Warning: Contains spoilers for X-Force #42!
Summary
- The Beast has become corrupt and uses the X-Men’s most powerful weapon, Cerebro, to make himself a god and conquer Earth.
- Cerebro, originally designed as a tool to locate and help mutants, has been perverted by the Beast into a surveillance device and a means of control and oppression.
- X-Force and Deadpool unite to liberate the Beast’s subjects and put an end to his reign, highlighting the potential of Cerebro as both a weapon and a method of spying.
The Beast has corrupted the X-Men’s most powerful weapon, using it to make himself a god. Since his promotion to the head of X-Force, the Beast has gone down a dark path, one from which there is coming back and no chance of redemption. In X-Force #42, readers are treated to a nightmarish vision of a world where the Beast has conquered the Earth–and he used one of the X-Men’s oldest weapons to do so.
X-Force #42 is written by Benjamin Percy, drawn by Paul Davidson, colored by GURU-eFX and lettered by Joe Caramagna. In previous issues, an older, grizzled version of Quentin Quire aka Kid Omega brought X-Force 1,000 years into the future. In this hellish dystopian world, the Beast has wiped out all but a small handful of humans, and he has subjugated the rest of Earth’s population, using surveillance implants to monitor his subjects at all times. In a text piece, made to resemble a note from Beast’s Logbook, reveals how he did it: Cerebro. Saying Cerebro helped “realize the promise of Krakoa,” Beast reveals the device is at the core of his surveillance technology. Mixed in with this revelation are thoughts from the Beast, who views his actions as “the work of new gods.” He concludes by saying he is watching everyone, thanks to the implants; he calls it the “Cerebro Sword,” and that when people know they are being watched, they behave.
Cerebro is one of the X-Men’s oldest tools, a powerful device that can scan and detect mutants across the globe. Professor X is most often associated with Cerebro, using it to locate mutants in many classic X-Men stories. In the Krakoan era, Cerebro has taken on new significance, thanks to the Resurrection Protocols. These Protocols call for Cerebro to scan a mutant’s mind, creating an exact copy that can be used to bring the mutant back when they die. These Protocols and Cerebro have allowed the X-Men to cheat death and effectively become immortal–but now the Beast is showing a horrifying application for it.
The Beast Saw Cerebro’s Dark Potential
The Beast is correct in his assessment of Cerebro’s purpose–it is a surveillance device. However, when it was originally conceived, it was a way to locate mutants and potentially help them; Cerebro is perhaps responsible for recruiting more X-Men than any other means. In Krakoa, Cerebro’s importance cannot be understated–numerous mutants have been given second (and sometimes third or fourth) lease on life. Beast has perverted Cerebro’s original intentions. It was designed for a benevolent purpose, but the Beast has tapped into Cerebro’s worst parts and refashioned it into something horrible. What was once a tool of safety, liberation and rebirth has become one of conquest and oppression.
The issue concludes with X-Force and Deadpool ending the future Beast’s reign of terror, liberating his subjects from their surveillance implants. While a new day may be dawning in the future, the fact remains that Cerebro has enormous potential as a weapon; it also is an untapped method of spying on someone. In a dark future, the Beast saw the potential in this classic X-Men device, and seized on it–creating a powerful instrument of mass destruction.
X-Force #42 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
