This Week In X-Books - 10/01/2018

Honourable Mention: Secret Warriors #12

This issue really shouldn't be here. It's connections to the X-Universe are barely represented, having resolved the Mister Sinister plot line last issue and Magik appearing in a very small capacity, but I just couldn't resist. This is a masterclass in finale issues. 

Taking the setting of a games night, the Secret Warriors face not a villain or machiavellian plot, but each other. It is such a bizarre way to wrap up a superhero book and that is precisely why it works so well. It's not just cool seeing a Marvel Universe version of risk, it's cool seeing long-running interpersonal strife come to the forefront and have a chance to be resolved. The issue does well in not dwelling on the sombreness of the books own ending and this humility let's a reader experience that feeling on their own accord. There are the never-ending story platitudes, as everyone leaves games night suggesting they'll be there when needed, but the ending is felt in every great character interaction or comedic moment. 

You do get the feeling Magik only turned up here because the X-Office editorial had no place for her in actual X-Books, she leaves quickly and makes a point of saying that she never really belonged. Her seeming emotional confession is undermined by Quake, one of the book's actual cast members, to humorous effect. Whilst I'm not usually one for seeing a favourite character undermined or made the butt of a joke, Rosenberg makes it work (as he did with the X-Men's appearance in the Secret Empire tie-ins also). Even as an X-Fan, I'm completely aware that a Magik solo isn't what this book was.

What this book was though, was an underrated, sleeper hit that I have no doubt will be fondly remembered in years to come. 

3: X-Men Gold Annual #1

The main story here really isn’t that appealing. It has one or two moments where it tries (and fails) to have some character exploration, but is mainly just a generic, one-off superhero romp. This isn't all bad, one of Gold's strengths is that it has really felt that the X-Men are one of the Marvel Universe's premiere superhero teams and stories like this reaffirm that. Yet, as an Excalibur reunion, it fails to recognise what made that book successful; its unconventionality. Brian says nothing of value, Meggan's characterisation is reverted by a decade or so and Kitty Pryde doesn't even get to wear her classic Shadowcat costume. Boo!

Possibly the biggest problem here is the handling of Brian and Meggan's baby, an underdeveloped, mystical (?) super-genius. I really don't know why the baby is so smart, it isn't developed in this story. It's more or less presented as fact, something I should know going into this story. Beyond some seemingly missing information though, the baby is just an annoying gimmick that doesn't really provide any compelling drama. There is a moment with Meggan where she is in turmoil over the baby being smarter than her, but this isn't given the time or the weight that it needed to be emotionally affecting. I will say though that it was almost worth it, just for the opening sequence of a stork landing at the X-Mansion (Oddly, it would appear Brian and Meggan informed their former teammates of their baby, but not Psylocke, Brian's sister).

The back-up story is what you really want to read. It's a bit cheesy and has some less than stellar dialogue in places, but this is the story Storm fans have been dying to see for some years now. Despite being one of the most recognisable and important X-Men, not to mention superheroes in general, Storm has been receiving the short end of the stick for some time now. Her poor characterisation in Extraordinary X-Men got her demoted from leader and saviour of mutantkind to a character who is lucky if she gets to shoot a single bolt of lightning in an issue. Guggenheim's complete disregard for Ororo since the X-Men Prime one-shot is a shadow that looms heavy over the series as a whole, but this story does some work to resolve that.

Storm may be the subject of the story, but we see her through the perspective of a X-Men-loving child and her aunt. This works on multiple levels, as it gives us both a grounded story and a backdrop of classic super-heroics. The super-heroics help reaffirm the girl's mission to meet her favourite superhero, whilst also doing what I previously mentioned as a Gold standard, building up the X-Men as a premiere super team.

It's a nice mark for how far the X-Men as a franchise have come since the last flagship annual. There are no death mists or prisons or under-explained status-quo elements, both stories are a lot more hopeful. They are also both heavily nostalgic, drawing on elements very much in tune with the wider Marvel Legacy initiative. A harken back to an old team, to an older, more optimistic view of super-heroics. This annual doesn't have a lot of depth, but it is a fun time nonetheless.

2: Phoenix Resurrection #3

Minor spoilers ahead.

Phoenix Resurrection will, more than likely, be more enjoyable when read as a trade. Each
issue feels more like a chapter in a book than it's own comic book, so it has felt like we took more
time to arrive at this destination than we usually would have. Now we are here though, Rosenberg
pulls out a lot of fantastic stuff. It's clear now that the core of this book is not in a super powered
conflict between X-Men and the Phoenix, but rather is heavily leaning into the mystery of Jean's
return. The X-Men are more detectives than they are a super-team and this pays off with how
uncomfortable and disconcerting Jean's alternate reality makes you feel. The great trick established
in previous issues of having known mutants appear in this uncanny valley styled town continues
here, meaning the reader always knows there is something more disturbing going on than it seems.

Possibly the most interesting addition to the mystery may just be the presence of an open casket. While everyone knows Jean is returning, this shows us that her resurrection won't be a standard retcon, where Jean had never died in the first place. Jean was buried and then she was unearthed. We are left with the X-Men standing on the precipice of discovery and can only wait to see how the mystery unfolds.

Emma Frost’s appearance is probably the greatest missed opportunity of the issue. She isn't as biting as we'd expect her to be, there is no hint at the special relationship between her and Kitty (particularly as this is their first interaction since Emma's actions in Inhumans Vs X-Men) and she doesn't seem to actually deliver that much to the story. If this creates continuity conflict with the character's appearance in the Jean Grey solo series, then it really isn't justified. We will have to wait until that series' final issue to find out though.

Despite Jean’s occasional Mr. Blobby face, the art is more or less serviceable. It doesn’t really compare to the previous issues, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is the series’ art low-point, but it certainly isn’t enough to detract from the good here.

And the good far outweighs the other slight I have with the issue. I'd have liked to have seen more of Rosenberg's wide X-Roster, but as the story narrows in scope so must the cast. It was good while it lasted, my beloved Team Yellow. The world and story Rosenberg has built is a testament to his strengths as a writer, it is no wonder he makes this list twice in one week.

1. X-Men Blue #19

Far and away, this was my favourite book this week. I've always rated Blue highly, as I'm a massive fan of Cullen Bunn's work on the X-Books, but issues like this are where I truly feel justified in supporting a book. The Cross-Time Capers storyline is now four issues in, with this being far and away the most significant issue so far. Having previously destroyed reality and sent the X-Men on a quest through an alternate history, Bunn now finally brings us to the inception of the team's problems. This is the issue that justifies the whole arc. Where as the previous issues dealt primarily with fan service and developing the effects of the deteriorating timeline, #19 finally gives us the X-Men at their destination. As a whole, perhaps the Cross-Time Capers can be criticised for wasting a lot of time with those previous issues, but that is not a mark on this issue, which uses its page count wisely. The final page will be somewhat predictable to those who have been following the series, but will blow you away nonetheless.

It is difficult to discuss this without spoiling its most compelling reveal, but even before that moment you have a great concept and execution. The time-displaced X-Men reconciling with their own time's version of Magneto works. The humorous build-up to Jean's confrontation with said Magneto works. There is urgency, there is a sense that we are finally addressing the core conflict of the arc. There is very little to fault here. Bloodstorm and Jimmy take a backseat, but not unexpectedly so, as this is the original five X-Men seeing the time from which they were displaced.

R.B. Silva's art goes to show he is one of the most significant artists working on the X-Books today. His arc on X-Men Gold, his Generations: Phoenix one-shot and, now, the majority of the Cross-Time Capers arc, have all rendered the stories beautifully. There's a kinetic energy to his work that really pays off in action sequences, but his quiet moments often feel just as impressive. His Magneto is glorious and helps lend him the gravitas this particular, more unhinged version of the character requires.

Last issue's Generation X story may edge ahead slightly in my own personal rankings, but that is simply because it was an issue that felt so entirely tailored to me and my own nostalgia for the Generation X team. This issue is much stronger in the wider terms of the storyline, of Blue and of the time-displaced X-Men themselves. The plot twist is the biggest shake to their core status-quo since Dennis Hopeless' All-New X-Men finale. Issue #20 will have a lot to do, being the last issue in the story and having a lot of elements to address before bringing reality back to normal. I question whether Bunn will have the page space to adequately address everything, leaving me somewhat anxious of how the story will wrap up. Regardless, this has been an overall entertaining story, so I'm interested to see how Bunn ends it.

That next issue really cannot come quickly enough, thankfully, it is only a two week wait.