Comic Book Review - X-Men: #2
“From the Ashes” continues as the X-Men have a close encounter…
The new “From the Ashes” era of the X-Men has officially begun and there’s already an abundance of different stories at play. While the likes of Uncanny X-Men and X-Factor have their tone of storytelling, for the mainstream X-Men narrative Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman keep things simple. So far we’ve seen Scott Summers and his ragtag group set up base in the frozen wilds of Alaska, to then venture back into the world to save mutant-kind once again.
For this second issue, we’re thrown into an alien invasion as a fleet of spacecraft descends on San Francisco in search of a new mutant. On the other side are Scott and the X-Men who are also tracking the same mutant. As both sides clash the real question is; how does it all fit into the wider X-Men picture?
As the story goes this issue flows pretty well as we see the X-Men team battle this new threat. It’s almost business as normal as MacKay shows off how effective Scott and his team are at getting the job done. A fair chunk of this issue focuses on Scott, Psylocke, and Magik as they battle on the ground with their mission to find this new mutant. Meanwhile, quick scene changes keep the action fresh as we see Juggernaut, Kid Omega, and Temper onboard the marauder. Even with the team split in half, Scott’s leadership is the thing that keeps them all together. Regardless of which side of the team MacKay focuses on, you know that they’re under the leadership of Scott Summers. If anything this issue serves to show that they’re already an effective team even after recent events.
For seasoned X-Men fans, the story here does play it a little safe. Again it very much seems like a run-of-the-mill mission for the team, even though the steaks seem to be quite high during this issue's opening. That being said, for those who are treading water with this new X-Men era, this arc is the perfect starting point. However, if you’re up to date on the happenings of mutant kind (mainly if you’ve read last week's Uncanny X-Men) then you’ll already see that something isn’t quite right between Cyclops and Rogue’s teams. Could Cyclops’s closeness to Magneto see the two teams clash in the future?
The art team of Ryan Stegman, J.P. Mayer, and Marte Gracia work incredibly well together to bring this issue to life in a believable manner. Stegman’s illustrations take on quite the shift here as we get plenty of superbly detailed action sequences, amongst a well-crafted alien invasion. Gracia then adds more depth with a realistic colour palette that allows everything to pop straight from the page - especially if it’s Juggernaut being launched from a mass driver!
Overall X-Men #2 is a pretty decent issue. Even though the storyline seems to move at quite a pace, MacKay does a good job of building upon the team’s synergy whilst sowing the seeds of this arc's future. Whether you’re a newcomer to the X-Men mythos - or a seasoned veteran - Jed MacKay is building quite a web of intrigue here, and it’s certainly one that’ll keep you guessing across the next few months.
Rating: 8/10
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