All-New X-Men #07
Here we are again in yet another episode of Will Scott Summers Ever Get A Break? Spoiler alert, he doesn’t, and at the slimy hands of Toad no less. While the other X-Men were busy fighting Blob, Toad seized his opportunity to kidnap Cyclops for a dastardly plan that ends up leaving the X-Men in a spot of hopelessness.
Writer: Dennis Hopeless
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Andrew Hennessy
Colours: Nolan Woodard
Letterer: Cory Petit
The latest iteration of All-New X-Men with Hopeless and Bagley at the helm have really decided to put the original X-Men through the wringer, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just a different flavour to the X-Men title. Gone are the days of awkward friendships and brightly coloured spandex and light humour, no matter how much panel time Iceman gets. Since the death of present-day Cyclops, it’s all been downhill for mutants, especially if one happens to be Cyclops from the past. The poor boy needs a vacation.
This time he ends up being hijacked away from his team by once laughable foe, Toad. Using Toad as the nemesis this time around is an interesting, but good, choice because readers are already so familiar with the character, which makes it easier to add complexity to the story at hand. Toad, once a sad lackey to Magneto, finally saw his life turning around, only to have it crumble once again, and it’s almost easy to feel for him, or at the very least understand his motivations. It’s the extra dimension in what would otherwise be considered a ‘let’s beat up Scott Summer’s again’ kind of story.
Toad decides he’s going to change the future by changing a part of the past- starting with past Scott. The best commentary to come from this is Toad quipping that’s he’s seen enough movies about changing the past to change the future, he knows what he’s doing. It turns out he’s talking about Terminator. But I think we all know what other story that’s like.
Overall the story has kind of already been done, Scott’s missing, the other X-Men are at a loss trying to find him, meanwhile Scott gets pulverized into a bloody mess. The only new addition is the villain. Bagley, Hennessy, and Woodard’s art adds that extra grittiness to the story. Sure the X-Men are still teenagers who don’t really know what they’re doing and they still are trying to deal with their teen problems by saving the world, but this isn’t a teen story anymore. There are numerous pages that highlight Scott’s bloody and battered face and it’s a stark reminder that they’re also dealing with problems way beyond what a teenager should deal with.
Then again, that’s what makes them remarkable, what makes them X-Men.
There stands to be room for a little bit more light heartedness and story and perhaps more colour, but this will do for readers who enjoy more grit and pulp in their comics.
Writer: Dennis Hopeless
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Andrew Hennessy
Colours: Nolan Woodard
Letterer: Cory Petit
The latest iteration of All-New X-Men with Hopeless and Bagley at the helm have really decided to put the original X-Men through the wringer, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just a different flavour to the X-Men title. Gone are the days of awkward friendships and brightly coloured spandex and light humour, no matter how much panel time Iceman gets. Since the death of present-day Cyclops, it’s all been downhill for mutants, especially if one happens to be Cyclops from the past. The poor boy needs a vacation.
This time he ends up being hijacked away from his team by once laughable foe, Toad. Using Toad as the nemesis this time around is an interesting, but good, choice because readers are already so familiar with the character, which makes it easier to add complexity to the story at hand. Toad, once a sad lackey to Magneto, finally saw his life turning around, only to have it crumble once again, and it’s almost easy to feel for him, or at the very least understand his motivations. It’s the extra dimension in what would otherwise be considered a ‘let’s beat up Scott Summer’s again’ kind of story.
Toad decides he’s going to change the future by changing a part of the past- starting with past Scott. The best commentary to come from this is Toad quipping that’s he’s seen enough movies about changing the past to change the future, he knows what he’s doing. It turns out he’s talking about Terminator. But I think we all know what other story that’s like.
Overall the story has kind of already been done, Scott’s missing, the other X-Men are at a loss trying to find him, meanwhile Scott gets pulverized into a bloody mess. The only new addition is the villain. Bagley, Hennessy, and Woodard’s art adds that extra grittiness to the story. Sure the X-Men are still teenagers who don’t really know what they’re doing and they still are trying to deal with their teen problems by saving the world, but this isn’t a teen story anymore. There are numerous pages that highlight Scott’s bloody and battered face and it’s a stark reminder that they’re also dealing with problems way beyond what a teenager should deal with.
Then again, that’s what makes them remarkable, what makes them X-Men.
There stands to be room for a little bit more light heartedness and story and perhaps more colour, but this will do for readers who enjoy more grit and pulp in their comics.
A Look Inside
