Review: All New X-men #16

All New X-men #16

All new X-men 16 is the second installment of the battle of the atom event and its a good one. It picks up right where the Battle of the Atom #1 left off and and sees  the future x-men coming to warn their past counterparts about the repercussions of letting the past x-men stay in the present.

RECAP

The books briefly looks into how Old Cyclops and his team are taking the recent sentinel attacks and particularly how the new healer kid (still cant recall his name) is dealing with his powers as he has possible not just healed Cyclops but raised him from the dead.

Review: Battle of The Atom #1

Battle of The Atom #1

Twas a fantastic start to the fall crossover that sets the stage for what looks like a promising event.

RECAP

The book opens showing Illyana  taking a trip to the future to see the outcome of the presence of the present day mutants. We get a glimpse of the future x-men in battle with several sentinels.The rest of the story jumps in on what I  guess is an average day at JGS. Bendis continues to give delightful little looks into the time displaced youngsters’ interactions and adjustment to the JGS. Baby Iceman’s about to start a cafeteria foodfight when Cerebro alerts Kitty to a new, powerful, mutant. Kitty and the original mutants go out to get a handling it. The mutant just so happens to be a “career criminal” who suddenly realized she could conjure dragons and started wreaking havoc. 

The team doesn't even get to deal with her enough before sentinels show up! And shortly after that its old cyclops (in an incredible display of his…. different… powers) and his team to the rescue. They all manage to contain the sentinels but not before young Cyclops gets hit. He almost dies (or DID die), at which point old cyclops vanishes without a trace from the scene, but is brought back in time by the new healer, at which point old cyclops reappears.

Review: X-factor #262

X-factor #262

This issue was a quaint ending to the arc, and the title I’ve been following since it first began. Yup, this is one of the few titles I actually started from its first release and followed all through to the ending.

RECAP

This installment of the arc kicks of with Layla, living in the Madrox family old home, discovering that she’s pregnant, two years too soon, ‘cause, you know, she’s Layla Miller and she’s supposed to know stuff, future stuff.

Shortly after she’s visited by weird ghostly future Tryp who’s having an issue with another version of himself. Long story short, Tryp has mysterious issues with Layla that’s connected to this other him as well and he calls his goons, who happen to be law men, to evict her from the house, where nobody knows she’s keeping demonic Madrox in the basement.

Review: Wolverine and The X-men #35

Wolverine and The X-men #35

I’m fighting so hard to understand how the writer and creators of this title expertly fit so much action, adventure, twists and fun - that have you on the edge of your seat, eyes wide open trying not to miss anything- in 22 pages. It’s unfathomable and yet it was done. The end of the Hellfire Saga was an immensely satisfying read.

RECAP (very abbreviated because too much happens for me to write down)

Quentidie (Quentin and Idie) continue fighting their way out of the Hellfire Academy. Toad beats the skin off of husk, till she comes to her senses. JGS teachers >>> Hellfire teachers. Kade doesn’t get offed by his friends, now turned enemies, because no Hellfire weapon can be used against him.

Before the JGS staff can get their students out Kade and Philistine puts the whole school on lockdown; no one gets in and no one gets out.

Review: Ultimate Comics Spider Man #26

Ultimate Comics Spider Man #26

Ultimate Spiderman still continues to intrigue me. It’s a good read. This issue is a little off the usual Miles wagon and dives into Bombshell’s history.

RECAP

This issue goes back and forth between mommy Bombshell’s story and daughter Bombshell’s current predicament. In short, mommy Bombshell was in prison when Roxxon approached her getting her released so they could carry out experiments to turn her into the next “Captain America” and put them lightyears ahead of Oscorp. It’s the usual experiment gone awry.

As it turns out there are a few other people Roxxon had experimented on, Cloak and Dagger got the list and went on hunt for them (not sure why) and that’s why they were after Bombshell. Spiderman and Spidergirl finally catches up with the you Bombshell. They just want to help her, but they dont catch up to her too soon before Roxxons hired mercenary The Taskmaster catches up to them.

WHAT I LIKED ?

This...

I’m glad that the comic has moved a little from being centred around Miles although I was expecting a bit more character development around this older Miles before the title moved into a story like this. I enjoyed exploring Bombshell’s history and seeing how it ties in with Cloak and Dagger’s. Obviously Roxxon has a lot coming to them first creating so many superhumans and then making the mistake of going after them and capturing super heroes to boot.

There Is a gentleman among the panels who appears to be some incarnation of Mr. Sinister working for Roxxon. He looks nothing like the Sinister I remember from the earlier Ultimate X-men days, so it would be interesting to find out later on who and what he is as well as who and what the monster who duelled it out with Cloak and Dagger in the last issue’s flashbacks (if any f you know drop it in the comments).

I just really liked the story over all, the art was great and it was a good read.

WHAT DIDN’T I LIKE?

Well, as I said before I was kind of expecting the title to be a little more Miles-centric and was looking forward to getting to know more about older Miles and how he’s dealing with being back in a costume and his life general but I’m still okay with the turn the the story has taken.

Seeing things like this (possibly) new Sinister always get me just a minuscule bit on edge since I already know who and what the Ultimate Universe’s Sinister is supposed to be. However, I have faith that whoever that Mr. Sinister is It’ll be quite interesting to find out in the long run what the logical explanation behind him is (kinda like faux Psylocke in UCXM).

I give this issue an 8

Review: Young Avengers #9

Young Avengers #9

Well it would appear my theories were right… sorta.. well… close enough. This issue of Young Avengers continues to entertain in its typical refreshingly young and fun fashion. It follows the outcome of the Hulkling/Prodigy lip lock and Loki’s awkward run in.

RECAP

We start off right where we left off in the last issue. Post kiss, Prodigy is embarrassed and runs off.

The story then jumps right over to Leah’s side of the multiverse. She only manages to tell the team who she is “Leah of Hel” and brushes them aside telling them to leave her be. Loki doesn't seem to want to tell them much either (hiding a lot obviously) and proceeds to lead them out of  Leah’s world.

Prodigy finally gets a talking to Hulkling and as it turns out he’s bi (close enough) and didn't come to this realization (or so it would seem) until he was absorbing everyone’s knowledge and, as it would seem, also their sexual preferences(?). He didn't want to die without having experienced at least kissing a guy and Hulking was the perfect candidate as he seems to be the perfect boyfriend to Billy. “Who wouldn't want a slice of that?”. Hulkling explains that things aren't as perfect as they seem and tells him about the concerns he has about his relationship with Billy. Prodigy gives him some advice saying maybe he should get some space from Billy.

Eventually when the rest of the team gets back to evil mommy's dimension they bring along with them a hoard of badass versions of themselves from the multiverse to attack the parasite (or maybe Loki conjured them?). This gives them enough time to escape, rescuing Hulking and Prodigy, but not before evil tentacle mom points out that Hawkeye is almost eighteen now. They back to 616 where they briefly encounter doppelganger Patriot before he disappears again.

They are back to analyzing their situations over noodles. Later on Billy tells Tedd all about what happened and they decide to spend some time apart… Even further later on it would seem that Hulkling has turned to Leah of all persons for advice.

WHAT I LIKED ?

Everything really.

I wasn't so far off thinking that what happened with Hulking and Prodigy was more as a means of helping Hulking forward in the issues that he’s been having in his relationship more so than a big reveal of Prodigy’s sexuality.

During noodles Loki finally explained something that happened two issues ago saying that Billy is “a singular multidimensional messiah” and I can’t wait to see how that pans out as America’s issue with Billy.

Leah… Leah Leah Leah… both her dialogue at the beginning and at the end of the book seem to hint and some vengeance afoot. Any JIM fans care to explain?

What’s gonna happen when Hawkeye turns eighteen?

All in all.. there’s a lot going on with the story and plot in this title and I'm quite pleased with how everything is playing out thus far. Usually I like for things to happen a little faster, but I find the pacing pretty good for now.

Hats off again to the artwork.

WHAT DIDNT I LIKE?

*shrugs*

I give it an 8

Review: X-men #4

X-men #4

Two good stories fitting in one satisfying issue. We follow Wolverine and Jubilee as she takes her new baby to Cali her home, filled with memories of her California life and how she came to the X-men while Storm and the rest of the gang have their own issues to deal with as they’re in the X-jet and on a plane rescue mission.

RECAP

Wolverine, Jubes and Shogo are enjoying a Day at the beach, meanwhile “Storm and the X-men” are on the black assisting a commercial aircraft's who’s engine’s on fire but can't land. Storm takes Rachel aside to speak - because she’s having obvious issues with Storm’s seeming exerted leadership- while asking Rogue and Psylocke to come up with a plan to save the aircraft. Rachel still very much disagrees with Storm’s decision on their last mission to sacrifice Karima. Storm stands by her decision (I support her too lol). “Who died and made you leader of the X-men? Here’s a hint : It’s not Karima Shapandar”.

Jubilee and Wolverine visit her old home. Now for sale wolverine offers to buy it. She declines. Then they go for lunch in the very mall Jubilee first encountered the X-men.

The X-men begin executing their plan to same the commercial plane which involves TK grapple hooks and power sharing between Psylocke and Rogue. Storm continues her passive aggressive discourse with Rachel while Rogue goes prodigal with Psylocke’s powers. By the time they’re done plane saving Psylocke cuts Rogue off sending her sailing from the jet, luckily skydiving Storm is able to catch her in time (and the team dynamic drama continues).

WHAT I LIKED ?

There’s too much that I liked and too little that I didn't like about this issue (as opposed to Wood’s work over in the UCXM title).

As someone who isn't too familiar with the comic version of Jubilee I could appreciate the nostalgic glimpse into her and how she has grown since then to be who she is today - when i started reading comics Jubilee wasn’t in any of the titles I read till the whole depowering thing… even then I never read much about her.

The exploration of the team dynamic over on the rescue mission side of the story was rather intriguing as we begin to see how this team functions together, both the pitfalls and the strong points. Rachel still has a big problem with storm asserting her leadership, especially since the last issue where Storm almost ordered Karima’s death. She get’s pretty self righteous about it and declared that it’s an issue she won't let go. Rogue after being inconsiderate in using Psylocke’s TK gets cut off and with no powers to secure her is flung from the plane. I mean, Psylocke must have known that Storm or Rachel would have saved her… right?

I can see that trust is going to be one of the future challenges this team will have as they continue to work together. Will Rachel trust and give into Storm’s leadership? How is Psylocke and Rogue gonna get along after this? And it looks like Kitty is about to become the middleman.

I have to mentioned that I continue to love the art in this title. The depictions of Each character’s racially distinct appearance is excellent – Storm is HOT and Shogo utterly adorable. The artist does a good job of capturing expressions and Portraying mood (expect for that one panel where I wasn’t certain if Psylocke was rolling her eyes, about to faint, or both lol).

WHAT DIDN’T I LIKE ?

Rachel’s heavy eye shadow; she need to go easy on that.

I’m really hoping the title picks up a little more though, especially during and after the Battle of the Atom crossover. I’m not the biggest fan of Wood’s pacing, but it has been sufficiently appropriate thus par with this title. I’ve been enjoying it. Here’s to hoping for more good issues.

I give it a 7.8

Review: X-Factor #261

X-factor #261

Another interesting installment of ‘The End of X-factor’. Following the fallout of the last hellraising arc, this issue finds Monet and Darwin finding each other in Vegas. Not much happens, but enough to tickle my curiosity and leave me wondering, ‘is this really the end ?’ ‘What’s going to become of these characters that this title has really drawn me into over the years?’ .

RECAP

Darwin goes gunning for Hela in Las Vegas at a place he thinks he “senses” her there or something. Turns out he ventured into the wrong neighborhood and ended up in the middle of a stolen car ring with all guns pointed at him. Needless to say he survives the fiasco and runs into Monet of all persons.

Having seen her die previously he assumes this Monet is not who she appears to be and during their brawl she explains to him that she is Monet, resurrected by Guido the new Hell Lord. They go for a drink where Monet explains why she came looking for her teammates in Vegas (The team has ended up in Vegas on several occasions). Darwin explains to her that his wanting to kill Rahne’s son was misled by a vision and possessed. He also tells her about his love for her (something he’s been keeping inside for a long time) and she ends up sleeping with him just to see if she’d feel anything (was she resurrected soulless?). It is Hela who finds Darwin in the end and he sends her away saying he’s fine with who he is.

WHAT I LIKED?

There isn't much to speak about. It was just an ok story. It raised questions of whether or not Monet was resurrected with a soul (I’m still not sure though the comic seems to point to the fact that she wasn’t) and what Darwin is going to do with his God like powers in the long run. It’s one thing to be effectively immortal, it’s another to acquire Godlike powers that you kind of don't want and pissing off Gods in the the process. Certainly both characters will have demons to wrestle with, and that’s one of the things I’ve always liked about this title and it’s characters. Its has always featured stories with the characters battling as much on the inside along with on the outside while remaining nicely removed from the mainstream and the stories always play out in a grappling way whether over a few issues or the span of the series.

As for Darwin deciding to keep his new powers in the end… maybe he sees it as a way he might restore Monet in the future.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE?

hmmm…  I dont know

I give it a 7.5

Review : Ultimate Comics: X-men #30

Ultimate Comics: X-men #30

World War X continues and this issue had me wincing all throughout. There were good moments though, a thing or two that I actually liked, but for the most part this title continues to rub me the wrong way.

RECAP (In Brief)

We start with Jean and Jimmy in Tian having breakfast of fresh fruits, something Jimmy evidently is not used to since the sentient seed provides them... what?... chicken feed?... in Utopia. Meanwhile, Rogue is bawling over the dying seed (big surprise) and Colossus is fighting the invading Tian-bots bots with his new friend (lover?) “like the cagefighting the guards set up at the camps”.

Also kitty does another one of those melodramatic monologues, I’ve grown to despise, while rushing into battle with her Utopian peeps (someone let me know who this new guy ‘Revolto’ is or if he’s new to the Marvel Universe like, it would seem, Mach 2). Eventually Jean sends a message to them through the drones “We will become one people. Tian has spoken” Kitty’s answer to this is to have storm destroy all on the remaining drones in typical storm flashy fashion and her new resolve, “violence will be met with violence”. She also ends up handing leadership of Utopia over to Colossus.

WHAT I LIKED ?

Well... Just about the panels with Nomi and Amara and right at the end with Kitty and Piotr (up until she offered him leadership of Utopia then I winced again). I was particularly impressed by Magma’s display of powers and how Kitty wisely classed her as having non combat-adaptive powers because she doesn’t want too many people out there knowing there were mutants who could shake continents. Mostly I liked the art and the feel in these panels, The dialogue felt a little more organic.

It’s clear that Kitty has been having issues with her leadership and this issue examines that. It also examines the cognitive dissonance she experienced having to deal with so much violence while being a pacifist herself.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ?

This issue had me wincing - a lot- as I tried to like everything that was happening. But all in all, this event feels like much like a repeat of everything I’ve been seeing so far. It wasn’t quite Kitty centric as before, but still, I’ve had quite enough of her in this series.  She’s been much of the same for the last couple of arcs, in fact, the last couple of arcs have been much of the same. I feel like they fight these battles that take them nowhere at the end of the day. There’s no big shake up, probably some amount of change, but none that really CHANGES anything and everything just seems to drive them further off the deep end.

Character development is slow and even so, not very progressive. Characters pop up and disappear from issue to issue and the more consistently appearing ones are always much of the same. I don't find the dynamics of the current group of Utopia mutants intriguing.

Did we need three or four arcs to establish Utopia, then a schism, make the sentient seed, then undo the schism, and start and end World War X?

I fear the end of this arc might be where I throw my hands in the air and give my beloved mutants or the Ultimate universe a break. I’m tired of the constant anticlimactic story arcs this title has been giving me.

This whole Jimmy/Jean thing? Eew... I’m looking at the possibility that Jimmy might have defected as a means to keeping an eye on Jean. You know, the classic ‘wolverine takes out the phoenix’ thing. But even so... the relationship he seems to have taken on with her.... ummm?

This may not be the experience for other readers, and maybe it’s just my own mental rejection of the storyline and where UCXM has been going over the last million issues, but so much of the comics feels forced, inorganic. The extreme’s that are Jean Grey’s , Kitty’s and Rogue’s mental state (I still think they're all a little crazy) just seem... well... unbelievable.

To be honest, when Karen Grey was introduced, I LOVED her, the concept of who she was and where she was coming from was completely understandable, but somewhere between the end of Karen and the re-birth of Jean, I feel I’ve gotten lost. I get that the full story of Jean and Tian etc is yet to be revealed, but still this Jean is a far cry from Karen and the previous Jean I’ve know. I’ve said before that ultimate Jean has always been a little nuts in my interpretation of the character, but now ….. well.... you can see for yourself.

There’s a detached way to how some of the story is being told, where we are left to fill in the blanks about certain things until we are told. It doesn't work well with this title as the parts we do see doesn't help us feel anymore involved or in the know of what’s happening as we would like to be. Neither can the story pull off the air of mystery that would normally peak our curiosity and have as squealing at every little reveal and wanting to know more (or maybe that’s just me). Take Colossus for example. I have no Idea where he’s been and am not sure why he stayed so long before coming to Utopia. I have no care to know about this or what his new friend is to him or even where they’re going with that angle.Colossus has just been popping in and out of this title so much that I’m left here wondering ‘When is he gonna leave again?’.

I can’t seem to connect with these characters and their motivations anymore.I can't figure out what or who to care about .The story is different from what I’m used to. Different can be good, but not always.

I give it 6.5