The Good
We've had mixed situations with the younger X-Men from the past meeting their current selves. In this issue, we get to see what happens when Angel meets Angel. The current Angel is not the man he used to be. After recent events in Rick Remender's UNCANNY X-FORCE, he's essentially been reborn. You can imagine what the younger version must think when trying to talk to him.
The conversation is cut short as the two flying Angels come across an attack by HYDRA. The older Angel may have been reborn but he still has the skills to deal with this sort of situation a little better. The younger one...we'll see.
On top of this encounter, the Avengers also become aware of the younger X-Men's presence. Especially for someone like Captain America, this is going to be a mess. Brian Bendis handles all these situations with grace. This is why I'm loving this series so much. Month after month I'm surprised at how much I enjoy the idea of the X-Men from the past trying to deal with everything going on in the present.
And of course there's a major turn of events towards the end. If people aren't already talking about this, they soon will be!
David Marquez does a remarkable job on the art. If Stuart Immonen ever needs time off to keep up with the twice-a-month schedule, let's hope Marquez is on their speed dial. Even the subtle touches of young and present Angel flying side by side is something to admire. Extra care and caution needs to be taken when drawing the different aged characters.
The Bad
If anything, the story felt like it flew by. That could be due to getting sucked into the story and action. The battles and encounters felt like they happened too quickly. Maybe I just wanted to see more and more. We got some great and hilarious scenes. There is a big development at the end but there wasn't anything else truly major that happened.
The Verdict
ALL-NEW X-MEN continues to be one of my favorite Marvel NOW! titles. Even when an issue feels like there isn't an incredible amount that happens, you'll find yourself hanging onto every panel and piece of dialogue. I hate to think that at some point, this series has to come to an end. We can't have the young X-Men around forever. That's part of what makes everything so volatile. There's simply no telling what might happen next. Bendis keeps delivering issue after issue and David Marquez does a great job depicting all the characters, young and old. This is indeed a series I'm extremely thankful for the twice-a-month schedule. I can't get enough.