X-Men #44

X-Men #44
Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Andy Kubert

What Went Down: A mysterious armored person is standing over the unconscious body of Colossus in Antarctica. Colossus mistakes the stranger for an attacker and wonders what has become of Magneto. The mystery person blasts Peter unconscious again and hints at a former romantic connection to him.

In space, we see Xavier’s astral form breaking apart as he strains to make contact with his X-Men; this is due to an “unknown force” which I think is supposed to be the emergence of Nate Grey. Amelia Voght questions why Charles is going to all this effort, and Xavier has to explain that he is committed to the safety of his students. In case you were wondering, Cerebro is still out of commission from when Banshee destroyed it during the Phalanx story.

Bishop calls in to let Xavier know that Jean Grey and Skids have survived their reentry into Earth, but Jean’s rapport with Scott is gone. Cyclops and the rest of the Acolytes have landed in the middle of the Australian outback. The Kleinstock Brothers keep finding things to complain about, while Unuscione and Cargil are actually grateful to Cyclops for saving them. Cyclops blasts a hole in the ground to get water for them to drink. Then they begin their trek.

Later the group comes across Scanner, who has exhausted herself trying to search for signs of life; Cyclops carries her until they break for camp. Scott reassures the Acolytes that they are going to make it through this.

In Antarctica, the mystery person is dragging Colossus to Magneto’s abandoned citadel. At Xavier’s, Jean has plugged herself into Cerebro, despite Charles having claimed it was broken earlier in this issue. Charles comes up with a plan where he can use Amelia to channel his powers somehow since his physical body is what is holding him back. He also mentions that Amelia’s mist state has become her natural form, and she has to concentrate to remain solid, creating fear that she might lose her humanity. Amelia reluctantly agrees to the plan.

Back in the Outback, Scanner returns from recon, claiming to have found civilization. Cyclops blasts a hole through the mountain in front of them, and the group finds the X-Men’s old home base from when they lived in Australia. Xavier and Amelia try their physical/psionic link, but it fails. Luckily, Scott contacts them from Australia, letting them know he is all right. Scott also mentions that someone else has recently used this base, but I don’t think that this is ever brought up again.

Amelia gets angry since they risked their lives for nothing, but Xavier explains how important it is to have a cause to believe in. Amelia realizes she isn’t strong enough to sacrifice for Xavier or Magnus, so she teleports away. In Magneto’s citadel, the mystery person has placed Colossus in a healing machine of some kind. Peter wakes up and demands to know who is under the mask, and it turns out to be Calisto—the former leader of the Morlocks, asking if Peter wants to save the world.

How It Was: Andy Kubert’s back after taking a couple months off to recuperate from all of the work he had to do to help create Age of Apocalypse. The art is fine, although it’s a sharp departure from Paul Smith. Plus, there are a lot of art errors that contradict the previous issues. Colossus and Amelia are both shown wearing the wrong costumes, and it looks as if Kubert has drawn Jean Grey in Cerebro, even though it’s supposed to be broken. On the plus side, look at the cover. It’s a fantastic depiction of the best, or at least my favorite X-Man, Cyclops.

And this issue really does justice to the first X-Man as Nicieza demonstrates exactly how to make Cyclops work. He’s the man with the plan and even though he’s stuck with a team that he neither likes nor trusts, he still knows exactly how to lead them. Nicieza understands that Scott doesn’t need to be cracking jokes or barking orders; he needs to be calm, stoic, and collected. And while the others argue about their petty complaints, Cyclops gets it done. Very awesome. The rest of the Acolytes aren’t as fleshed out; the Kleinstocks come off as particularly annoying, making me wish Holocaust had killed them too.

Speaking of annoying, Amelia sure is whiny this issue. She comes off as an apathetic teenager, complaining to Xavier every time he does something because apparently caring about people is stupid. I guess it does fit in with her character, but she could tone it down a little. Plus Colossus comes off as a little hostile and jumpy.

Well, Magneto’s body has disappeared, creating a bit of mystery for a couple months, and Calisto is back in town. Even though Lobdell wrote the Last Morlock Story years ago, they are coming back again. So the X-Staff destroyed one awful group of mutants only to resurrect another. However, I like that Xavier risks his life unnecessarily to try to save one of his students, even if Lobdell has already had him do this once in X-Men Unlimited #1. This issue features fantastic characterization for Xavier and Cyclops, and legitimately feels like the end of a significant story with the destruction of the Acolytes, even though they’ll be back much later.

B+

X-Men #43

X-Men #43
Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Paul Smith

What Went Down: At the mansion, Bishop and Beast are observing Xavier straining to find Jean and Cyclops after they disappeared last issue. On Avalon, the Acolytes are attacking the two X-Men while Exodus and Holocaust continue to fight and tear apart the space station. Some of the Acolytes blame the X-Men for bringing Holocaust aboard, which makes absolutely no sense at all, but there you have it. Jean discovers that Skids is outside in space, protected only by her forcefield. Jean reads her mind to figure out what is going on, as well as fill in new readers on what the story is about. They also find out Rusty Collins is dead, which angers them because they used to take care of Rusty as members of X-Factor.

Jean tries to contact Exodus, and we learn that Exodus is a very powerful telepath as well. Holocaust kills another Acolyte, Javitz, and Exodus flips out on him. In another part of the station, Colossus gets the catatonic Magneto to an escape pod, but decides to go back to help Scott and Jean. Outside the X-Mansion, Amelia Voght is trying to get in, but Bishop won’t allow her to enter. Voght just teleports in instead, but the effort weakens her. She tells Xavier that he won’t find his X-Men anywhere on the planet because they’re on Avalon.

Cyclops convinces the Acolytes to stop fighting so they can all help each other escape. Jean leaves to go help Skids while Cyclops leads the other Acolytes to safety. Xavier contacts Jean, then Colossus, telling him to make his escape. The Acolytes find that all of the escape pods are gone, so Cyclops has the Acolyte Unuscione project her exoskeleton around the chunk of station they’re all in. Jean joins Skids on some space debris and helps boost Skids’ forcefield with her telekinesis.

How It Was: For an introduction to such a forgettable villain, this story really does stand on as feeling significant, even today. The stakes work because the Acolytes have been genuine presences in the X-Men books, yet it doesn’t feel like Nicieza is wasting perfectly good characters because the Acolytes have mostly been faceless dead weight in all of their appearances. The destruction of Avalon is an awesome sight, and the addition of Scott and Jean just adds to the chaos of the story. There’s plenty of action, but all of the action serves a greater purpose, and the reactions of the characters mostly seem natural for the given situation.

Xavier’s scenes searching for his students are a little slower; it feels like it takes Voght forever to cross the X-Men’s front yard from last issue. The art is once again really nice looking, and the only nitpick I have is that the artist depicts Scott’s blast going through his glasses instead of having him lift them up. It’s also nice to see Colossus still putting himself before others. Just a really exciting issue.

B+

X-Men #42

X-Men #42
Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Paul Smith

What Went Down: The Acolytes have recovered the space debris from X-Men: Prime and brought it aboard their home base Avalon. Kooky old Exodus is convinced that this is some kind of fortuitous sign from God, and many of the other Acolytes start to catch on that Exodus might not be all together sane. Many, including Colossus, question the safety of bringing an unknown life form aboard. The Acolyte Milan is tasked with analyzing the mystery mutant; he is overwhelmed with images and memories of the Age of Apocalypse before being disintegrated and absorbed by the mutant, who turns out to be Holocaust.

In the mansion, Professor X is watching a news report about the battle with the Juggernaut in New Jersey. Storm comes in to announce the club murder plot points from Uncanny #322 for the Professor’s benefit, as well as voice her fears about Wolverine’s well being. Down in the basement, the Beast is analyzing Juggernaut after their fight; he is also taking care of Gambit and Sabretooth in the medical ward.

In Florida, a trenchcoated figure who looks a lot like Gambit charges a card to break into a house to steal a helmet. The figure is stopped by Iceman, and we learn that it’s Rogue, who is reliving memories from Gambit’s life.

Up on Avalon, Rusty and Skids are talking about possibly defecting with Colossus. Scanner calls and tells them that Exodus has ordered Rusty to check in on Milan. Skids worries that Exodus is aware that they were questioning his authority, but Rusty tells her not to worry. Rusty finds that Milan is missing and that the stranger looks stronger. Rusty is then killed, but not before Scanner calls and sees him die.

Holocaust emerges and is confronted by Exodus. Holocaust mistakes him for the Exodus in the Age of Apocalypse that was an X-Man; he also reveals Exodus’ real name, Paris. Exodus gets mad for being called an X-Man, and the two begin a fight that tears a hole in the space station.

Back on Earth, Scott and Jean are returning from Jean’s parents’ house after telling them that her sister Sara was dead in Uncanny #322. Coincidentally, Amelia Voght teleports directly in front of their car, which somehow causes them to go through the portal she opened. This results in Cyclops and Jean ending up on Avalon in the middle of all of the wackiness.

How It Was: The highlight of this issue is probably the characters on Avalon. While Exodus is still a one-dimensional loony toon, it’s nice to see that a lot of the Acolytes are starting to question the overt craziness of their leader, you know, like real people would. Even more surprising is that characters like Milan, Skids, and Rusty are shown with actual personalities, relationships, and flaws for the first time in a long time. Of course then two of them die, which is a shame for the Acolytes to be dissolved right as someone thought to characterize them a little. But I actually felt a little bad when Rusty died, and he hasn’t had any character development in ages.

I also really like Holocaust’s response to the whole situation as he mistakes Magneto and Exodus for X-Men trying to battle his father. And it’s nice to see Exodus get some comeuppance as the “sign” he foresaw turns out to be a character as crazy and powerful as he is.

It’s also nice to see the X-books making a bigger effort to connect with each other. This is done really well with the scenes of Beast analyzing the Juggernaut, and not so well when Storm shows up to info-dump a bunch of information from other X-Men books that the Professor should already be aware of. Even the fact that Cyclops and Jean get hijacked while returning from events in a different title is a neat detail for fans. The Rogue/Gambit stuff is a little bit of a misfire since Nicieza has her remember all this stuff about Gambit’s past only to forget about it in a couple of issues.

Paul Smith’s art is a little softer then Kubert’s. It’s really nice and the colorist does a great job with the issue, but there are a few details to pick at. Smith uses the Age of Apocalypse design of Iceman, which is never used again. Also, Holocaust outside of his suit turns out to equal Ghost Rider with beady eyes, which is a real disappointment. Plus Xavier’s mansion is drawn much smaller than it usually is.

This book is doing slightly better than Uncanny at this point in regards to quality. The story has bigger stakes, and it’s nice to see Nicieza take some blank slates and make them actually interesting, even if he does kill them off a couple of pages later. Once again, the narrow focus is working well for the book, and it’s great to see Colossus again.

B+

X-Men: Prime

X-Men Prime
Writing: Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza
Art: I’m not writing seven names in here. Look it up somewhere else.

What Went Down: It’s been two weeks since the Legion Quest storyline. Jean is in the woods searching for Wolverine. Wolverine is staying in the woods partly because he broke his promise to the X-Men about not hurting Sabretooth and partly because this latest fight has unleashed more of his feral nature, and he’s having trouble controlling it.

In the mansion, Bishop is discussing recent nightmares that he’s been having; he doesn’t know that they are a side effect of the Age of Apocalypse storyline.

A man named Dennis, whose mutation is beginning to surface, is trying to get to the Xavier Institute in hopes of finding the X-Men. He stops at a diner to get some food.

In a newsroom, a man named Clay asks Beast’s girlfriend Trish Tilby if she’s sure she wants to air a story about the Legacy Virus.

At a damn in Wyoming, Forge is leading X-Factor on a mission that involves disarming a bomb and capturing the villain Mystique. Mystique is about to escape, but a mystery person, who I think is supposed to be Onslaught, attacks her.

Cyclops and Beast are making food when Bishop has a flashback to the A of A. Since Cyclops and Beast were both villains in that reality, Bishop attacks them, but then he realizes his mistake.

Inside the diner, Dennis gets nervous about the other customers possibly discovering he’s a mutant. Also, a woman named Marrow kills a homeless man. She announces that she is a former Morlock, and that she is lighting a candle to contact the very first of her people.

Back at the mansion, we learn that Gambit is in a coma after kissing Rogue during the crystal event. This also seems to have had an effect on Rogue since she’s run off on a road trip with Iceman. In Florida, she dances with a bunch of guys, but Iceman interrupts when he feels that they are getting too close to touching Rogue.

At that moment, Trish Tilby goes on air and breaks the story of the Legacy Virus and the fact that it has spread to a normal human, Moira Mactaggert. We get some response scenes from the Gen X kids, Senator Kelly, and Moira and Rory Campbell.

The customers in the diner became very agitated by the story, so Dennis decides to leave; the customers take note and decide to follow him because he might be a sick mutant.

The X-Men try to comfort Beast, but he is very distraught that his girlfriend has sold them out. Professor X tells Cyclops to contact Cable, but he is interrupted by a huge psychic event that affects both him and Psylocke. This event turns out to be the arrival of Nate Grey from the Age of the Apocalypse universe.

In England, a villain named Emplates visits a woman named Gayle Edgerton. He asks her about Chamber from Generation X. In New York, Dennis is running, but the mob of angry humans catches up to him. Dennis accidentally turns into a lizard person, which scares the mob into attacking him.

Professor X feels this attack, but he cannot pinpoint where it is coming from due to all the interference from Nate Grey’s arrival. Apparently X-Force has moved into Arcade’s headquarters, Murderworld. They are busy training when a self-destruct sequence activates, forcing the team to flee.

In the X-Factor storyline, Mystique tries to impersonate Val Cooper, but Forge figures out the ruse. The team is about to leave when Havok explodes.

In Genosha, Excalibur is searching for information about mutate acceleration with the first mutate ever. The Sugar Man is observing them, and he activates a device that incinerates the mutate. Sugar Man also announces that he has existed in our time for twenty years now.

Up in space, Colossus is leading a group of Acolytes to inspect a piece of space debris that unbeknownst to them turns out to be the frozen remains of Holocaust. Marrow signals the first Morlock, who turns out to be the Dark Beast from the AOA.

Xavier and Storm are trying to save Dennis, but they can’t find him. Because of his telepathy, Xavier can feel every injury Dennis receives. The X-Men find him, but they’re too late; Dennis is dead. Xavier gives a sad speech to end the issue.

How It Was: Presenting X-Men Prime: either because we’re back in the prime Marvel Universe, or because the X-Men are only divisible by one and themselves. Bad math jokes aside, this issue is pretty important because it sets the direction of the X-books for months and months to come. Well…at least for half of them. The rest of the scenes are basically filler to pad out the comic, since there are no ads, although the central X-Men storyline is solid and does a good job with the central themes of the book.

Since we’ve already established that the Legacy Virus is a blatant metaphor for the AIDS epidemic, the writers choose to center the book on the consequences of people learning about it. The fear, the hysteria, the unjustified hatred of people who have no control over their condition: this issue handles them all pretty well. And even though Dennis is a pretty boring, generic guy, the scene where Xavier feels every bruise and broken bone does build tension, empathy, and sympathy. The scene is very jarring in how it basically mirrors very real world current events where youths were beaten to death for being homosexuals. It’s a powerful moment that feels as relevant today as it did a decade ago, and I’m impressed that the writers were brave enough to not let the X-Men save the victim to emphasize the seriousness of prejudice.

Unfortunately, teasers for all of the other X-book storylines keep sporadically interrupting the main story. The other stories range in quality, but the major problem is that most of them don’t tie into the main story in any important or thematic way; they’re just shoved into random parts of the book. As for what we get, well there’s one page of Generation X sitting on the couch and two more pages that introduce a new villain, so completely unnecessary. X-Force’s new headquarters blows up, so they’re “exciting” new direction involves moving into the X-mansion with the X-Men for a while…yawn. However, X-Factor and Excalibur’s scenes seem to be very significant and do a good job of making the reader possibly want to buy those books.

As for the effects of the Age of Apocalypse, the characters from the reality are seemingly slipped into continuity in the most convenient and contrived ways possible. Sugar Man has actually been in the Marvel U for twenty years? What the heck was he doing that he’s chosen right after the crossover he debuted in to make his move. Having Dark Beast as the retroactive founder of the Morlocks is kind of interesting, but nothing is ever really done with this.

The art is a mess here. The scenes with the main X-Men are pretty good, but this definitely wasn’t Bryan Hitch’s best work, a lot of characters have noses that are too big, and Storm’s hair is the wrong color in her scenes for some reason. The worst art easily belongs to the scenes with Rogue and Iceman in the dance club; it looks like an art style better suited for a comic strip in a newspaper with all the awkward looking figures and expressions.

It’s hard to believe that there was a $5 comic in the 1990s, especially when the regular books were still being sold for $1.95. While there are some good sequences, most of the book feels tacked on and unnecessary. This definitely would have worked better if it had stuck to the PRIMEary X-Men (get it), but Marvel was trying to bring all the X-Teams closer together so more people would start buying the side books. With its gimmicky see-through lenticular cover and needless side scenes, this book represents some of the best and worst aspects of comic books in the 90s. Nevertheless, it’s worth a look if you can get it on the cheap like I did.

C+

Uncanny X-Men #315

Uncanny X-Men #315
Writing: Scott Lobdell
Art: Roger Cruz

What Went Down: We open up on an awesome, although incredibly different looking, splash of Avalon--the Acolytes’ space station base. Colossus is serving as the council for prisoner Neophyte, the Acolyte who turned on Fabian Cortez in Uncanny #300. The Acolytes want to sentence him to death for betraying them, but Colossus believes everyone should have the right to choose their destiny.

In another part of the base, Exodus is ranting to the comatose Magneto, showing that he is probably not all together there in the head. The Acolyte Scanner interrupts his rant, and Exodus threatens her for seeing the face of Magneto.

Amelia Voght is serving as the prosecutor for Neophyte’s trial. Even though she disagrees with the other Acolytes, she doesn’t trust that her decisions matter at all. Peter argues that Neophyte was really honoring Magneto in his own way, by stopping the torture of an innocent and exploring other ways of furthering mutantkind. Voght calls the boring Acolyte Milan to the stand. He uses his power to project thoughts visually (yawwnn) to show how the Acolytes first rescued Neophyte from an abandoned church before he joined the team. Some of the Acolytes start a fight when Xavier is mentioned, and Exodus uses his powers to separate them.

As the judge and jury of the trial, Exodus tells the Acolytes that he is going to discuss the evidence with Magneto. Once again, Magneto is sitting on a throne drooling, so Exodus is not exactly acting logical. Exodus returns and seems to be leaning towards executing Neophyte, but Colossus interrupts with a long diatribe. As Colossus’ words start to convince some of the Acolytes, including Voght, Exodus decides to just banish Neophyte as opposed to killing him. Exodus returns to Magneto’s room to rant some more to himself.

How It Was: This one comes straight out of left field, mostly because Lobdell doesn’t want to start a new story before two crossovers. It’s also an entire issue with no current X-Men members whatsoever. The narrow focus of just the Acolytes actually works in this issue’s favor. It is nice to see that Colossus is still the character we all know and love and joining the Acolytes hasn’t altered his personality greatly. This is a great issue for Peter; Voght and him really shine among a collection of one-dimensional Acolytes, including Neophyte. The idea that Colossus tries to incorporate Magneto’s philosophy into his own established worldview is a really interesting take on a hero turned villain. On the other hand, I feel like some of Peter’s observations about Magneto are somewhat skewed as he really gives the villain the benefit of the doubt in a lot of instances and exaggerates the villain’s tolerance for people and their intentions. There are also the beginnings of a political framework being introduced that unfortunately never really get expanded upon after this issue.

Exodus is just a really disappointing antagonist. The fact that his super villain team is just sitting around doing nothing in space shows how little there is to old crazy, powerful Exodus. He is even abusive to the other Acolytes, which creates an interesting tension where later the members feel trapped and want to rebel, but for now the Acolytes just look like morons for blindly following an even bigger moron.

In case you’re keeping track, Joe Mad is once again absent from his drawing duties, although to be fair, Kubert is also off this month to work on upcoming crossovers. Still, this is two months in a row, which isn’t a good sign.

This is actually a really interesting one-shot story that presents and analyzes the themes of the comic in an interesting way. Really it is an entire issue of characters just standing around and talking, but this issue has some great merits. This is the best-written Colossus that has appeared in a while; he’s not the broken and (rightfully) depressed sad sack. Here he is confident, righteous, and doing more than he has done in many, many issues. One to check out if you’re curious for something different than the usual.

B-

Excalibur #71

Excalibur #71
Writing: Scott Lobdell
Art: Ken Lashley, Darick Roberson, and Matthew Ryan

What Went Down: Part 6 of Fatal Attractions: This issue opens with Nightcrawler fighting the Acolyte Spoor on Muir Island. Since the X-Factor part of this crossover depicted Spoor as a prisoner, he has been transferred to the Muir Isle, but he escaped. Spoor’s powers affect people’s emotions, so Nightcrawler almost kills the mutant. Luckily Kitty Pryde pops in and phases Spoor so he doesn’t get his skull bashed in. Moira thanks Rachel, Kitty, and Nightcrawler for bringing Spoor back, and then Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Professor X show up for a visit.

Xavier reveals that he has a plan get Colossus to return to the X-Men; he believes that Peter is suffering from the effects of his injuries from the X-Cutioner in Uncanny X-Men Annual #17. He wants Kitty to trick Peter into coming to Muir Isle so the X-Men can capture him and fix the trauma. Kitty is initially appalled, but eventually she reluctantly agrees.

Kitty sends a message to Avalon. Colossus is convinced that Kitty would never betray him, so he gets permission from Exodus, the new leader of the Acolytes, to journey down to Earth. Exodus tells Amelia Voght to give him an hour before bringing him back. Kitty lashes out at Cyclops and the Professor for forcing the deception. Rachel identifies that Kitty is really just scared that Colossus’ condition won’t affect his decision.

Cable’s computer the Professor identifies a signal from Avalon. Cable says that he has unfinished business with the Acolytes, and thinks it might be a trap for Xavier. Back on Muir Isle, Cyclops and Nightcrawler prepare the device to cure Colossus. Nightcrawler explains the state of Excalibur and the fact that most of its members have either left or been lost. Cyclops comforts him by comparing Excalibur to the original X-Men and showing that change can be good.

Outside, Jean Grey reconciles with Rachel Summers after freaking out on her when they first met. Jean reveals that she and Scott might be getting married soon and having a child. Rachel calls Jean “Mom” for the first time.

Colossus teleports down from space and the X-Men subdue him. On the other side of the island, Cable is climbing up the rock face looking to hunt the Acolytes. Phoenix intercepts him, and reveals her real name. Cable and the Professor both appear to recognize the name Rachel Summers—this is because in the future Rachel founds the Askani, the group that raises Cable. Cable and Rachel fight—at one point Rachel’s body turns into Captain Britain’s—a subplot from the regular series, I’m sure.

Colossus is strapped into a machine that utilizes Cyclops’ optic blasts to burn a hole in his head, somehow repairing the damage. Nightcrawler decides to respond to an intruder alert. Rachel tricks Cable into thinking she’s weakened, and then blindsides him with her telepathy. Nightcrawler confronts the Acolytes Voght, Katu, and Unuscione, and does a fair job of holding them off. Back in the lab, the trauma to Peter is fixed and he is finally able to return to human form. Cyclops and Phoenix (Rachel) join Nightcrawler outside in fighting the Acolytes. The fight ends when Colossus shows up and decides that he still wishes to remain with the Acolytes. The Acolytes teleport away, and the remaining three members of Excalibur decide to stay on Muir Isle to assist Moira in her work.

How It Was: Like the X-Factor issue of the crossover, this issue doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the return of Magneto. However it features characters from the X-Men guest starring, it deals with an important plot point from the crossover, and it has a hologram on the cover, so it’s still part of the crossover. While the Fatal Attractions story really ends in Wolverine #75, this issue serves the dual purposes of following up on Colossus’ defection and trying to lure in new readers by presenting a new status quo that is perfect for jumping on. Sneaky.

The good first. Nightcrawler, Kitty, and Rachel have always been fan favorite X-Men characters, and I always thought that it was a shame that they were condemned for so long on the British X-Men. Excalibur fans might argue with me, but I still think that they belong on the actual X-Men. Besides, nobody read Excalibur for Kylun or Megann, they read it for the big three, if you will. But Lobdell does a great job of bringing their personalities to life, bearing in mind that for a lot of X-Men fans, this is the first time we’ve seen these characters in a while. Nightcrawler’s humor really shines through in his fight scenes. Kitty’s internal conflict and angst over Colossus and her struggles to be seen as an adult fit right into where straight X-Men fans saw her last, but there are still signs of character growth as well. And Phoenix’s sensitivity is used to make peace with Jean, and drop some more hints about Cable’s past. All in all, these are three really likable, relatable characters, and I’m sure this issue succeeded in selling a few more later on.

Now for the bad. Filling a double-sized issue of Excalibur can’t be easy, especially since most of the team is gone. First off, the central plot of fixing Colossus kind of makes sense, but this is something that really should have been done way before Illyana died. And while it was nice of the X-Men to fix Peter so he could return to human form, couldn’t Jean and the Professor read his mind and figure out that it was his decision to be an Acolyte? The major problem is the Cable/Rachel fight, since Cable has absolutely no reason to be there. There’s some grumbling about wanting to confront the Acolytes, but really there is no reason for Cable to show up other than to talk to Rachel and reveal some clues that she is his foster mother/sister from another time stream. Then he gets knocked out... the end. The Acolytes finally get another chance to be in the forefront, and they get completely trounced. I guess there is no better way to build up a villain team than to have them easily dispatched with no tension built whatsoever.

As for Excalibur’s new status quo, it’s not exactly mind-blowing or exciting. They’re moving from England to Scotland—whopee. Part of the reason Excalibur never really took off as a book was that it was never really clarified why there needed to be an international team of mutants; plus this meant that the team was far removed from the other teams and the rest of the Marvel Universe, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. And while Excalibur made it for another fifty-some issues, it was almost always the lowest selling of the X-books.

As far as being a finale to a major crossover, this story doesn’t really carry a lot of weight. As a whole, Fatal Attractions is one of the only crossovers I can think of that peaks in the middle and fizzles at the beginning and end; most major storylines save their biggest moment for the epic finale (see X-Cutioner’s Song, Onslaught, Messiah Complex, etc.). Overall the crossover works okay, but there are a lot of unnecessary issues attached; you could basically treat Uncanny X-Men #304-Wolverine #75 as the crossover in its entirety, with X-Force #25 acting as some kind of prelude. This crossover had its moments, almost none of them occur in this issue, and since nothing changes with Colossus, there’s really no need to dig this one up unless you’re a completist.

C-

X-Men #25

X-Men #25
Writing: Fabian Nicieza
Art: Andy Kubert

What Went Down: Part 4 of Fatal Attractions: The U.N. votes to enact the Magneto Protocols, which involves using a series of satellites to surround the Earth in an energy field that prevents Magneto from using his powers within it. Magneto treats this act as a provocation and decides to teach the humans a lesson. Unfortunately for planet Earth, the satellites used in the field are made of metal, so Magneto is able to not only wreck them all with his powers, but he also uses them to create an EM blast that effectively turns off all of the electricity in the entire world. Nick Fury, Mr. Fantastic, the Thing, Sunfire, Nightcrawler, and Captain Britain (who is supposed to be trapped in Limbo) all appear in cameos to give a sense of gravity and show how this story is affecting the entire Marvel Universe.

Of course, the only place to not be stuck in permanent blackout is Xavier’s mansion, since they have Shi’ar technology integrated into their regular technology. Cyclops briefs the team on the situation and explains the worldwide blackout and the fact that millions of people are probably dead because of it. Xavier has taken the position that they are fighting for survival and must finish Magneto once and for all.

Later in the War Room, Beast, Jean, and Cyclops discuss whether the original non-lethal practices of the X-Men are outdated. Xavier walks in on them, sporting an exoskeleton that allows him to walk by using his mental powers. Xavier explains that the plan is to teleport a small team to Avalon and take out Magneto. Because he thinks it may be a suicide mission, Xavier refrains from bringing more of his original students with him. In the changing room, Rogue wonders whose side she will be on, but Gambit reassures her that she will make the right choice.

Xavier gives a rousing speech about the dream, and then the team proceeds to use a Shi’ar teleporter to teleport onto Avalon. It just so happens that Colossus is on security watch for the Acolytes, so he chooses not to alert the rest of the team to the presence of the X-Men.

As the team creeps through the station, they encounter Rusty and Skids. While Jean tries to reason with them, Xavier announces that they don’t have time and uses his powers to make them fall asleep. Then Quicksilver is given the task of uploading a disc into one of the base’s terminals, which tells the base’s computer to teleport the Acolytes off of the base. This leaves Magneto alone for them to deal with. Magneto discovers them and attacks first.

The plan goes that Jean and Xavier are to attack Magneto’s mind while the rest of the squad beats the crap out of him. The telepaths make him relive the horrors and failures of his life: his time in a Nazi concentration camp, the death of Douglas Ramsey, his wife and children abandoning him, and the betrayal of Fabian Cortez. Magneto decides he cannot allow his son to betray him, and is about to kill Quicksilver, when Wolverine jumps in. Unfortunately Jean breaks the connection because she cannot bear to torture Magneto. Wolverine injures Magneto, so in turn Magneto uses his powers to pull the adamantium from Wolverine’s bones. In a fit of rage, Professor X attacks Magneto and uses his powers to wipe the villain’s mind completely. Colossus appears and tells the X-Men that the teleporter is down, but he has sent word for Bishop to come in the Blackbird. Colossus decides to remain on Avalon and take care of Magneto while he is in his catatonic state because he feels guilty for allowing the X-Men to act unhindered. Jean does her best to stabilize Logan, and the squad leaves Peter to his charge.

How It Was: At the time, this was the issue everyone was talking about. Two unthinkable events in one issue: Wolverine loses his adamantium and Professor X uses his powers to destroy Magneto’s mind. The real question is, how has this comic aged?

Well let’s get the negative out of the way. The biggest criticism of this issue, as well as the most valid, is that the entire story is dependent on these deus ex machina style inventions that come out of nowhere. Apparently the X-Men happen to have a Star Trek teleportation device and a suit that can let Professor X walk just lying around, and these devices have never been used before or after this story. It would probably have made more sense if Forge had invented them and let the X-Men use them, or maybe if Nick Fury had let the team borrow them from a SHIELD armory. While it doesn’t ruin the issue, it is a fact that is difficult to reconcile with what we know about the X-Men. And while we’re on the subject of technology, whose idea was it to make a Magneto negating field out of metal satellites? Also, Captain Britain’s appearance is a continuity error; where was the editor on that one?

But the comic does have a lot going for it. There is a palpable sense of tension as Magneto leaves the entire world vulnerable to attack, and kills potentially millions in the process. This is a Magneto who is ready to end the conflict between man and mutant as quickly as possible, and it looks like he might have the upper hand. Also, the team Xavier picks to attack Avalon is pretty awesome. You have Jean and Xavier to attack him mentally, Rogue and Quicksilver because of their relationship towards him to throw him off guard, and Wolverine and Gambit because…well, because they are really popular characters. Honestly, I can’t think of why any great tactician would bring Wolverine to confront Magneto; we’ll call it a senior moment from Xavier. The final confrontation between Xavier and Magneto works really well and feels like a true culmination of all the encounters these two characters have had. It makes logical and emotional sense that Xavier would feel guilt for all of the people Magneto has killed since he has failed to stop Magneto time and time again. Magneto’s final words about underestimating his opponent punctuate the scene perfectly.

As for the loss of adamantium… well, it did happen. While it definitely felt like a stunt to make the crossover feel more epic, Marvel at least stuck to its guns and kept this as the status quo for a number of years. Still, it’s hard to get excited about this issue now, knowing that both Magneto and Wolverine’s adamantium eventually return, and this story has little to no impact on today’s X-Men. You just have to remind yourself that this did open up a number of legitimately good story ideas, and a couple of bad ones, for a character who was already pretty well defined (I’ll get more into my opinions of adamantium vs non-adamantium in the next review). Plus, the fight with Magneto is really good and it’s interesting to see Xavier attacking the villain’s insecurities while the rest of the team combats him with their powers; it’s just unfortunate that once again the Acolytes get pushed to the side so the writers don’t have to deal with them. Overall, this issue feels like a success since it does make long lasting, but not permanent, changes to the status quo and puts a decent cap on the Xavier/Magneto relationship, at least for the time.

B

Uncanny X-Men #304

Uncanny X-Men #304
Writing: Scott Lobdell
Art: John Romita Jr. 

What Went Down: Part 3 of Fatal Attraction: The Acolytes begin the issue by trying to kill their defacto leader Fabian Cortez. The reason for this is that Exodus has come down from Avalon to tell the Acolytes that Magneto is alive and Cortez tried to kill him. Amelia Voght is about to suffocate him, but Exodus spares Cortez’s life and teleports the team away. As he leaves, Exodus mentions that Cortez will be the victim of someone else’s legacy; this seems like a pretty obvious foreshadow of Cortez getting the Legacy Virus, but he never does.

Over at X-Men HQ, it’s the day of Illyana Rasputin’s funeral and Xavier is depressed that he couldn’t saver her. His girlfriend Lilandra beams a holographic message to him saying that she shares his pain and that it wasn’t his fault. Xavier wheels himself to his study and brings up a screen that says “The Magneto Protocols.”

Up on Avalon, Magneto gives a monologue about how he wishes that he could save every human, but now admits that the world is doomed. He flashes back to the death of his first daughter Anya. When humans attacked him and caused him to drop his daughter’s body, Magneto went crazy and killed them all.

Meanwhile Kitty Pryde is scouring the kitchen for something to eat. When Kitty questions the purpose of being a mutant, Storm flies her into the sky to cheer her up. Unfortunately they find Colossus burning all of his paintings as he grieves. Kitty tries to comfort him, but he is still emotionless.

Apparently there is a chapel on Xavier’s property, so Bishop and Banshee are setting up for the funeral there. Bishop doesn’t understand the purpose of a memorial service, and Banshee comments that he must come from a very horrible future indeed. Bishop drops an allusion that Banshee was said to lead the next generation—an obvious foreshadowing of the upcoming series, Generation X.

All of the X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, and Excalibur attend the funeral, making this the only real part where all of the teams crossover. After the service, Colossus confronts Professor X and blames his dream for failing him and his sister. Before the discussion can continue, Magneto and the Acolytes show up. Using his powers, Magneto is able to prevent every hero from moving as he offers the X-teams salvation on his base Avalon.

Quicksilver brings up the massacre of innocent humans in X-Factor #92. To set an example, Magneto kills the Acolyte Senyaka, even though he claims that he would have sanctioned the attack if he had been available. Magneto then proceeds to bring Avalon down over New York and right above the mansion; Xavier notes that the base contains Shi’ar weaponry that Magneto took while he was headmaster.

The whole time Magneto has been talking, Bishop’s powers have been passively absorbing his magnetic energy. Bishop lets it go, staggering Magneto and destroying the chapel. Cyclops and the other energy-wielding mutants decide to charge up Bishop with as much energy as possible, while Rogue tries to absorb Magneto’s powers. Bishop attacks with all of his stored energy, backed up by the rest of the X-Men. As Magneto takes damage, his base tries to break up, since he is apparently holding it together by his will; Jean struggles to hold it up.

Colossus prevents Bishop from finishing Magneto and offers to join the Acolytes. Magneto accepts, much to the shock of everybody else. Xavier takes control of Magneto and uses his powers to push Avalon back into space. The result leaves him exhausted and hanging onto Magneto in space. Xavier begins to fall, but Archangel eventually catches him.

How It Was: Finally, the X-Teams actually crossover during the crossover. And for the most part, I think Lobdell makes this issue work pretty well. We are treated to some nice character moments from Professor X, Kitty, Colossus, and Bishop that explore each X-Man’s reaction to Illyana’s death. While there is a little bit of flowery narration, it still manages to fit the tone of the issue and doesn’t stand out too much. Unfortunately, with so many characters in one issue, a lot of them feel needlessly forced into the action; most characters have one line or fewer. Plus, with the inclusion of so many characters, it makes the absence of other characters readily apparent; for instance, how come Rachel Summers, Psylocke, and Moira MacTaggert don’t appear at all?

Although the funeral is important to the plot of this issue, the central focus is once again the appearance of Magneto. This is a very controversial take on the villain that tends to split fans. Many see Magneto as acting crazy in this issue by crashing a funeral, bringing his Acolytes with him, and killing one of them in front of everybody. It doesn’t lend much credibility to his followers that they don’t think twice after seeing Senyaka gutted. But I think what Lobdell and Nicieza are trying so hard to convey is Magneto’s frustration with the whole back and forth with the X-Men. For years he’s tried to conquer the world in an attempt to bring safety to mutants, but finally he’s fed up and realizes that he can’t save everyone. At the same time Cortez has betrayed him and he needs to make a statement of strength for all of those who do follow him. Why didn’t he use Cortez instead? Errr… well Cortez is needed for the Avengers/X-Men crossover Bloodties that takes place after Fatal Attractions.

The whole basis of Magneto’s character is that he believes he has to subvert humanity before they subvert mutants—by any means necessary, and this issue marks his realization that he can’t save all mutants (tying in quite well thematically to X-Force’s rejection of him in X-Force #25). As for Colossus’ decision to join Magneto, I think it has been set up very well for the last couple of months. Some people read Peter joining Magneto after seeing Senyaka murdered as stupid, but if you look at the dark place the character is in at this point, he really doesn’t have a lot to live for. He’s looking to lash out at the world, and he really doesn’t care about what happens to himself. So while many will argue with the directions certain characters take in this issue, I think that their actions are perfectly justified on the part of the writers.

On the other hand, I am less than impressed with the fight this issue. The Acolytes are wheeled out to give the impression of a potential battle royale, but then Magneto just shoves them back on Avalon. Even with all of his power, I find it hard to believe that Magneto can single handedly beat all four X-Teams by himself, and the fact that the heroes’ whole strategy relies on supercharging Bishop feels kind of gimmicky, especially when you take into consideration that Magneto is holding Avalon in the air while holding back the X-Men.

I think this issue does a great job with Magneto; people argue that the characterization isn’t true to Magneto, but what Lobdell set out to do was portray a Magneto on the brink, finally willing to begin his war on humanity after so many battles with the X-Men. The back and forth between Xavier and Magneto at the end of the issue shows that these are still the same characters, they are just more committed to their opposing philosophies than ever before. It may be a stretch for some readers, but you have to take into consideration that in the last Magneto story he was basically ready to retire, but he got pulled back into the conflict and it almost cost him his life. That’s enough to make anyone up the stakes. Plus the Magneto flashback sets up the fact that Magneto is both dangerously unstable and that he is tortured by the fact that he cannot control his fate and the fates of those he cares about. The end result is a more dangerous, more unpredictable Magneto, and that has to lead to nothing but good things for readers.

B+

X-Factor #92

X-Factor #92
Writing: Scott Lobdell and J.M. De Matteis
Art: Joe Quesada

What Went Down: Part 1 of Fatal Attractions: This issue opens with a nurse being interviewed by members of X-Factor about the Acolytes’ attack at a hospice that she worked at. Basically the Acolytes slaughtered everybody just for being human. Shortly after completing the interview, the nurse’s heart stops beating; X-Factor leaves as doctors file into the room to save her.

Unbeknownst to X-Factor, the Acolyte Scanner is using her power of astral projection to monitor the team. She reports to Fabian Cortez, who is insistent that he will soon have X-Factor member Quicksilver. He also abuses the girl when she questions the necessity of attacking harmless dying humans.

The rest of X-Factor meets up in a secure location where the Acolyte Spoor has been captured. The team wants to make him pay for the murders he’s committed, but their liaison Val Cooper stops them. Spoor acts defiant until Quicksilver walks in, after which the villain acts like he is in the presence of a god, since Quicksilver is the son of Magneto. Val decides to take Quicksilver and Random with her in case the Acolytes attack Project Wideawake, assuming that Quicksilver will have the same effect on the other Acolytes. The rest of the team decides to follow in a stealth craft powered by Polaris’ magnetic powers.

Along the way to the base, X-Factor glimpses Exodus in the villain’s first appearance; this is little more than a cameo, and we won’t learn his true purpose until the next issue of the crossover. At the military base, armed guards draw weapons on Val and company, but Quicksilver steals all of their guns. Inside, Random and Quicksilver discover that Project Wideawake is the codename for a new Sentinel project. The rest of X-Factor arrives just in time to be angry with Val. Surprisingly, Pietro sides with the humans, saying that the Acolytes justify the humans’ fear and caution.

Before the debate can get very far, the Acolytes do attack, and a fight ensues. Highlights include Multiple Man being forced to kill the Acolyte Mellencamp by creating a double inside of the villain, and Wolfsbane rescuing Senator Kelly. Fabian Cortez tries to convince Quicksilver to join them, but he refuses. Amelia Voght teleports all of the Acolytes away, and it is revealed that Val was being mind controlled by some green gunk in her stomach, explaining why she brought Quicksilver into a trap. Unfortunately for her, X-Factor is still angry that she hid the Sentinels’ existence from them prior to being controlled.

How It Was: This issue marks the beginning of Fatal Attractions, a very odd crossover where the issues involved don’t make up parts of a story; they just share a common story theme or villain. Apparently this was in response to some fans complaining about how much crossovers like the X-Cutioner’s Song set them back money-wise. The idea is that every issue in the series can be enjoyed independently of each other while still telling a fraction of the story of Magneto’s resurrection and attempt at domination. Of course, this meant that some of the issues only loosely connected to the other ones. And since the crossover is made up of six issues priced at $3.50, most fans ended up spending more money for half as many issues as the previous crossover. Oh well, at least the covers are cardstock and each contains a cool hologram on them. Those holograms are really fun to look at.

As for the story, this issue has probably the loosest association to the rest of the crossover. All that happens is that Cortez has the Acolytes attack sick people at a hospice because he is a jerk, and then X-Factor fights the Acolytes because… well the only reason I can think of is so that the other X-teams don’t feel the necessity to fight them later, and they don’t. The dialogue is still quite good despite the absence of series visionary Peter David. The comedic tone and emotional beats of the heroes feel just like David might have written them. Unfortunately, the Acolytes don’t fair as well, when all of their members either act like homicidal maniacs or idiots too stupid to question the tactical advantage of fighting dying hospital patients.

Overall, this issue just doesn’t contribute that much to the overall narrative of the crossover. The only moments to really take away from it are the brief appearance by Exodus, which gets fleshed out in X-Force #25, and the fact that Cortez identifies Quicksilver as the son of Magneto, which comes into play in the Bloodties crossover that takes place right after Fatal Attractions. So we have a bunch of plot elements that get resolved in other books. Like I said it’s missable, but the writing and art make this an enjoyable issue nonetheless.

B-

Uncanny X-Men #300

Uncanny X-Men #300
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Art: John Romita Jr. and Brandon Peterson

What Went Down: Surprisingly, we begin with a one page splash of Nightcrawler teleporting in. Even though at this point he is the leader of Excalibur, Professor X urgently contacts him to meet the team in France, presumably because he is a fan favorite character.

Right off the bat, Nightcrawler is attacked by Forge, but easily dodges the attack, proving to Forge that Kurt is who he says he is. Forge is paranoid since the bad guys have the ability to block Cerebro, so he gives Nightcrawler a device the X-Men will need to find them. Forge then leaves in a huff, mostly because he is angry at the other X-Men, mostly Storm.

Across town, the Gold Team, plus Cyclops and Wolverine, are searching the flaming MacTaggart estate to confirm that Moira is not in it. A mob of people show up, angry about an incident that occurred in Uncanny X-Men #200, but Xavier makes the mob think they left with his powers. This makes members of the team uneasy.

There’s a brief flashback depicting Charles showing Moira the prospective candidates for his first and second classes of X-Men during a picnic. This turns out to be an effect of the Acolyte Milan, who has the power to project people’s memories onto TV screens. Thrilling. Amelia Voght is introduced, who can teleport, and is questioning Cortez’s reasoning for keeping Moira alive after abducting her. Cortez wants Moira interrogated so he can attain the mind control serum that Magneto used on the X-Men in X-Men #1-3. Unfortunately for him, Moira also knows that Cortez is responsible for Magneto’s death, which could make things difficult for the current Acolyte leader. A young Acolyte named Neophyte shows compassion to Moira by bringing her food. The X-Men meet up with Nightcrawler.

In the Blackbird, after talking to Stevie Hunter, Colossus is whining about not being able to be with his sister. When Iceman tries to empathize, Peter rejects his feelings, pissing Bobby off.

Meanwhile, Moira tells Neophyte that Cortez killed Magneto as Bishop leads the X-Men to the Acolyte hideout. While Cortez talks to the Gamemaster about the Upstarts game, Neophyte “morphs” into the room (later his power is just referred to as phasing, like Kitty Pryde) and discovers the truth about Cortez. After being attacked by Cortez, a human woman tries to help Neophyte, but she is killed by more Acolytes.

The X-Men save Neophyte, then burst in to save Moira. A large fight ensues. The X-Men win, and Xavier discovers Amelia worshiping Magneto’s helmet. Their conversation also reveals that they have a history together, and she blames humans for the deaths of her loved ones.

Bishop catches up with Cortez, who uses his power to overwhelm Bishop with energy. Before Cortez can kill Bishop, Neophyte intervenes to save the X-Man. Wolverine stabs Cortez, and Neophyte rejects an offer to join the X-Men.

What Else Went Down: During the epilogue that takes place weeks later, Amelia teleports the injured Cortez to a new hideout. She seems unconcerned with Cortez’s attitude, causing him to worry whether she has discovered the truth about Magneto or not. The Gamemaster calls to let Cortez know that he lost all of his points. The reason, we later find out, is that Magneto is not dead at all.

At the mansion, Moira and Xavier are analyzing the virus Moira encountered in X-Factor. This is the beginning of the Legacy Virus storyline, which is about a virus that kills mutants, has no cure, and was set loose by Stryfe. As the two scientists discuss the severity of this virus, Colossus is tucking his sick sister Illyana into bed, implying to the reader that she has been infected with the fatal virus.

How It Was: Well it’s issue 300, so we get a double sized story and a shiny cardboard cover. Whoopee. Double-sized means a whole lot more space to fill, and fill it they do. Where to start? First off, this comic is overflowing with characters. We have the gold team, Wolverine, Cyclops, for absolutely no reason Nightcrawler, Forge for a second, plus about a dozen Acolytes. Of the Acolytes, two have distinctive personalities, and one of those is an idiot who can’t understand how humans can be nice. The rest of the poor Acolytes don’t have a single personality to share between themselves.

Nightcrawler’s inclusion should be exciting, but his purpose in the story is to literally stand around and wait for the X-Men to get there and give them something to further the story. As for the rest, Forge is acting crazy, Storm is complaining about Cyclops leading her team, and Iceman takes Colossus’ distraught attitude over his sister personally. None of it is really deep or interesting, and the heroes take far too long to find the bad guys. Stupid double pages.

Also there are a couple of inconsistencies. There is a brief mention of Milan destroying Moira’s memories by destroying the console, but nothing comes of it. Why does Cortez want the formula to Moira’s mind control serum when it doesn’t work very well, as seen in X-Men #1-3? And why is Stevie Hunter taking care of Illyana; what possible purpose does she have to still be hanging out with the X-Men?

Things pick up towards the end as the fighting is suitably flashy and has its moments (Jean throwing an Acolyte into the next time zone, Iceman crushing an Acolyte right behind Wolverine with a huge block of ice). I also like Cortez’s character and his attempts to manipulate his followers while being terrified that they might find out the truth. He’s a great weasel. Plus, there are some major revelations at the end of the issue that will drive this title for months to come.

The art is fantastic. John Romita Jr. joins the X-office and draws an impressive issue. Even the pages where the X-Men are looking through an empty flaming building are impressive to look at. My only regret with Romita is that he has a tendency to draw pages sideways so that you have to tilt the comic to read the panels; it annoys me to no end. This is an issue that could be cut in half and not suffer one bit. There is so much that is unnecessary that it really takes away from the better parts of this issue.

B-

Uncanny X-Men #298

Uncanny X-Men #298
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Art: Brandon Peterson


What Went Down: Professor X has secluded himself in the War Room for the last seventy-two hours monitoring news reports on mutant/human relations. Bishop enters to resign from the X-Men due to his failure to protect Xavier, but the Professor refuses to accept his resignation.

At a private school, former New Mutants supporting character Sharon Friedlander is preparing for the school day. She mentions that she is working in this place as a favor to Xavier before being knocked out by the Acolytes.

In the Danger Room, Jean Grey and Archangel are running a test to help Bishop and Gambit learn to work together. This is a major obstacle because Bishop believes Gambit is the traitor who in the future is responsible for killing the X-Men, and Gambit doesn’t really appreciate that.

Over in Central Park, supporting character, and on again/off again Archangel girlfriend, Charlotte Jones is jogging and contemplating her recent decisions. She meets Storm and Professor X to give him a file. While they are talking, Xavier receives a mental cry for help from Sharon. He contacts the X-Men and tells them to leave right away.

Back at the school, Tom Corsi, another New Mutants supporting character, is driving the school bus full of students to the school. He notices that nobody seems to be around right before the school explodes revealing the Acolytes and the unconscious Sharon (who next issue we learn is dead). The new Acolytes are as follows: the Kleinstock Brothers, Unuscione—the daughter of 60’s era X-villain Unus the Unstoppable, and Cargill—former member of the Axis of Evil. They also identify that their leader is Fabian Cortez, the man responsible for betraying Magneto in X-Men #1-3. Their mission is to find a latent mutant to add to their ranks and kill all the rest of the humans.

Right off the bat, one of the Kleinstocks gets killed by a shotgun blast from Corsi, leaving two. Unuscione uses her “psionic exo-skeleton” to grab him. She is about to kill him when the X-Men show up.

The X-Men battle the Acolytes. Events of note include Archangel being engulfed by flames and surviving. Also Cargill apparently knows Gambit because they call each other by their first names, but nothing ever comes of this. Unuscione finds the potential mutant, but he has Down’s Syndrome, so the Acolytes don’t want him anymore. The Kleinstocks start a fire near the bus, and the X-Men get to work trying to save the children. The flames get close to the gas tank, but luckily Storm shows up and puts out the fire.

The issue ends with Senator Robert Kelly on TV denouncing mutants and warning the public about the threat mutants pose. Professor X turns off the TV and looks very concerned.

How It Was: Very enjoyable. It appears that the X-Men once again have a direction as well as some interesting avenues to explore. Everything about this issue feels well constructed. The expansion of Bishop and Gambit’s relationship is very welcome, as is the direction for Professor X as refocused due to his recent near death experience. The fight with the Acolytes is really well done, mostly owing to the fact that Lobdell keeps the numbers down and only introduces us to five of the members (and one of them dies right away, so we don’t have to worry about him). The fight is also well paced and has some clever moments to it, such as Gambit’s use of a tire swing or Jean’s surprise at the Kleinstocks’ powers. My one regret is that the Acolytes’ powers are introduced, but none of their personalities go beyond narrow-minded zealot. On the other hand, Lobdell does get some great moments out of C-list supporting characters like Sharon Freidlander and Tom Corsi.

Peterson’s art looks really nice this issue; just look at the details in the computer screens and newspapers in Xavier War Room towards the beginning of the issue. Also, the room full of Archangels looks rather nice as well. A really good issue.

A