It's hard to miss Grant Morrison's exploration of the world of Marvel's mutants when the writer who basically followed in his footsteps does as a good a job as he does here. This is easily the strongest issue of this series yet, and it stands out as the best thing I've ever seen from Joss Whedon (but then I'm not among the legions of fans of his TV work, so your mileage may vary on that assessment). The writer follows up on the plotlines established in the first story arc nicely, but he does so in a way that sets this new arc up as a separate story in its own right, complete with an accessible script. And Akira Yoshida, writer on X-Men/Fantastic Four should take notice... this is how to write an X-Men/FF teamup story.
In an attempt to reinforce the message that the X-Men are super-heroes who want to help everyone, not just investigate mutant matters, Cyclops's team responds to a crisis in Manhattan, in the form of a giant monster wreaking havoc. As they tackle the reptilian brute, they meet up with some heroes who deal with this sort of thing all the time: the Fantastic Four. Meanwhile, Kitty and Piotr try to work out their feelings for one another, and how they feel about the unexpected second chance they've been given. And Eddie, the young mutant who had the mutant cure forced upon him, must face a life without his ability to fly -- a life he's not sure he wants.
Cassaday's art is absolutely breathtaking. His portrayal of Kitty Pryde's powers in the midst of chaos is weird and incredibly convincing. His most important contribution here, though, is how be conveys a sense of isolation. Eddie feels alone and lost. Special Agent Brand looks as though she's caged in a single beam of light as she justifies her existence to a few faceless voices in a large room. The final splash page conveys not only that sense of sad solitude, but a foreboding sense of approaching crisis. I'm also impressed with how Cassaday downplays the skimpiness of Emma Frost's costume and uses a cape to give her an air of mystery and confidence instead.
I'm impressed with how well balanced this issue is. There's plenty of action, solid humor (Wolverine's thoughts during a big battle are particularly hilarious), strong characterization, intrigue and more to be found here. I love the continued tension between Emma and Kitty, and the fact that Whedon is involving only the two of them in it. The male characters seemingly ignore that conflict, but it works. Emma is trying to extract respect from Kitty instead of earning it, and Kitty needs time to accept the notion the X-Men's one-time enemy has changed, even though on the outside, Emma doesn't really seem to have changed much at all.
There's an interesting contrasting parallels between two of the characters here. Colossus is out of sorts, struggling to reintegrate into the real world and a life he'd thought was lost to him forever. In other words, Colossus is uncomfortable with his freedom. Meanwhile, Eddie has lost his sense of freedom. He can no longer fly; he's no longer special. Both characters are adjusting to sudden and violent shifts in their lives, but those shifts go in opposite directions. The dark feelings they elicit, however, are similar. 9/10
