Age Of X-Man: The Amazing Nightcrawler #4 // Review
Possessing the ability to teleport, fuzzy blue Kurt Wagner has a rather interesting relationship with time, space and gravity. As the world’s most popular screen actor in the Age of X-Man, he’s also got a rather strange relationship with the rest of the world as well. These relationships and so much more become so much more complicated in the penultimate issue of The Amazing Nightcrawler. Writer Seanan McGuire explores the ever-increasing complexity of the life of the most famous member of the X-Men in an alternate universe. Juan Frigeri handles the art for the issue with a sense of sweeping action that matches the drama in the single most satisfying issue of the series thus far. Color comes to the page courtesy of Dono Sanchez-Almara.
Nightcrawler and his associates are being attacked by sinister people using sinister powers for sinister reasons. Typically this would probably be an easy situation for Kurt, but there are innocent bystanders in danger of getting in the way of the violence. Thankfully, they think its all part of some performance, so they don’t panic. They cheer-on Nightcrawler and his allies. Later on, things have settled-down as Kurt has finally managed to track down his missing mistress Meggan. When her whereabouts are discovered, Kurt stumbles into contact with a young girl who bears a striking resemblance to him and once again stumbles into contact with a woman named Mystique who claims to be his mother.
McGuire’s opening action sequence is strikingly clever. Kurt’s action hero who also happens to have superpowers and engage in serious action offscreen. Naturally, if people are attacking him in broad daylight in front of a crowd, it’s some sort of a publicity stunt, right? Reality and facade blur as Nightcrawler’s victory in front of a crowd of cheering fans actually serves to promote him further. The blurring of the relationship between reality and fiction is a cleverly subtle one that adds some depth to the action at the opening of the issue. The relationship between Kurt and others rests beyond the action in a drama that is delivered to the page with some nuance.
Frigeri’s delivery of the action feels awkward and stiff in places. Thankfully, these places are sparse and the overall feel of the battle at the beginning of the issue feels heroic enough, aided as it is by the vivid colors of Dono Sanchez-Almara. Kurt’s heroics begin to settle into something suitably swashbuckling thanks to an art team finally embracing the character’s charisma beyond the drama. The art follows McGuire’s subtle dramatic nuance in the second half of the issue when the less violent drama begins to fill the pages leading to a cliffhanger ending to be concluded in the final issue next month.
The trend in The Age of X-Man seems to be reaching a state of fully realized potential at the end of the mini-series that make-up the event. The ending might be satisfying enough to be truly frustrating for The Amazing Nightcrawler really feels like it’s becoming interesting one month before it ends.
