Title: Sinister
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Akira Yoshida
Penciler: Chris Bachalo
Inkers: Florea, Irwin, Leisten, Mendoza, Olazaba, Sowd, and Vey (7!?!)
Colorist: Studio F
Letterer: Chris Eliopolous
Editor: Mike Marts
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Have you ever played the regret game?
Have you taken a moment in your life and tried to imagine what happens when it’s gone?
It’s a mean game to play on an individual basis, but ten years ago Marvel did it with an entire faction of it’s universe. The X-Men without Charles Xavier. Sadly, sometimes things go awry, so when Apocalypse appeared with little to no resistance – he made the world his own. The Age of Apocalypse was born.
When I reviewed issue #3 of this series, I realized I made one fatal error. This isn’t a 4 issue mini like I originally suspected, but a 6. So here we are, one issue away from the end and it’s time to get serious.
Story
Quite honestly, everything up until this point has involved getting Wolverine to join the team again. That is kind of sad in retrospect, no matter that it has been a fun little journey to see how the various characters that weren’t around ten years ago (Xorn, X-23) fit into the AOA. No mention of Maggott or Celia Reyes… guess they’re skipping over that part of time too, eh?
Anyway, as I said – this issue contains the big reveal. At the end of the original AOA, thousands of bombs went off – seemingly giving sad closure to a great crossover. We’ve learned that didn’t happen, of course. What did? Only two people know… Magneto.. and Sinister.
Magneto has known the deepest secret of the AOA this entire time. Jean Grey is alive, and she is the reason why the bombs never went off.
I know that this doesn’t come across as that much of an impact, but let’s take a step back and examine the characters we are dealing with. Jean Grey, in the standard Marvel Universe has been described as the ‘heart and soul’ of the X-Men. She was the embodiment of the dream. So to find out that she saved the X-Men, it has symbolism. Now let’s add to this that Magneto has known this entire time. No matter how you spin this, it comes across as him not thinking of his friends. He takes his ideals of a world and putting it above the lives of those he might care about. Sounds similar to a Magneto we know, doesn’t it?
That’s what this issue has done for me, it has shown me that even if Yoshida isn’t writing the greatest X-Story ever written – there is a true understanding of the underlying motivations of these characters. Logan cares about what he chooses to. Quicksilver believes that his father is working for the better good. (It took Quicksilver decades of realtime to finally turn on Magneto)
..and there is still one more surprise at the end of the issue.
Art!
I’ve spoken about how Bachalo makes me happy. He’s one of those artists that I have always enjoyed. His layouts are interesting, his use of dead space (remember the checker patterns of Generation X) is fun. I just like him. Oh, and he draws a badass Sinister.
A good part of this issue is in black and white, due to flashback – and that’s where his art stands out. It just feels even more real when put into shades of grey. It also hides the fact that there are seven different inkers.
I’m not going to continue to sit and continue bantering on about Bachalo. He is, and will always be an artist you either enjoy or dislike. If you don’t like him, subtract a couple points from the final score.. kay? My question is though, WHY are their seven inkers?!
Overall!
When AoA is over – it will be forgotten unless it’s turned into an ongoing. The story is somewhat standard, and definately not up to the level of the original. When the last issue comes out, I have no understanding of what the endgame of the series is going to be. I’d like to believe there is something cool coming – but, knowing the heart of the characters doesn’t mean you can put them in an endearing story.
See, I’m being honest… just because I love the AoA doesn’t mean I can’t be reasonable.
