Posted in: Comics, News With Benefits, Satire | Tagged: dow jones, extermination, marvel, x-men

Dow Jones Drops 600 Points Day After Extermination #5 Released (Spoilers)

Published Thu, 20 Dec 2018 14:27:48 -0600

Last updated Fri, 01 Nov 2019 18:53:02 -0500

On Wednesday, Marvel Comics released the long-delayed final issue of Extermination. 24 hours later, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has taken a massive hit, sliding over 600 points in a short period of time.

The comic book was controversial for sending the time-displaced original teenage X-Men back to their original past with their memories erased, a particularly cruel punishment for Iceman, who was forced to forget about his sexuality, effectively forcing him back into the closet right up until his older self meets his teenage self in the recent past. At the end of Extermination #5, the X-Men's memories of their time as teenagers in the future was unlocked, closing the loop and, as a small consolation, confirming that those stories did happen and are remembered by the characters who experienced them.

That tragic ending alone sparked backlash on social media just one day before the stock market saw a major drop, but it wasn't the only shocking spoiler that rocked the X-Men universe to its foundations just as the Dow drop rocked the American economy. The issue's final page brought back the beloved character of adult Cyclops ahead of January's Uncanny X-Men Annual #1, sending shockwaves of volatility through the comic book speculator market, which was counting on the Annual to be the issue featuring Cyclops' return. It is unknown whether these sudden changes in potential key issues played a role in the turmoil that swept the stock market Thursday afternoon.

As the economy veered toward possible collapse right before year-end holiday celebrations, the comics community continued to grapple with the repercussions of Extermination #5, which also saw Kid Cable forgiven by Jean Grey even murdering both his older self, an event which occurred in an Extermination #1 earlier this year that also killed off the fan-favorite teenage vampire Bloodstorm. In addition, Wednesday's finale also left Rachel Summers trapped in hound form and subservient to the mutant hunter Ahab, who was also trapped in the current X-Men timeline by the events of the issue.

At press time, writer Ed Brisson and artist Pepe Larraz had chosen not to comment on the Dow Industrial Average, which had at press time fallen below 23,000, a 14-month low. Meanwhile, economists Thursday began predicting the start of a bear market which could carry into 2019. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also dropped by 1% each in the wake of the fallout for Extermination #5, as some sources also attributed blame to President Donald Trump's refusal to sign a spending bill which could result in a partial government shutdown.

Bleeding Cool, your number one source for comics and economics news and rumors, will continue to closely monitor this story and provide updates.