Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Art Valerio Schiti

Color Art Richard Isanove

Lettering & Production VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover Siya Oum

I saw that Magik was in this issue but then I saw this variant and thought that that would be awesome to own.  I figured I was going to add it to my Wishlist but then Hastings actually had a copy!  They are getting more and variants, which is pretty awesome.  Look at all of those pouches on Cyclops’ belt!

Tempe, Arizona!  Animax has gone to her father’s school, and interfers with his football game.  Animax, who we haven’t seen since the beloved Battle of the Atom crossover.  He abused her and her mother, and she is here for some sweet vengeance!  Her mutant power is to invoke dragons.

The New Xavier Students (who chose to not go to the Jean Grey School, like how Scott wanted them to) arrives on the scene.  Goldballs shouts his hero name, as if he is a Pokemon, attacking the dragons.

The Cuckoos diamond armor up, which is nice that someone remembered that is in their move set.  They can even use their telepathic powers, while in diamond form.  That shows up Emma Frost!  Who I’m sort of missing, these days, as I haven’t read a comic with her in it, in what feels like a while.  Is she even slated to be in any of the October / November relaunch titles?

Benjamin Deeds, changes his appearance to match Animax’s look.  This does calm her enough to get her POINK!ed.

After the fight, Hijack gets interviewed – he wastes time with the fact that they don’t have a hero group name.  Hero Squad is taken, but it shouldn’t be.  Goldballs is also a media darling.

Hellfire Club.  This team is crashing at an old Hellfire Club location.

Goldballs wakes up to a world that is in love with him.  His mother lets him know that people have contacted his parents, to try to talk to him.  His parents are very proud of their son, which is nice.  I never understood while every parent has to hate their mutant child.  Like, sixteen years of love and memories and then one uncontrollable act makes them turn their back on their child?  That isn’t real.

Goldballs is invited to the Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon states that he is part of, Hero Squad.  He is on the cover of, Falling Stone.  I don’t like that Fallon says his real name but I imagine it really is impossible to keep a secret identity in this modern age.

POINK is no longer the new BAMF, it is the new THWIP!  So that has to be pretty popular.  Probably nowhere near as SNIKT.

The goldballs are actually gold, so they must hurt, like crazy!  But they disappear, rather quickly.  On a show I don’t recognize, Goldball’s parents out him as a mutant, and it becomes a whole dumb thing.

Hero Squad takes out Klaw, but Goldballs gets a bottle thrown to his neck!  However that happens, is beyond me.  A woman threw the bottle and the Cuckoos shut her stupid racist mind down.  Triage starts to heal Goldballs’ neck.

The issue ends with the team going to the Jean Grey School.  That was a pretty fast rise and fall, but that’s the new era we are in.  Adult Iceman and regular Storm, invite them into the school.

Not a bad issue, it all leads to Uncanny X-Men 600, which will come out, one day.