A Skinning of Souls Part Two – The Crops Mature
Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Andy Kubert (penciler), Mark Pennington with Dan Panosian (inkers), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Joe Rosas (colorist)
Summary
The mystery villain from the last issue is revealed to be the Soul Skinner. He defeats Omega Red and places him under his control. The X-Men travel with Colonel Vazhin to Neftelensk to investigate what’s happened to its citizens. While there, they’re attacked by Omega Red. With the Soul Skinner’s help, the team is defeated, while Colossus and Vazhin escape. They discover a group of children hidden in a building, not affected by the Soul Skinner’s power. Vazhin explains to Colossus that the Russian government was planning on accelerating his sister’s age so that she can use her mutant teleportation powers to stop the Soul Skinner. Meanwhile, armored soldiers break into Illyana’s home, kill her parents, and take her away. In Japan, the mysterious Kwannon prepares to face Psylocke, in order to prove herself to the crimelord Nyoirin.
“Huh?” Moments
In the Siberian cold, Psylocke is wearing a jacket while her legs (and most of her buttocks) are still exposed.
Colossus' parents are murdered for no apparent reason.
Colossus' parents are murdered for no apparent reason.
Miscellaneous Note
The Statement of Ownership has average sales at 967,808 with the most recent issue at 717,000.
Review
The Soul Skinner arc continues with an action-oriented middle chapter. Kubert’s art is well suited for characters like Omega Red and the Soul Skinner, so it’s a better looking issue than last month’s issue. Nicieza’s script is still in that annoying faux-Claremont style, though. Paul O’Brien already pointed out some of Soul Skinner’s more ridiculous dialogue when he indexed this issue, so I won’t dwell too much on lines like “such physicality, bordering as unto a primal force of nature, you might be in body, but in mind, you are as unto a gentle summer rain…and as such I let you wash over me…”. The entire issue is filled with these gems. A fairly bad comic, but I like some of Kubert's action pages.
Killing off Collossus' parents really annoyed me in this story. I had no problem with the adventure itself which is okay.
ReplyDeleteCollossus' family had always been underused but, even so, wiping out a character's supporting cast invariably leaves them with less depth. Having his brother introduced and then immediately scrubbed in a couple of meaningless stories added nothing.
Having an X-Man joint the Acolytes for a while was a good idea and an interesting role reversal from Magneto's time as headmaster (not that they ever made the most of it). Wiping out Peter's family to do it was completely the wrong way to go about it though. Obviously the disposal of Illyana would cap off this folly (another major character being treated as if they were a footnote -like Amara in the New Warriors Nova Roma retcon). Collossus is left as another walking cliche of the superhero whose family have been slain. Permananent harm done to a character to serve the writers' pet idea. Its egotistical and irresponsible writing that should have been squashed by editorial.