Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… For my last review this week I am doing a partial review. Time is just not on my side right now. Anyway here’s ‘X-Men Forever’. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Forever #12 (preview)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Tom Grummett
Inker: Cory Hamscher

NOTE: Wolverine does not appear in this issue

SPOILERS BELOW…

MY TAKE: X-Men Forever has been a mixed bag for a while and it partially depends on your ability to let go of the canon and look at the series with a fresh perspective. While I still do not agree with the setup, taken for itself this is a pretty good comic. The adventure in Russia is interesting and a good setup, plus I am excited for the new take on DarkChylde.

The characterizations are universally good, if a bit odd. The X-Men are certainly recognizable although it is a bit hard to relate to some of the decisions they make. Still Claremont knows how to write them and the dialogue is always entertaining. He is a little overly introspective here but he is very good at getting into the toon’s head and show exactly what makes them tick. I miss seeing the thought bubbles in the current comics and this is a nice little piece of nostalgia.

The plot is still pretty basic, several X-Men are looking for Illyana while the rest of the mansion deals with the revelations of the prior storylines. It is good to see Rogue getting some of the spotlight and having Jean step into the leader role has a lot of potential. The best moments are still being given to Sabretooth. He is taking Wolverine’s role but doing it with a great deal of style and personality. He is pretty much the same character from the Exiles and it is nice to see him return.

I am still not quite sure that I am completely sold on the title or the changes to the team but this storyline has been very good so far. I admit to being a bit prejudiced, in general, as I am usually a fan of anything with Illyana in it. But it this is definitely something different and interesting and I have enjoyed the take on Piotr so far as well. Next issue looks to really heat things up as we see the evil teenage Magik show just how strong she can be. I cannot wait.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… For my third review we have the next chapter of Necrosha in ‘New Mutants’ . Hope you enjoy it.

New Mutants #7 (preview)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Art: Diogenes Neves

NOTE: Wolverine does not appear in this issue

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Doug holding up Warlock’s severed head and then tossing it off the railing into the sea. Sunspot is in shock over Amara’s wounds but reports she is stable. Ramsey moves to attack and is suddenly overwhelmed by memories of his past life provided by the Techno-Organic strain from Warlock. The New Mutants move to attack the helpless man when they are interrupted by the appearance of the Devil.

Satan moves to claim the confused Doug as his own as the shocked team looks on. But the demon turns out to be one of Tarot’s cards and the rest of the Hellions are right with her. They start through the door but Dani is quicker and throws a knife initiating the emergency seal. Jetstream is the closest and he gets cut in half as the door slams closed.

The Devil apparition continues to confront the group until Illyana banishes it with her Soulsword. The group prepares to move out but Jetstream is not dead and flies forward to grab Doug. The rest of the Hellions break through and Ramsey pleads for the New Mutants to help him. Sam orders his people to teleport out. On the surface of the island a massive battle is raging.

The team debates what to do for a moment until Colossus is knocked into the group. Roberto helps him take down Stonewall and Piotr tells them to go and find Cyclops. But Roberto insists on getting Amara to the Infirmary. Sam splits them up sending Dani to help Sunspot and taking Shan and Illyana with him to go after Doug. Ramsey is being erased by the Hellions while under the sea a small lobster lands on Warlock’s head and its life force is absorbed.

MY TAKE: While I have not liked these tie-in issues quite as much as the previous ones, they are still some of the best comics being put out right now. The story is somewhat confined by the overall plot but that does not stop the excellent character moments and even genuine emotions from coming through.  These characters are written as real people and it is great to see just how much respect they are being given.

Everyone is given at least a moment or two to shine which is difficult to manage in a group title. Dani seems to be given the best lines for the most and her comment about the Hellions brought a chuckle from me. She was never one of my favorite New Mutants but she is climbing the list quickly. I liked Illyana’s comment to her brother the best, however. It was nice to see her address their mutual deaths even if it was just an offhand comment. Sam is starting to come into his own as the team leader too and it is great to see his self-confidence returning.

I was also happy to see the return of the Hellions as a team. I always enjoyed reading about them in the early New Mutants days and thought their deaths was a major waste of potential. I hope we see a bit more of them next issue though, they were pretty much just in the background here. I hope that they will stay around after the event and maybe even get Empath to rejoin as a member. They would make a very good reoccurring villain for the series.

There really is not much to complain about here but the plot is the weakest point. The setup is a bit silly and it definitely feels forced. While I loved the interaction between Illyana and her brother, the entire scene on the surface felt tacked on just to have the team involved in the bigger event. It also seemed odd that Magik could not teleport to the Infirmary considering her power allows her to go anywhere in space or time. However, I am glad that she is staying with Sam to confront the Hellions.

In the end this was another excellent issue from Wells and company. While the plot was dictated by the event and is not the most original, the characterizations were extremely strong and the comic read very well. This is a prime example of how to run a tie-in comic that keeps to the plot while allowing it to have its own voice. I did not expect to like these issues as much as I have and I am really looking forward to the conclusion next month.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… For my second review we have the next chapter of Nation X in ‘Uncanny X-Men’ . Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men #517 (preview | thread)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Art: Greg Land

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Nightcrawler telling Scott to shoot down the invading plane. Once Cyclops hears that there are five Predator Xs on board he blasts the jet from the air. Four of the monsters, and Scalphunter, survive the crash and begin to swim to shore. Cyclops readies the X-Men into two strike teams while Namor goes alone to tackle the first Predator to arrive.

The other monsters arrive in a group and Cyclops, the Cuckoos, Magneto, Betsy and Northstar attack one while Wolverine, Colossus, Iceman and Meltdown tackle the other. Rogue and Emma stay behind with the younger mutants to protect them. Magneto is able to strip the metal skin from one creature leaving it vulnerable. Iceman then freezes it and Colossus tackles it forcing the mouth open. Tabitha then drops a time bomb down its throat and it is finished.

Magneto is too exhausted to continue and Kurt ports him away. The rest of the team focuses on another Predator while the final one slips into the base looking to kill the younger mutants. Meanwhile Namor is still struggling with a Predator under the sea. But soon more of his Atlantians come to help, one of the warriors shooting a spear through the creatures neck.

The X-Men are not having much luck dropping their second Predator X. Jeffries blasts it with metal fragments and then Storm joins the fray and hits it with a massive lightning bolt. Cyclops blasts it again to keep it stunned and moves to check on the others. Facing the final Predator, Rogue takes the powers of seven of the Young X-Men and using them together is able to defeat the monster by herself, combining Dust’s and Armor’s powers to attack the monster from the inside.

Wolverine and Proudstar are trying to finish off the last enemy when the Cuckoos suddenly collapse and the Phoenix force leaves them. The others are thrown clear as the last remaining Predator charges Scott and is killed by a shot from Scalphunter. Scott takes charge in the aftermath ordering Scalphunter to the X-Brig, Emma to have Psionic help to remove the Void fragment and investigation into the origin of the Predators started. It ends with Greycrow meeting Danger in the virtual prison.

MY TAKE: This is a good and action-packed issue with a wide range of X-Men and their supporting cast. The plot was pretty weak considering the entire issue spanned only a few minutes worth of a battle, but the fast pace made it a real page turner. It did a good job at highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of the current X-Men team and even had a few good lines of dialogue mixed in.

Rogue in particular really stood out, especially her ability to take the powers of seven mutants and combine them all together to become a nearly unstoppable force. I did not really like how the New X-Men were portrayed like as scared and unsure  but it did lead to a very impressive scene with Rogue stretching herself to save them. She is fast becoming a must-read character.

There was one very interesting plot development though, the release of the Phoenix Force. Now we have seen the same thing twice which hopefully means that Jean is nearing her big return. Of course it could be going to Hope or some other host but it would be nice to see Jean back, the X-Men could use a cosmic level defender for the island. I am just glad that the Phoenix Force leaving Rachel is finally being followed up upon.

Still there were a number of small problems with the issue. Characters appeared and disappeared for no discernible reason, like Betsy showing up for a single panel and then never again. Or Jeffries popping up to help fight seemingly out of nowhere. Also the squads were confused with members jumping back and forth between the fights so that it was hard to tell who was fighting which creature. It also made no sense that the defeated Predator got back up fully healed and there were only a couple people there to fight it rather then the whole team. The latter did lead to an amusing scene with Cyclops though.

In the end the issue still read well and it was entertaining enough to look past the somewhat confused scenes. I am glad to see that they are going to deal with Emma’s mental corruption and that Magneto is being shown as human rather then all powerful. The story arc looks to have interesting developments happening now and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the arc to see how everything falls out.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Happy Thanksgiving for those that celebrate it. Here is my first review for the week ‘Wolverine: First Class’. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: First Class #21 (preview)
Writer: Peter David
Art: Scott Koblish

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Kitty, in the woods, running from a murderous Wolverine. He catches up to her and tackles her down a hill into the water. As he prepares for the killing blow, Shadowcat flashes back to the events of an hour previous. She was in the Danger Room training while Xavier, Logan and Piotr look on.

The Professor gives her a test to go through the whole room and all manner of objects to reach the door. Wolverine bets Colossus that she will do it in under thirty seconds and she succeeds beautifully. Logan then offers double or nothing and the bet is accepted. Kitty leaves the room and gets congratulations from Siryn before being knocked out by a flash of light.

Kitty wakes up to a mental message from Magneto who asks her to leave the X-Men to their fate. Her last word is defiance and then she is attacked by a mentally controlled Wolverine. Knowing she can not win the fight, Shadowcat flees only to realize that her  powers no longer work. She makes it to the elevator downstairs but Logan pursues closely. She manages to trick him briefly by leaving her boots in the hall and fleeing back upstairs. Kitty finds the rest of the X-Men still unconscious and runs from the mansion.

That is when we get back to her being knocked down into the water. She pulls herself out of the river only to be confronted by Wolverine again. Shadowcat fights back but soon figures out he is talking strangely. Putting the pieces together, Kitty figures out that she is still in the Danger Room and the whole situation was a trick. Kitty storms off as Wolverine collects tells Piotr he owes him forty dollars.

MY TAKE: This is a good issue and a very well done story in general. Kitty is the central character, which is not unusual for the title, and does an outstanding job of holding my interest. Her initial confidence is highly appropriate and leads into a a very nice little tale of both her physical and mental toughness. Although, in the end, it turns out to be nothing more then a training exercise, I really enjoyed her struggle to survive Wolverine’s assault.

The plot is extremely simple and the entire comic basically takes place in one room. And yet it still allows for some very interesting internal dialogue and smart actions. Kitty is definitely better when she uses her brain rather then her power and I was glad to see her not be able to rely on it in this issue. I would have preferred to see more of Wolverine in the comic, of course, since it is nominally his title. The bets with Piotr were pretty amusing but other then that he is not really given anything do to besides looking scary and clawing things.

The biggest problem I had with the whole comic was relevance and that is pretty minor. Having the story simply be a training exercise removed a lot of the weight of the issue. It is like having a tale that is a dream or a fantasy, hard to take seriously. But in this case Kitty’s actions were valid even though the threat was not real. Still it would have been nice for Kitty to have prevailed over a real threat rather then another training exercise.

In the end though, this was a strong and entertaining issue, one of the better ones we have seen from Peter David. The lack of a major guest star was nice but the greatest strength was the depiction of Shadowcat. She carried the story single-handed and does so with ease. If this is indeed the final issue of the series. as it seems to be, then I will greatly miss getting to read about Kitty’s adventures as a young X-Man. But if it is the end, the series went out on a high note and hopefully there will be enough interest to see a relaunch some day.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Due to my lack of free time, I am only going to do a review of ‘Wolverine: Origins’ and no recap. I will probably be doing more of these going forward.

Wolverine: Origins #42 (preview)
Writer: Daniel Way
Art: Doug Braithwaite

SPOILERS BELOW…

REVIEW: If I had to pick only one word to describe this issue it would be, pointless. If I added a second it would be, forgettable. That is not to say it is a bad comic, for Origins it is actually a good read, I just do not see the purpose of any of the story. Even if Logan kills Romulus, which he already proved he could, someone else would move into the role with just as big of a grudge against Logan, probably his son. So why bother? If you just want revenge then hunt him down again and finish him. All of this seems to be wasted time and effort.

Wolverine is acting like this is some unbeatable opponent, which we know he is not. And even if that is what Logan believes, then why go out of your way to recruit enemies/occasional, grudging allies to your cause? Wolverine is on four different teams and has more friends and trusted associates then pretty much anyone in Marvel. Many of those are master tacticians in their own right, it would be easy to come up with a plan and eliminate Romulus once and for all. It just makes no sense to go about it this way.

Of course if you can forget or forgive the plot then this is not a badly written issue. The scenes with Banner are decent if you can ignore the rather sudden change of heart. I was glad to see Cloak here although he seems to talk like William Shatner for some reason; all pauses. Even the Silver Samurai is well handled and an interesting addition to the group. Though why Logan needs help learning to use his own sword is a mystery.

In the end this is another issue that could have just as well been left unwritten. I had completely forgotten it two days later and had to scan through the issue just to remember the basics. It just seems so unneeded that I can not really process it well. Which is a shame because in other circumstances and with a different writer, this could be a very interesting and engaging story.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Next up is ‘X-Men: Legacy’. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men: Legacy #229 (preview)
Writer: Mike Carey
Art: Daniel Acuna

NOTE: Wolverine only appears in the background in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Rogue trying to contact the Cuckoos to give them a report. She is trying to hide from the ghost consuming creatures but the room has a device that keeps asking for coordinates. It does not take the monsters long to find her and the chase is on again. By pure chance Rogue flies through the room where Roxy is being held but she has very little time to reassure the girl before the creatures catch up. Rogue still can not use Trance’s sting and is not sure how she will survive to free the girl.

Back on the Utopia, Gambit confronts Scott about his decision to let Rogue go alone. Remy is furious and has to walk away because his Death persona had come to the fore. Gambit charges a card and it kills all the plant life in the area. In another area or the island, Nemesis and the X-Club are finishing up a machine that prevents teleporting and dimensional travel. They ask Ariel to test it by trying to teleport to the mainland. She only goes across the room in the opposite direction.

Back in Emplate space, Rogue has fled the lighthouse and is leading the monsters to the unsafe area outside. One by one her pursuers are caught and destroyed by the bigger and nastier creatures there. Rogue heads back to the house knowing that time is running out.

Emplate is interrupted by D.O.A. and told that Rogue was there. Marius is sure that the rest of the X-Men will not be far behind so he decides to kill Bling! and move his house to a safer location. Rogue goes back to the same room she was hiding in before and starts working with the machine to get a suitable destination. Back on Utopia, Nemesis is reporting his progress to Scott when the Cuckoos interrupt and tell Cyclops that Hope is waking up.

In Roxy’s cell, Emplate has come to finish her off. Even though he explains it, she does not seem scared. When he approaches, Bling! fires off a nasty energy attack and we see that Rogue was hiding inside her and can now use the sting attack. Rogue blasts D.O.A. as well which gives Marius time to recover. Rogue tries to attack him again but he has changed his density to match hers and the sting goes right through him. He punches Rogue and then moves to feed on her while D.O.A. blocks Roxy from helping.

MY TAKE: This is a pretty good issue despite having mostly second and third-tier characters and a silly ’90s villain in Emplate. I have talked about Marius before so I will not revisit him, other than to say that he works surprisingly well in this story. Rogue really comes through as well, showing that she has a lot of strength to carry a title if she is done well. With her current power set, she is not some unstoppable force, and there is actually an element of risk for her. It makes a massive difference.

The plot continues the rescue mission and does manage to advance the story even though about half of the issue was one major chase scene. The Gambit side plot has potential although it is a story we have seen before. I just hope that it is handled differently than Warren’s transformations otherwise it will become redundant.

The Nemesis story seems a little pat though. He was supposed to be finding a way to breach to the other dimension and instead invents a warning system to alert the X-Men of a new incursion, and to prevent Emplate from escaping. It ties well into Rogue’s plan but there is no reason that Nemesis would know what she was doing.

There are a few other points that seemed a bit too convenient and took away from the story. The biggest was the unlikely timing of Rogue learning to use Trance’s sting. She spent nearly two issues trying to figure it out and then suddenly just has it? It read like lazy storytelling. So did her just randomly flying through Roxy’s cell. The other problem was that none of the big monsters even tried to attack Rogue when she flew through their area.  Other prey aside, she should have gotten some attention from the creatures.

In the end though, I still found myself enjoying the story. Rogue is really being put through a wringer here and is still managing to prevail. She is becoming a very strong character and much more interesting. I am sure that most of the story shortcuts are being taken in an effort to shorten the tale for Necrosha. Still I would have preferred that the story have the time to develop naturally rather then use luck and chance as plot devices. But that is not enough to really hurt the issue and I am looking forward to seeing the conclusion next month.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Trying to get what I can finish done this week, the rest will be done with pellet reviews. First up is  ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: Weapon X #7 (preview)
Writer: Jason Aaron
Penciller: Yanick Paquette
Inker: Michel Lacombe

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Wolverine being blasted with fire hoses. Dr. Rottwell is trying to get Wolverine to pick up a weapon and defend himself but he refuses. The Doctor orders his helpers to beat Logan with electric cattle prods for his disobedience. The next day, in the cafeteria, Logan sees one patient abusing another but does nothing to help.

That night the abusive patient is seen with his hands cut off, being chased by some of the employees. Wolverine goes back to sleep and dreams about his past. He wakes up wondering about the claws in his nightmare. He starts to question why he is there since it does not appear they are trying to help him get well.

Three mobsters show up giving a password and wanting to use one of patients for an assassination. Rottwell shows him to the abusive patient who now has chainsaws for hands. The mobsters wanted something a lot more discreet and call to their boss to check things out. The doctor releases the killer who slays two of the men. Rottwell drugs the other then straps him down and then messes with his brain.

Another day in the cafeteria and the same victim is being hurt, this time by the guards. Logan starts to pop his claws but pulls back and does not interfere. The patient kills himself later. We see more scenes of Logan being abused and humiliated before he taken back to the shower room and hosed again. He is told he will be killed if he refuses to fight back and Wolverine finally snaps. Popping his claws and saying his name is Logan, Wolverine kills both of the guards to the delight of the doctor.

MY TAKE: This is a very interesting story although it does take a bit too long for Wolverine to remember who he is. I am definitely enjoying the tale though, since it is something new and different. We are finally being given a bigger picture of what the hospital is for and it is actually pretty logical. Tormenting and breaking people with mental problems to forge them into insane killers is a nice little twist.

Although Logan does not really work as a meek mouse, some of his introspection is very insightful. The rest of the characterizations are pretty strong. Rottwell is definitely coming into his own as a truly sick and twisted individual. The hospital itself is almost taking on a kind of personality and it will be fun to watch what the chainsaw handed inmate does.

I am still waiting for some sort of explanation on how they were able to capture and hold Wolverine so long or even affect his mind to this extent. The ending made it look like the doctor was surprised by the claws which only makes the whole thing more confusing. Wolverine has always been shown to be difficult to mentally manipulate and even harder to keep altered. It is hard to believe he could be so easily controlled unwittingly.

I was also starting to grow impatient by the slow pace throughout the issue. I certainly do not mind seeing less action-oriented and more-character focused stories. Many times they are the best ones. But this did not read like Wolverine’s personality and it was obviously a waiting game until he finally popped his claws and went to town. It just took nearly two full issues and that felt like overkill.

Still the story is engaging enough to give it some slack and the rest of the issues look to be both action packed and hopefully full of strange revelations. Wolverine fighting the chainsaw guy alone will probably be worth the combined cover price.

In the end this was a strong issue but it suffered a bit from the slow pacing. While I understand wanting to end the issue with Logan coming into his own and getting ready to take down the hospital, I think it would have been better have had it happen sooner. Still it does not hurt the story too much and I am really looking forward to the rest of the issues.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Last but not least for this week is ‘X-Men Forever’. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Forever #11 (preview)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Art: Tom Grummett

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with a mission in Russia. An agent is dropped from a transport plane without a chute but when he strikes the ground, we see it is Colossus. He is looking for two suits of stolen Crimson Dynamo armor. He knocks the first one down quickly, but the second blasts him. He is saved by an kinetic charge from Gambit. The first suit gets back up but is disrupted by Kitty.

Colossus greets his friends but the reunion is cut short by his contact, the Black Widow. It is quickly clear that Piotr and Natasha are more than friends. Gambit, Kitty and ‘Ro explain that they came to check on Colossus when he did not show for Logan’s funeral. They decide to stay for a bit and help the Winter Guard.

Back at the Mansion, Rogue and Sabretooth get into a fight over his not bothering to do his dishes. Jean lets them blow off steam. She goes to talk to Beast about finding a cure for mutants burning out at a young age. Fury and Xavier have a long talk about facing up to mistakes and doing what you can to get past them. Fury is harsh in order to shake Charles from his self-doubt.

Back in Russia, the rest of the X-Men have dinner with Piotr and Natasha in the Winter Guard’s secret base. Remy flirts with the Widow but it becomes obvious that the two Russians only have eyes for each other. We then see Piotr’s sister, Illyana, walking house from class. She is picked up by a stranger in a black car who says it is time for Magik to return.

MY TAKE: This is a decent story and I am glad to see both Colossus and Illyana enter into the series. Magik is one of my favorites and Piotr is a very strong character in his own right. Unfortunately, not much happens of any note. We have several pages dedicated to a fight over the dinner dishes after all. Hopefully, the plot will pick up speed next issue.

Claremont’s strength is his dialogue and the characters do read well, although it is not always the way we would expect them to behave. Still, there are plenty of good scenes of interaction, a highlight being Xavier and Fury’s conversation. I was glad to see how well Jean was handling her sudden promotion too. Not sure if Scott is meant to be gone for good but it is nice to see Phoenix having a larger role on the team.

I think that I have finally accepted that this series has absolutely nothing to do with canon or the main Marvel Universe. I did not bat an eye at Piotr’s sudden change to being part of the Winter Guard (something he never showed interest in) or having a relationship with the Black Widow. Not sure why she would be back in Russia either but then it does not really need to make sense. This is clearly Claremont’s world so he can do what he wants with it. It would be nice to have a bit more explanation on the changes though.

I did, however, have a bit of a problem with Colossus’  handling of Kitty. While their relationship has been in flux a lot over the years, you would think he would have made some effort to let her know he was involved with someone. It also seemed out of character for Colossus to not even call for Logan’s funeral. They were friends and teammates for a long time and ignoring that seems very out of character for Piotr.

In the end this was an entertaining comic where very little actually happened. It was focused on minor points and dialogue rather than on really advancing the plot. I do enjoy character interactions but not at the expense of the story. There was no need to spend any real time with the X-Men at the mansion either since the main story did not involve them. Hopefully the focus can be tightened in order to advance the plot in the future.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Next up from this week is ‘Uncanny X-Men: First Class’. Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men: First Class #5 (preview)
Writer: Scott Gray
Art: Nelson Decastro & Scott Koblish

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Xavier flying to the Starcore One space station in Astral Form. The place has been demolished and Xavier finds Peter Corbeau and the rest of the surviving personnel being tortured by the Knights of Hykon. The Knights are arguing, one wants to invade Earth immediately but the leader, Burning Moon, wants more knowledge about it first. He then senses Xavier and is able to catch and hold his astral form. The alien pillages Charles’ mind before sending his companions to Earth. One, Sky Song, is to scout and the other, Cloud Runner, to mark the Earth as theirs.

At Xavier’s, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Banshee are sitting in the kitchen waiting for the call to action. Logan gets restless and goes for a walk as Sean decides to check on the others’ progress. Scott, Moira and Lilandra are monitoring Xavier who has yet to return to his body from his mental scouting trip.

Back in the kitchen, neither Kurt or Piotr notice Sky Song’s arrival. But when Wolverine returns he is able to sniff her out and attack. Colossus tries to talk to the alien but she easily knocks him through the wall. Wolverine presses his attack but is unable to hurt Sky Song and is soon disabled. Nightcrawler’s attack fares no better.

Cyclops and Banshee enter the fray and are still not able to breach Sky Song’s defenses. Colossus hurls the diving board at her but she easily knocks it aside with a conjured sword. Scott laments not having Jean and Storm there to help keep her contained.

The two X-ladies are having problems of their own in New York. Jean hears Charles’ psychic scream and then they see Cloud Runner’s marking. He has made the whole sky burn and spew fiery rain. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury discover the origin but unfortunately neither the Avengers or the Fantastic Four are available to help.

The X-Men are still not having any luck with Sky Song. Kurt teleports in and grabs her sword but when he goes to bamf out something goes horribly wrong with his ‘port. Fury orders the Helicarrier to attack Cloud Runner who fights through the barrage then grabs and throws the helicarrier like a toy.

Sky Song stops playing with the remaining X-Men and takes Scott, Piotr and Sean down quickly. Moira shows up in time to see Banshee fall. As she cradles him, another figure steps out, it is an unknown Knight of Hykun. Another new Knight has appeared in Central Park. Jean and Storm intercept and Jean is taken out quickly. Storm attacks with a wind storm which is interrupted when she sees the helicarrier falling towards her.

MY TAKE: This is a very good start to the new story arc. The character pieces, of the past four issues, were a mixed bag but this feels a lot more like a classic X-Men tale. There was a lot more action here as well as more actual interaction amongst the team. They have a strong adversary in the Knights and it should be interesting to see how the villains are dealt with.

There is not a lot of motivation for the Knights but then they seem to be a warrior race so they do not really need a reason to invade. The plot is simple but well done and explained. Using Corbeau is a nice tie in to get the X-Men involved early and I was glad to see a mention of both the Avengers and Fantastic Four. It made this seem to be a global event and really gave the story a broad scope.

Of course that ties into my biggest problem with the story. It is so huge that it is hard to fit it in regular continuity. A world wide fire storm and a massive alien attack should have made some sort of impact in history. Also, the Knights are so unbelievably powerful that it seems nearly impossible for the X-Men to prevail. The entire team could not manage to even scratch one member of the Knights and there are at least five of them. Hopefully the story does not end up feeling forced because of that.

I am also a bit confused at where the other two Knights came from. We had only ever seen three throughout the series and suddenly others appear without any explanation. Maybe it will be addressed but the X-Men certainly did not need to have more of a threat to deal with.

In the end this is still one of my favorite issues of the series so far. There is good conflict and a fun and original villain to fight. We finally get to see the whole team in action which is something I have been eagerly awaiting. I just hope there is a smart and logical conclusion to the story arc and we get some indication as to why there has been no mention of the Knights in the present.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Starting the books that actually came out this week now. First up is ‘X-Force’.  Hope you enjoy it.

X-Force #21 (preview)
Writer: Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost
Art: Clayton Crain

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with the Vanisher, in Portugal, feeling very badly despite being in bed with three women. Realizing he really has a brain tumor, he teleports to Utopia for a cure from Elixir. Unfortunately he lands in the middle of the fight between the X-Men and the Hellions. Scott orders him to take Emma to safety but Vanisher is more concerned about Josh’s safety.

We get quick views of more X-Men fighting a bunch of newly resurrected mutants including former allies Feral, Stonewall, Super Sabre, Tower, Darkstar and Rusty Collins. Warren, Warpath and Prince Hrimhari are fighting Pyro and a couple of Morlocks. They survive the initial attack from Pyro, and Warren notes that they still feel dead, before the Techno-Organic zombies attack again.

On Genosha, Eli Bard informs Selene that he has lost contact with Doug Ramsey. The Black Queen has plans for him and orders the Hellions to find Cypher. We see Jetstream still blasting Wolverine into the air. With the recall, he drops Logan from a massive height and returns to the island. The rest of Emma’s old students break away from combat. Before Scott can have someone follow them, Banshee arrives and attacks.

Sean breaks off after a brief moment of lucidity and Scott orders the Cuckoos to find Selene. Proudstar gets knocked into Blindfold’s room and she tells him that James’ brother is waiting for him. Before he can question her, Risque shows up. She tries to restrain herself and tells Proudstar that Bard is the one who raised them. But she is forced to attack in the end.

Archangel is left alone and slices his two attackers open with his wings only to find out that the Techno-Organic mutants can repair themselves. The other Morlock is chasing Hrimhari and Rahne who is still badly suffering. They are saved by Nemesis and Laura and quickly joined by Vanisher. The injured are looking for Josh but he is still incapacitated.

In the holding facility, Leland and Shinobi Shaw are trying to kill Sebastian Shaw and Empath. Danger arrives and stops the attack but her strikes fail to kill the attackers due to their nature. Back on Genosha, Bard starts to raise all the dead mutants. His activity is detected by Bastion and the Cuckoos. The resurrections are soon in the millions.

MY TAKE: This is an action-filled issue that really manages to make you feel like the X-Men are the underdogs. It has been awhile since it seemed like they had a real and true threat to their lives. There are so many members with such a wide array of power and experience that is takes an army of villains to defeat them. That is what we get here.

There is not much time for characterizations, but Vanisher still managed to steal several scenes. I am still not sure he was the best choice for the team but he injected a lot of good humor here. Though if he did not believe there really was a tumor in his head not sure why he went along with the group for as long as he did. Still I am glad to see him back with the group.

The plot is simplistic but effective. Selene is keeping the X-Men busy, and hopefully killing a few, while engineering her Resurrection Event. Still it works well with some interesting matches and a general feeling of being overwhemed. There are also some nice tie-ins for other parts of the plot and story lines that make everything feel connected and happening at the same time.

Unfortunately the frantic pace is also the biggest weakness. The resurrections come so fast and close together that is is hard to feel any impact from them, even the ones that were not spoiled ahead of time. I have always liked the character of Rusty Collins and wanted him to come back, but by the time it came up, the scene garnered a shrug rather then a gasp.

The art was also a bit of a problem. I do like the dark and painted look most of the time, it fits very well with the over all tone of the series. But it works best when you have a small cast of characters. In this case, with so many figures, it became hard to identify them. It took me several panels, for example, to understand who was in the scene with Wolverine and Jetstream.

In the end, this was a strong and action-packed issue that really upped the ante for the Necrosha storyline. I am definitely excited about what is coming up for this story and do hope some of these characters get to stay around after the end. I do hope they slow the pace of the resurrections and it becomes a bit clearer what is going on. But so far the story is very good and the next issue looks to be excellent.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.