Ok, Mr.@oldnightcrawler says I'll better start another thread to discuss the "recent subjects", so let's begin: (SPOILERS!)

Uncanny X-Men #19: I think this issue continues with pretty much where is stopped just an issue before BOTA, where some armored bubble-head was "revealed" to stand behind the new, more advanced Sentinels for reasons that we might also see next year. Be patient guys, and keep in mind that 2016 sounds like a helluva a year for Revolution, you'll get all your answers....in time.

Now, for what actually happened in this issue: we finally saw what happened to Dazzler, and that Mystique herself is a MGH-dealer now. I also like how many times she screwed over Maria Hill and continues to, without being noticed, though I feel like something is going on behind the panel, or I'm giving to much credit to SHIELD? I was also expecting to hear what they have to say about Magneto after their... disagreements, with both teams actually, but - nothing, like he wasn't even there. I still find Bendis' Cyclops heavily disappointing, he isn't in control of the situation and pretty clueless. Magik continues to be unpredictable and a wild-card, I was kinda glad to finally see her casting some impressive spells on Earth. And Emma... she just a shadow of herself, almost literally.

Wolverine and the X-Men #2: Ok, this issue was kind of improvement, I still hate the cast being dominantly Aaron's, and both Rockslide and Hellion not graduated... Ok, just Hellion, Rockslide wasn't the most bright student by definition, lol. Evan was also revealed to be jealous towards QQ (surprise!) and again, destined by another alternate future to become Apocalypse (like fourth time or what?), I mean I kinda dig that those cosmic host to collide in the end, but that's becoming repetitive, just show us AF-epic battle already, and let's move on. It was also funny to see Idie's "confession" to Armor, was it really her voice? I think it should fit Hellion's tone more accurately, but no, he isn't one of the main guys, sorry fans.

The Phoenix Inc., still not enough was revealed to actually judge, but it seems like the new Askani-son will go all-Bishop (maybe a little lighter) to get Evan. And what are his powers? Psychic knife and TP with burning signatures? Don't tell me what I don't want to hear!

One thing is certain with that book - for now, it's much better than Aaron's.

XX-Men #12: It was just the end of the issue, but I will summarize the whole Arkea hyperbolic arc. Since the beginning I felt that I miss something in this book to enjoy, and this wasn't Polaris, I enjoy her in ANXF right now. I never hid it, I find the all-girl team with the X-title unnecessary, why? Because the X-mythos always treated its girls with respect that I don't think you'll find in many other places - from powers to personalities, X-girls were always dominant and respected. That's why I don't understand the whole idea to begin with, but I gave it a try. The first arc, the first mission and the first lineup wasn't planned to become a whole new team and a little task shouldn't turn into a wide range operation, it just happened and those girls happened to react first, so I'll give Wood credit for assembling this team for a more logical reason than "hey we're girls, so let's go just kick some ass". That's for the reasoning of banding together, not for what comes next.

I asked myself, do X-men know who and behind what Sublime is? I'm not just talking about killing Jean Grey (that wasn't retconned), more about the most inhumane facilities since the Concentration Camps in Marvel history, Weapon X. But, seems like he learned humanity since then, so X-men should totally forgive him, brilliant idea Wood. And that's just the beginning, seems like Arkea THE villain of 12 issue, who made Selene bow down to her the second she realized who she is(?), could be killed by a plot-device gun, that also saved her host's life... dammm, I'm just speechless, I won't even bother to get into all of details of this "final showdown", I'll just say that he should never have touched the Asgardian mythos, Asgardian characters and Asgaradian magic, with all due respect to MP and Selene awful resurrections. A real goddess, bows down to a mutant sorceress who isn't even truly immortal? A techno-bacteria or whatever she was "hacks" a magical spell, let alone f*cking Skyfather's spell? The amount of PIS and CIS I've read through this story was overwhelming, the reasoning behind why was it Sisterhood with three mystically powered persons (which wasn't even in her competition eventually), when the most reasonable resurrection would be Apocalypse and his Celestial technology, but there's no explanation, no reason, just pure illogical idiocy running from issue to issue. One big disappointment.

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There were also ALXF #4, X-Force #2 and Legacy #300, but I don't have time for writing down my thoughts in details, so I'll be brief: I am enjoying ALXF, though not perfect, same with X-Force, and I have kinda mixed feelings about Legacy's ending. That's it, your turn :)

UXM 19 was a major disappointment. The issue went absolutely nowhere. Cyclops found out that the O5 were kidnapped last issue, and now it's like the O5 never existed. Sentinels are coming to attack Cyke's team being sent by bubblehead. SHIELD is incompetent and annoying as hell. The whole storyline seems like it's just got paused with the same crap being repeated over and over.

"I'm gonna go to war with SHIELD !" My ass you are. Been hearing this same shit since BOTA ended.

See, for me, that Cyclops' team weren't themselves the focus of the issue isn't really problematic, since there are enough other characters involved in this story to warrant having an issue that deals more with what they're up to. That Hill confronts Hijack and we finally see why Mystique has been keeping Dazzler alive are relevant issues that certainly deserve the attention their given here.

Maria Hill's ignorance of Mystique's ruse can be forgiven since, a.) she seems to be focusing all of her attention on trying to keep up with Cyclops, and b.) because Mystique is supposed to be awesome at this sort of thing. That both Hill and Cyclops seem to be giving each other the benefit of being one step ahead of them is, for me, making this a pretty interesting game. And though one could criticize the pace of the overall story, I'm personally enjoying what developments are teased out when.

After last issue's filler story (which, if anyone missed, they wouldn't have really missed anything), I'm really happy to see the book getting back to the story I'm actually interested in this issue. My only criticism, as usual, would be that Bachalo's art is messy and confusing for most of the action scenes. Overall, though, I enjoyed this issue quite a bit.

I enjoyed the issue, myself, but I totally agree with all of these criticisms (and not just the ones I quoted). The main focus of the last few arcs seems to have been primarily to establish Storm's (and Jubilee's) field teams by pitting them against what seems like ridiculously high stakes, as well as to do so in a way that re-establishes some of their most classic and formidable foes, so that by the end of this issue we have some fully formed X-men squads and two of their most dangerous enemies out there on the loose.

Which, in itself, is a fine end game; but, as you say, could have been executed far more sensibly and organically than what we've been given in the last six issues of this book. This issue was, at the very least, both somewhat ham-fisted and fairly anticlimactic in that regard. While I am a fan of Wood's characterization and character dynamics overall, it's becoming convincingly more apparent that the subtlety of superhero plots may not be his strong suit. (Though, I have to admit, I had to laugh out loud when Arkea had gone to so much trouble to dig up MP and Selene, only for them to bail before they even did anything; I dunno, to me that's funny :v ).

That said, where we're left at by the issue's end seems to have been the goal all along. So if these are the squads that Wood has wanted to establish this whole time, I'll at least be interested to see how he develops them in the next arc.

First off, I'm not sure what you mean by "the cast being dominantly Aaron's", since (other than the Bamfs) none of Aaron's characters were even in this book. Quire, Oya, Armor, and Evan (and Wolverine and Storm) were the focus of the issue, and none of them are Aaron's creations. Personally, if these four characters can remain to be the central characters, I wouldn't mind that in the least.

As for the story itself, while I'm personally not all that interested in either the Phoenix force or alternate futures as the basis for plots (just getting tired of them, really), I liked how they were used to give focus to the characters, all of whom were especially entertaining in this issue. The situational comedy and dialogue in this issue was spot-on and highly entertaining, and the characterization was great.

And, maybe that's just a thing for me, that the plots and threats don't really matter so much as how they effect the characters and develop the characterization of the group. But in that regard, I found this issue to be very strong.

I was hoping to see more of Quire and Hellion's rivalry play out in this issue, but given that Quire wasn't even at the school this issue, and how much I enjoyed the issue overall, I think it's a minor quibble that I'll have to wait to see how that develops. Overall, this was definitely the X-men comic I enjoyed most this month (actually, probably the issue I've enjoyed most in quite a while), and the one I'd be most likely to recommend right now. I'd give it at least a 9/10, personally.

Wow?!!!! Unbelievable. I find it inconceivable how any Xmen fan cannot be disappointed and somewhat depressed by what we got in these recent 3 releases this week. I'll get more into my thoughts on the individual issues later but honestly every single one felt like a waste of time. I actually got so sick and tired of what I was reading that I didnt even get to New Avengers because of just having the feeling of being through with reading at that point. On the flipside I started reading a great novel in the historical fiction genre and got about halfway thru yesterday, so my being in the mood for some good reading wasnt totally wasted

There's alot to cover on my opinion but i'll try to simple it up:

Uncanny X-Men #19- This issue was good. But from page one I think i was expecting it to follow up on the "rescue the 05" plotline. And while I'm glad we didnt get sidetracked again, it made it seem like Cyclops was sort of scrambling to put out fires, since he's got Tempus, a new mutant, Hijack, and the missing 05 to deal with even before the Sentinels showed up and Magik went Doctor Strange on them. Either way if they can keep the story moving at this pace we'll have a great few issues coming.

Also got to agree with @adamtrmm on Emma just not being used to her potential, since aside from the early issues of All New i think she's only had two conversations in a year.

WatXM #2- Great issue, An it may only be because it's such a breath of fresh air to see these characters get a personality. I'm warming up to Quentin more as the focus of this book and aside from maybe Idie's attack on Armor being a little out of nowhere i'm VERY interested in this arc and what's going on.

X-Men #12- This book is really strong for it's character interactions and giving characters face time. That said, Arkea was a failure mostly because she went from interesting concept in the first arc, to villain sue and then about half way through this issue she went from an unbeatable villain who can make gods bow to "lets just end this arc already". If she was meant to be this new Apocalypse class villain then they really should've stuck with the more computer virus/cybernetic infection type things from the first arc because I suspended disbelief for most of her ressurection/magic hacking/personality replacement stuff and didn't get a payoff. Even Storm letting the others go was a bit bothersome to me considering Arkea was no longer a threat at the moment. Hopefully they'll wrap things up next issue by handling Sublime.

Still overall i like that no one is pointing out that this is an all female team in universe, and the writing has been solid, if over the top. And i think id sit through another 2 Arkea arcs if it meant i could get interactions like the Jubilee/Quentin/Hellion stuff at the end.

1.) absolutely agree. I'm really glad they kept the "O5" plot-line out of this book.

2.) I think Bendis uses Emma well when he uses her, I just wish he'd use her more.

3.) Totally agree.This issue was great for all these reasons and more. I do see what you mean about Oya, but, like you say, I'm more just happy that her and Armor are being written with any personality.

4.) couldn't have said it better.

5.) I'm loving Storm's team, but I do think I'd read a book just about Jubilee's team. I like them in the same book, though, it sort of gives it a pretty dense, 90's feel, which works for these characters.

That was my thought immediately after posting it. I liked what he did when Emma and Scott officially ended and the Emma Frost/Stepford Cuckoo stuff was the best interaction between her and them. He seems to have a solid grasp on what's important to Emma, but like the cast as a whole he needs to define where she fits in.

Because i followed Oya (unintentionally) from her debut to now....i can't say i know that any writer defined her very well. As Gen Hope, Aaron and now Latour portray her completely different...even in terms of her age. But i'll shrug it off, since at least Armor got to reply.

Storm's team i think needs more work then Jubilee's, since i feel like the younger team felt more natural together then the adults. But it may just be that Psylocke and Monet haven't interacted. But I'm interested in how Wood's continues from here.

1. yeah, I really liked the issues right after BotA when we see her with the students, especially the one where she's training Deeds (issue #14). I feel like if we saw more issues like this, we'd get more of what's cool about Emma and get more reason to be interested in the new characters.

2. Basically I agree with this. Her main thing seems to be that she's unpredictable; cool and calculating one moment and then fierce the next (sort of like the dual nature of her power, I guess). Mostly I like her because this makes her a great foil for Quire, who, though I love, can at times be predictable. And yeah, seeing Armor finally take charge was pretty cool.

3. Yeah, I think that's a fair assessment. I like both groups, but Jubilee's just seemed like a team right out of the can, whereas, like you say, Storm's is still gelling.

Ok I was absent for more than a week, we already have new issues out, but...:

@oldnightcrawler:

See, for me, that Cyclops' team weren't themselves the focus of the issue isn't really problematic, since there are enough other characters involved in this story to warrant having an issue that deals more with what they're up to. That Hill confronts Hijack and we finally see why Mystique has been keeping Dazzler alive are relevant issues that certainly deserve the attention their given here.

Maria Hill's ignorance of Mystique's ruse can be forgiven since, a.) she seems to be focusing all of her attention on trying to keep up with Cyclops, and b.) because Mystique is supposed to be awesome at this sort of thing. That both Hill and Cyclops seem to be giving each other the benefit of being one step ahead of them is, for me, making this a pretty interesting game. And though one could criticize the pace of the overall story, I'm personally enjoying what developments are teased out when.

After last issue's filler story (which, if anyone missed, they wouldn't have really missed anything), I'm really happy to see the book getting back to the story I'm actually interested in this issue. My only criticism, as usual, would be that Bachalo's art is messy and confusing for most of the action scenes. Overall, though, I enjoyed this issue quite a bit.

Never said the team not being under the spotlight is a bad thing though, sometimes it is even the opposite and makes the feeling of versatility, if we're talking about this book as what it already is, not what it could be.

What you say is inapplicable for the position Maria has, that's the burden of being Head of Anything. Do you think Chiefs of CIA or Mossad or whatever Intelligence can have such amenities as being only focused on single targets? And that's what she is right now, in their world. That's why portraying SHIELD as an incompetent/irrelevant joke for most of it's existence is one of those things that bother me about Bandis' writing, he always portrays them this way.

Bachalo's art is completely out of place, but then so are most of Bendis stories so far ;)

I enjoyed the issue, myself, but I totally agree with all of these criticisms(and not just the ones I quoted). The main focus of the last few arcs seems to have been primarily to establish Storm's (and Jubilee's) field teams by pitting them against what seems like ridiculously high stakes, as well as to do so in a way that re-establishes some of their most classic and formidable foes, so that by the end of this issue we have some fully formed X-men squads and two of their most dangerous enemies out there on the loose.

Which, in itself, is a fine end game; but, as you say, could have been executed far more sensibly and organically than what we've been given in the last six issues of this book. This issue was, at the very least, both somewhat ham-fisted and fairly anticlimactic in that regard. While I am a fan of Wood's characterization and character dynamics overall, it's becoming convincingly more apparent that the subtlety of superheroplots may not be his strong suit. (Though, I have to admit, I had to laugh out loud when Arkea had gone to so much trouble to dig up MP and Selene, only for them to bail before they even did anything; I dunno, to me that's funny :v ).

That said, where we're left at by the issue's end seems to have been the goal all along. So if these are the squads that Wood has wanted to establish this whole time, I'll at least be interested to see how he develops them in the next arc.

Interesting, even after all those criticisms, you still found this arc good? How you always manage to do this is an unknown formula for me. Unlike you, after all the growing skepticism that most of the issues left me with right after the reading and then the final showdown just proved me right, I can't really see what I'm supposed to be excited about? Every time I'm going to see either Selene or MP I'm going to recall that odious arc, and the future enjoyment will already get spoiled lol

Let's just walk through the story itself: Arkea, some sort of high-end sentient technological virus returned to Earth to avenge herself for past banishment from her brother, Sublime and then usurp the Earth (so unique). Then she faced the X-men, who made her realized that only by eliminating them she might actually achieve what she wants, so she decides to... resurrect their sworn enemies! Who also happen to be girls, just because the fetish part of the story, without actual plot-driven reason, and that's where the real biggest disappointments start.

I never cared for Lady Deathstrike, pretty forgettable villain I prefer to never see again, Mary seems interesting, but I'd like to see her in some more "street-level" missions, that would fit her more accurately. Amora, now here I was really intrigued in the beginning, always dug the idea of gods and mutants to interact. But, traditionally it turned out to be some sort of unexplained plot device instead of interesting in-universe mythos interactions, she was actually there just for the "shocking" resurrections. Now, after everything was said and done, the only question is why? Resurrections? They were so weak, it could be achieved in less issues. Maybe Arkea? After all that formidable series of kneeling where I was already afraid there's another bacteria around, people just couldn't stand on their feet, we now know she was expendable.

As for the X-men, the conflict between Storm and Rachel.. I'd like to go through Wood's X-men v.3 run, where Storm main purpose was to save lives of unknown people, and the friction between her and Colossus was really believable and natural, but here she hurried to kill her possessed friend... and a pretty much more ruthless Rachel was the only person to question her? What is it a conflict for the sake of the conflict, to use the formula that actually works, because people like conflicts?

First off, I'm not sure what you mean by "the cast being dominantly Aaron's", since (other than the Bamfs) none of Aaron's characters were even in this book. Quire, Oya, Armor, and Evan (and Wolverine and Storm) were the focus of the issue, and none of them are Aaron's creations. Personally, if these four characters can remain to be the central characters, I wouldn't mind that in the least.

As for the story itself, while I'm personally not all that interested in either the Phoenix force or alternate futures as the basis for plots (just getting tired of them, really), I liked how they were used to give focus to the characters, all of whom were especially entertaining in this issue. The situational comedy and dialogue in this issue was spot-on and highly entertaining, and the characterization was great.

And, maybe that's just a thing for me, that the plots and threats don't really matter so much as how they effect the characters and develop the characterization of the group. But in that regard, I found this issue to be very strong.

I was hoping to see more of Quire and Hellion's rivalry play out in this issue, but given that Quire wasn't even at the school this issue, and how much I enjoyed the issue overall, I think it's a minor quibble that I'll have to wait to see how that develops.

Overall, this was definitely the X-men comic I enjoyed most this month (actually, probably the issue I've enjoyed most in quite a while), and the one I'd be most likely to recommend right now. I'd give it at least a 9/10, personally.

That cast was assembled by Aaron, that's what I meant.

I can understand that, and actually agree. As for characterization, right now besides in general "better than Aaron's" I cannot say more. Just for now.

@adamtrmm:

"What you say is inapplicable for the position Maria has, that's the burden of being Head of Anything. Do you think Chiefs of CIA or Mossad or whatever Intelligence can have such amenities as being only focused on single targets? And that's what she is right now, in their world. That's why portraying SHIELD as an incompetent/irrelevant joke for most of it's existence is one of those things that bother me about Bandis' writing, he always portrays them this way."

No, but I also don't have a problem believing that the head of the CIA wouldn't always be one step ahead of threats that can shape-shift, teleport, or read minds. If the X-men's powers and expertise can't explain why all these characters aren't already in jail, then there wouldn't be much of a premise, right?

"Interesting, even after all those criticisms, you still found this arc good?"

I didn't say it was good, I said I enjoyed it; world of difference.

@oldnightcrawler:

No, but I also don't have a problem believing that the head of the CIA wouldn't always be one step ahead of threats that can shape-shift, teleport, or read minds. If the X-men's powers and expertise can't explain why all these characters aren't already in jail, then there wouldn't be much of a premise, right?

I'm sure they would actually study that subject individually, knowing how to treat either of these abilities. And I was talking about a regular intelligence, not the ones who supposed to be counter-super intelligence.

I didn't say it was good, I said I enjoyed it; world of difference.

I always thought you only enjoy something that is good.

I think you're missing my point.

Firstly, if Maria was as good at her job as you think she should be, then wouldn't all of the other characters be in jail? I'm not saying that couldn't be a good story in itself, but it's kind of just a different story altogether. As a character foil in this story, her function is to create conflict, not negate it; it's simply not her function to be better than Cyclops or Mystique.

More than that though, I don't even think it's a case of her just serving the plot because -in story- I don't have any reason to think she'd be better at catching Cyclops or Mystique than they would be at avoiding her.

They've both been training for this kind of thing for most of their lives and are supposed to be among the best strategists in their respective fields; just because she's supposed to be one of the best at what she does, doesn't mean that Cyclops or Mystique shouldn't be able to outsmart her (or whatever) at least some of the time, because that's also what they do.

who me?

no, I enjoy lots of things that aren't really good: B-horror movies, chocolate pop tarts, comics from the 60's, X-men cartoons, etc..

@oldnightcrawler:

I think you're missing my point.

Firstly, if Maria was as good at her job as you think she should be, then wouldn't all of the other characters be in jail? I'm not saying that couldn't be a good story in itself, but it's kind of just a different story altogether. As a character foil in this story, her function is to create conflict, not negate it; it's simply not her function to be better than Cyclops or Mystique.

More than that though, I don't even think it's a case of her just serving the plot because -in story- I don't have any reason to think she'd be better at catching Cyclops or Mystique than they would be at avoiding her.

They've both been training for this kind of thing for most of their lives and are supposed to be among the best strategists in their respective fields; just because she's supposed to be one of the best at what she does, doesn't mean that Cyclops or Mystique shouldn't be able to outsmart her (or whatever) at least some of the time, because that's also what they do.

As good as those people are, there are still lots of "bad guys" are still out, but from time to time we actually hear about some successful operations. When was the last time SHIELD succeeded in something?! I really don't remember.

I know that Scott can't be captured because of the story, yet I want to see a credible plot of how SHIELD make his life difficult, acting like Intelligence they're supposed to be. How is it even possible MH doesn't know of Mystique's acquisition of Mandripoor? Dam, they have Sentinels, if so they must have other counter-mutant devices that I pretty sure could "unintentionally" expose Mystique as Dazzler, because you know in a world where shapeshifters is a regular deal, super-intelligence would be really interested in finding out how to counter this inconvenient for counter-spying powerset.

I don't mind outsmarting, but the way MH and SHIELD are portrayed, it's not really hard to, that's what bothers me.

who me?

no, I enjoy lots of things that aren't really good: B-horror movies, chocolate pop tarts, comics from the 60's, X-men cartoons, etc..

I was talking in general, but lol point taken.

well, just because SHIELD are the antagonists of this book doesn't mean they aren't the protagonists of others. I haven't been reading it, but I imagine they probably have their share of successes in, say, Secret Avengers. If not, than maybe that would be a better book to criticize on this basis?

But again, if that's what you're expecting of SHIELD, it's not hard to imagine that Mystique would be expecting the same things and prepare her own counter measures into her plans, right?

And, honestly, it's not like SHIELD hasn't made things difficult for Cyclops' team, considering every move they make has to measured by the fact that they are being dogged by SHIELD at every turn. I mean, it's not like SHIELD's missed any opportunity to swoop in on them whenever they emerge.

@oldnightcrawler:

I don't read SA so I can't say much. Do you consider them competent the way Bendis writes them? It's not that all the writers portray them as such, I was implying mainly for his vision of super-intelligence. If what you say about Mystique's own counter measures would be true it would also be already addressed, what we got is a simplistic 'she shapeshifted her way in' as a legit twist. And Cyclops already broke into one of their bases (Helicarrier? Can't rememeber) without much trouble and absolutely no casualties, taking one of their prisoners with him Maybe I expect too much seriousness over silliness in comics, but that's me.

for X-men? probably.

@oldnightcrawler:

Yet some writers give me what I want, those who don't I keep constructively bashing ;p

@adamtrmm: you doing another one of these today?

:v I think you should, these are the most fun!

I agree. This week was VERY interesting...across the board actually.

Dam, it's 5 X-issues this week and I'm just about to start reading.