WARNING: This article contains spoilers for X-Men Blue #36, by Cullen Bunn, Marcus To, Matt Milla and VC’s Joe Caramagna, out now.


As the various X-books draw to a close before the Uncanny relaunch arrives, X-Men Blue ended its 36 issue run with the concluding chapter of ‘Surviving the Experience,’ the storyline that saw the original, time-displaced X-Men come together one last time before Extermination threatens to pull them apart for good. This week’s issue saw the series call back to a lot of previous storylines, as the teenage mutants attempted to tie up all of their loose ends before returning to their own time.

Now that we’ve had three issues of Extermination already (the series showing the death and heartbreak befalling the young X-Men team), it seems strange to read this issue now. Nonetheless, X-Men Blue #36 takes us all the way back to the very first X-Men #1 from 1963, to really pull from the many years of this original team’s history.

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Jean Grey gathers Bobby, Hank, Warren and Scott together at Cape Citadel Missile Base in Florida, the place where the X-Men first fought Magneto, so Jean can remind them of where they’ve come from and, more importantly, where they’re going. Once they return to the past -- something they’ve all, somewhat begrudgingly, decided is the right thing to do -- this world will be lost to them. So, Jean declares, while they still have the time, they need to tie up all of the loose ends from their adventures in our present.

All-New X-Men teams standing on a rocky mound

First up is bringing down Mojo TV, the studio in New York where they fought against the despotic alien television executive Mojo in the storyline "Mojo Worldwide." Next, we see Cyclops calling his dad Corsair in space to say a heartfelt goodbye. This adds a sense of closure to Greg Rucka and Russell Dauterman's Cyclops solo series from 2014, which saw Scott join his father in space and on a series of adventures with his team the Starjammers. The short-run title gave Corsair the opportunity to spend time with his son, time that he hadn’t had before, while also giving the young Cyclops a father figure in a way that -- in his previous timeline -- Professor X would have fulfilled. While Cyclops reconfirms that he won’t remember any of this when he goes back in time, Corsair and the Starjammers say that they’ll remember it all.

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Next, the team is seen in Madripoor, tying up the loose end that is the Raksha, the mutant vigilantes first seen in X-Men Blue #6. Inspired by Wolverine’s Patch persona, the Raksha were fighting against the MGH enhanced ninjas running the streets, but with the X-Men leaving soon, there would be no one to guide them. This is why Jean introduces Polaris and Danger, who have set up a new X-mansion in Madripoor to mentor the mutants there into upstanding X-Men. The final interaction also gives Hank a chance to say goodbye to Gazing Nightshade, who he’d grown close to.

The young X-Men return to the Xavier Institute in Central Park, and they bring with them a band of mutants infected with the Mothervine virus. These mutants were experimented on by Miss Sinister and forced to undergo mutations for the sake of her research. Following their rescue by the X-Men, Jean declares that they need somewhere to go, so brings them under the care of Headmistress Kitty Pryde.

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all new x men

It’s also here that Jean and Scott complete some unfinished business of their own. Despite Scott being in a romantic relationship with Bloodstorm, the young vampiric version of Ororo Munroe from an alternate timeline, there’s nothing that can prevent the destiny of Cyclops and Phoenix being together. They share a kiss, a moment which is watched over by Jimmy Hudson, who’s still infected with a poison following the Venomized crossover from earlier this year.

The issue ends with the five X-Men ready to use Hank’s time machine to travel back to their own period, only to be interrupted by events on the TV that will lead them directly into Extermination. While it’s unfortunate that the release schedule of these books meant that we’re reading this issue after Extermination has already begun, it’s a rewarding chapter that adds a sense of closure to the adventures of the original X-Team, that has been a part of the present-day Marvel Universe now for close to six years.