X-Men #2
Cyclops, Cable, and Prestige take a family trip in X-Men #2, by writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Leinil Yu, inker Gerry Alanguilan, colorist Sonny Cho, and letterer Clayton Cowles. Hickman and company turn in an entertaining issue that’s as fun as it is portentous.
A mysterious second sentient island approaches Krakoa, and Cyclops asks Cable and Prestige to come with him to check it out. They find an island that is eerily beautiful but filled with monsters. In a place on the island called the Arak Maw, a young man is sent out by his mother to meet the intruders. Eventually, he meets up with the X-Men, but they can’t understand each other’s language. Cable gives him a thermal grenade as a gift, and he accidentally triggers it. Taking it for an attack, he summons monstrous demons, and they attack the team until Prestige downloads Krakoan into his brain, and they can communicate. The island is Arakko, and it has come to be with Krakoa, who it has been long estranged from. Later, on Krakoa, the mysterious Summoner meets up with Apocalypse. He warns Apocalypse about a coming evil, and Apocalypse promises to save all of his children, both those of Krakoa and Arakko.
The interplay between Cyclops, Cable, and Prestige makes this issue significant. For long-time readers of these characters, it will feel at first a little off- there’s a lightheartedness to all three of them that just seems uncharacteristic. However, here’s the thing- for the first time in any of their lives, mutants have a home. They have stability, and they have an amount of power that has nothing to do with their mutation. They have hope. Hickman writes them as almost entirely new characters, and that makes sense completely. In a lot of ways, they are new people in a new world, and they react to things differently than they used to. There’s an affection between them, reinforced by some gentle ribbing between Prestige and Cable and Cyclops being both paternal and way funnier than he’s ever been. They feel like a family in a way they never have before.
For anyone out there who have been buying into the poly relationship of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, and Wolverine, at one point, the Summoner asks Cyclops if he’s ever loved someone and Cyclops says, “For the sake of expediency, let’s say I love one someone.” He could be referring to the poly relationship that the X-fandom is abuzz about… or does he mean Emma? Hickman teased the whole Arakko thing in Powers Of X, and having it show up this early in the run means that whatever happens with it, it will be a big deal, but the real shocker is Apocalypse at the end of the book. He calls the people of both Krakoa and Arakko his children and then hugs Summoner. This isn’t an Apocalypse readers have ever seen before. He has always loved mutants, but mostly for their power. He’s rarely if ever, showed any affection for anyone and spoken of other beings with such tenderness. Does he have an ulterior motive? Or is he genuine?
Leinil Yu’s art in this issue is pretty good. It’s lush and detailed, and his linework is powerful. Yu is a master of action scenes, and he draws some fun ones in this issue. If there is a problem with art at all, it’s that sometimes the character’s expressions don’t really match the dialogue. Other than that, he turns in some great pencils in this comic.
X-Men #2 is a lot of fun, plain and simple. Hickman takes three of the grimmest X-Men- Cyclops, who has been through so much in the past few years, Cable, and Prestige, both of whom come from dystopian futures, and shows how much the feeling of security and hope Krakoa gives mutants has affected them. One of the underlying themes of this issue is family, and the dynamic between the Summers family underscores that. He even offers Apocalypse an almost paternal streak, while also teasing for some big stuff in the future. Leinil Yu’s art is outstanding, with the only problem being some of his expression work. Everything about this issue lands wonderfully.
