writer: Brian Michael Bendis / artist: Mahmud Asrar
All New X-Men’s Ultimate crossover plot has basically slowed to a crawl, but it’s still oddly entertaining to move so slowly. Brian Bendis’ style really comes down to either love or hate. You either love the time he takes developing characters or you hate how long he takes to get to the finish line. This week, he at least makes the journey worth while if he’s going to keep teasing us with the destination.
So, the All New X-Men are still trapped in the Ultimate Universe thanks to the latest mystery mutant. Separate, stranded with no clue how to get home, it was inevitable that they would run into the Ultimate X-Men. No wonder the story’s moving so slow. Thus far, it seems like Jean Grey and Miles Morales seem to be the only ones on the case of trying to get the Original Five (oh, and X-23) back home again. While Jean’s uncertainty and fear of her own power remain a strong plot point, Iceman’s clearly having the best time of everyone, going from taking on the Mole Man’s monsters to having words with racist cops. Meanwhile, for them to have had the most fun first date ever, Angel and X-23 are turning out to be the most boring couple.
Still, most of the storylines are fun enough that you can excuse the main plot point’s sluggishness. On the visual side, Mahmud Asrar’s pencils are really coming around. He had a hell of a task following up after Stuart Immonen, but he’s really getting better with every issue. The Iceman/mole monster fight was definitely exciting (and hilarious) fare. I’d love it if this whole thing picked up speed a little, but if this is what we get in the meantime, I can live with it.
Bottom Line: It’s a slow burn, but Bendis is still giving us plenty of fun along the way. 7.5 out of 10.
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