ICYMI: X-Men #18

Jed MacKay and Emilio Laiso bring their arc to an end, as the Cyclops lead team of X-Men went face to face against 3K’s very own X-Men, lead by old Alpha Flight anti-hero Wyre. Beast is met with an offer he dare not refuse. Meanwhile, one of the 3K uses the twin sister of Piper Cobb, who was absorbed by Piper while in the womb, to trash Merle, as well as a Sentinel who was under Magneto’s control. So sit back in your seats and let’s get it on…

Jed MacKay’s X-Men has some ups and downs, but has been pretty consistently good to very good, which as being the X-lines flagship title speaks well for the book. Mackay’s really been trying to build the 3K organization into the next big threat for mutantkind, but so far they’re really not that interesting, despite having some promising X-baddies amongst its ranks. The 3K batch of X-Men have been interesting to read about, but none of them have been developed to the point where I’m actively wanting to see more of, except for the mutant twin sister of Piper’s.

Piper’s twin was stuck inside of her, until her mutation kicked in and she was able to create her own body out of a dead Acanti. Watching Finally she was brought face to face with her mother, who just happens to be an anti-mutant zealot. When forced to see her daughter who didn’t understand what happened to that unborn daughter. She gave her daughter a name. Robin Cobb. Just this little revelation brought you into this young, scared little girl’s heart. Ira is a touching moment, and us hands down the biggest emotional impact on this run thus far.

Another interesting, and quite frankly one of the  most entertaining part of this run post Graymalkin run was MacKay’s use of Alpha Flight, and some of the obscure characters, building them up as a threat to the X-Men. Alpha’s always been very near and dear to my heart, so seeing Wyre here, and depicted as a credible threat to the X-Men has been a real treat. MacKay portrays the Alphans with dignity, rather than the unloved stepchild that Marvel has treated them throughout the years. It feels like Marvel might actually be trying to develop the characters, and use them for something bigger down the road. Possibly a new ongoing series. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for the foreseeable future.