Writer Alex Paknadel

Artist Roge Antonio

Color Artist Fer Sifuentes-Sujo

Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna

What a good way to set up a series! 

Magik and Quinten Quire start out throwing up as a jerk AIM agent change their biological make up to only breathe sulfur dioxide.  Cyclops comes in, optic blasts everybody, so we see how cool he is. 

I don’t love that he chastises Magik & Quire, nor that he is looking for soldiers, that doesn’t seem to be his relationship with Magik or Quire.  He must be just hyper focused right now. 

I love so much Juggernaut barging into the room, and wanting to make sure Magik is okay.  They really are the best of friends. 

70s Beast confronts Cyclops about the solider remark.  I like to think Illyana and Scott had a chat off panel about it as well, as he was being overly performative.  Cyclops gets a message, and is off to Nebraska.  He is going to take a Quinjet, which I thought was a mistake, but makes off wonderfully later. 

Roxxon is changing Mister Sinister’s Orphanage into a new data center.  Dr. Robin Honover reveals some information about Scott’s first days here.  He was protecting Alex so fiercely he bit a few guards.  I love that we get some editor boxes, always handy.  Classic X-Men 41 & 42 are the stories to check out. 

I thought Alex was adopted immediately, but it would make sense that he would have stayed here for a few days until the adoption was finalized.  Scott leaves, giving Alex a call, which I appreciate that he would want to call his brother after this.  We get another editor box referencing X-Factor V5 8, so they haven’t talked since then.  We are reminded that Alex blew up the orphanage in Hellions 4. 

Meanwhile, Donald Pierce is creating new Reavers, but he has a new plan to make them more loyal, and not as hateful, so that’s progress.  Two Reavers see a Quinjet, and immediately shoot it down, thinking they are going to take some lame Avengers captive.  Fun to see that get paid off so quickly.  Instead, they get one of the more dangerous X-Men, Cyclops!  I do like how Donald Pierce recognizes the danger they are in.

What they don’t know, is that Scott hit his head on the way down, so he doesn’t have control over his optic blasts.  A mutant the Reavers were hunting finds Scott, so at least he isn’t alone, nor is she now. 

Since we’re having editorial boxes, I wonder if we’ll get a reference to X-Men Unlimited V1 31, where Scott was blinded, and has to use all of the skills his fellow X-Men taught him.  Kitty taught him some defense moves that are referenced in that issue.