Writer: Joss Whedon
Artists: John Cassaday, Laura Martin(c)
Publisher: Marvel
I don't buy a lot of what went on before in Astonishing X-Men. I still don't accept Scott being in command of his previously uncontrollable optic blasts that once depended upon physics not psychics. I still don't agree with Kitty being bamboozled so easily with some virtual reality that gave her a virtual son, but Whedon surprises the hell out of me this issue. He actually manages to duct tape all these dubious claims into an adequate ending. Whedon resolves last issue's cliffhanger where Scott shoots the White Queen. He explains exactly who was the White Queen. It's neither the most satisfying nor the most innovative answer, but it will do.
The one thing I fully appreciate in this concluding issue of Astonishing X-Men is how Scott pieces everything together. After John Byrne left the book, Scott, while still enjoying some good character moments, stopped having a purpose. Scott was once the undisputed leader of the X-Men. Without that position, the character wasted away. Even Chris Claremont seemed to ignore him. In this issue Scott has never been portrayed better and more like a leader. I still don't believe throwing out the basis for his powers was necessary to get to this point. I cannot argue with result.
Scott isn't the only X-Man that benefits from Whedon's fine skills at characterization. Whedon very cleverly preserves Emma Frost's reform. He doesn't deny her role in the X-Men's downfall presented in the previous issues, but he suggests mitigating circumstances that reflect Kitty's nightmare. Perhaps that was why the Kitty-trap was so mentally potent. I still don't believe the virtual reality ploy would have worked on Kitty, but at least Whedon tries to corroborate the plot device with a little more than just blind faith from the reader.
The B story in Astonishing X-Men deals with Ord's and Danger's infiltration of the mansion. This story is more enjoyable because it's wittier, especially when regarding the dialogue, and sly. In the B Story Whedon finds a way to revert Hank McCoy back to normal. I don't consider this a spoiler. Nobody really believed that he was going to stay in a feral state. The way in which Whedon accomplishes this feat does at first make one’s eyes roll. Understanding what's not blatantly offered in the dialogue makes sense of the tactic. Whedon first needed a means to trick the feral Beast into getting near the cure to his problem. Combine Hank's recovery with Wolverine no longer acting like "Percy Dovetails" and Whedon actually scraping some resonance off the miserable sheen of the worst story he has ever signed his name to--the story gracing the world with the ever-so original Danger, and you cannot help but be impressed.
Jack Cassaday and Laura Martin are always impressive. So long as Whedon has these talents in his corner, he will essentially win half the battle. Like I said, this arc of Astonishing X-Men was grueling. Without the uniformity of Cassaday and Martin giving the characters photorealism and a dynamic that recognizes the use of space, the whole presentation could have seemed cluttered and lacking a single shred of verisimilitude. Instead, we get a plot that has so many holes that it could be offered as hors d'ourves, but the artistic quality deludes the reader into saying, "what holes?"
The look of insanity on Scott's face as he shoots describes him to the reader more so than words ever could. The way in which the art team presents Ord as a blustery bruiser and far, far removed from the realms of superior alien intellects gives weight to the comedy he produces. The anger they seethe from a third-tier character helps Whedon draw dignity from the shambles of the Holodeck gone mad affront. The way in which they frame Hank McCoy as he enters the fray makes the whole scene work. Cassaday and Martin are David Boreanaz and Sara Michelle Gellar to Whedon's scripts.
What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!