Uncanny X-Men #14 is the second part of “Dark Artery”, with the young X-Men known as the Outliers embarking on a journey that took them past one of Marvel’s great guardians Man-Thing. This journey has taken them into the caverns below Haven House, the current base of Rogue’s team of X-Men, and to a door that only the four of them could open. This leads to some rather startling discoveries, including the possible power of the Outlier that has impressed readers the most — Calico, whose powers somehow work in conjunction with her horse Ember. Calico’s power could even reach the vaunted Omega level, the highest level of mutant power in the Marvel Universe.
The Outliers have been a source of a lot of speculation since they debuted, partly because they’re new young mutants with interesting powers and personalities, but also because of a plot line set up in Uncanny X-Men #1 — the prophecy of the Endling. Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine learned from the dragon Sadurag that one of the Outliers would turn out to be the Endling, the mutant who would bring the end of mutantkind. Uncanny X-Men #14’s revelations about Calico, and Ember, could be a major clue as to who exactly is the Endling.
Calico’s Powers — and History — Are Different than What Fans Expected
Uncanny X-Men #13 ended with Deathdream, a mutant who can move between the world of the living and the dead at will, bringing the other Outliers to a cavern guarded by Man-Thing. Issue #14 sees the teens reveal their truth to Man-Thing in order to show that they aren’t afraid of him. Each of the Outliers talks about themselves and their powers, and the last one is Calico. She begins by describing her bond with her horse Ember, and then goes on to tell Man-Thing what she thinks her powers are — that she can give herself and her horse any powers she can imagine. So far, readers have mostly seen her use a lot of fire moves — manifesting fiery weapons and armor around herself and Ember (I always figured her powers just fire based, and I think a lot of other readers did too) — but this admission shows that Calico’s powers are greater than any of us imagined. She says she can give them any power she can imagine, which puts her power level at an insane, almost reality altering level. This kind of power almost certainly should be enough to get Calico classified as an Omega class mutant. There’s really nowhere else someone whose powers are only limited by their imagination could be classified.
RELATED: I Think Chris Claremont Is the Most Revolutionary X-Men Writer (& Here’s Why)
Omega level mutants include folks like Charles Xavier, Jean Grey, Magneto, Apocalypse, Storm, Proteus, Exodus, and multiple other very powerful mutants. Calico’s powers can basically give her and Ember any of their powers as long as she could imagine it. However, that wasn’t the only bombshell that Calico dropped because after she made her admission, Man-Thing still wouldn’t let her through. So, she told everyone her secret, the one thing she was scared of — that her current horse Ember wasn’t her first Ember. That Ember had died in a fire. This one had just appeared and Calico has no idea what it is. She says this while breaking down crying with terror at whatever this horse she’s been riding is. These two revelations put Calico as number one in the running for which of the Outliers who could be the Endling. Not only are her powers such that she could basically do anything, including kill any mutant put in front of her, but the addition of her not knowing what Ember is right now could mean that her powers created it after her first horse died when her powers manifested. Maybe the horse has nothing to do with her powers. Or maybe it’s something else that has decided to bond itself to Calico, and it’s the Endling. It’s all very intriguing.
Calico Is the Most Interesting of the Outliers
So far, “Dark Artery” is easily the best story of the entire “From the Ashes” X-Men publishing line. Writer Gail Simone and artist David Marquez are crafting an engaging yarn, one that has already revealed the terrible cost of Gambit’s new powers, as well as introduced an entirely new mutant, a woman named Henrietta Benjamin, and is giving clues as to why the X-Men ended up at Haven House of all places. Simone promised that Uncanny X-Men was going to be a more of a Southern Gothic horror book, and “Dark Artery” is bringing that flavor flawlessly.
Uncanny X-Men #14’s revelations about Calico and Ember are huge. If what Calico is saying about powers is true, she’s an insanely powerful mutant, and the mystery of what Ember is and how it all relates to the Endling prophecy is all icing on the cake. The Outliers are about to meet Henrietta, and from what this issue revealed, they may need all of Calico’s power to save them.
Uncanny X-Men #14 is on sale now.
The post Did Marvel Just Reveal a New Omega-Level Mutant? appeared first on ComicBook.com.
