The Good
Beast teaches Jean to use her powers, but Jean finds out that Beast, from the past, has feelings for her. Bobby from the past finds out his older counterpart is in a relationship with Kitty Pryde and in a fit of anger takes Scott with him to town to meet some real teenagers.
I've been a bit back and forth on this series. I wasn't sure where this was headed. However, I found myself really enjoying this particular issue because the focus is heavily on the original X-Men, minus Angel, and them being teenagers. We get two stories here. One is current Beast training Jean Grey to use here powers, and the other is Scott and Bobby going out on the town to talk to some local teenagers. While both were great, I found myself really enjoying the talks between Jean and current Beast, then Jean and past Beast.
There's a lot happening here with is contradictory to what happened in the original books. These characters are changed and becoming different because they know their futures. Whether it is because they're purposely going against their own future or this is just the way things are working out is cool to watch unfold, especially with Jean Grey.
It's a couple of brief moments, but I really enjoyed the bookend moments here of Jean Grey and Rachel Grey bumping into each other. It really puts this world into perspective because so much has happened in the X-Men Universe, including daughters from other universes popping into the 616.
Did Bendis throw in a Ron Popeil Mr. Microphone reference? Yes. Yes he did. It's my favorite line of dialogue in the issue.
I love this cover, but I can't help but giggle at Scott in the background, every time I see him. I keep imagining him shouting "NOOOO!"
The Bad
My one complaint is the art on the issue. I think David Lafuente's style (with Jim Campbell on colors) is fantastic and very pretty, but I just don't like it on this book. I've loved what David Marquez and Stuart Immonen did on past issues, but I feel like Lafuente's style is a bit too cartoony for this story. On top of that, I really don't like blank backgrounds, which we get a ton of in this issue.
The Verdict
I'm very excited for Battle of the Atom, which starts in September. While this doesn't really seem to be setting up that per se, it is a great issue that sets up some smaller future stories fairly well. My only real problem with the issue is that while I liked Lafuente's art style, I didn't think it was the best fit for the book. However, it's still a great issue, overall. If you get a chance, make sure you pick this book up.