382]

Mystique didn't kill OG Nathaniel Essex. OG Nathaniel was absorbed by Enigma (Defenders Beyond (2022)) the A.I. that was powered by the 4 attempts to become Dominion. The very Crown A.I. that Nathaniel created is the one that reached through time and space to either kill or absorb the OG Nathaniel. At least that's how I saw it.

[@DaveKrzeminski]

Dude I think I’m the first comment. Hi Blerd!

[@RegentofArrako]

Sinister is OVERDUE for his just rewards!!! Like I’m ready for his to pay

[@bryonhill5486]

I had Legion as Dominion. I think I was experiencing Sinister Fatigue after Sins of Sinister. 😂😂

[@buildaggedonarmanaziie4462]

I have heard many people theorize that Charles Xavior is the Dominion, but I never believed that because in the Sins of Sinister timeline, you clearly saw John Iron Fire fight a living planet Professor X, so that is Professor X over there and then Mr. Sinister went somewhere else and encountered the Dominion. So I didn't believe that it was Charles Xavior because that was clearly shown that Charles Xavior was a different thing. Some people tried to say that the Sins of Sinister timeline is now a separate timeline, so maybe this means that Charles Xavior can now become the Dominion, but I didn't believe that either. However, maybe with everything that has happened and Dr. Doom says that Charles Xavior would become a more "interesting person." Then maybe that could mean that Charles Xavior will evolve and become a strong and powerful being that can fight the Dominion or the Phoenix or whatever. Tell me what you all think.

[@Nejourney78]

King Sinister is something like the Watcher or Kang.

[@bajansamurai]

@Build, people theorized ignoring (or otherwise unaware of solicits or specific issues) that said clearly that a 'Sinister' would become the Dominion. Doom's words weren't anything about Xavier's power specifically, it was about how statehood would temper him.

[@buildaggedonarmanaziie4462]

@bajansamurai Alright. Whether it is with power or character, something is going to happen to Xavior.

[@bajansamurai]

@@buildaggedonarmanaziie4462 well, he is fairly central or connected to most X-Men shenanigans so it's a safe bet. I agree. Side note: are you using a play on Xavier+savior for Charles' last name? That's actually rather witty! 😆

[@buildaggedonarmanaziie4462]

@@bajansamurai I forget how to spell sometimes, that or the damn auto-correct!

[@jdub7775]

Okay, so I sat here and numbered the times Jean Grey died in the Comics and I came to 11. 12 if you count the Phoenix cloning and impersonating her and dying.

[@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677]

Anyone noticed most of the Marvel covers sometimes have a vore theme to it?

[@trembledust6819]

Question. If only mutants are able to enter the White Hot Room how did the Defenders as a whole enter? If this was previously explained my apologies. Thanks for the vid!

[@foodybreezy4964]

If I'm not mistaken, I think anyone can enter the WHR, however they need permission from the Phoenix to enter it, but mutants don't need that permission, they can simply enter it. Think of it like having a door to a house, if you didn't live there, you would need to knock on the door and get the owner's permission to let you in, whereas mutants don't need that permission because they are, figuratively speaking, a family member. The Defenders were able to enter WHR because Phoenix wanted them to enter WHR

[@trembledust6819]

Ah. Thanks. Happy Holidays.@@foodybreezy4964

[@alltheworldsastage4785]

1:44 Seems to be the same issue with gods from the DCUniverse, well, sort of, most DC gods maintain much of their power, matter of fact, while it is stated that their power will fade due to lack of belief, much of, or pretty much all of DC's gods are still supremely powerful, so that whole "losing power due to lack of faith" or "drawing power from faith" is pretty wonky.

[@adriandones6962]

🔥🔥🔥

[@rev.jonathanwint6038]

Likevthe fairy legend never thank a Fairy. You all understand Doctor Doom is still smarter 😂

[@malicyoung9293]

Man, I think the emergence of Enigma is a bit of a copout. Gillen strongly implied that the Dominion was one of the four sinisters we've already seen. This Enigma is Gillen's way of having the Dominion be a Sinister, yet not one.

[@thebreakerofwalls9036]

How wouldn't Apocalypse know anything about Dominion? 🤔🤔🤔

[@VelvetHammerBooking]

This is interesting. She killed the physical form of the Phoenix in the middle of the very space that houses the Phoenix. I don't think that's a digital one up for Essex, I think that's just a power that has no host. There are other genetically sound host still alive that can host the Phoenix in this timeline though. But Jean is and always will be the perfect host. Does the Phoenix resurrect Jean again for itself? Does it find Hope? For sure it's not "dead" nor can it be manipulated. It's it's own above cosmic level entity. I am glad the original recipe Essex beat his clones to the punch. That was interesting. But now that there is a "dominion" here, what does the future look like now?

[@VelvetHammerBooking]

s/n: Why can't the mutants be happy? Is it too much to ask? I know Marvel isn't too high on having Ultimates and other various Multiverse comics to run consecutively with the main title but I'd like to see a world where Krakoa was a thing that didn't fail and it was a true safe haven for all Mutants. Their happiness lasted 5 minutes and it's not cool.

[@bajansamurai]

​@@VelvetHammerBookingI think technically Arakko is now that safe haven for mutants ('safe' being questionable because of Arakki culture, of course) but the machinations of Earth almost HAVE to come with a tragic ending and/or constant strife. Remember that for comics to exist they inherently have to have challenges for the heroes to face, so don't expect mutants being so intrinsically linked to the X-Men (and representative of real life marginalized communities) to ever have a happily ever after.

[@VelvetHammerBooking]

@@bajansamurai and that in itself is the issue. When Stan Lee created the mutants the parallels to people of color wasn’t hidden, they were obvious. Why can’t we be happy? They hate that we’re here and when we deliberately segregate ourselves from them, they hate even more. This upsets me. More of the status quo. Arakko may be even better or Mars is most of them weren’t killed by that Eternal. I don’t think they need to keep fighting for peace and inclusion. They don’t want them around, take your bag and go.

[@bajansamurai]

@@VelvetHammerBooking I feel you. I'd like for mutants to have a happier existence than they tend to, but I was looking at it from the two aspects. 1. If comics were to be reflective of life (e.g., Spider-Man the down on his luck everyman, mutants the marginalized communities) it would be inaccurate to show them having it good while hate, fear, discrimination, crime, systemic racism, stigma, and even ethnic cleansing, religious persecution or lifestyle non-acceptance is still plaguing communities that do not hold the societal power. 2. If comics showed peace and happiness for mutants in general for too long, the threats aren't that serious and the stories become superficial or cookie cutter superheroics, i.e. some rando robbing a bank or high tech facility and being stopped by a squad of X-Men, or some threat to the planet needing them.

[@VelvetHammerBooking]

@@bajansamurai it's not like the threats wont be there. Even within the mutant community there are issues. Sabertooth is a whole problem. Everyone on Arrako is a problem. The Children of the vault are an issue. Orchis, Nimrod, Omega Sentinel, these are constant threats. But those threats shouldnt present themselves until you leave Krakoan soil because if you came to the island, get in line for an asswhippin. But this was dismantled too quickly and with major repercussions. Dead mutants were finally back but in 2 issues, all of the revived were killed or sent away. I'm beginning to think that Magneto was right. There can not and will not be peaceful coexistence. So let's terraform Mars and dip. Let whatever happens on earth be Earth's problem. Now if anyone is even in Mars airspace, they now have a whole planet of Mutants to contend with. Who wants those hands?

[@misterlau5246]

The power of Mom Riteous is very Japanese like, things like thanking and giving a character power, I don't remember something like that existed before in the Marvel comics universe. Moira engine is very evangelion. The pool of Rei😬

[@benporter2059]

Neigh-thaniel Essex

[@missskabls2247]

👍🏾

[@marcusstewart4141]

I am *SO* confused 😩🥴

[@RafaAldez]

I thought it was going to be Mother Righteous as Dominion even though she failed in that alternate future timeline. I dont like Sintister being and AI...takes away from the story.

[@Tru3kisame]

So Essex had been watching Naruto lol

[@hoboringmaster8029]

So my guess was right. Rob asked you to moved your vids to “other” days.

[@namename3139]

I subscriebed because u said the phanalx gona get us, but dont like the nose ring

[@misterlau5246]

Mister Blerd. Ok.. I only wanted to know who the Dominion Sinister is... 🤔 This arc is a little.. 🤔 I dunno... 🤔

[@Mrsierramist1]

Do people actually watch these movies and then go into comic stores and buy comics? It feels like that doesn't happen. You would think they would be done trying to line up with the movies or at least get comics into grocery stores to actually have a casual audience.

[@jackieanderson9408]

First 🥇

[@charlestyner8631]

The Phoenix is an Oracle of the Matrix that is the Phalanx. Oblivion is the author of how things are going to end and restart.

[@curtismwilliams]

So far I don’t care for this particular story. Really, the Phoenix has been killed? 👀

[@edgargalicia5071]

No

[@shadowkn250]

wait wait... so Mother Righteous is NOT a mutant, but her mutant power is to collect 'thanks', that she then uses to make a mutant golem of herself? what? im confused lol. Is that powerbase outside of her mutant power?? what???

[@PaulSmith-nb6md]

Her power is magical. The golem is mutant. Gathering thanks and such must be magical in nature

[@shadowkn250]

@@PaulSmith-nb6md Okay thats fine. Then whats the Golems Mutant power? or do we not know yet and the 'thanks' stuff is the excuse at the moment?

[@PaulSmith-nb6md]

@@shadowkn250 Perhaps the Golem doesn't have a power. Only meant to serve as an extension of herself so it would essentially have the same ability she does. It would make sense if you think of it as just a clone of her. The fact it has an x gene seems soley for the purpose of being able to get to the white hot room and kill the jean

[@keemkeem3820]

@@shadowkn250 The Golem doesn't have mutant powers at all. Its basically just to trick Hope

[@shadowkn250]

@@keemkeem3820 essentially the same excuse/explanation for dr.sinister hanging out. minus the clone bit more or less.

[@user-et4dr7dm8d]

I AM AN XMAN..

[@Dont-Ask-Me-My-Name]

So wait Jean is dead again? The big bad was AI and it will live forever throughout space &time? And everything is going back to square zero? I hope everything doesn't just get reset, i thought the mutants would win the war but they lost the Krakoa & Cyclops, Jubilee &Rouge w/ around a dozen kids would be forced back to the X-Mansion cuz they're all homeless &have no money &no where else to go. Storm can go back to her village &she got cash after T'Challa annulled their marriage, Wolverine can live off the land, Emma got money, Beast could live on campus where ever he teaches, Ice-Man lives at the fortress of solitude &so on...But please don't take it back to base w/ zero repercussions that would be mad disappointing

[@afro_princess1671]

I really hated the X-men and the mansion thing. It never made sense, it makes sense in the beginning of a story but Krakoa is beautiful and for mutants and thats how it should be. If they go back to that stupid mansion thing with just X-men running around being stupid heroes again, i am done. Keep krakoa

[@BD.Stcyr7999]

Same here

[@jsmo2144]

BLERD where is Cyclops ?????

[@ZeeB...]

Orchis has him tied up

[@kareembrown5452]

Other reviewers might get vids up first but I wait for @blerdwithoutfear because he does it the best!

[@Nejourney78]

Moira did not choose Sinister, Sinister chose Moira.

[@corpseweed]

PLIF

[@hcbabyssian8936]

Another Jean death just after the HF Gala death? Really? How many times does this old trope need to be shoved down our throats before these dumb writers come up with something that resembles an actual idea?

[@RavenCoyote]

BOOOOOOO!!!! Mansion!!!!

[@ShenValleyPicker]

I’ll be so glad when this era of X-Men is over. Complete and utter garbage.

[@ampocalypsew3883]

Jran dies yet again who couldve saw that coming, but in all serious this is why comics sells are so low compare to manga. Manga grows and move foward like life while comics, always move 2 steps fowards and 20 feet back.

[@uxm4life94]

Krakoan era is bad fan fiction that appeals exclusively to new readers with absolutely no knowledge of X-men or Marvel history whatsoever. No wonder Marvel is desperate to move on and get millions of lost fans back. Too late now though- the damage done to continuity is universe destroying.

[@aarojpoll]

What are you talking about this is lasted for 5 years and is reaching its conclusion

[@uxm4life94]

@@aarojpoll Krakoan era has also permanently driven away generations of dedicated X-men fans. Sales are so bad Marvel refuses to publish them, X-men trades have went from Marvels Amazon best sellers to lowest selling Marvel titles, retailers have been pleading with Marvel to end this insanity in open letters and retailer summits (complaining that all their dedicated X-men fans who bought 10-20 issues a month for 30 plus years have cancelled their entire pull list due to Krakoa), Jordan D White is being all but fired from his position and replaced. X-mens hard turn to fascism and segregation has been sickening to watch. Seeing them blame and dehumanise innocent people for atrocities actually committed by mutants (Genosha, Mutant Massacre, Legacy virus, Days of Future Past, Apocalypse massacres, manufacturing the Sentinels, Necrosha, Messiah War etc) is nothing short of dishonest racist propaganda. Seeing X-men ally with genocidal child murdering monsters like Sinister, Apocalypse, Bishop, Shaw, Selene, Exodus etc simply because they're the "right race" is despicable. Seeing them falsely claim that friends and heroes who've done nothing but help Mutants for 60 years of stories have "never helped mutants" is disgraceful and dishonest. Krakoa is by every definition a ultra fascist state of racial supremacists. Not a single story, action, motivation or even thought bubble in 50 years of X-men stories makes any sense at all due to appalling continuity errors and contradictions every issue. Nothing Xavier, Moira, Sinister, Mystique, Destiny or Magneto have done for prior 50 years makes any sense anymore. We had seen countless future timelines where mutants thrive that modern Marvel creators seem oblivious to. Days of Future Past and the original dark future where mutant extinction and Nimrod came from originally occurred because Mystique and Destiny assassinated senator Kelly, Xavier and Moira! Hickman clearly intended Krakoan era to be a short lived cautionary tale of what happens when X-men embrace ultra fascism. Unfortunately rest of X-Slack became enamoured with the segregation power fantasy so Hickman knew he had to abruptly leave. Krakoan era has attracted a tiny (but admittedly dedicated) new audience that can only enjoy Krakoan era because of their own continuity ignorance and rank hypocrisy. But unfortunately for Marvel there is little evidence that the new fans even buy these books- most are stealing them online or just watching recap videos. After 5 years permanent damage had been done to characterisation and continuity. Can't see how Marvel can fix it without alienating everyone now either.

[@mindbodysaul4382]

I don't agree. Also getting the X-Men back to school is sloppy lazy writing. There are so many X-Men copycats out there: Wednesday, Umbrella Academy, Gen Z on television and in comics so many more including the Avengers Academy and the Dr Strange magic school. If they go back to the mansion the OG X-Men will be old-fashioned among their own copycats. The premises of the X-Men is: Strangest heroes of all. So being at a school doesn't make you the strangest heroes just the most generic. That to me is everything except for Evolution: which is what the X-Men are all about. The X-Men graduated long ago and so did we. Krakoa reflects the complicated world we live in today and made the X-Men original again. The X-Men School years are just nostalgia and Nostalgia is slow poison. Sounds regressive to me?

[@uxm4life94]

@@mindbodysaul4382 nobody is demanding "bring them back to the mansion". X-men split up from the mansion in mid 60s, spent most of 70s in Shi'ar space, Savage Land and Muir Island, they spent early 80s in Bermuda and Shi'ar space again, late 80s in Australian outback, 90s to-mid 00s split between mansion, Camp Verde and Excaliburs Lighthouse (with the school actually relocated to the Masachusetts Academy), 00s onwards in San Francisco/Utopia and 10s in Weapon X compound and limbo. This idea that X-men have always been "in the mansion" is myth perpetuated by people who only know the movies and cartoon but never actually read X-men over the decades. Nobody wants them back in the mansion- just acknowledging continuity and rejecting ultra fascism will be enough.

[@uxm4life94]

@@mindbodysaul4382 everything from. X-men establishing their own nature to Stark Sentinels had been done before add nauseum. Krakoa had brought nothing new to the table except hypoctisy and universe destroying continuity errors.

[@hotpocketpete5256]

The sign of bad story writing... is having to start over from the beginning...again....