By d. emerson eddy — X-Men Legacy #300 was the end of an era. The capstone to the second volume of X-Men that had begun back in 1991 with Chris Claremont and Jim Lee, though it was specifically a celebration of the series when it had the X-Men Legacy moniker. Through “Marvel Legacy math”, this anniversary issue included the 24 issues of the second volume of X-Men Legacy, but not any enumeration from volumes three (the vampires) or four (the all-woman team) of the adjectiveless X-Men series. So it stuck with creators most emblematic of the X-Men Legacy era itself to tell this jam issue.

In the framing story from Simon Spurrier, Tan Eng Huat, Craig Yeung, Jose Villarrubia, and Cory Petit, we're introduced to an X-Man who could be considered a secret weapon that the rest of the team doesn't even know about, ForgetMeNot. His power is that as soon as you stop looking at him, you completely forget his existence. As far as powers go, it has its benefits and pitfalls, when combined with what happens to him when he's brought back in a future volume of X-Force, he often gets categorized as one of the worst X-Men ever, but I think he makes for a very interesting literary tool for this story. An insert observational character that can view the past, but will make sense as to why nothing's been shown about him before. Because, basically, we all forgot that he existed too.

The central push of the story is that he's trying to calm down a girl who's trying to break into the Jean Grey school. After suffering fairly horribly at the hands of a group of school rapists and coming out scarred, she's attempting to join the mutants in an attempt to disappear. Only, due to Shi'ar defense technology, the school is trying to eat her. It allows for the two flashback tales that ForgetMeNot tells, from Mike Carey, Steve Kurth, Allen Martinez, Rachelle Rosenberg & Petit and Christos Gage, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Ulises Arreola & Petit, that give further perspective on invisibility, being overlooked, and notoriety.

While it does serve as a bit of a retrospective of the X-Men Legacy series, it also pulls one of the thematic beats from the second volume and concentrates it, of what it means to be a hero without anyone else knowing what you've done. What lengths you'd go to and what you'd do just to do the right thing. ForgetMeNot considers what it would be like to die, to allow Rogue/Legacy to absorb him during the Age of X flashback, just to be a name as a line in a story. Then ponders the possibility of Weapon Omega absorbing his powers completely, faced with an existence of being visible, but wholly disenfranchised. Finding that both options aren't necessarily palatable, nor conducive to his attempt to still be a hero.

Ultimately it's that, X-Men Legacy #300 reminds us that heroism, and courage, isn't about the reward. It's not about notoriety, not about money, not about any kind of recompense. Heroism is about doing the right thing just because it's the right thing. Whether or not anybody knows you've even done it.

X-Men Legacy #300
Writers: Simon Spurrier, Mike Carey, & Christos Gage
Pencillers: Tan Eng Huat, Steve Kurth, & Rafa Sandoval
Inkers: Craig Yeung, Allen Martinez, & Jordi Tarragona
Colorists: Jose Villarrubia, Rachelle Rosenberg, & Ulises Arreola
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Release Date: March 12, 2014
Price: $1.99 on Comixology
• In observance of the title's 300th issue, iconic X-MEN: LEGACY writers Mike Carey, Christos Gage and Simon Spurrier return to tell an all-new tale of the X-Men!
•  Mike Carey brings us a story featuring Professor Xavi-oh wait, he's dead.
•  Well, Christos Gage has penned a tale involving Rog-nope. She's dead too.
•  And Simon! There's Simon Spurrier with a story led by Legion, who-oops. Can't spoil the ending of X-MEN: LEGACY #24.
•  Well...erm...just read it!

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.