All-New X-Men (2)
Previously:
As Hank had begun to feel the growing pains of perhaps his last mutation (he has become too physically unstable for his heart and brain to easily function), he felt the need to make things right before his possible death. In order to stop a mutant civil war against Cyclops and his brigade (Emma and Magneto so far), he decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. He knew that Iceman was right when he said, "The Scott we grew up with--He would hate this. He would slap the holy crap out of the Scott we have now and he wouldn't stop slapping him."
And, using a time cube, he went back to the day when the X-Men were still filled with hope. He returned to the original team (himself along with Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, and Angel).
At the end of the book (All-New X-Men 1) his ominous words lingered in the air, "I need you to stop yourself from committing mutant genocide."
The Good:
In every fiction that involves time travel, there is the worry of ruining the space-time continuum. Because we have never realistically developed the proper technology to combat the fiend of Time, there is no way to know what effects would occur just by taking a trip down memory lane. Beast knows this before he travels to the past. And, his earlier version realizes this too, "I would never endanger the space-time continuum like this. Never. That's the part of this that confuses me." It was tough for the present Beast to convince the good ol' boys to go back to the present with him.
Bendis did a great job of adding this concern for realism. People don't just travel through time. The threat in the present must be something serious.
In continuation to this realistic idea, Beast and, later on, Wolverine both have very heart-warming (for they were glad at seeing her) and heart-wrenching (for knowing what had happened) reactions to seeing their long-dead friend (Jean Grey) again.
The original team is both wowed and perplexed when they get to the present. Some things make complete sense while others are just off. Iceman and Iceman have some of the greatest reactions in the book (When the present Iceman sees what Hank had done he yells, "Hey! Are you crazy?! Are you just a big ball of crazy?"). While, the rest of the team seem so much more like who they should be instead of who they turned out to be. Their virtues and concern for the common good have seem to be restored. But, that is probably just because most of their present alter-egos are currently out of the picture.
The art was also perfect for what needed to be seen.
The Bad:
Some may think this book lacked in action. But, it really made up for that in dialogue. And, Wolverine still manages to nearly chop off Scott's head (Jean was barely able to save him).
The main thing that bothered me was the page prior to Wolverine's outburst. He was in the classroom. Although he was teaching about fighting ninjas (which was both fitting and humorous), he seemed to be completely out of his natural character. I know that Marvel has this "Wolverine's school for gifted youngster's" idea going on right now. But, I have seen few Wolverine panels more disturbing than this one, having Logan necessarily put up with a bunch of little mutated brats.
The Results:
Well, just looking at my bad... That wasn't bad. I'm a big fan of humor and although Wolverine seemed out of place, it works with the random direction Marvel's taking his character and it was only a couple of panels in the book (mainly to set up for his presence in the following pages).
And, it was really good to see Jean Grey (alive) again. Although I had never really liked her (or Scott for that matter) before, this new appearance was like a breath of fresh air in a musty room.
The whole cast, the original team, is really refreshing. They seem completely sweet and innocent, while retaining their boldness and courage. They brought a glimmer of the hope that filled up the good old days to the dark and dreary present. I just hope that everything works out and they won't be too scarred from the trip (either way old Prof. X will probably mind-wipe them when they return).
And, perhaps some of them will manage to stay in the present. =)
I hope that Cyclops convinces Cyclops. And, even if he doesn't, I'm pretty sure Jean will. That will be a spectacle to see. Although Beast may be on his last leg, Hank may be able to stay in the present to kind of live for him. And, I really hope that Angel meets Archangel. That seen would be really emotional.
Pick up the book. It's going to be worth it.
