Magneto gets beaten up by Sebastian Shaw, Xorn goes against the Marauders and Polaris is now possessed by Malice. Things are not looking good for the X-Men.
X-Men BLUE vol. 1 #24
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Jorge Molina
Color Artists: Matt Millia and Jay David Ramos
Publisher: Marvel Comics
?WARNING: This review contains major spoilers!!?
Previously:
The original X-Men were still lost in space, at a very bad time when their foes were now starting to initiate their plans to release Mothervine. Back on Earth, in their headquarters at Madripoor, the Raksha sneaked in only to be stopped by Polaris who told them the current situation. They told her that they had something to report. They then went to meet Magneto who was having a meeting with Jim Hudson and Blood Storm to investigate the Marauders at Mojave desert. The Raksha then reported to Magneto that they found some Hellfire club minions causing some trouble in Madripoor.
Magneto decided to take action to visit the Hellfire Club in England, leaving Polaris and the Raksha behind. Magneto met up with Sebastian Shaw who was now exposed to Mothervine and developed a second mutation.
Elsewhere, Emma Frost telepathically discussed her concern with Havok about their alliance with Ms. Sinister and Bastion.
At the Mojave desert, Jimmy and Blood Storm observed the Marauders who met up with Xorn and persuading him to join their cause.
Back in Madripoor, Ferris handed out an amulet he found in teen Jean Grey’s room to Polaris. Mesmerized and in trance, Polaris wore the amulet exposing herself to get possessed by Malice!
What You’ll Find Out:
Sebastian Shaw fought Magneto, showing of the second mutation he gained from Mothervine. 
Meanwhile, at the Mojave desert, Xorn declined the Marauders invitation to join their cause and told them he just wanted to be left alone in peace. The Marauders did not take his answer lightly and threatened to kill him. Xorn fought back but was halted by Mach 2 with her magnetic powers. Jimmy and Blood Storm jumped in and joined the battle to save Xorn. Blood Storm used her vampire powers and transformed into a colony of bats, distracting the Marauders. She was then able to grab both Jimmy and Xorn to escape their foes.
In Madripoor, Polaris was now possessed by the Earth-1610 version of Malice. She then attacked the Raksha who was unaware of what was happening to her.
Back in England, Magneto and Sebastian Shaw continued to fight. Sebastian Shaw had the upper hand due to his second mutation from the Mothervine. However, this back-fired and all of a sudden Shaw lost control over his power and became too weak. Magneto then told Shaw that this was the very reason why he wanted to stop Mothervine because it was unstable and dangerous to mutants. He then requested a very fragile Shaw to bring him to Havok, Bastion, Ms. Sinister and Emma Frost.
Back in Madripoor, Malice, who was controlling Polaris managed to almost defeat the Raksha but fortunately just before she could do more damage, Polaris was able to break free of her control and defeat her.
In Spain, Briar Raleigh met up with Daken. She handed a specially made adamantium sword to him, inviting him to join Magneto’s team.
Somewhere in Scotland, Magneto and Shaw met up with Havok, Bastion, Miss Sinister and Emma Frost. They tried to invite Magneto to join their cause once more. Magneto then told them the effects of Mothervine by showing them what happened to Sebastian Shaw and that he had heard other harmful effects from other reports. Havok tried explaining to Magneto that there was more to Mothervine than the stories he had heard and that of course, minor errors were unavoidable but necessary. Magneto, still not convinced asked what if he still refused. Havok then confidently responded that once Magneto fully understood what they were doing, it is something Magneto wouldn’t dare refuse.
What Just Happened:
Cullen Bunn is definitely in his zone right now! He had been building the Mothervine arc ever since the series began last year. I always thought it was interesting that he was incorporating a few Ultimate X-Men characters in the main Marvel Universe and also addressing the Mothervine storyline again. Of course, there are still a lot of unanswered questions but you can still definitely feel that we are about to get them very soon.
I like how Magneto is being written under Bunn’s lead. Ever since he had been writing books for the master of magnetism, the character had grown so much so that his efforts to change for the good feels natural and not too forced. Especially in this arc, where we get to see Magneto go against the mutants who most fans would expect he would team-up with. In the eyes of the villains, like Shaw, for example, saw Magneto’s road to redemption as weakness. But others, like inverted Havok, implied that they could be underestimating Erik and that he might be a huge problem with their plans if not handled carefully. This goes to show that Bunn definitely has the talent to add in this kind of depth and complexity to the characters which are making X-Men Blue one of the best X-books in the current ResurrXion line.
Aside from that, I also always love Jorge Molina’s art and I am very glad that he is back doing the interiors again for the series. The beauty of his works was that it had a manga/anime-influenced style that worked very well during the books fight scenes. It made everything flow naturally and effectively. Plus, Matt Millia and Jay David Ramos coloring managed to give life to Molina’s interiors and managed to set-up the perfect tone to match the scene and ambiance of a setting.
I think the only thing I thought was unnecessary was Polaris getting possessed easily by Malice. I won’t deny that it was entertaining but I never really thought it was something important for the plot. Unless there is more to that development to look forward next issue.
Pros:
- Cullen Bunn has been wonderfully building this story for a year now, and it’s really intriguing how he is now able to address the foreshadowing and the hyped he had built for this arc
- Jorge Molina’s manga/anime-inspired style looked gorgeous in my opinion, especially during the fight scene between Magneto and Sebastian Shaw, also during Jimmy, Blood Storm, and the Marauders, plus during Malice-possessed Polaris battle with the Raksha
- Matt Millia and Jay David Ramos colors are amazing and were perfect for Molina’s art style
Cons:
- In my opinion, Malice possessing Polaris was kind of unnecessary to the plot
Rating: 8.9/10
Final Thought:
Exciting, action-packed filled story with gorgeous art. This is definitely one of the best X-books released in the market. Cullen Bunn had wonderfully crafted the series and I don’t think he has plans of slowing down at all!
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