Callisto: the former leader becomes the target

Callisto: the former leader becomes the target Callisto has done terrible things herself. Her introduction involved kidnapping Angel and deciding what his life was going to be. That history makes her more complicated, but it does not make what Masque does to her acceptable. In this period she has lost the authority she once held over him. He can reshape her appearance, reverse the changes and use her fear of another transformation against her. The person who used to give orders in the tunnels is being forced to live by his. The story connects her with Peter Nicholas, the life Colossus is living after the Siege Perilous. Peter sees a frightened woman and wants to help her. The relationship starts from the people they are encountering in the present, rather than from the old roles a reader knows they once occupied. That becomes especially uncomfortable when Masque gets involved directly. He knows more of their history than Peter does, and he can use that imbalance. Callisto is dealing with someone who wants to humiliate her while Peter is trying to understand the situation he has entered. There is no reason to reduce her to whether one version of her face is more conventionally attractive than another. The actual problem is that she is not being allowed to decide what happens to her. Either appearance can be used as a punishment when someone else is controlling it. Her earlier confidence and resourcefulness are still part of who she is. Seeing her trapped does not erase those qualities. It shows how far the balance of power has shifted and how dangerous it is when someone like Masque no longer has to answer to her. That is what makes her role here different from the original Morlock introduction. She is no longer deciding whether outsiders will be allowed to leave. She needs a way out herself.