writer: Cullen Bunn / artist: Gabriel Hernandez Walta and Javier Hernandez
If you’ve been reading my monthly reviews of Magneto, you know that I’ve fallen in love with this book ever since the second issue, but this week took a step back in a few ways in lieu of setting up another story arc (hopefully). I was initially excited to see Magneto in a fighting pit designed to pit mutants at blood sport, but the opponent and end result weren’t as satisfying as the initial proposal. The balance of the story feels a little off as well while we have went a few issues now without learning anymore about Briar, except that once suffered a terrible leg injury because of Magneto and now owns all kinds of tech and private jet. The easy money is that she is employed by S.H.I.E.L.D. or some other resource heavy organization that has invested interest in Magneto, but I’m hoping it won’t be that simple. The book also sets up another bread crumb trail for someone pulling the strings to harm mutants and it all feels very familiar to the previous arc. There’s good material to be mined here, it just doesn’t feel that different from what we’ve already seen.
This issue isn’t without its charm. Bunn is at his best when giving us the internal dialogue of a tortured genius such as Magneto. His examination of the the world and how it relates to mutants and non-mutants alike are always fascinating asides and none of the flaws of this issue betray the examination of the titular character. Bunn continues his use of parallel between Magneto and monsters encounters in an effective way as nobody ever seems to escape his brand of justice. The art is handled cleanly and without any hangups, even when the action ratchets up.
Magneto is still one of my favorite books in a loaded Marvel line up right now, but this issue had some of the weaker elements of the series so far and it did tread some familiar ground. With the next arc of the story coming, I assume we’ll be back on track again quickly.
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