Given that this new story arc returns to Weapon Plus (one of my least favorite concepts in Morrison's New X-Men), has artwork by Chris Bachalo (who I'm generally not a fan of, these days) and contains a pretty glaring error regarding one of my favorite third-string characters, I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Part of it is that Bachalo's weird, trippy artwork seems oddly suited to the skewed, messed-up worldview that seems to define Cyclops this day. Part of it is down to a fondness for stories in which X-Men drink, borne of the classic Colossus-Juggernaut bar slugfest in the Claremont days, but mostly it's because Morrison makes this book so damned entertaining, not afraid to have fun with the concept without resorting to just making fun of the concept.
A lot of what makes this story shine is the characterization. Cyclops's humorless, harsh words for the stripper who is trying to brighten up his day carry a sort of bitter humor to them, and I once again feel like Morrison has done a pretty good job of making an omelet with the broken eggs of Cyclops's horrid characterization throughout most of the 90s. Then there's the use of Sabretooth, who has a movie visual but character that reads more like his comic-book identity, or the strangely appropriate use of Wolverine as a sort of drinking buddy for Cyclops in his darkest hour. Morrison clearly has a lot of fun writing these characters, as evidenced by the "showdown" between Wolverine and Sabretooth in the bathroom, but his take on them is also true to their core, even if it's a change in the way they have been written previously.
However, while Morrison does seem to get the core of these characters, he does sometimes miss the point by a wide margin as well. Sebastian Shaw has joined the ranks of the telepath in Morrison's book, and not only am I sort of tired of telepathic threats (really, how do you top the ones coming from Phoenix?) but it's a waste, given that Shaw's actual power, absorption of kinetic energy and transformation into super strength, is more fun and more unique. Then there's the notion that Weapon X actually stands for Weapon Ten, which crosses the line for me from fun into outright goofy. However, as much as I was hoping we'd never see Fantomex or Weapon Plus again, I can't deny that Wolverine's method of recruitment, or choice of a recruit, for this operation has me intrigued to see where the story goes next, if only because Wolverine and Cyclops aren't your traditional buddy partners.
Despite the numerous artists on this book, almost all of them have had a sort of realistic approach, and Bachalo's surrealist take is something of a departure from that. If I'm completely honest, I'd rather see more from Quitely, Van Sciver, or someone in that vein on this story, and the twisted anatomy and bizarre surroundings do pull me out of the story rather than pulling me in, but I have to also admit that Bachalo's work here is pretty strong. His Hellfire Club just reeks of sin (helped along by the drenched in red colors of Chris Chuckry), his Cyclops looks like a depressed man at a crossroads and his Wolverine comes across as a smug, rough-and-tumble sort of guy you wouldn't mind doing some hard drinking with.
After the high point of "Murder at the Mansion," I was afraid that New X-Men might only wind up disappointing me, but while this is a step down from the previous story arc in terms of my interest, it certainly hasn't lost it entirely. Some unusual and intriguing characterization, a surprising amount of humor and a tinge of weirdness results in a compelling first issue in "Assault on Weapon Plus," and Morrison has lined up the pieces nicely for his next story.
