Uncanny and Astonishing – as they should be
After two relatively low-key issues, Matt Fraction and Greg Land deliver a blockbuster that utilizes a huge cast of characters to believably deal with five Predator X monsters, when just a single one kept the entire team occupied in Messiah Complex.
Story & Script
The issue is all action – the climax of two issues of B-plot manipulating Scalphunter into staging an attack on Uptopia. I love that we got that backstory. Fraction could have easily omitted it and jumped directly to action at the close of the prior issue, but having a through line to the prior issues made this action-packed issue seem more significant (and reverberates through the rest of the arc).
I give a lot of credit to comic writers who find new ways to combine characters and powers, and Fraction nails it here with credibility to spare. He also manages to keep the action uncluttered with gratuitous dialog and exposition, trusting his artist to tell the story.
My main critique of Matt Fraction is that he seems to stick with writing for the more reserved (Cyclops, X-Club) and caustic (Emma, X-Club) members of the X-Men while long-term plots simmer, which leaves much of the excellent supporting cast in the deep background. Here he clearly took some time to figure out how to use as many characters as possible to portray the Predators as a credible threat while still dispatching them in one issue.
I think he really succeeded. Aside from the one Predator chalked up to the plane crash, each beast dies in a unique way. One succumbed to brute force, as did the one the team fought in Messiah Complex. Another fell to impeccable, well-rehearsed teamwork, while a third is taken off the board by Namor, a new factor.
However, for me (a massive Rogue fan), the fourth predator is what made this issue a must-read. The plan Fraction has Rogue devise is genius, and commenting on her execution of the plan (and the Predator X) solely in his smarmy introductory caption boxes was the right choice. It's the first time we see Rogue really cut loose with her revised powers, and it sets up her transition to a custodial relationship with the younger generation of X-Men. It's outstanding that both Carey and Fraction seem to really understand how to handle Rogue, considering she's been editorially squandered for about a decade.
The only downside is the sudden too-timely departure of the Phoenix Force. I elect to give Fraction benefit of the doubt on that – someone had to undo Pak's inexcusably moronic move of bringing the Phoenix back, and hopefully this along with the tease of Jean a few issues ago means Fraction has a long term plan.
Artwork
The prevailing thought on Greg Land seems to be, “pretty, but static.” Witness the lackluster cover – five random X-Men out of scale to each other, all sporting vacant stares.He's clearly tracing faces and poses from other source material, and is gives most of his issues an icy, disconnected quality.
I didn't think that was the case here. This is the best combat I've seen Land stage – still pretty, but kinetic instead of static. Yes, we got the vacant-eyed version of the Cuckoos, and Rogue starts out as a come-hither supermodel. However, we also got massive mutant-eating beasts exploding not once, but twice. And a plane crash. And the Rogue awesomeness.
Throughout the issue the colors (helpfully uncredited in the hardcover – classy, Marvel) are phenomenal – pinks and reds really pop, while the sky continues to darken through the end.
I think action frees Land to sketch more and trace less. The spread of Iceman finishing off the first predator is terrific – lots of movement, the great panel of the team silhouetted against Boomer's explosion, a weary Magneto, and an awesome Wolverine – none traced or disconnected from their backdrops. Also, Rogue's fight with the final Predator is simply amazing – again, relying on illustration, rather than just placing static characters.
It's not a perfect issue of art, but I'd call it pleasing - maybe even satisfying. Greg Land, why can't we get more of this style of art? Not every character needs to be a cover model or porn star.
Bottom Line
While this might seem like action-packed fluff to some, it's exactly what I want from X-Men – intriguing plotting rewarded by unique fight scenes that are more than just throwing punches. Fraction delivers that in spades here, and combined with a solid outing from Land it makes for an issue that is high on my list of favorites from the past few years.
