"Motendo/Lifedeath - Part 1" is a combo episode with the escapism of Jubliee's birthday in a video game and the quiet moments with Storm in Lifedeath! Re:cap; “Fire Made Flesh”, Mister Sinister is revealed behind Jean Doe, the double of Jean Grey, and Jean is transformed by Sinister into the Goblin Queen! The X-Men find nightmares of themselves, but reform with Magneto and Rogue to face Sinister. The Goblin Queen faces Morph turned Magik and corrupts he into attacking the others. Magneto shatters the windows, but she uses the glass shards to take him down. At the X-Mansion, Wolverine checks on the other Jean Doe, he brings back her memory. Then, she senses the pain inflicted on Cyclops. In psychic form, Jean Grey faces the Goblin Queen, and confronts her time as the Phoenix.
They flash back to Professor Xavier meeting the young Jean Grey for the first time. Then, they see the fateful moment when her friend Annie chases a basketball into the street. The Goblin Queen presents portraits of the past, covers of X-Men comics, and the psychic form of Jean swallows her! She sees baby Nathan being born and Jean wakes up screaming! Nathan cries and this shatters Sinister’s ruby. The Goblin Queen takes Cyclops hand to tak on Sinister. She blasts him in the laboratory and Cyclops blasts Nathan free from his tube. Sinister retreats and they find the baby covered by a techno-organic virus. Sinister’s part is a retcon in Cable Annual `99. Beast knows that the Mister Sinister’s treatment is too advanced.
Bishop says he knows someone who could help the baby in his future. Cyclops doesn’t want to abandon his son like his father had done with him. We see Baby Nathan and then Jean reflected in Cyclops visor. Good shot. Cyclops walks away from transporting the baby. Taking Nathan by the lake, Jean reassures Nathan, and then Bishop opens his time portal. She gives Nathan to Bishop and he walks into the portal. Nathan was transported in the comics by Askani in X-Factor #68 (1991). Time travel always makes things complicated. Jean meets with the Jean Doe who is about to leave and calls herself Madelyne Pryor. This was a coincedental look when she was introduced in Uncanny X-Men #168 (1983).
Jean quietly sees Cyclops with a shattered picture of the family. The teaser at the end has Storm at a bar in Dallas. She has the mohawk and black leather of her punk rock look. Ororo is joined by Forge (Gil Birmingham), “an old friend of Charles Xavier”, one of my favorite characters, he first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #184 (1984). Forge appeared in several episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series starting with “Days of Future Past, Part One” (1993). He offers to help her get back what she lost! “Motendo” begins with Gambit offering a cup of coffee to Rogue, but Magneto has already given one to her. He takes a seat and says the X-Men will go through drills in the Danger Room to prepare for Sinister. Beast says it is Jubliee’s 18th birthday. She enters with her fireworks.
She wants to go to the arcade, Magneto glowers, and Jubliee imitates him in Roberto’s room. Jubliee turns to see a Motendo game. A fun mash up of Mojo and Nintendo! The game suddenly turns on and tentacles reach out to grab them! Then, the tentacles go up their faces and into them like the silver into Neo from The Matrix! The room flickers with video game distortion. A Sentinel hand suddenly grabs Roberto! She blasts the Sentinel who falls. They are now in the city with another Sentinel hunting them. Roberto is reluctant to use his powers and they run from FOH gunmen! A phone booth, they don’t really exist now, but the phone rings, “Hello Neo.” They are zapped to the next level in Genosha by a river dam. This is from her past, “Slave Island” (1993) in X-Men: The Animated Series.
The Blob and Sunfire are workers there. Genoshan soldiers start to shoot at them on a bridge. Suddenly, they fall in a video game glitch, then Jubilee and Roberto sees a mysterious woman in black with a spiked helmet. Jubilee calls her “Hot Topic stalker”, funny! She sees a grid and realizes they are in a video game. This is confirmed by Mojo, the bulky, crazy ruler of Mojoverse. Mojo made his debut in Longshot #3 (1985). He appeared in the X-Men: The Animated Series, “Mojovision” 1994). Jubilee notes that he has gotten thinner. Mojo says she is the star, a “gamer girl in a gamer world”, there has always been fun adventures in X-Men after some heavy drama. He offers her eternal youth trapped in Motendo. Roberto's defiance of Mojo shows he is the voice of reason in this world of madness.
We see `90’s arcade game graphics of X-Men: The Rise of Jubilee. It does take me back playing the X-Men six person arcade game from 1992. The first stage is Dystopian Street! We get the classic 16-bit arcade version of the X-Men theme as we see the “Days of Future Past” wanted poster. Jubilee revels in taking on human sized Sentinels. The cheers of the Mojoverse crowds swells up Mojo’s size! The next stage is Savage Land where they face Sauron. Jubilee is attacked by Sauron and loses some of her life bar. The helmeted woman appears. She turns into Spiral who was introduced in Longshot #1 (1985). Jubilee’s health is restored and the pterandon form of Sauron reverts to Karl Lykos. Mojo has his tech support, Spiral work until Jubliee and Roberto reach the final level, Asteriod M!
It reverts back to animation which is great. Jubilee enjoys the game instead of the harsh reality. Roberto wants her to return to reality and is thrown into a console. Magneto appears as a video game villain. Jubilee sees his health is going down and times Magneto’s attack cycle. She distracts him with a firework burst and then leaps down at him with a heavy attack: “Total Victory!” Roberto is about to fade and then Jubilee sees a glowing X circle, she says, “An extra life!” I like Scott Pilgrim's line, "I'm gonna get a life!" Mojo asks Spiral what is happening. Jubilee places the Extra Life on Roberto and then hugs him. They face another Magneto, but a black hand reaches out to take them out of the game! Jubilee tells Roberto, “Zip it, daCosta!” which is matched by the helmeted woman, an older Jubilee! This is Abscissa, an alternate version from Wolverine #52 (1992)!
They discover that she is the last beta tester model. This wiser, though artifical Jubilee says life doesn’t have a cheat code, there are a few who might argue that point. They are interrupted by Mojo, the Final Boss! Abcissa slices though one of Mojo’s spider-like legs. His tentacle blaster is destroyed by Roberto’s Sunspot power! Jubilee and Abscissa combine their powers, a very cool anime/video game moment, and destroy Mojo! “Jubile Wins” appears on the screen and Spiral knocks over Mojo. The Jumanji-like video game shorts out, Jubilee kisses Roberto, and there are fireworks! This goes to “Lifedeath - Part 1” with an owl flying ove a mountain. This was an incredible love story in Uncanny X-Men #186 (1984) that had art by Barry Windsor-Smith. It flies over the cabin where Forge has prepared dinner for Storm, bison chili. Forge explains his mutant power of invention. She notes his bionic arm and leg which he says he lost in a war. "Motendo/Lifedeath - Part 1" has the lighter moments and action plus the drama and added romance that is the best of X-Men!
Five Sentinel Blasters out of Five!
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