Cold as a Stone
The violence in this series is far more shocking and disturbing than the violence that caused the uproar in the last decade or so - the violence and antagonism here is personal and malevolent, not just widespread and graphic. Cat's destruction of Nightcrawler is intense - but the thought block a few panels later of Illyana almost casually noticing that transformed Cat is now eating Nightcrawler's corpse is far more disturbing than had the scene been inked. Claremont can do a lot more with his writing than some pencilers and inkers can do (not always, but most of the time). Another disturbing element to this entire series is Belasco's fascination with a 7-year-old girl, who, though time is passing rather quickly in these issues, still is prized for her innocence. Her continual transformation into an evil being is quite saddening, especially in the brief moments of her regret at possibly leaving Belasco and Limbo. The conflict between Ororo and Cat continues rather well in this second installment: both want the best for Illyana, despite their opposite approaches - and neither are right. It's rather rare these days for an author to be willing to tell stories about heroes who are all wrong, despite their "good" intentions (especially when they admit their intentions are soiled by selfishness).