X-Men #7: Do you know the way to San Jose? Lala la la

A new chapter for the flagship mutants, and we get the origin story for the symbol for the mutant nation, Captain Krakoa! Unless you’re living under a rock, you all know that Captain Krakoa is just another identity for Cyclops, who had to adopt this new identity because he had a pretty graphic public death when dealing with Doctor Stasis, and his animal Chimeras, in the heart of New York City. So my opinion of Doc Stasis is that he feels like he’s a tad like the High Evolutionary, but he’s aligned himself with a group of prejudiced humans with Orchis, and that’s something that Wyndham wouldn’t do, since mutants are the next evolution for the human species, and since evolution is his modus operandi,it seems like it would be anathema for him. We also get a feat from Synch that I honestly didn’t think was possible. Where Duggan’s going with this, I’m not sure, but it has the potential to be something amazingly interesting, or a bit of a flop, depending on the execution. 

I’m growing rather bored with Stasis, and I’m not sure why. He has all of the qualities that I usually look for in a villain I like to obsess over: he’s quirky, aloof, over the top salacious with his behavioral tics, but it’s just not there yet. Maybe it’s that he’s so similar to the Krakoan version of Mister Sinister that I find him to be a tad bit derivative, hence my lack of enthusiasm, but it’s still too early to completely write him off. Duggan’s characterization for characters like Kitty, Emma, and others, gives him some grace period when it comes to giving a complete thumbs up or down. We also get another clue into who erased Ben Urich’s memories to cover up the revelation that mutants have conquered death, and this might be one that will shake up the hierarchy in mutant politics. Although this subplot might just be setting up the upcoming Immortal X-Men series, by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck, only time will tell at this point. 

Pepe Larraz on art duties with this issue, and he continues to show why he’s one of the best in the industry. He makes almost everything look amazing, and I especially enjoy his Synch and Sunfire here. In fact, Larraz’s design for Sunfire might be one of the most dynamic I’ve seen for the character for quite some time. It seems most artists use either his original, fish faced mask design, or his Age of Apocalypse design, both of which while being amazing in their own right, seem rather dated in their execution. I know that the yearly X-Men roster election is coming up, and while it appears that Firestar will be the new winner, I hope that doesn’t mean we’ll be losing Sunfire. Duggan and Larraz have the chance to accomplish something that I had hoped to see from Rick Remender’s original run on Uncanny Avengers, and that’s the much needed character development that Shiro deserves after 52 years of existence. So all eyes are on you guys.