Time Travel and it's Consequences
WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL SPOIL THE EVENTS OF X-MEN: BATTLE OF THE ATOM #1!
We aren't just lucky enough for Battle of the Atom to have started, but we get two parts in one week, as following X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1 this is the second part in the storyline that I personally have been looking forward to for quite a while.
Plot
Following Cyclops' near death experience a team of future X-Men come back to warn the X-Men of the consequences should the younger X-Men stay.
Review
This was a brilliant issue, and although not quite on par with the first part, it was still extremely enjoyable, and very interesting. Brian Michael Bendis is certainly on a role, as given his last issue of Uncanny X-Men was slightly mediocre I was hoping that it wouldn't flow into Battle of the Atom, which it hasn't, with Bendis bouncing back brilliantly. The dialogue in this issue was simply amazing, and with the issue being mostly all talk, with little action it needed to be. Besides that Bendis managed to add a lot of atmosphere to the issue, with there being some light humour, and excitement as well. I was however not overly happy with him repeating parts, but that wasn't a huge deal, and was probably needed.
Stuart Immonen did a fantastic job of the art on this issue, as although it's not the best work that I've ever seen from him it was still amazing. The detail was however slightly inconsistent, as although most of the issue was very highly detailed, there were a few imperfections throughout, and especially near the start of the issue. His layouts were however as usual perfect, adding a lot of depth to the issue, as well as helping the story to flow smoother. I also felt that Immonen's art was very dynamic, helping create a brilliant atmosphere for the issue. I also loved how Immonen handled the characters emotions, as with the lack of action it was really needed, and Immonen didn't disappoint.
This issue followed roughly on from the opening issue, with Cyclops' X-Men back at the New Charles Xavier School for Mutants. This sequence would show how much the events that occurred in the last part have affected Triage, as he's pretty messed up over the events, and how he managed to bring the younger Cyclops (and hence the older Cylcops as well) back from the dead. This conversation was very interesting, and it showed the reality of the situation, as well as bringing home the fact that the X-Men seem to shrug off time travel incidents due to how frequent they happen.
The first part of Battle of the Atom would introduce a X-Men team that has came from the future to make sure that the younger X-Men get send back into the past. Now this was something that was already established to happen, and although their entrance in the last part was amazing, I found their appearance in this issue to be much more interesting. The team line up was amazing, and I especially loved seeing the changes that the years have caused to Deadpool, and Beast, though I do question why Deadpool is a member given the fact that he's not a mutant. I also found the other members interesting, and loved the reactions the X-Men had to these future X-Men, especially both the younger, and current Iceman's reactions.
WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!
During this issue the younger Jean Grey, and Cyclops would make a drastic decision and leave the group, with Jean fearing that sending her back in time is virtually a death sentence. As I said earlier the repeating of events didn't appeal to me, but they allowed this development to go in a very unique, and interesting manor. I also loved the interaction between Jean, and Cyclops during this, though I did slightly question why Cyclops didn't need persuaded. I do however feel that this is the perfect way to allow this story more time, and look forward to seeing how things will progress in X-Men #5
Final Verdict
This was a great continuation to the Battle of the Atom story, as although not quite as good, it was still very exciting, and interesting, having some shocking developments, as well as a brilliant ending. It also had some outstanding dialogue, as well as some amazing humour, making me want the next part to come out even sooner. Due to all this it's extremely easy to recommend this issue, but naturally you'll need to read X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1 first.
