In the last issue, we saw the original X-Men now taking up home under the room of Cyclops’ team. While it hasn’t been clearly stated that they are going to be doing their own thing at his school, so far they have gotten their own unique uniforms and had their own private little prep talk. This week we continue the vibe that the All-New X-Men are going to be separated from their classmates and continue to do their own thing.
This time around we jump in and see a group of the Purifiers start harassing a young girl claiming that she is a mutant when she is saying that she isn’t. They are hunting her down and getting ready to kill her when the All-New X-Men, with Kitty and Magik, show up to save the day. Not only are they there to save the day, but this young mutant woman is known to them. By the end of the issue you’ll end up knowing why.
What we get here is an issue where the original X-Men are taking down this mutant-hating religious group while Magik gets knocked out and Kitty is chasing down mystery mutant. The characterization of the mutants is extremely interesting as we see Scott try to not only be the leader, but work things out with humanity when he has a chance. We see Iceman trying to crack jokes, we see Jean routing around in another’s mind and seeing fire while being called the Devil, and most importantly we see Angel fly one of the men up and “accidentally” drop him and just watch as he is falling to the ground below. All of these traits can be seen in the X-Men as they grow older.
Now if you’ve been paying attention to previews, are following Marvel, or know the X-Men like the back of your hand, you’ll recognize Laura before Kitty calls her name. Laura, of course, being X-23 the female clone of Wolverine. Most recently she was just in the clutches of Murderworld and while all of the young heroes from there that survived supposedly were helped and got medical treatment, somehow she apparently got away and went out on her own, possibly with amnesia.
When Kitty finally gets her away from everyone near the end of the comic, she looks to be about to give into a berserker rage saying that no one is allowed to touch her.
Uh-oh.
So this was an interesting way to bring Laura back into a main X-title, possibly address what she’s just gone through in ‘Avengers Arena’ and bring back the (boring) Pacifiers. Basically it felt like a filler issue and with Brandon Peterson having just stepped on board to handle art duties, I’m not sure if I like where the look of the book is going.
What this has become is a book I’ve really enjoyed before, but after ‘Battle of the Atom, it has really let me down with a lackluster and not amazing looking experience. Hopefully this is just the transitional stage before we enter into whatever happens next – which I hope has nothing to do with The Pacifiers. Why they’re even still around as a villainous group astounds me.
ALL-NEW X-MEN #19
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Brandon Peterson
