Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist Kris Anka
Lettering and Production VC’s Joe Caramanga
Jean Grey’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Iceman is depressed. I’m sure with the Jean Grey School, that it is all new materials. None of the old Xavier Mansions are present in ant of the new structures.
She-Hulk wants to know about Cyclops. Beast comes off, even more whiny about his hatred for Cyclops.
Firestar and Nightcrawler enter the office. I like the flirtation between Kurt and Jennifer.
Wolverine reveals that he doesn’t own the school, he gave the rights back to Xavier. Storm now worries that Cyclops owns the school. As if he would just shut it down once he got the lease.
She-Hulk pretends she didn’t know that Cyclops played a slight role in Xavier’s death. How could she not? Its the worst kept secret within the Avengers and SHIELD community.
I do enjoy Rachel standing up for her father, that he was possessed by the Phoenix at the time. Good for you Rachel AND Bendis! Good job!
At this point, Beast reveals that he always knew where Cyclops was, he just didn’t care to know. As once he knew, surely events would conspire that will force Beast to see his former friend.
Beast reveals that they are at the Weapon X facility where Logan got his adamantium skeleton. Wolverine gives Scott props for the move, it is the last pace he would look.
So the away team is – Storm, Wolverine, Beast and Iceman.
Newberry, South Carolina. So this new mutant that we never seen, is clearly what Xavier’s will is about. Just a matter of time before it is confirmed. We see that nothing around the man is left standing, there is a giant grater and then the rest of the still standing city.
Maria Hill uses an electronic means of communication to speak with him. She just assumes he is a mutant, even though the possibility of being one of those new Inhumans is out there. Probably because he wasn’t hatched out of an egg?
The guy’s name is, Matthew Malloy. Which I just like the alliterative name.
A squad of SHIELD agents show up to wrangle him in and he loses his mind again and explodes. So add another four people to the list that he has killed.
New Xavier School.
With the incoming X-Jet, both the All New and Uncanny teams are waiting outside. Jean and Emma exchange a few words and Hank gives us a classic, oh my stars and garters.
We see the back of both Kitty and Magik’s head. What is it they say about good character design, you should be ale to tell who they are from just a silhouette? Check!
I am curious who else is officially on the list for Xavier’s will reading. We know Cyclops but is Kitty? She ought to be!
We get Dazzler in her new uniform, completely skipping out on the whole reaction of the rest of the team to her new drastic look. I don’t care for it. Hopefully the rumored Anka Kitty revised uniform is a step beyond Dazzler’s new look. Does she have to cut up a new uniform every time an old one gets … more shredded?
They go wake up Cyclops and he sleeps in a ruby quartz sleeping mask. A little cute.
Iceman tries a joke about if Cyclops ironically put himself in a jail or was it only subconsciously. Not a good joke as it was a research facility and not a jail. Beast just goes with it as he is a fool. He also calls Cyclops, Slim, which also falls flat. These two don’t know how to do insults when they are actually facing the person.
Cool seeing the entire team together! I like how Magik has her sword drawn. Cyclops would like to pass on this little adventure. He doesn’t want anything that Xavier would inherit him with.
Magik confirms that She-Hulk is, in fact, at the Xavier School and bored out of her mind. Does Magik not like games on phones? She can’t be anti-fun, can she? I mean, of course, she can be but maybe it is due to her having no phone. Do the X-Men have phones? I know Wolverine does from Amazing X-Men 8.
Beast offers to give the others a lift. Which Cyclops turns down, which is smart as that would have been an awkward conversation. So they are in Northern Canada and have to go to Northern New York. That has to take at least thirty minutes for the Jean Grey School folks.
Magik can do that in just a second.
I didn’t even see that Wolverine wasn’t outside of the plane. He stayed inside like a scary cat.
So the Staffers leave. I wonder if Cyclops is thinking of getting a new base. It has to be not in America, is the old Outback base still not in use? Cyclops and none of his teams have any connection to it but I’m sure it would be one of the first places the Staffers check.
The students and All New team want to go. Only Scott, Emma, Kitty and Illyana will go. I can see two of them having their names on the will reading list.
Scott is worried that he was gifted the Jean Grey School, he doesn’t want it nor want to do anything with it.
Kitty and Illyana have a fun exchange! I like how heavy the comic tries to be and how light the characters make it.
Fun gag abot how Hijack thinks it may be a trap. Celeste offers that if it is, they will have to repopulate the mutant race – thus, they should get started soon. Goldballs gets scared at the possibility, which is odd but funny.
So the will reading begins. I like how She-Hulk just announces that Xavier is married to Raven Darkholme. Thus, he is Nightcrawler’s step father now. Also, She-Hulk doesn’t register the name right away. The gathered heroes do.
Emma’s smile and instant laughter makes the scene that must better.
Nightcrawler’s face is pretty classic too! I wish we got a moment of Kitty talking to Kurt, that would have been nice. Maybe next issue?
So that explains that Xavier Jr. wasn’t born out of wedlock, so that’s also a first for Mystique!
Issue ends with Xavier revealing that his darkest secret is that a lame mutant with exploding powers is out there in the world. It would have to be a lame secret as we pretty much know all of the lousy things Xavier has done.
Did Anka try to make Xavier look like Patrick Stewart, or am I reading into that?
Not much of a cliffhanger, as this was done in Ultimate X-Men once and Wolverine just gave the new teenage mutant a beer and killed him. Pretty easy solution and it should just be repeated here.
Bendis already did that back in 2004, with his second storyline in Ultimate X-Men, issue 41. It only has Wolverine and the kid in it. It is New Mutants, Part Two.
This website has the story for the most part :
http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/3897270.html
I won’t be reviewing that issue, ever, as it doesn’t have Kitty Pryde so I don’t own it.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 