(Kind of...)The Best of the Rest! June 5th edition.

Hey hey, X popping in with a quick post.  A REALLY quick post!  So yeah, as I said in the last post, I've been staying away from the blog and just reading comics for fun again.  Crazy, no?  It's nice to have a little summer vacation again, I definitely need the time to recharge the old batteries.  Anyway, enough bellyaching from me, hows about I talk comics now?

-Age of Ultron #9 was horrible, as expected.  Two fucking Wolverines...  No thank you, one is enough!  The Wolvies and Sue told Pym about Ultron, and wanted him to put some sort of program in Ultron to prevent him from destroying the world or something equally dumb.  So yeah, sucktacular.  I'm still holding out hope that the aftermath will make this whole ugly experience worthwhile...  5 out of 10.

-X-Factor #257 was okay, I guess.  It was all about Layla Miller trying to wrangle Demon Madrox.  Spoiler: she does.  But he's still a demon.  Supposedly this series is ending soon, which sucks.  I'm sure PAD will bring the big guns as we get closer to the finale.  5 1/2 out of 10.

-All New X-Men #12.  What the hell, Bendis?  Seriously, what the hell?!  This series just keeps spiraling down the Bendis spiral of crap.  We get a lot of talking, Jean acting like a bitch, more talking, and Jean acting like a bitch some more.  You'd thing the first meeting between the O5 X-Men and the Avengers would be better, but nope.  Jean is still randomly reading minds, in this case Wanda's, which leads to her throwing a tantrum and then crying...  So basically Bendis has made me hate Jean, who was my favorite female X-Men.  Kudos, Bendis!  4 out of 10.

-Thanos Rising #3 finally gave me a good comic to read.  It showed us Thanos after he left Titan and gathered his pirates.  It also explained Nebula's creation, which was something I wondered about from as far back as the Infinity Gauntlet story.  So again, really good stuff here.  8 out of 10.

-Superior Spider-Man #11.  I know people like to dump on this series, but I'm still enjoying it.  A lot.  Spidey is tasked with making sure that Alistair Smythe is executed, and does his best to outsmart Smythe, but can't account for The Revenge of the Villains Spidey Brutalized!!  I'm definitely looking forward to the angry villains getting their hands(or wings) on Spidey next issue.  8 out of 10.

-I didn't read Ultimates #25 or Iron Man #11 or Stormwatch #21 yet, so I've got nothing to say about them.

-I have been reading a ton of back issues, and most of them are SO MUCH better than the new stuff!  I've been enjoying some Iron Man action from the mid-1980's, back when Tony was a drunk living in the gutter and Rhodey was taking care of business, Iron Man style.  I also finished off Christos Gage's Absolution series from 2009, and it was GREAT.  It was Brubaker good!  See, it's great comics like that which remind me why I love comics so much.  Anyway, I have some Maximum Carnage comics calling my name.  Until Next time, X out.

All New X-Men #11

Hey comic fans, JT here with my second single review of the week, All New X-Men. Cyclops' team crashed the Jean Grey School's campus and offered an open invitation to anyone who wants to jump ship, and someone has. We already know who... as of last week, but if you don't read Uncanny X-Men, I guess you're about to find out.

All New X-Men #11

Summary: We kick things off with everyone getting upset that O5 Angel, Warren, has decided to join team Cyclops. Everyone tries to talk him out of it but he says Cyclops and his team are the only people making sense here. Jean, because she's been acting like a bitch since she discovered her new powers, tries to mind control Warren into going back into the school. She's quickly shut down by the Stepford sister, per Emma's orders, and taught a lesson about entering people's minds until Present Cyclops has her stand down, so Emma has the Stepford sister's stop. Warren takes his place next to Cyclops and his team and they all leave, leaving Wolverine and his students confused. We also see Mystique put a plan into action by posing as Pepper Potts and infiltrating his financial portfolio, then convincing someone working there that the X-Men are attacking the facility. Back at the Jean Grey School, Jean is comforted by Kitty Pryde, but told she needs to keep her emotions and powers in check, and that if she uses them to infiltrate someone's mind again, she will find a way to send her and the O5 back. Jean promises to use her powers for good and Kitty accepts her apology. From there, they decide to pursue Mystique, when suddenly Wolverine, Kitty, and the O5 (Minus Warren) are stopped in their tracks as the Quinjet is taken down. The issue ends with the team being told to surrender by none other than Captain America, Havok, Thor, Scarlet Witch, and Rogue, The Uncanny Avengers!

Thoughts: I don't understand why this issue came out after we already knew who was going to join Cyclops' team. It just seemed odd that It was built to be such a shocker when we've known for like two issues if you read Uncanny X-Men. I'm sure everyone doesn't... but yeah. That aside, I enjoyed this issue. I loved seeing Emma have the Cuckoos take Jean down a peg, it was a great moment for Emma and Jean needed it the way she was using her powers to make Warren do whatever she said. I also enjoyed Mystique's exploits, I don't know what her plan is, or if she just wanted Tony's money, but I'm enjoying her taking the main baddie role of this series. The ending with the Uncanny Avengers showing up was a surprise, but now it feels like the whole logic is put Team A in Book B, and repeat. I mean, we've seen the Avengers in Uncanny X-Men, The Avengers in All New X-Men, the Uncanny X-Men in All New X-Men, the Uncanny Avengers in All New X-Men, The Uncanny X-Men in Cable and the X-Men...it's getting old fast. That aside, I'm interested to see what Captain America and his team will say during the first five pages before they leave the next issue with no fight.

Score: 7.5/10

All New X-Men #10

Hey Guys and Gals, JT here with my second review of the week, my All New X-Men review. Considering this has been one of my favorite series since Marvel NOW started, which should be obvious since I haven't let X review an issue yet, let's see how the Jean Grey School deals with Cyclops and his team showing up on their front lawn.

All New X-Men #10

Summary: In this issue, Cyclops and his X-Men offered a spot to any of Wolverine's students that wanted to leave the Jean Grey School and join Cyclops at the New Xavier school, which enrages Wolverine. Team Cyclops decide to leave and let the Students, Staff, and Original Five talk it over, and tells Young Cyclops to ask about how they got the Phoenix Force. Young Scott asks Beast and he explains how Stark caused the Phoenix Force to inhabit most of Cyclops' team. Young Scott is upset, saying Beast didn't tell him the full story, and starting to defend his future actions, but the conversation is cut short when Cyclops and his team return. They ask who's going with them and of course the weird psychic triplets join to be with Emma. The team waits and it seems one of the Original Five has taken Cyclops up on his offer but we don't see who. Obvious money is on Jean or Angel. Also, we see that Mystique and Sabretooth, along with female Mastermind have used her abilities to rob banks and such, and Maria Hill and S.H.I.E.L.D. are aware of this and warn the X-Men to be on the lookout for them.

Thoughts: This was a pretty average issue but I still liked it. I really liked Mystique and her team robbing people but making it look like it was Wolverine and the Original Five, that's genius and a great way to villainize the X-Men. I also liked Scott defending his future actions to Beast upon learning the whole story. The best part was watching Scott then show the leader that he is by turning around and arguing with future Scott and defending why he and the other four Originals had decided to stay in hopes of changing things. Like I guessed above, Jean will probably go undercover for the team with Cyclops, which would be interesting with Emma around, I'd enjoy that. I could easily see it being Angel though, considering he doesn't want to be there. Either way, I'm continuing to enjoy this comic, and that's always good.

Score: 7/10

Young Scott: You wouldn't take a second chance if you were given it?
Emma Frost: No one gave you anything. You're stealing it.

All New X-Men #9

Hey guys and gals, my second review of the week is All New X-Men. The last issue fell a bit flat for me so hopefully Bendis and the crew can bounce back for this one.

All New X-Men #3

Summary: This issue gets things started with Kitty taking the O5 into Times Square for a training exercise for taking on Sentinels. The team decides to do their own thing instead of working as an actual team, which is weird considering they worked as a team in their own time period... Anyway, they fail the obvious simulation (Kitty sat there with her arms crossed the whole time, like Jason Todd in a Bat-Family book) so you could tell they were never in danger. Afterwards, Kitty tells them what they did wrong, including telling Cyclops he did a good job but his team didn't listen to his orders, even though she and Storm declared Jean the leader of the team privately, but whatever. Angel cuts this short by asking what this training has to do with anything, but Kitty says she's training them to make sure they don't die while their under her guidance. As everyone leaves, nosy ass Jean Grey (that Kitty has already scolded twice in this issue for reading her mind) asks Cyclops who Mystique is, which also makes Kitty ask where he met her. Scott tells them to get out of his head and walks off, with Kitty following after. Next we see Maria Hill bringing Sabretooth to The Raft, but of course it's actually Mystique, and Sabretooth takes out the guards as she goes to meet up with Lady Mastermind. Mystique basically says she's ready to use her powers to get rich as hell, and invites Lady Mastermind along for the ride, which she accepts, and the three make their way out of The Raft before the Avengers can arrive. From there we see Angel asking Beast about the "Mutant Genocide" he mentioned, and Beast basically tells him that hopefully, it's been avoided, as he brought them here to snap Scott out of his ways and hopefully their appearance will make him come to his senses before the Mutant Genocide is pushed to that point. Beast's words are cut short when he and the rest of the school notice that Cyclops, Magneto, Emma and Magik have arrived on the school grounds, continuing from Uncanny X-Men #2, as this issue comes to a close.

Thoughts: I love that this issue and Uncanny X-Men ended at the same spot, makes it feel like you're reading about one big world instead of a bunch of different stories. Also, that team looks SO much better in this book instead of Bacchalo's art in my opinion, although I hate that Emma and Lady Mastermind are wearing the same clothes basically, and both them and Magik feel the need to wear black costumes and show their cleavage. (Or cleavage and thighs for Emma and Magik.) Must just be some big female villain website they order their outfits from... That stuff aside, I gotta say, Iceman is REALLY rubbing be the wrong way, he's not coming off funny or likable, he just seems like an idiot. I mean, he's pretty much an adult, if not a late aged teen, and he's asking Kitty if they can go to Toys R Us?! And Jean probing everyone's mind every chance she gets is making her pretty unlikable to me, hell I can see why Scott eventually goes crazy if he has to put up with her and Kitty and everyone staring at him like he's Hitler's son at a Synagogue. An

Score: 7/10

Cyclops: To me, my X-Men.

All New X-Men #8

Hey X-Maniacs, JT here with my second review of the week, All New X-Men. This is gonna be a pretty quick review, so... lucky you guys!

All New X-Men #8

Summary: This issue gets underway with past Angel and "Chillax. Bro" Angel flying when Warren realizes something is up with his future self. Their interrupted when they see HYDRA attacking Avengers Tower and the two fly in to help, that is until the Avengers show up and take out HYDRA completely. From there, they realize that there are two Angel's and pay the X-Men a visit at the Jean Grey School for Gifted Mutants. Captain America and Beast talk and while we don't see most of the conversation, we have it acted out for us by Iceman and Kitty Pryde in a joke that goes on for way too long. Afterward, Cap basically tells Beast to keep the Original Five under reins and keep him in the loop. The issue then comes to a close with past-Angel freaking out and trying to transport himself back home because he hates being in the future, until Jean Grey calms him down with her powers then says once again that the Original Five are staying.

Thoughts: Honestly, I was a bit let down by this issue. Nothing really happened, I mean the stuff with Angel's was kinda meh because Warren still doesn't even know why his "future self" is acting so weird. The stuff with SHIELD seemed pointless and only served to bring in the Avengers for a conversation that literally could've just taken place on the telephone, especially since all we got to see was the end of it. Speaking of that, the stuff with Kitty and Bobby saying what they thought Cap and Beast were saying started funny but it went on WAY too long. Five panels of them pretending to be Cap and Beast was kind of overkill. And the end with Warren freaking out then basically being "Doctor Light'd" by Jean was...yeah, it made Jean seem kind of villainous here, especially with her pious remark saying that Hank doesn't have the right to lecture people, especially since it was the Old Hank that said it. All in all this issue seemed like a miss and a placeholder until the Mystique issue that's coming next, which was weird since she put her plan in action in the last issue. Anyway, here's hoping the next issue is better.

Score: 4/10

Jean Grey: I can read your minds. Stop worrying. I'm in total control.

All New X-Men #7

Hey everyone, JT here with my first review, and it's basically one of my books, considering I've reviewed every issue of this series so far. So yeah, to say this is one of my favorite series at the moment would be a very accurate statement. Anyway, we left off with Mystique seeing Young Scott online and getting ready to pursue him, let's see how she does.

All New X-Men #7

Summary: We start things off with Young Cyclops heading to a bank and finding a safe deposit box he had, I guess to see if he still had money in it. He gets into it with no key since an employee recognizes him and she's basically a mutant groupie. Scott looks in his safe deposit box and pulls out some cash, his old red block-pair of glasses, some other less important things and an envelope, but when he's about to leave he's confronted by Wolverine, and the Canucklehead drags him out of the bank, then asks if he's hungry. Scott tells Wolverine to leave him alone, and we find out Wolverine is actually Mystique, who introduces herself to Scott as Raven, a friend of Charles Xavier. Scott is taken aback by Raven's shape-shifting but the two eventually go off and talk. Did anyone else notice that Mystqiue's shape-shifting form looks EXACTLY like Alisha from the TV Show "Misfits"? She even had the little beauty mark thing on her lip. Anyway, Mystique uses her silver tongue of persuasion to convince Scott to go back and lead his team, and eventually somehow shut down both Logan and Present Cyclops' school, saying that's not what Xavier would want and it's not what Scott fought for. Mystique then hightails it out of there and Logan shows up to take Cyclops back to the school. Cyclops asks why he hasn't killed him yet, since Logan clearly wants to, referring to both himself and present Cyclops, but he says he's learned that killing is usually the easy way out, and not always the right way, something he learned from Prof. X. The issue ends soon after as Cyclops arrives back at the school and gives the envelope from the safety deposit box to Jean and walks away, as she cries upon seeing their "Save the Date" wedding invitations.

Thoughts: Well, this was a pretty interesting issue. I enjoyed the stuff with Cyclops and Mystique, I always enjoy her mind games, as she's one of the best, and preying on a young Scott to basically keep him and the two X-Schools busy while she does what she wants was a great idea. I also liked the humor here, with her knowing Logan so well that the two asked Cyclops the same questions when confronting him, plus I marked out from seeing Alisha of Misfits, being a fan of that show. The things I didn't really care for were mainly drill Sargent Kitty Pryde leading the team in push-ups and her little argument with Past-Iceman, I could've done without that, and so far Bobby has been more annoying than anything, so he either needs to find a way to be useful and entertaining or stick to the background. I also don't get why Jean was crying at the end, I mean she already knew she married Scott.... she's seen her old memories basically and relived her life thanks to Beast sharing what he knew, so I don't get why that surprised her. All in all this was a good issue, not much happened but Mystique being back and playing mind games is always a plus in my book. Plus, Misfits.... so yeah.
 
Score: 7/10

Wolverine: This means that whatever security guard school you graduated from doesn't mean a damn because Capt. America told me that this means you do what I say.

All New X-Men #6

Hey blog readers, it's me, it's me, ya boy JT! And I'm here with my third and final review (which doesn't seem like a lot since X wants to Marathon Man his reviews...) but it's quality over quantity, and luckily neither of us have much of that! But, enough about that, here's my final review of the week.

All New X-Men #6

Summary: This is the first issue with Kitty Pryde, former Headmistress, as the appointed Guardian of the Original Five X-Men. We start things off with Jean having a nightmare, and she's comforted by Kitty. Jean's psychic powers overwhelm her once again but Kitty is able to help her get them under control, by using a technique she learned from the other Jean, kismet eh? After having a moment with Kitty, Jean is confronted by Storm who tells her she needs to get ready to lead her team. Jean says Scott is the leader, but Storm tells her since she made the decision for them to stay, she's the leader now. Girl power and whatnot! Speaking of Scott, he's tired of being judged by everyone for something he hasn't done, so he decides to leave the campus, via stealing Wolverine's motorcycle. Wolverine hears his baby being driven away and jumps in a truck, following Scott and talks him into coming back to the school, at least it seemed that way until Scott blasted him and took off with his bike again. Also, Angel finally gets to stop pretending he's on a show with Poochie the Dog, as he finally got the answer to the question "Where's Angel?", which popped up more times in this issue than a Buffy the Vampire Slayer forum.  Angel runs into his present self, who calmly asks "What are you, like me from the past?" and the two decide to fly around, because present-Angel is pretty much a stoner or a gnarly dude, either way, Old School Angel seems to be confused by his present self. (If you want to know why Angel's so different, click here, although it includes past spoilers.) The issue comes to a close as we see Mystique watching viral footage of the scuffle Wolverine and Cyclops had earlier, which was recorded and uploaded to the net. Mystique realizes that Cyclops is noticeably younger than usual and then she then proclaims she wants  to see this for herself.

Thoughts: I know I say it every issue, but BENDIS continues to kill this series. I'm happy Scott stopped taking shit from everybody for something he hasn't even done, so seeing him leave out on his own, while knowing absolutely nothing about this world, which is kinda dumb, still made me happy. I also really enjoyed the scene where he commented on how expensive Magazines are today, and asked why the water was bottled, it's almost like listening to my Grandma, but in the form of a young, energy-blast eye-beam shooting mutant. I also liked seeing Angel meet up with Angel, if only for the pure... awkwardness of it all. Just seeing straight laced old-school Angel meeting up with "Chillax bro" Angel was entertaining. It was like watching Ben Stein meet up with Snoop Dogg/Lion or something. If anything slowed this comic down, it would be the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the little exchanges with Jean, Kitty and Storm, but other than Storm making Jean the leader, without confronting the rest of the team with her choice, nothing happened here. You could argue Jean was able to relax and control her powers a bit, but that seemed like the slowest part of the issue, which isn't bad. All in all, this was a decent issue of a great series, and adding Mystique can only make things better.

Score: 7/10

Scott Summers: Why is the water bottled now? Did something happen to the water?

All New X-Men #5

Hey comic crew, JT here with my first review of 2013. First I wanna say a few things though, first things first, Happy New Year once again to you all, I hope you had a great holiday and got in some awesome reading, including the Fifth Annual Year End Awards, featuring yours truly for the first time ever. If you haven't checked that out yet, please do so here. Now, for those wondering, yes, X and I swapped days so my reviews will be up today, Sunday and Tuesday. Now that all that stuff is out of the way, let's get to the review.

All New X-Men #5

Summary: The last issue left off with Beast going into cardiac arrest, so we start this one off with Original X-Men Jean Grey and Hank McCoy inside the mind of Beast. Beast looks like his first transformation instead of his bad ass second one, I guess that's how he thinks of himself now. Jean is wearing her Marvel Girl costume because that's his favorite costume of hers, I'd hate to see how she looks in Wolverine's mind... Anyway, while in Beast's mind, Hank looks over Beast's formula's for trying to keep himself from dying due to his transformation and he notices a mistake Beast made and he has a plan on how to save him. When Hank leaves Beast's mind to concentrate, Jean asks Beast how she died, to which he comments "Which time?"She asks to see his memories and after a bit of back and forth he obliges, allowing her to see everything including her skimpy "Black Queen" costume (I think I found Wolverine's avatar for her...) as well as her as the Phoenix, her marrying Scott and her kissing Logan. From there we see Cyclops recruit another mutant, Benjamin from the last issue, who's powers are kinda like a chameleon, or Rogue without the touching. Benjamin is weary but Cyclops says give him a chance and if he doesn't like the school or Cyclops, he's free to go. Ben agrees and cyclops takes him to the new Charles Xavier School for the Gifted. Back at the Jean Grey school, Wolverine, the big man on campus is threatening a young Cyclops, saying he should just kill him now which would prevent him from ever killing Xavier... I'm not gonna mention all the other things he would undo that Scott did, like saving Logan time and time again but whatever. Anyway, this is calmed down by Beast, who has undergone another transformation that makes him look kinda like a furry blue version of the Hulk villain Abomination. He tells the students thanks for their help and hopefully showing Scott how far he's strayed from his younger self but they should go back home, to which Jean says they aren't leaving until they know they've helped, considering if they go back Xavier will mind wipe them and they'll forget about what Scott will end up doing. The group takes a vote and with the exception of Warren, they all decide to stay, and since the group majority wins, he has to stay as well. Warren also starts to wonder why he's seen every one of the O5 in the future but himself, and wonders why they aren't even mentioning him. Kitty agrees to watch over the O5 in respects for Xavier as she wants to help out more, so they agree to follow her lead. The issue comes to a close as Scott asks Jean to talk to him and she walks off telling him to leave her alone.
 
Thoughts: This series continues to be awesome, and this was another big step in character development. Now some things did bother me, like the fact Wolverine was threatening to kill Cyclops, an innocent version of him that is. Now, if you wanna kill Scott, go find him, you're the best at what you do, it shouldn't be hard to find him and kill him, but don't threaten to kill a younger, innocent version of him in front of your student body for something he hasn't even done yet. That bothered me, and the same goes for Jean. You can't get upset at someone for shit they haven't done yet. I get that there are certain exceptions to the rule, but for a guy that honestly wants to do better and is literally in shock at what he becomes, blowing him off now isn't gonna help not make him a jerk in the future... Anyway, that stuff aside this was a good issue, I'm enjoying seeing the O5 interact, considering Scott now knows who he becomes, Hank helped himself stay alive, Jean knows her future and we're only five issues in. I'm excited to see some development for Warren and Bobby as well, especially Bobby since he's coming off as more annoying than funny at this point, but overall I enjoyed this issue and I look forward to seeing what the O5 do next.

Score: 7.5/10

Wolverine: If I get how this works, I can kill him now and Charles Xavier will be standing right over there. (I don't...think you get how it works, Logan...)

All New X-Men #4

Hola comic readers, JT here with the first review of the week, and it's All New X-Men! With Cyclops and Magneto coming face to face with the Original Five, how will he react? How will they react? Let's find out right now!

All New X-Men #4

Summary: This issues starts where we left off, with the Original Five confronting Magneto and Cyclops. Cyclops of course thinks they must be clones or some kind of mind trick, but eventually confirms it's the real Original Five. Jean's psychic abilities kick in and she breaks down, after hearing Present Scott's thoughts about her, and how beautiful she is. She blasts Cyclops away, and knocks off his visor, which causes his new, erratic Optic Blasts to shoot wildly. Past Cyclops blasts Current Cyclops and their optic blasts explode, knocking one another back. The Original Five attack but Magneto has Magik pull them out via portal. The New Mutant that Scott and Magneto came to recruit is left confused after the impromptu fight, as someone films him, saying he's gonna be rock star famous now. Back at Weapon X, the two New Mutants talk about their powers and they agree to become new best friends... maybe a romance will stem from that? Anyway, Cyclops, Magik and Magneto show up, and Scott storms off immediately. Emma and Magik ask Magneto what happened, and Magneto says the Original X-Men showed up, and asks Emma if she had anything to do with it. Emma asks if he's going crazy again. Magik asks if they got the new mutant and Magneto storms off, leaving Magik to take that as a no. Back with the O5, Jean regains consciousness but is quickly overwhelmed by hearing everyone's thoughts. She manages to control her powers long enough for the gang to discuss what to do next, and Hank wants to head back to the Jean Grey school and check on his future self. Outside of Weapon X, Emma approaches Scott, telling him she had nothing to do with this, but who has the means and wherewithal to bring them back from the past to see him? Cyclops answers "Hank McCoy", but wonders why he would do this to him. Emma says because Cyclops killed Charles Xavier and this is Hank's way of punishing him. Back at the Jean Grey school, Wolverine and Storm argue over going after the O5, but they then show up and Hank tells them he needs to see his future self, he has an idea on how to help, and also demands the files from his second transformation. Beast wakes up in time to see Hank trying to help, but the issue comes to a close as Beast starts to go into cardiac arrest.

Thoughts: FINALLY! We got to see Cyclops run into the Original Five, AND he had Magneto with him! I loved all of this, Cyclops thinking it was a telepath or a shifter messing with him, then being entranced by Jean, and her being basically disgusted at the sight of him. I also loved the fact that both her and Magneto suspected Emma may be involved, but the best thing was Emma's pure disdain at Jean Grey being back, Emma is quickly becoming my favorite character of this series. I'm also curious as to if past Scott picked up how out of control present Scott is with his powers and if anything will come of that. All in all, this was another strong issue, we got the first confrontation, we got some info on the New Mutants, and a cliffhanger with Beast that I doubt will amount to anything in the next issue.

Score: 9/10 

Emma Frost: Jean Grey. That's all I need.

All New X-Men #3

Hey Todd Squad, JT here with my second review of the week, it's the rapidly releasing All New X-Men! As we saw LAST WEEK (see what I mean about rapidly?) The Original Five set off to intercept Cyclops for a chat as the issue came to a close, now let's see how the O5 fared.

All New X-Men #3

Summary: This issue kicks things off with a flashback to ten days ago, when Cyclops, Magik and Magneto find their new home, the old Weapon X place where Wolverine was created, which Cyclops dubs the "New Xavier School." From there we jump forward eight days, to see Cyclops and Magneto intercept a convoy that's transferring a prisoner, when they open fire, for some reason Magneto's powers start to mess up and he can't hold back the bullets or the truck that's headed for them, and Cyclops ends up shooting the chopper down by mistake when his visor gets knocked off. He scrambles to put it on and asks Magneto what's wrong with his powers as they free the prisoner, none other than Emma Frost. Emma asks why Scott saved her, after leaving her in the hands of the humans after stealing her Phoenix Force, but he says it wasn't him and the Phoenix made him crazy. She then questions him, saying was it him when he betrayed her, or when he killed Charles Xavier, but Cyclops stands his ground and says it wasn't him, as Emma turns away, obviously still upset. Cyclops asks where she's going and she says away from him, so he tells her to read his mind and see how sorry he is, but she can't. She says the Phoenix Force messed with their mutations, since she can't read minds, Cyclops can't control his Optic Blasts as well, and Magneto can't control his magnetism either. Magneto notes he didn't have the Phoenix Powers but Emma says Scott still let Magneto have it when he went nuts, then says "Oh wait, it was the Phoenix" very condescendingly. Emma says she's leaving, when the Police show up, and Emma says maybe they do belong in prison, but Magneto says they'll figure out a way to fix this, as Cyclops calls for Magik to transport them out of there. Back in the present time we see another new mutant pop up, at an Pro-Mutant Rally, but from there we see Cyclops trying to control his powers, but he can't. Magneto shows up and says that he still can't control his, but at least Scott did that to himself, whereas Magneto didn't have the choice of even getting the Phoenix power. Scott says it wasn;t him, but Magneto says he's done enough evil things to know that nothing made Scott do that stuff, he chose to because he wanted to, including killing Xavier, and he says Scott will help him get his powers back, or else, when the two are interrupted by Magik. Xyxlops explains that Magneto is upset with him as Mags leaves, and we discover that the Phoenix Force actually made Magik more powerful, as she can pull stuff from limbo now. The conversation is cut short when Emma explains about the new Mutant, so Cyclops and Magneto go to meet the new mutant and recruit him for the "Revolution", when Cyclops is asked when it became a revolution, and what the hell does he think he's doing... by none other than Cyclops, as the issue ends.
 
Thoughts: First things first I gotta mention the art, it was pretty damn great. Stuart Immoment did a great job and he drew a stunningly beautiful Emma Frost, as well as capturing the subtle emotions of Cyclops, Emma and everyone else throughout this issue. I loved the reveal that there are some problems with powers, except for Magik, which is sure to get a little spite her way from the rest of the team. I really enjoyed the scene with Emma and Cyclops, as well as the one with Cyclops and Magneto. Add that with the fact we know for a fact Cyclops and Cyclops meet, and he's there with MAGNETO.... and Jean's there..in the next issue, I couldn't be more excited. I enjoyed everything about this issue though, especially Scott playing the victim, and not being believed by Emma (she's even greater now that she's anti-Scott) or Magneto, since they've both been the bad guy. So, that said, there's nothing to stop me from giving this issue a perfect score.

Score: 10/10 

Emma Frost: So it wasn't you who betrayed me and left me for dead? It wasn't you that murdered Charles Xavier in front of ALL OF US?!

All New X-Men #2

Hey everyone, This is JT with the first review of the week. My first review this week will be one other than All New X-Men. The last issue ended with Beast somehow going to the past and asking Cyclops and the other X-Men Originals to return with him to the future and stop the evil, tyrant version of Cyclops we now know and love (well I do anyway.) So how do they respond? Let's find out!

All New X-Men #2

Summary: Things get started with Kitty and Iceman going to get Beast so he can join them in hunting down Cyclops, but they discover he's not there after Kitty phases through his door, which leaves them confused. Back in the past, the Five X-Men are skeptical about Beast's claim, so Beast tells Jean to read his mind, but Jean didn't know how to do that yet at that point. They ask why Professor X can't help Beast deal with Cyclops at his time, so he drops the bomb that Cyclops has killed Professor X in the future. The group is shocked and don't fully believe Beast but after some prodding and a conversation amongst themselves, they join him in traveling to the future. Right when they arrives, Jean is confused as the why the Mutant School is named after her now instead of Charles Xavier, and when Beast doesn't answer she starts to cry. In the school, Wolverine is teaching a class when he smells something, and heads outside, before running at Jean, unsheathing his claws and leaping into the air at her, until he's held in place by Jean. Cyclops and Iceman blast Wolverine, which brings Storm, Iceman, Kitty and some more people outside, and they see the past X-Men. They ask Beast what he was thinking bringing the Originals here, but Beast yells and starts to spasm. They take him upstairs and try to give Beast an IV and as they wait for Reed Richards, Tony Stark or someone from Horizon Labs (Peter maybe?) to show up and help, and Wolverine makes the Originals join him, showing him some clips of present day Cyclops on the TV. Jean makes Wolverine go to sleep, then shows that she could read his thoughts, and that he was proud of Beast for bringing them there. They decide they want to know more, what caused Cyclops to go insane and change so much from what the past Cyclops wanted to be, so when the TV says a New Mutant had recently been spotted, the gang sets their sites there to try to intercept Cyclops going after the Newest Mutant. The issue comes to a close as Wolverine, Kitty and Storm watch as the Original Five X-Men take one of their jets and leave.
 
Thoughts: I liked this issue a lot. This is exactly what I want from this series. Seeing how the past X-Men react to the future and seeing how the current people react to seeing the past X-Men. Plus, Wolverine seeing Jean is something I was looking forward to. I liked seeing the two Icemen meet up as well, since Hank isn't the only one with a giant transformation from the old days, the only person that got off easy was Angel. I'm excited to see how the Original 5 react when they run into Cyclops, especially if he's with Magneto, and if Scott has a breakdown when he see's the Originals, especially Jean.

Score: 8.5/10 

Jean: This is Wolverine. He runs the school. And the rest of his thoughts are... pretty disgusting.

All New X-Men #1

Hey guys and gals, Marvel Now has begun, and with All New X-Men we're expected to see the original Five X-Men come to the future and see what they'll one day do, this story has a ton of potential, especially for Cyclops, Jean and Iceman. So let's get to it!

All New X-Men #1

Summary: This issue starts with Beast frantically doing things while in pain, saying he's going through another form of mutant evolution, and he thinks this time it may kill him. He hopes to do something useful in the last days of his life and doesn't want to tell anyone else and burden them by making them worry when they can do nothing to help. From there we see a young woman named Eva out with her friend when she approaches a boy she likes, although their flirting is quickly broken up by Eva's big meat head brother (He's even shirtless for some reason) who punches Eva's crush. This turns into a big fight between the brother, the crush and the crush's friends as Eva yells for them to stop and apparently freezes time, discovering she's a mutant. She's then confronted by Cyclops, Magneto and Emma Frost, who recruit Eva, with Scott telling her he's done a lot that he needs to atone for, and he needs her help. We also see Cyclops and Magik break into a police station and rescue another new mutant, who's being interrogated for healing a woman with his mutant powers. Storm, Kitty, Iceman and Beast are arguing about what to do with Scott, as they have to stop him but going after him would result in a Mutant Civil War, which Storm wants to avoid. Bobby states that he and Beast have known Cyclops the most and if the old Cyke could see the current one he's beat the hell out of him, to which Beast surprisingly tells Iceman he's right. From there we go to the past and see Hank and Bobby telling Scott how upset they are that they were almost attacked by a mob of angry humans, and Hank says he's done risking his life for Humans (HA!) and how he thinks Magneto may be right about them, and how he's resigning from the X-Men. The conversation is cut short when a big blue Beast shows up, who Hank recognizes as him. Beast tells the five original X-Men, Scott, Bobby, Hank, Jean and Warren that he's come from the future for help, he needs Scott to stop his future self from committing Mutant Genocide, as this issue ends.
 
Thoughts: So, I really enjoyed this issue. I thought It was a nice introduction, especially for anyone who's kinda new to the X-Men like I am, having started reading X-Books when Schism started. I thought this did a nice job of setting up the storyline, building questions about Beast, and introducing a few new interesting mutants to Cyclops' fold. I did think Cyclops actually didn't come off as a bad guy here, which was interesting, I mean sure he was fighting people when he could've avoided it, especially in Eva's case, but meh, he still didn't seem like a full-fledged villain, all and all I'm pretty excited for this series, especially when the Original Five come to the future.

Score: 8/10 

Hank: He's me.
Beast: I am.
Bobby: Is that what you look like when you don't shave?