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...Ororo is swiftly, albeit unintentionally, reminded of her limitations following her depowering assault at the hands of Henry Peter Gyrich.
Ororo began her pilgrimage with hopes of regaining her identity following its theft, but so far is only reminded of all she's lost.
...but in any case, Shaw dismisses the suggestion; there are other mutants to raise in their image.
Returning home, Angelica joins her father for the first time since her earlier rejection, and the man promises to make the effort to love his daughter for who she is: Firestar.
...as great of theirs. Emma's underestimation of Angelica proves her undoing, the young girl taunting her by threatening to disfigure Emma's face–the woman truly, genuinely scared for the first time we've seen on page.
Angelica offers mercy, but with the expectation that...
...about seeing Angelica claim agency over her life for the first time and lay waste to the Hellfire Guard's and Frost herself.
In a final bid to save herself, Emma tries to remind Angelica of all of the loss and rejection the girl's faced, hoping to appeal one final time...
...through line, as Emma's mentorship of Angelica comes back to spite her in the end.
With masks dropped and illusions stripped away, Emma can no longer deny the harm she's caused Angelica, and while I *do* love myself some Ms. Frost, there's something wildly satisfying...
...of Emma's plot. The fatal flaw of nearly all of the Inner Circle members–from Mastermind's loss during the Dark Phoenix Saga to Emma's comeuppance now–is that their arrogance and entitlement prevents them seeing their own defeats on the horizon.
Firestar #3 continues that...
...his mistrust & hatred of mutants.
Injured during his escape, Randal arrives at Angelica's room moments before she's to head out for the Gala, profusely bleeding from his obviously fatal wound.
But rather than seeking help and at the cost of his own life, he warns Angelica...
...to explore the concept in over in Uncanny as anti-mutant hysteria increases.
Angelica might not know for certain that her planned mission may end in her death, but she certainly seems to sense it, as she places a call to her father admitting her persisting love in spite of...
...opportunities to prove his heroism; it comes so naturally to him that I can't help but wonder how he ended up with the Club in the first place.
The "good man following bad orders" trope is present, albeit unexplored–to DeFalco's credit–as there are so many better avenues...