Shadow and Flame with Magik

Writer Eve L. Ewing

Artist Tiago Palma

Color Artist Brian Reber

Letterer VC’s Joe Sabino

Covers :

Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee

Tiago Palma & Federico Blee

Luciano Vecchio & Edgar Delgado

I love this issue so much!  It just feels like a continuation of Exceptional X-Men, but on a larger scale. 

Issue opens with Emma Frost inviting everyone to Graymatter Lane.  We get a look at some of the mutants Emma invited – Gabby Kinney, Storm, 70s Beast, Gambit, Vulcan (maybe?), Jitter, Jubilee, Jamie Maddox, Oya, Shark Girl, Bishop, and Magneto. 

Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler talking, which I miss these two together so much!  She’s explaining all of the virtues of Graymatter Lane.

I spotted Calico and Ember walking around! 

We get Magik for the one panel she appears in. 

Emma explains the goal of Graymatter Lane.  Prodigy is the Dean of Curriculum, which is a nice continuation of his NYX plotline. 

Kitty missed out on most of Emma’s speech, and Bobby gives her a playful hard time about it.  These two are fun together.

Cyclops has a real jerk moment here, as he’s afraid of this many mutants being gathered together.  It is NOT reassuring that this entire exercise is powered by Mister Sinister technology.  Even though Emma and Axo have worked out all of the kinks with the technology.  This is the part that does feel like we’re already building in the self-destruction of the concept.  If they have to cancel the book early, this is how they’ll do it. 

I do love and appreciate Kitty standing up to Scott, he’s not her leader anymore, they’re equals. 

I really really like that Scott left the room, and Kitty followed him out, she’s not done talking to him. 

We get the new Danger Room, which is awkward now that there’s an evil Danger Room, well, there’s a Robotic Danger, but also the MacKay Danger Room, and now this Danger Room.  There’s some branding situation. 

Aminalia and Ben Liu from X-MEN are being trained with the students, which the awkwardness of their age differences, them being practical adults, and them being teenagers, is addressed pretty quickly.  They both do need training, and clearly Cyclops isn’t putting in the time. 

Are we supposed to know Dryad, Flourish, Loolo, and Galura?  They seem new to me.  Woofer, we know from the Fall of X, Kate Pryde talked to him on Arrako.  Loolo is also from Arrako. 

I looked them up.

Dryad first appeared in New X-Men V2 1 (2004).

Flourish first appeared in Storm V3 1 (2014).

Loolo first appeared in X-Men Red V2 6 (2022).

Galura first appeared in Marvel Voices : Pride 2021.  She’s the one who was dating Karma. 

Nice mix of eras here. 

I like how they have New Mutants inspired uniforms from the third volume, where the X goes pass their chests and onto their thighs.  The Wolverines are teaching them.  Loolo cuts Animalia with a knife, and the blood causes Wolf Club to just lose it.  He’s full berserk mode here. 

I do like how Bronze has a higher level of respect here, she’s one of Emma’s gals. 

I just love that we get the Exceptional students together – Melee, Axo, Bronze, and Rift.  They’re mornings could have started off nicer. 

We’re introduced to the new Cerebro, it is an Empathy Engine, a cool name is probably incoming.  It can detect mutants who have levels of unrest, depression, or isolation.  It detects a French mutant, who is on the Luciano Vecchio variant cover that I bought (I’m getting four covers to this issue!).  Mal is her name, or maybe it is short for something.  Melee gives her an invitation.  Mal has a white patch of hair against otherwise black hair.  She also has a purple tail?  I’m intrigued.  Bronze welcomes her to Graymatter Lane. 

So everyone has a role here.  Axo’s machine detects a new mutant.  Rift opens a . . . rift.  Melee goes out.  Bronze welcomes them in.  I like that.

Bronze provides her full name, Mariama LaChance.  Maybe Mal’s hair is black up top, and mostly white in the back?  She has a very cute white cat plushie. 

Some time later.  Axo is definitely NOT moping.  I like that we get the continuation of his friendship with Sophie that we first saw in the Hellfire Gala.  Honestly, this comic just feels like the natural progression of everything that has come before it.

It also has that nice feeling any mutant can just appear here, that I loved so much from the Krakoa era. 

Kitty arrives, she has a special mission for Axo.  Sophie is coming along too.  Axo is definitely not moping. 

Verate Headquarters.  Chicago, Illinois.  Do I love this comic so much because Kitty is actually starring in it?  Yes, I’m an easy guy to please, but how great is it that we’re getting a monthly comic with Kitty, after not seeing her since November of last year?!

Kitty is looking for parts.  Axo doesn’t like being back to the place where he was tortured by Sinister, I don’t blame him.  They hear a tapping.

Kitty introduces Bronze to . . . Marigold!  A female clone of Lockheed.  She has a gold splotch between her wings.  I imagine Lockheed is out in space with his family, so Marigold is who we get to love on Earth.  I can also only imagine we’ll get a scene of Marigold meeting Lockheed at some point.  She seems aggressively fly over to Bronze, but then calms down. 

But it does beg the question.  Was that Lockheed we saw in Exceptional X-Men 10?  They rescued him from a test chamber, then went back, and discovered Marigold?  That must be the sequence of events, but how did they miss her the first time around? 

They have to answer these questions, right?

I was worried the Lockheed they found, was a devious clone Sinister created to spy on Kitty, but turns out, that was Lockheed, and hopefully Marigold isn’t a devious clone Sinister created to spy on Kitty.  I have some precautions so I don’t fall in love, but heck, Marigold is a cat size purple dragon shaped alien, I’m already built to love that type of dragon.  I do appreciate that she has a physical distinction from Lockheed.  I would rather it be something front facing so we know which is which on a cover, but also, I’m here for Marigold.  Oh, and Kitty was going to name her Martin, for some reason, but Bronze went with Marigold.  The only other Marigold I know is Midas’ daughter from Fortnite.  Apparently, it is a flower.

Kitty catches up with 70s Beast, who is observing Wolf Club.  Maybe the school based in an emotional prism is causing some big emotions?  The Wolverines are here too.

The Factory.  Merle, Alaska.  X-MEN Headquarters.  Glob is asking Cyclops about his reservations about Graymatter Lane.  (Ideally, I’ll just learn the name of the school, it just feels very new).  Cyclops is very against the school, and is burning it down, from what we can tell from the final page.  It seems like he shouldn’t be able to have done that.   Someone would have stopped him after the first blast, right?  I think it is an artistic choice to show what he’s planning.  Cyclops is being a real jerk here.

We’re getting Captain America next issue, in a fun time travel story involving Melee. 

Graymatter Lane is a mental school, that you physically walk into, is how I’m understanding it.  During the Danger Room, they mention how if you get hurt here, you are hurt there, so that’s interesting.  We see people walking into the white doors, it isn’t like a place you think of, and then show up in.  I think we need to see more of the transition. 

Such a great first issue! 

When it goes to second printing, and they combine the Stefano Caselli cover, I’m going to have to buy that.