One of the New Mutants has been keeping a secret from their teammates and the X-Men since House of X. Now it appears the secret is out.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Giant-Size X-Men: Storm #1, by Jonathan Hickman, Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson and VC’s Ariana Maher, on sale now.
Cypher, the resident technopath of the New Mutants, has kept silent about the return of his techno-organic friend, Warlock, since the beginning of Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva’s House of X . The alien being has remained well-hidden on Cypher’s arm, in a Technarch sheath.
During their latest adventure, however, Cypher and Warlock interact quite openly in front of their fellow X-Men.
In Giant-Size X-Men: Storm #1, by Jonathan Hickman and Russell Dauterman, Cypher joins a small team consisting of Monet, Fantomex and Storm in an effort to cure the mutant weather goddess of the techno-organic virus which is killing her. Together, this band of mutants enters the World, a high-tech research facility under the control of the malevolent Weapon Plus program.
In the center of the World lies a cure for Storm’s ailment, but this area is obstructed by a massive conflict between a variety of creatures produced within the World’s temporally accelerated atmosphere. In spite of the odds, Storm leads the team into battle so she can free herself of the techno-organic virus. During the fight, Warlock emerges, acting as a techno-organic combat suit for Cypher. The mutant technopath compliments Warlock’s design, and Warlock’s head emerges, happily exclaiming his “joy” and “delight” at Cypher’s protection.
This open interaction between Cypher and Warlock is fairly odd, considering very few people are even aware that Warlock is alive. In Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler, by Hickman and Alan Davis, Magik is shocked to see Warlock alongside the rest of the team. The fellow New Mutant even demands that Cypher explain what’s going on, but he never does.
Cyclops also briefly sees Warlock, before the alien vanishes, indicating that Cypher is not ready to reveal Warlock’s existence to the rest of the X-Men yet. This makes it even stranger that, during this latest battle, Warlock appears out in the open, with no apparent tension between Cypher and the rest of the team. In fact, when Cypher and Warlock are hit, Monet simply defends them, calling either Cypher or Warlock “the mutant version of Bambi.”
Moreover, Storm could have seen Warlock, which, considering her own techno-organic infection, should bother the X-Man quite a bit. While Warlock has been a valuable ally in the past, his recent merge with Cypher might set off some alarm bells for the X-Men. It’s possible that Storm did not see Warlock during the fight, but even so, Cypher and Warlock didn’t seem very cautious about the Technarch’s appearance in battle.
In the future, it appears that Warlock’s existence will be well-known and accepted by the other mutants. On the cover for New Mutants #14, illustrated by Rod Reis, Warlock is standing among the mutant team, indicating that the New Mutants are fine with Warlock’s resurrection to some extent.
Of course, it should be quite concerning that Warlock is merged with Cypher, considering that the Technarchy are connected to the sinister Phalanx. These aliens serve to assimilate planets, as shown in the X-Men’s dark future, centuries from now.
It’s possible that the mutants will come to terms with the circumstances of Warlock’s resurrection somehow, since New Mutants #14 hasn’t been released yet. Additionally, it’s uncertain what role Cypher and Warlock might play in the X of Swords crossover. Perhaps more will be discussed about Warlock’s resurrection during this time.
Cypher and Warlock’s recent interactions indicate a willingness to reveal the Technarch’s existence, at least to some of the X-Men, although their future together remains quite uncertain.
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