Astonishing X-Men #18

Released: November 15, 2006

Publisher: Marvel

Writer: Joss Whedon

Art: John Cassaday

Cover: John Cassaday

 

We’re six issues into what is turning out to be a twenty four issue story-arc. Its pacing has been a steady character driven story that has gone slowly, but the book’s only come out every other month at the best of times and longer than that at the worst. Joss Whedon’s basic response was, “I’m sorry but tough cookies, I couldn’t predict John would take forever.” The good news is that it will be fixed after this issue to monthly title for the last story arc.

 

This series has been a good classic X-Men tale but it hardly lit the world on fire or broke new ground. What it really feels like is the first story arc of Grant Morrison’s run, and while that’s great, it hardly is strong enough to sustain its momentum among all this delay.

 

This six issue ‘story arc’ has consisted of building up a new Hellfire Club that has systemically broken down each X-Man so that Cassandra Nova can acquire whatever is hidden in some prism shaped metal box. It’s all been very enigmatic just as to what is in the metal box, until this issue reveals all as each X-Man has their obligatory ‘return to action’. Evidently the feeling of Morrison’s run is more than just a matter of tone, this series is all about Cassandra Nova, with an ending just as ambiguous as Morrison’s ending on the subject.

 

As if that wasn’t anti-climatic enough, the sub-plot with Danger and Ord teaming up to take down the X-Men is halted mid-punch as S.W.O.R.D. (the space / dimensional version of S.H.I.E.L.D.) beams up everyone involved to presumably leaving Cassandra Nova’s spirit still sitting in the slug she was put in. I understand, trust me I understand that this is more about the characters than anything else, but the plot still has a function to play. So negating the current plot mid climax is not a good way to engender readers who will have to wait god knows how long for the next cryptic issue.

 

And after all that bitching, it’s still good characterization to the point that I appreciate the story. I don’t know what the hell is really going on, but at least the characters make funny comments and act like the characters I always wanted them to be. So yes, on that level, I do enjoy seeing Cyclops walk around without his visor (an overt metaphor for his finally seeing ‘clearly’ as to what is going on) start shooting bad guys with a pistol. Or hear Hank and Logan actually speak with believable dialogue to one another as if they were truly good friends, or see Kitty on the brink of hating someone so much that she’s willing to kill. It all works, and damnit, if that darnable plot doesn’t just get in the way of all that.

 

Read this in TPB and you’ll like it, as non-revolutionary but classic X-Men drama. If you’ve stuck with it since the beginning then you are probably like me and simply keep reading for those few good moments that stand alone as memorable images. Like Scott blowing a Sentinel off his ‘lawn’ or Ord jumping out a window into space or Logan thinking that he ‘likes beer’. Just don’t ask me what happened between all these scenes cause I really don’t care enough to remember.

 

Rating - 6