Generation Hope #1

Overall: This issue deals solely with Hope and the other four “lights”(or newly manifested mutants)heading to Japan to locate the fifth and final light. You see, when these new mutant powers manifest, they leave the “light” confused and crazed until Hope can touch them, restoring their sanity and giving them control over their powers. Before Hope and the other lights(as well as Rogue, their chaperon)can get to Japan though, the fifth new mutant manifests his powers and goes on a rampage, killing people all throughout his apartment building with bizarre fleshy growths protruding from his body. Hope and company arrive on the scene and manage to ditch Rogue(who was tasked with keeping the new mutants alive), before heading into the apartment of the out of control new mutant. Eventually Hope reaches the newly minted mutant and tries to help him, but he seems to be deformed both physically and mentally, and this issue ends with the fifth new mutant erecting an enormous energy dome over his building.

Meh. I've got to say, this was a really disappointing way to start this series off... I kind of knew going into this comic that I probably wouldn't enjoy it based on the lead up in Uncanny X-Men, but I was still hopeful. Unfortunately, that hope went unfulfilled. It's not even necessarily the story or anything, because the villain of this piece seemed pretty interesting in a completely off his gourd sort of way. No, it's the five main characters in this series that bother me. I don't feel connected to any of them. Usually when there's a new junior X-Men team(Gen. X, New Mutants/Academy X), I'll automatically be drawn to at least one of the new students. Be it Chamber, Synch, Wither or Elixir. There'd always be that one character I'd tend care about. Here, not so much. I could care less about any of these characters. I can't stand Hope, and the stories for the other four characters just don't do anything for me. I'm not really sure what the target audience for this series is(teenage girls perhaps?), but I don't think it's I'm it.

Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.That's one ugly mutie!