Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

This delves into Spector's past, as he is the original identity.   You get to see his father, who is a rabbi, and also the start of his personalities, his mental health issues, and how his father deals with this.   The look on Rabbi Spector's face when he sees his son introduce him to a boy who doesn't exist is heartbreaking: you can see his confusion, his pain.   And it only gets worse.   He takes Marc to a therapist, to doctors, and finds that there's nothing he can do for him, at least not himself.   (Marc's mother is notably absent from this issue.   I wondered and read up on Marc's history; his mother died soon after he was born.)

There is no kvetching about any shame Marc might bring down on the family.   There is every effort made to help Marc at home, where he will be most comfortable.   (That's the sense I get.   When Rabbi Spector says that's sending Marc away to get help because there is no other choice, Marc argues that he wants to stay at home.   Rabbi Spector says he wants that as well.   There's never any disgust, never anything but sadness that his son is going through this ordeal and nothing but hope that he will get better.   In other words, I see no reason to believe that he's lying.)

He does everything he can to protect Marc.   Sometimes everything you can just isn't enough and you need help.   Sometimes that means sending people away to where they can get help, even when all you want to do is hold them close. 

This was the story of how Marc became fractured and all that was done to help him.   It shows that Khonshu came to him as a child and said 'this man, this Rabbi is not your true spiritual father.  I am.  Come to me.'  It shows that Khonshu tried to manipulate Marc from early on, and used whatever methods he could, even if it meant tearing him away from his loving father.   

I was touched.   Too often there's judgment when people write about mental health issues.   Between Lemeire writing about how Marc wants to get better and tries to get better in the previous issues, and this issue, where his history is shown with not a judgmental phrase, I'm really, really impressed with the stories Marvel is telling about mental health issues right now.    Love, love, love this series so much!