First things first, I've got to stress that I'm still not buying Alex's burned face. In "New Warriors" #9, Sun Girl gets healed of the burns that she suffered in the fight with the Inhumans thanks to the "amazing" technology in Mount Wundagore. We're really saying that no one associated with the Avengers can find a magical or surgical way to heal Alex's face, but an anthropomorphic dog and cat named Jake Waffles and Mr. Whiskers (respectively) can do so? Sure, it's not like it's essential to the plot. But, it's a reminder of the elements of the previous story that I still find unbelievable, like Alex and Janet remembering their time on Planet X. Thankfully, Remender moves off it after a beat and hopefully these reminders will similarly fade into the background.
On the subject at hand, I thought that the entire sequence with Logan was great. I loved that Remender had him actually accept that he was responsible not only for creating the Apocalypse Twins and Horseman Daken, but also for the sundering of the Unity Squad (since he tried to hide these crimes due to his guilt over them). One of the reasons why I'm not a huge fan of Wolverine is that he's always seemed to get a pass that no one else gets. It's actually why I was skeptical of Cap's furious response to these revelations in issue #9, because I wondered why it was only now that people started caring about the fact that their teammate was a remorseless sociopath.
However, everyone is now paying a consequence for giving Logan that pass to do whatever he wanted without facing the consequences, and I'm glad that Remender finally has him own it. It shows some actual character growth, capping off his evolution from assassin to professor that we've seen in recent years. Moreover, it underscores the growth that Rogue has already experienced, transitioning not just from villain to hero but also from someone who couldn't control her powers to someone that could. It reminds us why she's so upset to see herself at square one again. Remender puts Logan and Rogue on the same road to recovery, reminding us of the trauma that this team has suffered over the last few issues.
In taking these moments to establish where everyone was, emotionally, at the conclusion of the fight with the Apocalypse Twins, Remender really conveys the sense that we're reading about real people. Too often, characters in comic books just bounce from trauma to trauma, but Remender makes it clear that the Avengers' current emotional states will directly influence the events of Axis. I gets across the sense that it's hard to see how they're going to hold it together to face such an overwhelming threat as Red Onslaught, but I guess that it's why they're called heroes.
On a lighter note, I loved Magneto thinking that Rogue and Scarlet Witch came to save him. Seriously, it was hilarious. I loved Wanda essentially rolling her eyes at his ramblings about them turning traitor, dismissing him as if he were her racist grandfather that she was trying to keep quiet. It was great stuff. Remender could've gone for a much more straight-forward approach here, but this dialogue was so unexpected that it really brought you into the story all the deeper.
In other words, although we've had a bumpy few issues and some development that I'd rather forget, Remender puts us on firm ground here. I'm ready for "Axis" now. Bring on the Skull!
*** (three of five stars)
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