X-Men

• Title: Amazing X-Men #2
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Jason Aaron
• Artist: Ed McGuinness

Although he narrates much of the story seen in the second issue of the new series, Nightcrawler himself is absent from all but the final panel of Amazing X-Men #2. Instead the comic focuses on Iceman, Firestar, and Storm trying to survive Hell and Northstar‘s sheer glee at getting to fight flying pirates in Heaven (where Wolverine runs into an old friend).

The image of Iceman literally freezing Hell over is humorous but I was a bit perplexed why Bobby was able to stave off the heat for so long (as he goes from nearly melting in a puddle to pushing his powers, even in the best conditions, far beyond their limits). Northstar’s joy at the absurdity of the situation he finds himself in is also amusing (even if I’ve never been much of a fan of the character).

Despite his voice commenting on actions and events he couldn’t possibly be witnessing, the comic is missing the character who the entire first arc of the series is named after on. Because of this the second issue isn’t as strong (or as interesting) as the first, but it’s still worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

• Title: Uncanny X-Men #14
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
• Artist: Chris Bachalo

With Battle for the Atom finally over, thing get back to normal for Cyclops and his students. Realizing Cyclops’ hard-love approach is not working on Benjamin Deeds, Emma Frost decides a more delicate approach is needed to find out the just how much the transmorph can actually do.

As Emma correctly surmises, Deeds not only can transform his own form to closer resemble those nearer to him but he also produces a chemical reaction (when not screwing up) which gives him an unexpected level of trust with those he has just met. A little trip to Atlantic City puts the kid to the test, and when he finally gets the hang of it Summers even sends the blissfully-ignorant young man directly into a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility with what amounts to a declaration of war.

Uncanny X-Men #14 thankfully jumps right back into a new story while not spending too much time on the latest X-Men crossover and it gives us a look at Deeds unique power-set that the comic takes from an odd curiosity to incredibly useful in the span of a single issue. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

• Title: Amazing X-Men #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Jason Aaron
• Artist: Ed McGuinness

Years ago Marvel Comics had a simple rule: characters killed in the Marvel Universe stayed dead. This idea, which forced deaths to both be rare and mean something, has long since been abandoned. Although I’m in favor of the old way of doing things, the current need to kill a major character every couple of years makes it hard to stick to those old rules. Thankfully for the X-Men (who have an insane history of defying death – just look at Jean Grey) the rule is no longer enforced allowing the return of a character who should never have been killed.

Amazing X-Men #1 begins on the edge of Heaven where Nightcrawler remains unwilling to fully embrace the paradise that has been rewarded to him since his death. When a a group of Dankeschön show up to storm Heaven followed by a pack of Bamfs and Azazel, the mutant is jilted out of his melancholy and into action.

On Earth the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, and its newest teacher Firestar, faces its own problems as the Beast discovers an infestation of Bamfs who have cobbled together some kind of transporter inside the schools walls.

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