New Mutants #38: I've essentially been waiting for this issue for, like, 25 years. Doug Ramsey dying had a serious impact on me as a 12-year-old, because I really identified with Doug. He was a nerd and an outcast, like I felt I was, so I took his death particularly hard. Since he returned a few years ago, I've been disappointed that he's been treated as an autistic version of his former self. Doug Ramsey was a perfectly normal kid in the old "New Mutants" series, and I haven't liked this revisionist history that he wasn't. As such, when it became clear that DnA planned on addressing his emotional troubles in this current arc, I could barely contain my excitement. As Dough himself says, he is a loose end, and leave it to DnA to recognize it.
On top of the implicit promise of a changed Doug, this issue was also just damn good. DnA give us a tour of the New Mutants' relationships with one another, and it feels like the old New Mutants, with a complicated series of crushes and jealousies, all serving to bind them together in ways that no other X-team has been in a long time (at least since the Outback days). Of note, DnA manage to present this tour with humor and wit. I loved Dani and Nate's conversation, in part because they were so true to their characters. Nate was kind of being an asshole and Dani wasn't tolerating it. Although I love Sam and I liked the idea of him being with Dani, I have to say that the sparks between Dani and Nate fly off the page. ("Wow." "I know." "Where did that come from?" "I don't know. Nate, I apologize.") I also love how DnA use these moments to tease out the sense of isolation Doug feels, from him commenting on the attraction Dani and Nate feel to one another to noting that everyone else was checking on each other after the fight with Birdbrain, but no one was checking on him. Even though they're depressing, these moments are equally funny and smart.
In addition, the plot itself is great. DnA do an amazing job building up the tension as the team makes it was through the island, and then pulling us into the story even further by bringing back Bird-Brain. I'm intrigued by the ending, since it's unclear whether it is actually the humans affected or if it's Warlock. The only off-note that I would make is that I'm surprised Amara, Bobby, and Dani haven't really commented on Doug's death. They were all there, so, when Doug commented that he doesn't remember where he died, I'm surprised one of the three didn't admit to remembering. I'm hoping that DnA get them a little more involved in this search for Doug's past, because it's their past, too. I really can't rave about this issue enough. If you haven't been reading "New Mutants," it's actually a great issue with which to start, and you absolutely should.
Uncanny X-Men #7: OK, this issue wasn't terrible, but, I have to say, I'm not entirely sure why Gillen went with this offbeat story so early in this new run. First, it replicates similar stories we've seen over the last year or so in "X-Men," such as the Evolutionaries arc in issues #12-#15 and, as I mentioned in my review of issue #5, the Fantastic Four/X-men team-up arc in issues #16-#19. Second, the story seems as mismatched for the X-Men as those previous two stories did. Both the Immortal Man and the Savage are totally beyond the X-Men's power class; the Immortal Man essentially dispatches the entire team with a gun blast. It's a bit like Spider-Man fighting the Beyonder. I get that it's part of the new modus operandi for the X-Men, that they're confronting foes outside the mutant sphere in their attempt to usurp the Avengers as the world's premier superhero team. However, it still seems mismatched. In the end, the only reason they "win" against the Immortal Man is because Storm lays down a guilt trip. Don't get me wrong; it's an interesting story. Gillen really makes you feel the pain of both the Immortal Man and the Savage, and implies a parallel to the threat of extinction that the X-Men themselves are facing, making you wonder which side the X-Men would ultimately take if faced with a similar choice as the Immortal Man and the Savage. But, even with this parallel, I'm just not sure it's an X-Men story. (On another note, the intro page is bizarre. It gives the names of the Immortal Man and the Savage to the two surviving members of the Apex, despite the fact that, in the issue, they're called "good Apex" and "bad Apex." WTF?)
X-Factor #232: First, I love the cover. Love it. It's just so awesome and trippy. In fact, it's an excellent preview of the actual issue, which is also awesome and trippy. I mean, Jamie as the Sorceror Supreme's apprentice? How amazing was that? I mean, yes, it's a little deus ex machina-y, since it allowed for Dr. Strange to send Jamie home to his original dimension. But, still, I don't care. It was awesome. (It's also a great example of telling a story outside a series' usual tropes in a way that brings something new to the table while also advancing the plot. After just complaining about the fact that the current storyline in "Uncanny X-Men" doesn't feel like an X-Men story, we get David essentially telling a Dr. Strange story, but totally making it work within the confines of "X-Factor," because it still put Madrox front and center. That's why he's the best there is at what he does.) I'm still not sure why the shard of crimson bonds of Cyttorak piercing Jamie as he went through the portal resulted in his three antagonists returning to his dimension with him or what exactly Mr. Tryp's role in this whole affair was. But, I trust that we're going to see all four of them again, and probably soon, because David isn't one to drop storylines. With this arc wrapped, I can't wait to see how Madrox is going to handle the addition of Havok and Polaris to the team. The roster is getting a little crowded, and I wonder where it's all going.
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