Artist: David Lopez
So far Battle of the Atom has been a very entertaining crossover, and although it took a while to become really exciting, that changed with the last instalment, showing that the story has a lot more to it than it originally showed.
Plot
The future X-Men return to the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning with the three younger X-Men, but when they learn that the younger Beat and Iceman are gone their attitude changes dramatically.
Review
This was yet another brilliant issue in this crossover, and it followed from last weeks instalment perfectly. Over the two issues that Brian Wood has written he has done a fantastic job of managing to both continue on from the crossovers story, whilst also keeping the same tone and feel of this series. Wood also in this issue managed to add a lot of tension and excitement throughout, as although it didn't give too much story development, it made up for that by being action packed. I did however feel that the pacing of the issue was slightly inconsistent, with it being slow, and then suddenly speeding up, though overall it managed to be a very fun and entertaining issue, being much better than the last issue in this series.
The art was also fantastic in this issue, though David Lopez didn't do quite as good a job as he has in the last couple of issues. The detail throughout the issue was very impressive however, as although the backgrounds were a bit plain at times, the character detail was very consistent throughout. The main problem I had with Lopez' art in this issue was how he draws mouths, as although I have never liked his style, it stood out more in this issue, feeling very awkward at times. I did however like the way he showed character emotion in the issue, and especially when Wolverine gets angry at one point. I also liked how Lopez showed that Jubilee was still a vampire in this issue, something that have been wanting to see.
Whilst Wolverine's X-Men and the future X-Men return to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, Wolverine and Rachel Grey talk telepathically, with Wolverine saying how he doesn't trust these future X-Men. Now this is something that I was expecting a while ago, as Wolverine is usually a very mistrusting person, especially when it comes to stuff like time travel, so it surprised me when he didn't question much about these future X-Men. I also felt that the dialogue in this sequence was very well handled, adding a lot of tone, and atmosphere, as due to it overall being a slightly slow sequence it needed that.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE REVIEW!
Now I don't like giving away spoilers, but this was a development that was too big to not talk about. I am off course talking about the future X-Men's secret being revealed to Wolverine's group. I really enjoyed how Wood's handled this revelation, as although it was already shown in the last issue, this was a much more explosive one. I also loved the sudden change in attitude from these future X-Men, which leaves so many questions about their motives, and why they're now like this. The best part of this revelation however would be the tension between Wolverine and Charles Xavier Jr. just before the revelation, and the Rachel Grey line, "Logan was right!"
This would obviously lead to a huge fight between these future X-Men and Wolverine's X-Men. I really enjoyed this, as it was very exciting, and had plenty of explosive moments throughout. I also liked the surprise that was in store for Wolverine, and how we got to see Jubilee bring the vampire fangs out. On top of that I also really enjoyed seeing the psychic battle between Rachel and Xavier, as well as Psylocke showing her multitasking skills. I did however feel that the fight came a bit suddenly, and ended in the same fashion, but overall that didn't mean much as it was still very exciting and entertaining.
Final Verdict
Yet another fantastic instalment to the story, Wood's managed to keep the tone of this series perfect, whilst also working it into the crossover story. The issue itself also had a lot of action and excitement, which was a very good thing, as overall it lacked story development. It did however also have a lot of suspenseful moments, and was very fun and entertaining. Due to all this I'd highly recommend this issue, and the story so far, but if you haven't been following the story you may want to wait for it too come out in trade now.
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