OK, "Wolverine and the X-Men" #4 finally arrived, so I can now make my way through my backlog of X-books. It appears that the issues in this review are the last ones branded with the "Regenesis" banner, so I guess it's the end of the beginning.
Generation Hope #15: This issue continues to set up Hope embracing her possible role as future host of the Phoenix Force. As Kenji and Laurie have speculated, Hope pretty clearly uses her power at the end of the issue to telepathically command every one to leave the battlefield. It's a powerful moment, because Asmus is unambiguous about the danger Hope could pose. Asmus also continues Gillen's practice of using Hope to question Scott's decisions, particularly the morally ambiguous ones. Whereas Scott might have been able to argue Shaw was a menace before Emma mind-wiped him, Hope manages to score some points in arguing that his role as a menace ended when Emma made the decision to be his judge, jury, and executioner. The only negative to this issue is that I only recognized Random of the group of malcontents who attack Hope's team. But, the attack itself worked well, given that it deepened the questions about the extent to which Scott is really in control of Utopia and Hope is really in control of her team. Neither Hope nor Scott leave this issue looking particularly good. Asmus also seems to set in mention the sub-plot that's been building for a while, namely Kenji's lack of total commitment to Hope. I'm not entirely sure if it's self-motivated, or if it's coming from the malcontent who attacked him, but I guess we'll see. All in all, it's another dark yet compelling issue of this series.
New Mutants #36: Huh. DnA manage to sell me on a story that features a heavy-metal rock band somehow coming into possession of a metal box that contained an alien ship powered by chaos energy that's trying, almost literally, to phone home. Go figure. (I believe they told us where the band got the box in the last issue, though I couldn't remember.) It's a decent issue. It's not Earth-shattering (heh, maybe it is) or anything, but it's a fun conclusion to the story arc. I liked what DnA did with Amara and Bobby here. Past authors have had Bobby following around Amara like a lonely, lovelorn puppy, but he's more the cocky, confident Bobby I recognize in this issue. Having just read "X-Factor" #230, I realize that the New Mutants play a similar role for Team Cyclops as X-Factor will for Team Wolverine, which inevitably leads me to hope for a cross-over event!
Wolverine and the X-Men #4: OK, Aaron does a pretty good job here of moving us past the somewhat mediocre opening arc by introducing a few new interesting elements. I thought he did a really great job of integrating the "Uncanny X-Force" characters, the young Apocalypse and the amnesiac Angel, in a way that didn't rely on obvious exposition. (I am hoping, however, that we don't go to the "future history" well too often, because it can get old seriously quickly.) I was also pleased that the students played a pretty prominent role in this issue, and I hope we stick to the "more Kid Gladiator, less Quentin Quire" formula. We also got some great moments with the teachers, particularly Bobby and Logan's conversations about Warren. I thought Aaron did a great job in general with Bobby, Hank, and Kitty all showing their disapproval of (and helplessness over) Logan's extra-curricular activities, but I thought Bobby challenging Logan when it came to Angel was the best. I have high hopes that Aaron is going to be the author that lets Bobby become the characters he's always had the potential to be, so I'm excited to see where this storyline goes. I was less thrilled by the "OMG, Kitty is pregnant" storyline, but, even though I have my doubts that it could be anything more than a clichéd alien-baby story, I guess I have to give Aaron the chance to prove me wrong. At any rate, Aaron seems to be settling into a rhythm in terms of dividing time between the teachers and the students that works for me.
X-Factor #230: Amazing issue. Amazing. First, David totally blew my mind with the idea that Madrox's power works by pulling in dupes from alternate realities. BLEW. MY. MIND. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be the resolution, but it's such a fascinating idea. Leave it to Peter David to turn even the not-resolutions into amazing plots. Second, the Layla/Wolverine scenes were really well done. We not only learn that Layla feels guilt for Jaime's death because she inadvertently caused it by resurrecting Guido, but we also get a really lovely moment between her and Wolverine, where she acknowledges that she's telling him her feelings because only he truly understands what it's like to be alone in the crowd. After suffering through a lot of pop psycho-babble in "Avenging Spider-Man" and "Venom" over the last few days, it was refreshing to see someone write emotions that felt neither excessively expository nor blatantly forced. Third, speaking of emotions, the fight the team has over what Layla did to Guido is both hilarious AND revealing. David did a great job using the debate to reveal the characters: Monet and Theresa fighting about religion, Rictor retorting, "Oh, look who's talking about making up minds!" when Shatterstar tells him he needs to make up his mind about his feelings for Rahne. It was all just amazing character work. Whereas authors like Bendis use characters interchangably like they're set pieces, David makes me forget sometimes that I'm not watching a reality TV show of real people. ("This is the true story...of seven superheroes...picked to live in a house...") The disputes that we see here come from real differences of opinions based on the characters' experencies in life. They're not just spouting lines that need to be said to move the plot forward; they're having real arguments about philosophical issues. It's so rare for an author to pull off team dynamics so well, particularly given how large the team is. But, I ended this book feeling like I knew this team all the better, despite the fact that I already knew them pretty well to start. Fourth (yup, I'm just going to keep on raving), Wolverine putting X-Factor on retainer was brilliant. It's the perfect solution to how they're going to stay X-Factor AND be part of the new "Regenesis" status quo. To sum: it's an amazing issue by an amazing writer of an amazing series.
X-Men Legacy #260.1: I was excited abou this issue before I opened it. I never really liked Carey's work, so I was pleased to see that this third core title would get a new creative team. Over the last few "meh" issues of "Uncanny X-Men" and "Wolverine and the X-Men," though, my hopes raised that this title would somehow give me the X-book I was hoping we'd see from "X-Men: Regenesis" but so far haven't. I wasn't disappointed. I feel like Gage gets the fact that the school is a school better even than Aaron, who's writing "Wolverine and the X-Men," given that he has Rogue adamantly refuse to allow the kids to skip class to fight the demons. The way he weaved the teachers' lessons (Beast's history of the N'Garai, Sam's lecture on ethics) into the battle was nothing short of brilliant. Plus, we essentially, honestly, get all my favorite X-Men. I was thrilled to see Cannonball, given that he's pretty much my favorite X-Man. I was also glad to see that Gage is also using the darkness that surrounds him after DnA's amazing "Fall/Rise of the New Mutants" arc. Whether or not he overcomes it is going to be the thing that eventually determines if he's the X-Men's next leader, as he's always been groomed to be, and I like how the jury still hasn't reached a verdict on it. It's given his character more depth than he's had in years. Plus, it's also great to see Marvel Girl, another favorite, really in the mix at this point. She's been so misused over the years, particularly when she wasn't used at all (and just sort of floated in space), that I'm really excited to have her re-enter the core titles. I also hope we continue to get Iceman. Great plot, great writing, great characters: thank God. The X-Men, for me, are back.
Generation Hope #15: This issue continues to set up Hope embracing her possible role as future host of the Phoenix Force. As Kenji and Laurie have speculated, Hope pretty clearly uses her power at the end of the issue to telepathically command every one to leave the battlefield. It's a powerful moment, because Asmus is unambiguous about the danger Hope could pose. Asmus also continues Gillen's practice of using Hope to question Scott's decisions, particularly the morally ambiguous ones. Whereas Scott might have been able to argue Shaw was a menace before Emma mind-wiped him, Hope manages to score some points in arguing that his role as a menace ended when Emma made the decision to be his judge, jury, and executioner. The only negative to this issue is that I only recognized Random of the group of malcontents who attack Hope's team. But, the attack itself worked well, given that it deepened the questions about the extent to which Scott is really in control of Utopia and Hope is really in control of her team. Neither Hope nor Scott leave this issue looking particularly good. Asmus also seems to set in mention the sub-plot that's been building for a while, namely Kenji's lack of total commitment to Hope. I'm not entirely sure if it's self-motivated, or if it's coming from the malcontent who attacked him, but I guess we'll see. All in all, it's another dark yet compelling issue of this series.
New Mutants #36: Huh. DnA manage to sell me on a story that features a heavy-metal rock band somehow coming into possession of a metal box that contained an alien ship powered by chaos energy that's trying, almost literally, to phone home. Go figure. (I believe they told us where the band got the box in the last issue, though I couldn't remember.) It's a decent issue. It's not Earth-shattering (heh, maybe it is) or anything, but it's a fun conclusion to the story arc. I liked what DnA did with Amara and Bobby here. Past authors have had Bobby following around Amara like a lonely, lovelorn puppy, but he's more the cocky, confident Bobby I recognize in this issue. Having just read "X-Factor" #230, I realize that the New Mutants play a similar role for Team Cyclops as X-Factor will for Team Wolverine, which inevitably leads me to hope for a cross-over event!
Wolverine and the X-Men #4: OK, Aaron does a pretty good job here of moving us past the somewhat mediocre opening arc by introducing a few new interesting elements. I thought he did a really great job of integrating the "Uncanny X-Force" characters, the young Apocalypse and the amnesiac Angel, in a way that didn't rely on obvious exposition. (I am hoping, however, that we don't go to the "future history" well too often, because it can get old seriously quickly.) I was also pleased that the students played a pretty prominent role in this issue, and I hope we stick to the "more Kid Gladiator, less Quentin Quire" formula. We also got some great moments with the teachers, particularly Bobby and Logan's conversations about Warren. I thought Aaron did a great job in general with Bobby, Hank, and Kitty all showing their disapproval of (and helplessness over) Logan's extra-curricular activities, but I thought Bobby challenging Logan when it came to Angel was the best. I have high hopes that Aaron is going to be the author that lets Bobby become the characters he's always had the potential to be, so I'm excited to see where this storyline goes. I was less thrilled by the "OMG, Kitty is pregnant" storyline, but, even though I have my doubts that it could be anything more than a clichéd alien-baby story, I guess I have to give Aaron the chance to prove me wrong. At any rate, Aaron seems to be settling into a rhythm in terms of dividing time between the teachers and the students that works for me.
X-Factor #230: Amazing issue. Amazing. First, David totally blew my mind with the idea that Madrox's power works by pulling in dupes from alternate realities. BLEW. MY. MIND. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be the resolution, but it's such a fascinating idea. Leave it to Peter David to turn even the not-resolutions into amazing plots. Second, the Layla/Wolverine scenes were really well done. We not only learn that Layla feels guilt for Jaime's death because she inadvertently caused it by resurrecting Guido, but we also get a really lovely moment between her and Wolverine, where she acknowledges that she's telling him her feelings because only he truly understands what it's like to be alone in the crowd. After suffering through a lot of pop psycho-babble in "Avenging Spider-Man" and "Venom" over the last few days, it was refreshing to see someone write emotions that felt neither excessively expository nor blatantly forced. Third, speaking of emotions, the fight the team has over what Layla did to Guido is both hilarious AND revealing. David did a great job using the debate to reveal the characters: Monet and Theresa fighting about religion, Rictor retorting, "Oh, look who's talking about making up minds!" when Shatterstar tells him he needs to make up his mind about his feelings for Rahne. It was all just amazing character work. Whereas authors like Bendis use characters interchangably like they're set pieces, David makes me forget sometimes that I'm not watching a reality TV show of real people. ("This is the true story...of seven superheroes...picked to live in a house...") The disputes that we see here come from real differences of opinions based on the characters' experencies in life. They're not just spouting lines that need to be said to move the plot forward; they're having real arguments about philosophical issues. It's so rare for an author to pull off team dynamics so well, particularly given how large the team is. But, I ended this book feeling like I knew this team all the better, despite the fact that I already knew them pretty well to start. Fourth (yup, I'm just going to keep on raving), Wolverine putting X-Factor on retainer was brilliant. It's the perfect solution to how they're going to stay X-Factor AND be part of the new "Regenesis" status quo. To sum: it's an amazing issue by an amazing writer of an amazing series.
X-Men Legacy #260.1: I was excited abou this issue before I opened it. I never really liked Carey's work, so I was pleased to see that this third core title would get a new creative team. Over the last few "meh" issues of "Uncanny X-Men" and "Wolverine and the X-Men," though, my hopes raised that this title would somehow give me the X-book I was hoping we'd see from "X-Men: Regenesis" but so far haven't. I wasn't disappointed. I feel like Gage gets the fact that the school is a school better even than Aaron, who's writing "Wolverine and the X-Men," given that he has Rogue adamantly refuse to allow the kids to skip class to fight the demons. The way he weaved the teachers' lessons (Beast's history of the N'Garai, Sam's lecture on ethics) into the battle was nothing short of brilliant. Plus, we essentially, honestly, get all my favorite X-Men. I was thrilled to see Cannonball, given that he's pretty much my favorite X-Man. I was also glad to see that Gage is also using the darkness that surrounds him after DnA's amazing "Fall/Rise of the New Mutants" arc. Whether or not he overcomes it is going to be the thing that eventually determines if he's the X-Men's next leader, as he's always been groomed to be, and I like how the jury still hasn't reached a verdict on it. It's given his character more depth than he's had in years. Plus, it's also great to see Marvel Girl, another favorite, really in the mix at this point. She's been so misused over the years, particularly when she wasn't used at all (and just sort of floated in space), that I'm really excited to have her re-enter the core titles. I also hope we continue to get Iceman. Great plot, great writing, great characters: thank God. The X-Men, for me, are back.
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