Which is my tap-dancing around how, on one level, I rather admire the concept of Marauders #6, while, on another level, feeling very little about it. It’s the only issue of this series that is part of the Judgment Day event and it very much uses the conceit of the event post-issue 3 to its specific purposes. With the new Celestial created by the Eternals priests, Iron Man, and Mister Sinister judging all of the world, this issue takes place post-judgment of the entire team. The Progenitor has come to all of the Marauders and judged them accordingly, leaving them all, those who passed and those who failed, feeling somewhat out of sorts. The idea of a cosmic god-like being appearing before you as someone or something meant to represent the most judgmental aspect of your life (whatever that means for you) and judging you for you worth as a person is one that would leave anyone shaken no matter the result.
With the team in that state, Aurora suggests to Kitty Pryde that through a combination of Somnus (whose powers allow people to exist in a dream world for whatever subjective length of time they require) and Birdy (a ‘combat psychologist’ whose mutant power allows for mental healing, at least temporarily), every member of the group could receive treatment from Birdy while under Somnus’s influence, allowing for massive progress in only ten minutes of real time. (This is a clever idea that potentially pushes things further than writer Steve Orlando intends as the potential of this concept in larger applications is one of those ‘broken’ sort of ideas you sometimes see in superhero comics where it could radically alter the world in ways that would be difficult to walk back. But, that’s a discussion for another time.) What follows are a series of two-page scenes where Birdy walks through each member’s respective judgment and leaves them feeling better.
Except, that’s not what happens exactly.
We get to witness a version of the judgment. A self-aware judgment. One that is a meld of memory, dream, and Birdy’s influence where she is healing whatever trauma or negative feelings remain from the judgment (at least in the short-term). In scene after scene, the judged present a calm, rational, albeit passionate, case for themself in response to the Progenitor’s probing and judging. Rarely are they rattled or fazed by the form(s) the Progenitor takes. In every case, they push back on the Celestial and its folds easily, though without judgment one way or the other (except for an allusion to judgment from Psylocke). The psychic therapy is aimed at putting them all at peace where they present themselves in an honest and shockingly self-aware fashion, leaving them feeling like whatever the end result, they were true to themself and at peace with that knowledge.
Given the judgments we’ve seen elsewhere, particularly in the comics Gillen wrote this week, none of these experiences seem to reflect the judgments of the Progenitor. In those, the Celestial appears, almost always with the judgment prepared, and the judged (particularly those who fail) are overwhelmed by the sight of a loved one or a deep-seeded guilt judging them so intimately and completely, declaring them a success or failure worthy to live or die. If the judgments occurred how we see them in Marauders #6, then none of them would need the combat therapy to be ready for what comes next. The comic is a very clever use of the event to spotlight the ensemble cast, give Orlando a chance to give some quick yet intense takes on where each character is mentally, and deliver what I would imagine is a very good read for fans of the title/characters. Me, I’m left to coldly admire it while feeling very little about the insights each character gained/showed one way or the other.
Given the judgments we see in these two issues, the criteria of the Progenitor does appear to be along the lines of how closely one lives to their core goals, ideals, morals, etc. How true to yourself are you? Captain America does not inspire greatness in his country. Cyclops is the leader of the X-Men and the husband of Jean Grey. Emma Frost is a teacher whose students keep dying because of her. Kro and the Deviants continue to live and thrive and hope even when they know their gods do not love them. Who is burdened by guilt in their life? Who lies to themself? Who is living their best, true life?
It’s a very ‘coming out of two years of global pandemic’ sort of event. Everything was thrown into shambles and it was a period for reflecting for many people about how they wished to live their life going forward. The most obvious signifiers have been shouted again and again in headlines about ‘the great resignation’ and ‘quiet quitting’ where many people’s relationship with the labour they do every day to survive in a capitalist society has been changed to acknowledge that reality, albeit framed from the perspective of the exploiters rather than the exploited. But, at its core, the lockdowns gave some the chance to decide, with much of the elements of their daily lives taken away, how do they wish to live when those elements are available once again? What sort of life have they been living? Was it worthwhile? Was it justified? “I should’ve learned to play guitar... I should’ve learned to play them drums...”
That idea resonates with me deeply and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has asked themself how a judgment from the Progenitor would go for them. Of course, I’m afraid mine would go much like Sally’s in Death to the Mutants #2. “I’ve helped doom the world with procrastination.”
Ouch. I’m hit. Man down.
Next: Judgment Day #4 and X-Men Red #6
