X-Lapsed, Episode 061 – X-Force #8 (2020)
X-Lapsed, Episode Sixty-One
Today’s episode is all about an aspect of the Resurrection Protocols that your humble host hadn’t yet considered – what would happen if a mutant decided to take their own life? We spend a lot of time (perhaps too much) discussing the ramifications of that concept. We also wrap up the story of Domino’s doppelganger – and ramp up for a violent clash with the nebulous XENO organization.
All that, and some great listener mail – and an X-Lapsed “Call to Arms”. If you’re digging the show — or at the very least, appreciate the time and effort that goes into making it every single day, please consider telling a friend that it’s a thing that exists in the world! Thank you all.
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@acecomics / @cosmictmill / weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com
Some fascinating stuff in this issue of X-Force. I think I've mentioned before that I slowly dropped all the X-books apart from Marauders so I am reading most of these comics for the first time on Marvel Unlimited as I follow you. A lot of what you said about this issue is addressed more directly in the next issue of X-Men. In fact I think this story would work better read after X-Men 7 as you can see that Krakoa allows people to choose to die.
The thing I found interesting was Collosus' s belief that he would come back without his traumatic memories. This doesn't sit with the idea that Professor X is constantly updating the back ups. If you're on Krakoa I can see no reason for you to be resurrected from an old back-up. Surely Collosus and Domino would come back exactly as they are just with their physical injuries healed. Maybe there is the suggestion that the memory of a traumatic event relies on physical memory as well as emotional recall. Maybe a new body distances the trauma. I don't know.
It does seem like Collosus believes that Xavier edits the resurrected in some way. But we have seen plenty of people carrying trauma from before a resurrection. For example Vulcan was shown remembering his death. Maybe he believed that when they discover a suicide they would choose to "correct" the mental health issuesunderlying that act.
As you say this issue sits uncomfortably with our theory that Charles is changing the resurrected. Then again all our information comes from someone suffering from severe PTSD so he may be misinterpreting how the resurrection protocols work.
It says a lot about Domino that she actively chooses to work through her trauma. She knows she can get through it and move on. It's also revelatory that Peter was so easy to convince not to give up. Suicidal ideation is often genuinely a cry for help rather than a actual desire to die. I'm not sure murdering a lot of mercenaries is the healthiest way to recover from trauma but it seems to work.
What this issue really made me wonder is if we have ever seen telepathy used as an active treatment for PTSD. We have seen multiple stories where trauma is erased (Maxime and Manon removed Beak's memories in a recent New Mutants) but I can't think of a single voluntary erasure of memories in order to get over trauma. It feels like there is a possible story there.
I'm looking forward to hearing you develop your thoughts about the theological implications of Krakoa when you get to the next episode. I'm going to save my response for then.
Thanks again for keeping us entertained on a daily basis. It must be so much work but it's greatly appreciated.