All New X-Men #6 Review


Kitty Pryde has taken on the task of being the mentor of the 1st class; can she handle the assignment?

Here is the summary from Marvel:

The future of the X-Men will be defined by their past! How are the teenage X-Men going to fix their future?

Things have not gotten easier for the 1st class since arriving to the present. Their mentor is dead, one has become a terrorist, one is dead, one was dying (he’s better now), and one has no memory of his life; not really the best “I’m gonna be…when I grow up” scenario. Jean’s telepathy is still developing and without Professor X to teach her how to control it, Kitty steps in to fill the void. Young Scott is still coming to terms with how far his future self has fallen, and Warren is still lamenting over the fact that he is the only one who doesn’t know who his future self has become (which if anyone has read X-Men or Remender’s Uncanny X-Force would know it is a doosey). Things start to get complicated as an old X-Men foe finds out of the children’s existence in the present.

While the last issue focused more on Jean, this one slightly shifts it’s attention towards Scott. Besides Jean, he is the one most visably shaken by what the future has become. I mean killing you mentor and allying with your worst enemy is ALOT for a kid to handle. Bendis handles each of the kids developments well as the story continues to progress. Keeping a steady pace, that doesn’t move too fast, but doesn’t fall behind either. Jean continues to learn how to control her powers as her nightmares have started (we even see a brief glimpse of the Phoenix); and Kitty fills the role of mentor well, and feels very natural in it as she helps Jean calm her psychic episodes; while her and Storm also thrust the young girl into the role of leader of the 1st class. A couple funny moments happen like Scott going to a local store and asking why water is bottled, being confused by cell phones, and being shocked that a magazine is 5 dollars. Wolverine has some dialogue with Scott but in typical Logan fashion, isn’t very empathic to the young boy; causing him to attack Logan and run off with his bike. Warren finally meets his future self and it will be interesting to see how Bendis shows Warren dealing with the whole “You become Apocalypse, reshape the world, die, and then revive with no memory of your life” thing.

David Marquez takes over for Stuart Immonen on the art portion and gives each character that is spotlighted ample panel time. Jean’s dream is vivid and the scene with Kitty teaching her how to calm her mind is drawn really well with all of the random incoherent thought bubbles; with Kitty’s and Jean’s sort of getting loss in the shuffle as well; adding to the madness. Scott is really shown as a fish out of water and his reaction’s to the future come off very natural and his reactions to his older self feel very real as well. Immonen did lend his illustration to the cover which is really we done; showing the parallel to Charles Xavier and Kitty’s new role with the 1st class.

The starts must have aligned when the plot for this book was being talked over. Each issue gets better and better, as more and more elements are introduced to the 1st class as they struggle to make sense in a world that fell so short of their original dream. Alot of familiar themes are present; while also adding new things to the table. The journey for these kids feels surreal as everything they believed in continues to be challenged as they see things don’t work out how they planned, some more than others.

5/5

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