I hadn't really connected the dots when Mystique broke out Lady Mastermind last issue that she would use her to pin their upcoming crime spree on the X-Men. But, it's a great move on Bendis' part, since it definitely contributes to the sense that the X-Men are fighting a war on multiple fronts. It helps give a certain "Empire Strikes Back" energy to this book, where the team keeps getting outmaneuvered by its opponents, as Scott demonstrates this issue, and leaving you wondering how they're going to get in a few wins.
Bendis portrays Scott as just as haughty and pontifical as Magneto was back in the day. We heard much of Cyclops' stump speech already in "Uncanny X-Men" #3, but Bendis shows us the X-Men's reaction to it. As expected, they're less than thrilled with him running a "school" called the New Xavier Institute. But, the main contribution to this ongoing debate is Scott's extremely well-tailored argument that he's doing nothing different than Hank did in bringing the original X-Men to the present, namely, fighting to make sure that his vision of the world wins. It's a compelling argument, particularly since Hank's rebuttal that Cyclops is at fault for relishing the Phoenix power seems particularly dishonest given Hank's adventures in the time stream. Essentially, didn't Hank do the same thing as Scott? Young Scott certainly thinks so, particularly given that he feels that Hank lied to him by omitting the fact that Scott killed Professor X while possessed. Bendis hasn't done a lot with young Scott yet but we begin to see him increasingly assert himself as he's confronted with the mistakes of his elders.
My favorite part of this issue is probably the fact that Kitty clearly seems to be in charge here, not only of the original X-Men, but the existing X-Men as well. She's the one who leads the charge onto the lawn to confront Scott, she's the one answering Maria Hill's call. etc. I hope we get to see more of her taking on this leadership role in coming issues.
Bendis sets up a cliffhanger here in terms of making us wait to see who joins the Brotherhood besides the Cuckoos. My money is on Angel if we're assuming that the X-Men didn't decide to send in a mole; if they did, it's probably Jean. But, the more important point seems to be that Bendis is bringing the first phase of the relaunch to a close. The teams have confronted one another and everyone will have chosen their side. From there, we'll see where we go. Great stuff as usual from this title.
No comments:
Post a Comment