Nightcrawler #3 If At First You Don't Succeed...
Brief Summary
Action, magic, betrayal, family quarrels, golden friendships -- this issue delivers and then some!
The book opens on Kurt and his circus friends fighting Trimega. Things are quickly finished there when Margali, in a fit of maternal protectiveness, temporarily banishes the triple threat. Nightcrawler, Amanda and Margali then adjourn to the JGS for some much-needed assistance, but are met with a full court of X-Men led by Storm who isn't keen on the Szardos presence. Ororo and Kurt butt heads over the situation and Kurt slings a some biting accusations.
Margali and Amanda are allowed to stay pending a mind scan from Rachel. We find out soon enough whether Storm's misgivings or Kurt's faith in his family were warranted or not, and Rachel doesn't know what she thinks she knows. Meanwhile, Kurt and Logan have a bit of a heart to heart over beer regarding Kurt's broodiness since returning.
Review
Claremont is slowly starting to uncover some of the "new" Kurt since he's returned and how his views have changed on things. He's frankly acting like a bit of a jerk to his friends, though we should probably give the guy a break -- he's recovering from being dead, after all. However, he's definitely not the lovable mascot playing follow-the-leader that they might want to remember him as. We're now starting to see more hints as to why that is.
The argument with Ororo was handled organically and well. It assuredly didn't come across as general snark, and I love that Claremont shows actual emotional reactions when two friends go head to head over something. The discussion with Logan was reminiscent, to me, of the "Big Dare" (Classic X-Men #4) in tone -- only this time, Logan is challenging Kurt to live again.
Amanda and Margali were in wash-rinse-repeat territory, but I expected that. I simply hope that this time Kurt will recognize the pattern for both of the Szardos women, since this is the fourth time he's fallen for it (fool me once and all that). There appeared to be more foreshadowing in the issue of Kurt having to make a choice of some sort between his past and his present, represented by the Szardos clan and the X-Men, respectively.
The pacing was excellent, and there were nice character moments for not only Nightcrawler but also Margali, Wolverine and Storm. I enjoy Nauck's art, as he really adds to the tone of the story with his layouts and especially his expressions, though I'm still not a huge fan of the colorist. I'd like to see less primaries and more muted tones and shadowing, but that's just a matter of personal preference.
This issue was a definite improvement over the last. Kurt works better with a strong supporting cast.
Appearing in the issue
Nightcrawler, bamfs, Amanda, Margali, circus crew, Ororo, Hank, Rachel, Logan, Cecelia, random students, and cameos of Frenzy, Monet and Chamber.