With each issue, Mystique gets more and more interesting. This issue lays out the premise for Mystique, one that most of the readers are already familiar with, and then jumps into the first mission, giving readers a feel for what the book might look like once it really gets its legs underneath it. If this is what it's going to be like, I have to say I expect to enjoy it, as Vaughan continues the mixture of wry humor and action that has been forming in the earlier issues, and some of the cheesier elements seem to have been toned down a bit. I'm still not completely sold on Lucas's artwork, but it's passable enough, and the story is dead-on.
One of my worries from the first couple of issues was that Vaughan was going to soften Mystique up more than he meant to in order to make her a sympathetic protagonist. I needn't have worried, though, because in this issue Vaughan lets Mystique's cruel side shine through, and it's that side that made her such a fascinating character for me. She's practical enough to take Xavier up on his job offer, but she's got enough base cruelty in her to engage in verbal sparring with him and physical sparring with Forge before doing so. Though she comes across as a dangerous person to deal with, she also comes across as smart and cruelly funny, and the resemblance to James Bond in personality is pretty clear.
I do sort of wish that Vaughan hadn't had Forge spell out the Bond metaphor, which feels almost like fourth wall breaking, but it is a good analogy. Of course, while it might be espionage based, it's clear that this is also set firmly in the X-Men universe of today, with references to the X-Corporation and the clever use of telepathy for briefing and in-mission communication. Forge's technology also has a fun edge to it, with an interesting method of keeping Mystique in line and a fun package for her anti-Sentinel weapon. The plot, though, is pure espionage, a matter of stolen technology that needs to be quietly neutralized, given a Marvel twist with the actual piece of technology that has been stolen.
Jorge Lucas is something of a drag on the book, quite honestly. His work is clear enough, especially when it comes to Mystique's shapechanging and martial arts fighting insertion into Cuba, but there's a distinct lack of polish on the work. The expressions are bland, gritted teeth and dead eyes that fail to convey some of the subtler emotional cues going on in the story, and the shape of the characters is a bit on the uneven side as well. It's serviceable, to be sure, but the script is stronger than that, and it's a shame that so far the art can't rise to the occasion.
Nevertheless, while the book doesn't excite me visually, it is certainly a solid read and each issue has drawn me in further and further with the mixture of characterization and action. With the three-issue setup out of the way, the story can now kick into high gear, and if the sequence at the end of this book is any indication, next issue should be exceptionally fun.
