Words Max Bemis

Pencil & Inks Michael Walsh

Colors Ruth Redmond

Letters VC’s Clayton Cowles

So Bentley has become a student at the Xavier Institute.  Last issue, Mystique tried to recruit Bentley to her side.  He turned her down but not before she kissed him, while taking a picture of it.  So now she has some blackmail material and wants him to kill Xavier.

Issue opens with Wolverine lecturing Bentley’s class.  In a fun sight gag, the chalkboard is full of teams students can join including All New, Super New and Kinda New.  The strategy to a winning X-Team is – a big guy, a hot chick and Wolverine or someone  who looks like him.  He goes on to lecture about how unassuming mutants are typically the ones that are chosen by demons and become ultra-powerful.  He also talks about how Xavier is constantly giving multiple chances to people who don’t deserve them, such as Mystique.

Bentley asks about the X-Men themselves being given second chances.  Such as if Rogue went naughty one day, which Wolverine wouldn’t have any problems putting her down.

At a Mutant Youth Outreach Seminar & Mixer.  Bentley and Rags & Riches are hosting a table for the Xavier School.  I like how they are the least visited table.  Who would want to join the X-Men when their house and all of their shit keeps being blown up?

Bentley introduces himself to Miranda, in a few fun scene.  Neither of them have parents in their lives, she lives at a shelter. I really like how Bentley takes a stab at Macklemore, and how (like me) Miranda likes Macklemore.  What is great is that Bentley totally recoups with a throwaway line.

Miranda’s powers are that she can make things not exist.  Bentley asks if it is like a Kitty Pryde-type thing, which seems odd.  Her power isn’t that she can make things disappear unless he means simply by phasing things under things or inside objects but that seems like a stretch.  Then again, he probably doesn’t really know Kitty.

Miranda shows off her power, everyone at the mixer disappears and only she can Bentley remember that people were even there.

In the Danger Room, Miranda shows off her powers to Beast.  We get a great one page explanation of how these omega level mutants don’t go out of their way to just undo all of reality or destroy the planet as easily as their powers would allow.  Beast says Miranda is an omicron-level mutant, something he just made up.

Miranda will join the school, but only if she can be on the same team as Bentley.  But she already has an X-Uniform, so she must have signed some paperwork.

On their mission, Rags & Riches are fighting off a horde of Brood.  Riches gets hungry and demands Bentley to get him a slim jim.  This is all Bentley can offer as he can’t do anything and Miranda (who is also on the mission) can do too much.  So they just sit back and hang out.

Issue ends with Bentley having to clean the debris of the battle.  Magneto pulls Bentley towards him, across city blocks and he wants to have a chat with the young man.

Words Max Bemis

Pencil & Inks Michael Walsh

Colors Ruth Redmond

Letters VC’s Clayton Cowles

Marvel Database finally updated this series, I had already bought this issue on my own.  I have to go back and get the third issue as Kitty is mentioned in it.  I must have overlooked that when I was skimming the comic.  So I’ll review that issue once I own it, which should be the next time I’m at Hastings.

In the preceding issues, Mystique and the Brotherhood have tried to recruit Bailey.  Last issue, Magneto captured Bailey.

This issue opens with a classic X-Men baseball game.  We see Colossus, Cyclops pitching (which he must be great at), Kurt, Storm and Wolverine up at bat.  We see Kitty, in that bottom panel.  That’s who I think it must be, Marvel Database doesn’t list her.  She is wearing a long sleeve yellow shirt with brown shorts.

We don’t see Kitty again, which made me think that it was a miscolored Jean but she’s wearing a strip shirt and black shorts.  Plus their two hairstyles are different so it must be two different characters.

Bailey, the star of this series, comes marching up to Cyclops.  Since Bailey has never been on Kimmel, his opinion isn’t worth as much.  Jean states that baseball games are only for the proper X-Men.

These pages have all been a dream sequence of Bailey’s.  Mystique and Magneto are pitching their side to Bailey, who isn’t really listening.  Mystique punches him to his face and he wakes up, back at the school.

I do like Magneto’s comments about how identifying with the minority isn’t so special anymore.  Every minority now has representation in the media and it isn’t hard to get media attention, as social media has made it so that everyone has a voice.

Juggernaut is trying to escape from a bank robbery, the siblings we saw from the first issue are now called “Rags & Riches” Rags being the sister and Riches, is the brother.  He can turn things to gold, and I don’t recall her deal.

Bailey, who has a crush on Rags, jumps on Juggernaut’s head.  Just as a reminder, Bailey has the mutant power to explode like a nuclear missile but he can’t reform after that so that’ll be it for him.

Riches isn’t impress with Bailey.  Also on this mission is Miranda, she snaps her fingers and a giant well is created under Juggernaut and he falls to the center of the universe.

Riches explains that Miranda’s power is to make things disappear, he isn’t impress with her either.  He whispers to Bailey that he has no chance with his sister.  The two get into a fist fight that Bailey doesn’t win.  Storm lightning strikes Riches’ hand, which seems overly harsh as that can cause permanent damage.  At least a senior X-Man was on site for a Juggernaut fight.  The two boys are sent to the principal’s office, which is Xavier in Cerebro.  Xavier gives a nice speech about how they only fight because their time here is limited so they might as well do some good while they are here.

Bailey is moved by Xavier’s speech, as we watch Xavier die.  Bailey turns around and sees Xavier’s dead body.  I knew this wasn’t in continuity but it really isn’t now.  Apparently Riches has another power that we will get into next issue.

Well, I won’t as Kitty isn’t in that issue.  Once I get the third issue, I’m done.  Which is weird, as this was published as a digital comic first.  So I’m not sure why there was a delay between issues as they already had the comic, someone only had to click on the “publish” button.  Anyone know what happened there?  Seems super odd.

Words Max Bemis

Pencil & Inks Michael Walsh

Colors Ruth Redmond

Letters VC’s Clayton Cowles

This is a fun little issue, Marvel Database isn’t doing a great job of keeping up with the cast list of the other issues but as far as I can see, Kitty is only in this first issue.  If I’m wrong, please let me know.

Issue opens with Bailey and a friend of his are trying to see which girls are in Bailey’s league.  Turns out, not that many young ladies are in his league.  Or rather, he isn’t in any of their leagues.  Poor Bailey feels like an outcast.  He’s pretty normal of a kid, he likes video game, he’s average at most things he does.

One day, his parents it him down.  They reveal that they are mutants – this excites Bailey as this means he could be a mutant.  I do like this approach, a teenager who embraces the aspect of becoming a mutant.

They go to the Xavier Institute to get Bailey tested.  Beast is going to administer the tests.  Bailey is all types of happy to be meeting Avenger and X-Man, Hank McCoy.  After the tests, Beats informs Bailey that he does have an active X-Gene.  That’s the good news.

The bad news is, Bailey has the ability to explode on demand.  Bailey thinks this means he has relatively the same powers as Gambit but he’s his own playing cards.  It is much worst, he can only use his power once – and then it is gone, as he would be too.  It isn’t like Nova, who can explode and mysteriously reforms his body.

Bailey is a mutant but one with a power he can never use.  He can attend the school, but he’s back to just being a nobody at this school.  Poor kid was excited, this has to be the worst case scenario.

As the family walks away, things get worst.

With a page turn, a giant Sentinel steps on Bailey’s parents!  It is one of those shocking splash pages but also, a complete shock.  I had to turn back the page and flip again, to fully comprehend this situation.

Look at Kitty phasing through the wall in the second row panel.  She’ll make a proper appearance later.

We get a fast ball special!

Poor Bailey, as the battle continues, he can only cry and hold his head.

A month later, Jubilee decides to check in on Bailey.  He hasn’t left a dorm, so he’s an outcast among outcasts.  He agrees to be shown around the school.

So far, this could have all been in continuity, or at least, possibly.  Since Kitty is a student, it clearly can’t be a present story and costumes and such imply that this is a fun out-of-continuity miniseries.  That really is the way to handle this.  Jubilee does state that Kitty is available now that she broke up with Colossus.

Jubilee introduces Bailey to Forge, who is working on a suit of armor for Bailey.  Sort of like Doug wearing Warlock so that he can fight.

Issue ends with the school being under attack and Forge and Jubliee head off to confront the intruders.  Bailey is going to take the armor out for a spin.

Such a fun issue, with a narly page turn.