In the "Riot At Xavier's" story, Morrison is raising some interesting questions about gangs, youth and when youthful rebellion becomes outright criminal behavior. That he's doing it in the confines of stories about mutant super-heroes doesn't make it any less interesting, although it may put off some of the readers who come to X-Men expecting super-heroes fighting super-villains. Then again, I doubt there are many readers of that nature still around for New X-Men. At any rate, while the overall story seems to move a little slowly in this issue as Morrison plays with dialogue and big ideas, the characters and direction of the story has me interested in New X-Men once again.
There is a certain repetitive feeling to this issue, as Quentin Quire's decision to become a gang leader and mutant agitator took place mostly in the pages of last issue, and his confrontations with Xavier and rhetoric begin to feel tired even in the course of this issue. Morrison may have all-too-effectively captured the nature of teen rebellion, which is more often than not overreacting to imagined slights and taking real injustices and confronting them in wholly ridiculous ways. I have to admit that by the end of the issue I got tired of hearing Quire talk, and even more tired of his mind-controlled puppets repeating his inane ideas.
What really grabbed my interest, though, was the reactions that the X-Men and the other students are having to this movement. Xorn, still something of a cipher, gets a little characterization as the ridiculously upbeat guy trying to teach a bunch of burned-out mutants who are rightfully pissed off about their station in life. And the conversation in the "telepathic meeting room" between the X-Men shows why Quire and his bunch are more than just another super-villain to be stomped. Wolverine's notion that they're just teenagers acting out, and trying to rein them in will just make it worse, could turn out to be ignoring the problem or it could turn out to be exactly the right course. Either one is valid, and I look forward to seeing how the strained relations of students and teachers develop.
As is customary once in a blue moon, "regular artist" Frank Quitely is back, and his work is solid. His take on the various mutant kids is weird and effective, and I love that he makes the dorky Silver Age outfits that Quire has chosen for his gang look menacing. In addition, the level of detail in the "telepathic meeting room" is amazing, with some terrific work on the background. However, while some will find Quitely's return a reason to celebrate, I've gotten to like most of the artists on this book, and I'm no more or less impressed with the art than I have been, to be honest.
"Riot at Xavier's" promises to explore some interesting territory, and it's another example of Morrison taking an X-Men cliche and turning it on its head. Traditionally, the student-teacher conflict has been relatively harmless and relegated to a difference in approach, but Morrison has made the teen rebels and their ideals considerably more dangerous. Though it's clearly set up that Quentin Quire is a nutcase and the villain of the piece, his age and the violent prejudice he's reacting to make it a morally questionable situation, and it'll be interesting to see the story develop.
