The X-Men's battle of words with Doctor Crocodile has to put aside as the two parties must unite against a greater threat - - the inexplicable return of Captain Britain's old foe, Mad Jim Jaspers.
The Good
This is one of those rare superhero comics where you're left riveted without any fight scenes or even a single thrown punch - - the dialog is
just that good. I'm normally leery of superheroes getting embroiled in current affairs as it frequently comes across as quite tacky or tasteless, but Ellis gives this enough sense of realpolitik to feel credible without it seeming ridiculous that these larger-than-life characters are standing in the middle of real world problems. Particularly, the way Dr. Crocodile started convincing the X-Men that their objections to his solution were a bit short-sighted... it added just enough complication to make this feel more realistic, without bashing you on the head with "importance." And Emma's counter to the despot's troops was a sick, but hilarious, hoot!
The Bad
Wolverine comes across a little too articulate at times. Ellis is emphasizing his long life would make him a lot more worldly and politically savy than he's traditionally been depicted, but... even then, there enough turns of phrase from him that don't really fit a brawler. It draws attention to the fact that some characters' voices might be a bit too similar to one another.
The Verdict - 4/5
I'd honestly just give this high marks for its continuation of the "Mad Jim Jasper's Warp" storyline from the classic Moore/Davis run on Captain Britain. I didn't get to check out the second issue of this mini - - from the first issue, I really though it was going to be superfluous - - but my interested is a lot stronger now that an unstoppable, indefatigable unit of Furies (note the plural) have shown. This just got a lot more interesting.
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