We build our armies where we can, Toad... we were all losers...once. Remember?
A day has apparently passed since Magneto revealed himself to Professor X. In that time, Magneto has as much as seized control of New York City and stands atop a skyscraper with his Brotherhood, formerly the Xavier Institute's Special Class, and declaring New York is now New Genosha. With all the X-Men neutralized, it seems as if Magneto may have finally won...
Except, despite his boasts and displays of power, the gathered crowds are unimpressed and unconvinced in Magneto. At the same time, Magneto's Brotherhood aren't accepting the change in their mentor too well with Ernst asking when Xorn is coming back, Basilisk continuing to make constant bad jokes and the Brotherhood's new recruits Esme and Toad expressing disgust at associating with such social outcasts.
Unable to rally enough momentum for the masses gathered in New York, Magneto is frustrated at their short attention span and lack of appreciation and storms off to privacy. Esme hands him some Kick (a drug that has been prominent in most of Grant Morrison's X-Men run) to enhance his powers and allow him to meet their expectations. Magneto then steps back out and, with his drug-enhanced powers, destroys not just the Statue of Liberty but all bridges leading into New York City.
We end later that evening, the crowd incited and apparently now accepting of Magneto. The Brotherhood watches as a bunch of mutants gang up on a human and murder him. Beak expresses disgust over the horrific sight as elsewhere Magneto lords over and mocks a captive and sedated Professor X over the spectacularly failure of Xavier's dream.
If I had to choose one word to summarize this issue, it'd be "relevant". Everything about this was relevant then and is still relevant now. This issue, and the story in general, gives us the absolutely brilliant exploration of Magneto and his place in a new "post-modern" world. Once Magneto was the most charismatic terrorist alive who could gauge followers with the wink of an eye. His fortunes have changed and faded dramatically in America, and now, he's seen as a boring washed-up b-list terrorist. Magneto is faced with something he's never been faced with before: indifference and disinterest. It's fascinating to see a story like this; the spectacular fall of a terrorist as he falls "out of fashion". We also get the amazing element with Magneto having to resort to taking drugs in order to impress people. Something that works fantastically as it's completely counter to Magneto's outlook on life, but at the same time Grant Morrison doesn't spend page after page ramming this into your heads, he's happy to let his brilliant subtext lay.
We also have the excellent use of socially and mentally challenged students being forced to become Magneto's foot-soldiers. This is just stellar stuff. Juxtaposed with the fact he is "uncool", Magneto has resorted to taking advantage of vulnerable children and Morrison writes these kids very well. They each have their own voice and aren't stereotypes or offensive pastiches, these feel like legitimate fragile children. The Special Class kids also contribute to the a foundation of what is this great Magneto characterisation; I can think of no better scene to summarize Magneto than when Magneto accosts Esme and Toad for being mean and acting superior to the Special Class. Magneto likes to think of himself as some sort of a noble hero for his species - nay, the planet - and sees himself as something of the modern day Martin Luther King - but is just expressing his own hypocrisies again with his falsely indignant attitude as he ignores the fact that he himself has horrifically abused and used these challenged children himself.
I may have descended into a quasi-Magneto deconstruction at points here (I actually had to go back and remove a large chunk as I did feel I was babbling, so there might be a weird structure going on in that last bit!), but as I said in the review of the issue before, this one really is one of, if not, the definitive Magneto story. Morrison approaches the character perfectly, and this issue shows it. With the X-Men nowhere to be seen, Magneto takes the starring role and we get one of the most enduring and...relevant...X-Men comics released. The fact all of this brilliant story was retconned is just a disgrace.