X-Men Legacy 5, X-Treme X-Men 9

X-Men Legacy 5
Spurrier (w) and Molina (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Boy, this book sure is a fun one. On the one hand, I don't think I'm ever going to get sick of the idea of David fighting his many powers inside his own brain to contain and control them. It's rife with action, interesting new abilities, character building, more or less everything I'm looking for. Meanwhile, David himself has become a pretty compelling character in his own right. He spends the beginning of this issue calling his mother, with whom he hasn't dealt in a while and hasn't really been a part of his life. It's an interesting look at David, who has recently lost the father who brings forth many conflicted feelings. He eventually hangs up before actually speaking to his mother and continues the issue. Stationed outside of the Jean Grey School, David uses some of his "200 omega-level split personalities" to find and transport a pack of dire wraiths to the school to distract the faculty and students as he mentally looks for Blindfold, who had previously told him that she thinks she's supposed to be his nemesis. That's right, everyone, Blindfold has an interesting story.

We learn in this story that her background, which, to my knowledge, hadn't really been revealed prior, is extremely dark. This by itself isn't a huge differentiator from many other mutants, as plenty dealt with hate and fear in their childhood. However, Ruth did watch her anti-mutant brother kill her mother for protecting her before nearly killing her. Then, in an unforeseen twist, we find out that the two children Legion protected last issue are working against him. The little boy Sojobo has been possessed by Ruth's powered-up brother (he ended up accidentally stealing some of her powers) and Sojobo's sister Karasu has been sent to distract Legion to ensure he doesn't stop Sojobo/Luca from finally killing Ruth. Legion, who is trying to turn his life around and affect the world positively while trying to wrestle down his own 200 inner demons, has been played and delivered everything to right where it was needed to kill Ruth, with whom he bonded last issue.

Like I said in the first paragraph, I'd've been thrilled with a book that was just Legion fighting down his split-personalities. Maybe, as with what happened last issue, occasionally whipping a recently contained one out to defend himself or someone else. I'd've been thrilled. But instead, there's all that PLUS actual meaningful plots with actual weight to them and real threats. It's very exciting to see where the story goes and how David reacts. How he reacts to this newest turn will be a pretty defining thing for this book. David's personality is clearly established and it's very clear that Spurrier knows where he wants to go with it, but I get the feeling that this kind of a twist is the sort of thing that will really illustrate what we can expect of David as we move forward.

X-Treme X-Men 9
Pak (w) and Diaz (a) and Kholinne, Noor, and Sotocolor (c)

I'll start this off by saying this isn't a book I typically look forward to. I'm not a big Dazzler fan (because I'm like most of the world) and I already care a ton about a lot of characters in the 616, I don't need NEW universe characters to care about. Also, the premise of the book is pretty neat, but always feels a little 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo to me (or a more relevant reference, whatever, I work with what I know and I know that REALLY well). I also have, even still, some trouble believing Dazzler would automatically ascend to team leader on a team that has not only a Wolverine, but a Wolverine that is USED to leading. In one of the more recent books Dazzler appeared in, she was grilling Pixie on her accent and dialectic words. Those kinds of moments are big in Dazzler's recent history. I'm not saying it's unlikely she'd ever become a leader, I'm saying it seems like a really fast transformation for our benefit, as the audience who knows her and not the rest of the team.

Still, this book moves pretty quickly. I was surprised to find that I was already done when it ended and that's usually a pretty good sign. I do like the idea that there are plenty of Xaviers out there who weren't so prone to good because it's interesting to see the world without his positive influence. There also has always been a real sense with Charles that he has some villainous qualities to him. I do think our Charles always believed whole-heartedly in his dream (though you have to imagine somedays he had to remind himself of that) but he was often stern and withholding to his students and, though he shaped up eventually, did occasionally read their thoughts to accomplish something or other. Not stellar qualities (though hard to curtail, I'd imagine, as a telepath), no, but he still fought for the right side. These are the Charleses that didn't or that didn't need to or something.

All and all, I recommend this book, though a little cautiously. It's typically a pretty quick read and the characters are endearing enough. If you're not a huge X fan, some of the alternate reality appearances and the weight of evil Xaviers might be lost on you and that might undermine your enjoyment. Such things happen, and I could understand it happening here. Even if you're not a big X fan, though, you should be able to follow the basic gist of the books solidly enough. Now might not be a bad time to jump on if you were considering it, as there seem to be a couple of permanent additions to the team just making their way in pretty recently and we might have some interesting and traitorous developments on their way. Also, totally respectable by me if my calling it similar to 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo gets you onboard. Totally respectable.