New X-Men? #106

All-New, All-Different X-Men #106

“Dark Shroud of the Past!”

Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum

Synopsis

Charles Xavier has just come face to face with the being that has been plaguing his minds for months. This causes him to look back to when it first began- and to a battle with two sets of X-Men.

Rolling Commentary

Page 3: Wait a tick, is this entire episode going to be a flash back?

Page 5- I know Wolverine is still a little bat-shit-insane at this point, but I kind of agree with him… anyway, I’m glad Banshee is here to set Cyclops straight. And did Storm’s bra just jump 3 sizes or something?

Page 8- Okay, I know this book was bi-monthly, but it’s only been 6 issues. Isn’t it a little early to do a “New X-Men verses Old ‘X-Men’” again?

Page 11- Okay, Scott? Could you please, you know, close your eyes when your visor is taken off? So as you don’t kill everyone?

Page 15- Just to reiterate what the X-Men are thinking- What the hell is going on here?

Page 18: Yes, yes in fact the entire issue was a flashback episode.

Post Mortem

Hmm… I’m honestly not quite sure of my thoughts on this issue. There was nothing particularly bad about the issue, but nothing particularly important happens, either. We learn that Professor Xavier’s powers can be used for evil. Wow. That’s a real shocker, there.

I’m probably being a little hard on this issue, given my insight of 25 years of stories that follows this one. And also, it would have been a year after issue 100 that this book hit the stands. I read issue 100 four days ago. But still, do we really need to go over this X-Men vs. X-Men thing again? (That being said, being fouled by Professor Xavier’s telepathic powers is considerably more plausible than being fouled by duplicate robots, in my book at least.) The X-Men have just been thrown into space, Professor X keeps talking about how the whole universe is doomed- and they choose now to do a flashback issue? And not even a flashback issue that fills in plot points, either. Again, I’m left feeling a sense that the writer and editorial staff weren’t quite sure what to do next, so they’re stalling for time.

The art is good and the writing is fine, but I can’t help but fill a need to say “Get on with it already!”