by Punchy » Sat Jul 28, 2012 11:19 am
Kitty Pryde and Colossus take centre-stage for an issue which explores their relationship and also shows the toll that the war has had on the school. There are only like 3 teachers left, and one of those is Toad! I’m glad to know that this title is continuing post-Marvel Now, if we hadn’t been told that, I’d be fearing the worst. The scenes between Kitty and Peter were great, their relationship has been a cornerstone of the X-Men world for so long that it was very interesting to see that explored, and also to see what a man who has the powers of a god can’t have what he wants. Jason Aaron did a really good job with Colossus here, a character who’s not one of his regulars, as he showed the man inside struggle with the hubris that the Phoenix (and lest we forget the Juggernaut) is boiling up inside him. In the end, he manages to hold back, and it’s telling that so far, all of PENIS except for Namor have managed to keep their humanity (or mutantity) in the face of the Phoenix, but how long can that last? I feel sorry for Colossus really. Also interesting in this issue was the return of the teachers to the school, that a lot of them are leaving Cyclops’ side. I especially like the focus on Iceman, and how he’s somehow become the conscience of the X-Men. I’m not sure whether I prefer this to back when he was a hilarious idiot, but it’s interesting. Go Iceman! Jorge Molina fills in on the art here, and he does a good job, he’s definitely the most mainstream-style artist to have worked on the title, but it still kept that little glint of humour that’s essential to this book.