New X-Men? #111

All-New, All-Different X-Men #111

“Mindgames!”

Chris Claremont and John Byrne

Synopsis

The X-Men seem to have disappeared, and Dr. Henry McCoy is on the case! But when he tracks them down, he’s forced to ask, “Why have they joined the circus?”

Rolling Commentary

Ok, I know how this cover looks, but I’ve been promised that it’s not really Arcade. It’s Banshee. Really. They have the same haircut. So I don’t have to bitch about Arcade yet.

Page 2- I kind of like the “Gumshoe Beast” look.

Page 6- Oh, Hank… I know you’re going to wear them for the next twenty years, but you really should get out of those underpants and into a more suitable costume. Really.

Page7: Gah! Pissed off circus people! And Beast, I know you’re a “card-carrying Avenger”, but where exactly do you carry said card? Put on some pants, for god’s sake!

Page 10. Mesmero? Man, talk about a 60’s villain. I like his hat, though. Oh, and just so you know… that’s not a jumpsuit he’s wearing. It’s mostly just skin. Green skin, but skin none the less. It’s the battle over who has the better underpants, Beast vs. Mesmero!

Page 11: Wolverine rules.

Page 15. Where do they keep coming up with these costumes? Also, Storm was kind of harsh to the minions, wasn’t she? “Motherless scum”. Yikes. And the X-Men don’t believe in killing. Except Wolverine. And just for now, really. Give it a couple of years.

Page 17. Umm… shit monkeys. I would not fuck with Magneto right now, he looks pissed.

Post Mortem

You know, for an issue that I was initially worried about when I first saw the cover, that was pretty cool. Beast is always a fun character, and having him go solo for the first half of the book was cool. Wolverine proves more and more why he’s a great asset to the team. And Magneto, all awesome there at the end- you know shit's about to go down.

Wolverine seems to be the only one who understands the way Jean works, as opposed to how everyone things she should act. This is going to be another of those reoccurring themes in the book. Logan understands Jean much better than Scott can, but Jean spends a lot of time not realizing it. It also causes Scott problems. Scott will spend the next 25 years (in real time, anyway) trying to hold Jean up to how he imagines she should act, how he has always perceived her. He still thinks of her as the young, shy girl he first met, and has a lot of problems dealing with what she’s become.

All in all, a pretty fun issue.