By: Mike Carey (writer), Khoi Pham (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Antonio Fabela (colors), Cory Petit (letters) & Daniel Ketchum (editor)
The Story: A hitchhiker came back when Rogue, Magneto and gang returned from outer space.
Five Things: [with SPOILERS]
1. Odd time to set a story – This story is set during the break-up phase at the end of Schism. It’s really weird because for folks who have been following the X-Men on a monthly basis, we’re already 2 issues into the new status quo in most of the other books. So, it’s off-putting to see the early part of this story revolve around Rogue trying to make her decision about whether to go with Wolverine and Cyclops because that issue is kinda settled. And even though Rogue is still making up her mind, Logan, Bobby, Kitty, et al are no where to be seen, but Rachel Summers is still lurking in the background. It’s just an odd hybrid of old and new that falls a little flat. ONE good thing to come out of this is a nice conversation between Cyclops and his brother, Havok, about the philosophical split between the two camps.
2. Interesting concept for mystery – The way the central mystery of the issue unfolds is pretty cool: Rogue absorbs some of Magneto’s “point of view” to see why he is choosing to stay with Cyclops. When she does this, she notices that he has a hitchhiker in his psyche and that ALL of the folks who went on the mission to rescue the Starjammers (in the last story cycle) have a hitchhiker. Who could it be? Friend or foe? Carey does a nice job of teasing this story along until we finally get to the reveal.
3. Can’t anyone stay dead? – My goodness was it a bummer to see who the hitchhiker was. Ariel? Really? If a character a low-value as Ariel can’t stay dead we know that death is truly ruined in comics. If you don’t remember, she was killed in Second Coming in a scene that was designed to show the reader that “this is serious stuff. I mean, people are DYING!” When I saw that reveal, I almost wondered if Carey was tired of playing second fiddle in the X-office and was annoyed that he’s been stuck doing a good job on X-Men Legacy for years and now he’s watching Keiron Gillen and Jason Aaron waltz in to take the spot-light. Maybe he had this plotline all cooked up as a way to bring back someone cool like Jean Grey and when he found out he’d not be getting “promoted” off Legacy he said, “Fuck it. I’ll just bring back Ariel instead.” It just seemed like less inspired writing than I’ve come to expect from Carey (remembering that this is the guy who writes The Unwritten!).
4. Okay art – I’m not going to pick at it took much. No one is going to be singing the praises of this art, but it does get the job done. I (personally) happen to be a bit snobby about my comic art, but I know that 99% of comic fans just want “story” and this art is perfectly fine for the majority.
5. What is the direction for this title? – This issue almost screams that this title is a bit of an afterthought in the current X-lineup. It isn’t really synced up with the other stories and doesn’t seem to have a role in the way that all the other titles have a somewhat defined set of mutants and a job to do. Traditionally, this has been the Rogue title, but with the team she assembled over the last ~40 issues getting ripped apart by Schism, it really needs a new direction. I hope that Marvel finds a role and doesn’t keep pumping it out just because they know that a lot of people will continue to buy it just to have the complete set.
Conclusion: An okay comic, but it feels really out of sync with where the other X-comics are right now and it isn’t clear what direction it is going in. This comic is stuck in the past whereas the rest of the X-office if moving forward.
Grade: D+
-Dean Stell
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