So, then.  Astonishing X-Men #4.

I really don't want to like this.  I'm not a big fan of bringing characters back from the dead, to put it mildly.  One of the most toxic aspects of superhero comics is that nothing sticks.  And if nothing sticks, nothing matters.  And then what's the point?  When you start bringing back one of the most comprehensively dead characters in recent memory (hell, they devoted an issue to scattering his ashes), you're re-establishing a ground rule that Quesada and Jemas were quite right to get rid of: nothing sticks.  Nothing matters.

On the other hand, if you're going to bring characters back from the dead, Colossus is up at the front of the queue with a very persuasive case.  He was killed off, basically, because Marvel needed to kick the Legacy Virus plot into the long grass in the space of 22 pages, and killing him off provided some sense of closure and finality to that plot.  Since nobody really cares about the Legacy Virus, and the issue in which he died was scarcely a classic (marred as it was by ridiculous plot mechanics), Colossus certainly has a stronger case than many for being put back in place.  But the idea still annoys me.

Nonetheless, Whedon and Cassaday almost sell me on the idea, simply because they're putting together such a well told story.  As always, there's little here that's groundbreaking.  But technically, it's excellent stuff.  Beautifully paced, with nice little character moments worked in along the way.  Gorgeous and subtle art from Cassaday.  And Laura Martin is continuing to justify her reputation as one of the best colourists in comics, someone who really knows how to choose a palette for each scene.  Setting the final pages under red lighting really heightens the otherworldly tone of the scene, for example.

I'm still not entirely sold on Ord as a villain.  All this Breakworld stuff doesn't really interest me - alien villains never seem to fit in the X-books.  Obviously there's a big reveal coming up which will explain why this guy's so interested in the X-Men, and perhaps that'll justify his presence a little better, but so far he still seems a little out of place in the story.

Still, despite my policy objections to the plot, this is another very good issue.  It's beautiful stuff.  You just can't stay angry with it.

Rating: A-

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