Over in the satellite books, Mystique wraps up "Unnatural", the first Sean Mckeever arc.

It's been pretty much business as usual in this arc.  McKeever has stuck to the formula previously established by Brian Vaughan, with a combination of action spy story and a bit of social conscience around the side (plus a dash of globetrotting thrown in).  It's proved solidly successful for this series, and this issue is no exception.

However, McKeever is also revisiting the question of Mystique's loyalties, given that she's an ex-villain working for Xavier against his will.  She's ignoring orders all over the place in this issue, for a variety of reasons.  While she's kind of sticking to the broad thrust of her orders, Mystique finds plenty of ways to pursue her own agenda alongside - or just plain ignores Shortpack's instructions in order to do so openly. 

Much of the time her behaviour is entirely understandable, but McKeever is also bringing back a decidedly vicious streak which we haven't seen much of in this book.  Of course, that's largely because she's been kept on a tight leash, and now that she's starting to slip free, she's reverting to type.  On the other hand, there's enough altruism thrown in to make it clear that she's a genuinely conflicted character, rather than an agent under duress who's looking for every opportunity to go her own way.

Still, the tensions of having Mystique as an agent of Professor X are obvious, and McKeever's playing off them effectively.  The next arc is scheduled to take us back to the Quiet Man subplot, which McKeever hasn't yet touched on.  With sales less than stellar, I wouldn't be altogether surprised if that turned out to be the final arc; however, the book seems perfectly placed to deliver a satisfying conclusion, if that happens.

Rating: B+

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