Brian (Y: The Last Man) Vaughan begins his story arc with this issue, and he provides a seamless transition. Had I not checked the credits on the cover or inside, I could have easily believed this was written by Mark Millar, just continuing his run on the book. Vaughan carries on the tradition of introducing new incarnations of familiar characters and including some real-world relevance in the midst of all the mutant teen angst for which the X-Men property is known. Peterson's art boasts a realistic tone that adds credibility to the book as well. This is a solid issue, and while it boasts some qualities that are a little too familiar, the cliffhanger honestly got me curious about a character I'd only seen as laughable in the past.
Angel and Nightcrawler head into Manhattan to recruit a new mutant, but problems arise when they discover he hates mutants and he's unaware that he is one. Meanwhile, back at Xavier's school, the students and their teacher struggle to deal with their grief and anger in the wake of the death of Hank McCoy, AKA the Beast. Those having the roughest time with it are Ororo, who was in love with Hank, and Charles Xavier himself. He's confronted by Emma Frost, who's opted to work with Xavier in light of the tragedy in Washington, D.C.
Peterson's work here reminds me of an amalgam of a number of artists' styles. One could easily compare his work here to the art of such industry talents as Kevin (Formerly Known as the Justice League) Maguire, Gary (Supreme Power) Frank and David (Ultimate X-Men) Finch. He captures an appropriately youthful look in the characters, and his art thrives when rendering the more fantastic qualities of the characters and plot. Peterson, of course, comes to this assignment from his time with CrossGen Comics, and the same holds true of colorist Justin Ponsor. He brings a great deal of energy to the book, reinforcing the power and fun of the super-hero genre, but he also adds texture to the art, enhancing the more realistic qualities at play here.
Vaughan effectively conveys the grief and hurt these characters are experiencing, and it's a logical (and fortunately accessible) extension of the previous story arc. The problem is that we've seen all of this before in these characters (or at least other incarnations of these characters). Vaughan walks us down some familiar paths here.
My favorite moment in the book is one that boasts a fresher quality. The new "recruit's" hatred of mutants is familiar, but I love Nightcrawler's brief reaction to learning that the newbie is gay. Clearly, the character has a problem with it, and his hypocrisy rings incredibly true. The radically different look of the villain "reintroduced" in the closing cliffhanger sequence also seems to indicate he'll have radically different -- and hopefully, more convincing -- motives in the Ultimate Universe.
