Binary: Carol gets to choose where she goes

Binary: Carol gets to choose where she goes Carol’s decision to leave Earth deserves more attention than a line on a team roster. By this point she has been through Rogue’s attack, the loss of powers and memories, and the Brood’s experiments. Her transformation into Binary happens during the space story in Uncanny X-Men #164. That gives her extraordinary new abilities, but it does not put her old life back together. Then Rogue comes to Xavier for help. Carol’s confrontation with the X-Men in #171 makes it clear how painful that situation is for her. Xavier deciding to help Rogue does not obligate Carol to remain in the same house and make everyone comfortable with the decision. By #174, Carol is preparing to leave with the Starjammers. She talks about wanting to explore space, and about how little she feels is holding her on Earth. The opportunity has its own appeal. It lets her choose a direction instead of having the next stage of her life dictated entirely by what someone else did to her. That distinction matters with Carol because so much of her recent story involves other people taking control. Powers, memories, her body, where she belongs. Going with this crew gives her a decision that belongs to her. The Binary identity also suits the scale of those adventures. Her energy abilities and ability to operate in space give her a practical place on a starship. She can contribute in ways the others cannot, rather than simply being someone the crew is transporting. There is no need to pretend that finding a new team settles everything. A fresh start can still carry the weight of what came before it. Carol can want the galaxies ahead of her and still have reasons for leaving the world behind her. Both belong in this part of her story.