The last couple of issues in the New Warriors series have picked up the pace of the title quite nicely, and issue #12 is no exception.

Half of the team are trapped and on the run inside the tunnels of Machinesmith's lair. Even worse, they've discovered that the villain is capable of siphoning off the powers from their tech suits. Powerless and desperate, they try to come up with a plan to escape.

Meanwhile, the other half of the team are angry with Night Thrasher for making the decision to abandon their teammates in their time of need. Jubilee is particularly enraged, and lays a beating on Thrasher. Sophia steps in and defuses the situation. But Jubilee has now delivered her ultimatum to Thrasher: step up as leader, or step aside. Angry and resentful, they must now try to set their differences aside, and set about the task of coming up with a way to rescue their friends. But it may already be too late.

This series continues to impress me. Jono really shines in this issue, showing how cool he can be under fire, and showing that when push comes to shove, he can shove pretty hard. For Jubilee, Thrasher's decision to cut and run when half of his team was down was the last straw. Any respect she may have had for him as leader is gone, and she's made it very clear that she can and will seize the reigns of leadership from him at a moment's notice if he doesn't start doing right by the team. Sophia displays an impressive cool-headedness, calming the situation between Jube and Thrash and getting their focus back on the problem at hand.

Bring on #13!

New Warriors #11 begins with a peek at some old, familiar faces (and some hints of what's to come), and ends with a desperate fight for survival.

We open with the old New Warriors team discussing their new counterparts - and trying to decide what's to be done about them. We quickly learn that, even amongst the veterans, there are deep divisions when it comes to superhero registration. (It's also in this scene that we see the Initiative/Nazi reference that seems to be causing a bit of a stir.)

Speaking of divisions, the scene with Wondra (Jubilee) attempting to apologize to Skybolt for their fight in issue 10 doesn't turn out as she'd hoped. His cruel words leave her feeling brokenspirited, and more depressed than ever. Jube seems defeated, and tells the team that she'll just go along with whatever they decide.

Thrasher then rounds up the team to go after Machinesmith - a villain they haven't encountered before. Thrash's motives are once again called into question, as we see him abandon the team in the middle of a fight to pursue his own agenda. When half the team is cut off and beaten down, he makes a shocking decision, one that leaves Jube speechless.

I really liked this issue, as it picked up the pace quite a bit from the previous few issues, and sets the scene for both the end of the "Thrashed" story arc and the upcoming Secret Invasion tie-in.

A couple of things stand out for me in this issue.

First, Stacy's words of encouragement to Jubilee after she caught the sharp end of Skybolt's anger are uplifting, and I really liked Grevioux's brief homage to the King Arthur legend in this scene: Stacy tells Jube that as she goes, so goes the team. The New Warriors look up to Jubilee for guidance as their most experienced and battle-hardened member, and when she of all people shows doubt about Night Thrasher's motives it disturbs them.

Second, it seems like the bond between Jube and Jono is growing deeper, given the way he angrily jumps to her defence against Skybolt, and the brief moment of panic she experiences when he is hurt in the fight against Machinesmith.

Third, it did the heart good to see Sophia angrily defending the New Warriors' actions to a very biased (and pro-SHRA) reporter who cornered her at the diner. Any doubts she may have had about her decision to join the team seem to be gone: Sophia's all-in.

Issue 11 ended with the fate of half the team in doubt, their lives the hands of a powerful villain, and abandoned by the man they had placed all their trust in. Number 12 should be VERY interesting.

I must say, I really liked this issue. Kevin Grevioux and Paco Medina continue to deliver solid work. The only unsettling thing about this issue for me was the way Wondra (Jubilee) was portrayed in it. It's almost as if she's somehow developed a mile-wide mean streak between the last issue and this one, and it's a bit disturbing.

Night Thrasher finally agrees to give the team an explanation for his neglect and frequent dissapearances, but the reasons he gave were flimsy at best. Jubilee (who is apparently still the only one on the team who is thinking clearly) isn't fooled for a second. She calls him on it, and gets beat down for it (in a verbal/emotional sense) by the rest of the team. Even one of her closest longtime friends seems to turn his back on her, and her shock and anger at this is really the only explanation I can see for her subsequent cruelty in the control room. It was TOTALLY out of character for her, and only serves to underscore how drastically she has changed from her days with the X-Men. Her darkness and brooding anger seems to be growing and slowly consuming her, and this can't lead anywhere good.

In addition to this, other questions abound. Who was that mysterious man in Mexico? And is it just me, or is the NYPD's "Costumed Division" WAY out of its league?

Things between Jube and Thrasher are going to come to a head, and it's likely to be soon. Hang on for a bumpy ride!

AWESOME issue. Kevin Grevioux and Paco Medina deliver BIG time with this one!

From the opening battle sequence, to the deep, heartfelt conversation between Jubilee and Jono (fans of the old Generation X title, like myself, will absolutely LOVE this part), and Night Thrasher's attempt to draw Kaz into his seemingly dark and sinister plans to control the team for his own purposes, New Warriors #9 captivates from cover to cover.

Several points stand out in this issue: Jubilee is proving to be a highly skilled leader, greatly respected by the team (especially Jono). Before Night Thrasher found him, Jono had a MUCH tougher time than anyone realized. Thrasher's actions get even MORE suspicious, as it's revealed that he is indeed secretly planning something that he knows the team won't like. Also, there's a hint that Thrasher might be a bit intimidated by Jubilee, who has vowed to get to the bottom of whatever he's doing. Could these two be heading for a battle for leadership of the team?

New Warriors #9 is DEFINITELY worth checking out. By the time I got to the last page, I honestly found myself wishing that comics were longer than 32 pages.

Bring on #10!