This is a big week for the X-Men. X2 was just shy of Spider-Man and Harry Potter territory in terms of opening weekend box office receipts, and wisely, Marvel Comics is reaching out to new readers with a cheap 25-cent X-book. Just as the movie does, Austen touches upon the wide variety of characters that are a part of the X-Men family. That's the good news. The bad news is that Austen's script is awkward and illogical at times, and the vague story revolves around the unravelling of one of the more interesting and unique character traits to be found at the Xavier School for the Gifted.
The X-Men return home to discover a plethora of the team's younger members and trainees literally crucified on the grounds of the X-Mansion. An immediate mood of anger and desperation falls over the compound as the mutant heroes rush to save the lives of their friends and proteges. The Angel volunteers to give his blood -- with its new healing factor -- as a possible solution to the dire scenario. Meanwhile, a group of angry and experienced X-Men meet to figure out what happened, and they discover that the answer seems to have something to do with Nightcrawler and his former devotion to God and the priesthood.
Ron Garney proved on Mark Waid's Captain America a few years ago that he was a skilled artist with a remarkable eye for action. Unfortunately, his art here works against the more grave and urgent tone of the script. His figures are cartoony, and that quality -- which reminds me of the more exaggerated styles of Ron Frenz and Ron Lim -- robs the story of some of its tragic atmopshere. The intensity and detail that one finds in Philip Tan's cover artwork is the sort of thing that this script calls for.
Mind you, the story is far from perfect. Austen's opening narration regarding the corrupt history of religion and war is on target, but then he belittles the point by lessening the impact of the crucifiction of a group of young mutants. Furthermore, the other team members' reactions are so over the top that they strain credibility and really don't delve into the emotionally disturbing reality that such an assault represents. The characters treat each other shabbily for no apparent reason. Austen doesn't sell the atmosphere of tension needed to make that interaction believable.
Another problem is accessibility. Austen doesn't identify all of the young mutants who were nailed to crosses. Really, only Jubilee is named, and for the moment to resonate, the reader needs a reminder of her history with both the X-Men and Generation X.
I was most disappointed with the notion that Nightcrawler's quest to join the priesthood might have been little more than a Bobby Ewing-esque dream. Exploring the character's faith and devotion was something that set Nightcrawler apart, and I really don't see how undoing it here advances Austen's plot in the least.
