Poor Rogue ( Spoilers!!)
After reading this issue two things came to mind; one was that Rogue cannot catch a break and two was that I think I am now starting to see what actually mattered about the schism. You see after Exodus's quick defeat early in the issue, I was treated to another round of " Our side is right and your path is flawed" discussion between Hope's team and Rogue's squad. Rogue stated that the point of their decision was not to keep kids from fighting but rather give them a chance to go back to basics- to get away from cyclops and the burden of being cold-blooded soldiers. Dust and Surge both say that staying at the same school where forty of the students were killed is not considered safe for kids and that basically going back to basics will only have history repeat itself. At that moment, at least from my point of view, I realized that the point of the schism was not whether Wolverine or Cyclops were wrong and which side the reader will fall on. No, what truly mattered was the choices made- who would go on who's side. Hope and the others on Utopia are okay with that, while the people from Wolverine's team feel differently and have their own personal reason for leaving. The schism was made to provide these characters an opportunity to choose their paths.
On that note, Hope Summers is a character that I really want to like, as a huge newly X-men fan who cares about the lore, I feel like I have too. However it is difficult since Hope is always written ( with so far the exception of Uncanny) the equivalent to the typical high school girl who thinks that she knows the whole world like the back of their hand. It also does not help in this issue that she her "angst factor" can be really eye-rolling. Case in point by paraphrasing, Hope says because you just let kids fight as soldiers to cover your backs proves our point. Two things came to mind. One, Rogue just called the extinction squad for help which with the exception of Hope consists of adults, She was the one that sent kids to fight as soldiers. Second, if you have read Generation Hope you know that Hope has a " screw your orders I'm going to do what we were sent to do, stand aside attitude." At the beginning of the issue, before anything is said, Hope and her team have already begun fighting Exodus without having being giving the go from Logan from the start but only later on when they realized their was no time and point in arguing considering Hopes attitude.
After the mess in a matter similar to Cyclops, Logan decides that she cannot trust Rogue with decision making. This leaves Rogue disappointed and I felt sympathy towards her and am glad that she is not portrayed as the type of person who's choices will always lead to positive results in every big situation- it adds a sense of vulnerability. Overall I did found this to be an decent issue, if not rushed with the defeat of Exodus. If you are invested in the character of Rogue, this is a book worth checking out by borrowing.
