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By Joss Whedon & John Cassaday (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN 0-7851-1531-5
Joss Whedon turned his inimitable skills with choreographing ensemble casts to the ultimate team-book when he started writing the high-profile Astonishing X-Men (the first six issues of which are collected in this volume). With the supremely talented John Cassaday as artist the comic was always going to look great and sell well, but the ease with which Whedon slips into the characters and lifts them out of the mire of decades of convoluted cliché and continuity is a joy to behold.
You’re either aware or not of mutant continuity, so I’ll forego the usual précis and simply state that new readers can jump on with the minimum of confusion, and aided by the skilful use of banter be brought up to speed as the team of Cyclops, Emma “White Queen†Frost, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde and the Beast re-unite as a team of mutant do-gooders, but with a new mission statement.
In a world that hates and fears mutants, these heroes have traditionally fought secretive, furtive battles to save the day, with humanity despising them all the while. The new agenda is simple. Do the battling and saving, but in a public-relations savvy society, do it in such a way that the world knows who to thank. They will become public heroes and change public opinion by doing good, publicly.
The plan to alter those perceptions begins by ending a hostage situation where anti-mutant terrorists led by an alien named Ord of the Breakworld crash a Society function. Even as the hungry press are mobbing the victorious heroes, however, word comes that the media blitz may be unnecessary. An announcement has been made that scientists have found a cure for the mutant gene…
The news divides not just the mutant community, but even the team itself. Is “mutant-ness†even a disease? Is it better to conform or be unique? Where did the cure come from and who actually benefits? What role does Ord play in these earth-shattering events and is he working alone? None of these deep issues get in the way of a rollercoaster-ride of action and genuine suspense that’s been missing since the earliest days of these characters.
Combining stunning action and superb characterisation in a mystery/conspiracy tale is a Whedon trademark. Adding the alienation metaphors that have been such a strong part of the X-Men mystique and the fan psychology makes this a powerful yet entertaining read that will appeal to almost everybody.
© 2004 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved