New Mutants #40: DnA cleverly force Doug to face his fears and fight the Ani-Mator here by having Warlock merge with Doug to become Douglock. Since Warlock's techo-organic virus protects Doug from the Ani-Mator virus that has already consumed Amara and Roberto and is in the process of consuming Dani and Nate, Doug and Warlock are forced to make the stand, since they're the last ones remaining. I have to say, I'm not really sure where DnA were going with the resolution of the plot, with the now-benign virus that Ani-Mator initially corrupted "running" Paradise Island. How does that work? Does it tell the Ani-Mates not to engage in destructive activity? I felt like DnA could've explained that part a little more, given how much of this issue was already given to scientific mumbo-jumbo. That said, I still thought it was a good issue, particularly because it spoke to a problem that's plagued me since Doug's return, namely how odd he's been behaving. DnA reveal here that it's because his intellect continues to grow as he continues to "understand" the world around him, somewhat separating him from the rest of humanity. It's a totally logical extension of his mutant power, and it went a long way to satisfying me. I still miss Doug, the human. He was one of my favorite characters in "New Mutants" because he often acted as I think a reader would were he suddenly to find his non-powered self facing down a Sentinel. In other words, he was one of us. He's not anymore, but DnA at least explain why. I'll miss him, but I get that this evolution is necessary if his character is going to have a power set that adds something to the X-Men. Before I wrap up this review, I have to say that I really dug Warlock injecting a bacteria-sized version of himself into the Ani-Mator to conduct some reconnaissance. I mean, how cool was that?
Wolverine and the X-Men #8: The kids continue to be my favorite part of this series, to the point where I wish we left the teacher stuff to Gage and the kid stuff to Aaron. (That said, it's only because Aaron has comparative advantage in the kids; I'd argue Gage has absolute advantage in both the teachers and the kids.) Aaron continues to do a good job of giving each kid a voice, from Broo somewhat snarkily (I'm so proud!) assuming Quire's continued abuse of him is some sort of "involuntary verbal tic" to Idie asking Angel if he can speak to God for her. Moreover, I'm glad that he's realized that the Kiddie Hellfire Club would work better as an arch-enemy for the kids rather than the teachers. I've never quite bought this idea that a bunch of human kids "empowered" only for its ruthlessness would be able to take down the X-Men, but I do believe that the Hellfire kids could probably give the School kids a run for their money. But, honestly? I hope Aaron shelves that storyline for a while. I'm really over the Kiddie Hellfire Club, to the point that I'm actually excited about the "Avengers vs. X-Men" cross-over event in this title only because it means I won't be subjected to them.
(After I wrote this review but before I published it, I went to X's site and realized that I hadn't even mentioned the main storyline, Beast fighting Sabretooth. Although it was fine, it felt essentially like filler for the kid story, despite the fact that I think Aaron meant the opposite. Moreover, the more I think about it, the more confused I get. Did Sabretooth just happen to know that Hank was going to be heading to S.W.O.R.D., so he made sure to attack Abigail then? Or, did he intend to kill her and Beast just happened to happen upon him trying to do so? I have to say, although I love Bachalo, a lot of my confusion comes from the fact that I found it occasionally difficult to follow the action, a problem exacerbated by his use of overly dark colors that often made it difficult to differentiate images against the black space backdrop. In other words? Forgettable. Aaron should really stick to the kids and keep around the teachers as occasional comic relief.)
X-Men Legacy #264: OK, seriously, Gage keeps giving us a phenomenally better version of the Jean Grey School than Aaron is. I can think of no better example than the scene depicting Chambers' "Coping with Physical Changes" class. I mean, I LOLed reading the panels depicting the rock guy's "Why do I still get horny when I don't have junk?" question and Chamber's "Straight into the deep end it is" response. (I also loved the crack about the "spandex prom kings an' queens.") But, Gage doesn't reduce it just to comedy. Chamber's speech -- about the fear that the kids all obviously feel that no one is ever going to love them -- is truly lovely. It's honest but hopeful, and Sandoval amplifies the emotion by doing a great job showing the confusion and fear on the kids' faces, like Chamber had read their minds. It's the rare author and artist that can combine so much comedy and emotion in just one page, but Gage and Sandoval do it here wonderfully. It's all the proof that you need to show how this series is the best core X-book right now.
But, the exciting part is that the Chamber scene is just one of many great ones. Gage began this issue with Rogue pondering how best to move forward with Magneto and Wolverine, and I thought Cannonball's response was insightful. He talked about the fact that the thing that makes Rogue a great leader -- her ability to care deeply about other people -- is also the thing that makes her feel the difficult consequences of her decisions more profoundly. It's totally true. In fact, it's the thing that might make her the winner at the end of the day, because we're starting to see how the walls that Cyclops and Wolverine have built around themselves are leading them increasingly to disaster. Moreover, Gage subtly shows how Rogue continues to grow as a leader, highlighting her ability to take other people's powers and use them better than they can. Rogue is the high-water mark for someone taking her powers and moving them to the next level. Her instruction of others not just comes from a "fresh set of eyes," as she says, but also the moral authority of having evolved herself. Gage totally gets that here. I fact, I can't recall anyone stating Rogue's two great strengths -- her caring and her evolution -- than Gage has Cannonball do here. I'm excited about seeing what he does with Rogue over the coming issues.
But, Gage makes sure this issue isn't all quiet hugs and meaningful conversations. In fact, Gage shows that we saw those hugs and conversations because they have a direct effect on the outcome of the main plot, the need to disperse Weapon Omega's absorbed energy before he explodes. Contrasting the earlier discussion about her evolution into the leader that she now is, Rogue reflects on the time when she needed help to control her powers, and commits to help Omega despite the fact that he doesn't think he's worth it, just like she once did. I mean, seriously, Gage gives us Rogue in full in this issue, the sum of her challenges, her failures, and her successes. He uses this history to propel the action that unfolds as we move through the issue, and leaves us with a great cliffhanger. The pacing of these last few pages is great, because I don't know if I'd normally believe that Beast would make a mistake like the one that he does here, but Gage made sure to make it clear that he was operating under significant duress. Finally, Sandoval gives us a really beautiful issue. I don't know if anyone's ever drawn Bobby so well and he makes Hank's lab feel like the flight deck of the Millennium Falcon.
All in all, a great issue of a great series. If you're an X-fan and you're not reading this series, you're missing something great.
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