Writer Eve L. Ewing
Artist Tiago Palma
Color Artist Brian Reber
Letterer VC’s Joe Sabino
Regular Cover Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee
Variant Cover Mahmud Asrar
I got both the regular cover by Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee, and the Mahmud Asrar variant with Kitty & Lockheed (who doesn’t appear this issue, nor does Marigold, so she’s already living up his legacy).
Graymatter Lane. A Mind Palace Situated on the Psychic Plane.
Ben Liu, who is getting more page time in these two issues than he’s gotten in X-MEN, is trying not to get burned alive.
I love seeing Magik and Nightcrawler chatting. These two barely have history together, but I immediately remember that time Magik was hoping up portals for Kurt during AXE Judgment Day. That was a great moment.
I looked all over the background here to see if Bronze & Marigold could be found, but nope.
I still like how this is the comic that is going to deliver us match ups we wouldn’t go elsewhere.
Cyclops finally gets to Ben. Emma tells Scott that this was all for nothing, there was no reason to attempt to burn down the school. Plus, how does that even work? Emma states everyone is at lunch, so no one is noticing this fire. Which I thought we would get a panel where Emma immediately shuts down the fire, but it doesn’t seem to be doing any harm.
Quentin Quire is actually the person who started the fire, so his track record of failed school destructions is now 0-2.
I love seeing the bookcase in the back here. The Weapon X helmet, Jean’s yellow mask, and one of Storm’s tiaras. That’s a fun background detail.
Meanwhile. Prodigy is trying to get Iceman & Kitty Pryde involved in how to teach combat teamwork. Kitty is distracted by Rogue’s comments about internal threats. Which is odd, as half the school is on fire, but I guess she really didn’t notice. Plus, the real threat is from Mister Sinister, unless the X-Office keeps him pretty busy, which I believe they are, but we’ll get to that later. (He’s busy over in Inglorious X-Force 4).
I like Emma talking about whatever did she see in Scott, but also, I love Scemma, but it is fun to poke at the relationship.
Iceman references Scott’s flame war, so what is Kitty distracted by?
Captain America stops by, as he has a mission for the X-Men. Iceman starts talking like he’s from the 30s, which I imagine Cap doesn’t love.
He wants to use the Empathy Engine to reach out to all of the Weapon Plus people, and make sure they are okay.
Kitty is surprised that Cap knows about the machine, which does have a pretty cool name. Empathy Engine.
I don’t love Emma having to try to convince them to get on board here. It is Captain America, asking for help, and it doesn’t even seem like a big ask.
I do like Kitty and Magneto chatting. I know they were on the Quiet Council together, but it feels like forever since these two actually talked to each other.
I imagine Cap does make Kitty think about WWII, and all that deals with it, and her talking to Magneto, immediately, is there to make us think about those implications.
I don’t care for the idea that the X-Men have to have a meeting to help Cap out. Maybe if it was to strategize about how to do it, but to vote on it? I’m not sure about.
Emma and Prodigy vote, yes. Iceman votes, no. Kitty abstains, which all of this feels weird.
Prodigy is going to pick the team, so that’s fun.
Prodigy picks Wolverine, as she’s the best, Melee, who I love, and apparently in the 50s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs moved her family to Chicago, so she’s motivated, and Jitter! Quite the trio of brunettes here.
I like how the 50s feels like long enough ago that it doesn’t call into question any sliding timescale stuff. Unlike the 80s, that feels like it would question the sliding timescale.
I also like how one of Laura’s strongest character points is how much she hates people being experimented on, especially against their will.
Jitter is a wild card
I like how impress Cap is with this team.
I do like Kitty and Beast being in the same room. Though this isn’t her Beast, so these two need to really connect, and rebuild that relationship.
Now, if the X-Men voted after this scene, that’ll make so much more sense to me.
Beast states it is possible to do the mission, but there are some major issues of gaps and errors to be accounted for. Axo doesn’t want to do it as there are gaps and errors that haven’t been accounted for. As far as we have seen, this will only be the second major test of the Empathy Engine.
I guess in my mind, the thing worked by sending out a pulse, and then the X-Men connect to it, and we go from there. Like, they think “rescue kid,” and the engine links up to the kid. So, to make this work, they send a pulse of “all thoughts involving Weapon Plus,” and anyone having those thoughts and memories, gathers, and links are made. That doesn’t seem to be the case here. Maybe because they are creating a mind palace so they can interact with it? Maybe? This could just be a case of comic book science, and of course, a world of fiction, so a problem has to happen.
So cute the hand holding here. Melee holds Jitter’s hand, who is holding Captain America’s hand, and he is holding Laura’s hand.
Jitter has her stutter here, but she seems overly scared, which makes me think that’s more of a Calico character trait. Jitter recognizes she’s in a haunted house, and is worried about dying.
I do like her wanting to hold Melee’s hands, though I don’t love that for Becca. But this also makes me feel like something Becca would want to do, find a strong lady, and hold her hand, and not necessarily what Jitter would do.
Cap comes across a young Maurice Canfield, but then he immediately turns old and evil.
70s Beast believes he has made a big oopsie.
Pretty solid second issue!
/ Jorge Jimenez (A) / Tomeu Morey (C) / Tom Napolitano (L)
Shadow and Flame with Magik 