X-MEN FOREVER 2 #1 - August 2010

A Cry of -- Vengeance!

Credits:  Chris Claremont (writer), Tom Grummett (pencils), Cory Hamscher (inks), Wilfredo Quintana (colors), Tom Orzechowski (letters)

Summary:  The Avengers arrive at the X-Men’s mansion and a fight soon begins.  During the battle, Jean Grey creates a telepathic illusion that ‘Ro has been injured by Thor.  While the Avengers react, the X-Men surreptitiously regroup inside the mansion.  Suddenly, the mansion explodes, leaving only a crater in the ground.  Elsewhere, a mystery female watches over one of the injured Trasks in a SHIELD infirmary, while inside a Nebraska orphanage, a boy named Nate opens a closet that’s apparently hiding Mr. Sinister.

Continuity Notes:  

• Shadowcat has yet another new costume this issue.  If you look at the cover, you can see that she’s also growing ridiculous “claw” fingernails, an idea that thankfully doesn’t make its way into the actual issue.
• Cyclops’ boyhood orphanage was the Home for Foundlings in Sage, Nebraska.  This issue shows Nate/Sinister, who secretly ran Cyclops’ orphanage, at the “State Orphanage” in Omaha, Nebraska instead.
• Nightcrawler mentions a deep friendship with Scarlet Witch, which would seem to be a reference to Exiles continuity, not the mainstream continuity this series is allegedly continuing.

Review:  Well, this is certainly an issue of the Avengers fighting the X-Men.  There’s nothing innovative about the fight, but the action moves along at a steady pace and Tom Grummett’s rendition of the Avengers is not surprisingly fantastic.  The rest of the issue consists of two brief subplot scenes, one to remind us that the Trasks are still out there, and another to hint at Sinister’s return.  I think the Trasks have already had their moment in this book, truthfully, but the notion of seeing Claremont’s original interpretation of Sinister is intriguing.  That’s not enough of a tease to distract from the issue’s thin plot, however.  Unless the ten-year-old inside of you is just desperate to see an Avengers/X-Men fight, the issue comes across as a needlessly padded fight scene.  A fight scene that could’ve ended after the first page given its conclusion anyway, since Jean could have cast that illusion at any time.  If you’re looking for a quick read, this is fine, but I think the audience tends to expect much more depth, or at least density of plot, from Claremont’s X-Men work.