Submitted for your belated approval: X-Treme X-Men #33,
New Mutants #6,
Avengers #72, and
Legion #25.
- X-Treme X-Men #33: 3 out of 5
This is a decent enough issue, but does seem to suffer somewhat from the incessant need these days to make every storyline the perfect trade size. Things happen, which is good, but it feels that they're happening at an odd pace, which becomes somewhat distracting. By and large, though, this is a decent issue, and I'm still wallowing in the return of Rogue, who I'm happy to say, Claremont is using most extensively.
And interesting. I have no idea what's up with our resident southern belle. I'm pleased to see that she's doing well without powers, and even more pleased to discover that I'm still okay with her not having them. Probably due in no small part to the former, really, but it just goes to show that you can trust Claremont to do justice to his characters. Rogue is more than her powers, as are all of the X-Men, really. Only Claremont seems to understand that sometimes. But as for what's really going on with her, I haven't the foggiest. I'd venture to say that she's shopping for a home on Crazy Girl Street again; I don't think I've seen her quite this overtly unbalanced since the whole Carol Danvers/Michael Rossi thing way the heck back in Uncanny #182. She wears her insanity well, but at least back then she had, you know, invulnerability and super strength to back her up. I'm a little worried for her, but in a good way (meaning, it's interesting).
The highlight of the issue, though, was easily the flashback between Rogue and Cannonball. I'm an unabashed fangirl for any sort of nugget of the past, though, and given that Claremont was utterly in control back then, it's not even really a retcon. I'm very much looking forward to further development of Rogue and Sam's friendship; I think it will do them both some good.
As a side note, I really love that Cannonball has been added to the X-Treme roster. Just wanted to toss that out right quick.
Other developments on the book include what appears to be foreshadowing of Bogan (about time), and it looks like Storm is perhaps driving along what will, when all is said and done, become the crux of the team's new focus. At the moment, it largely looks like she's asking for her team to become the X-Factor of this brave Nu Marvel world, which leaves me wondering what exactly will be new and different about the X-Treme team (because I suspect there should be something new and different about it). But I have faith. Claremont's gettin' in a groove, as is Kordey, Rogue's back, and I love the team's line-up. Precious little to complain about over here.
- New Mutants #6: 4 out of 5
This issue opened a tad on the dull side, proving I think that DeFilippis and Weir's strengths lie not in the action but in the characters. The fight between the New-New Mutants and the Hellfire Club just sort of hung there like the plot device that it was. But as soon as the characters got back to the school, everything clicked again and the story took off. This isn't a book about mutants fighting bad guys for the sake of the world. If you want that, there are plenty of books to choose from. New Mutants is about kids trying to deal with their powers and their place in the world. We've been shown in the past that there's a way to strike a balance between these two ideas, and I think that given time and practice, D&W can find it. But for now, I'm happy with the school-driven character stuff.
This issue, thankfully, did not end with a death as I thought it might. Rather Kevin chooses to leave the school after almost killing one of the Hellfire guys. His decision to leave to get better control of himself seemed a bit off to me. I can understand his fear of being around people, but honestly, there's no better place in the world to learn to control (or, at least, cope with) a power like his. The fact that nobody really pointed out the logical flaws in his departure rang a little hollow to me, but not too distractingly so. Of course, we traded in Kevin for Josh, and I think we got a little gypped in the deal -- Josh's hatred for mutants is interesting, but I much preferred the Kevin's isolation to Josh's bigotry. Though one thing that did peak my interest was the tension between Josh and David, another character who came across a little flat. Perhaps together, the two of them will help make the other more interesting and fleshed out.
The best scene in the whole book, however, has to be the interaction between Dani and Shan. This resonated on a deep, "boy I miss the New Mutants" level. D&W are so clearly fans of the classic Claremont New Mutants issues, and they incorporate that affection into their own work. It's good stuff. I can't wait until the other Old-New Mutants join the cast.
Thus closes out the book's first arc, and I stand by my earlier declarations that this is a title not to be missed. It's not perfect, but that slightly rough edge actually feels right in a book all about being young, making mistakes and looking for your place.
- Avengers #72: 1 out of 5
I haven't read a good Shulkie arc since the bygone Byrne days on She-Hulk. Now there's nobody in the world who can write Jen like Byrne can, and it's certainly not a style that works particularly well outside of her own book. (You can't go runnin' around Hulk Smashin' the 4th wall all willy-nilly in a superhero comic, typically speaking.) Still, She-Hulk has always ranked high on my character list. So you'd think that an arc in The Avengers dedicated to her would be great, right?
Well thus far, not really with the greatness.
First of all, allow me to point out how bloody stupid it is to chase down someone with Shulkie's strength and corner her. The Avengers aren't approaching this like a group of concerned friends who want to help, they're approaching it like a hostage negotiator. A bad hostage negotiator. Absolutely nothing in their actions or demeanor suggests that they believe anything but the worst -- Jen's gonna go psycho and cause massive property damage. And maybe that's true, but for as long as Jen's been a hero, you'd think they'd give her the benefit of the doubt and try talking to her before making threatening gestures.
I'm not up enough on the others characters to know if this is typical behaviour on their part or not, but I do know that it doesn't feel very heroic, nor does it feel very friendly. Big disappointment.
Hopefully the arc will pick up a bit, since I was really looking forward to this. Fingers crossed.
- Legion #25: 4 out of 5
My, wasn't this an issue filled with stuff? A double-sized kick-off to the Legion's 45th anniversary, featuring oodles of surprises setting up what's likely to be the next year's worth of storylines, some nice homages to days of Legion past, and flashbacks o' plenty. If you've been looking for a good jumping on point to the Legion, I recommend this issue. You'll get a good healthy dose of backstory.
My favourite part of this issue has to be the Legion Cadet Program, though it's driving me buggy that I've forgotten so much of my Legion history (it's been literally years since I've read through my back issues) that I can't be certain where this idea came from. I think it was pre-boot/post-gap, but can't say for sure. Same as I can't say for sure if some of the candidates are post-boot characters I should be more familiar with. Amp Girl, in particular, is ringing a recognition bell, but until I get my hands on my collection again, I can't say for absolute sure. Regardless of where it came from, I'm lovin' the idea of a Legion Academy of sorts. Kind of funny when you consider the immense cast in the book already; adding a whole new branch would probably seem an unwise idea. But that's one of the great things about this book in all of its incarnations. The huge cast is actually an asset, not a detriment.
The big surprise of the issue, though, has to be the return(?) of Garth. I'm not even quite sure what to make of this, since I'm confuzzled as to how it actually happened. As such, I reserve judgement on this development until I have a bit more information. Suffice it to say, this could either be a really good thing or a really bad thing.
As always, I love this book. I don't think I've ever really read a Legion that I hated, and Abnett and Lanning just keep making it better and better. Happy Anniversary.
