After the breakneck pace of the last two issues, Jed Mackay slows the pace from 11 to a solid 7, allowing for some much-needed exposition on Scott’s team and how they came into possession of the Sentinel factory. Not that there isn’t a lot going on here anyway, but Mackay splits the story between Scott’s face-to-face meeting at a downtown diner with ONE’s Agent Lundqvist to discuss the San Francisco incident from issue #2, and a break-in at the X-Men’s new home by specially disguised government agents, assisted by Vanisher (I hate that guy).
Personally, I think it’s the best written and drawn issue of the series so far. In particular, Mackay’s portrayal of Scott as a leader, how he deals with the disgruntled Agent Lundqvist, his frustration with Rogue and her team, and just the way he writes the character in a way that allows her to breathe and become three-dimensional. Mackay also takes the time to delve into Temper’s character a bit, and I objectively appreciate what Mackay says about Krakoa from Idie’s perspective, which builds on what Victor Lavalle did in Sabretooth. Taken out of context, though, I can’t help but think that many readers will take it as yet another insult to the previous era, from an X-Bureau that is by and large considered anti-era to the previous era (even if that’s not necessarily true). As for the rest of the team, Mackay doesn’t go into any depth about their characters other than having them react to the “break-in at the house.” I mean, if you break into a house guarded by Magik, Psylocke, Quire, Juggernaut, and Temper to get to Cerebro, you can imagine the beating that will follow if you get caught. So no surprises, but the creative team still makes it fun.
As for the art, Ryan Stegman gets to draw an issue where there’s some head-scratching but also some tight back-and-forth between characters, and he gets to show emotional expression in the heated exchanges between several characters in the style he draws this book in, and it works pretty damn well. In fact, I’d say this is the most expressive issue yet in terms of facial expressions, and between Stegman’s pencils, JP Mayer and Livesay’s inks, and Marte Gracia’s colors, we get exchanges where the images properly convey the emotional weight of the dialogue and allow the reader to feel the characters’ emotions. Clayton Cowles is one of the best in the business for a reason, the lettering is flawless as always.
Overall, it’s a solid entry that balances a bit of internal action drama with some interpersonal back and forth, and also gives us some explanations for how and why we find ourselves where we are. Mackay seems to have decided to give Scott PTSD, and quite honestly, if any X-Men SHOULD HAVE PTSD, it’s Scott. I’m not sure how other fans will take this, but I’m very interested to see how the creative team approaches the idea and sensibly makes it a part of the story. Between the above and some humorous, incisive dialogue in a pretty tense situation, I get the impression that Mackay is comfortable with these characters and that the best of this book is yet to come.
