Artist: Frazer Irving
This has been a very interesting, and entertaining series, and although it hasn't always been brilliant, it has been good. I also have been enjoying the build-up to Battle of the Atom, and as we get even closer I'm getting more, and more excited.
Plot
Cyclops, and his X-Men go about training the younger members whilst Magneto heads off to meet Maria Hill.
Review
This was a very interesting, and entertaining issue, being very good. Brian Michael Bendis did a great job of adding suspense, and drama, as well as excitement to this issue, and it had a lot of tone to it. I did however feel that it was a little too quickly paced, as it didn't take that long to finish. Now that isn't usually a problem for me, as if it's a good, and exciting story I don't usually mind how quickly I read it, but for some it will, and at $3.99 some people may even feel slightly cheated. The dialogue for this issue was also amazing, being very natural, and entertaining. I also loved the character development, and was happy that we are finally getting more, as due to the constant flow off events, there hasn't been much time for this.
Frazer Irving returned to do the art for this issue having previously done the artwork on issues 5-7 of this series. I was had mixed feelings over Irving's art earlier in the series, as although it was amazing, it had a few awkward imperfections, also feeling that his art only suited the series due to the type of story suiting his style. He has however proved me wrong with this issue, as I actually prefer this lighter tone to his art, as having seen only dark magical stories featuring his art I wasn't sure whether he could do lighter tone. There was however still the odd awkward facial expression, but overall his art was outstanding, and his inks, and colours helped to make it phenomenal.
This issue would see Cyclops put the younger X-Men through training, with Tempus being trained by Magik. I found this to be a very fun, and entertaining sequence, and also liked to see the characters get a bit of time to be more normal, as due to jumping from adventure, to adventure they haven't had much chance to relax, and be the school that they're supposed to be. I also enjoyed seeing Triage use her powers, as well as learning new things about them, and I hope that we get to see some training sequences like this sometime again in this series.
Whilst this was happening Magneto would take the Blackbird, and head to Portland, OR, where he would meet with Maria Hill. After everything that has happened recently in this series I was surprised that there'd still be a connection between Hill, and Magneto, and although this issue would answer this concern, I still questioned it prior. The interaction itself was however very interesting, and although it wasn't entirely necessary, it did show where S.H.I.E.L.D., and more importantly Maria Hill stood on the subject of Cyclops, and his X-Men.
WARNING: THIS PARAGRAPH WILL SPOIL UNCANNY X-MEN #9!
Another thing that I questioned about this sequence was Dazzler being with Hill, and I questioned whether this was in fact Dazzler, or Mystique in disguise, as after the ending of issue 9 it would appear that Mystique is using Dazzler's post as special mutant liason to her own benefit. This is probably the case, as they wouldn't have had that ending for nothing, and following Mystique's time in All-New X-Men it is apparent that she has plans against the X-Men, both Cyclops', and Wolverine's, and it should be interesting to see how this develops, especially with Battle of the Atom being even closer.
Final Verdict
This was an amazing issue, being one of the better issues that this series has produced. It had some fun, and exciting moments, with brilliant drama, and suspense, as well as great dialogue. It was however very fast paced, not taking long to finish, which questions whether it's worth $3.99. I would however still recommend this issue, as besides that it was very fun, and should appeal to both new readers, and old.
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