Advanced Review: All-New X-Men #2

The world has been torn asunder after the Phoenix Force merged with Scott Summers. Cities are destroyed, mutant hate is at its peak and the man whose dream brought all the X-Men together — lies dead at the hands of his first student. Things couldn’t be worse for the mutant race, especially since there are new mutants manifesting powers every day and a revolution has begun! All looks bleak, but for one specific X-Man, it is even worse. Dr. Henry McCoy is dying from another genetic mutation, but before he dies he will try to correct the present by visiting the past!

Brian Michael Bendis has crafted a thoroughly engaging tale, rife with nostalgia, that any X fan will not only appreciate — but hold most dear. It is a tale of desperation and longing for a time when things didn’t seem so complex. A tale of time travel and fantasy that feels so natural and well executed that the mere thought of time/space conundrums — is not given a second thought at all! It is so far fetched that it completely makes sense, not becoming an overall burden to the reader or the story.

It is quirky and fun and devastatingly real, bringing a microscope down on all the things that have gone awry over the years and the loss of faith in Xavier’s dream. This tale is as fresh and exciting as the fundamentals the original five X-Men had the first time they suited up. A juxtaposition of a far too dark present and a vibrant, albeit slightly naive, past. The characterization of the “little X-Men” is pitch perfect! Bendis has found their true essence and has treated it reverently, giving no qualms in his ability to scribe the “Merry Mutants” in this fans eyes! 

All X fans will be clamoring for this new series, it is the shot of adrenaline the X books have been so desperately in need of! Bendis fan or not, this book will sway you towards being an X fan all over again!