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