Spoiler Warning: Issue two

Spoiler Warning.  Issue 2.

This is going to be a new style of discussion for things that haven't ended yet. There is an obvious spoiler warning attached and these are all my best aproximations of what's to come.



Our topic today? Schism



Welcome to Issue Two. In Today's discussion I'll lead us along a road that answers the question of what's going to happen in Schism.

So I want to start off by saying one issue in, this is by far my favorite summer event this year. 
So an issue one synopsis:  Wolverine is exhausted after some recent event.  Cyclops recruits him to serve as his body guard when attending an arms confrence.  In this confrence Cyclops and Wolverines bromance is show to be stronger than ever.  In the conference Cyclops begins to give a speech regarding the nations of the world disbanding any sentinels they have in their possession.  Several nations present demand proof and say that such claims are outrageous.  Then Kid Omega shows up and manipulates the represenetives to reveal their darkest secrets.  Immediately after sentinels are deployed but Cyclops and Wolverine tear through them easily.  But back at home, they watch in realization that the world still hates mutants and that most nations in the world have their own batallion of Sentinels. 
There are two other plotlines involving a child becoming the new Black King of the hellfire club and one of Hopes team, Generation Hope showing some bonding with Wolverine.

Background you should be aware of: 
Utopia:  A storyline that results in The mutants under the leadership of Scott Summers raising Asteroid M from the ocean and turning it into an island, declaring themselves the independent nation of Utopia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(comics)

Second Coming:  A storyline in which the time lost warrior Cable returning to the present with the mutant Messiah, Hope to the present.  In it Nightcrawler and Cable both die.  Hope remains angry over Nathan's death and still blames Scott.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men:_Second_Coming

X-Force/ Uncanny X-Force:  In X-Force, Scott Summers charged Logan with leading a X-Men hit team to fighting against enemies unseen.  In the end the team is disbanned by Scott after he sees the horrors of war inflicted upon the young minds of children.  Lastly, Logan forms his own hidden X-Force team that takes extreme measures to threats that otherwise are too dark for the X-men to handle.  He does this without Scott's knowledge.


The Future:
So the obvious thing we know is that X-Men will be divided at the end of this event.  And the marketing and buzz indicates that we will see a divide of Scott and Logan over some decisive issue.  Interviews with creators indicate that this divide is over ingeration versus segregation.  My extrapolation is that over his life Cyclops has become so jaded that he feels that the proper divide is the only way mutants can be safe.  And Logan still supports the dream of integrating the mutants into society. 
I'm fairly certain part of this Schism is also going to come from resolution to two different issues.  The first issue is over Kid Omega.  The X-men will have to deal with him and I forsee Wolverine being okay with Killing him and Scott not so much.  This problem may also manifest as a solution for the new Black King but I doubt that.  In fact, as a resolution, the new Black King will live, but have his plan defeated cursing the name of the X-men in typical villian fashion.  If only for the fact that this story is going to have long lasting ramifications for the next few years.  It has been confirmed that there will be two flagship books in the fall,  Uncanny X-men and Wolverine and the X-Men .  The new status quo of having Sentinels returned shall help offer new storylines for the individual series and it will be interesting to see how the series divide in the fall. 
Now the obvious question I will recieve is how will the teams divide, and I see it going something like this:

Wolverine:
Hope
Storm
Kitty Pride
Iere
Rouge
Colossus
Ice Man

Cyclops:
Magento
Emma Frost
Namor
Firestorm
Gambit
Deadpool
Psylocke


Most of these team members are based on constant graphics and team ups.  There is one page in paticular that bonds four of these characters together in Schism and seperates Wolverine.  If you read the book you'll know which page it is.  Now the promo material all suggests that Emma might end up onWolverine's team, but in my mind, given she's a telepath,she'll still be on Scott's side pulling the same switch she did in Utopia. 


In my mind the marketing seems to be suggesting a split between Wolverine and Cyclops of Magneto/Xavirer levels.  But what's interesting is that Logan has remained mostly amicable with Charles and Scott has been working closely with Erik.    But I think that's not what's to come.  I know we are going to see a seperation, but these are smart writers.  And they are likely to switch things up on us before we reach the end.
I suspect issue 2 will deal with more Sentinels and the first signs of a more sinister plot at work.  By the end of issue three we will see a strain on the team and the Schism start to form.  But we won't see a seperation until the end of issue four at the earliest. And in the conclusion of issue five, the Black King's plot revealed and Kid Omega dealt with, we will see the teams divided, one side hopeful for the future, one side woried about what's to come.

And in the coming months we will see the two teams avoid each other like the plague up until may or June when the next major X-Men storyline kicks in and we see all of the books come together for a crossover that results in a true X-Men civil war leaving at least one major team member dead, and the possible resurection of another. 


And thus concludes issue two of Spoiler Warning.  Check back soon for our future coverage on Flashpoint, Fear Itself, the DCnU and more!