X-Men – 08

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: 

Sasaki-sensei’s is attacked by a winged, spider-scorpion and her screams bring Hisako, Emma, and Cyclops running. As the thing shoots acid from its tail, Hisako uses her armor ability to shield Sasaki while Cyclops attempts to nail the fast-flying thing.  Meanwhile, Wolverine, Storm, and Beast return and discover the fight happening. Entering the fray, Beast scans the creature while the others fight. He determines this to be a mutant suffering from Damon-Hall Syndrome and wants it captured. This news causes Hisako to hesitate as she remembers the boy who died in New York and she’s almost hit with acid. Storm fries the scorpion-spider but it feigns being stunned to lure her in and snare her. Wolverine grabs its tail and gets it off while Hisako knocks it unconscious, forcing the creature to return to its human form, Sasaki’s assistant Riko.

As Xavier flies into Japanese airspace, he recalls how he met Sasaki several years before and how she was not prejudice against mutants, opening a school to teach them in Japan. The two had a romantic relationship for a time but when Xavier returned to New York, Sasaki would not since she had a school to mind.  When Xavier returned to Japan a few years later, Sasaki did not rekindle their romance. Xavier also ponders the son Sasaki now has told him about and wonders how this all fits.  Meanwhile, Beast examines Riko and is surprised to see she’s been taking some kind of injections. Sasaki claims not to know about this. Both Emma and Beast show signs of not believing her but Beast gives a vaccine shot to Riko.

Elsewhere, Cyclops and Wolverine are investigating and find Riko’s room via a massive tear in a wall. They find vials and an injection gun and head to the other male assistant’s room, Kaga, where they find him in fear on the ground with the same vials and injection gun. Finding out Kaga and Jun are also mutants, they learn that Jun did not come from the Sasaki Institute, but was brought in six months prior for research. Kaga denies there being a fifth person on the premise. He undergoes secondary mutation and escapes the room while back in the medical facility, Beast asks Sasaki why she didn’t tell them Riko was a mutant and why so many mutants are near her facility, many with secondary mutations.  She has no answers and takes her leave, citing weariness.

Kaga, now in monster form, does not attack Sasaki-sensei but holds her, leading Cyclops to believe he probably loves her. They are soon joined by the other X-Men and when Hisako sees Sasaki-sensei being held, she starts to attack but is thwarted. Sasaki wearily tells Kaga to stop, so he gently places her down but then attacks the X-Men. Cyclops finds himself thrown through glass into another room as Wolverine is eaten but a lizard-mouth but he cuts his way free. As Cyclops examines the room he’s in, which is filled with vials, the X-Men defeat Kaga and bring him to the medical room. Before they leave, Emma sees Jun but for a moment, sees Mastermind.

Kaga also has signs of taking lots of injections but Sasaki won’t confirm anything. When Cyclops confronts her with the medicine vials he discovered, she is horrified and slowly retreats, looking like a defeated woman.  Beast wants her to give an explanation.  Meanwhile, Xavier enters the Tohoku region and attempts to mentally scan the area and contact the X-Men. However, he is flooded with imagery he cannot explain.  To his surprise, the sky appears to tear open and a maw open, which the SR-71 flies into.

Thoughts/Review:

This episode worked on advancing the plot a bit, even if slowly.  With Emma sensing Mastermind being disguised as Jun and next week’s episode conveniently having the translated name of “Mastermind,” it isn’t that hard to guess that Mastermind will be exposed somehow.  I figure that Mastermind is also behind what Xavier is experiencing since that is most likely the work of an illusion. What still isn’t even remotely clear is what Mastermind’s purpose is.  If he’s behind all of the mutations in the Tohoku region, then why is he behind it? Further to that, why is Sasaki-sensei going along with all of this, even if she doesn’t know it is Mastermind?

I think that Sasaki-sensei’s research was into Damon-Hall Syndrome with Riko and Kaga being given medication of some kind to help bring on secondary mutation.  If I’m right, what Sasaki-sensei didn’t expect was how her assistants turn into monsters with little to no sentience. Like I said, I don’t know how Mastermind figures into all of this nor can I figure out how Sasaki-sensei’s supposedly deceased son with Xavier, Takeo, figures into all of this.  Lots and lots of questions but at this point, very few answers.