Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
X-Men Legacy #209
Marvel Comics
Carey, Eaton & Tan
Magneto returns and so does Xavier. This issue lacks action, but it gives some excellent insight into how both of them view the other and their ideals. It’s nice to see Magneto and Xavier in the same comic together. I just wonder where all of this is really going. Hopefully, the characters will be relevant again in the overall X scheme.
The issue begins with Magneto reliving some memories of his confrontations with Xavier over the years. It’s the classic question of gaining mutant acceptance through violence or through teachings. It’s good to see the arguments and the battles that these two have led sides against the other over the years. One thing is clear: Magneto and Sentinel don’t want Xavier to be a vegetable, so they come up with a plan to save him.
Meanwhile, Exodus makes his stand on Magneto perfectly clear. Magneto has no powers and is therefore, no longer a mutant. He deserves very different treatment from Xavier or the others. Exodus only brought him in to help with Xavier.
Magneto and Sentinel’s plan works and Xavier wakes up only to have Cargill confront him to kill him. It seems not everyone is in agreement about Magneto or Xavier and their status. A little fight breaks out and Magneto takes out Cargill with the old laser into the eye trick. That old gag.
The issue ends with Xavier explaining how neither he nor Magneto won the overall war over the years. This is interrupted by Exodus to setup the confrontation for next issue.
The interaction between Magneto and Xavier is excellent. I can’t get enough of it and this issue gives excellent dialogue between the two. The ultimate question is: what happens now? Magneto isn’t even a mutant anymore and Xavier no longer leads a team. Has the fight passed them by? Did they basically both fail? I don’t expect this arc to deal with all of these questions, but moving some of them along with answers would be a good thing.
The artwork is great. The flashback scenes have an excellent alternate art style from the rest of the issue and works very well. The depiction of Magneto is outstanding as well. You get the feeling a giant has entered the room, as it should be.
The only piece to this issue I don’t really like is that I don’t know where we are going with all these characters and their agendas. When you read this issue and the other X titles, I almost get the feeling that someone played 52-pickup with the X universe and each title got a collection of characters with no real overall plan in mind. I am sure I am wrong, but this is just how it feels at this point. I mean, you don’t put Magneto and Xavier in a book together unless you plan something big, right?
I liked this issue purely for the interaction between Xavier and Magneto. Throw in the additional confrontations and the flashbacks and you have a solid X-Men comic. New readers would really benefit from an issue like this. You get an awful lot of back story. Next issue should provide more of the same excellent verbal confrontation. This title is shaping up to be the strongest of the X titles in the post-Messiah Complex era.
4 out of 5 geek goggles.
 X-Men Legacy #209 |
