"Decimation"is a storyline published byMarvel Comicsin2005,spinning out of the events of theHouse of Mlimited series.The event started with aone-shotissue and took place in a number of various series all carrying the "Decimation" logo on the cover. The 2005 miniseriesGeneration M,Sentinel Squad O*N*E,X-Men: Deadly GenesisandX-Men: The 198were all launched specifically for the "Decimation" storyline. The various stories were collected in five trade paper backs.
| "Decimation" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Decimation event logo, as shown on the covers of tie-in comics | |||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||
| Publication date | January – August2006 | ||
| Genre | |||
| |||
| Main character(s) | See listsbelow | ||
| X-Men - The Day After | ISBN0-7851-1984-1 | ||
| Generation M | ISBN0-7851-1958-2 | ||
| Son of M | ISBN0-7851-1970-1 | ||
| Sentinel Squad O*N*E | ISBN0-7851-1997-3 | ||
| X-Men - 198 | ISBN0-7851-1994-9 | ||
The storyline focuses on the ramifications of theScarlet Witchstripping nearly all of themutantpopulation of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds. This event, which occurred on November 2 according toX-Men(vol. 2)#191, is known as "M-Day"in theMarvel Universe.
Reception among fans and critics was mixed, with a common complaint being the inconsistent manner in which mutants retained their powers while at times depicting "depowered" mutants as still having their physical mutations.
Overview
edit"Decimation" began with the self-titledone-shotDecimation: House of M: The Day After,and heralded the relaunch of the Excalibur team inNew Excalibur,focusing onPete Wisdomlooking forCaptain Britainto head up a new British super team, as well as the relaunch ofX-Factorfrom theMadroXminiseries. It also includes several mini-series—Son of Mstarring a depoweredQuicksilver,Generation Mfocusing on other depowered characters,Sentinel Squad O*N*Eshowing the latest iteration of the mutant-huntingSentinelsto be robots piloted by humans,X-Men: Deadly Genesis,andX-Men: The 198—and continues throughout the Marvel Universe, particularly in theX-Men-related titles. One consequence is an upswing of anti-mutant sentiment, especially among certain religious groups, who consider M-Day to be God's judgment against mutant-kind.
It has been confirmed through various sources that there are considerably more than 198 mutants remaining—the number has been referred to as "symbolic" rather than actual, and inThe 198 Filesis said to be the earliest confirmed number. Numbers for pre-Decimation mutants vary from "over a million" (House of M#8) to 14 million (New X-Men#115, where it is said that the 16 million mutants who died onGenoshawas around "over half" of the estimated global mutant population of 30 million mutants), giving a population, if the commonly used 90% depowered figure is true, of between one hundred thousand and one and a half million. Based on the mathematical comparisons of the oft-repeated 198 and several million, Marvel re-evaluated the 90% figure into "over 99%", as shown inCivil War: Battle Damage ReportwhenIron Mancomments on the Post-CW world.[1]
BothHank PymandBeastnote shortly after the event that it is impossible for the energy that certain mutants controlled to simply have vanished, and that it must have been "sent" somewhere. As would later be revealed inNew Avengers,most of this energy became asentiententity calledthe Collective,who has since come into violent conflict with the Avengers. In addition, a portion of the energy revived the body ofGabriel Summers,brother of both Alex (Havok) and Scott Summers (Cyclops), who had been trapped in space for many years following the defeat ofKrakoa,as depicted in theX-Men: Deadly Genesislimited series.
Mutants affected
editAccording to Marvel Editor-In-ChiefJoe Quesada,the "Decimation" event was designed to reduce the number of mutant characters in theMarvel Universe,which he felt had gotten out of hand after forty years of publishing.[2]Most criticisms by fans have been aimed at inconsistencies regarding the roster of mutants who retained their powers after the event. For example, in theGeneration Mmini-series, several characters were considered depowered, even though they retained their physical mutations. TheCivil War Filesone-shot revealed that the US government's assessment of the number of mutants on Earth may not be accurate, which allowed Marvel to change the number of depowered mutants. Additionally, characters such asNamorand theGreat Lakes Avengers,who are described as mutants but not particularly tied to theX-Menseries of books, have not been affected by the event.
Wizardmagazine published a speculative list of supposedly decimated characters, which Marvel Comics dismissed as including a number of mutants who still have their powers.[citation needed]While it has been stated that there are at least 198 remaining mutants, according toHenry Peter GyrichinAvengers: The Initiative,there are actually "around 300"; the 198 number is merely the number of mutants the US government has cataloged, with a 199th mutant (Mutant Zero) being off the record.[3]Over 198 mutants were identified post M-Day, but around 30 more died in following storylines such asNecroshaorSecond Coming.
Necrosha
editSeleneand her servant Eli Bard have used the Transmode Virus to reanimate the mutantCalibanso that he may track down and reanimate deceased mutants (to both form an army and an energy source for Selene). The reanimated army appeared in the "Necrosha" story arc, consisting of thousands of inhabitants ofGenosha,as well a number of notable deceased mutants associated with the X-Men. See the main Necrosha article to view the full list of those resurrected during the story arc.
Necrosha notes:
- The majority of these mutants were used as a sacrifice for Selene to reach her godhood, and have since gone back to being deceased. Those who were not sacrificed likely perished with Selene and the energy she used to keep them alive, as was implied by Destiny at the end of theX-Men: Legacytie-in.[4]
- Unus and Feral are reanimated but should still be depowered as they were not mutants after M-day. Feral had her feline appearance restored prior to her death, and Unus was temporarily repowered by the Terrigen Mists, resulting in his death.
- Cypher, using his power and assistance from Warlock and Magik, eradicated the techno-organic virus (effectively resurrecting himself).
- Due to his nature, Proteus was able to separate himself from Destiny but was seemingly destroyed in a confrontation with Rogue and Magneto. Magneto doubts if the effects of dispersing Proteus' energy are permanent.
Collected editions
edit| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decimation: X-Men - The Day After | Decimation: House of M - The Day After,X-Men#177-181 | May 2006 | ISBN0-7851-1984-1 |
| Decimation: Generation M | Generation M#1-5 | July 2006 | ISBN0-7851-1958-2 |
| Decimation: Son of M | Son of M#1-6 | August 2006 | ISBN0-7851-1970-1 |
| Decimation: Sentinel Squad O*N*E | Sentinel Squad O*N*E#1-5 | September 2006 | ISBN0-7851-1997-3 |
| Decimation: X-Men - 198 | X-Men: The 198#1-5 andX-Men: The 198 Files | September 2006 | ISBN0-7851-1994-9 |
References
edit- ^Ronald Byrd&Anthony Flamini(w),Scott Kolins(p),Scott Kolins(i).Civil War: Battle Damage Report,no. 1 (March 2007).Marvel Comics.
- ^Newsarama.com: Joe Fridays 21, A Weekly Q&A with Joe QuesadaArchivedApril 15, 2007, at theWayback Machine
- ^Dan Slott(w),Rafael(p). "House Arrest"Avengers Initiative,no. 5 (November 2007).Marvel Comics.
- ^X-Men: Legacy#233
External links
edit- Decimationat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
- Marvel.com - Official Decimation webpage
- UXN's "Generation M" issue summaries