CYCLOPS #4
"Odyssey, Chapter Four: Point of View"
Neutral (3/10)
|
Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils: Mark Texeria
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.50 US/$3.75 CAN |
The first of Marvel's "Icons" limited series -- featuring the solo adventures of various members of the X-Men -- comes to a close. As was the case with previous issues, there are some solid ideas at the heart of the book, but poor execution, some hard-to-swallow storytelling and sketchy art get in the way.
Cyclops finds himself miraculously transported to a port in Paraguay, one known for its sinister characters and shady deals. Coincidentally, it also serves as the home base for Ulysses, the man who believes the mutant killed some of his men in a mission gone awry. He's recruited three of his former soldiers to help him eliminate some of Cyclops's comrades, so the X-Man crashes the party, with optic blasts firing.
I was familiar with Texeria's name in the mid 1990s through his work on some of Marvel's Kewl characters -- Wolverine, Maverick, Sabretooth and the like. But along came the first four issues of Black Panther, and my eyes were opened to the strength of his work. That strength is not to be found in these pages, though. There's a rushed look to the art. Maybe it was indeed a rush job, or perhaps Texeria's pencils just don't mesh well with Palmiotti's inks.
There are some fun ideas in this book. The notion of turning Cyclops's whole "ruby quartz" schtick against him was great, and I don't think I've ever seen the simple gimmick used in any X-related book before. Overall, though, the plot hinges on far too many coincidences and plot devices that push suspension of disbelief to the breaking point and beyond.
Sending Cyclops on his own adventure and giving him against a foe to call his own was a good idea. The character lacked an identity outside of the X-Men... at least, he has in recent years. But all we get here is that he's resourceful and clever, and that's nothing new. Vaughan doesn't touch upon the title character's strained relationship with his wife (as established by Grant Morrison in New X-Men), for example. We really don't see any cracks in the hero's armor, and that's what I was really looking for.
Email Don MacPherson comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.
|
