Appearing in "Oh, the Humanity!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Genoshan Cabinet
- Acolytes
- two unnamed members
- Gabrielle Haller
- Mystique (Raven Darkhölme)
- Jubilee (Jubilation Lee)
- X-Force
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- United Nations
- Neo (First appearance)
- Professor X (Charles Xavier) (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- High Evolutionary's Satellite
- Earth
Items:
- Magneto's Helmet
- Wolverine's Suit
- Adamantium (on Wolverine's claws and body)
- X-Uniforms
Synopsis for "Oh, the Humanity!"
The story continues from Uncanny X-Men #379.
It's been one week since High Evolutionary successfully stripped every mutant on Earth of their powers, making them into normal humans due to his belief that the mutants were too powerful and their depowering was the best, if not only, way to save humanity.
Despite this, he's begun to have second thoughts on his decision as he admits to his 'partner' Dr. Essex, who's with him in their laboratory, stating no one man should dictate how other people should live their lives.
However, Essex reminds him that with the mutants gone, eight billion human lives have been saved and thus, they've equalized the playing field, which High Evolutionary agrees with.
On Genosha, things are getting worse for the mutates, who've already been engaged in a civil war as now the humans and their cybernetic enforcers have the advantage.
However, Bobby and Hank, despite their own depowering, have been aiding the mutates anyway possible since meeting up with them.
As their group does battle with some of the enforcers, Magneto and the Acolytes arrive and, by using guerilla warfare tactics, the group beats the enforcers away.
As they recover, Bobby voices his surprise that Lorna is there, with Polaris replying the same with him, explaining she and the others had heard that Hank and Bobby were there and so had decided to rendezvous with them.
Lorna also adds that the Genosha human magistrates have been suppressing information, deciding to remove mutants from there once and for all, prompting Magneto's group to meet with the two former X-Men to pool their resources and find the person to blame.
At the UN building, Gabrelle Haller meets with the Security Council and suggests that, after learning that word has leaked from Genosha about their mutates losing their powers, that as Magneto is among those depowered, they can now arrest him for his crimes, only to be reminded of the last time they'd tried this.
As the meeting goes on, she privately admits that they need Charles and the X-Men, wondering where they are now.
At Xavier's, the school has been shut down until further notice due to the situation. In the Danger Room, Kurt is trying to do his usual workout, but without his normal muscles, or powers and tail, he lands in the netting below.
Climbing out, Kurt finds Peter there, as Peter admits he thought he'd find Kurt there. As they head back up, Kurt admits he doesn't see their depowering as a blessing as he needed to learn how to walk again without his tail and enjoyed his original form as the duo come upstairs, Peter having been making dinner to surprise Kitty after her first day of school.
Kitty then returns home from her first seminar and remarks that while she enjoyed it, she hates her peers as they're immature and shallow, as well as obsessed with cars, boys, etc. as Peter points out that that's what normal kids her age are usually interested in.
As the trio talk, they find a postcard from Warren and Betsy, Kitty remarking on how Warren's looking pretty happy despite the loss of his wings, to Kurt's bewilderment.
In upstate New York, Storm and Marrow are among the volunteers for Camp America, a camp for underprivileged kids.
After seeing the kids off, Marrow admits she has a date with Brad, a fellow councilor and who seems willing to look behind a person's appearance, despite her bone structures being gone.
As the duo leave, Ororo recalls when she first met Marrow and how, since their volunteering started, things've gone better than she expected, recalling how Marrow being with her has helped keep her sane, as the last time she lost her powers had nearly destroyed her.
As a storm blows in, Ororo can't help but wonder if she'll ever get used to feeling so little as she can no longer feel or sense when a storm comes.
Meanwhile, Rogue goes to see Mystique, posing as a lawyer while recalling how her powers had given her personal space and how strange it is to now experience having little to none.
Mystique, having been imprisoned after her depowering, is furious to learn her lawyers bailed after learning the list of her previous identities have been released by the Justice Department.
She demands Rogue to get her out, stating she won't last there in one form as there's too many charges against her, but Rogue reminds her they need to try and stay within the legal system as they're now normal humans.
At the same time, Domina and Hunter talk about how in just one afternoon, their race was almost completely destroyed, with Domina vowing the Neo will survive and they'll make the humans pay.
Meanwhile, the also powerless Jubilee is attacked by some punks and, though she fights back, she's quickly overpowered until Logan arrives and, despite his advanced adamantium poisoning, manages to take her attackers down.
As they catch their breath, Logan explains his condition to Jubilee and, upon her suggesting he ask Moira for help, admits Moria had already tried and failed to help him, revealing he'd only had his adamantium claws and skeleton back for a week before everybody was stripped of their powers.
Jubilee then suggests talking to High Evolutionary, but Logan decides against it, not wanting to ruin Rogue and Marrow's newfound happiness with their powers gone as he leaves to settle old scores with a man named Creed.
Meanwhile in a dark, dismal place, Dani discovers a techno-organic, giant, mechanical egg-like structure hosting Cable that'd called to her. However, Dani isn't able to understand as Cannonball joins her. Dani reveals that she had a vision on a psychic reality that's just as substantial as the one they're on.
This proves her powers aren't gone, just evolving, but into something terrible. On Genosha, things aren't much better as the mutates are in terrible pain.
Hank reveals to Bobby, Magneto, Polaris and the Acolytes that the mutates are stuck in a mid-transformation, an unnatural one. The process that reversed their powers is mutating their mutated genes but it's only a matter of time before all of Earth is affected as well.
As Lorna and Magneto reveals that they've prepared a ship for him and Bobby to use and reunite with the X-Men, Hank points out that the X-Men are just as helpless as well, but Magneto simply states that the X-Men will need to prove themselves regardless of their depowering while Lorna refuses to leave him despite Bobby wanting her to.
It's then revealed that Essex is really Mr. Sinister and that he's the one behind everything as he fries the High Evolutionary's suit, knocking him out before gloating over the fact that Earth is becoming a giant experiment as he's adding modifications to not only affect the DNA of mutants, but everybody on Earth and that there's seemingly no one left to stop him.
This story concludes in Uncanny X-Men #380.
Notes
- Hints about the High Evolutionary drastic decision were laid in Uncanny X-Men 1999 #1.