Astonishing X-Men #2
In "Torn," Joss Whedon and John Cassaday deliver a gripping chapter of Astonishing X-Men as the X-Men and Earth's heroes are pulled into S.W.O.R.D.'s orbiting base to confront the Breakworld's deadly bullet. With Colossus locked in a desperate battle against Aghanne inside the reactor and the rest of the team fighting off Breakworld forces outside, the line between sacrifice and survival blurs. As Spider-Man uncovers the truth behind their shared illusion and Shadowcat makes a final, unthinkable choice to save the planet, the weight of loss settles on Colossus—left behind, he reflects on how fleeting their moment of hope truly was. The cover by John Cassaday captures the intensity of the moment with stark, emotional precision.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
S.W.O.R.D. has sent the Mega-Sentinel to pick up the X-Men and all other heroes they can find and bring them to S.W.O.R.D.'s orbiting base to find a way to stop the bullet from the Breakworld. Colossus and Aghanne fight in the reactor while the X-Men and Agent Brand's team fight other Breakworld forces outside. Colossus starts to shift back to flesh inside the reactor to prevent Aghanne from using him to destroy the Breakworld, when Ord enters without protection and rips off her helmet. Colossus kills Aghanne and tells the dying Ord that he did it. He saved his world. Meanwhile as the superheroes of Earth try to stop the bullet, Spider-Man realizes his apparently successful scheme to catch it in a big web couldn't possibly have worked, and realizes they've all been made to hallucinate that they stopped it in their own ways. Cyclops and Emma chase the bullet, trying to save Shadowcat, but she's bonded to the bullet and cannot leave. With no options left, she phases the entire bullet through the planet Earth, seemingly at the cost of her life. Colossus, left behind, ruminates on how their happiness was so brief- here, and then, gone.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).