Face front, True Believers, and welcome back to The Marvel Rundown. Last week The Rundown featured the start to a new (and underwhelming) era of The Amazing Spider-Man. This week we take a look at Exceptional X-Men #3 as we check in with Kitty Pryde in Chicago as she struggles to escape that X-life. In the Rapid Rundown, we take a look at Daredevil #15, Spider-Man: Reign 2 #5, and a take a journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars Battle of Jakku Republic Under Siege #1
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Exceptional X-Men #3
Writer: Eve L. Ewing
Artist: Carmen Carnero
Color Artist: Nolan Woodward
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: David Baldeon & Jesus Arburtov
Plot Synopsis: Exceptional X-Men #3 picks right up on last month’s cliffhanger with Emma Frost making her intention to continue with the X-men’s legacy known to Kitty and the trio of new mutants. After a brief disagreement, Kitty reluctantly agrees with the new trio to begin training. The trio now calling themselves: Melee, Bronze, and Axo are all excited to become X-men. Yet given her attempts to live a normal life, Kitty continues to be apprehensive of the new mutants becoming child soldiers like she once was. This sets Emma and Kitty on a collision course as they have to work to bridge their ideological divide in their attempts to help these kids.
Reading Exceptional X-Men alongside Uncanny and adjectiveless X-Men makes the different tone and style of the books quite apparent. Which is to be expected based on statements by X-men editor Tom Breevort regarding the need for a diversity of storytelling and comics. If the goal is for there to be an X-Men comic for everyone, I can’t help but feel there’re has been some success on this front.
Eve Ewing’s Exceptional X-Men is a character driven comic more so than the other two with focus on Kitty’s attempts to leave the life of an X-Man behind but struggling internally with what it means to seemingly abandon mutant kind in the face of gross injustice in the world. After all, hasn’t Kitty earned a chance at normalcy? This is layered with the introduction of three new mutants- Melee, Bronze, and Axo. These three kids are a stark reminder to Kitty that they are trying to live their lives and cannot just pass for normal or accept the injustice. Ewing’s character work has been strong up to this point. Yes, the plot moves slower paced than the other books but that’s okay. The plot isn’t the point. The point is to get the reader into the mindset of the characters.
Now, Exceptional X-Men #3 focuses primarily on the new (don’t call them a team) team’s first training session and the rocky relationship between Kitty and Emma. Ewing spends a lot of the page count redefining the dynamic between Kitty and Emma following the fall of Krakoa. It is apparent early on that the two Queens of the Hellfire Club are no longer on the best of terms, but there is still a sense of respect between them.
What is effective, though, is that by injecting Emma back into Kitty’s life, Kitty has a harder time resisting that call to stand up for what’s right in the world. In the series, so far, Kitty has tried to resist the call to action while still doing the right thing. However, she is constantly rationalizing her actions as something of a one-off event and even tries to pass the kids off on each other in an attempt to wash her hands of the ordeal. Emma isn’t having that. Ewing’s characterization of both Emma and Kitty are strong and ring true to each character.
Ewing’s Kitty is dealing with PTSD of losing everything and feeling like she must start over. I am sure there are fans that are upset that she opts to go by Kitty over Kate or Katherine, but I think it is symbolic of the character experiencing a bit of a regression to the past considering mental anguish. She is someone that doesn’t necessarily want to have responsibilities, instead opting to not have to be live older than her years as she has had to since the X-Men entered her life as a teen. She is desperately trying to regain a life she never really had. She wants to be someone in their early to mid-twenties working at a job in a bar and attempting online dating. This serves as the underlying motivation for Kitty in this issue as she is adamant about not training the kids in the same way she was. She doesn’t want to deprive them of normalcy. She wants to teach them to control their powers and defend themselves, but not go on missions to save a world that hates and fears them. I think Ewing does a great job in presenting this complex and nuanced approach in this issue.
As for Emma, her exact motivations for wanting to form a team aren’t made clear to the reader just yet. It isn’t exactly out of character for Emma to want to help children in need. If anything, helping the children has been Emma’s driving motivation since we collectively chose to forget that Inhumans vs X-Men heel turn. I am sure that Ewing will address this in future issues, but for now it does come off as seemingly random. That said Ewing does give Emma a sense of compassion and care but also a pragmatic streak. Emma’s viewpoint is that these new mutants need to be ready to defend more than just themselves. It is almost like Emma is aware they are the main characters in an X-Men title and the rules of the genre demand conflict.
One thing I found exceptional about this particular issue is there was panel time devoted to teaching the kids to control their powers and helping them see the beauty in themselves. This was a favorite note of mine in the last issue with Kitty talking Melee through a phase accident, and I am glad to see that wasn’t just a one off. Emma is actually a teacher by trade and Kitty has amazing insight and experience that can help these young people succeed in this world. I am glad to see Ewing continue this.
The kids themselves are not as much of the focus of this issue as the past couple issues, but we still get some great moments and insights into them. Axo especially gets a few moments that makes him one of my favorites so far. I love a big goth/emo empath. There are moments where I am a high-school teacher in my day job, and I work with a lot of students like these three. From my experience, Ewing makes them feel like actual teens. There are some corny moments, especially on the last page that get a bit too cute, but overall, the writing is enjoyable here.
Artistically, Exceptional X-Men #3 is a visually expressive and brightly colored book. Carmen Carnero gives attention to detail for the facial expressions and body language of the characters and given the focus of the issue being on relationships and less on action set-pieces this is essential to maintain reader interest. Carnero’s expressive art style takes what could have just been a dull issue full of exposition and turns it into a visually engaging piece of art.
Carnero manages to keep the issue engaging not only through her figure work but also through the use of a variety of page layouts and panel compositions. There is a real sense of energy on the page that makes the book quick to read but able to convey the tone of the moment.
The designs for the trio’s new costumes are great. Sleek and modern while feeling very Hellion like with the red color motif. The fact that the X looks like a replicated chromosome is a nice touch. I am not sure if Carnero designed these costumes or if Marvel had someone else do that. Either way, I found these designs to be excellent.
One last thing about the art is the coloring from Nolan Woodward. The colors are vibrant and saturated giving the book a real bright feeling which contrasts nicely with the southern gothic stylings of Uncanny or the military industrial look of adjectiveless X-men. I appreciate there is a visual distinction between the titles and Woodward does a great job overall.
Exceptional X-Men #3 is a strong third issue that continues to show a different aspect to this new world of the X-men. This character-driven story is well constructed and builds well on the previous two issues. The dynamic between Emma and Kitty is the main highlight of the book and for good reason given the characters’ past. The art complements the writing with its expressiveness.
Verdict: Buy
Daredevil #15- There’s a slow burn and then there’s this Daredevil run from writer Saladin Ahmed. Fifteen issues in and we’re still in the “Introductory Rites” storyline? Matt Murdock continues his fight against mysterious demonic entities possessing various characters with no idea why it’s happening. Naturally he assumes it’s a punishment from God. The set up at the beginning of the series with Murdock revived as a priest just got thrown out the window. Is the end goal to rehabilitate Matt Murdock as a happy go lucky hero again? Both Elektra and Father Javi in this issue both tell him to stop being a sad sack. Even fill in artist Luigi Zagaria gets to draw ol’ Hornhead with a big grin (Zagara is really good at expressions in this issue). Frankly if that’s where this book is going, then that feels like a fresher direction for a character whose default mode is “go through the wringer”. This issue though just feels like treading water. It consists of three acts and an epilogue. Nothing in this issue really carries any emotional weight or stakes. Sure Elektra describes Matt as a man who loves women and Father Javi tells him to stop beating himself up. The subplot about a missing kid gets put on the back burner. There’s a fight with a monster that just feels obligatory. Honestly, this is part fifteen of what is an introductory story. How much more of an introduction does a new Daredevil book need at this point? – DM
- Spider-Man: Reign 2 #5
- It’s hard to know where to begin writing about Spider-Man: Reign 2. The original 2007 series is one of the strangest Spider-Man stories ever told (and maybe the last truly audacious Spidey comic) so the sequel always had a complicated legacy to contend with. Despite Spider-Man’s radioactive bodily fluids becoming a punchline over the years, Reign’s actual story is an emotional and complex examination of heroism and bravery in the face of oppression. It’s been harder to figure out what writer/artist Kaare Andrews is trying to say in part 2 even as the story has proceeded in a more straightforward fashion. If the original was a riff on Dark Knight Returns, Reign 2 is Terminator. The time travel shenanigans felt like a particularly strange place to take the dark and mentally fragile Peter Parker. It’s made even more disorienting by colorist Bryan Reber’s in-your-face colors that are deliberately flatter and more traditional superhero fare to emphasize how out of place this grizzled Peter is in the past. There are ideas here about letting go of the past, the way politicians use lies to shape reality and assert control, and even a not so subtle metatextual commentary on Marvel editorial’s Spider-Marriage mandates. But these don’t tie together into a fully realized whole. What I can say definitively is that Kaare Andrews has crafted a comic that looks and reads like nothing else on the shelf. For that alone it is worth experiencing as a piece of art. Considering it took me a few years to appreciate the original Spider-Man: Reign and its ideas around autocracy and oppression, this may be a book that benefits from the passage of time. Or maybe it will just remain a strange piece of creator driven comics in a corporate desert of intellectual property. That’s worth it too. – TR
- Star Wars Battle of Jakku Republic Under Siege #1
- For the past few years, Marvel’s main Star Wars books have focused on filling the gaps between the Original Trilogy movies, giving the backstory to Vader’s hunt for the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, why Han’s rescue took so long or Luke’s training to become a Jedi Knight. With the Second Death Star behind us, Marvel has moved into the post-Jedi era, before The Mandalorian and Force Awakens, as the remnants of the Empire scramble to take on the New Republic, formerly known as the Rebellion. Writer Alex Segura along with artists Jethro Morales and Stefano Raffaele have big shoes to fill following in the footsteps of some of my personal favorites like the Star Wars: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron series of comics from Dark Horse and books by Bantam Spectra and Del Rey publishing, Battle of Jakku breaks down the history of the New Republic’s early days leading up to the decisive battle that cemented the New Republics place in the galaxy. With the New Republic still learning how to walk, the forces of the Empire are forming new alliances with the underworld and Dark Forces users to tip the scale back in their favor, of course, it wouldn’t be a Star Wars story without a Jedi MacGuffin, excluding Andor. Told in two parts, Morales has a fleshy and fully organic style, while Raffaele’s has more of a manga feel, and both styles work in their respective stories. The biggest job this book has is to balance our expectations with how we know it’s going to end, with justifying a reader’s $4.99 for this “new” frontier of Star Wars lore. So far The Force is worth it. – GC3
Next week the Avengers return to the West Coast in West Coast Avengers, Mystique outruns an Avalanche, and the new kids go to school in Uncanny X-Men. Can’t wait for next week or missed a book? Read previous Marvel Rundowns here.
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