All New X-Men #32

 
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Mahmud Asrar & Marte Gracia
Cover: Sara Pichelli & Marte Gracia
Publisher: Marvel  
Jean Grey is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. It wasn’t bad enough she had to be taken from her own time and then forced to realize her future looked pretty bleak, now she’s stuck in an Earth that isn’t even her own. Her and the rest of the team left behind at the New Xavier Academy.
 
As for as stories go, this issue is kind of lacking, which isn’t too surprising, it’s a set up for the upcoming issues that put the O5 in the Ultimate universe. This issue just places each character in the universe, running into some beloved characters (some less so) that we already recognize if we’re familiar with the Ultimate comics. This ploy may or may not work out for the series.
 
Warren ends up running into Jimmy Hudson, Beast is in Latveria, Laura is being chased by mutant oppressors, Bobby’s underground with the Mole Man, and Jean is probably in the best situation out of them all, she’s run into everyone’s favourite Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man. Luckily for myself, I’m already a fan and familiar with the Ultimate universe, but I fear readers who aren’t in the same boat, won’t get anything out of the next few issues. A team up with just Miles could have been cool, but to split the team up is a bit overwhelming, and it’s unclear where Bendis plans on taking the story. Maybe that’s the hook after all, hard to say—make it vague enough that you have to keep reading to find out what the next move is.
 
It’s a little slow paced and incredibly drawn out and the story doesn’t move forward at all but at least it’s pretty to look at. I’ll never have anything to say about Asrar’s talents and definitely nothing negative about Gracia’s colours either. The art is gorgeous as usual, up to the normal X-Men standards at this point, and it’s always interesting to see other artists take a jab at bringing Miles to life. There’s also a nice spread when we flashback through Miles’ memories that will ring familiar with readers that have been with All New X-Men since the beginning (hello new computer wallpaper). As mentioned earlier though, the only reason I love this spread so much is because I love Miles Morales’ character. Many readers may no next to nothing about him, so there’s no motivation to keep reading. Well here’s hoping that this quiet low only means the next issue is going to be that much more exciting.