Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
X-Men Legacy #208
Marvel Comics
Carey, Eaton & Romita
Lots of comics advertise as a jumping on point. I’m not sure if this one did or didn’t but I would classify it as a perfect opportunity to walk into the world of X-Men. There isn’t a ton of action in this comic, but there is a lot of character building – from the ground up in one big case.
Xavier was shot in the head at the conclusion of the Messiah Complex. Apparently, he was abducted in the fray. This has some continuity problems. For one, didn’t everyone mention how Beast was with him or tending to him? Also, in both X-Force and Wolverine, Cyclops dispatches Wolverine to take care of way lesser important matters than finding Xavier. Plus, in Uncanny X-Men there isn’t any mention of the missing Xavier while Cyclops and Emma vacation. I am guessing more will be revealed on this front, but I admit it baffled me a bit.
Anyway, Xavier’s body was taken by a very interesting cast of characters lead by Exodus. It’s not clear where all the others came from or how Malice ceased and reverted back to being Sentinel. However, the interactions of all of them successfully catch up any new reader about the Messiah Complex and much of what happened behind the scenes since then.
The issue opens with Xavier having a conversation with Moira from a long time ago. Xavier talks about the discovery of the mutant race. This “dream” ends with Bishop firing a gun. The underlying premise of this comic is Xavier’s memories in some form or another being “replayed”.
Exodus is unable to repair the damage to Xavier’s brain with his blockers still in place, even while unconscious. The solution is to kill Xavier and rebuild him from scratch. In the process we get a lot of good early Xavier memories.
Unlike Wolverine, Xavier’s past isn’t constantly brought into the forefront, so this is a welcome part of the story. Some of the scenes that play out are Xavier enrolling the original five mutants into the school and the danger room as well Xavier pushing a very young Cyclops into a leadership role on the team. Plus, two key conversations with Moira.
Mixed in with the memory building is the narration of those that are trying to save Xavier. This helps to shed some light on the intentions of Exodus and the rest of the gang. Oh, did I mention the surprise ending with the entrance of an old “friend”? Just take a guess as to who might show up in Xavier’s hour of need.
I loved this issue. Part of the reason was the style in the artwork between present day and the flashbacks. This switch in style was outstanding to tell the story more effectively. The other aspect I enjoyed in this issue was seeing these initial memories of Xavier’s. Were these the most important to him? The ones he thought about the most?
The only odd point in this issue was the continuity issues I mentioned earlier.
Sure, you could claim this issue was slow without action, but I like a comic that shows some character and this one has plenty of it. And the character is the main X-Men for a change. I am very interested to see where this all goes.
5 out of 5 geek goggles.
 X-Men Legacy #208 |
