Shadow and Flame with Magik

Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Art Marco Rudy

Color Art Val Staples

Lettering & Production VC’s Joe Caramagna

Look at that stunning cover by Alexander Lozano!

This issue answers some long sought questions.

Issue opens with the team coming back from somewhere.  It isn’t from Tabula Rasa as Magik had teleported them back from there.  Tempus is still upset with the decision to kick Hijack off the team.  Emma states that this isn’t baseball, you only get the one strike.

Really like how Rudy uses layouts this issue. The first two pages, he uses an X to make four panels per page.

The Uncanny X-Men get back to their base and notice that Kitty and the Original Five X-Men are missing.

Celeste notices that there is still psychic residue around the front entrance.  At least, I believe it is Celeste as Phoebe is back to being a blonde.

Benjamin Deeds is confused by psychic residue and Triage is confused that they have a front entrance.

Emma finds a gun and Scott instantly recognizes it as a Shi’ar gun, so now they know that Kitty and the Original Five have been taken.  Emma figures out quickly that it is due to Jean’s presence.

I really like how freaked out Magik is that Kitty is missing.  I also like how Tempus is shocked about there actually being aliens.  Superheros are fine but aliens are another level of weird.

We get a flashback from two weeks ago.  Cyclops is losing control of his optic blasts (are they under control now?) and Ruby uses this to create the page layout in a very clever technique.

Magik brought Kitty Pryde to see Cyclops, this upsets him as this is suppose to be a secret location.  Which explains why he is so upset with Hijack.  Kitty isn’t fully aware why Cyclops’ power is wonky.  While Cyclops tries to get loud with Magik, she ups and leaves.  I like how Cyclops thinks that just because Kitty sees a bunch of snow, that she’s going to recognize exactly where she is.

I keep having to turn to the credits page as Ruby goes back and forth with his styles, from comic book to a more realistic style and it looks like two different artists.  He’s showing range, I suppose.

Kitty, once confronted with Xavier’s killer, puts her fingers through Cyclops’ skull, it is intense.

Emma is not thrilled that Illyana brought Kitty here to see Scott.  Magik wants to help her friend deal with her loss, so she’s stopping everyone from helping Cyclops.

Cyclops and Kitty have the most real conversation these two characters have had with each other, possibly ever.  Scott tells her that he was under the influence of the Phoenix, which I completely get Wolverine not including that piece of information when he retold the story to Kitty.  Scott tells her that if it was only himself, he would have killed himself for killing his father figure.  We get that infamous panel again of Dark Phoenix Cyclops standing over dead Xavier, that, from the original comic, still looks like all he did was push him down.

Cyclops is ashamed that he couldn’t control the Phoenix, with all of his experience with it.

We get a lovely page of Kitty’s top three memories of Xavier, or at least three memories of her and him.  Xavier looking at her sternly, him telling her something shocking with Kurt next to her and the always incredible panel of her calling him a jerk.  Ruby redraws this panels instead of letting production reprint the original panels.  I also like how there is no dialogue on the page.  It isn’t always needed.

Kitty realizes that Cyclops is right, plus, could she really go through with killing Cyclops?  I rather she didn’t either.   Magik wanted Kitty to get passed Xavier’s death so that she can move on.

Cyclops reveals to Kitty how he felt last year when she was stuck in a bullet and lost in space.  Which I know its Marvel’s sliding timeline but ooof, that is a slew of comics that apparently took place over a span of a year.  But the four our years to one Marvel year would still hold up then.

Also, we never are shown Scott being upset during Whedon / Cassaday’s Astonishing run.  The most we saw was him being stern with Colossus with how she is lost and how the top brains have tried everything they could think of.  Up to and not including asking Magneto to bring her back.

Scott probably cried only to Emma and she made him feel better.  Scott tells her that Xavier will probably find his way back to them, like how Kitty did and Colossus.  This gives her hope, too much hope and Scott has to cushion it by telling her that he died died.  Xavier’s death is going to be like Kurt’s death and that it will take a little extra work to bring him back.  Or have all Phoenix related events reversed and now he’s back.

Scott tells her that whatever she needs, he will provide for her.  This is her opening, she wants to leave the Jean Grey School and wants to take the Original Five with her.  She doesn’t like Scott calling this thing he’s doing, a revolution.  Scott repeats to her that he is going to pay for his sins, and no matter how angry people are with him, he is even angrier at himself.

One week later and one week ago, I suppose.  Kitty and the Original Five are at the New Xavier School.  Emma is not pleased to have a young Jean around.  The two Scotts see each other and comment on how weird it is, as it is way weird.

There is an ad for Captain America : Winter Soldier, which April is still going to be Captain America month, here at S&FwM.

We get a fun two pages of Kitty’s moving into the base.  Kitty jokes that the converted Weapon X facility doesn’t look very converted.  Magik makes fun of Kitty being a Beatles fan.  I’ve never been a big fan, though Let It Be is their best song.  I’ve always been more of a Monkees guy.  Also, in my mind, some things I feel like we have to chose between the two of them.

Emma’s initial reaction to having a young Jean Grey living at the school is to find a toddler Colossus and bring him to the present so Kitty can take care of him.  Kitty likes that Emma is annoyed.  Kitty references that Emma can’t read minds but I thought she just couldn’t control what she heard.  Emma shouts that she can still hear things with her ears.

There is a two page sequence of Cyclops trying to talk to Jean.

There is a fun panel of the two teams communicating.  Magik, Kitty and Bobby.  Hank, Triage and Magneto.  Angel is talking to Emma, though he was already part of the Uncanny team.

Cyclops finally works his way to Jean.  She tells him he has been avoiding her.  He wasn’t sure what was appropriate.  I wonder what his thoughts were that were not appropriate.  He claims he only wants to say hi.  He asks her how much she knows of their future together, she informs him that she got all of Beast’s memories.  Which, now that I’m thinking about it, is a very skewed perspective.  She takes out the wedding invitation that young Scott had given her.

I like the panel of Cyclops looking at it, he probably hasn’t seen one since he mailed them out.  What I like about the panel is you can see where his eyes are under the mask.

Emma takes note that those two had a conversation.

I also like the page of the two Scotts outside.  I really like how they essentially have the same sitting position.  Scott says thanks to Cyclops for letting them stay.  Scott also comments on how weird this whole situation is.  He asks for some advice.  Cyclops tells him to stay away from red heads and blondes, also psyhics.  Scott asks if brunettes are okay and Cyclops tells him to probably stay away from them as well.  They both smirk as it is decent advice.  Page ends with Scott asking what happened to Xavier, which causes Cyclops to grimace.

Now we are back to the present, so only two weeks have passed since Battle of the Atom’s conclusion, which is a pretty crazy and hectic two weeks.  Thus, the life of the X-Men.

Cyclops wants to go to Shi’ar space and get them.  Emma tells him that they don’t have access to a spaceship.

Tempus tells Cyclops that they know the young X-Men are safe as Cyclops is still standing so Scott isn’t dead or permanently damaged.

Cyclops promised to take care of them.  Emma offers to go to the Jean Grey School for help.  Magik states that they could trust them to return somehow.

Page ends with a splash page of an epic optic blast from Cyclops.  It looks like a direct shot and with control so maybe his powers are coming together again.  Which makes sense as Magik’s has only increased but she also has been given tutoring by Dr. Strange.

Next issue promises to have these X-Men versus SHIELD.  Bachalo looks to do the cover.