Bendis knows that he has to answer the obvious question driving the series in fairly short order if we're going to buy the somewhat fantastic premise of the present-day X-Men needing to bring the old-school X-Men to the future: why? The answer is complicated, but Bendis shows uncharacteristic focus and restraint in getting us there.
We start the issue with the new Brotherhood fully realized. Scott, Emma, and Magneto, aided by Magik, are going around the world to "save" newly emerged mutants being persecuted by humans. Bendis raises some interesting questions about the Brotherhood that he'll have to address at some point. For example, we still don't know how the trio are able to track down the mutants, but it seems reasonable that they were able to excavate Cerebra from the ruins of Utopia. Less clear, they seem to have some powers that they didn't previously have. For example, Bendis doesn't make clear how they were able to enter the first new mutant's time bubble. In fact, when the girl herself asks, Emma simply responds that, essentially, it's not their first rodeo. If it were any other writer, I'd assume that they had some sort of technology-oriented mutant like Forge working for them, but, given that it's Bendis, it's also possible that he just thinks he can wave his hand and make us think that Emma's comment fully explains it. But, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, since the rest of this issue shows an attention to detail that he doesn't usually exhibit. After all, that issue aside, Bendis does a decent job here of establishing the new Brotherhood's modus operandi. We're not entirely sure where they're bringing the new mutants (it seems like they may be running their own school), but Bendis certainly doesn't have to answer all our questions in the first issue.
However, this revelation in and of itself doesn't explain why the original X-Men need to travel to the present. We learn that answer in possibly the best-scripted scene that Bendis has ever delivered, as Beast, Iceman, Kitty, and Storm realize that the Brotherhood's actions put them in a difficult spot. One one hand, if they let the Brotherhood continue to attack humans to "rescue" newly emerged mutants, all mutants face increased persecution from the panicked authorities. On the other hand, if they confront the Brotherhood, they invite a mutant civil-war. Bendis does the best job with Iceman and Storm here, showing Storm as exhausted from her experience in "Avengers vs. X-Men" and Iceman as outraged by Scott's betrayal. To be honest, they're more nuanced portrayals than I'd normally give Bendis credit for being capable of writing and it gives me hope that he's rediscovering his talent now that he's moved from the Avengers.
But, again, we still don't entirely have the why. Scott and his Brotherhood are "rescuing" mutants and the X-Men don't know how to respond without making matters worse. How does that involve time-traveling teenagers? The answer is clever. Bendis informs us that Beast is dying as a result of a new mutation that he fears will cause his heart to stop. Bendis isn't clear on the details, but I'm pretty confident that he'll get there. Suffice it to say, though, this brush with mortality has put Hank in a different mindset than the one that he normally occupies. It's here where Bendis opens the door to the time-travel storyline, showing us a Hank willing to take risks that he normally wouldn't take in his pursuit of leaving behind a legacy of helping mutants. My only criticism of Bendis here is that it seemed like a bit of a stretch to me that Hank would question the pro-mutant legacy that he would leave behind him. But, I accept the fact that he's not well right now, so he's also not necessarily thinking clearly.
In the end, Bendis gets us where we need to be. I will say that I wonder how long this time-travel storyline will, and, in fact, should last. Scott and his Brotherhood are an interesting enough story (particularly if they're running their own school) that I feel like the time-travel aspects of this story will ultimately serve more as a distraction than as an enhancement. But, at the end of the day, I can't argue that, for now, it doesn't certainly injects some excitement into this series. How will present Scott react to his younger self? How will any of the X-Men react to seeing Jean Grey alive again? Although I don't want this angle to last for too long, I'll admit that I'm interested to see where it goes. Given how I feel about Bendis on a good day, I have to compliment him for giving me at least that much.
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