Even though we've been living in the post-"Avengers vs. X-Men" world for a while now, Bendis gives us some insight into what the Brotherhood members are actually feeling in this issue as they sit on the eve of revolution.
First, he spends some time showing the new recruits in an understandable stage of mild panic as they contemplate the changes that have happened in their lives so quickly. One of the more interesting aspects of this scene is the somewhat loose structure of the "School." Everyone is just sort of sitting around the meeting room, with the teachers more or less openly disagreeing with one another. Illyana thinks Scott isn't being realistic in assuming that the kids shouldn't be scared of their powers, Emma overrules him in deciding to allow the Australian girl to go see her family, etc. Even the kids themselves see their "gifts" in totally different ways. The old Xavier School, the New Xavier School is not.
But, most fascinatingly, Bendis gives us Emma Frost like we've never seen her previously. She exudes anger at the loss of her powers, but it's an anger reserved most significantly for herself, at having betrayed Scott. It's her reflections on her destroyed relationship with Scott that are the most heart-breaking, particularly when Scott himself enters the picture and they begin to talk. Here, Bendis also manages to humanize Scott in a way that no one's done in a long time, particularly when he agrees with Emma's remark that he assumes that she hates him because he hates himself so much that he assumes that everyone hates him. Bendis reminds us here just how totally alone Scott is and how very aware he is of what he's lost. He may still be trying to justify his actions to himself, but he's under no illusion that he's ever going to justify them to anyone else.
Even more powerful, though, is Emma admitting that she misses Scott because she liked who she was with him, she liked how safe he made her feel. I mean, Bendis does the unthinkable here and gives Emma real, identifiable emotions. I actually found myself wanting them to get together again. In fact, I found myself actually liking them again. Bendis accomplishes that in part because they're both pretty charming here. I mean, Emma is always charming, but even Scott has his moments, playfully bantering with Emma in a way that I've never seen him do. Bendis hints at a version of Scott who may actually be free to be human by becoming a villain. He's no longer the once and future king of the X-Men and maybe he'll be happier for it. It had never dawned on me before this issue, but Bendis portrays him in a way here where it seems plausible, where maybe he realizes that he doesn't want to be the person that everyone's been telling him he is since he was 16 years old.
Moreover, Bachalo shows both Emma and Scott a little younger than I think we usually see them and it totally works. In this way, it just supports what Bendis is doing, showing us a young couple with some baggage try to find a way forward.
So, onward and upwards. Magneto's betrayal is a lot more imminent than I figured it would be and it raises the question of how quickly Scott is going to be kept in the dark when Magneto just happens to miss these sorts of attacks. I guess we'll see. I just can't believe how amazing these last few months of X-Men books have been.
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