Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Brood?
Overview
Wolverine used Kid Omega's telepathy & super intelligence to raise school funds in an inter-galactic casino. Meanwhile, Beast leads a miniaturised team through Professor Pryde's insides to save Kid Gladiator and Broo is the only left to help Professor Pryde run away from the big bad Brood king.
The Good
- Kid Omega & Wolverine working together for a change.
- Kitty Pryde back on her feet and proving that she is still the best at what she does (even in her condition).
- A wise-cracking mysterious new villain.
- Sweet moments between Kitty & Broo.
- Krakoa & the Danger Room kick off.
- Iceman's interior decorating skills (nice to see he still creates ice sculptures).
- An unexpected twist featuring Kid Gladiator.
Simply love it! Everything about it, and I truly do mean everything! That includes my reservations that I had for Mr Bradshaw's flat faces are mercifully set aside (although he does seem to have a preference for Kitty pryde's brown curls & button nose).
We swap back & forth between three storylines and there's no loss of pace as we switch from Wolverine to Beast and to Kitty. The story races on and the art is addictive with a fix for our eyes on every page.
The Bad
Where are my Bamfs? No really, no room for even the obligatory singular panel of impish blue mischief? I'm surprised they're not seen running away from (or attacking) the Brood. Give me my Bamfs!
On a more semi-serious note, I loved seeing Krakoa stir into action. between Krakoa on the outside and the Danger Room technology on the inside, it's amazing that a stray fly could make their way into the school let alone some rampant Brood. My initial excitement at seeing the school's defences kick in were quashed as instantly as the defence systems were. I would like to have seen a little more, but understand that it was a trade-off to keep the pace flowing.
Verdict
Now that there's no sign of the Hellfire Babies, this is simply... So bloody brilliant! This is the X-Men that I've been missing for several years. X-Factor is noir & sarcastic, but this is the X-Men back to how they should be; fast, fun and kick arse!
