Comes to a Halt
This storyline has been largely disappointing ever since Magneto has left the series, and, funnily enough, it ends just as he shows up again. Hopefully, this is foreshadowing for better things to come, as this series has certainly not impressed me as of late.
The supposed big conflict teased at the end of the last issue is very flat and boring. While the imagery looks good, no real fighting or action actually happens. It feels like one of those movie scenes where they just recycle the same clip of people shooting and yelling at each other until something of importance happens. We finally start to focus on the characters who we are supposed to be rooting for here, but they are very overshadowed by the other players for some strange reason. The conflict has suddenly shifted to focus on Beast, but it's done in a very untactful manner that leaves the conflict wanting. And the big reveal makes little to no sense, is sudden, and hardly pertains to this series at all. It feels like the rug has been ripped out from underneath us, but not in a good way, leaving me rubbing my sore rump with a bad feeling in my stomach. However, this issue does allow for a number of things to progress so we can hopefully move on to a more developed or interesting plot.
The art feels a bit shaky here, as too many artists have been brought on to the project as of late, leaving some pages to feel awkward or out of place when compared to the rest of the experience. There's also a certain fascination with show pieces that this series has recently had a bad hankering for, and it doesn't further anything about the series, whether it be the plot or my enjoyment of the work. I feel kind of cheated out of an issue because of it.
I'm hoping that this recent story was something of a fluke that won't be repeated. There's some great promise with the Original Sin's tie-in, as silly as that sounds, and I look forward to see what is done with it. I mean, it can't be any worse than this was.
