All New XMen #10 Review

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All New X-Men, Brian Michael Bendis, Cyclops, Marvel Comics, Marvel Now, Scott Summers, Stuart Immonen, The Beast, The Original X-Men, The Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, X-Men

All New X-Men #10

Review by Paul Bowler

 

Now that the shape shifting mutant know as Mystique has got Lady Mastermind to join forces with her and Sabertooth, they attack an armoured truck which is about to be used to transfer 18 million dollars in North Carolina. Mystique uses her abilities to take the place of the driver, while Lady Mastermind creates the illusion that Wolverine and the Original X-Men are attacking the truck, leaving Sabertooth free to cut a swathe through the security. Satisfied that their first haul has gone so well, Mystique and her team make plans for more robberies.

Meanwhile the Uncanny X-Men have teleported onto the front lawn of The Jean Grey School of Higher Learning. The modern-day Cyclops tells the X-Men that he has come in peace, revealing how he is building a new school in Xavier’s name, before offering to accept any Mutants who wish to be recruited and trained as part of his mutant revolution.  An uneasy standoff ensues, old friends now stand divided, and the original X-Men are caught in the middle.

After the Uncanny X-Men have teleported away to give the student’s time to consider Scott Summers proposition, Wolverine, Kitty, Storm, Iceman and the Original X-Men gather in the school to discuss their options. They receive a call from Maria Hill telling them about Mystique’s attack on The Raft, warning them that Regan Wyngarde is now free, and working with Mystique and Sabertooth to carry out a bank robbing spree.

Outside the young Scott Summers is waiting on the lawn when Cyclops and the Uncanny X-Men return. He confronts them as the others rush to join him outside the school, but Cyclops is not prepared to listen to his younger self. No one is really surprised when Celeste, “Mindee“, and Phoebe Cuckoo decide to join the Uncanny X-Men, but everyone is shocked by the next person who steps forwards and volunteers to join Cyclops and his mutant revolution…

All New X-Men #10 is another spectacular character driven piece by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. With this issue Bendis really gets to the core issues that surround Scott Summers mutant revolution, delving deep into the morality of his actions, while allowing him to finally make his case to his fellow Mutants in person.

Its interesting how the Beast is held to task for his actions by Cyclops, forcing him to justify his reasons for potentially damaging the space time continuum by allowing the Original X-Men to remain in the present. The young Scott Summers also confronts Beast, saying that he believes he misled them about his reasons for brining them to the future.

Stuart Immonen’s art on All New X-Men #10 is just phenomenal, every page is bursting with detail, and he perfectly captures every nuance of Bendis’ highly emotive story as tensions threaten to boil over between the two teams. All New X-Men continues to remain one of the best X-Titles around, with great storytelling and art, it doesn’t get much better than this.

All New XMen #9 Review

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All New X-Men, Angel, Brian Michael Bendis, Cyclops, Iceman, Jean Grey, Kitty Pryde, Marvel Comics, Marvel Now, Mystique, Original X-Men, Sabertooth, Sentinels, Stuart Immonen, The Beast, X-Men

All New X-Men #9

Review by Paul Bowler

 

After encountering his future self, Warren helped his metal winged counterpart defend Avengers Tower from an attack by Hydra, but after witnessing both Angel’s in action the Avengers decide to return with them to the school where the Beast explains the situation to Captain America. When the Avengers leave Angel breaks into Hank’s lab, determined to return to his own time. The young Jean Grey intervenes, shocking everyone when she uses her newfound telepathic powers to forcibly alter Warren’s mind and make him stay.

The original X-Men face one of their toughest challenges yet in All New X-Men #9 when Kitty decides its time for their first training session in the Danger Room. With the exercise set against the backdrop of Times Square, the young X-Men struggle to cope as they find themselves attacked by the Sentinels. After her students fail to work together as a team, Kitty ends the training programme, and encourages them to discuss how they went wrong.

As they head for their next class, Jean telepathically pries into Scott’s mind, and asks him who Mystique is. Kitty is horrified that Scott didn’t tell them about Mystique, but he refuses to discuss it, and storms out of the room.

Meanwhile a Maria Hill arrives at The Raft by helicopter with a new prisoner for the Ryker’s Maximum Security Installation, the Mutant known as Sabertooth! Once inside the facility Sabertooth breaks free of his shackles and tears the guars apart, leaving Mystique free to sheds the disguise of Maria Hill and release Lady Mastermind from her cell. Mystique has a proposal for Regan, one that involves using their extraordinary powers to get rich!

Back at The Jean Grey School of Higher Learning the young Angel questions the Beast about why there is no sign of the mutant genocide he told them about. Hank explains how hopes the presence of the original X-Men will make this eras Scott Summers see reason, that he brought them here to avert a disaster, not to witness a mutant genocide. However, the school day is suddenly brought to an abrupt end, when some surprise visitors materialise outside…

All New X-Men #9 is another outstanding character driven piece by Brian Michael Bendis. I really like the dynamic that Bendis has built up between Kitty and the original X-Men. She has forged a great relationship with her students, helping them learn from their mistakes, and it’s good to see Kitty addressing the way Jean has been abusing her telepathic powers. When it emerges that Cyclops has been approached by Mystique it leaves everyone stunned, especially as he refuses to talk about it, leaving us wondering exactly what he intends to do next. One of the best aspects of All New X-Men is the way Bendis has taken the time to allow the story to evolve at a natural pace, although it might by a bit too wordy and slow for some, I feel its one of this books strongest points.

We also discover more about Mystique’s plans, and that her agenda involves more than simply manipulating the young Scott Summers doubts about his mission. The way Mystique organizes Lady Mastermind’s escape from The Raft with Sabertooth is brutal in its simplicity, as Sabertooth quickly disposes of the guards, leaving Mystique free to make a deal with Regan that will enable them all to become extremely rich.

It’s also nice to see Angel finally getting to play a more active role, after being effectively sidelined for the most part, his conversation with the Beast in his lab offers us a greater insight into the reasoning behind Hank‘s actions. The way that Beast makes Warren realise how events could unfold if he hadn’t acted is truly inspired. Faced with only two possible outcomes, Hank sought out a third, and in doing so he believes that the shock of seeing original X-Men will bring Scott Summers to his senses and end his call for a mutant revolution.

All New X-Men #9 features the return of Stuart Immonen to the series with some incredible action set-pieces as the original X-Men take on the Sentinels in Times Square. This spectacular sequence is the highlight of the issue, the Sentinels look amazing, and it’s great to see the original X-Men going up against them. Immonen is also equally adept at the quieter moments that punctuate the action, perfectly capturing every emotional beat and facial expression, particularly when Kitty and Jean clash over the way she keeps sneaking a look at everyone’s thoughts.

Together with Bendis’ time warping storyline and Immonen’s stunning art, All New X-Men continues to build on its original premise, and with yet another fantastic cliff-hanger it remains one of my favourite titles from Marvel Now.

All New XMen #8 Review

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All New X-Men, Angel, Avengers, Avengers Tower, Brian Michael Bendis, Cyclops, David Marquez, Hydra, Iceman, Jean Grey, Marvel Comics, Marvel Now, Original X-Men, Scott Summers, The Beast, Warren Worthington III, Wolverine, X-Men

All New X-Men #8

Review by Paul Bowler

 

The adventures of the original X-Men continue to be as enthralling as ever in All New X-Men #8 when the young Warren Worthington III finally encounters his future self. He takes to the sky with this metal winged Angel of the future, trying to keep up with his present day counterpart, but their flight is cut short when they notice Avengers Tower being attack by Hydra. The winged Mutants swoop from the sky to defend Avengers Tower, keeping Hydra’s forces at bay with their combined speed and agility, before the Avengers arrive to lend a hand.

When the Avengers find themselves confronted with the bizarre sight of two Angels, they return with the Mutants to the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning where the Beast does his best to explain to Captain America why the original X-Men are currently residing in the present – even though their presence could be potentially jeopardising to the space time continuum. Before the Beast can finish explaining, the Avengers are left dumfounded when the young Scott Summers intervenes and assures Captain America that he intends to make up for everything his future self has done.

Satisfied that the Beast has the situation under control, Captain America and the Avengers take their leave, but moments later an alarm sound from Hank’s lab. They rush to the lab where the young Angel is trying to activate the Time Cube so he can return to his own time. Warren’s team mates try to get him to calm down, but he refuses and says he wants to leave and go home, unaware that Jean Grey is about to intervene and change his mind for him…

All New X-Men #8 is another amazing issue in Brian Michael Bendis’ time warping saga of the Original X-Men’s exploits in the present day. It’s been a long time coming, but this issue Bendis finally throws the spotlight on Angel, who has had the most difficult time coping with his visit to the future. The way he interacts with his future counterpart is skilfully handled by Bendis, who shows that Angel is just as agile as his future self, and more than capable of handling himself in the fight with Hydra.

The scenes where the two Angels are flying together are beautifully realized by David Marquez, his art captures the glorious freedom that comes with the power of flight, and leaves us giddy with excitement as they swoop in to attack Hydra’s forces. Here the differences between the two Angels becomes even more apparent, with the youthful Warren proving to equally as adept in combat as his metal winged self. Their fighting styles stand in marked contrast to each other, yet together they make a formidable team, and it’s great to see the bemused look on the Avengers faces when they realize they are looking at two Angels from different time zones.

The young Scott Summers also makes a scene stealing entrance when he interrupts Captain America and the Beast, quickly defusing the tension in his own inimitable way, utilizing his natural leaderships skills in a way that gives both teams cause to sit up and take notice – even Wolverine seems impressed.

One of my favourite moments is where Beast is trying to explain what’s happened to Captain America, while just out of earshot, Iceman and Kitty Pryde hilariously mimic the seriousness of their conversation. Iceman’s take on what Captain America might be saying is absolutely hilarious, and as for Kitty’s “blah blah, blah” rendition of Hank McCoy’s incomprehensible techno babble, well, that is simply priceless. It’s writing like this by Brian Michael Bendis that makes All New X-Men so endearing and special.

However, it’s not all played for laughs. The scene were Warren decides to return to his own time is one of the pivotal moments in All New X-Men #8. His angry outburst leaves his team mates reeling when he states that his future would be safer if he had nothing to do with them anymore. It’s a great character moment for Angel. Right from the outset, The Original X-Men have failed to acknowledge any of Warren’s concerns about their trip to the future, it was clear he was having a hard time coping, so it was inevitable something like this was going to happen sooner or later.

What is really astounding about this issue is the way Jean Grey uses telepathy to alter Warren’s thoughts to make him stay. This blatant abuse of Jean’s newfound powers is quite shocking, and it offers a wealth of possibilities for Brian Michael Bendis to explore in the issue ahead. With its engaging plot and superb characterization, All New X-Men #8 is another thrilling issue by Bendis and Marquez, and remains one of the best X-Titles around at the moment.

All New XMen #5 Review

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All New X-Men, Angel, Brian Michael Bendis, Cyclops, Hank McCoy, Iceman, Jean Grey, Marvel Comics, Marvel Girl, Marvel Now, Original X-Men, Scott Summers, Stuart Immonen, The Beast, Wolverine, X-Men

All New X-Men #5

Review by Paul Bowler

While the young Hank McCoy works tirelessly to find a cure for the Beast’s life-threatening Next-Generation Mutation, he enlists the help of Jean Grey’s newly emerging telepathic powers to connect them all psychically while he tends to his future self’s physical form. After discovering a link between the Beast’s condition and the formula he once used to alter his own mutation, which occurred in the classic anthology series Amazing Adventures #11 (1972), Hank McCoy begins to work on finding the flaw in the Beast’s original formula.

In Texas the Student who found out he was a Mutant when the X-Men clashed last issue finds his life has been turned upside down by the media frenzy it caused. Benjamin Deeds has been kicked out of school for no apparent reason other than being a Mutant, and he soon finds that his friends are not prepared to stand up for him either. As he leaves the campus Benjamin is greeted by Cyclops who offers him to the chance to join his team of X-Men and learn how to use his powers. When Benjamin agrees, Cyclops calls Illyana to teleport them to the Weapon X Facility – where Scott is building The New Charles Xavier School for the Gifted.

Back at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning preparations are underway in the lab, while Hank and Headmistress Kitty Pryde work on the formula, the Beast and Jean Grey continue to talk psychically. When the Beast tries to discuss Jean’s opinions on the future, particularly what Scott has done, she surprises him by asking him to show her the full extent of everything that will happen to her during her extraordinary life with the X-Men. As Jean reels from the experience, Kitty leads her outside, leaving Hank to administer the remedy he’s formulated to save the Beast.

Some time later, as both generations of X-Men gather outside the School, an argument between Wolverine and the teenage Scott Summers is interrupted when the young Hank McCoy leads the Beast outside. His mutation has been stabilized and he is recovering quickly. As the Beast’s friends gather around him he suggests that its time for the Original X-Men to return to their own time, but Jean Grey refuses, having seen what the future holds for them all she is determined to make things right before they return to the past. The Original X-Men take a vote and decide to stay and finish what they’ve started, with Kitty Pride volunteering to serve as their mentor.

With Hank McCoy’s life hanging in the balance, All New X-Men #5 sees Jean Grey take centre stage in Brian Michael Bendis’ superlative time travel saga. The telepathic conference inside the Beast’s mind is full of Bendis’ trademark dialogue, veering effortlessly between the slapstick banter of the McCoy’s search for a cure and Hank‘s quiet interlude with Jean as they discuss the possible ramifications of tampering with the timeline. It seems Jean’s telepathic powers shouldn’t have developed for at least another year, a fact which neither of them can fully explain, however is does pose some intriguing possibilities that I’m sure Bendis will reveal in time.

The work by Stuart Immonenon All New X-Men has been nothing short of astounding. I defy anyone not to be blown away by the moment Hank allows Jean to see the entirety of her timeline. Here you are plunged into a kaleidoscopic whirlpool of fragmented images: Jean’s early years as Marvel Girl, her transformation into Phoenix, then ultimately from Black Queen to Dark Phoenix, Inferno and X-Factor, her feelings for Wolverine, and the path that will inexorably spirals towards Scott Summers and a future twisted by the man she thought she’d love forever.

Talking of Scott Summers, he is still busy recruiting for his New Charles Xavier School for the Gifted. He manages to persuade the young Mutant in Texas who got caught in the battle between the two teams of X-Men to join him. It’s almost as if Scott sees something of himself in Benjamin Deeds, however he still has a long way to go to make amends for what he did as part of the Phoenix Five – a fact that Benjamin astutely reminds him of. The new school Cyclops is building is slowly taking shape in the old Weapon X Facility, and its going to be interesting to learn more about these new Mutants and their abilities over the coming months.

When the Beast’s condition is stabilized it looks like everyone expects the Original X-Men to return to their own time, once again Bendis keeps us on the back foot when Jean stubbornly refuses to leave until she is satisfied they have accomplished their mission – to prevent Scott Summers from destroying everything they stand for. Jean may be dressed as a student, but her personality seems to be evolving in keeping with her powers – just as her costume changed into her Marvel Girl outfit during her telepathic link with the Beast. She takes charge here like an adult, rallying her peers to join her, stating that Professor X can easily mind wipe them all when they return, even silencing Wolverine’s doubts with a few choice words from the heart.

Ignoring Angel’s concerns, The Original X-Men take a vote and decide to stay. Realizing that this is the chance she has been waiting for to honour Xavier’s memory, Kitty appoints herself as the teenage X-Men’s mentor while they reside in this time period. As the young Beast jokes that maybe they should call her Professor K, it’s intriguing to note that Warren is the only one to address the fact that his future self is missing. But before we can ponder on this the young Scott Summers tries to talk to Jean, but she recoils from his touch and tells him to leave her alone before walking away with her head bowed.

All New X-Men #5 is another really exciting issue, full of cracking dialogue and great character moments. I’m really pleased the Original X-Men are sticking around for the foreseeable future, it’s been great fun seeing the two generations working together, and I can’t wait the see the fallout from this issues shock ending.

All New XMen #4 Review

Tags

All New X-Men, Brian Michael Bendis, Classic X-Men, Cyclops, Hank McCoy, Iceman, Jean Grey, Marvel Comics, Marvel Now, Storm, Stuart Immonen, The Beast, Wolverine, X-Men

All New X-Men #4

Review by Paul Bowler

Having set up home inside the disused Weapon X facility Cyclops decided to rescue Emma Frost from captivity while she was being transported by road from San Francisco. However when Magneto’s power fails Cyclops opens fire, and his optic blasts almost obliterates the military convoy. Now that she is free Emma turns on Scott for leaving her to be captured by the authorities. Realizing that the Phoenix Force has somehow affected their mutations, the former members of the Phoenix Five have to find an away to work together again to realize Scott‘s plan, even though relations between them have never been more strained.

Cyclops and his team discover a new Mutant called Benjamin with mimicking powers at a University in Texas, but they are intercepted at the scene by the Original X-Men who have travelled into the future at the behest of seriously ill Beast to try and make Cyclops see reason and bring his Mutant revolution to an end.

All New X-Men #5 opens with the confrontation we have been waiting for ever since Bendis and Immonen launched this series, a face off between the original X-Men and Cyclops! The tense standoff is brilliantly played as the Children of the Atom are shocked to see Cyclops standing side by side with Magneto, their sworn enemy, but nothing can quite prepare Jean Grey for the thoughts she picks up from the future version of Scott Summers. This is Brian Michael Bendis as his very best, the telepathic wave of tumultuous emotions and memories from two timelines come together with devastating consequences as Marvel Girl lashes out in disgust telekinetically when she realizes what Scott’s future self has done, dislodging Cyclops visor and inadvertently unleashing his optic blasts.

The two Cyclops face each other, optic blasts locked in combat, but Scott’s younger self is unable to withstand the onslaught. As both men struggle to recover, Magneto calls for Magik’s help, attacking Iceman before Illyana teleports them to Weapon X where they have hidden two new Mutants: the Australian time manipulator Eva Bell and the healer from Michigan – Christopher Muse.

While Emma Frost contemplates the reasons behind the young X-Men’s return, the Original Team takes the Blackbird back to The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning and find Kitty Pryde and Iceman keeping vigil over the Beast as they try to contact Reed Richards for help. But when they are unable to contact him Hank McCoy’s condition suddenly deteriorates and he suffers a cardiac arrest!

Every page of Stuart Immonen’s incredible artwork makes Bendis’ story flow as seamlessly as its mind-bending time travel concept. The big action set-pieces are superbly inked by Wade Von Grawbadger, with every scene beautifully enhanced by Marte Gracia’s colours. All New X-Men #4 is bursting at the temporal seams with standout moments: Jean Grey’s horror at reliving the murder of Professor X in Scott’s mind is almost palpable, as is Jean’s struggle to block out the concerned thoughts of her team mates when they rest on a flat top mountain in Colorado, but it is Emma Frost’s estranged relationship with Scott that suffers the most as spectre of Jean Grey looms large in their lives once more.

Brian Michael Bendis still has a lot of fun with the time travel concepts, offering up a brilliant scene where Kitty blames Iceman for giving Beast the idea of “letting Summers see what he has become” and inadvertently setting in motion one of the greatest paradoxes the Marvel Universe has ever known. It’s really funny how Bobby reacts to his younger self, always screaming whenever he walks into at room, unnerved by the fact that continually finds himself looking at himself. There is also a priceless moment when the Original X-Men return to the School in the stolen Blackbird and brusquely take charge of the situation and race to hep The Beast, completely ignoring Storm and Wolverine along with their simultaneous declaration of authority.

All New X-Men #4 is by far one of the best Marvel Now titles around. Bendis and Immonen have crafted an ingeniously fan pleasing storyline that has injected a wealth of new possibilities to quickly become something very special indeed.

All New XMen #1 Review

Tags

All New X-Men, Bobby Drake, Brian Michael Bendis, Cyclops, Hank McCoy, Iceman, Jean Grey, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Marvel Now, Next-Generation Mutation, Original X-Men, Scott Summers, Storm, Stuart Immonen, The Beast, Warren Worthington III, X-Men

All New X-Men #1

Review by Paul Bowler

 Now that new Mutants are beginning to appear worldwide after the dissipation of the Phoenix Energy during the climax of AvX, the X-Men try and settle back into their lives at The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Cyclops and the core members his extinction team are now fugitives championing the rights of new Mutants, using whatever means necessary to help them. Back at the school Storm, Kitty, and Iceman can hardly believe their eyes when they watch a TV report featuring Cyclops and his team as they violently protect a new time warping mutant in Australia.

Iceman is all for confronting Cyclops and “shutting him down”, but Storm is vehemently against such a course of action, believing that it could very well lead to the X-Men being bitterly divided by a Mutant Civil War. The Beast stands listening, quietly watching another incident with Cyclops and his team as it plays out on a tablet device – this time rescuing a young Mutant with healing powers from Police custody in Michigan – and wearily Hank agrees with Iceman’s strategy. When his friends notice how exhausted Hank is he makes an excuse about being tired and walks away, but they are unaware that Hank is secretly suffering from the agonizing physical trauma of a Next-Generation Mutation – one that could very well prove fatal.

So the Beast decides that what time he has left to try and get Cyclops to see reason should be used to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, and to do that he takes the drastic measure of travelling back in time to talk to the Original X-Men: Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Bobby Drake, Warren Worthington III, and his own past self before his current mutation, Hank McCoy. The Beast appeals to Scott and his flabbergasted team mates, quickly explaining what has happened before asking them to travel back to the future so Scott can try and prevent his future self from committing Mutant Genocide!

Of all the new Marvel Now titles All New X-Men #1 has been perhaps one of the most highly anticipated, and with Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen at the helm for this premier issue X-Men fans are in for a real treat. With the world still reeling from the events of AvX, Bendis skilfully crafts a tale that provides a perfect fusion between two eras. Now that Cyclops and his Extinction team are helping to save new Mutants from persecution, we are presented with a world that now fears and mistrusts the Children of the Atom more than ever before. It will also be interesting to see how the other members of the original X-Men will cope when they encounter their future counterparts, as well as the strange new world they find themselves in.

Stuart Immonen’s dramatic artwork successfully highlights every aspect of Bendis’ intricate storyline, as well as showcasing the entire cast of All New X-Men #1and balancing the quieter – more character driven moments – with the big action set-pieces. This issue also has the superb Wade Von Grawbadger on inks, vibrant colours by Marte Gracia; with letterer and production wizard Cory Petit ensuring that every nuance of Bendis’ story is flawlessly realized.

Right from the outset we are plunged into Hank McCoy’s plight to conceal his Next-Generation Mutation from his friends. His pain and suffering is hard to watch, as is his decision to hide the condition from his friends, but even he can see that history might well be repeating itself as he watches Cyclops using any means necessary to protect the two new Mutants introduced this issue. Storm is right to wish to avoid another conflict, although they are surprised when Beast agrees with Iceman that they should take a more proactive stance against Scott this time – however none of them could realize that Hank might try to resolve the situation himself by attempting to recruit the Original X-Men from the past.

All New X-Men #1 poses many tantalizing opportunities for Brian Michael Bendis to explore in the coming issues. Aside from possibly breaking every law in space, time, and probably physics to bring the Original team of X-Men back to the present, we are sure to have some great encounters between each incarnation of Scott Summers – especially if the older Scott Summers gets to meet the younger version of his lost love Jean Grey. The possibilities are endless, although I hope the Beast isn’t left to suffer for too long and that his younger self will help him find a cure to stabilize his mutation.

The X-Men have been splintered for far too long, All New X-Men #1is the first confident step in restoring these teams to their former glory, fusing the X-Men’s past with their present in this brilliant addition to the ongoing Marvel Now range. I had my doubts about the return of the original X-Men, but I’m happy to say that Bendis and Immonen have done a fantastic job with it. All New X-Men #1 is one of the most innovative new titles from Marvel Now, it’s great to see the original X-Men again, and I look forward to seeing how this storyline develops over the months ahead.