This was a story long in coming. Claremont finally sits down to tell Rachel Summers's story, but the problem is that the writer assumes his readership is well versed in her history and the history of the X-Men as a whole. There's something of an emotional payoff for longtime X-readers here, as a shattered young woman finally achieves a sense of family and belonging, but Claremont really drops the ball when it comes to exposition. Chris Bachalo turns in some of his strongest work in recent memory, which comes as a surprise, given the number of inkers who worked on this issue. Also perplexing is how quickly Claremont turns his back on the events of "Decimation" to deal with other plotlines. I really wanted to like this issue, though, but the execution just wasn't there.
As the U.S. government maintains its Sentinel presence around the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters (claiming it's monitoring a now-all-too-rare national "asset"), Rachel Summers leaves the compound seeks out some normalcy in life. She visits the late Jena Grey's parents, Rachel's defacto grandparents, since she's Jean's daughter from an alternate future. Rachel is welcomed with open arms, especially by her grandfather. Meanwhile, Cyclops and Emma Frost meet with the government officials who are monitoring the team, and they're disturbed to discover that Emma cannot read their thoughts.
Bachalo's most important contribution to this issue is his depiction of Rachel. He really emphasizes her youth. She comes off as something of a lost child, as someone who has rediscovered her innocence. There's a softness in the artist's portrayal of the character. One can also see her grandfather's unabated happiness in his face. A couple of other sequences are rather sketchy in appearance and confusing in terms of story flow, notably the black-and-white flasback detailing the Decimation status quo and the mutants' meeting with officials from the Office of National Emergency.
It strikes me as odd that all of the X-titles refer to the events of Decimation but none of them are tackling the fallout directly as a main plot point. It also doesn't stand to reason that Rachel, a core member of one of the X-Men teams, would choose to leave the fold during a time of crisis. I understand her need to reconnect with her family, but the X-Men have been family for years, and it seems to me that as one of the few mutants left on the planet, she would feel a sense of duty to remain with the X-Men. Another odd point is that in the midst of the government's close surveillance of the X-Men, one would be permitted to leave the X-compound so easily without any investigation as to her destination and aims.
Yes, Claremont really should have provided more background about Rachel for newer readers, but he does offer some strong characterization. I like that her family reunion isn't all sunshine and sugar. Her grandmother's confusion and pain makes a lot of sense, as does the presence of some bigotry in the larger Grey family. 3/10
