Stories set in a dark alternate future are a tradition when it comes to the X-Men, and it makes sense for Grant Morrison to contribute one of his own before bowing out as this title's regular writer. What sets this one apart is that it builds wonderfully on Morrison's run up to this point. Unfortunately, that's also something of a problem... at least for those new readers who may be checking this book out as a result of Marc Silvestri's return to the characters that made him an industry favorite back in the late 1980s.
In the future, 150 years from now, someone is plotting to take over what's left of the world, and that someone has the power of all of the best known X-Men at his command. The heroic mutants themselves don't work for him, but their genetic material does. A new group is forming, though, one that will oppose the would-be tyrant's assault on the planet. But these new X-Men are not like those we remember, and their plans are already jeopardized thanks to an infiltration. Back in the present, one of the X-Men decides he's had enough of the life they lead.
Silvestri's gritty, angular style certainly captures the darkness and intensity of the harsh landscape that serves as this story's setting. His reveal of the battle-ravaged Sentinel robot is a powerful, effect visual, and I love the detail and ugliness he brings to the towering mechanical figure. He also instills a nicely creepy look in Nightcrawler. One thing I don't really like in his work here, though, is his tendency to render all the characters as lithe visions of human perfection. Everyone is beautiful in his or her own way, even in this filthy and dangerous future.
What I find most interesting about Morrison's script is how he examines the X-Men's powers as weapons... ones that can be reproduced. One really gets a sense of warfare in the midst of the action here, not just standard super-hero action, and it's Morrison's script that makes it work. The antagonist is more than a little over the top, but warped, tarnished nature of the heroes makes up for it.
While the previous story arc, "Planet X," was really the ultimate culmination of Morrison's writing on New X-Men, this new story arc is for his fans as well, something of an encore before he finally leaves the Marvel stage. One of the problems, though, is accessibility. There are a few references to key moments or characters introduced during his stint on the book, and those who weren't around for them before might find themselves a bit lost here.
