Powers of X #3 focuses on a narrow story in this issue. We were originally lead to believe that the alliance between humans and machine was maintain to wipe out mutants. However, in this issue it’s revealed that machine have betrayed humans as well. In the Year One Hundred, in the “Temple of Concordance,” of the “Church of Ascendancy,” we witness a priest like figure presiding over a baptism of sorts. The priest asks the people to “reject your humanity.” He offers humanity “true evolution,” as they begin to transform a baby into a machine. During the ceremony the X-Men attack. I haven’t been familiar with Xorn, but i found him and his dark humor to be enjoyable. Of course Nimrod’s craziness continues.
He refuses to care about Church burning, leaving Omega to handle it. She arrives with several Sentinels. Meanwhile, Apocalypse arrives in the old machine data-bank with Wolverine (War) and Krakoa (Famine). They are detected by Nimrod, who intercepts them. At the Church, Omega and the Sentinels overwhelm Xorn, North and Rasputin. Cornered, Rasputin threatens to remove Xorn’s masks setting off his singularity. Omega calls her bluff. She removes his mask, killing the remaining X-Men and Omega. Apocalypse tells Wolverine he needs to take the crystal of information and leave. He initially refuses, but Apocalypse insists on him doing so. After, Krakoa and Wolverine leave Apocalypse takes on three Nimrods. As he fights the three Nimrods, Wolverine awakens Moira. He inserts the crystal into her chest, force feeding her the information the collected. He kills her, ending the ninth life of Moira.
I loved this issue. It wasn’t as game changing as previous issues but I liked the simplicity of it. Seeing Apocalypse do the hero’s sacrifice for the greater good is something I didn’t think I would ever see. I also liked the relationship between him and Wolverine. It at least appeared that they cared about each other. If there’s something I would complain about it’s first I wanted to see more of the fight between Apocalypse and Nimrod. Second I didn’t care that any of the X-Men died because due to the time travel elements it doesn’t seem to matter much. Each issue continues to be great and I can’t wait for the next one.