Ultimate X-Men #94 - "Absolute Power, Part 1 of 4" (Writer: Aron
E. Coleite, Penciler: Mark Brooks, Inks: Jaime
Mendoza & Troy Hubbs, Colors: Edgar Delgado)
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Alpha Flight comes to the X-Mansion to bring back one of their wayward members, and thoroughly trounce the X-Men in the process. The team must discover what gives them such an edge and consider how to tackle the team.
Aron Coleite's initial run on the story is not without some decent ideas. The problem is he can't really work the ideas in without violating canon. The big one is that Colossus apparently has been using a power-enhancing drug for the whole run of the series, because without it he doesn't have super strength and so can barely move in his metal form. This is a cool idea, certainly. The problem is that the team has had more than one telepath on the team, and despite what is said in this issue, Jean never had problems with reading the minds of her teammates. It's hard to believe this secret could have been kept, or that he could have kept up his supply all through everything else he's been through.
What's somewhat more annoying is that after the big reset button pushed at the end of the last arc, this issue seems to go out of the way to reset things even furthur. While the subplot involving Nightcrawler's homophobia is thankfully resolved, it does seem to be done too quickly. Jean Grey, who disappeared at the end of the last issue, has already shown up again, off panel.
Those at least could be explained as deliberate choices, even if a little ill-advised. Worse is the changes that seem to suggest the new writer was only informed in some very broad strokes about what happened at the end of the last arc. Charles Xavier is 'recovering' from the Apocalypse incident, despite seemingly perfectly healthy the last issue. Colossus, described explicitly as still living in Chicago, is now a part of the X-Mansion team again (it's clear he's not just visiting, as he suggests he may be expelled for a course of action). The Professor's suggestion that they're going to 'change the world' seems entirely lost, and everything is just back to the Ultimate X-Men status quo - a team of mutants, including the classics from the beginning, at the mansion training and being suddenly attacked as usual. There is some text on the summary page that provides some justification for the inconsistencies, but mostly it reads as though the new writer and the old writer were not communicating.
He's only one for a few issues before (I believe) Jeph Loeb takes over and pushes the title towards Ultimatum. Since I was going to drop the series anyway at that point, I don't really feel the need to read the rest of an arc that seemed to have divorce itself from continuity anyway. It's not bad, aside from the continuity issues, but I just don't want to continue.
Review: 3 stars
What was once mutant town has been sealed off from the rest of
the city, and a madman's revenge fantasies combined with Arcade's
knowhow is turning that part of the city into a deathtrap.
X-Factor must do what it can to put out fires and save lives.
It's mainly an action story, with the team split up and helping
different people, but it's reasonably fun for all that, and it
manages to give what the rest of the arc didn't - a really good
Arcade moment. The way Rictor brought down the barrier felt a
little weak, but I'll still make this issue my Pick of the Week.
Review: 3.25 stars
Another series of individual stories. The Beast sorts through
the ruins of the X-Mansion, Illyana considers how to gain her
soul back, Forge tries to work on some inventions, Havok is
informed of what's been happening recently, and Surge goes to
her old teacher, Dani, for advice.
The best of the stories this time around is the first, "Lights
Out", (Writer: Mike Carey, Pencils: Scott Eaton, Inks: Andrew
Hennessy, Colors: Frank D'Armata), involving Beast. The others
either ring false, or are too short and simplistic to be
effective on their own and just set up (or touch base on or
explain minor points of) specific stories in some of the
lower-tiered X-books. Still, this whole issue is pretty
skippable.
Review: 3 stars
Well, that's it for this week folks. Next week, according to the
shipping list, there's two. There's Giant Size Astonishing
X-Men #1, and New Warriors #12.
See you next time...
Peter Dimitriadis
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X-Factor #31 - "The Middle East Side Is Burning" (Writer: Peter
David, Artist: Pablo Raimondi, Colorist: Jeromy
Cox)
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X-Men: Divided We Stand #2 (of 2) (Various writers and artists)
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