Time (Inevitably) Runs Out: X-men Blue #35

The following is my review of X-men Blue #35, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Certain time-displaced, alternate universe, or cloned characters never wear out their welcome. Time paradoxes aside, someone like Cable is here to stay. Josh Brolin's role in Deadpool 2 and Dafne Keen's role in Logan effectively cements that. Those are rare exceptions, though. For the most part, characters derived from others or a byproduct time travel have an expiration date. It's arguable when that date was for the original five X-men who first came to the future in All-New X-men, but most agree that date has long since passed.

Pretty much every circumstance that kept the time-displaced X-men in the future is moot at this point. Jean Grey is no longer dead. Cyclops never causes a mutant genocide. Iceman doesn't stay in the closet. Angel never loses his wings. At one point, there are legitimate barriers keeping them in the future, which play out in X-men: Battle of the Atom. However, most of those barriers crumble throughout Cullen Bunn's run on X-men Blue. They're now at a point where they not only have the ability to go back. They accept that they must go back.

While the logistics of that story play out in Extermination, there's room for reflections and reconciliations. X-men Blue #35 doesn't act as a prelude to Extermination as much as it does an epilogue to the journey that Brian Michael Bendis began in All-New X-men. These characters, despite the many myriad of complications incurred by time travel, are in a very different place than they were when they first arrived. Some improve their situations. Some see it become much worse. In any case, they're all painfully aware of the headaches generated by time travel.

No matter their status, these iconic characters are no longer the wide-eyed idealists that they were when Charles Xavier began training them. They've seen a future where ideals get tainted at every turn and spirits get broken almost as often. In doing so, these characters diverge considerably from the path they were on before. The structure of X-men Blue #35 is built around each member of the time-displaced X-men confronting their future selves, but affirming that they're not the same person.

The problem is they can't be the person they've become anymore. Beast makes clear that in order to avoid any further pitfalls relating to time travel, he and his fellow time-displaced X-men have to forget everything they've experienced during their time in the future. Going back with the knowledge they have, from who wins in every superhero civil war to who plays in every Super Bowl, has serious implications for the overall continuity of the Marvel universe. Given the many convolutions of that continuity, as it stands, the timeline just can't handle that.

This makes for a strange, but intriguing tension between the characters. In each conversation they have with their future selves, they try to affirm they're their own person. However, they also acknowledge that they can't separate themselves from who they're destined to become. If they do, they break reality and after the events of Secret Wars, the timeline just can't handle that.

Each member of the time-displaced X-men deals with their own existential crisis, of sorts. Jean comes off as having a full-blown identity crisis, lamenting at how she feels false in the presence of her older self. To some extent, she's right. She and her teammates aren't the "true" version of the original five X-men at this point in the timeline. They're anomalies that have to disappear completely in order to keep reality intact. To them, though, going back to their own time doesn't mean resolving a long-standing time travel plot. It means erasing themselves from existence.

It's actually Bobby who seems to understand this more than the others. For him, going back in time means going back to being closeted and that bothers him. It's one of those ideas that would bother anyone identifying as LGBT, having to go back to that isolated place and live a lie. Even though his older self is in a much better place in terms of accepting his identity, it doesn't make the underlying notion less distressing.

That's the overall sentiment of each time-displaced character in X-men Blue #35. They agonize over the idea that everything they've done in the present will only serve those in the present. They still have to go back and endure all the hardships, heartaches, and losses. Despite accepting that they must return to their own time, they establish that their preference is to stay. Existing is just inherently more appealing to oblivion.

While it's easy to sympathize with those feelings, Bunn belabors the consequences of following those feelings. Parallel to the interactions between the time-displaced X-men and their counterparts, there are brief flash-forwards that depict the future that unfolds if they don't go back. This side-story doesn't just link X-men Blue #35 with the events of Extermination. It reveals the extent of the existential crisis the X-men face.

Even if going back to their own time is overdue, there are still a lot of problems that these characters want to resolve. Angel is still going to lose his mind and become a horseman of Apocalypse. Cyclops is still going to end up dead and vilified for all the wrong reasons. Beast is still going to end up a blue, furry ape man who plays fast and loose with time machines. Despite the many harsh realizations they've endured, they still retain that youthful idealism that defines the original five X-men.

If that's the primary goal in X-men Blue #35, it definitely succeeds. In terms of furthering the various other plots that have been unfolding since X-men Blue began, it doesn't fail, but it comes up short. There's a lot of lamentation and frustration, but not much else. This being the penultimate issue of the series, there isn't time to tie up every loose end. However, that's the appeal/irony of time travel stories. If everything were resolved, then time travel wouldn't be necessary in the first place.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Tenuous Temporal Deconstruction: Extermination #1

The following is my review of Extermination #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

There comes a point in every time travel story where the damage to the timeline become untenable. Sometimes, it takes too long to get to that point and when functional time machines are involved, that's saying something. It's debatable whether the original five X-men that, as ripped from the earliest issues of Uncanny X-men, have gotten to that point, but the circumstances surrounding Extermination #1 make a pretty convincing case that their time has come.

The details are unavoidable. The reasons why the time-displaced X-men came to the future and stayed there are obsolete. Cyclops never causes a mutant genocide. Jean Grey doesn't stay dead. Angel doesn't permanently lose his mind. Iceman doesn't stay in the closet. Everything that once horrified them about the future no longer applies. It makes their continued presence both superfluous and confusing. Ed Brisson and Pepe Larraz promise to resolve that with Extermination.

That necessarily requires more time travel and all the timeline-twisting machinations that come with it. As Back to the Future so eloquently demonstrates in 1985, the source of the temporal disruption must also be the solution to some extent. The events of Extermination #1 just add more urgency, as well as a new threat that promises to step up the time tables, literally and figuratively.

The nature of that threat is vague, but it involves familiar names. Things happen fast and suddenly. Big messy battles unfold, giving Larraz plenty of chances to create stunning visuals. There are also multiple casualties, each of which have weighty implications. However, since casualties in a time travel story are often tenuous at best, the drama is limited. Despite this temporal barrier, Brisson and Larraz find plenty of ways to inject it into the plot.

The stakes go beyond the integrity of the timeline. They get personal very quickly and hit the time-displaced X-men right in the proverbial heart. Some get hit harder than others and the emotions from characters like Cyclops and Jean Grey are palpable. For a time travel story, which often relies heavily on sub-plots laden with sci-fi technobabble, this kind of heartfelt anguish is refreshing. It makes Extermination #1 feel like something other than a time travel story, of which the X-men have many.

However, some of that melodrama comes off as forced. In between the destructive battles, the personal dimensions of the conflict emerge from outstanding side-plots that have been unfolding among the time-displaced X-men in recent years. The overall structure of Extermination #1 doesn't rely too heavily on it, but it doesn't complement it, either. There are even moments that don't entirely mesh with recent developments in the books that precede it.

The moments between Teen Cyclops and Bloodstorm don't really match with what has been going on with them in X-men Blue. There's an implied connection between them, but one that comes off as contrived for the sake of increasing the impact. The moments between Teen Jean, Rachel, and Cable also assume a lot about the relationship they have. While past issues of All-New X-men and X-men Gold establish that they are aware of one another, there's little indication that they've fleshed it out to any meaningful extent.

This doesn't make the events in Extermination #1 less coherent, but for anyone who has been following the journey of the time-displaced X-men, it feels disconnected from their over-arching story. To some extent, this keeps the story from getting bogged down by continuity. At the same time, it also overlooks the larger implications of the original five X-men's presence in the future. 

That's not a requirement to making the plot work, though. The time-displaced X-men don't need to have a deep, well-developed relationship with every character involved. Just knowing who Rachel and Cable are is enough to understand why the events that unfold are a big deal, both for original five X-men and the integrity timeline. It effectively shoves the cold, hard truth in their face in a way they can no longer ignore. Their presence in the future cannot continue. This is the end of the line for them and there's no scenario in which they can stay without incurring greater losses.

That's the underlying message of the story and Brisson effectively belabors that. Some characters, namely Teen Cyclops, openly acknowledge that they have to go back to their own time at some point. They even understand that has to happen soon, but there are a lot of factors keeping them in the future, including the unpleasant fact that one of their future selves is still dead. Like any approaching time paradox, though, they don't get much say in the matter.

When the past, present, and future finally catches up to the time-displaced X-men, it feels abrupt, yet necessary. There's a sense that there has to be consequences to them being in the future for as long as they have. Some characters suffer more than others and it weighs heavily on the time-displaced X-men. It also sets the stage for a much bigger, much more personal confrontation with two familiar characters who have a tendency to show up in dystopian futures.

Even with all these personal and temporal connections, there isn't a sense that what happens in Extermination #1 is a culmination of everything the time-displaced X-men have done. There's no critical mistake that puts them past the point of no return. Forces they neither control nor know about simply catch up to them and make them pay for daring to have personal attachments in the future. It's a common consequence of time travelers, but one that has just enough depth to work.

Extermination #1 certainly succeeds in firing the first shots in the conflict that will ultimately send the original five X-men back to the past. There's little mystery as to who is behind it. Brisson doesn't drag anything out and still leaves room for plenty of intrigue. The situation is dire, but it isn't hopeless and since the X-men are always one misstep away from creating another dystopian future, that counts for a lot.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Poison and Perils Within Symbiotic Plots: Venomized #1

The following is my review of Venomized #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Alien life has an uncanny ability to fascinate because it is, by definition, alien. Humans have amazing imaginations, but no matter how creative or elaborate it gets, it's still limited by the amount of gray matter within the human brain. Alien creatures like the symbiotes, whose function is both radically different and somewhat disturbing in the context of the non-comic book world, push those perceptions even further.

As a character, Venom checks all the right boxes for a menacing creature operating with an alien mindset. It's not just some monstrous glob with a biological imperative to hate Spider-Man. A part of that hatred comes directly from its alien persona. It's part of a race whose survival depends on more than just finding a host. It must also improve that host, something that puts it far beyond any tapeworm or tick.

Venom, and symbiotes in general, take on the best and worst of a host, turning the volume on their most defining traits up to the max and beyond. For someone like Eddie Brock, it takes almost any story to extremes. Whether it's trying to kill Spider-Man or a cosmic journey with time-displaced X-men, every element takes on an a more intense context. Whereas hating Spider-Man is a fairly common narrative that has played out any number of ways since the Reagan Administration, Cullen Bunn crafts a different story with Venom in Venomized.

Spinning right out of the events of X-men Blue, another series Bunn writes, Venomized builds directly on top of those events that brought Venom into conflict with the Poisons. That story establishes that, like all forms of life, there's competition for resources, as well as diseases. For symbiotes, Poisons are both. Bunn establishes that these creatures are to symbiotes what mosquitoes and malaria are to humans.

In Venomized #1, the Poisons grow even bolder. Whereas Poison X in X-men Blue focused primarily on the time-displaced X-men, this story expands that conflict to the wider Marvel universe. The X-men, the Avengers, SHIELD, Spider-Man, and even the villains who fight them get involved. The symbiotes don't discriminate. When it comes to hosts, they're more egalitarian than most humans can hope to be.

Much of the story revolves around corrupted symbiotes attacking and infecting other heroes. It makes for plenty of colorful sequences involving major characters like Thor, Hercules, Storm, and Iron Heart getting infected. It's not the kind of epic struggle that often plays out with Spider-Man every time he encounters a symbiote, nor does it try to be. Turning heroes into hosts is just part of a larger agenda that unfolds quickly and chaotically.

It's an agenda that's more ambitious than anything Venom has attempted before. With and without a host, be it Peter Parker or Eddie Brock, Venom is a highly individualistic character. Sometimes it's downright greedy, which is part of what leads it to clashing with Spider-Man so often. It makes for an unusual dichotomy, having that sense of individualism while still needing a host to survive. That's part of what gives Venom his character. It's also part of how it influences its hosts.

By contrast, the Poisons work to subvert the individualism in symbiotes like Venom. They're not content with simply improving a host, which is as far as any symbiote will go. They'll completely consume it and use the body of that host to empower a larger collective. It's like communism mixed with parasitism mixed with cannibalism. Even by symbiote standards, it's pretty gruesome.

The elements of a larger symbiote war are in place. However, Venom and the time-displaced X-men are behind the curve for most of the story in Venomized #1. They don't arrive on the scene until after the Poisons have landed and started attacking the heroes. Even when they do arrive, they aren't able to do much to slow the Poisons down. Their already several steps ahead of them. While this does add more urgency to the story, it also hinders it in some ways.

Things don't just happen quickly. There's a lot that apparently happens off-panel. Even if the agenda of the Poisons is fairly clear, the details are somewhat lost in the spectacle. That's to be expected, to some extent, for a story that covers so much ground with so many characters. However, those lack of details creates the impression that there's so much more going on behind the scenes and too little of it unfolds in the actual narrative.

While this helps create many symbiote-fueled battles throughout Venomized #1, there isn't much in terms of drama. Compared to the Poisons X arc that played out in X-men Blue, there aren't a whole lot of emotions to explore beyond Thor and Hercules drunkenly stumbling out of a bar. Even when Spider-Man gets involved, a character whose history with symbiotes is full of drama, the drama falls fairly flat.

The potential for drama is still there and hints of it even emerge towards the end once Carnage enters the picture. It's still somewhat limited in terms of impact. The story has plenty of structure to build around, going back to the Edge of the Venomverse. It's only lacking the dramatic weight that gives greater purpose to all the symbiote-fueled fighting.

Even without that weight though, Venomized #1 still has plenty to offer. It's very much in keeping with the spirit of symbiotes and extremes. It puts heroes and villains alike in a position where they have to take part in a war that spans the both the multiverse and Venom's own personal ego. In terms of scope, it's hard to get more extreme than that.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Transcending Time-Tested Tropes: X-men Blue #20

The following is my review of X-men Blue #20, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Time travel stories are kind of like those needlessly loud stereo systems that some people put in their cars. From a purely functional standpoint, there's not much to gain by having the ability to project music at volumes that make most peoples' ears bleed. However, the functionality of such a system is hardly reflective of its value. There are other, less tangible reasons why someone would want those systems in their cars. More than anything else, such elaborate systems create equally elaborate spectacles.

Time travel plots are similar in that they rarely function as a means to simplify or clarify a story. Most of the time, they create additional complications that only get more complicated when time paradoxes enter the picture. Such stories may not be simple, but they can work even in light of those paradoxes, as multiple Back to the Future movies have proven. The X-men also have a better track record than most when it comes to compelling time travel stories, going all the way back to Days of Future Past from the Chris Claremont era. Cullen Bunn and R.B. Silva are making a concerted effort to channel Claremont's skills with Cross Time Capers in X-men Blue.

In some respects, this is a story that had to happen sooner or later. Going all the way back to the early days of All-New X-men, when the original five X-men first ventured into the future, those inescapable complications that come with time travel continue plaguing the young X-men. They can't avoid the fact that their presence in the future and their absence in the past is bound to have serious ramifications. Some of those ramifications play out over the course of their story, particularly in events like X-men: Battle of the Atom.

With Cross Time Capers, though, Bunn puts the time-displaced X-men in a position to confront the consequences of their time-traveling shenanigans. It may have taken longer for them to feel those consequences, but they finally get a sense of perspective throughout the arc. It's only in the concluding conflicts in X-men Blue #20 that they gain a better understanding of how they're affecting the space-time continuum.

If there's any lesson the original five X-men should learn from this, it's that when there's a gaping hole in the timeline, someone or something will come along to exploit it. Biff Tannen did it in Back to the Future. The future Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Charles Xavier Jr. and his omega-level daddy issues, do the same. While they're not quite as ambitious as Biff Tannen, they are every bit as devious. What they do to exploit the time-displaced X-men's absence is neither subtle nor minor. It leaves an impact, one that goes beyond the usual lessons learned by messing with time travel.

Bunn closely follows the traditions of Chris Claremont in that respect in that the sci-fi elements associated with time travel are secondary to the dramatic elements. The story is less about the original five X-men traveling through time to fix the past than it is about them confronting the consequences of their actions. Their continued presence in the future has consequences and these are the kinds of consequences that literally fight back.

It's that element of drama that helps subvert the usual complications and confusion often associated with time travel. Classic stories like Days of Future Past show that this is an effective way to give time travel stories a genuine impact without making every other conversation an existential crisis on time paradoxes. Those conversations still happen in X-men Blue #20, but the assorted techno-babble is kept to a minimum.

Instead, Bunn relies on converging the various elements seeded throughout the journey that unfolds in Cross Time Capers, throwing a many of them as possible in the final battle. It's a battle that Silva effectively turns into a colorful, vibrant spectacle that feels epic in both size and scope. While it unfolds quickly, it hits on all the necessary dramatic elements, from confronting Xavier Jr. to the original five X-men reuniting with their mentor. Each moment carries weight and without incurring more time paradoxes.

That's not to say the time travel elements don't also carry weight in this story. Given the circumstances and context of the original five X-men's time displacement, those aspects of the conflict are unavoidable. The story clearly establishes that their decisions in the future have an impact on the past. It also provides some ominous, albeit not too surprising, foreboding about the decisions they'll have to make at some point.

Like Battle of the Atom before it, Cross Time Capers makes clear that what the original five X-men are doing still has an impact on the overall timeline. The choices they make, the battles they fight, and the impact they have on the past and future all matter. It also puts the team in an awkward position because to some extent, they already know what they'll end up having to do. It's like reading an unwanted spoiler in that they can't unread it.

This is where X-men #20 stumbles a bit into the inevitable complications of time travel stories. Even with the drama, there are some details that don't get fleshed. There are moments that have the potential to become very emotional and impactful, but some of that potential is lost for the sake of keeping the story going. Certain elements from the early parts of the story don't really play a role in the final battle, but they aren't rendered meaningless by the final conclusion.

In terms of the most critical elements, X-men Blue #20 handles those very well. There's reason and purpose behind every decision. The motivations and emotions of each character is clear. The events of previous issues influence the outcome of the final battle. Even with the complications of time travel and the erratic pacing of that final battle, the end result is a concise, cohesive story that satisfies as much as any time travel story can without getting too caught up in paradoxes.

That's not just an accomplishment that honors the standards set by Chris Claremont. It's a testament to the unique challenges of time travel stories. They have so many moving parts and so many potential complications that may or may not result in someone like Biff Tannen messing up the timeline. Being able to tell that story and not lose track of all the frustrating time travel tropes that derail so many stories is quite a feat. While Cross Time Capers may not be in the same league as Back to the Future, it certainly makes the case that those stories are still worth telling.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

Doubling (And Tripling) Down On Time Travel: X-men Blue #16

The following is my review of X-men Blue #16, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

There's a certain point in a narrative where a certain subplot either needs to be abandoned or shoved back into the spotlight. It's like that point in a poker game where pushing all the chips to the center of the table is the only sound tactic left. It's a major risk and one that potentially undermines the entire foundation of a story, but the payoff is significant. For the time-displaced X-men in X-men Blue, the time is right for that kind of gamble.

There's no getting around it. Since arriving from the past in the pages of All-New X-men, the mission of the original five X-men seems to change every other week. One week, they're trying to stop Cyclops from ushering in a full-blown mutant genocide. The next, they're joining Cyclops to become mutant revolutionaries. The week after that, they're working with Magneto, the same guy who tried to kill them on their first mission. While it's not uncommon for teenagers to have erratic priorities, time travel seems to exacerbate the situation for the time-displaced X-men.

Beyond these varying missions and allegiances, though, there remains one common, unresolved thread. These time-displaced X-men are, for reasons not yet explained, cannot go back to the future. The events of X-men: Battle of the Atom establish that there is something keeping these time traveling teenagers stuck in the future. The nature of that mechanism is vague and rarely hinted it. For the most part, it's like Spider-Man's marriage in that it's overtly ignored for the most part.

In X-men Blue #16, Cullen Bunn and Thony Silas finally revisit this issue in a way that requires them to push those proverbial chips to the center of the table. It all happens quickly and under the backdrop of some typical teenage melodrama that always seems to find its way into the pages of X-men Blue. The mixture and transitions aren't always seamless, but few things involving teenage melodrama are.

That melodrama is only a small part of a much more serious conflict that has roots that extent back to X-men: Battle of the Atom and beyond. Anyone who has seen Back To The Future more than once understands the erratic and chaotic nature of time travel. Mess with the timeline too much and eventually, it'll get impatient. Whatever patience kept the original five X-men intact in the future seems to have run out, albeit quite suddenly.

There's little build-up or foundation to the sudden fracturing of time. It just starts happening, forcing the time-displaced X-men to react on the spot. Part of that reaction involves them engaging in more time travel. On the surface, that seems like fighting fire with napalm. In this rare instance, though, it makes sense and it addresses an important issue that has remained vague since X-men: Battle of the Atom.

Even those who haven't seen Back To The Future understand on some levels that time travel, especially one that involves changing the past, tends to incur an unpredictable impact on the present. For the most part, the impact of the original five X-men being in the future hasn't been that significant. The final few issues of Dennis Hopeless' run on All-New X-men even imply that their presence may not affect the timeline at all, which undermines the entire premise of a time travel story to begin with.

Like the events of X-men: Battle of the Atom, the temporal details remain vague. However, X-men Blue #16 ditches much of those subtleties and makes one thing very clear. The original five X-men's presence is indeed having an impact on the timeline. They aren't just a bunch of clones or alternate versions of themselves from a dystopian future, of which the Marvel universe already has plenty. They are from the same timeline and what they do does effect the present. That reaction may have been delayed, but it's happening.

It's an important facet that Bunn and Silas belabor, which helps establish the premise and the stakes of the Cross Time Capers arc that begins in X-men Blue #16. It's an overdue dose of clarity for an issue that many recent stories involving the time-displaced X-men go out of their way to ignore. It's both refreshing and profound in that sense that it gives the story genuine stakes, but still doesn't forget that those involved are teenagers. That means that no matter how serious the story may be, there's going to be some entertaining awkwardness along the way.

There is some of that in X-men Blue #16, but not nearly enough. Much of the melodrama involves ongoing emotional entanglements between Cyclops and Jean Grey. While those kinds of entanglements are a major part of X-men drama, regardless of timeline, they seem somewhat forced. It's as though these two always have to have the same kind of drama thrown in, as though that's the only drama they know. Being teenagers, that's less believable than anyone shooting lasers from their eyes.

Even if the melodrama is forced and the pace is quick, the sheer intensity of X-men Blue #16 make it a solid beginning to what promises to be a chaotic arc involving time travel. Given how X-men Blue is coming off an event that involved Mojo, that's saying something. Bunn's concise storytelling and Silas' colorful lay a solid foundation that has the potential to incur more significant implications than anything the time-displaced X-men have experienced to date. Like Marty McFly though, they will likely have to learn about those implications the hard way.

Final Score 6 out of 10

A Real (And Relevant) Coolness: Iceman #1

The following is my review of Iceman #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

No character ever becomes iconic without doing something to set themselves apart. For years, going all the way back to the Lee/Kirby era of Uncanny X-men, Iceman never gets that chance. Despite being a member of the iconic Original Five X-men, he never gets his own Phoenix Saga. He never undergoes a transformation like Angel or Beast. He never even goes through the twisted melodrama of marrying a clone or have a time-displaced child. In a sense, Iceman is like a capable backup quarterback on a team of pro bowl players. He can hold his own. He just never gets a chance to show his skill.

That all changed after the events of All-New X-men #40. In what is, without a doubt, the biggest upheaval in Iceman's 50-plus year history, Jean reveals that he's gay. Now, there's a lot that can be said about how his outing was handled. Jean's somewhat callous approach to the situation, as well as the circumstances in which it occurred, are somewhat troubling. There's also the issue of Iceman's past entanglements with women. Some of them even count as serious. One of them, namely Mystique, almost got him killed.

However, that only makes the reveal more powerful because it reflects the real-life conflicts that many homosexuals deal with. Sometimes, they spend decades of their lives pretending to be something their not. Adding this on top of the underlying themes of the X-men, which is somewhat analogous to LGBT issues, it puts Iceman's story in a whole new context. It does more than set him apart from the rest of the Original Five X-men, who've already done plenty to distinguish themselves. It puts Iceman in a position to forge a unique path, one that few characters of his status have ever attempted.

Iceman #1 isn't entirely structured around Bobby Drake's homosexuality or how he deals with it. It's not built around him just going on solo adventures either. He's not Wolverine, Iron Man, or even Squirrel Girl. His path has the potential to be both unique and revealing. Sina Grace doesn't try to fit Bobby into another Phoenix Saga, a Dark Angel Saga, or any kind of saga. More than anything else, Grace tries to focus on Bobby's very human struggles while still giving him a chance to be Iceman.

In setting up the story, Grace establishes a distinct difference between Iceman and his time-displaced counterpart. Whether due to recklessness or immaturity, the teenage Iceman does a much better job of accepting his sexuality. He even has a male love interest that he's been exploring in other X-men comics. Ironically, the older, adult Iceman is behind the curve of his teenage self. He's admitted that he's gay, but he hasn't done anything with it yet. He's still more focused on being Iceman rather than Bobby Drake.

Iceman #1 puts him in a position where he has to be both. He doesn't face a cosmic entity or a killer robot. Instead, he faces a very real, very relevant issue with his parents. Unlike the rest of the X-men, they don't know that he's gay. His mother even asks about whether or not he has any girlfriends. It establishes that while Iceman may be out as a gay character, he's not quite out with the world at large.

It's the kind of situation that real homosexuals with real families deal with, not knowing how to talk to their parents about their sexuality. Bobby's parents make it even harder because they're not necessarily proud of his mutant status either. They give the impression that they'd much rather see him holding down a steady job as a garbage man rather than regularly saving the planet from Apocalypse. It's not so much that they have unreasonable standards as much as it is they want a "normal" son.

It's a concept that resonates with both mutants and the LGBT community, the idea of being so not normal that it undermines friends, family, and everything in between. In Bobby's case, he's got a double dose of non-normalcy. He's a minority within a minority, a homosexual man and a mutant. That means he can expect double the hate from every racist bigot, of which there are plenty in both the real world and the Marvel universe.

Fittingly enough, the main conflict in Iceman #1 isn't a killer robot or invading aliens. It's a wannabe Purifier, who are basically Marvel's that anti-mutant version of the KKK. While they don't make their position on homosexuality known, it's hard to imagine that would make them any less hostile to someone like Bobby.

It gives Bobby a chance to be a hero and, strangely enough, that's the most normal thing he does. When he's fighting a rogue Purfier, he's the same Iceman that people have known and loved since the Kennedy Administration. It's only when he has to be Bobby Drake that he faces an insurmountable conflict, of sorts. His parents don't accept him. The world, as a whole, doesn't accept him. Even other mutants seem more "normal" by comparison.

It's a powerful message that makes for a story that feels real and relevant. That's the greatest strength of Iceman #1. Grace tells a story that real people can relate to and Alessandro Vitti's artwork makes it visually appealing. Anyone who is LGBT, an outcast, or just not "normal" in a classic sort of way will find something to appreciate.

While the story may feel real, it also lacks the kind of dramatic impact or emotional upheaval that so many other major X-men characters have enjoyed in their 50-year plus history. That may be too much to hope for in one issue of a solo series for a character who hasn't had one before, but while the plot feels real and relevant, the substance is somewhat lacking. It's a competent, cohesive story that delivers a powerful message. It just doesn't go much further than that.

What gives this series promise, though, is the way Grace and Vitti frame Bobby's story at this point in his history. He's a minority within a minority, still trying to be a hero while trying to find his place. Being a hero is the easy part for him. Trying to find his place is a far greater challenge, one that he's very uncertain about. It's easy to be certain when there are killer robots to smash and evil mutant racists to fight. It's much harder to live a distinctly non-normal life that still feels normal. For mutants and LGBT individuals alike, it's an important story to tell.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Clawing For Relevancy: X-men Blue #4

The following is my review of X-men Blue #4, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible for certain comic book characters to be too awesome. It's rarely the fault of the characters themselves. The problem is that when one writer finds a winning formula, a hundred others work tirelessly to recreate it, which leads to some predictably spectacular failures. With all due respect to characters like Hyperion and Sentry, the sheer volume of characters that try to match Superman's winning formula proves that even great success can breed greater problems.

When it comes to the X-men, Wolverine is the spitting, swearing poster boy of this issue. In terms of the overall X-men mythos, he is the standard by which all others are measured. He's an amazing character with a convoluted, but compelling past. He has personality, charisma, and mass appeal that's easy to stick on a T-shirt or lunch box. Few characters can hope to match that standard. Some characters, such as X-23, come surprisingly close. Others, however, fail miserably and become afterthoughts at best.

Up until Secret Wars, Jimmy Hudson was a case study in such failure. In the now-defunct Ultimate Marvel, he attempts to replace Wolverine and falls woefully short at every turn. He does nothing to distinguish himself. He brings nothing new or compelling to the story. He's basically just a teenage Wolverine, minus the skills, the mysterious past, the personality, and the overall appeal. At a time when there are so many other characters, such as X-23 and Old Man Logan, who do a much better job following that formula, Jimmy Hudson enters X-men Blue with some significant headwinds.

In some respects, he's entering a favorable situation. Like him, the original five X-men are exiled from their own timeline. They're also teenagers with lofty legacies to live up to. However, the baggage of being a failed replacement character from a failed series is not easy to escape. Cullen Bunn and Julian Lopez try to make the case in X-men Blue #4 that Jimmy can overcome that baggage. The verdict, however, is incomplete. The jury is still out, but the evidence is not on Jimmy's side.

The structure of the story, itself, as concise and well-crafted. The original five X-men respond to news of a distressed mutant. That's what the X-men of all generations do, time displaced or otherwise. Bunn establishes in the first three issues that this is the core mission of the team. It's simple, familiar, and functional. It works in the sense that it brings out the best in the original five X-men. It continues to work in X-men Blue #4. However, when Jimmy Hudson enters the picture, this core mission clashes with his heaviest baggage.

If Jimmy didn't have claws, wasn't related to Logan, and hadn't been part of a defunct world that stopped being relevant years ago, then his appearance would have some intrigue. Instead, he enters the world of X-men Blue in a way that's so familiar, so predictable, and so devoid of drama that it's hard to get excited about his arrival. Nothing he does sets him apart as a new and intriguing character. If anything, everything he does will just make Wolverine fans miss Logan.

It's one of Jimmy Hudson's biggest problems, both as a character and as plot for X-men Blue #4. It's a problem that has lingered since his first appearance in Ultimate X. The fact that Jimmy Hudson is Logan's son isn't the issue. The problem is he does nothing to really set himself apart.

In every comic since his first appearance, he doesn't carry himself as Jimmy. He carries himself as teenage Logan. It would be far more intriguing if someone had just cast a magic spell and reverted Logan back to a teenager. Given the abundance of overpowered sorcerers and time machines in the Marvel universe, that really isn't much of a stretch.

That all-too familiar tradition continues in X-men Blue #4. All the familiar Logan tropes are there. Jimmy is alone in a hostile wilderness, stuck in a blood rage, and can't remember where he came from. These are all core themes of at least a dozen other Wolverine stories since 1975. There's nothing distinct or memorable here. Jimmy once again conducts himself as a teenage Logan and nothing more. Unlike the original five X-men, though, he can't use time displacement as an excuse.

It might be understandable for Jimmy to struggle to escape his Logan's shadow in the sense that he sets the bar pretty high. Wolverine is one of the most popular comic book characters of all time. He's the one who helped make Hugh Jackman famous. Expecting Jimmy to even come close to that bar seems unreasonable. However, that excuse fails too because there is a precedent, which further undermines Jimmy's case.

Other characters inspired or derived from Wolverine have succeeded. Both X-23 and Daken have established themselves as solid, compelling characters who can hold their own without being too similar to Logan. X-23 does such a good job of this that she went onto become one of the best parts of the last Wolverine movie. Jimmy Hudson, though, gives no impression that he deserves a role next to Hugh Jackman.

Unlike Daken and X-23, Jimmy does nothing to stand out whether he's in a fight or standing on a street corner. His only distinguishing feature is his blond hair. If Molina were to use the wrong color, then few would be able to discern Jimmy from an overly youthful Logan. Given all the other distinguishing traits of Daken and X-23, which include tattoos and different claw configurations, Jimmy feels less like a derivation and more of a rip-off.

At the very least, his presence doesn't derail the story in X-men Blue #4. Bunn never makes him the primary focal point and that keeps the narrative on-track and consistent with the themes of the series. Jimmy's presence even manages to incur a distinct twist to the story that couldn't be done with X-23 or Daken. He acts primarily as a catalyst for the original five X-men's next challenge. He succeeds in this, but fails be distinct or compelling at any point in the process.

He's still that character who failed miserably to fill the void left by Logan's death in Ultimate Marvel. Now, he's in a world where two other characters can claim some measure of success, one of which made Dafne Keen famous. Jimmy is a long way from that kind of success. That baggage is still as heavy as ever. He's still that character few mourned when Ultimate perished at the end of Secret Wars. Escaping that baggage isn't easy and with X-men Blue #4, he's off to a poor start.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

An Original Cast With Renewed Energy: X-men Blue #1

The following is my review of X-men Blue #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Some concepts work well in any era, no matter the context. Those concepts are few and far between, but their universal appeal is what helps make them iconic. When it comes to the original five X-men, as created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby over 50 years ago, they check all the right boxes with respect to those concepts.

They're young, idealistic, vulnerable, determined, anxious, eager, and even a little arrogant at times. They believe in following a dream. They also haven't experienced the harshest realities of the real world, which tend to crush dreams like Juggernaut in a china shop. Since arriving in a future where they find out their future selves are dead, disfigured, or had lost their minds, they fight desperately to cling to those dreams. Despite the knowledge that those dreams shattered under the weight of cosmic forces, psychic manipulation, and evil clones, they still fight for that dream. It says a lot about both their youthful spirit, as well as their youthful arrogance.

They may not need that arrogance quite as much these days. After the events of Inhumans vs. X-men, the dream the original five X-men fight for isn't quite as shattered as before. Mutants are no longer being gassed to death by a giant green cloud and the Scarlet Witch hasn't had a mental breakdown lately. That means mutants have a future again and, despite being the product of an out-of-control time travel plot, they seek to forge part of that future in X-men Blue.

Cullen Bunn and Jorge Molina bring the original five X-men back together in X-men Blue #1, attempting to capture as much of those classic concepts as possible while fitting them into a new status quo. That includes everything from teenagers complaining about random things and fighting the Juggernaut. By all those lofty standards of the Kirby/Lee tradition, it still checks the right boxes boxes.

From the outset, the story is fairly basic. The Original Five X-men go up against an old enemy in Black Tom, but from their time-displaced perspective, he's a fresh face with a sinister mustache. There's not much to Black Tom's plot. He's just holding a lot of rich people hostage, twirling his sinister mustache, and generally doing all the things Lex Luthor used to do before he got into politics.

There may not be much complexity to that plot at first, but it still leads to some entertaining theatrics that allow the time-displaced X-men to stop lamenting about their future selves and just be heroes. Given that they're still teenagers, there is some lamenting, but Bunn makes sure it's doesn't devolve into the kind of teen angst that often plagued the characters after Secret Wars. That makes the effect of X-men Blue #1 all the more profound because it shifts the tone back to a sense of youthful idealism. After surviving a poison gas cloud, it's a shift that needed to happen.

As the story unfolds, new complexities emerge. The narrative doesn't just rely on a group of teenage mutants flying in and saving the day. The battle also illustrates some new dynamics within the team. Most notably, Jean Grey is now the leader. It may not be akin to making Doop the leader, but the change is notable in the way the X-men conduct themselves.

It's different in that Cyclops doesn't go barking out orders while everyone else jokes about how uptight he is. Jean Grey's style of leadership is different in that she'll spearhead the charge, but trusts her teammates to handle themselves, even against someone like Juggernaut. This style isn't without its faults though. They quickly get overwhelmed and end up having to wing it in order to save the day, so much that they end up having to cheat with magic.

This is where X-men Blue #1 ties itself into the larger narrative that has been unfolding with the time-displaced X-men since they arrived in the future back in All-New X-men. Bunn doesn't ignore the nuances have emerged with certain characters. In this case, Beast's newfound appreciation of magic proves pivotal, both in terms of resolving a conflict and establishing new levels of tension. It makes for different tactics, but it also leads to arguments and uncertainties about how the team operates. In a team made up of entirely of teenagers, that's always fertile ground for conflict.

It also establishes that while X-men Blue is relying on more traditional X-men dynamics, the team is still very much a work-in-progress. Jean Grey is still learning how to lead. Beast is still learning how to manage his new mystical abilities. All the while, Cyclops has to resist the urge to start barking out orders again. As a team, they're not a finished product. They're still rookies who have the potential to be all stars, but are a long way from that level.

That sense of growth is one of the greatest strengths in X-men Blue #1. Even though it uses a team line-up that was introduced during the Kennedy Administration, it still comes off as novel. It's very much a product of an evolving narrative, one that has taken many twists and come dangerously close to being derailed. Magic and tactics aside, Bunn seems to have the original five X-men back on track and Molina's artwork makes them look good while they do it.

That track even has some interesting turns towards the end. While the story starts off as fairly basic, it gains greater intrigue towards the end. There are hints and teases about the Original Five X-men's larger goals and how they intend to go about it. Coming on the heels of a classic clash that brings new energy to a team that underwent so much upheaval, X-men Blue #1 creates a new foundation for an old cast of characters. For characters are teenagers, time-displaced, and dabbling in magic, that's quite an accomplishment.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

Priming A New Future: X-men Prime #1

The following is my review of X-men Prime #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Victory in every conflict comes at a price, but sometimes the price is secondary to the situation. For the X-men, the situation tends to be convoluted in detail, but simple in substance. Either they achieve victory or they go extinct. There's very little gray area in between. Those are the stakes that play out in Inhumans vs. X-men. Those are the stakes that drive the X-men's overall narrative as a series.

Now, with the conclusion of Inhumans vs. X-men, the situation is ready to evolve. The X-men once again have a chance to do more than just fight for their right to exist, which has been at the heart of nearly every major conflict since House of M. It's a chance they can't afford to squander. Stories involving sterilization and extinction are rapidly losing their ability to generate dramatic weight. More than any other ongoing series, the X-men need a new conflict with new stakes.

That's exactly what X-men Prime #1 sets out to do. Under the pen of Marc Guggenheim, Greg Pak, and Cullen Bunn, and a couple other top-tier artists, the X-men's story finally moves forward from yet another extinction/sterilization plot. It is, effectively, a bridge from one era to another. It helps settle the dust of one conflict while preparing the X-men for another.

The conflict itself is still secondary compared to the situation. Compared to the X-men's situation after Secret Wars, it doesn't take much to improve their predicament. In essence, this is one situation where over-achievement is necessary to elicit the necessary impact. It's a challenge and not just because impacting the X-men usually requires killer robots. He is tasked with essentially molding a new situation for the X-men to navigate. What he ends up crafting is as polished as it is compelling.

There are no killer robots. There are no poison gas clouds, time-traveling assassins, or clone army. X-men Prime #1 isn't structured for those kinds of fireworks. It's very much an epilogue and a prelude for the X-men as a whole. It unfolds primarily through the eyes of Kitty Pryde, who was lucky enough to have avoided the whole sterilization/poison gas cloud/war with the Inhumans. In many respects, that makes her uniquely qualified to take in this new status quo.

Kitty, having spent much of her time guarding the galaxy with her ex-fiance and a talking raccoon, returns to the world of X-men that wants to change. From Storm to the time-displaced X-men, Guggenheim, Pak, and Bunn create this prevailing sentiment that the way they're doing things has to change. Their current way put them at war with the Inhumans and forced them to live in a demon-infested realm. With or without mutant powers, any system that puts anyone into close proximity with demons is definitely a system in need of revision.

This makes for some very personal moments between Kitty Pryde and several characters who have been deeply affected by recent events, some of which don't even involve demons. Most of those moments involve Storm, who presents herself as a relic of the old system, in a sense.

She accepts responsibility for the decisions that led to the X-men's war with the Inhumans. She makes clear and gives some fairly understandable reasons why she doesn't feel inclined to lead anymore. Again, the X-men ended up living in a demon-infested realm under her leadership. She realizes on some levels that there's room for improvement.

Not every moment is as personal, though. Kitty does get a chance to meet up with Colossus, which is understandably awkward, but promptly avoided. She also gets a chance to meet up with the time-displaced X-men, albeit indirectly. These moments aren't quite as dramatic, but they do serve a purpose in that they show how portions of the X-men are going in different directions. Kitty can only do so much to influence them, but she's in a position to do more for the X-men than most. At this point, any direction that doesn't involve close proximity to demons counts as an upgrade.

X-men Prime #1 doesn't just succeed in using these personal moments with Kitty to move the X-men forward. It succeeds in making it feel dramatic and sincere. Being able to do this without killer robots or sterilization plots counts as an accomplishment these days. Through Kitty Pryde, he's able to convey a sense of hope and determination, two of the most important elements in any era of X-men.

As good as these moments are, there are a few that don't feel quite as dramatic. Kitty's interaction with Colossus is relatively minor and doesn't get too personal. A side-plot involving Lady Deathstrike and Weapon X feels disconnected and unnecessary to the overall story. While the moment with the time-displaced X-men offers a nice twist, it doesn't have many specifics. Some elements are left a bit vague, but it never feels too convoluted. In a series with clones and time-displaced characters, that still counts for something.

In terms of setting the stage for a new era of X-men, X-men Prime #1 checks nearly every box. Guggenheim, Pak, and Bunn establish a direction for the team. He takes the X-men out of the demon-infested and into a more promising situation. Considering how grim and dire the X-men's condition has been since the conclusion of Secret Wars, it's downright refreshing.

Sure, there are bound to be more attacks by killer robots. Sure, it's very likely that more clones and time travelers will enter the mix and frustrate the X-men. Like Wolverine and beer, certain elements are inescapably linked. The challenge is making the narrative behind these links compelling. In that sense, X-men Prime #1 rises to the challenge. For now, there's hope for the world of the X-men and, provided nobody ends up sterilized, that hope holds a great deal of promise and potential.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

Extraordinary X-men #14: Nuff Said!

In the annuls of the X-men, Apocalypse is kind of like circumcision. His presence is kind of a ritual that nobody understands, he tends to leave a lasting impact on the parts of you that really count, and no matter how much you try to ignore him, he finds a way to remind you. Apocalypse Wars did a damn good job of that and not just because it created yet another dystopian future. Extraordinary X-men already has a time traveler and an AU version of Wolverine in it. They know they're fucked. Apocalypse just likes to remind them.

Some reminders are still more frustrating than others. That's what happened with Colossus in Apocalypse Wars. Apocalypse left a mark on him that's only somewhat less distressing than circumcision. Now, his teammate have to unfuck his situation, relative to being a team that lives in a fucking demon realm. In that sense, Extraordinary X-men #14 is doing what it can to make shit shine, but that doesn't mean it can't be entertaining as hell.

So what kind of entertainment value can we get from Iceman and Nightcrawler reaching out to their corrupted friend? Do they have a tender heart-to-heart? Do they all attend therapy together to work out their problems? Fuck no! Colossus kicks their asses. There's definitely entertainment value in that.

Granted, seeing heroes fight other heroes is getting old as fuck. The concept already made a billion-dollar movie. Isn't that enough? Well, at least this fight has a valid context. It's spins directly out of the fight that began in Apocalypse Wars. So it's not like Marvel just pulled another bullshit reason for heroes to fight heroes out of their ass. Colossus is still corrupted by Apocalypse so of course he's going to make it hard on Iceman and Nightcrawler. It's still somewhat generic, but at least it's entertaining and relevant.

If you're sick as hell of watching heroes fight other heroes, this issue does offer something a bit more basic. While Iceman and Nightcrawler go after Colossus, Storm and Magik go after another missing teammate in Sapna. This leads them to the less friendly parts of Limbo and since Limbo is already a fucking demon realm, that should tell you something. Naturally, the end up finding some monsters and magic-wielding assholes who try to get in their way. They even try taking control of Storm in the process. It's every bit as retarded as it sounds. Even in Limbo, demon-loving assholes have a death wish.

It makes for some much more satisfying forms of action that don't involve heroes fighting other heroes. Storm kicks up a big fucking tornado. Keep in mind, this is still Limbo. A tornado in a demon realm is like a flood of piss in a shit storm. It makes things messy, but in a much more awesome, much less stinky sort of way. It gives her and Magik the chance to ditch these generic D-listers so they can go back to jerking off to demon porn or whatever they do in Limbo.

It's not very elaborate. It's not very epic either, but it really doesn't have to be. Colossus fighting Nightcrawler and Iceman isn't supposed to be a fight scene from the Matrix. Storm and Magik's fight isn't supposed to be on par with a dick-measuring contest against the Hulk either. They're basic skirmishes and they're nothing special. They're not really that connected either. They're basically warm beer in that it doesn't taste as good as it could, but it'll still get the job done.

Aside from the fighting, there's another side-plot in between involving Forge and Apocalypse. This one does actually have some connections in that Apocalypse is the key to undoing this horsemen shit with Colossus. So there it does contribute meaningfully to the plot. However, this form of Apoclaypse isn't nearly as menacing or imposing as his predecessors so it's not like anyone is shitting themselves in his presence.

This doesn't stop him from busting Forge's balls. Despite being a old far that even Oscar Isaac couldn't make sexy, he's still trying to recruit new horsemen to do his bidding. He even tempts Forge by saying that becoming a horsemen will make Storm want to fuck him again. Not going to lie. That's pretty damn tempting.

Then, Forge does what may be the most awesome thing he could've done, short of inventing a form of beer that never causes a hangover. He duct tapes Apocalypse's mouth shut. It's even more satisfying than it sounds. Forge silenced a mutant tyrant demigod with fucking duct tape. Seriously, is there anything duct tape can't fix?

Perhaps Nightcrawler and Iceman should've brought some duct tape with them because they basically get their asses handed to them by Colossus. That's not too surprising. Colossus is strong enough to bench press a jumbo jet and almost tough enough to survive the comments section on a message board. Add Horsemen strength to the mix and they've got no fucking chance.

Even so, it makes for a dull battle. Nightcrawler and Iceman really don't put up much of a fight. There's no scrappy underdog, Mighty Ducks bullshit here. It's just them getting their asses kicked until some backup arrives. However, that backup is led by Glob Herman so it's not like the fight got that much more balanced.

Dull fights are easy to balance out though. It definitely helps to throw in a nice, meaningful conversation between Old Man Logan and O5 Jean Grey in the mix. Now to all you special kind of perverts out there, put your dicks away. It's not THAT kind of conversation. It's meaningful in that it shows just how well O5 Jean Grey can influence people without probing their minds.

Old Man Logan's love life does come up, but they focus on Storm, which makes more sense. They both have white hair after all. I'm sure that's a special porno genre somewhere. However, even though O5 Jean encourages Old Man Logan to get his wrinkly old cock wet again, he doesn't seem fond of the idea of pursuing another woman he's just going to get killed. It's not an unreasonable concern, given how Jeff Lemire has been developing Old Man Logan. It's still telling that O5 Jean brings it up, which makes the exchange feel meaningful and not nearly as lopsided as a fight against Colossus.

As for Storm's own struggles, she has more pressing concerns than who she lets into her panties. She's still on a mission with Magik to find Sapna. They escape the D-list demon lovers. Now, they're in another part of Limbo, which is like being on the other side of an asshole. It's not much of an improvement.

This doesn't stop things from getting more tense. This whole demon shit storm is Magik's mission more than it is Storm's. She's the one who took Sapna under her wing. She's the one who wants to find her and stop her from loving demons a bit too much. It makes for a nice little exchange between her and Storm, which brings out the less demonic part of Magik. At a time when she's often a glorified Uber driver for the X-men, that's pretty damn important.

The tension quickly disappears when Sapna finally shows up. It's not like they find her or fight off a demon horde to rescue her. She just shows up out of the darkness like a kid running from an army of creepy clown. It's random and a little contrived, but it's in a fucking demon realm. It's unreasonable to expect it to make that much sense. Still not as terrifying as an army of creepy clowns though.

Sapna's sudden return makes for a nice little moment between her and Magik, complete with a hug. It has the potential to be one of those moments from a Hallmark card or a bad Julia Roberts movie. Then, you remember that this is taking place in a fucking demon realm. Of course it's going to be short lived. This is where fuzzy bunnies and lovable kittens come to get eaten.

Sapna, proving she's already made out with one too many demons, promptly blasts Magik and Storm. Then, she takes Magik's Soul Sword and uses it to summon a monster right out of bad tentacle porn. It's not actually as terrifying as it sounds. In fact, it's downright muted because this is taking place in a fucking demon realm. Like Colossus kicking the ass of undersized opponents, it's really not that surprising. Sapna is a teenage girl who learned to connect with demons. Short of giving her an unlimited supply of heroin and Nirvana records, she was bound to get this fucked up at some point.

So...is it awesome?

Well, it definitely has its moments. Forge putting duct tape over Apocalypse's mouth alone makes this issue worth buying. A nice heart-to-heart between O5 Jean and Old Man Logan on ways for him to hook up with Storm is a nice bonus. Other than that though, not a whole lot really happens here. Iceman and Nightcrawler make no progress with Colossus. Storm and Magik are just pissing into the wind with Sapna. The art is solid and the action is decent, but not all that productive.

I do give points for solid character moments. Those moments are lacking or half-assed in many other comics these days. I can't give too many points for a story that really doesn't move forward by much. There is an ongoing plot here in Extraordinary X-men #14. There are parts of that plot that are interesting, even to a non-sober mind. It just doesn't do enough to warrant genuine awesome. If nothing else, it offers further proof that duct tape can solve 90 percent of all problems.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Extraordinary X-men #13: Nuff Said!

How fucked are you when your sanctuary is infested by demons? The answer to that question is the primary theme of Extraordinary X-men. Mutants go from having a large, peaceful protest in the middle of DC to being safer among demons than they are among humans. That's a whole new level of fucked that few things outside Japanese anime porn can match. They still blame Cyclops, but oddly ignore the fact that the Inhumans aren't doing jack shit about the big fucking fart cloud that's killing them. I'm guessing they know that demons are less menacing than Disney lawyers at this point.

As fucked as they are, there comes a point where setting up shop in a demon-infested realm is going to leave the X-men too fucked to function. They barely functioned enough to survive another trip to another dystopian future involving Apocalypse. How can they expect to survive in a domain where demons pop up more often than annoying cat videos? Extraordinary X-men #13 sets the stage for the X-men to get just a little more fucked. At this point, does it really matter? I'm hoping a non-sober mind like mine can make that determination.

That said, I think it's safe to assume that the mind of a demon-loving teenage girl isn't inherently sober. It's just not something anyone who values the integrity of their asshole to say out loud. To be fair, Magik has been more collected and coherent in recent months. Since befriending a fellow demon-lover in Sapna, she's kind of mellowed somewhat, albeit only to the extent that a demon-loving teenage girl can. I still think she needs some better weed, but it has made her less overtly evil compared to recent years. That or this is just the natural byproduct of not hanging out with Emma Frost quite as much.

The problem is that during Apocalypse Wars, Sapna disappears for reasons that aren't entirely clear to a non-sober mind. Since Magik isn't eager to hang out with Emma Frost again, she goes looking for her. She even finds a portal and Sapna's pet demon, Boogers. I'm usually reluctant to root for demon-loving teenage girls, but Jeff Lemire makes it pretty damn easy here. How can you not root for a girl a demon named Boogers? It's like rooting against breast implants and puppies.

While Magik is taking care of her personal shit, the rest of the X-men have their own shit to deal with. The aftermath of Apocalypse Wars actually has an impact here. Let me pause for a second to acknowledge why that's a big fucking deal. Keep in mind, the X-men are in this shit storm because they got massively screwed off-panel after Secret Wars. So the concept that the aftermath of a major event helps build the next story feels pretty damn novel when it really shouldn't. Yeah, that's where we are with X-men comics these days, but I digress.

Apocalypse Wars may be over, but Apocalypse still did some pretty nasty shit. He turned Colossus into a horseman and now he's missing. That lead the team to take the old, wrinkly version of Apocalypse from the 30th century back to the past in hopes that he'll help undo the shit he did to Colossus. Plus, they already have Old Man Logan on their team and he's worked out well. I guess they figure getting another grumpy old fuck from a future can only help. At a time when prominent X-men are either dead or time-displaced, I can't argue with that logic.

As they're looking for ways to make Apocalypse undo the shit he did to Colossus, Nightcrawler and Iceman are taking the more direct approach. They're out in the non-demon world that's dominated by racist xenophobic slave-owners and the Marvel Universe that supports them. They're looking for Colossus and they're focusing on Clan Akkaba, who have long had a boner for all things Apocalypse. They probably could enlist help from the Avengers, but they're probably busy sucking the dicks of every racist xenophobic slave owners on Attilan.

This ends up being a surprisingly heated fight, especially from Nightcrawler. He's still pretty fucked up after the first arc. He takes it out on Clan Akkaba here. Let's face it, there are far less healthy ways he could deal with his shit. Sure, Iceman keeps him from going full Wolverine berserker rage, but it's refreshing to see Nightcrawler kick some ass. It also is an indirect hint of sorts that he's not totally in line with Storm's way of doing things, which plays out in Civil War II. Again, for a team that gets fucked over off-panel a lot lately, this kind of coherence is pretty damn refreshing.

Kicking the asses of Apocalypse worshipers is entertaining enough. There are still some demon asses to kick as well. This is where Storm meets up with Magik to get in on the action. It even leads to a nice little moment of sorts where Storm makes clear that she's willing to help even the demon-loving members of her team. That's why she's so respected by X-men, Avengers, and Wakandan kings. Helping a fellow X-men search for their demon-loving protege? It probably beats hearing whiny teenagers bitch about the lack of wifi in Limbo.

She follows Magik into the portal she finds with Sapna's pet, Boogers. Having already ventured into an Apocalyptic future, jumping through demonic realms must seem downright boring. It makes for some great visuals. A bag of weed isn't even necessary to enjoy them, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

They eventually show up in an apocalyptic version of London, which I imagine isn't much different from how London is during rush hour these days. They don't find Sapna, but they do find a bunch of John Constantine wannabes and assorted demon creatures. Their first instinct, naturally, is to attack the beautiful women. Like angry Twitter trolls, they don't need a reason. They don't seem to know anything about Sapna, which kind of stalls the plot, but it means more Storm and Magik fighting demons. Who can't get behind that? Who, I ask?

We then find out there may be another reason why Storm decided to fight demons rather than stick around X-Haven. While fixing Cerebro and dealing with the injured students from Apocalypse Wars, Old Man Logan and Forge get into a heated dick-measuring contest. It doesn't involve demons or Apocalypse worshipers, but it's still pretty damn relevant.

Remember, these are two men who have either seen Storm naked or are inclined to want to see her naked. Storm did share a few meaningful moments with Old Man Logan earlier in this series. She has also made it clear that her panties are still quite dry around Forge. So these two do have a reason to resent each other. They don't say it outright, but it's pretty damn obvious. I would say it's petty, but we're talking about seeing Storm naked here. I'd say the stakes are pretty damn high. Does it contribute much to the story? Fuck no. Is it still entertaining and relevant? Fuck yes. So it balances out.

There are more relevant battles going on, although the stakes don't involve a naked Storm so their importance is debatable. Iceman and Nightcrawler attack another Clan Akkaba stronghold in Egypt. That goes about as well as a vacation to Afghanistan. The action here is a bit more muted. Then again, it doesn't involve who gets to see Storm naked, so that's to be expected. Nightcrawler doesn't get to go berserker this time, but only because they find some actual leads on Colossus. Not sure which is better for Nightcrawler's mental health, but it moves the story along.

It's a story that has a lot of moving pieces now. We've got Storm and Magik fighting demons in their search for Sapna. We have Nightcrawler and Iceman fighting Clan Akkaba in their search for Colossus. We have Forge and Old Man Logan wanting to strangle each other over who gets to see Storm naked. It's a little chaotic, but each fight has its own appeal. Like different flavors of vodka or different strands of weed, they each have something to offer. The X-men have always been good at providing a variety of awesome. It's just one of the many things that make them more appealing than any team of racist xenophobic slave-owners.

Another thing the X-men are good at providing, sometimes to an annoying degree, are ominous hints about shitty futures. Having just gotten back from one in Apocalypse Wars, that's the last thing the X-men need, other than more clones or time travelers. This time, however, the ominous hints are a bit more concise. It turns out Clan Akkaba read Apocalypse Wars too. They seem to be aware of the apocalyptic shit that's going to unfold. Some of that shit involves more dead X-men. So long as they get the dignity of dying on-panel, they can't be too disappointed. They sure as shit shouldn't be surprised either. Another apocalyptic future is basically just another Monday for the X-men these days.

So...is it awesome?

Well, there are some interesting and semi-interesting things going on here. There is a genuine aftermath to Apocalypse Wars and it isn't cast aside like a used condom in a whore house. That may not sound like much, but at a time when iconic characters killed killed off-panel, that's a bit more important these days. There are a few personal moments as well. Magik actually shows some emotion that doesn't just involve getting horny around demons. So that's a nice touch. Old Man Logan and Forge are on the brink of strangling each other over who gets to see Storm naked. That definitely has some entertainment value as well. Is it enough though?

Well, as most X-men fans can attest since Secret Wars, the bar is pretty fucking low right now. They're in a world where racist xenophobic slave-owners get preferential treatment. We can't expect X-men comics to be as thorough or as epic as they once were. If we get a story that's concise, diverse, and exciting, we need to embrace it. The fact that nobody else gets sterilized in this issue is a victory in and of itself. Extraordinary X-men #13 may only make your panties half-wet, but that's what we have to work with these days. When shit is this bleak, you make a shit sandwich and you enjoy it for what it is.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Present and Future Intrigue: Extraordinary X-men #12

The following is my review of Extraordinary X-men #12, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

A war in an apocalyptic future is like Deadpool being locked in a fireworks factory. Nobody is all that surprised when the destruction escalates. Any war is terrible, but there comes a point where people become numb to the devastation. By any measure, the X-men are operating on a foundation of devastation. They're fighting to save a dying race against the forces of bigotry, sterilization, and anger over movie rights. As a result, the impact of Apocalypse Wars is somewhat muted.

That's not to say the story doesn't have its moments. Jeff Lemire makes a considerable effort to craft an apocalyptic battleground that feels unique and distinct. He succeeds on some levels, having elevated the profiles of lesser-known mutants like Glob Herman, Anole, and Earnst. However, it's still another run-of-the-mill apocalyptic future. It's still another dire conflict that promises to make a dire situation even more dire. So how can a story like Apocalypse Wars have a meaningful impact in those circumstances?

Extraordinary X-men #12 attempts to create that impact. The setup is hardly ideal. Omega World is crumbling and yet another apocalyptic future threatens to consume the X-men once more. There are a lot of forces working against the X-men in this story. For once, none can be blamed on the Inhumans for. Despite these forces, Lemire manages to craft a solid, satisfying impact that successfully brings Apocalypse Wars to a close.

The key to this impact is ensuring the aftermath of Apocalypse Wars is not entirely muted. Lemire does this by striking an careful balance between resolving the ongoing conflict with Omega World while using this conflict to lay the foundation for the next story. By doing so, he makes it so Apocalypse Wars can't be completely forgettable. That's not to say it'll have the same impact as Secret Wars, the Dark Phoenix Saga, or the Chuck Austin run on Uncanny X-men, but the impact is there.

The impact manifests within the context of solid visuals, courtesy of Hamberto Ramos' artwork. The battles that unfold are colorful, flashy, and not overly dark, which is an accomplishment for any story taking place in a dystopian future. It's all too easy for things to get grim and gritty when dealing with a threat like Apocalypse. Lemire and Ramos resist this urge. They understand there's only so many times an X-men story can rip off Days of Future Past.

The content of those battles is fairly refined, taking on some personal dynamics along the way. We get a tense battle between Teen Jean and a Venom-powered Old Man Logan. We get a harsh, violent, flashy battle between Magik and an Apocalypse-powered Colossus. There are real personal stakes to go along with the usual takes that come with any apocalyptic future. It further ensures that the impact of Apocalypse Wars isn't as stale as every other dystopian future the X-men encounter.

However, the greatest strength of the impact in Extraordinary X-men #12, and Apocalypse Wars as a whole, comes from the intrigue it creates for future conflicts. The ending isn't going to shock anyone on the same level as a Game of Thrones season finale, but it will generate interest in the conflicts to come. Some of it is generic ominous foreboding, the kind the X-men can probably surmise without a telepath. Other elements, however, are less ominous and have more to do with how Storm chooses to lead her team through this conflict.

If there's one character that really shines though the dystopian drudgery in Apocalypse Wars, it's Storm. She is the leader of the X-men now that Cyclops and Charles Xavier are dead, discredited, and everything in between. She doesn't carry herself like a placeholder either. She's not just keeping the chair warm for Cyclops, Wolverine, or any other X-men character that might rank higher in the pecking order. She makes clear that she is the leader now, which means she must be the one that makes tough decisions.

She certainly makes one in Extraordinary X-men #12. That decision will, the X-men remain jinxed with inhuman levels of bad luck if that's not too loaded a term, come back to haunt her. Even so, she makes this decision without hesitation, as anyone expects of a strong leader. It's not a decision that her team wholly agrees with. In fact, Lemire makes it a point to show some dissention within the team. It's another element that is sure to add fuel to the X-men's hapless luck, which has already forced them to seek refuge in a demon-laden dimension for safety.

In terms of resolving the final issue of Apocalypse Wars, Extraordinary X-men #12 completes this story in a fairly concise, if not somewhat rushed manner. The personal angles are strong, but lack drama. There aren't a lot of passions beyond simply wanting to escape yet another dystopian future. Some moments have the potential to flesh out heavier emotions, but that potential goes unrealized. It's like Wolverine only drinking half-a-beer. It doesn't feel complete in terms of character moments.

This is striking because one of the primary strengths of Extraordinary X-men as a whole is its focus on these character moments. It's within this series that the impact of the X-men's Inhuman-fueled bad luck is explored. Moments with characters like Storm, Old Man Logan, Teen Jean, and even Glob Herman are a big part of the overarching themes in this series. They're not entirely absent from Apocalypse Wars, but they are woefully underplayed.

Even so, Extraordinary X-men #12 does feel complete in terms of tying together a cohesive narrative. That narrative is made stronger thanks to Storm's hard decisions and the inevitable consequences of those decisions. It ensures that the greater impact of Apocalypse Wars will only be clear once those consequences are explored in later issues. It's part finale and part teaser trailer. At a time when teaser trailers are 90 percent of every mass media campaign, that's entirely fitting.

Final Score: 7 out of 10