What Happened to My Jetpack?!
The Good
This book seems to be playing out almost as an Ocean's Eleven kinda deal, and it works well. It isn't overly cerebral, it isn't really making me think about the meaning of life, but it's good fun and doesn't feel like something we've seen before.
The cast is interesting. I'm particularly interested in Forge and Dr. Nemesis. Last time we saw Forge, he had gone completely ga-ga and was seemingly killed in a huge explosion. References are made to his insanity, so we know that that story wasn't out of conitnuity, which gives some cohesion. Forge and Nemesis have very similar powers: both are intuitively smart, but Forge does mechanical stuff, and Nemesis does biological stuff. I think this kind of brain meets brain dynamic can really take this story places.
I was apprehensive at first about seeing Colossus in this book, and I still don't exactly understand why they chose him, but I like what they've done with the character post-Avengers vs. X-Men. He has all this pent-up rage and sadness, but he's trying to contain it by becoming a hermit and facing his inner demons alone. I was initially iffy on the way that things went with him and his sister, but now I see that the character is showing true growth.
Seeing Hope in this book is good too. She's technically trying to live the life of a normal teen, but she's the messiah. That's rather difficult. When I didn't see her name in any of the solicits for Marvel NOW! I was rather surprised. You'd think that with all the attention she got up till this point that Marvel would be reluctant to drop her as they seemed to do but this book seems to be a good place for her. A lot of this book is focusing on her relationship with her dad, which is weird at the best of times.
The way the characters are written really fits, with special emphasis on Hope and Cable's relationship. Hopeless writes interesting dynamics with every character, actually, and I am enjoying this book far more than his work on Avengers Arena. Larroca's art and D'Armata's colours work spectacularly as well.
The Bad
My main problem in this book is with Cable. I always found his character difficult to follow, with all the time-travel, de-aging and numerous changes in power sets. I know that the Techno-Organic virus was completely purged from his system by Hope back in Avengers: X-Sanction, however having the Virus make an appearance suggests that it could make a return, which I believe would be a step in the wrong direction. While Cable and X-Man are technically the same person, Cable mostly ignored his powers while X-Man relied on them excessively. I'd be interested to see them switching places, with Cable slowly regaining his telepathy and telekinesis and learning to control his potentially enormous power. If he gets another metal covered arm, I'll be disappointed.
And what's with a few of the design choices? I don't understand the logic behind his puny left arm, or the reason why he's wearing an eyepatch.
Also, HOW OLD IS HE?
The Verdict
Definitely an enjoyable book, my problems only coming from Cable, who I personally wish had stayed dead at the end of Second Coming. He serves better as a martyr than as an actual living character. Good team, good art, good script, I'd definitely recommend this one.
