The X-Men #19

And back to starting the issue with a number of pages dedicated to training. Can we at least move the around within the book? Maybe in the middle or at the end?

Luckily, this book stars one of the least interesting villains of all time.

So, I'm gonna skip my normal, "for the love of God, will Stan Lee please take a writing class!" and skip to the horrible villain.

Now I realize that most of the books that I enjoy have more of an overarching story-line as opposed to an episodic, anthology type book, but that doesn't mean that I don't or can't enjoy that type of writing. I have read through much of the original run of Legends of the Dark Knight from the 90's and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. This is just bad writing.

First off, the way they introduced the character of Mimic was horrible. I understand that you want the reader to dislike the bad guy, I get it...really. That doesn't mean you have to make him rude or awkwardly force him into the fluffy plot part of the book. It REALLY MEANS that you shouldn't do it twice. Running into Beast and Iceman in a library because they just happen to be going on a double date with her and a friend, but to run into Jean on the very next page? It's like New York City is a small place or something. I don't know if Stan ever looked out his office window, but NYC is HUGE!

Anyway, this douche follows Jean home and challenges the X-Men to a fight. Now here's the ridiculous part, his powers only work when around other mutants. He has no real powers of his own. He talks about defeating them and really showing them who is superior, but as soon as he walks away, he's "normal guy" again.

Then, we get treated to his origin story, and to be honest with you, I lost interest. I didn't care about this guy at all. Scientist dad, blah blah, botched experiment, blah blah, he became a douche. This guy is only as good as the best person directly near him. Now, as part of a team of heroes this could be an awesome character, but as a solo act, he is stupid. This is why Rogue worked as part of the X-Men, but never really had a successful solo book.

I have mentioned it in other reviews, in different ways, but it really bug me that Professor X uses his "mental power" to move objects and interfere with electronics. That is not how it should work. His powers should be limited to reading the minds of and limited control of being with organic brains. He does not have telekinesis or else why would he ever be in a wheel chair? If that were the case he could just float everywhere he wanted to go.

Explosion...Mimic no longer has powers...end of book.

Final Thoughts: Once again, the X-Men let a villain go free. I realize he no longer has any powers, but that doesn't mean that he didn't just try to harm you, kidnap one of your team members and threaten a bunch of other people. Just because he doesn't have crazy mimic abilities doesn't mean he won't try to seek revenge on his father's attackers in some other fashion. The X-men should really get in the habit of contacting the police in situations like this. It might also help their public image.

TLDR: YET ANOTHER TRAINING SESSION, Mimic sucks as a solo act and the X-Men should really have the cops on speed dial