Well, all right-y, then. When Bendis promises a war between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the X-Men, he really means it.
First, Bendis and Bachalo do a great job of making Scott's conversation with Maria Hill almost cinematic in its feel. Maria suddenly finding herself on the psychic plane in a confrontation with Scott and the Stepford Cuckoos felt like something from a horror movie; after all, the Cuckoos add a creepy factor to everything that they do. I thought that it was a wise move (on both Bendis and Hill's part) having Hill agree to allow the Cuckoos read her mind, confirming that she doesn't know who's launching the Sentinels against the X-Men (though we do see the real culprit working silently in his lab while spying on the conversation). Scott pretends not to totally believe Maria, but he clearly does, coming to the conclusion that the perpetrator is using Cerebro to draw out the X-Men by transmitting fake mutant blips and then dispatching the Sentinels to learn more about the X-Men's mutant powers. (Clever, really.)
Given the small number of people who can manipulate Cerebro, Scott starts with Hank, who denies that he's doing it. I'll say that I also find it a stretch, since I'm not sure why Hank would need to learn about their powers, but we'll see. Scott appears to lose control of his powers as he confronts Hank, and S.H.I.E.L.D. instantly swoops to attack. It again makes you wonder if someone really is working inside S.H.I.E.L.D. against the X-Men, but Bendis is clearly not revealing his hand too soon. (Maria allowed for the fact that she might not be ordering S.H.I.E.L.D. to attack, by someone inside the organization may still be doing so. Paging "Captain America: The Winter Soldier.")
Also, I should note that Bendis gets in some good moments of characterization here. I loved Maria's embarrassment over the Cuckoos discovering that she's attracted to Scott, and Bachalo makes him sufficiently strapping in this issue that you wonder who wouldn't be. Moreover, Emma and Scott have some honest-to-goodness banter here, something that I'd love to see happen more often.
*** (three of five stars)
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