X-Statix #23

Posted: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
By: Shawn Hill

“The Good and the Famous, part three”

Writer: Milligan
Artists: Allred and Craine

Publisher: Marvel Knights

Plot:
Two more episodes in a delightfully retro format, the first pitting Vivisector against Hawkeye, the second an unlikely pairing between Venus de Milo and Ant Man.

What’s interesting:
This enjoyable arc is everything the fumbled Princess Diana arc should have been. It’s clever, it’s witty, it’s in character, and it’s a rewarding changeup from the ultraviolent massacres that have become cliché at this point. Here we have Hawkeye (I’m sorry, “Clinton”) and Myles realizing rationally that they’re in way over their heads in volatile Africa, while Venus and Ant Man (one presumes Scott Lang, though it’s never spelled out) have a much more personal encounter in the Antarctic.

I’m overjoyed that Milligan is playing these encounters relatively straight, not simply lampooning the Avengers to shore up the crude but effective X-statix approach. Instead he realizes Clint can play just as down and dirty with ease, and is not above doing a little timely flirting to get his way (if not his man).

I’m a bit confused by the Venus story (though only in regard to continuity, not to the plot itself). Milligan and Allred stage an homage of sorts to the classic Avengers story where Ant Man did some exploring inside the Vision’s synthetic body, but last I knew, Venus was a just a mass of barely coherent energy kept in check by her Xavier-designed uniform, and prone to explosion to boot.

Ant Man now finds all manner of organic tissue on her insides, which doesn’t really track with her history. Still, it’s not much bigger of a jump than other convenient situations that have occurred on this team, and the strange world Ant Man encounters inside is certainly abnormal with a surreal logic of its own. Also, it’s nice to run into a scientist who actually helps the heroes and believes in their cause with no ulterior motives.

Next up, Guy vs. Iron Man, though I’m unsure what Thor and Vision will be doing. So far, it’s a tie, as each battle has shown all the characters to good effect.