All-New X-Men 21
Bendis (w) and Peterson and B. Anderson w/J. Campbell (a) and Silva (c)
The ANXM have been captured and chained up by the Purifiers who are discussing what they should do with the original X-Men. For the son of Reverend William Stryker, it's a chance to kill these powerful mutants before they ever gain influence, creating a paradox but also ridding the world of a whole ton of mutants. It doesn't make a lot of sense but, good news, it's time for another long lesson in time travel as the Purifiers debate the butterfly effect and how bad it would be if everything changed and paradoxes and so on. Eventually they call in Dr. Monica Rappaccini of AIM to sort things out and she says that the mutants should be released (after they've taken samples from them) because a paradox is "the best thing [killing them] could do." She also is confused by the young X-Men and spends the same amount of time everyone for 21 issues has spent being surprised by the youth of the X-Men. She determines that the Purifiers can kill Kitty Pryde if they want since she wouldn't harm the timeline but, before they can do it, Kitty wakes up and phases out of her chains. She breaks everyone else out and they fight everybody and they all get away. The only kind of lasting damage stuff that happens is that a.) the ANXM know about the Purifiers and AIM, and b.) X-23 has seen that the AVENGERS ARENA footage has gone live to the internet and has jumped into Scott's arms while Jean was watching (because it wouldn't be a Bendis book without a love triangle where two girls fight over one guy, even if that guy is oatmeal).
I did an experiment with this book this issue. In the experiment, I flipped through the pages of the book doing my darndest not to pick up any of the words and just looking at the art to see if I could figure out what was happening without the trouble of all the words. When I eventually went back and read it, I was astounding to find that not only was I pretty close, I had mostly only missed another reiteration of how time travel might work and the shock of finding out these X-Men are young. Guess I should have assumed that was all mentioned here since it comes up in seemingly every issue. It's probably not a fair experiment, there are likely plenty of books where this same experiment would hold mostly true (though I imagine that there would be some bits I'd be a bit more confused by) and it might just be a shining recommendation of the art (which is fine in this book). Still, it kind of begs the question why we have to have just so much dialogue in the book when so little of it is really necessary. Also, the one thing that wasn't over-explained was who this guy is, since the only 616 son of William Stryker I'm aware of is dead. There's one over in the Ultimate Universe (or was, knowing that universe, he's probably dead. I think maybe Rogue killed him?) but Jason is the only one I know here and he died immediately after birth. Unless we're getting ready for retcons! Wooooooooo.
Uncanny X-Men 16
Bendis (w) and Bachalo and Townsend w/Vey, Irwin, and Olazaba (a) and Bachalo (c)
Magneto visits the same pro-mutant rally-area the Uncanny X-Men had visited not so long ago in Michigan to meet with Dazzler and try to find information on the Sentinels SHIELD seems to have. She doesn't so much help him as direct him to Madripoor where, she claims, a mutant seems to be running things. Magneto goes to check it out and sees everyone running around with mutant growth hormone. Eventually he's ushered to the top of what used to be Hydra tower where he meets up with a bunch of old school evil mutants like Blob, Sabretooth, and Silver Samurai. As they talk, Dazzler arrives as well, revealing herself to be Mystique and telling Magneto that this new Madripoor is all for him. It's a place where mutants can hold power and have their own little world. Magneto is disgusted by it, angry that it neither fulfills Xavier's dream of a world with both mutants and humans living together nor fulfills Magneto's dream of mutants rising up to be the dominant species. Instead, it's a pit of an island where MGH is everywhere. He uses Silver Samurai to attack Mystique and controls a horde of bullets to attack the others as he makes his escape on the helicopter, wrecking the building behind him. The issue promises that his adventures will continue in the upcoming MAGNETO series, written by Cullen Bunn.
This is both a one-off issue to set up MAGNETO and, seemingly, an important piece to the UNCANNY X-MEN canon, assuming that it reveals Mystique as Dazzler for good and not as a "oh, Magneto knows but he didn't tell anyone so she goes back to it" kind of deal. In that respect, it's not bad. There are still some obnoxious pieces of dialogue from Mystique (who can never quite decide if she's evil and cold or evil and playfully obnoxious, a problem that isn't held to just this issue) and from background characters here and there. Magneto's done well and it certainly goes a ways to establishing the new series. I typically like Chris Bachalo's art and I don't think it all-out doesn't work here or anything but I will say that I don't think this is him at his best. I think his best, anyway, isn't this sort of story or this sort of seriousness. In a way, his style is a little too cartoony to go with the grim feel of this issue. Hopefully the MAGNETO book carries this momentum and finds itself in a pretty solid place.
Amazing X-Men 3
Aaron (w) and McGuinness and Vines (a) and Gracia (c)
Azazel reveals his plan to the audience in great detail as he, for whatever reason, reiterates it to his shipmates. They listen dutifully as he explains that he's saving them from the tortures of hell, the nothingness of purgatory, and the boredom of heaven so that they can ride with him in a life of piracy and doin' stuff. Some of the bamfs drag a listening Hank McCoy out and drop him overboard to the delight of the pirates. After he claims his way back up, he begins to attack the pirates and Azazel, with whom he has an EXTREMELY long fight-conversation which AGAIN reiterates Azazel's plan and debates the merits of it and of just about everything else Azazel's ever done. Like with
THOR: GOD OF THUNDER earlier this week, it also involves a whole bunch of name-checking and little random fact-dropping that feels unnatural and forced, though at least this time it's coming from Hank McCoy who is known for his long-windedness. Eventually Azazel stabs him in the side and throws him overboard again. Before the focus of the issue shifts, we see his hand cling to the side of the boat again. On a nearby Azazel pirate ship, a group of Azazel's pirates talk about what to do with Storm before Nightcrawler shows up and begins to dispatch them. Ororo is extremely pleased to see Nightcrawler and the two pick up arms together and get awfully close to one another. After they've done away with all of the pirates on the ship, they're greeted by none other than a feral Hank McCoy who seems pretty impossible to relax.
I think there's a story here that, while a little over-the-top and fanfic-like, might well be worth telling. What better way to get Nightcrawler back into the world than with a rip-roaring pirate tale that pits father against son and X-Men against pirates? Okay, there may be better ways but this is the one we've got (and for anyone checking, it does indeed seem as if Nightcrawler is back for good as he's getting
his own solo title in April, written by none other than legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont). Like my complaints with THOR this week, I can't help feeling like this is maybe a little too reader's-first-comic for me. That's fine, I suppose, maybe I'm not the target audience on books like this or WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN. I will say it feels weird if that's true since that's not really Marvel's style but it's hard to argue with the excessive amounts of name-checks and current-plot summarization next to brief Marvel history lessons and the oddly colorful and playful Ed McGuinness art (I felt this way a little on the opening issues of NOVA, too, which found McGuinness on art duties again. I think it's shaped up a bit since then, still having something of a younger vibe but only because Nova is a younger hero, not because it's written for a younger audience). It means that the darker moments don't have any real weight to them and I don't see any stakes just about anywhere. But again, as with anything ever written on this blog because it is a blog about opinions, this is just my opinion and maybe someone else out there is far less snooty about it.
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