X-Men #31

X-Men #31 Review

Overview:

The team keeps investigating the proto-mutants that have sprung up around the world.

The Good:

The idea of proto-mutants is intriguing and honestly makes sense; if there were Neanderthals thousands of years ago why not have older proto-mutants as a precursor/offshoot of mutants. Before everyone gets all mad about this messing with the history of the X-Men and mutants, it does not, as it is explicitly stated that they have a more crude and less evolved variation of the X-gene and are extinct. That is the beauty of the story; this is a variation on the history of mutants in a way that (to my knowledge) has not been done before.

While this is not an AvX tie in, which is good, it still draws from elements of the conflict, primarily Cyclops going a little crazy and single minded. Before I criticized having Storm on the team because they don’t really need her but here she really is needed. Storm is a strong leader and everyone knows that and here that concept is exploited as she does not want to tell Scott about what is going on and says that there is a Scott she knows and trusts and one she does not and that is something that has been needed to be said since about issue 9 of Uncanny X-Men and probably a bit before that. The fact that Domino and Colossus are totally against that shows how charismatic Cyclops can be along with some dissention in his group, mainly from another strong leader, but since this is not the main X-book for team Cyclops nothing will come of it but one can dream right?

The human scientist who went unnamed in the last issue finally has a name. It is Doctor Hunter, other than being a geneticist of some sort, she remains a mystery though

The writing by Brian wood continues to be great, while the dialogue is good, the plot is where it shines and brightly at that. David Lopez and Rachelle Rosenberg continue to know the art out of the park with pencils and colors respectively.

The Bad:

Colossus seems way out of character in this issue and while it is kind of explained, it was a weak reason.

Verdict:

The plot intrigue in this issue was cranked up to eleven and will genuinely interest any fan of the X-Men. The writing is good and the art is great ant it makes a fun yet intense issue that is really satisfying. Any fan of the series will love this and it is a decent spot for new readers to start but picking up the previous issue is a very good idea but not one hundred percent necessary.

4.5 out of 5