issue summaries

X-Men: Deadly Genesis 6 Writer: Ed Brubaker Penciler: Trevor Hairsine Finishes: Scott Hanna Inker: Kris Justice Colorist: Val Staples Letterer: Dave Lanphear Cover Art: Marc Silvestri Assist. Editor: Nathan Cosby Editor: Mark Panniccia Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Date: June 2006

It starts out immediately following Professor Xavier's revelation last issue that he is no longer a mutant. Hank was to run tests, but Emma confirms it. Vulcan wants to the X-Ment to see and feel what happened to him and his friends. He orders Rachel to mind-link with Gabriel and Xavier so they can see what happened. At first Rachel refuses, but Gabriel threatens to kill the Professor and Xavier tells her to go ahead and do it.

Flashback to Vulcan and his team (Darwin, Sway and Petra) on Krakoa island, fighting the island. Their mental links with Xavier are no longer working. They find Scott, bound to a tree, surrounded by Krakoa’s avatars. They manage to free Scott and drag him to the Blackbird. Scott starts to wake up, but his powers aren't working. He recognizes them as the kids from the lab

As Vulcan is showing this memory, Rachel talks to Xavier on the astral plane, without Gabriel able to hear them. Xavier has an idea and something he wants to show her.

As Scott is getting on the jet, Gabriel tells him he's his brother.

On Muir Island, Alex interrupts, arguing that Gabriel can't be his brother, since he's barely younger than him and that it would be impossible for Alex and Scott to forget having a brother. Gabriel asks him who could make him forgot. Alex charges at Xavier, demanding to know the truth. Xavier replies that it isn't what they think and that Gabriel wasn't born on Earth.

Not even Gabriel knew this information. As Rachel accesses the Professor's memories, he explains that it is something he learned from their father, Christopher Summers (Corsair) and begged him not to tell Alex or Scott.

Xavier explains that the Shi'ar kidnapped Scott, Alex and Gabriel's parents when their mom was 2 months pregnant with Gabe. Corsair struggled to escape to save his wife and unborn child, but the Shi'ar Emperor, D'ken, killed his wife (Katherine) right in front of him. Corsair assumed the unborn child had died as well, but he was placed in an incubator that accelerated his growth. Within weeks, he was a teenager and sent to be a slave at the Shi'ar's base on Earth. Eventually, Gabriel was found by Moira MacTaggert.

Gabriel is shocked to find out that the people who enslaved him were aliens. Xavier put a hand on his shoulder and tells him that his life has been filled with so much tragedy that he doesn't need to add to it. But Gabriel blasts him and said that it won't work without his telepathy and wants Xavier to tell them what happened to his friends.

Xavier tells Rachel to find Scott's memories of what really happened on Krakoa, and that they're in Xavier's mind, not Scott's. Scott is furious about this.

Scott returned from Krakoa by himself, and told Xavier what happened to the kids. Scott took the jet up to try to get out of range of the island to contact him, while Vulcan, Sway, Darwin and Petra went back into the jungle to find the others. But the island was angry at them for freeing Scott. Sway was torn into pieces by a walking volcano, then Vulcan, Darwin and Petra were incinerated. A grief stricken Scott is nearly in hysterics unable to believe he let his own brother die and thinks Jean and Alex might be dead as well. He doesn't know what else he could have done without his powers. Xavier tranquilized Scott and used Cerebro to check for any sign of Kid Vulcan's team.

Moira is furious with Xavier and asks what he's going to do how. How can Scott live with himself? Xavier tells her that Scott doesn't need to know.

Back in the present day on Muir Island, Scott argues that isn't what happened. The island freed him. However, that was a false memory planted by Xavier. Xavier tries to explain that he was only trying to spare Scott.

Gabriel asks why he isn't dead. Rachel replies that it because of his friends. She explains that since Sway was killed moments before the others, as she was killed, she slowed time around them. Petra's ability as a geo-morph made the ground swallow them and they landed in a cavern. Darwin and Kid Vulcan were barely alive when Krakoa was launched into space by Polaris (Note: the issue incorrectly says Jean Grey instead of Polaris. That is an error. Ed Brubaker has explained that this part was written by the editor and since it was not edited in the X-Office, no one caught it.)

Gabriel recalls dying, and Rachel reaches out to him. She explains that he didn't die, because of his friends. Rachel places her hand on Gabriel's shoulder. Darwin's ability to adapt allowed him to bound to Gabriel and become pure energy. Darwin kept him alive in space for all those years. He's been using Sway and Petra's powers as well, since Darwin absorbed those and they all have been bounded inside Vulcan.

Rachel grabs Vulcan's head and says it's time Darwin woke up. He's knocked to the ground with a blue-ish smoke issuing from him. Xavier questions what she's done, and Ray explains that she sensed another conscience within him and separated them. She found his weakness. Those are the magic words for Wolverine, as he pops his claws and goes after Vulcan, who blasts him. Xavier warns him that Vulcan is too dangerous.

Emma asks Scott what they should do. Scott tells her his powers are working and that they need to stop Vulcan, no matter who he is. Colossus and Wolverine both strike at Vulcan. Xavier tries to stop Havok from blasting him. Wolverine does a Fastball Special throwing Kitty at Vulcan, and tells Xavier that Vulcan isn't the same kid he trained. Alex, Scott and Rachel close in on Gabriel, and Scott tells him to give up. Gabriel shouts that he can't believe he once wanted to be one of them. He blasts all of them back and flies off towards the atmosphere.

Rachel says she can't catch him at the speed he's going. Emma replies that he's already left the stratosphere anyway, and he's gone back to space. Xavier asks Scott if he's alright and but Scott tells him to get away from him. He tries to apologize, but Hank calls him over to look at something. The blue smoke has started to form a skeleton and Hank thinks it might be alive.

A week later at the Xavier Institute, Hank and Xavier are looking at Darwin laying in a hospital bed. His body has regenerated itself. They head out to the grounds for the funeral for Sean Cassidy (Banshee), Petra and Sway. (Note: Ed Brubaker has posted that the person who looks like Quicksilver standing behind Siryn (Theresa Cassidy) was intended to be Cable).

After the funeral, Xavier tries to talk to Scott. Scott says that Xavier is no longer welcome at the Institute any longer, since he's not a mutant.

In space, Vulcan flies towards the Shi'ar home world, seeing images of the Emperor D'ken and his parents.

The story continues in Uncanny X-Men 475.

Deadly Genesis Notes

- Rachel's surname (Summers or Grey) is never mentioned in any issue of Deadly Genesis.

- Despite the fact that Ray and Scott are together quite a bit in this limited series, it is never mentioned that they are father and daughter, or that Vulcan is Ray's uncle.