Holy effing crap, you guys, every issue I read almost kills me, because it's so tense that I forget to breathe.
Bendis does a spectacular job delivering the scene that essentially sets up this entire series, of present Scott meeting past Scott. Bendis manages to approach this meeting on two levels. First, he actually reminds us why Hank thought Scott needed this moment in the first place. From referring to mutantkind as "my mutant people" to intimating that he has more right to be mad at Emma than she does at him, Scott is the same self-delusional prick that he's been over the last few months. On the various Avengers books, Bendis generally had a character act the way that he needed them to act to further a plot, even if it conflicted with his or her established persona Here, Bendis is actually doing a great job of staying on target when it comes to Scott's characterization. As we also saw in "AVX: Consequences," Scott hasn't learned any lessons from "Avengers vs. X-Men," seeing the whole battle as an unfortunate series of events caused by people not listening to him. By giving us a tour of how self-centered Scott's thoughts are upon seeing the original X-Men, Bendis reminds us why Hank felt that he needed to do something drastic to shake present Scott from his insanity.
Second, however, Bendis cleverly makes it clear that Hank may have actually succeeded in shaking up Scott. At some point, Scott stops trying to determine which villain is tricking him and realizes that it is really the original X-Men standing in front of him, a realization made all the more poignant by the fact that it includes past Jean. I thought Bendis made a wise decision in having the spark of conflict between Cyclops and the original X-Men actually come from Jean, who strikes at Scott as a result of not being able to screen out his thoughts, including his murder of Professor X and his love for her. I was wondering what the catalyst would be and this one makes sense, particularly as the other X-Men leap to her defense when she's accidentally hit by present Scott after his visor comes loose. Magneto wisely extricates them from the situation and everyone returns to their corners.
I also thought Bendis also did a great job with Magneto here. Magneto relates the story to Emma and his fury at the idea that someone pulled the original X-Men from the time stream is palpable. It's not too much of a stretch to realize that Magneto is also seeing himself through their eyes, contemplating the unapologetic mutant terrorist that he used to be. Even if he's thrown in his lot with Scott right now, Magneto hasn't really seen himself as brutal as he was in years, so it's probably got to be a shock to be treated as the person that he used to be, but hasn't been in a long time.
Clearly, though, the Brotherhood aren't the only ones who are struggling. Past Scott is reeling not just from coming face-to-face with his less-than-noble self, but also with the changed views that his friends now have of him, given what they now know. Immonen -- who's great throughout this issue -- makes these altered feelings clear from a wordless two panels of past Jean and past Scott exchanging a somewhat hostile glare. Moreover, the other X-Men -- like Iceman, Storm, and Wolverine -- are also still trying to process everything. (I love Bobby screaming every time he encounters the original X-Men.) You can tell that they're desperate for a plan to return the genie to the bottle that Hank opened, but the time to do so is increasingly past.
But, even with all this awesomeness, perhaps the best idea that Bendis floats here is that Hank won. Sure, we can all pretend that Hank did it to get Scott to see the error of his ways. I mean, OK, he probably did it mostly for that reason. But, I also don't think that Emma is wrong that he also did it to punish Scott. The scene of Scott gritting his teeth at that suggestion is excellent, a clear sign that this fight between Hank and Scott is now officially past the point of no return.
I will say that I'm still not 100% sure of the timeline of the events. I think, if I'm pulling it all together correctly, they broke Emma free, saved the Aussie girl, saved the healer guy, and then confronted the original X-Men. It's not a big deal, though, particularly since I think it'll become clearer when I re-read the first few issues.
All in all, I just have to say that this series is increasingly becoming one of my favorites hitting the stands. Well freaking done, BMB. I know that we'll have a down moment soon, but these four issues have been some of the strongest I've ever read to start a series.
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