All-New X-Men #10
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, Marte Gracia, and Rain Beredo
The short of it:
It’s a day like any other in Charlotte, North Carolina as a bank transfer prepares to take place. A pretty big one, too, the security officer has never transported that kinda cash before. Or, really, ever, since Wolverine and the All-New X-Men drop in and start slaughtering everyone. Well, everyone save for that guard, who happens to be Mystique. Wolverine is Sabretooth, and the rest? Well, that’s why you pick up Lady Mastermind. So that robbing banks is that much easier, because if you really want to fund an evil mutant organization, eighteen million bucks is a great way to start it.
Meanwhile Scott and company are standing on the lawns of the Jean Grey school and preparing an offer. I say preparing, because the X-Men need everyone to remember that he is a cold blooded killer who took great glee and joy in killing Xavier, and Scott challenges them to admit freely that he is purely guilty, and no one can really do that. So he opens up admissions, anyone who wants to join his school is welcome, and proceeds to verbally tear apart anyone who attacks him. His new goal for the dream, to be the warriors that Xavier always trained them to be….and if Hank McCoy has a problem with that, he can go and tell the kids the truth behind how Scott got Godlike powers.
Scott and company take their leave as the young Scott lets reality slap him in the face, and then just about lets Beast do the same thing. He’s mad, and he has every right to be. There was no mention of the Avengers screwing up and giving Scott the powers that drove him insane, they were simply told that Scott is evil now. The current X-Men just want another chance to hit him, and they think he’s insane, but the X-Kids pick up on a few things. Like how Scott seems to feel the same way towards them as they do to him. They just want to find some way to put a spy on his team….but he shows right back up for final answers.
Former New X-Men go with him, but apparently….so does an All-New X-Man!
What I liked:
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Maria Hill needing a full on genetic test to get on the Raft is perfect. I mean, the last time these people saw her, she let Sabretooth kill everyone. Really, the mutant detector for shapeshifters should have just been standard.
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Scott verbally destroying anyone and everyone. I’m sorry, but Cyclops was right, and any attempt at villainizing him should be met with him tearing a new asshole.
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Scott gives the best speeches. Doesn’t matter how old he is.
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I love the art. The entire art team is turning in A+ work, and enough credit can not be given out.
What I didn’t like:
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For as much as I enjoyed Jean in the early issues, she’s really starting to annoy me. She won’t stay out of anybody’s head, calls Wolverine James, and really just comes across as really manipulative.
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but the last time Scott and Hank saw each other, Hank was a giant cat man. I would have liked a comment about the new look, I mean, they were best friends up until Hank found out about X-Force.
Final thoughts:
For as clear cut as AVX was, with Iron Man and the Avengers breaking the Phoenix before it could get to Hope, and then it possessing the Phoenix Five, it’s absolutely astonishing to see the Avengers prop themselves up as the heroes who stopped the monster they created. Same goes with the X-Men condemning the monsters that they know to not be monsters. Find me an X character who hasn’t been on the receiving end of mind control. Seriously, it’s an all the time sort of thing for these people, Iceman and Kitty shouldn’t be declaring Scott a cold blooded killer.
Mindy in quotes. I saw that. Taking bets as to who is in disguise.
One of the old school X-Men is joining Scott, and my money is on Warren or Jean. Jean because she got to sit in while Logan and Kitty wanted to put a mole in Scott’s group, and she’s trying her damndest to play adult, while Warren could easily just be pissed that he doesn’t want to be there and the first time he argues he got mind fried. I don’t see Beast as going because, well, despite his hating humans in the first few issues, he loves hanging out with his older self. Iceman is too much of a clown, and Scott was visible in the panel when the off-panel character said they were going. It wasn’t that hard to narrow down.
I imagine Quentin Quire would get claws through his neck before Wolverine would let him go with Scott.
I figured a better recruitment drive than just four people, but I imagine we might see a few more go. I mean, there are a lot of kids who stayed with him on Utopia because they saw the need to be fighters and not sit in classrooms. Perfect time to bring some of the old New X-Men characters back to the forefront. Hellion, maybe? Surge?
I love that Scott called Hank out on being a miserable hypocrite. Dude wants to act high and mighty when he selfishly screwed with the timeline just to piss Scott off by making him see himself and Jean.
Really, I just love that despite all attempts at portraying him to the contrary, Scott isn’t being played as a villain.
Overall: 8.5/10
